Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-09-03
A NOTABLE "SCHOOL EXAMINING
COMMITTEES

N. P. Willis in the concluding letter Of his
series upon the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
gives the following Willis-y bit of en-painting
touching . country schOol-hOuse:
do not know whether it was by a chance
stopping Of the train, or by kind intention Of
the selective good taste of our Prescott the
Smith, +" that we found ourselves, in the middle
Of the forenoon of q delicious summer day,
halting for few moments directly in front OF
one of these remotenesses-a little bit Of log
shool-houss, right in the heart of Northwestern
Virginia's mountain wilderness The small
low door, and the glimpse of a row of little
hatless heads, as We saw them from the ear,
were very tempting, and there was an immedi-
ate jump Of our party for better look at the
interior. .'
A modest and dignifed courtesy from the
schoolmistress gave us welcome. There was
a spare bench near the door which accommo-
dated most of us, and Judge Warren and poet
Thompson occupied vacant sport on the snort
seat of the class sup for spelling" Secretary
Kennedy leaned on his stick near the shut-up
stove in the centre, his kindliest of voices and
faces encouraging the interrupted exercises to
proceed, and cloud compelling Maury stroked
the head Of the nice boy next him in tho
corner. Bayard Taylor sat, in his quiet OBJ
serving way, studying the surrounding rows of
boys and girls faoes-some thirty of them, al
together, and every one barefoot, and all seated
against the rOughh hewn logs on the one bench
Of narrow plank which lined the room. Fancy
what a picture for photographer to have
brought away-the celebrities, and the little
ragged problems of humanity, all onbaed, p
But oh the tender Providence Of God which
has provided, for these cradles of the intelli-
gence of our race, the willing devotion Of
womanhoOd, so. patient. 30 self-sacrifcing, 50
accomplishing and affectionate. The school
ma am before US was delicately formed young
woman of twenty or twenty-t two years, perhaps
dressed with exceeding plainness, and Of the
most unconscious simplicity 0f deIneanOr, but
her pale and thoughtfully refined features had
an expression which seemed to me the perfec-
tion Of what We recognize as the beauty Of
the soul. She looked as if she felt born only
to be good and kind to Others while life should
last, and that she was here in her place, some
what overtasked, but doing good, she hoped,
and willing to be forgotten. At the Same time,
in he subdued gentleness Of tone, her exquisite
propriety of replies, and her calm sweet man.
ner to US, party Of strangers, there was a
self f-possessed dignity that il was impossible
not to pay homage to-diiiicult Il may as we'll
say not to record for others, admiringly as
one remembers it for one self. As sat in
that humble school-room and looked upon the
unconscious beauty Of its patiently presiding
spirit, could not but thank God for the an
| gels still found distributed through the world,
We were to hear q class recite, however and
Il
| fun and pathos come very close together A
half dozen Of the little shock-headed barefoot
| lings were called up to spell; and my friend
| the Judge, who, moment before, had some
| trouble to keep his eyes dry with the sight Of
| the picture l have described, burst into con-
| yulsons Of laughter Mt the succession of intre-
pid Little voices, each with its proud pronuncia-
| ton Of the mastered monosyllable. B-u-
| double ., buzz E-double 8, egg Pig, pig!
S-m-a-double |, small, G-r-a double s,
grass, rang out from the low-roofed temple of
learning into the neighbOring woods, the sturdy
little reciters as consequential with the dignity
Of their performance Ms if they were speakers
for the first time ON the floor Of Congress-.
| The fun was somwhat catching, but the un-
restrainable laughter of one or two of our party
had no effect on the scholars. Braveiy they
spelt away, book in hand and eyes turning ex-
clusively from the slow-spelt word to the ap
proving face looking down upon thcm-our
uncomprehended visit, and our interruptions
of the lesson, being evidently taken, like the
long words at the end of the spelling book, to
be mysteries which it was enough, for the
present that the school ma am should under
stand-to be treated respectfully till they
should know more about them.
Among the bits Of bare feet doubled up un-
der the long bench was one very slight pair,
belonging to girl of perhaps ten years old,
whose natural pride of form and feature struck
me as something remarkable. She was in q
ragged frock, which appeared to be her one
single garment. but the head was set on her
sunburnt shoulders like an infant Fairfax's
and the brown lustre of those great dark eyes
with the long eye-lashes, looked as if it must
have been filtered through long race of court
beauties. called Bayard Taylor's attention
to her, ~ he sat next me, and became 80 in
terested in studying the little princess Of the
woods. that ventured to ask the school
mistress, at last, if we could not heafsher read
or SPELL But she was a new scholar and this
was her third day-her court education, at
present, toiling painfully over a-b, alb. If
there were any nursery garden for the renewal
of ''old families" such flowers as that girl
should be translated.
must record for history, before leaving this
interesting spot, bit of Presidential foresight
on the part Of ex-Secretary Kennedy. A COL
lection had been made, by Judge Warren,
from our various pockets, to constitute prize
for the smartest boy; and the distinguished
statesman having contributed his loose change
like the rest, the fund was deposited on the
top of the rusty stove in the centre of the
school-roo Our party then took leave, and
were mostly on their way to the cars; myself
alone remaining on the log Oor-step, to bring
up the rear when the ex-Secretary should pass
out; but he fingered. looked back once more,
and thus chanced to see him steal up to the
stove, and quietly deposit another popular dol
lsr on the democratic fund, Future Presidents
you see, like to make sure of being the ''h,ni
for infant minds.n . = - 10
IL Tie New Orleans Delta says that Rob
Harlan, tie eolored man who accompanied Mr.
Tea Brock To England, and is one Of the best
race managers in the United States won thirty
thousand dollars on the recent successes OF the