Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1860-06-08
For the Chronicle.

Mr.. EDITOR The commencement exercises of
Stewart College, have been progressing for week,
and will be brought TO close on tomorrow morn
ing Thursday at which time prizes will be award
ed, for distinction in Elocution and English Com
position. The writer asks to chronicle the perfor-
thus far for the benefit of your readers and
thus to commend the Institution to favor.
The Institution under its present administration,
has been thus far an experiment. and demands Of
those who have been in attendance upon the exer-
cses of Commencement week, commendatory
notice. This is its first year. and hence it is thus
far stranger in this community. The writer has
attended most of the examinations that have been
conducted during the present week, and it gives
him particular pleasure to accord the Institution
difficulty in this age of superfcality, of remedyng
the defects Of early educaton teachers not content
to have pupils climb slowly and steadily the hill of
knowledge would have them scale its heights at a
bound Hence those whose business il is to carry
forward the asprant of literary and classical know
edge are left to depore the Characteristic neglect Of
thorough training in first principles that has become
so prevelant. The Hamiltonian method of hurry
ing pupils through the mazes of classical learning
as il were by steam has left its impress upon most
of the educational Institutions of the age and
dered the duty of making critical accurate scholars
labor of extreme difficulty and toll. One feature
in the conduct of this Institution struck as pc
cuArly noteworthy: it was the thoroughness of its
system of instruction; those boys whose classical
education had commenced with Messrs. Patterson
and Hurst in the preparatory department. evinced the
care and attention bestowed upon first principles by
their familiarity with their grammars This was
particularly observable in all the rudimcntary
classes. The writer was much pleased with the
class in Horace, taught by Professor Drake; therc
were unmistakeable indications in the members Of
this class Of close application aud consequent ripe
ness of scholarship. They richly merited the COM
mendation bestowed upon them by their instructor
There was class examined in Analytical Geome.
try; Prof. Forbes has the mathematics under hi
tuition. This gentleman has been so long and ta
vorably known in this community as a teacher o
mathematics that there is the less necessity ofspcak
ing of the system adopted by him. These young
men did honor to themselves, their teacher and thu
college
There was throughout the exercises the utmos
fairness manifested Collision is the bane of public
examinations teachers and pupils eonspre to defau'
credulous patrons and gullibe public into the no
ton of great attanmentS, whereas the pupil know
! nothing. There was nothing like this here. Tn
writer, with others at the request Of the teachers
subjected the pupils that came up for examination
To the most severe scrutinyi we were careful to ex
anime them as to their acquaintance with the rudi
ments of the language; the most difficult question
were prepounded, in order to bring out to view
what we soon discovered lay within their attain
ment and the results were to as all truly saisfactO
, and gratifying.
The writer confidently oommends Stewart Col
ege TO public patronage The Professors are Christ
8 lao gentomen, faithful competent and every wa,
worthy of favor aud Conhdcncc' Il.