Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1868-07-02
The Jefferson Institute.

therefore. pleasant one. Your correspondent
feels that he cannot speak in too high praise OF
the attainments of the young ladies in this de-
partment of learning Il is very gratifying to
me. a friend Of education, and must be deeply
so TO the teachers and friends Of these favored
ones. All Of the essays were creditable; some
of them would do Justice to ripper years and
more matured scholarships. Being a member
ofthe committee of awards found It very dIih-
cult to decide as to the merits of several, and
really felt like awarding prizes to all of them.
1t was, indeed pleasure to examine them
/ There is something so chaste-so modest and
so delightfully."- fresh about the compositions of
the ladies Of our Southern land that delight
to read them
The first one We took up was styled
| Dream Of 1918, or a tyiD inIO the Future on
rings Of Fancy" You know, Mr.. Editor,
/ young ladies dream, and il You arc at all well
! acquainted with them you know they make
/ frequent and large excursions son wings Of
/ fancy" into the distant future. They live from
/ fifteen until twenty at least, in Fairy land
| Love is the magician that conjures 1t up. In
/ their thoughts they roam through lands Of
/ Elysian delights, dwelling with enraptured VI
sion on every new creation OF their fancy, trans
ported with the joyful prospect-until the stern
reality Of life lays its practical hand upon it
/ and it vanishes. But it is pleasing and emo
! bling to see how gracefully they yield them
selves without murmur to a far different life
than that of which in their girlhood they
dreamed. Girls ,cH dream. They cant help
it, and we would not have them to help it if
they could That beautiful ode Of Horace is
suggested to my mind just here-"Poae me
pjgrjS, &c. But to this particular dream we
would call your attention The young lady
dreamed that our (may Icall il our . charming
little CharleStowu had grown to be a giant city.
She talks Of its suburbs, Of theatres and
amphi-theatres, and grand cathedrals,' and
/ of. d" moSS-covcrcd ruins. She secs a broken
shaft Of white marble, hound with 4 laurel
wreath erected in memory Of the confederate
dead.
1t would tax your columns too much TO fol-
low further in the train OF this beautiful dream
which has been so handsomely recorded
There is one popularity about it, however,
which must be noticed Unlike most yotNg
ladies she dreamed she was old.
The next young lady is a traveller. The OBJ
ect of her pilgrimage is to see the Mediter-
rancan-the sea Of memories-the midde-land
sea. She very patheticaIly bids "adieu to her
native shore and begins her observations at
Gibralter. She mounts the rock with elastic
tread, takes glance at Spain and then looks
across the straits upon the home Of the Child
rem Of the sun" After "grieying for the ig-
norance and degradation of Spain" she sails
along the AFRICAN shore and enters the bay
of Tunis-She dwells awhile amid the ruins Of
" Ddos splendid city thinking Of Aneas and
his EiuS Achates" She visits, in passing,
Malta. which brings to mind the ship-wreckcd
apostle. and the days of chiyalry She visits
Sicily and hears the rumbHgs Of Etna. She
stops awhile at Syracuse and remembers that
it was once the home of Cicero and Archimides.
She steers gracefully between Scylla and Cha
ryblis without accident and approaches the
classic shores of Italy Here we must leave
her. looking into the yelow-mouthed Tibor and
thinking of the twin-boys, the founders Of In
perial Rome
Next comes an essay on " The Golden AgC
and the Iron Age" The young lady defines
the cpochs to which she refers. Greece in
the height of her learning, her fame and her
beauty
"Wbcn burning Saprho loved and sung.
Where Dclos rose and PhUbus sprung -
she takes as representing the Golden Age
She embodics her ideas Of the age in Greek
maiden-a worshippcr Of Pan. To her all Ma
tgre is animated She never waudcrs through
the forests but She is startled by Diana with
her attendant DriadS aud lIama-drads; when
she Stoops TO quatf the cool waters Of some Sc
queStcrcd spring, she imagines a Naiad presi-
ding in aquatic dignity, aud when looking out
from some mountain G,>tncsS She hears the light
tread Of the breads as they fit past her; and
when the frightening shadows cast themselves
far out on the bosom of the ocean rs she ira
verses the winding shore, She bcholds Neptune
and his waiting Nercds as they dance upon
the waves driven head-iong 10y the fury Of
Eolus, &c Then with graphic pen she intro
duccs to the reader morrie old England in
the days Of King Arthur, as the Iron Age-the
ace of chyalrv. With glowing pen she pic
lures a tourney between good King Arthur
and Sir Launcclot of the Lake-then closes by
comparing those ages with the present.
" The Daughter orhs Stars or, a Scene in
Virginia, now claims our attention. This
Young lady evinces promising descriptive pow
erS She describes Impressions made ON her
mind by views Of the beautiful Shenandoah un-
der different circumstances and in different
seasons. She refers % an exciting boat-rde
with her uncle, and relates sad loye-st0ry of
an Eugishman and an Indian Maiden
Now comes " Nuih. the Cleaner" She
thinks, Of the various attempts Of the Greek,
Latin, and Englis, poets TO write pastoral
poems, none ha, drawn lovclier picture than
the Hebrew poet IN lhe simple but beautiful
book Of Ruth Her description Of the oriental
harvest is very good. The characters Of Ruth
and Boaz are drawn with great precision, aud
from this beautiful and touching incident in
Scripture she dcduces with fine effect lesson
of humility. and encourages the weaker sex
"to follow in the footsteps Of the strong and
the brave gathering mp the remnant that Is
left She brings cut the great idea Of the IN
divduality Of reigon-that each one has his
own duties to perform and his appropriate mis-
sion to il a vein Of deep piety pcrvadcs the
whole composition MAY We not hope the
vouug authorizes is q christian. and daily cXem-
pifyi0g the mcck1lss Of which she so teuderly
speaks? And may we not hope IN her for
another Hannah Moore
Lift's Rainy Days. is another weIl-con-
ccived and beautifully written production. it
is enhanced in value by the statement on the
title page IF the age Of the writer-age IA
One would think while reading the essay She
were a decade older. She thinks some rainy
days come TO all. but on some the pittiless
| storms Of sorrow beat more violently than on
/ others "Siuce rainy days come to all 1t Is