The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-11-30
A PROMISCUOUS EPISTLE.

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A PROMISCUOUS EPISTLE.
PRAIRIE HOME,
Nov. 18th, 1872.
DEAR WHIG:-It was near the close
of a glorious Winter day, and the suns
last rays cleaned over the snow clad prair-
les just as beautiful in their pure white
! Winter dress as wheIn-we first beheld them
clothed in the waving mantle of Summer.
Within we sit by II glowing fire of wood
and read The Wing, whose weekly visits are
welcome rs the "grasp of brothers hand
to stranger in a foreign land" We sit by
the wood fire, who would sit by d black,
grim sulky coal stove, in whose heat there
is neither comfort nor genialty, when the
cheerful roar of the wood fire is heard and
its generous blaze seen through the warps
and seams of the old fashioned cook stove .
What CHEEKY tone the fire has as it goes
off IN great red streams, whose spiral ends
terminate half way up the pipe. " Sit
right down, my friend, it seems to say, yes
sit down right before the broken fire doors
and snap your fingers at that surly old dog
Jack Frost, who is prowling around the
house like mad, and trying to force an en-
trance at every keyhole and Granny; ha! ha!
I'll take care of him, just sit down and
enjoy the beautiful picture to be seen in
the beautiful glowing embers, which have
done their duty in the blaze line, and now
lie cleaning and glowing in the hearth, and
some slowly turning gray and dying slow
ly. like happy, healthful, gentle old age
My cousin Anthracite Coal, who has lately
come out of prison, which is no disgrace
to him however, as he was imprisoned in
his infancy bya tyrant, and disputes the
possession of the throne of the Kingdom of
Fire with me, may marshal his subjects to
fight against our mutual enemy with as
much effect as | do mine, but when the
heat of the battle is over, and they are
wasted and worn, they turn black and sui.
len and ugly, and die like old roues, instead
oflike Christian philosophers
"Good, my FRIEND" l reply, g. am glad
we have had this little chit-chat. With
all due respect to your Cousin Anthracite,
who all his life, you must admit, has labor
ed under great disadvantages, l do not
believe any grand inspiration ever came to
poet or painter while toasting his toes
besides the coal fire, and if your rival
should finally drive you from your throne,
l believe our literature would seriously
degenerate in consequence thereof. And
l like your reference to a beautiful old age,
the foundation for which l think we will
all admit is a well spent life, and whose
main support is the hope of a future life"
els there a future life ?'' GO Certainly,
my friend, there is, and many theologians
give you very interesting part to perform
in it, along with a yellow complexiened
old chap named birthstone. For my part,
l cannot but hope that if you cannot find
anything better to do, than the part which
they assign you, there you are left out alto
gether. But | do hope we shall ever re-
member your kindly services for us here
l cannot conceive of Heaven without men,
Dry, and knowledge Of what is going on
upon this old Earth, which ever so much
as we may berate it, we know in our secret
heart is very dear and good to us. never
hear sewing machine clatter but l think
of the tolls and privatons of the inventor
and wonder if he knows the incalculable
benefits that he thus bestowed upon future
generations. l never read play of Shaks-
peare's but earnestly hope that he knows
how his name and memory is revered, how
his works are read, and his statue is unveil
ed, here this side the sea by the greatest
nation upon this grand globe"
At this the fire looked game and answer
ed soberly: 81 am old, my friend as the
ages, and many the secrets that have been
confided to me, which l keep sacredly in
my bosom, converse not thus with all;
but l know by the way that you come and
sit before my cheerful blaze that you will
understand and appreciate, but must not
neglect my duties" and then it cracked
and blazed off at a great rate and l turn
to my paper.
"Why what rafting OF the dry bones,"
among the teaching fraternity of Cecil;
and we think it is high time for said rat
Ting to take place. In five different States
of the Union we have humbly endeavored
to teach the young, &c, with varied sue
cess and we find the system of public ed
ucation, varies but little in the different
States and the requirements Of teachers is
about the same. Strange to relate in not
one of these five different States Of the
Union in which have taught, is any atten-
ton paid to English Literature and three
out of every four grown pupils in our Pub
lie School, if you were to ask them who
wrote the "Battle of Waterloo won Id be
as apt to answer Horace Greeley as any
thing else, and could mt tell you to save
their lives whether Emerson, was an
Englishmen or an Irishman. Now if
wished to test scholars intelligence, at
this particular day and time would ask
him or her the meaning of "The Credit
Moblier" and if it were satisfactorily ex-
planned, 1 think l would be satisfied of one
thing, and that would be that the question
ed knew more than the questioner.
"But,' mutters old Gradgrind, 81 don't
want my young 'uns larnt no SIGH highfa-
lutin stuff as English Litertoor." 81 got
along without it; let em larn their 'rith-
metic."
But my dear friend, your children will
enter more educated society than you
have mingled with, while you have toied
and worked for them-for which toll and
privation all honor is due to you-and your
son or your daughter cannot hold an intel
lgent conversation with thorough and
accomplished scholar, if he or she is ignor-
ant of this most important part of an ele-
giant education. And who wants to be
laughed at, l want to know?
was amused lately in reading an ar
ticle written by the Hon. Newton Bateman,
State Superintendent of Illinois, in which
he deplored the decadence of the times