The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-04-05
evening sState aoaxnaI.
Improvements--U of vir.
ginl0.
IFrom Our SpecIaI correspondence
CHARLOTTESVILLE. April 2.

L VI
| tFrom Our Special Correspondent
| CHARLoTTEsvILLE, April 2.
To-day made visit to the University
of Virginia, and under the guidance of Mr.
Massey was shown through the varioul
departments, and the objects Of interest
1t is an institution of the highest order
and of great usefulness to the south, de
serving their liberal patronage, and larg'
pecuniary assistance. Its friends arr
making efforts, in various ways, to rais'
a large endowment fund, of half mil
lion dollars, which it needs and deserves
Its large and fine grounds occupy loca
ton eminent equally for beauty and health
fulness. Its buildings and other equip
ments are ample and comfortable, and
the faculty are of high order of capsci.
| ty. Its library contains about 100, 00(
volumes, with papers and magazines
| The attentive and venerable librarian, Mr..
VIM. Wertenbaker, was appointed to that
position by Thomas Jefferson, in january
1926, and has occupied the place continu.
ally ever since and with retentive mem
ory and custom he can describe and point
out the library as Familiarity as common
school-teacher can his class books, and
is ever ready to do it.
Among the highly interesting objects to
be seen in the institution, is very costly and
admirably executed copy, of large size, (occu-
plying nearly one side Of the lecture room,
Of Raphael's splendid work, the ''School Of
Athens" score or more Of characters, in
life-size - among them Archimedes, Alex
ander the Great, Alcibiades, Plato, Socrates,
Pithagorus, Aristotle, Diogenes, Aspasia,
and many others-assembled in the school
of study and science. As we gazed at the
mastery assemblage, we could not avoid
grave and profound reflections. There was
old Diogenes, sitting lazily on the stone
steps, without his tub, which some rascally
Yankee had stolen, as they did Scion Shin
gle's "barrel of apple sass,0 and he was
reading the advertisements of THE JOUR-
NAL, with the hope of finding it--and we
guess he will. Archimedes sat with
pair of tongs scribing lines and
circles, on what appeared to be a slate,
recently discovered down in Smythe coun-
ty; he was laboring to discover lever and
fulcrum by which to upset the Pacific
"Mobilier.o Near by was the noble old
Plato, teaching the youth to scurb the
steed" which ran away with certain Bull
Run heroes and to ''glide The wheel" of
fortune that Tweed & Gould baye been
putting wings, not "a head onto.p Then
there was Alexander, who had conquered
all the world Of kid gloves and French
silks, stood weeping because there was no
place in the constitution for him to conquer
the treasury. And there was Socrates.
gently disconnected, because the A string of
his fiddle was broken, SO he couldn't
charm his Comanche spouses into silence.
Pythagoras was not far Off, calculating
his chances of inhabiting the body of Bar
NUNS giraffe, when he got letter on
sudden, from old Ethan Allen,
informing him that his proper sphere was
the chest of his gallant black stallion, which
leaped the Horse-neck rocks. In Mich
above was the gentle Alcibiades, in his
famous Adonis altitude, in which he was
trying to convince Aunt 0phelia, of ancient
Boston, and with considerable prospect of
success, that he was the handsomest man
of all Athens; when Perley Poor, came
trundlipg BY, with his barrel Of apples, and
Alei's game was all up, and he was next
seen walking of with hoax Ames, who
was slyer than handsome. But at this
moment We saw the sun was
sinking, and darker shades were
settling on Athens, when suddenly 1t was
discovered that the masculines were Just as
selfish and tyrannical in those days as now,
towards our weaker and sweeter sisters !;
and almost wholly excluded them from
college privileges, admitting only one femi-
nine in all that great and wise academy !;
but there was one there, the entering
wedge of the better day little Aspasia,
was looming up in the background, and
like Tenny Clafin, was working her way
up to notice and command. But. Just
then, the Athenian school was ready to
close, and we had to close our photos Of
THE academitians. But it is one Of the
most splendid paintings, and we have seen
greatest works, and has been we'll copied,
and is worth q journey to see it; and stu
dents can't well find richer study than the
lives, career and principles of the person
ages presented on that large canvass. There
are other fine and interesting works Of
art-EcnlptuYe and painting--in the Uni
versity. The halls, for the use of the liter
ary societies, are handsome and commo-
dious; aud one thing Is efsdtable, which
is, that these societies are named after the
great men ofour own country, rather than of
ancients-the two societies are the "Wash-
ingtont" and the 'sJefersonian." Since it
is common and popular to have colleges and
universities, those wishing to patronize
them can't do better than to give cordial
encouragement to this one. But | have
different views from these, and different
from those of the editor of this paper.
frankly confess, that do not believe in
sending boys to college; 10 this country,
where the means and avenues Of higher
education are open, SO cheapiy and easily,
to all, after parents have given their boys .
fair English education, they have done their
duty after that, every young man soiu get,
spd find some way to get, all the education
be has ambition to desire or the ability to
use--ha will get all that he needs or has
talents to use it is useless to force it upon
him in country like ours, where it is easily
open to his own enterprise. That is my
own honest sentiment. Frankly stated and
avowed.
| Among the contemplated improvements
and attractions of Charlottesville, is q new
and paved -bouleVards~- several
miles, around the town, reaching to ''Mon,
ticello," and other noted localities, ia the
vicinity when done it will be Q fine thing,
| The grape-growing and wipe-making SO.
ciety, are wide-awake in seeking the re-
quisite capital and getting their enterprise
into operation; and we think capitalists
would do we'll to give the matter actiy.
| .ttantion The Earmars3 cluh 10 also ,ros