Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-04-22


DEAR HERALD The zest with
which college boy welcomes even
bis fortnight vacations is somewha II
modified when bis home is thousand
miles away; but, happily for him,
distance puts 40 embargo upon letter
writing, and so this becomes one OF
his chief vacation emjoyments. You
are my most faithful correspondent
furnishing each week not merely ac-
counts Of all the home transactions,
but recollections of pleasant days
spent among the clicking types and
the thunderous music of a Potter
printing press.
might give you some account Of
the many political speeches we have
just been having here, and the good
opportunities we have had to see and
hear prominent politicians of both
parties, who have been doing their
utmost, since the adjournment of
Congress to influence the elections in
this doubtful State. But to write of
this would be to enter upon difficult
subject; and besides, all have read
about it in the papers. So l will try
to tell you something of Yale College
and New Haven.
Yale has a flavor of antiquity
about it which is very pleasing to
the sons of country which seems SO
lacking in anything venerable. If
one walks in the college grounds
''neath the elms of dear old Yale"
whose years are measured by centu-
ries, and scans the weather-beaten
builfings-some of which, although
still in daily use, were erected many
years before our Republic came into
existence-he feels that Alma Mater
is very old aud very wise and able 10
teach her sons far more than they
can ever learn. This accumulat
ed wisdom of an old college has a
great influence upon the students, in
giving them a respect for learning,
in showing them their own ignorance,
and in teaching them to distinguish
between an education really substan-
tial and thorough, and one which is
only fashy and superficial. 1t is
certainly valuable to know what an
education shoul1 be, although one
fall far short of the ideal. But Yale
does not rest upon the laurcl5 of the
past and forget the need' Of the
present. Her policy was never more
aggressive than it is to-day. The
old and the new Yale is exemplified
by the bu l1ings. Stretching through
the centre of the grounds is row of
buildings which have done service
for many years. and are the plainest
parallelograms of brick which can
well be imagined. But for some
years they have been building aronnd
the boundsr ies of the campus mas
sive structures of stone, of great
durability and artistic beauty. which
will in time, as DIR. John Hall res
marked, form one of the finest uni
versity quadrangles in the world.
Prominent among these is the great
library building, with its alcoves
furnished with upwards of one hum
dred thousand volumes, open for the
use of every student. The campus.
on which these buildings stand be-
longs to the Academical department,
while the professional schools have
their buildings on adjoining streets
without. The great Peabody Mu-
scum which is now being built by the
funds left to Yale by the late Mr..
Peabody, is to cover a whole block
just west of the campus.
The prosperity of Yale is due large
ly to the caution manifested at the
start. The Corporation did not en-
deavor to make a university at once,
but started college, which ia now
called the Academical department in
distinction from the the other depart
ments, and gradually grouped around
this the professional schools. Later
a parallel course was started of more
purely scientific studies. Now these
two undergraduate departments, to-
gether with the two graduate depart
ments attached to them for advanced
students, and the four professional
schools OF Fine Arts, Law. Medicine,
and Theology, embracing a body of
over one thousand students and nine
ty instructors, may fairly claim the
title of a University. | once heard
a Lancaster editor ridicuIe as imprac-
ticable the Yale school of journalism.
No such school exists, nor has it
ever existed. Probably the report
obtained currency from the circum-
stance that several graduate students
at one time intended to enter the
journalistic prot, ssion, and adopted
such lines of study as were likely to
be most useful to them in editorial
work. The cosmopolitan character
of the university is marked Pc
culiarity. Students this year are
drawn to Yale from thirty-two states
and territories and from ten foreign
countries. Wisconsin sends a delegs-
ton of eighteen, who are distributed
among five departments. In the
Junior Exhibition held last week,
when only ten were selected to re-
present the numerous class. two were
from the West; one from McGregor,
Iowa, the other from Beloit, Wiscon-
sin.
One learns great many things at
Yale. For instance, what really
hard study is. The Faculty are de.
termined to graduate the best
scholars possible in this country, and
crowd the students to their full ca
paoity. Each year they raise the
standard of scholarship, and send
away disappointed large number of
annlieants for admission TINS KEEN