Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-08-30

hearing so much recently in regard
to education, / am reminded of two
men, whose history will better de-
velop my subject than any abstract
discussion of the matter. The town
in which these persons lived was in
the West, not far from the Missis-
sippi; its population composed OF a
larger proportion of thoroughly re-
fined women and educated, polished
gentlemen than commonly falls to
the lot of far Western communities.
Several of the old, conservative
Southern and Eastern States had
contributed the best Representatives
of their best people to the popula-
ton Of this favored community.
Among the contributions from New
York, | think, was quiet modest,
almost bashful man, named M.
He married and settled in the town
as teacher. His retiring, studious,
home-loving ways made him slow
to form acquaintance, and his aoso-
lutte ignorance of the arts of self
assertion were, by the undiscerning,
set down as evidence of conscious
inferiority. But the intelligent
portion of his fellOw-citizens were
not long in discerning that he was
a man of rare culture, superadded
to mental gifts of no common kind,
and moral principles sound as hon
esty itself. His work was done
faithfully and conscientiously, with
total absence of humbuggery or
trickery to aid in bolstering up a
reputation by the sounding of trum-
pets in his own praise, or that other
possibly worse resort, the voice of
detraction in regard to his neighbor
engaged in the same work. When
busy idlers and tale-bearers brought
their very questionable burden of
gossip to retail to him, he simply
made the bearer feel his contempt
and kept silence.
The other individual bore the
same name, NJ. He was
preacher of the Gospel, a native-bOrn
Virginian, of the true blue blood
type, a graduate of some Eastern
institution $50 he said), and so flu
ent in speech and facile in manner
that he could almost make boys quit
marbles or watermelOns to listen to
his talk. He made many of his
fellow-citizens believe that he was
the true prophet of education; that
all who were there before him were
imposters. He Haunted out boast
ing advertisements, with strong
Greek and Latin sentences as reason
ing; claimed that the Old-fashiOned
plans and people must get out of
his way, which was the lightning
route, or be run over. He had
regular circuit, though not a Meth
Odist, around which he travelled,
waking up the people to a proper
life about education. The filscina-
ton of humbuggery is wonderful!
The gullibility of your average
cotton-planter is simply admirable!
This slick-tOngued quack actually
persuaded people by the scores that
his new plan would so tone up in
tellectual digestion that in Latin,
for instance, a boy would take in
and assimilate, in one session, the
whole Latin grammar, etymology,
syntax and prOsody, Caesar and
Virgil and compose in Latin, as
we'll as Csesar's best lieutenant ; and
when he added that in no time he
could convert a boy or girl into
speaker of French or German or
Italian, as well as if it was done in
Europe, and then patted the mans
boy on the head, the gaping listener
surrendered and let this fellows gas
puff his cotton bales clean away. In
the language of this mans catalogue
occurred a species of style, in Eng
lish dress, or words at least, but
bidding defiance to the whole army
of authorities. He had run away
with them. At the closing exercises
of his school he had one young lady
to deliver a speech in Latin; and
shades of Cicero, what Latin This
went finely before the mass of the
audience, who thought that this
free talker had redeemed his boast
but there were educated men enough
in reach of this boaster to detect
and denOunce his charlatanism. His
career was, if glorious, certainly
short. In few years his fall came,
and, after one or two efforts in other
portions of the State, he had to leave
it.
The other man, of genuine worth,
remains yet in his town, trusted
and hOnOred.
Every rapidly growing country,
unfortunately, has to suffer and
learn from experience in regard to
education; just, 1 suppose, for illus
tration, as the child learns to walk
by trying and falling down. Some
times the fall gives a smart set
back, but then ii is learning to
walk. In England. or in our older
States, where more conservative
educational views obtain, and have
crystallized into a more solid shape,
such a chattering pretender as is
described above, would be regarded
by cultivated people just about as
educated physicians look upon the
vendor of Flea powders or Key
stone Liniment, or as teachers of
high tone regard "Squeers."
VISITOR.
4 Texas View of the Fever.