The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-06-05
The Commencements.

sTAUNToN'S GAY sEASON-THE CLOSING
EXERCISES OF HoovER's MALE ACADEMY
AND THE AUGUSTA FEMALE SEMINARY.
With the advent Of the first OF the sum
mer months, Staunton puts on her receptio1
manners to welcome the hundreds OF guess
which with the early days OF each June
flock to our city to attend the closing Of the
schools. The friends Of the girl students
from almost every portion OF the Uniof
gather here, to breath TIE pure mountain
air, to witness the comforting of college hon
ors, and to greet their favortes as forth IRON
the tbraldrom of school they step, eager u
embrace the pleasures and home joys which
the long looked-for vacation holds in store
for them. Hotels, boarding houses and prI-
vate residences ale taxed to accommodate
the incoming thrcng of fathers, mothers
sisters, brothers, guardians, friends an(
lovers, and the streets are alive with strange
faces. This season forms no exception te
the rule. With the first of the commence
ments, which will continue for over two
weeks yet, may be noticed the new life
with which the town is Infused. At every
crossing smiling faces greet you; in every
store the groups of school girls, just reach
ing to the fruits Of their new freedom, are
seen, whilst the gay gallants sweep through
the streets in the handsome .urnouts of OIL
splendid liyeries. Every one seems Joyous
happy and filled with pleasant hopes and
expectations.
OF programme. and the boys in blue and
gray came in for the first instalment of adj
miration and praise. On Thursday night
last
HoovER's MILITARY ACADEMY,
an institution which, within the past two
years, has gained an enviable reputation.
held its commencement exercises in the
Town Hall. The ushers were Messrs. e. NJ
Taylor, H. L. Houshour, W. NJ. Blackley and
R. E. Kinney. The building was packed
Stage, gallery and auditorium was mass Of
well-dressed humanity. The school girls
were out in full phalanx, and from the
country came many to swell the crowd
Numbers were turned away for want Of
room, and those who did gain admttance
were wedged like sardInes in box. The
exercises were opened with music by the
Stonewall Band and prayer by Rev. Mr..
Hulihen. For the most part these exercises
consisted of declamations, and taken as a
whole it was by far the best defamation we
have ever heard. With scarcely an excep-
tion the boys far exceeded the expectations
of the audience. AS a general thing school
speakings is not the most delightful of enter.
tainments. and much of its short-coming is
overlooked in the interest we feel in those
who participate. Throwing this interest aside.
however, land judging alone by merit, the reci-
tations of the young gentlemen on Thursday
night were alike creditable to themselves
and their worthy principal. They evil
denced thorough appreciation Of the sub
jects considered, and by enunciation, empha.
sis and gesture expressed the force of every
syllable they uttered. A medal was award
ed to the best declaimer, and in the contest
for that honor the following young men par.
.cipated, several others having been with
drawn:
William B. Hardy. ................."....W WEB ster
W. P. GilkeSon. ...... Eulogy on South Carolina
A. s. Baldwin. ..Spartacus to the Gladiators
Ashby Houshour.. .. .Spartacus to the ENJOYS OF
Rome
h. M. Bell, Jr..... .Emmetts DEFENCE
H. C. Barnhart ........... .....Reply to Haynes
naf;I; nofor,
j. E. Bear. Anti Annexation.
Roger Atkinson -. Patrick Henry to the Virginia
Convention.
The Committee of Award was composed
of Colonel ]. 81. Skinner, General r. D.
Lilley, Hon. Marshall Hanger and Messrs.
G. M. Harrison and Fl. st. G. Tucker, and
after brief retirement they returned, and
to Roger Atkinson the medal was given.
Colonel Skinner made the presentation
speech in his happiest vein, mplimenting
the young orator on his effort, and stating
that without consultation the committee had
Atkinson's honor was we'll deserved, for we
do not believe there was man in the audi
ence. young or old, who could have so i'm
pressively detained the selection. Each Of
the young speakers was presented with
beautiful bouquets and his effort warmly
applauded.
After the defamation and music by the
Stonewall Band, certificates to those who had
completed the senior course were awarded,
as follows: II. NJ. Bell, Jr., J. E. Bear,
C. F. Nelson, w. B. Hardy, Roger
Atkinson and Fl. G. Barnhart. All OF these
young gentlemen, with the exception OF the
last named, completed the following stud
les: Latin-Casar, Cicero's Orations.
Cicero de Sanectute and Cicero de Amicitia,
Salust's Catiline, Sallust's Jugurtaine War,
Horace and Gildersleeve's Exercises. Greek
-Goodwin's Grammar, Leighton's Exer-
cises, Arnold's Prose Composition, Anabasis
and Lysias' Orations. Mathematics-Higher
Arithmetic, Higher Algebra, Rays Plane
and Solid Geometry, Rays Analytical and
Spherical Geometry, Analytical Geom etry
and Surveying. Young Barnhart completed
the mathematical course only.
The Washington and Lee prize scholar
ship, awarded to the best student, was won
by II. M. Bell, Jr.
Gold badges for highest generalaverage Of
scholarship were awarded to II. NJ. Bell, Jr.,
J. E. Bear, J. w. Morrison, W. P. Gilkeson,
H. L. Gilkeson and A. S. Baldwin. With
tie exception of II. NJ. Bell and j. e.
Bear, these ladges are to be returned
next year, to be again contested for.
Their badges were presented as tokens
of thier distinguished standing in the
school, and the esteem in which they
were held by the principal, assistants and
students. Distinctions were awarded R. E.
Kinney, G. F. Nelson, w. B. Hardy, W.
Fitzgerald, F. NJ. McCue, W. E. Baker, Jr.,
Walter Hartman, George Bryan, Roger At
kinson, r. F. Baldwin, II. G. Barhhart and
E. NJ. Taylor.
In comforting the medal for spelling, Mr..
Hoover stated that it had been fairly won by
four of the boys, and the honor was there
fore divided between the following: T. w.
Burke, NJ. Mcclure, II. B. Hanger and R. E
Kinney. Master Burke, being the youngest oil
tJ,a fo,,r paruoitfod to woar tho rnpla1