News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-08-10
Examinations at San Sebastian.
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain,
JuIv II 1902

July ID, 1898.
Mr.. EditOr:-
My first school year in San Sebas-
tan is over and half the girls have
gone home. Like most of the. schools
in the United States, we have exam
nations at the end of the year, but |
unlike most of them, we have two
sets. The first, about two weeks
ago, at the Institute, for those who
are taking that course, and the
other this week for all.
Tuesday and Wednesday were busy |
but interesting days, and wish that |
some of my home friends could have
stepped in and seen the bright faces
and heard the correct replies and
ready explanations of almost all
branches of study. They would
probably have thought that it was
an Institute International in
truth There were English classes
for the English children, French for
the French, and Spanish for the
Spanish. Besides, the Spanish girls
study French and English, and the
French and English children read in
a Spanish class.
There were over forty classes ex-
amined, besides compositions and
music. Four or five Bible classes
showed that they had done good
work during the year. One small
boy drew on the board from memory
an outline of the tabernacle, it's
courts and furnishings which would
have done credit to many older peo-
pie. One class has been studying
the life of Christ by the inductive
method, and | am sure Prof. Blakes-
ly would feel proud of his far-away
pupils, whose teacher, Miss Barbour,
has so carefully translated his stud
les for them. The Latin agriculture
(which the girls in the Institute
course are obliged to study, history,
physics, mineralogy, and the other
sciences, might have sounded some
what unintelligible in a foreign Ian
guage, but there was no installing
the y plus over 2=41, nor the
solid angle in geometry; and amO,
amaS, anlat sounds natural in Span
ish-in fact, more so than in English.
The physics class explained the uses
of some of the apparatus which
Miss Webb worked so hard to obtain
last summer, and which has been
faithfully used during the year.
Some of the most interesting ex-
aminations were those of the little
Spanish children, and those who are
trying to master the intricacies of
the English language. How proud
Mo 70 al h04 oh
number of eighteen figures, and how
quickly the answers to the questions
in addition went up and down the
class. Poor little Louisita has been
trying all the year to learn that the
sun rises in the east and sets in the
west; and only two days before
Miss Webb had told her that she
should ask that question in eXamin-
alton, but when the time came the
places would mix themselves up as
always before. She is the same one
who declared that the sun could not
rise on a certain side of the house
because there were no balconies from
which to see it.
In one of the English TRANSACTIONS
we found that Goat met a tree"
and in another that GA dog black
and gray cat" accomplished some
thing together. A small boy spelled
black "byrk," and "high" was
missed by all the class, but on the
whole they did well. never realized
before coming here how hard the
language is for a foreigner.
The examinations closed Wednes-
day afternoon with the presentation
of premiums to the seven girls who
had the highest average in every
thing, including conduct, punctual-
ity, etc. This was done by the new
U. S. Minister to Spain, Mr.. Han
Miss Taylor. He made a very pleas
ant little address to the girls, ex-
pressing his surprise and pleasure at
seeing such a school in Spain carried
on by Americans, and saying that he
should mention it in his first de-
spatch. He is spending the summer
here (as are also the little king, the
queen, and many OF the court Off
cials), and we were very glad that he
was willing to come. Senior Echer-
erria, the music teacher, Don Joa-
quin, who teaches singing and vio-
lin, and Prof. Rios, of the Institute,
were also here, and the four made
the last day of school seem quite i'm
pOrtant.
This is one glimpse of the Protes-
tant school here, which has grown in
ten years from one to thirty-five
boarders and forty day pupils, and
whose influence is felt all over Spain.
We are trying now to establish it on
a permanent foundation by having
a building of our own, as it is not
pleasant to feel that fifty of US
might be turned out of the house
with no place to go. 1t is a wonder
full thing that a Protestant school
has been allowed to rent a building,
but now the time has come for a
change, and if our Christian friends
in America will help us, it will come
soon. ALICE HI. BUsHEE.