Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-06-23
VERMONT ACADEMY
commencement aud Anniversary
Week. S'li.
A Rarb Rich and Varied Program.
Net.. sfs Sssr 90 ssss...fui w.rh spa
STEADY prarrsss.

steady rraErsss.
o. has b.eu a sight io do che eyes good .
a. one has soul 1u any of the bright .
summer mornings oi this week. on the
bruaI plateau which forms ihr campus of
vermont Academy. and taken in The scene .
fher. presented. and realized what DO al
means lt eirs the blood in very pleas
urahle way u one Is not too oil Go have
forgotten h.s own schuu. days-to see 80
or uO Young fn'k going and coming. with
that .udshnahle sxprctaut hustle which
always marks the early days Of commence
meut week Below is one of the most
charming of vermont valleys. with roofs
AMI church spires showing among the
trees. anil The broad fields around suggest
ing New England peace and plenty. BE
yond Ar the hiis-ihe very Detachable
Mountains. which gladdcu~l Christians
eya-. one feels sue. as DO secs them
BE- limlv outlined Boo the summer haze.
Right around are tangible things which
would make a resident of twenty years
ago doubt his senses were DE- just back
from some distant land on his first
homcvam visit. for here are dormi-
tories. a chapel and recitation hall. prin-
cipars house, a dining hail. armory. en-
CINE house, a library building. and a hos
pital-the full equipment, Boz short, OF a
hrsi-class modern school And all this
has grown up iu les. than twenty years.
The Az, ivrrssry Events.
The exercise, Of 90, sixteenth ami
versary and commencement week Of Yer
mont Academy began with the oral exam
nations OF last Friday and saturday. sun
DAY evening Rev. Gibbs Baislin of Rut-
land preached the baccalaureate sermon
before The graduating class. His theme
was beauty and strength, their Seryitude
and emancipation, and the suggesting
thought was found I'm lsaiah's words:
"For he shall grow up before him as ten
der plant, and As a root ont OF dry ground;
lie hath no form nor comeliness, and when
we see him there is no beauty that we
should desire him" To emancipate the
life of our time from the bondage, into
which we see the two unfailing character
istics:o beauty and strength too often TO
have fallen, is the work of graduates. So
cial instincts satisfied with artificial bril-
liaucy, rather than sincerity; the noble
mission of education hedged in by rivalries
and prejudices; the earnestness of Chris
tianity often more than matched by her
indifference; public opinion itself not free
from favOrte vices-these are the cOndi-
tions to be met. To reinstate true beauty
and real strength in all that the mind and
heart touch; 10 create in human lives
ideals, to awaken aspirations, to purify
tastes, to popularize virtue and integrity,
and to stir enthusiasm on the right side of
morality, is the inalienable duty of Yer
mont Academy graduates; to reGnthrone
so beauty and strength.
The chapel service of Monday morning
fol nv on, odd bN-D
of Vassar college, in which he traced the
influence of English ideas upon the litera-
ture and language, and the religious, polit-
ical and social life of France for the last
one hundred years. 1t was a timely adj
dress, alive with the thought of today, and
charmed all who heard it. In the afternoon
came the Fuller prize contest in declama.
ton. There were twelve contestants fol
the prizes, which consisted of two first
prizes of $40 and two second prizes of So.
For the first prizes the successful contest
ants were Marthad. Spencer Of Deep Riv.
er, Conn, and William II. Irwin of Cav.
endish; for the second prizes, Lillian L.
Knowlton of Gaysville and Arthur G.. Par.
ker of Pownal.
There was probably no single event OF
the week which the students anticipated
with more of pride and pleasure than the
military drill and dress parade of Monday
afternoon, when the school battalion was
reviewed by General j. j. Estey, with
Lieut. Col. Bond and Lieut.-Col. Han.
non as members of his staff, and detach-
ment of the Estey Guard, under Capt
Gray Estey, their efficient young com.
mander, as interested and appreciativc
spectators. The work of the battalion was
warmly approved by all the military men
present.
The central and essential thought of Rev.
DIR. Henry NJ. Kings address in the even
ing, on "Chrstianity and education" was
that education is the one possession of man
that becomes an inseparable part of him.
self. Christianity is a necessary part OF
public education; the Bible is to be stud,
led, not alone as the repository of religious
truth, but for its history and literature.
Tuesday morning President Buckham OF
Vermont University gave the address al
the public meeting Of the alumni associa-
ton. His subject was the importance OF
education for business life. The idea, he
said, that a business man needs 'only a
common education is thing of the past
What if a physician should say that he
only needs "a common medical education?'
The business man needs the best attain
able education; first, that he may be a
man in his business; second, that he may
be so equipped as to attain the highest
business success; the men of the largest
training have the largest resources; third,
for the mans own satisfaction and enjoy
ment. The best resource in leisure or in
declining years, is an educated mind. Sue
cessful business men are showing their APP
probation of the truth and importance o
these facts by their beneicent gifts to ed
ucational institutions. In the last - year
such gifts have reached at least S25 200,
600. Wealthy men find this the best in
vestment for their money No other re
pository is so safe.
At the competitive prize military drill a
II o'clock, Eugene B. Pierce of Putney wOr
the medal offered by Lieut.. Gatchell. Their
were % contestants. The young man is
member of the graduating class.
The New Library Building and PrOctO
Home,
In the respect that it marked and EN-
phasized the development of Vernon
Academy for the past year, Tuesday wa
the most important day of the week, tn
formal dedication of the new library build
ing and the new "Proctor home or hos
pital, taking place in the afternoon. TIL
original plan was for the exercises to b
held on the lawn in front of the librar
building, but the heat made it eXpedient t.