Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1894-04-18
ALetter to a Boy.

In the "Letters of James Russell Low
ell" just published by the. Harpers' Is
one to his nephew, Charles r. Lowell,
who was born in 1884, and died October
20, 1864, of wounds received the previous
day at the battle of Cedar Creek. OF
him General Sheridan said, "He was the
perfection of man and of a soldier. =
The letter is dated June II, 1S49, so that
the nephew was then lad of fifteen. 1t
is worth reading and remembering. The
uncle wrote:
"Let me assume the privilege of my
uncleship to give you a little advice
Let me counsel you 10 make use of all
your visits to the country as opportunl-
ties for an education which is of great i'm
portance, which town-bred boys are COM
monty lacking in, and which can never
be so cheaply acquired as in boyhood.-
Remember that a man is valuable IN our
days for what he kpo,cs, and that his
company will always be desired by others
in exact proportion to the amount of In
telligence and instruction he brings with
him. | assure you that one of the earIi-
est pieces of definite knowledge we ac-
ouire after we have become men is this
that our company will be desired no
longer than we honestly pay our proper
share in the general reckoning of mutual
entertainment. A man who knows more
than another knows incalculably more, be
sure of that and a person with eyes in
his head cannot even look over a pigsty
without learning something which will
be useful to him some time or other
Not that we should educate ourselves for
the mere selfish sake of that advantage
of superiority which it will give us; but
knowledge is power in this noblest sense
that it enables us to benefit others, and to
pay our way hOnorably in life by being
of use.
"Now, when you are at school in Bos-
ton you are furnishing your brain with
what can be obtained from books. You
are training and enriching your intellect.
While you are in the country you should
remember that you are in the great
school of the senses. Train your eyes
and ears. Learn to know all the trees
by their barks and leaves, and by their
general shape and manner of growth
Sometimes you can be able to say posi-
lively what tree is by simply examin-
ing the lichens on the bark, for you will
find that particular varieties of lichens
love particular trees. Learn also to
know all the birds at sight, by their notes,
by their manner of flying; all the ami
mails by their general appearance and
gait or the localities they frequent.
"You would be ashamed not to know
the name and use of every piece of furni'
ture in the house, and we ought TO be as
familiar with every object in the world,
which is only larger kind of house.
You recollect the pretty story of Plzarrc
and the Peruvian Inca how Inca asked
one of the Spaniards to write the word
Dio God upon his thumb-nail, and
then, showing it to the rest, found only
Pizarro unable TO read it. Well, yOu
will find as you grow older that this same
name of God is written all over the worlC
in little phenomena which occur under
our eyes every moment, and l confes
that l feel very much inclined to hang
my head with Pizarro when canno
translate the hieroglyphics into my owl
vernacular."