Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-09-16

/ cover the commons halls OF the colleges
| at oxford and Cambridge; the portraits
| and tablets and busts that adorn the me-
| mortal buildings of the older American
| colleges not only fifty commemorate the
| greatness and achievements OF dead
| alumni: they impart noble ambition ana
strength of purpose and faith in high
| character to living pupils. / venture the
hope that the day Is not remote when
| the walls Of this chapel or of some spe-
| cial memorial building, will remind every
young man who enters this school into
| what a fellowship he aspires TO enroll
| himself, and by what great and lofty ira
ditions he is bound to prove himself
worthy OF that fellowship.
Ever their phantoms arise before us,
Our loftier brothers, but one in blood.
But there is another lesson to be drawn
from this past and especially this earnest
history. An institution must adapt its
teaching, its courses. its spirit, 70 ,he
needs OF the youth who seek its nails,
and 10 the age and region in which they
are to act their parts. What were the
courses of instruction. the text-pooNs
used. the methods and discipline or the
old academies. we may never fully know.
We do know that books were rev, tnal
life was simple and hard; that liprarles
and apparatus were almost unattdlndD,e.
Yet they turned out men-men VINO
proved their power and fitness for leader
ship on the highest and sternest helds OF
human action; Sufficient men. 0incers
equal to the Office" There was clearly
something in the training; ,hsrs e,,ance mcs
doubtless more in the personal influence
of teachers that t0ughened the HDre,
lifted the character. and called out sne
stronger virtues of youth. Those VINO pc
lieve that the greatness OF 2 Scnooi -
TO be Judged by it's bigness, and that num-
bers OF pupils, not the quality or IN
struction or the elevation OF standaIu
or the strenuousness OF spirit, are 70
gauge its standing, can here, as eise-
where. see that school which gives I'M
nulse and force to one or to few really
strong men does a greater service 10 hu-
manity than one that swarms the couh-
try with .weaklings. Great schools that
number their pupils by thousands and
their teaching force by hundreds possess
many advantages unattainaole elsewhere;
But they often miss the greatest OF an
forces. the vivifying teaching tnat coiness
from the intimate relation OF teacher ana ana
pupiI. The power of a real teacher 10 III
men out of their contentment and tne
dominion of their weaker natures, ana 10
give rule to what IS npDiest IN men - How
much more surely and directly In close
personal contact? Tyndali attributed ms
career TO the works OF two men-Enerson
and CARLYLE II must ever grateluHy r.
member he said addressing the stu
dents of University College. LONDON,
That through three long. cold German
winters Carlyle placed me in my tup,
even when ice was on tne 5llistt, suriiatStt, ~ b,t
cheerfully. meeting each day studles
,ritb resolute will, determined whether
,'ictor or yanquished not to shrink from
difficulty.
GROWTH OF EDUCATION.
Undoubtedly the present generation has
seen a growth, expansion, improvement
i'm our entire educatonai system, anu ,ta, -
neciaIly i'm our higher institutions, lnaI
nave kent fully abreast OF the worlo
ad,,orce in other fields; with the eco
nomic changes which have made the past
thirty wears an epoch OF greater scneld
progress than many centuries VI pio'"'
I'm this educational progress the Soutn
has had to overcome dlfhcuItles slhu l-,.a'o. az
verse conditions that seemed 100 Btedtt ~
FOR any resources at her comniahu, Dus ~
nav truly be affirmed that her mstI,u-
lions of higher learning are better III noS,
han they were in 1860, and she mas caIe1
into existence and developed sySteiliS syl,io,, "
urinary and secondary tree euue'asior, ~,
fbrough the resource OF taxauoh Oh a. a.,
i,nnoverished people, that are Irequehtly
,,arl,ed nv a high degree or eXcelShce:
Much error still exists IN tne l'. IiiHu9 80 %
Intelligent people. especially III othSr, her se
tions. as TO the devei1pn,endI iador oh the old
education in the South under tns U,u
re@ime She was not a laSgafd OF PctS..P.
ibiv behind other sections OF the cout,sas sass. =.
In 1860 the number OF coheses, ~ piorco
sors i'm them, of students III dstSuu"nvS' ,.,ii,,S
nd a
mort. was about the same IN tne AM, Hmo
Sections of the country otwithslaneiins
the great inequality OF thelr apoISaass
white populations. True, many so SorSs WysSs.
IN The South. as many in the Mlddle Nest
and Northwest. We're unworthy the NAME
hnt In addition 10 q large number oi lc
snectable institutions for that udy, Wiro
were some like the University OF
ginia, the University Oh CToIIene entitled
gnu Ill, .,, In the dozen foremost schools
~ The country The result, as stateq pS
a fair-minded student, Dr. Mayo, y, o,toIIj
TON was the training OF the ihoSt ~, ie a.
s'on, md forcible aristocratc class ,oe, III
SSnristendom." and he testifies that III iooi
INC South was not an aDoue VI ~ a
innbecilitv and dismal lghoidnSs, 70 tbe
no,,ntrv where perhaps one t0utth Oh l,e
clia counitiS S,,,ere thoroughly trained for leader
~, PSSfUPi mat form of society. In the WVlh
os'P oducafing the ruling CLASS VI
oinia was foremost. Her nn,,n,r,
in its standards ana as other
ia 80 Tor the colleges OF other
southern States the influence OF 10 tba
rouehness was ditused tnIousnou'
whole section. In adultion - ~ M;Iitary
versiiv. the state maintained the Mili.al MI @
fnstiti,te the quality of whose WORK Nas
-, to q heroic test in the civil war,
While each of the leading uenoihlna,ioit,,, uenol,.i 4,
had n college of its own. MorsoNei, !"
.,s.,, ,l, t,etlv he claimed that virginia euu-
may lilaS and statesmen were far in ad-
,,ance of all others in suggesting OF III
aunlving what are now acSepteaa a.
among the most valuable ana peheliexin' III
of our educational Ideas. II 10 III no' o.,
nromoter of real university education IN
America. III is generally KNOWN thanhs
esuecially to Mr.. Herbert ADAMS, lhdl
the College Of William and Mary Wds'
almost from its orlginal piah,lasii pd,aa.5iion
unioue seminary OF political educaliOh,
tbus anticipating by nearly 2O years one
Of the hest educational movements OF the
day. Ii is not so generally known tndt
10 Colonel William Boiling, OF Nirslhla,
belongs the cremt OF establishing ~. IN
Chesterfeld county the first school for
ar mutes in America To its liberal
nrovisi1n Tor higher education more thah
TO any other cause the South 9"Su tne
influence exercised oy lls
Ieaders i'm the councils of the nation. |
..cbose leaders" says Mr.. Blaine, CON |
stituted a remarkable body OF men.
Having before them the example OF Jet- |
ferson. of Madison, OF George Mason IN |
Virginia; OF Nathaniel Macon IN % %N9ren
Carolina: of the Pinkneys and Rutledges |
in South Carolina, they gave deep study |
to the science OF government. AS rule, |
fbey were literally educated, many OF |
them graduates OF northern colleges,
still larger number taking their degrees
Hin in North Carolina, or at Mr.. Jeffer-
eon,s necuIiar but admirable institution |
I'm Virginia. They took pride in their |
libraries. pursued the law so far as it |
Increased their equipment for public
caraer and devoted themselves TO po-
Iitical affairs with an absorbing ambi-
ton" And ne pays them the tribute of |
saving that 'throughout the long period |
of their domination they guarded the
Treasury against every attempt. at ex-
What more needed or more
PATRIOTIC service to-day, when no one
seems 10 guard the Treasury. and ex
ventures go on increasing without re-
gard to the public needs. TO the income
of the Government, or thc distress of the
~ w 80 ross.hla. L. IL