The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-07-01
EARLY IDEALS
ROCKEFELLER
AND HANNA
ARE FOUND IN ESSAYS THEY
WROTE WHEN GRAMMaR {
SCHOOL PUPILS.
scHooLMAsTER STILL LIVES
AND PRESERVED THE@coM-
POSITIONS.
TIL F:A.iRMoN

lE-HA ~ 80
Magazine" published in Boston
contains an interesting article, enti
tied EARLY Ideals Of Great Men," il
which are given some of the boyish
compositions of these since famous
men, and also the girlish compost
tons of little Miss CeIestia Spelman,
who survives to-day as the matronly
Mrs. John d.. Rockefeller. The essays
of Rockefeller and Hanna especially
breathe a noble patriotism, high con.
ceptions of civic and personal virtue,
earnestness of purpose and a ain
and even stole philosophy. They are
printed from the faded yellow pages
of a very old book belonging to Mr.
Andrew Freese, of Cleveland, Ohio,
who is nearly a century old and has
spent nearly tflree-quarters of that
century teaching.
1t was the first two weeks Of July,
1854 that Mr.. Freese assigned several
of his boys to write four compositions
as a preliminary test fors promotion
to the high school,. They were then
in the grammar school, IL the
school quarters were in the basement
VI II cId cAiFSl SdilSL y. CIulCl OIL
Cleveland. long since destroyed. Mr..
Freese allowed his boys to choose
their subjects.
Young Rockefeller's essays were
on ~"Education,' THE Character (sic)
Of ST. Patrick THE Recollections of
the Past" n Freedom Of these
the most imaginative and idyllic is
1.-The Recollections of the Past" A
vein of somber, but poeticaI, refec-
ton runs through the entire essay.
Here are the most characteristic
sentences:
With what fond recollection do we
look back to the past, blended as it
is with joys and sorrows. With these
recollections We are carried back to
remembrance of which is stamped
upon our minds with letters hat time
cannot %efface, and which Irvine
around our hearts and bind us with
tenfold love to the homes we have
left perhaps forever.
There are also near and dear
friends with whom we associated in
days gone by. We see them with our
minds y as they once were. but,
alas, how changed now, Some of
them still remain where we associ-
ated with them in childhood's days..
others have gon forth into the
world to seek their fortunes, and
some have gone to that home from
which no raveler returns. Some Of
us look back TO the deathbed of a
kind mother, when we were called
to take the last look at that lear par
ent after all the efforts of physicians
We're bafiled and no hopes of life and
returning health were left.
We e her as she looked upon her
children and with fearful eyes n
clasped hands raised a prayer to God
for their protection, and sinking back
her pillow with a calm compos-
ure. closed e eyes in that sleep
that knows no waking, the spirit,
having winged it's way from that ten
of clay to the spirit land and
left the body a cold and m~otionless
corpse Then came the funeral pro-
cession. and with a solemn march
body was taken to the plice of
where it softly lies and
sweetly sleeps low in the ground"
AS a rule, the spelling is correct.
But there are occasional lapses. The
on st. Patrick is exceptionally
remiss. The very title reads "carac-
instead of character" and we
lind "Druads" for "Druids" and
'creditable' rather amusingly sub
stituted for "%credible." viz:
"Great stories are told of the won
lerful things he did. but a great
are hardly creditable."
The essay on ST. Patrick concludes
this well-deserved tribute to
lis virtues: when we take a review
of his life we a clearly see that he
a man of no ordinary Abilities,
ind that there are few men whose
James are recorded on the pages of
history that have risen from so low
| state to such heights of fame and
Mark Hanna gave evidence of the
nan he was to be, both in his choice
in his treatment Of his subjects.
Freese is fond of calling atten-
to the boy Hanna'S dreams of