Reading School.
The Times, 1824-10-18T00:00:00

Those who have pai(d attention to the moral as well as intellectual results of education at public schools of classi- cal learning, havc frequently condemned the custom of theatr ical exhibitions which take place periodically at most of tlhem. 'Their objections, tlhough variously stated, tnay be resolved initti <ne-that this public display is apt to en- gender a taste for dramatic amusemenits, inconsistent with those selious and( more dignified objects to wlhiclh the boys at such institutions are almost always destined. Plausible as the objection seems, we dtoubt its soundness. If we look back to the history of actors, there are very few inideed who have been brought up at public sc'hools: in times past, Booth, the representator of Addison's Cato, is almost the only instance; and at present, Young is, we believe, the only performer who received that kind of education; and( he was at Eton, whlere the do not act plays. And of the constant and lhabitual t:requenters of playhouses, our own experience can enable us to state, that we never knew one to be a man of education. At all events, the evil complained of, if nlot tiotally imaginary, is at least so rare, that no valid argunment can be derived from it to counter- balance the great advantage whlich it appears to UR to pos- sess. It is said by the opponents of the English system of classical education, that it teaches wvor(ds rathler than things -that it clogs the memory without exercising the jldg- Tnent; ar.i that the boy who issues from one of our Uni- versities loadid with tihe honours of the place, is generally a mere parrot filled with pretty conceits and phrases, learned by rote, and not a thinking being, witli opinions fornmed by his ownobservationi and( reflection. If this is sometimes the case, and we do not dleny the fact, we think that no better plan could be devised to secure the attainment of a habit of thought in boys, than the occasional exercise of their faculties in the performiance of a play. A bov may get a hunidred liies b, heart, anrd repeat themr;., withou't em- ploying a moment's reflection upon the force or beauty of the words he utters: but he can scarcely art the saine nutmber of lines, withiout at leas;t beginning to ponder on their sense; andl we should lioltl it to bealmosc impsssible for himto act them itce/, without mclitating a great deal upon their full bearitig, and without feeling the true spirit in wlhich they were written. Here, then, is a ?lear advantage: the boy is no longer a parrot: Ihe is madie to pause and contemplate the sense, till at last lie is able to understand the full drift of liis author, sind to glow wvi:h something like a congenial fceling. And in this view wc think it bet- ter, on these occasions, to act tragedvl thats comedy; because comedy being generally a mere imitation of ma.nners, may he acttd by boys, who are all naturally mirnicks, witti very little thought or observation ; but rriFedy beitg a matter of feeling, requires longer study and det l errcflect!on. Asthe subjectis one of importance, ve havc dedicatedmore space to it thani some of our readers, perhaps, may think necc,ssary: it is tiTne now to speak of tlhe occasion which gave rise to it; which was, ostr accidental prusence at the perfortanace of a Greek tragedy by the sclholars of Dr.Valpy, on Friday last. The play cliosen was thc Alcestis; and certainly, when we consi(!errd the age of tlhe boy-perform- ers, many of them not more than 16, and none more than IS years old, it was impossible not to be equally pleased and surprised at the perfect understanding of the sense and feelinig of the dialogue which wvas manifested by almost all of them. The most hardy oppoiieilt of clas.ical education could not have said that these boys had learned nothinig but wordls: lie must have allowed that they appreciated an(d felt the beautiful thoughts to which they ,gave such cha- racteristic and expressive utterance. This was particularly the case with the tliree young men who acted Admneths, 1hresfis, ani JIercacs-parts, all of them, of no common difficulty, aiid requiring much considcration aud no little j udgment. Atter the Greek play, Sheridan's drama., T;.e Critic, was acted with great spirit by the same boys, siho showeO clearly tliat learning docs not (as has been ssneeringly saidt) shut the eyes of its votaries to the relish of the beatities of their native writers. Having said so mitcl in praise of the representation, we are sure wve shall not be deenied captiou S if we hint that we coultl lhave dispensed with the liortisipe. Such thin)gs are custonisary ; but D)r. Valpy may well afford to break a cus- tom whichl his good taste must reject. Hlis learning and talents do not require such adventitious aid. WVe cannot conclude without saying that the English epilogue to tde Greek play, whieh iwe understand was written by Mfr. Talfourd, contained some very lively and clever couplets Cil the subject of the various projects foi gullinig that considerable portion of our countrymen wlho have more money than wit, or who are in too greaz a hurry to get rich to care about the meanis. READING SCHrOOL.