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ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE. 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
A BBAVE YOUTH, 
Toe government of schools for children must 
necessarily be of an absolute nature, depending 
from day to day on the will and word of the 
teacher. There must be no debate between 
master and pupil, no disputing by the latter of 
the former’s complete authority, no criticising 
of his motives or his policy, but strict obedience 
in every case and a reference of all supposed un¬ 
just treatment to parents or trustees. But in 
seminaries aud colleges, where long dresses und 
short beards abound, and the students are sup¬ 
posed to have arrived at something like years of 
discretion and to be capable of understanding 
the causes of things, the little in-door world is 
more like a community, and government on any 
other than an approximately democratic basis is 
absurd. In this matter, as well as in that of the 
cast-iron curriculum, we need a revolution. The 
idea that it is not the best thing for the develop¬ 
ment of a hundred young men of diverse tastes 
and capacities to jam them all into the same 
college molds, is faintly dawning on the minds 
of boards of managers and faculties. What they 
want to learn next is to treat the young gentle¬ 
men and ladies under their charge as responsible 
human beings possessed of some little share of 
the sense supposed to be common among’men 
and women, not as unreasoning children. It is 
time the old blue laws that have been handed 
down from generation to generation in our col¬ 
leges, with not a single line erased or a single 
word obscured, were abolished completely. The 
foolish or malicious pranks which make college 
students appear so puerile or contemptible may 
be attributed in a great measure to the specific 
rules intended to prevent them, which are all 
founded on the assumption that they are mere 
hoys continually on the watch for opportunities 
for mischief. They hive just euough of the boy 
in them to knock off the challenge chip when it 
is presented to them so temptingly. Do away 
with all those regulations and the system of 
espionage and give students to understand that 
in college they are to be governed by precisely 
the same codes of morals and politeness which 
they must observe after they leave it, and the 
general character of the undergraduate will at 
once become more manly aud dignified. 
A similar revolution is very much needed in 
the government of advanced schools for young 
ladies. Wo have before ns the last catalogue of 
one of the most flourishing female colleges in 
the country; and iu the “general regulations” 
we find the following:—“ After the ringing of 
the hell which gives the signal for preparing to 
retire, young ladies arc required to abstain from 
all noise which may disturb others, so that the 
retiring bell may be followed by’complctc still 
ness throughout the building. * * * It will 
be regarded as highly improper for any student 
to take any article of food or vefreshmentTfrom 
the kitchen or store-rooms to any private room.” 
Rather a keen bit of satire that, to forbid 
“young ladies” behaving like unruly children! 
Again we read:—“ Calls muy be received only in 
hours of recreation, in the college parlor, and 
not in private rooms, except in cases of parents 
or lady friends from home. * * * On the 
Sabbath young ladies arc not allowed to visit 
eaeli other’s rooms without permission, nor to 
indulge in anything that may disturb others, or 
may be inconsistent with the Sabbath as a day of 
serious reading and devotion. * * * Young 
ladies will not be allowed to accept the company 
of gentlemen, either in walkingor riding, except 
by written consent of parents or guardians, * 
* * It will be considered an impropriety de¬ 
serving of special ecu ore for aoy young lady to 
hold correspondence by writingjwith persons m 
the city, or with any person not known or ap¬ 
proved by parents or guardians.” These young 
ladies arc nearly all daughters of Christian 
parents and may be supposed to have been 
brought up with a regard for the ordinary rules 
of morality and propriety; yet the regulations 
just quoted at once presume them to he ignorant 
of common politeness from residence in the 
backwoods aud to have acquired a propensity for 
the cheapest kind of flirtation on the streets of 
a city. 
MOUNT VERNON, TUB IIOWE OP WASHINGTON 
lived about one thousand years before the birth 
of Christ. Probably in Solomon’s time these 
cedars were large and old trees. If so, they arc 
now more than 3,000 years old—having outlived 
more than one hundred generations of men. 
Warner. N. H., Jan. 24,1367. Levi Bartlett. 
erythiug pertaining to Ids life has been eagerly 
read, from the story of the hatchet in the primer 
to Irving’s elaborate biography, lie lias been 
heard of in every land and talked of in every 
tongue. Tie is one of the few characters in his¬ 
tory concerning whom there is no detraction 
from the general praise. Frenchmen grow en¬ 
thusiastic at mention of lib name; but English¬ 
men, from the defeat of whose armies sprang his 
military reputation, are generally Bilent. We 
believe but one British poet, Byron, ever men¬ 
tioned him in verse. The fact, however, will uob 
Bcriously damage his chances of immortality. 
Biographies, statues and pictures ol' Washing¬ 
ton have been multiplied beyond enumeration; 
almost every State in the Union has a town or 
county of Washington; his portrait is the most 
familiar of any in American homes; and in some 
neighborhoods every fifth boy is christened after 
him on principle. 
HOME AND TOMB OF WASHINGTON, 
JOHN O’GROAT AND HIS HOUSE 
In the reign of James IV. of Scotland, three 
brothers, Malcolm, Gavin, and John O’Groat, 
natives of Holland, came to the coast of Caith¬ 
ness, with a letter in Latin from that monarch, 
recommending them to the protection and coun¬ 
tenance of his subjects thereabout. They got 
possession of a large district of land, and in pro¬ 
cess of time multiplied and prospered until 
they numbered eight different proprietors by 
the mime of Groat. On one of the annual din¬ 
ners instituted' to commemorate their arrival at 
Caithness, a dispute arose as to the right of pre¬ 
cedence in taking the door and the head of the 
table. Tills waxed very serious, and threatened 
to break up the annual gatherings. But the 
wisdom and virtue of John prevented this rup¬ 
ture. He made a touching speech to them, 
soothing their angry spirits with on appeal to 
the common and precious memories of their na¬ 
tive land, and to all their joint experiences iu 
this. He entreated them to return to their 
homes quietly, and he would remedy the current 
difficulty at the next meeting. Won by his 
kindly spirit and words, they complied with his 
request. In the interval, Johu built a house 
expressly for the purpose, of au octagonal form, 
with eight doors and windows. He then placed 
a table of oak, of the same shape, iu the middle, 
and when the next meeting took place, he de¬ 
sired each head of the different Groat families to 
enter at his own door, and sit at the head of hia 
own tabic. Thb happy aud Ingenious plan re¬ 
stored good feeling and a pleasant footing to the 
sensitise families, and gave to the good Dutch¬ 
man’s name an interest which it will carry with 
it forever.— Eli/m Burritt. 
"Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
THE MOUNT OE OLIVES. 
A Cloud of Locusts. —A letter from Tcnez, 
in Algeria, says :—“ l was walking with a friend 
iu the lower part of the town, when, at about 
two in the afternoon, we perceived what appeared 
to be a thick mist coming vapidly upon us, which 
we took for a flock of birds of passage. But hardly 
live minutes had elapsed when we found ourselves 
enveloped in the cloud. It might have been about 
one kilometer (five-eighths of a mlfe) in width by 
six in length, and was from forty-six to seventy- 
feet iu thickness, it was formed not by birds 
but by locusts of passage, of the color of wine 
lees and of great size. They continued their 
coupje from the west to the east, passing behind 
Cape Tcnez, from which point they turned to¬ 
wards the north, driven doubtless by the south 
wind, which has for several days past been blow¬ 
ing violently.” 
WORDS OF THE WISE 
Lord Bacon has said so many wise things, 
that wo can hardly dip into his works at any 
place without tludlng something that will repay 
the deepest attention. Wo have gathered a few 
sentences from him about money, love for it, 
und its influence. Hero they are: 
“ Alexander sent to i’hoeion a great present of 
money. Pliocion said to the messenger, 4 Why 
doth the King send to me and no one else?’ 
The messenger answered, 4 Because ho takes you 
tjp be tho only good man in Atlieus.’ Phociou 
replied, ‘If he thinks so, pray let him suffer mo 
to be so still.’ ” 
“ Chilon said ‘ That the gold was tried with the 
touchstone, and the men with gold.’ ” 
“He that defers his charity till he is dead, is, 
if a man weighs it rightly, rather liberal of an¬ 
other man’s than of his owu.” 
“ Tho tears of an heir are laughter under a 
vizor.” 
“The coward calls himself a wary man ; and 
tho miser gays he is frugal.” 
The following apothegms have more than a 
passing significance. The first hits the politic 
preachers hard; the last is worth its weight in 
gold: 
“ There was a politic sermon that had uo dig¬ 
nity in it, that was preached before the King. 
The King, as he came forth, said to Bishop An¬ 
drew, 
Laws of Teaching. — Kuow thoroughly aud 
familiarly whatever you would teach. 
Get aud keep the attention of your pupils, aud 
excite their interest in the lesson. 
Use Language which they thoroughly under¬ 
stand, and carefully explain the meaning of every 
new term you need to use. 
Begin with what is already known , aud pro¬ 
ceed to the unknown by easy, natural steps, 
making each step thorough before taking the 
next. 
Excite the self-activities of the pupils, aud tell 
them nothing which they can easily discover for 
themselves. 
Require them to re-state correctly, and in their 
own language, whatever they have learned.— 
Mich, Teacher , 
Smoking Cars Needed.— The English papers 
are discussing the morals, etiquette, and Legality 
of smokiug in railroad carriages. A case recently 
came into court from the Southwestern Railway, 
iu which one gentleman sued another for knock¬ 
ing his cigar out of his mouth. The jury found 
for the defendant. On a motion for a new trial, 
the Lord Chief Justice is reported to have said 
that it is a very serious question whether, when 
u smoker has been requested by his fellow pas¬ 
sengers to cease smoking, and has refused to do 
so, they are not entitled to take the cigar from 
him. His lordship is further reported to have 
suggested that his blowing the smoke of his 
cigar in the face of a fellow passenger might be 
considered an assault. 
, ‘Call you this a sermon?’ The Bishop 
answered, 4 And it please your Majesty, by a 
charitable construction, it may be a sermon.’ ” 
“ Solon compared the people unto the sea, and 
orators to the winds; for that tho sea would be 
fn lin and quiet, if the winds did not trouble it.” 
iu due proportion — the sacred pmsie for open¬ 
ing aud closing exercises, and the secular for 
other occasions. The selections of music and 
words should be such as to make evory page 
J available and popular. It is unnecessary to ask 
K parents to accept the burden of two music books: 
one of the proper character would answer every 
purpose. Some person of the requisite musical 
ability and sound judgment should undertake 
'T the task of preparing such a work .—Educational 
■£] Monthly. 
China. —A country wTiere the roses have no 
fragrance and the women no petticoats; where 
a laborer has uo Sabbath aud the magistrate no 
sense of honor; where the roads bear uo vehi¬ 
cles and the ships no keels; where old men fly 
kites; where the needle points to the south, 
and the sign of being puzzled is to scratch the 
antipodes of the head; where the place of honor 
is on the left hand and the scat of intellect is iu 
the stomach; where to take off' your hat is an 
insolent gesture, and to wear white garments is 
to put yourself in mourning; which has a litera¬ 
ture without an alphabet, and language without 
grammar. 
Temperance Best .for Travelers. — Bruce, 
the celebrated African traveler, iu giving advice 
to strangers about to visit “ the putrid climates 
of Lower Arabia, Abyssinia, Scuuaar, and Egypt 
itself,” says:—“I lay down, as a positive rule of 
health, that spirits and all fermented liquors 
should be regarded as poisonous; aud for fear of 
temptation, not so much as to be carried along 
with you, unlcsB for outward application. Spring 
or running water, if you cau find it, is to he 
your only drink.” 
Self-Government. — The poorest education 
that teaches self-control’is better than the best 
that neglects it. 
THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON, AT MOUNT VERNON, 
