oping rounlry, carrying in Us grasp the
material lor adventure and' speculation,
arouses ambitious aspirations in tliu oner
gclic student.
Willi (lie tide of immigration westward,
there is heard far above the hum of in
dustry, ii fry, for intellectual assistance.
Ami the apprentice witli his trade half
mnstcicd. and the student with his course
partially completed drops all and icspouds
to this universal cry. Young men
blinded by ambition, and hurried on by
litis Mime motive, step from the door of
tlio village school-house into the halls of
colleges of haw, Theology and Medicine;
and the lapse of six months or a year finds
tlicin staggering under the burden of a
diploma.
The gradual settlement of a new conn
try atVords at once an opportunity for
their supposed attainments, an. I the hardy
adventurers that ever frequent and court
the dangers and privations of frontier
life, are as little inclined to recognising
the inferiority of their loaders, as the re
oipienU of their applause and honor aie
prejudiced against any thing higher.
In this state of society there are few in
duceincnts to attain the more artistic
beauty of perfection. The judge who has
"fire in his eye," the lawyer who can ha
rangue a jury the longest and loudest, or
a milliliter that win draw the fiendish
darts of flro and brimstone in the most
glaring light, bus more authority and iu
tltioncv than all the culture and reason
Unit exists.
Hut n timo must come after this tide of
immigration has swept away, when soci
ety, drained of its adventurous characters,
must change its tone It i- man's higher
nature to attain that which is in itself
perfection. A settlement excluded from the
uivilizod world, will gradually develop
into a higher intellectual and moral state.
Hut throw it open to the influence of
commercial and foreign customs, and it
will rise immediately to a plain of intolli-pen.-,
parallel to its associates: for into it
is fMistantly poured a current of pure J
thought and action a vitalizing influence
that will cry for culluie, louder than the
cry of the rushing tide of immigration
that has rolled from the Atlantic to the
Pacillic. Such changes aro apparent
every day. With the increased lacilit'oa
fortransportation,-tho industries or a poo
pie, society is gradually blended into one
harmonious whole. The rugged chnrac
toristies of the New England Slates have
gradually disappeared from their associa
tions with the South and West. A grow,
ing sentiment of practical utility is grad
ually springing into existence. The dc
maud for able mechanics, in the field ol
art, and men of broad culture in the Held
of Mdrnee, is the spirit of the age
The lower rounds of the ladder are fast
giving way under the colossal weight
that rests upon thorn. And he who by
chance still clings to the sides must be
content with the little inlluencc he can
wield. If ho would speak to the world,
ho must ascend still higher that he may
be seen by all. He must grasp that
element of iowcr and inlluoiice culture,
broad in meaning, deep in its understand,
ing. Then with the short rout to honor
and a higher influence gradually closing
against him.the American is also compel
led to attain a higher standard for intel
lectual action. And unless he c'o so, he
must fall far short of his expectations,
Spurred on by this incentive and moved
by the reward and honor that awaits him
at his journey's end, he that endeavors to
attain true culture lluds it a work of
pleasure and satisfaction that he alone
can appreciate, and a power that the
world must acknowledge as stable.
KNOWLBIK'K AND ITS USB.
To acquire theorectioal knowledge by
simple study is a minor part of true edii
cation But to learn to use that know
ledge, which is essential to an accurate
and speedy solution of the practical
duties of life, should be a true ideal of all
instruction. In tin- cla-s loom we are
waa