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418 APPENDIX. that occupied by the common academy; not merely to prepare young men for the ordinary round of duty, but for any ad- vanced standing in college, that they may desire ; to prepare them for public life, not only by the drill, which imparts the requisite intellectual strength, but by rousing the conscious- ness of what life and its weighty responsibilities are. And the great peculiarity of this school, which strikes the writer of this notice, is the unflagging enthusiasm of its head, which, in its outflow upon the students, can hardly fail to de- velop whatever sensibility or strength may lie dormant in their souls. So far as experience enables us to judge, we do not hesitate to say, that the education of the sexes in the same classes, and course of study, is for their mutual benefit ; the gentler sex gathering more strength, and the rougher, more polish. The grounds around the institute are laid out in good taste, and adorned by the thrifty growth of several varieties of trees, which from year to year will put on fresh and additional beauty and attractiveness. FERaUSONYILLE BOAEDINa ACADEMY. This institution was founded in 1848, by the Rev. Samuel D. Ferguson, and Sanford I. Ferguson, A. M. It is located in the valley of the Charlotte, a section of the country distin- guished for the salubrity of its climate and the beauty of its scenery. The establishment of a boarding academy, so remote from large cities, in a region of country but sparsely settled, and where but little interest had been manifested in educational matters, was considered a scheme of very doubtful expediency. The success however, which has attended this enterprise, has not only surpassed the expectations of its patrons and friends ,