Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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many took high rank in political life. Ot' the latter class, l,egare'. M4-llafiie, and Petigru. of South Carolina and Cobb. Longstrcet. Gilmer and Appling. of Georgia. may be mentioned. The close of his career as an educator at Willington was coincident with his call to the Presidency of the Georgia. lfnivcrsity. Of this institution, though not the founder. he was the reviver and the first successful administrator. Franklin College. as it was also styled was projected as early as 1784, but opened its doors to its tirst students as late as 1804, and after fifteen years of what seems to have been a sheer struggle for existence, there was a virtual suspension of its functions till Dr. Wad- del was invited, in its darkest. hour. to undertake the task of restoration and im- provement. The invitation, to his earnestly religious nature, camelike a summons to a Heaven-appointeel duty, and in this temper he began and prosecuted the work with such success that in ten years he had started the institution upon a career of usefulness and honor which seems thereafter to have suffered, except presumably during the Civil War, no let or hindrance and. with added funds, to have steadily risen and broadened to the present. time. But even under his strenuous management, the State endowment, though thence- forward sure. was absurdly small, and so remained long after his presidency ended. With a teaching force limited fthe President includedj to four professors and one tutor, and an equipment in buildings and apparatus correspondingly slender, the new executive is not to be supposed to have entertained any plans of greatly broad- ening the curriculum. which for a long time failed to include what was even taught at Willington, the French language. One of the chief objects that Dr. iYaddel had in view may be SllI'llliSCIl from his double calling and his deep convictions in regard to religion-to give a thoroughly Christian character to the works of the institution. Innovations in methods, if made, are not recorded. and there is no mention of his putting on trial what has since been called a college-senate, although he had introduced a similar means of discipline in his own academy. Yet in his higher position his experience in maintaining proper order among the students was not without its difficulties. Testimony varies as to his attitude towards offenders against the rules, but while tirin, as became his character and convictions. he does not seem to have been harsh or unable to shift his point of view. It may be of interest to the modern collegian to learn that the Senior class of that day and institution were required to write and deliver three orations, one at the close of each trimester, to use the German name for the triple division of the Seniors work then prevailingg the Juniors had as now but one to prepare. After managing thus successfully the affairs of the Georgia University for a dee- adc. Dr. Waddel deemed his duty in what he modestly regarded as pioneer work accomplished, and in 1829 he resigned the charge, with the purpose of devoting the remaining years of his life to the ministry, although not so entirely but that he hoped to give a sort of general oversight to another school which was now opened at Wil- lington and placed under the direct control of his youngest son. John Newton Waddel. 17

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in his history. as among his pupils were two youths who became not only prominent in their respective states. but famous in the annals of thc nation as members of Congress, as cabinet ministers. and as candidates in the Scrub Race in 18124 for the presidency. They were probably not schoolfellows, and certainly not rivals, in that day of youthful ambitions, as Crawford was much younger than Calhoung but it would be interesting to know what their preceptor thought of them and whether any vatieinations that he may have allowed himself regarding the two foreshadowed in any way the careers of William H. Crawford and John C. Calhoun. There a story that President Jackson was also a pupil of his, and that he adduced his old instructor's authority for the char- acteristic way in which he pronounced development. But the anecdote. Without the slightest foundation in fact, while ridiculing'tOld Hickory's illiteracy, which was a byword. and also illustrating a notable trait of his, which some called obstinacy, serves at least to show how widely known Mr. Waddel was as a teacher. lt was while he was thus occupied in Columbia County, that the young school- master and minister. going to fill an appointment to preach in the Calhoun Settle- ment, in Abbernath district. met at her father's house, where he was established. Miss Catherine Calhoun, the sister of the lad, his pupil, who was afterwards to be famous as the Apostle of Nullificationf' The young lady became his wife, but died in child- birth: and after a.n interval of four years. during which the teacher's desk was once more abandoned for the pulpit, he returned to Virginia. and took back withhim as his bride the lady whom he had met when he was a student at Hampden-Sidney. l'lliZ3 Xxvtltlflgflll PlP3.SIlIltS. After four more years of teaching and preaching, Mr. Waddel gave himself up with decision to the cause of education. and founded the Academy of VVillington. The site selected was a ridge not far from the Savannah river, in the same section in which he had previously taught. The people were largely Scotch-Irish and Hugue- nots-Protestants all--and the school became so notable a training-place for the youth of the country far and near that Dr. Ralsay, in his History of South Carolina, gives it highest praise. His account of the subjects taught and the methods pur- sued is given in stately rhetoric, though there were but few innovations made by the master in either direction. It was enough that he was a disciplinarian and thor- ough. French was naturally added to the classic languages, in response to the wishes of his Huguenot patrons. Although there were no bells nor fixed periods, under his masterful rule class succeeded class without. disorder or loss of time. In his disci- pline Mr. 'Waddel employed the monitor system, but combined with it a really novel feature in holding a weekly court consisting of five of the culprit's peers. These im- posed the penalty. which was inflicted by the presiding teacher, and when need arose. the rod was brought into play. His family government was administered with equal success, the six children born to him in his second marriage being apparently models of propriety. although no little may be set down in this admirable result to the fine tact of a devoted mother. The time during which Dr. VVaddel conducted the VVillington Academy was about fifteen years. Among his pupils many became ministers of the Gospel and 16

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It was ln- who. as lwt'o1'e statwl, Wl10l1 i11 after yi-ars hc in his t111'11 l'C:4ilL!llQll the 0l1anCQllo1'sl1ip of llI10ll1CI' S11l1ll1Cl'1l l'11i1'01'sity'. wrotf- thc- 1'ol11111cs i11 which are I'0f'U1'IlGll lmoth l1is fi1ll1PI'lS sc-rvicos to 0Illlf'3.llI'111 ancl his own. lint tho years loft to thc V1-tc1'a11 l1l0IlCOI' wt-1'c low, and these wc-11' soon sanlileiienl hy ll1C1l1'i1ll1 of l1is wife 111111. lzltvr by l1is own ill-l1ealth, which, niontal i11 lcinil. i11- r':11111cita,t01l l1i111 for all work till the Plltl ca111ei- i11 1340. Of llr. lllafldcl as a 111'0acl101' it 1'0111:1i11s to lw saiwl that hc- was 0iil'Il0Sll 1'11ll10l' lllall Pl0qllf lll. sounil i11 1lo0t1'i11e, with no savor of s011satio11alis111. His merit was I'CCUg- nizml as early as 1307 anml ol1t11i11e4l for hi111 tho clegroe of l,JOCl0l' of DiVi11ity which was COI1f9l'l'9ll by the Collego of South C31'Ollll2l uncler thc- l1I'GSlll6'l1Cy of l11'. Maxi-y. His 50111141115 were o1'tl1o1lox. as thc wo1'1l ll1Oll ws'-11t, i11 lvngth as i11 1113llCl'. anal ile- vm-lopcwl, :wr-o1'1li11g to one 1lllll1lbI'llY, with Sllf'l1 lllllll1PSS11l14l formal precision as to ill11st1'at0 11C1'fQctly thc rnlvs laifl mlown in that Valle 11101-11111 of two ge11C1'atio11s of Slll1ll'l1lS, I3lai1 s Rln-to1'ic-. lint he l1CY0l'1Yl'0lPll1Cl1l out. and the notes wc-rc I1Clll10ll i11 C'llH1l'2ICl0l'S so ininntv anil 1N,'C1lll3,l' that, llllhfillgll 801110 hart- 1101111 pl'0SOI'X'Cll hy his f1'iv111ls, thvir l11PI'll is still to he ac'c'c11tc1l upon other than l11lQI'I12ll vviileiicv. But i11 1113111 ways his Ilflllll' work still lives. H0 was :1 1111111 whose- i11flu011c-0 l1Ot only c'ou11t0cl for goml. hut was 111'llfO1ll1ll anwl lilbilllllgf, anml i11 Qve1'y walk of lifc. but especially ll1I'01lQl1 tho tout-l101's, lJl'PfiCll0I'S, anfl public 1114111 who sat 1111416-1' l1i111 Sl'llKl9lllS, thc p1'0c0pts i111l,1il1Q1l anfl the cxalnplcs given l1i1YP Iwi-11 l1'HllS111lllOll to ll10l1S3.I14lS of otl1c1's. Sll1'Olj' lJ1'. Hoses lvfltlflill ilosf-1'1'0s to rank HIIIHIIQ om' :x11lC'l'lf'il11 XYUl'll1l9S of Imth C'l1111'cl1 and Starr-. Sonnet to the Moon Thou shining orb of silver, fair and bright, Set in the spacious firmament so free, A million balls of fire have hid from thee: 'Tis not thyself that is so fair and brightg Nor canst thy cold dark form give light and life: Thou art a frozen mass all heaped with snow, And doth but reflect to our dark world below The glorious sun, that makes thee fair to-night. And so it is with every noble life That cloth eclipse its weaker fellow men, Appears above the worlcl's ' ignoble strife, ' And up to heaven its weary way cloth wendg That life is but a mirror of God's grace And 'tis His holy life that we can trace.- 18