EDUCATION AND RELIGION.

_Education_.

Few of the early settlers of Loudoun enjoyed any other advantages of
education than a few months' attendance at primary schools as they
existed in Virginia previous to the Revolution. But these advantages
had been so well improved that nearly all of them were able to read
and write a legible hand, and had acquired sufficient knowledge of
arithmetic for the transaction of ordinary business. They were, in
general, men of strong and penetrating minds and, clearly perceiving
the numerous advantages which education confers, they early directed
their attention to the establishment of schools. But for many years
there were obstacles in addition to those incident to all new
settlements, which prevented much being done for the cause of
education. The controversies in which they were involved and the war
of the Revolution employed nearly all their thoughts and all their
energies previous to the State's admission into the Federal Union.

Of the real efficiency of the Colonial schools of Loudoun but little
can be learned. Teachers, as a rule, were on a par with their
surroundings. If they could read, write and cipher to the "single rule
of three" their educational qualifications were deemed sufficient.
They generally canvassed the neighborhood with a subscription paper,
forming the schools themselves and furnishing the few necessary books.
The rates were from $1 to $2.50 per scholar by the month, and lower
when the schoolmaster "boarded around." But he was most likely to
succeed in forming a school who contracted to take his pay in produce.