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Kirkcaldy Burgh School.
Orations delivered by Mr. David Millar's scholars at Kirkcaldy circiter anno 1749 vel 1750.
Kirkcaldy, Scotland, c.1749-1750.
Gift of Professor W. Bliss and -Brigitte Carnochan.
Attended by Adam Smith between 1733 and 1737, the Kirkcaldy Burgh School was regarded as one of the best secondary schools in Scotland during the eighteenth century. David Millar, who was the school's headmaster from 1720 until 1750, and who was related by marriage to Adam Smith's mother, had the reputation of being one of the finest schoolmasters of his day. At Kirkcaldy it was customary for the students to deliver orations before the local magistrates, ministers and elders. These speeches emphasized the national importance of the proper education of children. This unpublished manuscript collects some of the orations, transcribed by twelve students on twenty-eight pages. Also present is a detailed description of the school syllabus, which included reading, writing, arithmetic, religious instruction, grammar, Latin, Greek, French, navigation, chronology, and accounting.
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