o folds a leaf? ooiwnpyf oiueltoaue oroujnf University of California Berkeley 1 : HI HBB m ' " ' ' University of California Berkeley Purchased as the gift of ELINOR R. HELLER A VISIT TO SOME AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. A VISIT TO SOME AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES BY SOPHIA JEX BLAKE. MACMILLAN AND CO. 1867. [The right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved] LONDON : B. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL. DEDICATED TO M. E. J. B. CONTENTS. PREFACE CHAPTEE I. BOSTON TO OBERLIN CHAPTEE II. OBERLIN CHAPTEE III, HILLSDALE 65 CHAPTEE IV. ST. LOUIS 102 CHAPTEE V. ANTIOCH .... 121 viii Contents. CHAPTER VI. PAGE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF AMERICA 152 CHAPTER VII. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CONTINUED. SALEM NORMAL SCHOOL 201 CHAPTER VIII. AND LAST . k 226 PEEEACE. IN the following pages I have endeavoured to give a simple and accurate account of what I saw during a series of visits to some of the Schools and Colleges in the United States, believing that what was of so much interest to me cannot fail to have some attraction for other teachers. I have not attempted to give many sta- tistics, nor to compile a book with any pre- tensions to completeness, for which indeed my field of observation has been too limited. I wish simply to give other teachers an opportunity of seeing through my eyes what they cannot perhaps see for themselves, and to this end I have recorded just such par- ticulars as I should myself care to know, x Preface. without studying very much any rules of literary art. I have had the less scruple in omitting much that deserves notice, because the forth- coming Eeport of Her Majesty's Assistant Commissioner sent to inspect American educa- tion will doubtless afford much fuller and more comprehensive information than I could give. I cannot speak in too high terms of the cordial kindness shown to me and my friend in almost every place of education that we visited, the right hand of fellowship being always extended to us as to those interested in one work, every information being freely given, and every facility offered, with the evidently universal feeling that (as it was expressed to me by one teacher) mutual in- quiry into and sympathy in each other's work must be a strengthening of the hands for all. The single exception to the welcome we found everywhere was in the case of a new Preface. xi female college at Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson, founded by private donation. Prom all we heard of the plans of this College, and knew of some of the teachers employed, I should have been very glad to visit it with the hope of learning much from this last manifestation of the American spirit of educa- tion, but the teachers at the head seemed very jealous of anything like inspection, alleging that the very recent foundation of the College (in September, 1865) made it im- possible that they could allow any visitors to enter the classes. With this exception I have been able to see more or less thoroughly all the phases of education in the States which specially in- terested me, and only regret that I could not also see something of the Canadian system, which is said to be specially excellent. I have thought it best to narrate facts, with very little comment except in the concluding chapter, so that those who desire these only, xii Preface. may obtain them in as plain a form as pos- sible, unencumbered by personal opinions and remarks, except where these can hardly be excluded from the narrative. That I have never allowed my judgment to be biassed by foregone conclusions I dare not assert, but I can say most honestly that I have done my best to see all things "from the inside," to report them fairly as I have seen them, and, above all, to " nought set down in malice." November, 1866. A VISIT TO SOME AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. CHAPTER I. BOSTON TO OBEULIN. ON September 15th, 1865, we started from Boston on our intended tour of visits to the various Schools and Colleges for girls and women in the United States; circumstances first directing our steps to Oberlin, in Ohio, the oldest and largest of existing Colleges for both sexes. Of all modern inventions and appliances for luxury in travel, commend me to the Ame- rican sleeping cars, in some of which I have enjoyed a better night's rest than at many an inn. The "cars" on American railways are always long saloon carriages, with an aisle down the centre leading to doors at the ends, B 2 Boston to Oberlin. and down each side a row of seats, each con- taining two persons, and commanding a sepa- rate window. These seats are cleverly made with reversible backs, so that the passengers can sit with either back or face to the engine ; almost all choosing the latter alternative, except when parties of three or four sit facing each other "sociable" fashion. Starting by an evening train, we forthwith secured sleeping berths by payment of an extra dollar,* and were initiated into the ingenious plan for their construction. Down came the backs of two opposite seats, which fitted exactly across the space between, and formed a solid couch, on which was laid a good mattress, a brown rug, and some pillows, a curtain separating off the passage-way. My friend and I secured two opposite berths, and, with windows partly open on each side, soon slept the sleep of the just, disturbed only by the conductor's anxiety to shut up our win- dows, lest we should, as he said, " freeze to death and be burnt up with sparks from the * Nominally worth four shillings, but, at the time, actually only three shillings, in consequence of the depreciated paper currency. Boston to Oberlin. 3 engine!" Having so good a bed, the regular motion on the broad gauge was really rather lulling than otherwise. As we went within twenty-five miles of it, we resolved to see Niagara on our way, and, without pausing to attempt once more the oft-repeated description, I will, in one word, advise every traveller who has the chance to follow our example, for no words can do justice to the picture which, once seen, will abide in the mind for ever. Thus delayed, we did not arrive at Oberlin till September 19th, after manifold experiences on different lines of railway. One peculiarity, however, belonged to all in common : porters were nowhere, and officials of all kinds almost invisible. A single "baggage-master" would give " checks " for heavy luggage, and a single ticket-clerk would take the fares ; but, beyond this, travellers must trust to the light of nature in a way that would considerably asto- nish a wandering Frenchman. Speaking gene- rally, on the continent of Europe, the traveller, once put in the right way, is defied to get out of it, and guarded on all sides, with the evi- dently fixed idea, "Humanum est errare;" in B 2 4 Boston to Oberlin. England, full liberty is left him to go either right or wrong, with abundant means of infor- mation should he prefer the former course ; in America, every conceivable facility is afforded for the latter choice, and, indeed, unless a special divinity watches over them, I wonder that the majority of American travellers ever do go right. At one station we found two trains drawn up, one on each side of the platform, with no distinctive mark whatever. Having been told hurriedly, by an over-driven ticket-clerk, on which side to find our train, we walked to the place and inquired of a bystander whether this was correct. "No!" was the answer. Remembering the clerk's directions, to make assurance doubly sure I asked another. "Yes, this was it." So we collected our cloaks and umbrellas, and scrambled in, and then received the final information that " it wasnt" When this train went and another took its place, we dared not tempt the Pates again, but, accepting the first affirmative answer that we got, trusted to Providence, and came all right. Something of this was repeated on a more .vexatious scale at Cleveland (the great June- Boston to Oberlin. 5 tion for Oberlin), for here, at 5 A.M., we found no ticket-office open, and no official of any kind to be seen, though, the station was thronged with passengers. By-the-bye, it is no small aggravation of one's difficulties, that what I suppose Americans consider a spirit of independence prevents their wearing an official uniform on the railways, and the marks of office are exceedingly obscure. However, all difficulties were conquered at last, or at least we hoped so, when " Ober- lin !" was shouted at our carriage windows, and we found an omnibus "for the city" (as they call every village here) waiting out- side the station, in the midst of roads so like ploughed fields as to make a conveyance very desirable. But when we started, a fresh difficulty arose. "To the College!" quoth I. "But the Col- lege's all about the place," we were told, and our fellow-passengers evidently wondered where we could have come from not to know that! So, duly crestfallen, we "concluded" to take our luggage to the inn, and thence find our way on foot to the house of the President, to whom we had letters. 6 Boston to Oberlin. Begrimed as we were with our night jour- ney, the national instinct claimed some means of ablution. " Can we have a room to wash our hands?" A rather wondering gaze, and " I guess you can," preluded our introduction to a small room not yet "red-up," where a basin full of dirty water looked unpromising for our chances. But our host was equal to the emergency i in a moment the said basin was seized, and its contents flung out of win- dow. I thought of the notice we had seen often at Niagara, " Stones thrown from above may strike passers below," but gratefully accepted the goods the gods provided, and washed in peace. "We then got a good country breakfast of eggs in all forms (being expected to eat the boiled ones American- wise, smashed up in glasses with milk, &c.), with biscuit, and the rather nice pink tea which always puzzled me as to its materiel. By-the-bye, with the usual American inversion of words, " biscuit" means hot rolls, hardly once baked, to say nothing of twice. This meal was served in a queer low dining- room, with posts supporting the ceiling and Boston to Oberlin. 7 beams running across it, the common eating- room of the house. After breakfast, we went in search of the President, but, not finding him at home, we left our letters and cards, and proceeded to explore Oberlin. CHAPTER II. OBERLIN. As we did not find the President at home when we first called on him, he very kindly paid us a return visit in the course of the afternoon, and gave us the most unqualified welcome to Oberlin, together with offers of personal aid and hospitality, which were, we found, the forerunners of similar kindness, almost without exception, throughout our whole tour of visits in the West, and, indeed, in all parts of the States into which we went. All the professors, teachers, and students with whom we came in contact showed us equal cordiality; and, our ohject heing once under- stood, we were invited to attend any or all the " recitations" and classes at pleasure, and gladly took large advantage of this per- mission. Every English traveller with such an ohject as ours in view, must, I think, he struck with Olerlin. 9 the cordial welcome offered, and the facilities liberally given, by almost all in authority at the different centres of education in America, and, while acknowledging it with the utmost gratitude, will probably be inclined to won- der regretfully whether an American teacher coming over to England would be likely to attain his or her object with equal ease. Of course, a great deal must be allowed for differ- ences of temperament and habit, and the natural distinctions between an old country, with time-honoured usages both for good and evil, and a new one, where things are hardly enough systematized for comfort ; but the fact is, I am afraid, undeniable, that it is a great deal easier to see, mark, and learn, in one country than in the other. Who has not wished that such a thing as mental photography were possible ? While I write I am conscious of the strongest wish to convey to those who care to know about Oberlin, and cannot see it for themselves, just the impression which my own mind received during a stay of ten days ; comprising a series of constant visits to the different class-rooms, and frequent conversations with the professors 10 Oberlin. and teachers. But I find myself met at the outset by the extreme difficulty presented by the total unlikeness of all I saw to anything English with which I can compare it, the widely different conditions of society in which the writer and the reader find themselves, and the unfamiliar tones of thought and life, of which it is so hard' for the one to convey an idea to the other. Perhaps the present life of Oberlin will be best understood by a reference to the history of its origin and progress. I take the following account of " Oberlin, its Origin, Progress, and Results," from a pamphlet by Professor Pairchild, originally produced as an Address to the " Alumni of Oberlin, I860," and simply condense the in- formation therein contained. The plan of Oberlin originated with Rev. J. Shipherd, the pastor of a Presbyterian Church, and combined the expression of very strong religious feeling with the desire for an extensive and cheap system of education for both sexes. It "involved a school, open to both sexes, with various departments, Prepa- ratory, Teachers', Collegiate, and Theological, Oberlin. 11 furnishing a substantial education at the lowest possible rates/' with facilities for self- support by manual labour. This school was to be surrounded by a " Christian community, united in the faith of the Gospel, 5 ' and a covenant of " consecration to the work" was framed, binding its subscribers to a " common purpose of glorifying God in doing good to men," to a " community of interests as perfect as if a community of property;" to an appro- priation of any surplus obtained by industry and self-denial to the spread of the Gospel ; to a renunciation of "strong and unnecessary drinks, even tea and coffee," and of "all bad habits" (in which their successors, at least, seem not to include incessant spitting), as well as "tight dressing and ornamental attire;" and to an endeavour to "extend the influence of Oberlin to our fallen race." These descendants of the Puritan fathers succeeded, in 1833, in obtaining a site for their purpose, in the centre of dense forests still uncleared in the northern part of Ohio ; log cabins were erected in the same year ; and though the " Indian's hunting-path still tra- versed the forest, and the howl of the wolf 12 Oberlin. was heard at night," a school was opened at Christmas, and by the end of the first year the pupils numbered one hundred. In 1834 the first " College class" was organized, and in the course of that and the following year students flocked in numerously, though for more than two years " the devious tracks through the forests were often impassable to carriages." The distinctive spirit of Oberlin soon found expression in a flourishing theological school, the members of which spread through the country during vacations, teaching and preach- ing with great energy, as well as encouraging "temperance" and "anti-slavery" meetings on all occasions, to the admiration, as may be supposed, of some, and the great disgust of others. In the winter of 1834-5, the Trustees took up their definite position with regard to one of the questions then even more bitterly agi- tated than now, and decided it by the free admission of all coloured students on equal terms with the whites. This step marks an epoch in the educational history of America ; for though solitary coloured students had been Oberlin. 13 admitted at Dartmouth College, New Hamp- shire, and possibly elsewhere, no such procla- mation of welcome had hitherto gone forth from any educational body, and the extreme op- position which the measure called forth is the best testimony to the merit of its supporters. The original founders of Oberlin were anxious to combine manual labour with mental study, and made it obligatory on all students to work with their hands for four hours daily, thus defraying chief part of their expenses. This feat are has been now materially modified, and labour is no longer compulsory, though it is still very common to find pupils of both sexes who support themselves wholly or in part by the labour of their hands, as a large proportion of the students have very small independent means, and there is, I sup- pose, hardly one person of any wealth among the whole number. While sitting in the matron's office, I heard more than one of the female students request exemptions from the study of geometry, or natural philosophy, or chemistry, because she " could not get through all her housework, and she had to work for her board." 14 Oberlin. The amount of earnestness and industry which such pupils would be likely to bring to their studies can be best appreciated by those who have had the great pleasure of teaching night classes in London, or elsewhere, the students at which worked with their hands all day, and looked up at their teacher in the evening, with that eager thirst for knowledge you so seldom see in the eyes of any other class. As the College itself sprung from small beginnings to rapidly increasing dimensions, the buildings connected with it have been successively erected at different times, and in various styles of workmanship. The oldest building of all, which was erected in 1833, and contained the germs of all the future departments, has passed from the hands of the College, and is probably now hardly recognis- able. The next in age is the Ladies' Hall, built in 1834, a plain wooden building, in questionable repair, which is about to be superseded by another, already finished, in brick, of much larger dimensions. Other buildings have grown up around, placed at irregular intervals, some without, and some Oberlin. 15 within, the square of ground more especially belonging to the College, and containing the Young Men's Hall, the Chapel, &c. &c. The appearance that Oberlin now presents is that of a loosely-built village, or, in local parlance, " city," with numbers of ill-defined streets, more or less thickly sprinkled with unpretending wooden houses, and converging into a somewhat closer group in the immediate vicinity of the College. The population is now estimated at about three thousand, be- sides the students, whose numbers average another thousand. The life of the whole community is in more or less close connexion with that of the Col- lege, almost every person in Oberlin being there either to receive or impart instruction, or to minister to the material wants of those who do one or the other. The roads are still somewhat rude, and the pathways or " sidewalks " are made (Western fashion) entirely of planks, cut in short trans- verse lengths, the crossings being also of planks, laid longitudinally. These planks make a sufficiently pleasant and even footway when first laid, but are apt soon to warp in 16 Oberlin. the sun and rot in the rain, needing frequent repair or renewal. The whole place has an appearance peculiar to itself, and very hard to render by descrip- tion. There is an utter absence of all the appear- ances and pretensions of wealth, and though the universal frugality had its painful side, (in the case, for instance, of the professors, whose meagre salaries must be terribly apt to cumber them with the cares from which they so much need to be free,) there was, at the same time, something very refreshing in the sight of a community where money did not rule, where it was the normal state to have very little of it, and where nobody thought it necessary to strain after any particular appearances. In the morning, when the students first meet, and at the times of changing the classes throughout the day, the streets present a very bright and busy look. The students of both sexes come hurrying along from their various " halls," or from the private houses where they board, for none of the buildings are to- gether, and every one has to pass, often many times a day, along the different roads and Oberlin. 17 pathways, in going to the different class- rooms. Each professor has his own domain, and to this each class conies at its appointed hour, passing away, when its time has ex- pired, to some other building, to attend another recitation. The two sexes are about equally represented among the students, though the full College course is taken by a smaller number of women than of men. " Coloured " students varying widely as to hue form about a third of the whole number, and I suppose there is hardly any community in America where the coloured and white races meet on so real and genuine a footing of equality as at Oberlin. Obeiiin College, as now existing, comprises several distinct departments, each of which has its plan of study laid out separately, and to any of which all qualified students are admitted, without distinction of age, sex, or colour. The College course proper is designed to " afford as extensive and thorough a course of instruction as other Colleges" in America; and, on the completion of the prescribed course of study, male and female students alike re- ceive the Academical degree. I heard with c 18 Oberlin. great interest, that in the year of my visit (1865), it so happened that the only woman who graduated was a coloured girl, originally a slave, who had not even then paid her full ransom to her former owners. The " Schedule " (as they call it) of studies in this and the other departments will be found at the end of the chapter. The number of students in the " College proper " in 1864-5 was 112, of whom 95 were male and 17 female. The Theological Department, though usually comprising but a small number of students, holds a very prominent place in Obeiiin Col- lege. It is designed to prepare students for the University, and its undergraduates are usually somewhat more advanced in age than the others, and are wont to take a leading part in the meetings for prayer, and similar pur- poses, which form so large a feature in Ober- lin life. The number of students last year was 13. The Scientific Course comprises a somewhat exceptional course of study, and is, I suppose, chiefly resorted to by students whose education has been further advanced in other directions, Oberlin. 19 or who desire to cultivate, for some special pur- pose, the subjects which it embraces. In 1865, it numbered 28 students. The Ladies' Course is designed for girls who desire a thorough education, and yet do not aspire to graduate in the College proper. In some studies, however, the students recite with the College Classes, where the stage of progress is similar in each. The number of students in this department was 175. The Preparatory Department is placed under the management of one of the Professors, and the classes in it are mainly taught by gra- duates or undergraduates of the College, of either sex. The attendance in this department is very numerous, comprising both students who desire to fit themselves for entering o the College course, and those who wish for a thorough groundwork of education, without expecting to pursue their studies further. In the latter class especially one may expect to find those "working students " who have had small opportunities of early instruction, and now seize eagerly on mental study while sup- porting themselves by manual labour. At the time of my visit, Oberlin, as well as the other c 2 20 Oberlin. Western colleges, showed visible signs of the recent Peace, in the number of military or semi-military jackets scattered throughout the class-rooms, the wearers having left their homes, or their half-completed studies, at the national summons, and now returned to re- sume their books with an ardour and sim- plicity in no wise lessened by their warlike experience. It was a very curious sight to go into the recitation-rooms, and see some benches filled with young men " bearded like pards," and others with young women of corresponding age, many of them of different shades of " colour," labouring painfully at the elements of grammar or geography, under the auspices of some young undergraduate (more often a woman than a man), often much their junior ; while side by side with them would sit, per- haps, children of twelve or fourteen, their equals in book-learning, if in nothing else. Besides the General Preparatory Depart- ment, there is another division specially adapted for girls preparing for the " Ladies' Course," but the classes of the two sections are not, I think, kept distinct, except where Oberlm. 21 studies pursued are different. The whole number of students in the Preparatory De- partments was 570. The general system of instruction at Ober- lin (and, indeed, with some modifications, throughout most of the Schools and Colleges I saw in America) differs considerably from that most generally approved in England. Certain test-books, none of which were familiar to me, are appointed for study, and the students are generally given a certain por- tion to be mastered before their next meeting. The class-hour is little more than a daily examination by the Professors, whose share of actual teaching (with few exceptions) seems to be infinitesimal. The Professor of Physiology, indeed, gave something more resembling a lecture, and illustrated his teaching by reference to a skeleton at his side, and the Professors of Geology and Chemistry were also provided with cabinets of specimens. It is part of the plan pursued here to attack a subject very vigorously by means of daily recitations, and an amount of study which, if thorough, must be very stiff, and so to " be 22 Oberlin. through with it " in two or three terms, when its place would he taken by another study, to be in its turn completed in short space ; there being thus only three or four subjects pursued simultaneously. We were told, for instance, that students were " expected to have studied Algebra one term before entering College, and then to complete the subject in their first term." This statement greatly amazed and bewildered me, till I saw the text-book in use, the author of which (Professor Loomis, of Yale,) professed only to have summed up therein so much of the more practical parts of the science as might be mastered "in the time usually allotted to the study in American Colleges." It is only right to say that we had pre- viously heard some accusations against Oberlin of want of thoroughness in study, and the reci- tations at which we were present hardly con- vinced us of the injustice of the charge. Be these charges more or less well founded, I do not doubt, however, that the results pro- duced by this College are such as are invaluable to the class of students seeking instruction, and are very likely adequate to the demand in the Oberlin. 23 West, where, even less than in the New Eng- land States, the full requirements of elegant scholarship would he likely to find apprecia- tion. The total numher of students at Oberlin in 1864-5 was 901, of whom 409 were males, and 492 females. Of these students, a considerahle numher board in the College " Halls," the " Ladies' Hall" being wholly occupied by female stu- dents, some of whom repay their expenses by doing the housework, and " Tappan Hall" being similarly appropriated to young men, all the students of both sexes who " room " in either place meeting for meals in the re- fectory attached to the Ladies' Hall. A larger number still board in those neigh- bouring families " whose piety is satisfactory to the College authorities," and the rules of the College apply equally to all. Recitation hours begin after breakfast, at 8 A.M. and continue till noon, when dinner is served, and after this few classes meet, except for the study of Trench and the Natural Sciences. The female students are under the general 24 Oberlin. direction of a Matron, who issues a small book of rules for their observance, and who is to be found either personally, or by deputy, at her office in the Ladies' Hall for the adjustment of all small matters. The Professor who is at the head of the Preparatory Department has also an office surrounded by a kind of bar and railing, to which the young men can come for similar purposes of inquiry, and a second book of regulations is issued for their benefit. In each set of rules occurs a prohibition of all games of chance or skill, including even chess and draughts, and " all use of intoxi- cating liquors." A library of moderate dimensions is pro- vided for the use of students, on payment of a small fee, and contributions to this library are greatly valued. The daily routine of recitations was the same on four days in the week, Saturday being mainly appropriated to Bible classes, and Monday to what they called Ehetorical Exercises. It is perhaps as another remnant of the old Puritan feeling that one finds pretty Oberlin. 25 generally in North America a disregard of the idea of sanctity of place, manifesting itself in the use of the churches and chapels of most denominations for various purposes not strictly religious. The speeches and recitations on " Class-day " at Harvard University are made in the chapel. I have been present at a meeting in a chapel on behalf of hospital funds ; and therefore it was by no means ex- ceptional that the Oberlin Rhetorical Exercises were held in the College chapel. The students whose turn it was to take part in the performance on the day of our visit mounted in turn the platform ordinarily used as a pulpit, and recited more or less per- fectly speeches and essays, previously prepared and committed to memory; the girls, however, being allowed the privilege of reading their compositions. Some of the essays had con- siderable merit, and afforded scope for a variety of styles both grave and gay. I have jotted down in my note-book the titles or mottoes of a few : " All men are free and equal" (which was, very curiously, the first essay we heard in America) ; " Rome was not built in a day; " "On Short Cuts" 26 Oberlm. (the moral thereof being, " The short cut home is the furthest about"). Then came a political essay, of which I failed to catch the name, but the general refrain seemed to be "the determination of the North, and the ferocity of the South." Then one " On General Education," in which we were in- formed that " education was the abomination of monarchs, because they knew its results would hurl them from their thrones." After the two last rather childish productions it was refreshing to have a really able essay " On Windows," in which a senior under- graduate spoke strongly and cleverly about the prejudices through which we see things, and of how much " lies in the eye of the be- holder." Only the undergraduates of the College proper take part in these exercises, the rest of the students attending as audience, with also many of the Professors. It is hard to give an English public any just idea of the state of society here, because nothing parallel could exist in England, The general average of Oberlin students may, perhaps, be most fairly compared to that of Government students in our training col- Oberlin. 27 leges, and yet the comparison is very inade- quate, for they represent here the whole of society, and not a single class; and this, of course, essentially affects their habits, manners, and tone of mind. They are all supposed to be " gentlemen and ladies " (and indeed the readiness with which democratic America claims these titles is truly edifying), and ac- knowledge no social superiors. Thus, they have on the one hand no higher standard of manners by which to profit, and yery little consciousness that such is needed; while on the other they have no temptation to strain after the pretensions of a class above their own, and thus escape much essential vulgarity. Many of them displayed a great degree of kindness and real courtesy, though with an almost absolute deficiency of polish of manner, which characteristic may, indeed, perhaps be called rather national than local. In two respects the roughness of manners at Oberlin seemed greater than elsewhere : firstly, in the queer attitudes indulged in by the students during class hours, and secondly, in the incessant spitting that went on then as well as at all other times. It certainly did 28 Oberlin. strike one with amazement when watching one of the recitations to see young men with their heels poised on the hack of the next seat ahout on a level with their heads, or their legs stretched out on the seat beside them, while an examination was going on in perhaps quite ah st ruse branches of study, which are usually in our minds associated with a very consider- able degree of culture. A lesser degree of the same thing has often struck me throughout those States which I visited, everywhere the external accessories of cultivation seem to lag far behind the degree of actual study and learning ; and this, joined to the barbarous English which is so very general, makes it hard- for a European to recognise and allow for real scholarship beneath an exterior of person, of speech, and of manner, which in England hardly ever co- exist with it. As a rule the girls seemed considerably more civilized than the young men, partly, per- haps, because the feminine instinct, to a great degree, forbade just those special actions and habits which were peculiarly disagreeable in the latter. Oberlin. 29 The teachers and professors seemed generally to belong to exactly the same order as the majority of the pupils, hut some of them have had the advantage of travel, and have availed themselves of it very intelligently. I think, perhaps, that those familiar with a Moravian community or a German Uni- versity could enter more readily into the nature of these Colleges than any others. In Oherlin the original Puritan spirit is still strong, and shows itself in the modern form of desire for revivals, rumours of one hoped for being afloat at the time of our visit. The religious " exercises " are very frequent- morning prayer in the families, and evening prayer in the chapel, forming but a small part of them. There were innumerable " Sabbath- schools " and prayer-meetings announced from the pulpit on Sunday, and during the week prayer-meetings and lectures seemed of daily occurrence. A custom, moreover, obtains here which it is hard for a stranger to admire, viz. the opening of every recitation with either a hymn or a prayer ; the names of the students being first called over, then the prayer offered or hymn sung, and then the subject of study 30 Oberlin. proceeded with. The first time I was present on such an occasion was at the lecture on physiology. The names were called ; instantly on the conclusion of the list some one struck up, "All hail the power of Jesu's Name," and, as the last word of the verse died out, the lecturer hegan briskly, "What did I say were the physical functions ? " I confess that to me at least the effect was rather striking than edifying. The morning sermon on Sunday was de- cidedly of the sensational order, with one or two accounts (apparently for imitation) of people, mentioned hy name, who received such vivid spiritual impressions as to fall into swoons in church, and remain so (one of them at least) for sixteen hours. The sermon con- cluded with an invitation to the congregation to come and hear the sequel thereof in the afternoon, and an interjected remark that "those who needed it most wouldn't " the personal application of which remark we still could not help risking. Several prayer-meetings were held during the week, at one of which, specially " con- ducted by the students themselves," we were Oberlin. 31 present. A theological student presided, and the proceedings having been opened by prayer and a hymn, he invited every one to speak as he or she felt able, requesting each to be " as brief as possible, as he felt that God was among them, and that many ought to speak that evening." One after another the students rose, some with quiet composure, but more with evident hesitation and excitement. One young man prayed very earnestly, and asked the people's prayers for " a young man under conviction, whose tears God had seen ; " another testified of the " good done to his own soul ; " a third " said a word for Jesus, and how He answered prayer ; " two or three with tears in their eyes feared that they " were not Christians, but desired the prayers of the rest that they might become so ; " another declared that he "had felt great comfort in religion, but now had nothing comforting to say;" and one very young man asked the prayers of all for himself, and asked them too "for his father, who" (and his voice broke) " was sixty years of age, and a sinner." Some of the girls spoke too, but on the whole there seemed to me 32 Qberlin. among them less of the painful intensity of feeling which characterised so many of the young men, and this struck me the more as opposed to the ordinary estimate of the religious susceptibility of the two sexes. There seemed a general feeling ahroad that the excitement of the evening might be in- dicative of the " first drops of a great shower of revival." The whole scene was to me very impressive (as must be any exhibition of deep feeling in whatever direction), very novel, and, I am afraid I must add, very sad. It seemed almost impossible that a state of feeling such as was here indicated, could per- vade a society in which general healthiness of tone prevailed. In so far as revivals depend on a morbid state of spiritual excitement, and that again on imperfectly developed bodily health, there seemed at Oberlin every facility for their advent. A less robust set of students I have seldom seen, with manners gentle and kind, but more subdued than seemed suited to their age had they been in full mental and physical health. The place impressed me as flat, and not very healthy (though the contrary is asserted) and the Oberlin. 33 water had to be filtered for drinking. Prom what I saw I imagine that no adequate system of cleansing or drainage prevails; and, though violent epidemics may be rare, I think the effects may be seen in the general under-baked look of the whole number of students and Professors. No suitable provision was made for physi- cal exercise or relaxation, and no gymnasium existed for either sex. During our ten days' stay we saw no sign whatever of athletic sports or exercises, unless indeed some of the stu- dents belonged to a company of firemen re- cently established, who exercised in front of our windows. The utmost physical recreation seemed to consist in a country walk, and I doubt if even this was common, though a large number of the students had just returned from the disbanded army. This absence of desire for physical sports seems more or less common throughout America, and is very strange in the eyes of those accustomed to the exhibition of animal spirits in the English youth of both sexes. There seems an absolute deficiency of vitality in Americans in this respect ; they seem for D 34 Oberlin. the most part born without the love of phy- sical exertion which so distinguishes their English cousins. And co-existent with this there seems to be on the other hand a greater readiness for study, a greater willingness to apply steadily to learning and find pleasure in it for its own sake, than we often find among students of the same age in England. Certainly the amount of actual mental work exacted and obtained from the youth of both sexes in America seems to me greater than could usually be got in England, and, as far as my observation goes, the students them- selves do not rebel against it, as I think is more or less the instinct of healthy English boys and girls. I do not pretend to account for these differ- ences, nor indeed to do more than record my own impressions on the point, but it is one that has struck me repeatedly. Another feature in Oberlin College which impressed me unfavourably was the very low scale of prices, and consequently inadequate payment of the Professors. Of course the missionary character assumed by the College from the first must be taken into account, Oberlin. 35 and it is in some sense consistent with this that the Professors should consent to labour for a rate of remuneration barely sufficient to provide them with the necessaries of life, and, in cases where they have large families, often inadequate to furnish them with domestic service. But, as far as I could learn, there exists no real necessity for so very low a scale of charges as are made for instruction, many at least of the pupils being able to pay at a somewhat higher rate. I do not, however, know how far it would now be in the power of the Faculty to raise more money by fees, as the only existing endowment (consisting of about $7,000 per annum) was raised by the sale of one thousand perpetual scholarships, the holders or lessees of which are entitled to a free education, and it is on this basis that nearly all the students are entered. In the Theological Department, even with- out these scholarships, instruction is free. In the other departments, the above-mentioned scholarships may be " rented " for about $3 a term, the whole charge for the year amounting therefore (according to the rate of exchange) to about thirty shillings, to which D 2 36 Oberlm. is added another ten shillings charged for " incidental expenses." Board can be obtained in the Halls and of the neighbouring families for sums varying from eight to fifteen shillings a week ; and in the College Halls, where the charge is lowest, it may be still further diminished by manual labour for the good of the community. No one, at least, can com- plain that education is here an expensive luxury ! I have now to speak of the point which first interested me in the idea and existence of Oberlin, and which first made me desire when on the other side of the Atlantic to see this and other similar Colleges with my own eyes, and from them draw my own conclu- sions: I mean the joint education of the sexes, as here existing. The subject is one sure to be bitterly con- tested ; for on the one side are ranged all the old habits of thought of the many, who see in the new system the downfall of all pro- priety ; and on the other the unmeasured enthusiasm of the few, who believe it to contain the germs of all future progress. Between the two it is sufficiently hard to Oberlin. 37 decide; and it is only as a contribution to the data from which to form a conclusion that I haye endeavoured carefully to collect, and now honestly to state, such evidence as I could find to bear on the subject. At Oberlin the regulations are such that it is the education alone which is common to both sexes, the social life being completely separate, with the exception that the meals in the Ladies' Hall are shared by the occu- pants of Tappan Hall. At prayer-meetings, indeed, all the students may meet, and at the different lectures in the chapel, as well as at all recitations in the class-rooms ; but they are strictly forbidden to walk to and from such meetings with those of the opposite sex, or to have any intercourse with them out of hours ; and, as far as I could learn, the regu- lations seemed to be well obeyed. In the class-rooms the girls generally occupy the front benches, and the young men those behind, or sometimes one side of the room is appropriated to each, as in the chapel a general division runs down the middle. I conversed with many of the Professors on the subject of this joint education, and also 38 Oberlin. inquired the individual opinion of eacli as to the relative mental powers of the male and female students. On the general issue, I found almost com- plete agreement in favour of the joint educa- tion. With regard to the latter inquiry, some diversity of opinion existed. Besides the oral testimony which I was at pains to collect, I was referred to a small pamphlet on the subject, prepared by the same Professor whose record of Oberlin's early history I have already quoted. The first advantage of the system, as there set forth, is its economy, the provision requi- site for educating the youth of one sex being, as is urged, usually sufficient for both, or at least capable of being made so with small addition, and thus a double gain secured at little more than a single outlay. It is, I suppose, undeniable, that where provision for educating both sexes is not made, it is the girls that will go to the wall, as is seen almost everywhere in England when once we pass beyond the limit of national schools, where both sexes are more or less commonly taught together, or at least provided with similar Oberlin. 39 facilities for instruction. Professor Pairchild argues that, in the Western and more thinly populated states, where no large endowments are available, the women will be especially sure to suffer, " unless the same school can meet the wants of both." The next argument brought forward is the mutually beneficial effect which is likely to be exercised by male and female students when brought together for the purposes of study. " That society is most happy," says the pam- phlet, " which conforms most strictly to the order of nature as indicated in the family relation, where brother and sister mutually elevate and restrain each other." "A school for young men becomes a community in itself, with its own standard of morality and its laws of honour;" but in a college for both sexes the student will find a " public sentiment not so lenient as that of a community of associates needing the same indulgence." "There is no healthful discipline where the order of the school is not maintained by public sentiment ; and, if those may be trusted who have had experience, there is no more successful method of securing such than by uniting the sexes in. 40 Oberlin. pursuit of study." The influence of this union in the matter of discipline is allowed to be " doubtless more important for young men than for young women;" and, simi- larly, the balance of benefit is said to incline to their side in the tendency of joint edu- cation to produce a " purer moral atmos- phere" than that common in a society of their own. " A more correct idea of the character of the female sex " is another advantage to be expected by young men under such a system, says Professor Eairchild, adding, modestly, that he is unable to affirm whether a false estimate of the other sex, similar to that so often to be regretted among young men, exists in ladies' boarding-schools ; " but, if so, they need a similar remedy." Allied to this last gain is " a more thorough common sense, as opposed to morbid sentimentalism," which may, it is hoped, result from a well-regu- lated association of the sexes ; and also " a higher degree of social cultivation." " A wholesome incitement to effort in study is another advantage naturally resulting." "The general elevating influence of a proper asso- Oberlm. 41 elation of the sexes in society at large is universally admitted, though social philoso- phers may fail to explain it. "Who shall deny that the same power operates with at least equal effect upon the young when associated as pupils in the same school ?" The pamphlet next goes on to consider the old objection of the " different spheres of action/' and contends that the aim of every school and college " should be to furnish a general cultivation as a basis of preparation for any or every sphere." As to the inquiry whether " young ladies will be able to main- tain their standing with young men," Pro- fessor Fairchild speaks from personal expe- rience, and assures us that "ladies ask no indulgence, and receive none. If an experience of twelve years in a school of five hundred of both sexes affords ground for judgment, the difficulty may be regarded as wholly ideal." Some studies should, he thinks, be properly pursued in separate classes, as is the case at Oberlin with anatomy and phy- siology. "With regard to the classics, he argues that " proper discrimination" will evade all difficulty ; that " such authors as Plato 42 Oberlin. and Xenophon, Cicero and Tacitus as noble and chaste as the entire range of literature affords may he read in mixed classes without causing a blush;" and adds, "It might he well even in schools for young men to keep within such limits." The argument that a puhlic school or college is not the place for young women because of the coarseness of manners that prevails, leads Mr. Pairchild to ask whether the school which is dangerous for one sex will be safe for the other, and whether (unless young men need much less safeguard against impurity than young women) it would not be better to re- solve that such influences should prevail as could but be healthful for each, rather than to exclude girls from the corruption tolerated for boys. " Our judgment in regard to the propriety of the matter," he adds, "must be determined not by what schools are now without the influence of female society, but what they will be when that influence is secured." By isolating women from men, moreover, he argues that they may be made into prudes, on the one hand ; or, " snatching the boon of Oberlin. 43 education which should have been freely be- stowed," they may, on the other, become really and offensively masculine from the very position of antagonism into which they find themselves forced. The pamphlet concludes with a few words on the supposed danger of hasty attachments and marriages which may arise, on which point the author remarks, that " there is something in the association of every-day life which appeals to the judgment rather than to the fancy," and that weeks and months of steady labour over the same problems or at the same sciences will not be more likely to create romances than casual meetings at fetes and balls. In talking with the other Professors on the same subject, I found the above opinions con- firmed, and was assured that hardly an in- stance had arisen where harm came from the system of joint education, and that many good results undoubtedly did follow. In speaking of the relative abilities of the male and female students, I found more differ- ence of opinion. The Professor of Chemistry and Physiology thought that the girls played 44 Oberlm. their part in the recitations about as well as the young men, hut did not consider them so well qualified for the lengthened consideration of a scientific subject. The Professor of Greek told me that he was unable to see much difference between the students of the two sexes : " But for the difference in sound of voice, I should find it hard, or impossible, with my eyes shut, to tell one from the other. If I am to find a dis- tinction, I may perhaps say that, speaking generally, the ladies have more intuitive quickness in construing, and earlier acquire elegance in composition ; while the gentlemen seem more able to seize on points touching the philosophy of the language. As regards power of attention and application, I have never remarked any difference, and the work done is usually about equal. " The Professor of Biblical Literature, who had the chief management of the Theological School, had had much less to do with female than with male students. He said that he had had, however, quite as good work done by young women as by young men, and that in rhetorical exercises and composition he Oberlin. 45 often found them to excel the young men in delicacy and elegance of expression. On the whole, however, he inclined to the belief that the balance of mental strength lay on the side of the young men. In answer to a question of mine, this Professor said that they had never received applications from women for systematic training for the ministry, though one or two female graduates had afterwards become preachers ; but that, if such applica- tions were made, the Faculty would certainly not refuse to admit them, but would, in each case, as at present, leave the responsibility of electing such a calling to the individual conscience. The Professor of Mathematics spoke, per- haps, more strongly than any in favour of the equality of the male and female intellect. He had been a Professor at Hillsdale College before coming to Oberlin, and gave us letters of in- troduction to that place, where the same system of education is pursued, though with certain differences. On the point in question he said, " I have found the work done by ladies to be fully equal to that of the gentlemen -fully ; and it has more than once occurred that the 46 Oberlin. best scholar in my class was a lady. Ladies are generally the quickest at recitation, and will repeat long problems more accurately than most of the young men. I do not know that they have any counterbalancing defect. As to strength and power of application, I know that the advantage is said to lie with the men, but I have not found it so/' These were the chief conversations with Oberlin Professors on this subject, though I talked about it more or less to others, and found that, substantially, the same opinions prevailed. In giving the foregoing account of Oberlin, I have felt bound to 'report, as fairly as I could, both sides of the picture; and, if I have been obliged to dwell on some points not altogether to be commended, I hope that I have not failed also to show how much there is that is truly good, genuine, and valuable in this simple community, in the midst of which one cannot live for even a few days without a feeling of attachment to those who are so ready with their kindly welcome. Whatever shortcomings or errors may be recorded against Oberlin, it should ever be remembered in her Oberlin. 47 favour that she took the initiative before all the world in opening a college career to women, and in welcoming, on equal terms, all students, of whatever race or hue. This double glory shall surely be hers in the memo- ries of men when much on which she now prides herself more may be forgotten. OBEELIN COLLEGE. COURSE OF STUDY. THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. THE conditions of admission to the Theological Depart- ment, are hopeful piety and a liberal education at some College, unless the candidate has otherwise qualified himself for pursuing with advantage the prescribed course of study. The candidate is expected to bring a certificate of good standing in some Evangelical Church. The Terms and Vacations are the same with those in the College Department. The regular Course of Instruction occupies three years, and comprises the. following subjects : JUNIOR YEAR. Evidences of Divine Revelation, Sacred Canon, Introduc- tion to the Study of the Old and New Testaments, Biblical Archaeology, Biblical Geography, Principles of Interpretation, Greek and Hebrew Exegesis, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Compositions and Extemporaneous Discussions. MIDDLE YEAR. Didactic and Polemic Theology, Biblical Theology, Greek and Hebrew Exegesis, Homiletics, Compositions and Extem- poraneous Discussions. Oberlin College. 49 SENIOR YEAR. Pastoral Theology, Sacred Khetoric, Composition of Ser- mons, Sacred and Ecclesiastical History, including the History of Theological Opinions, Exegesis continued, Church Govern- ment, Extemporaneous Discussions. SHOETEE COURSE. The following Course, as preparatory to the study of Theology, may be pursued, at the discretion of the Faculty, by students of an advanced age ONLY : The common English Branches, Algebra, Geometry, Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Anatomy and Physiology, General History, Whately's Logic and Khetoric, Evidences of Chris- tianity, Chemistry, Geology, Butler's Analogy, Political Eco- nomy, Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Greek Crosby's Grammar and Lessons, Xenophon's Anabasis, the New Testa- ment, Hebrew, Compositions and Discussions weekly. COLLEGE DEPAETMENT. Candidates for admission to the Freshman Class are ex- amined in Andrews' Latin Grammar and Eeader, Caesar, Cicero's Select Orations, Virgil, and Latin Prose Composition; in Crosby's Greek Grammar and Lessons, three books of Xenophon's Anabasis, and the Gospels of the New Testa- ment, or an equivalent ; in Arithmetic, Algebra to Equations of the Second Degree, and Weber's General History. Candidates for a higher standing are examined in the same, and also in the studies previously pursued by the class which they propose to enter. E 50 Oberlin College. FRESHMAN CLASS. FIRST TERM. Xenophon's Cyropsedia Owen. Cicero's Epistles Hanson. Algebra Loomis. Lectures on Rhetoric and Composition. SECOND TERM. Homer's Odyssey Owen. Latin Prose Composition Arnold. Geometry Loomis. Practical Lectures on Physiology and Hygiene. THIRD TERM. Greek Testament Acts of the Apostles. Greek Prose Composition Arnold. Livy Lincoln. Geometry completed Loomis. Conic Sections Loomis. Book-keeping, optional SOPHOMORE CLASS. FIRST TERM. Xenophon's Memorabilia Robbins. Horace Macleane. Greek Prose Composition Arnold. Plane Trigonometry Loomis. Surveying and Navigation .... Loomis. Oberlin College. 51 SECOND TERM. Greek Tragedy Woolsey. Greek Prose Composition . . . . . Arnold. Tacitus Germania and Agricola . . Tyler. Spherical Trigonometry Loomis. Analytical Geometry Loomis. Botany commenced Grey. Natural History Lectures. THIRD TERM. JEschines on the Crown Champlin. Botany completed Grey. Evidences of Christianity Hopkina, Calculus Loomig. JUNIOR CLASS. FIRST TERM. Demosthenes on the Crown .... Champlin. Natural Philosophy Mechanics and Hydrostatics Olmsted. Anatomy and Physiology Lectures. SECOND TERM. Greek Testament Epistles. Natural Philosophy Pneumatics, Elec- tricity, Magnetism, and Optics . Olmsted. Logic commenced Whately. Chemistry Lectures. E2 52 Oberlin College. THIRD TERM. Cicero, De Officiis . . .' . . Thacher. Astronomy . Olmsted. Logic completed Whately. Rhetoric Whately. SENIOR CLASS. FIRST TERM. Mental Philosophy . Haven. Elements of Criticism . Kames. Hitchcock's Geology, with Lectures. Mineralogy Lectures . SECOND TERM. Mental Philosophy completed . . . Haven. Butler's Analogy. Chemistry Lectures. Plato Gorgias Woolsey. Political Economy Smith. THIRD TERM. Plato Gorgias Woolsey. Moral Philosophy Lectures. Lectures on Social and Political Science. Lessons in English Bible, Compositions, Declamations, and Extemporaneous Discussions, weekly ; and public original Declamations, monthly, throughout the Course. Oberlin College, 53 SCIENTIFIC COUESE. Persons pursuing this Course will make their arrangements under the direction of the Principal of the Preparatory De- partment, and recite with the classes in which their studies occur. FIRST YEAR. FIRST TERM. Loomis' Algebra commenced, Cicero's Orations, Weber's History. SECOND TERM. Algebra completed, Geometry commenced, Practical Lec- tures on Physiology and Hygiene, Botany commenced, Weber's History. THIRD TERM. Geometry completed, Conic Sections, Botany completed, Evidences of Christianity, VirgiL SECOND YEAR FIRST TERM. Plane Trigonometry and Surveying, Gould and Agassiz's Principles of Zoology, Systematic Zoology, Lectures on Teach- ing, Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. SECOND TERM. Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry, Chemistry, Lec- tures on Ancient Literature, Mineralogy, Lectures on Con- chology, Logic. 54 Oberlin College. THIRD TERM. Olmsted's Astronomy, Guizot's History of Civilization, Logic, Rhetoric. THIRD YEAR. FIRST TERM. Olmsted's Natural Philosophy Mechanics and Hydro- statics ; Intellectual Philosophy, Hitchcock's Geology, Kames' Elements of Criticism (optional). SECOND TERM. Natural Philosophy Pneumatics, Acoustics, Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics; Intellectual Philosophy, Butler's Analogy, Political Economy. THIRD TERM. Moral Philosophy, Lectures on Social and Political Science, Constitution of the United States. Lessons in English Bible, Compositions, Declamations and Discussions, weekly, throughout the Course. TEACHERS' INSTITUTE. In addition to the above course, Teachers' Classes ar formed every Fall Term, continuing about six weeks, in which special instruction is given in the branches pursued in Common Schools. Teachers are exercised in the best methods of teaching the various branches, and in the genera management of schools. Oberlin College. 55 In connexion with these classes, a Course of Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Teaching is delivered every Fall by experienced and distinguished Teachers. Facilities are thus afforded equal to those in the best Teachers' Institutes. PEEPAEATOEY DEPAETMENT. The Preparatory Department is under the same general supervision with the other Departments, and under the im- mediate direction and management of the Principal. The members of this Department are subject to the same regula- tions as the students in the College. It is especially .designed to prepare students for College, but it is also adapted to meet the wants of those who require a good English educa- tion for teaching common schools, or for general business. All the branches are taught in this Department usually taught in High Schools and Academies. The Senior Preparatory Class is taught by the Principal and Tutors ; the other classes by teachers selected from the Theological and Higher College classes. About forty students are thus employed. A large portion of the Preparatory students are school teachers or preparing to teach. The average age of the students in the Department is between nineteen and twenty years. The following are the studies pursued : COUESE PEEPAEATOEY FOE COLLEGE. To enter upon this course, students must have pursued the ordinary English Branches, and have studied Latin two terms. 56 Oberlin College. JUNIOR CLASS. FIRST TERM. Andrews' Latin Reader completed. Crosby's Greek Gram- mar and Lessons, English Analysis. SECOND TERM. Caesar, Crosby's Lessons, Elocution. THIRD TERM. Cicero's Orations, Xenophon's Anabasis, Arithmetic. SENIOR CLASS. FIRST TERM. Cicero's Orations, Anabasis, Weber's History. SECOND. TERM. Latin Prose Composition, Anabasis, New Testament The Gospels, "Weber's History completed, Penmanship. THIRD TERM. Virgil, Anabasis reviewed, Algebra to Equations of the Second Degree. Bible Lessons, Compositions, Declamations, and Discus- sions, weekly, throughout the Course. The Text Books in the Language are Andrews' and Stoddard's Grammar and Andrews' Reader, Hanson's Latin Prose Book, Ereeze's Virgil, Arnold's Latin Prose Composi- Oberlin College. 57 tion, Crosby's Grammar and Lessons, and Boise's or Owen's Anabasis. Students are expected to use the editions specified above, in the recitation. GENEEAL COUESE. Bullions' English Grammar, Camp's Geography and Pelton's Key with Outline Maps, Orthography, Ancient Geography, Weber's History, Stoddard's and Eay's Arithmetics, Algebra, Geometry, Surveying, Johnston's Natural Philosophy, Cutter's Physiology, Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, An- drews' Latin Eeader, Caesar, Virgil, Cicero's Select Orations, Crosby's Greek Grammar and Lessons, the Four Gospels, Anabasis, Eeading, and Oratory. Bible Lessons, Compositions, Declamations, and Discus- .sions weekly. YOUNG LADIES' DEPAETMENT. The Young Ladies' Department is under the immediate 'direction of the Principal and the Assistant Principal, and the general supervision of the Ladies' Board of Managers and Faculty. The Course of Study is designed to give Young Ladies facilities for thorough mental discipline, and the special training which will qualify them for teaching and the other duties of their sphere. The advanced classes are taught by the Professors, and recite with the College classes where their studies are the same. The lower classes are taught as the classes in the College Preparatory Department, with which they usually recite. Ladies wishing to enter advanced classes will be examined in the previous studies of the Course, or present other evi- dence, to the teacher of each study, that they have pursued it elsewhere. 58 Oberlin College. COURSE OF STUDY. FIRST YEAR. FIRST TERM. Loomis' Algebra completed, Caesar, Watts on the Mind, Linear Drawing. SECOND TERM. Loomis' Geometry commenced, Cicero's Orations, Nevins' Biblical Antiquities, Elocution. THIRD TERM. Loomis' Geometry completed, Conic Sections, Virgil's ^Eneid, Burritt's Geography of the Heavens, Penmanship. SECOND YEAR FIRST TERM. Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, French, Weber's His- tory with Lectures. SECOND TERM. Analytical Geometry, Mineralogy, Lectures on Conchology, Weber's History with weekly Lectures, Botany. THIRD TERM. French, Botany completed, Evidences of Christianity, Paley^s Theology. Oberlin College. 59 THIRD YEAR. FIRST TERM. Olmsted's Natural Philosophy, Mechanics and Hydro- statics, Anatomy and Physiology, Principles of Zoology, Systematic Zoology, with Lectures. SECOND TERM. Natural Philosophy Pneumatics, Acoustics, Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics ; Chemistry, Whately's Logic, English Literature. THIRD TERM. Olmsted's Astronomy, Logic completed, Whately's Rhetoric, Guizot's History of Civilization. FOURTH YEAR. FIRST TERM. Kames' Elements of Criticism, Haven's Mental Philosophy, Hitchcock's Geology. SECOND TERM. Lectures on Chemistry, Mental Philosophy completed, Political Economy, Butler's Analogy. THIRD TERM. Moral Philosophy, Lectures on Social and Political Science. Lessons in English Bible, and Exercises in Reading and Composition, weekly throughout the Course. 60 Oberlin College. YOUNG LADIES' PREPARATORY. Stoddard's Intellectual Arithmetic, Ray's and Stoddard's Practical Arithmetic, English Grammar, Elocution, Modern Geography, Orthography, Reading, Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar and Reader, Algebra to Equations of the Second Degree. Students not taking a regular course may, with the appro- bation of the Faculty, pursue such studies as they may select in either course. MUSIC, PAINTING, AND DRAWING. VOCAL MUSIC. Systematic and thorough Instruction in Vocal Music is given, without extra charge, to all members of the Institu- tion who desire it. A large portion of the pupils attend to this branch of study. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. Ample facilities, under competent and experienced teachers, are afforded to all who wish instruction in Instrumental Music. TERMS FOR INSTRUCTION ON THE PIANO. Tuition per Quarter $12-00 Use of Instrument 2 -00 The best instruction is afforded in the art of Drawing and I ainting. The teacher employed in this Department is an Oberlin College. 61 experienced and skilful artist, and has had eminent success in imparting the art to others. The Ladies of the First Year receive a course in Linear Drawing without extra charge. For others the prices per Term are as follows : Oil Painting, with use of models $10'00 Water Colours, with use of paints and brushes 5 '00 Crayon Drawing, Term of 50 lessons .... 5 '00 Linear Drawing, Term of 50 lessons .... 4*00 Young Ladies connected with the Institution are required to make their arrangements for Music and Drawing under the direction of the Principal of the Ladies' Department. FKENCH. The French Language is taught by an accomplished and educated Frenchman, who gives instruction to classes several hours a day, and to private pupils whenever it is desired. Superior facilities are thus afforded to all for acquiring a thorough knowledge of this Language. BELIGIOUS EXERCISES. All students are required to attend church twice on the Sabbath, and the weekly religious lecture on Thursday. They are also required to attend daily prayers, in the evening, at the chapel, and in the morning, in the families in which they board. Every class has a weekly exercise in the English Bible, which all are required to attend. There is a weekly prayer-meeting on Monday evening for all young people, in the chapel, conducted by the students ; and a weekly prayer-meeting for each class, conducted by one of the teachers. 62 Oberlin College. STUDIES OF THE THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, FOR 1864-5. JUNIOR CLASS. FALL TERM. 1. Hebrew, Tu. W. Th. F. S 9 MIDDLE CLASS. FALL TERM. 1. Systematic Theology, Tu. W Th F 8 SENIOR CLASS. FALL TERM. 1. SystematicTheology,Tu. W Th F 10 2. Greek Harmony, Tu. W. Th F 1 S 8 2. (a) Greek Exegesis, Tu. w .:. 11 2. (a) Greek Exegesis, Tu. W 11 3. (a) *Jahn's Archaeology, " (6) Hebrew Exegesis, Th. F S 11 (b) Hebrew Exegesis, Th. F S 11 Tu. W. Th 10 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 8PB1NO TERM. 1. Hebrew, Tu. W. Th. F. S . . 9 (b) Sermonizing, W. F... 9 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 SPRING TERM. 1. Systematic Theology, Tu. W Th F 8 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 SPRING TERM. 1. Systematic Theology,Tu. W Th F .. 10 2. Greek Exegesis, Tu. W. Th. F 8 2. (a) Hebrew Exegesis, Tu. W 11 2. (a) Hebrew Exegesis, Tu. W 11 3. (a) The Canon of the Sa- cred Scriptures, Cri- (6) Greek Exegesis, Th F S 11 (fc) Greek Exegesis, Th. F S 11 Laws of Interpreta- tion, W. F 10 3. (a) tChurch History, Tu. Th ... 9 3. (a) 1 Church History, Tu. Th 9 (fc) Skeletonizing, Tu. Th 10 (b) Sermons, W. F 9 (5) Sermons, W. F 9 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 SCMMEK TERM. 1. Hebrew, Tu. W. Th. F. g 8 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 SUMMER' TERM. 1. SystematicTheology,Tu. W. Th. F 8 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 SUMMER TERM. 1. Biblical Theology, Tu. W. Th F S 11 2. Hebrew Exegesis, Tu. W. 2. Biblical Theology, Tu.W. Th F S .11 2. (a) Sermonizing, Tu. W. Th F 10 Th F ... 10 Th F 10 3. (a) Greek Exegesis, Tu. W Th 9 (6) Professor Walker's Lectures two weeks, (&) Skeletonizing, F. ... 9 in place of Sermon- izing 9 in place of Sermon- izing. 9 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 4. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 3. Rhetorical Exercises, S. 9 to 11 Prayer-meeting of the Department, through the year, Saturday at 8 o'clock. * Jahn's Archaeology and Hughes' Scripture Geography and History are taken in alternate years. t Guericke's Church History and Vinet's Homiletics are taken in alternate years. Oberlin College. 63 TABULAR VIEW OF THE EXEECISES OF THE COLLEGE CLASSES FOR EACH TERM. FALL TERM, 1864. M FRESH. ... SOPH Rhetorical Exercises, 10 12. JUN. Rhetorical Exercises, 10 12. Rhetorical Exercises, 810. SEN. Rhetorical Exercises, 14. Hour 89. 910. 10-11. 1112. $ fr# j/jod g * FRESH. ... Mathematics. Latin. Mathematics. Grreek. Kames. > Zoology, 2 P.M. Greek. Latin. Physiology. Geology. Greek. Mechanics. Mental Philos. SEN LADIES ... ("Physio] ogy. (History. SATURDAY. FRESH. ... SOPH Mathematics. Bible Class. Bible Class. Greek. Bible Class. Zoology, 2 P.M. Greek. Latin. Lects. on Rhet. Greek. Mechanics. Mental Philos. Ju SEN Bible Class. Geology. LADIES .... SPRING TERM, 1865. H FRESH. ... SOPH Rhetorical Exercises, 1C 12. Rhetorical Exercises, 8 10. JUN. Rhetorical Exercises, 1012. SEN. Rhetorical Exercises, 14. Hour 89. 910. 10-11. 1112. TUES. WED. THURS. & FRI. FRESH ... Mathematics. Lat. 8 w. Bot. Gr. 6 w. Logic. Latin. Greek. Chemistry. Chemistry. Mineralogy. Greek. Nat. Philos. Butler, 9 w. Gr. History. SOPH JUN Mathematics. SEN Phil. 7w. PI. EC. SATURDAY. FRESH. ... SOPH JUN Lee. on Hyg. Bible Class. Mathematics. Lat. 8 w. Bot. Gr. 6 w. Logic. Latin. Greek. Nat. Philos. Chemistry. Mineralogy. Bible Class. Bible Class. Butler 9 w. Gr. SEN LADIES ... Bible Class. 64 Oberlin College. SUMMER. TERM, 1865. fc m FRESH. ... SOPH Rhetorical Exercises, 1012. JXJN. Rhetorical Exercises, 10 12. Rhetorical Exercises, 810. SEN. Rhetorical Exercises, 1 4. Hour 89. 910. 10-11. j 11-12. '' Hfa *! Eg FRESH. ... SOPH JUN Mathematics. Evid. Chris. Latin. Greek. Astronomy. Soc. & Pol. Sci. Nat. Theology. Greek. Botany 3 w. Lathi. Moral Philos. Mathematics. Log. 3 w. Rhet. SEN LADIES ... Greek 4 w. Guizot. SATURDAY. FRESH. ... SOPH Mathematics. Evid. Chris. Bible Class. Bible Class. Logic, Rhet. Latin. .Greek. Astronomy. Moral Philos. Nat. Theology. Botany 3 w. Bible Class. Bible Class. SEN LADIES ... Greek 4 w. CHAPTER III. HILLSDALE. EROM Oberlin (which lies somewhat north- west of Cleveland, Ohio) we proceeded to Hillsdale, in the southern part of Michigan, where is a second large college for both sexes, the management of which is in the hands of a liberal body of Baptists. It was raining hard when we reached the station, and, finding no conveyance obtainable, we left our luggage in the cloak-room, and set out to walk to the President's house. The ground on each side of the railway-line rises gently, the village or small town of Hillsdale lying on one side of the track, and the College- buildings at some distance on the other, with at least half a mile between them. As we walked up the continued ascent to- wards the College, we could not but remark to each other how much more healthy the air seemed in spite of the rain, and how much 66 Hillsdale. more desirable the site of this College was than that of Oberlin. We were fortunate in finding the President at home, and were received by him with great kindness. He welcomed us warmly to Hills- dale, and expressed his wish to be of use to us in every possible way. I inquired whether it would be possible for us to board in the Ladies' Hall during our stay, as we should thus be able to see so much more of the social life of the community, but was told that it was already overflowing with students. The President advised us to go to the country inn, on the other side of the railway, for the night, and promised to find some boarding-place for us near the College next day, if possible. When we returned to the little town, we found that a concert was to be given that evening, and that almost every room was en- gaged. By great pertinacity we succeeded in securing one very small room, and were glad, after the fatigues of the day, to accept even that. This was the roughest of the Western inns to which we went ; in proof whereof I mny relate a characteristic little incident of Hillsdale. 67 this evening. Our room was but meagrely furnished for one inmate, and we represented strongly that a more bountiful supply of water and general washing apparatus was absolutely essential for two people. The shock-headed "help" stared at us; told us we "couldn't have any more;" and then, when we persisted, stood still in amazement to have a good look at such unreasonable people, exclaiming, " What do you want with such a lot of wash- ing?" "To be clean," quoth I. After con- sidering this reply, " Are ye some of the concert folk, then?" No; we couldn't aspire to that honour. "Well, then! I don't see what you want such a deal of washing for ! " Which colloquy reminded me of an incident of travel in Germany. Arriving at Hanover after a long and dusty journey from Cologne, I was as intensely disgusted as English people usually are to find no ladies' dressing-room at so large a station ; and, having got hold of some old hag, who seemed the presiding genius, explained to her that I must have some soap and water at any rate. Greatly amazed by such an unheard-of demand, she proceeded, however, to comply with it, in hope of future 68 Hillsdale. groschens ; but when she had deposited the bowl of water on a table, she retired to some hidden den, whence I heard issue, in a tone combining reproachful wonder with its only possible explanation " Ach ! Englisch ! " After all, I do not know that the love of cold water is the worst possible of national characteristics. Next day we found that the President had been taking great trouble on our behalf, but had not succeeded in finding any boarding- place for us. He then conferred, for the second time, with the Lady Superintendent of the Ladies' Hall, and she told us shortly after that a room in the building was at our service. We found afterwards that, in her great kindness, this lady had proposed to give up her own sitting-room for our use, and that she had only been prevented from doing so by two of the students, daughters of the steward, who actually moved out of their room and installed us in it with the most unostentatious hospitality, their father's office in the hall enabling them to find (though I fear at great inconvenience) some inferior quarters for them- selves downstairs. Sillsdale. 69 I cannot refrain from speaking of these things, because they are but representative of the great kindness and cordiality with which we strangers were received almost everywhere, simply as English teachers desiring to compare notes with our American cousins. Having thus the advantage of actually sharing in the College life for a week, I snail be able to describe the internal and social arrangements more fully than at Oberlin, where we boarded at an inn during the whole of our stay. Of course certain differences exist, but, on the whole, the social life of one College may be taken as fairly representative of that of the rest of similar institutions in the Western States. At Hillsdale, one large and handsome brick building, consisting of three portions distinct from roof to basement, contains the College proper and two boarding-halls. In the central division, recitation and lecture-rooms, with the library and a handsome room for the President, occupy the two lower floors ; while a good- sized chapel fills the whole of the second story, is of good height, and has a small organ-gallery at one end. Double staircases, with landings 70 Hillsdale. common to both flights, run from top to bottom of this part of the building, and one is appro- priated to the students of each sex, a further spirit of order assigning a side of each stair- case to those ascending, and the other to those descending, so that the numbers occasion little confusion. Above the chapel is a kind of cir- cular belfry, whence extensive views are to be obtained on all sides. The whole left wing of the building, with the exception of some ground-floor rooms, is assigned to the female students, and the young men are similarly lodged in the right wing. A large but low dining-hall occupies most of the basement on the left side, and in this all the students resident in hall meet for meals, the Lady Superintendent and those teachers who lodge in the building being always pre- sent, and some of the Professors occasionally. There is no regular order with regard to seats, and the students disperse themselves much as they please, usually retaining the same places during the term generally two or three girls sitting together, then two or three men, and so forth. The whole arrangements of the College are Hillsdale. 71 thoroughly patriarchal and refreshingly simple. There is no " hired help " whatever, except such as may he engaged for the kitchen by the steward, who has the whole charge of the commissariat department. All the students and teachers pay him a fixed sum for hoard during our stay it was, I think, $3 per week and he provides and serves the meals for the whole community, according to his own judg- ment and on his own responsibility. The present steward has two daughters who are students in the College, and whose kindness to us I have already mentioned. In each wing of the building are staircases leading into long passages, opening in their turn into corridors running from end to end of the wing at right angles with the length of the building. Into these corridors open, on each side, a long succession of numbered doors, each surmounted by a kind of revolving window or shutter fixed in the wall, which can be opened for purposes of ventilation. These rooms are nearly uniform in size throughout the building, and each is designed for two students, and furnished by the College with a double bedstead, a stove, one or two small 72 milsdale. tables, and two chairs. Bedding is provided by the students themselves, as also such other furniture as they need. The whole care of the room devolves on its occupants, who are expected to get through their "room- work" before the breakfast -bell rings at 7 A.M. Breakfast consists usually of tea and coffee, bread and butter, some kind of hash, potatoes, and the molasses which form so inevitable an accompaniment of a Western meal. The dishes of ready-cut food are brought in by the steward and his assistants, and placed on the different tables, where their contents quickly disappear, and a succession of hand -bells tinkle from all quarters, notifying requests for a fresh supply. The meals are all prefaced by long graces or prayers, which are offered by different students, or sometimes Professors, at the request of the steward. During these the doors are locked, to prevent interruption by late arrivals. The time allowed for eating is not long twenty minutes, if I remember rightly and five minutes before its expiry the steward strikes on a small bell to give warning of the time, and the students disperse one by one, as they severally finish their meal. ffillsdale. 73 A short time elapses before the bell sum- mons all to the places appointed for the roll to be called, this being done, in the case of the girls, by the Lady Superintendent in a room appointed for the purpose ; and, in that of the young men, by the President, or one of the Professors in the College-chapel. This is the time when general remarks are made and admonitions delivered, after which the girls proceed also to the chapel, and a short service follows. The various recitations then begin, and con- tinue till noon, when dinner is served, con- sisting generally of meat and vegetables, with sometimes some kind of pudding. As at Oberlin, no " intoxicating liquors " are al- lowed, " except by order of a physician." Study is again resumed from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M., but fewer classes meet than in the morning. Prom 4 o'clock the students' time is their own until supper at 6 ; and after supper study in their own rooms is supposed to continue from 7 to 9 o'clock. At 10 all lights are to be extinguished. The routine of study is much the same on all days except the two first of the week. On 74 Jlillsdale. Sunday morning the College-chapel is used by the whole Baptist community of Hillsdale, and the students may attend there or elsewhere as they please; but in the afternoon the service is specially designed for them, and their pre- sence is required. In the evening are different Bible-classes, but of an order very much quieter than those at Oberlin. Indeed, at Hillsdale the whole tone seemed to me in this respect much more healthy. The desire was evident that a religious feeling should pervade the College, but we heard nothing of revivals, and the students did not seem oppressed by the kind of religious melancholy that one regretted in the older College. I have no doubt that the advantages of natural situation are greatly on the side of Hillsdale, and that here the students live altogether a far more healthy life, though one still deficient in physical ac- tivity. At the time of our visit, however, a class for gymnastics was being formed, and many of them entered into it with great spirit. I wished myself very much that some good croquet -grounds formed part of the College domains. The only thing that I saw by any means resembling athletic sports Hillsdale. 75 was a kind of trial of strength by some of the young men in throwing small blocks of stone backward over their heads, and this I re- member was objected to, not in itself, but because it was done just in front of the College. Numbers of the students here, also, had just returned from the war, and certainly some were illustrations of the youth of many of the later regiments. The feature in the Sunday programme which I most disliked was the custom, very common in the "West, of having no regular mid- day meal on that day, but only a lunch of (on this occasion) apple-pie and bread and butter, with meat at the 6 o'clock supper. .1 suppose the idea is to save .Sunday cooking ; but I should hardly think the plan could be whole- some for a large community of hard-working students. On Monday no College work is done, the day being assigned especially to such washing as the students choose to do in the College laundries. On the Monday that we spent at Hi] Is dale the afternoon was devoted to a " sociable " a kind of friendly gathering of 76 Hillsdale. all the students in the President's room, library, and adjoining apartments, where various objects of interest were exhibited, and a sort of conversazione (rather of the crowded kind) took place. These meetings are, I be- lieve, only held at considerable intervals, and seem very popular. Monday evening is always devoted to the meetings of the Literary Societies, of which four exist among the students, two being con- ducted by the male, and two by the female, students, and each limited to one sex or the other, for some reason which I could not understand. A room is given by the College to each of these societies, and the only form of extravagance popular at Hills- dale consists in decorating and adorning these rooms, really at considerable expense. Hardly any of the students considered carpets neces- sary in their own rooms, but the richer of these societies exhibited in their domain all sorts of expensive upholstery, including ex- ceedingly comfortable arm-chairs, and carved cases for books and specimens ; so that it had a really very curious effect to find the stern simplicity of the rest of the College separated Hillsdale. 77 by only a door and curtain from a display of considerable taste and luxury in furniture, paintings hanging from the walls, and carved work (often, if not always, by former students) ornamenting the very doors. Two at least of these societies issue from time to time neat magazines of their own, containing the essays or other literary efforts read or spoken at their meetings. Of these magazines we were given several numbers as a pleasant remembrance of our visit. As illustration always goes twice as far as description, I will here insert two articles chosen from these little publications, the first being issued in " The Souvenir, by the Ladies' Literary Union," and the second in " The Amateur, by the Amphictyon Society," con- ducted by students of the sterner sex. " CALICO.* " There is, perhaps, no article so much abused, and yet at the same time so useful, as Calico. It is not stiff and un- graceful like silk, but neat, plain, and becoming, and, it should be added, cheap. It is not appreciated by the American people, and WHY cannot be conjectured, unless it be because it does not cost dimes enough. Delaines, merinos, A nglicZ Cottou-print. 78 Hillsdale. silks, and velvets, are well enough in their proper places, the parlour or the drawing-room, but even there the greatest attention must be paid them. Scarce anything may come in contact with them lest they be rumpled. Silk possesses a great animosity to all things in general, while Calico is affectionate. Although it delights in the company of the mild, it bears without flinching the presence of the rude. It does not gather itself into all manner of contortions every time it chances to meet with a nail. Calico prepares the niceties that tempt man's palate. You know not why, but it is not Calico that makes muddy coffee, burns the biscuits, or scorches the toast. It is Calico that can ramble in the woods, climb fences, and leap logs, without being injured. It is Calico that the rain does not spot nor the mud spoil. It has been well said, that ' when Calico comes blushing from the kitchen and takes a seat at the piano, and from it brings sweet melodious strains, and with these blends a musical voice, that then we can appreciate it.' It is Calico for school-girls, Calico for farmers' girls, and should be Calico for city girls. This is said to be a world of reforms, and here is a place in which woman, who has always thought that she is abused, may display her power. Let the advocate of woman's rights, before seeking a greater sphere of action, improve the opportunities already granted her. Here let there be a beginning. Crush silk to the earth, and elevate Calico. History informs us that woman has degenerated. We are not as our foremothers were. The women of the Revolution were discreet, courageous, and true, but they were found not with silks and satins. They were an honour to their country, and now, at the commencement of another war, we should strive to be noble and brave even as they were. Not that a person cannot be truly noble if arrayed in silks, but their influence cannot be as great. Silk craves attention, while generous Calico takes care of herself. There Hillsdale. 79 is something disagreeable about silk. It is never a friend to the sick-room, and its rustling is annoying to sensitive persons. Were the public at rest, a great benefit would be realized from a reform. Long and sour-visaged husbands would be scarce. There are intellects similar to silk too nice for common people. They soar aloft in unknown, regions, and scarcely ever descend to the earth. Or when they endeavour to converse with the Calico intellect, they speak in a foreign language. They live in ideality, never in reality. Here, too, there should be a reform ; and this must be effected by both sexes, for there are silk men as well as silk women. Calico, which can be found in abundance and cheap, should form the principal ingredient of the mind, for being was granted us to live the REAL LIFE, NOT THE IDEAL." "DEGENERACY OF MORALS THE CAUSE OF OUR RUPTURE. BY O. P. FISK. " The moral condition of an age or of a nation is known by the character and number of its great men. And especially is this true in every free representative government, where the people are considered the fountain of power, and at whose bidding rulers are created and deposed. " In such a country a wise and good man cannot rule when the ruling sentiment of the people discards virtue and favours corruption ; nor can a bad man rule when the ruling sentiment upholds virtue and discards injustice. " If this be true, who can contemplate the ruling senti- ment of the people of this country for the twenty-five years past, and wonder as to the cause of our rupture ? Who rather does not think it strange that God has suffered the American nation to go so long unpunished ] 80 Hillsdale. " Wisdom has often raised her voice in our high places, warning us of our suicidal course, and admonishing us to avert the terrible storm, which has already burst upon us with a fury which threatens to surpass the French Ee volution in destruction. " We, blinded by our prosperity, our rapid acquisition of wealth, power, and national glory, heeded not the voice of wisdom, and turned a deaf ear to the just demands of our injured citizens. We have been plunging deeper and deeper into iniquity for many years past, and we must acknowledge, however painful and humiliating it may be, that, notwith- standing our unparalleled progress in the arts and sciences in our sudden elevation to a national importance second to none we suffered our moral standard of right and wrong to degenerate so much as to justly merit the calamities which have befallen us. Those elements so pernicious to civil governments have long been as rife here as they ever were in Greece and Rome when those republics began to decline. " Did our Government afford as good opportunities to the designing and unprincipled as the Eoman did, there would have been unfolded a Caesar, Marius, and a Sylla long before now. " But the founders of our republic, avoiding the errors in other governments, were able to give us, as they did, the best government ever established ; and those very elements which destroyed other nations might have long existed here with comparatively little injury to our country, were it not for slavery that in itself being sufficient to destroy any govern- ment. " Every one who is at all familiar with the history of our country knows that in some of the high places of our government have been men' exceedingly corrupt. Who gave these men power to rule, and maintained them in their iniquity ? Hillsdale. 81 ,- " The people, being their own rulers, are accountable for these sins ; and unless this revolution which is now raging ameliorates the condition of the oppressed, and purges our land from some of its grossest impurities, the future historian will inform posterity that the American nation was strong enough intellectually, but morally too weak to wield the vast resources which we possess for the good of mankind. "One can with difficulty suppress the feeling of revenge that animates his soul when he reads the account of the death of Agricola and Cicero. He is astounded when he learns that Nero rejoiced at the sufferings of his countrymen, and laughed while Eome was burning. These deeds of wickedness, although done in an age when the human mind was sunk in the lowest depths of degradation when the spirit of liberty was a stranger to the human heart still strike the understanding of the reader with astonishment and horror, and cannot fail to extort compassion from the sympathetic. " But the American nation, which has ever boasted of its adherence to justice, has looked with indifference on outrages committed against our own citizens, that vie with any act of atrocity committed in any preceding age. Peaceable, law- abiding citizens have been murdered in cold blood, because they dared respond to nature's call and decry oppression, and shout for freedom. The Government has not only winked at this species of barbarism which, considering the age in which we live, has never had its parallel but rewarded the perpetrators of these awful deeds deeds which extract tears of sympathy and compassion from the very stones. Kansas ! thy plains have drunk the best blood of thy pioneers. No court on earth avenged their wrongs, but there is a court in heaven to which they and the down-trodden slave can appeal with success. The Judge of that court is Almighty God, and before rendering His decision He does not ask whether the 82 Hillsdale. suppliants are rich or poor, black or white, whether they are members in good standing in the Church, but metes out justice to murderers and oppressors according to their deserts. The American nation has been tried before the bar of justice the unalterable decision has been pronounced. And during the whole trial the question was not asked whether this nation descended from Shem, Ham, or Japheth, or whether we are the professed followers of Christ or of Mohammed. But the decision would you read it ? It is written in un- mistakeable and indelible characters : ' America, turn from your ways, or you shall be numbered among the nations that exist no more.' This is the terrible decision of One who will execute His laws, in spite of the friends of slavery or the Union. Jefferson Davis may, by the shrewdness of his counsels, obscure even the military glory of Hannibal. England may frown, and weigh carefully the value of cotton, calculate the force of her navy, and notify us that her ' drum- beat encompasses the globe.' Louis Napoleon may estimate the chances of conquest, number his experienced officers, point us to his military achievements and his vast resources. Yet will the just cause finally triumph in America. War shall reign, and peace shall not be known in our land, until our difficulties are settled according to the principles of equity and justice. When the rights of the slave are con- sidered and respected, both in the North and in the South, and corruption is banished from our rulers then, and not till then, will we be the happiest, greatest, and most peaceful nation on earth, "We did not spend the whole evening with the Literary Societies, for we had also received a kind invitation to attend a meeting of the Faculty, or Educational Committee, and were Sillsdale. 83 very glad to avail ourselves of this oppor- tunity of hearing one of their debates re- specting the management of the College. The plan seemed to me an excellent one, that the President, all the Professors, and the Lady Superintendent should meet and discuss freely all topics connected with the discipline and instruction of the College, deciding practical points in full conclave, and thus securing future unanimity of action; and the friendly spirit and sound judgment shown in the debate augured well for the government of the College. On the following days we were present at numerous "recitations," and found that the same system of daily examination by the Pro- fessor was pursued, though it seemed to me that the text-books used and work done were somewhat more thorough than at Oberlin. The Professor of Mathematics told me that the standard of education here did not differ materially from that of Yale College, with which he was familiar falling, perhaps, some- what behind it in classical studies, and ex- celling it in the attention given to modern languages. G2 84 Hillsdale. We were present at some interesting classes in Natural Philosophy, in which the recitation was illustrated by experiments. One of the Professors paid a good deal of attention to English literature and rhetoric, and invited us to attend a class then reading " Hamlet." The study of English as a lan- guage is, however, I think, always the weak point in American education ; partly because as a nation they do not care very much to speak classical English, and many of them defend "American" as a distinct language (which it is) ; and partly because they have in fact no adequate standard to refer to, since no class speaks really correctly, and " pro- nouncing dictionaries " complete the hopeless- ness of the business. An American will always ask you " what dictionary you go by," and seems quite unable to understand the un-written law of language which in England reigns supreme, and from which, if a dictionary differs, it simply condemns itself. As an instance of the absolute want of knowledge of English pronunciation, I have heard instruction given to pronounce " be- neath " long, as if with a final " e," and a Hillsdale. 85 declaration made that it was optional to say either "national" or "national;" while such expressions as " I don't know as ," " It had ought," " I have spoke," passed unchallenged by the dozen, and this among students who were prohahly thoroughly familiar with the niceties of Latin and Greek, and perhaps one or more of the modern languages. In reading " Hamlet," one rather absurd blunder illustrated a common Americanism. Horatio was made to answer "Most like" (Act I. Scene 1) in a tone which clearly con- veyed no idea of the meaning ; and it was then elicited that the reader supposed Shake- speare to be using the Yankee " 'most " for almost, and to signify that the resemblance to the deceased king was nearly perfect ! On another day we heard rhetorical exer- cises at Hillsdale, and some amusing debates were carried on by two or three students on each side, though not with any very great power. One young man, speaking of the rapid progress of inventions, gave an amusing account of how, " before he went to the war," he used to walk between the handles of the plough and work really hard with it ; whereas, 86 Hillsdale. when he returned, he found that this and that device had come up to lessen labour by machinery, the conductor of the plough now having a comfortable little seat provided for him on it, so that it really seemed that no luxury remained to be added, except a parasol to shield his complexion ! The straightforward simplicity of the essayist in this personal illus- tration interested me quite as much as the topic of the paper itself, and was very charac- teristic of the class of students to which he belonged. There was a good deal less roughness among the Hillsdale students, and we saw no spitting in class, nor such wonderful attitudes as at Oberlin, though the Western population which fills both Colleges is, I suppose, very similar. Coloured students are freely admitted at Hills- dale, but do not come in nearly such large numbers as to the older College. While at Hillsdale we had several discus- sions with the Professors, teachers, and stu- dents about English and American education ; and one Professor denounced in no measured terms the English school system of fagging, which was " like slavery, not to be defended Hillsdale. 87 for a moment, being inherently wrong, and opposed to the rights of man ! " He, more- over, proceeded to inform me that England would never prosper while she countenanced such an iniquity. As to the prosperity of England, I thought facts might he left to speak for themselves; but tried to suggest that possibly exaggerated notions of the evil of fagging might prevail, and that, as really practised, it was supposed to have certain good results not easily obtain- able without it or its equivalent. It is very curious to see how much more generally inclined Americans are to deprecate physical pain or hardship than Englishmen; and also how much less disposed to acquiesce in any but a few strictly inevitable relations of authority and submission. I suppose the one may be referred in some degree to their less robust physique, and the other to the theories of equality which they feel called on to defend. In curio ' contrast with the American de- ficiency of animal vitality, I have noticed, in the girls at least, a capacity for the endurance of mental labour which certainly exceeds that 88 Hillsdale. of most of their English cousins. That they do not still further diminish their physical health by this, I am not prepared to say in fact, I think it probable that they do ; but they do not seem actually to break down nearly so soon as I should expect an average English girl to do with equal work. At Hillsdale the College fees are more than three times as high as at Oberlin, though still very moderate (being $30 a year instead of $9) ; but some scholarships exist here also, which give tuition on much lower terms. Board is to be had at about the same rates as in Ohio. About 110 of the students of each sex board in the College, and nearly twice as many more in neighbouring families. The whole attendance in the College Prepa- ratory, Scientific, and Ladies' Departments was given in the last College catalogue as 609 ; of these 338 being male, and 271 female students. The course of study in the different depart- ments is given at the end of the present chapter. I had many interesting conversations with the Professors here, also, on the subject of Hillsdale. 89 the joint education of the sexes, and the testimony given by them was to the same effect as that at Oberlin, with the addition that one or two insisted especially on the advantage to them as teachers of having students of both sexes. The Professor of Mathematics, in particular, preferred much to give instruction to mixed classes, saying that it was very much easier both to main- tain order and to get satisfactory work done in them. He had taught young men alone at other Colleges, and knew that the task was much harder than at Hillsdale, and he thought that the effect produced on the young men by association in study with the other sex was most beneficial. As to the com- parative abilities of the two, he thought that the average of work done by the male students was slightly the higher, but not noticeably so, and certainly not so as in any degree to interfere with joint instruction He doubted whether, at a written examina- tion, he could distinguish with any certainty the work done by pupils of each sex. He had at that moment a lady pupil qualified to fill the chair of Mathematics in any College. 90 Hillsdale. He further remarked, that it had so long been customary to refuse a complete education to women, that the time had even yet hardly come to decide what would he the results if the two sexes were given equal advantages from the beginning. He allowed that the system of joint education made it somewhat more difficult to maintain discipline out of College hours, and that stricter rules and closer supervision became necessary ; but these, he thought, would always suffice. In answer to an inquiry, I learnt that it was very rarely necessary to expel a student for misconduct, that such a thing hardly hap- pened once a year. The Professor of Classics told me that he found the work of the two sexes quite equal in his department, that, indeed, some of his very best scholars had been ladies ; but then, he added, the College course being taken by a smaller number of girls than of young men, they might, perhaps, be supposed to be excep- tional, and to represent rather more than the average talent of their sex. The joint educa- tion system seemed to him the natural and right arrangement, and he believed that its Hillsdale. 91 advantages decidedly exceeded its disadvan- tages. The Professor of Natural Science spoke strongly of the help afforded to the teacher by the association of the two sexes in study, and considered that it was also desirable for the pupils. He was inclined to think that the physical power of the girls was somewhat below that of the young men, and that they were therefore rather less capable of conti- nuous study, but the difference seemed to him but slight. Here, as well as elsewhere, we found a great deal of interest expressed in education in England, and we had to answer many ques- tions respecting it, and were not by any means gratified to be compelled to allow that hardly any women with us went through as thorough a course of study as is tolerably usual in America. With regard to modern languages the case was reversed; of American English I have already spoken, and the study of Erench and German always seemed to fall far behind that of the ancient languages. Of course, in this respect, all Europeans enjoy great advantages from their vicinity to the 92 Hillsdale. 9 countries whose tongue is to be learnt, and it is, in America, comparatively difficult to secure native teachers. In these discussions as to the relative stan- dards of English and American education, I was almost always struck with the sim- plicity and modesty with which American teachers would admit such special deficiencies as I have just mentioned, and with their absence of self-assertion in regard to those points where I knew that they might claim the superiority. Those who complain so much of American conceit and " cockiness," have, I think, almost always got the impression from political dis- cussions, wherein, certainly, Cousin Jonathan is apt to wax unreasonable, and to show his least attractive side. Politics, in America, seem to occupy the same kind of position as theology in England, giving the signal for declamation rather than argument, and into- lerant denunciation rather than agreement to differ. Give utterance to certain political opinions in America, and you are told that you are "immoral;" oppose certain theolo- gical ideas in England, and you are held to be ffillsdale. 93 wicked. It is certainly not by their speech and action on these two points respectively, that Americans and Englishmen should desire to be judged ; and yet, on other subjects, you will find in each country abundant courtesy, fairness, and toleration. That there is no deficiency of these qualities in America, I, at least, must bear grateful witness; and no- where did I find their presence more promi- nent than among the Professors and Teachers of Hillsdale. HILLSDALE COLLEGE. COURSE OF STUDY. COLLEGE COUKSE. FRESHMAN CLASS. FALL TERM. Sallust Liddell's History of Rome ; Greek Testament and Greek Prose Composition; Loomis' Algebra, completed. WINTER TERM. Cicero de Amicitia et de Senectute Liddell's History of Rome; Cyropsedia; Greek Prose Composition ; Geometry. SPRING TERM. Livy; Homer's Iliad Smith's History of Greece; Geo- metry and Conic Sections. SOPHOMORE CLASS. FALL TERM. Memorabilia Smith's History of Greece; Trigonometry; Mensuration and Surveying; Zoology. Hillsdale College. 95 WINTER TEEM. Horace Odes and Satires; Greek Tragedy; Analytical Geometry; Anatomy and Physiology ; Political Manual SPRING TERM. Tacitus Germania and Agricola; Olmsted's Natural Phi- losophy; Botany. JUNIOR CLASS. PALL TERM. Demosthenes on the Crown; Whately's Logic; German; Olmsted's Natural Philosophy, completed. WINTER TERM. Astronomy; Chemistry; German, continued. SPRING TERM. Whately's Rhetoric; Plato Apology and Crito; Geology; German. SENIOR CLASS. FALL TERM. Mental Philosophy; Kames' Elements of Criticism; Poli- tical Economy; Cicero de Oratore. WINTER TERM. Moral Philosophy; Butler's Analogy; Chemistry; Dra- matic Literature. 96 milsdale College. SPRING TERM. Alison on Taste; Evidences of Christianity; Constitution of the United States; Laws of Nations. Weekly lessons in English Bible ; weekly exercises in Com- position, Declamation, and Extempore Speaking, throughout the entire course. PEEPAEATOEY FOE COLLEGE. JUSTICE PEEPAEATOEY. PALL TERM. Harkness' Latin Eeader, completed ; Hadley's Greek Grammar and Whiton's Lessons; English Analysis. WINTER TERM. Caesar's Commentaries; Greek Grammar and Lessons, con- tinued; Quackenbos' English Composition. SPRING TERM. Caesar's Commentaries, continued; Greek Lessons, com- pleted; Elocution. SENIOE PEEPAEATOEY. FALL TERM. Cicero's Orations Latin Prose Composition; Xenophon's Anabasis; Physical Geography. Hillsdale College. 97 WINTER TERM. Cicero's Orations, continued Latin Prose Composition; Xenophon's Anabasis, continued; Algebra. SPRING TERM. Virgil's ^Eneid; Greek Testament portions of the Gos- pels; Algebra. ENGLISH AND SCIENTIFIC COUESE. PREPARATORY. Intellectual Arithmetic; Robinson's Higher Arithmetic; English Grammar ; Geography ; History of the United States; Loomis' Algebra; Elocution; English Analysis; Quackenbos' English Composition; Penmanship and Book- keeping; Natural Philosophy; Harkness' Latin Grammar and Reader. EIRST YEAR. FALL TERM. Algebra, completed; Latin Reader, completed; English Analysis ; Physical Geography. WINTER TERM. Geometry; Caesar's Commentaries; Quackenbos' English Composition. SPRING TERM. Xjeometry and Conic Sections; Caesar's Commentaries, continued ; Geography of the Heavens. H 98 Hillsdale College. SECOND YEAR. PALL TERM. Trigonometry, Mensuration and Surveying; Cicero's Ora- tions; Zoology. WINTER TERM. Conic Sections and Analytical Geometry; Cicero's Ora- tions, continued ; Anatomy and Physiology ; Political Manual. SPRING TERM. Olmsted's Natural Philosophy; Botany; Virgil's ^Eneid. THIRD YEAR. PALL TERM. Whately's Logic; Olmsted's Natural Philosophy, com- pleted; German. WINTER TERM. Chemistry; German; Astronomy. SPRING TERM. Geology; German; Whately's Rhetoric. FOURTH YEAR. FALL TERM. Mental Philosophy; Kames' Elements of Criticism; Poli- tical Economy. Hillsdale College. 99 WINTER TERM. Moral Philosophy ; Chemistry; Butler's Analogy; Dra- matic Literature. SPRING TERM. Alison on Taste ; Laws of Nations ; Constitution of United States; Evidences of Christianity. "Weekly lesson in English Bible ; and weekly exercises in Composition, Declamation, and Extempore Speaking, through- out the course. LADIES' COUESE. PEEPAEATOEY. Intellectual Arithmetic; Higher Arithmetic; English Grammar; Geography; History of the United States; Loomis' Algebra ; Elocution; English Analysis; Quackenbos' Composition and Ehetoric; Latin Grammar and Eeader; Natural Philosophy; Penmanship. EIEST YEAE. PALL TERM. Loomis' Higher Algebra, completed; English Analysis; Harkness' Latin Eeader; Physical Geography. WINTER TERM. . Geometry; Caesar's Commentaries ; Quackenbos' English Composition. H 2 100 Hillsdale College. SPRING TERM. - Geography of the Heavens; Geometry and Conic Sections; Caesar's Commentaries, continued. SECOND YEAR FALL TERM. Trigonometry, Mensuration, and Surveying ; Political Manual; Cicero's Orations; Zoology. WINTER TERM. Analytical Geometry; Cicero's Orations, continued; Ana- tomy and Physiology; Political Manual. SPRING TERM. Botany; Olmsted's Natural Philosophy; Virgil. THIED YEAE. FALL TERM. Natural Philosophy, completed; Logic; Fasquelle's French System. WINTER TERM. French Eeader and Grammar; Chemistry; Astronomy. SPRING TERM. Telemaque; Geology j Whately's Ehetoric. Rillsdale College. 101 FOURTH YEAR. FALL TERM. Mental Philosophy; Kames' Elements of Criticism; Poli- tical Economy; Racine, optional. WINTER TERM. Moral Philosophy; Butler's Analogy; Chemistry; Dra- matic Literature. SPRING TERM. Alison on Taste; Evidences of Christianity; Laws of Nations. Weekly lesson in English Bible; weekly exercises in Composition, throughout the course. CHAPTER IV. ST. LOUIS. WE left Hillsdale at about 5.30 A.M. on the morning of October 6th, before daybreak, but by the light of a brilliant moon, that lit up the hoar-frost under our feet, in our rapid walk to the station. The thermometer stood at about 48, and we saw the effects of sharp frost as we proceeded on the railroad, in the brilliant colours of the autumn leaves, some tree-tops being literally crimson and scarlet. But on arriving at Chicago we found it again tolerably warm, and almost regretted that we had on winter clothing, which we were, later, forced to relinquish altogether, on reaching the still hot summer of St. Louis. In entering Chicago we had again to ob- serve the curious fashion of carrying railroads straight up the principal streets, our line passing by rows of houses and pavement St. Louis. 103 (or rather plank walks), with foot-passengers, and carriages to boot, on each side, all seem- ing in imminent danger of getting under the engine- wheels, only somehow they did not. Chicago is one of the very rapidly-grown "Western cities, and shares their general "shoddy" character, of great magnificence in some parts, and great incompleteness in others. The station at which we alighted was the most disgracefully shabby and dirty of sheds, but the hotel to which we went for dinner was paved with marble, and in all respects, perhaps, more finished and more luxu- riously well appointed than any we had seen in America. The dinner certainly was un- exceptionable, and on the bill of fare appeared one article that I did not expect first to taste in the Western States of America fried frogs, or rather, frogs' legs. There they were, how- ever, and I suppose no one who has tasted them will need to be assured of their excel- lence, resembling that of a very delicate fish. There were prairie chickens, too, a very supe- rior kind of dark-fleshed game; and a very queer but very good vegetable that they called the oyster plant. 104 <8t. Louis. After dinner, we wandered down to the shore of Lake Michigan, and found numbers of people sitting at intervals on the plank walk that runs along it, their feet hanging on the grass beneath ; so, being at Rome, we did as the Romans, and sat down too, and very pleasant it was. It was getting dark before it was time to start for St. Louis, and when we set out for the station we hailed one of the horse-cars going in that direction. These horse-cars are very large omnibuses running on rails, and very much wider than ours, allowing good passage-room between the seats, in which people often stand when the cars are full. Not only, however, was this car full to over- flowing, but the next was nearly as bad, and we could only, on the second car, obtain bare standing-room on the platform guarded by railing which is at each end, and which was also full of passengers. The conductor was quite unable to pass up and down the car as usual, and we arrived at our destination with our fares unpaid. Impelled by British honesty, however, after alighting I walked to the front of the car, and inquired who St. Louis. 105 would take our fares. " Oh ! never mind paying!" quoth some one, in huge disdain; and as at the moment I could not, in the dark, lay my finger on the precise bit of dirty paper which represented our fare, and as a cart came up and separated us, the driver seemed to acquiesce in this proud superiority to filthy lucre, and went on his way calmly, leaving us to reflect that human nature must have been maligned, since there was one city in the world where omnibuses ran to carry passengers, and not to receive their fares. Whatever gratitude we felt to the city of Chicago (or Chicaugo, as they call it) was, however, quickly dissipated at the railway station by later experiences. After getting our tickets, we were directed " down there" to the baggage-room, and poked our way, in darkness visible, to a sort of shed, full of men, boxes, and tobacco-smoke, where, on pre- senting our check for luggage, we were told we must "look it out." Having at length done so, we requested fresh checks to St. Louis. Now a certain covered travelling- bath, and a folding iron chair, were among our luggage, and to these the railway officials 106 St. Louis. all along had manifested a special spite. Whether, as regarded the former, " not seeing what we wanted with so much washing," or thinking the things ought to go by "freight train," I can't say. On paying some small charge, I had, however, always got them through, but here checks were blankly re- fused, though the things could be sent on, on payment. " Check that old tin kettle ! " quoth the baggage-master indignantly, between puffs of smoke ; and unchecked it remained. Nor had we then reached the end of Chicago amenities ; for, on leaving this shed, we had to wait an indefinite time in another, still more closely resembling a cattle-pen, fenced round and open to the air, till it pleased the officials to unlock a certain door and let us on to the platform. Such a place, indeed, I never saw equalled, save by the cattle-pens on the London Docks, where beasts are received from the ships. Once in the cars, however, we secured a good sleeping-berth from a very civil con- ductor, and started very comfortably for our long journey by moonlight across the prairies. Very curious it was to wake up from time to St. Louis. 107 time, and see in the brilliant moonlight the vast stretch of slightly undulating or quite level ground, unbroken for miles around by wall, or tree, or shrub ; great part of it still in pasture; some laid out in vast corn-fields, containing in one stretch an area of some thousand or two acres. It was 1 road daylight before we got our first glimpse of the Missis- sippi, " the father of waters," at Alton ; and being there not yet defiled by the mud of the Missouri, it presented a far more respectable, if less pretending appearance, than at St. Louis itself. There it might be said of it, as I heard said of another smaller stream at Chicago, "It's so full of mud, I don't see how it makes out to run at all." Leaving the train on the eastward side of the bridgeless Mississippi, we, with the rest of the passengers, were stowed away in huge omnibuses, which said omnibuses were, in their turn, driven down a horribly rough and sloping bank into a ferry-boat. This "boat" was of tolerable dimensions, containing three four-horse and five pair-horse omnibuses, horses and all, besides lots of wagons, drays, &c., and foot-passengers into the bargain. 108 -St. Louis. On the other side came an ascent up a still more rugged and uneven bank, strongly sug- gestive of upsets, and the scene of endless shouting, pushing, and flogging by the dray- men, with their rough wagons and great cow- hide whips; which latter, however, one was glad to see in no worse employment, for now, for the first time, we stood in a whilom " slave state." The "peculiar institution" is, of course, legally extinct, but abundant traces remain of the relative position of the coloured race, who are still not allowed to enter the pub- lic horse-cars, nor to send their children to the schools established by Government, though there is, I believe, in this latter respect, sufficient separate provision for their needs. I understood that these regulations (for they really are official) are much the same in other Western towns not in slave states as, for instance, in Cincinnati, where I afterwards saw a mob of children (reputed pupils of the Irish Roman Catholic school close by) pelting some "black fellows," whose flight expiated their crime of colour. . St. Louis. 109 We got comfortable quarters at the Planters' House at St. Louis, and found ourselves once more in a climate needing mosquito-nets and cool clothing, after our wintry experience in Michigan. In this hotel we found several English servants, and, except that the stair-cleaners would go ahout with naked feet (as we saw commonly enough among the lower servants everywhere), the general service more nearly approximated to that in a European hotel than most we had seen. Some of the waiters actually consented so far to waive their rights of freeborn citizenship, as to say "Ma'am" when spoken to, though one of the most attentive claimed transatlantic nationality by his " What-say ?" when he did not hear, instead of the invariable Western "How?" which seems to have been borrowed from the Germans. Soon after our arrival, we asked for the ordinary jug of iced water in our room, but, on receiving it, were suddenly struck with the fear that they had cooled the rinsings of all the plates in the establishment for our ser- vice. The water could not be called dull, it 110 St. Louis. was absolutely opaque; and though after- wards assured that it was " wholesome," and "only lime," and that "if filtered it lost its best qualities," &c., we never became recon- ciled to it, though really (with shut eyes) it did not taste badly, and we were assured that it was taken from the river some miles above the town, and brought in for use in pipes. Our chief object of attraction in St. Louis was the " Mary Institute," a branch establish- ment for female education, under the auspices of the Washington University, in the town. The President of the University has jurisdic- tion over this Institute, but its real manage- ment is in the hands of a brother and sister who were both formerly Professors at Antioch College, Ohio, and who are "teachers born." The instruction is carried on on a plan not dissimilar to that of our London Ladies' Col- leges, except that here the classes are more carefully subdivided, and that some of the lessons are in form of recitations. One point that made the Mary Institute especially interesting, was its width of plan, embracing pupils of many creeds, and seeming St. Louis. Ill to avoid offence alike to Roman Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. Nor did its conductors solve all difficulties by simply ignoring the questions that involved them, for they had regular morning prayers, consisting, when I was present, of a psalm, a hymn, and the Lord's Prayer, in which all could join cor- dially; and I was assured that the managers (themselves liberal Unitarians) felt that this common worship had a very valuable effect and influence. We were allowed to visit all the classes of the Institute, and most kindly welcomed by the different teachers, both in the academic classes and in those of the preparatory school connected with the Institute. We heard some excellent mathematical teaching from a lady, who made her pupils work most thoroughly, though not professing to carry them to so high a point as was attempted elsewhere ; not, if I remember right, beyond a sort of summary of Euclid, and Quadratic Equations. A Erench lady taught her own tongue ; but it was evident that here, too, was felt the universal difficulty about modern European 112 St. Louis. languages, which are so hard to acquire with- out constant opportunities for conversation with natives. I had a very interesting talk with the Pre- sident of the Washington University, as to the joint or separate education of the sexes ; he heing an advocate for the latter, though acknowledging that he had no personal expe- rience of the former, plan. His idea was that an Institution like that we had just seen was most fitted to give the best advantages to girls ; and, in answer to an inquiry of mine, he said that they would, at the Washington University, be very willing to examine and grant degrees to such women as should, by an unusual course of study, have duly quali- fied themselves for the honour. I was much interested to hear these views from such an authority, as my own idea was not dissimilar ; and it was clear, at all events (without con- demning the system of joint education), that girls were amply provided for when furnished with the means of the highest culture, and not debarred from the highest rewards, should they themselves desire the toilsome task of their acquisition. St. Louis. 113 At the Mary Institute, there was very much more teaching than we had seen at the col- leges, and the pupils seemed to be thoroughly interested in their work. Excellent classes in Physiology and Natural Science were given by the lady who had previously held the Professorship of Natural History at Antioch College, and, indeed, the instruction seemed throughout to be in the hands of most competent teachers. The class of pupils air the Mary Institute is a very much more polished one than we had hitherto seen im the West. The managers of the school re- gret extremely that popular prejudice is so- strong as to forbid the admission of coloured students. The terms for instruction in this Insti- tute vary from $80 to ,$150 per annum, according to the class entered by the pupil. Only day-scholars are received; and where pupils come from a distance, their friends have to find private boarding-houses for them. The Mary Institute is considered as a branch of the Washington University, the catalogue or prospectus of which includes an I 114 St. Louis. account of it, and gives the number of its pupils in 1865 as 132. The course of study is divided into three sections : The Preparatory Department, the Academic Course, and the Advanced Course ; the work in each heing given in the following pages. MARY INSTITUTE. COURSE OF STUDY. PKEPAKATOKY DEPAETMENT. SECOND PEEPAEATOEY CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language. Eeading and Spelling. Geography. Warren's Elementary. Mathematics. Stoddard's Intellectual Arithmetic. Writing. Begun and continued through the course. Drawing. Begun and continued through the course. Vocal Music. Elementary Instruction in reading notes. SECOND TERM. English Language. Eeading and Spelling. Geography. Warren's Elementary. Black-board Exer- cises. Mathematics. Oral Arithmetic, with Slate Exercises. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. FIEST PEEPAEATOEY CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language, Eeading and Spelling. Definitions, with Examples. 12 116 Mary Institute. Geography. Warren's Geography, with Oral Instruction and Black-board Exercises. Mathematics. Oral Arithmetic. Written, begun. French. Elementary Speller. Chouquet's First Lessons. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. SECOND TERM. English Language. Reading, Spelling, and Grammar. Geography. Text Book, with Oral Instruction and Black- board Exercises. Mathematics. Written Arithmetic. Oral, continued. French. Elementary Reader. Chouquet's First Lessons. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. FIFTH ACADEMIC CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language. Reading and Spelling. Definitions and Sentences. Grammar. History. Berard's History of the United States. Geo- graphy of the United States. Mathematics. Written Arithmetic, with written explana- tions. French. Manesca's Grammar. Bolmar's Verbs. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. SECOND TERM. English Language. Reading, Spelling, and Defining. Grammar. Analysis of Sentences. History. United States, and their Geography. Mary Institute. 117 Mathematics. Written Arithmetic, with written explana- tions. French. Manesca's Grammar. Bolmar's Verbs. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. FOUKTH ACADEMIC CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language. Grammar, reviewed. History. Read Dickens' History of England, with study of Geography and Biography. Mathematics. Arithmetic. Latin. Harkness' Arnold's First Latin Book. Oral and Written Exercises in translating English into Latin, through- out the course. Music. Elementary Instruction, continued. SECOND TERM. English Language. Read and study a Poem. History. Dickens' England, continued. Mathematics. Arithmetic. Algebra, begun. French. Fasquelle's Introductory Course. Ch. Picot's First Reader. Music. Solfeggio Singing and Vocalization. THIRD ACADEMIC CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language. English Grammar, ten weeks, in place of Latin. History. General History, with Geography. Mathematics. Algebra. 118 ,Mary Institute. Latin. Grammar and Eeader. Physiology. Hitchcock's. French. Fasquelle's Large Grammar. Fasquelle's Collo- quial Eeader. Madame de Peyrac's Reader. Music. Solfeggio Singing and Vocalization. Drawing. Study of Dimension in straight lines, angles and curves. SECOND TERM. History. General History, with Geography. Mathematics. Algebra. Principles of Arithmetic re- viewed, with Problems. Latins Grammar and Reader. Caesar. Natural History. Botany. French. Fasquelle's Large Grammar. Fasquelle's Collo- quial Reader. Madame de Peyrac's Reader. Drawing. Composition of Figures by combination of Lines. Music. Solfeggio Singing and Vocalization. SECOND ACADEMIC CLASS. FIRST TERM. English Language. Trench's Study of Words. Mathematics. Geometry. Latin. Arnold's Nepos. Antiquities. Physics. Natural Philosophy. JRhetoric* Newman's or Boyd's Rhetoric. French. Reader, continued part of the Term. Drawing. Study of Form. Sketching Simple Objects. Music. Solfeggio Singing and Thorough Bass. Mary Institute. 119 SECOND TERM. English Language. Headings from Milton, with Analysis. Mathematics. Geometry. Latin. Ovid. ^Eneid of Virgil. Mythology. Domestic. Economy. Youman's Household Science. French. Ahrege de la Grammaire Frangaise par Noel et Chapsal. Histoire de la France. Drawing. Study of Light and Shade from Simple Oh- jects. Music. Solfeggio Singing and Thorough Bass. FIEST ACADEMIC CLASS. FIRST TERM, History. Student's Hume. Belles Lettres. Spalding's English Literature. Astronomy. Bouvier's Familiar Astronomy. Latin. ^Eneid, continued. Arnold's Prose Composition. Chemistry. Well's Chemistry. French. Grammaire de Noel et ChapsaL Histoire de Napoleon, part of the Term. Drawing. Study of Form. Theory of Perspective. Music. Continued. SECOND TERM. Latin. Odes of Horace. Prose Composition. Natural Science. Hitchcock's Geology. Political Science. Shepard's Constitution of the United States. Philosophy. Moral Science. Evidences of Christianity. 120 Mary Institute. French. Grammaire de Noel et Chapsal. Histoire de Napoleon. Drawing. Practice of Perspective by sketching Objects. Music. Continued. EXTENDED COUKSE. ADVANCED CLASS. FIRST TERM. Physiology. Comparative Physiology of Vegetable Life. Philosophy. Haven's Intellectual Philosophy, or Hamil- ton's Metaphysics. Latin. Ars Poetica. De Aniicitia. English Literature. Shakespeare. French. Cours de Litterature, par Thery. Art. Drawing. Biography of Artists. History of Schools of Art. Music. Continued. SECOND TERM. Logic. Thompson's Laws of Thought. Physical Geoyraphy. Guyot's Earth and Man. History. Guizot's History of Civilization. Latin. Epistles of Horace. Tacitus. Rlietoric. Schlegel's Dramatic Art and Literature. Art. Methods in Sculpture, Architecture, Painting, Sculp- ture, and Music. Drawing, continued. French. Cours de Litterature, par Thery. Music. Continued. CHAPTER V. ANTIOCH. THE third College which gives instruction and academic degrees to "both sexes is situated at Yellow Springs, in Ohio, and, being founded in 1852 by a sect calling themselves empha- tically " Christians," was by them named Antioch College, in allusion to Acts xi. 26. The characteristic feature distinguishing this College from the others already named, is the aim of its founders to establish it on a strictly unsectarian basis. The plan originated with the Christians, a sect not differing widely in tenets from the Unitarians who also took up and sup- ported the movement ; and though the charter provided that two-thirds of the trustees and faculty should belong to the former denomi- nation, the first President was a Unitarian named Horace Mann, who had already made 122 Antioch. himself widely conspicuous in the cause of education, and had also sat in the Congress of the United States. Prom the "Life of Horace Mann,"* recently published hy his widow, I gather the following account of the first opening of Antioch College. When first accepting the office of Presi- dent, Mr. Mann declared that the two great ideas which attracted him to the plan were : 1st. The giving to women equal advantages of education (not necessarily an identical educa- tion) with men; 2d, The idea of maintaining a non-sectarian College ; and on the last point he remarked that, as far as possible, he " would prepare every human being for that most important of all duties, the determining his religious belief for himself." He from the first made a point of having female as well as male professors, wherever the former could be found equal in learning and ability to the latter; and the chair of Natural Science was, from the first, filled by the lady whom I have elsewhere mentioned as taking chief part in the management of the Mary Institute. * Boston ; B Walker, Fuller, and Co. Antioch. 123 At a later period, another lady (whose acquaintance also I had the pleasure of making) was appointed Professor of Mathe- matics; "and," says Mrs. Mann, "taught its highest branches without book in hand, and in a manner that was pronounced unsurpassed by those who w r ere conversant with our first American institutions, for she united to an entire comprehension of her subject, the finest power of imparting that comprehension to others. In all feminine traits of character this lady was as rare as in her intellectual cultivation. . . . She stood before her classes solving the most difficult problems as if she had discovered them, and as if books had not yet been invented." A third lady (a graduate of the College) afterwards occupied the chair of Modern Lan- guages, and a fourth is at this moment one of the principal instructors in Classics. The College was first opened October 5th, 1853 ; but though the College buildings had been begun in an unusually ambitious style, they were not at this date by any means thoroughly completed. The whole business had been hurried on with American haste, and 124 Antioch. rather than delay the opening, things were taken as they were. "The stumps of trees still remained standing at the very threshold. It was only by the most strenuous exertions that the chapel was made ready. . . . Boards were laid upon joists for the dinner party of the day ; " and of the three thousand visitors who attended the inauguration, many slept in their carriages and "carryalls" that night. " One hundred and fifty students entered on the afternoon of the inauguration. The dining hoards were swept, and the exami- nation papers laid on them, and these alter- nate ceremonies of eating and examining went on for two or three days ; and the company of young people took possession of the unfinished building as far as windows were glazed and doors hung." The classes were opened at once, but only eight of the candidates were found qualified even to begin the College course ; the rest of the students being draughted into the various divisions of the Preparatory Department. The enthusiasm of both teachers and pupils was needed to carry them through the first discomforts, but by degrees things got into Antioch. 125 some order, though laughable anecdotes are told of the incidents that occurred meanwhile. " One day a lady professor was arrested on her entrance to the hall by a hog of unusual dimensions, which made his watery bed where a doorstep should have been. She looked at it in dismay for a moment, and then tripped over it as if it had been a bridge ! " " The Ohio pigs could not be prevented from walking through the dining-room, as there were no fences around the College buildings, no doors to the hall, and no appointed homes for the animals!" "The seats at the tables were round four-legged stools, and Mr. Mann would not have a chair for himself, even after some of the ladies of the teaching corps ven- tured on that innovation." Mr. Mann seems at once to have taken a high stand with regard to the moral tone which he desired should prevail in the College, and, following the example of Arnold, he laid great stre'ss on self-government and mutual guardianship by the students themselves ; in- stituting a " Code of Honour," which engaged the students to " co-operate with the govern- ment of the institution," and which deprecated 126 Antioch. their being "tempted or constrained to con- nive at offences or to screen them from punish- ment." How far his plans and injunctions led to tale-bearing it is difficult to ascertain ; I have heard very contradictory reports on this point, as also with regard to the number of punishments and expulsions resulting from his strict discipline. That his personal feelings led him to be exceptionally severe to the " foul-mouthed vice of using tobacco " seems clear, but that he secured the personal affections of many students is no less evident, and I have never heard any one dispute that his aims were of the highest. The question of admitting coloured students came before Antioch as before Oberlin and Hillsdale, and the decision here was no less firm, nor the opposition less bitter. Money loss undoubtedly came on the College from this resolute stand for equality of race as of sex, and money loss could ill be afforded by it in those early days. The " scholarship principle " which has so impoverished Oberlin, and in a less degree Hillsdale, found root also at Antioch. Large numbers of scholar- Antioch. 127 ships were sold, but much, of the money was sunk in building, and there was no ade- quate fund from which to pay the teachers. In 1857 Mr. Mann states that " the College has been running deeper and deeper into debt ever since it was founded : the basis was rotten." At the end of this year the scholarship system came to the ground with a crash, and the College property had to be transferred for the payment of its debts, the whole thing starting anew on the principle of cash payment (still very low) for tuition. The reputation already attained by the College is proved by the small diminution of numbers consequent on this change. The energetic exertions and manifold anxieties of Mr. Mann told on him in time, and in August, 1859, he died, still at his post among his students. He was succeeded by Dr. Hill, (now Pre- sident of Harvard, the leading University of America,) who retained the presidency till 1862, when the College department was closed at Antioch in consequence of renewed pecu- niary difficulties and of the dispersion of 128 Antioch. very many of the young men in obedience to the President's demand for troops for the war. It was not till September, 1865, that the College proper was re-opened under a pro- visional presidency and a reinforced body of professors. It is only within the last few weeks (in September, 1866) that a President has been appointed, and the College is now once more in full operation, though of course having lost much by its enforced suspension for three years. During this interval the preparatory classes were still carried on by a small staff of teachers and with a limited number of pupils, whose ranks will now probably increase rapidly. At the time of our visit to Antioch (October, 1865) the College department had only been re-opened about a month, and everything was in a rather chaotic condition. No matron had been appointed for the Ladies' Hall, but one of the married Professors had a room there, and his wife was considered to have a pre- siding influence over the boarders, though no special duties or powers were entrusted to her. A stewardess or housekeeper took charge Antioch. 129 of the meals and provided them on her own responsibility, being paid $3 or $3*50 a week by every boarder. Each room was kept in order by its occupants, as at Hillsdale. Here, however, we were able during our stay to rent one of the rooms from the stewardess, who supplied us with the needful furniture, and had our room-work done for us by one of her kitchen "helps," whereas at Hillsdale it had fallen perforce on our own shoulders. The meals were served to all the students who chose to board in Hall, in a portion of what had been a large dining-hall, now separated off by a hoarding from the other portion. The food was good and abundant, and we noticed specially the presence of sor- gum molasses at every meal. This sorgum is a large cane, not unlike the real sugar-cane, that is grown in large quan- tities in this part of Ohio. We went with the stewardess to see one of the sugar-houses where the molasses are prepared by a suc- cession of processes, beginning with the crush- ing of the cane in a sort of mill worked by horse-power out of doors, and continued inside the building by several successive K 130 Antioch. boilings till the clear, amber-coloured syrup is produced. Several of the professors and teachers boarded in Hall, but the students seemed under somewhat less restraint than at the older colleges. There was more noise during meals, and some disposition to gather round the entrance and gossip afterwards, contrary to rules, but the coming matron was expected to reduce all to order. There was at the time no regularly ap- pointed President, but the duties of his office were provisionally fulfilled by a minister of the " Christian " persuasion, the beauty of whose life and character, combined with the gentle- ness and purity of his teaching, could not but exercise a beneficial influence on the students. It was said that his scholarship and business talents were not of an equally high order, and he himself was unwilling to accept office permanently. Several excellent teachers had just joined the College, but their work had only been begun. It was, indeed, hardly fair to judge of the College at all when in so fragmentary a condition, but yet the spirit of the place, d.ntiock. 131 and the energy and courtesy of the professors and teachers, could not fail to impress us favour- ably. I hoped at the time that I might he ahle to pay Antioch another visit when it was in a more settled condition, and warm were the invitations we received to do so ; hut as this has been impossible, I can only speak of its previous history as I have heard and read it, and of its then condition as I saw it under all disadvantages. The pledge of non- sectarianism has been well kept at Antioch. In the Bible-class held by Mr. Mann for such as volunteered to at- tend, " it was his object to make a fair state- ment of the various interpretations, by different sects, of all disputed portions of the Scrip- tures, and then leave his hearers to adopt that which seemed to them most correct." " In love and good works," he taught, " all men can unite, whatever tricks their intellects may play them." Students of all persuasions came to the College, and " no student was obliged to attend either the devotional exer- cises of the day or the Sabbath, who gave conscientious reasons for not so doing." The sermon on " Work/' John ix. 4, that K 2 132 Antioch. we heard preached by the provisional Pre- sident, and the Bible-classes held by him later in the day, gave evidence that an equally liberal and earnest spirit still prevailed at Antioch, a spirit which certainly combined very strong religious feeling with very little dogmatic assertion. Members of various denominations have from time to time preached from the College pulpit, it being on one occasion occupied even by a female graduate of Oberlin. The standard of scholarship at Antioch is said to have compared not unfavourably with that of the older Universities, the second Pre- sident of Antioch (who now occupies the same position at Harvard) assuring me that under- graduates coming from the newer College to the older, were usually able to enter the class corresponding to that they had left. In one respect only was the standard changed, (for the accommodation of female students, as it is said,) Greek being made optional, or rather, students being allowed to substitute for it the study of Physics. Mrs. Mann, in speaking of the precision in study so rarely found hitherto among women, Antioch. 133 says, " The critical examinations of Antioch College made accurate knowledge indispen- sahle." The joint education of the sexes was to the first President a matter of some douht and difnculty at first, but his experience in the mixed normal schools justified the measure to him; and though he never went quite so far as some other teachers on this point, restricting, for instance, the female students to reading instead of reciting their speeches or essays, he never saw practical reason to douht the wisdom of the system. He con- sidered teaching to he emphatically a woman's mission, having "watched long enough to know that, other things being equal, a woman's teaching is more patient, persistent, and thorough than man's." The second President of Antioch has assured me that, regarded from a moral point of view, the experiment was a complete success, no grave cause of reproach ever having arisen to discredit the system, and the influence of it on the young men being, as he asserts, espe- cially valuable. This testimony has the greater weight, because the speaker is not so alto- AntiocJi. gether in favour of the joint education as are many others. He thinks that the male and female minds differ materially and do not crave identical food, though he quoted to me a saying ascribed to Plato, that " a genius is one who unites all the hest qualities of mind of hoth sexes." He says that his experience goes to prove that equally good work can he obtained from each sex, and that the girls by no means lagged hehind the young men in their general studies. In the classics he thought them especially equal, except when it came to the philosophy of a language, in which the young men were apt to take most interest. In mathematics and science he thought girls could master a problem or pre- pare a recitation quite as well as the young men, hut that it was much rarer to find among them the power of going on for themselves to construct new problems and make new dis- coveries, and that their interest in subjects of this class was much less intense. The present staff of professors and teachers at Antioch were many of them new to the work at the time of our visit, and had far more misgivings on the subject of joint educa- Antiock. 135 tion than I found among those teachers who had had long experience of the plan. Indeed I found it to he the case almost universally, that those who speculate on the matter are strongest against the joint education; those that have tried it the longest, speak most warmly in its favour. In his inaugural address Mr. Mann " fairly met the question of the probability that mar- riages would frequently grow out of the in- timacies of College .life, hut there was a bye-law of the Institution that they should not take place there." Two or three cases have come under my own notice where de- liberate attachments were formed during the years of study, and terminated after gradua- tion in happy marriages, both husband and wife in two cases ultimately holding professor- ships in the College. I have heard from competent authority that there was much more difficulty in pre- serving order among the boys and girls under fifteen who attended the preparatory school, than among the older undergraduates, and this former class is the one in which both sexes are constantly thrown together in most 136 Antioch. of the Grammar and High, schools through- out America, and in which, generally speak- ing, there is no worse inciting cause than the spirit. A large proportion too large as events proved of the money subscribed for the foundation of Antioch College, was spent on the original buildings, which were in three "blocks." The College proper was a build- ing of some pretension, flanked by two brick towers, and behind this, on both sides, but not adjoining, were halls for the residence of students of each sex respectively. The whole described three sides of a parallelogram, the central building fronting away from the others, and having a space of some yards between it and them. This space always seemed to me a great mistake, as the students did not think it sufficient to demand out-door clothing as a protection in crossing it; and on the misty autumn and cold winter mornings, I think the results must have been very dangerous. Antioch College is situated on a fine table- land, very recently divested of forest, and at a short distance in front is a beautiful glen, Antioch. 137 of which great use has always been made by the students. A regulation has prevailed from the first by which the use of this glen both for botanical study and for recreation is assigned on alternate days to students of each sex, and no one who has wandered through its beautiful glades can deny the great value of the privilege to such a community as that of Antioch. At the distance of three or four miles is another very beautiful and curious ravine. A party was made to visit it during our stay, and we were kindly invited to join, which we did with great pleasure. I have seldom seen anything at once so curious and so fascinating as this Clifton Dell, which seems really to be a huge fissure of the rock, which rises in rugged abruptness on two sides, while on the third the rocks converge and allow a winding outlet from the glen, and on the fourth lies a tiny sheet of water, half covered with various plants. The whole effect was weird and beautiful in the extreme, and several plants altogether new to me added to its interest. Among these was the " walking fern," a lovely little plant, the delicate fronds of which attach 138 Antioch. their extremities to the earth, and originate a new plant, this in its turn producing others in endless succession. This exquisite little fern almost carpeted the rocky path by which we reached the bottom of the dell, a path that wound in and between and over rocks in the most picturesque of ways. One of the professors, learned in plants and stones, was of the party, and to him every one turned eagerly with each new discovery. One of the students present had served for some period in the war, and entertained us with stories of his camp life and adventures, so that our expedition w r as in small danger of being dull, and I have seldom more enjoyed any scramble than the one at Clifton Dell, rejoicing to find that such resorts were open to the hard-working students of Antioch. I found, indeed, that at this College some- what more attention was paid to physical exercise, Mr. Mann speaking of " bathing and exercise " as the "religious rites of health," and at the time of our visit short exhibitions of "light gymnastics" (i.e. exercises of arms, &c., without machinery) took place several times a day between the recitations. That Antioch. 139 there is still much, to be desired in this re- spect I do not doubt, but any advance is to be hailed with satisfaction, and much is to be hoped from the earnest and progressive spirit of Antioch. The following course of study is that given in what was (I think) the last prospectus issued during the presidency of Dr. Hill, 1861-2, and is, I suppose, substantially the same as that now to be pursued. ANTIOCH COLLEGE. UNDERGRADUATE COURSE. FRESHMAN CLASS. FIRST TERM. Mathematics. Davies's Bourdon's Algebra. Latin. Livy, Lincoln's Selections, one book. Arnold's Latin Prose Composition. Andrews .and Stoddard's and Zumpt's Grammars, for reference. Greek. Xenophon's Anabasis, Owen's or Boise's edition, two books. Arnold's Greek Prose Composition. Kuehner's Greek Grammars, and Goodwin's Greek Moods and Tenses, for reference. History. Sismondi's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (Elective for Greek.) Conduct of the Understanding. Lectures by the President. SECOND TERM. English Language and Elocution. Mathematics. Davies's Legendre, commencing with Book Y. Greek. Homer's Iliad, Owen's edition, three books. Arnold's Greek Prose Composition. History. Hallam's Middle Ages. (Elective for Greek.) Antioch College. 141 THIRD TERM. Mathematics. Davies's Surveying and Navigation. Latin. Selections from Horace, Lincoln's edition. Arnold's Latin Prose Composition. Greek. Selections from Xenophon's Memorabilia, Rob- bins's edition. Arnold's Greek Prose Composition. French. Fasquelle's French Course, and two books of Telemaque. History. Hallam's Middle Ages. (Elective for Greek.) Botany. Lectures. SOPHOMORE CLASS. FIRST TERM. Mathematics. Church's Analytical Geometry. Latin. Chase's " Cicero on the Immortality of the Soul." Latin Prose Composition. French. Fasquelle's French Course. L'Allemagne and Le Verre d'Eau. SECOND TERM. Mathematics. Differential Calculus. Greek. The Panegyricus of Isocrates, and a part of the Acts of the Apostles. Arnold's Greek Prose Composition. Logic. Whately's and Mill's commenced. French. Noel and Chapsal's Grammar. French Classics. (Elective for Greek.) Taste, Imagination, and Art. Lectures by the President. 142 Antiocli College. THIRD TERM. Latin. The Germania and Agricola of Tacitus, Tyler's edition. Latin Prose Composition. Greek. Demosthenes on the Crown. German. Douai's Grammar, and Roelker's Reader. Mathematics. Integral Calculus, or Descriptive Geometry. (Elective for Greek.) JUNIOR CLASS. FIRST TERM. Physics. Silliman's, and Lectures. A stronomy. Olmsted's. German. SchiUer's Wilhelm Tell. Goethe's Torquato Tasso. Douai's Grammar completed. Latin. Prose Composition. SECOND TERM. Physics. Silliman's, and Lectures. Latin. Cicero's Brutus. Latin Prose Composition. German. Composition, and Selections from Goethe, Schiller, and Lessing. Italian. Montana's Grammar and Monti's Reader. (Elec- tive for German.) THIRD TERM. Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. Human Physiology and Physiological Chemistry. Recita- tions and Lectures. Chemistry. Stoeckhardt's, and Lectures. Mineralogy. Lectures. Practical Ethics. Lectures by the President. Antioch College. 143 SENIOR CLASS. FIEST TERM. Political Economy. Recitations and Lectures. Logic. Mill's, completed. Comparative Physiology. Recitations and Lectures. SECOND TERM. Intellectual Philosophy. Recitations and Lectures. History. Guizot's " Histoire de la Civilisation en Europe." Constitutional Law. Story on the Constitution. Geology. Recitations and Lectures. THIRD TERM. Physical Geography. Guyot's, and Lectures. Natural Theology. Recitations and Lectures. Moral Philosophy. Recitations and Lectures. Evidences of Christianity. Recitations and Lectures. (HIT Rhetorical Exercises and English Composition will be required at stated periods during the whole course. Antioch College. TEACHEKS' COUESE. This Course of Study is established for the benefit of those who wish to pursue a course in English and Scientific branches, and in Modern Languages, without taking a com- plete Classical course. A Diploma will be given to those who have satisfactorily completed this Course, and have, in the meantime, sustained a good moral character. REQUISITES FOR ADMISSION. Candidates for admission to the Class of the first year of the Course, will be examined in the following studies : English Grammar. Geography and History. Outlines of Ancient and Modern. Arithmetic. Human Physiology. Cutter's, or some equivalent. Algebra. Sherwin's, or its equivalent. Geometry. First four books of Davies's Legendre and Hill's First Lessons. For admission to any advanced position, the applicant will be examined in the previous studies of the Course. Those who do not wish to take the full Teachers' Course, may select such studies as they desire to pursue, and on leaving the Institution will be entitled to a certificate stating their proficiency in such studies. Antiocli College. 145 FIEST YEAE. FIRST TEEM. Algebra. Davies's Bourdon. French. Fasquelle's French Course ; De Fivas's Eeader. History. Sismondi's Decline and Fall of the Eoman Empire. Conduct of the Understanding. Lectures by the President. SECOND TERM. Geometry and Trigonometry. Davies's Legendre, com- pleted. English Language and Elocution. French. Fasquelle's French Course and Translation. THIRD TERM. Surveying and Navigation. Davies's. German. Douai's Grammar and Eoelker's Eeader. Botany. Gray's Structural and Systematic Botany. Didactics. SECOND YEAE. FIRST TERM. Physics. Silliman's, and Lectures. French. Fasquelle ; L'Alleniagne and Le Verre d'Eau. German. Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, and Goethe's Torquato 146 Antioch College. SECOND TERM. Physics. Silliman's, completed, and Lectures. Logic. Whately's, and Mill's, commenced. Geology. Recitations and Lectures. Taste, Imagination, and A rt. Lectures by the President. THIRD TERM. Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. Human Physiology and Physiological Chemistry. Recita- tions and Lectures. Chemistry. Stoeckhardt, and Lectures. Min eralogy. Lectures . Practical Ethics. Lectures by the President. COURSE OF ENGLISH STUDY. FIRST YEAR. THIRD ENGLISH CLASS. FIRST TERM. Reading, Orthography, and English Composition. Parker's Progressive Exercises. English Grammar. Weld and Quackenbos's. Geography. Warren's General Definitions and Outlines, N. America and United States. Arithmetic. Colburn's Mental; Chase's, through Prime Numbers. Antioch College. 147 SECOND TERM. Reading, Orthography, &c. continued. English Grammar, continued. Geography. United States, continued; South America and Europe. Arithmetic. Chase's, to Interest. THIRD TERM. Reading, &c. continued. Parker's Progressive Exercises in Composition, and Phy- siology. Geography. Africa, Asia, and Polynesia. Arithmetic. Chase's, finished. SECOND YEAR SECOND ENGLISH CLASS. FIRST TERM. Reading and Recitation of Selected Pieces. Geography. United States and Europe reviewed. History. United States, Wilson's. Arithmetic. General Eeview. SECOND TERM. English Grammar and Composition. Geometry. Hill's Eirst Lessons. Universal History. Miss Peabody's. Rhetorical Exercises and Penmanship. L 2 148 Antioch College. THIRD TERM. Sherwins Algebra and HiWs Arithmetic. English Grammar and Composition. Universal History. Miss Peabody's. Rhetorical Exercises and Phonography. THIED YEAR FIKST ENGLISH CLASS. FIRST TERM. A Igebra. Sherwin's. Physiology. Cutter's. History. LiddelTs Eome. SECOND TERM. Natural Philosophy. Book-keeping and Drawing. A stronomy. Brocklesby. Rhetorical Exercises. THIRD TERM. Geometry. Hill's First Lessons, and four "books of Le- gendre. Botany. Gray's " Lessons." History. Smith's Greece. Rhetorical Exercises. Antioch College. 149 COUESE PEEPAEATOEY FOE COLLEGE. THIED PEEPAEATOEY CLASS. FIRST TERM. Latin. Andrews's Manual and Andrews's Eeader ; Hark- ness's Arnold's First Latin Book. History. Liddell's Eome, commenced. Physiology. Cutter's. SECOND TERM. Latin. Andrews's Manual and Andrews's Eeader ; Hark- ness's Arnold's First Latin Book. History. Liddell's Eome, completed, and Smith's Greece commenced. Arithmetic. Chase's. THIRD TERM. Latin. Andrews's Manual and Andrews's Eeader j Hark- ness's Arnold's Latin Book. History. Smith's Greece, completed. Botany. Gray's Lessons" and " How Plants Grow." SECOND PEEPAEATOEY CLASS. FIRST TERM. Latin. Andrews's Manual and Andrews's Eeader, com- pleted ; Latin Composition. Greek. Kendrick's Greek Ollendorf, commenced. Drawing. 150 Antioch College. Elective* Dwight's Grecian and Eoman Mythology, abridged edition. SECOND TERM. Latin. Andrews's Caesar's Commentaries, First Book ; Latin Composition. Greek. Kendrick's Greek Ollendorf, completed. History. Hume's England, abridged. Elective. Brocklesby's Astronomy. THIRD TERM. Latin. Caesar's Commentaries, second and third books; Latin Composition. Greek. Kuehner's Elementary Greek Grammar ; Arnold's Greek Reading Book, commenced. Physical Geography. Elective. Smith's Student's Gibbon. FIRST PREPARATORY CLASS. FIRST TERM. Latin. Cicero's Orations, Eolsom's Selections, commenced; Latin Composition. Greek. Grammar and Reading Book, continued; Greek Composition, commenced. Grammar. Syntax. Elective. Kendrick's Greek Ollendorf. * The elective studies of the Preparatory Course are to be pursued instead of the regular Greek studies, by those who do not desire to take the full course in that language. Antioch College. 151 SECOND TERM. Latin. Cicero's Orations, Folsom's Selections, completed; Latin Composition. Greek. Grammar, Reading Book, and Composition, con- tinued. A Igebra. Sherwin's. Elective. Kendrick's Greek Ollendorf. THIKD TERM. Latin. Prosody, and four books of the ^Eneid of Virgil ; Latin Composition, continued. Greek. Beading Book, completed ; Composition and Grammar, reviewed. Geometry. Davies's Legendre, four books, and Hill's First Lessons. Elective. Grecian Antiquities. f^ Ehetorical exercises throughout the Course. NOTE. It will be noticed that the " CourseTreparatory for College " extends over a period of three years. To those students, however, whose scholarship is such as to make it possible for them to prepare for college in less than three years, facilities will be afforded for that purpose. CHAPTER VI. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF AMERICA. THE Public Schools of the Western continent have little but their name in common with those of England, and for once we must grant that the American use of the title is the one most justified by facts. That our great schools of Eton, Harrow, Rugby, &c. have very much that is excellent, few people will dispute ; but Public schools, in any broad sense of the word, they are not. The national system of education in America is, on the contrary, one that emphatically provides for the education of the public, and the democratic institutions amidst which it flourishes make it, of course, much easier for it to embrace the great mass of the population. "Whether it would ever be possible, or even desirable, to provide all classes of English society with exactly the same education, may remain a question ; it will be sufficiently inter r The Public Schools of America. 153 esting to consider how far America has been able to carry out this idea. I have found considerable difficulty in as- certaining how far any system of public education is really national in America ; how far, that is, any such system prevails in all the States of the Union. On competent authority I believe it to be the fact that some public school laws exist or have existed, and some State officers of educa- tion are or have been appointed, in all the States; but that in the South the public school system has been much less flourishing than in the North, and that especially since the beginning of the war it has fallen more or less into abeyance in some parts. The state of society in the South, and the distance sepa- rating plantation families from each other, would naturally present increased difficulties to any public school system except in the large towns. I have not been fortunate enough to have the opportunity of seeing schools myself in any of the " slave states " except at St. Louis, and there certainly they seemed to be most excellent, but at this special place the educa- 154 The Public Schools of America. tional system was said to be almost wholly due to the exertions of Dr. Eliot, President of the Washington University in that town; himself from New England. Finding that it would really be impossible to arrive at absolute accuracy on the subject of education in the several States without wading through the State laws of each sepa- rately, and comparing the statistics of each with each, I have not thought that any result was obtainable to repay this amount of labour, and therefore, while endeavouring to arrive at the truth as far as possible, I cannot answer for absolute accuracy except with regard to what I have myself seen. It may, I think, be concluded that the South has certainly much less abundant and com- plete educational resources than the North; and that of the best systems of American State education, that of Massachusetts may fairly be taken as representative. In this belief I shall endeavour to give a sketch, of the chief legislative enactments in this State with regard to education, and of the existing schools as I saw them in operation, chiefly in Boston and its vicinity. The Public Schools of America. 155 Public education in America is reduced to an organized system which has no parellel in England, schools for both sexes being provided by the State, supported by general taxation, and opened to all classes alike. It is compulsory on parents to provide for the education of their children, and the police have authority to place at school any boys or girls found in the streets. At the public schools the large majority of Americans receive at least part of their edu- cation; and it is very common to see the children of members of Congress, &c. side by side with those of labourers and artisans, when the quarter of the city for which the school is established embraces the residences of both classes. The facts of the case, as well as the national feelings of the people, make the difficulties of such an arrangement very much less than they would be in England; the real distinc- tions of manners and habits being much less in America, where some amount of cultivation is more general on the one hand, and extreme refinement more rare on the other. As far as I have had opportunities of ob- 156 The Public Schools of America. serving these public schools, they have seemed to me, generally, extremely good in whatever towns I have visited them; differences, of course, arising from the relative powers and qualities of each Principal, hut more or less thoroughness of study running throughout them all. In most cases both sexes attend the same schools, whether primary, grammar, or high schools ; but in some cities separate buildings are provided. Those teachers who preside over the mixed schools generally bear witness to their possessing at least equal advantages with the others, as they assert that the presence of each sex stimulates the other to greater ex- ertions, the girls being on the whole quite as far advanced in their studies as the boys, and quite as capable of continued mental exertion. A very excellent head-master of a high school remarked to me when I asked him if he saw no objections to the plan, that he would not say that, but that he had certainly never seen so much evil come from the joint, as from the separate, education of the sexes. In one instance only did I hear of the system of joint education being for a time The Public Schools of America. 157 discontinued in a high school in consequence of some disorders having arisen, and even here it was shortly afterwards resumed at the ear- nest request of the teachers, who helieved that abuses must as such be met and checked, but that the system had advantages not to be relinquished ; and their experience in the two years which have since elapsed has justified the course taken. I understand that the first public high school common to both boys and girls was opened at Cincinnati. The first legislative Act with reference to education in the then British colonies of America, was passed in 1642,* and enjoined the universal education of children; the " select men " of every town being required to " have a vigilant eye over their brethren and neighbours, to see first that none of them shall suffer so much barbarism in any of their families as not to teach, by themselves or others, their children and apprentices, so much learning as may enable them perfectly to read the English tongue, and (obtain) know- * The landing of the Pilgrim Fathers from the Mayflower had taken place in 1620. 158 The Public Schools of America. ledge of the capital laws, upon penalty of 20s. for each neglect therein. 55 The same Act directed that religious education should be given to all children, and " that all parents and masters do breed and bring up their children and apprentices in some honest law- ful calling. 55 In 1647 another law was passed making the support of schools compulsory on all towns, and directing that free education should be universal throughout Massachusetts. Every town containing fifty householders was bound to appoint a teacher, " to teach all such children as shall resort to him to read and write ; 55 and every town of twice this size was, moreover, to set up a grammar school "to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the University. 55 * The penalty for non-com- pliance was first put at 5. per annum, but was raised, till in 1718 it stood at 40/. for every town containing two hundred families. These fines were appropriated for the benefit of schools. The permanent School Fund of Massa- * The University of Harvard, near Boston, Massachusetts, had been founded in 1642. The Public Schools of America. 159 chusetts originated in 1834, and its capital was derived from the sale of lands, and from the claim of the State on the United States Government for military service. By addi- tions in 1854 this capital was increased to a million and a half of dollars. Among the chief State laws which now regulate the Public School system in Massa- chusetts are the following : Revised Statutes, xxiii. 1. "In every town shall be kept, for at least six months in each year, at the expense of said town, by a teacher or teachers of competent ability and good morals, a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all the children who may legally attend public school therein, in orthography, reading and writing, English grammar, geo- graphy, arithmetic, the History of the United States, and good behaviour. Algebra, vocal music, drawing, physiology, and hygiene shall be taught by lectures or otherwise, in all the public schools in which the school committee deem it expedient." Revised Statutes, xxiii. 5. " Every town may, and every town containing five hundred families or householders shall, besides the 160 The 'Public Schools of America. schools prescribed in the preceding section, maintain a school to be kept by a master of competent ability and good morals, who, in addition to the branches of learning before mentioned, shall give instruction in general history, book-keeping, surveying, geometry, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, the civil polity of this commonwealth, and of the United States, and the Latin language. Such school shall be kept . . . ten months at least in each year, . . . and in every town containing 4,000 inhabitants the teacher or teachers . . . shall in addition ... be competent to give instruction in the Greek and French lan- guages, astronomy, geology, rhetoric, logic, intellectual and moral science, and political economy." Revised Statutes, xxiii. 9. "The several towns shall at their annual meetings . . . raise such sums of money for the support of schools as they judge necessary, which sums shall be assessed and collected in like manner as other town taxes." Revised Statutes, xxiii. 23. "The school committee shall require the daily reading of some portion of the Bible in the common The Public Schools of America. 161 English version; but shall never direct any school books, calculated to favour the tenets of any particular sect of Christians, to be pur- chased or used in any of the town schools." Eevised Statutes, xxiii. 19, 20, 22.- " The school committees are empowered ta supply poor scholars with books at the ex- pense of the town, and in cases where parents are able and not willing to pay such charges,, the committee can procure the books, and cause the cost to be added by the assessors, ta the next tax-paper which the parents ace called on to discharge." The Act of 1852, ccxl. 1, 2, 4, decrees that " Every person having under his control a child between the ages of eight and four- teen years, shall annually . . . send such child to some public school in the city or town in which he resides at least twelve weeks." 1852, ccxl. 3. " The truant officers and the school committees . . . shall inquire into all cases of neglect of the duty prescribed in the preceding section, and ascertain . . . the reason, if any, therefor." The penalty for default is "a sum not exceeding twenty dollars." M 162 The Public Schools of America. These last regulations have doubtless the effect of securing education to many children who would otherwise go without it, and they certainly produce the further beneficial result of clearing the streets of idle children to an extent which a Londoner may well envy, both for his own sake and theirs. 1855, cccxiv. 2. " No person shall be excluded from a public school on account of race, colour, or religious opinions." To secure participation in the State School Pund, every town is bound to ascertain the number of children residing in it between the ages of five and fifteen, and to impose a tax at the rate of not less than three dollars for each such child, to be divided among the house- holders, and collected with other town rates. Public schools in America are of three kinds or grades " Primary," "Grammar," and " High ; " with the addition of a fourth class of "Normal" schools, intended for the educa- tion of teachers only. Children of four and five years of age are admitted to the Primary Schools, and remain there till seven or eight, according to profi- ciency, and even in some cases longer. The Public Schools of America. 163 The instruction given comprises the alpha- bet * printed and written, easy spelling, the use of numbers and first steps of arithmetic, singing, with some lessons on plain figures, and occasionally oral lessons on objects, trades, &c. These answer very much to our infant and juvenile schools, and certainly have, as I think, no superiority over them. Indeed, the best Primary School that I saw or heard of was conducted by a lady who was herself a pupil of a training-school established by a teacher from the London Home and Colonial Schools. She avoided to a great extent two faults which I imagine to be prevalent in most other Primary Schools in America, over- long and monotonous lessons, and deficiency of physical motion and exercise. It is, indeed, required that there shall be " physical exer- cises for five or ten minutes twice at least each session;" but as these "sessions" extend * That is to say, they teach twenty-five letters of the English alphabet and one of their own, having re-christened the final letter, which is called by all Americans "," instead of " zed" a change for which T have never been able to account. H 2 164 The 'Public Schools of America. over several hours, with only one "recess" in the middle, the provision seems to me quite inadequate for young children. It will have heen seen that Primary Schools are not contemplated as a distinct class hy the Legislature, and generally exist only in large towns, where they are under separate regula- tions by the educational committees. At the close of the primary course a child is expected to he able to spell words of three syllables, to read easy prose at sight, to per- form easy operations in the first four rules of arithmetic, and " to enunciate clearly and accurately the elementary sounds of our language." The Grammar Schools of America cannot, I think, be said to answer exactly to any- thing English. They differ from our National Schools in aiming to educate a large propor- tion of the children of all classes, and embrace therefore a somewhat larger and longer course of study than would be practicable with us. The studies to be pursued are spelling, writing, drawing, arithmetic, written and oral, geography ; in the higher classes, map-draw- ing and composition; "in the boys' schools, The Public Schools of America. 165 declamation;" history of the United States; and, in the higher classes, sketches of other histories. Some instruction is also given in moral and natural philosophy, and in hook- keeping by single entry. The lower classes of a Grammar School in those districts where the working classes pre- ponderate look very much like those of our Kational Schools, but the senior classes are apt to contain pupils of more advanced age than can generally be kept at school by labouring parents in England. I spent two mornings in one of the best Grammar Schools in Boston, receiving the kindest welcome from the teachers here as elsewhere, and finding much to interest me both in the actual Avork done and in the working spirit of the place. I happened to go first into the senior class, consisting of both boys and girls, where each sex "recited" separately the same lesson in English history. There were more blunders in this lesson than we should wish to have in England, but then it ought fairly to be com- pared with a lesson in foreign or colonial history from our children. I heard one pupil 166 The Public Schools of America. explain "ship-money" to be the tax levied on ships, and " tonnage " that on towns ! Mistakes also of words and pronunciation were characteristically frequent. " Lewes " was pronounced in one syllable, and "Leicester" in three, both unconnected, and we were in- formed that the head of Charles I. was " cut off by the executor." Still the lesson was on the whole well studied, comprising a review of a considerable extent of history ; and intelligence and good general knowledge were apparent in the majority of pupils. In the same class I looked over several essays, the topics of which had been selected by the pupils themselves, and both subjects and treatment showed a fair amount of originality. Among the headings were, " To the Man in the Moon ; " " Boston ; " " Stars and Stripes," and so forth. While attending this class I took occasion to tell the lady teacher (who had welcomed me without any introduction) that I was myself a teacher from. England, and had conic on purpose to see what was doing in American Schools. Her whole face brightened; she The Public Schools of America. 167 warmly repeated her welcome, and, when a pause came, introduced me to the scholars, some forty or fifty in number, and they in turn expressed very clearly in their looks how great was their interest in any one "from. England." Indeed I must here remark that, whatever may he the political misunderstand- ings between the English and Americans, (and I confess that politics is very inflammable ground,) I have found nothing but personal interest and hearty welcome invariably follow the announcement of my nationality when matters non-political were in question. On this occasion the teacher asked the class w r hether they did not think I ought to " tell them something from England," and the de- mand that followed was so emphatic, that there was nothing for it but to promise such compliance as I could. While the history lesson was proceeding I noted dotvn one or two of the topics mentioned, and at its con- clusion told them, the well-known stories of the first Prince of Wales, and of the old wife in the Tron Kirk who threw her stool at the mass- priest, and described ta them the present fire-scorched appearance of Magna Charta in 168 The Public Schools of America. the British Museum ; all which was new to them, and was hailed with such deep interest, that, when some absent monitors entered, I was entreated to " say that again ! " I may mention as prevalent here a plan of allowing each pupil to question any other whose turn it is to recite, and the results seemed certainly splendidly "awakening;" for if a pupil named a great man, for instance, he had to be prepared for the chance of being asked any question about him, the answer to which could be found in the lesson. When any child wished to ask a question of another, he or she held up a hand, and the teacher, by calling his or her name, allowed the question to be put. The plan seemed very helpful in sustaining interest and attention. In another class I heard some more mis- cellaneous exercises of singing, mental arith- metic, &c.,.all very good as I thought; and here I was entreated to "tell them something about public schools in England." This par- ticular topic I declined as rather too compre- hensive, but gave them a little description of Westminster Abbey and the Tower, which gave great satisfaction. The Public Schools of America. 169 Among the songs sung was one very painful one, relating to the Irish famine, which men- tioned " English gold " as if it had not come to the rescue. I could not help asking leave to say one word anent this, and then expressed strongly my hope that such songs would not be allowed to give the idea that England and Ireland had opposite interests, for that I was sure no Irishmen wished the real welfare of Ireland more than the best English men and women did now, whatever may have been the case in past times. The kind teacher listened till the tears came into her eyes, and then said, turning to the children, among whom were very many Irish, " Is it not good to hear that ? " I mention these little things less as bearing on the immediate question of schools, though I think they do show a certain life and fresh- ness which are very valuable, than as illus- trating the general kindliness of spirit which, in spite of all drawbacks, makes Americans so very attractive to those who make any long stay among them. As I was told before leaving England by one whose experience had preceded mine, " You can't live long in 170 The ^Public Schools of America. America without getting very fond of the people." At this same Grammar School I heard a capital reading lesson, with spirited question- ing, calculated to draw out just what the children did or did not know; also a good "recitation" in geography, with questions both by teacher and fellow-pupils. Where the classes are too large to allow each child an opportunity of answering, the plan pursued to secure an equal chance to all is that of having all the names written each on a sepa- rate card, the cards shuffled together, and then committed to one of the children, who calls them out as they come, the question being first given by the teacher, and then some child named to answer it. At this school, as well as elsewhere, I had an opportunity of seeing, or rather hearing, "Vocal Gymnastics" on a system originated by a certain teacher who has made this his speciality. The various articulate sounds were divided into classes, oral, pectoral, nasal, &c. (the latter being, as another teacher good- humouredly remarked, " quite unnecessary for us Americans ") ; and then exercises in The Public Schools of America. 171 each were arranged in a sort of scale, the whole being supposed to give strength and pliability to the voice. The thing did not specially commend itself to me, but I have heard it spoken of with approval by very competent teachers. In arithmetic I heard some very complicated questions given to be performed mentally by children whose average age was perhaps twelve years. Of these I will give two examples, by no means the longest : " Five-sevenths of fifty-six are ten-fifteenths of how many tenths of a hundred ? " " Nine- sevenths of twenty- eight are three-fifths of how many eighths of forty-eight ? " The teacher herself allowed to me that these mental gymnastics were a rather barbarous strain on such children, but said that she had no choice in the matter, as the regulations were quite precise, and left little to the individual judgment of teachers. This is, of course, always the drawback to all systems of teaching minutely organized for general use. They will supply many of the deficiencies of second-rate teachers, but are sure to be felt a bondage by those who are really first-rate. 172 The Public Schools of America. In all the classes occasional calisthenics were introduced for some minutes at a time, and this seems a promise of awakening atten- tion to the physical side of education. The ages of pupils in the Grammar Schools generally vary from seven to fourteen, and the time of remaining here depends on the ability and proficiency of each child. There are generally four classes to pass through, each with two or more subdivisions, and the course seldom takes less than four years, and sometimes six or seven to complete, though pupils, of course, sometimes leave before they have finished the required studies. They can- not, however, enter the High Schools till they have done so, and indeed pupils are not even sent up to be examined for admission to these unless the Grammar School teachers think that their proficiency affords a fair chance of success. Of those who do go up, perhaps one- fourth are rejected by the examiners, and must re-enter the Grammar Schools to perfect their knowledge before proceeding further. I can give no better idea of the standard requirements for a pupil leaving the Grammar for the High School, than by annexing the The Public Schools of America. 173 papers actually given to candidates for admis- sion to one of the High Schools this year. The subjects are four in number arith- metic, grammar, American history, and general geography. The superior importance attached to the two first studies is signified by double marks being given for work on those papers. HIGH SCHOOL. CANDIDATES' AEITHMETIC. 1866. 1. Divide eight thousand and twenty-five hundred- inillionths by one hundred and seven ten-thousandths. Also divide four thousand one hundred and thirty -four niillionths by one hundred and six thousandths. Find the product of these quotients, and express the answer in figures and in words. Q6 QQ1 2. Add j off of 28 |J to3j-g. 3. What part of a Ib. is 2 oz. 4 dr. ? 4. A goldsmith manufactured 1 Ib. 1 dwt. 16 gr. of gold into rings, each of which weighed 4 dwt. 20 gr. He then sold the rings at $1.25 each. How much did he receive for them? 5. The hind wheel of a carriage is 10J feet and the fore wheel 9 feet in circumference; how many revolutions will The Public Schools of America. each mal\e in running from Gloucester to Salem, the distance being 1G miles? G. What will be the cost of a pile of wood 12 ft. G in. long, 4 ft. 4 in. high, and 4 feet wide, at $8 per cord? 7. What is the difference between the true discount and the bank discount of a liote for $1075, having seven months and three days to run 1 2% 8. If of a Ib. of tea cost ~ of a dollar, what will '7 of o a Ib. cost ? 9. A person sold two pianos for $650 each. For one he receive 1 20 per cent, more and for the other 20 per cent, less than the cost. Did he gain or lose by the sales, and how much 1 10. If 375 men, in 9 days of 10 hours each, can dig a trench 700 feet long, 4J feet wide, and 7 feet deep; how many men will be required to dig a trench 1,568 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 6 feet deep, in 12 days of 9 hours each? CANDIDATES' GKAMMAR 1866. "We should by no means lower the standard of excellence at which all ought to aim." 1. Tell kind of sentence. Analyse last clause, and tell what word connects it with the preceding one. Point out the verb in the first clause, and the phrases which modify it. 2. Parse by, which, at, to aim. The Public Schools of America. 175 3. What kind of pronouns are we and which, and what do they stand for 1 4. Tell moods and tenses of the verbs, and the kind of each. 5. Decline in both numbers, which, ive, means, standard. 6. If you change the form of the first clause, without changing the sense, in what case will standard be ? in what we ? 7. Write the synopsis of to aim in the Indicative, Poten- tial, and Infinitive moods, active voice. 8. Name all the participles of to aim, both voices. 9. Point out the adjectives in the sentence, compare them, and tell what they limit. 10. Correct all the errors in the following sentences : Each studies their own book. Will you learn me to spell ! New york with other places, were took by the enemy. Alfred has ate them apples which was laying on the table. George has wrote and invited Henry and I to visit him. CANDIDATES' GEOGRAPHY. 1866. 1. Name eight of the largest rivers in New England. 2. What is the width, in degrees, of the zones ; and which are the great circles ? 176 The Public Schools of America. 3. Locate Cleveland, Columbus, Chattanooga, Pike's Peak, Glasgow, Havre, Warsaw, Mecca. 4. What States and waters bound Illinois ? 5. What States and rivers would you cross in going from Milwaukee to Mobile, in a direct line 1 6. Name eight tributaries to the Mississippi. 7. Which is the Palmetto State 1 The Lone Star State 1 The Switzerland of America I The Pine Tree State ? 8. What forms of government exist in South America? What is the government of Patagonia? What river in Venezuela ? 9. What countries border on the Eed Sea ? 10. Tell the capitals of New Mexico, Washington Terri- tory, Wisconsin, Chili, Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt. Name three Republics in Europe. CANDIDATES' HISTORY. 1866. 1. What Government commissioned the Cabots ? James Cartier ? Ferdinand de Soto ? By what nation was Brazil discovered, and when ? 2. By whom was Virginia discovered, and when ? In whose reign did he die ? 3. Tell what you know about John Eliot. About the establishment of Harvard University. The Public Schools of America. 177 4. Give an account of the Boston Massacre. When did it take place 1 5. When was the Nationr 1 Fla adopted by Congress 1 Describe it. 6. Which were the two most populous cities of the original colonies, at the time of the Revolution 1 ? Which the two most populous colonies 1 7. Give the dates of the Battles of Saratoga, Cowpens, Yorktown, Bunker Hill. 8. What is meant by " The Missouri Compromise 1 " In whose Presidency was it established 1 9. How many Senators is Rhode Island entitled to send to Congress 1 ? How many New York? How are U. S. Senators chosen ? What is the term of office of a Senator of the United States ? 10. Who was the first President of the United States'? When and where was he inaugurated ? Who was the sixth President 1 The High Schools are supposed to take up the course of education where the Grammar Schools leave it, and to carry it up to the standard which is held to be sufficient except for those who desire a further collegiate education. I paid short visits to High Schools in St. 178 The Public Schools of America. Louis, Cincinnati, and Boston ; but it was at the Salem High School that I learned the chief particulars I shall now mention, and here also I saw the greatest number of classes in operation. This is not one of the largest schools of the class, having only about a hundred and fifty pupils, varying in age from twelve to nineteen, there being very few pupils so young as the former or so old as the latter. I was told that about one-half of the pupils who come here go through the whole course and " graduate," while the others drop out at one stage or another of school progress. There are four regular classes, and the pupils, after going through one, are subjected to a pretty tho- rough examination before entering another, so that the higher classes are to a certain extent " weeded," those who fail having to re-enter the preceding class until they acquire the needful proficiency for further advance; and it is very rare, therefore, for any pupil to fail in the fourth and final examination. It speaks well for the school, that it is by no means uncommon for old pupils who have completed their course to ask leave to return The Public Schools of America. 179 to be present at some particular lessons, and this is always allowed, though they, of course, do not compete with the others. The junior classes are the largest, and in these, therefore, the girls and boys are divided simply for convenience, while in the senior and smaller classes all "recite" together. This, at least, is the practice at Salem, but on this point the plans are different in almost every town, the decision depending always on local committees. The subjects taught to all the pupils are English, Latin, History, Mental Science, Natural Science, and Mathematics; and fur- ther, as elective studies, Greek, Erench, and German, any one of which may be added to the school course, but not more than one, except in rare cases. The English studies comprise Grammar and Analysis, Composition, and some English Literature. In Grammar and Analysis, An- drews' Latin Grammar serves as a basis of instruction in both English and Latin. Eng- lish "themes" are required of all the pupils once in four weeks, the whole school being divided into sections, one or other of which 180 The Public Schools of America. furnishes compositions weekly. A number of subjects are written on the board by the Head Master at the beginning of each term, additions being made to the list occasionally, and from these the pupils may select at pleasure. Among those I noticed were : " Cold Water;" "The Ministry of the Beautiful;' 5 "True Courage; 5 ' "The Art of Pleasing; 55 " City and Country Life ; 55 " I didn't Think ; 55 "Eyes; 55 "Kindness of Severity, 55 &c. &c. Newman 5 s " Rhetoric" is also studied, and answers very much to what we should call "The Art of Composition. 55 Recitations from this book form part of the third year's course. English Literature is represented by class readings (in the fourth year), in Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspere, and Milton. In Latin the work seemed very thorough throughout the school. The books read in- clude Caesar, Sallust or Ovid, Cicero, Virgil, and Horace. During class I heard the pupils required to give derivations of compound words, to count in Latin, &c., and, in the fourth year, prose composition is required. History is chiefly studied by means of The Public Schools of America. 181 "Willson's Outlines," and the course is not very comprehensive. The " Constitution of the United States" forms the concluding sub- ject of study. In all American education, the politics of the day are more brought forward than with us, while Ancient and Mediaeval History is, perhaps, less prominent. Mental Science is taught only during the fourth year ; Mental Philosophy occupying one term, and the study of " Paley's Evi- dences" the other. In Natural Science instruction is given in Natural Philosophy, Physiology, and (more briefly) in Chemistry, Astronomy, and Botany; the object being, probably, rather to awaken interest in these subjects, than to teach them exhaustively. In Mathematics, the course includes Geo- metry, Algebra, Book-keeping (following the two former) ; with some instruction in Trigo- nometry and Surveying. Almost everywhere in America some text-book or manual of geo- metry is substituted for Euclid, and very few even of the teachers have studied the latter in its original form. The most common text- book is one by Legendre, edited by Davies. 182 The Public Schools of America. The arrangement and sequence of the pro- blems is altogether different from that of Euclid, and, consequently, many of the de- monstrations vary considerably. I have heard very opposite opinions ex- pressed as to this plan of substitution for Euclid, some teachers telling me that they regret it much, and believe it to be done in the interest of certain booksellers, while others assure me that the new arrangement is much superior to the original, and that therefore it obtains. I have not myself studied Legendre and other text-books sufficiently to have any opinion, except a feeling of regret to see Euclid discarded, both for its own sake, and because the variety of manuals makes it so much harder to measure the standard attained in any given School or College. In Algebra, the course comprises simple and quadratic equations, but I did not see any very abstruse problems given in the text-book (Greenleafs). As far as it goes, however, mathematical teaching is generally good in all American schools. With regard to the elective studies, all the pupils are free to choose, and the boys usually The Public Schools of America. 183 select Greek and the girls French, neither of which languages are introduced before the second year. .The Erench studies appear never to go much beyond fair power of translation; and German, being in no case studied before the fourth year, has, therefore, even less chance. In the case of boys intending to enter Col- lege, some further modification of the course is allowed, as they expect to matriculate on leaving the High School. In Boston, the High Schools are distinct for the two sexes, and that for boys is further subdivided into the English High School and the Latin High School, to the latter of which boys intended for College are sent. I do not know that this division exists elsewhere. As regards the number of hours devoted to study, I am told that in all Public Schools these are from five to six daily; sometimes all in one session, sometimes divided into two, with a recess of half an hour in the one case, or two recesses of fifteen minutes each in the other. At Salem High School the single session is held, and this begins at 8 A.M. and ends 184 The ^Public Schools of America. at 1 P.M. School is opened by singing, the responsive reading of a short Psalm, and the Lord's Prayer. After this one of the boys "declaims," or one of the girls reads some piece, usually of poetry, and then the work of the day begins. During the morning each class has usually three recitations of about forty-five minutes each, and spends the rest of the time in silent study, often in the same room where a recitation is being held. Out of school, the pupils usually devote two or three hours to work at home. At Salem High School, the hours of study are the same on all week-days, but in Primary and Grammar Schools, and in some High Schools, there is one weekly holiday, or two weekly half-holidays. This is especially the case where there are double "sessions" daily. A strict system of "making up" all defi- cient lessons is probably useful to the pupils, but comes very hard on the teachers, who have to hear them at stray moments, or, more often, after the regular school-hours. I should certainly advise no one to take up the work of an American public school teacher as a form of light employment. The Public Schools of America. 185 The system of constantly reviewing old lessons, and questioning in them without notice, is much pursued at Salem, so that the pupils are taught that their daily lesson he- gins always "from the first page of the hook." In accordance with this principle, it is sup- posed that all the hack work is so well kept up, as to need no special preparation for terminal examinations, and therefore no spe- cial time is allowed for it. As I gave the Examination Papers required for admission, I will now give some of those done by senior pupils, at or near the conclu- sion of their studies. I have not heen ahle to make the list quite complete, hut it will at least give some idea of the standard to he attained in most of the subjects. SALEM HIGH SCHOOL. SENIOR CLASS. GEOMETRY. 1. Define theorem, axiom, corollary, and scholium. 2. Classify, define, and illustrate the various kinds of quadrilaterals. 186 The Public Schools of America. 3. Give all the methods for proving the equality of triangles. 4. What names are given to the angles formed by one line cutting two parallel lines? Illustrate. 5. Define a segment, sector, and secant of a circle. 6. The three angles of a triangle are in the proportions of 31, 20, and 9. What are the angles 1 7. To what is each angle in an equiangular hexagon equal? 8. Give all the facts you can about parallelograms. 9. What are the different positions which two circles may sustain to each other, depending upon the distance between their centres ? 10. What is the measure of an inscribed angle 1 11. Make a square which shall be equivalent to the differ- ence between two given squares ; a square which shall be four times a given square ; a square which shall be twice a given square. 12. Eule for the area of a parallelogram, rectangle, triangle, and trapezoid. 13. Explain how to find the centre of a circle. 14. Prove the " Pons Asinorum," without corollaries. 15. Explain how to inscribe a circle in a given triangle. 16. Define proportion by alternation, inversion, composi- tion and division. The Public Schools of America. 187 17. In any triangle, to what is the square of a side oppo- site an acute angle equal ? the square of a side opposite an obtuse angle 1 18. Prove the measure of an angle formed "by the inter- section of two chords. 19. Inscribe a right angle in a circle. 20. Prove that triangles which are mutually equiangular are similar. ALGEBRA. 1. Define Elimination. What are the three methods? Eule for Elimination by comparison ? 2. The value of my two horses is such that, if the value of the first be added to four times that of the second, the sum is $580 ; and if the value of the second be added to four times that of the first, the sum is $520 ; required the value of each. Elimination by addition and subtraction. 3. Define a power. What does the exponent of a power denote ? What is Involution ? 4. Expand (a x) 5 by the Binomial Theorem, and ex- plain how you determine the number of terms, the signs, letters, and coefficients of the terms, and the exponents of the letters. 5. Define a root of a quantity. How are roots indicated ? Define Evolution. 6. Eind the square root of a 4 -f 4a 2 6 + 46 2 . Give the rule. 188 The Public Schools of America. 7. Define a Radical. A rational quantity. A Surd. Similar radicals. 8. Divide a 2 -|- a6 J 66 by a 26*, and give the rule. 9. Extract the fourth root of 64a 8 6 4 10. Given ^/20 - \/2x 2 = 0, to find the value of x. SENIOR CLASS. LATIN. SELECTIONS FOR TRANSLATION. VIRGIL, Lib. I. 485493. II. 559566. FIRST SELECTION. 1. What forms of dat, se, acies, and furens, are wanting 1 ? Quote authority in each case. 2. What peculiar kind of verb is audet; and what others have the same peculiarity '? 3. Of what are the following words compounded con- spexit, permixtum, agnovit, inermes ? 4. Write all the imperative forms of ducit ; and give the synopsis of agnovisse. 5. What verbs in this selection reduplicate? Compare imus. The Public Schools of America. 189 SECOND SELECTION. 6. What peculiar kind of verb is obstupui ? What is the gender of imago, of ignibus ? rules. What is the genitive plural of regem ? rule. 7. Has subiit another form in the perfect tense? What compounds of eo have perfect participles ? 8. Why is "to the earth" expressed by ad terram instead of by terra? Would crudele be correct 1 ? How do you know? 9. Account for the e in direpta. What is the direct object of lustro? Why is sit in. the subjunctive? What part of speech is quce? 10. Tell syntax of vulnere, casus, ignibus, cegr'a. SENIOR CLASS GREEK. XENOPHON, Anabasis, Lib. I. cap. iii. From " Kvpos Se, TOVTOIS" &c. to " Kol <*>s," &c. 1. irepirutv. Conjugate and name the form. 2. e\eye. 3. e\0fV. 4. aTropwv re. Why has "re" no accent? Rule. 190 The Public Schools of America. 5. levut. Quote three rules to show that the place of the accent is wrong, and enough more to prove that it is right, both in place and kind. 6. OVK. Account for the "K" for the absence of accent mark and prove that it is a peculiar Greek word. 7. & cavrov. Account for 0\ giving your authority for every change. 8. "Ai/8pes. Give the root. Account for the 3, giving rules. Give the nom. sing, and dat. plur., quoting your authority for their formation. 9. orpaTiomu. Root ? Gender and rule ? Voc. sing, and rule ? Nom. sing, with rule for accent ? 10. v<{>. State all you know about this word. 11. TrdvTa. Compare. 12. Tras. Decline in sing, and quote a special rule for its accent. 13. /o/u<>. Write fut. ind. and quote euphonic R. 14. perf. act. 15. pass. 16! "AyyeXoi/. Decline, with accents. 17. SI'KT/V. Root and rule? 18. SeStws. Why not SeStws? 19. Oappw. Why not Odppewl 20. cTTct ye. Explain the accent of eTret, and quote the list in which " ye" is found. The Public Schools of America. 191 ;juriOR CLASS. HISTORY. 1 . Give the history of the first king of the most ancient nation of antiquity. 2. Who were the Hyksos ? 3. Give a synopsis of the history of the Jews, with dates. 4. Name all the kings of the Twelve Tribes. 5. Who was Semiramis, and for what was she noted ? 6. Give the history of the last king of Assyria. 7. Who was the first king of Persia? under what king did it attain its greatest extent ? . 8. What is the Septuagint translation of the Scriptures, and who caused it to be made ? 9. Give an account of the reduction of Judea by the Romans. 10. By whom, and when, was Jerusalem finally destroyed? 11. What period is considered as the beginning of Grecian history ? 12. Give an account of the most important event of the Heroic Age. 13. Who was Minos ? Lycurgus ? Solon ? 192 The Public Schools of America. 14. Where was Lydia? who was the last king? 15. Causes that led to the First Persian War? 16. What battle closed the war? date. What battle closed the Second Persian War ? date. 17. Give an account of the Sicilian expedition. 18. Who raised Athens to the summit of her renown? 19. Date of each Messenian War final fate of the Messe- nians ? 20. Give an account of the Retreat of the Ten Thousand. SENIOR CLASS. HISTORY. 1. Name the sovereigns of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with dates of accession. 2. Give the important sovereigns of Europe who were contemporary with the Eeformation. 3. When and why did the German Reformers receive the name of Protestants? What name was given to the Re- formers in France ? 4. What treaty secured religious liberty to Germany? date. 5. Give a brief account of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. The Public Schools of America. 193 6. What was the Massacre of St. Bartholomew 1 ? date. 7. When, by whom, and for what purpose was the Invin- cible Armada sent out ? 8. Causes and result of the civil war during the reign of Charles I. ? 9. What was the Eevolution of 1688? 10. Give an account of Poland during the seventeenth century. 11. What was the Edict of Nantes? by whom passed? by whom revoked ? 12. Give an analysis of the events of the eighteenth century. 13. What was the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles "VI. ? 14. Give an account of the last invasion of England by one of the Stuart family. 15. The causes of the French and Indian War in America? 16. With what country was Frederick the Great involved in war ? Name three victories which he gained. 17. Give an account of the march of Charles XII. into Eussia. 18. Compare the characters of Peter and Charles. 19. In the American Eevolution, why was the surrender at Saratoga very important ? 20. What treaty was concluded in 1783? O 194 The Public Schools of America. SENIOE CLASS. RHETORIC. 1. WHAT is meant by style; and what prevents a uni- formity in respect to it ? 2. Name three qualities essential to a good style, and state Quinctilian's precept 1 3. Explain the difference between specific and generic terms, and illustrate by example. 4. What quality of style would be sacrificed by reading the following words in what is called the logical order, and why? "Fallen, fallen, is Babylon, that great city 1" 5. What constitutes good usage in respect to words ; and what reason can you give for preferring con- to co-temporary? 6. What is meant by Rhetorical Dialogue? Pleonasm? Tautology ? Naturalness ? 7. Describe the laboured style; and give some directions for acquiring a more idiomatic and easy one. 8. Name and define the different kinds of historical writing. 9. How may the faults of a luxuriant style be corrected ? 10. What are some of the professed objects for which fictions are written ? The Public Schools of America. 195 SENIOK CLASS. CHEMISTRY. 1. DEFINE chemistry. What is the difference between physical and chemical changes ? Give an example of each. 2. Explain specific gravity. A specimen of granite weighed in air 972 gr., in water 622 J gr. What was its specific gravity? 3. Define affinity, and give its peculiar characteristics. 4. What are the laws of chemical combination ? 5. Explain the principles by which acids are named. Express by symbols the chemical change effected by heating one atom of nitrate of potash with two of sulphuric acid. 6. Explain fully the voltaic circuit. 7. How does atmospheric pressure affect the boiling point ? How does this fact enable us to measure altitudes ? 8. What is the most plausible theory of heat ? of light ? 9. Explain the principle of freezing mixtures. 10. What are the physical and chemical properties of oxygen ? In what allotropic form does oxygen exist ? what is the theory to account for it ? o2 196 The Public Schools of America. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 1. NAME and describe the six simple mechanical powers. 2. Describe the fly-wheel ; state the purpose for which it is used, and tell how this is effected. 3. Mention and describe the different modes of trans- mitting motion from one wheel to another. 4. Name and describe the different kinds of toothed wheels. 5. State the laws of the pressure of liquids. 6. Define specific gravity, and describe and explain the method of ascertaining that of solids. 7. Prove that air is material. 8. State Mariotte's Law, and illustrate. 9. What is atmospheric pressure 1 How measured 1 10. By what instrument are variations in the density of the air measured ? Describe its construction. 11. Describe the action of the lifting pump. 12. Define free and latent heat. 1 3. How do you account for the development of heat by mechanical action 1 14. In how many different ways may heat be diffused? Define and illustrate each. The Public Schools of America. 197 15. State the law of intensity of radiant heat. If the earth were at one third of its present distance from the sun, how many times as much heat should we receive ? 16. Describe the thermometer. Mention the different kinds in use. 17. How is steam generated? Mention some of its pro- perties, its temperature, and the amount of its latent heat. 18. What were the two leading improvements made by Watt in the steam-engine ? 19. Describe the action of the double-acting condensing steam-engine. 20. What is the distinction between the high-pressure and the low-pressure engine 1 SEJSTIOE CLASS. FEENCH. 1 . TRANSLATE on the 64th page of Picciola the paragraph beginning C'est bien. 2. What does de in the fourth line show the relation between ? 3. What is the logical subject of etait in the fifth line ? 4. Why is the auxiliary etre used with morte in the sixth line? 198 The Public Schools of America. 5. Explain the agreement of crees and of essayees. 6. How does the French expression atteindre au but differ from the English idiom ? 7. Inflect the verb pouvoir interrogatively in the present indicative, and give a synopsis of it in the third person singular. 8. Why is aitfrappe in the subjunctive? 9. What is the difference between done and alors ? 10. Is the first syllable of ennemis nasal? How do you know? Translate into French the following sentences. 11. Is it true that the boy's arrow hit the mark? 1 2. He was not willing , to surrender so easily to a good reason. 13. That will enable him to know the truth. 14. Will it not be better for you to lend him the money than to let him die of want ? 15. Is it astonishing that you cannot learn your lesson, when you must learn five pages by heart in two hours ? Translate the following passage. Seul au milieu de la multitude riante, je ne me sens point isole", car j'ai le reflet de sa gaiet j c'est ma famille humaine The Public Schools of America. 199 qui se rejouit de vivre ; je prends une part fraternelle a son bonheur. Compagnons d'arxnes dans la bataille terrestre, qu'importe a qui va le prix de la victoire 1 ? Si la fortune passe a nos cotes sans nous voir, et prodigue ses caresses a d'autres, consolons-nous comme 1'ami de Parm^nion, en disant : Ceux-la sont aussi Alexandre. The descriptions I have hitherto given of course apply only to the schools of large towns, where the number of children demand, and the funds allow of, the best possible arrangements, and the most desirable system of subdivisions. In the thinly-populated and poor country districts, the whole educational provision con- sists, probably, in a single "mixed school" held during the summer session of, perhaps, three months, by some female teacher, more or less qualified, at a salary seldom exceeding $20 per month (or sometimes a much smaller sum, eked out by free board provided in turn by the different families of the place) ; and in the winter for a similar term by some young College student, whose slender means make him glad thus to contribute to his own ex- penses for the rest of the year. It is in this 200 The Public Schools of America. manner, for instance, that the undergraduates of Oberlin frequently spend their long winter vacation; timed, indeed, for this purpose. These temporary masters receive very small salaries, paying perhaps from $20 to $40 per month, 3 to 6 at the present rate of exchange. The very large number of these poorly-paid schools reduce the salaries in Massachusetts (in no instances high), to a monthly average of $21-82 for a female, and $54*77 for a male teacher.* or (as exchange stands at present,) about 3 3s. for a woman, and 7 15s. for a man. The whole number of public schools of all grades and classes in this State is 4,749. * Twenty-ninth. Annual Eeport of the Massachusetts Board of Education. CHAPTER VII. (The Public Schools, continued.) SALEM NORMAL SCHOOL. THE Normal Schools in Massachusetts are four in number, two of them being devoted to the education of female teachers only, and two to that of both sexes. This fact illus- trates the preponderance in number of female teachers throughout the States, though it is rare for a woman to be at the head of any of the High or Normal Schools. Believing it better to master thoroughly the working of one Normal school than to see something of them all, I attended the one at Salem for more than a week continuously, meeting with the most courteous welcome from all the teachers, and seeing more and more to interest me each day, till at length my one regret was that I could not transplant the whole affair bodily to England, that other 202 The Public Schools of America. teachers might share my pleasure in seeing any school so thoroughly well worked as this was by its excellent Head Master and a first- rate staff of most earnest lady teachers, whose actual erudition was almost overwhelming. Indeed, the amount of sheer learning ac- quired by really good teachers in America has often surprised me, and it is, as I have before remarked, the more striking when, as is so often the case, it co-exists with a very im- perfect knowledge of English. Each of the teachers at Salem has her own especial class of subjects, and to each is more- over assigned more or less charge of some one of the classes. The number of pupils at Salem is about 120, and of teachers (besides the Head Master) 8. The pupils are divided into four classes, respectively lettered A, B, C, D, of which "A" is the most advanced, and "D" the least so. At the completion of the two years of study represented by these classes, such students as desire still further instruction may enter an " Advanced Class," which, generally speaking, receives only the creme de la creme. Students are not admitted to the Normal The Public Schools of America. 203 School under the age of sixteen, and spend their first term in Class D. The studies of this class comprise grammar, including analysis and syntax, the geography of the Western Continent, history of the United States, arithmetic and algebra, with some study of chemistry and physiology. In grammar and analysis the teaching is chiefly on a system devised by a late head-master, not altogether unlike that of Morell, but not, I think, equal to his. In geography and physiology a plan is pursued which I under- stand to be borrowed from the Westfield Normal School. "While any state or country, or any portion of the structure of the body, is described by one pupil, the whole class draws the same with chalk on black boards which surround the room. This system was entirely new to me, and seemed very efficacious in securing thorough understanding of the sub- ject by all. Its adoption at Salem was an instance of wise and liberal variation from old custom, the teacher whose duty it was to teach the subjects above-named being a graduate of Westfield, and being allowed to teach according to her own idea. 204 The Public Schools of America. Arithmetic and algebra are very thoroughly taught at Salem ; in the several classes almost daily, and also in general viva voce exami- nations of the whole school, which latter take place very frequently for a few minutes at a time. In these examinations the teacher, or some- times a senior pupil of the advanced class, will rapidly enunciate such a question as the following, and as her voice ceases some pupil will generally be ready with the answer : " Take two ; add one ; cube ; take away two ; square; take away one; divide by two; sub- tract twelve ; divide by fifteen ; divide by ten ; square; square; square. Miss Smith?" "Two hundred and fifty-six." " Eight." And so on, just as quickly as voice can speak. Of course, splendid rapidity of calculation will follow such training, unless with a few unfortunates who may get hopelessly confused. Class C studies arithmetic, algebra, geo- metry, the " geography of the Eastern Con- tinent" (not, we will hope, excluding Eng- land), grammatical analysis, parsing, and history. One of the plans by which history is taught The Public Schools of America. 205 struck me as curious. One pupil has specially to get up a given subject or era, and then by memory to teach it to the whole class, and at the next lesson to examine them in it, the teacher in charge listening meanwhile to correct errors on either side. Such devices certainly break the monotony of study, and help to give life and spirit to the pupils. Each history class will generally include one such examination and one such lesson. In geometry, also, there is a plan of mutual instruction. On one occasion I saw the whole of Class C divided into pairs round the great hall, which is surrounded with black boards, and then one of each pair would from memory repeat the problem in question, while the other from memory corrected errors, the figure being drawn by the scholar pro tern, who, having finished her recitation, forthwith became teacher in turn; and so on till the problems are all recited, the teacher in charge moving round from one to the other, criticising or approving each. Of course, such a plan would not answer with any class of students less earnest, thorough, and conscientious than the Salem girls, but with them it seemed excellent. 206 The Public Schools of America. Class B continue the study of arithmetic and algebra, and enter on that of natural and mental philosophy, as well as of English lan- guage and literature. The lessons in both natural and mental philosophy seemed calcu- lated to develop much thought. I noticed here, as well as elsewhere throughout the school, that when a pupil made an error, or was in doubt as to a fact, the teacher rarely, if ever, gave her the required information, but simply noted the fact of its being wanted, and passed on to other subjects for that lesson; but on the next meeting of the class made it a point to ask the said girl a question directly bearing on the subject, thus ensuring that what was not known should be searched out. This plan, and the success it met with, seemed to me almost the perfection of teaching, and brought into strong light the earnest and ready co-operation between teachers and scho- lars, both eager to ensure the acquisition of knowledge. Class A take some lessons in book-keeping and in perspective drawing, and devote much of their time to the study of the theory and practice of teaching and school government. The Public Schools of America. 207 They are also required to make themselves acquainted with the school laws of Massa- chusetts, and the constitution of the United States. Mental philosophy is further pursued into the region of logic, and also with relation to questions of the will; and physical geo- graphy, astronomy, and geology, each have some share of attention. Those pupils who have passed successfully through these four classes, and also through written examinations, are given diplomas of proficiency, and said to be graduates of the school. A small number of pupils remain after completing their studies in Class A, and form the Advanced Class. The subjects pursued in this division are geometry, algebra, plane and spherical trigonometry, the Latin and French languages, natural philosophy, che- mistry, botany, and general history. That Latin and French should be postponed for study in the Advanced Class seems a little curious, as both languages are usually taught at the High Schools, the standard of which should hardly be supposed to be equal to that of Normal Schools. It is, however, probable 208 The Public Schools of America. that the resolution to aim at thoroughness before all things is the true explanation of deferring these studies, as parts, at least, of the regular course. I think, however, that the weak point in the American Normal School system is, that these schools are neither made to run parallel with the High Schools, nor to form a sequence to them; but I have heard this explained to be the consequence of the demand for " com- mon school" (i.e. primary and grammar) teachers, who are not required to know all the subjects taught in the High Schools. The Normal School certificate given at "graduation" only guarantees fitness for teach- ing in these lower schools. Practically, many of the pupils do enter after going through the High Schools, and they, of course, are able to take a much better position. The Normal School itself professes less to give instruction in what is to be taught, than to teach (after the knowledge has been acquired) how it should be imparted. The ordinary routine of the school is opened at 8.45 A.M. by singing, the reading of some verses of the Bible, and prayer by the Head Master. The Public Schools of America. 209 It has already been mentioned that all State schools are required to be rigidly non- sectarian, and I have reason to believe that they gene- rally comply well with this injunction. At Salem many sects and Churches were repre- sented without any interruption of the general harmony ; and, indeed, acrimony on religious, or rather theological, topics, is much less common in America than is unfortunately the case with us. These " religious exercises " (as they are universally called) occupy five or ten minutes, and then comes a brief general recitation or examination of the whole school, generally in spelling or mental arithmetic, the questions being given out from the platform by one of the teachers or a pupil of the Advanced Class. About a quarter past nine the several classes go into their respective rooms for " recita- tions," which last about forty minutes. One girl each week has the charge of ringing a bell at the time for beginning and ending the classes. At the end of each class-time a few minutes are generally devoted to light calisthenics or what we used to call exercises with the arms p 210 The Public Schools of America. sometimes accompanied by singing, and some- times varied by exercises with dumb-bells, &c., or by marching round the room, and an occa- sional permission by some very wise teacher for a general rush down-stairs, through the halls, and up again. At about a quarter before eleven ten minutes are allowed for recess, and this time the girls generally spend in chatting with each other, or giving the last touch to some coming lesson. The various classes continue till one o'clock, when the " session " is closed by singing. On Tuesday and Wednesday only, school is re- sumed from two to four o'clock in the after- noon. On Monday the school is closed altogether. The whole of Tuesday is set apart for " general exercises," and the ordinary classes are sus- pended. On this day each class has generally a lesson in vocal music, and another in draw- ing, with the exception of Class D, whose lesson is in writing and the methods of teaching it. Lessons in rhetoric and compo- sition also find place on this day, the latter coming once in every three weeks ; and Class A, The Public Schools of America. 211 instead of rhetoric, takes up the critical study of some poem, oration, &c. One of the ordinary exercises in reading consists in dividing the class into two halves, stationing each at opposite ends of the hall, and making them read some poem in alternate lines. The volume of sound produced is pro- digious, and as an exercise in " speaking out " I dare say it is valuable, hut of course the poems are murdered. I heard some spirited compositions read at Salem, and the plan on which the subjects were given was novel to me, and I think excellent, at least for occasional use. The teachers took a number of small papers or cards, and, dividing them in pairs, wrote on each pair the "attack" and "defence" of some subject. Por instance : on one card would be inscribed (as was, I remember, the case on one occasion), " Attack the conduct of England during the late war;" and on the other, " Defend the conduct of England," &c. Or, again, " Attack the character of Queen Elizabeth;" "Defend the character," &c. These cards were then mixed together, and assigned by chance to the pupils, who were, p2 212 The Public Schools of America. however, allowed to exchange by mutual con- sent. Sometimes the attack and defence were written independently of each other; some- times the two writers would combine their essays in the form of a dialogue, and argue out the question fiercely enough, with more or less competent special pleading. Sometimes abstract subjects would be treated in the same manner; as, for instance, "attack" and "defence" of the "Normal School System" furnished a pair of very amusing essays. Such subjects, again, were taken for argu- ment as "Negro Suffrage;" "Eenianism;" "Capital Punishment;" and many others; and when these fell into able hands the dis- cussions were of very real interest. This plan was only one of many, and on other occasions the pupils had various sub- jects assigned for choice, or were allowed to select their own without any limitation. In- deed, I think that one of the most valuable features in Salem Normal School was the great variety of treatment, which infused life into the whole system ; and the amount of liberty of action left by the able Head Master to his very competent assistants, who con- The Public Schools of America. 213 stantly brought forward new plans for varying more or less the daily routine of work. Among the other essays I found such subjects as the following: "Why;" " On Beauty;" "Tabula rasa;" a wonderful ro- mance on a " Samaritan Maiden," who was, however, by a slight oversight, supposed to belong to the " hill country of Judea ; " " The Fourth of July " (celebration of American "Independence"); " A Pleasant Walk ;" "A Dream;" and so forth. These subjects had, I think, all originated with the pupils them- selves. Not only in these essays, but in the various classes, all the pupils, and especially the senior girls, were invited to express their opinions most freely, and to sustain them by whatever arguments occurred to them, without fear of being put down by the authority of the teacher, should his or her opinion be on the contrary side. This course was, I am sure, most valuable in securing independence and genuineness of thought, and I wish that all English teachers would take a lesson thereby. One hour of those general-exercise days, when compositions are not required, is de- 214 The Public Schools of America. voted to examinations of all the classes, each in one of its studies. On one of these occa- sions I was present. The different teachers had prepared papers of questions, each in her own subject for her own class, and these questions were read out by them in turn, the pupils taking down the questions and returning answers in writing. Of these questions I will give a few ex- amples, just as they stand in my note-book : Advanced Class. "Give (such and such) tenses of accroitre, eueiller, aller, connaitre." Class D. " Name and locate (sic) six towns in Virginia famous for important battles." Class B. " Parse and analyse, ' The more we learn, the more ignorant we feel.' " Class A. " Show the importance of education to society." Class B. " I have two studies, viz. geography and arith- metic ; what part of speech is ' viz. ' ? " Class D. " What are the divisions of the United States according to surface?" Class B. " Analyse, * To be or not to be, that is the question.' Class C. " Give the names and position of six capes in Europe." Class A . " Give reasons why teachers need special prepa- ration for their work." The Public Schools of America. 215 Class C. " Tell what the Turkish empire includes." Class D. " Give four rivers of New England and their course." Class A . " State some of the more important educational principles depending on the nature of mind." Class C. " Give six important sea-ports of Europe, and the state in which each is situated." These examinations are so arranged that two shall be held in each subject every term, for all the classes. As is natural and right in a Normal School, some considerable portion of time is devoted to the study of teaching, both in theory and practice. Teaching exercises of two kinds are held in the school. The most common and regular exercise consists in one of the students making herself thoroughly familiar with some one subject or object such, for instance, as the botanical characteristics of some herb or flower and then giving a lesson on it to the whole school, just as she would give it to a class of .her own. When the lesson is a botanical one and I heard several such a large number of 216 The Public Schools of America. specimens of the flower in question are brought in (the collection of these being made the object of famous country -walks, no small gain, by the by,) and distributed among all the audience. The teacher pro tern, then elicits from her companions, or states herself, the generic and specific names, characteristics, uses, &c. and ends with a few questions on whatever new information may have been given. Some of these lessons were excellent, and the idea of them seemed to me very valuable. About eight of the pupils give such lessons every week, all sharing the duty in turn ; but it is only the pupils in Class A and the Ad- vanced Class who give the lessons before the whole school. I have before mentioned the history lessons given by one member of a class to the others, and a similar plan is sometimes pursued in the literature and natural philosophy lessons. Besides these examples of mutual instruc- tion, another kind of teaching exercise is afforded by having some of the infant or juvenile classes from the neighbouring public schools sent in for occasional lessons at " the The Public Schools of America. 217 Normal" (as it is called). Sometimes the Head Master of the Normal School will give an admirahle specimen lesson before the girls, and sometimes one or more pupils of Class A have to give such lessons before him ; and, on the conclusion of each lesson and the with- drawal of the little scholars, criticism by the other students is invited, and the Master will also point out merits or defects in each case. At the time of our visit, Salem Normal School was fortunate in possessing a Head Master whose examples and criticisms were both of the very highest order, and whose beneficial influence over his students I have never seen surpassed in any place of education. Indeed, the whole spirit of the school seemed most admirable, whether as regarded the untiring zeal and energy of all the teachers, who were for ever doing work beyond what was required of them, and whose one aim seemed to be true and genuine success at any cost ; or the ready industry and unflagging interest of the pupils, who co-operated so heartily with the teachers for their own progress ; or the genial spirit of sympathy and mutual good-will that reigned over all. In the course of my many visits 218 The Public Schools of America. I never once saw indolence or deliberate care- lessness in a pupil, nor superficiality or im- patience in a teacher ; still less any appearance of jealousy or ill-will anywhere, and not a black look among the whole community. I only wish that I knew any English school of which I could say as much. As regarded the actual instruction given, difference of opinion may perhaps exist as to the choice of subjects to be taught, and the relative importance to be given to each. I am not at all prepared to say that the course of education there pursued was the best and most complete possible, though I do know that it had many merits; but what J can say most truthfully is, that I never saw in any school or college more thorough and fundamentally good teaching of whatever subjects were chosen, nor more earnest desire in all things "to be and not to seem." And to any one who knows much of average female education this is saying a good deal. It will, of course, be understood that all the public schools throughout America are The Public Schools of America. 219 open only for actual school hours, and that all pupils board at home, or according to private arrangement. There are a few boarding-schools in all parts of the States, and I understand that some of the proprietors make large incomes; but the very small proportion that their pupils bear to those at the public schools may be best seen by reference to the report of the Massa- chusetts Board of Education, 1864-5. Here I find that the whole number of children in the State between the ages of five and fifteen is 247,275 ; and that the number of scholars at all the public schools is in summer 223,297, and in winter 229,514 ; or, speaking roughly, more than seven-eighths of the whole. Cer- tainly, the public schools of New England deserve their name. Wherever I visited State schools in cities I found the buildings allotted to them large, clean, airy, and suitable for their purpose, without any needless pretension in the way of ornament. I was particularly pleased with the desks in use single ones for each pupil, or double ones for the use of two, with sloping surface 220 The Public Schools of America. acting as a lid to the place for books, &c. ; and also with the seats, (always furnished with backs,) sometimes single for each, some- times combined for several pupils. The ventilation also was excellent, and the warming by pipes, &c. was usually good. The general appearance of the scholars was almost always orderly and contented, and the teachers seemed very generally attached to their work. That they are so is, I am sure, from no love of filthy lucre ; for the pay re- ceived by public-school teachers seemed to me almost always inadequate for the work re- quired. I understand that the highest salary received by any public-school teacher in Massa- chusetts is 3,500, and this is the maximum reached after several years' service by the Head Masters of the three Boston High Schools only. In most parts of the States the Head Masters of High Schools receive much less. The maximum for Head Masters of Grammar Schools is 2,500 ; and the sub- masters, ushers, and assistant-teachers of the various schools receive salaries varying from. 450 to 2,500. It must be remembered that most of these The Public Schools of America. 221 salaries have been raised in consequence of the premium on gold, and that at present the exchange for the English sovereign is about $7. I understand that the highest salary paid to any educationalist in America is received by the Head Master of the New York Eree Academy, a public school for boys, which combines some features of the High School with some pretension to Collegiate honours, and which grants academical degrees. This salary is $4,750 ; and I am told that no president or professor of any University in America receives so much. It is a very curious thing that the greater facilities for money- earning, and the higher rates paid for labour in America, of which we hear so much, seem to apply only to the lower and more mechanical kinds of work ; while the labour of the brain (except, indeed, in commerce) is generally no better, and often much worse, paid than with us. Most artizans can earn $3 or 3 50c. a day equivalent at present to 9s. or 10s. English, and represent- ing a yearly income of about 150; but the average pay of a good public-school teacher 222 The Public Schools of America. (with all the knowledge required for the position) is perhaps hardly 100. There are, moreover, no such prizes for eminent educationalists as exist in England in the shape of masterships at our public schools, or highly-paid offices at our Uni- versities; nor do authors and other labourers with the brain ever receive anything approach- ing the incomes that some pens are able to command in England ; and I understand that judges and other public officers are equally badly paid. It is indeed a standing wonder to me how the public schools and colleges secure the services of such men as they do ; for while in England there is hardly any more lucrative career open to one who takes high honours at the University than that which is offered by literature or education, in America those men who desire to make a fortune must turn to commerce, and all who devote themselves to public instruction must be content with little more than a meagre competency, and often, indeed, a life-long struggle for the support of their families. That under these circumstances eminent The Public Schools of America. 223 men still accept professorships and master- ships is certainly a proof of greater devotion to the cause of education than we ought com- monly to hope for, still less to demand. That the supply of rank-and-file teachers is kept up, is due, I suppose, to the almost universal prevalence of some considerable amount of education, which furnishes a very large number of those fairly fitted for the office, which, by the way, is more easily secured than a good introduction to commercial life. A very large majority of the teachers in public schools, also, are women, and the facilities for under-paying their services are proverbial, and will, I suppose, continue till very many more openings occur for female work than is the case even in America. Be the inducements to American teachers what they may, I can bear witness to a large amount of the good and conscientious work done by them, and to the generally solid education given in the public schools. Speaking generally, it seemed to me that the greatest success was usually reached in the various branches of mathematics and physical science, while the least satisfactory 224 The Public Schools of America. results were obtained in the study of the English and other European languages. With regard to English, however, it must be allowed that, if the word were changed to "American," great part of the criticism that now suggests itself would become nugatory; for it is certain that in many respects a totally different language is taught on this side of the Atlantic and on that, the Americans being supported, as 'they allege, by "excellent au- thority" in many cases of pronunciation, use of words, &c. which sound exceedingly strange to English ears. This difference of speech is a very great misfortune when Americans come in contact with English people ; for it habitually gives the latter an impression that the former are very much less educated than is probably the case. I found myself constantly misled in this way when I first came to America, hearing the most barbarous English and the most deplorable pronunciation from many whom I found afterwards to be really learned men and women. The same curious defects are apt to run through the tone, the expressions, and in some cases the handwriting of Ameri- The Public Schools of America. 225 cans, who thus do themselves great injustice with Europeans by habitual deficiency in those things which we are wont to regard as the signs and seals of polite education ; while, in fact, the women at least on the Western side of the Atlantic are, as I believe, more tho- roughly educated on the whole than those on our own shores. They are certainly far better mathematicians, and have often studied classics and physical science to an extent that is com- paratively rare in England. If we look for the very highest scholarship, which will be exceptional everywhere, I sup- pose that American Universities can hardly compete with those of England; nor should we probably be willing to exchange the educa- tion received by some of our boys and girls for anything we could find across the Atlantic; but if we examine the results attained in the two countries for all classes and both sexes generally, and inquire on which side inclines the balance of average education, we have, I fear, little chance of successful comparison with America, and must be willing, in all honesty, to yield the palm to her system of Public Schools. Q CHAPTER, VIII. AND LAST. THE two features of American education as above described which strike an English- man as characteristic, are, the union of all classes in the same schools, and of both sexes in the same colleges; the first being nearly universal throughout the Northern States ; the second still exceptional, and, as regards public opinion, still on probation. I. To the public schools of America is cer- tainly due the merit of securing a high ave- rage of education throughout the Northern States; an average higher, perhaps, than has been attained by any other nation. That no disadvantages attend the system of mingling all classes in school can hardly, I suppose, be maintained, though it may be thought that the advantages greatly preponderate. It is, of course, very hard accurately to assign effects to causes, but it certainly suggests Chapter Last. 227 itself to the European observer, that the general deterioration of the national language may be a result of mingling all classes of children in the same schools ; incorrectness of speech being caught by one from another, till there is really no class left whose language can be a standard for that of others. Pro- bably, the fact that the Pilgrim Fathers came originally from the middle and lower ranks of English society has something to do with the evil, but the present system must be very favourable to its perpetuation. I do not know how far we may assign to the same cause the general want of national polish, which places Americans as a people at so great a disadvantage. I have heard an American friend trace this rather to the Pu- ritan and Quaker spirit widely diffused in early times, which was so resolute in its struggle after stern simplicity, as to consider the graces of courtly life only another form of its vices. There is, probably, some truth in this sug- gestion ; but that many parents of the higher class (if such a term may be allowed in America), do consider the public schools to be prejudicial to the manners of their chil- Q2 228 Chapter Last. dren, is shown by their more frequent adop- tion of the system of private tuition, especially for their girls. It seems to me reasonable that, whatever may be the original cause of American brus- querie, it cannot but tend to its perpetuation that children of all classes should be thrown together with no more than ordinary school restraints, those more gently nurtured being naturally apt to catch, almost unconsciously, less desirable manners from their rougher companions. Be this as it may, the fact remains. The lower classes in America do not acknowledge, nor do the higher classes (with some few exceptions) assert, that " manners make the man;" and so, while straightforward mora- lity is earnestly inculcated, and good and kindly feeling assiduously cultivated, almost no stress is laid on the external laws of polite- ness, which with us are so often useful in making men " affect a virtue if they have it not." If an American is polite, it is gene- rally because his nature is so essentially cour- teous as to be a law unto itself, and though every one will allow that this genuine product Chapter Last. 229 of good feeling is by far the most valuable, I am obliged to confess that, this being by no means universal, I had a good deal rather for daily use have the counterfeit presentment than none at all, and I think that most people "not to the manner born," nor case-hardened by use, would agree with me more empha- tically than ever after due experience of the practical results of the American theory. Whether most Americans would see any connexion between the evils just spoken of and the public school system I am inclined to doubt; but, probably, most Europeans might perceive at least a possible sequence of cause and effect. Even granting to the full that such exists, it is, of course, a quite sepa- rate question whether these disadvantages are not much more than counterbalanced ; and I am not at all prepared to assert the contrary. I should be unwilling to lose in our own country what I think the Americans do not duly prize ; but, on the other hand, it would be worth a good deal to get anything like so high a level of general education as they have, in the main, secured in the Northern States. If, while holding fast what we have, 230 Chapter Last. we could add their gains to ours, the result would indeed be a grand one, and I cannot see that such an end is unattainable if we go the right way to work for it. To place a really solid education within the reach of every child is surely as much in our power as in theirs, whether or not we think it desirable that all children should receive their educa- tion together. So far as distinctions and consequent sepa- rations of rank depend on merely external circumstances, such as wealth and position, I do not believe that we gain much by ob- serving them ; but when they rest on real differences of culture and refinement the case becomes different, and it does not seem good policy to risk certain loss to one class, without being sure of securing a more than propor- tionate gain to another. In short, it seems to me that, if we can mingle different classes of children in such proportions and under such conditions as to ensure that the higher standard shall prevail over the lower, and the tone of all be raised to that of the foremost few, the measure must be an altogether good one ; and I am sure that, to some extent and Chapter Last 231 under some restrictions, this may be done : but if once the inferior standard of refinement is allowed to predominate, the lower dragging down the higher rather than being raised by it, I fear that no results gained can pay for the loss accruing. II. With regard to the joint education of the sexes, I have endeavoured simply to ascertain facts, and am by no means sure of the exist- ence of sufficient data whereon to found a just conclusion. There is no doubt that those American teachers who have had most thorough expe- rience of the plan speak most warmly in its favour, and that the objections to its adoption come much more from those who theorize about the probabilities than from those who have studied the facts. It seems to be pretty clearly established that, in America at least, this system can prosper for years without any markedly evil effects as to the morals and manners of the fellow-students, and the evi- dence of most professors and teachers goes strongly to show that, on the contrary, tne mutual influence exerted is usually very beneficial. 232 Chapter Last. It seems also to be proved that at least a considerable number of women can under- take and successfully complete the same course of study that is usual for men, and that without more apparent detriment to their health than students of the other sex. The general issue divides itself into three practical questions : whether men and women shall pursue the same course of study; whe- ther they shall continue it to the same point ; and whether their studies, if identical, shall be pursued together. "With regard to the first point, I may suggest some general considerations. In the discussions of the present day respecting schools and universities, we hear the best and wisest educators argue loudly for a " general" education, which is to underlie and prepare for the special training required by each indi- vidual. They tell us that the requirements of every mind and of every calling must have something in common, as the humanity com- mon to all lies deepest in the nature of each. Therefore, they say, let the general education of every man follow the general course, leaving it to each student hereafter to super- Chapter Last. 233 add what he needs for his special vocation, sure that such superstructure will be the more valuable and effective for the common founda- tion on which it is raised. Whatever arguments may be brought on the other side by those who desire to econo- mize time, labour, or money, in special cases, I suppose that 'few will deny that, on the whole, the above theory is most sound and rational. If, then, this be granted in the case of all men, whatever their widely differing future spheres, why should the analogy be supposed to cease the moment that the education of women is in question ? Why is it presumed that their training is to be generically as well as specifically different ? Why do we hear that men's education can afford no guide to that of women ? The answer, of course, will be that "their sphere is essentially different," that what will properly fit men for their lives, would go far to unfit women for theirs, and so forth. If this be true, if there is, in fact, no fun- damental education answering to the needs of common humanity, and, therefore, equally 234 Chapter Last. necessary both for men and women, it follows that the difference of sex is more radical and more essential than is the common humanity that underlies it, that man is more a man and woman more a woman, than each is a human being. This position I suppose few people will care to maintain, and on it alone I think can logically rest any argument for denying a common education to both sexes, in as far as that education is calculated to cultivate the intellectual and mental powers common to humanity, and to develop in each human being the perfect " homo," as distinguished from "vir" or "femina." Of course this common education is practi- cally granted as regards the first elements of instruction. No one in the present age and country would contend though we need not look to very distant times or lands to find it maintained that reading, writing, or ele- mentary arithmetic are less adapted to the wants of the female than of the male mind, and to this extent, at least, an identical edu- cation is granted to each. But it needs yet, I think, to be generally Chapter Last. 235 acknowledged that, as far as education for either sex means the cultivation of the general faculties and the development of the whole human nature, as far, that is, as a general education for men should underlie the special and technical training for each calling, so far it should be common to all humanity, without other limitations than those imposed by the capacity, tastes, and leisure of each student. Women have, I think, from the earliest times, suffered from the fact of men's preten- sions to " evolve out of their moral conscious- ness the idea of " a woman, which idea has not, by any means, always happened to cor- respond with the facts that might, perhaps, afford a surer guide. Mahomet comfortably settled that women had no souls at all, and the Mormons of the present day think that any spiritual life they may claim must be attained through the co-operation of some man. It is not so very many centuries ago since the female mind was supposed to be wholly incapable of understanding the theory of number. Though these things are now laughed at, I do not know that' the genera- 236 Chapter Last. lities of the present day about the " qualities of the female intellect" and "woman's proper sphere" rest on much surer foundation than those long since exploded, for, instead of being derived from a careful study of the actual "what is" they usually start from some pre- conceived notion (theological or otherwise) of " what should he." It might, perhaps, be shown that those who, starting with their "evolved idea" of a woman, deny that the same education may safely be given to each sex because of the vast essential difference of nature, are, in point of fact, more incredulous of the reality of that difference than those who hold the opposite views. The latter believe that, as the free air and sunshine developes every plant, not iden- tically, but after its nature, so general and universal education will surely afford to each individual just the mental food needed, and will tend most of all to the free development of each specific nature. A late writer truly remarks, that we might just as reasonably argue that women must eat only mutton and men only beef, or vice versa, lest the two sexes should lose their distinctive Chapter Last. 237 characteristics, as fear that the same tree of knowledge offered to all will not afford the food to each best calculated for his or her mental growth. He must have small faith in the radical distinctness of any two given genera who fears to submit both to the same conditions of light and shade, food and shelter, lest they should lose their inherent differences and become identical. The natu- ralist knows well enough that Nature has decided these points more wisely than he can do, and that if any offered food is not suitable, it will be rejected; while what is accepted will surely be duly assimilated, and will contribute to the development of each inherent nature. He will not fear, for in- stance, to lay meat and hay before horses and lions, cows and tigers, for neither will the lion be seduced by the offer of the hay, nor will the horse and cow lose their dis- tinctive characteristics because they both par- take of it. It may be that the masculine and femi- nine intellects have respectively more or less affinity for certain subjects, though I do not know that any sufficient data exist for 238 Chapter Last. even that conclusion,* but if this is so, the natural principle of selection will surely show itself, and afford a safe guide where general theories can offer none. I believe that the harm done by theorizing on this subject has been immense; that, on the one hand, real talents have been stunted and refused the light and air needful to their development; and that, on the other, existing deficiencies have been aggravated, and powers already sufficiently active unduly stimulated. It is exceedingly remarkable to consider the average defects supposed to belong to the male and female nature respectively, and to trace out how, in almost every case, each result corresponds to systematic differences of education, which in some instances create, and in others enormously exaggerate, existing * Those who maintain it would probably instance Mathe- matics as a study more especially adapted to the male mind, and yet it is one in respect to which, perhaps more than to any other, I have, in America, heard the proficiency of female students commended. I may mention, incidentally, that one of the most talented actuaries in the United States is a woman, and that only two members of the profession there receive higher salaries than she does. Chapter Last. 239 tendencies. Thus, boys are subjected to a rigid course of the exact sciences, such as mathematics and logic; while girls are ex- pected to devote a very large proportion of their time to various forms of aesthetic cul- ture ; the perhaps inherent deficiencies of each nature are exaggerated, and then the world complains that women are without reasoning powers, and men without taste. If God has, in truth, bestowed on humanity one common nature, including in itself phy- sical, mental, and moral capacities, it surely hardly needs demonstration that all ought to be cultivated in every case, so that every unit of the great whole may attain the full per- fection of which it is capable. "We do not choose on which leaves of a plant the sunshine shall fall, lest the shape or colour should be injured. We see how "the same rain rains from heaven on all the forest trees," and do not fear that the result may be confusion of natures between pine and oak. Nay, do we not ourselves share the same material food, without fear that it will remove the distinctions of sex ? Why may not the analogy be carried a little further into the regions of mind ? 24*0 Chapter Last. I do not by any means intend to say that I desire to see the education of all women made identical with that at present given to men. It must first be proved that that edu- cation is, in truth, the best and most desirable for the human being, before we can wish to make it universal. But I do say, that what- ever is ultimately decided by the wisdom of ages to be the best possible form of culture for one human nature, must be so for another, for our common humanity lies deeper in all, and is more essential in each, than any differences. I do not believe that women are to be " educated to be wives and mothers"* in any sense in which it is not equally imperative to educate boys to be husbands and fathers. I believe that each human being, developed to his or her best and utmost, will most perfectly fulfil the duties that God may appoint in each case, and, if teachers and parents have ever before their eyes the aim of making good, true, and sensible women, I do not fear but they will also train the best wives and mothers. As a question of daily experience, is it the * Which, by the by, they hardly ever are, even nomi- nally, except in the theory of certain speakers and writers. Chapter Last. 241 thoroughly or the partially educated of each sex who most often fail to fulfil their home duties ? Do we not continually find that the names most honoured in literature and science are also most heloved in the home circle ? Is it the fully or the imperfectly developed natures that most often fail to perceive the sanctity of little things, and the claims of domestic life ? If we inquire which are the unfeminine and unlovely women, we shall generally find them among those remarkable for love of notoriety, and destitute of both the talents and the culture which lead to legitimate fame ; those who talk while others are quietly working, who identify themselves with some party for the sake of the name thus made, and follow the prophet for the loaves and fishes which he bears. Just as we hear continually that those men who have had the best general education, and who have most fully developed their whole natures, make the best physicians, the best priests, and the best lawyers, so I believe that those human beings who are most fully culti- vated and developed as such will make the n 242 Chapter Last. best men and the best women, and will most adequately fulfil, eacli in his or her sphere, the various duties which may arise in their respective lives. Believing thus, I cannot suppose it to be justifiable to shut any gate of knowledge against those who desire to enter in, whatever may be their sex, race, or colour. Of course, in every individual case, personal considera- tions of time, opportunity, and talent will practically limit the field of education, but I do not believe that any other limits than these should exist. When we come to consider the second ques- tion, whether men and women should pursue all studies to the same extent, the answer seems to me a much more doubtful one. A woman's time for study is usually more curtailed than a man's (though how far this ought to be so is another question), and this fact often makes it practically impossible for her to accomplish so much as he can. Expe- rience seems, moreover, to furnish many warn- ings that, in England at least, it is not well for most girls between the ages of fifteen and twenty to work as hard as is supposed to Chapter Last. 243 be usual with their brothers ; though, by the by, how hard the boys really do study I do not know ; occasional glimpses of results having made me a little sceptical on this point. I understand from others that the willing- ness for mental exertion is often easier to find among girls than boys, and, if this is so, the danger of overworking them is naturally increased. I confess that I have been surprised in America to find how much study young women do seem to accomplish without mate- rial injury, but I do not know how much allowance to make for possible differences of national constitution. I have been tgld by American physicians that a considerable amount of injury is done by over-study, and more, perhaps, among the girls than the boys ; and there is no doubt that evil from the same cause has occurred among us. My own belief, founded mainly on observa- tion of English girls, is, that in quickness of intellect they in no way fall behind their brothers, and that during one or two hours'* study of any subject they would be quite able B 2 244 Chapter Last. to keep up with them, but that after a certain time their physical powers flag, sooner, per- haps, than those of the hoys, and that a long- continued strain is apt to be injurious to them. I state this impression with great diffidence, however, for many of my fellow-teachers and friends assert the contrary, and believe that at least a considerable number of girls can do just as much work as boys, and have just as good capacities for continuous study. I have known such cases, certainly, but I incline to the belief that the view I have stated is the one most generally correct. I suppose the physical strength of boys is usually greater than that of girls, and increasingly so after each Jias passed the age of fifteen, and pro- bably in this special respect the same general rule holds good, though exceptions to it may occur more or less often. There is no doubt that good educators must take into account the woman's weaker phy- sique, and remember that this may sometimes raise an insurmountable barrier in her path, where no mental inferiority exists. Whether most women would be capable of the amount of study required, for instance, for one of our Chapter Last. 245 University degrees, I really do not know, and though I have no doubt that many could successfully accomplish it, I do not think that I should like to see so much expected from all, for no system of intellectual education can be desirable which would imperil physical health. I believe, however, that this is one of the points on which it is very useless to theorize. Let all means of education be abundantly provided for women, and let those who have the charge of their instruction guard against the evils of over-work, if such are to be dreaded, as every good teacher must guard all those committed to his or her care. Let all students, whether male or female, work according to their powers, tastes, and require- ments, letting none be driven beyond their strength, nor any excluded from advantages they desire be cause theorists decide that they are not suitable for them. Above all, be the limits of study what they may, let whatever is done be done thoroughly, so that the only too well deserved reproach of superficiality and incompleteness may at length be removed from our systems of female education. Work half done is not merely unsatisfactory, it is 246 Chapter Last. absolutely injurious to the moral and mental health of the worker ; and I believe it is better to omit any and every study altogether, than to allow a pupil to skim over it so as to gather together a string of words thereto relating, with no solid meaning or knowledge lying beneath. The third question, -whether men and women shall pursue their studies together, seems to me less important than the other two. It certainly seems to be natural and right that they should do so unless practical experience forbids, and, as far as I have been able to learn, experience goes the other way. As boys and girls have to live together in the family, and men and women in the world at large, it certainly seems that they ought to be able to pursue their common studies together, ,nd perhaps, if they did do so, a much more healthy mutual relation would result than now exists. That there are, however, great practical difficulties in the way cannot be denied ; and these would, probably, be much greater in Europe, where the whole system of society is so much more complicated, than in Western America, where life is in its simplest form. Chapter Last. 247 I do not myself much care to discuss this question, for I am by no means sure of having sufficient data whereon to rest any opinion, and, moreover, it seems to me not vital to the general issue. So long as men and women can each obtain an absolutely good education, it does not appear very material whether they get it in company or not, not material, that is, as regards the education, whatever may be the case as to the social results. But one thing does seem to me important, viz. that not merely a similar but an identical standard should exist for all, whether it be the many or the few who avail themselves of it. This fixed standard does exist for men, being represented by the examinations and degrees of the Universities, and that the same facilities should be thrown open to women does seem to me vitally important. I have already said that I should not care to see all women aim at so high a mark; nor do I believe that, for many years, a large number would present themselves for examination. But that those who do, by earnest study, attain to the pre- scribed standard, should be excluded from recognition of the fact, seems to be manifestly 248 Chapter Last. unjust and wrong. Universities hold, I sup- pose, in some sense a national trust, and that trust involves all possible aid to the cause of education throughout the land. It is coming to he generally acknowledged that difference of creed presents no legitimate ground for the exclusion of those who desire to benefit by the highest education in the country; can it be more justly maintained that the accident of sex ought to prevent women from bringing their acquirements to the touchstone of University examinations ? If they care, enough for learning to conquer all difficulties in its pursuit, and simply ask that when successful their success shall be acknowledged, do national Universities fulfil their trust in refusing the petition ? That the time is coming when they will openly acknowledge such a position to be untenable is made hopefully apparent by the fact that the University of London recently refused, by tlie chairman's casting vote only> a woman's petition for a medical degree. When public opinion shall have acknow- ledged that the healing art is indeed pre- eminently "woman's work," and it is, I Chapter Last. 249 think, only custom that can blind men to the fact, this degree, at least, must he as freely thrown open to women as it already is in some parts of America, unless, indeed, England desires to he flooded with unqualified and untested practitioners. Several of the American Medical Schools for men have, at different times, granted degrees to women, and there are now estab- lished special colleges for that purpose. I have already stated that the President of the Washington University in St. Louis maintained the views that I have just advo- cated, he having professed to me his readiness to examine and grant a degree to any woman who by private study had duly qualified her- self to receive it. Two ladies, at least, have received the B.A. degree in the University of Paris. The University of Gottingen, some years ago, conferred the degree of Doctor of Philo- sophy on a female student, afterwards Frau Doctor Rodda, and two ladies have recently studied medicine at the University of Zurich. I believe, indeed, that many more instances might be adduced, had any one the inclination 250 Chapter Last. and the leisure to collect them, but these will probably suffice at least to show the direction in which the tide is already setting. I trust that the day is not far distant when English Universities, and especially that of London, which has exceptional facilities for the step in that it requires no "residence," will stand no longer on a "bad eminence," in refusing that which other countries are more or less ready to grant ; that Englishwomen may not be driven elsewhere to seek what their fatherland denies them, or be compelled to confess to foreigners that they have indeed some fruits of liberty of thought which cannot yet be gathered in dear old England. THE END. LONDON : PRINTED BY R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR. Crown 8vo. 85. 6d. MODEEN CULTUBE; ITS TEUE AIMS AND EEQUIEEMENTS. A SERIES OP ADDRESSES AND ARGUMENTS ON THE CLAIMS OF SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION. EDITED BY EDWARD L. YOUMANS, M.D. CONTENTS : ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF PHYSICS. By JOHN TYNDALL, LL.D. F.R.S. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY AS A MEANS OF EDUCATION. By CHARLES G. B. DAUBENY, M.D. F.R.S. ON THE EDUCATIONAL CLAIMS OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE. By ARTHUR HENFREY, ESQ, F.R.S. F.L.S. ON THE METHOD OF STUDYING ZOOLOGY. By THOMAS H. HUXLEY, F.R.S. LL.D. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF PHYSIOLOGY. By JAMES FACET, M.D. F.R.S. ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE UPON INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. By WILLIAM WHEWELL, D.D. F.R.S. OBSERVATIONS ON THE EDUCATION OF THE JUDGMENT. By PROFESSOR FARADAY, F.R.S. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE. By W. B. HODGSON, LL.D. ON POLITICAL EDUCATION. By HERBERT SPENCER. From " Essays, Scientific, Political, and Speculative." 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