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EDUCATION 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 
 
 PAST, PEESENT, AND PEOSPEOTIVE. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD PARRISH. 
 
 'Tis education forms the common miod ; 
 Just OH the twig is Ijent the tree's inclined. 
 * Poi'E. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 1865. 
 
NELL 
 UIMlVERSITYlj 
 LIBRARY -"> 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductory 5 
 
 The Past 17 
 
 The Early Friends 17 
 
 English Schools '. 21 
 
 American Schools 24 
 
 The Present 30 
 
 Schools of Orthodox Friends 31 
 
 Private Boarding and Neighborhood Schools 34 
 
 Culture of the Soil versus Mental Culture 36 
 
 Cause and Effect 42 
 
 Five Years' Keview 44 
 
 Prospective 51 
 
 .gjfarthmore College 51 
 
 The Site 53 
 
 The Building 54 
 
 Several Departments 57 
 
 Relation of the Sexes at School , 62 
 
 The Scheme of Instruction 63 
 
 Financial 70 
 
 Appendix 77 
 
EDUCATION 
 
 SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 This essay is addressed to the members of 
 the Eeligious Society of Eriends, and to that 
 numerous class who are descended from or 
 affiliated with them. 
 
 A portion of it will be found especially ap- 
 plicable to those who, having inherited estates 
 or prospered in business, have incurred the 
 responsibilities attendant on the possession of 
 means beyond their own needs. 
 
 Many such are free from the cares and ex- 
 penses of a family, and hence naturally seek 
 channels of beneficence into which to direct 
 their surplus means. Others, having chil- 
 dren, are sensible of the risks and responsi- 
 1* (5) 
 
b INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 bilities connected with their education, in- 
 creased by the prospect of an estate sufficient 
 to remove from them the necessity of active 
 industry and thrift. Such are especially in- 
 terested in providing facilities for guarded ed- 
 ucation, thus raising the standard of moral 
 and intellectual culture in the community, 
 while securing opportunities for their own 
 immediate descendants. 
 
 The general extension of an elementary ed- 
 ucation among the masses is justly regarded 
 as an essential element of the republican sys- 
 tem. Its universal application has proved an 
 inestimable boon to the Northern States — 
 the absence of it, a prolific cause of evil in 
 the South; and yet, is there not danger of 
 our ideas being limited in- regard to the edu- 
 cation of our children by acquiescence in the 
 comparatively low standard generally prevar 
 lent in the public schools? 
 
 Every one must feel that without that 
 moral culture and restraint which home edu- 
 cation is supposed to supply, the Common 
 School, as provided by the State, falls far 
 
MENTAL STIMULUS. 7 
 
 short of fitting the pupil for the duties of life, 
 or even qualifying him as a good citizen ; even 
 in the matter of intellectual culture, these 
 schools, as a class, fall far short of furnish- 
 ing a good education. 
 
 The child is by nature absolutely ignorant 
 of the laws of its physical, intellectual, and 
 moral being and of the world into which it is 
 bom ; and the extent to which it will acquire 
 a full and complete development will be great- 
 ly dependent upon the bent given to its early 
 aspirations and the advantages with which it is 
 surrounded. In a few exceptional instances 
 what men call genius gleams out from obscu- 
 rity, and overcoming every obstacle asserts a 
 pre-eminence which the world is brought to 
 feel and acknowledge; but this is far from 
 the ordinary history of the human mind. 
 
 It is by the stimulus of contact with active 
 minds that the powers of the young are most 
 obviously called forth, and, in general, in 
 proportion to the talent and culture of those 
 with whom it is early associated will be the 
 progress of the forming and growing intellect. 
 
INTEODUCTOKY. 
 
 The same remarks apply in a degree to the 
 moral sense of children. Born negatively 
 innocent, they sometimes display remarkable 
 aptitude for appreciating and embracing truth. 
 As in the one case genius may gleam forth 
 with unexpected brilliancy from the least 
 promising surroundings, so in the other the 
 warmth of Divine love and the light of in- 
 spiration may be kindled in hearts least pre- 
 pared by human culture. Yet the principle 
 holds good, that the influence of the loving 
 parent or teacher, full of affectionate counsel 
 and admonition, and displaying daily and 
 hourly fruits of righteousness and purity, is 
 by far the strongest agency in promoting 
 the moral and religious advancement of the 
 young. Who cannot trace to such an in- 
 fluence much of the good existing in him- 
 self? 
 
 The simultaneous and complete develop- 
 ment of the moral and intellectual nature of 
 his offspring, not forgetting a due regard to 
 physical culture, is the great object of every 
 intelligent and conscientious parent, and as 
 
MORAL CULTURE. 
 
 he looks to the means at his disposal to pro- 
 mote it, his thoughts most naturally turn to 
 the Religious Society with which he is con- 
 nected. It is indeed one of the highest and 
 most important objects of religious organiza- 
 tion to furnish those facilities for moral and 
 intellectual improvement which are beyond 
 the range of the family circle. 
 
 Friends have peculiarities, not of manners 
 and forms only, but of principle, which are 
 especially obvious in the moral training of 
 their children. Without stating these in de- 
 tail, it may serve our purpose to refer to a 
 single feature in the faith of our Society, 
 which all will recognize. It is that of the 
 innate innocence of children, as contradistin- 
 guished from the dogma of original sin, as 
 held by most orthodox churches. 
 
 This furnishes the key to that method of 
 development which is beginning to be recog- 
 nized by enlightened educators in and out of 
 the Society, — -the method which encourages 
 and cultivates the best traits of character in 
 the child, rather than attacks violently what 
 
10 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 may seem its unfavorable features of dispo- 
 sition. Caution, admonition, restraint, and 
 even punishment, are occasionally necessary 
 in dealing with the inexperienced and some- 
 times perverse, but to secure the affection and 
 confidence of youth, to call into activity good 
 motives and high aims, is by far the most 
 easy and radical process of culture and de- 
 velopment. It is a method peculiarly in ac- 
 cordance with the genius of Quakerism, — 
 peculiarly favorable to the growth of that 
 peaceable spirit which should distinguish the 
 Society of Friends. 
 
 The sense of right and wrong present in 
 the child from the early dawn of intelligence 
 — the feeling which brings happiness for good 
 and pain for wrong-doing — the swift witness 
 — the light within — is pre-eminently recog- 
 nized by Friends, and constitutes the basis of 
 their moral teaching. If communicated to 
 children in its simplicity, unincumbered by 
 forms of expression which they cannot un- 
 derstand, it will answer to their experience, 
 and furnish a means of moral training before 
 
dymond's views. 11 
 
 which all external restraints and physical 
 punishments fade into insignificance. 
 
 Strengthened by faith and enlightened by 
 sound reason, this principle becomes a con- 
 trolling influence through life, and the firm 
 basis of a pure and indwelling piety. 
 
 The present tendency of reform in intel- 
 lectual culture is peculiarly in harmony with 
 the views of Friends. The question, "What 
 knowledge is of most worth ?" so ably answered 
 in the recent popular essays of Herbert Spen- 
 cer and others, was discussed forty years 
 ago by Jonathan Dymond, a standard writer 
 among Friends, whose "Essays on the Prin- 
 ciples of Morality" should be in the hands of 
 every student, and much the same conclu- 
 sions were arrived at by him. Although in 
 his days education, which had so long lain 
 undisturbed on "the dregs of time," was the 
 same as " before England had a literature of 
 its own, and when Greek and Latin contained 
 almost the sum of human knowledge," yet 
 he forcibly advocated the idea that, "in gen- 
 eral, science is preferable to literature,-^the 
 
12 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 knowledge of things to the knowledge of 
 words," and sketched a practical system of 
 education adapted to the "middle ranks of 
 society; that is, to the ranks in which the 
 greatest sum of talent and virtue reside, and 
 by which the business of the world is princi- 
 pally carried on." 
 
 There is doubtless some ultraism in the 
 advocacy of modern schemes of educational 
 reform; the ancient system of classical in- 
 struction must be admitted to have merits as 
 a means of cultivating the memory and exer- 
 cising the reasoning powers, which commend 
 it to the favor of experienced teachers; but 
 it is certainly out of the reach of the masses; 
 and it seems to me the more liberal education 
 is popularized, the more the classics must give 
 way to the natural and physical sciences, 
 which are calculated to furnish inexhaustible 
 objects of profitable study and contemplation, 
 besides being applicable to innumerable uses 
 in practical life. 
 
 Nothing need be said in this connection in 
 advocacy of liberal education for women. 
 
ADDRESSED TO FRIENDS. 13 
 
 Friends, of all sects, should be foremost, not 
 only in throwing open the facilities at their 
 command equally to both sexes, but in associ- 
 ating young men and girls in the lecture- 
 room, the class-room, the lyceum, and, under 
 proper supervision, in all appropriate plays 
 and sports. It is fitting that they should grow 
 up together in natural and mutually profitable 
 intercourse-, and ample experience shows that 
 many of the evils of boarding-school and col- 
 lege life are thus materially lessened or en- 
 tirely obviated. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this essay to appeal 
 to any purely sectarian feeling — the matter in 
 hand is of public and practical importance; 
 but the author cannot ignore the force of those 
 considerations which address themselves pe- 
 culiarly to those connected with the Society 
 of Friends. 
 
 To such as sincerely love and cherish the 
 Society, and adhere intelligently to the spir- 
 ituality of its faith and the simplicity of its 
 forms, the object of the present essay cannot 
 fail to commend itself; but there is a large 
 
 2 
 
14 INTRODTJCTORT. 
 
 class of nominal members and adherents of 
 the Society, cherishing it through respect for 
 its past history and its present high charac- 
 ter, who yet feel little interest in its testimo- 
 nies and little qualification for participating 
 in its work. Such are invited to an examin- 
 ation of the subject of this essay. Its writer 
 does not believe that the Society of Friends 
 has outlived its usefulness, but, on the con- 
 trary, he maintains that in the matter of the 
 education of youth, if in no other particular, 
 it has an important sphere of usefulness and 
 of duty. 
 
 More than two hundred years have passed 
 since George Fox charged those who had 
 been gathered chiefly through his ministry, to 
 mind the light in their consciences. During 
 most of this long period, those drawn into re- 
 ligious fellowship as Friends have exercised 
 an influence for good which few of the pres- 
 ent generation will gainsay. Mainly through 
 their instrumentality the great doctrine that 
 "God has- come to teach his people himself," 
 has been infused into religious teaching gen- 
 
THE SPIRIT OF SCISM. 15 
 
 erally; through faithfulness to their enlight- 
 ened convictions, liberty of conscience has been 
 acknowledged, both in our own country and 
 Great Britain, and powerful testimonies have 
 been maintained against priestcraft and all 
 oppression of the bodies and souls of men; 
 against war with its barbarous and sinful 
 concomitants; against intemperance, oaths, 
 and many of the evils which afflict mankind. 
 Both in Europe, where the organization of so- 
 ciety at large was in direct antagonism to that 
 Christian democracy which they preached, 
 and in the Colonies of America, where their 
 liberal institutions early developed a vigorous 
 growth, these revivers of primitive Christian- 
 ity gave a powerful impulse to enlightened 
 and humane principles, the value of which is 
 now recognized by ma,ny in all the Protestant 
 sects. 
 
 It cannot be denied that this once power- 
 ful and united body, the representative of 
 great and vital truths, has fallen a prey to the 
 spirit of seism, and now exhibits the weak- 
 ness which is an inevitable result. With a 
 
16 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 basis broad enough to take in every degree of 
 Christian growth and experience, and an or- 
 ganization designed to secure perfect equality 
 of rights among its members, it has not failed 
 to illustrate the wickedness of intemperate 
 zeal and proscriptive intolerance; the result, 
 in great measure, of ignorance and prejudice 
 ^-of a traditional rather than an intelligent 
 appreciation of its principles.. May we not 
 hope that this last half of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury will yet see the several fragments of the 
 Society of Friends honestly burying past dif- 
 ferences, rising above mere verbal standards 
 of belief, and moving earnestly forward in the 
 practical work of our day; each seeking its 
 appropriate sphere of duty, and all willing to 
 co-operate in the great labor of elevating the 
 standard of morals and religion in the com- 
 munity? 
 
THE PAST. 
 
 The Early Friends. 
 
 Notwithstanding the generally low state 
 of education among the masses in England, 
 at the period of the first rise of the Society of 
 Friends, there are evidences that the early 
 Friends generally were not deficient in re- 
 spect for liberal learning, while there were 
 many conspicuous instances among them of 
 great literary and scholastic attainments. 
 
 It has been often remarked that the mis- 
 sion of George Fox, himself an illiterate man, 
 was rendered more widely useful through the 
 men of enlarged education who were among 
 the early converts to his faith. This is doubt- 
 less equally true of the labors of those earnest 
 and eloquent reformers by whom he was sur- 
 rounded, — men who shook all England with 
 their preaching, but many of whom have left 
 2* (IT) 
 
18 THE PAST. 
 
 to posterity no direct record of their views and 
 opinions. It is mainly through Robert Bar- 
 clay, Isaac Penington, and William Penn, all 
 men of deep erudition, and each representing a 
 somewhat different phase of religious opinion, 
 that we are made acquainted with the prin- 
 ciples and tenets of Friends in their day, and 
 their works have even come to be regarded 
 in our time in the light of standards of doc- 
 trine and practice. 
 
 Of these eminent characters, Eobert Bar- 
 clay was conspicuous for "great talents highly 
 improved by education and seasoned by Di- 
 vine grace;" and, although his life was cut 
 short in his forty-second year, his services 
 in establishing and strengthening the founda- 
 tions of the sect to which he was an early 
 convert, and the extensive research displayed 
 in his works, and the great learning with 
 which he elucidated his views of Christian 
 doctrine, have gained him a high place in 
 the history of the stirring times in which he 
 lived. 
 
 Isaac Penington was distinguished from 
 
THOMAS ELL WOOD. 19 
 
 childhood for remarkable piety and spiritual- 
 ity, and having been very early converted 
 to Quakerism, became an eminent instrument 
 in advancing the great work to which he was 
 called. As an evidence of the educational 
 condition of the circle in which he moved, 
 the experience of Thomas EUwood, who, when 
 quite young, was intimate in his family, pos- 
 sesses considerable interest. 
 
 Deploring his own want of learning, through 
 neglect of early opportunities, of which want 
 he was not rightly sensible until he came 
 among Friends, Thomas EUwood says : " But 
 I then both saw my loss and lamented it, and 
 applied myself with the utmost diligence at 
 all leisure times to recover it, so false I found 
 that charge to be, which in these times was 
 cast as a reproach upon the Quakers that they 
 despised and derided all human learning." 
 This was said "because they denied it to be 
 essentially necessary to a Gospel Ministry, 
 which was one of the controversies of the 
 times." 
 
 Desiring to pursue his classical studies, 
 
20 THE PAST. 
 
 Thomas Ellwood, through his friend Isaac 
 Penington, was introduced to the poet Mil- 
 ton, who, then wholly blind, received him at 
 his apartments in London to read to him in 
 such of the classics as he should appoint. 
 After greatly improving himself, he became 
 competent to instruct the children of Isaac 
 Penington, by whom he was employed as 
 tutor. He became one of the best writers 
 among his contemporaries. 
 
 The biography of William Penn, which we 
 have not space to dwell upon in this essay, 
 should be studied, not only by every young 
 man in the religious society in which he was 
 an eminent member, and in the great Com- 
 monwealth he founded, but by all who would 
 contemplate an example of unsullied purity 
 of character combined with great talents, lib- 
 eral education, and a sphere of usefulness 
 such as has opened to few men in history. 
 
 In direct relation to our subject, a single 
 paragraph may be quoted from his well- 
 known letter to his wife in regard to the ed- 
 ucation of their children : " For their learning, 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 21 
 
 be liberal, spare no cost, for by such parsi- 
 mony all is lost that is saved; but let it be 
 useful knowledge, such as is consistent with 
 truth and godliness, not cherishing a vain 
 conversation or idle mind, but ingenuity 
 mixed with industry is good for the body 
 and mind too." 
 
 English Schools. 
 
 As early as 1667, we find George Fox rec- 
 ommending the establishment of two board- 
 ing schools, — one for boys and one for girls; 
 and in 1680, he mentions visiting them. At 
 the boys' school, at Waltham Abbey, both 
 ancient an^ modem languages were taught, 
 as recommended during successive years by 
 the London Yearly Meeting. Advice was 
 further extended, "that young men of genius 
 in low circumstances be furnished with means 
 toprocure requisite education; and informing 
 the character, the social animal being must 
 not be overlooked, but the arts and sciences, 
 which might fit him to perform his duties, 
 
22 THE PAST. 
 
 better his condition, and supply his wants, 
 must be included." The Shacklewell School 
 for young men and girls, which was nearly 
 contemporaneous, was established "for the 
 teaching of whatsoever things were civil and 
 useful in creation." 
 
 Somewhat in accordance with this is the 
 design so quaintly expressed in the bequest 
 by which George Fox conveyed to Friends 
 the property at Fair Hill, Philadelphia, now 
 associated with tender memories as the rest- 
 ing-place of many of our departed — "for a 
 meeting-house and school-house and a bury- 
 ing-place, and for a play-ground for the chil- 
 dren of the town to play on, and for a garden 
 to plant with physical plants for lads and 
 lasses to know simples and learn to make 
 oils and ointments." 
 
 Among the earliest Friends' schools in 
 England were the one at Gildersome, in York- 
 shire, and "Friends' School-house and Work- 
 house," at Clerkenwell, an out-parish of the 
 City of London, the latter supported almost 
 entirely by Friends of London Quarterly 
 
ACKWORTH SCHOOL. 23 
 
 Meeting. This was connected with a kind of 
 alms-house for the accommodation of Friends 
 in necessitous circumstances, which is men- 
 tioned by the eminent Dr. John Fothergill, 
 in a publication issued by him, as one of the 
 reasons of its want of entire success. 
 
 It was in the London Yearly Meeting of 
 1778, that the establishment of one central 
 school to meet the wants of the Society was 
 determined upon, and the property was pur- 
 chased at Ackworth, in Yorkshire, about one 
 hundred and eighty miles from London, where 
 the school still so widely known and valued 
 was established. In 1779, Ackworth School 
 was opened with seventy male and fifty-three 
 female pupils; the number was afterward in- 
 creased to near three hundred ; and, accord- 
 ing to the report for 1862, was in that year 
 two hundred and ninety-six. Although the 
 branches taught were originally only the 
 English language, writing, and arithmetic, 
 the grade of instruction has been gradually 
 elevated to meet the demands'of the times, 
 and there can be no doubt that the influence 
 
24 THE PAST. 
 
 of this institution has been of incalculable ad- 
 vantage, not only to individuals, but to the 
 Society by which it has been fostered and 
 endowed. 
 
 American Schools. 
 
 The founder of Pennsylvania, during the 
 year after his arrival in his province, engaged 
 the services of a teacher to open a school in 
 Philadelphia, and in 1697 he founded the 
 school, still in existence, though removed 
 from its former well-known locality in Fourth 
 Street below Chestnut, under care of "The 
 Overseers of the Public School founded by 
 Charter in the Town and County of Philadel- 
 phia, in Pennsylvania." In this school Latin 
 and Greek and mathematics were early taught. 
 Through a long course of years not a few of 
 the eminent citizens of Philadelphia have in 
 it realized the truth inscribed upon its cor- 
 porate seal — "Good instruction is better than 
 riches." 
 
 It has been often observed that the meet- 
 ing-houses erected by our forefathers through- 
 
WEST-TOWN PKOJBCTED. 25 
 
 out the agricultural sections of Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey are connected, in many con- 
 spicuous instances, with ample school-houses, 
 — monuments of the zeal of those pioneers in 
 this new land to associate with the religious 
 element in their polity suitable provision for 
 intellectual training. 
 
 The example set by English Friends in the 
 establishment and endowment of Ackworth 
 School was soon followed in the infant States 
 of America. A pamphlet by Owen Biddle, 
 printed in Philadelphia in 1790, was' specially 
 devoted to the advocacy of a school, to be es- 
 tablished "within the limits of the Yearly 
 Meeting for Pennsylvania and New Jersey." 
 Already a Friends' school of limited extent 
 had been maintained at Nottingham, Chester 
 County 5 but the views advocated in this pub- 
 lication were comprehensive, and with "a just 
 sense of the importance of some such estab- 
 lishment," and of the ability of the Society to 
 erect and maintain it, the author zealously 
 bespeaks the aid of the wealthy in large do- 
 nations, and of all, according to their means, 
 3 
 
26 THE PAST. 
 
 to build up an institution which would be 
 "extensively useful, attract the attention of 
 the Society at large, and add a reputation 
 to it." 
 
 A long and persistent labor was necessary 
 to awaken the minds of Friends to the sub- 
 ject, and it was not until 1799 that West- 
 Town Boarding School was opened. The his- 
 tory of this concern, as gathered from the 
 unpublished correspondence* of those who car- 
 ried it through, would occupy more space 
 than comports with the scope of this essay; 
 but the result accomplished is full of encour- 
 agement to those who would now seek to dis- 
 turb the apathy and overcome the opposition 
 toward an institution aiming at the improve- 
 ment and elevation of thousands yet unborn. 
 
 During the sixty-six years which have 
 elapsed since West-Town was opened, about 
 five thousand one hundred and fifty girls and 
 three thousand nine hundred and fifty boys 
 
 * Some of these letters, now in the hands of a Friend, are 
 of considerable interest, and it is hoped they will at some 
 future time be made public. 
 
PROVIDENCE SCHOOL. 27 
 
 have participated in its advantages, — an ag- 
 gregate of nine thousand members of the So- 
 ciety of Friends. Who can estimate its influ- 
 ence in furnishing the minds and forming the 
 characters of these? 
 
 The history of the establishment of the 
 "New England Yearly Meeting Boarding 
 School" is closely connected with the biogra- 
 phy of Moses Brown, of Providence, R. I., de- 
 scribed by his contemporaries as "a judge, a 
 counsellor, an elder, worthy of double honor." 
 As early as 1780, it appears a subscription 
 was opened, to which he was a liberal con- 
 tributor, "for the establishment of a school 
 for the more select and guarded education of 
 Friends' children;" but the means of Friends 
 being generally limited, and the sums sub- 
 scribed mostly small, it was not until 1784 
 that the school was opened. After four years, 
 it was discontinued on account of the inade- 
 quacy of its funds, and what remained of the 
 principal was invested and increased by some 
 additional contributions, until in 1814 Moses 
 Brown offered to the Yearly Meeting forty- 
 
28 THE PAST. 
 
 three acres of ground at Providence, since 
 augmented by a bequest in his will of another 
 lot of land near the premises; an additional 
 effort being now made to increase the inter- 
 est and active cooperation of Friends, the 
 buildings were erected, and in 1819 the school 
 was opened. Its venerable patron died in 
 1836, aged nearly a century, and the institu- 
 tion has grown and prospered, continuing to 
 diffuse its benefits to large numbers to the 
 present time, and its numerous alumni, at 
 their annual meetings attest their love and 
 gratitude to their Alma Mater. 
 
 Among those in former generations with 
 whom the subject of the literary and religious 
 education of children was one of life-long in- 
 terest, was Joseph Tallcot, of Dutchess Coun- 
 ty, New York, who, while at times engaged 
 as a teacher from a sense of duty, was a zeal- 
 ous advocate of associated action to extend 
 the blessings of education among Friends 
 generally. From Nine Partners' Preparative 
 Meeting, of which he was a member, a propo- 
 sition went up, through the regular channels, 
 
FAIRHILL SCHOOL. 29 
 
 to the Yearly Meeting of New York, in 1794, 
 as a result of which the Nine Partners' Board- 
 ing School was opened in 1797: it was soon 
 filled with children from various parts of New 
 York, and from a few places more remote. 
 The reminiscences of this institution as re- 
 lated by some of its early pupils, still living, 
 while they exhibit in a striking manner the 
 vast improvements in literary and scientific 
 education during sixty years, show the hap- 
 py results of the religious care and concern 
 of those having Friends' schools in charge in 
 those primitive times. 
 
 " Fairhill Boarding School," established by 
 subscription about the year 1820, by Balti- 
 more Yearly Meeting, was in successful opera- 
 tion as a " Yearly Meeting School " about ten 
 years; it has been, of late, in private hands, 
 somewhat under the auspices of the Society. 
 
 With these brief notices, we conclude the 
 sketch of the more ancient Friends' schools, 
 and come down to our own times, in search 
 of evidences of zeal for the culture and ad- 
 vancement of the young. 
 
 3* 
 
THE PRESENT. 
 
 TuKNiNG from the eflforts of our forefathers 
 to surround their children with educational 
 advantages, we are compelled, at the outset, 
 to acknowledge that the rapid strides which 
 have been made by the community at large 
 have left the Society of Friends, as a whole, 
 far in the background. 
 
 Since the unhappy division in 1827, which 
 has been characterized by a leading states- 
 man of Pennsylvania as "the greatest mis- 
 fortune which ever happened to the City of 
 Philadelphia," that portion of the Society . 
 which embraces much the largest number of 
 members within the limits of Philadelphia, 
 New York, and Baltimore Yearly Meetings, 
 has not a single institution calculated to cen- 
 tralize the learning and science of the Society, 
 and to foster and encourage liberal education 
 — not one in which our children can obtain 
 the advantages of a really liberal education 
 (30) 
 
ORTHODOX friends' SCHOOLS. 31 
 
 under circumstances favorable to their be- 
 coming attached to the religious organization 
 of which they are members. 
 
 The inquiry as to what Friends' schools 
 within the reach of our members are best 
 adapted to impart a liberal education, brings 
 into view several of the ancient seats of 
 learning already referred to; these, with 
 several others established in our time, may 
 be mentioned under the following head: 
 
 Schools of Orthodox Friends. 
 
 The doors of "Wesi>Town" are closed, on 
 purely technical grounds, against many of 
 those who are sincerely desirous to acquit 
 themselves worthily as Friends, and whose 
 ancestors contributed largely to its establish- 
 ment and endowment, entitling them, in 
 equity, to its benefits. 
 
 " Friends' Yearly Meeting School" at Provi- 
 dence, R. I., is not so restricted, and continues 
 to receive some of the Friends' children ex- 
 cluded from West-Town ; though remote 
 
32 THE PRESENT. 
 
 from the largest settlements of Friends, it 
 is worthy the attention of parents who de- 
 sire to place their children, of either sex, 
 under sound instructions in a healthful and 
 pleasant location. 
 
 "Friends' Academy," at Union Springs, 
 Cayuga County, N. Y., established in 1858, 
 chiefly through the energy of John J. 
 Thomas, of that place, and since taken in 
 charge by the New York Yearly Meeting of 
 Orthodox Friends, is a young and growing 
 institution, open to all who are willing to 
 conform to its rules. 
 
 "The Howland Institute," of the same 
 place, is confined to young women and girls ; 
 it is yet in its infancy, but, from the liberality 
 displayed in its endowment and the excellent 
 auspices under which it has been commenced, 
 we may anticipate for it a career of extended 
 usefulness in the future. 
 
 For some years past a limited number of 
 our young men have resorted to Haverford 
 College, which, though originally established 
 as a "select school," was found to require 
 
HAVERFORD AND BARLHAM. 33 
 
 support from outside the pale of that part of 
 the Society by whose members it was erected. 
 This institution is a monument to the zeal 
 and liberality of its founders, and, during 
 near thirty years in which it has been in op- 
 eration, has sent forth many young men of 
 solid classical and mathematical attainments. 
 It is, however, too expensive an institution, 
 and too limited in its scope, to meet the 
 views of the great mass of Friends, besides 
 being confined only to one sex. 
 
 Earlham College, located at Richmond, 
 Indiana, is another and more recent evidence 
 of the enterprise of that portion of the So- 
 ciety, which, perhaps partly from retaining 
 its connection with English Friends, and en- 
 joying their counsel and assistance,* has 
 sought to bring some, among the generations 
 to come, under friendly influences, while im- 
 parting to them the blessings of liberal 
 learning. 
 
 * Joseph John Gurney, during his tour in the Western 
 States, aided the establishment of this institution, which 
 bears the name of his estate in England, by a liberal dona- 
 tion. 
 
34 THE PRESENT. 
 
 Though controversies have embittered the 
 past, and different forms of expression, and 
 even different modes of faith, which have 
 existed in the Society from its rise, have, 
 through the divergence caused by the spirit 
 of controversy, put barriers between those 
 once united as Friends, surely all can re- 
 joice when the zeal of the Society takes a 
 practical direction toward the development 
 of the intellectual powers, and the conse- 
 quent diffusion of more enlarged and liberal 
 views among those who are to come after us. 
 
 Private Boarding and Neighborhood Schools. 
 
 In this review of educational advantages 
 : — past and present — ^we must not overlook 
 the private boarding schools kept by Friends, 
 some of which have a high reputation far be- 
 yond the limits of the Society, or the day 
 schools under the care of Monthly Meetings, 
 of which those in the Cities of New York, 
 Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wilmington, Del., 
 West Chester, Pa., and a few other places, 
 are especially worthy of mention. 
 
friends' day schools. 35 
 
 The policy of confining these schools to 
 members of the Society has generally, of 
 latter years, been superseded by that of ex- 
 cluding no pupils of good character who are 
 willing to conform to the rules. While this, 
 without due care, may produce overcrowding 
 in Friends' schools, it has the advantage of 
 securing larger remuneration to the teachers 
 and improved facilities for instruction; the 
 benefits are also diffused and good feeling pro- 
 moted on the part of those of other denomina- 
 tions. It has been found, under this liberal 
 policy, that Friends' schools, when well con- 
 ducted, overflow with pupils, notwithstanding 
 there are plenty of free schools near at hand. 
 
 The eminent success of these day schools 
 in the cities is cause of encouragement to the 
 Society to improve and extend the educa- 
 tional advantages furnished in smaller towns 
 and in agricultural districts, — to secure the 
 very best of teachers, and to pay these well 
 in view of the onerous duties of their call- 
 ing, the high moral and intellectual qualities 
 it requires, and the responsibilities it imposes. 
 
36 THE PRESENT. 
 
 Viewed with reference to the opportunities 
 they afford for moral and religious instruc- 
 tion, and to their possible influence in per- 
 petuating and extending the Society, these 
 schools can hardly be overestimated. The 
 spectacle of so large a number of intelligent 
 and bright countenances as are assembled 
 from these schools at meetings for worship, 
 has been the occasion for many fitting words 
 of counsel from Friends in the ministry, and 
 has frequently been remarked upon as most 
 inspiring to such as are advancing in life, and 
 naturally look with emotion upon those who 
 in their turn must follow them. 
 
 Culture of the Soil versus Mental Culture. 
 
 It is deplorable that many in the agri- 
 cultural communities which constitute so 
 large a portion of the membership of the 
 Society of Friends in America, evince quite 
 as much interest in the cultivation of the 
 soil, and in realizing its products, as in the 
 development of the minds of their children. 
 
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 37 
 
 Such are satisfied with the elementary schools 
 maintained at public expense, none of which 
 reach a high ideal of school education. In 
 these the children are often thrown into un- 
 profitable associations without any adequate 
 advantages in the way of intellectual train- 
 ing. The public school system, in the estab- 
 lishment of which Friends had so large a 
 share, is, undoubtedly, to the State at large, 
 an inestimable blessing: yet it has had a 
 tendency to satisfy many people in good cir- 
 cumstances with comparatively careless ai;id 
 inadequate instruction, and to lessen the 
 zeal formerly felt among Friends to be in 
 advance of the community in the moral and 
 intellectual grade of their schools. 
 
 Of the large number of " Monthly Meeting 
 Schools,"* mostly established at much sacri- 
 fice by Friends of former generations, some of 
 them so endowed as to be free of expense, or 
 nearly so, to members of the Society, many 
 
 * Of these there were in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, in 
 1864, forty-three, thirty-seven of which are taught by mem- 
 bers of the Society — 1867 children were comprised in these. 
 4 
 
38 THE PRESENT. 
 
 suffer from want of intelligence and active 
 interest on the part of committees to whom 
 they are intrusted ; it is a common complaint 
 that the teachers employed are frequently 
 inadequately paid and lack the qualifications 
 to make the schools efficient. The capacities 
 of the pupils are thus but poorly developed 
 from lack of that stimulus which a thorough 
 and pervading interest in intellectual ad- 
 vancement can alone bring into action. 
 
 Thus it happens that a large proportion of 
 the talent of the Society lies undeveloped, 
 the few whose minds have been awakened to 
 the contemplation of the facts of science, — 
 who have been brought into converse with the 
 great intellects who have explored the secrets 
 of the universe, find but little interest in 
 such ennobling pursuits among the great 
 mass of their Friends. Some of these con- 
 stantly regret that the circumstances of 
 their early life were unfavorable to the 
 awaking of their intellectual powers, while 
 others are even too ignorant to value the ad- 
 vantages they have failed to realize, and busy 
 
EDUCATION FOE ALL. 39 
 
 themselves in decrying that which they do 
 not appreciate, because they cannot under- 
 stand. 
 
 The history of the Society shows that 
 there have always been some among its 
 members who, in their opposition to an edu- 
 cated class, such as the clergy in other de- 
 nominations, have ceased to value learning 
 properly as the right of all, failing to see that 
 the absence of a distinct profession, embody- 
 ing the learning of the Society and monopo- 
 lizing the power which learning brings, should 
 constitute a strong motive for the general 
 diffusion of knowledge and the multiplica- 
 tion of facilities for imparting it. As each 
 individual undoubtedly has some place to oc- 
 cupy in the Society, and in the community 
 at large, there should be, it would seem, such 
 a system of development that each should 
 find his place and be qualified to fill it. 
 
 How widely different from this is the ac- 
 tual state of things ! We sometimes find 
 the farmer wedded to his land, fearing lest 
 some of his sons may perhaps seek other 
 
40 THE PRESENT. 
 
 employment — lest, if educated beyond the 
 supposed requirements of a manual occupa- 
 tion, they may leave it and be found among 
 the haunts of men, busy with affairs which 
 call forth their faculties and exercise the tal- 
 ents which the all-wise Creator has implanted 
 in them. 
 
 It is mournful to see, in the thriving agri- 
 cultural communities of Friends, how the 
 services of the whole family are often taxed 
 to the utmost upon the drudgery of the farm 
 — how the lad of sixteen, each winter enjoys 
 but a few months' schooling in the neighbor- 
 hood school; his sister, a talented young 
 woman, perhaps the future mother of a fam- 
 ily of immortal beings, who are to draw from 
 her their jBrst ideas of truth and duty and 
 take the mould of their mental characters 
 from her own, is found laboring early and late 
 in the dairy and household, cumbered with 
 cares which should come only with mature 
 years, and debarred from the glorious light of 
 knowledge which can alone expand her facul- 
 ties and fit her for the exalted position to 
 which she is called. 
 
FALSE ECONOMY. 41 
 
 In these strictures no invidious distinction 
 is intended between persons devoted to agri- 
 culture and those engaged in mechanical and 
 commercial pursuits. It is believed that 
 there are those among all classes who fail to 
 appreciate the undoubted right of their chil- 
 dren, not only to the knowledge for which 
 they so often crave, but also to opportunities 
 calculated to create desires for improvement, 
 and to foster high and worthy aims. 
 
 It is the experience of some that "neces- 
 sity knows no law," but where there is abund- 
 ance of the good things of this life there is 
 no excuse for neglecting the full development 
 of the faculties of our children. In no branch 
 of domestic expenditure is parsimony so mis- 
 placed, in nothing is it so inexcusable as in 
 the matter of education — better that the chil- 
 dren should grow up without a dollar to be- 
 gin life with, than that they should come to 
 manhood and womanhood without their facul- 
 ties being awakened and their intellects ex- 
 panded by liberal learning. 
 i* 
 
42 THE PRESENT. 
 
 Cause and Effect. 
 
 Viewed in its relations to the perpetuity of 
 the Society of Friends and the spread of its 
 principles, indiflference to the subject of edu- 
 cation may be regarded both as an effect and 
 a cause — an effect of lukewarmness in regard 
 to religious duties, and as a propagating cause 
 of the same evil. 
 
 In strong contrast to the zeal of our early 
 predecessors in contending for their principles 
 in the midst of persecution and even death, 
 we find the Society now quietly resting in its 
 traditions and forms, its members generally 
 illustrating in private life the virtues which 
 have grown out of its discipline and teach- 
 ing, but almost devoid of that animus which 
 made their early predecessors a great power 
 in the earth. Toleration, secured by the 
 faithfulness of our forefathers, finds most of 
 us at ease in the pursuit of our private in- 
 terests, but little concerned to maintain our 
 organization, and almost tempted to chime in 
 with the sentiment of those modern writers 
 
UNWARRANTABLE INDIFFERENCE. 43 
 
 who have maintained that the usefulness and 
 the influence of the Society are at an end. 
 
 Too many of our children are brought up 
 in ignorance of the instructive history of the 
 Society, and of its instrumentality in promot- 
 ing human rights and spreading practical 
 views of Christianity; they are strangers to 
 the examples presented in the biography of 
 the great and good men who have illustrated 
 its principles and borne its testimonies before 
 the world, and they fail from lack of instruc- 
 tion, to appreciate those principles and testi- 
 monies, and to gain that thorough acquaint- 
 ance with their meaning and scope which 
 can alone make them efficient instruments in 
 their maintenance and diffusion. 
 
 Do we not here recognize a leading cause 
 of the weakness which concerned members of 
 the Society mourn? As this is a direct effect of 
 unwarrantable indifference to one of the most 
 obvious duties incumbent on individuals and 
 religious organizations, is it not also an ob- 
 vious cause of increasing declension and 
 weakness? 
 
44 THE PRESENT. 
 
 Five Years' Keview, 
 
 Those who appreciate the state of facts 
 exhibited in the foregoing pages, and desire 
 the welfare of the children of our own and 
 succeeding generations, will be prepared to 
 rejoice that measures are now in progress 
 to provide an institution adapted to the 
 educational wants of the Society of Friends. 
 
 In the autumn of 1860, a company col- 
 lected socially at the house of a much 
 esteemed Friend in Baltimore, became in- 
 terested in conversing upon the state of edu- 
 cation, and a desire was expressed that means 
 should be adopted which woi^ld lead to a 
 higher appreciation of scientific and clas- 
 sical learning and its more general diffusion 
 throughout the Society. Accordingly on the 
 second of Tenth Month, 1860, a meeting was 
 convened, at which the venerable Benjamin 
 Hallowell, a veteran teacher, presented the 
 plan which had lain many years near his 
 heart of establishing a school, under the care 
 of Friends, at which an education may be 
 
ADDRESS ISSUED. 45 
 
 obtained equal to that of the best institutions 
 of learning in our country, and adapted espe- 
 cially to qualify Friends of both sexes for the 
 charge of family and neighborhood schools 
 heretofore languishing for lack of efficiency 
 in their teachers. 
 
 The idea entered into this concern of ele- 
 vating, as well the moral as the intellectual 
 standard of education, and of promoting the 
 growth and influence of the Society of 
 Friends, beginning where such labor can 
 alone be effectual with the young, the recep- 
 tive, growing, apd expanding. Such a design 
 could not fail to be appreciated by those to 
 whom it was explained, and a committee was 
 chosen to prepare an address setting forth the 
 objects in view, and to solicit the po-operation 
 of the larger bodies of 'Friends in Philadelphia 
 and New York. 
 
 An address was prepared forthwith, and 
 read at Conferences, held in Philadelphia on 
 the 28th of Eleventh Month, and in New 
 York on the 10th of Twelfth Month fol- 
 lowing. Committees were appointed at each 
 
46 THE PRESENT. 
 
 of these to co-operate with Baltimore Friends 
 in the prosecution of the concern. It is yet 
 too soon to write the history of this most im- 
 portant movement, but if the measures then 
 inaugurated should be crowned with the 
 promised success, the names of those who 
 were thus foremost in it will go down to 
 posterity as worthy of double honor. 
 
 The printing and distribution of this ad- 
 dress was so soon followed by those startling 
 events which shook the nation to its center 
 and have but recently culminated, that the 
 efforts toward enlisting the great body of 
 Friends, on behalf of this undertaking, may 
 be said to have been inaugurated during the 
 most anxious time of the great rebellion. 
 
 When many citizens doubted if they or 
 their posterity would again enjoy the bless- 
 ings of free government — ^when men of wealth 
 held their possessions by so feeble a tenure 
 that soon they might not command enough 
 of this world's goods to feed and clothe their 
 families — when parents, not a few, trembled 
 lest their sons, swept into the current that 
 
CONFERENCES HELD. 47 
 
 carried so many thousands to untimely 
 graves, would never return to comfort their 
 declining years — when darkness, discourage- 
 ment, and uncertainty hung over everything 
 in the future, it seemed, to some, out of place 
 to be planning great improvements or seek- 
 ing to found beneficent institutions. 
 
 It was in the darkest hour that a voice was 
 raised in our councils, which had many times 
 before been heard in the midst of discourage- 
 ments and even obloquy in defense of prog- 
 ress and principle, — the voice of one who had 
 herself realized in early life the value of a 
 Friends' school, — showing the pressing import- 
 ance of those educational interests which must 
 influence the welfare of society in any event 
 and under all circumstances. So fully were 
 these views realized, that it was resolved to 
 persevere, presenting the subject in every 
 community of Friends, where there was an 
 ear to hear, and invoking the moral support 
 and pecuniary aid of all. 
 
 Conferences were appointed in Friends' 
 meeting-houses in city and country; some- 
 
48 THE PRESENT. 
 
 times these were largely attended; the sub- 
 ject was earnestly presented and subscriptions 
 solicited in aid of the undertaking. A com- 
 mittee for promoting subscriptions to the fund 
 met monthly at Race Street Meeting-house, 
 Philadelphia, generally attended by some 
 from the country; thus the interest was kept 
 alive and the subscription extended. 
 
 The preliminary organization, under the 
 name of Friends' Educational Association, 
 passed through some difficulties in forming a 
 constitution; unavoidable differences of senti- 
 ment upon technical points alienated a few 
 whose influence has since been missed, but, 
 to use the peculiar term so familiar to 
 Friends, ilie concern continued to grow and 
 increase. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting in Twelfth Month, 
 1862, fifty thousand dollars were reported 
 as having been subscribed, — a sum which 
 has since been nearly doubled. A Board of 
 Managers was selected, consisting of Friends 
 of both sexes from various sections of Penn- 
 sylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Mary- 
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS OBTAINED. 49 
 
 land. This Board, which has been con- 
 tinued with little alteration, has moved in 
 great harmony in the several measures ren- 
 dered necessary by the progress of the move- 
 ment, and when questions have arisen pre- 
 maturely, the ground of confidence has been 
 maintained, not only by the officers toward 
 each other, but by the great body of sub- 
 scribers toward the Board. The selection of 
 a location for the proposed institution called 
 forth a zealous advocacy of different sites, and 
 was followed by corresponding disappoint- 
 ment among those whose advocacy was un- 
 successful, but the expression by vote of a 
 large majority of the stock, as provided by 
 the constitution, was a final settlement of the 
 question. 
 
 In the course of this work, members of the 
 Board, and others interested, have attended 
 conferences in nearly all the Monthly Meet- 
 ings within the compass of Philadelphia 
 Yearly Meeting, numbering fifty, obtaining 
 subscriptions from Friends; besides address- 
 ing conferences in several sections of New 
 5 
 
50 THE PEESKNT. 
 
 York and Baltimore Yearly Meetings, and 
 one at Farmington, within the limits of Gene- 
 see Yearly Meeting. 
 
 In all these they have found some to re- 
 spond cordially to their appeals. The young, 
 who, in many sections in the midst of indiffer- 
 ence and apathy are impatiently thirsting 
 for knowledge; parents who begin to appre- 
 ciate the imperative duty they owe to their 
 rising families, to supply them with the high- 
 est possible culture and development; and 
 lastly, the elders and fathers in the church, 
 who in looking for a succession of standard- 
 bearers, begin to suspect that to the neglect 
 of the great interests of education under the 
 guarded care of the Society, may be attrib- 
 uted much of the weakness which they de- 
 plore. 
 
PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 Swartlimore College. 
 
 It is proposed, under this head, to present 
 to the reader a succinct account of the present 
 condition, the objects, and plans of the cor- 
 poration which has grown out of the Friends' 
 Educational Association. In accordance with 
 the original design, to furnish a complete 
 course of study in the higher branches of 
 knowledge, especially with a view to qualify 
 teachers, it was early determined to give to 
 the proposed institution the full grade of a 
 college, under an act of incorporation from 
 the State of Pennsylvania. 
 
 While this does not preclude an Academical 
 Department, a Normal School, and a Model 
 School, all of which are included in the plan, 
 it requires the managers to supply instruction 
 in the higher branches of knowledge which 
 are not thoroughly taught in ordinary private 
 institutions. 
 
 By means of the act of incorporation the 
 
 (51) 
 
52 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 title to the property is defined and secured to 
 those who contribute to purchase and build 
 it; and in case of future controversies, it can- 
 not be unfairly diverted from them. The 
 name Swarthmore College is derived from the 
 home of George Fox, after his marriage to 
 Margaret Fell. At Swarthmore, near Ulver- 
 stone, in England, he himself owned a plot of 
 ground, on which he erected a meeting-house, 
 which is still standing. 
 
 The stockholders are not nece^arily mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends, — a very con- 
 siderable number of our fellow-citizens, and 
 several in membership and by profession con- 
 nected with the orthodox division of the So- 
 ciety, have, without solicitation, testified their 
 interest in the spread of education by sub- 
 scribing to the stock. The managers, how- 
 ever, are restricted by the charter to mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends; they are to be 
 elected at the Annual Meeting, each stock- 
 holder having one vote. In all questions af- 
 fecting the disposition of the property of the 
 corporation, a stock vote is provided for. 
 
THE WEST-DALB PROPERTY. 53 
 
 The Site. 
 
 The property procured for the location of 
 Swarthmore College is composed of a portion 
 of that known as West-Dale, from having 
 been the birth-place of Benjamin West, with 
 contiguous land; it is located in Delaware 
 County, Pennsylvania, about ten miles from 
 Philadelphia, with which city it connects by 
 the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad, 
 passing through the place, and furnishing a 
 station at a convenient distance from the 
 building site. It contains ninety-four acres 
 and five perches of land, and is bounded on 
 one side by the Springfield and Chester road, 
 and on the other by Crum Creek, a winding 
 and rapid stream. After a thorough examin- 
 ation of the rural districts surrounding Phil- 
 adelphia, the managers were generally agreed 
 that a more eligible location for such a pur- 
 pose could scarcely be found. The land is 
 high, commanding an extensive prospect of 
 variegated scenery, and a distant view of the 
 Delaware River, the ancient town of Chester, 
 5* 
 
54 PROSPECTIVE, 
 
 the first landing-place of William Penn in his 
 Province, and Media, the county tovra, distant 
 one and a half miles, in vrhich, it may be 
 remarked, tlie sale of liquor is prohibited by 
 law, in all time to come. There are several 
 springs contiguous to each other on the high 
 ground, sufficient to furnish an abundant sup- 
 ply of pure water, and water-power to pump 
 it to ih€ required elevation. On thie north- 
 west the land is covered with an abundant 
 growth of trees, adapted to afford protection 
 to the grounds in winter; the wood-land is 
 ample for shaded walks, and the banks of 
 the stream afford a feature of romantic beau- 
 ty rarely surpassed. The property cost 
 1,446.96. 
 
 The Building. 
 
 The Managers are not insensible to the 
 mistake which has so often been made in 
 carrying out such undertakings, of regarding 
 the building as the paramount feature of the 
 institution; in all their plans utility has been 
 considered before elegance, and economy has 
 
THE BUILDING. 55 
 
 constituted a leading motive. On the other 
 hand, however, so much depends upon the 
 convenient arrangement of a large establish- 
 ment in securing its economical management, 
 and so important is it to provide in the pro- 
 posed institution for a large number of the 
 several classes it is intended to accommodate, 
 that a commodious building, capable of still 
 further extension, seems quite necessary. 
 
 The original idea of separate buildings, in 
 which something like the family relation 
 might be maintained among the inmates, was 
 found to require an outlay much beyond the 
 cost of a single structure appropriately di- 
 vided. The necessity of connecting corri- 
 dors and adequate means of conveyance for 
 the supplies when cooked, and other require- 
 ments of this plan, determined its abandon- 
 ment and the union of its desirable features, 
 as far as practicable, in a single stone 
 structure. 
 
 This, as far as the plans have been matured, 
 will consist of a center College building, con- 
 taining dining-rooms, kitchen, lecture-room. 
 
56 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 library, reception-room, office, and dwelling 
 for the resident officer; two wings parallel to 
 this, each containing the residence of a 
 teacher and his family, and dormitories for 
 about fifty pupils, and, between these and the 
 center building, connecting wings, containing 
 class-rooms and dormitories, each wing ac- 
 commodating about fifty pupils. The dormi- 
 tories will be in size about 10 by 15 feet, de- 
 signed to accommodate two single beds. The 
 building thus projected will contain about 
 one hundred and ten pupils of each sex, 
 all under appropriate supervision, virtually 
 separated in different houses, but so readily 
 communicating with the central College build- 
 ing as that all may resort there to meals, to 
 the morning and evening collections, to lec- 
 tures, and for other purposes, without expo- 
 sure to the weather. 
 
 Especial attention will be given to the 
 ventilation, heating, and lighting of the es- 
 tablishment, and to provision against danger 
 from fire; the stairways will be ample and 
 partly fire-proof, and the isolation of each 
 
COMPEBHENSIVE PLAN. 57 
 
 division will be such that it is hardly possible 
 a fire could become general. 
 
 As it is designed to accommodate at least 
 four hundred pupils, when the buildings are 
 completed, the center building is planned 
 with reference to that number, and additions 
 are projected which will not interfere with 
 the symmetry of the structure. An advant- 
 age anticipated from providing for so large 
 a number of pupils is, that instruction can be 
 proportionably cheapened as the number is 
 extended. Prom all that can be learned in 
 advance, and, from the estimate of an ex- 
 perienced teacher now engaged in a similar 
 institution, it is believed that there will be 
 enough to occupy all the accommodations 
 provided, as soon as they are ready. 
 
 Several Departments, 
 
 It is proposed to include in Swarthmore 
 College — First. An academical or preliminary 
 department. Second. A normal department, 
 with model school. Third. A collegiate de- 
 partment. 
 
58 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 The Academical department is regarded as 
 of least necessity, as the demand for com- 
 mon school education is already partly sup- 
 plied by neighborhood schools, and by pri- 
 vate boarding schools, which it is no part of 
 the plan of this institution to supersede; and 
 yet it is intended that this department shall 
 be the first to be opened as a necessary prep- 
 aration for the Collegiate. As private schools 
 adapt their teaching to prepare pupils for the 
 Collegiate department, this may have less im- 
 portance in the general scheme of instruc- 
 tion; yet the experience of other institutions 
 would indicate that a much larger number of 
 pupils will avail themselves of the academical 
 than of the full Collegiate course. 
 
 The Normal department will probably be a 
 leading feature as soon as established; the 
 demand for teachers, already everjrnrhere ap- 
 parent, must greatly increase, as the vast 
 Southern country is opened to their labors; 
 moreover, the spread of educational reform 
 is bringing about a higher appreciation of 
 the profession of teaching, and must call for 
 
NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOL. 59 
 
 a better class, both of talents and attain- 
 ments, in this, which Anthony Benezet 
 justly characterized as "the most exalted 
 duty a Christian mind can be engaged in." 
 
 Teaching has only recently been studied as 
 a science; yet the normal school begins to be 
 regarded as essential to the teacher for the 
 same reason as a medical school is to the 
 physician. He who would guide the child 
 needs to be acquainted not only with the 
 knowledge to be imparted, but how to im- 
 part it. He should make the faculties of the 
 mind his study, and should know how to 
 read not only the capacity of his pupil, but 
 those secret springs — the affections, the pas- 
 sions, and ruling desires — which supply the 
 motive-power to the intellect and give direc- 
 tion to the fcfrming character. 
 
 For the exercise of the more advanced 
 pupils in normal schools in the practice of 
 teaching, model schools are maintained. 
 These usually consist of classes engaged in 
 acquiring the rudiments of learning, whose 
 tuition is furnished them gratuitously, or at 
 
60 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 a moderate cost. By the establishment of 
 such a department, a certain number of or- 
 phan children and others whose circum- 
 stances render it necessary that they should 
 be placed from home when quite young, may 
 be economically educated up to the point of 
 entering the academical department. How 
 far it may accord with the future policy of 
 Swarthmore College to extend this depart- 
 ment, will depend upon circumstances. May 
 it not happen that some benevolently-disposed 
 Friend will, out of his abundance, provide a 
 home upon the delightful grounds of this 
 College for a suitable number of orphans, — so 
 generally recognized as objects of Christian 
 charity, — thus promoting, at the same time, 
 the efficiency of the Normal department? 
 
 The Collegiate department may be admira- 
 bly connected with the Normal — the branches 
 taught, with the exception of the theory and 
 practice of teaching, which might or might 
 not be included in the College curriculum, 
 may be the same in both, though it would 
 not, perhaps, be required of all graduates in 
 
INSTRUCTION FOR MOTHERS. 61 
 
 the Normal, to go through the complete course 
 in the Collegiate. Experience and a mature 
 consideration of the subject, by those engaged 
 as professors and teachers, when the institu- 
 tion is organized, will doubtless develop a 
 policy which cannot now be foreshadowed. 
 It is, however, to be desired that all students 
 who carry from this college its diploma, will 
 have learned so much of the art of teaching 
 as to make them more useful in communica- 
 ting the knowledge they have acquired than 
 is the case with young men generally, who 
 graduate at our colleges. "To do good and 
 communicate" should ever be the pleasure, 
 as it is duty, of those who have enjoyed the 
 advantages of a liberal education. 
 
 The peculiar advantage of such a course as 
 a well-directed Normal School would furnish 
 to young women, is obvious from the fact 
 that the large majority of these are destined 
 to rear children, and, in the exercise of this 
 highest duty, the knowledge of how to teach 
 removes them in a degree from the necessity 
 of sending away their offspring at a tender 
 
62 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 age to be trained by others who, whatever 
 qualifications they may possess, cannot be an- 
 imated by the tenderness and earnestness of 
 a mother, — the guardian and teacher ap- 
 pointed by Providence, in the order of nature, 
 to rear the coming generation. 
 
 Eelation of the Sexes at School. 
 
 It is confidently believed that the expe- 
 rience of Swarthmore College will be similar 
 to that of other institutions in which young 
 men and young women, at the age in which 
 they are pursuing the higher branches of 
 knowledge, are advantageously associated in 
 the lecture-room, the class-room, the lyceum, 
 at the table, and, with proper restrictions, in 
 the ordinary sports appropriate to college life. 
 The impression, with some, that such asso- 
 ciation would distract the mind from a due 
 attention to study, and lead to the frivolity 
 so deplored in ordinary society, is not justified 
 by the facts. The mental attrition of the 
 class-room is especially favorable to students 
 
PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 63 
 
 forming a just estimate of each other's capa- 
 city, and thus losing false ideas of perfection 
 in each other, the frequent smirce^oTromantic 
 attachments. Constantly subjected to artless 
 association and competition, they seldom 
 exhibit that unnatural constraint and coy- 
 ness which distinguish the unaccustomed in- 
 tercourse of boys and girls, when first thrown 
 together in what is called society; while, un- 
 der the constant supervision of teachers, any 
 exceptional instances of undue intimacy soon 
 become the subject of observation, and it may 
 be, of suitable admonition and interference. 
 
 The Scheme of Instruction. 
 
 It would be premature to sketch a plan of 
 instruction in the present stage of this enter- 
 prise, and it is only in answer to repeated 
 inquiries that I shall venture to state the 
 views of the managers as far as they have 
 been matured and found expression. It is 
 proposed to give greater prominence to the 
 physical, natural, and chemical sciences than 
 
64 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 is common in ordinary colleges. Science is 
 the key that unlocks the world we live in, 
 and unfolds to us the philosophy of our daily 
 pursuits. Our food, our clothing, our houses, 
 the methods of warming and ventilating, 
 the drainage and improvement of the land, 
 the cultivation of crops, the preservation of 
 health of ourselves and of the animals under 
 our care — are all legitimate scientific studies, 
 ministering to our comfort through life, and 
 guarding us against many popular errors 
 founded in ignorance and superstition. It is, 
 moreover, a direct result of scientific studies 
 to enlarge our conception of the wisdom and 
 goodness of the Creator, and to furnish innu- 
 merable and instructive parallels from the ex- 
 ternal universe illustrative of those sublime 
 spiritual truths, which are so admirably con- 
 veyed to the mind by comparison with objects 
 which are visible and tangible. 
 
 Oral and experimental instruction are espe- 
 cially aimed at in this connection. Nothing 
 so fastens the attention and impresses the 
 memory as a direct demonstration of a great 
 
NATURAL HISTORY. 65 
 
 truth by experiment. Every lecturer must 
 have observed how the most sluggish student, 
 who will fall asleep over books, and even 
 wander from a subject eloquently ^d co- 
 gently presented in words, will instantly 
 seize upon an experimental illustration, and 
 often comprehend it more fully than others 
 who might be considered far more appre- 
 ciative. Hence the importance of ample ap- 
 paratus for illustrating the facts of chemical 
 and physical science, which are opening to 
 philosophers, in our day, richer fields for dis- 
 covery than any heretofore presented in the 
 history of science. With a view, also, to 
 thorough acquaintance with practical chem- 
 istry, it is designed to establish a laboratory 
 in which the chemical class can be carried 
 through a course of analysis. 
 
 Natural history is also proposed to be 
 taught, and an extensive cabinet aimed at, 
 illustrative of every department of this study. 
 It is a subject of profound regret to many 
 thinkers in our country, that there is so little 
 for the people to see of the works of creation, 
 
 6* 
 
66 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 classified scientifically, and giving an idea of 
 the gradations by which every created thing 
 is linked into — 
 
 " One stupendous whole, 
 
 Whose body Nature is, and God the soul." 
 
 The beautiful grounds belonging to the 
 College will, it is hoped, be planted with a 
 great variety of trees, furnishing a study of 
 practical interest to those especially who are 
 so favored as to enjoy future opportunities 
 for country life. A garden of classified plants 
 would be quite practicable, and would be a 
 rare attraction in our country, besides fur- 
 nishing to the pupils an opportunity to become 
 practical botanists with a facility enjoyed by 
 none of their predecessors. It may be thought 
 that the managers are laying out plans which 
 none of them will probably live to execute, 
 but this should not discourage them from 
 working "while it is called day," trusting 
 that others may enter into their labors, and 
 that so desirable a consummation may be re- 
 alized by those who may come after them. 
 
THE PRINCIPLES OF MOKALITY. 67 
 
 It is not deemed necessary to speak at large 
 of the higher mathematics, the ground-work 
 of so much that is practical in science, and 
 a means of mental discipline universally re- 
 garded as in the highest degree important. 
 Nor of language, which, viewed as a science, 
 is one of the most profound that can claim 
 the attention of the human intellect. There 
 are capacities and tastes especially suited to 
 this study, and, as a means of disciplining 
 the mind, exercising the memory, and forming 
 the judgment, it is a necessary element in 
 our scheme of education; besides, the prac- 
 tical application of Latin and Greek to the no- 
 menclature of the sciences, and to a thorough 
 understanding of our own g-nd the other mod- 
 ern languages, makes an acquaintance with 
 them essential to a thorough student, — espe- 
 cially to one who is to teach others. 
 
 History, intellectual philosophy, the prin- 
 ciples of morality, as maintained by Friends, 
 which are confidently believed to be far in 
 advance of those ordinarily taught, will all be 
 subjects to be introduced into the course of 
 
68 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 instruction at Swarthmore College, as its 
 means increase, and the properly qualified 
 teachers are found. A caution rests on the 
 minds of the members of the Board to intro- 
 duce no unprofitable subjects of controversy 
 into this institution ; and it is their firm belief 
 that as solid and substantial learning is im- 
 parted upon subjects of practical interest, less 
 importance will be attached to visionary ideas, 
 and less interest felt in useless speculations. 
 
 Systems of education are now somewhat 
 in a transition state. Allusion has been made 
 in the Introduction to this essay to views 
 which have obtained among enlightened 
 Friends in the past, and which are advo- 
 cated by numerous writers in our time, look- 
 ing toward the introduction of the practical 
 element more prominently into advanced 
 systems of education. Our Government has 
 acted upon this idea in appropriating a large 
 amount of the public domain to the main- 
 tenance of schools in which theoretical and 
 practical science must be leading features. 
 The testing of the capacity of these to develop 
 
RATIONAL ENJOYMENTS. 69 
 
 a high intellectual culture fitted to the condi- 
 tions and requirements of American life, is pe- 
 culiarly a work of our day. In parting with 
 the aristocratic idea of an educated class, 
 should we not adopt the democratic idea of 
 an education open to all who have the talent 
 to avail themselves of it and adapted to pre- 
 pare men and women for the higher walks in 
 agriculture, the mechanic arts, trade, and 
 business of every kind, as well as for what 
 have been termed the learned professions ? 
 
 Far be it from me to restrict the idea of an 
 education to mere preparation for business; 
 no scheme of teaching deserves that name 
 which does not aim to prepare the pupil for 
 mental employments beyond the range of 
 practical life, to open channels of profitable 
 reflection and study leading to pure and ra- 
 tional enjoyment, embellishing and refining 
 the whole character and the life. Such an 
 education should be kept in view by every 
 parent who would qualify his children for 
 active usefulness and rational enjoyment, 
 and such, it is confidently believed, will be 
 
70 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 aimed at by those intrusted with framing the 
 future policy and superintending the manage- 
 ment of Swarthmore College. 
 
 Financial. 
 
 Various estimates have been made of the 
 cost of the required college buildings, but the 
 uncertainty in regard to the price of material 
 and labor makes it impossible to determine 
 this in advance. With a view to avail our- 
 selves of the anticipated decline in prices, 
 the contracts will, for the present, include 
 only portions of the building at a time, the 
 digging of cellars and laying foundations 
 during the present autumn, the erection of a 
 portion of the walls above ground in the 
 spring, and so forth, the intention being to 
 build such parts first as will avail for the 
 purposes of the Academical department. In 
 no event are all the buildings likely to cost 
 less than $200,000, and their furniture and 
 apparatus $50,000. Of this aggregate, about 
 $70,000 is now in hand. 
 
FUTURE SUBSCRIPTIONS. 71 
 
 There will be pressing necessity to push 
 the subscriptions vigorously to enable the 
 work to go on to speedy completion, but we 
 are encouraged by the experience of similar 
 institutions to believe that when built, Swarth- 
 more College will be a nucleus around which 
 much of the benevolence and public spirit of 
 the Society will gather, — that future dona- 
 tions and bequests will enable the managers 
 to enlarge the facilities for instruction at the 
 same time that they lower its cost and extend 
 its blessings to many who would otherwise be 
 deprived of it from want of means. 
 
 We necessarily postpone to the future the 
 opening of subscriptions toward the estab- 
 lishment of scholarships, giving education 
 and subsistence to meritorious pupils; to- 
 ward the creation and augmentation of an 
 ample library, to which valuable contribu- 
 tions of books have already been promised; 
 toward the collection of a museum of natural 
 history and art, and the purchase of astro- 
 nomical apparatus, none of which are in- 
 cluded in our present estimates. Our aim is 
 
72 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 to huild and open this College with the neces- 
 sary means of instruction as soon as possible. 
 
 We cannot doubt the abundant means 
 in the Society of Friends to erect and main- 
 tain any institution which the interests of 
 their children or of the Society demand. 
 There is wealth enough. Some individual 
 members could erect and endow this college 
 without abridging a single comfort of life, 
 and there are many who could well afford 
 subscriptions of such amounts as rapidly to 
 make up the fund required; and it may be 
 safely stated of Friends generally, that there 
 are few who could not afford to take one or 
 more shares in the stock. Add to this the 
 assistance proffered by some not in member- 
 ship, who desire an opportunity of aiding in 
 the good work, and anticipate sharing its 
 advantages, and we have every reason to 
 expect that success will attend the effort. 
 
 Friends have fewer calls upon their liberal- 
 ity in connection with the support of their re- 
 ligious institutions than others; they have no 
 clergy to support — ^no missionary enterprises 
 
TRUE VALTJE OF MONEY. 73 
 
 — their meeting-houses are plain, and require 
 little expenditure — their habits, as individ- 
 uals, are generally economical — their indus- 
 try and thrift almost proverbial, so that they 
 rarely fail to accumulate property. It is, in- 
 deed, in this habit of accumulation that one 
 of their chief snares lies hidden; "habit is 
 second nature," and it is often hard to un- 
 learn in later life what in youth was properly 
 held up as a virtue — the habit of saving. On 
 the other hand, no one who has not accus- 
 tomed himself to it knows the luxury of giv- 
 ing, and especially of seeing the fruits of his 
 bounty. 
 
 The uselessness of money to its possessor, 
 except to the extent of providing comforts 
 and means of rational enjoyment, and its 
 immense value when appropriated toward 
 the advancement and happiness of others, are 
 only fully apparent to such as have learned 
 how to administer their own estates for ob- 
 jects of real utility and beneficence. May it 
 not be said^ with truth, that only such realize 
 1 
 
74 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 the fullest enjoyment from wealth, or find it 
 promotive of their highest interests? 
 
 It is a common observation that many men 
 of large means have left estates to purposes of 
 public utility, whose benevolent intentions 
 have been inadequately carried out by those 
 intrusted with the disposal of their bequests; 
 and it seems to be a growing determination of 
 the benevolent to give, during their lifetime, 
 toward such objects as present themselves in 
 the light of public benefactions, discrimina- 
 ting according to their own judgment, and 
 themselves sharing in the pleasurable occu- 
 pation of appropriating their means. 
 
 The munificent donation of Matthew Vas- 
 sar for the establishment of a Female College 
 at Poughkeepsie, New York, already amount- 
 ing to several hundred thousands of dollars — 
 the recent ojffer of Ezra Cornell, of Ithaca, New 
 York, of half a million dollars and about 200 
 acres of land, for the establishment, with the 
 aid of funds appropriated to the State by the 
 U. S. Government, of a college to provide 
 instruction in such branches of learning as 
 
DUPLICATION OF SUBSCRIPTIONS. 75 
 
 are related to agriculture and the mechanical 
 arts; and the still more recent offer of a like 
 sum, by Asa Packer, a wealthy citizen of 
 Pennsylvania, toward a college to be located 
 in this State, all show an appreciation of the 
 value of education, and offer noble examples 
 to those who, as stewards over abundance 
 of this world's goods, must feel the responsi- 
 bility of giving an account of their steward- 
 ships. 
 
 While these considerations are respectfully 
 offered to the wealthy, with a cordial invitar- 
 tion to consider the claims of Swarthmore 
 College to their liberal contributions and be- 
 quests, the writer of this would close his ap- 
 peal by asking those who, like himself, are 
 still struggling toward a competence, to iden- 
 tify themselves with a movement promising 
 such permanent benefits to the children of 
 the present and future generations. Of the 
 money thus far subscribed, much the largest 
 part has come in subscriptions of less than 
 one hundred dollars. The managers look for 
 a general duplication of these subscriptions, and 
 
76 PROSPECTIVE. 
 
 ask that every individual interested in the 
 perpetuity of the Society of Friends, and in 
 the welfare of the children growing up under 
 its influence, shall become a stockholder in 
 Swarthmore College — the rich contributing 
 from their abundance — those in moderate cir- 
 cumstances in less amount — all according 
 to their means — to establish what we confi- 
 dently believe will be a great and obvious 
 blessing for ages to come. 
 
 An association embracing the young and 
 old, the farmer and citizen, the rich and those 
 in moderate circumstances, the progressive 
 and conservative, interesting all in an insti- 
 tution of real utility and practical advantage, 
 must of itself, have an important influence in 
 consolidating and perpetuating the Society in 
 whose interest it was organized, and creating 
 and diffusing a wholesome public spirit among 
 its members. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 An Act to incorporate Swarthmore College. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Bepre- 
 sentatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 
 General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted: That 
 James Martin, John M. Ogden, Ezra Michener, Mahlon 
 K. Taylor, Thomas Ridgway, James Mott, Dillwyn 
 Parrish, William W. Longstreth, William Dorsey, Ed- 
 ward Hoopes, William C. Biddle, Joseph Powell," Jo- 
 seph Wharton, John Sellers, Clement Biddle, P. P. 
 Sharpless, Edward Parrish, Levi K. Brown, Hugh 
 M Ilvain, Franklin Shoemaker, and their associates 
 and successors forever, be, and they are hereby made 
 and constituted a body politic and corporate, under the 
 corporate title of Swarthmore College, and under that 
 name shall have perpetual succession, and are hereby 
 empowered, and made capable in law, to purchase, take, 
 hold, and enjoy to them and their successors, lands, tene- 
 ments, and hereditaments, stock, goods, chattels, and 
 effects ; Provided, the clear annual value thereof shall 
 not exceed thirty thousand dollars, and to sell, demise, 
 convey, assure, transfer, and dispose of their estate, or 
 interest therein, and also to improve and augment, and 
 apply the same, with the rents, issues, profits, and in- 
 come thereof, to the purposes of their institution ; and 
 
78 APPENDIX. 
 
 the said corporation, by the name aforesaid, shall and 
 may sue, and be sued ; plead, and be impleaded ; an- 
 swer, and be answered ; defend, and be defended, in all 
 courts of law and equity, and shall have power to 
 make, have, and use a common seal, and the same to 
 change, alter, and renew at their pleasure, and also to 
 make and execute such by-laws, ordinances, and regu- 
 lations, not contrary to the laws and constitution of 
 this Commonwealth, as to them shall seem meet. 
 
 Section .2. That the said corporation be authorized 
 to establish and maintain a school and college, for the 
 purpose of imparting to persons of both sexes, knowl- 
 edge in the various branches of science, literature, and 
 the arts, and the board of managers shall have power to 
 confer upon the graduates of the said college, and upon 
 others, when, by their proficiency in learning, they may 
 be entitled thereto, such degrees as are conferred by 
 other colleges or universities in the United States. 
 
 Section 3. That the capital stock, of the said corpo- 
 ration, shall be fifty thousand dollars, divided into two 
 thousand shares of twenty-five dollars each, with the 
 privilege to increase the same, from time to time, .to a 
 sum not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, and 
 the said school or college may go into operation when 
 the sum of fifty thousand dollars has been subscribed, 
 and the stock shall be transferable in conformity with 
 the rules and by-laws of the corporation. The meet- 
 ings shall be held annually, twenty-five stockholders 
 shall form a quorum, and special meetings may be 
 called by the managers at their discretion, and notice 
 shall be given of the annual and special meetings of the 
 corporators, at least ten days previous to the time at 
 which they are to be held, by advertisement in three 
 
APPENDIX. 79 
 
 daily newspapers, one published in the City of New 
 York, one in the City of Philadelphia, and one in the 
 City of Baltimore ; the officers of the corporation shall 
 be two clerks, a treasurer, and thirty-two managers, all 
 of whom shall be members of the religious Society of 
 Friends, and shall be chosen by ballot from among the 
 stockholders at their annual meeting; but in case of 
 failure to elect the of&cers at the stated time, those in 
 office shall continue until others are chosen. The 
 clerks shall be ex-officio members of the Board of 
 Managers, and eleven members shall constitute a 
 quorum for the transaction of business. The govern- 
 ment and direction of the said school and college, the 
 appointment and employment of professors, and other 
 officers concerned therewith, and the general manage- 
 ment of the affairs of the College, shall be intrusted to 
 the Board of Managers, who shall have power to enact 
 such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the 
 constitution, and amendments thereto, adopted by the 
 corporators as they shall see fit. 
 
 (Signed) Henry C. Johnson, 
 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 John P. Penney, 
 
 Speaker of the Senate. 
 
 Approved the first day of April, A.D. 1864. 
 A. G. CuETiN, Governor. 
 
MANAGERS 
 
 OF 
 
 SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, 
 
 ELECTED 12th Mo. 6th, 1864. 
 
 William Dokset, 
 Isaac Stephens, 
 Joseph Powell, 
 Edwakd Hoopes, 
 Hugh M'Ilvain, 
 Clement Biddle. 
 
 Samuel Willets, 
 Samuel J. Undeehill, 
 Edward Mekritt, 
 John D. Hicks, 
 John G. Haviland, 
 Elwood Bordsall. 
 
 B. Rush Roberts, 
 Levi K. Brown, 
 Gerard H. Reese, 
 Thomas H. Mathews. 
 
 Dedorah F. Wharton, 
 Helen G. Longstreth, 
 Harriet E. Stooklt, 
 Rachel T. Jackson, 
 Phebe W. Foulke, 
 Letitia S. Cadwalader. 
 
 Hannah W. Hatdook, 
 Caroline Underhill, 
 Lydia S. Haviland, 
 Ann S. Dudley, 
 Eliza H. Bell, 
 Phebe M. Bunting. 
 
 Rebecca Turner, 
 ■Jane S. Townsend, 
 Mary L. Roberts, 
 Susan H. Jones. 
 
 Clerks. 
 Edward Parrish, Edith W. Atlee. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 Wm. Canbt Biddle. 
 
SPECIFICATION 
 
 of the workmanship and the materials to be used in 
 the erection of a new building for Swarthmore Col- 
 lege, Delaware County, Pa. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 The entire length of the building will be 348 feet, 
 with return wings of 92 feet each ; and consist of a 
 centre building sixty feet wide by 110 feet 8 
 inches deep, with wings extending from either side, 
 100 feet each by 44 feet wide ; the return wings will 
 also be 44 feet wide. These two latter wings will 
 each have towers on the inner flanks, built on a line 
 with the rear wall, made 11 feet in the clear. 
 
 An extension will be erected on the rear of the 
 centre building, 60 feet deep by 44 feet wide, for 
 kitchen. 
 
 The whole range of the building will be three 
 stories high, except the kitchen. 
 
 Heights of Stories. — The first story of the centre 
 building will be 16 feet 3 inches ; the second story 
 will be 15 feet 7J inches each from floor to floor ; 
 and the third story will be 15 feet in the clear. 
 
 The first and second stories of the wings will each 
 be 13 feet IJ inches from floor to floor ; and the 
 the third will be 10 feet in the clear. 
 
 The towers will be one story higher, and arranged" 
 for the water cistern. 
 
The centre building will be surmounted with a 
 dome, and the ends with cupolas at the junction of 
 the roofs of the wings. 
 
 The roof of the centre building will have 16 feet 
 pitch, and the wings 13 feet pitch. 
 
 For the general arrangement of the building, 
 reference is to be had to the plans, whereon all the 
 dimensions are figured, and the arrangement of the 
 divisions clearly explained. 
 
 EXCAVATION. 
 
 The cellar will be excavated beneath the whole 
 building, and will be eight feet deep in the clear 
 when finished; the foundation trenches will aill'be 
 one foot deeper ; a culvert will be run through the 
 entire building, and trenches for drain pipe, &;c., as 
 indicated by the cellar plan, upon which the depth, 
 •&c., is also given. 
 
 All outside foundations will be dug of suificient 
 depth for permanency, and to insure them against 
 danger from frost. 
 
 Coal and ice vaults will be excavated on the rear 
 or flanks of the kitchen, as may be directed. All the 
 earth will be graded around the buildings, as may be 
 directed, and properly levelled ofl". 
 
 MASONRY. 
 
 All the exterior walls of the building will be con- 
 structed of quarry building stone of good quality. 
 
 The foundation course must all be through stone, 
 well and solidly bedded in mortar. 
 
All the exterior -walls (except centre building, as 
 hereafter described,) will be faced with rttbble work, 
 laid in the best manner with well selected stone, 
 equal to a sample delivered on the ground, and 
 retained for that purpose. 
 
 The first story of the front of the centre building, 
 and the flanks, as far back as the wings, will be range 
 work with horizontal channelled joints ; and all above 
 the belting cornice of tlie same will be broken range, 
 evenly pointed ofiF. 
 
 All the base, sills, belts, ring stones, stilts and 
 springer stones, quoins, steps, platforms, cheek 
 blocks and porticos, and tablet in front pediment of 
 the centre building, and balusters in the archways of 
 the side passages, will be a^ed work, and set in the 
 best manner, and of the stone before mentioned ; and 
 all executed in accordance with the design and draw- 
 ings made to a large scale. 
 
 All the rubble-faced work ■v?ill be pointed in the 
 best manner, and of such shade as may be directed ; 
 and all interior facings will be smoothly dashed with 
 mortar. All the mortar for the masonry will be com- 
 posed of good clean sand and fresh lime well mani- 
 pulated. 
 
 All the walls that are represented on the plans by 
 the blue tint will be constructed with stone, and have 
 all their thicknesses figured on them. All the 
 exterior walls will require furring strips built in them, 
 about three feet apart, and one inch thick by four 
 inches wide, and in all cases levelled off to receive 
 them. 
 
BRICK WORK. 
 
 All the interior walls that are tinted red are in- 
 tended for brick, and will be constructed to the 
 various thicknesses indicated. The bricks all to be 
 of good quality, and laid with mortar composed of 
 clean sand and fresh lime. 
 
 All flues will be constructed as indicated, and as 
 may be directed during the progress of the work. 
 All to be built open face, and plastered smooth with 
 a white coat, with the fronts afterward covered with 
 double thickness of slate, with a coat of hair mortar 
 between them. All flues will be topped out above 
 the roof, as indicated, with smooth stone laid in 
 cement ; the inside above the roof will be pargetted 
 with cement. 
 
 A large flue will be constructed at the rear end of 
 lecture room, two feet in diameter, (round or octagon,) 
 and finished with smooth brick on the inside 
 throughout, and capped with stone laid in cement. 
 
 The division walls across the wings near the main 
 building will be carried up solid to the slating of 
 the roof. The openings of these walls will require 
 iron sliding doors on each floor, with stone or iron 
 sills and heads. The culvert, through the entire 
 length of the building, will be constructed with 
 brick, two feet six inches by two feet in the clear, 
 egg shape, and formed with a nine-inch shell made of 
 double courses of hard brick. The outer course will 
 be laid in good mortar, and the inner one in cement, 
 with a coating of cement between them. All other 
 
brick work, as indicated by the plans, and that is 
 necessary for the construction , of the buiWing, must 
 be provided, and be of good quality. All the ne- 
 cessary prepaTrations to be made for the iron doors 
 in the fire-proof walls, under the contract for enclos-' 
 ing the building, but no doors included. 
 
 CAEPENTER WORK. 
 
 The joists of all the floors in the wings, and all 
 the corridors of the centre building, and those for 
 the dining-room floor, and the kitchen, with its 
 appendages, will be 3" x 10", and the front rooms of 
 the centre building will be 3" x 12" ; those for the 
 lecture room will be 3" x 14", and those in the labo- 
 ratory and throughout that story will be 3" x 12" ; 
 all to be placed 16 inches between centres, and all 
 backed and solidly blocked up on the walls, over the 
 whole surface of their bearings. All trimmers, where 
 more than one tail-joist is required, will be double, 
 pinned together and through-tenoned and pinned. 
 All joists that are more than ten feet long will 
 require a course of lattice bridging through the 
 middle; those for the lecture room will require two 
 courses to each tier, and will require a one-inch 
 tension rod along each tier ; those over the kitchen 
 will also have two tiers, but no tension rods. 
 
 All lintels to be placed upon their edges, and 
 made, in all cases, the width of the walls inside the 
 ring stones. 
 
 Hoof. — The roof of the centre building wUl be 
 constructed with eight principal rafters; the tie 
 
beams, rafters and camber beams of which will be 
 8 X 14 inches ; the four that support the dome will 
 be strengthened with double rafters and camber 
 beams. T^he construction of the rafters, together 
 With the dome, is clearly explained by drawings 
 made to a large scale for them, which also indicate 
 the bolts, straps and joint heads. The braces for 
 the rafters will be 6 x 6 inches. All the timbers for 
 the dome have the dimensions figured on them. The 
 rafters for the wings will be constructed with tie 
 beams, rafters and camber beams, 6 X 12 inches, and 
 one over every pier, or seven to each of the four 
 wings, and three on the extension rear of centre 
 building, making a total of thirty-one of this kind. 
 
 The purlins will all be 4 x 10 inches, and the 
 common rafters 3x5, and placed two feet apart; 
 lookout joists will be framed into string pieces, all 
 3 X 10 inches. The lookouts will be two feet apart, 
 and the string pieces will be secured to the principals. 
 
 The roofs will all be boarded over closely with 
 well-seasoned boards, and prepared for. slating. All 
 the cornices, and the exterior finish of the dome and 
 cupolas, have drawings prepared to a large scale for 
 them, and finished accordingly. The cornice over 
 the alcoves next to the centre building will be of 
 iron ; all the others will be wood. 
 
 G-allery. — The gallery front will' be trussed with 
 two 6"xl2" beams and the requisite bolts and 
 braces, and the flooring joists to be set on a level 
 with the third story corridor, and the joists of the 
 same size. 
 
Window Fr.amei. — All the window frames except 
 the dormers will be made for sash If inches thick, 
 double hung with best sham axle pullies and patent 
 cord ; the sills will all be four inch and the frames 
 will be plank face, a double thickness of one inch 
 each, with a large moulding planted on the outer 
 face, all of walnut or heart-pine, as hereafter di- 
 rected. All exposed wood must be clear stufiF, and 
 all made with square heads on the inside. The two 
 frames in Carving room will extend to the floor, with 
 bottom sash to fly up into the head. The dormer 
 windows will all be constructed for 1| sash, double hung 
 with weights and pullies. The dormers will otherwise 
 be finished according to the drawings made for them. 
 
 All the outer doors will have rough frames built in 
 the walls to receive the work of the finished frames. 
 
 All the cellar windows will have sash one and a 
 half inches thick, hung to a narrow casing with loose 
 joint butts, and secured shut with small bolts. 
 
 Slatinhg.-^KS^. the roofs, except the porticos, dome 
 and cupolas, will be covered with the best Peach 
 Bottom slate, not exceeding 9 x 18 inches, and laid 
 on felt, with three inches overlap, and secured with 
 iron nails galvanized or boiled in oil. 
 
 All the gutters and valleys will be laid with the 
 best two cross-tin, painted on both sides; the top 
 side to have three coats of slate color. All flushings, 
 ridge tin, &c., will be of the same quality, and 
 painted in like manner; as well as conductors, 
 which will be 4J inches and properly secured „in 
 
8 
 
 place, with eave pipe, &c., the bottom section will be 
 iron, and connect with the culverts. Paint as directed. 
 
 All drains within the building will be iron or vitri- 
 fied pipe, and of the several sizes as figured upon 
 them on the cellar plan. 
 
 The roofs of the dome and cupolas, will be covered 
 with the same tin as above described, as also the 
 weatherings a,nd cornices, including the cornice across 
 the pediments of the building. The porch roofs will 
 be of the same material and painted in like manner, 
 with conductors to carry the water ofi". 
 
 All the joints of the wood work in the cupola and 
 cornice will be white-leaded before put together, and 
 all the exterior wood work must have one coat of 
 paint, to be followed up as the work is completed, 
 done with the best white lead and linseed oil. 
 
 Four iron columns will be required in the dining 
 room, of neat pattern, with cap and base, and about 
 eight inches in diameter, fluted, and supported on 
 piers built in the cellar, capped with a block of stone 
 dressed to a perfect bed to receive the base*- 
 
 Ceiling joistg. — :The ceiling joists will all be 2_^x8 
 inches and sixteen inches between centres, and cross- 
 lathed with shingling lath. The ceilings of the din- 
 ing room, kitchen and large rooms in centre building 
 will also be cross-lathed ; these will be nailed on di- 
 agonally at an angle of about 45° 
 
 All the exterior walls will be furred with shingling 
 
 * The estimates for enclosing the building will include all 
 the work specified up to this point. 
 
9 
 
 lath 16 inches between centres, and nailed to the 
 furring strips. All partitions that are wood will be 
 set with 3x4 inch studding, 16 inches between 
 centres, and well secured top and bottom ; part of 
 these partitions will be constructed with closets in 
 them about seven feet six inches high, neatly capped 
 and moulded. The backs will be boarded with mill- 
 worked boards, smooth upon the inside and rough 
 without, and fitted up with a drawer, shelf and pin-rail, 
 all of well selected boards, to be smoothed and oiled. 
 
 Flooring. — All the floor will be laid with the best 
 Carolina pine, IJ inch thick, narrow, well seasoned, 
 and mill-worked, and smoothed off after laid. 
 
 Boors. — The front doors to the center building will 
 be folding, 2J inches thick, double thickness, screwed 
 together and paneled, with large mouldings on the 
 outer face, and bead and butt on the inner, hung with 
 5x5 inch butts, three to each door, and secured with 
 a seven inch upright mortise rebate lock, and two iron 
 plate flush bolts. The frame will be cased in the wall, 
 and made with head-light over it. 
 
 All the other exterior doors will be two inches 
 thick, panelled, and' moulded on the outer face, and 
 bead and butt on the inner; all to be hung with 4x4 
 inch butts, and those that are folding will be secured 
 with rebate locks, and iron plate flush bolts. The 
 single doors will have plain^mortise locks. All these 
 frames will be cased in the walls, and finished with 
 head lights over them. 
 
 The inner doors to all the rooms will be If inches 
 
10 
 
 thick, six panels, witli half inch ovolo mouldings 
 worked on the solid, and raised panel. 
 
 All the inner door jambs will be two inches thick, 
 rebated five-eighths deep for the door, and sunk on 
 the face, with a half inch ovolo moulding worked on 
 the solid, with cross rails, top and bottom. The 
 jambs will be let into the floor a half inch and securely 
 nailed to the wall plugs; all those to the students 
 rooms will be made with head lights over them. 
 
 Dressings. — All dressings to the doors in wings 
 will be three inches plain mouldings. The washboard 
 in corridors of same will be five inches wide, tongued 
 into a 2 J inch sub, 1 J inch thick, and a 1 J inch moul- 
 ding planted on the top, making in all nine inches 
 wide. The washboard in the rooms will be four 
 inches wide, with IJ inch moulding, and no sub. 
 
 The windows will be finished with plank sills with 
 moulded facia, and corner beads for plastered jambs, 
 finished back, sufficient to receive inside shutters, 
 should they be needed. The jambs of the front of the 
 first and second stories of the centre building and 
 wings will have panels, and finished with inside shut- 
 ters, one inch thick, bead and biitt, four panels, cut 
 in the middle, and hung and secured as is usual for 
 such shutters, and folded into soffits fornved in the jambs 
 to receive them. The dressings to the windows and 
 doors within the same rooms will be six inches wide ; 
 the washboard will correspond with that in the corri- 
 dor of wings. 
 
 The lecture room will be finished similar to the 
 rooms last described, except there will be no shutters. 
 
11 
 
 The dining and carving room -will be finished 
 similar to the dormitories in the wings, except the 
 washboard in dining room will match that in the hall. 
 
 The wash rooms will all be wainscotted, four feet six 
 inches high, with chestnut or yellow pine boards, nar- 
 row, mill- worked, and beaded joints, neatly capped. 
 
 The water closets will be wainscotted, seven feet 
 high, with divisions the same height. These will be 
 smooth, oiled, beaded on both sides, and also capped. 
 
 The doors to the divisions will be chestnut or yellow 
 pine, made four panels, bead and butt, and hung eight 
 inches above the floor with suitable butts, and secured 
 with proper fastenings. The seats will be fitted up 
 with plank risers and hinged lids. 
 
 The closet doors in dormitories will be 1 J inch thick, 
 six panels, and match the room doors on one face, 
 and plain raised panels on the other. These will be 
 hung with 3x3 inch butts, and secured, shut with 
 closet locks. (These closets are described under the 
 head of partitions.) All other closets will be properly 
 fitted up and shelved where needed, also the store 
 room in kitchen. 
 
 The kitchen will require dish closets fitted up for 
 that purpose, and slides for passing dishes through to 
 the carving room, hung with weights, to fly up into 
 the head. 
 
 The carving room and dining room will be fitted up 
 with dressers. Those in carving room will have 
 dwarf doors, panelled top and bottom, and drawers in 
 the middle, with two nests extending to the floor. All 
 
12 
 
 to have proper fastenings, &c. The dish closets in 
 the dining room will be shelved and fitted up in the 
 usual way, and also those in the carving room. 
 
 Stairs. — All the stairways, except the iron stair- 
 ways between the wings and centre building, will be 
 constructed with heart-pine step boards, IJ inch thick, 
 of best quality, with one inch yellow pine risers, 
 tongued, glued, and blocked to the risers, and let into 
 the wall string. • The rails will be moulded, 4J 
 by 2i inches, to the principal flights with 2\ inch 
 balusters, and 10 inch newels, turned ; the others will 
 be Z\ inches by 2J and 2J inch balusters, with seven 
 inch newels, turned ; the newels and rails will be wal. 
 nut, and the balusters butternut wood. 
 
 The first flight will be enclosed with a panel span- 
 drel, with door, &c. ; the cellar flight will be constructed' 
 as is usual, and located as indicated by the plans. 
 
 The steps in the extension rear of centre building 
 will be constructed in the ordinary way, and have a 
 flight to the cellar beneath them. 
 
 Attic rooms will be finished in the return wings for 
 dormitories, baggage rooms, and infirmary, with flights 
 of stairs continued up, according to the drawings now 
 made. 
 
 The glass screens in the side passages, and in -the 
 center building, will be finished according to draw- 
 ings made to a large scale for them. 
 
 Plastering, Painting, Glazing, Plumbing, &;c., will 
 be provided fpr in future specifications.