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MASTER ANDREWS. 
 
HISTORY OF 
 
 THE 
 
 BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 1821-1907. 
 
 BY 
 
 LEAH L. NICHOLS-WELLINGTON. 
 
 CLASS OF 1846. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 MANCHESTER, N. H. 
 
 THE RUEMELY PRESS. 
 19 12. 
 
TO THE MEMORY OF THE TEACHERS AND PUPILS 
 OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL, 
 
 WHO HAVE PASSED TO THE HIGHEST SCHOOL, 
 
 WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF WHAT 
 
 THEIR LIFE WORK ACCOMPLISHED, 
 
 THIS HISTORY IS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 TO THE PRESENT CORPS OF TEACHERS, 
 AND TO THE ALUMNAE, 
 
 SCATTERED "AFAR, BUT NOT APART," 
 
 SHE SENDS LOVING GREETINGS. 
 
 AT THE YEARLY REUNIONS, SOME WILL BE MISSING, BUT, 
 
 " 'Twill be sweet, as year by year, we lose 
 Friends out of sight, in faith to muse, 
 How grows in Paradise our store." 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When this work was commenced, the thought was to 
 make a slight sketch of the first quarter of a century of the 
 Bowdoin School, which ended in 1846, and would interest 
 the oldest graduates, by refreshing their memories of 
 school-days, and enlighten the latest graduates, by showing 
 them the vast difference between the old and the new. As 
 this method left fully a third of the administration of 
 Masters Andrews and Robinson untold, the work was con- 
 tinued to 1871, a half-century; then, an earnest request 
 from the graduates of the last thirty-six years, has caused 
 the continuance of the work to 1906, June 25, the day of 
 the last graduation. 
 
 Many serious difficulties were met with; the first, it 
 was almost impossible to find out about the school during 
 its first ten years, when boys attended; the second, there 
 are no records of the school earlier than 1854; the third, 
 at least a third, and the most trying part of the work, was 
 hunting up information, so that pictures of the principals 
 could be used in illustrating the book. 
 
 I thank many of the graduates for the interesting ma- 
 terial they sent in. No names have been given, except to 
 valedictories and poems. Miss Sarah E. Adams, Class '46, 
 and Miss Fannie B. Gridley, Class '66, gave me much as- 
 sistance; also Mrs. Hannum of Cambridge, Mrs. Emerson 
 of Milton, Mrs. Hutchins of Memphis, Tenn., none of them 
 connected with the Bowdoin School in any way, gave me 
 much and important help. I also extend thanks to Mr. 
 Alonzo Meserve, principal, Miss S. Frances Perry, and es- 
 pecially to Miss Eudora E. W. Pitcher, teachers, in the 
 
 Bowdoin. 
 
 L. N. W. 
 
 March i, 1907. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. Boston Schools to 1821 1 
 
 II. Derne-Street Building 7 
 
 III. Studies and Discipline 12 
 
 IV. Arrangement of Classes 16 
 
 V. Masters Andrews and Robinson 19 
 
 VI. Attendance 25 
 
 VII. Anecdotes and Valedictory, 1840 28 
 
 VIII. Funeral of President Harrison 35 
 
 IX. School Life in 1846 41 
 
 X. Graduation of 1846 44 
 
 XI. Removal to Masonic Temple 55 
 
 XII. Introduction of Cochituate Water 60 
 
 XIII. Reminiscences 68 
 
 XIV. Incidents and Valedictory of 1865 77 
 
 XV. City Medals, Reunion of 1873 85 
 
 XVI. School-Life From 1880 to 1889 93 
 
 XVII. Dedication of New Building 99 
 
 XVIII. Comparison of Old and New Methods 110 
 
 XIX. Sketches of Masters 117 
 
 XX. Sketches of Masters and Boys 125 
 
 XXI. Sketches of Teachers and Pupils 133 
 
 XXII. Sketches of Teachers and Pupils 142 
 
 XXIII. Alumnae Association; Graduation of 1906 152 
 
 Poem— "To Our Alma Mater." 158 
 
 List of Gifts to the School 161 
 
 List of Teachers 162 
 
 List of the Boys of 1812 165 
 
 List of Franklin Medal Pupils 166 
 
 List of City Medal Pupils 169 
 
 Partial List of Graduates 176 
 
A SIMPLE GREETING SONG. 
 
 Tune — "Murmur Gentle Lyre." — Loiuell Mason. 
 
 Recall Bowdoin School days, 
 We went hand in hand, 
 
 Seeking Learning's fair ways, 
 Happy, earnest band ! 
 
 Greeting, kindly greeting, for all gathered here; 
 
 Fill the moments fleeting, with true, gladsome cheer. 
 
 Rapidly the time passed, 
 
 Studies blent with play; 
 Gladly performed each task, 
 
 Teachers to obey. — Chorus. 
 
 When school hours were ended, 
 
 With fun, shout and glee, 
 Homeward each one wended, 
 
 Joyous to be free. — Chorus. 
 
 When we passed our school days, 
 
 Our life work we sought, 
 Tried to prove in all ways, 
 
 For the Truth we wrought. — Chorus. 
 
 May Bowdoin's beacon ray. 
 
 Be a guiding star, 
 Pointing to the true way, 
 
 Lest we stray afar. — Chorus. 
 
 When we've dropped life's passions, 
 
 At our Master's call, 
 In His many mansions, 
 
 Be we, gathered, all. — Chorus. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THIS history commences with an account of the Boston 
 Public Schools, before Boston became a city. The 
 Eliot^School is the oldest grammar school; it was founded 
 in 1713, at North Bennett street; it was also the first 
 school where the reading and writing departments were in 
 the same building. The second school, Franklin, on Wash- 
 ington street, was built in 1717. 
 
 In a town meeting held October 20, 1789, the first 
 school-committee was appointed and organized as a school- 
 board. Schools had been started and conducted in various 
 districts of the town, with no special laws concerning them 
 collectively. The various committees, annually elected, 
 having full powers. The school board was always formed of 
 men of the best minds and education and generally of wealth, 
 willing that money should be spent liberally for the best good 
 of the schools, as the people of those days understood what 
 would be for the best for the education of their children; they 
 visited the schools frequently, keeping themselves well in- 
 formed of the smallest as well as the largest details. 
 
 In 1792 an attempt was made to change the methods 
 of studies in the schools. Four mercantile gentlemen peti- 
 tioned for "more arithmetic and writing and less of other 
 
I HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 studies for the boys." The masters, by the order of the com- 
 mittee, met the four petitioners, who reported: "We are 
 satisfied with the explanation of the masters," and the old 
 method was continued. The subject of the kind and quan- 
 tity of work to be done in the schools was often debated by 
 the committee and slight changes were made about every 
 two years. Girls were admitted into public schools in 1789. 
 
 In 1790 Benjamin Franklin, who for a short time at- 
 tended the Boston Latin school a little more than a cen- 
 tury before, died, leaving a sum of money to Boston; he 
 remembered with gratitude those two years of instruction. 
 His will states: "I was born in Boston, New England, and 
 owe my first instruction in literature to the free gram- 
 mar schools established there; I, therefore, give one hun- 
 dred pounds sterling to my executors to be by them, the 
 survivors or survivor of them, paid over to the managers or 
 directors of the free schools of my native town of Boston, 
 to be by them or those persons or person who shall have 
 superintendence of the said schools, put out to interest for- 
 ever, which interest shall be laid out in six silver medals 
 and given as honorary rewards annually by the directors of 
 said free schools, belonging to the said town, for the en- 
 couragement of scholarship, in such a manner as the dis- 
 cretion of the selectmen of said town shall deem meet." 
 In 1792 the first medals were given out. In reading the 
 will, one notices that the word boys is not used; the money 
 was left for "the encouragement of scholarship" in the 
 free schools. At first, medals were given only to boys, 
 but in a few years parents and committee felt that girls, 
 as well as their brothers, should be recompensed for good 
 scholarship. Medals for boys are called "Franklin Medals," 
 and those for girls, "City Medals." 
 
 In 1800 there were six public grammar schools, three 
 for girls and three for boys in the town. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 6 
 
 Sometime before 1815 the system of two principals, 
 with equal power, had been started; part of the boys at- 
 tended the reading department mornings, while the other 
 part attended the writing department, for one week; the 
 next week they exchanged, thus alternating during the 
 school year. This was necessary on account of the two 
 half-holidays each week, which were at first Thursday, 
 afterwards Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. 
 
 The school hours were from 7:30 until 11 a. m. and 
 from 2 to 5 p. m., from the third day of April until the 
 third day of October; then from 8:30 to 12 m. and from 
 2 to 4:30 p. m., from the third day of October to the third 
 day of April. Holidays were Fast, Thankgiving, first 
 Monday in June, election day, Fourth of July, Christmas 
 and general training days, when masters and ushers were 
 obliged to attend military duty. School was opened each 
 day by the masters reading a passage of Scripture and 
 leading in prayer, and closed in a similar manner. 
 
 In this year the committee order, that "females be in- 
 structed to write a larger hand." 
 
 In 181 5 there was a legal meeting of the inhabitants 
 of Boston, held in Faneuil Hall. The town proceeded to 
 the choice of a school committee, when the following named 
 gentlemen were chosen: Rev. Charles Lowele, Rev. Hosea 
 Holly, Rev. Samuel Cary, Aaron Dexter, M. D., Thomas 
 Welch, M. D., John C. Warren, M. D., Charles Davis, James 
 Heard, Jr., Peter Thacher, William Smith, Francis Cliver 
 and William Wells, Esq. It was voted that: "The above 
 gentlemen, who, conjointly with the Selectmen, are termed 
 the School Committee, be and are directed to carry out the 
 system of Education adopted by the Town, authorized and 
 empowered, conjunctly, to manage and regulate the Gov- 
 ernment of the Schools, and to execute all the process re- 
 lative to the schools and School Masters, which the Select- 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 men and such Committee, are authorized by the Laws of 
 the Commonwealth or by the acts of the Town, to execute." 
 
 In 1816 all the masters and ushers were reappointed, 
 "They behaving themselves to the satisfaction of the Com- 
 mittee." The public examinations and exhibitions were reg- 
 ulated by a "sub-committee, consulting with the masters." 
 Each sub-committee took the public exhibition of one school 
 under their care, " doing the best for the public good." 
 
 Examinations were held on the days of the exhibitions, 
 when the Franklin medals were given out. At the first 
 meeting of the sub-committees after exhibition day, each 
 master was given the opinion of the committee respecting 
 the progress of his school. 
 
 In 1817 a petition was presented from a number of in- 
 habitants, who were engaged in superintending and sup- 
 porting Sunday schools: "For the instruction and discipline 
 of such children as would otherwise be idle, and wasting 
 their time on the streets" for the use of the public school 
 buildings. The gentlemen associated for this purpose were 
 allowed to make use of the school houses in School and 
 Mason streets, from 8 to 10 a. m., and from 1 to 
 1.30 p. m., on Sundays; the masters were to deliver the 
 keys to any one appointed by the gentlemen to take charge 
 of the schools. 
 
 In 1819 it was decided that "boys would attend the year 
 round and girls from the twentieth of April until the 
 twentieth of October and they could attend the schools 
 alternately at such times and subject to such changes as 
 the visiting committee, with the masters, shall approve." 
 "The masters and ushers of the reading and writing schools 
 were continued in their stations — they having behaved 
 themselves to the satisfaction of the Committee." 
 
 The salaries of the masters were to be $1,000 with the 
 grant of $200; the salaries of the ushers were $500 with a 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 5 
 
 grant of $100. In 1800 the salaries for the masters had 
 been $600 with #200 grant, and that of the ushers $300 
 with $100 grant. No explanation could be found why a 
 set salary was not given; it might have been the grant was 
 a contingent one, depending upon the quality of the in- 
 structor's work, or to insure their remaining the whole 
 year. 
 
 The chairman of each sub-committee was asked to 
 make inquiries respecting the perquisites of the instructors 
 from private tuition and the hours they devoted to their 
 pupils. As a result of the inquiries, it was decided: "No 
 master or usher of the public schools can, after 1819, keep 
 private schools, of any description, earlier than six o'clock 
 in the evening and that any master or usher violating this 
 regulation, should be considered to have vacated his office." 
 
 In this year, 18 19, twenty-five fire buckets were placed 
 in each of the front entries of six schools of the town to be 
 "kept for the public benefit." 
 
 In this year the South reading and writing schools 
 were united and given the name of Franklin; one of these 
 was the Franklin, founded in 1717. Mr. James Robinson 
 was appointed usher. 
 
 April 25th, 1820, a committee was chosen to report 
 upon the site for a new school house, later a committee was 
 chosen "to obtain on the best possible terms, the land that 
 may be wanted in addition to that now owned by the 
 Town, and contract, and erect a new school house, in con- 
 formity with the Report of the Committee and the vote of 
 the Town on that subject. Gentlemen chosen: Mr. Jona- 
 than Loring, Samuel A. Wells, Henry J. Cliver, Messrs. 
 Williams and Childs." 
 
 In 1821 Boston became a city; in that year the Bowdoin 
 School was started for boys primarily, but girls were admit- 
 ted from the first on half-time. Medals were voted to girls. 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 The first English High School was started for boys, (in 
 182 1) who occupied the upper story of the new Derne-Street 
 building; while a building was being erected for them on 
 Pinckney Street. In this year James Robinson's Elements 
 of Arithmetic by questions and answers were introduced 
 into the third and fourth classes of the public schools. 
 Mr. Warren Pierce, Preceptor of Milton Academy, was 
 elected master, and Samuel Adams usher of the reading 
 department; Mr. John Belcher was elected master and Mr. 
 Barnabas Whitney usher of the writing department of the 
 new school, called Derne-Street school. Mr. Pierce died 
 the first year and Mr. Abraham Andrews, who had been 
 conducting a private school in Charlestown, succeeded him. 
 Derne street was named after the city of Derne, which was 
 "stormed in 1805 by General Eaton at the head of nine 
 Americans, forty Greeks and a motley array of Turks and 
 Arabs, and which was one of those feats of hardihood and 
 daring which have in all ages attracted the admiration of 
 the multitude." By this deed many American and English 
 sailors were freed after years of terrible sufferings as slaves 
 to the Moors. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The name of the first building of the Derne-Street 
 School was changed, May nth, 1824, by the committee, to 
 Bowdoin, in honor of Governor Bowdoin. It was on the 
 south west corner of Temple and Derne streets, fronting 
 the latter, and was three stories high above the basement, the 
 latter being much higher on Derne street than on the back, 
 on account of the steep slope of Temple street. There 
 were seven large windows the length of the building on 
 both sides, and on the front there were three; the building 
 was a little less than three-fifths as wide as long. Looking 
 up Temple street the dome of the State House could be 
 seen on the top of Beacon Hill, but at that time the dome 
 was not golden as now, glittering in the sun. 
 
 The main entrance of the building was in the centre 
 of the Derne street front, facing Derne street at the left; cor- 
 ner of Temple and Derne streets was "a watch-house for the 
 detention of people taken up in the night;" at the right of 
 the main entrance was an engine room, Engine No. 6, 
 Hero. The main entrance was not used for daily school 
 purposes; it was supposed to be for exhibition days and 
 visitors, but none of the oldest graduates, whom I have met, 
 can recall seeing it used on any such occasions. One of 
 the oldest, if not, the oldest graduate now living, who attend- 
 ed the school from 1825 to 1829, said that the boys' entrance 
 was on Derne street and they had a separate flight of stairs 
 from the girls, who always entered from Temple street. 
 Since 1830 all graduates seem to agree that they never saw 
 the main entrance used on exhibition days, and there was no 
 visible connection between it and the stairs leading to the 
 
 7 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 school rooms. The school records give "1830, an altera- 
 tion in the Bowdoin building, made according to plans, 
 subject to change by Council." As it was in 1830 that the 
 boys were sent to the Mayhew and Mason schools, the 
 alterations probably took away the extra flight of stairs. 
 
 The two large rooms were very large and well lighted; 
 those on one side, overlooking Temple street, on the 
 opposite side overlooking a large play-ground, nicely paved, 
 with a brick-walk around a centre plot of grass, in which 
 was a wooden pump with its tin dippers, the whole sur- 
 rounded by a high brick wall, with a stone caping. At the 
 end of the rooms, there were three windows overlooking 
 Derne street. There were no toilet rooms, no recitation 
 rooms. Each room was heated by an immense grate for 
 coal in the middle of the entrance end, and in one corner of 
 the opposite end a very large stove of cast and sheet iron, 
 reaching perhaps within two feet of the ceiling, well sur- 
 rounded by high zinc lined boards, making a small room. 
 
 I never saw a janitor around the building; but upon 
 the school records of Boston found this item: "September 
 12, 1830, the sub-committee of the girls' schools were 
 authorized to procure suitable persons to make the fires 
 during the season for them and at the public expense." It 
 must have required a large amount of coal to be daily car- 
 ried over two or three flights of stairs, long and steep. 
 
 There was a raised platform running the length of the 
 room on one side, with desks upon it; the first desk from 
 the entrance door was a large, double one, with a big 
 wooden arm-chair for the master and a rail on one side, 
 giving him somewhat of an exclusive air; beyond him were 
 three single desks, for the assistant teachers. On the op- 
 posite side of the room and on one end were seven platforms, 
 on each a small desk, standing on high, slim legs, overlooking 
 divisions of pupils; from 1838, and it might be earlier, when 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 9 
 
 monitors were introduced, these desks (considered honorary 
 seats) were for the best seven scholars of the highest class, 
 the scholars changing monthly, according to the record- 
 book. Perhaps the following extracts from the school-board 
 records may throw some light upon the first use to which 
 they were put and also in some degree explain the second 
 system of teachers, called monitorial, used in the public 
 schools: "February 12, 1828. Decided that when ushers 
 resign, their places should not be filled, and an extra pay 
 given to the master who decides to go on without an usher." 
 February 28. — That the mutual or monitorial method be 
 tried in two schools. The Boylston boys' school and the 
 Bowdoin girls' school were selected for the experiment, also 
 money was appropriated to make some necessary alterations. 
 
 There were four divisions of seats for the pupils, eight 
 rows with seven seats to a row; the desks were long ones, 
 extending across each row, divided by partitions into seven 
 spaces, and did not have covers that could be raised, but were 
 simply open on the front, next to the pupils. At first the 
 seats were simply circular stools, without backs, fastened 
 to the floor; in 1835 backs were provided. 
 
 It was at the beginning of the school year, September, 
 1829, that Misses Mary A. Murdock and Elizabeth Lincoln, 
 medal graduates in 1828, were elected teachers, at $50 per 
 year. I could find no definite description of the monitorial 
 system, nor when it ceased, but a general idea, gathered 
 from the records of the debate of the School Board, seemed 
 to indicate that it was used effectively in the schools of 
 some other city, and that it would be well for the city of 
 Boston to use economy in her expenditures, and here was 
 a great opportunity to try an experiment, successful else- 
 where; so it was voted to try the experiment, but by the 
 caution of some of the Board, it was to be tried only in two 
 sehools. So instead of electing teachers at a fair salary, two 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 were chosen for the Bowdoin, who, seated at the before 
 mentioned small desks, could oversee the pupils, while the 
 teachers were attending to the recitations. 
 
 The desks of teachers and pupils were plain wood, 
 painted a dark green, the chairs for visitors and teachers 
 were plain wooden ones, such as are now called kitchen 
 chairs; in the writing-room, on the wall, in one corner, was 
 a small black-board; in the reading-room, was a movable 
 one, about three feet square; the walls of the rooms were 
 simply whitewashed. 
 
 In 1844, alterations were made in the building, during 
 the summer vacation, which lasted six weeks, instead of the 
 usual three weeks. The addition made to the building 
 took a large piece of the play-ground, where the entrance 
 from Temple street was. A small square room at the 
 right of the fire place was added to the writing-room, 
 overlooking the play-yard. At the left of the fire place in 
 the reading-room, was another square room overlooking 
 Temple street. Long, narrow wooden benches, fastened 
 to the walls surrounding three sides of these rooms, and a 
 small table and chairs, constituted the furniture. There 
 was a little flurry of excitement when a tiny, cheap mirror 
 was discovered one morning, hanging upon the wall of the 
 reading recitation-room. 
 
 In the writing recitation-room, on the side overlooking 
 the stairway, was a small square window, so whoever passed 
 down from the reading room, could see into the room, and 
 it was quite amusing to the pupils who might be in the 
 room, whenever Master Andrews passed and looked in, for 
 as he had a large head, his face about filled the window 
 frame. An extra room had been fitted up in the basement 
 over which Miss Murdock presided. There were no 
 arrangements for garments, and they continued to be hung 
 on three tiers of hooks, between the windows around the 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 11 
 
 room. Umbrellas were hung with the garments and over- 
 shoes of rubber-gum lay on the floor beneath. As there were 
 two hundred and thirty pupils and teachers in each room, 
 there would be, on stormy days, an unpleasant scent from 
 the damp clothing and a feeling of moisture in the air. 
 
 This particular description has been given, for the 
 benefit of the graduates of the last half century, that they 
 may see the difference betwixt the "old" and the "new." 
 The new has given them large reception halls, recitation- 
 rooms, toilet rooms, plenty of space around the teacher's 
 desk, wide cosy stairways and the many conveniences for 
 heating, lighting, thorough ventilation, etc., that the scien- 
 tific minds have evolved during the last half-century. Do 
 they realize their advantages as to accommodations over the 
 graduates of long, long ago ? 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The result desired by the course of studies which was 
 pursued in the grammar schools was, that at the end of a 
 seven years' course, "the graduating pupils could read Eng- 
 lish prose and poetry well; could write a good hand; know 
 the rule and processes of arithmetic, modern geography, and 
 have some knowledge of ancient and modern countries; know 
 English grammar, its rules and principles, and could write 
 a composition correctly from this knowledge." In some 
 schools, and Bowdoin was one of them, "rhetoric, natural 
 philosophy, ancient and modern history, geometry, algebra 
 and physical science were allowed," masters teaching them 
 to their liking. 
 
 Master Andrews taught Blair's Rhetoric, Worcester's 
 Ancient and Modern History and Smellie's Natural Phil- 
 osophy; Master Robinson taught Bailey's Algebra and Geom- 
 etry and Parker's Physical Science; both masters seemed 
 to have had a liking for all the allowed studies, evidently 
 gladly doing the extra work they entailed. 
 
 In 1822 there were 280 boys, with a daily average of 
 235, and 255 girls, with a daily average of 220, in the Bow- 
 doin school. 
 
 In September, 1825, Mr. James Robinson succeeded Mr. 
 Belcher, who resigned, as principal of the Bowdoin School. 
 
 In 1828, the school-board decided that "having taken a 
 degree of A. B. at some respectable college, duly incorpo- 
 ted and authorized to give degrees, be considered as a nec- 
 essary qualification in the masters and ushers of the gram- 
 mar schools." 
 
 June 3d, 1829, "Girls can remain the whole year," and 
 on June 15, "girls can remain until fifteen years of age." 
 
 12 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 13 
 
 In August, 1830, that "when there was a difference of 
 opinion between the reading and writing masters, the read- 
 ing master was the 'head' master, and his decision was 
 paramount." Previous to this, the reading and writing 
 masters were considered two distinct heads, each in abso- 
 lute control of his department and, of course, each formu- 
 lated and enforced his own rules. In the Bowdoin School, 
 although the temperaments of the two masters were widely 
 different, yet, so far as the pupils could see, there was never 
 any unpleasantness between them. They taught in har- 
 mony for twenty-nine years. 
 
 In 1830 the boys were transferred to Mason and Haw- 
 kins streets' schools. 
 
 It is to be regretted that so little could be ascertained 
 about the boys who attended the Bowdoin School the first 
 nine years of its existence; nothing is known about their 
 studies or their sports or their opinions of their instructors. 
 The boys who fitted for the Latin School, entered it gen- 
 erally when ten years of age, presumably the others 
 remained in the Bowdoin until thirteen or fourteen. When 
 one reflects, that the latest boys who attended the schools, 
 if now living would be from eighty-five to ninety years old, 
 it cannot be expected that many are now living, and prob- 
 ably several of them may have made their homes long 
 distances from their childhood's homes, and have passed 
 entirely beyond the reach, if not out of the minds, of their 
 schoolmates. 
 
 One of their sports was an occasional raiding of the 
 flower gardens and orchards, which, during the first half of 
 the nineteenth century, surrounded so many of the houses 
 of the city. There was one sport which the boys of those 
 days enjoyed of which the boys of to-day know nothing, 
 that was running to fires with the hand engine, pumping 
 the engines by means of the rails, running along the length 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 of the machine on each side; passing along the buckets 
 filled with water in a lively fashion. When at night an 
 alarm was sounded, there was no veteran fireman who was 
 more speedily equipped, than his own boys. 
 
 Those buckets were shaped like a barrel with the up- 
 per third cut off; they were of leather, three-quarters of an 
 inch in thickness and bound at the top with leather and 
 the handles were thick, round and also of leather. They 
 were hung in houses near some outside door, and every 
 man, as he went out to a fire, would take his bucket, as 
 those hanging on the rails of the machine, when it was 
 not working, would not have sufficed in case of a large fire. 
 
 This explains an order by the selectmen, before men- 
 tioned, that fire buckets must be hung in school-house 
 entries. 
 
 The following anecdote was sent by one of the boy 
 graduates: "I remember one day in the Derne-Street school, 
 Master Andrews discovered that a scholar was chewing. 
 He demanded to know what was being chewed; after some 
 hesitation, hawing, and sniffling, the information was 
 vouchsafed that the boy had a piece of black liquorice. 
 Master Andrews asked sternly where the stuff was obtained. 
 The guilty youth named another boy as having presented 
 it to him; both boys were ordered to take the liquorice to the 
 desk and leave it. The command was then delivered, that 
 any scholar who had anything to chew, should march up 
 and unload. Nearly every pupil in the establishment 
 responded and there was left a pile, a mass, of black liquorice, 
 weighing several pounds. By way of explanation, it may 
 be stated that there had been a fire in Rev. Lyman 
 Beecher's church on Hanover street, in the basement of 
 which a quantity of the chewing material had been stored 
 and during the progress of the fire the boys had confiscated 
 the whole of it." 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 15 
 
 As it was impossible to obtain a valedictory for the 
 decade of 182 1 to 1831, the following composition is given; 
 "Humility. Humility is one of those qualities of Chris- 
 tianity which requires a perpetual and practical exercise. 
 It does not insist that we shall be every moment engaged 
 in acts of benevolence or mortification to ourselves; but 
 whether we communicate our good thoughts to others, or 
 are dependent on others for the communication to our- 
 selves, humility is required as the invariable, the indispen- 
 sable, the habitual grace in the life of a Christian." Emory 
 Souther about twelve years of age. Mr. Souther said, "Mr. 
 Andrews was a model master, kind and pleasant to all; Mr. 
 Adams the usher was a contrast to him." 
 
 One day in the early thirties, there was a very strong 
 smell of something burning; on investigation a basket of 
 burning paper was found under one of the stairways. If the 
 wood-work had caught fire, the chance of getting nearly five 
 hundred children safely down two flights of narrow, steep 
 stairs, at the bottom of which was a single door opening 
 inward, would have been slight. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Looking backward and recalling the order and quiet- 
 ness that were maintained in the old school building it 
 seems marvelous; yes, it was marvelous. The recitations 
 of the four divisions were carried on simultaneously; some- 
 times a number of pupils would be standing around a 
 teacher's desk reciting, at the next division of pupils the 
 teacher would be standing in the midst of it making general 
 explanations, and the master, as was the custom of both 
 masters, would be walking around his division giving instruc- 
 tion. Whichever way the classes were being conducted, 
 there were four teachers asking questions, and four pupils 
 answering them, all at the same time, but there never 
 seemed to be any confusion. Each teacher attended to the 
 order of her class; occasionally a child would be sent up to 
 the master's desk. 
 
 Sometimes with the four recitations proceeding in this 
 manner and the remainder of 230 pupils studying,a humming 
 noise was inevitable. At the ring of the master's bell 
 everything would become absolutely still; the silence was 
 really impressive, then the master would often say, "I think 
 we could hear a pin drop." Another touch of the bell and 
 work would be resumed. 
 
 The teachers were very mild in their punishments; I 
 never saw the ruler used excepting in a playful manner, by 
 the masters. That would make a girl of spirit feel more 
 ashamed and more hurt, than if two or three sharp blows 
 had been given. 
 
 One of the early graduates writes. " Do you remember 
 how the teachers used to send up to the master any pupil 
 who committed some small fault ? I remember being sent 
 
 16 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 17 
 
 up from the lowest class and creeping along the aisle at the 
 back of the classes, to get in line with some other delin- 
 quents and standing there until we were called, one at a 
 time, to the master's desk, such a long walk, past the large 
 scholars, past the old fire place, up to the desk where we 
 had to confess our fault, but Mr. Robinson was not very- 
 severe. " Another early graduate sent the following ac- 
 count: "I have forgotten about most of my old teachers 
 at dear old Bowdoin, but one I remember; she would prob- 
 ably have slipped from my memory, but for a kind thing 
 she did to me. I had done something wrong (probably 
 talking) and as I looked up and caught her eye, she shook 
 her head at me. She might have told me to stand upon 
 my seat, which was the common punishment in those days 
 and a severe one for sensitive souls, for that brought the 
 child into the view of the entire school of four times fifty 
 scholars besides the teachers." This writer also adds: "In 
 a 'Boston Game giving Leading Facts about Boston,' this 
 was asked, 'What massive structure stood back of the State 
 House from 1849 to 1884?' Answer, 'Beacon Hill Reser- 
 voir.' I wonder why the ancient history was not carried 
 still farther back by the question: 'What celebrated school 
 stood on the spot before the reservoir, from 1821 to 1848?' 
 Answer, 'Derne Street School house, afterwards called 
 Bowdoin.' " 
 
 One punishment of Master Andrews, was a singular 
 one; when a girl from the lower class was "sent up," he 
 would stand her in the very large coal hod, kept near the 
 fireplace, thus placing her in full view of the highest-class 
 girls; this was a severe punishment for the little girls, as 
 they looked up to the highest-class girls with great awe. 
 Those were the days of white "pantalettes," and probably 
 many a mother disapproved of that style of punishment. 
 Oh, those white pantalettes! They must have been a 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 source of much trouble to mothers. They were white, about 
 eighteen inches round and starched stiffly, went well down 
 to the bend of the ankle; many children took some pride 
 in the stiffness, as, when walking, they struck together and 
 made a rustling sound. Some people of to-day can well 
 sympathize with this, as many a "grown-up" girl is pleased 
 with the sound from a rustling silk underskirt. Even on a 
 pleasant day, when a child returned from school, a clean 
 pair must be donned for the afternoon session. On stormy 
 days, how wet and bedraggled was the appearance of the 
 children when they arrived at school! Most mothers were 
 careful to place an extra pair in the girls' carpet-bags, to 
 avoid their sitting for three hours in a wet garment. Those 
 carpet-bags, which outlasted for years the pantalettes, were 
 made of heavy Brussels carpet, the handle also being of 
 the carpet. They were almost indestructible and had a lock 
 and key, the pride of the owner. I used mine the six years 
 I attended the school, 1839 to 1846; it was in constant use 
 in our family for years; then my nephew used it for a school 
 bag and for many years it was called the library bag, as it 
 was used to take books, "back and forth" from the library. 
 A graduate of 1862 says: "When the side-walks were icy, 
 on the hilly streets each side of the school-house, these 
 bags were used as sleds and the girls coasted down the 
 side-walks to the cross street. Mothers wondered why those 
 carpet bags wore out so fast — they should have worn a 
 lifetime." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Masters Andrews and Robinson were as unlike in 
 character and method as their personal appearance. The 
 former was a large, fleshy man, wearing a "scratch;" slow 
 in movement, of a decided lymphatic temperament. He 
 was always garbed in misisterial black; he walked across 
 the platform occasionally, with hands in his pockets, his 
 head inclined slightly to one side and bent forward; while 
 not appearing to watch, his division was kept in perfect 
 order; his manner of sitting could not probably be seen in 
 any public school room to-day. He sat at his desk, tipped 
 back in his arm-chair, his hands in pockets and feet upon the 
 rail at his side. In dress he was careless; a large bandanna 
 handkerchief prominently in use. A pupil, who attended 
 the school in 1831, said: "If he happened to be near a win- 
 dow at recess, rather than go to his desk for the bell, he 
 would shake his bandanna for us to come in, and I never 
 recall Master Andrews without seeing that bandanna hand- 
 kerchief." However, in those days, those brilliant hand- 
 kerchiefs were generally used by business gentlemen. 
 
 Master Andrews always called the girls somewhat ab- 
 ruptly, by their surnames, a habit probably acquired when 
 he taught boys. Yet, in the best sense, he was a gentle- 
 man; kind, considerate of the feeling of his pupils, occa- 
 sionally he would rebuke one of them with a not too severe 
 sarcasam. He imparted knowledge in so easy and quiet a 
 way, that one scarcely realized she was being taught, and 
 the large amount of " side " knowledge he gave out, while 
 conducting the usual recitations, was wonderful. 
 
 Reading and composition seemed to be his favorite 
 studies and he would often bcame quite excited, especially 
 in teaching reading. 
 
 19 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 From a graduate of 1846: "You remember how Master 
 Andrews used to drill us in reading. The class would be 
 called to his desk and stand around him for recitations. 
 •Goody Blake and Harry Gill' must have been one of his 
 favorites; I can see him now: 
 
 'And fiercely by the arm he took her, 
 
 And by the arm he held her fast, 
 And fiercely by the arm he shook her, 
 
 And cried, 'I have caught you then at last.' 
 
 "He used to shake his fist and bring the words out 
 through his clinched teeth; but, he could not make any of 
 us girls give expression enough to the lines. He said in his 
 sarcastic way, 'you're afraid, you think the scholars will 
 say you tried? " 
 
 Master Andrews was a fine English scholar and it has 
 been often remarked by early graduates of the school that 
 they owed their fondness and appreciation of English 
 literature to his instruction and to the constant use of 
 Pierpont's Series of Readers: "The American First Class 
 Book," "The National Reader" and the " Introduction to the 
 National Reader." He sympathized with the scholars in 
 any attempt they made to do extra work. If a carefully 
 constructed and well written composition was handed in, 
 he would speak of all the good points and gently show 
 where in other places improvement could be made, offering 
 to give assistance after school-hours. He offered to aid one 
 pupil, if she would write short pieces for the papers and 
 magazines of the time. He said he would correct her work 
 and attend to the publishing of them, in fact training her 
 for what he thought ought to be her life work. He was 
 much disappointed, when her parents decided she was too 
 young, too delicate to do the work. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was a slim man with gray hair, as early as 
 the last of the thirties and it was quite white in the late forties 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 21 
 
 His dress, always black, was immaculate. He held himself 
 very erect and sat at his desk upon a high stool. He rarely if 
 ever, called classes to the desk for recitation, but walked 
 around the division with a quick, military step, his arms 
 folded and holding in his right hand a short, round, ebony 
 ruler, which he used in ruling his record book and the book- 
 keeping books of the pupils; the rule was held upright 
 coming to the top of his head, and he had the habit, when 
 he became earnest in his explanations, of flicking his hair 
 with it, at the same time drawing up his nostrils and push- 
 ing out his lips as if whistling, a peculiar motion which 
 gave him a shrewd look. One of the pupils, who was de- 
 voted to him, picked up the stray hair, which the flicking 
 of the ruler loosened, and at last had quite a lock of it. 
 
 One day Master Andrews, watching the division, ob- 
 served one of the pupils inrerested in writing something at 
 a time when she should have been studying; he called her 
 to bring the paper to him; she was frightened, because she 
 had never been called up before. He took the paper and 
 looking at it, found it was an attempt at poetry; he was 
 quite surprised as he read, commended the effort and then 
 explained her mistakes and how to correct them, telling her 
 she might always come to him and he would aid her. She 
 has lately told me she could not have written what she had 
 written, particularly in her later years, if he had not often 
 asked her about her work and aided her while she attended 
 the Bowdoin Schol. The following is what she was writ- 
 ing when she was "called up," as the girls expresssed it: 
 
 "Oh, Slavery! that accused name, 
 Which blots the record book of fame, 
 Which stains the fairer virtues there 
 And shows that man, his brother dare 
 Injure, insult, torment and slay, 
 Even in the open face of day. 
 
 "Oh Slavery's dreadful name I hate. 
 And worse, methinks, it seems of late 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 For men more civilized have grown, 
 And virtue's seeds should sure be sown 
 Still deeper in the heart of man 
 Than vicious thoughts and actions can." 
 
 She was about twelve years old. 
 
 One day one of the girls was called to the master's 
 desk and given some paper and sent into the recitation 
 room. After about an hour, Mr. Andrews called her out. 
 She laid the paper upon his desk and returned to her seat. 
 Of course her classmates were curious to know why she 
 was sent out of the schoolroom, but she would not tell them 
 and in answer to the persistent questioning finally said that 
 she was told not to say anything about it. 
 
 He was very enthusiastic in his work; very clear in his 
 explanation, and it seemed as if every one ought to under- 
 stand him; but he was slightly impatient; if a pupil, not 
 understanding him, asked a question, he would say: "You've 
 not been listening." He was careful about the health of 
 the children and if any one looked ill, would speak to her 
 about it, and allow her to go home, if she wished to. 
 
 One winter, there was a terrific snowstorm, which had 
 been raging all night In those days no bells were rung in 
 stormy weather, saying "no school to-day." There were no 
 water-proof garments, nor rubber boots to protect one; the 
 only protection we had, were the three and one-half fingers 
 long, thick, wool yarn, home-knit stockings of our fathers or 
 elder brothers, which were drawn over our shoes and stock- 
 ings. Nevertheless on this stormy day, two of us 
 ploughed our way up to the school, where we arrived late, 
 for it had been terrible work plodding along against the 
 wind and thickly falling snow; side-walks were not ploughed 
 clean by large snow ploughs and shovels as now. We 
 found only about a dozen children, who lived near the 
 school, and Master Robinson. There was no way for 
 Master Andrews to get from Charlestown; no pair of horses 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 23 
 
 could have drawn a filled omnibus any distance. After 
 seeing that the other children were nicely wrapped up, 
 Master Robinson started them home; then he helped us to 
 dry our shoes and coats, wrapped us up well and started 
 with us. Every few steps he had to lift us out of the snow 
 drifts, and when he came to street crossings he carried one 
 across and then went back for the other, and he did this 
 three times, until he left me safe on my own doorsteps. 
 Then he was obliged to retrace his steps half the distance, 
 to his own home. I shall always remember his kindness. 
 My mate on this trip was Ann E. Henchman, whom many of 
 the classes of '45 and '46 will recall with pleasant remem- 
 rances. She died when about thirty, leaving three children. 
 Mr. Robinson's hobby was penmanship, and he was 
 very exacting about it. Before the days of steel pens, the 
 time he gave to the pupils, showing them how to fashion 
 the points of quills to be used as pens, was really marvel- 
 ous, and as few ever became adepts in the work, he was 
 so anxious that' their penmanship should be perfect, that 
 in reality he made most of the pens for two divisions, fifty- 
 six each. His method of teaching physical science made 
 the subject exceedingly interesting, and one graduate said, 
 that she had never forgotten what she had learned about the 
 subject then. Another says that what she learned at that 
 time had always helped her to understand in later life the 
 wonderful scientific discoveries of modern times. He was 
 always pleased at any little attention from the pupils or 
 their parents. A large watering can filled with water al- 
 ways stood behind the coal-hod, ready for use in case of 
 fire; one day Mr. Robinson, whose hands were as delicate 
 as a lady's, dipped his fingers into the water and instead of 
 using his handkerchief as usual, a brilliant scarlet lining of 
 a cloak caught his eye and stepping to it, he wiped his hands 
 upon it; of course this was witnessed by most of the first 
 class girls and by the owner of the cloak. The next day, 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 after the class was called to order, the girl quietly walked 
 to the desk and handing a small package to Master Rob- 
 inson, said distinctly, "my mother sent this to you." When 
 opened, he found two towels, with a note, saying they 
 were tor his use in school. An electric thrill seemed to 
 pass through the class, and if there had been a spectator 
 many peculiar expressions, either of wonder, amusement 
 or dread, would have been seen on the faces of the pupils, 
 but these soon became one of simple amusement, as he 
 held up the two towels and said how thoughtful the lady 
 had been. He, probably, did not remember, possibly did 
 not know, what he had done, and the sentiment of the 
 class was one of pleasure that he did not. They were indig- 
 nant at the girl and her mother who had evidently made 
 the affair as public as possible. 
 
 Sometime after, the committee visited the school. 
 After they had left, Master Andrews addressed the class, 
 and told them that the last time the committee were in they 
 were shown some compositions. They decided that one of 
 them could not have been written by a pupil. Master An- 
 drews told them he felt sure that it was; she usually wrote 
 similar ones and he had never had the slightest doubt that 
 they were original. To prove the integrity of the pupil, 
 he had sent her into the recitation-room alone, given her a 
 subject and an hour in which to write a composition. It 
 was shown to the committee and they acknowledged their 
 mistake. Calling the girl by name to stand up, he gave 
 her a few words of commendation, and when she, embar- 
 rassed, disclaimed any credit, he stopped her and grac- 
 iously said: "Never deny any talent you may possess. God 
 bestowed the talent upon you, and you should be grateful 
 for it. . The credit or discredit to you will be if you culti- 
 vate or neglect the gift. Never deny your Maker by de- 
 nying what He has done for you." Master Andrews often 
 taught such lessons. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 During the first quarter of a century of the Derne- 
 Street School, several subjects were under discussion by 
 the School Committee. The mayor of the city was always 
 the president of the Board and president of the Common 
 Council, for many years, the secretary. There was for 
 many years a debate about the words, "visitation," 
 "examination" and "exhibition." Finally it was decided 
 that the medals should be given out by an arithmetical 
 record kept by the master, and there should be no more 
 special examinations for medals; that exhibition day should 
 be for the senior classes, and on that day there should be 
 an examination of those classes, so the day was Exhibition- 
 Examination Day and the medals were given out on that 
 day. This always had been done from 1816 at the boys' 
 school and also at the girls' school after medals were 
 granted them, so that the decision of 1839 was over twenty 
 years late. Another debate was, should girls be allowed to 
 attend the public schools. In 1822 the privilege to attend 
 one-half of each year was granted to them, this grant also 
 seems to have been useless, as in 1800 the school records 
 gives "three schools exclusively for boys and three exclu- 
 sively for girls," and in 1819 an order that boys could attend 
 all the year round and the girls from the 20th of April until 
 the 20th of October. A third discussion was, whether the 
 boys and girls should attend the same school. In some dis- 
 tricts there were not enough children to justify two build- 
 ings, one for boys and one for girls, so in 1819 it was 
 decided, that boys and girls could attend the same school, 
 but not in the same classes, and they attended at the dis- 
 cretion of the masters; while the boys were with the reading 
 
 25 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 master, the girls were with the writing master, alternating 
 monthly. Another question, warmly debated, was whether 
 girls could attend the "year-round," as the boys did. Peti 
 tions were constantly sent in by parents of the Bowdoin 
 School that their girls should attend as long as the boys did. 
 In 1829 the privilege was granted them and they could attend 
 until they were sixteen. At one of the meetings, one of 
 the committee opposed the petition for the reason, "that the 
 girls were already ahead of the boys with four and one-half 
 months the less time and during those four and one-half 
 months the boys had the undivided attention of the teach- 
 ers." A debate was often carried on about the text books. 
 I had intended to give a complete list of the text books used 
 in the Bowdoin School, but found it impossible to do so; new 
 books were being proposed constantly, and most of them 
 were discussed by the committee, after meeting, and 
 it was a too trying and complex task to follow the dis- 
 cussion to the end. Another subject of debate was cor- 
 poral punishment, and it was decided and rescinded so many 
 times, being taken up every two or three years, that an 
 attempt to follow that was discarded. 
 
 When Lowell Mason made his home in Boston, the 
 city was highly favored, not on account only of his great 
 work in the public schools, but his influence extended over 
 all the church music and in various singing schools. He 
 was probably the cause of the wide awakening of the in- 
 habitants of Boston and vicinity to the need of the cultiva- 
 tion of higher music in this country and to the belief that 
 the introduction of it into the public schools would be a 
 great national benefit. Perhaps, taking all things into con- 
 sideration, there is no one influence that has had, and will 
 continue to have, so softening and refining effect upon 
 the great masses of people, whether they be high or low, 
 rich or poor, educated or uneducated, moral or immoral, as 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 27 
 
 good music. Lowell Mason may well be called the "Father 
 of Music in the United States." In writing his name with- 
 out a prefix, a little incident is recalled. A master one day 
 hearing one of his pupils speak of him without prefixing 
 "Master," reprimanded him for being disrespectful, the 
 boy instantly replied, "Who ever heard of Mr. William 
 Shakspeare? " 
 
 In 1839, the Bowdoin scholars were so fortunate as to 
 have him as their first teacher of music. Two hours each 
 week were given to music, and during those hours the 
 masters remained in the room to maintain discipline and to 
 see that the pupils attended to the orders of the music 
 teacher. Mr. Mason was very fond of, and kind to, young 
 people. His great enthusiasm in his work called out en- 
 thusiasm and interest in his pupils; they never seemed to 
 tire of going over and over many times any particular 
 passage, at his request. He was always ready with a word 
 of praise and encouragement. His favorite motto was, "If 
 a person can talk, he can sing," sometimes modifying it 
 with, "That every one can not sing well, but every one can 
 sing so as to give himself pleasure and do his part in gen- 
 eral singing." How the music lessons were enjoyed! All 
 entered into the exercise and sang with zest, ringing out 
 the choruses, and being repaid by the teacher's ready heart- 
 some, "Well done." One of the early graduates recently 
 wrote to me : "You remember Lowell Mason's singing les- 
 sons ? You know his theory that every child who could 
 talk could sing. These lessons twice a week were recrea- 
 tions. What an honor, when we were called upon to move 
 the piano and get the black-board ready ! He said one day 
 he wondered how many could say that they had not thought 
 of anything but the lesson during the hour, and I felt very 
 virtuous, because I had not." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Many of the books, used in the first half-century of the 
 school, were admirably adapted to the purposes for which 
 they were intended. Those used in the higher or first 
 class were Frederick Emerson's Arithmetic, Goold Brown's 
 Grammar, John Pierpont's American First Class Book; 
 these were all especially fine. There has been so great a 
 change in the last half-century in solving and working out 
 arithmetical problems, that probably there are other arith- 
 metics more desirable for use in the public schools, yet it 
 is well to keep Emerson's in one's private library for refer- 
 ence. Goold Brown's Grammar is a valuable work for 
 school children to-day. In speaking with children of the 
 grammar and high schools, or even with collegians, an old 
 student of Brown's Grammar can often dispel much of the 
 mistiness which is apt to hang around the rules of English 
 grammar in the minds of the pupils of to-day. The exam- 
 ples Brown uses throughout his work to exemplify the sim- 
 ple rules of spelling and use of capital letters, through all 
 that prosody comprehends, are taken from the best Eng- 
 lish and American authors, so that the learner is storing 
 his mind with many apt and comprehensive lines. 
 
 John Pierpont wrote his series of books backwards as 
 it were. The highest, the "American First Class Book," 
 for the highest classes, was entered in the District of Mas- 
 sachusetts, Clerk's Office, June, 1823. It was ordered by 
 the Boston School Committee, "That the 'American First 
 Class Book' be hereafter used in the public reading schools, 
 instead of 'Scott's Lessons,' " and in one month after its 
 appearance it came into general use. As Mr. Pierpont 
 found that a reader, leading up to the First Class Book, 
 
 28 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 29 
 
 was needed, he prepared, in 1827, the "National Reader" 
 for middle classes, and in July, 1829, it was introduced into 
 the city schools, in lieu of "Murray's English Reader." 
 Then he published for the youngest classes, in 1828, an 
 "Introduction to the National Reader," which was also put 
 into the schools. "Scott's Lessons" and "Murray's Eng- 
 lish Reader" were distinctly and solely English. The se- 
 lections in Pierpont's three books are from all of the best 
 English and American literature, previous to 1828. It has 
 been, and still is now, a general remark of the first quarter 
 of a century of the Bowdoin graduates, that they acquired 
 their love for literature from these books and from the in- 
 teresting and enthusiastic method employed by Master 
 Andrews and his assistants, inspired by his example; many 
 of whom had been instructed by him as pupils and, becom- 
 ing teachers, adopted his method and imitated his enthusi- 
 asm in teaching their pupils. For many years, the new 
 teachers of the school were drawn from the old pupils. 
 
 Bowdoin School possessed an engine, at least the build- 
 ing did, but the school claimed it; it was always called "our 
 engine" by the pupils, number 6, "Hero." How the girls 
 envied the boys of the neighborhood, because they were 
 allowed to run with the engine, and clasping the rail on 
 either side, pump water on the fire; the girls, whose broth- 
 ers were among the boys, thought the fire would not have 
 been stopped without the valuable (?) aid of the boys and 
 the rest of the girls agreed with them. After a night fire, 
 all the talk the next day, out of school hours, would be 
 about the fire and the wonderful deeds, "our Hero" accom- 
 plished. Occasionally all the engines of the city held con- 
 tests. Oh! How anxious all were, that Hero should win. 
 
 As the scholars had not separate desks, one girl occu- 
 pying the space called a desk, in the morning and another 
 girl using the same in the afternoon, books, slates, rulers, 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 pens and pencils were taken home after each session; often 
 one of the small articles would be overlooked and trouble 
 would ensue, in the effort to obtain it, as it would probably 
 disturb some teacher. 
 
 The following is quoted from a pupil who entered 
 Bowdoin School in 1834, and graduated, a medal scholar in 
 1840. "I am asked to tell you some interesting events 
 that occurred while I was in the school. I can remember 
 a few incidents that are not included in the present course 
 of school life. Perhaps you remember that there was an 
 engine house in the lower story of the building, below the 
 school-rooms. One afternoon a man's face was seen peer- 
 ing through an opening in the wall in Miss Murdock's room, 
 much to the amazement of the pupils. He had probably 
 worked his way up in some manner, from the engine house 
 below. 
 
 "Another incident I recall, one afternoon looking 
 around, I saw many of the large girls in the first class run- 
 ning around as though they were terribly frightened. I was 
 only eight years old and thinking something terrible had 
 happened, I began to run, but instead of directing my steps 
 to the door, I must have run furiously against some solid 
 substance, as after the scene was over, I found my forehead 
 was swollen and had on it a bad, black and blue spot. The 
 cause of the general fright, was the giving way of an enor- 
 mous grate filled with live coals, both coals and grate hav- 
 ing fallen to the floor. Mr. Robinson, with much difficulty, 
 kept the girls back and thus saved a general panic. 
 
 "One pleasant occasion that took place, about a year 
 after I entered the school, was an excursion to Hingham 
 by water. We all, the four upper classes, assembled at the 
 school-house, early in the forenooon and marched four 
 abreast in a procession through the streets to the steamboat 
 landing, and made quite a grand show. On board the 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 31 
 
 steamboat, music had been furnished, and there was dancing 
 by pupils and teachers on the way down. After leaving the 
 boat we went to a pleasant picnic grove, where there were 
 one or two large swings. Simple refreshments were fur- 
 nished us on a scale somewhat different from the six-course 
 lunches for children of to-day. We went home feeling we 
 had had a good time. As I had never before been on the 
 water, to me it was a red letter day." 
 
 The grove referred to must have been the "Old Col- 
 ony" grove, surrounding the "Old Colony Tavern," which 
 stood on a high hill, just opposite the Steamboat Landing, 
 and the steamboat could be seen a quarter of an hour be- 
 fore she arrived at the pier. "The Tavern was burnt to the 
 ground many years ago." 
 
 The same writer contributed the following : "There 
 was one spot near the old Derne-Street school-house with 
 special attraction for some of us old graduates, in our juve- 
 venile days. I refer to Mrs. Weld's store opposite the 
 school-house on Derne street. Her home-made molasses 
 candy, fresh every morning and laid on bright tin sheets, 
 some in the shape of sticks and some in the shape of 
 squares, was a great temptation, hard to resist. We did 
 not grudge giving our pennies, for we felt we received our 
 money's worth in return. It was genuine; there was 
 no admixture of any foreign ingredients, there was no flour 
 and flavoring as we sometimes find in other places. I do 
 not know what Huyler or Page or Bailey can bring fresh 
 from behind their counters to-day in the shape of molasses 
 candy, but they can have nothing half so satisfactory as 
 that was to us in childhood's days. My association with 
 Mrs. Weld will be sweet to the last." 
 
 Doubtless that little shop had charms for every child 
 who attended the school, and surely its spell held, long 
 beyond childhood's days, even through her last year, with 
 all its dignities. 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 From the Boston Daily Advertiser, August 15, 1840 : 
 "To Mr. Hale, at the exhibition of the Bowdoin School on 
 Wedesday last, I listened with great pleasure to the Vale- 
 dictory, written by Miss Harriet E. Hill, a pupil of the 
 school. It is a beautiful production, highly creditable to 
 its young authoress and to the teachers of the schools by 
 whose care her superior faculties have been developed and 
 cultivated. By giving it a place in your paper, you will 
 confer a favor on one of the school committee of the Bow- 
 doin School." 
 
 The fragrant day has poured its lucid rays, 
 And we have waked the tuneful voice of praise; 
 Once more assembled on this festal morn, 
 Our friends to meet, our duties to perform. 
 And now, our cup is frought with joy and grief, 
 For thorns with roses twine in pleasure's wreath; 
 Joy that rises from a grateful heart, 
 And grief, that we from early scenes must part. 
 
 Much honored Sirs, who have the general charge, 
 
 To make the tender germs of thought enlarge, 
 
 To cultivate the intellectual soil, 
 
 Now may you reap the harvest of your toil; 
 
 Should not the flowers beneath your watchful care, 
 
 Flourish and blossom into beauty rare; 
 
 Well might they, blushing, hang the drooping head, 
 
 And seek to find in shame a lonely bed. 
 
 And you, beloved friends, who've gathered here, 
 
 To learn our progress through another year, 
 
 We gladly would requite your deep regard, 
 
 But gratitude we only can award. 
 
 But you will not expect in us to find 
 
 The erudition of the more refined; 
 
 Here the foundation, sure and firm, is made, 
 
 In other schools the superstructure's laid, 
 
 For we have not conned tbe classic page, 
 
 Nor roamed the heavens in search of wonders sage; 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 33 
 
 Have drunk not from the Helicarnian spring, 
 
 Nor felt the Muses which the Poets sing. 
 
 But, though we may not speak in Grecian tongue, 
 
 Nor tell of scenes which Latin bards have sung; 
 
 Have not with Newton trod the star-paved way, 
 
 Nor struck on Milton's harp the epic lay; 
 
 Yet, we have powers, which upwards tend to soar, 
 
 And Bowdoin School may yet produce a More. 
 
 Respected Teachers, who with care have taught, 
 
 Have led the way through knowledge's thorny road, 
 
 And o'er the pathway flowers of wisdom strewed; 
 
 Have sought science's garland to entwine, 
 
 The moral precepts of a truth divine; 
 
 And point to virtue as the only goal. 
 
 How arduous the task to you assigned, 
 
 To guide through learning's ways the deathless mind, 
 
 To teach the daughters of Columbia's land, 
 
 Supply, in part, the parent's guardian hand; 
 
 And yet, how well performed, and though we may 
 
 Your constant care and patience ne'er repay, 
 
 To you, the Teachers, meed will yet be given, 
 
 That recompense, bestowed alone by heaven. 
 
 Dear Classmates, who with me now bid adieu 
 
 To much loved scenes and fond companions too, 
 
 Who leave the place where we were early taught, 
 
 To cull from learning's mine the gems of thought, 
 
 Where we each other's tasks have sought to cheer, 
 
 Have dropt for other's woe the kindly tear; 
 
 Think not your education now is done, 
 
 But rather think it has scarce begun. 
 
 If the immortal bard of Albion's strand, 
 
 But gathered shells and pebbles from the sand, 
 
 While truth's vast ocean far before him lay, 
 
 Enlightened by a scientific ray; 
 
 We, from the brimming fount of knowledge fair, 
 
 Have gathered less than elements of air; 
 
 Let then the culture of the mind proceed; 
 
 But, while the wants of intellect we feed, 
 
 Still recollect, that learning, fame, nor birth, 
 
 Can fill the place of moral worth. 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Loved Schoolmates, who remain another year, 
 
 Shed not with us the parting tear; 
 
 Oh, may our friendship, warmed by youthful love, 
 
 Outlive e'en death, and bloom in vales above. 
 
 Together we have climbed the rugged mount, 
 
 Have slaked the feverish thirst from knowledge's fount, 
 
 Together wandered through Acadian glades, 
 
 Or sought repose 'neath Hespian shades; 
 
 But though these halcyon hours no more return, 
 
 They are still cherished in the heart's lone urn. 
 
 When twice ten suns have oped the vernal flowers, 
 And knit in circling dance the rosy hours; 
 Through the long vistas of departed days, 
 Fondly, let memory retrospective gaze; 
 And, as untouched by time's destroying hand, 
 View round the teacher's desk, the smiling band. 
 Then sad, may memory ask, "Where are they now, 
 Where, where that eye of light, that spotless brow, 
 Who listens to that sister's voice serene?" 
 Ah, waves may part, and mountain intervene; 
 Some may have settled in their native land; 
 The feet of others press a foreign strand; 
 While some may roam where orange blows, 
 Or roam mid ice-bound hills of northern snows; 
 Others may wander in the citron clime, 
 Or tread the banks of the imperial Rhine; 
 Some dwell in Orient groves of spicy breath, 
 Teaching the immortal mind the way from death. 
 Others may then their checkered course have run, 
 And the chill tomb may answer "I have some." 
 And now adieu, but let that word farewell 
 Be not of friendship's life the echoing knell; 
 And though to-day, the last warm grasp be given, 
 May we all meet, to part no more, in Heaven. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A medal graduate of 1842 sent in the following account. 
 "Do you recollect the crowning of your sister, a medal 
 graduate of 1841, Mary D. Nichols, as May Queen on Bun- 
 ker Hill ? About half a dozen of us started from the house 
 of a classmate, named Estabrook, and we walked over 
 Charlestown Bridge to the place; we carried our lunch and 
 although we went in procession with our crown, I do not 
 remember that we attracted any special attention from the 
 public. I have not the slightest idea who made the 
 speeches, nor what was said, only we did have a beautiful 
 time and sat on the green grass." 
 
 Her second story is: "The class of 1841 agreed to 
 appear the next day at school, with their hair hanging in 
 braids, down their backs. Both masters noticed it and 
 seemed very much amused, making some pleasant remark." 
 At that time hair was worn up by scholars of the higher 
 classes, but two or three years later it was worn hanging 
 down. One of the girls of the second class, who had a 
 great deal of long blonde hair, was seized on her way home 
 from school, and her braids cut off. This fact was recalled, 
 by the many similar cases recently. A graduate of 1845 
 who was early married and went to Blairsville, Penn., and 
 has resided there ever since, sent this incident: "In the 
 Evening Transcript of many years ago, it was stated that 
 when the old Music Hall was altered, there was found 
 among other things in the corner stone, a medal of which 
 no one knew the significance, a Franklin medal was found 
 in the same connection; so I was almost certain, in one par- 
 ticular, I knew more than some Boston people ! I wrote 
 to the Editor, telling him it was probably a City medal for 
 
 35 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 girls of more than fifty years before and accurately de- 
 scribed my own, which I still treasure. I copied the full 
 inscription on each side" I think this can be accounted for: 
 my sister's medal 1842 had on it "City medal for females," 
 while on mine of 1845 "City medal for females" was 
 ommitted. 
 
 When William Henry Harrison, President of the 
 United States, died, after only one month of service, all over 
 the country large state funerals took place. Boston was 
 draped heavily in black. All the public school children 
 participated; they stood around the Common on the malls, 
 girls on one side, boys on the other, with crepe on one arm. 
 The city officials headed a long procession of military, 
 societies, and private citizens; an immense catafalque had 
 been constructed and was drawn by several pairs of black 
 horses. The gates of the Common were opened and the 
 procession passed around the Common bewtween the rows 
 of children on the malls. Although it was April, it was a 
 very cold day and as the procession had been delayed for 
 more than an hour the children really suffered with the 
 cold and the fatigue of standing so long. The position of the 
 Bowdoin School was at the corner of Beacon and Charles 
 streets. I have never forgotten the immense catafalque, 
 and the funeral music of the bands and the tolling of the 
 bells made a deep impression upon me. 
 
 There was one great pleasure that the girls enjoyed. 
 Bowdoin, Temple and Hancock streets ran from Mt. Ver- 
 non street to Cambridge street, a very steep incline. After 
 a hard rain the water would flow down the gutters on each 
 side of the streets, like a riverlet, often with mimic falls. 
 The children, before leaving home, would provide them- 
 selves with suitable sticks for mineature boats, and happy 
 the child whose father or elder brother might be skilled in 
 whittling out the right shape for floating down the streams. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 37 
 
 After school, homeward bound, what wonderful boat races 
 took place. It was glorious sport ! Such rivalry was 
 started. I do not believe that owners of swift yachts were 
 ever more enthusiastic, excited or happy than were the 
 children. Then the sliding down those streets in winter ! 
 When it is mentioned now, many graduates exclaim, 
 "What glorious times we did have." 
 
 Pupils were not allowed to remain in the building at 
 noon, unless there was a severe storm and one of the teach- 
 ers could stay with them. The family of one of the older 
 girls moved to Cambridge for the summer, but she was al- 
 lowed to finish the school year, which terminated the first 
 week in August, and she remained in the building during 
 the noon recess. One day two little children were permit- 
 ted to remain at noon and were left in the charge of the 
 older girl. They were near the stove eating their lunches, 
 and afterward they were peeping under the stove (which 
 stood six or eight inches from the floor) as if hunting for 
 something. When asked if they had lost anything they 
 shook their heads "No," but looked very sober. Finally 
 one said they couldn't see God. When asked what she 
 meant, she said somebody told her that God was every- 
 where. 
 
 One of the classes copying the example of that of 1841 
 had a May-day party. They gathered in Miss Murdock's 
 room two or three times to make arrangements and to 
 choose a queen. Lizzie Falkner was choosen. The first of 
 May was a perfect spring day. An omnibus took the party 
 to a grove in Dorchester; here upon a large boulder the 
 throne was arranged for the queen, and she was crowned 
 with a wreath of the green of the woods. 
 
 Her mother, who was the matron of the party, served 
 as tire-woman to the queen and, much to the astonishment 
 of all, knelt and kissed the hand of her daughter, so the 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 rest did the same and the queen made quite a speech. The 
 time passed pleasantly in singing May-songs from Lowell 
 Mason's books, rambling through the woods, partaking of 
 a "mother's lunch." A ride home at twilight completed a 
 happy afternoon. 
 
 Order of Exercises 
 
 AT THE 
 
 Public Annual Exhibition 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Wednesday, August 13, 1845, 
 at 8 o'clock, a. m. 
 
 I. Song. — Always Some Good. 
 
 Every season brings a sum of pleasure, 
 Every fortune brings some litle treasure. 
 
 II. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 III. 
 
 Song. — Friendship. 
 
 Awake, awake the tuneful voice: 
 And strike the joyful string. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Grammar. 
 
 V. 
 
 Geography. 
 
 VI. 
 
 History. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Natural Philosophy. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Song. — Pleasures of Childhood. 
 
 
 Come, let us singing, 
 Speak out these pleasures. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Arithmetic. 
 
 X. 
 
 Algebra. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 39 
 
 XL Song. — Come, Come Away. 
 
 Oh! come, come away, from labor now reposing, 
 Let busy care awhile forbear. 
 
 XII. Geometry. 
 
 XIII. Book-Keeping and Penmanship. 
 
 XIV. Song. — The Fading Leaf. 
 
 I am a falling Leaf, 
 The chilly winds have found me 
 
 XV. Reading Compositions. 
 XVI. The Student's Song. 
 
 Awake the song of merry greeting, 
 Sing tral-lal-lal-lal-lal-lal-la. 
 
 XVII. Medals Awarded. 
 
 XVIII. Prayer. 
 
 In 1845 there was a picnic of the two upper classes, 
 under the auspices of Mr. Andrews, Misses Murdock and 
 Caroline Andrews and other teachers. As I recall it, I do 
 not think it was on May-day. We went in the steam cars 
 to a grove in Reading. It was an excessively hot day and 
 the distance from the station to the grove seemed longer 
 than it probably was. Teachers joined us in games and we 
 were enjoying every moment, when the sound of shrill 
 shrieks stopped our play and the trouble was investigated. 
 It was found that someone in running had plunged into a 
 nest of yellow wasps; those who were stung were suffering 
 intensely and were very much frightened. We were all 
 made to keep at a safe distance and the teachers soothed 
 and calmed the injured ones. Master Andrews sent for 
 water from a nearby spring and moistened some soil and 
 plastered it over the stings; after a while he went with 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 those who were stung the worst and put them safely on the 
 cars for their homes. When he returned he was literally 
 dripping with water, as if he had just plunged into a bath. 
 As I look back now, I think it was his liability to excessive 
 perspiration that may have saved his life, for he had walked 
 a mile or more over an unsheltered road in one of the hot- 
 test days of the season. Of course the accident marred 
 our pleasure. As the day cooled we ate our supper and 
 teachers and pupils quietly enjoyed the last hours in the 
 wood and our walk to the station. 
 
MASTER ROBINSON. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 In the year 1 846 several incidents took place. A general 
 committee was appointed to examine all the public schools 
 "to ascertain their condition." The result is not recorded 
 upon the School Records, but Master Andrews announced 
 to the school, that Bowdoin School stood at the head. He 
 must have been so told by someone in authority, or he 
 would not have given out the statement as he was a very 
 cautious man. 
 
 One day some merchants in their business met with a 
 puzzling arithmetical problem and discussed among them- 
 selves how many pupils in the highest classes of the schools 
 would be able to solve it. The question was sent into the 
 schools on the same day and the result reported was, that it 
 had been solved by only two pupils and they were members 
 of the Bowdoin School, a girls' school! How pleased and 
 proud was Master Robinson ! 
 
 Some strangers, who were visiting the city schools, one 
 day appeared at the Bowdoin School; one of the gentlemen 
 asked permission to propound a question. Of course the 
 request was granted and this was the question: "Who can 
 box the compass ? " This was a subject not found in the 
 geographies of those days. Atter a few moments of sur- 
 prise and absolute stillness, a hand was raised; the girl was 
 called upon to answer and she boxed the compass, slowly 
 and carefully, speaking each word fully; when through, she 
 was asked if she could box it sailor fashion, this she did; 
 then probably thinking to puzzle her, she was asked to box it 
 backwards. When she had finished, the gentleman an- 
 nounced, "This question has been given out in several 
 schools, but no one could answer it." Of course Master 
 
 41 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Andrews was gratified, telling the class he could not have 
 answered it himself. It was simply an accident, a case of 
 a little home instruction. 
 
 "Audubon's Birds" had been recently purchased and 
 placed in one of the basement rooms of the State House, 
 for easy access. Master Andrews obtained permission for 
 the older pupils to see them, without the attendance of a 
 teacher and many pleasant hours were passed there. 
 
 When the committe or any visitors were in the school 
 the whole room was called to order and members of the 
 first class were called upon to recite. On one occasion, 
 Master Andrews asked one of the pupils to read a selec- 
 tion from Wirt, "The Blind Preacher." The extract 
 choosen describes the eloquence and impassioned fervor of 
 the speaker, as he led his audience on through the child- 
 hood and youth of Christ; his beautiful teachings to his dis- 
 ciples; his compassion for sinners, and his humility and se- 
 renity as he bore the abuse and the bodily and spiritual 
 suffering of the closing scene of his last hours. When his 
 hearers were wrought up to the intensest compassion and 
 thrilled through their whole being in close sympathy with 
 the speaker, then he finished : "Father, forgive them, for 
 they know not what they do." The effect is inconceivable. 
 The whole house resounded with the mingled groans, sobs 
 and shrieks of the congregation. The first sentence, with 
 which he broke the awful silence, was a quotation from 
 Rosseau : "Socrates died like a philospher, but Jesus 
 Christ like a God!" The stillness was so great in the 
 school-room while the girl was reading that a "pin could 
 have been heard, if dropped." Just before reading the last 
 sentence, the reader paused and then dropped suddenly 
 into her seat, and with hands over her face laid her head 
 upon the desk, while her whole body was convulsed with 
 laughter, which gave her the appearance of sobbing. Just 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 43 
 
 as she had lowered her book and began to recite the last 
 passage, the girl seated just before her placed her hands 
 backward over her shoulders, and directly under the eyes 
 of the reader displayed two grotesque, hideous, black, East 
 Indian images. Master Andrews said to the visitors, "She 
 is a very sensitive girl; she felt all that she was reading." 
 As soon as the girl could control herself she quietly left 
 the room, but to this day that girl feels guilty of deceiving 
 the master, visitors and all the teachers and the two 
 hundred pupils present, but she could not expose her class- 
 mate. 
 
 July 4th, 1846, six of the first class girls, whom Lowell 
 Mason had selected, with a similar number of girls and boys 
 from each of the other grammar schools and the Latin and 
 High schools, to take part in the city exercises, assembled 
 at the "Cradle of Liberty." Their part was to listen to the 
 reading of the Constitution of the United States, to hear 
 patriotic speeches by the best orators of the city, and under 
 the leadership of Lowell Mason to respond to each speech 
 with a song. These were taken from Mason's "School Song 
 Books : " 
 
 1. "Oh land of good that gave me birth ! 
 
 My lovely, native land." 
 
 2. "Friends we bid you welcome here; 
 
 Freedom's sacred cause revere." 
 
 3. "Before all lands in East or West; 
 
 I love my native land the best." 
 
 The others were the national patriotic hymns. 
 
 After the exercises were over all went to the banquet 
 hall, where the singers were placed at a table by them- 
 selves. That, of course, was a red letter day in our school 
 life. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The books used in 1846 in the highest class of the 
 Bowdoin School, where Pierpoint's American First Class 
 Book, Goold Brown's Grammar, Smellie's Natural Philos- 
 ophy, Worcester's Ancient and Modern History, Blair's 
 Rhetoric, Mitchell's Geography and Globes, in the read- 
 ing department. Frederick Emerson's Arithmetic, Bailey's 
 Algebra, Colburn's Mental Arithmetic, Geometry, Parker's 
 Physical Science, Book-keeeping and Penmanship, in 
 the writing department. In the spring of the year, 
 Physical Geography was added. There was a singular 
 circumstance connected with the first instruction of this 
 latter study. Mr. Robinson told me the study had 
 been placed in the writing department and he did not 
 consider it belonged there, but in the reading de- 
 partment, saying he knew nothing about the subject, but 
 did not like to find fault, as it was the last term of the 
 school year and it might affect his position and asked me 
 to conduct the class. Of course I refused as I knew noth- 
 ing about the subject. He called at my home and talked 
 the matter over with my parents. My sister graduated from 
 the Bowdoin five years before and had continued her edu- 
 cation at Rev. Mr. Ellis' school; my brother had graduated 
 from the Mayhewand the English High School. Mr. Rob- 
 inson was urgent, saying that during the summer vacation 
 he would fit himself to teach it, so it was decided that, with 
 the assistance of my family, I could prepare the lessons and 
 impart what I had learned to the scholars. He gave the 
 study to only the first twenty of the class. I began the first 
 lesson with fear and trembling, as I thought the girls nat- 
 urally would resent it, but they did not as far as I ever 
 
 44 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 45 
 
 knew, and the work was thus made easy and soon it 
 was a great pleasure to me. I never saw anything that 
 savored in the slightest of disapproval, and I have always 
 been grateful to every member of the class. I have spoken 
 of a habit of Master Andrews of stopping on the stairs and 
 gazing into the recitation-room; after he had seen me sev- 
 eral times, sitting at the table and the rest of my own class 
 sitting around the room, as if I was teaching them, he 
 called me into his own recitation-room and asked me what I 
 was doing in the writing recitation-room so often. I felt 
 obliged to tell him, although sorry for Mr. Robinson. He 
 meditated a little while, with his head drooped forward, a 
 litttle to one side, (a habit of his when thinking) then said: 
 "You can go on with the work, but if there is any trouble, 
 come tome. Do you understand? Cometowie." I did not 
 at the time take in the full significance of the order. I did 
 not know at that time, what I have since learned from the 
 Records of the School-Board, that in 1833 it was decided that 
 the "Reading department master is the head authority and 
 his decision shall be permanant." I think his motive was, 
 to spare Mr. Robinson, and that the latter should not know 
 Master Andrews knew anything about it. 
 
 On Exhibition Day, August 12, 1846, the first class as- 
 sembled in the lower room and the room, entry and stair- 
 way were packed with friends of the class. Master An- 
 drews gave out questions to the class in his special studies 
 and Master Robinson in his. Questions had been pre- 
 pared on slips of paper and distributed, indiscriminately, 
 to the pupils. As soon as a girl could give an answer, she 
 raised her hand and was called upon. In arithmetic, alge- 
 bra, geometry and physics explanations were required. 
 One of the pupils recently told me, her question was: 
 "How many times in an hour and at what time do the 
 hands of a clock come together and at what time are they 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 opposite?" One pupil, in her haste to answer the question: 
 "which are the largest cities of the United States?" by begin- 
 ning: "Fity of Ciladelphia," was so disconcerted that she 
 could not go on. Another pupil had been told on the after- 
 noon of the day before to draw a large steam engine on 
 the black-board. At that time drawing had not been in- 
 troduced into the schools. Her question on a slip of paper 
 was: "Demonstrate by the drawing the difference between 
 high and low-pressure engines." In this way, which in re- 
 ality took but a short time, the parents and other guests 
 could easily ascertain the actual knowledge which the pupil 
 had acquired. Those called upon to read, showed by their 
 execution they had been thoroughly trained. Afterward 
 a few short compositions were read, and the matter 
 and style of reading them showed that Master Andrews 
 was a number one teacher of grammar and elocution. The 
 writing-books, which had been passing round among the 
 visitors, were almost marvels of beautiful penmanship. 
 Master Robinson was one of the finest penmen of his time. 
 Chorus singing, under the charge of Lowell Mason, was 
 interspersed between the exercises and after the reading 
 of the valedictory. Rev. Dr. Sharpe, chairman of the 
 school committee, after making a few remarks, called up 
 to the platfom the six medal scholars, and threw blue 
 ribbons, with a silver medal attached, around their necks. 
 
 During the exercises Mayor Josiah Quincy, Jr., and 
 George L. Hilliard, President of the Common Council, en- 
 tered the room. 
 
 1846— Valedictoy — Leah L. Nichols. 
 
 It is comparatively of very modern date that we find 
 a provision made for the instruction of all the classes of 
 people. In former periods, the minds of a large proportion 
 were left uncultivated; the fertile soil was never planted 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 47 
 
 with that knowledge and those virtues which render the 
 possessors of them useful members of society. True, in all 
 ages, the education of the richer classes of the community 
 has been in some degree attended to; but even they pos- 
 sessed not the advantages which the poorest of our citizens 
 now enjoy. Their education was confined to the ornamen- 
 tal, to the exclusion, mostly, of the useful branches of know- 
 ledge, excepting, indeed, those bright lights of Genius, of 
 whom every age has its number, whose words have been 
 of wisdom and whose works still live as beacons, illumina- 
 ting the dark records of the past. 
 
 At the present time the greater portion of the inhabi- 
 tants of the earth are sunk in ignorance. If we take a near 
 view of the condition of the great mass of people in Eng- 
 land, France and Austria, the great powers of Europe and 
 the most enlightened nations of the East, we shall find 
 many unable to either read or write. If ignorance is so 
 prevalent in these countries, proverbally noted for wisdom 
 and intelligence, how wretched must be the state of soci- 
 ety in the less favored regions of the globe ! 
 
 But ignorance is not confined to the old world; on 
 this side of the Atlantic three-fourths of the inhabitants are 
 uneducated. The establishment of common schools is a 
 recent affair in many parts of our loved country and unless 
 that method of communicating knowledge and training in 
 the moral and intellectual powers of the great class of 
 the people is more generally adopted, those institutions, 
 rendered sacred to us by the value placed upon them by 
 our ancestors, will be thought of only as things that have 
 been; and the moral and intellectual powers of the lower 
 orders of our community (augmented as it is by emigrants 
 from foreign nations, many of whom are unable to read 
 and write,) will be obscured by deep darkness, and super- 
 stition and ignorance will spread their wings over the land, 
 obscuring the bright sunlight of knowledge and truth. 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 It is in the New England states, New York and Mich- 
 igan, that the greatest attention is paid to the public 
 schools, those institutions where the rich and the poor 
 meet on common ground, with equal advantages for satis- 
 fying their thirst for knowledge. 
 
 The importance of education cannot be fully estimated, 
 but in these states it is better appreciated than in other 
 parts of the world. In passing through their villages, we 
 see one and frequently several school-houses, and in near 
 proximity we find the church of God; for knowledge and 
 religion walk hand in hand. Without knowledge we could 
 not have a clear understanding of the Gospel, and without 
 that this world would be a world of misery and crime. 
 
 The effect of education upon the social character and 
 habits of man is very great: it eradicates, or at least softens 
 its turbulent passion; it tends to banish all angry feelings 
 we may cherish against one another, while it nourishes and 
 increases the virtues of the heart and inculcates within us 
 the feelings of love and sympathy for each other in all the 
 various relations of life. 
 
 We, who have enjoyed from early childhood the oppor- 
 tunities for learning to be found in Boston and its vicinity, 
 ought to use our utmost endeavors to improve the numer- 
 ous advantages so lavishly bestowed upon us. 
 
 Beloved companions; who are with me, to leave the 
 spot hallowed by many pleasant associations and who are 
 now forced to bid farewell to our teachers and companions, 
 we cannot but regret that we have ever misspent any por- 
 tion of that time which is not ours and for every moment of 
 which we must render an account to our Heavenly Father. 
 Though we are now to leave this place, we must not think 
 that our moral and intellectual education is finished, but 
 only that the coner-stone is laid, and we have now to rear 
 that fabric which will enable us to lead a life of usefulness 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 49 
 
 and enjoyment here, and prepare us for a higher and nobler 
 state of existence beyond the dark precincts of the grave. 
 
 We are now to separate, and it may be never more to 
 meet again in this world. The parts which we shall play 
 on the broad stage of life may differ; some may inhale the 
 balmy airs of the South and wander through its spicy 
 groves; some may dwell in the cold, dreary regions of the 
 North; some may pass a life of toil in the far East, commu- 
 nicating to the ignorant heathen the knowledge they ac- 
 quired here; some may find a home in the West, where no 
 civilized man has yet lived; and the cold grave may hide the 
 forms of some and their souls be in the spirit-land, "where 
 the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." 
 But if we chance to meet amid the ever varying scenes of 
 life, let us take each other by the hand and sympathize in 
 each other's griefs and joys as we have done so often here; 
 and whether in prosperity or adversity, let us never forget 
 our school-days or our school-day friends. 
 
 "Never forget the holy love 
 It hath been ours to keep, 
 Undimmed amid all toils and cares, 
 The true, the pure, the deep, 
 The trusting love of early youth, 
 Still fair, in its own changeless truth." 
 
 Our associates : who are to remain yet longer as pupils 
 of this school, we hope you will fill the places which we 
 now occupy better than we have done; we hope you will 
 endeavor to lighten, not to add to, the task of our instruct- 
 ors. It is of the utmost importance that you improve every 
 moment of your time; your instructors are toiling inces- 
 santly for your good, and is it not your duty to repay their 
 kindness by endeavoring to profit by the labor they are be- 
 stowing on you ? By so doing you will essentially contrib- 
 ute to the happiness of yourselves and friends. 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 You may think it presumption in one of your own age 
 to speak to you thus, but it is done, be assured, that when 
 you leave you may feel the consciousness that you have per- 
 formed aright the duties imposed upon you here, and be able 
 in after years to think with pleasure on the many pleasant 
 and profitable hours you have passed within these walls. 
 
 During the last year our band has not, as formerly, 
 been broken by the "Angel of Death," yet the hour when 
 the things of earth shall be no more for us may come when 
 least expected, and we know not which may be called home 
 first, for Death respects not persons, and though — 
 
 "Leaves have their time to fall, 
 The flowers to wither at the north wind's breath; 
 The stars to set — yet all, 
 Thou hast all seasons for thine own, Death." 
 
 Esteemed instructors, who have so long and patiently 
 borne with us; who have often been obliged to rebuke us 
 for our waywardness, but always as mildly and pleasantly as 
 compatible with your duty and our good, we now ask your for- 
 giveness, for all the wrong we may have done here and all 
 the anxiety we have caused you while members of the school- 
 
 You have untiringly striven to cultivate our minds by 
 explaining the ever-open book of Nature, by leading us into 
 the large and extensive field of knowledge; assisting us to 
 cull its choicest flowers and twining for us an unfading 
 chaplet; by teaching to us the general rules and principles 
 of life and endeavoring to give that strength and stability 
 to our characters which will enable us to resist the tempta- 
 tions and to bear the various vicissitudes of life, with hearts 
 grateful to our kind Benefactor. 
 
 You have attended not only to our intellectual but to 
 our moral growth; you have turned our thoughts from the 
 contemplation of the beauties of Nature to the goodness 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 51 
 
 and infinite wisdom of the Creator; and we shall ever look 
 back with grateful remembrance on those who early taught 
 us the importance of education and truth. Accept then our 
 hearts' warmest thanks. 
 
 Respective sirs, you have watched over the welfare of 
 this school during the last year with unremitting interest 
 and we cordially embrace this opportuneity of tendering 
 our thanks for the kind attentions you have bestoyed upon 
 us. Your predecessors were, for several years, guardians 
 of this school and most faithful were they in the discharge 
 of their arduous duties; though we were grieved when the 
 tie was broken which connected them with the Bowdoin 
 School, yet we rejoice that their places have been so well 
 filled, and we hope for the prosperity of our institution 
 that you will long continue to visit it in your official capacity. 
 
 To our parents, brothers, sisters and friends who have 
 gathered here to witness our advancement since the last 
 annual exhibition, we would say, we have been inspired with 
 confidence by your presence; we hope you will look with 
 forgiveness on whatever you have seen amiss. Remember 
 we have but begun the great work of education; that we 
 are yet advanced but a few steps on the ladder of learing; 
 we are conscious of our deficiencies. If you have seen 
 aught to gratify you in these our humble performances, we 
 are repaid for all the anxieties of the day. 
 
 And now remains to be spoken the parting word, fare- 
 well. Its associations are of grief and sorrow, and how 
 sad it is, 
 
 "To part when time 
 Has wreathed his tireless wing with flowers: 
 'Tis bitter now to rend the heart 
 With the sad thought, that we must part; 
 And alike some low and mournful spell, 
 To whisper but one word — farewell." 
 
 Schoolmates, teachers, friends, all — farewell. 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 In the afternon the city entertained all the medal 
 scholars and teachers in Faneuil Hall. Remarks were made 
 by the mayor, some city officials and some members of the 
 general committee, and Mayor Quincy gave a bouquet to 
 each scholar; a banquet followed and all left the "Cradle of 
 Liberty" tired, but oh ! so happy ! The next evening was 
 spent in the Public Garden. 
 
 In the Boston Evening Transcript, the next clay, the 
 following notice was published: "Allow a few remarks re- 
 lative to one school at the Exhibition of which I was present 
 Wednesday. Neither its name nor that of the pupil will 
 be mentioned. There were present a very large auditory, 
 during the whole time, and before closing the Mayor made 
 his welcome appearance. The misses acquitted themselves 
 in a highly respectable manner. The valedictory by one 
 of the elders, only (15) years of age, was a beautiful pro- 
 duction, evincing a cultivated mind and a heart of pure 
 affection. It is my happiness to turn to the original and 
 ponder over its pages, none of which, not even a line, is 
 without instruction. The farewell was touching, yet it is 
 not a farewell. If she is destined to meet in the future any 
 of her former associates, she will sympathize in either their 
 troubles or their pleasures. She will never forget her 
 school-days. Although a stranger to her, in concluding 
 this notice, I will say; may her journey through life be long 
 and tranquil, when old age shall creep along, let her remem- 
 ber what she said, 'Leaves have their time to fall.' " 
 
 A little circumstance occured in Faneuil Hall; amusing 
 to one at least of the participants. A group of the Bowdoin 
 School graduates were chatting together, when a gentleman 
 stepped to them and said, "I attended the Exhibition of the 
 Bowdoin School this morning and was very much pleased 
 with what I saw and heard," and turning to one of the 
 group, "I wish to thank you for your valedictory, it was 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 53 
 
 well worth hearing." The girls thanked him, and not hav- 
 ing the slightest idea who he was, asked if he would please 
 give his name. He was rather a short man, but drew himself 
 up to his full height and said, "George S. Hilliard, Presi- 
 dent of the Common Council." He was a noted scholar, 
 writer, and statesman, but he evidently believed that he 
 was honored by his official position, and in those days it 
 was justly so considered. 
 
 MEMORIES. 
 
 To the Graduates of the First Quarter of a Century of the Bowdoin 
 School, 1821-1846. 
 
 The fair, dear Memories of our childhood, 
 
 Closely around our later years twine, 
 Soothe the pain and illumine the good. 
 
 That follow alway the footsteps of Time. 
 
 The sports of those days, enjoyed so freely, 
 
 Rolling of hoops, the tossing of balls; 
 Uphill races — coasting back gaily; 
 
 These bright scenes, Memory clearly recalls. 
 
 Paddling in brooks, chasing swift-running streams; 
 
 Culling of posies, so brightly hued; 
 Across grass or snow, sun's golden gleams, 
 
 Viewed in our wintry age, youth seems renewed. 
 
 Glimpses of school-life, to us come anew; 
 
 Love for the dear guides of our Springtime; 
 Earnest work and youth's friendship so true, 
 
 Blessed our way until the days of our prime. 
 
 Our Summer passed by, Memory doth show 
 Home, with its pleasures, sorrows and love, 
 
 Children, God's gifts, our hearts caused to glow; 
 Some are here, some dwell with loved ones above. 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Then Autumn approached, we saw "gates ajar," 
 Stepped within; lo ! soft, bright tints were there, 
 
 Three purest rays shone in from afar; 
 
 Hope, faith and peace made our sojourn there fair. 
 
 Nearly four-score years of our lifes have passed, 
 
 Now we live amidst Winter's white sun, 
 O'er all may Heaven's love light be cast, 
 
 Making our last our most beautiful time ! 
 
 Leah Nichols Wellington. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 What a difference between these simple exhibitions 
 with the attending examinations and the elaborate gradu- 
 ations of to-day ! Then the pupils were simply dressed, 
 mostly in white, but it was not obligatory; some appeared in 
 any pretty dress they might have; there was no insistence 
 that everyone must wear white. No expensive bouquets, 
 generally sent to the graduates by some members of their 
 families, when the children of a few of the parents who do 
 not approve of it or who can not afford it, keenly feel the 
 omission. There were no printed programs; no piano so- 
 los, as instrumental music was not then taught in the 
 schools. As to the flowers, they were probably afterward 
 sent to the children on graduation and probably in excess, 
 as in June, 1881, an order was passed by the school board 
 that no public presentation of flowers to any pupils be per- 
 mitted in our schools on exhibition day. Our graduation 
 days were ones of simple excitement and pleasure, for 
 parents and children. 
 
 Quoting from a graduate of 1841 : "But what good in- 
 struction in those days ! The Boston schools were far su- 
 perior to what they are to-day, it seems to me. Boston 
 was very proud of her public schools and I was a loyal 
 daughter and felt so too, and even now, I try some times, 
 to make the present generation believe that "the old was 
 better than the new." Similar messages have been sent 
 from several of the oldest graduates, and this opinion is still 
 held by many, probably by a large majority of the first 
 quarter of a century graduates: particularly by those who 
 have watched the education of children and grand-children, 
 yes, great grand-children, attending the schools, during the 
 
 55 
 
56 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 last sixty years. While the sub-committee was drawn from 
 the general board, for each school district, the Bowdoin 
 School, from its locality, was always highly favored; it had 
 the best men in the city, that is, those especially fitted for 
 the work, by education, position and inclination, to watch 
 over the welfare of the school. The full board in 1846, the 
 quarter century year of its existence, comprised the follow- 
 ing: Josiah Quincy, Jr., Mayor, President of the Board; 
 George S. Hilliard, President of the Common Council, Sec- 
 retary. For many years the Mayor of the city and the 
 President of the Common Council filled these poitions. 
 
 Ward 1. Rev. Sebastian Streeter, Henry G. Clarke. 
 
 Ward 2. James U. Barnes, Samuel C. Allen. 
 
 Ward 3. Samuel P. Simpson, Moses E. Greene. 
 
 Ward 4. Hiram A. Graves, Ezra Palmer, Jr. 
 
 Ward 5. Frederick Emerson, Ninian C. Betton. 
 
 Ward 6. Theophilus Parsons, Rev. Daniel Sharp. 
 
 Ward 7. Edward G. Loring, Rev. Charles Brooks. 
 
 Ward 8. Rev. Daniel M. Lord, Rev. E. M. P. Wells. 
 
 Ward 9. Daniel L. Coit, George F. Curtis. 
 
 Ward 10. Rev. Nehemiah Adam, Ezra Lincoln, Jr. 
 
 Ward 11. Rev. Otis A. Skinner, Charles C. Barry. 
 
 Ward 12. Alvin Simonds, Rev. Theodore D. Cooke. 
 
 Theophilus Parsons, one of the noted judges of the 
 United States, with a high reputation as an international 
 judge, Ninian C. Betton, later a state judge, and the Rev. 
 Daniel C. Sharpe, D. D., were the committee of the Bow- 
 doin School, and like their predecessors, they were inter- 
 ested in the school, visiting it often, and their visits were 
 always enjoyed by the pupils, who never said: "Oh dear, 
 the Committee are coming to-day, don't you dread it?" 
 
 We were always expected to speak to them, when we 
 met them on the street and when they came to the school 
 they would stop and chat with us a while. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 57 
 
 Drawing seems to have been one of the optional studies, 
 as it was taught in some schools and not in others; it was 
 taught in the English High School as early as 1827, six 
 years after the school was founded. It had not been taught 
 in the Bowdoin until after 1846; in 1853 a teacher was ap- 
 pointed, but it was taken only by pupils who seemed espe- 
 cially talented. 
 
 The first Derne-Street building was taken down in 
 1847 to give place to a large stone reservoir for the Croton 
 Water Works, to supply water for the highest part of the 
 city, in case of fire or a low supply of water. It has been 
 stated that it was never used. 
 
 A new building was put up for the school on Myrtle 
 street; during its construction, the school was held in the 
 Masonic Temple, now Stearns' Building. I give a few ex- 
 tracts from letters of pupils who attended the school at 
 that time. "At recess we played on the Common, guarded 
 by policemen detailed for that purpose. At this time there 
 was not a single store on Tremont street from Park to 
 Boylston streets. Street-car tracks were unthought of, 
 and the few 'hourlies' that ran out of the city went, I think, 
 on other streets. We children ran back and forth across 
 the street as freely and safely as if it had been an ordinary 
 village highway." 
 
 "The pupils had the privilege at recess of playing on 
 the Tremont-Street Mall or promenading down Temple 
 Place, as far as the steps leading down to Washington 
 street. Ball playing was the favorite and healthful recrea- 
 tion, the calisthenics of those days." 
 
 "I do not remember how long we went to the Masonic 
 Temple, but it must have been a year, for I recall sailing 
 sticks on the Frog Pond in summer and sliding on it in 
 the winter." 
 
 "When we were in the Masonic Temple, our recita- 
 tion-room was in the basement and had a window opening 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 into the passageway next to St. Paul's Church. Warm af- 
 ternoons, the older girls would get out of the window open- 
 ing into the passage and go for water, which was always 
 welcome. I was in Miss Hannah Andrews' class when we 
 went there. She would read us a nice little story and I, 
 being the baby of the class, sat in her lap." 
 
 At the dedication of the new Bowdoin, on May 15, 1848, 
 addresses were made by Mayor Quincy, Judge Theophilus 
 Parsons, Sampson Reed and George B. Emerson; the two 
 latter were sub-committee of the school and Judge Parsons 
 had previously been one of the committee for several years. 
 The school accommodated 561 pupils. From a graduate: 
 "The building was thought to be a fine one. I remember 
 every detail of its various rooms perfectly. The upper 
 story was one large room, with windows on its sides, the 
 raised platform running the whole length of its northern 
 side. The views from the north and west windows were 
 extensive and interesting. Master Andrews' desk was 
 near the easterly, South Russell street end, and there were 
 two desks for assistant teachers farther down toward 
 Buttolph, now Irving, street. The piano and music black- 
 board were half-way down the platform, facing a broad 
 aisle, which terminated in a bay-window room, used for call- 
 ers, and for private admonitory lectures. The assistants 
 had, each, a recitation-room, but the master's class recited, 
 always standing, around the side of the room. There were 
 no closets or dressing-rooms; our shawls and cloaks, wet or 
 dry, hung upon two or three rows of hooks, which extended 
 along the sides of the room. In Master Andrews' room 
 was a case of shelves with a few reference books, belong- 
 ing, I think, mostly to him personally, and in Master Rob- 
 inson's room was a similar case, containing philosophical 
 appliances which would, I suppose, be looked upon as relics 
 now. In fact, all our text books would be curiosities to the 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 59 
 
 school children of to-day. Our United States History ter- 
 minated with the Mexican War, and on our maps of the 
 United States all the space between Missouri and Arkan- 
 sas to the 'Cordillera of Mexico,' was peppered over with 
 black spots and labelled, 'Great American Desert,' while 
 the western declivity was a blank, marked 'Unexplored 
 Country.' " 
 
 During all my school-days we were taught singing by 
 Mr. A. N. Johnson, although Lowell Mason (music super- 
 intendent) came occasionally. 
 
 The two lower stories were divided by a partition with 
 sliding doors. The school was for some years the show 
 school of the city. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A later graduate writes : 
 
 "I remember well when our school, together with the 
 pupils of all the other Boston schools, met upon the Com 
 mon, October 25, 1848. We wore badges of satin ribbon 
 adorned with the city seal, the name of our school, and the 
 date of the introduction of the Cochituate water. We went 
 to view the procession, hear the addresses by Mayor Quincy 
 and Nathan Hale and, standing by the Frog Pond, sang an 
 original ode (I believe by James Russell Lowell); I have not 
 seen this ode for more than forty years. After the sing- 
 ing, the water was let on for the first time, and the foun 
 tain in the Frog Pond rose in throbs to its utmost altitude, 
 amid deafening applause. To our astonishment, the water 
 was at first a deep brick-red color, but it soon became less 
 opaque, and at last clear as crystal" The writer of this was 
 correct as to her surmise, the author was James Russell 
 Lowell. The first and last verses of the poem : 
 
 "My name is Water, I have sped 
 
 Through strange dark ways untried before, 
 
 By pure desire, by friendship led, 
 Cochituate's Ambassador. 
 
 He sends four royal gifts by me : 
 
 Long life, health, peace and purity." 
 
 "To free myself, to-day, elate 
 
 I come from far, o'er hill and meed, 
 And here, Cochituate's envoy, wait 
 To be your blithsome Ganymede. 
 And brim your cups with nectar true, 
 That never shall make slaves of you." 
 
 Quoting from the same graduate : "At the age of seven 
 I entered the lowest class of the old Derne-Street school, 
 
 60 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 61 
 
 on the corner of Derne and Temple streets, having duly 
 graduated from the primary school on the corner of West 
 Cedar and May streets, now Revere street. The first class 
 of each of the different primary schools in the district met 
 for examination in the old Phillips School building, corner 
 of Pinckney and West Centre (now Anderson) streets. 
 Having successfully passed the examination in reading, 
 spelling, and the multiplication table, we received a certfi- 
 cate and began our career in the grammar school. Two 
 little incidents stand out in my memory of those very early 
 days at Derne street. One was, when in single file, we 
 marched through one of the lower rooms to view a wedding 
 present which was to be given by the school to a retiring 
 teacher; the other was when an alarm of fire was given out 
 and the rooms were full of smoke. As we huddled down 
 the stairway, I become aware of a strange man standing by 
 an open window on the landing. Without ceremony he 
 lifted me out of the window into the arms of a fireman on a 
 ladder, who in turn passed me to a third, who deposited me 
 safely on the sidewalk below. I must have been nine or 
 ten years old when the new Bowdoin School was opened, and 
 from that time I seldom missed a session. The school was 
 for some years the show school of the city. Among dis- 
 tinguished visitors, I remember that Ralph Waldo Emer- 
 son brought Fredericka Bremer to visit us." 
 
 The fire which the last writer referred to, was the third 
 that occurred in the Derne-Street building. I continue 
 quoting from her, although it may seem a repitition of what 
 has already been given, for I am sure it will be gratifying 
 to the graduates of the school to have the opinion of more 
 than one person, showing the estimate of different pupils, 
 of different years, respecting the teachers, who by their 
 untiring work have made the Bowdoin School one to be 
 proud of. 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 "Of the several lady teachers through whose classes I 
 passed consecutively, I have only pleasant memories. One 
 of them, Miss Murdock, of the 'Highest Second,' always 
 seemed to me to be the embodiment of wisdom and dig- 
 nity. I can see her now, after forty-seven years, every 
 line of her face and figure; the clear, steady eyes; the large, 
 faultlessly-white teeth; and the glossy brown hair, always 
 worn in a smooth 'French Twist' with a tortoise shell comb. 
 Having passed through Miss Murdock's division, we en- 
 tered the master's classes. They were called, regardless of 
 grammar, the 'Highest First' and 'Lowest First.' Each of 
 these classes were sub-divided into first and second sections 
 and the average girl passed about four years, from her 
 twelfth to her sixteenth year, in going through them. It 
 would be impossible to find two men more utterly unlike 
 than were these two masters in appearance, temper, raiment, 
 manners and methods. Mr. Andrews was, as he explained 
 to us in one of our anatomy lectures, 'a person of a gross 
 habit,' while Mr. Robinson was spare to attenuation. Mr. 
 Robinson had a small head, with closely cropped gray hair; 
 little, restless, gray, glittering eyes; and thin lips, which 
 twitched incessantly. We thought him about seventy-five 
 years old. As he had middle-aged children, he may not have 
 been far from that. He was an expert in mathematics and 
 his handwriting, even in his old age, was very elegant. 
 
 "Master Andrews was a large man, who wore a brown 
 wig and gold-bowed spectacles. He was probably as old as 
 Mr. Robinson, but we did not think so. His word was 
 law and his laws like those of the Medes and Persians. No 
 girl ever thought of trying her strength against his, but we 
 liked him, all of us, and respected him. He had a genius 
 for imparting the love of study. The amount of collateral 
 information which he imparted in the couse of a recitation 
 was something wonderful to remember. He was especially 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 63 
 
 strong in spelling. I never knew a graduate from that 
 shool who was not a good speller — she had to be. In those 
 days there were no colleges for girls, in fact there was no 
 Girls' High School for them, but with four years spent 
 with Master Andrews and the 'American First Class Book' 
 I have never felt myself an uneducated person. 
 
 "I suppose we played at recess much the same things 
 that school girls do now; but what girl of to-day ever heard 
 of pricking a ball ? We did it very often. I don't know the 
 science of it, but we cut a small cube from a piece of draw- 
 ing rubber, pure black gum, no sulphur nor grit, and holding 
 it and turning it constantly we pricked it all over with a big 
 shawl pin or awl; it swelled, grew round and hollow; then we 
 cut a little slit in it and poked in little bits of rubber, sur- 
 reptitiously obtained from the edges of our pure gum shoes 
 probably, and repeated the process until tired. These balls 
 were nice, pretty and bounced splendidly. 
 
 "Another fad had its fascination for a time. It re- 
 quired six actors, a short girl preferably, though height was 
 no object, four tall girls for 'lifters' and the sixth who 
 acted as mistress of ceremonies. The short girl stood in 
 the center, each of the four lifters placed a fore-finger of 
 one hand under her arm-pits, and under the hollow of each 
 foot. At a given signal from the leader, all five inflated 
 their lungs to their utmost capacity and the centre girl rose 
 into the air as high as our arms could reach, with no appar- 
 ent effort on the part of anyone. If you laughed or let go 
 your breath, she dropped. This could last only a few sec- 
 onds, when we expirated in unison and she slowly touched 
 the ground again. I have since read that this could not be 
 done, but we did it repeatedly. It finally came to Mr. An- 
 drews' ears, who forbade it peremptorily, as dangerous." 
 
 It is singular that the descriptions in these last ex- 
 tracts are very nearly the same as I had already given. She 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE BOWUOIN SCHOOL 
 
 is slightly mistaken as to the first class; there were two div- 
 isions, first and second. The first division would be with 
 one master in the morning session and the second division 
 with the other, for a week; the next week the first division 
 would be with the other master, and the second division 
 would be with the one who first had the first division morn- 
 ings. There was no way the masters could carry on the 
 work of four divisions unless the first two divisions, then 
 the other two divisions, were out every other day. If Mr. 
 Andrews' pupils were good spellers, "because they had to 
 be," so all of Mr. Robinson's pupils were fine in penman- 
 ship, "because they had to be." The lifting game, which 
 the writer describes, was in vogue in 1840 and 1841. I re- 
 member when my sister came home and told of it; of course 
 it was doubted; there must be some trick in it; but my sis- 
 ter insisted it should be tried, and it was after a little prac- 
 tice easily executed. It was also played in my day. 
 
 As to the ages of Master Andrews and Master Rob- 
 inson, Mr. Robinson was the elder by five years and three 
 months. 
 
 A graduate of 1850 says: "I was much attached to 
 good Mr. Robinson, and from a peculiar little episode and 
 my quickness and pleasure in his arithmetic, was one of his 
 favorites; he on some occasions hearing^ my lessons and 
 then giving up the class to my instruction. 
 
 "There had been some disturbance of the desks in his 
 schoolroom, so one afternoon he remained in the recita- 
 tion-room to assure himself who the offender could be. At 
 early dusk I ran across the room towards my desk, when he 
 sprang, caught and shook me. In a moment he saw I 
 was innocent of any mischief, and in regretting his haste 
 was always very tender to me. Having used and taught 
 from many other arithmetics, I cannot remember if the 
 present one is like the one I studied, but it is enough to 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 65 
 
 possess what bears his name. I've never ceased to regret 
 losing sight of the one I had when I was taught by the re- 
 vered author." 
 
 A pupil of 1852 sends the following: "I was a mem- 
 ber of the Bowdoin School from my seventh to my six- 
 teenth year. I remember being handed out the window 
 once when a fire occured in the building during school 
 hours. During these nine years Mr. Andrews always 
 seemed the embodiment of wisdom and judgment. I have 
 an old copy of the 'American First Class Book,' and almost 
 every page suggests some well-remembered comment or 
 criticism of his. 'Old Jacob Stock,' 'Goody Blake and 
 Harry Gill,' the 'Address to the Mummy in Belzoin's Ex- 
 hibition' and many other pieces bring back vividly his 
 look, tone and gesture. He was full of information and 
 anecdote, and stimulated our interest in collateral reading, 
 connected with the various studies in his department. To 
 this day, although it is more than fifty years since I last 
 saw him, I often find myself recalling, and giving to others, 
 some useful bit of information thrown out incidently by 
 him in those long-gone days; and I feel that to him and his 
 inspiration I owe the most of happiness found in books 
 during many years of invalid life." 
 
 Another graduate of 1852 : "I think we all had a cer- 
 tain satisfaction in seeing 'Master of the Bowdoin School' 
 on the title page of our arithmetics." [referring to Mr. Rob- 
 inson's arithmetic]. "Of the arithmetic, after a lapse of 
 more than fifty years, I remember only one sentence, and 
 that, I think, the first in the book : 'Arithmetic is the 
 science of numbers and the art of computation.' 
 
 "At that time we were using 'Greene's Analysis of 
 English Grammar.' This book was prepared by Master 
 Samuel S. Greene of the Phillips School, afterward Profes- 
 sor Greene of Brown University. Master Greene held the 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 66 history (•!•' :n:-. BOWDOIN school 
 
 theory that there was no need of teaching spelling, that 
 everyone wo'illd' 'sobneVor later 1 dCqufre tte^ h^Hit 1 'of 'srSfeU 
 f^'wai^f^dtt'to^Wti^ 1 ^^^^^^ reading 1 . M 'Mj 
 brothers aW^o^rTeighrJors k'tten s d^a WMchobrahWto tfok 
 day, "though 1 they are 'gray -Hea ( de ( d busines's' men',' I^hi'nlc 
 they are all mbre or less "dependent 1 upon a dictionary 1 for 
 tjierr spelling; 'Master Andrews' of 'th'e'Bowdoin : !Schbol 
 believed in ; a thorough 1 drilling in spelling,' never intermit- 
 ted from the lowest class ! td the highest, and all my scWoj 
 friends, no matter ho\V hard-working br commonplace" their 
 lives may have been, were^'and are, good spellers always. 
 
 "Durihg these years we used 'Worcester's Outlines of 
 General History.' ' We went through' it' Several t.irnes from 
 the 'Five' Great Nations of Antiquity' to the Mexican WaV 
 of i J84S-* I remember little' or nothing of the text of this 
 history, but' I found the foot notes very interesting reading 
 and can recall fnany of them. For instance, while we were 
 studying the 'Wars of the Roses,' between the houses of 
 York and Lancaster, a foot note told us of a York lovef 
 who sent a white rose to his sweetheart with this verse : 
 
 'If this fair rose offend thy sight, 
 1 It, in your bosom wear. " 
 •Twill blush to find itself less white 
 Ahd turn Lancastian there.' ' " ' 
 
 This quotation has stuck in memory like 'Thirty days hath 
 September.' Also when studying of 'Barebone's Parlia- 
 ment,' we were told in the foot note of children who were 
 named after whole verses of Scripture, one being named, 
 'If Christ had riot died for our sins we should have been 
 dammed,' the note stating that, for convenience, the child 
 came to be commonly called only by the last word of the 
 verse. 
 
 "The thorough study which we made of the 'American 
 First Class Book' was an education in itself. Master An- 
 
HISTOKY <'I ? THE r.uWDOI.N SCI!-''0[. G7 
 
 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 67 
 
 ( } r ... vs u !.- ii t '\e m i »M-.--r n • ' .- mi' j t »."< i f 
 drews, made us take an interest in the subject matter: of 
 
 our; reading lessons,, and much of b f is i collateral information 
 still abides with me. I remember, we were reading Byr- 
 ant's 'To a .Waterfowl,,' and were droning listlessly. through, 
 ^t when, with a sudden start, Mr. Andrews called out, 'See 
 it ! ' at the same time pointing to the sky out, of the long 
 western, windows of ,the, school-room. Every girl woke 
 up and turned involuntarilly to look, then as the uninmagi- 
 native girl, whose turn it was, went, on monotonously, 'As 
 darkly painted on the crimson sky,', he threw down; his 
 book with a groan, saying in a tone of utter disgust, 'That 
 girl doesn't see it.' Other text books used ,byus were 
 'Olmsted's Rudiments ,of , Natural Philosophy,' 'Wood- 
 bridge's Geography and Atlas,' and 'Cutter's Anatomy, 
 Physiology and Hygiene.' Colburn's Mental Arithmetic 
 was used regularly in addition to our written arithmetic 
 lessons." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 In 1852 a leak was discovered in the roof of the building. 
 In making repairs it was found the ventilating plant had 
 never been completed; it stopped in the attic; this was rec- 
 tified. Poor human nature! It seems to have been very 
 much the same in the past century as in the present one. 
 Probably the citizens of those days knew nothing about the 
 unfinished work of the building. If to-day, such a wrong 
 had been done and been discovered, every parent, whose 
 child had attended the school during the four previous 
 years, would have heard of it the same day of its discovery, 
 and in their indignation that their children had been de- 
 prived of the free air for which the city had paid the con- 
 tractors, strong protests would have been sent to the city; 
 but in those days telegraphs, telephones and innumerable 
 daily papers were not in use, and probably many a parent 
 never knew of the wrong. 
 
 In 1855 colored children were admitted to all the public 
 schools of Boston. A large majority of the colored people 
 lived on Beacon Hill, in two or three of the streets sloping 
 down to Cambridge street. The consequent increase of 
 pupils in the Bowdoin School necessitated some addition to 
 the building, without enlarging it; the required room was 
 obtained by a partition across the large hall, thus gaining 
 two more rooms, but losing a fine hall. These rooms, the 
 committee ordered, should be properly heated. 
 
 The following was sent in by one, who entered the 
 school in 1852 and graduated in 1858: "I left the Wells 
 and entered the Bowdoin near the close of Master Andrews' 
 administration, being placed in the class taught by his 
 daughter Hannah. The large room in the upper story was 
 
 68 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 69 
 
 undivided by any partition and accommodated three classes 
 of the reading department, as it was called, of which the 
 master's class was one. Miss Andrews was accustomed to 
 take the two sections of her class,alternately,to the recitation 
 room, the other being left to study in the large room under 
 the general supervison of the master. If we, restless child- 
 ren, trusted too much to the belief that he was too deeply 
 engaged with the recitations of his own pupils to detect our 
 play, we were likely to be startled by his heavy gruff voice 
 calling us to order. An idle glance down to the end of the 
 room would generally show us his portly form seated at 
 his desk, with both feet resting upon it and a smile wreath- 
 ing his large mouth. He wore a wig, which was glossy 
 black and curly, and his suit was invariably of clerical black. 
 When at the beginning of every morning's session, he stood 
 to read the Scriptures and offer an extempore prayer, his 
 tone and manner were full of reverential devotion. He was 
 accustomed to require his reciting class to form a line 
 around the room, and on one occasion, when they were 
 unable to give correctly the case of a word which they were 
 parsing, he was sorely tried at what he freely called their 
 stupidity and affirmed that the little girls in his daughter's 
 class could do better, calling upon me to answer the same 
 question, to prove the truth of what he had said. I am not 
 sure whether I had begun the study of 'Bullion's Grammar' or 
 not, but certainly I knew nothing about case, however in idle 
 moments I had listened, as any child will, to what was going 
 on at the other end of the room, and when thus suddenly 
 questioned, frightened by the publicity, and the responsi- 
 bility of justifying the master, I spoke out the only thing I 
 could recall having heard the grammer class say, which had 
 not been declared wrong, at this time, which was, 'Nomi- 
 native independent by direct address.' For this, I was 
 called upon the platform to be commended, my confusion 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 s all 
 being greatly enhanced, by the consciousness that; it was all 
 
 an untruth on my part since I had no knowledge of the subject 
 whatever. In the class of Miss Hannah Andrews we began 
 the study of history, using 'Peter Parley's text book,' 
 square, with green covers, two columns on a page with 
 numerous pictorial chapter headings. The only : teaching 
 of hers which I can distinctly recall is, that a 'horizontal 
 line appears longer than a vertical one of the same measure- 
 ment.' Her sister, Miss Sarah, taught a younger class, 
 and my admiration was always excited by a large blue 
 brooch, with a covered head, which she usually wore. Miss 
 Mary S. Robinson was the daughter of the old writing 
 master, Mr. James Robinson. Her mind was as alert as 
 her black eyes were shining, and the pain of her crippled 
 body was sufficient excuse for the sharp ring of .her words. 
 Heaven forgive us that we eluded her best efforts, laughed 
 at her embarrassment, and rejoiced wildly to pass beyond 
 her control. We called her old and cross, when we should 
 have been sympathetic and pitiful. 
 
 "Miss Rebecca Lincoln was of short figure, with 
 polished and dignified manners and so gifted in drawing, 
 that she taught the two upper classes, as well as her own. 
 She walked with a rapid gliding step, and always carried 
 an ivory ruler in her thin hand as she went about from desk 
 to desk in the drawing hour. She helped those who could 
 draw well, but seemed little interested in others, and her 
 impassivity did not readily yield, except to a few who were 
 enthusiastic in her praise, while most found her cold and 
 were alienated by her quiet sarcasm. 
 
 "Miss Mary A. Murdock, fine Scotch woman that she 
 was, was nicety and integrity itself. Her soft brown hair 
 was always carried smoothly below her ear, and the open 
 neck of her surplice waist was filled in with the smoothest, 
 of folded lace. She taught us exceeding neatness in all we 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 7 \ 
 
 die}, and precision in whatever we learned. Can we not for 
 trie moment, see her beautifully white and regular teeth, as 
 srie insisted that we must pronounce 'been' with a pro- 
 longed 'e' just as spelled? On Monday mornings in her 
 class, we had a lesson out of "The Manual of Morals,'' 
 which, to most of us, seemed a very stupid book, but some 
 others of us enjoyed it in a small measure because she 
 seemed just the woman to teach it. I recall Miss Sarah 
 Mitchell, the rythmic oscillations of whose gait, prepared 
 One for the calmness of her ringlet framed face, on nearer 
 view, and the modulations of her low-toned voice. She was 
 a foil to Miss Robinson, whose room she shared. 
 
 "With the departure of Master Andrews, disappeared 
 the inconvenient custom of the pupils occupying one room 
 in the morning for reading lessons and another in the af- 
 ternoon for writing lessons, which necessitated the con- 
 stant carrying of books forth and back. In preparation for 
 the coming of his successor, Mr. Daniel Colcord Brown, A. 
 M., previously sub-master of the Brimmer school for boys, 
 a partition was made in the upper room and the seats 
 throughout were turned around that the light might be be- 
 hind the scholars. The new master brought many novel 
 ideas, which he at once began to use for our benefit, espe- 
 cially in the matters of map drawing and composition writ- 
 ing. He had a large ledger-like book, into which the very 
 best of 'our monthly effusions were copied and then read 
 aloud to the class. I recall the longing I had, that one of 
 mine might be so honored, but cannot recollect that any 
 work of my brain was ever there. Mr. Brown tolerated 
 nothing that interfered with study; taught us to use books 
 of reference; gave us the idea that the world was larger 
 than our little community, and tried to show it to us by 
 'Familiar Science' readings, by papers prepared from the 
 'Commercial Encycolpaedia' and by 'Imaginary Travels.' 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Under his instruction the Bowdoin School became re- 
 nowned for their excellent penmanship. He loved the 
 earnest scholar, regardless of social standing, and knew how 
 to impart knowledge. He rejoiced in every success of his 
 pupils, but earnestly discouraged all strife for position, aim- 
 ing to send to the High School those who would maintain 
 the reputation of his school for high scholarship, whether 
 or not they should enter with the highest percentage of 
 any school in the city. In this he was so successful that 
 the high rank of the Bowdoin School in this particular was 
 unquestioned, while but one school ever excelled in the en- 
 trance examinations and that not invariably. The curricu- 
 lum was not so bound by authority as at present, and Mr. 
 Brown found opportunity to teach us English, French and 
 Ancient History, with all the departments of Physics, af- 
 terwards taken up at the High School. 
 
 "One day an attractive young lady visited the school, 
 and after she had gone a whisper was started by the assis- 
 tant, Miss Marcy Ann Smith, and eagerly circulated among 
 the girls, that this was Mr. Brown's 'intended.' Although 
 she never came again, the topic of our master's approach- 
 ing marriage was a favorite one. Early one afternoon, a 
 message came for Mr. Brown, which called him away for 
 several days. On the morning of his return, as he was 
 about to conduct the devotions, he opened the Bible at 
 random and read the passage upon which his eye fell, 
 'What man is he that liveth and shall not see death ? ' Ab- 
 ruptly closing the book he left the room, followed by Miss 
 Smith, a deep awe hushing us all. After a long time she 
 returned alone and told us, with tears, that the young lady 
 had died, and that it was her illness that had caused the re- 
 cent absence of Mr. Brown. 
 
 "Mr. James Robinson, who had in his younger days 
 been at the head of the writing department and who was 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 73 
 
 the author of the Arithmetic which we studied, was now an 
 aged man and receiving a small pension from the city, with 
 the nominal duty of visiting the school at his convenience 
 to supervise the instruction in writing and arithmetic. 
 Once or twice a year he paid us a visit, gravely important 
 over the discharge of his duties. One the pleasantest rec- 
 ollections associated with Mr. Brown is of his tenderness 
 towards this feeble old gentleman, whose trembling limbs 
 with difficulty bore him up the long flights of stairs, but 
 whose blue eye was clear and cheek 'like a rose in the 
 snow.' 
 
 "A young Hindoo, in this country for education, vis- 
 ited our class one summer day and in the course of the ad- 
 dress which he was invited to make, he described to us 
 some of the customs of his country. We were especially in- 
 terested in the manner of drinking water by pouring it 
 from a cup held at arm's length above the mouth, and 
 when we went out at recess the most of the class experi- 
 mented upon the East Indian method, with such effect 
 upon our thin dresses as to astonish Mr. Brown and make 
 us extremely uncomfortable until time for dismissal. 
 
 "One day there came a stranger, announcing herself as 
 'Miss Parker, a teacher of Mnemonics from Paris,' anxious 
 to secure pupils to form a class by whose achievements in 
 memorizing she might secure others. Her singular cos- 
 tume, especially a large hat with a deep fringe of beads 
 around its drooping edge, when all other ladies wore bon- 
 nets, amused us, but we thought, of course, it must be the 
 latest French fashion. Mr. Brown introduced a half-dozen 
 of us to her and arrangements were made for us to learn 
 her method. When she thought us reliable, she took us 
 to Harvard College where, in a private room, students were 
 invited to test our ability to remember dates and discon- 
 nected facts, by her method. I never heard that the en- 
 thusiastic lady ever gained any pupils by our help. 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE BOVVDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 "Miss Smith ! modest, faithful, ready to fit into corn- 
 ers without complaint; she elevated our characters and 
 made us more womanly. Happy the girl who could take 
 her home to dine ! Later she became the wife of Mr. 
 Henry Vennard of Lynn and had many years of happy 
 married life. 
 
 "The first music teacher I recall was Mr. A. N. John- 
 son, brother of Mr. J. C. Johnson, who gave children's 
 Floral Concerts, and brought over from Germany the 
 Christmas tree. He was followed by Mr. Charles Butler, 
 a painstaking teacher and a great favorite with all the girls. 
 The hour of his semi-weekly lesson was eagerly antici- 
 pated, yet so unscientific was the method pursued that we 
 learned next to nothing in the course of a year, except to 
 sing indifferently well a few easy songs out of the 'Pestolz- 
 zian.' It was years before I had the slightest notion why 
 this peculiarly hard name was given to our song-book. 
 
 "The young girls of to-day would be greatly amused 
 with the costumes we used to wear; the low necks and 
 short sleeves, even in winter; the close bonnets in summer, 
 and hoods with long ends tied on the tops of our heads in 
 winter, and the fantatsic styles of hair dressing which have 
 never come into vogue again. 
 
 "In 1856, the statue of Franklin was erected in front 
 of City Hall and the occasion of its unveiling was made a 
 festival, at which several hundred school children sang, 
 seated upon a grand stand in the City Hall yard. Other 
 similar festivals were held in Music Hall in honor of the 
 visit of the Prince of Wales, October, i860; and when the 
 'Oceliaba', under Admiral Lessofsky, and other vessels of 
 the Russian fleet, were in Boston harbor, their officers 
 were the guests of the city. 
 
 "Can we leave the old school-house without alluding to 
 'Marm Haywood's' candy shop opposite ? Where, for a 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 75 
 
 penny, we could get two long and very slender sticks of 
 lemon-flavored molasses candy and, if we had any money 
 left, could spend it on chewing gum or toys. The wind 
 blowing fiercely up Irving street, made it difficult to stand 
 on the icy sidewalk in winter, and when we opened the 
 tinkling door of the little shop the gust took us in without 
 ceremony, showing us 'Marm Haywood' wrapped in a 
 shawl, the exposed room being bitterly cold in spite of the 
 fire in the stove. Her pleasant voice gave us welcome, cor- 
 dial welcome, and her short curls, the color of her own 
 candy, falling out from under her black cap, bobbed about 
 her face as she waited upon us. If the monitors discovered 
 our visit, we sometimes suffered the grief of temporary or 
 permanent confiscation of our treasure, which was a bitter- 
 ness not soon forgotten." 
 
 A colored graduate of 1859, the first of her race to 
 graduate from the Bowdoin School, sent me the fol- 
 lowing: "When my dear little mother and I came to 
 Boston in 1852, we found that children of all ages 
 and from every section of the city went to the school 
 on Joy street, just below Myrtle street, of which Mr. 
 Thomas Paul was the master. He was a very severe 
 man and the dread of my life. My mother decided that 
 it was not the place for me, so after one term I was sent to 
 a private school, where many of the colored people who 
 could afford it sent their children. The principal was Mr. 
 Watkins, brother of Frances Ellen Watkins, who has done 
 so much good work as a temperance lecturer. I went to 
 the school as long as it was kept open. The doors of 
 the public schools of the city were opened to all its child- 
 ren, irrespective of race or color, on the 1st of September, 
 1855. I well remember my mother's words that morning: 
 'Come, Ariana, you are going to school this morning to the 
 Bowdoin; it is open to all and 1 want you to enter to-day.' 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 I tried to persuade her to let me wait until the novelty of 
 the thing should wear off, but she would not hear to it and 
 my farther pleading. I started along up the hill and, arriv- 
 ing in ample time, found Master Brown, who gave me a 
 cordial welcome and directed me to go upstairs to the top 
 floor, where all the school seemed to have assembled, and af- 
 ter some devotional exercises, the master made an address, in 
 which he spoke of the new element in the school for the 
 first time; that the colored girls had a right to be there, as 
 the state had decided; that he should show no partiality, 
 and hoped that nothing but kindness would be shown the 
 new girls. It was my fortune to attend several years, in 
 which time I was made to feel at home and received the 
 utmost kindness from Miss Hannah Andrews, Miss Mary 
 A. Murdock, Miss Rebecca Lincoln, Miss Marcy Ann 
 Smith, the teachers." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 From a pupil of the class of 1858 : "One of the attrac- 
 tions of the second Bowdoin building, the first on Myrtle 
 street, was the cellar, cold and dark. One entered it with 
 almost a shudder, when permitted to go alone to get a drink. 
 Almost in the centre of the cellar was an old-fashioned 
 pump with its long handle. The water was icy cold and mem- 
 ory recalls it to be of excellent flavor. But various school- 
 girl traditions of tramps hidden in the coal-bins, made one 
 start if a coal happened to move, or a passing cloud sud- 
 denly increased the shadows, and hastened our return to 
 the writing teacher, with a pitcher of refreshing water. I 
 recall the grateful relief I felt when I had closed the door 
 at the top of the stairs and was once more in the sunlight. 
 The ascent of the remaining flight of stairs was not so hur- 
 ridly made. 
 
 "I remember with gratitude Miss Clarke, a patient 
 teacher, who could readily tell if a girl turned around from 
 nervous forgetfulness or from wilfulness; Miss Mitchell, 
 with her four slim curls on either side of her face; Miss 
 Robinson, a little lady with a big heart and very just dis- 
 cipline, which won my love; Miss Hannah Andrews, very 
 amiable and who had glossy black hair; Miss Rebecca Lin- 
 coln, another little lady, always well dressed and courteous, 
 whose presence in all the classes, as our drawing teacher, 
 was welcomed; Miss Murdock, with the white neckerchief 
 and very strict ideas, who tried to lead our thoughts to right 
 motives in conduct; and Miss Marcy Ann Smith, who sat 
 in the master's room with Mr. Brown. When I met her 
 at the Bowdoin School reunion in 1903, I said : 'Miss 
 Smith, I don't believe you remember me.' 'Oh, yes I do ! 
 
 77 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 I remember you well. I gave you a misdemeanor mark 
 once that you did not deserve, and I learned it afterwards 
 and I regretted it. I am glad to be able to tell your so.' 
 
 "Master Andrews inspired confidence, as the follwing 
 incident will prove. I sneezed in study hour. The teacher 
 of the other class in our room told me to stand upon my seat 
 I was surprised, but obeyed; soon I felt faint and sat down. 
 She called me to the platform. 'I'll teach you to sneeze ! ' 
 I said, ' You need not, my mother teaches me, I know how.' 
 In anger, she took something from her desk and told me to 
 put it in my mouth. I was so frightened that I started for 
 the door and when she called, I would not go back, and did 
 not until, out of breath, I stood at Master Andrews' desk. 
 'What do you want, ? he asked. I told him the whole story. 
 He said, 'Come with me.' He took me back to my room 
 and said, 'Where is your seat? Sit there until your own 
 teacher comes.' To the other teacher he said, 'Come to 
 my room this noon.' 
 
 "The class that graduated in 1858, one morning at re- 
 cess planned a surprise for Master Brown. Every girl in 
 the class came, for the afternoon session, with hair done 
 up in two pugs on the back of her head. It was agreed 
 that our conduct should be perfect. It was with difficulty 
 that one mother was persuaded to allow her daughter to 
 join in the fun. When her consent was gained, it was 
 near school-time, so when this girl entered the school room 
 she was the last one, and, as she usually wore long curls, 
 the change made it difficult for the girls to keep their agree- 
 ment and refrain from laughter. We had visions of mis- 
 demeanor marks, but Mr. Brown remarked only that, 'It is 
 strange every girl in the class had been willing to join in 
 such a foolish joke, and make herself look hideous; I should 
 have expected some would have had sense enough to re 
 fuse.' As no one ventured a reply, the joke passed with- 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 79 
 
 out serious consequences. Not so the pranks of one mem- 
 ber of the class. We sat two at each desk. Often she 
 would get down on the floor and creep from her seat near 
 the back of the room, passing between the girls to the front 
 row, then seat herself on the edge of the platform directly 
 under Master Brown's desk, and sometimes remain hidden 
 through a recitation. Once a front seat was vacant; she 
 took it and sat stroking her chin in the way Mr. Brown had 
 a habit of doing. He watched her for awhile and then said, 
 'Miss E, do I do that often?' 'Almost all the time, Sir,' 
 she replied. 'Stand ! How did you get from the last seat 
 to the front one ? Did you creep ? ' 'Yes, Sir.' 'Go into 
 my room and stay until I call you.' It was the first part of 
 the session, and she had to remain until the others had 
 gone home. She never graduted." 
 
 From a graduate of the class of 1862 : "Several girls, 
 four or five, had a good social time that graduation year, 
 and could not give much attention to their studies. They 
 were acquainted with some students of Harvard College, 
 were invited to many of their entertainments and gave so 
 much time to social affairs that, as the close of the year ap- 
 proached, they realized that they could not receive a silver 
 medal. They went to a shoemaker's shop in the neigh- 
 borhood and had made leather medals the size of the city 
 medals. They bought some white ribbons, good quality, 
 about one and one-quarter inches wide, and had the leather 
 medal hanging at the waist line with the ribbons, by which 
 it was suspended, passed around the neck, with bow and 
 ends fastened at the back of the neck. After the gradua- 
 tion exercises they mingled among the guests and laughed 
 and enjoyed the joke as if they were genuine silver medal 
 scholars. Their immediate friends understood it, but the 
 majority of the guests supposed they were of the chosen 
 few." 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE BOWOOIN SCHOOL 
 
 "Natural philosophy and physiology were not required 
 to be taught in the highest class ot the grammar schools. 
 It was left optional with the master, and Mr. Brown taught 
 them. He thought it was well for us to get some idea of 
 these subjects. 
 
 "At the High School, when Mr. Seavey wanted papers 
 copied or letters written, he called the Bowdoin girls to the 
 reception room and requested them to do the writing. He 
 said their writing was similar and all the letters appeared 
 to be written by one person. 
 
 "Mr. Brown made a great effort to prevent the schol- 
 ars from bringing candy into the school when he first came 
 to the Bowdoin, and really cut into the business of the little 
 candy store on Myrtle street, so that the woman closed 
 her store." 
 
 A graduate of 1864 contributes the following: "My 
 class was one of the war-time classes. I remember that 
 at the very beginning of the war we raised money for a 
 flag and made comfort bags for the soldiers. 
 
 "Later we had clubs, the members of which wore 
 shields of red, white and blue and adopted secret patriotic 
 mottoes. I remember my own, 'Iustum bellum iniustae 
 paci praeferimus.' From '61 to '64 bean-bags was a favorite 
 game, the girls organizing in clubs for it. My only other 
 distinct recollections of games or sports, are connected with 
 the glowing furnaces in the cellar, in front of which we 
 used to gather and roast apples drawing them out with the 
 janitor's poker. The pump was worshipped with as much 
 devotion as the pump in the yard of Harvard College. No- 
 where else in our young view, was such cold and refreshing 
 water to be found. I have often wondered from what source 
 it was supplied. Was it one of the famous springs with 
 which the hill abounded when first settled ? It was not 
 unusual for girls to spend three years in the master's room. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 81 
 
 Any faithful scholar who did this, left the school not only 
 well-fitted to enter the High School, but with sufficient 
 training and knowledge to fill a useful place in the world. 
 Our studies included not only the usual grammar school 
 subjects, but English history, natural philosophy, physiol- 
 ogy and physical geography. Add to this a careful training 
 in English, which laid a solid foundation for future reading, 
 and it can be seen that a diploma or medal from the Bowdoin 
 School meant a great deal. Another point which seems 
 worth noticing, is the interest which used to be shown by 
 prominent citizens in the schools. 
 
 "Mr. Russell Sturgis, Dr. Le Baron Russell, Dr. Samuel 
 Upham, Dr. Lamson and others were on our committee, 
 and their visits were a pleasure and inspiration." 
 
 Of Mr. Brown she says: "I consider him a distinctly 
 formative influence in my life. Miss Harriet M. E. Choate 
 also was very much to our class and had the power of stim- 
 ulating interest, and leading the girlish mind out into new 
 paths." Mrs. Choate Goodhue now resides in Auckland, 
 New Zealand; a letter from her is given later. 
 
 VALEDICTORY BY EMMA GALE, JULY 24, 1865. 
 
 Since the last time we met, as we meet at this season, 
 What changes have passed o'er the land where we dwell I 
 Our Nation has triumphed in the contest with treason, 
 And gladly the anthems of victory swell ! 
 
 Oh ! long did the war-clouds, their shadows cast o'er us, 
 Threatening our Liberty's star to obscure; 
 But while e'en one ray cheered the pathway before us, 
 We could, for its sake, trial and sorrow endure. 
 
 Fierce was the conflict, through which we were guided, 
 While seeking to keep that star ever in view; 
 But the Union, by traitors, can ne'er be divided, 
 When guarded by some who are loyal and true. 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Those soldiers of Freedom, her fair banner bearing 
 Mid wild scenes of battle, defended it well; 
 Now every star, a new lustre seems wearing, 
 And every stripe, of their deeds seem to tell. 
 
 And too, other records, our banner is keeping! 
 
 Each emblem of union must ever recall 
 
 Thoughts of the friends, now in death's embrace sleeping, 
 
 Who went forth for freedom, to conquer or fall. 
 
 We miss them at morning, at noontide, at even; — 
 Though lonely our homes, in our hearts still they dwell, 
 Their lives to their Country, were cheerfully given; 
 We morn for the loved ones, — and yet all is well. 
 
 And now while we sorrow, that death must divide us, 
 
 We mourn as a Nation, for one who no more 
 
 Through storm and through sunshine, in safety shall guide us, 
 
 But his influence lives, though his life work is o'er, 
 
 Henceforth may our country, now rescued from danger, 
 
 Secure in the love of her children e'er stand, 
 
 Old Rome is no more, yet it was not a stranger, 
 
 But treacherous sons that brought death to that land. 
 
 But while o'er the Nation, the year that is closing, 
 Both seasons of peril and victory cast, 
 'Till Columbia, free from her foes, is reposing; — 
 O'er our happy school circle few changes have passed. 
 
 Dear Classmates, we now for the last time are meeting 
 In this place, where so often we've gathered before, 
 In the hours of the past, that were pleasant and fleeting, 
 To seek for rich treasures, from wisdom's vast store. 
 
 Oh! bright was that time, when there clustered around us 
 The sweet joys of friendship, the teachings of truth, 
 And though other scenes in the future surround us, 
 We e'er shall remember the days of our youth. 
 
 And often, in coming years shall we, with pleasure, 
 Turn to the sunlight of Memory's cline, 
 And list to her voice, like some sweet pensive measure, 
 That speaks to the heart through the vista of time. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 83 
 
 Dear Schoolmates, who soon will succeed to our places, 
 Be earnest, and strive to do each duty well, 
 That, as untiring time, each day's history traces, 
 The record of some new improvement may tell. 
 
 Be one to another e'er kind and forgiving, 
 Let truth, be your watchword whereever you go. 
 And thus while true, unselfish lives you are living, 
 The highest enjoyment you surely will know. 
 
 Kind Teachers, as now from this place we turn sadly, 
 We thank you for all your unwearying care, 
 For lessons of truth and of wisdom, which gladly 
 We ever have here been permitted to share. 
 
 The world lies before us, with joy and with sorrow; 
 Uncertain it is where our pathway may lead, 
 But ever, though wearied with care for to-morrow, 
 From Memory's page, your words we may heed. 
 
 There is from your number one face that is missing, 
 
 A friend is absent at this festal hour, 
 
 She has gone to a land where bright sun beams are kissing, 
 
 The blossoms of many a tropical flower. 
 
 May the new scenes of action on which she has entered, 
 A source of ne'er failing, true happiness prove, 
 And may there e'er be, round her future path centered, 
 The sunlight of friendship, of peace and of love. 
 
 And memories pleasant we ever shall cherish 
 Of her, who now occupies that teacher's place; 
 And of life's purest pleasures that never may perish, 
 We shall, midst the sweetest, her friendship retrace. 
 
 Kind Sir, for your precepts of wisdom and duty, 
 
 Accept now, our gratitude, lasting, sincere; 
 
 They have thrown round the pathway of learning fresh beauty 
 
 To grow fairer and brighter, with each coming year. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Committee — we have ever 
 Received many proofs of your interest, so true; 
 To repay, by improvement, has been our endeavor, 
 And we tender our thanks, most sincerely to you. 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Permit us the hope to express, that each blessing 
 Which we have enjoyed our successors may share, 
 And may this school, e'er in the future, possessing 
 Guardians like you, have the same faithful care. 
 
 Dear parents and friends, many words you have spoken, 
 Of cheer and of counsel, in days that have flown, 
 And we feel that your presence now is but a token 
 Of the untiring interest you ever have shown. 
 
 Oh ! hard 'tis to utter the word that must sever 
 Onr joys, but no more we together may dwell, 
 May we meet in that land where partings, come, never, 
 Dear Teachers, Companions and Friends, farewell. 
 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Graduating exercises of Class of 1866, the last year 
 that the City Medals were given out, copied from a Boston 
 paper of that year: 
 
 "The annual exhibition of this well-conducted school, 
 Daniel C. Brown, master, took place this forenoon in the 
 large hall of the school-building on Myrtle street. Not- 
 withstanding the inclement weather, there was the usual 
 crowded attendance of visitors. The exercises were con- 
 ducted by the principal and consisted of recitations, reading, 
 compositions, interspersed with music and singing. The 
 questions propounded were answered with promptness and 
 accuracy, that showed that the scholars had studied 
 assiduously under competent teachers. This school 
 has always excelled in penmanship, and specimens shown 
 us evinced a remarkable degree of progress in this accom- 
 plishment. The singing and reading of Miss A. L. Dan- 
 forth was excellent and well received. The music and sing- 
 ing were directed by Mr. Sharland, which is sufficient 
 guaranty of its excellence. Dr. Lamson, Chairman of the 
 school committee, and Aldermen Slack and Gifford were 
 among those present. The exercises closed with the 
 awarding of the medals and diplomas." 
 
 The following gives an account of the unpleasant occur- 
 rences, which sometimes take place during school life: 
 "My impression of my first teacher when I entered was, that 
 she enjoyed using the rattan. I remember one day when 
 she put several sums on the board, for us to copy; I sat 
 somewhat back in the room and had leaned forward over 
 my desk to see better. The teacher spoke to me, telling 
 me to sit down, it was not long before I was up in the same 
 
 85 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 position again, then she said 'Miss B — if you get up again 
 I shall send you to the ante-room.' I was so interested in 
 my work, that it was not long, before I received the threat- 
 ened punishment. In the first Bowdoin building on Myrtle 
 street there was a double door in the centre of the building, 
 that was seldom used, (the girls, entering the school from 
 two end doors); the large entryway had no light but a long, 
 narrow window at the top and on either side were long 
 wooden umbrella racks, extending to the doors that entered 
 the school-rooms. This was where I was sent for punish- 
 ment. After waiting sometime I was horrified (being a 
 bashful child) to see the teacher enter, rattan in hand. She 
 applied it vigorously to my shins and ankles and I danced 
 about, finally climbing on to the umbrella racks to get out 
 of her way. While in her class, I had another whipping for 
 a slight misdeaneanor, but never received like punishment 
 in any other class. Two of the other teachers sometimes 
 used the rattan. One of the teachers was inclined to favor- 
 itism, and of course it often caused jealousy on the part of 
 the pupils. One day, while in Miss Young's class, one of 
 the girls became the possessor of a pair of roller skates, so 
 one afternoon, just before the school opened, we heard a 
 dreadful clatter coming from the hall. The girl had walked 
 up two flights of stairs and came sailing in, down the aisle 
 and round the room; of course, Miss Young was speech- 
 less for a second, then she arose and striking on her desk 
 with her ruler, called us to order and commanded the pupil 
 to remove her skates, take them home and remain there 
 until she could be a young lady. So the skates were taken 
 off and she walked out of the room laughing and waving 
 them to the girls." 
 
 In .1866, the City Medals were given out for the last 
 time to the girls. Now, instead of six medals being given 
 out, every girl in a graduating class, is given a diploma, if she 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 87 
 
 had accomplished the work necessary to obtain one. There 
 has been at times much written for and against the practice 
 of giving rewards for good scholarship and deportment to a 
 small number of a class. One objection offered was that in 
 a class of about fifty pupils, in about twenty of them the 
 difference in their merit was very slight; six to whom med- 
 als had been awarded may have been exceptionally bright, 
 alert, girls; the remainder of the twenty, not quite so 
 bright and keen of comprehension, yet by persistent, careful 
 effort fell only a few marks short, of their successful com- 
 panions. There were two cases, in one year in the Bow- 
 doin and one case two years before, when a girl, to whom a 
 medal was to be given, was asked to yield it to another 
 girl, by the master, presumably at the suggestion or at least 
 with the consent of the committee. The reason given was, 
 that the girl to whom a medal had been awarded could, ac- 
 cording to the rules, remain two years longer, while the 
 other girl could not attend another year. That the com- 
 mittee and master felt justified in taking such a step proves 
 that the actual standing between the two candidates must 
 have been very slight. It was often said that the awarding 
 of medals to pupils caused many of them to suffer from 
 over-study and anxiety; that it created envious and bitter 
 feeling among classmates, and then there was the usual 
 cry of favoritism, Many years ago, two families from the 
 same neighborhood in the country came to the city, one a 
 few years before the other. The second family chanced 
 to move into the immediate neighborhood of their old 
 neighbors. One day, the mother of the second family re- 
 marked that they moved to the city for the better educa- 
 tion of their children. With considerable decision of man- 
 ner, showing much feeling, her friend said, "You needn't 
 expect your children will get medals, for they are not given 
 out fairly." Three of her children had graduated without 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 medals. The other mother replied, "We have not thought 
 of medals, but we desire the best possible advantages for 
 our children." Three years after, her only boy and her 
 eldest girl took medals at the grammar schools on the same 
 day, and four years afterward he took a medal at the Eng- 
 lish High School, and the next year the other daughter 
 took one from the grammar school. The parents felt that 
 the children must have earned the rewards, as they were 
 strangers in the city. 
 
 All graduates who have received medals are proud of 
 them; feel they earned them; cherish them and take great 
 pleasure in saving them for their children. 
 
 In 1873, there seemed to be almost the first, or perhaps 
 a new, revival of alumnae reunions of public schools and 
 some of the graduates of the Bowdoin, chancing to meet, 
 planned a reunion of the graduates of that school for the 
 renewal of old friendships and incidentally to raise a fund 
 for Mr. Robinson, who. was then nearly ninety-two years 
 old and in somewhat straitened circumstances. The re- 
 union was a success, but as the names of only a compara- 
 tively few of the graduates could be obtained, a small sum 
 was given to Mr. Robinson. 
 
 Although so old, he seemed to have retained the use 
 of all his faculties. He was slightly deaf, his eyesight clear 
 and his memory quite wonderful. I had not seen him 
 since graduation day, 1846. As I spoke to him, I 
 remarked ! "Of course you do not know me, but per- 
 haps you will remember my sister, who died the month 
 before my graduation, Miss Nichols." He instantly 
 said, "I remember you both perfectly; her name was Mary," 
 and then called me by name and said, "you used to do so 
 and so for me," then he spoke of my sister's class and my 
 class. A graduate of 1840 gives the following account of 
 the reunion: "Mrs. Batholmy Mozart, Mrs. Mary Scates- 
 

 J 
 
 / / 
 
 . 
 
 DANIEL C. BROWN. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 89 
 
 Barry and Miss Abell, all of whom had been pupils of the 
 school, furnished, as soloists, the musical entertainment. 
 Dr. Blagden, whose name was on the programme and was 
 to offer prayer, did not come and Rev. L. H. Winkley filled 
 his place. I can recall but one speaker, though I think 
 several spoke. That one was Rev. Mr. Morong of Ipswich. 
 Mrs. Jane Jones-Morong, Mrs. Anne Stearns-Simmons and 
 my sister, Miss Maria Whitwell, arranged the affair. 
 George S. Hilliard had been engaged to speak. He came 
 into the hall, Wesleyan, and waited some time. He was 
 either impatient of the delay, or had other engagements, as 
 he left without speaking. I think the reunion was a de- 
 cided success. The older graduates were not long in find- 
 ing out their companions. Time had dealt tenderly with 
 most of us, and soon we recognized each other, although more 
 than a score of years had elapsed since we had looked into 
 each other's faces. The younger graduates seemed to en- 
 ter with a great deal of gusto into the enjoyments of the 
 evening. There were no periods of oppresive silence, no 
 groups of silent observers, standing in a row at the back of 
 the hall, as one sometimes sees on similar occasions, but 
 the spirit of social converse was rife, and the sound of many 
 voices heard at any part of the room "fell pleasantly on the 
 ear." Mr. Robinson's daughter Mary was with him. Miss 
 Murdock was there and three sisters, Mrs. Sarah Mitchell- 
 Judkins, Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell-Littlefield and Miss Mary 
 Mitchell, all graduates of the school, and the first two 
 "teachers." 
 
 The following poems were sung. The first was writ- 
 ten by Mrs. Caroline Metcalf-Plummer; the second by Mrs. 
 Susan Whitwell-Leeds. 
 
 First Song.— Tune, "Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 "We've lingered in our pilgrimage 
 Each other's way to cheer, 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 To glean a line from Memory's page 
 
 And sing of friendship dear. 
 As swiftly on the wings of time, 
 
 Our souls are borne along, 
 Full many a strain of 'auld lang syne' 
 
 Shall mingle in our song. 
 
 We plucked the buds, from childhood's tree, 
 
 The flowers which youth uprears; 
 They've shed a fragrance, pure and free, 
 
 Though watered oft by tears; 
 And fast secured by Memory's chain, 
 
 The treasures of the past, 
 They'll brighten oft life's toil and pain, 
 
 And gleams of radiance cast. 
 
 We sing to-day of schoolmates loved, 
 
 Of teachers, kind and true, 
 Whose honored words, by time approved, 
 
 Inspire our hearts anew. 
 And as together here we stand, 
 
 And memories fond rehearse, 
 Sweet whispers from the silent land 
 
 Are echoed in our verse. 
 
 As now along the path of life 
 
 Our narrow ways we tread, 
 One thought we share, with pleasure rife, 
 
 By Memory's finger led. 
 And if, on Alma Mater's shrine 
 
 Our flowers once more we lay, 
 We'll sing again of 'auld lang syne' 
 
 And loving tribute pay." 
 
 Second Song.— Tune, "I Remember, I Remember," or "Annie 
 Laurie." 
 
 Fondly now, dear Alma Mater. 
 
 Let thy grateful children come, 
 And with happy voices thank thee 
 
 For thy cordial welcome home. 
 While each child thy blessing shareth, 
 
 We'll bid sadness wing its flight, 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 91 
 
 And the burden each one beareth, 
 Drown in Lethean streams to-night. 
 
 We'll recall our early gleaning, 
 
 'Mid the shining fields of thought, 
 And forget the deeper meaning 
 
 Of the lessons life hath taught. 
 We will gaze, with childhood's vision, 
 
 On a clear and cloudless sky; 
 Dream again youth's dream Elysian, 
 
 That was ours in days gone by. 
 
 While the soul is joy receiving, 
 
 At this hour with pleasure ripe, 
 Love a golden thread is weaving 
 
 In the web of coming life. 
 Through the future's opening vista 
 
 We can see both smiles and tears, 
 But we'll claim each new-met sister 
 
 As the friend of after years. 
 
 Dear old Bowdoin! strength and beauty 
 
 Weave thy future crown for thee; 
 Evermore to truth and duty, 
 
 Let thy children loyal be. 
 For the fulness of thy giving, 
 
 While we thank thee here to-night, 
 By pure thought and noble living, 
 
 We will keep thy name still bright. 
 
 The following report of Dr. Jeffries, the noted eye- 
 specialist, is inserted as an extremely interesting article, 
 and an inportant one to teachers. On May 14, 1878, Dr. 
 Jeffries, by a vote of the Boston School Board, received per- 
 mission to test the color perception of the pupils of the 
 schools at such place and time as would be convenient to 
 the members of the schools. He reported, "Under this and 
 a previous permission, I have applied the test for color- 
 blindness of Prof. Holmgren of Upsala, Sweden, to 14,732 
 scholars of our public schools. As this is about one-half 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 of my contemplated work, and as it is drawing towards the 
 end of the school year, I would herewith report my present 
 results. I have tested boys of the Latin School, English 
 High School, all the high schools and fourteen grammar 
 schools. I found only 361, or 3.88 per cent, in greater or 
 less degree color-blind. I have tested the girls of all the 
 high schools and eleven grammar schools. I found two, or 
 0.36 per cent color-blind in any degree. The percentage is 
 rather larger for the boys and rather smaller for the girls 
 than has been found in Europe by the best observers, who 
 add their results together and thus bringing their num- 
 ber up to my present one. 
 
 "Color-blindness, when congenital, is not curable and 
 the color-sensation does not alter through life. Hence the 
 statistics gathered from the schools apply to the whole 
 community. We may conclude that one male in twenty is 
 color-blind and that it rarely occurs among females." 
 
 Dr. Jeffries gave a very careful and exhaustive ac- 
 count of color-blindness, which it would be well for every 
 parent and teacher to read, understand and practice in edu- 
 cating children. I regret it is too long to publish here. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1880. — Valedictory. — Lulie Brooks-Collins. 
 
 In whatever direction we look, we cannot fail to notice 
 a characteristic tendency of the times towards an advance- 
 ment in Knowledge; an improvement in the methods of ac- 
 quiring it, and a higher mental development. This assertion 
 is true in its application to the physical, intellectual and 
 moral world. In sympathy with this onward movement, the 
 past few years of our school-life has been spent for the pur- 
 pose of attaining that degree of intellectual culture, which 
 in our age and time is thought desirable. And now that 
 this day ends one period of our endeavors in the pursuit of 
 knowledge, it seems fitting that we pause a moment and 
 consider some of the purposes and benefits of this intellec- 
 tual culture. 
 
 Education is the development of the mind. A good 
 education is a very important acqusition. It not only fits 
 one for society, but for the various duties and employments 
 of life. Education does not end with the schools, nor is all 
 education conducted within the school-room. The great 
 work of self-culture remains to be carried on long after 
 masters and teachers have finished their labors and ex- 
 hausted their arts. And no small part of this work is to 
 be pursued by the aid of good books. 
 
 Civilization is essentially dependent for its progress 
 upon the labors of those who have wrought out problems 
 in the various departments of thought, and whose collected 
 wisdom in books is the common fountain from which 
 each succeeding generation drinks. I need hardly say, that 
 the liability of our Mother City has supplemented the sys- 
 
 93 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 tern of schools with a Public Library, upon whose shelves 
 may be found the means for the continuance of our educa- 
 tion, and likewise an unfailing source of intellectual grati- 
 fication and rational enjoyment. 
 
 We should be guarded in our choice of books by clear 
 and acknowledged principles from youth onward. How much 
 time is spent in reading trashy novels that impart no know- 
 ledge to the reader and leave no good lessons behind them ! 
 "Some books," as Lord Bacon said, "are to be tasted; 
 others, to be swallowed; and a few to be digested; that is, 
 some are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but 
 not diligently, and a few to be read with diligence and 
 attention." 
 
 In olden times, in the days of parchments, the means 
 of intelletual culture were so expensive that it was confined 
 solely to the upper classes But in 1476, William Caxton, a 
 native of Kent, introduced the art of printing into England, 
 and since that time learning and literature have increased 
 with wonderful rapidity. When we consider how limited 
 was the amount of knowledge that descended to the people 
 previous to the invention of printing; how difficult to be 
 obtained by those most ardent in its search, how certain to 
 be neglected by those who preferred ease to the cultivation 
 of the mind, we cannot wonder that the people were gen- 
 erally ignorant and degraded, and the slaves of superstition 
 and barbarism. 
 
 In almost every country of the world there are schools, 
 institutes, academies, colleges and other establishments of 
 learning, and in many countries, like England, Prussia and 
 Switzerland, education is compulsory. In no other country 
 are the means of education as good and as widely distribu- 
 ted, alike to the rich and to the poor, as in our own. How 
 thankful we should be for this abundent means of educa- 
 tion. How we should improve our time, for time flies, and 
 every day brings us nearer to the end of our school life! 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 95 
 
 Education has greatly improved the intellectual and 
 moral condition of woman. The civilization of a country 
 depends, in a great measure, upon the respect in which 
 woman is held. In ancient times she was a mere drudge, 
 a slave, and society was sunk in the deepest barbarism; but 
 as time advanced, woman assumed her rightful position and 
 became the equal of man in station and intellect. 
 
 The character of a nation takes its tone mostly from 
 the character of its women. Their graces produce general 
 refinement, and their morals make a deep impression. The 
 pages of history afford us undying examples of the good 
 that woman has done. Isabella of Castile, a woman whose 
 lofty spirit was capable of understanding and sympathizing 
 with the poor sailor, whom all scorned and mocked, and se- 
 cured to him the discovery of America, deserves the love 
 of all mankind. 
 
 Elizabeth, the virgin queen of England, is worthy of 
 notice. She was one of the greatest scholars of her day, 
 and her reign, which is often called the "Augustan Age of 
 English Literature," was adorned with some of the brightest 
 stars that ever glowed in the firmament of literature. 
 
 Harriet Martineau, the pride of her sex, whose most 
 ardent desire was for the well-being of the human race; and 
 the heroic Grace Darling, who in the hour of danger, risked 
 her life on the tossing waves for a band of shipwrecked 
 mariners, are also worthy of mention. 
 
 These are but a few of the many famous and good 
 women whom we have before us for examples in our future 
 life, and the time has now come, dear schoolmates, when 
 the future, in all its uncertainty, lies before us. It is sad to 
 think that for some of us the dear friendships and close in- 
 timacies, which have linked us together in an united bond, 
 are now to be severed forever. We are like travelers on a 
 journey. We have arrived where several roads meet and 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 each is to select which pleasure or duty points out as lead- 
 ing most directly to her cherished aim. And how differ- 
 ent the paths which will be chosen! Some of us will con- 
 tinue our studies in other and more advanced schools; for 
 some the school-life is over and home, with its attendant 
 duties, will summon them with its quiet charm. 
 
 A brilliant future awaits those, who by their intelli- 
 gence and accomplishments will be fitted to shine in so- 
 ciety; while not a few, let us hope, are to make their mark 
 in some one of the many professions and occupations which 
 the wide-spreading influence of universal education and re- 
 fined civilization has opened to women. But in whatever 
 sphere fortune may place us, let us rembember that only 
 by diligence and attention can we succeed, and that it is not 
 simply the amount of knowledge which we have stored in 
 our minds which is to help us, but it is the use to which we 
 apply it that is to make it of service to us. 
 
 To the teachers, who have guided us so faithfully 
 through the trials and vexations that have beset us during 
 our school-life, we owe our most grateful thanks. Their's 
 have been the patient hands which have carried us safely 
 through all difficulties. Many and many a time, no doubt, have 
 we taxed their forbearance to the utmost, and to their energy 
 and perseverance we owe our present success. Above all 
 to him, our principal, who has lavished upon us the fruit of 
 years of experience and study, the full measure of which 
 we cannot now fully appreciate, we offer our sincerest 
 gratitude. To the committee, and the supervisors, who 
 are untiring in their efforts for our advancement and suc- 
 cess, our heartfelt thanks are due. 
 
 To you, dear schoolmates, must our last words be 
 
 spoken, It is true, that our sister band must sever, and 
 
 whatever our future is to be, let us remember that nothing 
 
 as a greater influence upon our present or future happi- 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 97 
 
 ness or misery, than our chosen companions. Let, there- 
 fore, the wise and the prudent, the virtuous and the good, 
 be the persons of our intimacy and choice. "He that walk- 
 eth with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools 
 shall be destroyed." 
 
 Our character in the world must be built on a solid 
 foundation, and we cannot be too careful in establishing 
 this. I would now bid each and all an affectionate fare- 
 well, trusting however distant we may be removed one from 
 another, we shall continue united in spirit, and that the 
 same ties that have so long bound us here, as one, will be 
 strengthened by separation." 
 
 In 1888 it was decided by the School Board that, "pa- 
 pers written by graduates to be read at the annual exami- 
 nation for diplomas, be submitted to the superintendent of 
 schools, to be reviewed, and a report upon their value and 
 the marking of teachers be reported to the Committee 
 on Examination. The superintendent shall annually des- 
 ignate twelve schools from which all the examination papers 
 for diplomas shall be re-examined and reported upon." 
 
 From a graduate of 1889 : "When I entered the school 
 Mr. Brown was principal; after his death, Mr. Hamlin was 
 principal for a short time. Miss Perry was my first teacher. 
 At that time sewing was introduced; Miss Bigelow, teacher. 
 I next entered the class of Miss Mary E. Pitcher, having a 
 double promotion, as it was called. Miss Mary Young was 
 the next teacher and things began to take on a more serious 
 aspect, for next after came the graduating class. We were 
 very carefully trained for our singing by Mr. Holt. Every 
 morning was a short reading from the Bible. At 10:30 
 came recess with its 'hop-scotch,' jack stones and stamps." 
 
 "We were all much interested in the sewing exhibi- 
 tion. The cooking class was established during my last 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 year. Once a week we went to North Bennett street, and 
 under the instruction of Miss Barrows we learned cookery; 
 we were well taught, always being obliged to try some- 
 thing at home during the week. 
 
 "On holidays, we always enjoyed a short programme 
 of music and declamations. On Washington's Birthday, 
 the exercises were of a patriotic character and were held in 
 the class-room next to that of the graduating class. Every 
 afternoon a march was played on the piano and for a few 
 moments we would march around the room with the black- 
 boards thrown up." (At that time the black-boards were 
 movable partitions.) 
 
 "The graduating class at the of each month gave a re- 
 ception to parents and friends, some of the girls acting as 
 ushers, each in her turn, so all officiated during the year. 
 Some of the girls furnished the entertainment, by recita- 
 tions, dialogues and music. Let me assure you, there were 
 a number very proficient. 
 
 "The studies were Latin, German, physics, book-keep- 
 ing, botany, English history. Then came graduation-day; 
 the usual programme was carried out; singing was in 
 charge of Mr. Holt, his wife accompanying us on the 
 piano." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The first building of the Bowdoin School was erected 
 on Derne Steeet, corner of Temple, and was called from 
 the street on which it stood, as many of the school-houses 
 of those days were; but on May 15, 1824, the name of Bow- 
 doin was given to it, in honor of Gov. Bowdoin, who lived 
 on Beacon Hill. The second building was erected on 
 Myrtle street and opened May 15, 1848. In 1879 there 
 was some idea of discontinuing the Bowdoin School, but 
 residents of the district sent a very strong remonstrance, 
 both as to the arguments presented and the number and 
 standing of the signers thereto. Nothing more was ever 
 afterward heard about the affair. The first Bowdoin school- 
 house on Myrtle street, was considered one of the best, if 
 not the best, school-building of Boston, with plenty of 
 room, conveniences, and an ornament to Beacon Hill, but 
 as time went on, and the north and west streets rapidly in- 
 creased in population, it became evident that a much larger 
 building was needed. So in 1895 ft was decided to build a 
 third school-house for girls on Beacon Hill. The building 
 erected stands on the site of the second building, additional 
 land in the rear having been added. The architect of the 
 second building was Gridley J. F. Bryant, and it was the 
 best school-house ever built in Boston. The third building 
 was planned by Edmund M. Wheelwright, city architect. 
 It contained sixteen rooms, with every modern appliance, 
 including a large hall, master's office, library, teachers' re- 
 tiring room, broad halls and wide stairways. In fact, "the 
 best in design and equipment ever built in the city." Dur- 
 ing the construction of the part upon the land in the rear, 
 
 99 
 
100 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 the school continued its sessions in the old building, then, 
 that was demolished and the new house completed. 
 
 The following extract is copied from the Traveler, Oc- 
 tober, 26, 1895: To name the school that stands highest in 
 efficiency would be to make a statement, that would involve 
 comparisons, that could hardly fail to be obvious. But 
 when it comes to a question of attitude of site, there is no 
 grammar school in Boston to contest for the palm with 
 the old Bowdoin School. It is not located on the summit 
 of Beacon Hill, but still is situated so far up on the north 
 slope of the historic eminence as to claim a favored site on 
 the Boston Parnassus. There are older schools in Boston, 
 though not many of them, but there are few hallowed by 
 greater educational service or by more interesting associa- 
 tions. During its existence, it has graduated thousands ef 
 girls, and the wives and mothers of many of the great 
 ones of the city were pupils within its walls. It once drew 
 its pupils from the most select residential section in 
 Boston. But the Back Bay has shorn Beacon Hill of the 
 prestige of being the favorite site for the homes of the 
 wealthiest and most renowned citizens, though many fam- 
 ilies that can cry "Sesame !" to the circles of the elite, still 
 cling to the old homesteads that crown the hill and border 
 the south brow. 
 
 The Bowdoin School's roll bore names that stood for 
 riches, as well as culture, and many of the dainty misses 
 who tripped to and from its portals, were attired in silks 
 and satins, buds, in fact, destined to bloom in society. 
 
 Time, the great democrat, has wiped away such dis- 
 tinction for the Bowdoin School. The West End is now a 
 teeming hive of tenements, and one by one the old home- 
 steads of merchant princes are passing into the occupancy of 
 humble tenants. Their children now sit in the rooms once 
 occupied by heirs to the purple, but, thanks to a school 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 101 
 
 system that is one of Boston's chief glories, the educational 
 facilities now provided for the scions of wage earners, is 
 even broader, and the instruction more thorough than was 
 afforded their predecessors in these halls of learning some 
 thirty years ago. The palmy days of the Boston public 
 schools have not passed, and never will, if the spirit of the 
 past and present shall animate the citizens of the future. 
 Citizens of the South who draw the color-lines most 
 strictly on every occasion and even seem disposed to divide 
 the races by "a dead line" guarded by shot guns and 
 hempen strands, when it comes to the school questions, 
 would stand aghast, at the sight to be viewed daily in the 
 Bowdoin school-house. There, white children and children 
 of African descent sit side by side, and imbibe common 
 draughts from the fount of learning. Boston's theory, that 
 it is better public policy to elevate the community by edu- 
 cating the ignorant than to preserve social or racial distinc- 
 tions, in laying the foundations for citizenship, lest caste 
 shall lose its dominance, is being put to a practical test, at 
 the West End, in the Bowdoin and other schools, which 
 locality circumstance or choice has made the centre of the 
 city's colored population. It is peculiarly fitting that the 
 Bowdoin School should largely recruit its pupils from the 
 ranks of Negro children. The rear of the present building 
 stands upon the site of the house, wherein Charles Sumner 
 was born. When it is finished, a memorial tablet on the 
 Irving street side of the structure will announce this inter- 
 esting fact; an order for such a tablet was drawn up and 
 would have been introduced at the latest meeting of the 
 School Committee, had it not been learned by the Board 
 that other provision had been already made for the tablet. 
 In regards to the tablet, it may be added that Master 
 Meserve, being requested to prepare an inscription for the 
 proposed tablet, by a member of the School Committee, 
 offered the following: 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 THIS TABLET 
 
 MARKS THE SPOT WHERE 
 
 CHARLES SUMNER 
 
 WAS BORN JAN. 6, 1811. 
 
 SCHOLAR, ORATOR, SENATOR, 
 
 AND CHAMPION OF CIVIL 
 
 POLITICAL EQUALITY 
 
 FOR THE NEGRO RACE. 
 
 This inscription was submitted to the Third Division 
 Committee of the School Board, and it was accepted. It 
 seems however, that Mr. Wheelright had arranged for a 
 tablet before he retired from office and it had been com- 
 pleted. It has been suggested, however, that it would be 
 wise to have, for its educational value in the future, when 
 Charles Sumner's fame may be somewhat dimned, a tablet, 
 bearing an inscription like that prepared by Mr. Meserve, 
 placed in the hall of the new building. It was in 1855 
 that colored children were first admitted to the Bowdoin 
 School, and is said that this was the first public educational 
 institution in Boston wherein they were received as pupils 
 and accorded equal privileges with the whites. When the 
 new building is dedicated, Master Meserve proposes to in- 
 vite to the exercises the colored women now living in Bos- 
 ton, who entered the school in the year named. There are 
 quite a number of them residing in the West End. 
 
 The first graduation in the new building of the school, 
 1897: 
 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 Music, "How Brightly and Serenely." Class 
 
 Address of Welcome. Jennie A. Green 
 
 Music, "To the Cuckoo." 
 
 Evelyn E. Clinton, Lavinia R. Bonner, Annie C. Stone 
 Music, "The Lost Chord," Bertha L. Blake 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 103 
 
 Composition, "Our Flag." Rose O. Parker 
 
 Music, "Sing On, Ye Little Birds." Class 
 
 Readings, Georgiana Charleston, Henrietta V. Mills, 
 
 Celia Bessie Dubb, Helena Samuels, 
 
 Theresa Linenthal, Olive A. Stavert, 
 
 Marie A. Manning, Elizabeth F. Zellos. 
 
 Piano Playing, "Grace Waltz." 
 
 Phoebe O. Sawin, Louise M. Watterton 
 
 Recitation, "John Bartholomew." Emma Carpenter 
 
 Music, "Whispering Hope." 
 
 Carolyn G. Hagerty, Winifred S. Ricker 
 
 "A Group of Facts." 
 
 Georgenia Asbury, Violet L. Moore, 
 
 Sarah A. Bannen, Grace E. Nolan, 
 
 Elizabeth M. Daly, Eleonor F. Power, 
 
 Margaret E. Green, Almira E. Smith, 
 
 Florence C. Sutherland. 
 
 Music, "We Will Lay us Down in Peace." Class 
 
 Recitation, "The Little Quaker Sinner." Emma Foster 
 
 Music, "The Bird Carol." 
 
 Mary G. Backus, Mary H. C. Boylan, 
 
 Flora A. Belson, Jessie M. Harding, 
 
 Mary E. Gibney, Frances Wasserman, 
 
 Sarah M. Williams, Jennie Wax, 
 
 Rosa X. Kizlevick, Ethel L. Wadleigh, 
 
 Lena Leibson, Mary E. Moran. 
 
 Reading, "You Are Old, Father William." 
 
 Edith M. Russell 
 
 Presentation of the Portrait of Delwin A. Hamlin, former 
 
 Master of the Bowdoin School. Ada B. A. Bradford 
 
 Music, "Farewell, Marguerite." Alicia L. Dorsay 
 
 Presentation of the Class Picture. Rachel Peyser 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Music, "Come, Silver Moon." 
 
 Mary E. Johnson, Georgietta D. F. Woodest 
 
 Valedictory. Clementine S. T. Dominique 
 
 THE CLASS SONG. 
 
 WRITTEN BY OLIVE A. STAVERT, OF THE GRADUATING CLASS. 
 
 Tune, "Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 The last, sad joyful hour has come, 
 
 When '97 must part 
 With all the dear familiar spots, 
 
 Which lie so near our heart. 
 Oh! Teachers dear, you've taught us much, 
 
 Your love we now indite; 
 You've helped us through deep learning's haunts 
 
 And brought us nearer light, 
 
 What though we left Old Bowdoin's walls, 
 
 So many months away! 
 We've entered now New Bowdoin's halls, 
 
 The first class there to stay. 
 Oh! Teachers dear, you've taught us much, 
 
 Your love we now indite, 
 You've helped us through deep learning's haunts 
 
 And brought us nearer light, 
 
 To all who've helped us in our school, 
 
 We bid a sad farewell. 
 We leave the lessons, fun and rule. 
 
 To upward climb — excel. 
 Oh! Teachers dear, you've taught us much, 
 
 Your love we now indite, 
 You've helped us through deep learning's haunts 
 
 And brought us nearer light. 
 
 Award of Diplomas. 
 
 Addresses. 
 
 Music, "America." Class 
 
 Miss Gertrude M. Johnson, Pianist. 
 The audience is requested to join. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 105 
 
 Every pupil took part in the exercises, so a list of 
 names is not necessary. 
 
 1897 — Valedictory. — Clementine Dominique. 
 
 (A colored girl.) 
 
 Parents, friends, we have gathered here to-day, to 
 greet you and to say farewell to one another. Many of us 
 have been together for five years, others have entered the 
 class later, but in the past year we have shared one an- 
 other's perplexities and joys, and have tried to be kind and 
 sympathizing with one another. We have not always been 
 upright, as we might have been, but our teachers have 
 borne with us and have brought us safely through the past 
 and led us triumphantly to this day of gladness and also of 
 sorrow; when we think that we sit upon this platform for 
 the last time as a class, and that many of these smiling 
 countenances we may never see again. Some of us are 
 going to the High School, some to the Latin School, others 
 to Business Colleges, and others to places of business, but, 
 dear Classmates, always remember the loving countenances 
 of the class of '97. 
 
 Friends, we thank you for your patience towards us 
 during these exercises. You too, perhaps, have looked 
 forward to this day as one of great pleasure. We did not 
 think any day could hold so much pleasantness and yet 
 such sadness. 
 
 Dear Parents, who have carried us when crosses have 
 been put upon us, and at whose knees we were taught to 
 say our first prayer to heaven, we can never repay you for 
 that loving care and examples given us, Some of you have 
 graduated from this school, not from "New Bowdoin," but 
 from dear "Old Bowdoin" and have experienced the feel- 
 ings which are surging in our hearts to-day. Dear parents, 
 will it repay you somewhat, to see your daughters step 
 
106 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 forward to receive their sheet of white, tied with blue, which 
 will tell you that your prayers, tears and examples were not 
 in vain? We trust it will. 
 
 Dear Teachers, to you we say, we thank you sincerely 
 for your painstaking. We were not always as pleasant as 
 we might have been but you bore with us through all, and 
 now have raised us to this pinnacle from which we are 
 about to step into a new world, as it were. We would thank 
 each and every teacher for their generous work. We know 
 you will not remember any of our errors on this day of glad- 
 ness, but will cast them away and only remember us, as we 
 stand, the result of your generous work. Your memory, 
 dear teachers, will be stamped on our hearts forever. 
 
 To you, Classmates, we would say, always remember 
 that the eye of God is ever upon you, and should we never 
 meet again, remember the words of your classmate of '97 : 
 "Fear God and you will always look man in the face." Always 
 remember your teachers and their kind injunctions in your 
 school days, and try to follow their precepts and those of 
 your parents. By noble perseverance you can make your 
 lives broad, deep and beneficient. 
 
 "Lives of great men all remind us 
 We can make our lives sublime, 
 And departing leave behind us 
 Footprints on the sands of time." 
 
 Oh, dear Classmates, let us all try to broaden our lives 
 by kindly deeds, so that, 
 
 "When the portals of the old life close, 
 And the new ones open wide, 
 We may cross the sacred threshold, 
 
 And, laying our sandals down, 
 Put on the garb of righteousness, 
 
 And wear a golden crown." 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 107 
 
 Fare thee, well, in after life, my comrades, and may the 
 Lord guard and keep thee and make His Face to smile 
 upon thee and give thee peace. 
 
 And, dear Bowdoin, farewell to thee. We will not for- 
 get the happy hours spent within thy walls. May the com- 
 ing generation appreciate thee, more and more, and may 
 they strive to beautify thee until thou shalt surpass all 
 others of thy generation. Mayst thou be protected from 
 all storms by the all protecting Hand, and by thy gentle 
 dignity inspire the hearts that shall seek for knowledge at 
 thy door. We will not in after life, as Holmes has said in 
 the "Chambered Nautilus," "stretch our new found homes 
 and know the old no more" but thy memory will always be 
 an inspiration as when we were sheltered within thy walls. 
 As we say farewell to thee, can we not hear above thy 
 farewell a voice, saying, 
 
 "Build thee more stately mansions, Oh : my soul! 
 As the swift seasons roll, leave thy low vaulted past, 
 Let each new temple be nobler than the last." 
 
 Although the first graduation of a class in the new 
 building took place in June, 1807, the building was not 
 dedicated until June, 1898, just fifty years after the dedica- 
 tion of the first building erected on Myrtle street. 
 
 Committee on the Third Division: Samuel F. Hubbard, 
 Chairman; Mrs. Fanny Ames, Charles L. Burrill, Samuel 
 Courtney, Isaac F. Paul. 
 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 1. Invocation, Rev. Christopher R. Eliot 
 
 2. Song, "Praise of Singing." Grade ix, Bowdoin School 
 
 3. Address, Samuel F. Hubbard, Chairman 3rd Division 
 
 4. Address, with delivery of key, 
 
 Henry D. Huggan, President School Committee 
 
108 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 5. Response, Alonzo Meserve, Master of Bowdoin School 
 
 6. Historical Address, 
 
 Mrs. Inez Haynes Gilmore, Class 1887 
 
 7. Poem, "Our Beacon's Light." 
 
 Miss Emma J. T. Gale, Class 1865 
 
 8. Song, "Oh Rose so Sweet." Grade ix, Bowdoin School 
 
 9. Address, Josiah Quincy, Mayor of Boston 
 
 10. Addreses, 
 
 Edwin D. Mead, President Twentieth Century Club. 
 
 Frank A. Hill, Secretary of the State Board of Edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Edwin P. Seaver, Superintendent of Public Schools, 
 Boston. 
 
 A. G. Boyden, Principal of Normal School, Bridge- 
 water, Mass. 
 
 11. Song, "Song of the Public School.' 
 
 Written for the occasion by Alonzo Meserve, 
 Master of the Bowdoin School. 
 
 God bless the public school, 
 Long may.it wisely rule 
 
 With rod of love. 
 Born of the people's art, 
 May it high hopes impart, 
 And fire each youthful heart, 
 
 His worth to prove. 
 
 God bless our nation's homes, 
 While virtue sits on thrones 
 
 Fairer than kings, 
 Where children sing and shout, 
 Vain cares are put to route, 
 And all the world about, 
 
 With gladness rings. 
 
 God bless our own dear land, 
 For her we all will stand, 
 While life survives. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 109 
 
 We'll give her every due, 
 With fearless hands and true, 
 Each sacred pledge renew, 
 With stainless lives. 
 
 God bless us all our way, 
 Make each one fondly stray, 
 
 On things above, 
 Lead into fields of light. 
 Inspire to act aright, 
 Make each a child of might, 
 
 Our world to move. 
 
 12. Benediction, Rev. D. P. Roberts 
 
 Music under the direction of Hosea E. Holt, Instructor. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 In 1821 the Derne-Street grammar school for boys and 
 girls was the seventh public grammar school in Boston, now 
 it is the third as to age. The difference between the old 
 and the new, between the first quarter and the last quarter 
 of a century of the existence of the school now called Bow- 
 doin, is, of course, very great, in everything pertaining to 
 the education of its pupils, and it would be impossible for 
 any one to realize the extent of this difference, who has not 
 been watching the great changes in educational methods dur- 
 ing these sixty years. As vast as is the difference between 
 the old Derne-Street building and the present Myrtle-Street 
 building, it is not as great as the contrast between the 
 of the teachers, the studies pursued by the pupils, and the 
 methods employed in carrying out the various plans laid 
 out by the School Board of the last twenty-five years, and 
 those few simple plans laid out by the committees during 
 the years 1821 to 1846. Then the masters were given 
 certain subjects that were obligatory and some that were 
 "allowed at the discretion of the master;" but they were 
 permitted to formulate their own plans as to methods and 
 numbers of hours of instruction for each branch taught. 
 
 The number of school hours a day were more than 
 to-day, the holidays fewer, and in place of a summer vaca- 
 tion of ten weeks there was a pitiful vacation of two and a 
 half weeks. At the opening of school each day the prin- 
 cipals were required to read a passage of Scripture and to 
 offer a prayer. These were generally followed by a few 
 remarks upon deportment and morals. In the middle of 
 each session there was a recess of about twenty minutes, 
 
 110 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 111 
 
 there were no physical exercises, excepting the usual games» 
 at recess, in the play-grounds. 
 
 Many persons have very erroneous ideas of the amount 
 of work accomplished by the teachers and pupils in those 
 early school-days. The remark is often made that the child- 
 ren of to-day have too many studies; that much more is re- 
 quired of them, than was required of the children of seventy 
 years ago. This is a mistake, there are not more studies 
 but the methods of teaching them are entirely different. 
 While teaching these subjects, all the teachers of the early 
 times made the lessons interesting and instructive by im- 
 parting much information from other sources than the 
 specified text books. I do not in this remark intend to 
 imply that the teachers of the present time are less pro- 
 ficient or less willing to do the very best for their pupils, 
 but their work seems to be laid out by the closest minutiae, 
 giving little if any opportunity to add outside information 
 or time to give it. 
 
 The advance in scientific knowledge during the last 
 sixty years has been so great, so accumulative and marvel- 
 ous, as to be beyond the conception of those living in the 
 first third of the nineteenth century. This constant in- 
 crease of knowledge makes it important that a large 
 amount of facts, unknown to their predecessors, must be 
 acquired by the students, if they desire to be considered 
 well educated persons, that is, persons who have an ac- 
 quaintance with an understanding of what goes on in the 
 world around them. 
 
 In the Bowdoin School now an exact schedule of the 
 method to be carried out by the teachers is prepared by 
 the School Board and, of course, closely followed. In the 
 first three grades, the primary grades, the children are 
 taught by observation, then by experiment, to find out not 
 only the difference between not only diverse objects but 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 those bearing the same peculiarities or those analogous in 
 appearance, by which they are surrounded, and learn 
 somewhat of the "forces of Nature," and to what and how 
 various kinds of knowledge can be applied to benefit the 
 world. Commencing with the fourth grade, which is the 
 first in the grammar school, "Elementary Science" is car- 
 ried through all the grades. In grades 4, 5, 6, two hours 
 a week is given to Manual Training. "If, however, any 
 girl shall have passed a satisfactory examination in Sewing, 
 she will be allowed to substitute for it some other branch 
 of Manual Training." In grades 7 and 8, two hours a week 
 are given to "Cookery, Wood Working or Clay Modelling." 
 . . . . "Every girl is to pursue a course of twenty lessons of 
 two hours each in Cookery as a regular part of the work of 
 grade 7 or 8." .... "But a girl who shall pass a satisfac- 
 tory examination in Cookery, will be allowed to substitute 
 for it some other branch of Manual Training." .... If a 
 whole or part of the time assigned to a specified branch of 
 Manual Training be not used therefore, such time may be 
 given to any other of its authorized branches." 
 
 "Manual Training in grade 9, two hours each week 
 can be 'Draughting and Cutting,' 'Wood- Working' or 'Clay 
 Modelling.'" In addition to Elementary Science, Draw- 
 ing is taught one and one-half hours a week in all grades 
 and the work minutely and precisely marked out. 
 
 Music is taught in all grades and seems to be the only 
 study not especially planned by the School Board. 
 
 The reports to parents, to the superintendent, to the 
 State and National Boards of Education, now required of 
 all teachers, were unknown three-quarters of a century ago. 
 
 SPECIAL STUDIES. 
 
 Drawing was practised in the English High School in 
 1827, six years after it was founded. It was mentioned in 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 113 
 
 the list of studies for the schools in 1848, but apparently 
 as an allowed study, and in 1853 a special teacher was ap- 
 pointed. In 1856, however, it was recommended to be 
 taken up only by those who appeared to have a special tal- 
 ent for it. In 1871, Mr. Walter Smith, an Englishman 
 who had been at the head of an English Art School, was 
 appointed to conduct a Normal Art School in Boston. 
 Two gentlemen of the city, feeling that the young 
 men and women of the United States should be es- 
 pecially educated in mechanical drawing and art de- 
 signing, to compete and, finally, to fill the places then oc- 
 cupied in this country by foreigners educated in the art 
 centres of Europe, studied the subject and thoroughly ex- 
 amined the results produced by these art schols. The ab- 
 solute necessity, that something should be done, had for 
 some time been realized by the merchants, manufacturers, 
 mechanics, and all business men. The results have proved 
 the wisdom of the undertaking. From this Boston Normal 
 Art School many hundreds of men and women have grad- 
 uated and scattered over the whole country, teaching what 
 they learned at the school. They have taught in and con- 
 ducted the many flourishing art schools, which are to-day 
 firmly established in most of our large cities. 
 
 Mr. Smith not only conducted the Art School, but 
 was appointed superintendent of drawing in the public 
 schools of Boston. Classes for teachers were held on Satur- 
 days, that they might be able at first to assist, and then 
 finally, to have charge of the drawing in their classes. 
 
 Music was probably always taught in the primary 
 schools; children always love to sing, and singing "with 
 teacher," must have lightened often the tedium of sitting 
 still and learning to " spell, read and cipher." 
 
 In 1837, the School Board decided, "that, as the Acad- 
 emy of Music in Boston started the plan that music be 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 taught in the public schools, that the experiment should 
 be placed in the hands of the Academy of Music." 
 From that time music seemed to be the favorite study 
 with all the various School Boards of the city. Public ex- 
 hibitions were given yearly, and so arranged that the pa- 
 rents of the children could be accommodated. If there 
 were any noted visitors in the city, a musical festival would 
 be arranged for their entertainment. On Fourth of July 
 half a dozen children from each public school above the prim- 
 ary, provided the vocal music for the "City Fathers" and 
 other officials, in "the Cradle of Liberty." And also what 
 was very important, money seemed to be willingly ap- 
 propriated for all these purposes. Mr. Lowell Mason was 
 appointed to have charge of the music in all the public 
 schools of the city sometime in the early forties. 
 
 In 1853, sewing was introduced into some of the girls' 
 schools and in 1876 was legalized in Boston by the Legis- 
 lature. In 1869, a school for deaf mutes was started. In 
 1880, Nature Study was introduced, but previous to that it 
 was taught in some form in the Bowdoin School, as a 
 teacher elected in 1868 and still teaching says, that she 
 could not remember when she did not teach it in some form. 
 In 1903, it was on the list of required studies. 
 
 In 1890, the Ling System of Calisthenics was intro- 
 duced. Previous to that time, each master conducted some 
 form of exercise; this probably arose from the fact that in 
 1852 the School Board voted that "no child should remain 
 in one position for more than one-half hour; that a respite 
 of five minutes, for a change of position, was to be given.". 
 Vacation schools were established in 1900; educational 
 centres, 1902. Cooking schools were begun, in 1885, in the 
 Tennyson-Street school-house and in the Hancock school- 
 house. Children from the other schools collected there for 
 instruction, but this was very inconvenient, as it was quite 
 
HISTORY OF THE B0WD01N SCHOOL 115 
 
 a long walk for some and time was wasted. The School 
 Board finally decided that a cooking-room, with all suita- 
 able apparatus, should be arranged in every new school- 
 house. Cooking is now taught in the Bowdoin building. 
 
 In the first thirty years of the schools a large number 
 of the graduates became teachers in the different public 
 schools of the city. Mary A. Murdock, Chastine Lincoln, 
 Elizabeth Lincoln, Affa Gray, Katherine Whitney, Frances 
 Robinson, Mary S. Robinson, Harriet French, Rebecca 
 Lincoln, Mary E. Nash, Elizabeth B. Mitchell, Sarah M. 
 Mitchell, Marcy A. Smith, Emmeline French, Sarah E. 
 Adams and Elizabeth T. Snow. The first three commenced 
 teaching in September, the month after they had graduated, 
 and could not have been over sixteen years old. All of 
 those named above graduated from, and taught in, the Bow- 
 doin School, and many other graduates taught in the 
 other public schools of the city. 
 
 The Bowdoin has been remarkable, among other things, 
 for the long tenure of office of many of the teachers. One 
 taught forty-nine years; one, for thirty-nine years, and is 
 still teaching; two, for thirty-six years; two, for thirty-three 
 years, of whom one is still living; one, twenty-one years, and 
 is still living; one, for twenty-nine years; two, for twenty- 
 eight years, one of whom is still teaching; two, for twenty- 
 six years, one of whom is still living; one, for twenty-three 
 years; two, for twenty-one years, both of whom are living; 
 eleven, twelve years or over, one of whom is still teaching. 
 
 In 1855, the first marked change in the class of child- 
 ren who attended the Bowdoin, occured. The school for 
 colored children was given up and its pupils attended the 
 school for white children, in the district where the child- 
 ren lived. About thirty years ago a few children of the Irish 
 race entered, and during the last twenty years, children 
 from almost every race of the civilized world have entered 
 its doors. It would seem that the desire and ability to 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 learn would be marked by difference among the various 
 races, but while it is so in a degree, yet intellectually, the 
 difference, if any, is small. In looking over the names of 
 the graduates of the last few years one notices that vale- 
 dictorians, song-writers, speakers, vocal soloists, instru- 
 mental soloists, bear strange names, Russian, Polish, Irish, 
 Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, German, etc. Speak- 
 ing of the different nationalities, the principal, Mr. Meserve 
 said, that he found them about equally amenable to rules. 
 The Russian children are the most promising. They are 
 industrious, obedient, quick to learn and affectionate, their 
 parents are very much interested in their school progress, 
 and they are all quick to catch the American spirit. 
 
 Mr. Meserve is Principal of the Bowdoin School, which 
 has three primary grades and six grammar grades. The 
 largest attendance this year (1907) was 1235, about two 
 and one-half times the attendance in 1846, the quarter of a 
 century year of the school; average age of graduates fifteen 
 years, He is also principal of the primary "Sharp School," 
 Anderson street, which has a head assistant, and three assis- 
 tants, also a kindergarten department, with a principal 
 assistant. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 In this history, when quoting from graduates, names 
 have not been given, but in the chapters especially dedica- 
 ted to the teachers, and in this chapter, names are given of 
 those pupils who have filled important positions or have 
 made for themselves names in the world. I am sure the 
 small number I have been able to find would be increased 
 manifold, if half of the almost innumerable inquiries I sent 
 out had been answered. Efforts to obtain information 
 about the after life of the boys who attended the Bowdoin 
 School during the first ten years of its existence have been 
 almost completely fruitless. From the means, education 
 and public spirit of the colonial settlers of Beacon Hill, the 
 ancestors of the boys and girls who attended Bowdoin 
 School, there must have been a very large number of the 
 pupils who graduated from the school who deserved men- 
 tion here; men who as public officials, lawyers, judges, 
 ministers, business men and connected with colleges and 
 schools, and as philanthropists, have made their mark in 
 the world, must have left a distinct impression on their 
 cescendents. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the oldest living graduate, 
 as far as could be ascertained, is not willing that her name 
 should be given. She entered the school in 1825 and 
 graduated in 1829. The gentleman whom she married, 
 many years Mayor of Boston, and consequently chair- 
 man of the School Board, was thus connected with 
 every school in the city, so incidentally with the Bowdoin. 
 The graduate said: "Charlotte Cushman was in the school 
 for a short time; she was a fine reader, and Mr. Andrews 
 called upon her whenever visitors were present. I remem- 
 
 117 
 
118 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 ber 'Hohenlinden' was a favorite piece with him. Charlotte 
 was not a pretty girl, but large for her years; she was 
 about thirteen." Her connection with the Hancock 
 School, where she was for some time, is not disputed. 
 
 Mr. Warren Peirce, (this is the spelling of the family), 
 was born at New Salem, Mass., March 28, 1776. In 1800 
 he married Lydia, daughter of Rev. Stephen Farrar of 
 New Ipswich, N. H. He graduated from Dartmouth Col- 
 lege in 1799 and received from that college the degrees of 
 A. B. and A. M., and from Harvard the honoray degree of 
 A. M in 181 1. He studied divinity from 1799 to 1807. 
 He taught first as Principal of Appleton Academy, then as 
 Principal of New Salem Academy; in 1807 he was elected 
 Preceptor of the newly established Milton (Massachusetts) 
 Academy, and remained there until 1817, when he resigned. 
 In 1821 he was elected master of the reading department of 
 the Bowdoin School. He died in Boston May 10, 1822, aged 
 forty-six years. He was held in high regard in Milton as a 
 teacher. His son Charles, born in 1804, followed in his 
 father's footsteps. He graduated from Dartmouth College 
 in 1825 and devoted his life to teaching, mostly in Charles- 
 town and Boston, Mass. He died aged forty-eight years. 
 
 He and his father seemed to have dropped this life's 
 work, just as they were fitted for great usefulness in their 
 chosen profession. 
 
 Mr. John Belcher was the first master of the Bowdoin 
 School, in the writing department, 1821; he resigned in 
 1825. In the School Board records there was but one ref- 
 erence to him, excepting the two facts of his appointment 
 and resignation. In 1823, at the end of the school year, 
 "The Sub-Committtee of the Derne-Street School be re- 
 quested to express to the Master and Assistants of the 
 Writing and Arithmetic in this school, that this Board are 
 by no means satisfied with the improvements of the'pu- 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 119 
 
 pils, particularly in writing, as exhibited before the School 
 Committee in the late examination of their school, and ex- 
 press the expectation of the Board, that the said instructors 
 show better evidence of their attention to the school in 
 future examinations." But one of the pupils, boy or girl, 
 who attended the school, while he was master, have re- 
 ferred to Mr. Belcher; this one wrote: "He lived on Myrtle 
 Street and was always pleasant and gentlemanly. Mr. 
 Belcher resigned in 1825 and opend a book store in Faneuil 
 Hall building, mostly for school books. Three of his 
 daughters entered the school when I did." 
 
 Mr. Abraham Andrews, who was teaching a private 
 school in Charlestown, succeeded Mr. Peirce. Mr. Andrews 
 was born in Hillsboro, N. H., December 14, 1776, and died 
 in Charlestown, March 3, 1869. He graduated from Dart- 
 mouth College in 181 1, taking the A. B. degree, later the A. 
 M., and in 1849 was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa 
 Society of that College. He read law with Judge Claggett 
 of Amherst, New Hampshire, and with Aaron Sawyer of 
 Mt. Vernon. After the resignation of Mr. Robinson, in 
 1853, Mr. Andrews took charge of both departments, the 
 writing department as well as his own, the reading depart- 
 ment. In 1855, he sent in his resignation to the School 
 Board, and although strongly urged, would not recall it. 
 He received the following resolution from the Board: 
 
 Boston, May 17, 1855. 
 
 Dear Sir. — I take pleasure in transmitting to you the accompany- 
 ing resolution, which was unanimouly adopted at a meeting of the School 
 Committee of this city, held on Tuesday last : 
 
 "Resolved, That this Board take the occasion which is presented in the 
 withdrawal of Mr. Abraham Andrews from the mastership of the Bowdoin 
 School, to express its highest sense of the value of the services he has 
 rendered in the School Department for a long course of years. 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 "He leaves the service honored with the respect and esteem of thirty- 
 two successive Hoards, and that of a great number of citizens of both 
 sexes who are now enjoying the benefit derived from his instruction and 
 his example." 
 
 I remain, Sir, with the very highest respect, 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 BARNARD CAPEN, 
 
 Secretary of the School Committee. 
 
 November 2, 1853, at a meeting of the School Board, a 
 proposition that six months' salary should be presented to 
 Mr. Andrews, resulted in the following: "Mr. Abraham An- 
 drews has been in the service of this Board for many years, 
 he has during that time met the full approval of our prede- 
 cessors and built up for himself an enviable reputation, both 
 as a worthy and upright man and a capable and successful 
 instructor. 
 
 "For much of that high character which our Boston 
 Schools sustain, they are indebted to his influence and to 
 his exertions; for much of that honorable distinction which 
 they have won abroad, they acknowledge his assistance and 
 his efforts. 
 
 "Although we feel compelled to oppose the practice of 
 paying gratuities, and consequently to oppose it in this 
 case, still it is no part of our wish or purpose to detract 
 one iota from the merits of Mr. Andrews, or to disguise 
 the value of those services which, through long years, he 
 has rendered as an instructor in our Public Schools. We 
 are free to acknowledge that, if in any case, it would be 
 proper to overlook the great principle involved in granting 
 gratuity; if it was ever right to do that, in a single instance, 
 which is inexpedient as a practice; if it were ever justifiable 
 for this Board to exceed the authority given it by the law, 
 the present is an instance where the temptation would be 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 121 
 
 strong to, 'Wrest once the law to your authority' — 'To do 
 a great right, to do a little wrong' — General School Com- 
 mittee." 
 
 After his resignation, Mr. Andrews moved to Groton, 
 where he enjoyed ten years of farm life; in 1865 he returned 
 to his old home in Charlestown, where he died. He was 
 twice married; his first wife was Elizabeth R. Swift, who 
 died in 1829; his second wife, Caroline Swift, sister to his 
 first wife, died in 1882. He had two daughters by his first 
 wife, and three daughters and a son, by the second wife. 
 His daughters, Caroline, Hannah and Sarah, taught in the 
 Bowdoin School. 
 
 Master Andrews was very much loved and respected 
 by his pupils. He was never severe, never arbitrary, never 
 sarcastic, except in a slight, amusing way, but every pupil, 
 after a few days, knew that whatever he requested to be 
 done, must be done, and whatever be forbade, must never 
 be attempted. His even government commanded the high- 
 est respect and his earnest, enthusiastic methods of instruc- 
 tion, carried the pupils along with him. He was intensely 
 interested in the present and the future welfare of every 
 member of his classes. His teaching of English literature 
 embraced a great amount of instruction in composition. His 
 interest in the allowed studies was a great benefit to his 
 pupils, so that, as one graduate expresses it, "A medal, 
 from the Bowdoin School, was an honor to be grateful for." 
 
 Of the nearly three thousand pupils who reached his 
 special classes, every one living must feel that the time 
 passed with him, had a great influence in creating a taste 
 for the best literature, and a directing power upon their 
 lives; that to him they owe a great debt of gratitude, 
 which they can pay now only by a loving remembrance of 
 him. 
 
 Mr. James Robinson became Principal of the Writing 
 Department of the Bowdoin School in 1825. He was born 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 in Windham, Conn., October 8, 1781; died in Cambridge 
 in 1877, a g e d 95 years, 9 months and 23 days. One son 
 survived him, who had no children. A friend of the family 
 said he was a Brown University man. Writing to the 
 Registrar of the University, I was informed that his name 
 was not on the list of students. Letters were sent to 
 Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin, and the same an- 
 swer was received from all. So we must concede that he 
 received his education in the public schools of his native 
 town may have attended private schools, and afterwards 
 was self-educated. Before he became Principal of the Bow. 
 doin School, he taught as usher in the first Franklin 
 School in 18 19. Previous to that, he taught in Boston in 
 other schools and had been transferred from the West- 
 Street School to the Boylston on Fort Hill, then to the 
 Hawkins-Street School, and was an assistant in Milton 
 (Massachusetts) Academy, for two years. While teaching 
 there, he married Maria Bronson. He had two sons and 
 four daughters. Two of his daughters, Frances and Mary 
 L., taught in the Bowdoin School. 
 
 He wrote an elementary arithmetic that was intro- 
 duced into the public grammar schools in 1821, and in 1848 
 a large, advanced arithmetic; he also published a text-book 
 on book-keeping. The large work is still in use in many 
 schools in the country, though revised by other mathemati- 
 cians. It is not strange that a man of his temperament, a 
 highly nervous one, during the latter half of so long a pe- 
 riod, as exhausting as teaching is, should be at times excita- 
 ble; as one graduate expressed it, a "bunch of nerves." If 
 some of the children were dissatisfied, their parents were 
 not. They knew he was not tyrannical or revengeful; that 
 there was nothing in his government that would be injuri- 
 ous to' their children; if he sometimes spoke sharply to 
 them, his manner would soon show that he regretted. At 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 123 
 
 the time of a slight illness, in the early years of his teach- 
 ing, when there appeared danger of losing him, a petition 
 was sent to the general committee for his retention, signed 
 by the very best people of the Bowdoin School district, and 
 by the city officials. In 1853, he declined a re-election, and 
 later when his health improved, he recalled this resignation, 
 but this was not allowed. In a few months, a memorial was 
 sent to the School Board, signed by Rev. Samuel Barrett, 
 Edwin H. Hall, Josiah Quincy and 233 others, to appoint 
 Mr. Robinson. This petition resulted in his appointment as 
 assistant in penmanship and arithmetic. In 1857, he was 
 appointed assistant in Arithmetic,Book-keeping and Writing 
 in any public school in the city where he might be needed 
 at $600 salary. His name was not mentioned again in con- 
 nection with the Bowdoin School, but the School Board 
 went through the form each year of appointing him. In 
 1 865 and 1 866, the salary became $700; in 1 86y, $800; in 1 868, 
 $1,000, and this amount was continued as long as he lived. 
 
 A note to a report of the schools for 1903, by Edwin 
 P. Seaver, superintendent of schools, gives this account: 
 
 "This dropping of the old writing masters was 
 doubtless a cruel blow to most of them, but it is pleasant to 
 record one instance, at least, in which mercy was shown. 
 It is the curious case of Mr. James Robinson, writing 
 master, who drew his salary virtually as a pension, during 
 all the latter years of his long life Annually, when all the 
 other teachers of the schools had been appointed, special 
 action was taken in his case and he was appointed to per- 
 form such services and give such instruction in arithmetic 
 and book-keeping as he might be called upon to perform by 
 the chairman of any sub-committee, his salary to be the 
 same as the last year. He went to the City Hall every 
 quarter to draw his salary, but was never called upon to do 
 any work. Mr. Robinson's last appointment was made by 
 the new School Committee in September, 1877." 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Mr. Robinson was a gentleman in appearance and 
 manners; his movements were quick but quiet, never ob- 
 trusive. He was as enthusiastic in his work as Master as 
 Master Andrews was in his. His ways were precise; neatness 
 and exactness entered into all that he did. Whatever he 
 undertook to do, was done well. I cannot think of him as 
 leaving anything undone or anything carelessly done. His 
 control of the room with its 224 scholars was complete. 
 There was never any unnecessary disturbance; and I 
 cannot, in any way, recall that any severity or harshness 
 was used to obtain this order. He was master of the sub- 
 jects he taught and an enthusiast in them. He taught one 
 of the allowed studies, now called in the schools, I think, 
 Physical Science, and as one of his pupils reported, "He 
 made it very interesting and she could recall all that she 
 learned under him." 
 
 He built up a high reputation for the school in his 
 department. If it was possible to make a scholar under- 
 stand a mathematical problem, he would do it. His pupils 
 all becamedistingushed for their penmanship. As a graduate 
 has said, "A pupil of Master Andrews had to be a good 
 speller," so a pupil of Master Robinson had to write well. 
 
 The two masters working harmoniously and together 
 raised the school to the high position it held. Its high 
 rank is still accorded to it by the committee of the present 
 time, a rank obtained and maintained by the united efforts 
 of the two first masters. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Mr. Daniel C. Browne succeeded Mr. Abraham And- 
 rews as principal of the Bowdoin in 1855. He was born in 
 Kingston, N. H., September 5, 1814, and received his early 
 education in the academies of Kingston and Exeter. He 
 taught in Arlington, Mass., and came to Boston about 1850 
 as usher in the Brimmer School. In 1 856 he was elected Mas- 
 ter of the Bowdoin School, which had been for more than 
 a generation under the able instruction of Master Andrews 
 and Master Robinson. 
 
 June 10, 1884, the resignation of Daniel C. Browne 
 was accepted and Mr. Perkins offered the following: "Re- 
 solved, That the Bowdoin School Committee highly appre- 
 ciate the value of the work done by Mr. Daniel C. Browne, 
 during the thirty-five years of active service in the Public 
 Schools of Boston, twenty-nine of which have been spent 
 as the able and devoted master of the Bowdoin School, and 
 heartily regret that he has found it necessary on account of 
 the state of his health to resign the office which he has so 
 long filled with credit to himself and with great advantage to 
 the school. They offer him the best wishes for prosperity 
 and happiness in his honorable retirement, which he seeks 
 and to which he has so richly earned the right." From a 
 Memorial printed after his death, the following extracts are 
 taken from resolutions unanimously adopted by the "Boston 
 School Masters' Association :" "Mr. Brown by his earnest, 
 conscientious life and life-long duty, by his scholarly attain- 
 ments,by his unswerving adherence to what he believed to be 
 the true and the right, and by his modest, dignified and gen- 
 tlemanly bearing, offers an example worthy of all imitation, 
 commanding our admiration and respect. We look with 
 
 125 
 
126 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 just pride and satisfaction upon the record of a full and 
 rounded life, devoted for fifty years to the cause of edua- 
 cation; inspired with upright zeal for the honor of the pro- 
 fession; active with single purpose to train the youth of our 
 community to studious habits and useful lives. — Mr. 
 Brown would, I suppose, be called a conservative teacher. 
 He was never carried away by new theories, never rode 
 hobbies, and while he was modest in the presentation of his 
 views, never obtruded them on others. He felt most 
 strongly that for himself he must follow those methods 
 which long experience had proved best for him. He was 
 just old-fashioned enough to believe in honest, thorough 
 work in the school-room, not only of the teacher but of the 
 scholar. — Many of his pupils in the early years of his teach- 
 ing, now men and women of mature life, most thankfully 
 remember his faithful instructions, and will ever hold in 
 fond endearment the man who constantly labored to fit 
 them to become useful members of society. In going to 
 the Bowdoin School as master, though he succeeded one of 
 the most popular and thorough instructors that Boston has 
 ever had enrolled on her lists of teachers, Father Andrews, 
 as he was familiarly called, yet the Bowdoin took at once, 
 under his administration of affairs, a high rank among the 
 rest of our schools, which position she has ever since 
 justly maintained. — Mr. Brown took the mastership of the 
 Bowdoin School for girls on Beacon Hill, which had been 
 for more than a generation under the able direction of 
 Master Andrews, the foremost school of its class in the 
 city. I take profound satisfaction in bearing testimony to 
 the eminent ability, zeal, fidelity and conscientious devotion 
 with which Mr.Brown performed every function and dis- 
 charged every duty devolved upon him by the important 
 position which he held. He was never found wanting. — In 
 a word, to ennumerate his qualifications, moral and intellec- 
 tual, is but to recite the characteristics of qualifications 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 127 
 
 requisite to constitute the man of noble character and the 
 model school-master." 
 
 Mr. Brown's resignation was received June 10, 1884; 
 he died in Boston, July 3, 1884, aged 69 years, 5 months, 
 28 days. He married, somewhate late in life, Miss Rose 
 Prescott, a teacher in the Sharp School (Bowdoin Primary), 
 and his death left a widow and young daughter, Rose Pres- 
 cott Brown, now Mrs. Coffin, of St. Louis, Missouri. The 
 memorial from which the given selections were taken, was 
 a very complete one and too lengthy to insert here; neces- 
 sarily there was more or less repetition of the same 
 thoughts from different persons. Such selections were 
 taken as would adequately present his life and work. He 
 was given the honorary degree of A. M. from Middlebury 
 College, Middlebury, Vt. 
 
 After the resignation of Mr. Daniel C. Brown, Mr. Dew- 
 lin A. Hamlin, who was teaching in one of the public 
 grammar schools of the city, a boys' school, was elected 
 master of the Bowdoin School, September, 1885. He grad- 
 uated from Colby College, Waterville, Me., receiving the two 
 degrees, A. B. in 1871, and A. M., in 1874. Directly 
 after graduation, he was appointed to the Lawrence 
 School, Boston. In 1886 he was transferred to the Rice 
 Manual Training School, a position which he was thor- 
 oughly fitted to fill, thus remaining at the Bowdoin School 
 only one year and four months. He remained in the Rice 
 School until his death, in 1893; having taught two years in 
 Boston. 
 
 Mr. Hamlin married, December 28, 1873, Laura A., 
 daughter of Horace and Emeline (Packard) Parlin; they had 
 two sons and one daughter. One of the graduates said, 
 "He always referred to us as boys, much to our amuse- 
 ment." The class that graduated under him, refer to him 
 in the pleasantest way, saying they owe much to his teach- 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 ing. He was a man of pleasing personality, and was 
 much liked by the entire class. 
 
 Mr. Alonzo Meserve succeeded Mr. Dewlin A. Hamlin. 
 He began teaching in Boston in the Bigelow School, South 
 Boston, in September, 1871, as usher; then was transferred 
 to the Prescott School as sub-master, January, 1874, and 
 was appointed master of the Bowdoin School, September, 
 1886, where he is still teaching. Mr. Meserve says : "I was 
 born in North Abington, Mass., February 21, 1844. I 
 learned the trade of shoemaker; when I was seventeen 
 years old, I had an intellectual awakening. From seven- 
 teen to twenty-one, I took a four years' course in the High 
 School, attending school forenoons and spending the rest 
 of the twenty-four hours in working at my trade and sleeping 
 moderately. I then taught school for a year, after which I 
 entered the Bridgewater Normal, graduating in 1868, and 
 immediately went to teaching. I have tried to keep abreast 
 of the times by many and varied courses of instruction, 
 reading and travel." 
 
 Although Mr. Meserve did not receive a college edu- 
 cation, yet those who have watched and marked his work 
 as master of the Bowdoin School, and seen its results, 
 know that he is admirably adapted for carrying out what he 
 chose for his life-work. As a graduate of the first quarter 
 of a century of the Bowdoin School lately remarked: 
 "When I left the school there was no Girls' High School, 
 but with Master Andrews as teacher, for four years, and 
 Mr. Pierpont's American First Class Book, I have never 
 felt myself an uneducated person." So Mr. Meserve, with 
 his youthful determination and perseverance, working and 
 studying, suplementing these in all his after years with 
 constant and well selected self-instruction, may well be 
 classed in his profession as a compeer with any college-ed- 
 uted instructor. 
 

 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 129 
 
 Mr. Meserve is a man of even temperament; whatever 
 he decides is best for a pupil, is unswervingly worked out, 
 quietly though determinedly, no matter what the natural 
 ability of the child or position in life of her parents, or her 
 pleasing or unpleasing personality. 
 
 It would be difficult, as well as undesirable, to com- 
 pare the work and its results of the present master of the 
 school, and his efficient corps of the teachers, with those 
 of the first half-century. The contrast between the early 
 residents of the Bowdoin School district and those of 
 to-day is very great and, consequently, the home influence 
 in some cases is as different, throwing a greater responsi- 
 bility upon the teachers. From two or three slight talks 
 with Mr. Meserve, I have received the impression that our 
 opinions coincide, as to the methods to be adopted, for the 
 best all-around instruction of the children of to-day, and the 
 fundamental principles underlying them. 
 
 Whatever a child can find out for himself, by close, 
 diligent, patient work, he should be encouraged to do, and 
 not be told, although the telling may save parent or 
 teacher some time and labor. Different methods of gov- 
 erning and instructing different races are unnecessary; that 
 with foresight, patience and a clear understanding of what 
 is to be done and the effects to be desired, the same meth- 
 ods will answer for all. Schools are primarily established 
 for the good of the child. The first effort to be made is to 
 find out the peculiar temperament and characteristics of 
 the child, and try to build up a "good character;" then to 
 impart general knowledge, and while doing this, let the 
 dominant effort be to train the child for an useful life. 
 The school life of children, should be that of a large, har- 
 monious family, where the teachers are so many parents, who 
 desire to make the children happy, while at the same time 
 they are being gently controlled and taught to observe and 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 look into everything that is told to them, or seen around 
 them, and to control themselves. Children, if properly 
 taught and guided, will be happy and, if happy, their minds 
 will be open to the right impressions and they will enjoy 
 and desire to do their work. 
 
 There will be a great difference in the intellectual 
 powers of a class of students, but a conscientious, devoted 
 teacher will never neglect the weaker intellect, but will 
 smile upon and encourage every effort, however simple or 
 crude. Dr. Arnold said: "If there is any thing on earth, 
 which is truly admirable, it is to see God's mission bless- 
 ing an inferiorty of natural powers, when they have been 
 honestly and zelously cultivated" Mr. Meserve is one well 
 calculated to carry out this mission of God. His manner 
 to the older ones is that of one strongly interested in them, 
 ready to aid them in what they are seeking to do, and his 
 manner to the little ones, no matter the color or race, is 
 very gentle. I noticed this particularly in two visits to the 
 school; some little ones were sent in to the office to speak 
 to the master, probably to confess some misdemeanor, but 
 although shy and ashamed, were not afraid. 
 
 At the reunion, 1906, of Bowdoin Alumnae Association, 
 Mr. Meserve said, in his remarks at the banquet: "The cry 
 is going out again, that we are giving too much attention 
 to many things in our schools, but although the teachers of 
 the threeR.s, playfully so-called, may have seemed sufficient 
 hitherto, the sooner we begin to teach the three H.s, the 
 Head, the Heart and the Hand, or, in another phrase, the 
 Moral, the Mental and the Manual, the better it will be for 
 the children and the community of the future, which will be 
 formed by them. He also stated, that a Penny Savings 
 Bank for the children had been started, and many of them 
 have quite an amount in the bank. 
 
 Master Andrews served the school thirty-three years; 
 Master Robinson, thirty years; Master Brown, twenty-nine 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 131 
 
 years;Master Meserve,twenty-four years and is still teaching. 
 May the Bowdoin School retain him and have the blessing 
 and benefit of his guidance and teaching until the century 
 anniversary comes round, in 1921! Masters Andrews and 
 Robinson were serving at the same time, so three successive 
 masters have given eighty-five years of service. 
 
 Mr. Meserve married Abbie M. May of Randolph, 
 December 27, 1870. They had ten children, but the first 
 died in infancy. Five have received a college education and 
 it is intended to give the other four equal advantages. The 
 five have all been teaching, four of them still continuing 
 the work. 
 
 William M. Evarts, who entered the school when he 
 was seven, in 1825, and took a medal in 1828, was the first 
 scholar in his class. He was ten when he entered the 
 Latin School. He was not disposed to enter the usual boy- 
 ish games. William M. Evarts was appointed Attorney 
 General under Andrew Jackson and, in 1877, Secretary of 
 State, during the four years of Rutherford B. Hayes' admin- 
 istration. He died in New York, February 28, 1900. 
 
 Edward A. G. Roulstone was born in Boston, April 2, 
 1818, and attended the Bowdoin School, He was a manu- 
 faucturer of trunks, bags and military equipments, his fac- 
 tory and store being on Hanover Street and Tremont Row. 
 He is not living. 
 
 Mr. William B. Wright, a Bowdoin boy, went into the 
 drug business, corner of Revere and West Cedar streets, 
 and was there for many years. Since his death the busi- 
 ness has been carried on by his son. 
 
 Francis Sumner, brother of Charles Sumner, attended 
 the Bowdoin School, and it is upon the old Sumner home- 
 stead that the present building now stands. 
 
 Mr. Henry Winship, a well-known business man of 
 Boston, attended the Bowdoin School. He has been for 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 many years in the trunk and bag business. He is about 
 ninety years old. 
 
 Mr. Emory Souther attended the school, leaving it 
 when the transfer of boys to other schools were made in 
 1830. When his grammar school education was finished, he 
 served a long apprenticeship with Mr. F. Towle, a druggist, 
 corner of Leverett and Greene streets. In 1843 he started 
 a drug store for himself, at the corner of Lyman Place and 
 Greene Street and remained there until a few years ago. 
 He was for some time the oldest apothecary in Boston. 
 He was one of the first to manufacture "Cod Liver Oil." 
 He resided at the West End. He died in March, 1907, 
 aged 87 years. 
 
 Francis C. Bryant, though not a close student, became 
 successful as a business man, and was elected secretary of 
 the "Board of Water-Commissioners" at St. Louis in 1880. 
 
 Thomas Gould was born in Boston, 1818, and died in 
 Boston in 1881. He studied art under Seth Cheney; re- 
 sided in Florence, 1868 to 1878, after which he practised 
 his profession of Sculpture in Boston. He has been con- 
 sidered by many the strongest idealistic sculptor of the 
 nineteenth century. Besides the busts of several noted 
 people, his best known works are "West Wind," "Ariel," 
 "Cleopatra," "Timon of Athens," "Christ," "Satan." His 
 last two works were colossal heads, in relief, on the Herald 
 building. 
 
 Charles Clark Meade, a graduate, is still living. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Miss Mary A. Murdock was a graduate of the Bowdoin 
 School, taking a medal in 1829. The fall of the same year 
 she bcame a teacher in the school at a salary of $50 per 
 year. This was during the time the monitorial method 
 was being tried. She resigned after thirty-five years of 
 teaching and could not be persuaded by the committee to 
 withdraw her resignation. At the time of her retirement, 
 her salary was $600 per year. One pupil writes of her 
 thus: "As an instructor she had a happy faculty of impart- 
 ing what she knew to her pupils, and she was clear and 
 thorough in her explanation of any difficult point that 
 might come up in the course of the lesson. In the man- 
 agement of her pupils she combined mildness with firm- 
 ness." Her personal appearance, mien and carriage were 
 noticeable, giving an impression of dignity and refinement. 
 Her brown hair, always arranged in a glossy French twist, 
 dazzling white, slightly large teeth, well-open brown eyes 
 beneath a well-formed brow, she retained almost intact 
 during a long life. She was born in August, 1814, and 
 died in August, 1901. Her death was caused by a fall 
 in 1898 when her hip was broken. She never left 
 the house afterward, but she was moved and moved herself 
 in a rolling chair. For a few months only was she confined 
 to her bed, and during that time her brilliant mind seemed 
 to give way. 
 
 At the time of her resignation, as teacher of the Bow- 
 doin School, she received the following handsome recogni- 
 tion of her work as a teacher: 
 
 131 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Boston, April 5, 1864. 
 
 At a meeting of the Bowdoin School District Committee, this reso- 
 lution was passed and sent to Miss Murdock : 
 
 "The Commitee have received with regret the resignation of Miss 
 Mary A. Murdock, as head assistant of the Bowdoin School. 
 
 "Resolved, In accepting this resignation, the Committee desire to ex- 
 press their grateful recognition of the judicious, faithful and successful 
 manner in which, for many years and in various positions, Miss Murdock 
 has performed all her duties, and their sense of obligation for the effect- 
 ive services she rendered in maintaining and promoting the interest and 
 reputation of the school. 
 
 "The Committee take this opportunity to convey to Miss Murdock. 
 their best wishes for her future welfare." 
 
 WALBRIDGE A. FIELD, 
 
 Sec. Bowdoin Sch. Dist. Com. 
 
 Mrs. Philena Winship Perrin was a pupil at the school 
 until the transference of the pupils who lived north of 
 Greene Street, to the new Wells School in 1833. She re- 
 membered much of her school days in the Bowdoin, often 
 speaking of the teachers and with special appreciation of 
 the work of the two principals, Masters Andrews and Rob- 
 inson. Her sons, Prof. Marshall Livingston Perrin, of Bos- 
 ton University, and Rev. Willard T. Perrin survive her. Her 
 home was a typical New England home, where it was a de- 
 lightful and instructive privilege to visit. The last time I 
 was there, the kind and amount of work which Mrs. Perrin 
 performed daily seemed a marvel to me, she being in her 
 eighty-fourth year. Prof. Perrin has been for many years 
 Superintendent of the Wellesley schools. He writes: "Mrs. 
 Perrin had for fourteen years previous to her death kept 
 all the accounts of school expenditure, making out the pay 
 rolls and expense sheets, according to which, after approval 
 by the school-board, payments were made by the town 
 treasurer. She had the book-keeping connected with the 
 School and Public Library departments and had made, 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 135 
 
 wholly herself, the separate statistical and financial reports 
 of the town. Besides this work, she also kept the detailed 
 accounts of the subscriptions of the Boston University Al- 
 umni History Professorship Fund, sending out requests, 
 reminders and receipts and making full report from time 
 to time." Mrs. Perrin led a comparatively quiet life for the 
 last quarter of a century, as she was always somewhat del- 
 icate in health. The tie between her, her two sons and a 
 grandson was extremely close and congenial. She was proud 
 of her sons, and they were proud of and devoted to her, as 
 well they may have been, when we consider what she was 
 able to do in her 84th year. She died March 16, 1908. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Mitchell Judkins graduated in 1835, a 
 medal scholar. She taught in the Bowdoin for two years, 
 1850 and 1851, and then she married. Mrs. Judkins is a 
 woman of great delicacy and refinement, joined to a fine 
 intellect. Her writings have been published in papers and 
 magazines and a small book was printed for private circula- 
 tion. Two of her short poems are given elsewhere in this 
 history. The following are, I think, her best poems: 
 
 THE DEAD BISHOP'S LAST WORD— "HOME." 
 
 A brave day's work in the vineyard, 
 Where the purple clusters grow; 
 Forming, tying the branches, 
 'Till the sun is sinking low, 
 A long day's work in the pasture, 
 While guiding the flocks as they stray; 
 Urging on the wayward stragglers, 
 Guiding the weak by the way, 
 
 And then "Home." 
 
 Then he left the vines to ripen, 
 'Neath others' fostering care; 
 Left the velvety pastures, 
 With the flock still feeding there. 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 A voice had come in the stillness, 
 On the wings of the midnight air — 
 A voice unheard by the watchers, 
 Though watching so closly there. 
 
 "Home — Home." 
 
 Others must gather the vintage, 
 
 The fruit of your toiling, 
 
 Another bring home your flocks, 
 
 With the shepherd's calling song. 
 
 Louder the call and yet louder, 
 
 Though the watchers caught ne'er a word, 
 
 The soul of the loving toiler, 
 
 The summons to come, had heard. 
 
 "Home — Home." 
 
 And so just before the dawning, 
 
 Just at the breaking of day, 
 
 While sleep was on the city, 
 
 The Master called him away. 
 
 A moan went up from the thousands 
 
 When the light of that day beamed bright, 
 
 And the sunshine as it glinted 
 
 Seemed alike dead of night. 
 
 And then "Home." 
 
 QUESTIONINGS. 
 
 How many years of my life remain, 
 Oh, how many years I say ? 
 
 Can you tell of the time of my death to me, 
 Tell either the hour or the day ? 
 
 Nay, the Father knoweth — not you or I. 
 
 What of the love that shall gird me round, 
 How strong shall it circling be ? 
 
 Shall it keep me safe in its sheltering arms 
 Whatever the storm may be ? 
 
 Nay, the Father knoweth, not you or I. 
 
 What can you tell of my journey's end, 
 Or what will their ending be ? 
 
ALONZO MESERVE. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 137 
 
 Shall the friends I have loved be around me then 
 
 To strengthen and comfort me ? 
 Nay, the Father knoweth, not you or I. 
 
 What of beyond when my feet shall stand 
 
 On the banks of farther shore ? 
 Shall a welcome come from the lips I love, 
 
 Of those who have gone before ? 
 Nay, the Father knoweth — not you or I. 
 
 Miss Caroline M. Plummer, 1839, writes occasional po- 
 ems, one of which, written for the 1873 reunion, has been 
 given in the account of that reunion. 
 
 Mrs. Susan Whitwell-Leeds, class of 1840, who writes 
 occasional poems, wrote one for the 1873 reunion. As she 
 once expressed it, "I married early, as did most of the class 
 of 1840, and we devoted our time and talents to our families. 
 That surely ought to make us noteworthy." 
 
 Mrs. Eleanor Pearson, March, 1840, is noted in philan- 
 thopic work in Boston. 
 
 Miss Anna Baily, 1840, was a very fine scholar and 
 very successful in her chosen life-work; but just as she 
 had obtained a position of great responsibility and trust and 
 was returning home, she fell on her own door-steps. She 
 was severely injured and made a cripple, confined to the 
 house for life. She has now lost the sight of one eye. 
 In bearing what must have been a keen disappointment, 
 the shattering of her plans, with patience and resignation, 
 she certainly has won a name to be honored aud remem- 
 bered. 
 
 Miss Lucretia Crocker, 1840, was a successful teacher 
 and one of the first four women who were elected on the 
 School Board of Boston in 1874. She was placed on the 
 District Committee of the Lewis and Dudley Schools; also 
 on the committees of the Industrial and the Girls' High 
 Schools. In 1880, she was elected one of the four first Su- 
 pervisors of the city schools for a long time doing fine work. 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Miss Harriet Havves, a medal scholar of 1842, remained 
 in the school another year. In 1844 she went to Mount 
 Holyoke Seminary, now a college, as assistant pupil, teach- 
 ing vocal and instrumental music. She graduated in Miss 
 Lyons' last class and went at once to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to 
 teach in a seminary. She was there two and a half years. 
 She then taught instrumental music in Boston to private pu- 
 pils. In 1855 and 1856 she taught in Blairsville, (Pennsylva- 
 nia,) Seminary. She afterwards taught in the Western 
 Female Seminary, Oxford, Ohio; she was there 19 years, 
 teaching music at first, then literature. She was given a 
 year's vacation and returned to Boston. During this year, 
 1877, she was offered the position of librarian of Wellesley 
 College and is now there as librarian emeritus, still spending 
 most of her time in the library. 
 
 Miss Adelaide Phillips attended the Bowdoin School in 
 1845 or 1846. She sang in opera; studied music in Boston, 
 afterwards in Europe. The following is copied from the 
 Boston Daily Advertiser of August 27, 1863: "Miss Ad- 
 elaide Phillips has been singing in some of the provincial 
 cities of France and has met with great success. Speaking 
 of her performance of the part of 'Leonora' which she sang 
 at her benefit, the 'Journal d'Amiens' uses the following 
 highly complimentary language: 'The part of Leonora 
 filled by the young beneficiary, offered fresh oppportunity 
 for the display of all her versatality and the charm of her 
 genius. As she had shown herself charming and sparkling 
 in 'Rigoletto' and 'Barber,' so has she shown herself im- 
 passioned and dramatic in 'II Trovatore' and 'La Favorite.' 
 Happy privilege of her glorious and flexible mezzo-soprano 
 voice, which passes with perfect ease and equal beauty from 
 the most delicate expression, from the lightest and most 
 brilliant expression fiorituri to the deepest tones, to the 
 most stirring accents. We chronicle with pleasure the 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 139 
 
 tumultuous clapping and applause, the calls, the bouquets, 
 all of which consecrated the dazzling and legitimate success 
 of Miss Phillips.' " 
 
 Miss Sarah E. Adams, medal scholar, in 1846, first 
 taught in the Bowdoin School for a short time, then in the 
 Phillips School, returning to the Bowdoin School under Mr. 
 Brown. She resigned to become assistant in a private school 
 for two years; then was governess for twelve years in a fam- 
 ily; and at last taught private pupils in her home. She has led 
 a useful and honored life, but is now somewhat of an invalid. 
 
 Caroline Francis Loring, medal scholar, 1846. She 
 was a briliant scholar. She went to the State Normal 
 School at West Newton when the famous "Father Pierce" 
 was principal. After her graduation from that school she 
 taught in one of the public schools of Boston until her 
 marriage, in 1854. She went in a sailing vessel around 
 Cape Horn to San Francisco; there she was married to 
 George H. Loring of Boston. Her husband died young; 
 and she died in the fall of 1907, leaving one daughter. 
 
 Mary Joslin Thorn, 1846, medal scholar. She entered 
 the Bowdoin School in 1845, previous to that time she had 
 taught school in Leominster, Mass. She intended to fit for 
 a teacher for one of the public schools of Boston, but just 
 after her graduation, her aunt, with whom she was 
 staying, died, leaving a boy and two girls. She gave 
 up thoughts of school teaching, to bring up these 
 motherless children, who were at just the age to need pa- 
 tient, loving care. Afterwards she married a widower with 
 two young daughters of just the age to need kind, patient 
 care. She was a devoted, judicious mother and if she lost 
 the opportunity of becoming famous as a Boston school 
 teacher, she certainly did her full duty in training up six 
 children in "the way they should go." Her husband was 
 Nathaniel G. Thom of Providence. 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Leah Nichols-Wellington, medal scholar, 1846, after 
 graduation attended the Rev. Hubbard Winslow's School, 
 Mt. Vernon Place. She was obliged to leave at the end of 
 the year on account of ill health. Mr. Winslow's school was 
 as thorough in giving his pupils an advanced education as 
 are the best preparatory schools to-day in fitting pupils for 
 college. As her health improved she took private lessons. 
 In 1858 she married Andrew Wellington of Lexington, 
 Mass. She graduated from the Boston Normal Art School 
 in 1877. In Jauuary, 1877, sne was placed in charge of the 
 Art Department at Wellesley College, which position she 
 resigned in the summer of 1883. 
 
 Mrs. Marcy A. Smith-Vennard, was a medal scholar 
 1846. She returned to the school for another year's work 
 and in 185 1 she was appointed a teacher in the school. She 
 was an able teacher, very firm but gentle. At one of the Bow- 
 doin reunions one of her old pupils told me that at first she 
 was afraid of her, but soon became very fond of her. She 
 began with the youngest class and was promoted until she 
 was master's assistant. She resigned in 1863 and married Mr. 
 Henry Vennard. She possessed fine business ability and 
 after her husband's death, she was chosen to fill his place as 
 trustee of a very large church. She died in the fall of 1907. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Stimpson-Hubbard, was also a medal 
 scholar, 1846, of the Bowdoin School. She was a faithful, 
 earnest student, not excelling in one specialty, but excellent 
 in all. She was married to Rev. Isaac G. Hubbard, Rector 
 of Grace Church, Manchester, N. H. Here they remained 
 for twenty years. He was obliged to resign on account of 
 ill health. 
 
 The six medal scholars mentioned were all living in 
 1904. Three of them, Miss Sarah E. Adams, Mrs. Leah 
 Nichols-Wellington and Mrs. Marcy A. Smith-Vennard, 
 were at the 1903 reunion, and a few words were spoken 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 141 
 
 about the other three, who had sent letters. Now, sixty-one 
 years after their graduation, two are now living, Elizabeth 
 S. Hubbard and Leah N. Wellington. 
 
 Miss Maria Whitwell, sister of Mrs. Susan Leeds, 
 graduated from the Bowdoin in 1845 or 1846. She was 
 one of those who planned and carried to such a successful 
 issue the reunion of 1873. It was the only reunion held 
 until the one in 1903. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Miss Harriet Caryl, a medal scholar of 1851, afterward 
 graduated from the Girls' High and Normal School, and 
 was elected teacher of the school in 1855, and resigned in 
 1903, after nearly a half-century of teaching. One who 
 knew her well said : "The pupils remember her teaching, 
 clear, persistent, patient, but all lessons are forgotten, they 
 remember her. The dullest recognize her honesty, clear as 
 the day; her simplicity and her humility of mind; the utter 
 devotion to duty, and the unfailing kindness that, like the 
 sunshine of the Lord, 'falls on the evil and the good, on 
 the just and the unjust."' 
 
 Miss May Newell, graduated in 1853. She was for 
 thirty-two years assistant editor of the Youth's Companion. 
 
 Miss Emmerline D. Fish graduated in 1853, then 
 completed the three years' course at the Girls' High 
 School. She taught a primary school from December, 
 1856, to July, 1862; next taught in a graded school for eight 
 years. She learned to teach articulation and lip-reading 
 to the deaf and had private pupils, for longer or shorter 
 periods, for several years. She wrote: "I was greatly 
 pleased to attend the exhibition of the Bowdoin School in 
 1903, my semi-centennial; although the class of population 
 is greatly changed, the pupils, I think, made quite as good 
 a showing as in the clays of Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 Miss Mary Skinner of the class of 1853, after gradua- 
 tion from the Bowdoin, her family having removed to Cam- 
 bridge, took the full course in the High School of that 
 city, being the only girl in the college course. There was 
 no prospect then of colleges for girls, but she wish- 
 ed the best education. After teaching in different 
 
 142 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 143 
 
 States, she was connected with the Western Reserve 
 College, Oxford, Ohio, for thirty-two years. She has 
 retired, a beneficiary of the Carnegie Fund. 
 
 Miss Helen Mellen, medal scholar, 1853, was acting 
 librarian of Tufts College from 1869 to 1894 inclusive, and 
 after 1884 was made librarian, which position she still oc- 
 cupies, making forty years of consecutive work. 
 
 Miss Sarah Pierce Currier of 1854, went to the Girls' 
 High and Normal School; then taught from 1858 to 1863 
 in Lynn; from 1865 to 1888 in the House of Refuge, Ran- 
 dall's Island, N. Y ; afterward three years in Brookfield, 
 making in all thirty years, ending in 1891. 
 
 Miss Mary Scates-Barry, 1854, was afterward a suc- 
 cessful teacher in the Boston High School. 
 
 Miss Flora Barry was a successful opera singer. 
 
 Miss Irene Wentvvorth, who taught for forty-one years, 
 with only one special vacation, was very much respected 
 and beloved by her pupils. Her long service proves the 
 esteem in which she was held by several successive School 
 Boards. Her term of service was longer than that of any 
 of the teachers, from 1857, to 1898, the year of her death. 
 
 Miss Martha Palmer taught in the Bowdoin School 
 from 1854 to 1878, twenty-four years. An earnest, faithful, 
 conscientious teacher, she is still living and retains her in- 
 terest in the Bowdoin School. 
 
 Miss Emily G. Wetherbee, was a teacher from 1864 to 
 1869. The school-house, she refers to in the following 
 poem, was not the old Derne-Street building, but the second 
 one, which stood where the third one now stands, on 
 Myrtle street. Miss Wetherbee died in 1897, so probably 
 never saw the new building when completed. 
 
 THE OLD BOWDOIN SCHOOL-HOUSE. 
 
 High on the hill, storm and tempest braving, 
 For years it has looked down, 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 A pleasant land-mark and a friendly beacon, 
 Upon this busy town. 
 
 But to grander and statelier temple, 
 
 It soon must yield its place; 
 As in life's course, the old and feeble-hearted, 
 
 Are banished from the race. 
 
 I greet you all, with loving, fond remembrance, 
 
 Where e'er your lot is cast; 
 Deep in my heart of hearts, I cherish ever 
 Sweet pictures of the past. 
 
 We'll ne'er forget the dear, old-fashioned school-house, 
 
 Dismantled though it be, 
 And pledge our love, as in our youth's fair promise 
 
 Old Bowdoin now to thee. 
 
 Had these walls language, what a tale they'd utter, 
 
 Of happy girlhood fair; 
 Of merry feet, that entered at their portals 
 
 And climbed the winding stair. 
 
 In this old school-house, many years a teacher 
 
 I learned to love the place; 
 Rich with the sunshine of youth's golden promise 
 
 From every radiant face. 
 
 Dear girls, now grown to womanhood's fair station, 
 
 Filling life's larger sphere, 
 Do memories of the dim and far off school life, 
 
 E'er come your hearts to cheer ? 
 
 The lessons learned, the earnest, true endeavor, 
 
 Have all these helped you bear 
 The cruel failures of the world's hard conflict, 
 
 The crosses and the care ? 
 
 Miss Harriet Choate was teacher for only a year, but 
 seems to have entered firmly into the hearts of her pupils 
 She was head assistant. In response to a letter, she sends 
 the following sketch which her many pupils will be glad to 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 145 
 
 read. She was married and went finally to Australia, 
 where she is now living. This letter was received, Septem- 
 ber 28, 1906: "My connection with the school was of very 
 short duration, but I always felt that I was most kindly 
 treated and to be remembered after all these years seems 
 too good to be true. (She left in 1866). Through the kind- 
 ness of Miss Mary Edna Mecuen, I received a programme 
 of the second annual reunion, having Mr. Brown's picture 
 on the print and the likeness was life-like. From the chair- 
 man of the committee, Dr. Lamson, at that time, and Mr. 
 Brown, I met nothing but kindness and was helped in every 
 way, for I was young and not very experienced. The girls, 
 too, were a delight, several of them very clever, and then 
 the Misses Harves and Stockbridge, exceptionally good. 
 I remember Miss Gale, the valedictorian of 1866, also Miss 
 Chase, both of them given to verse making. You also say, 
 there are teachers there now who were there when I was 
 there in 1865! I am sorry to say that I cannot remember 
 them, even by name. If they have been teaching all these 
 years, they certainly are of the stuff that heroes are made! 
 I don't believe any State but Massachusetts, or shall I say, 
 the New England states, could put up a record like that! 
 I have seen in the home papers, the subject mooted of 
 pensions tor teachers of long service! I wonder the mat- 
 ter has not been carried out long ago in Boston, of all 
 places! A life work like that ought to have the recognition 
 of the states. 
 
 "As to the details of our time at the Bowdoin, I am 
 afraid I cannot give you anything worth recording; one 
 forgets much in forty years, especially if one's life has not 
 been in one's early home. When I left Boston, I first went 
 with my husband to the East Indies; then we returned to 
 the States and in a few years came here, a little more than 
 thirty years ago. This, as you know, is an English colony 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 and I have met many delightful people and made many 
 warm friendships here. The conditions of life are very 
 much the same as with you, I doubt not, only we are per- 
 haps more cosmopolitan, being on the direct line between 
 England, the States and Australia. We seem very near 
 to San Francisco, being only three weeks away, and many 
 New Zealanders have gone there to finish their education 
 at the many colleges. For its size and age, coming under 
 British control in 1840, this place has made wonderful 
 strides. I am afraid all this will not interest you much. 
 I am sorry I could not do better, but I can only express 
 my gratitude for being remembered at all, after the years 
 past." — Harriet M. Choate-Goodhue, Auckland, New 
 Zealand. 
 
 Miss Ella A. Fairbanks, 1865, has made a specialty of 
 flower painting in water color. She also has taken up decora- 
 tion of porcelain and has been a member of the Mineral 
 Art League since its formation, fifteen years ago, of which 
 she has been president for five years. This club was 
 formed for the mutual improvement of its members in the 
 art of mineral painting and has done a great deal to raise 
 the standard in their particular branch of art. She is one 
 of the directors of the "Fairbanks Family Association" and 
 vice-president of the Woman's Auxiliary. She graduated 
 from the Girls' High and Normal in 1868; commenced her 
 art studies and is still studying as well as teaching. She 
 was for a time president of the Girls' High School Alumnae 
 Association. 
 
 Mrs. Amanda A. Marble-Kelly was a graduate of the 
 Bowdoin, 1865, and graduated from the High School in 
 1868. She is now on the board of its directors. She is 
 president of The Miner Charitable Society. 
 
 Mrs. Christine McDonald-Jefferson, 1866, sings in light 
 opera. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 147 
 
 Miss Julia G. L. Morse, 1883, is a teacher in the Bow- 
 doin School district, a school where the children are five 
 years old. The teaching of little ones is the most difficult 
 branch of the teaching profession, requiring not only infi- 
 nite patience, but an exact knowledge of many things and 
 the art of checking the too active intellect, and sympa- 
 thizing with the slower ones. She always guides by the 
 law of love, but requires quick obedience. 
 
 Miss Abbie Farwell Brown, 1886, was the valedictorian 
 of her class. She graduated from the Bowdoin School, then 
 from the Latin School and took a special course in Rad- 
 cliffe College. She is the author of several books, some of 
 which are used as text books in the schools. The best 
 known of her books are, "The Book of Saints and Friendly 
 Beasts," and "The Lonesomest Doll." She sent a special 
 tribute to the teachers of the Bowdoin School, which is 
 given elsewhere, and she kindly sent the following poems, 
 at my request. 
 
 Trees. From "THE STAR JEWELS AND OTHER POEMS." 
 
 However little I may be, 
 At least, I too can plant a tree 
 And some day, it will grow so high 
 That it can whisper with the sky, 
 And spread its leafy branches wide 
 To make a shade on every side. 
 Then on a sultry summer day, 
 The people resting there will say: 
 "Oh, good and great was he, 
 Who thought to plant this blessed tree!" 
 
 "THE VIGIL." (From the "Youth's Companion.) 
 
 Through the long dark, I watch and wake 
 
 Beside my armor bright, 
 For morning's dawning sun shall make 
 
 Me too a belted knight. 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 The silent hours drag slow and long, 
 
 The chapel floor is cold, 
 My weary eyes are faint, but strong 
 
 My cost to win and hold. 
 
 No kin may help, no friend draw nigh, 
 
 And all the world's asleep; 
 For this one night, my soul and I 
 
 Alone must vigil keep. 
 
 Yet through yon oriel's tinted wheel 
 
 Of stars, a silent throng, 
 Watch over me to wish my weal, — 
 
 Knights who were brave and strong. 
 
 In silver armor dight, like mine, 
 
 Fill the blessed field, 
 Bright on my helm and corslet shine, 
 
 And gild my shawl and shield. 
 
 They nobly strove in war's alarm; 
 
 They died to keep their vow; 
 But first they watched, to win their arms, 
 
 As I am watching now. 
 
 May their noblesse, me too inspire, 
 
 Who long like them to fight, 
 When I, who am but now a squire, 
 
 Shall rise a belted knight. 
 
 Miss Marian Hawes graduated from the Bowdoin in 
 1868; afterwards from the Girls' High School and is now 
 teaching in the Brighton High School. 
 
 Miss Eudora E. W. Pitcher graduated from the Bow- 
 doin School in 1869, and commenced teaching in the school 
 in 1874. She is still teaching there, a patient, proficient, 
 earnest teacher. 
 
 Miss Lucille E. Hill, 1875, commenced teaching in 
 Wellesly College as director of the gymnasium from 1882 to 
 1894, director of physical training, 1894 to the present time. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 149 
 
 Mrs. Lue Stuart Wadsworth, 1875, is an enthusiastic 
 worker in all patriotic causes. She was elected the first 
 president of Bowdoin School Alumnae Association. She 
 has always taken a great interest in the Bowdoin School 
 and it has been through her efforts that a flag is placed in 
 every room of the Bowdoin district; she has also obtained 
 from different classes of the alumnae pictures for the 
 school hall. 
 
 Mrs. Inez Haynes-Gilmore of 1887, is a writer for 
 magazines. Her stories may be found in McClure's, the 
 Smart Set and the Scrap Book. 
 
 Miss Ethel C. Brown, sister of Abbie Farwell Brown 
 attended the Bowdoin School for several years. She is a 
 successful illustrator for children's books. 
 
 Miss Effie F. Grove, 1889, sent in some material which 
 I placed earlier in the book. The following was as a tribute 
 to the teachers for benefits received; as she grew older she 
 evidently realized how much she had received to be thank- 
 ful for. "Soon after I entered the Bowdoin, Mr. Meserve 
 became Principal and what a grand man he is and how he 
 dignifies the position ! It is nearly seventeen years since I 
 graduated, but the very mention or suggestion of dear Old 
 Bowdoin still inspires me. I have many times found some 
 little subject that used to seem so tedious to me, now 
 beneficial." 
 
 Florence Smith, colored, is the principal of one of the 
 large schools in Washington, D. C. I do not know when 
 she graduated. Adelaide Smith-Terry, colored, was a 
 public singer and sang in the Unitarian church (white) in 
 Brookline for many years, and Harriet L. Smith is a 
 graduate, 1880, of the school and a teacher in it. The eldest 
 sister graduated from the Wells and has been a teacher 
 in Bowdoin primary school for many years. 
 
150 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Mrs. Florida Ruffin-Ridley, colored, was a graduate of 
 the school and a teacher in the Phillips school until she 
 married. 
 
 Miss Clementine Dominique, colored, 1897, was vale- 
 dictorian of her class. She is teaching physical culture in 
 a southern college, the full title of which is "Colored Nor- 
 mal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of 
 South Carolina." 
 
 Miss Gladys Brown, class of 1902, while still a pupil 
 was much interested in the forming of an Alumnae Asso- 
 ciation. She canvassed the situation, working earnestly 
 and enthusiastically, but received little, if any, encourage- 
 ment. After a while she ceased her efforts for a time, 
 but soon the matter was again taken up, with the assistance 
 of Miss Eudora E. W. Pitcher, and notices published in the 
 daily papers stating a meeting would be held for the form- 
 ing of an Alumnae Association of the Bowdoin School. 
 Preliminary meetings were held, and on May 1, 1903, there 
 was a large gathering of Bowdoin graduates. The evening 
 closed with a Bowdoin School Alumnae Association firmly 
 formed. To Miss Gladys Brown the Association gives 
 thanks for its firm establishment. 
 
 A TRIBUTE TO THE TEACHERS 
 
 "As the years go by I realize more and more what a pri- 
 vilege it was to begin one's education at the Bowdoin 
 School with that master band of teachers. Tact and sym- 
 pathy, thoroughness and patience, method and intelligence, 
 those formed the atmosphere in which one could not help 
 but learn. These made school days happy, even for a 
 child who dearly loved out-doors and play. 
 
 "I have never before nor since known help such as 
 they gave their unworthy flocks. What they taught was 
 properly taught, and it 'stayed.' One could not forget 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 151 
 
 their lessons if one would. For later teachers there was 
 nothing to be unlearned or patched up. The foundation 
 at least was solid. 
 
 "Dear friends and wise instructors: — their zeal and de- 
 votion is something to remember with pride and wonder, 
 the inspiration which they gave will never fade. 
 
 "Three of that rare band are gone: Mr. Hamlin, Miss 
 Young — and dear Miss Fay. How well do I remember 
 her long, grave face. I thought it stern before I had 
 caught the twinkle behind the forbidding glasses. I was 
 afraid before I knew the loyal affection of her big, kind 
 heart. Alas ! I never told them, — so I would fain have the 
 other dear teachers of mine in the Bowdoin School, know 
 while they are still happily filling their honored places, — 
 how much I admire and reverence and love them, and how 
 grateful I am for all they have done for me. 
 
 "If we graduates should ever accomplish any good on 
 the foundation of early precept and example, I am sure one 
 of its dearest. rewards would to be to hear the 'Well done' 
 striven for in our childish days repeated by those same 
 kind lips." 
 — Abb ie Farwell Brown, '86, Boston, October 14, 1906. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 In April, 1903, notice appeared in the Boston Journal, 
 stating an attempt was to be made to form an Alumnae 
 Association of the Bowdoin School. At the first meeting 
 held in the school hall, class committees were formed and 
 also a general committee, consisting of Mrs. Lue Stuart 
 Wadsworth, chairman; Miss Maria Whitwell, Miss Harriet 
 L. S. Smith, Dr. Eudora Faxon, vice-chairmen; Miss Julia 
 L. G. Morse, treasurer; Miss Eudora E. Pitcher, secretary; 
 Miss Gladys Brown, corresponding secretary; Miss Sarah 
 L. Mecuen, auditor. The organization was formed and it 
 was decided that any girl who had attended the school, 
 though not a graduate, could join the Association. The 
 first reunion was held at the Vendome, May 1, 1903, and 
 much of its success was due to Miss Gladys Brown and her 
 interest in it. There was a very large attendance at this 
 reunion, 350 being present. The oldest present were Mrs. 
 Philena W. Perrin, class 1833; Mrs. Sarah M. Judkins, '35; 
 Mrs. Caroline M. Plummer, '39; Miss Harriet Hawes, '41; 
 Mrs. Marcy S. Vennard, Miss Sarah E. Adams, Mrs. Leah 
 N. Wellington, all of '46; Miss Adelaide S. Bodge, '49; 
 Miss Harriet Caryl, '51; Mrs. Ariana C. Sparrow, '59. 
 
 At the business meeting Mrs. Lue Stuart Wadsworth, 
 '75, was chosen President; Dr. Eudora Faxon, '95, Vice- 
 President; Miss Eudora E. W. Pitcher, '69, Secretary; Miss 
 Harriet L. Smith, 'yg, Corresponding Secretary; Miss 
 Julia L. G. Morse, '83, Treasurer; Mrs. Philena Winship 
 Perrin, '34, Mrs. Leah Nichols Wellington, '46, Miss Ade- 
 laide S. Bodge, '51, were chosen Honorary Vice-Presidents. 
 
 152 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 153 
 
 ORDER OF EXERCISES. 
 
 MAY FIRST, 1903, AT THE FIRST REUNION. 
 
 School Motto: "Bowdoin expects every girl to do her duty." 
 
 1. Song, written for and sung at a reunion in 1873, 
 
 Mrs. S. H. Whitwell-Leeds, '40, By the Members. 
 
 2. Address, "School Traditions," Harriet E. Caryl. 
 
 3. Address, "The Old School," Mrs. L. N. Wellington. 
 
 4. Song, Marion Croly. 
 
 5. Recitation, Clementine Dominque. 
 
 6. Reminiscences, Mrs. Airiana C. Sparrow. 
 
 7. Song. 
 
 8. Address, "Principles of Bowdoin," Alonzo Meserve. 
 
 9. Song, written by Mrs. Caroline M. Plummer for the 
 
 1873 reunion. A poem written a few weeks before 
 the reunion by Miss Sarah Judkins was read by one 
 of the Alumnae: 
 
 You may come, old Time, with your wrinkles 
 
 And your hair of silvery gray. 
 
 You may rob the eye of its brightness, 
 
 And take all its luster away; 
 
 May deafen the ear to the music 
 
 That floats on the quivering air, 
 
 May take from the cheek all the fairness, 
 
 That youth in its Springtime may wear; 
 
 May rifle the voice of its sweetness 
 
 And silence the notes of its song; 
 
 May hinder the foot in its fleetness, 
 
 And palsy the arm that is strong. 
 
 But I laugh sometimes, when I think 
 
 I've a treasure you never have seen; 
 
 You never can guess where 'tis hid 
 
 For the Casket that holds it is locked, 
 
 Only I have the key to the lid. 
 
 You may talk as much as you please, 
 
 May worry, and even may scold, 
 
 But the Casket is holding my heart, Sir, 
 
 And that you never can make old. 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 In 1879, there was prospects that the Bowdoin School 
 would be given up. On May 13th of that year, the fol- 
 lowing petition was sent to the School Board: 
 
 "Gentlemen, We, the undersigned, citizens of Boston 
 and residents in the Bowdoin District would hereby 
 respectfully remonstrate against any action of your Honor- 
 able Body, by which the grammar school in this district 
 shall be abolished. 
 
 "Because the Bowdoin School building is in a healthy 
 locality and neighborhood and is most conveniently located 
 for most of its patrons. 
 
 "Because the school has always held, and still does 
 hold, an honorable rank among the best grammar schools 
 of the city. 
 
 "Because there has been no material falling off in the 
 number of pupils attending it, for the last three years or 
 four. 
 
 "We object to sending our children away from this 
 school to other large schools, because we are convinced that 
 they are less favorable to their promotion and graduation. 
 
 "Finally, because every reason and consideration that 
 led to the establishment of this school still holds, even 
 stronger, for its continuance." 
 
 The Bowdoin has always been favored with a high 
 grade of instructors, principals and assistants. A graduate 
 lately remarked to me, "If there ever was a better con- 
 ducted school than the Bowdoin, I cannot believe it." To- 
 day there is a grand corps of teachers, so let the alumnae 
 and the parents of the younger alumnae heartily and lovingly 
 support their efforts. All who attend the reunions of the 
 alumnae cannot but take a strong interest in Bowdoin's 
 graduates and the interest can be shown by placing their 
 names' on the Alumnae Association, thus contributing 
 yearly a small sum to its treasury, which can be used for 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 155 
 
 any purpose whatever that will aid the school in any way, 
 so that the work of the coming years can be constantly im- 
 proving upon that of the past. If any graduate meets with 
 success in her life work let it be known to the Alumnae 
 Association, giving credit, as many have done, to the help 
 they received at the Bowdoin School. The old graduates 
 would be benefitted by attending the reunions, feeling re- 
 juvenated by their contact with younger, therefore fresher 
 minds. Every member of any Alumnae Association should 
 have a feeling of sympathy and interest in the welfare of 
 every other alumnae, and, "if they chance to meet in the 
 ever-varying scenes of life," should make evident these 
 feelings towards each other; show they acknowledge the 
 sisterly bond which unites them. All who have been mem- 
 bers of the school and are members of the Alumnae Asso- 
 ciation, ought to feel proud of both memberships and to 
 know that dear old Bowdoin stands the highest for deeds, 
 as well as for attitude. 
 
 It seems fitting that the writer should close this 
 history with an account of the graduation in which she had 
 part. 
 
 BOWDOIN SCHOOL EXHIBITION. 
 
 MONDAY, JUNE 2$, I906. 
 
 "Bowdoin Expects Every Girl to do Her Duty." 
 
 SCHOOL COMMITTEE 
 
 James L. Storrow, Chairman. 
 Mr. George E. Brock, Mr. Thomas J. Kenney, 
 
 Mr. David A. Ellis, Mr. William S. Kenney. 
 
 ORRDER OF EXERCISES. 
 
 March, "The Soldiers' Chorus," Faust, Gertrude Altshuler 
 
156 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 Music, "Merry June," Vincent, Class, accompanied 
 
 by Iris Olga T. R. Francis. 
 Address of Welcome, A. Louise Mahoney. 
 
 Recitation, "The Purest Pearl," Esther Michael. 
 
 Music, "Hope Thou in God," Handel, Semi Chorus and 
 
 Class, accompanied by Ida Lieman. 
 Recitation, "The Chambered Nautilus," O. W. Holmes, 
 
 Dora Gottlieb. 
 Music, "Joys of Spring," Geibel, Class, accompanied 
 
 by Ida Lieman 
 Recitation, "Memories of the Old Kitchen," 
 
 Ivy Vera Anderson. 
 Presentation of Class Gift, Hilda B. Boyle 
 
 Music, "Light and Gay," Flotow, Class. 
 
 Recitation, "My Garden," R. W. Emerson, 
 
 Sophia J. Larger. 
 Music, "A Morning," Wetherby, Lillian M. Cains, 
 
 accompanied by Jane W. Murray. 
 Recitation, "All for Each," J. W. Chadwick, Rose Russell. 
 Valedictory, Margaret E. Morse. 
 
 Class Song, Iris Olga T. R. Francis (colored). 
 
 Tune — "Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 The time has come when we must say 
 
 Good-bye to all so true, 
 And in life's field of action go, 
 
 For we have work to do. 
 With our life's purpose e'er in view, 
 
 May we with cheerful heart, 
 And with patient, willing hand 
 
 Do well our little part. 
 
 Let us go onward, that by us 
 
 Something of good be wrought, 
 And teach the true and beautiful. 
 
 That we have here been taught. 
 Let us in all our future years 
 
 Forever faithful be. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOVVDOIN SCHOOL 157 
 
 And aid each great and noble cause, 
 That we in life may see. 
 
 May we each moment well employ; 
 
 The rich seeds daily sow 
 Of truth, of joy, and happiness, 
 
 As on through life we go. 
 When we the victory have won, 
 
 When all life's tasks are o'er, 
 We'll meet with those we hold so true, 
 
 To say good-bye no more. 
 
 Giving out the Diplomas, by Mrs. Leah Nichols-Wellington 
 Addresses, Mrs. Lue Stuart-Wadsworth, Mr. 
 
 Alonzo Meserve. 
 Music, "America." 
 
 PIANISTS. 
 
 Iris Olga T. R. Francis, Ida Lieman, Jane W. Murray. 
 
 Mrs. Lue Stuart Wadsworth, President of the Bowdoin 
 School Alumnae Association, presented the school a pic- 
 ture given by some of the alumnae. The presentation of 
 the "Class Gift" was by Hilda B. Boyle, a copy of one of 
 Corot's paintings. Mrs. Wellington, before she gave out 
 the diplomas, stated to the audience, that she was pleased, 
 not only to attend the graduation exercises, but to take a 
 part in the performances, as just sixty years ago the twelfth 
 of next month she graduated from the old Bowdoin School, 
 then on Derne street, and was given a silver medal. 
 
 Miss Sophia Horr, a native of Wellesley, taught in the 
 Bowdoin School, resigned and obtained a position in the 
 Wellesley College; Miss Lucile Hill, Director of Physical 
 Training; Miss Harriet Hawes, Librarian of the College, 
 is still there as Librarian Emeritus; Mrs. L. N. Wellington 
 had full charge of the Art Department. We were interested 
 as working there, at the same time, all having been much 
 interested in dear old Bowdoin. 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 
 
 TO OUR ALMA MATER, THE PARTING WORD. 
 
 When we meet, all ages blending, 
 
 (Tresses are gold, brown or gray), 
 Are not we, all backward sending, 
 
 Thoughts to that eventful day, 
 When we entered Bowdoin's portals, 
 
 Fearing what might lie within ? 
 Such shy, trembling, little mortals ! 
 
 But soon love, our love did win. 
 
 Then weeks, months and years glided by, 
 
 With work and recreation, 
 Each helping each, to climb up high 
 
 The Mount of Education. 
 Our learned guides did well their part; 
 
 Patiently, with kindly care, 
 And e'er we knew, won was each heart, 
 
 Making school-days ever fair. 
 
 Now, children from every land, 
 
 From North, South, every race, 
 Are joined to Bowdoin's happy band; 
 
 Each can find her special place. 
 Give these children heartfelt welcome: 
 
 Taught this land to love; each day 
 Led through pleasant paths of wisdom, 
 
 They'l approach life's perfect way. 
 
 For all that's best, does Bowdoin stand; 
 
 All that is just, pure and right. 
 Teachers working with motives grand, 
 
 Uplift all with gentle might. 
 Are we not now forward gazing, 
 
 Watching Bowdoin's future strife? 
 Her standard higher she's raising, 
 
 Searching for the noblest life. 
 
 Alma Mater, to thee we're true, 
 
 Stand we an united band, 
 Whene'er thy needs appear to view, 
 
 We'll lend thee helping hand. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BOWDOIN SCHOOL 159 
 
 We owe thee great obligation, 
 
 Then ever, while life shall last, 
 We'll cheer, aid and bless thee, Bowdoin, 
 
 Sure thou wilt perform thy task. 
 
 And while the decades pass away, 
 
 Still, wide open be thy doors; 
 Still, may the children, day by day, 
 
 Freely take from thy rich stores. 
 Strong mayst thou stand on Beacon Hili, 
 
 Guarding all who need thy aid; 
 Handmaiden of our Father's will; 
 
 His word shall ne'er be delayed. 
 
 Alma Mater, long life to thee! 
 
 May thy children live aright; 
 From sin and crime always be free, 
 
 Guided by thy Beacon light. 
 May children's children look to thee, 
 
 Giving praise for all thy care; 
 May children of these children see, 
 
 Loving help, flow free as air. 
 
GIFTS TO THE SCHOOL. 
 
 The different classes have given the following: Bust 
 of Abraham Lincoln, Bust of Charles Sumner, German 
 "Madonna," Picture, ''Leaving Home," Picture of the Con- 
 stitution, Picture by Corot (copy), Set of Stereopticon 
 Views, Capitol at Washington. 
 
 The Alumnae Association gave the following: A silk 
 flag for every room, twenty-seven in number; also $3 to each 
 grammar and primary teacher to purchase some article for 
 school use in her room. 
 
 Mrs. Wadsworth, assisted by members of the Alumnae: 
 Large silk flag for the hall, Pictures of Abraham Lincoln, 
 William McKinley and Henry W. Longfellow. 
 
 Mrs. Wadsworth made personal gifts of a framed copy 
 of the Declaration of Independence, oleograph of Stars and 
 Stripes, and a set of Flags of all Nations for Miss Pitch- 
 er's room. 
 
 Mrs. Wellington gave a bust of Ophelia, also framed 
 autograph of Sandham's Oil Painting of the Battle of 
 Lexington. 
 
 The picture of Mr. Andrews was given by his five 
 grand-children. 
 
 The picture of Mr. Robinson by the widow of his son 
 and his grand niece. 
 
 Picture of Mr. Brown, by his widow. 
 
 Picture of Mr. Hamlin, by his widow. 
 
 Robert A. Bell Relief Corps, No. 6j, of the depart- 
 ment of Massachusetts, Woman's Relief Corps, gave a 
 large bunting flag for the staff, which was the highest pole 
 and largest flag on any school-house in Boston at the time; 
 also a picture of Frederic A. Douglas. 
 
 161 
 
LIST OF TEACHERS. 
 
 * after name, deceased, m after name, married, u after name, unknown 
 
 Warren W. Pierce, Grammar Master, 1821 to 1822.* 
 Samuel Adams, Grammar Usher, 1821 to 1830.* 
 John Belcher, Writing Master, 1821 to 1825.* 
 Barnabas Whitney, Writing Usher, 1821 to 1830.* 
 Abraham Andrews, Grammar Master, 1822 to 1855.* 
 James Robinson, Writing Master, 1825 to 1853.* 
 Mary A. Murdock, 1829 to 1864.* 
 Chastine Lincoln, 1829 to 1844.* m Andrew Cushing. 
 Frances Robinson, 1830 to 1843.* m Frederick Emer- 
 son, the arithmetician; 2d, Mr. Pike. 
 Elizabeth Lincoln, 1830 to 1843.* m S. W. Bowdlear. 
 Elizabeth H. Drew, 1830 to 1835. u 
 Affa Grey, 1823 to 1829. u 
 Sarah B. Jepson, 1829 to 1842. u 
 Katherine Whitney, 1829 to 1836. u 
 Mary S. Robinson, 1836 to 1862.* 
 Harriet French, 1841 to 1844.* m Mr. Howland. 
 Caroline E. Andrews, 1842 to 1849.* m A. O.Lindsay. 
 Rebecca Lincoln, 1842 to 1865.* 
 Sarah D. Adams, 1842 to 1847.* m 
 Mary E. Nash, 1843 to 1845. m 
 
 Elizabeth B. Mitchell, 1846 to 1862. m Mr.Littlefield. 
 Elizabeth P. Snow, 1846 to 1852. u 
 Sarah M. Mitchell, 1848 to 1850. m Benj. Judkins. 
 Hannah S. Andrews, 1849 to 1856.* 
 Marcy A. Smith, 1851 to 1863* m Henry Vennard. 
 Emmeline French, 1851 to 1853.* 
 Laura Clarke, 1852 to 1854. u 
 162 
 
LIST OF TEACHERS 163 
 
 Martha Plumer, 1852 to 1878. 
 
 Elizabeth S. Kidder, 1852 to 1853. u 
 
 Sarah B. Andrews, 1852 to 1862.* in Jonathan Swift. 
 
 Mary A. Proctor, 1854 to 1861. u 
 
 Daniel C. Brown, 1855 t0 1884* 
 
 Irene W. Wentworth, 1857 to 1898* 
 
 Sophia B. Horr, 1862 to 1875.* 
 
 Eliza A. Fay, 1862 to 1898.* 
 
 Lucie C. Gould, 1862 to 1872.* m Dr. Page. 
 
 Martha E. Young, 1863 to 1864. m Mr. Jones. 
 
 Annie E. Kimball, 1863 to 1868. m James B. Brown. 
 
 Harriet M Choate, 1864 to 1865. m Mr. Goodhue. 
 
 Deborah Norton, 1864 to 1868.* 
 
 Emily G. Wetherbee, 1864 to 1869.* 
 
 Mary A. Young, 1865 to 1885.* 
 
 Sarah J. Mills, 1865 to 1879. m Judge Luce. 
 
 Mary S. Grant, 1867 to 1874. u 
 
 S. Frances Perry, 1868. Still teaching. 
 
 Sarah O. Brickett, 1868 to 1889. 
 
 Ada L. Cushman, 1870 to 1881. u 
 
 E. E. W. Pitcher, 1874. Still teaching. 
 
 Ella L. Macomber, 1876. Still teaching. 
 
 Sophia B. Horr, to 1876. 
 
 Mary S. Hosmer, 1878 to 1883* m J. R. Brown. 
 Sarah R. Smith, 1879. Still teaching. 
 Mary E. Pitcher, 1879 to 1890.* 
 Annie E. Gott, 1880. u 
 
 Dewlin A. Hamlin, Principal, 1885 to 1886.* 
 Alonzo Merserve, Principal, 1886. Still teaching. 
 Harriet L. Smith (colored), 1889, Still teaching. 
 Katherine W. Dolan, 1897. Still teaching. 
 Annette F. Ames, 1898. Still teaching. 
 Florence VV. Halligan, 1900. Still teaching. 
 Mary E. French, 1899. Still teaching. 
 
164 LIST OF TEACHERS 
 
 Elizabeth J. Baxter, Sewing, 1854 to 1872. u 
 
 Bigelow, Sewing, 1872 to 1877.* 
 
 Edith L. Thomas, Sewing. 1897. Still teaching. 
 
 Edith Coverly, Drawing, 1900. Still teaching. 
 
 Julia Hughes, Cooking, 1905. Still teaching. 
 
 Lowell Mason, Music* 
 
 Benj. F. Baker, Music,* 
 
 A. N. Johnson, Music* 
 
 J. C. Johnson, u 
 
 Charles C. Butler, 1855. u 
 
 Hosea E. Holt, 1867.* 
 
 Joseph B. Sharland, 1869. 
 
 John O. Shea, two years. 
 
 Grant Drake. 
 
 Laura F. Taylor. 
 
 Mary S. McNulty. 
 
 Blanche Tebbets. 
 
LIST OF BOYS 
 
 WHO ENTERED THE DERNE-STREET SCHOOL THE YEAR IT 
 WAS ESTABLISHED. 
 
 Showing the names of families who were then residents of Beacon Mill. 
 
 Joseph Osgood, 
 Thomas Dana, 
 Thomas C. Osgood, 
 Charles T. Otis, 
 James T. Robinson, 
 Charles Roulstone, 
 Henry H. Winship, 
 Samuel E. Ware, 
 George E. Wales, 
 Daniel C. Bryden, 
 Henry S. Belcher, 
 Cyril Chafee, 
 Ichabod Howland, 
 Caleb Mead, 
 Samuel T. Easterbrook, 
 Solomon Levfert, 
 Warren Beals, 
 
 Jackson, 
 
 Joseph Lincoln, 
 John Motley, 
 Stephen C. Perrin, 
 Edward Roulstone, 
 Charles Sargent, 
 Thomas Bumstead, 
 Charles G. Hichborn, 
 Thomas Gould, 
 Augustus Converse, 
 Adam S. Bowman, 
 John Hatch, 
 William M. Evarts, 
 S. C. Knights, 
 John Babbit, 
 Edward T. Briggs. 
 
 165 
 
LIST OF FRANKLIN MEDALS. 
 
 1821. 
 
 Henry E. Simonds, 
 Jared Lincoln, 
 Andrew Leach, 
 James Riley, 
 John W. Ridgeway, 
 Joseph Simonds. 
 
 1822. 
 
 Names not known. 
 
 1823. 
 
 Stephen H. Thayer, 
 Francis H. Jenks, 
 William Wiley, 
 Joseph B. Lyon, 
 John S. Dwight, 
 Isaac Schofield, Jr. 
 
 1824. 
 
 Charles H. Cutter, 
 Andrew W. Benson, 
 Joseph Gray, 
 Thomas H. Haskell, 
 John S. Perkins, 
 Patrick Riley. 
 
 1825. 
 
 George 'W. Blanchard, 
 Frederick A. Benson, 
 
 Joseph H. Belcher, 
 Alpheus W. Wood, 
 Henry H. Welch, 
 Henry Lincoln. 
 
 1826. 
 
 John W. Skelton, 
 Ichabod Howland, 
 John K. Greenwood, 
 George H. Whitney, 
 John J. Homer, 
 Charles Hartshorn, 
 
 1827. 
 Frederick L. Homer, 
 Henry W. Lane, 
 William W. Davenport, 
 Harrison C. Bryant, 
 Samuel D. Ford, 
 James H. Bryden. 
 
 1828. 
 William M. Evarts, 
 John M. Gould, 
 Edmund H. Aiken, 
 Stephen P. Greenwood, 
 Joseph H. Vose, 
 Unknown. 
 
 1829. 
 
 Samuel C. Gray, 
 Henry Tucker, 
 166 
 
LIST OF FRANKLIN MEDALS 
 
 167 
 
 John Q. A. Litchfield, 
 Henry Dana, 
 Henry E. Lincoln, 
 Thomas F. Hyde. 
 
 1830. 
 James P. Boyd, 
 
 George L. Farwell, 
 David B. Fletcher, 
 Theodore Harrington, 
 George Leighton, 
 Samuel C. Ware. 
 
NOT MEDAL SCHOLARS. 
 
 Ezra Briggs, 
 Seth A. Copeland, 
 Daniel Cooley, 
 Charles H. Roulstone, 
 Frederick E. Stimson, 
 John A. Bird, 
 Albert Glover, 
 Johnathan Livermore, 
 Maturin Ballou, 
 Theophilous Burr, 
 Benjamin Johnson, 
 George W. Partridge, 
 Edward Riddle, 
 
 Gideon Cassell, 
 John Cass, 
 Seth Fuller, 
 Lovett Stimson, 
 Abel S. Baldwin, 
 James Boyd, 
 William F. Harraden, 
 Emory Souther, 
 John H. Bagin, 
 Ezra Lincoln, 
 Samuel D. Norcross, 
 James Riddle, 
 Charles Hawkins. 
 
 168 
 
LIST OF CITY MEDALS. 
 
 1821. 
 
 Eveline Carroll, 
 Antriss Damon, 
 Hannah R. Homer, 
 Mary R. Homer, 
 Elizabeth Leighton, 
 Lydia Redfern. 
 
 1822. 
 Names unknown. 
 
 1823. 
 
 Pamela Ames, 
 Margaret Ann Capen, 
 Caroline Folium, 
 Affa M. Gray, 
 Mary T. Perkins, 
 Adeline Quincy. 
 
 1824. 
 
 Names unknown. 
 
 1825. 
 
 Lucy C. Allen, 
 Sarah Blaney, 
 Caroline M. Dyer, 
 Elizabeth L. Edwards, 
 Emily N. Gray, 
 Mary S. Stoddard. 
 
 1826. 
 
 Henrietta Adams, 
 Nancy Bryant, 
 Elizabeth F. Coolidge, 
 Rebecca Souther, 
 Elizabeth E. Vose, 
 Henrietta F. Wallis. 
 
 1827. 
 Frances F. Allen, 
 Mary A. Dwight, 
 Mary A. Lewis, 
 Betsey Simonds, 
 Mary A. Whitney, 
 Jane F. Wiggin. 
 
 1828. 
 
 Eunice H. Howe, 
 Chastine Lincoln, 
 Eliza Robinson, 
 Caroline M. Tracy, 
 Cynthia A. Williams, 
 Miranda Williams. 
 
 1829. 
 Orient T. Humphrey, 
 Elizabeth B. Lincoln, 
 Elizabeth L. Manning, 
 Mary A. Murdock, 
 Lucy T. Pierce, 
 Ann R. Reed. 
 169 
 
170 
 
 LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 1830. 
 
 Frances E. Bancroft, 
 Frances H. Barnard, 
 Sarah E. Benson, 
 Harriet K. Bayley, 
 Elizabeth Chamberlain, 
 Sarah E. Griggs. 
 
 1831. 
 
 Harriet L. Gibbens, 
 Margaret V. Hathaway, 
 Harriet Hastings, 
 Louisa Lewis, 
 Rebecca M. Manning, 
 Joseph VV. Shipley. 
 
 1832. 
 
 Elizabeth C. Belcher, 
 Mary J. Gunn, 
 Rebecca Lincoln, 
 Caroline A. Reed, 
 Mary E. Swift, 
 Ann Wakefield. 
 
 1833. 
 Elizabeth B. Beals, 
 Caroline W. Carter, 
 Sarah B. Jepson, 
 Eliza C. Hayden, 
 Charlotte A. Fillebrown, 
 Lydia S. Fisher. 
 
 1834. 
 
 Caroline W. Otis, 
 Harriet D. Williams, 
 
 Francis A. M. Babcock, 
 Maria P. Thayer, 
 Mary E. Loud, 
 Mary A. F. Smith. 
 
 1835. 
 Nancy W. Manning, 
 Desire C. Bowker, 
 Caroline E. Andrews, 
 Elizabeth F. Hadley, 
 Sarah M. Mitchell, 
 Josephine M. Gibbs. 
 
 1836. 
 
 Martha E. Clarke, 
 Ellen M. Coolidge, 
 Caroline A. Humphrey, 
 Rebecca M. March, 
 Mary L. White, 
 Martha E. Whitney. 
 
 1837. 
 Charlotte A. Belcher, 
 Harriet Blaney, 
 Mary T. Bradford, 
 Ellen Hartshorn, 
 Harriet Perrin, 
 Abigail D. Pike. 
 
 1838. 
 Mary F. Horton, 
 Helen Leavitt, 
 Elizabeth Mclntire, 
 Matilda Bussell, 
 Martha West, 
 Caroline B. Williams. 
 
LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 171 
 
 1839. 
 
 Sarah C. Blaney, 
 Sarah H. Emerson, 
 Harriet French, 
 Hannah H. Stadley, 
 Elizabeth Hevvins, 
 Margaret E. Simmons. 
 
 1840. 
 Ann T. Bagin, 
 Amanda M. Fuller, 
 Catherine Lincoln, 
 Lucia Proctor, 
 Charlotte E. Wheelwright, 
 Susan H. Whitwell. 
 
 1 841. 
 
 Emmeline French, 
 Frances T. Holland, 
 Cecilia A. Lancey, 
 Mary E. Nash, 
 Mary D. Nichols, 
 Olive E. Reynolds. 
 
 1842. 
 Mary G. Crombie, 
 Adeline C. Dinsmore, 
 Harriet Hawes, 
 Martha J. Loring, 
 Louisa S. Mason, 
 Martha W. Reed. 
 
 1843. 
 Harriet L. Brown, 
 Harriet L. Coolidge, 
 
 Ann P. Hall, 
 Mary E. Henry, 
 Lucy D. Norton, 
 Elizab P. Snow. 
 
 1844. 
 Susan H. Homer, 
 Harriet A. Hubbard, 
 Elizabeth B. Mitchell, 
 Sarah A. Rand, 
 Eveline A. Ross, 
 Mary R. Sewall, 
 Sarah E. Barnard. 
 
 1845. 
 
 Catherine E. Frost, 
 Abagail Hawes, 
 Ann E. P. Henchman, 
 Nancy S. Knowlton, 
 Helen M. Robinson, 
 Elizabeth G. Underhill. 
 
 1846. 
 Sarah E. Adams, 
 Caroline M. Francis, 
 Mary E. Joslin, 
 Leah L. Nichols, 
 Marcy A. Smith, 
 Elizabeth D. Stimpson. 
 
 1847. 
 No medals. 
 
 1848. 
 
 Abby Q. Bancroft, 
 Mary Carroll, 
 
172 
 
 LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 Susan E. Daniels, 
 Harriet N. Gooclnovv, 
 Harriet D. Gould, 
 Caroline M. Henderson, 
 Mary L. Mitchell, 
 Priscilla C. Simpson. 
 
 1849. 
 
 Georgiana L. Bagin, 
 Adeline S. Bodge, 
 Catherine E. Fullam, 
 Cornelia Hobart, 
 Ellen A. Kuhn, 
 Jenetha B. Peabody. 
 
 1850. 
 
 Henrietta W. Briggs, 
 Mary M. Clapp, 
 Louisa B. Eaton, 
 Margaret D. P2aton, 
 Nancy M. Guilford, 
 Harriet E. Howard, 
 Helen J. Salter, 
 Susan M. Tuning. 
 
 1851. 
 
 Josephine M. Allen, 
 Francis M. Bodge, 
 Harriet E. Caryl, 
 Lucy M. Chamberlain, 
 Eliza J. Staton, 
 Annie B. Stevenson, 
 Phebe M. Stowe, 
 Mary O. Trull. 
 
 1852. 
 
 Elizabeth W. Ayer, 
 Sarach C. Goodrich, 
 Cecilia A. Hall, 
 Amanda M. Hancock, 
 Maria L. C. Holbrook, 
 Emma C. M. Howe, 
 Elizabeth H. Judkins, 
 Susan H. Kingman, 
 Mary VV. Salter, 
 Lucie A. P. Temple. 
 
 1853. 
 Carlotta F. Capen, 
 Sarah J. Coverly, 
 Mary S. Danforth, 
 Mary C. Emery, 
 Mary L. Glover, 
 Agnes E. Hooton, 
 Elizabeth D. Kidder, 
 Helen L. Mellen, 
 Sarah C. Sanderson, 
 Gertrude Taylor. 
 
 1854- 
 Helen M. Adams, 
 Catherine Blake, 
 Sarah S. Craft, 
 Sarah A. Griffin, 
 Emily M. Holloway, 
 Elizabeth B. Holmes, 
 Caroline S. Lamb, 
 Julia C. Morse, 
 Mary E. Scates, 
 
LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 173 
 
 Catherine Tuttle, 
 Lillie C. Whitney. 
 
 1855. 
 Mary A. Bean, 
 Letitia B. Blakemore, 
 Emma W. Brewster, 
 Mary C. Carter, 
 May A. Hodgedon, 
 Blanche Leavitt, 
 Sarah J. Leek, 
 Susan C. Stimpson, 
 Mary E. Stratton, 
 Emma A. Temple. 
 
 1856. 
 
 Jane R. Blanchard, 
 Eunice Chandler, 
 Mary B. Cobb, 
 Marietta D. Colburn, 
 Mary R. Farnsworth, 
 Mary E. Fiske, 
 Sarah B. Hill, 
 Ann E. Kimball, 
 Caroline A. Moriarty, 
 Lucy E. Pike, 
 Sarah G. Prescott. 
 
 1857. 
 
 Rosalie T. Abbott, 
 Mary J. Candler, 
 Mary F. Fairbanks, 
 Susan Frizzel, 
 Amanda A. Fuller, 
 Emma T. Haley, 
 
 Ella J. Hill, 
 Maria A. Mellen, 
 Sarah E. Robinson, 
 Lydia J. Bolles. 
 
 1858. 
 Ellen F. Baker, 
 Kate F. Brewster, 
 Annie C. Crew, 
 Caroline F. Davis, 
 Ellen F. Fuller, 
 Abbie E. Hammond, 
 Abelia B. Hopkins, 
 Helen E. Turrell, 
 E. Kate Webb, 
 S. Ella Williams, 
 Caroline F. Woodbury. 
 
 1859. 
 Emmeline J. Bean, 
 Lavinia Bryant, 
 Sarah F. Chapman, 
 Elizabeth M. Clark, 
 Sarah E. Coburn, 
 Sarah A. Edwards, 
 Nellie L. Fairbanks, 
 Hanna E. Foster, 
 Elizabeth A. Gorman, 
 Adelaide L. Jepson, 
 Eunice A. Mason, 
 Abby C. Orcutt, 
 Mary E. Sanborn. 
 
 i860. 
 Josephine B. Beverly, 
 Lucy J. Calef, 
 
174 
 
 LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 Any S. Capen, 
 Josephine J. Clapp, 
 Lucy H. Eaton, 
 Mary J. Grant, 
 Mary E Hermon, 
 Mary E. D. Jones, 
 Mary L. Lockley, 
 Emily C. Litchfield, 
 Ellen J. Loring, 
 Sarah C. H. Rogers, 
 Eusebia S. Williams, 
 Isabella A. Woodbury. 
 
 1861. 
 
 Emma J. Perkins, 
 Alice Farnsworth, 
 Francis L. D. Greene, 
 Isabella F. Hill, 
 Martha B. Jameson, 
 Rebecca R. Joslin, 
 Lucy A. Kimball, 
 Elizabeth E. Monroe, 
 Adelaide M. L. Pratt, 
 Helen A. Pratt, 
 Emma A. Rice, 
 Emily E. Robbins, 
 Isadore F. Whitman, 
 Ann F. Wyman, 
 Josephine C. Flannagan. 
 
 1862. 
 
 Grace Allen, 
 Ellen M. Hawley, 
 Mary A. Litchfield, 
 
 Cynthia T. Peterson, 
 Caroline F. Robbins, 
 Emmeline F. Sanborn, 
 Anna E. Speare, 
 Ella G. Whitman, 
 Pauline F. Huckins. 
 
 1863. 
 
 Mary S. Stockbridge, 
 Anna M. Turner, 
 Emily P. Dillenbach, 
 Fanny A. Porter, 
 Ellen Stone, 
 Frances G. Prescott, 
 Louise E. Boyden, 
 Mary R. Bagley, 
 Louise M. Hill. 
 
 1864. 
 
 Georgiana O. Badger, 
 Esther E. Ball, 
 Celeste W. Chase, 
 Selinia M. Gibson, 
 Amelia S. Gould, 
 Alice M. Harris, 
 Clara A. Robbins, 
 Sarah E. Rollins, 
 Annie W. Stockbridge. 
 
 1865. 
 
 Emma G. Ford, 
 Amanda Marble, 
 Leonora R. Chamberlain, 
 Edith Stearns, 
 Harriet M. Sanborn, 
 
LIST OF CITY MEDALS 
 
 175 
 
 Mary F. Milliken, 
 Henrietta B. Robbins, 
 Kate Coyle, 
 Emma J. Gale, 
 Grace Williams, 
 Fanny Hussey, 
 Anna B. Whitney. 
 
 1866, 
 
 Anna E. Proctor, 
 Helen Samson, 
 Etta M. Chipman, 
 
 Sarah S. Mann, 
 Eliza Freenan, 
 Mary A. E. Williams, 
 Annie E. Macdonald, 
 Emily F. Corbet, 
 Alzine A. Chevaillier, 
 Sarah P. Maxwell, 
 Lillian F. Dunbar, 
 Edna M. Mecuen, 
 Flora A. Huzzey, 
 Lucy A. Brown, 
 Emma J. Livermore. 
 
 No medals given after 1866 to girls. 
 
PARTIAL LIST OF GRADUATES. 
 
 The record books for the years 182 1 to 1871 are miss- 
 ing. The following contains the names of those graduates 
 whom I can find: 
 
 1825. 
 Mrs. Lucy A. Norcross. 
 
 1834. 
 
 Mrs. Philena S. Perrin.* 
 
 1840. 
 
 Mrs. Susan VV. Leeds, 
 Mrs. Thomas Mack, 
 Mrs. Leopold Morse. 
 
 1842. 
 
 Mrs. Chastine L. Gushing, 
 Miss Harriet Haws. 
 
 1845. 
 Mrs. Abigail H. Hill, 
 Mrs. Mary M. Walter.* 
 
 1846. 
 
 Miss Sarah E. Adams,* 
 Miss Sarah Brewster, 
 Mrs. Elizabeth S. Hubbard, 
 *Mrs. Caroline F. Loring, 
 Mrs. L. B. Sewell, 
 Miss Harriet M. Snow, 
 Mrs. Studley, 
 
 Mrs. Mary J. Thorn,* 
 
 Mrs. Marcy Smith Vennard,* 
 
 Mrs. John Wales, 
 
 Mrs. Leah N. Wellington. 
 
 1847. 
 Mrs. A. B. Cochrane. 
 1849. 
 
 Mrs. Abbie B. Towmbly, 
 Miss Adeline S. Bodge. 
 
 1850. 
 
 Miss Mary E. Bacon, 
 Miss Clara L. Stone. 
 
 1851. 
 
 Miss Frances M. Bodge, 
 Miss Harriet E. Caryl, 
 Miss Mary Lovell. 
 
 1852. 
 
 Mrs. M. A. Newell, 
 Mrs. Sarah V. Stacy. 
 
 1853- 
 Miss Charlotte F. Capcn, 
 Miss Ernmeline E. Fish, 
 176 
 
PARTIAL LIST OF GRADUATES 
 
 177 
 
 Miss Sarah Skinner, 
 Mrs. Mary G. Small, 
 Mrs. Bates Whitney, 
 Mrs. Sarah C. Wing. 
 
 1854. 
 Mrs. Ella H. Allison, 
 Mrs. Sarah P. Currier, 
 Mrs. Hannah P. Symonds. 
 
 1855. 
 Mrs. Blanche L. Brooks, 
 Mrs. Margaret M. Spade. 
 
 1856. 
 Mrs. Miranda V. Eaton. 
 
 1857. 
 Mrs. Agnes E. Beaman, 
 Mrs. J. Howard Vinal. 
 
 1858. 
 
 Mrs. J. B. Andrews, 
 Mrs. Amelia B. Barber, 
 Mrs. Lotta B. Beary, 
 Mrs. Jennie B. Buck, 
 Mrs. Whitney Myrick, 
 Mrs. William B. Stevens, 
 Miss Louise C. Tower. 
 
 1859. 
 
 Mrs. Josephine G. Dolliver, 
 Mrs. Sara C. Linfield, 
 Mrs. Eunice M. Eastman, 
 Mrs. Adelaide J. Mackintosh, 
 Miss Arianna C. Sparrow. 
 
 i860. 
 
 Mrs. Maretta G. Andrews, 
 Mrs. Emily S. Peterson. 
 
 1861. 
 
 Miss Addie Cloutman, 
 Miss Emma Cloutman, 
 Mrs. Ella W. Damon, 
 Mrs. Emma R. Johnson. 
 
 1862. 
 
 Mrs. Emma L. Aldrich, 
 Miss Anetta F. Armes, 
 Miss Helen L. Bodge, 
 Miss Helen M. Hawley, 
 Miss Sarah L. Mecuen, 
 Miss Caroline M. Payson, 
 Mrs. Augusta A. Pettingill. 
 
 1863. 
 Mrs. Hattie K. Whelock. 
 1864. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah W. Ferguson, 
 Mrs. Linda W. Reed. 
 
 1865. 
 
 Mrs. Isabella L. Codding, 
 Miss Ella Fairbanks, 
 Mrs. Amanda M. Kelley. 
 
 1866. 
 
 Miss Emma J. Blake, 
 Mrs. Isabel S. Dunbar, 
 Mrs. Mary S. Fuller, 
 
178 
 
 PARTIAL LIST OF GRADUATES 
 
 Mrs. Marietta S. Hilton, 
 Miss Grace Lewis, 
 Mrs. Eliza F. Longley, 
 Mrs. Helen G. McDonald, 
 Mrs. Adelaide F. Maclsaac, 
 Mrs. Sarah M. Mason, 
 Mrs. Edna Mecuen, 
 Mrs. Prince W. Page, 
 Miss Sarah Robert, 
 Mrs. Sarah H. Snell, 
 Miss Elizabeth Souther, 
 Mrs. Ellen S. Wellington, 
 Mrs. Olivia M. Whittier. 
 
 1867. 
 
 Mrs. Ella F. Davenport, 
 Miss Fannie G. Gridley, 
 Mrs. Josie K. Hammond, 
 Mrs. Harriet D. Mackintosh, 
 Miss Ella E. Morrill, 
 Mrs. Louise G. Pratt. 
 
 1868. 
 
 Mrs. Jennie R. Buck, 
 Mrs. Fannie G. Wilder. 
 
 1869. 
 
 Miss Mary G. Blake, 
 Miss Endora E. Pitcher, 
 Mrs. Lizzie C. Richardson. 
 
 1870. 
 Miss A. M. Hawes. 
 
 1871. 
 
 Mrs. Mary N. Chamberlain, 
 Mrs. Celestine D. Southwick, 
 Mrs. Julia T. Pearl. 
 
 The classes of the following 
 are unknown: 
 
 Mrs. E. R. Aiken, 
 Miss Lilley A. Brooks, 
 Miss Miranda L. Eaton, 
 Miss Emma B. Forbes, 
 Miss Lucille Hill, 
 Miss Helen L. Mellen, 
 Mrs. N. J. Newcomb, 
 Mrs. Caroline M. Plumber,* 
 Mrs. J. H. Robinson, 
 Miss Anna M. Simmons, 
 Mrs. Catherine Stearns, 
 Miss Mary L. Stimpson, 
 Mrs. E. A. Woodbury, 
 Miss Martha Worcester. 
 
 * Deceased. 
 
University of 
 Connecticut 
 
 Libraries