The New York herald., 1844-11-23
Boston.
Correspondence of the Herald


Boston, Nov. 20, 1914.
Tremendous Excitement among the Boston Peda-
gognss-Battie Of Giant ,cilh Thirty one Pig
mics Nominations Of Mayor-1he Pure Water
Q~eaiom-Peabody vs.. IVinchester-A Laioyer
caught IN his oHa net Marriage a Ia Mode Pa
risian- Glsanings-Game Cock Trial. etc.
DEAR GENERAL-
You will doubtless recollect the reply of "Shy-
lock" to his malgner,-
"Thou calrdst me dog, before thou hadst cause,
But since am dog beware my fangs."
| ain reminded Of this couplet by the "Repy to
the Remarks Of Thirty-one Boston Schoolmas-
ters on the Seventh Annual Report Of the Secre-
tary Of the Massachusetts Board of Education
by Horace Manu." which was published
morning, and created an unusual
sensation among the "Atheaians." So mas
terly production has not appeared since the
withering " Dunoiad," or the more modern dose
Reviewers" Even the Yorkshire schoolmssters,
who saw themselves SO clearly mirrored by '.Dck-
ems" in his "Squeers,'' had sense enough to
beard the lion in his dem" but these Yankee teach;
that discretion is the better part of vaor." The
appearance OF Mr.. Mann among these thrty-one
schoolmasters. reminds one somewhat of Gniver
among the Lillputians, and fyour readers wish to
see how delcately and entirely these Thirty-one,"
Gas he chrlstens them, are crushed, pulyerzed and
annihilated, SO. that their concentrated essence
would not ''stop bung-hole," let me refer to the
document in question, and without further prelimi-
nary, let me furnish you with a few extracts from
the reply In the beginning he laments the appear
ance of such pamphlet, signed as 1t is, by such
body OF consplrators against truth, and remarks,
g that he tees bound by every consideration Of
respect for the cause, for my friends, and Tor my
self, TO answer this attack, and sit down to the
work not more in sorrow than in anger but
.t1 n hall kA
but vindicatory. must speak with earnestness
and confidence, but they are earnestness and con-
hdence OF an accused man, who knows his inno-
cencc, and knows he can prove 1t. Here let me
remark incidentally, that am embarrassed as
proceed in regard to the appellation to be given to
the authors and signers Of these Remarks l
cannot call them Boston Teachers because they
do not constitute one seventh part of the body. /
cannot call them the Grammar and Writing Mas
ters,' because the names of all those masters do
not appear Beilg thirty in number, cannot
well call roll OF their several names. Clrcumlu-
tlon cumbrous, and az they are SUI gcners there is
them. For the sake, at once OF brevlty and exact
ness, propose to call them the . Thirty one."-
This do, without intending thereby the slightest
disrespect, and perceive no objection to 1t unless,
indeed, it may render that, hereafter, an unitlcky
number. This is not conflict OF physical strength,
otherwise the number OF my assallants would be for
mldabe, land right might be overcome by force. Nor
is it, to any great extent, contest OF mental
power. Were It SO, l might well be alarmed at a
bolt hurled at me from their own CITADEL by thirty
men, each rejoicing in his strength. But it is
question Of justice, of truth neral power, where
annihaton awaits the wrong, however naughty or
numerous they may be, who uphold its banner. 1t
is not The number Of the partnership, but the moral
solyency of the firm, with which am concerned;
or, 10 draw an illustration from their own art-i
they are right, they represent a row of thrty-one
integers; but II wrong, as | can easily show.
then they are like thirty-one p,dgar frac-
tions multiplied into themselves, yieidimg most
In alluding to one Of the sgners (Mr. Vim. ].
Adams) who committed himself most grossly in
eontrad,o.ory asoor.ion,, Mr. N. thus, calmly con
those who strain at a gnat and swallow camel;
but, before this, have never known man, who,
while troubled with such fastidlonsncss about the
insect, could give birth to, and then swallow. the
quadruped. Ispoke of deficiencies only he afiirms
a totaIity of ignorance. Are not my stripes upon
teachers genter than the laying on Of the hands
of the presbytery,' when compared with this!"
Mr.. M then goes to notice the PrHssian systems
Of education, the Scotch and German schools, as
contrasted with ours; and brings forward the opln-
ion of some Of the most able scholars in our own
country and abroad to substantiate his assertions.
He then attacks the four corner-stones OF "SchOol
Discipine"-Authority, Force, Fear and Pain the
pitlful Instruments which these "thirty-one sages
advocate TO christalnize the youth OF America"
Upon this subject Mr.. M. remarks-"lf the teacher
is what he ought TO be, he has the resource of
pure and lofty example in his own character; and
he moves before the eyes of his pupils person
icatlon Of dignity and learning and benevolence.
What a damning sentence does teacher pre-
nounce upon himself when he aiiirms that he has
no resources in his own character, but only in the
cowbide and birch, and in the strong arm that
wields them" And agaln--"But the remarks
claim support from the sayings of Solomon. AS
to this, let me observe that am yet to learn that the
precepts and practices applicable TO hapcculiar peo
Pile, the Jewsand to their state OF clvizaton,are TO
be transferred to our times, without great modIfi-
cations. do not believe, on the one hand, that
his inunctions have all been abrogated, like the
Levical law Of rites and observances, nor, on the
other, that they all have the inherent and perpe-
tually binding force OF the decalogue. have in
variably observed that the hardest hearted are the
greatess quoters Of Solomon, both IN regard to do
mesc and to school discipline" The thirty
one," it seems, have most maliciously perverted
Mr.. Ms language, as the following will indicator
"This is, in part, what meant. when, under
the feeble similitude of group Of delighted, or
wondering children. in a toyshop. referred to
the resources OF a teacher, when opening to his
pupils, one after another, few OF the internIinabe
realms OF knowledge, beauty, and truth But, of
course, referred to teachers who had something
besides "a beggarly account OF empty" heads,
wherewth to satisfy the cravings; OF a chlld's
curiosity. ! was thinking Of that wilderness
of glories into which we are born, and
not of mere tops and whistles. ! entered the
toyshop In the street, to pass from that to the
great Temple of the Universe. The Thirty
one" followed me into the toyshop; and there,
as il appears by the above extract from their re-
marks they remain still--holding on 10 text
book with one hand, from which 10 read OIL their
explanations; and, with the other hand, aoaging
the children through lack of novelties to occu-
py and delight them" The "Thirty one" chuckle
over mere mctaphorical error which they think
they have detected in Mr.. M, to which he replies,
"Here, at last, amid pool OF Siygian waters, IN
capable Of rejecting light, one rainbow hue CLEANS
from bubble of purer element. II is with reuc-
tuncc that puncture this air-blown vescle but
truth dooms it's collapse" Finally, after taking
up separately all the ruerc charges arrayed
against hm-he proilers them peace with one
exception, and this is "Barnum Field" the
author Of the first section Of the Ere
marks For this pamphlet of the Thirty one
is an oa-pJdrida, concocted by the combined
strength Of ALL reminding US of the ingredients Of
the witches cauldron in Macbeth" Apropos OF
Mr.. Field, God help him ! for he surely can't help
himself Procuste's bed, or the prosecutions Of
ST. Anthony, were mild when compared TO the
scorpion-like castlgaton which he has received
from the pen of Mr.. Mann. Gentle reader, pa
tience one moment, whilst we transcribe the pro-
cess OF pulverzation adopted by the digniiied