Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-10-05
A COLONY OF BOYS.

1t was beautiful day in the month of
august, 1872, that accompanied M. de
Felenberg on horseback, to see the little
colony OF which had heard so much. We
quilted Hofwyl, and after passing some rich
cultivated land, assembled the Jura ridge of
mountains In the opening of pine for
est, looking down upon perhaps the most
superb view ever yet beheld-a rich valley
beneath, the glaciers of the Bernese Alps in
the distance--stands moderate-sized cot
tage, built after the Swiss fashion, with all
the appendages under one roof, surrounded
by about seven or eight acres of ground,
cultivated with all the neatness of gar
den.
With a joyous yet anxious look, my VEN
cradle companion seized the reins of my
horse, babe me be silent and 90 in. l did
so, and found twenty little boys at their les
SONS round table. | had not been in an
instant, before NJ. de Fellenberg followed.
All the faces beamed again with Joy, and
every little hand was stretched forth to catch
that of its benefactor. No father returning
from voyage could have been welcomed
with greater Joy, and no children could have
had their welcome returned with more pa
rental affection. 1t was one of the most
pleasing and touching scenes | ever witness
sed. Twenty-Five boys, the eldest not a.
bovc thirteen years of age, inhabited cot
tage which had been entirely constructed
by themselves and their comrades who had
preceded them. 1t is neat, comfortable
dwelling, at distance from any other habi-
taton of man. In the room first entered
was the fuel for the winter, neatly piled
hard by lived the COW, and close to the
cow-house was the kitchen, where large
marmot bespoke that well-directed industry,
even in this spot so little favored by the
riches of nature, could earn its wages and
subsistence, and those of no dcspicable de-
scription. Above the kitchen was the dor
mtory, with the agricultural implements,
spades, hoes, and rakes, neatly arranged "a
round the wall, while the beds were con-
structed of the rude, unfinished timber of
the forest. The boys, as before said, were
in the school room, where they went through
many of their exercises, before me. The
library did not contain many books, but
one of them was a German translation of
Robinson Crusoe, a book that NJ de Eel
lenberg, as well as Rousseau, considers as
one most instructive, and at the same time
most interesting for children.
The boys had sunk well, and after con-
veyng the water in running stream through
the house, directed its course in such man.
ner as to irrigate portion of their meadow.
The garden was a terrace of earth, thrown
up by dint of labor. This school is made
preparatory to the admission of boys into
Hofwyl. They here learn to essay their
powers, to combat, with but few advantages,
the difficulties nature has thrown in the
path of man. The boy wants house to
live in-there are materials in the forest
bed-there, likewise, he will obtain one he
wants to eat-the soil will give him food by
industry. They are in the position of Cru
soc on the island, and Hofwyl is their stran-
ded vessel, from which they obtain the OBJ
jects most necessary to them; they must
look to their own resources for the rest 1t
was for the sake of throwing children upon
their natural resources, and training them
truly to appreciate from earliest infancy the
real condition of man upon the earth of
thoroughly convincing them that idleness is
the mother of want, and that industry pro-
duces plenty, that this colony was founded.