Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-06-13
NEW ENGLAND YEARLY MEETING
OF FRIENDS.
ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THE FRIENDS
BOARDING SCHOOL ALUMNI.
Poem by John G. whittier.

| England, commenced at Newport, by pubic
meeting for worship, last Sunday. There
was, as usual, a crowded attendance, several
distinguished preachers from other yearly
meetings being present. On Monday after
noon and evening, the second annual gather
ing of the alumni of the Friends Boarding
School at Providence took place. Aquidneck
Hall was filled with an interesting assembly.
DR.. Pliny Earle, of Massachusetts, the presi-
meeting to order, and spoke briefly and very
well. He said, among other things, that the
association should practically avow itself the
advocate and promoter of knowledge, and it
should not pledge itself within restricted linn
its In concluding, he strongly desired that
the association might not be ultra conservative
or ultra radical
Before proceeding with the business, John
Milton Earle of this city presented a very enter
tanning document, written by one of the first
teachers of the Friends School. In present
ing this document, which gave interesting
"reminiscences, Mr.. Earle remarked that it
was objected, at the time of the organization,
tudt tuG Vi SuCH SCHOOl WdS
premature; that there were no teachers quail
fled to act But two persons appeared, who
left their homes in their minority with but lit
tie inducement beyond the desire to do good.
Their names were Mary Mitchell and Dorcas
Gardner of Nantucket the former now the
wife OF Walter Underhill of New York, and
the latter the partner of Prof Swift Of Haver
ford College. Mrs. Underhill was the author
of this paper These two teachers from Nan
tuclet stopped first, on their arrival in Provi |
dence, at the residence of the late Moses |
Brown. Mr.. Brown was afterwards asked |
what he thought of their dress, and replied,
che saw nothing to object to but the little side
combs which they wore in their hair" They |
were attired i'll black bombazet dresses and
wore little white collars all made by them
selves, and would be thought severely plain
now -a.dayS.
The rooms of the institution at that time
were unexpected, floors implanted. DIR. Green
said-"lnvite the children to eat brown bread,
white bread was at all times so prejudcial to
health" Great care was taken that tue dress
of the pupils should be plain; if they came
without plain dresses they were altered to con.
form In the first month of 1929, when the
school began, there were but seven girls and
six boys, and on the tenth day of the second
month there were sixty pupils. There was
much difficulty at first in suiting the taste of
the pupils in food, and finally the bill of fare
of the school of Nine Partners was adopted
The principal was Thomas Rowland the
other teachers were Deborah Hill Betsey Pu
rinton, and those already named. There were
then but two chairs in the school room, and
one of those SO high that even Thos Towards
feet dangled down.
In tue evening, Samuel Austin of Provi-
dence, from the committee appointed last year
to draw up constitution, reported a draft of
one, which, with some amendments, was
adopted. This makes the officers of the asso
citation consist OF a president, thirty vice presi
dents, recording and corresponding secreta-
ries, treasurer, and board of counselors the
latter twelve in number All who have been
connected with the school, either as officers or
students, are entitled to membership in the
association, on subscribing to the constitution
| and paying to the treasurer the annual fee of
81. committee chosen for the purpose re-
tired and reported the following board Of Of
ficers for the ensuing year, which was unani-
mously adopted:
| President-Pliny Earle, NJ. D., of Leicester Mass
Vice Presidents-At Large-Dr. Samuel Boyd To-
hey Of Providence, Moses A. Garland of Weare, N.
H., james N. Buffum of Lynn, Alden Sampson of
Manchester, Me, Chas, r. Tucker of New Bedford
Abram Barker of Philadelphia, Robert T. Davis Of
Fall River, Mass Nathan Crowell of Boston, Benz
Bu1fum of Providence By States-Thomas S. Lang
of Maine, Daniel Needham of Vermont, VIM III.
Cove of New Hampshire, Franklin L. Paige of
Massachusetts, Jonathan l.. Slocum of Rhode ISL
and, Silas Clapp of Connecticut, ohm VIM Mason
of New ork, Samuel j. Gummere of New jersey
Joseph w. Aldrich of Pennsy lyania Chas. w. How
land of Delaware, John r. Winslow of MARYLAND
Chas ii Nichols of the District of Columbia JOS
r. Parker of North Carolina, Thomas w. Laid of
! Ohio, James Comstock of Michigan, Thomas A
| Greene OF Wisconsin, Robert Steere of Nebraska,
George I. Davis OF Iowa, Nathan Stevens of Nilsson.
| ri, Dugan Clark Of Indiana, Junius Wendenhall of
| Minnesota.
Recording Secretary-Pliny E. Chase of Phiadel-
| phia.
Corresponding secretary-Daniel C. Baker of
| Lynn.
Treasurer-Thomas L. Steere Of Providence.
A board of twelve counselors was chosen
from among Friends of different states The
committee on publishing the proceedings of
the last years meeting, reported that good
progress had been made toward the publica-
ton of complete catalogue of all who had
been connected with the institution &C., and
that the report of the proceedings of last year,
under their charge, would be ready for deliv-
cry to all members, gratuitously, within a few
days.
The orator of the occasion, Prof Thomus
Chase OF Harveford College, Pa, was then
introduced. He announced as his subject
"The connection between aesthetic culture
and religion" and he showed himself, by the
eloquent and classical manner in which he
treated 1t, to be perfect master of his subject,
and elected praise from all no heard it. The
following brief abstract embodies the substance
OF this excellent production
The pursuit OF the beautiful, is nothing less
than the pursuit of the eternal and the divine :;
it belongs to man, is part OF his nature, as i'm
mortal being; for beauty itself is as eternal as
necessary, as immutable as truth and right ;
and as tar as we comprehend it, whether we
know 1t or not, we comprehend an attribute of
hn Inf ito
Beauty2 The idea is indefinable We can
tell what things are beautiful, but beauty itself
is something apart from them, and behind
them,-it is thought of Goo, and the out.
| ward object on which it is as incarnate is SO
made as to speak that thought to u.s. as the
printed letters Of a book speak the thoughts
they are designed to convey. If beauty is a
direct reflex of an attribute of God it is in.
vested with dignity and a holiness which de-
mand our veneration. 1t is never to be neg.
lected, much less to be scorned or despised.
Whatever is truly beautiful is obligatory upon
us to study and TO cherish as far as i'm our
power, not simply because absolute beauty has
no home but in God alone, but more from the
TACT that the contemplation of its manifesto,
tons IN mind rightly attained, tends irresist.
IDLY to awaken the emotion of love and graft
tude to Him whose love vouchsafes them tc
us, and to fill US with a sense of his majesty
and power.
And from the beautiful works of man, sale
the speaker the same benefit may be derived
as from those of nature, The value of til,
great productions of human genius, the lovely
deeds of human virtue, consists not simply il
the deep fact that they shadow forth the abso
Lutte, the eternal beauty, but also in that the,
as well as the material creation, reveal to hin
who rightly contemplates them, the love, tn
glory, and the majesty of God. The GREATNESS
Of the created intellect, all its powers, its prov
ess, its achievements, but declare the superio