The Portland daily press., 1864-12-30

miles from the city, Is under the Superinten-
dence Of Hon. SETH SEAMAN OF Saco, who
has occupied his present position about six
years. The Assistant Superintendent is MI.
JOSEPH S. BERRY, aud both gentlemen seem
admirably fitted for the situations which they
respectively occupy. At present there are
1872 boys in the school, varying In age from
perhaps eight years to about seventeen.
Every Sabbath afternoon the whole school
Is brought together in the chapel,-a well-sr
ranged, well-ventilated supper room, '>~ar-
ranged into classes, and under the D1nage-
ment and instruction of ladies and ssntiemen
from the city, engage in the apprapriase e4er-
cises Of q Sabbath School. Mr. hoDert mol
yoke is at present the supsrasenoent % ING
Sabbath School, assisted oy some nl.een OF
more ladies and geutIsnen rom tne oinerent
religious societies ID the city. This school
has long been an institution" of itself, and
one which bss reflected much credit upon
those engaged in it, and had vast deal Of in
nuence for good upon those for whose benefit
IL was at first established and Is now regularly
kept up. 81 s eili 5s-aa5. 90 5 s, 5sss.s
Once year, between Christmas and New
Years Day, IL is customary for the teachers to
get up holiday festival, and this year 1t took
place on Wednesday evening. In response to
polite invitation from Mr.. Seaman, we had
the pleasure Of attending, and 1t was the FIRST
time we had ever crossed the threshold of the
building. Our readers, we feel satisfied, will
readiwith grateful pleasure somewhat miaute
accountof the affair, giving partial inside view
OF one Of the noDlest institutions of our State,
and one In which every citizen, from Kittery
to Quoddy Head, and from the seaboard to
the Canada Line, should feel an honest pride.
The evening was rainy and very unpleasant,
the travelling bad, and the atmosphere SO
dense with fog that those of weak lungs pru-
IDENTIFY remained within doors, and owing to
these causes the company in attendance from
the city was small still, perhaps forty to fifty
ladies and gentlemen found themselves there
at about six and half O'Clock, comfortably
housed in the spacious edifce.
A half.hour later the company was invited
by Mr.. Seaman to walk up to the chapel
Here were found seated the entire school.
Mr.. Holyoke, the Superintendent, briefly
stated the objects Of the gathering, and the
exercises were commenced with singing Dy the
boys, with melodeon accompaniment. The
Scriptures were then read by Rev. Mr.. Dalton
of St. Stephens church, and prayer followed
by Rev. Mr.. Allen of Chestnut Street church.
Before introducing speakers Mr.. Holyoke very
prudeutly cautioned them against "long sto-
ries," and the caution was strictly observed
from beginning to end. Fsgbaaesp 8
The following gentlemen were called upon
and responded briefly and in appropriate
words, - addressed IN the main to the bows
to wit: Mr.. Lord of the ,ohristiam Mirror,
Judge Davis. Nathan Webb, Esq, Mr.. Gilman
of the Press, Geo. w. Woodman, Esq. Mr.
Kilby of Eastport-Re Representative elect from
that town, Mr.. Egginton-Superintend OF
the Glass Works, Mr.. Cook, Mr.. g. E. Small,
Mr.. N. J. Gilman, Mr.. Il. C. Lowell, Rev. Mr..
Dalton, Rev. Mr. Allen and Hon,J. @. Moves
-one of the Trustees Of the Institution. Mr..
Noyes' remarks were particularly interesting,
inasmuch as they were confined mainly to q
brief statement of the workings OF the Iusti,
tuition, and Its generally beneficial effects upon
the inmates. --A
These speeches-all necessarily very brief
were interspersed with singing BY the boys
OF the school, and songs BY Mr.. Lowell. The
Battle Hymn of the Republic, sung by the
boys, was admirably performed, and would
HAYS done credit to vocalists of much more
pretension. e 9i
Two surprises remain to be noticed. Mr..
Holyoke was presented with valuable book
"a present from the boys, the presentation
speech being made BY Master Young. Mr..
Holyoke appropriately responded. This was
surprise MOL. i1t5 1tl a M@N I'll AZ
Surprise No. 2 was on this WISE Alter the
clOseof Mr.. Noyes' remarks the, Superintend-
ent of the Sabbath School said that though
late--it was then only 8.30-he must introduce
a past Superintendent, Mr.. W. s. Dana, to
whose remarks he knew they would cheerful
ly listen, Mr.. Dana in response said he was
not prepared to make speech, but he would
introduce an old friend-a friend to the school,
one Santa CEdus-and then ringing q BELL
side door opened and in walked one of the
teachers followed by eight or ten boys, each
bringing couple of large volumes.
These proved to be full seto the Ameri-
can Encyclopedias present from the past
and present teachers of the Sabbath School,
which Mr.. Dana, in their behalf, presented in
very neat speech to the Superintendent Of
the Institution, Mr.. Seaman. Mr.. s. was
taken entirely by surprise, the whole thing
having been kept profound secret from him,
and in responding. which he did most appro.
priately, he betrayed the deep feeling Of his
heart. He thanked the teacheEs---as had Mr..
Noyes before him-for their gratuitous labors
OF love on each returning Sabbath. and recog-
nized in those labofs one of the best instru-'
mentalities for promoting the good order and
confessed Improvement Of those placedunder
MS charge. 70 ,tlsssd s8q5ls gasa 8a9oo8 s
A recess Of ten minutes followed, during
which It was pleasant to see how fondly the
boys would gather about their teachers, how
afecnonate they appeared, and what bond
OF mutual love seemed to have been devel-
oped between them. We wish that scene
could have been Witnessed by every member
Of the legislature, and especially by those who
have had prejudices against the institution.
We are quite sure it would have done them
good gAGA29 AAs fKAeAa8ss ayis aeN
From the Chapel the boys and their guess
descended to the Dining Room, where
Christmas festive supper was provided for the
boys, Each one took his place with the pre-
cisioa Of military drill, and at well understood
signals, they became seated and commenced
the operations of the table. Everything was
in perfect order; there was no loud talking,
no noise, no rudeness, no confusion, but ev-
erythng was as quiet and orderly as in well
regulated boarding school.
o2e thing that strikes a stranger is the In
telligent look of the boys. Generally they