The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-01-10
A Night al the Reform school.

| struggling along 10 the rendezvous, the hrSt
corners were cooling their heels on the snowy
sidewalk and watching the effect of the dying
| daylight on the houses and shops opposite.
| The omnibuses lighted up their rudy beacons;
the apothecary's windows over the way shed
CHASTITY green radiance upon the snow;
| the moonlight overpowered the last glimmer
of sunshine; the fitting sleighs of the reck-
| less drivers over the Congress street race
| course passed less and less frequently; the
| heavy teams came numbering homeward from
| Commercial street; all the clerks and shop
keepers and their customers, and the butchers
and bakers and other busy people filed the
sidewalks on their way homeward and supper
ward, and at last, after nearly an hour of watt
ing the red and green lights of the Westbrook
omnibuses, chartered for the round trip to the
Reform School and back, hove in sight; the
party, which had gradually fallen into the
lethargic condition which follows protracted
waiting, stirred with new life, resumed the
conversation which had tagged for quarter
of an hour and filled the sleighs in an instant
to the point of suffocation.
How the ride lasted nearly an hour how
some of the ladies were seasick, and the rest
sung pennyroyal hymns from Libby's Corner
to Stroudwater and beyond like a camp-meet-
| ing on runners, how throng of private con-
veyances appeared all along the road carrying
other members of the same company, and how
| the whole party arrived at the Reform School at
about O'clock, in excellent humor, and what
hearty reception they met from Superintend-
| ent Woodbury. and his numerous family Of
young reprobates it were long to tell, and as
tha of n ,1 Lott nf
Libby's Corner, excited by the unusual specta-
Gle of two loaded horse cars" it is really i'm
possible to spend W ord upon them. ~
The occasion of this exp edition was the an
nual festival for which the boys of the Reform
School are indebted to the good people of
Portland, who rain or shine, on every Sunday
the year round, conduct the Sunday school at
the institution. Mr.. w. Z. Gould has been
Superintendent of the Sunday school for
little more than year, and has been assisted
in his charitable work by teachers from eleven
different churches. The first part of the pro-
gram Wednesday evening was the ente rtain-
ment gwen to the boys by their friends of the
Sunday school. The great dining room in the
basement, with its ugly barred windows and
long painted tables and seats securely fastened
to the floor, was invaded and thronged by Wis
itors. Along the tables the rations were ar
ranged with monotonous impartiality.a sau-
sage, a biscuit, turnover, an apple and a
bowl of water for each boy in endless repeti-
ton, the candies being mercifully withheld
till the next morning. Then came the boys
with juvenile clatter of boots and brogans,
filing orderly into their places; and then the
graceibefore meat, repeated in concert, and in
perfect time, and then the modest refec-
ton melted away like snow in April.
Not much merriment hitherto, but the boys
took their turn after the whole company had
laborously climbed into theairy chapel, which
was trimmed with evergreens, and had oppo-
site to the platform the inscription, "Weloome
to our Festival" How they sung the 'sFestal
Day" in full, vociferous chorus The Rev. Mr..
Bailey of the First Parish made an Impress
i've prayer. Then the boys began their scrip
ture recitation in concert, relieving each other
by squads, and concentrating their whole
strength Of lung on the last of two hundred
and ten verses, with tremendous effect. At
forwards came the declarations, as natural,
interesting and effective as such ex rcises are
apt to be- One piece expressed the joy of the
assembled youth at meeting their kind friends,
in verses evidently written for the occasion;
the Christmas season and the Temperance
cause were duly celebrated; one boy, in the
character of an Indian, hurled defiance at the
palefaces before him; another pers opated
wouL ded hero of the Great Rebellion; there
was a funny story of fox who had gorged
himsefin henhouse with narrow door, so
that he could not by any possibility escape,
and another, recited with charming brogue,
about the milkmaid who counted her eggs be-
fore they were Matched; and little French
boy who convulsed the whole assembly by ut
tering strange jargon which he sincerely
believed to be the best of English; and dia-
logue in which tn two speakers never once
looked at each other; and last of all the ia
nous address of Spartacus to the glad iators-
the piece which at school exhibitions and
sophmore declarations never fails to take the
prize-rendered in this instance by boy
whose time was out week ago, but who re-
manned for this occasion only. There was
singing all the way through and at the end-a
Christmas carol that was noticeably good.
Some of the visitors talked to the boys-the
Rev. Mr.. Keyes of Chestnut street church,
MIR. Clafiin who told a capital story about
boy who got his first start in life by Shining
a particularly smooth and treacherous butter
nut tree, and Mr.. ,Elwell of the Transcript
All things must have an end however and
this feast of reason was followed by the pre-
sentation of fur collar to Mr.. Stephens who
drives the Reform School coach, and a distri-
button of books to the boys. The doxology
was sung by all present; the Rev. Mr.. Weth-
erbee of Pine street church offered the closing
prayer; Superin tendant Woodbury. in a few
warm words thanked the Christian people of
Portland for their cooperation in his work,
| declaring that without the Sunday school
planted and sustained by the churches of Port
land, he should regard his task as hopeless
The opportunity which was subsequently
afforded for social intercourse was improved
by some of the boys to try to borrow little
tobacco, but the effort appeared to be unsuc
cessful. At half past nine or ten they
were all secured in their snug little apart
ments, and the exhibition wrs over.
tits impossible to speak too highly of the
merits of this institution. the orderly con-
duct, neat attire, and intelligence of the boys
afford the best evidence of the good manage
ment of the school. The Superintendent is
firmly persuaded that cleanliness is next to
SoulueSS, duu udulIS VI u6dGueSS ar q not only
encouraged but required The beds and cells,
the dining room and kitchen, every part of the
building in short is scrupulously clean. The
discipline is strict, but not severe, if one may
judge by the faces of the boys, many of which
are unusually bright and interesting, while
but few, and those among the older boys, are
hopelessly bal. The school is not self
supporting; these boys are not old enough to
earn their living yet; but the outlay required
to keep it in operation will unquestionably be
made up over and over again by the proven
ton of crimes against property, to say nothing
of the benevolent pect Of the enterprise.
THE, CELEBRATION CT the anniversary Of the
battle of New Orleans by a Democratic ban
quet in Washingt,n on the 9Th instant is
given with great fullness of detail in special
dispatches. 1t was intended to make this ban
quet the great event of the season. But
some of the best of the old Democratic war
horses were not present. Hoffman's hand
some face and Sc, mour's craftsmanship were
relied upon to give dignity to the occasion,
but neither was present But Tom Florence
acas there, as well as Secretaries Browning
and Stanbery, Jerry Black, most of the Dem
ocratic members of Cougress-in all about
three hundred. The festivities took place at the
|