Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1876-11-30

| on public worship than those who now
occupy their places, and of course they
took their boys with them. They were
not satisfied with the morning and af
ternoon services, but each neigborhood
held third service of his own in the
evening. Here some lay brother made
prayer, hymns were sung by those
who were trained at the singing schools,
a sermon was read from the works of
some orthodox divine, and now and then
word or exhortation was addressed to
the little assembly by some one more
fluent in speech than the rest.
Every parish had its tithing-m two
In number generally, whose business it
was to maintain order in the church
during divine service, and who sat with
stern countenance through the SER
mon, keeping yigilant eye on the boys
In the distant pews and in the galleries.
Sometimes, when he detected two of
them communicating with each other,
he went to one of them, took him by
the button, and, leading him away,
seated him beside himself. His power
extended to other delinquencies. He
was directed by law to see that the Sab
bath was not profaned by people wan
dering in the fields and angling in the
brooks. AT that time law, no longer
in force, directed that any person who
absented himself unnecessarily from
public worship for a certain length of
time should pay fine into the treasury
of the county. remember several per
sons of whom it was said that they had
been compelled to pay this fine, but |
do not remember any of them who went
to church afterward.
For the boys of the present day an
immense number Of books have been
provided, some of them excellent, some
mere trash or worse, but scarce any are
now read which are not of recent date.
The question is often asked, What
books mad they tn read 20 or 80 years
since? They had books, and some of
great merit. There was Stanford and
Merton" and Little jack; there was
Robinson Crusoe," with its variations,
The SHi2s Family Robinson" and
1.-THE New Robinson Crusoe"; there
was Mrs. Trimmer's knowledge of
Mature apd Berquin's lively narratives
and sketches translated from the
French; there was E'Philip Quarli" and
Watts Poems for Children and Bun
vans ''Pilgrim's Progress" and Mrs.
Barbauld's writings, aud the "Miscella-
neous Poems" of CoWper. Later we
had Mrs. Edgeworlh's parents AS
sistaal" and Evenings at Home" All
these, if not numerous, were at least
often read, and the FREQUENT reading Of
. few good books il thought 10 be ST
least as ImprOying--as useful In storing
the mind and teaching one to thtnk---as
the more cursory reading of many. Of
R4HTnanfpFV hnnKc 1orlr
Dor, as l have already intimated, any
scarcity of private instructors, princi-
pstly cieFgynen, educated st the col
ieges.
have here set down such particulars
as ne" occur to me of the employments,
the amusements aud the studies amidst
which the boy of my time grew up and
were trained lor the duties of manhood.
OF those ~ho set out with me in life
there arr a few now remaining they
are like old trees in q young wood, wait
ing for high wind to snap their aged
trunks and level them with the ground.
They became dispersed to different
parts of the country, particularly the
new states of the West, whose institu
tlons they have helped to form. They
had grown up, ii the msIn, q conscien-
tIous OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, enterpris-
ing, strict in the perfor'1 &aee Of duty, 4
and obedient 20 tie low and on THE
account they were - very men TO
whom the task of forming new cons
munities might be .ncRt aivantage0usly
committed. A few Of them became dis
tinguished above their fellows. One of
them became an eminent orientalist,
and settled at Athens, in Greece. Ar.
other, with whom used 60 used to nan-
tend In the foot-Face, became one OF the
millionsjres o4 New \ ork, aud died, not
loHg since, full of days, leaving an hon.
I'red memory, 4 third, my school fell
. Low eW IN preparing for college, retired
E2ecome q. feSturer on. political economy
/ Nnu tne ~anthOK of valuable works on
shaf fsclence. One, With whom hao = =
y 10 1ndfSsne-sssaEa dIsputariosAa- rntayisll 80
latoTs, One Was afCer7sssG OF " der
iof The American tract society, and now
in the calm evening of 8 long life, { N
ploys himself IN writing its history.
Two went to the East as missionaries
and in the midst of their labors laI,
down their lives before the approach o
old age.
Whatever may have been tic merit
or the shortcomings of the generation t.
which these men belonged, they ar
now with the past, and ii is yet ~ b
seen whether the different systems uoV
adopted in training the youth Il Gu
country will give it a better class OF CT.