Weekly Trinity journal., 1879-09-20
THE NEW OLD SOUTH CHURCH
Mother Goose Melodies"

bath School of the New Old South Church
occurred yesterday afternoon and even
ing.
At five o'clock in the afternoon the
fiesta! services were held in the chapel,
VIII ich was adorned with evergreen and
fir trees. There was large attendance
of members of the school, and many
In the absence of Mr.. Luther A. Wright
the Superintendent of the school, Mr..
He -beit Darling, the Secretary of the
school presided at the exercises. After n
selection by the choir, Mr.. Darling read
the first twenty verses OF the second chap
ter of Luke, and DR.. Manning, pastor of
the church, offered prayer. The children
then sang THE Child Jesus" and the
Lastor made an address.
ADDRESS OF REV. j. NJ. MANNING.
There are many things in the history of
the Old South Church, Boston, which
help 10 make ITS name famous. The
churce itself grew out of II controversy,
partly religious and partly political,
which more than two hundred years ago
was agitating all New England. The
parents of Benjamin Franklin were mems
bers of this club; and in its first house of
worship, the cedar wood meeting house,
the typical Yankee Ben wns himself
baptized. In the first edfce of wood,
Chief Justice Sewal, another mem Der
Of the church made his humble and no
Bile confession respecting the part he had
taken in the wtchcrait deluson. There
it was. also, that Edward Randolph and
Edmund Ardros sought to wrench from
the Puritans their religious liberties, and
to force the yoke Of prelacy on their
neclts. The Tea Party, Warren's Ad-
dresses. Burgoyne's Riding School, and
tine brave deeds of Samuel Adams, HIM
scly devoted member of the church, are
more modern events. Most of these
events have passed into general history
of the Old South Church which has not
bad the recognition it deserves. In the
list of admi,si ions for the year 1908 occurs
the immortal name of Elizabeth Goose
| almost beg pardon OF her memory for
saying "E liznbeth," since by the unani-
nous verdict of the world, in whose
heart her name is enshrined, she is known
MS Mother" Goose. SO, then, Mother
Guose is no myth, rs Some have thought,
but once lived in Boston, in veritable
flesh and blood, as the records of the Old
South Church clearly show. 1t is also II
Of herself she married INTO well-to-do
fam ily. where in due time she, too, by
putting her melodies 10 he press, not
merely laid one golden egg, but has been
laying steady succession of them from
that day To this. For, unlike the goose
in the fable, she could not be killed, but
still lives, and yields stores of wealth to
the booksellers often as Christmas tide
returns. Her nest will not he empty SO
long as there are children and nurseries
in the world. I. is almost IA pity, If one
may suy SO without straining the me;aph-
or, that her euogy cannot be written with
II quill taken from her own dear wing.
What child in all Christendom has not
often nestled under that wing, been brood
ed 10y it, and forgotten every trouble in
listening to her immortal lays?
The maiden name of this venerable
lady, mother Of us all, was Elizabeth
Foster. She lived in Charlestown, where
she was born, until her fringe. Then
she came to Boston, where her thrifty
hus band, Isaac Goose, had II green past
ure ready for her on what is now Wash
ington street, and including the land in
ard about Temple Place. She was his
second mate, and began her maternal
life ns stepmother to ten children. These
ali seem to have teen very lively little
gosiings, and to their number she very
rapidly added six more. Think Of it!
sixteen goslngs 10 a single goose as
suming that none Of them had been eat
en- up BY the hawks, and that none had
died of crook in the neck. Poor, hnppy
Mother Goose! No wonder that her
feelings were too many for her, and that
she poured them odt in the celebrated
lines.
"There was an old woman lived in a shoe.
She had so many children she didn't know
what to do"
Y ct the family cares seem, on the whole
to have set lightly upon her; Tor she was
no wild goose, flying north or south with
every turn of the sun. but she staid by
her nest through cold and heat happy as
the day is long and living to be ninety
two years old. She even survived the
Father Goose many years, and she led
and fed her numerous flock and tenderly
brooded them in the little enclosure on
Temple place till they were able to swim
and forage for themselves.
One of these her daughter Elizabeth,
became the wife of Thomas Fleet. And
here is the fact to which we owe it that
her name and fame are spread through
the world. Thomas Fleet was n printer
living in Pudding land, a place whose
very name had 50 sayOry a taste in the
dear old lady's mouth that when Thomas
Fleet became happy father she insisted
on going TO live with him ms nurse of
honor to his son and heir. To coddle her
own grandchid in Pudding land, was the
beau ideal OF blessedness for Mother
Goose. Her activity and concern in the
house we're such ms to throw what we read
bout busy mothers .in-law wholly into
the shade. No doubt she would have
been glad to save Rome, as certain other
Al. Z. I,,f