Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-18
s9ournaI artS Gourier.
Thursday Morning. August IS. 1881.


Freder1ek w. Gum, Teacher
 Frederick W. Gum, principal of 'The Gunnery'' school in Washington, Conn, died | at his home Tuesday. Although not strictly | public man, MT. Gunn's character and at- tainments made him a man of considerable influence, and the pronounced originality of his professional ideas gave him celebrity as a teacher. He was born in Washington in 1916, and was graduated at Yale College with the
 class of 1887, together with Chief Justice Waite. ex-Secretary of State Evarts, Profes- sors Silliman and Lyman, Hon. Edwards
 Pierrepont and others. The success of the school that he started shortly after gradua- tion was interfered with by his advocacy of abolition principles, in behalf of which he was most active, speaking in public and as- sisting in the escape of runaway slaves The expulsion of Mir. Gunn's father from the Congregational church for espousing the { same cause was followed by the persecution | of the son, who was forced to seek living by \ teaching in Pennsylvania for 8 time; but he shortly returned and lived it down, becoming \ one of the most honored citizens of Connecti- | cut. Some of the peculiar features of his school have been chronicled by Dr. | Holland in his 'sArthur Bonnicastle, D where MT. Gum and 1.-The Gunnery" appear as ! "Mr Bird and the Birds Nest," and by W. | Hamilton Gison, the artist, in his Pastoral ! Days in which with pen and pencil he cele- brated his alma mater under the name of
 ''The Snuggery, kept by MT. Snug in Snug Hamlet. For many years MT. Gum would have no rules for the regulation of his pupils, ! but governed them on the theory that boys as well as men know instinctively the differ ence between right and wrong, and he held them responsible for correct behavior. His | punishm ments were always unique, and were de-
 signed rather for the correction of the fault
 than for the infiction of pain or penalty. He delighted in nature, and possessed wonder fully intimate knowledge of forest and field, of plant and of bird life, and in his generous ! readiness to impart his knowledge he was to ! all his friends something better than Bur-
 roughs or Thoreau. His pupils were en-
 outraged in every way to familiarize them
 selves with nature. He guarded against the
 danger of free use of firearms by the fol- | lowing order: ''Never permit boy to aim ! an unloaded gun at you; if you do not | knock him down I will thrash you. Never
 mind the loaded guns, they never hurt any
 one it is the empty ones that do all the mischief" Every year he took his boys into
 camp, and "Gunnis Camp" was one of the
 features of summer life at Lake Waramaug.
 In teaching the classics Mir. Gum sought I first to make his scholars familiar with the
 literature of the authors in hand, | leaving more Gnorougn grammatlcal
 training until the writer's style and the scope
 of his work were well comprehended. A
 large benevolence, the extent of which few
 persons know, interfered with his acquiring
 wealth, although his institution was flourish
 ing and prosperous. Among the patrons of
 ''The Gunnery" were Henry Ward Beecher,
 Mrs. Stowe, General John c. Fremont, Sen
 ator Platt, Senator Dixon, Dr. J. G. Hol-
 land, A. S. Barnes John T. Howard and oth-
 CTS. Mir. Gum was married in 1S47 to Miss
 Abby Brinsmade, daughter of General Daniel
 Brinsmade, of Connecticut. Their only son
 died several years ago. Mrs. Gum and a
 daughter, Mrs. John c. Brinsmade, survive him. The funeral services will be held in l Washington on Friday.-Herald