St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-03-31
Our Boston correspondence.

uTe season mere Is Tdpluly uTdNlHS 10
a close the 18th and last of the Low
ell Institute Course is now being de-
livered by Horace Z. Scudder of Cam
bridge his subject is childhood in
Literature and Art" commencing with
childhood in Greek, Roman and He
brew literature and continuing through
its history among different nationalities
until the present time. There have
been some very delightful and popular
lectures given in this course the past
winter perhaps none more so than
II lectures given by Prof. Morse upon
Japan, its geographical position, peo
pie, customs, manners, etc. He held
his large audience spell-bOund by his
amusing description and delineatiOns
upon the blackboard, sketching rapidly
III chalk, with his left hand, while
sometimes erasing with his right, con-
vulsing every one by his caricatures of
Japanese life and travels, which for
the moment seemed realistic f.; and al
though we saw much to interest and
admire i'll this progressive race, yet we
could but notice that in contrasting
pictures of American and Japanese life,
the comparisons usually were unfavOr-
able to the former and we naturally
felt us if his intense enthusiasm had
cast Il rosy glow over everything Jap
anese and that his imagination had
sometimes lent wings to his memory,
leading him to idealize things and
scenes of the past, during his brief so
journ in Japan We derived much
more practical ideas and insight of the
Japanese character from Il lecture Civ
Ell sometime since by returned mis-
sionary, Rev. Mr.. Gulick of Japan.
A very instructive course was also
given by our American Chinese minis
ter upon China. Mr.. Drew is spend
ing II year in this country on account
of his own health and that of his fam
lily, and was able in his lectures to
give us OIlCldllN anu HUN pClSOhdl ob-
servatiOn a very clear and what seem
ed impartial view of the Chinese as a
nation and people, and what was
especially interesting, charts and ex
plantations of their language, spoken
and written. Stirring, enterprising
Americans of the 10Th century, with
their miles of railroads, telegraphs and
telephones, scarcely realize the cOndi-
ton of this slow, undeveloped race,
nor show proper patience with their
petty superstitions and lifelong pref
udices cherished as nation against
foreign invasion and residents. We
know history proves them to be one of
the oldest nations on the earth, and al
so early records show them to have
once been learned in the arts and sci
ence. But they have been shut in
among themselves, by this wall of pref
udice, so many centuries, multiplying
tied means of education, and lang
uage it takes so long to master, we see
how ignorance prevails among the
common people; and when forced
gradually to open their ports, one af-
ter another, by different treaties, the
grand opportunity was not properly
improved. American merchants went
there to make money, and many of our
American ministers were not of the
right type to he considered representa-
the men. True, there are American
missionaries there doing noble, Chris
tian work, but they do not represent
us officially. Their alphabet, with all
its symbols, seems very ingenious, and
often beautiful when explained but
to common observer each letter looks
like a regular puzzle-bOx of itself; and
as it seems that full, written public
examinations have to be passed by ap-
plicants of the lower class for Office in
China, we do not wonder that it often
is lifelong study and labor to real
ize that aspiration for high office there,
nor that so many candidates are I'M
successful.
Mr.. John Stoddard still holds his
rank as one of New England's most
popular lecturers upon European trav-
els.
The 10th annual series of practical
Talks" at the Young Mems Christian
Union Saturday evenings have closed
| for this season. Free to the public,
f. c. Bowles' Scenes in Early English
History" and @. p. Gilman's Evening
in the Orient" were particularly good
| by means of the stereOpticon, we Wis
tied that wondrOusly beautiful city
ConstantinOple, saw its mosques, fOun-
tains, marble palaces, and the unrival-
ed scenery of the Bosphorus, An IN
usually attractive entertainment was
held in the rooms of the Y. NJ. c. A. a
week since. The hall was festoOned
with bunting i'll national cOlOrs and
small flags; while over the drapery
of flags on the platform and the
bust of A. Lincoln was printed in ital-
les, 1--WE mourn our heroes dead
eve honor our heroes living" The
concert consisted of choruses, quar-
tettes and solos of music appropriate