Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-09
What the Famous English Actress
Observed in America
Which is Individual with Us-How Her
Child Sickness Vas Dispelled by
q School of children.
American Schools That are the Equals Of
Rugby, Fton and Harrow in Tng;and.
Surprise at Our Facilities.
TcOpyrishted 1890, BY the Author.

"ACu VIC uEsb spoho OA SOhiAh$ ~
America, a dear friend of ours, an
American gentleman, promised that
when we did come he would make the
journey with US. He kept his promise,
and one morning shortly after our ar
rival in News York, as he entered our
room in the hotel, he said to me:
"Why, Mrs. Kendall. you look home
sick. Do you feel SOP"
"No, l replied, ''not homesiek but
child-sick. I'm lonesome for a sight Of
my children"
care you?". returned be. "Theu
come with me.n
After donning my wraps, We took a
carriage and drove for a long time-l
don t know where, some place on Lex
ington avenue, 1 think-and entering a
handsome building, were taken into a
large room at one end of which on q
small platform sat a lsdy.
She greeted US very cordially, saying a
few words of welcome to me, and then
suddenly gave a signal, at which there
came into the room 400 lea little chill
dren. A moment later the glass parti-
tons, which divided the room from its
neighbor, rolled back, and there were
400 more of the dear little ones-though
these children were Younger-and again,
back of them, opened more glass doors,
and there were 600 OF the dearest mites.
Then all of these children, to the sound
I of music, performed q most perfect cal
istheuic drill. Never have l seen such
uniformity and precision, even in our
finest military at home.
1t was marvellous. They moved their
little arms with the most perfect pre-
Cision, turned their faces profile, half,
three-Quarters, with an accuracy which
an artist might ave sketched perfectly;
they patted their dear little cheeks, and
did it all to the beat of a semi-demiQua-
yer, with the music. Think what abil-
ity the perfect training of those children
showed their preceptress to possess. Such
a woman should have been given some
great position for the precision and ac-
curacv of those, babies motions spoke
volumes for her skill. After the calls
themes, their dear little voices sang for
me s'Rule Britannia, - and l cant say
how much the song affected
me. A child g voice has a tone in it
which the human voice when over
eighteen years Of age ceases to possess,
and It was that tone in those little shrill-
sounding voices raised in song that I'M
pressed me. For l love children, and
this separation from my own has been
more than hard 10 bear, and the sight of
all these little one was fast helping me to
endure it. On inquiry l was told that
these children, 400 in number-nOt
four, or fourteen, or even 400, but 400
of them-were taught and cared for in
this institution, free! It is wonderful.
They are given everything; books which
anv gentleman might be proud to have
in his library, these children are permit
ted to use daily.
Iasked for what class of children this
school was intended, and was told that
no classes were recognized there. The
m~illionaire's daughter might and did sit
uext to the carpenters daughter, and
they learned together, until-oh, Amer
icai land of no class distinctions-the
children became eight or MIN years old,
and then the m~illionaire's daughter was
taken way from the Institution by her
parents and sent to a boarding school, or
abroad, to finish her education. Though
you Americans will not acknowledge that
you possess any distinctions of class or
caste, they are here in spite of you you
call them by some other name and are
content.
But to return; when the children had
fms he'd singing for me, enc OF them re-
cited a poem about the Atlantic rable,
and then l made them a little speech. 1
told them that l was so pleased to see
them, and how they had eased, if not
- .-- Ihsll ,lyna md hn" I had
enjoyed their singing of ''Rule, Britain
MIA" wished that 1 could sin ''The
Star Spangled Banner'' for them IN re-
turn, but as | did not know it 1 must try
TO learn it, that when l mex came 1
should be able to sing it for them; and 1
told them that what they had said about
the Atlantic cable made me long TO place
myself on it and be taken over home for
a glimpse of my wi children, for l was
getting very lonesome for them, aud did
not think that 7 would ever be willing to
leave them again.
Then | said goodbye to the children
and to their teachers-mere girls, most
of them-and to the superior-a most
charming woman-and drove home feel
ing much cheerier and happier for my
glimpse of those children, and full of
wonder and admiration for the marvellous
country tnat cOuiO present sucn lnsLlIu-
tions to its children, for their use, free.
The next day l took the ladies Of my
company-almost all of whom have little
ones of their own, n who were finding
their separation from them, as l had
NINE, very hard to bear-and, after
taking the wrong car, and losing our
way, and having altogether a most ex-
citing time, we finally reached the insti-
tuition and were shown the children.
Almost all Of the ladies were affected to
tears, but my emotion was of another
kind. The only moment her / felt as
though / should weep was when they
sang for US, and then l really feared that
/ would break down, for, as l said be-
fore, the cadence of children's voices is
always most thrilling to me.
There is nothing like this Institution
in England, which may account in part
for the great impression which it made
upon me. In London there Is the Ma
sonic school, which IN a degree resem-
bles it, and with which l am perfectly
familiar in all its details. My hus-
band Is one of the managers OF this
school, md, as a Mason IS wife, I have
sho 4raa5ovu IF II Ruf tho diso;1ly1o