The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-04-08
FRANKLIN LYCEUM.
An Ex- Secretary Recalls the Old Days
OF Its Prestige.
Some Of the Eminent Men That the
Lyceum Brought to Providence.
To THE EDITOR or THE NEWS.

SIR-What memories are stirred by your
appreciative editorial in yesterdays NEWS
on the old Franklin Lyceum! What a
wonderful panorama of earnest, intellect
ual, powerful faces, many trooping
from the spirit world, passes
before the mental vision as once more
we read the old familiar names! How
many of Rhode Islands best are there?
And more than these, for who can think
OF the Lyceum apart from its lecture
courses in which spoke and sang scores OF
men and women of world fame? The
list includes:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Elihu Burritt.
John Quincy Adams, Horace Mann, Rich
ard IL. Dana, Jr., John Neal, Orestes A.
Brownson, Jared Sparks, Horace Gree
ley, Nathaniel p. Willis, Wendell
Phillips, Daniel Webster, Theodore Par
ker, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edwin p.
Whipple, Edgar A. Poe, Louis Agassiz,
Mark Hopkins, Charles Sumner, George
8. Hillard, Park Benjamin, Rufus
Choate, Horace Bushnell, Lewis Cass,
Henry N. Hudson, Edwin III. Chaplin,
John G.. Sake, Thomas Starr King, Caleb
Gushing, George S. Boutwell,, Robert Q.
Winthrop, Sam Houston, Thomas M.
Clark, Arthur Gilman, Barnas Sears,
George William Curtis, Edward
Everett, Henry Ward Beecher,
William M. Rodman, Bayard
Taylor, Albert Harkness, Sara j. Lippin-
colt, Nathaniel p. Banks, James b. Angel,
Charles s. Bradley, George vandenhoff,
John b. Cough, J. G. Holland,
James Il. Murdoch, Thomas w.
Higginson, Benjamin f. Butler, Newman
Hall, Anna l.. Dickinson, James Russell
Lowell, Paul b. DuChaillu, Olive Logan,
ID. II. Locke, Samuel l.. Clemens, Samuel
$. Cox, Mrs. Scott Siddons, Anna Louise
Kellogg, Anna Louise Carey, Alexander
Graham Bell, and many others.
The picture you paint Of the Lyceum
of 20 years ago is true to the life. Permit
me to add 20 the strong names you give
three especially prominent a bout that time
Henry w. Allen, the able Librarian and
treasurer; Edward c. Ames, the brilliant
parliamentarian and speaker; and Fred
erick A. Cover, then in the rounded
prime of a noble manhood, about TO be-
gin that European career in which he
won fortune and fame and an early death.
These three are gone and many others,
but scores are still left among us. 1t
seems to the writer that you place the
total membership rather low. 1t was
certainly over 200 in 1871 and dur
ing the next four years interest
in tho Lyceum was at its heigh ht, and its
increase in numbers was remarkably rapid.
To one who often called the ayes and noes
when debates and parliamentary discus
sions ran high in 1873 and 1874, it seems
that the total list was at ono time more
than 1000.
1t is no disparagement of other useful
organizations to say that no other lyceum
in Rhode Island, probably no other in
America, has equaled the Franklin in its
great ard wide-reaching power, not only
in its debates and lecture courses,
but also as a literary-social factor
in our State history. Who that was pres
ent at the spelling match between the
Lyceum and Brown University, or lis
tened to Beckwith's "Festival Verses for
Festival a imes," or EVAN Zandt's "Siam-
ese Twins" or other things of the kind,
will gainsay this?
Was not the Franklin Lyccum al
together too important factor In the de-
volopment OF higher citizenship in Rhode
Island to be allowed to become
permanently extinct? Several OF the
old members have told the writer,
some within month or two, that
they would like 10 see il revived. The
idea seems perfectly feasible. The great
est source OF former exponse, the library
OF more than 10000 volumes, with its
Librarian and assistant, would not be
needed in this age of the public library.
Lecture courses are not so popular as
in former years, but a course consisting
of illustrated lectures OF travel inter-
spersed with first -class musical concerts,
would be more than self-support-
ing, IL well planned. The
tendency TO make the Lyceum psrtake
somewhat OF the nature OF a mere club OF
intelligent men, tendency which con-
diminished the vitality OF
the organization n in its latter days,
might be obviated by inviting the
mem bcrship of tho rapidly increasing
number of educated women OF Rhode
Island, thus elevating even the old high
tone. within few necessary changes 10 fit
these and other minor changes of plan.
with meetings convened Mt Z p. m. instead
of 4, and with n little sacrifice OF time on
the part of the old members 20 reorganize
and start the Lyceum, the writer believes
that 1t would pay its current expenses vt