Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-12
1746---1896.
One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of Pes talozzi's Brth-His Life
 and Work

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was born on the 18th day of January, TAG, at zuri, that beautiful city located oa
 one of the lovely lakes of Switzerland | Today the educational world of two con- tinents is celebrating the anniversary of the birth of this great man.
 His father of Italian origin, hence the foreign sounding name-was physician
 but died when Henry was only years old. He was left in the care of good
 mother and a faithful servant. The gen tleness, devotion, tender, disinterested love of these excellent women exercised a great influence over the boy, and un- doubtedly inspired him in his latter work.
 The Influence of surroundings in early i've leaves the deepest impression upon the character of meh. Seeing before him daily the noble, unselfish devotion of the uneducated servant Barbara taught the little Henry early in life probably the
 great self-forgetful love that character ized the man.
 Pestallozz was delicate, sickly look ing boy, of nervous temperament. He was awkward and bashful and extremely
 credulous, and was known among his schoolmates under the nickname of
 "Narrischa Heinrich" In his studies he
 preferred those which called upon the inn
 agina tion, or appealed to his poetic sense.
 He neglected orthography penmanship,
 arithmetic, etc., which caused serious
 inconvenience to him in after life.
 Through the influence of his grand
 father, a protestant minister, Henry de-
 cded himself for the study of theology.
 His first efforts at preaching being fail-
 ure, he took up the study of law. But
 this seemed even less suited to his natu-
 ral inclinations.
 About this time, 1764, he read Rous- seauS Emile" 0 book that had created a great sensation in the educational world. This led his thoughts into a diff ferent channel; his life's work seemed now clear to him. He would do some thing to better the condition of the peo- ple-what, he knew not!
 A visit to his uncle's farm, where he reveled in the simple pleasures of country life, matured the plan in him to devote
 himself to the cultivation of the soil. About this time he made the acquaint- ance of his future wife, who stood faith fully by him through all the vicissitudes of his life. He bought a tract of land, which he called "Newhoof'-new farm and established himself there. As farm CT he was not successful, but other thoughts occupied his mind. The ques- tion What shall be done with the poor?' was uppermost in every thought full mind. The government had intro duced- poor houses In these places in- nocent children were crowded together with criminals deserving poor with those that led vagabond life. These estab- lishments only provided for the physical needs of their inmates, turning them out as depraved and ignorant as they had entered. To this evil Pestalcozzi's eye was attracted.
 With heart full of yearning love for suffering humanity, his mind sought remedy for the existing conditions. He proposed the establishment of industrial schools, where the children should re- ceive at the same time mental and moral training-should be made good men and citizens The offer of his house and farm for the experiment was accepted, and thus in 1775 we see him at the head of an Industrial School for the Poor. Though he labored faithfully, his efforts were not crowned with success. Besides his own inability to manage the practical part of the undertaking, he had to battle against many adverse influences and prejudices. After five years. of depriva- tion and financial depressions, he was forced to give up his school. He had lost all his wife's fortune, and was left as poor as his charges. But this ap- parent failure did not discourage him, nor did it diminish his ardor
 Now his literary activity began. He wrote for Swiss periodical on vital questions of the day. From 1780 to 1798 he published Evening Hours of Her. init" Leonard and Gertrude" Chris topher and Eliza" How Gertrude Teaches Her Children Legislation and
 Infanticide," Figures of My Spelling Book" Investigation of the Course of Nature In the Development of the Hu-
 man Race" All of his writings carry the impress of his originality. and were
 dictated by his unlimited love for hu- manity. His most widely known work is
 undoubtedly Leonard and Gertrude" popular tale of Swiss village life in the past century. This book has a peculiar
 charm. Is it the quaint, original mode of his expression. or the simple, pathetic
 tale of the villagers life, that holds our
 interest. excites our laughter. or makes
 the tears flow? His style is simple-al-
 most childlike-his words so well chosen and adapted to the characters that he loses
 great deal in translation. He Is true
 to life. He makes us acquainted with
 plain people. who live in their/little vil-
 lage; some off the fruits of /dndeserved
 wealth, others in the bitter distress of poverty. Bonnal, the village, belongs
 to Arner. a noble man, who loves his
 people and strives to alleviate their mis- cry This little village, we might say, represents the world. We find here all
 the types of the human race. In Kis- unell the bailiff, we recognize the in- temperate, the official misusing his pow CT to attain his own degrading ends In Gluphli we find the earnest teacher; in Leonard the weak man with good inten- uons; in Gertrude he portrays an ideal mother. In creating Gertrude Pestalozzi ildS pau u 6Icdt tIlpute lo WOHitHs I1c shows us Gertrude adorned with the crown of womanhoodSa faithful wife. 1 loving mother, true friend and neigh
 bor. a thrifty housekeeper. It is Ger trudes quiet influence, starting in her | home that brings about the startling l changes in the economical as well as moral life of the community. Can you | imagine a pretter picture than this | mother, surrounded by her little ones, | teaching them truths in her simple, un- | assuming manner; training them to hab- | it's of cleanliness, neatness and industry; | inspiring them with a love for their fel- | low men, with sympathy for the sorrow | laden. The idea that Pestalozzi tries to | impress upon his readers seems this | The ideal state depends upon ideal moth- | ers Education alone can liberate peo- | pie from bondage. 1t alone makes good l citizens. He considers education as the | pillar of the state. The great problem of l the misery of the masses can be solved only by thorough education.
 Pestalozzi's poverty at this period of
 his life was extreme. We are told that he