Semi-weekly herald., 1907-11-18

the land. II occupies an old-fashioned
white frame structure. with big win.
dows and cnpola. surrounded by over.
arching eims, and was built more than
hundred years ago. having been In.
corporated by the great anJ general
court OF Massachusetts February %,
1903. The building was erected by
the proceeds of the sale of township
OF land In Maine. which was granted to
the institution with the charter. n
looking over the list of the alumni one
Is surprised to find the name of Alex.
ander II. Stephens. vice president of
the southern confederacy; Governor
Yancy, the fire-eater of South Carolina
AID many other representatives of the
aristocratic families of the south, who,
am told. were accustomed to send
of their admiration for and confidence
IA the principal Of the school. David
Davis of Illinois. President Mark Hop
kins of Williams college, David DuJ-
ley, Cyrus West, Stephen Judson and
Henry Martin Field were all prepared
for college here. and many other ia
nous men.
There was also a school for girls
at Lenox during the greater part OF
the nineteenth century which was at
tended by the daughters of the New
England aristocracy. whose intellects
AMI graces were developed a1d train
ed by Mrs. Charles Sedgwick, daugh
ter-in-law of Theodore Sedgwick, who
was our most popular novelist sixty
and seyenty-five years ago, and re
fiected dazzling glory upon her native
town.
The Sedgwicks have always been
the most conspicuous and influential
family in Stockbriige. They were so
important and so mach revered that
Donald G. Mitchell, whose gentle and
refined wit has charmed the readers
oil his American Lands and Letters.
says that the criekets at Stockbridge
stll thli pSh Sth5N lth. 9tusNi ith.
"Sedgwick," and the frogs in the
swamps had similar song.
Theodore Sedgwick 07S0-lS39J was
the founder of the family. He was a
graduate of Yale. class of 1898, studied
law, went TO the legislature and tc
congress and became a famous en-
Ia, 1T f,,,
He promoted various great business
enterprises; organized manufacturing
companies amid founded banks and in
1897 introduced a bill in the Massa-
husetts Legislature to charter a com
1any to build railroad over the noun.
| tains from Worcester to Albany He
luencc and persistence, hut his col
| leagues in the legislature rldiculed 1t
Ii preposterous. They did not hest
| tate to declare that no locomotive
| rould possibly be constructed OF suff
cient power to haul train of cars W
the grades that would be necessary tC
|
ride at forty miles an hour between
Boston and Albany these days would
ind it difficult to realize that such o
| controversy ever could have occurred
although in those days it was con
sidered the most extraordinary engi
neering triumph on record.
1 Mr AI, frl -
religious convictions and devout hab
| its; he was Il prominent temperance
advocate and died of apopleXy at Pitts
burg in 1889 after delivering TEN
perance speech.
| His daughter. Catherine Maria Sedg
wick, began writing about the yeai
1880 and in old-fashioned libraries yol
Will find a long row of her novels con
tanning wholesome plots and morals
with stilted descriptions of fashionabl,
| life in those days. She was bril-
| liant writer and conversationalist, ha,
n stately beauty and courtly manner!
and was one of the highest types o
the intellectual American women, bu
her stories are very seldom read thes,
days. They are too tame and unsen
sational; the dialogue is too Addi
sonlan and precise and the moral Is
too obvious. Nobody reads novels now
adays for Improvement They ar,
read for excitement or for curiosity
Miss Sedgwick travelled great deal
She crossed the ocean several times
when 1t was rare thing to do, had q
wide circle of acquaintances among tn,
literary people of England, France ant
Italy, and was much admired Fanny
kemble the famous actress. was hel
ultimate friend and came to live al
Stockbridee TO enjoy her society.
| The successor of Jonathan Edward,
In the pulpit Of the Congregational
church at Stockbrijge was Rev. Mr.
West. He came here in 1853 and re
mained MS minister fifty-nine years
until he died in 1916. He was an &c
centric man. fun of idiosyncrasies and
of strong individuality and Miss Sedg
wick introduced him as a character in
several of her stories. In one of them
| she describes him as having "A well