and he will speak to you of what the schools of a later date are doing. - Harvey N. Shepard, Esq. Mr. Shepard spoke as follows: - Certainly I am Mr. President and Gentlemen: greatly indebted to the courtesy of the President for the privilege of being with you this evening. My years do not go back far enough to entitle me to be a member of this Association, but when I look about me into the faces of so many gentlemen here with whom I am connected in the Eliot School Association, I feel that I am not among strangers. In fact, no graduate of any one of our public schools can be a stranger in a gathering of the graduates, whether of that or of any other of the public schools of Boston. I came from the Eliot School, in the old North End of the city; no longer the "Court End," but nevertheless a historic part of Boston, where the deeds were done and the things said which have made Boston famous in the history of our land. Boston had been founded scarcely five years when our fathers began this system, and it was said by a noted French traveller who came to this country early in that century, that one of the most remarkable things he observed was the school-houses appearing in every part of the community, something the like of which could be seen in no other country in the world. It might, indeed, seem strange that men who had hardly gained a settlement in this land, with the great forests behind them full of wild beasts and of savage men, should have devoted their energies so early to a public school system; but it was because they believed and knew, gentlemen, that free institutions are impossible without free schools. And what was true of that day is equally true of the present. We cannot hope to maintain our free republic, nor to transmit it unimpaired to those who come after us, unless we are ready to maintain our public schools in all their strength and in all their vigor. When we read in the early days of men like Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams the patriot, as coming from our public schools, and hear in our own times of men like Charles Sumner and Ralph Waldo Emerson, not to mention other distinguished names of persons now living, we may well challenge any part of the world to equal what has been produced by the public schools of Boston. The President, in his opening address this evening, spoke of the age in which we live, and of the great progress that has been made in the last fifty years. Now, it may be true that our public schools have produced no Shakespeare; but Shakespeares, like Miltons, like Dantes, like Homers, are products which come only once in an age; but where will you find sweeter songs, those that go more directly home to the heart, than the songs of Lowell, of Longfellow, of Whittier ? Where will you find a pen in all literature that traced such magic words, and thoughts that stir the soul, equal to that of Nathaniel Hawthorne ? But it is not alone to the arts, or to science, or to literature, it is rather to those things that go to make the convenience of mankind, to disseminate the comforts of life among the people, that the practical genius of the American graduates of our public schools has turned; and go where we will, this wide world over, we shall find no land where there is a higher standard of comfort, a larger appreciation of the things that make not only for material but also for mental culture, than we find in this city of ours where the people have grown up as graduates of our public common schools. I believe, gentlemen, that as our fathers cherished and loved our common schools, so the heart of today is equally true to them. It is your privilege, gentlemen, by associations like this, to strengthen and maintain a public sentiment that will cherish and keep our public schools in their old-time vigor and strength, and will overwhelm with public shame and scorn the man or men who dare recklessly or wilfully to do anything or aught of harm or injury to them. The President then called upon Augustus Russ, Esq., who responded in a pleasant strain, and at the conclusion of his remarks Mr. Willcutt moved that the Secretary be instructed to send the congratulations and thanks of the Association to Mr. Dennett, who had so kindly sent the song which had been sung. This motion was carried unanimously. The President. Gentlemen, we have had a very pleasant occasion this evening, and I do not think it proper that I should detain you longer, although there are a number of gentlemen from whom I have no doubt you would be pleased to hear. We will close these exercises by rising and singing, under the direction of our friend Hall, the hymn "America," TENTH REUNION. THE tenth annual meeting was held at Young's Hotel, Nov. 13, 1889, President Levi L. Willcutt in the chair. The following officers were chosen for 1889-1890. CHARLES H. ALLEN, President. JOHN W. LEATHERBEE, Vice-President. Directors: William H. Baldwin, Ezekiel R. Jones, Augustus Russ, Grenville T. W. Braman, George W. Forristall, Thomas Hills, Micah Dyer, Jr., Henry A. Turner, John F. Newton. At the banquet tables the Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. Eber R. Butler, after which a time was agreeably spent in disposing of the sumptuous repast. The President then called the company to order and addressed them as follows: Old School Boys of Boston: Amid these surroundings, in the presence of this assembly, so impressive in its significance, it is no easy task to express in suitable language the emotions which are uppermost in every heart. Looking backward in memory to the years of our boyhood, we count them, in our after-experience, among the most delightful in our existence. To the majority of those present, what fond recollections of the past rise up before us. We had our trials, and at times we thought them grievous and hard to be borne; yet, with these came the gladsome, cheering hours of pleasant intercourse with our fellows, when were formed the friendships which have strengthened with years, and which are destined to continue through life. We who have met here to-night have cause for congratulation that we have been privileged to witness the development which has occurred, and to note the progress of discovery in our time. Possibly some of our number may have been identified with movements which have led to results wonderful in invention, and valuable in science and art; which have advanced civilization, promoted education, and added to the prosperity and to the fame of our country. This gathering is one of peculiar interest and meaning. It is representative not alone of the schools with which we were personally identified, but it symbolizes in every one present the result of that standard of education with which we were familiar during our school life. We are therefore led to an examination of the methods and tendency of public instruction in our day, and to a comparison with the more complex system which has obtained in later years. The foundation of whatever success we may have attained may be attributed in large degree to the instruction |