Part 17 (2/2)
The three-forty trotter soon left boots, shoes, and all behind, and deposited us at the door of the uncle's villa, where a friendly hand welcomed us to its hospitalities. It was very prettily situated upon a cliff overlooking Ma.s.sachusetts Bay, in which said cliff a zigzag stepway was cut down to the water, for the convenience of bathing. The grounds were nicely laid out and planted, and promised in time to be well wooded, if the ocean breeze driving upon them did not lay an embargo upon their growth, in the same heartless manner as it does upon the west coast of Scotland, where, the moment a tree gets higher than a mop handle, its top becomes curved over by the gales, with the same graceful sweep as that which a successful stable-boy gives a birch broom after a day's soaking. I hope, for my hospitable friend's sake, it may not prove true in his case; but I saw an ostrich-feathery curve upon the tops of some of his trees, which looked ominous. Having spent a very pleasant day, and enjoyed good cheer and good company, Three-forty was again ”hitched to;” joined hands announced the parting moment had arrived; wreaths of smoke from fragrant Havanas ascended like incense from the shrine of Adieu; ”G'lang”--the note of advance--was sounded; Three-forty sprang to the word of command; friends, shoes, and shoemakers were soon tailed of; and ere long your humble servant was nestling his nose in his pillow at Boston.
Hearing that the drama was investing its talent in Abolitionism, I went one evening to the theatre, to see if I could extract as much fun from the metropolis of a free state as I had previously obtained from the capital of slave-holding Maryland; for I knew the Americans, both North and South, were as ticklish as young ladies. I found very much the same style of thing as at Baltimore, except that her abolitionist highness, the d.u.c.h.ess of Southernblack, did not appear on the stage by deputy; but as an atonement for the omission, you had a genuine Yankee abolitionist; poor Uncle Tom and his fraternity were duly licked and bullied by a couple of heartless Southern n.i.g.g.e.r-drivers; and while their victims were writhing in agony, a genuine abolitionist comes on the stage and whops the two n.i.g.g.e.r-drivers, amid shouts of applause. The suppliant Southerners, midst sobs and tears, plead for mercy, and in vain, until the happy thought occurs to one of them, to break forth into a wondrous tale of the atrocities inflicted upon the starving and naked slaves of English mines and factories, proving by contrast the superior happiness of the n.i.g.g.e.r and the greater mercifulness of his treatment. The indignant abolitionist drops the upraised cowhide, the sobs and tears of the Southerners cease, the whole house thunders forth the ecstasy of its delight, the curtain drops, and the enchanted audience adjourn to the oyster saloons, vividly impressed with British brutality, the charms of slavery, and the superiority of Abolitionism.
How strange, that in a country like this, boasting of its education, and certainly with every facility for its prosecution--how strange, that in the very Athens of the Republic, the deluded ma.s.ses should exhibit as complete ignorance as you could find in the gallery of any twopenny-halfpenny metropolitan theatre of the old country!
Another of the lions of Boston which I determined to witness, if possible, was ”spirit-rapping.” A friend undertook the arrangement for me; but so fully were the hours of the exhibitor taken up, that it was five days before we could obtain a spare hour. At length the time arrived, and, fortified with a good dinner and a skinful of ”Mumm Cabinet,” we proceeded to the witch's den. The witch was a clean and decent-looking girl about twenty, rather thin, and apparently very exhausted; gradually a party of ten a.s.sembled, and we gathered round the witch's table. The majority were ladies--those adorers of the marvellous! The names of friends were called for; the ladies took the alphabet, and running over it with the point of a pencil, the spirit rapped as the wished-for letter was reached. John Davis was soon spelt, each letter probably having been indicated by the tremulous touch of affectionate hope. Harriet Mercer was then rapped out by the obliging spirit. The pencil and the alphabet were then handed to me, and the spirit being asked if it would answer my inquiries, and a most satisfactory ”Yes” being rapped out, I proceeded to put its powers to the test. I concentrated my thoughts upon a Mr. L---- and his shop in Fleet-street, with both of which being thoroughly familiar I had no difficulty in fixing my attention upon them. The pencil was put in motion, powerful rappings were heard as it touched the D. I kept my gravity, and went on again and again, till the name of the ill.u.s.trious duke, whose death the civilized world was then deploring with every token of respect, was fully spelt out. The witch was in despair; she tried again and again to summon the rebellious spirit, but it would not come. At last, a gentleman present, and who evidently was an _habitue_ of the witch's den, proposed that the refractory spirit should be asked if any of the company were objectionable to it. This being done, a rattling ”Yes” came forth, upon which each person asked in succession, ”Am I objectionable to you?” There was a dead silence until it came to my friend and myself, to each of whom it gave a most rappingly emphatic ”Yes.” Accordingly, we rose and left the field to those whose greater gullibility rendered them more plastic objects for working upon. Never in my life did I witness greater humbug; and yet so intense was the anxiety of the Boston public to witness the miracle, that during all the day and half the night the spirit was being invoked by the witch, into whose pockets were pouring the dollars of thousands of greater gabies than myself, for many went away believers, receiving the first germs of impressions which led them to a Lunatic Asylum, or an early grave, as various statistics in America prove most painfully.
To show the extent to which belief in these absurdities goes, I subjoin an extract from a paper, by which it appears that even the solemnities of a funeral cannot sober the minds of their deluded followers. Mr.
Calvin R. Brown--better known as the husband of Mrs. Anne L. Fish, a famous ”spirit medium” in New York--having died, we read the following notice of the funeral:--”After prayer, the Rev. S. Brittan delivered an address, in which he dwelt with much earnestness upon the superiority of the life of the spirit, as compared with that of the body. At various points in his address there were rappings, sometimes apparently on the bottom of the coffin, and at others upon the floor, as if in response to the sentiments uttered. After concluding his address, Professor Brittan read a communication purporting to have come from the deceased after his entrance into the spirit world. While it was being read, the reporter states that the rappings were distinctly heard. Several friends then sang, ”Come, ye disconsolate,” after which the Rev. Mr. Denning made a few remarks, during which the rappings were more audible than before.
Other ceremonies closed the funeral. The whole party, preachers, physicians, and all, were spiritualists,” &c.
But I have before me a letter written by Judge Edmonds, which is a more painful exemplification of the insanity superinduced by giving way to these absurdities; in that doc.u.ment you will find him deliberately stating, that he saw heavy tables flying about without touch, like the leaves in autumn; bells walking off shelves and ringing themselves, &c.
Also, you will find him cla.s.sing among his co-believers ”Doctors, lawyers, clergymen, a Protestant bishop, a learned and reverend president of a college, judges of higher courts, members of congress, foreign amba.s.sadors (I hope not Mr. Crampton), and ex-members of the United States Senate.”
The ladies of the old country will, no doubt, be astonished to hear that their sisters of the younger country have medical colleges in various States; but, I believe, mostly in the northern ones. To what extent their studies in the healing art are carried, I cannot precisely inform them; it most probably will not stop at combinations of salts and senna, or spreading plasters--for which previous nursery practice with bread and b.u.t.ter might eminently qualify them. How deeply they will dive into the mysteries of anatomy, unravelling the tangled web of veins and arteries, and mastering the intricacies of the ganglionic centre; or how far they will practise the subjugation of their feelings, whether only enough to whip off some pet finger and darling little toe, or whether sufficiently to perform more important operations, even such as Sydney Smith declared a courageous little prime minister was ready to undertake at a minute's notice; these are questions which I cannot answer: but one thing is clear, the wedge is entered. How far it will be driven in, time must show.[AK]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote AK: The Ma.s.sachusetts Legislature, in a recent session, appropriated funds to the New England Female Medical College, located in Boston, to pay forty students for five years; and I have since observed in a Boston paper that there are twenty lady physicians, who, confining themselves to midwifery and diseases of their own s.e.x, have a fair practice, and enjoy the confidence of the families they visit.]
CHAPTER XVII.
_Teaching of Youth, and a Model Jail_.
I must now turn to a more important and interesting feature of Boston, viz., education. We all remember how the religious persecution in the reign of Elizabeth, fettering men's consciences, drove a devoted band of deep-thinking Christians into caves of concealment, and how, after much peril, they escaped in 1609, in the reign of James the First, to Amsterdam, under the leaders.h.i.+p of the n.o.ble-hearted J. Robinson, where, after sighing long for a return beneath the flag of the country of their birth, they obtained a charter from the Virginia Company. The first division of them embarked on board ”The Mayflower,” a small vessel of 180 tons, and sailed from Plymouth, 6th September, 1620, landing in their new and barren home upon the 11th of December. These were the st.u.r.dy champions of liberty of conscience, from whom the New Englanders may be said to have sprung, and who have leavened the whole community with their energy and indomitable spirit: such men knew how to appreciate education, as the leveller of oppression and the bulwark of freedom; and it is, therefore, no wonder that the American Republic recognises them as the worthy pioneers of that n.o.ble feature in their inst.i.tutions--free education, supplied to all by the State.
Let us, then, see how far their descendants are treading in their footsteps upon this point. I speak of Boston and its 150,000 inhabitants, not of the State. And first, it is important to observe, that the strict provisions of the State requirements would be met by three schools, and three teachers with a.s.sistants, whose salaries would amount to 900l. The actual provision made by this energetic community, is,--Schools: 1 Latin, 1 English, 22 grammar, 194 primary,--total for salaries, 37,000l. And that it may not be supposed the salaries are great prizes, it is important to remark, that there are 65 male teachers, and about 300 female teachers. The highest paid are head-masters of Latin and English schools, 490l.; sub-masters of same, and head-masters of grammar, 300l.; ushers, a.s.sistants, &c., from 50l. to 160l.; and female teachers, from 45l. to 60l., with 5l. additional for care of the rooms.
All the primary schools have female teachers; and the feeling is strongly in favour of females for instructing the very young, their patience and kindness being less likely to foster feelings of dread and dislike.
The total amount of taxes raised in the city is, in round numbers, 250,000l.; of which 65,000l., or more than one-fourth, is devoted to schools. The total value of all public school estates of Boston, up to May, 1851, was 260,000l.; and the salary of the head-master is, within a few pounds, equal to that of the governor of the State.
Say, then, reader, has some portion of the spirit of the Pilgrim Fathers descended to the present generation, or not?--a population of 150,000 devoting 260,000l. to education.
Wherever parents are unable to provide books, &c., the children are supplied with the use of them _gratis_. All corporal punishment is strongly discouraged, but not prohibited; and all inflictions thereof are recorded for the information of the Visiting Board. Having omitted to make personal inquiries on the spot, I obtained, through the kindness of Mr. Ticknor, answers to the following questions on the point of religious instruction:--
1. ”Are the pupils at your normal schools obliged to receive religious instruction from some minister, and to attend some place of wors.h.i.+p; or may they, if they prefer, receive no such instruction, and attend no church?”
”The State has put the normal schools under the charge of the Board of Education, with no special law or instructions. The Board of Education endeavours to act on exactly the same principles as those which the law has laid down with respect to the common schools. The Board requires that the pupils of the normal schools attend some place of wors.h.i.+p, the pupil making his own choice. These schools are opened every morning with reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. The moral conduct of the pupils is carefully watched over, and instruction is given in respect to the best methods of training the young in religion and morals. The religious teaching is ethical, not doctrinal.”
2. ”Are the children at your common schools obliged to receive some religious instruction, or if their parents express a wish they should not receive any at school, is the wish complied with?”
”The law requires all teachers to instruct their pupils 'in the principles of piety,' and forbids any sectarian books to be introduced into the public schools. The school committees of each town prescribe the cla.s.s-books to be used, and commonly make the Bible one of those books. The teacher is expected to follow the law in respect to teaching the principles of piety, without any instruction from the school committee, and is almost always allowed to do this in his own way, unless he is guilty of some impropriety, in which case the school committee interferes. He usually has devotional exercises at the opening of the school, and reads the Scriptures, or causes them to be read, as an act of wors.h.i.+p, whether they are prescribed by the committee or not.
Many teachers take that occasion to remark upon topics of morality, and thereby aim to prevent misconduct. Indeed, the Bible is much relied on as a means of discipline rather for preventing wrong-doing, than for correcting it.
”No minister, as such, gives religious instruction in any of our public schools. Ministers are commonly on the school committees, and when visiting the schools, as committees, exhort the children to good behaviour, and to a religious life.
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