,this e,book was produced by ,david     
,widger                                 
,,reform ,,and ,,politics               
,,by                             ,,john 
,,greenleaf ,,whittier      ,,contents3 
,,utopian ,,schemes ,,and ,,political   
,,theorists       ,,peculiar            
,,institutions ,,of ,,massachusetts     
,,lord ,,ashley ,,and ,,the ,,thieves   
,,woman ,,suffrage       ,,italian      
,,unity       ,,indian ,,civilization   
,,reading ,,for ,,the ,,blind           
,,the ,,indian ,,question       ,,the   
,,republican ,,party       ,,our ,,dumb 
,,relations       ,,international       
,,arbitration       ,,suffrage ,,for    
,,women                                 
,,reform ,,and ,,politics               
,,utopian ,,schemes ,,and ,,political   
,,theorists4    ,,there is a large class
 of men1 not in ,europe alone1 but in   
this country  also1 whose constitutional
 conservatism inclines them to regard   
any  organic change in the government of
 a state or the social condition of  its

 people with suspicion and distrust4    
,they admit1 perhaps1 the evils  of the 
old state of things2 but they hold them 
to be inevitable1 the  alloy necessarily
 mingled with all which pertains to     
fallible humanity4  ,themselves         
generally enjoying whatever of good     
belongs to the political  or social     
system in which their lot is cast1 they 
are disposed to look  with philosophic  
indifference upon the evil which only   
afflicts their  neighbors4  ,they wonder
 why people are not contented with their
  allotments2 they see no reason for    
change2 they ask for quiet and peace  in
 their day2 being quite well satisfied  
with that social condition which  an old
 poet has quaintly described3--         
,the citizens like pounded pikes2       
,the lesser feed the great2             
,the rich for food seek stomachs1       
,and the poor for stomachs meat4        
,this class of our fellow-citizens have 
an especial dislike of theorists1       
reformers1 uneasy spirits1 speculators  

upon the possibilities of the  world's  
future1 constitution builders1 and      
believers in progress4  ,they  are      
satisfied2 the world at least goes well 
enough with them2 they sit as           
comfortable in it as ,lafontaine's rat  
in the cheese2 and why should those  who
 would turn it upside down come hither  
also8  ,why not let well enough  alone8 
,why tinker creeds1 constitutions1 and  
laws1 and disturb the good              
old-fashioned order of things in church 
and state8  ,the idea of making  the    
world better and happier is to them an  
absurdity4  ,he who entertains  it is a 
dreamer and a visionary1 destitute of   
common sense and practical  wisdom4     
,his project1 whatever it may be1 is at 
once pronounced to be  impracticable    
folly1 or1 as they are pleased to term  
it1 ,utopian4    ,the romance of ,sir   
,thomas ,more1 which has long afforded  
to the  conservatives of church and     
state a term of contempt applicable to  
all  reformatory schemes and            

innovations1 is one of a series of      
fabulous  writings1 in which the        
authors1 living in evil times and unable
 to  actualize their plans for the      
well-being of society1 have resorted to 
fiction as a safe means of conveying    
forbidden truths to the popular  mind4  
,plato's ,timaeus1 the first of the     
series1 was written after the  death of 
,socrates and the enslavement of the    
author's country4  ,in this  are        
described the institutions of the       
,island of ,atlantis1--the writer's     
ideal of a perfect commonwealth4        
,xenophon1 in his ,cyropaedia1 has also 
depicted an imaginary political society 
by overlaying with fiction  historical  
traditions4  ,at a later period we have 
the ,new ,atlantis of  ,lord ,bacon1 and
 that dream of the ,city of the ,sun    
with which ,campanella  solaced himself 
in his long imprisonment4    ,the       
,utopia of ,more is perhaps the best of 
its class4  ,it is the work of  a       
profound thinker1 the suggestive        

speculations and theories of one who    
could                   ,forerun his age
 and race1 and let                 ,his 
feet millenniums hence be set           
,in midst of knowledge dreamed not yet4 
,much of what he wrote as fiction is now
 fact1 a part of the frame-work of      
,european governments1 and the political
 truths of his imaginary state are  now 
practically recognized in our own       
democratic system4  ,as might be        
expected1 in view of the times in which 
the author wrote1 and the  exceedingly  
limited amount of materials which he    
found ready to his hands  for the       
construction of his social and political
 edifice1 there is a want  of proportion
 and symmetry in the structure4  ,many  
of his theories are no  doubt           
impracticable and unsound4  ,but1 as a  
whole1 the work is an  admirable one1   
striding in advance of the author's age1
 and prefiguring a  government of       
religious toleration and political      
freedom4  ,the following  extract from  

it was doubtless regarded in his day as 
something worse than  folly or the dream
 of a visionary enthusiast3--    ,he    
judged it wrong to lay down anything    
rashly1 and seemed to doubt  whether    
these different forms of religion might 
not all come from ,god1  who might      
inspire men in a different manner1 and  
be pleased with the  variety4  ,he      
therefore thought it to be indecent and 
foolish for any man  to threaten and    
terrify another1 to make him believe    
what did not strike  him as true4       
,passing by the ,telemachus of ,fenelon1
 we come to the political romance  of   
,harrington1 written in the time of     
,cromwell4  ,oceana is the name by      
which the author represents ,england2   
and the republican plan of  government  
which he describes with much minuteness 
is such as he would  have recommended   
for adoption in case a free commonwealth
 had been  established4  ,it deals      
somewhat severely with ,cromwell's      
usurpation2 yet  the author did not     

hesitate to dedicate it to that         
remarkable man1 who1  after carefully   
reading it1 gave it back to his         
daughter1 ,lady ,claypole1  with the    
remark1 full of characteristic          
bluntness1 that the gentleman  need not 
think to cheat him of his power and     
authority2 for what he had  won with the
 sword he would never suffer himself to 
be scribbled out of4    ,notwithstanding
 the liberality and freedom of his      
speculations upon  government and       
religion in his ,utopia1 it must be     
confessed that ,sir  ,thomas ,more1 in  
after life1 fell into the very practices
 of intolerance  and bigotry which he   
condemned4  ,when in the possession of  
the great seal  under that scandal of   
kingship1 ,henry ,,viii41 he gave his   
countenance to  the persecution of      
heretics4  ,bishop ,burnet says of him1 
that he caused a  gentleman of the      
,temple to be whipped and put to the    
rack in his  presence1 in order to      
compel him to discover those who favored

 heretical  opinions4  ,in his ,utopia  
he assailed the profession of the law   
with  merciless satire2 yet the satirist
 himself finally sat upon the           
chancellor's woolsack2 and1 as has been 
well remarked by ,horace ,smith1  if1   
from this elevated seat1 he ever cast   
his eyes back upon his past  life1 he   
must have smiled at the fond conceit    
which could imagine a  permanent        
,utopia1 when he himself1 certainly more
 learned1 honest1 and  conscientious    
than the mass of men has ever been1     
could in the course of  one short life  
fall into such glaring and frightful    
rebellion against his  own doctrines4   
,harrington1 on the other hand1 as      
became the friend of ,milton and        
,marvel1  held fast1 through good and   
evil report1 his republican faith4  ,he 
published his work after the            
,restoration1 and defended it boldly and
 ably  from the numerous attacks made   
upon it4  ,regarded as too dangerous an 
enthusiast to be left at liberty1 he was

 imprisoned at the instance of  ,lord   
,chancellor ,hyde1 first in the ,tower1 
and afterwards on the ,island of  ,st4  
,nicholas1 where disease and imprudent  
remedies brought on a partial           
derangement1 from which he never        
recovered4    ,bernardin ,st4 ,pierre1  
whose pathetic tale of ,paul and        
,virginia has  found admirers in every  
language of the civilized world1 in a   
fragment1  entitled ,arcadia1 attempted 
to depict an ideal republic1 without    
priest1 noble1 or slave1 where all are  
so religious that each man is the       
pontiff of his family1 where each man is
 prepared to defend his country1  and   
where all are in such a state of        
equality that there are no such  persons
 as servants4  ,the plan of it was      
suggested by his friend ,rousseau       
during their pleasant walking excursions
 about the environs of ,paris1 in  which
 the two enthusiastic philosophers1     
baffled by the evil passions and        
intractable materials of human nature as

 manifested in existing society1        
comforted themselves by appealing from  
the actual to the possible1 from  the   
real to the imaginary4  ,under the      
chestnut-trees of the ,bois de          
,boulogne1 through long summer days1 the
 two friends1 sick of the noisy  world  
about them1 yet yearning to become its  
benefactors1--gladly  escaping from it1 
yet busy with schemes for its           
regeneration and  happiness1--at once   
misanthropes and                        
philanthropists1--amused and solaced    
themselves by imagining a perfect and   
simple state of society1 in which  the  
lessons of emulation and selfish        
ambition were never to be taught2       
where1 on the contrary1 the young were  
to obey their parents1 and to  prefer   
father1 mother1 brother1 sister1 wife1  
and friend to themselves4  ,they drew   
beautiful pictures of a country blessed 
with peace1 indus try1  and love1       
covered with no disgusting monuments of 
violence and pride and  luxury1 without 

columns1 triumphal arches1 hospitals1   
prisons1 or  gibbets2 but presenting to 
view bridges over torrents1 wells on the
 arid  plain1 groves of fruit-trees1 and
 houses of shelter for the traveller in 
desert places1 attesting everywhere the 
sentiment of humanity4  ,religion  was  
to speak to all hearts in the eternal   
language of ,nature4  ,death was  no    
longer to be feared2 perspectives of    
holy consolation were to open  through  
the cypress shadows of the tomb2 to live
 or to die was to be  equally an object 
of desire4    ,the plan of the ,arcadia 
of ,st4 ,pierre is simply this3 ,a      
learned young  ,egyptian1 educated at   
,thebes by the priests of ,osiris1      
desirous of  benefiting humanity1       
undertakes a voyage to ,gaul for the    
purpose of  carrying thither the arts   
and religion of ,egypt4  ,he is         
shipwrecked on  his return in the ,gulf 
of ,messina1 and lands upon the coast1  
where he is  entertained by an          
,arcadian1 to whom he relates his       

adventures1 and from  whom he receives  
in turn an account of the simple        
happiness and peace of  ,arcadia1 the   
virtues and felicity of whose           
inhabitants are beautifully  exemplified
 in the lives and conversation of the   
shepherd and his  daughter4  ,this      
pleasant little prose poem closes       
somewhat abruptly4  ,although inferior  
in artistic skill to ,paul and ,virginia
 or the ,indian  ,cottage1 there is not 
a little to admire in the simple beauty 
of its  pastoral descriptions4  ,the    
closing paragraph reminds one of        
,bunyan's  upper chamber1 where the     
weary pilgrim's windows opened to the   
sunrising  and the singing of birds3--  
,tyrteus conducted his guests to an     
adjoining chamber4  ,it had a window    
shut by a curtain of rushes1 through the
 crevices of which the islands of  the  
,alpheus might be seen in the light of  
the moon4  ,there were in this  chamber 
two excellent beds1 with coverlets of   
warm and light wool4    ,now1 as soon as

 ,amasis was left alone with ,cephas1 he
 spoke with joy of  the delight and     
tranquillity of the valley1 of the      
goodness of the  shepherd1 and the grace
 of his young daughter1 to whom he had  
seen none  worthy to be compared1 and of
 the pleasure which he promised himself 
the  next day1 at the festival on ,mount
 ,lyceum1 of beholding a whole people as
  happy as this sequestered family4     
,converse so delightful might have      
charmed away the night without the aid  
of sleep1 had they not been  invited to 
repose by the mild light of the moon    
shining through the  window1 the        
murmuring wind in the leaves of the     
poplars1 and the distant  noise of the  
,achelous1 which falls roaring from the 
summit of ,mount  ,lyceum4    ,the young
 patrician wits of ,athens doubtless    
laughed over ,plato's ideal  republic4  
,campanella's ,city of the ,sun was     
looked upon1 no doubt1 as  the          
distempered vision of a crazy state     
prisoner4  ,bacon's college1 in  his    

,new ,atlantis1 moved the risibles of   
fat-witted ,oxford4  ,more's  ,utopia1  
as we know1 gave to our language a new  
word1 expressive of the  vagaries and   
dreams of fanatics and lunatics4  ,the  
merciless wits1  clerical and profane1  
of the court of ,charles ,,ii4  regarded
 ,harrington's  romance as a perfect    
godsend to their vocation of ridicule4  
,the gay  dames and carpet knights of   
,versailles made themselves merry with  
the  prose pastoral of ,st4  ,pierre2   
and the poor old enthusiast went down to
  his grave without finding an auditory 
for his lectures upon natural  society4 
,the world had its laugh over these     
romances4  ,when unable to refute their 
theories1 it could sneer at the authors1
 and answer them to the  satisfaction of
 the generation in which they lived1 at 
least by a general  charge of lunacy4   
,some of their notions were no doubt as 
absurd as those  of the astronomer in   
,rasselas1 who tells ,imlac that he has 
for five  years possessed the regulation

 of the weather1 and has got the secret 
of  making to the different nations an  
equal and impartial dividend of rain    
and sunshine4  ,but truth1 even when    
ushered into the world through the      
medium of a dull romance and in         
connection with a vast progeny of       
errors1  however ridiculed and despised 
at first1 never fails in the end of     
finding a lodging-place in the popular  
mind4  ,the speculations of the         
political theorists whom we have noticed
 have not all proved to be of           
such stuff            ,as dreams are    
made of1 and their little life          
,rounded with sleep4    ,they have      
entered into and become parts of the    
social and political  fabrics of ,europe
 and ,america4  ,the prophecies of      
imagination have been  fulfilled2 the   
dreams of romance have become familiar  
realities4    ,what is the moral        
suggested by this record8  ,is it not   
that we should  look with charity and   
tolerance upon the schemes and          

speculations of the  political and      
social theorists of our day2 that1 if   
unprepared to venture  upon new         
experiments and radical changes1 we     
should at least consider  that what was 
folly to our ancestors is our wisdom1   
and that another  generation may        
successfully put in practice the very   
theories which now  seem to us absurd   
and impossible8  ,many of the evils of  
society have been  measurably removed or
 ameliorated2 yet now1 as in the days of
 the  ,apostle1 the creation groaneth   
and travaileth in pain2 and although    
quackery and empiricism abound1 is it   
not possible that a proper  application 
of some of the remedies proposed might  
ameliorate the general  suffering8      
,rejecting1 as we must1 whatever is     
inconsistent with or  hostile to the    
doctrines of ,christianity1 on which    
alone rests our hope  for humanity1 it  
becomes us to look kindly upon all      
attempts to apply  those doctrines to   
the details of human life1 to the       

social1 political1  and industrial      
relations of the race4  ,if it is not   
permitted us to  believe all things1 we 
can at least hope them4  ,despair is    
infidelity and  death4  ,temporally and 
spiritually1 the declaration of         
inspiration holds  good1 ,we are saved  
by hope4                                
,,peculiar ,,institutions ,,of          
,,massachusetts4                        
#ahea4    ,,bernardin ,,st4 ,,pierre1 in
 his ,wishes of a ,solitary1 asks for   
his country  neither wealth1 nor        
military glory1 nor magnificent palaces 
and  monuments1 nor splendor of court   
nobility1 nor clerical pomp4  ,rather1  
he says1 ,o ,france1 may no beggar tread
 thy plains1 no sick or suffering  man  
ask in vain for relief2 in all thy      
hamlets may every young woman find  a   
lover and every lover a true wife2 may  
the young be trained arightly  and      
guarded from evil2 may the old close    
their days in the tranquil hope  of     
those who love ,god and their           

fellow-men4    ,we are reminded of the  
amiable wish of the ,french essayist--a 
wish even  yet very far from            
realization1 we fear1 in the empire of  
,napoleon ,,iii4--  by the perusal of   
two documents recently submitted to the 
legislature of  the ,state of           
,massachusetts4  ,they indicate1 in our 
view1 the real glory  of a state1 and   
foreshadow the coming of that time when 
,milton's  definition of a true         
commonwealth shall be no longer a       
prophecy1 but the  description of an    
existing fact1--a huge ,christian       
personage1 a mighty  growth and stature 
of an honest man1 moved by the purpose  
of a love of  ,god and of mankind4      
,some years ago1 the ,legislature of    
,massachusetts1 at the suggestion of    
several benevolent gentlemen whose      
attention had been turned to the        
subject1 appointed a commission to      
inquire into the condition of the       
idiots of the ,commonwealth1 to         
ascertain their numbers1 and whether    

anything could be done in their behalf4 
,the commissioners were ,dr4 ,samuel ,g4
 ,howe1 so well and honorably known  for
 his long and arduous labors in behalf  
of the blind1 ,judge ,byington1  and    
,dr4 ,gilman ,kimball4  ,the burden of  
the labor fell upon the chairman1  who  
entered upon it with the enthusiasm1    
perseverance1 and practical  adaptation 
of means to ends which have made him so 
efficient in his  varied schemes of     
benevolence4  ,on the #bfth of the      
second month1 #ahdh1 a  full report of  
the results of this labor was made to   
the ,governor1  accompanied by          
statistical tables and minute details4  
,one hundred towns  had been visited by 
the chairman or his reliable agent1 in  
which five  hundred and seventy-five    
persons in a state of idiocy were       
discovered4  ,these were examined       
carefully in respect to their physical  
as well as  mental condition1 no inquiry
 being omitted which was calculated to  
throw  light upon the remote or         

immediate causes of this mournful       
imperfection  in the creation of ,god4  
,the proximate causes ,dr4 ,howe        
mentions are to be  found in the state  
of the bodily organization1 deranged and
  disproportioned by some violation of  
natural law on the part of the  parents 
or remoter ancestors of the sufferers4  
,out of #dbj cases of  idiocy1 he had   
obtained information respecting the     
condition of the  progenitors of #cei2  
and in all but four of these eases he   
found that one  or the other1 or both1  
of their immediate progenitors had in   
some way  departed widely from the      
condition of health2 they were          
scrofulous1 or  predisposed to          
affections of the brain1 and insanity1  
or had intermarried  with               
blood-relations1 or had been            
intemperate1 or guilty of sensual       
excesses4    ,of the #ege cases1 #dbj   
were those of idiocy from birth1 and    
#aee of idiocy  afterwards4  ,of the    
born idiots1 #ahg were under twenty-five

 years of age1  and all but #ac seemed  
capable of improvement4  ,of those above
 twenty-five  years of age1 #gc appeared
 incapable of improvement in their      
mental  condition1 being helpless as    
children at seven years of age2 #dc out 
of  the #dbj seemed as helpless as      
children at two years of age2 #cc were  
in  the condition of mere infants2 and  
#bbj were supported at the public       
charge in almshouses4  ,a large         
proportion of them were found to be     
given  over to filthy and loathsome     
habits1 gluttony1 and lust1 and         
constantly  sinking lower towards the   
condition of absolute brutishness4      
,those in private houses were found1 if 
possible1 in a still more  deplorable   
state4  ,their parents were generally   
poor1 feeble in mind and  body1 and     
often of very intemperate habits4  ,many
 of them seemed scarcely  able to take  
care of themselves1 and totally unfit   
for the training of  ordinary children4 
,it was the blind leading the blind1    

imbecility  teaching imbecility4  ,some 
instances of the experiments of parental
  ignorance upon idiotic offspring1     
which fell under the observation of ,dr4
  ,howe1 are related in his report      
,idiotic children were found with their 
heads covered over with cold poultices  
of oak-bark1 which the foolish  parents 
supposed would tan the brain and harden 
it as the tanner does his  ox-hides1 and
 so make it capable of retaining        
impressions and remembering  lessons4   
,in other cases1 finding that the child 
could not be made to  comprehend        
anything1 the sagacious heads of the    
household1 on the  supposition that its 
brain was too hard1 tortured it with hot
 poultices  of bread and milk to soften 
it4  ,others plastered over their       
children's  heads with tar4  ,some      
administered strong doses of mercury1 to
 solder up  the openings in the head and
 make it tight and strong4  ,others     
encouraged the savage gluttony of their 
children1 stimulating their  unnatural  

and bestial appetites1 on the ground    
that the poor creatures  had nothing    
else to enjoy but their food1 and they  
should have enough of  that6    ,in     
consequence of this report1 the         
legislature1 in the spring of #ahdh1    
made an annual appropriation of         
twenty-five hundred dollars1 for three  
years1 for the purpose of training and  
teaching ten idiot children1 to be      
selected by the ,governor and ,council4 
,the trustees of the ,asylum for the    
,blind1 under the charge of ,dr4 ,howe1 
made arrangements for receiving  these  
pupils4  ,the school was opened in the  
autumn of #ahdh2 and its first  annual  
report1 addressed to the ,governor and  
printed by order of the  ,senate1 is now
 before us4    ,of the ten pupils1 it   
appears that not one had the usual      
command of  muscular motion1--the       
languid body obeyed not the service of  
the imbecile  will4  ,some could walk   
and use their limbs and hands in simple 
motions2  others could make only make   

slight use of their muscles2 and two    
were  without any power of locomotion4  
,one of these last1 a boy six years of  
age1 who had been stupefied on the  day 
of his birth by the application of hot  
rum to his head1 could  scarcely see or 
notice objects1 and was almost destitute
 of the sense of  touch4  ,he could     
neither stand nor sit upright1 nor even 
creep1 but would  lie on the floor in   
whatever position he was placed4  ,he   
could not feed  himself nor chew solid  
food1 and had no more sense of decency  
than an  infant4  ,his intellect was a  
blank2 he had no knowledge1 no desires1 
no  affections4  ,a more hopeless object
 for experiment could scarcely have     
been selected4    ,a year of patient    
endeavor has nevertheless wrought a     
wonderful change in  the condition of   
this miserable being4  ,cold bathing1   
rubbing of the  limbs1 exercise of the  
muscles1 exposure to the air1 and other 
appliances  have enabled him to stand   
upright1 to sit at table and feed       

himself1 and  chew his food1 and to walk
 about with slight assistance4  ,his    
habits are  no longer those of a brute2 
he observes decency2 his eye is         
brighter2 his  cheeks glow with health2 
his countenance1 is more expressive of  
thought4  ,he has learned many words and
 constructs simple sentences2 his       
affections  begin to develop2 and there 
is every prospect that he will be so far
  renovated as to be able to provide for
 himself in manhood4    ,in the case of 
another boy1 aged twelve years1 the     
improvement has been  equally           
remarkable4  ,the gentleman who first   
called attention to him1 in  a recent   
note to ,dr4 ,howe1 published in the    
report1 thus speaks of his  present     
condition3 ,when ,i remember his former 
wild and almost frantic  demeanor when  
approached by any one1 and the apparent 
impossibility of  communicating with    
him1 and now see him standing in his    
class1 playing  with his fellows1 and   
willingly and familiarly approaching me1

 examining  what ,i gave him1--and when 
,i see him already selecting articles   
named by  his teacher1 and even         
correctly pronouncing words printed on  
cards1--  improvement does not convey   
the idea presented to my mind2 it is    
creation2 it is making him anew4    ,all
 the pupils have more or less advanced4 
,their health and habits have  improved2
 and there is no reason to doubt that   
the experiment1 at the  close of its    
three years1 will be found to have been 
quite as successful  as its most        
sanguine projectors could have          
anticipated4  ,dr4 ,howe has  been ably 
seconded by an accomplished teacher1    
,james ,b4 ,richards1 who has  devoted  
his whole time to the pupils4  ,of the  
nature and magnitude of  their task1 an 
idea may be formed only by considering  
the utter  listlessness of idiocy1 the  
incapability of the poor pupil to fix   
his  attention upon anything1 and his   
general want of susceptibility to       
impressions4  ,all his senses are dulled

 and perverted4  ,touch1 hearing1       
sight1 smell1 are all more or less      
defective4  ,his gluttony is            
unaccompanied with the gratification of 
taste1--the most savory viands  and the 
offal which he shares with the pigs     
equally satisfy him4  ,his  mental state
 is still worse than his physical4      
,thought is painful and  irksome to him4
    ,his teacher can only engage his    
attention by strenuous efforts1 loud1   
earnest tones1 gesticulations and signs1
 and a constant presentation of  some   
visible object of bright color and      
striking form4  ,the eye wanders1  and  
the spark of consciousness and          
intelligence which has been fanned  into
 momentary brightness darkens at the    
slightest relaxation of the  teacher's  
exertions4  ,the names of objects       
presented to him must  sometimes be     
repeated hundreds of times before he can
 learn them4  ,yet  the patience and    
enthusiasm of the teacher are rewarded  
by a progress1  slow and unequal1 but   

still marked and manifest4  ,step by    
step1 often  compelled to turn back and 
go over the inch of ground he had       
gained1 the  idiot is still creeping    
forward2 and by almost imperceptible    
degrees his  sick1 cramped1 and prisoned
 spirit casts off the burden of its body
 of  death1 breath as from the          
,almighty--is breathed into him1 and he 
becomes  a living soul4    ,after the   
senses of the idiot are trained to take 
note  of their appropriate objects1 the 
various perceptive faculties are next   
to be exercised4  ,the greatest possible
 number of facts are to be  gathered up 
through the medium of these faculties   
into the storehouse of  memory1 from    
whence eventually the higher faculties  
of mind may draw the  material of       
general ideas4  ,it has been found      
difficult1 if not  impossible1 to teach 
the idiot to read by the letters first1 
as in the  ordinary method2 but while   
the varied powers of the three letters1 
h1 a1  t1 could not be understood by    

him1 he could be made to comprehend the 
complex sign of the word hat1 made by   
uniting the three4    ,the moral nature 
of the idiot needs training and         
development as well as  his physical and
 mental4  ,all that can be said of him  
is1 that he has the  latent capacity for
 moral development and culture4         
,uninstructed and left  to himself1 he  
has no ideas of regulated appetites and 
propensities1 of  decency and delicacy  
of affection and social relations4  ,the
 germs of  these ideas1 which constitute
 the glory and beauty of humanity1      
undoubtedly exist in him2 but there can 
be no growth without patient and        
persevering culture4  ,where this is    
afforded1 to use the language of the    
report1 the idiot may learn what love   
is1 though he may not know the  word    
which expresses it2 he may feel kindly  
affections while unable to  understand  
the simplest virtuous principle2 and he 
may begin to live  acceptably to ,god   
before he has learned the name by which 

men call him4    ,in the facts and      
statistics presented in the report1     
light is shed upon  some of the dark    
pages of ,god's providence1 and it is   
seen that the  suffering and shame of   
idiocy are the result of sin1 of a      
violation of  the merciful laws of ,god 
and of the harmonies of ,his benign     
order4  ,the  penalties which are       
ordained for the violators of natural   
laws are  inexorable and certain4  ,for 
the transgressor of the laws of life    
there  is1 as in the case of ,esau1 no  
place for repentance1 though he seek it 
earnestly and with tears4  ,the curse   
cleaves to him and his children4  ,in   
this view1 how important becomes the    
subject of the hereditary  transmission 
of moral and physical disease and       
debility6 and how  necessary it is that 
there should be a clearer understanding 
of1 and a  willing obedience1 at any    
cost1 to the eternal law which makes the
 parent  the blessing or the curse of   
the child1 giving strength and beauty1  

and  the capacity to know and do the    
will of ,god1 or bequeathing            
loathsomeness1 deformity1 and animal    
appetite1 incapable of the  restraints  
of the moral faculties6  ,even if the   
labors of ,dr4 ,howe and  his benevolent
 associates do not materially lessen the
 amount of present  actual evil and     
suffering in this respect1 they will not
 be put forth in  vain if they have the 
effect of calling public attention to   
the great  laws of our being1 the       
violation of which has made this goodly 
earth a  vast lazarhouse of pain and    
sorrow4    ,the late annual message of  
the ,governor of ,massachusetts invites 
our  attention to a kindred institution 
of charity4  ,the chief magistrate      
congratulates the legislature1 in       
language creditable to his mind and     
heart1 on the opening of the ,reform    
,school for ,juvenile ,criminals1       
established by an act of a previous     
legislature4  ,the act provides that1   
when any boy under sixteen years of age 

shall be convicted of crime  punishable 
by imprisonment other than such an      
offence as is punished by  imprisonment 
for life1 he may be1 at the discretion  
of the court or  justice1 sent to the   
,state ,reform ,school1 or sentenced to 
such  imprisonment as the law now       
provides for his offence4  ,the school  
is  placed under the care of trustees1  
who may either refuse to receive a boy  
thus sent there1 or1 after he has been  
received1 for reasons set forth in  the 
act1 may order him to be committed to   
prison under the previous penal  law of 
the state4  ,they are also authorized to
 apprentice the boys1 at  their         
discretion1 to inhabitants of the       
,commonwealth4  ,and whenever any  boy  
shall be discharged1 either as reformed 
or as having reached the age  of        
twenty-one years1 his discharge is a    
full release from his sentence4    ,it  
is made the duty of the trustees to     
cause the boys to be instructed in      
piety and morality1 and in branches of  

useful knowledge1 in some regular       
course of labor1 mechanical1            
agricultural1 or horticultural1 and such
  other trades and arts as may be best  
adapted to secure the amendment1        
reformation1 and future benefit of the  
boys4  ,the class of offenders for  whom
 this act provides are generally the    
offspring of parents depraved by  crime 
or suffering from poverty and want1--the
 victims often of  circumstances of evil
 which almost constitute a              
necessity1--issuing from  homes polluted
 and miserable1 from the sight and      
hearing of loathsome  impurities and    
hideous discords1 to avenge upon society
 the ignorance1  and destitution1 and   
neglect with which it is too often      
justly  chargeable4  ,in #ahdf three    
hundred of these youthful violators of  
law  were sentenced to jails and other  
places of punishment in ,massachusetts1 
where they incurred the fearful         
liability of being still more thoroughly
  corrupted by contact with older       

criminals1 familiar with atrocity1 and  
rolling their loathsome vices as a sweet
 morsel under the tongue4  ,in  view of 
this state of things the ,reform ,school
 has been established1  twenty-two      
thousand dollars having been contributed
 to the state for that  purpose by an   
unknown benefactor of his race4  ,the   
school is located in  ,westboro'1 on a  
fine farm of two hundred acres4  ,the   
buildings are in the  form of a square1 
with a court in the centre1 three       
stories in front1  with wings4  ,they   
are constructed with a degree of        
architectural taste1  and their site is 
happily chosen1--a gentle eminence1     
overlooking one of  the loveliest of the
 small lakes which form a pleasing      
feature in ,new  ,england scenery4      
,from this place the atmosphere and     
associations of the  prison are         
excluded4  ,the discipline is strict1 as
 a matter of course2  but it is that of 
a well-regulated home or                
school-room1--order1 neatness1  and     

harmony within doors2 and without1 the  
beautiful 'sights and sounds  and       
healthful influences of ,nature4  ,one  
would almost suppose that the  poetical 
dream of ,coleridge1 in his tragedy of  
,remorse1 had found its  realization in 
the ,westboro' ,school1 and that1 weary 
of the hopelessness  and cruelty of the 
old penal system1 our legislators had   
embodied in  their statutes the idea of 
the poet3--    ,with other ministrations
 thou1 ,o ,nature1  ,healest thy        
wandering and distempered child  ,thou  
pourest on him thy soft influences1     
,thy sunny hues1 fair forms1 and        
breathing sweets1  ,thy melodies of     
woods1 and winds1 and waters1  ,till he 
relent1 and can no more endure  ,to be a
 jarring and a dissonant thing  ,amidst 
this general dance and minstrelsy4      
,thus it is that the ,christian idea of 
reformation1 rather than revenge1  is   
slowly but surely incorporating itself  
in our statute books4  ,we have  only to
 look back but a single century to be   

able to appreciate the  immense gain for
 humanity in the treatment of criminals 
which has been  secured in that space of
 time4  ,then the use of torture was    
common  throughout ,europe4  ,inability 
to comprehend and believe certain       
religious  dogmas was a crime to be     
expiated by death1 or confiscation of   
estate1 or  lingering imprisonment4     
,petty offences against property        
furnished  subjects for the hangman4    
,the stocks and the whipping-post stood 
by the  side of the meeting-house4      
,tongues were bored with redhot irons   
and ears  shorn off4  ,the jails were   
loathsome dungeons1 swarming with       
vermin1  unventilated1 unwarmed4  ,a    
century and a half ago the populace of  
,massachusetts were convulsed with grim 
merriment at the writhings of a         
miserable woman scourged at the         
cart-tail or strangling in the ducking- 
stool2 crowds hastened to enjoy the     
spectacle of an old man enduring the    
unutterable torment of the 'peine forte 

et dare1'--pressed slowly to  death     
under planks1--for refusing to plead to 
an indictment for  witchcraft4  ,what a 
change from all this to the opening of  
the ,state  ,reform ,school1 to the     
humane regulations of prisons and       
penitentiaries1  to keen-eyed           
benevolence watching over the           
administration of justice1  which1 in   
securing society from lawless           
aggression1 is not suffered to  overlook
 the true interest and reformation of   
the criminal1 nor to forget  that the   
magistrate1 in the words of the         
,apostle1 is to be indeed the  minister 
of ,god to man for good6                
,,lord ,,ashley ,,and ,,the ,,thieves4  
,,they that be whole need not a         
physician1 but they that are sick1 was  
the significant answer of our ,lord to  
the self-righteous ,pharisees who  took 
offence at his companions1--the poor1   
the degraded1 the weak1 and  the sinful4
  ,go ye and learn what that meaneth1 ,i
 will have mercy1 and  not sacrifice2   

for ,i am not come to call the          
righteous1 but sinners to  repentance4  
,the great lesson of duty inculcated by 
this answer of the ,divine ,teacher  has
 been too long overlooked by individuals
 and communities professedly  governed  
by ,his maxims4  ,the phylacteries of   
our modern ,pharisees are as  broad as  
those of the old ,jewish saints4  ,the  
respectable ,christian  detests his     
vicious and ill-conditioned neighbors as
 heartily as the  ,israelite did the    
publicans and sinners of his day4  ,he  
folds his robe of  self-righteousness   
closely about him1 and denounces as     
little better than  sinful weakness all 
commiseration for the guilty2 and all   
attempts to  restore and reclaim the    
erring violators of human law otherwise 
than by  pains and penalties as wicked  
collusion with crime1 dangerous to the  
stability and safety of society1 and    
offensive in the sight of ,god4  ,and   
yet nothing is more certain than that1  
just in proportion as the example  of   

our ,lord has been followed in respect  
to the outcast and criminal1 the  effect
 has been to reform and elevate1--to    
snatch as brands from the  burning souls
 not yet wholly given over to the       
service of evil4  ,the  wonderful       
influence for good exerted over the most
 degraded and reckless  criminals of    
,london by the excellent and            
self-denying ,elizabeth ,fry1 the  happy
 results of the establishment of houses 
of refuge1 and reformation1  and        
,magdalen asylums1 all illustrate the   
wisdom of ,him who went about  doing    
good1 in pointing out the morally       
diseased as the appropriate  subjects of
 the benevolent labors of ,his          
disciples4  ,no one is to be  despaired 
of4  ,we have no warrant to pass by any 
of our fellow-creatures  as beyond the  
reach of ,god's grace and mercy2 for1   
beneath the most  repulsive and hateful 
outward manifestation1 there is always a
  consciousness of the beauty of        
goodness and purity1 and of the         

loathsomeness of sin1--one chamber of   
the heart as yet not wholly  profaned1  
whence at times arises the prayer of a  
burdened and miserable  spirit for      
deliverance4  ,deep down under the      
squalid exterior1  unparticipative in   
the hideous merriment and recklessness  
of the  criminal1 there is another      
self1--a chained and suffering inner    
man1--  crying out1 in the intervals of 
intoxication and brutal excesses1 like  
,jonah from the bosom of hell4  ,to this
 lingering consciousness the  sympathy  
and kindness of benevolent and humane   
spirits seldom appeal in  vain2 for1    
whatever may be outward appearances1 it 
remains true that the  way of the       
transgressor is hard1 and that sin and  
suffering are  inseparable4  ,crime is  
seldom loved or persevered in for its   
own sake2  but1 when once the evil path 
is entered upon1 a return is in reality 
extremely difficult to the unhappy      
wanderer1 and often seems as well nigh  
impossible4  ,the laws of social life   

rise up like insurmountable barriers    
between him and escape4  ,as he turns   
towards the society whose rights he  has
 outraged1 its frown settles upon him2  
the penalties of the laws he  has       
violated await him2 and he falls back   
despairing1 and suffers the  fetters of 
the evil habit to whose power he has    
yielded himself to be  fastened closer  
and heavier upon him4  ,o for some good 
angel1 in the form  of a brother-man and
 touched with a feeling of his sins and 
infirmities1  to reassure his better    
nature and to point out a way of escape 
from its  body of death6    ,we have    
been led into these remarks by an       
account1 given in the ,london  ,weekly  
,chronicle1 of a most remarkable        
interview between the professional      
thieves of ,london and ,lord ,ashley1--a
 gentleman whose best patent of         
nobility is to be found in his generous 
and untiring devotion to the  interests 
of his fellow-men4  ,it appears that a  
philanthropic gentleman  in ,london had 

been applied to by two young thieves1   
who had relinquished  their evil        
practices and were obtaining a          
precarious but honest  livelihood by    
picking up bones and rags in the        
streets1 their loss of  character       
closing against them all other          
employments4  ,he had just been  reading
 an address of ,lord ,ashley's in favor 
of colonial emigration1 and  he was led 
to ask one of the young men how he would
 like to emigrate4    ,i should jump at 
the chance6 was the reply4 ,not long    
after the  gentleman was sent for to    
visit one of those obscure and ruinous  
courts  of the great metropolis where   
crime and poverty lie down together1--  
localities which ,dickens has pictured  
with such painful distinctness4  ,here1 
to his surprise1 he met a number of     
thieves and outlaws1 who  declared      
themselves extremely anxious to know    
whether any hope could be  held out to  
them of obtaining an honest living1     
however humble1 in the  colonies1 as    

their only reason for continuing in     
their criminal course  was the          
impossibility of extricating themselves4
  ,he gave them such  advice and        
encouragement as he was able1 and       
invited them to assemble  again1 with   
such of their companions as they could  
persuade to do so1 at  the room of the  
,irish ,free ,school1 for the purpose of
 meeting ,lord  ,ashley4  ,on the #bgth 
of the seventh month last the meeting   
took place4  ,at the hour appointed1    
,lord ,ashley and five or six other     
benevolent  gentlemen1 interested in    
emigration as a means of relief and     
reformation  to the criminal poor1      
entered the room1 which was already     
well-nigh  filled4  ,two hundred and    
seven professed thieves were present4   
,several  of the most experienced       
thieves were stationed at the door to   
prevent the  admission of any but       
thieves4  ,some four or five            
individuals1 who were  not at first     
known1 were subjected to examination1   

and only allowed to  remain on stating  
that they were1 and being recognized as1
 members of the  dishonest fraternity2  
and before the proceedings of the       
evening commenced  the question was very
 carefully put1 and repeated several    
times1 whether  any one was in the room 
of whom others entertained doubts as to 
who he  was4  ,the object of this care  
was1 as so many of them were in danger  
of  'getting into trouble1' or1 in other
 words1 of being taken up for their     
crimes1 to ascertain if any who might   
betray them were present2 and  another  
intention of this scrutiny was1 to give 
those assembled1 who  naturally would   
feel considerable fear1 a fuller        
confidence in opening  their minds4     
,what a novel conference between the    
extremes of modern society6  ,all that  
is beautiful in refinement and          
education1 moral symmetry and ,christian
  grace1 contrasting with the squalor1  
the ignorance1 the lifelong  depravity  
of men living without ,god in the       

world1--the pariahs of                  
civilization1--the moral lepers1 at the 
sight of whom decency covers its  face1 
and cries out1 ,unclean6  ,after a      
prayer had been offered1 ,lord  ,ashley 
spoke at considerable length1 making a  
profound impression on his  strange     
auditory as they listened to his plans  
of emigration1 which  offered them an   
opportunity to escape from their        
miserable condition and  enter upon a   
respectable course of life4  ,the hard  
heart melted and the  cold and cruel eye
 moistened4  ,with one accord the       
wretched felons  responded to the       
language of ,christian love and         
good-will1 and declared  their readiness
 to follow the advice of their true     
friend4  ,they looked  up to him as to  
an angel of mercy1 and felt the         
malignant spirits which  had so long    
tormented them disarmed of all power of 
evil in the presence  of simple         
goodness4  ,he stood in that felon      
audience like ,spenser's ,una  amidst   

the satyrs2 unassailable and secure in  
the unresistible might of  meekness1 and
 panoplied in that noble grace which    
dashed brute violence  with sudden      
adoration and mute awe4    ,twenty years
 ago1 when ,elizabeth ,fry ventured to  
visit those spirits in  prison1--the    
female tenants of ,newgate1--her        
temerity was regarded with              
astonishment1 and her hope of effecting 
a reformation in the miserable  objects 
of her sympathy was held to be wholly   
visionary4  ,her personal  safety and   
the blessed fruits of her labors1       
nevertheless1 confirmed the  language of
 her ,divine ,master to ,his disciples  
when ,he sent them forth as  lambs among
 wolves3 ,behold1 ,i give unto you power
 over all the power of  the enemy4  ,the
 still more unpromising experiment of   
,lord ,ashley1 thus  far1 has been      
equally successful2 and we hail it as   
the introduction of a  new and more     
humane method of dealing with the       
victims of sin and  ignorance1 and the  

temptations growing out of the          
inequalities and vices  of civilization4
                                        
,,woman ,,suffrage4                     
,letter to the ,newport ,convention4    
,,amesbury1 ,,mass41 #abth1 #hth ,month1
 #ahfi4    ,i ,,have received thy letter
 inviting me to attend the ,convention  
in behalf  of ,woman's ,suffrage1 at    
,newport1 ,r4  ,i41 on the #beth inst4  
,i do not see  how it is possible for me
 to accept the invitation2 and1 were ,i 
to do so1  the state of my health would 
prevent me from taking such a part in   
the  meeting as would relieve me from   
the responsibility of seeming to        
sanction anything in its action which   
might conflict with my own views of     
duty or policy4  ,yet ,i should do      
myself great injustice if ,i did not    
embrace this occasion to express my     
general sympathy with the movement4  ,i 
have seen no good reason why mothers1   
wives1 and daughters should not  have   
the same right of person1 property1 and 

citizenship which fathers1  husbands1   
and brothers have4    ,the sacred memory
 of mother and sister2 the wisdom and   
dignity of women  of my own religious   
communion who have been accustomed to   
something like  equality in rights as   
well as duties2 my experience as a      
co-worker with  noble and               
self-sacrificing women1 as graceful and 
helpful in their  household duties as   
firm and courageous in their public     
advocacy of  unpopular truth2 the steady
 friendships which have inspired and    
strengthened me1 and the reverence and  
respect which ,i feel for human  nature1
 irrespective of sex1 compel me to look 
with something more than  acquiescence  
on the efforts you are making4  ,i      
frankly confess that ,i am  not able to 
forsee all the consequences of the great
 social and political  change proposed1 
but of this ,i am1 at least1 sure1 it is
 always safe to  do right1 and the      
truest expediency is simple justice4  ,i
 can understand1  without sharing1 the  

misgivings of those who fear that1 when 
the vote  drops from woman's hand into  
the ballot-box1 the beauty and          
sentiment1  the bloom and sweetness1 of 
womankind will go with it4  ,but in this
  matter it seems to me that we can     
trust ,nature4  ,stronger than statutes 
or conventions1 she will be conservative
 of all that the true man loves  and    
honors in woman4  ,here and there may be
 found an equivocal1 unsexed  ,chevalier
 ,d',eon1 but the eternal order and     
fitness of things will remain4  ,i have 
no fear that man will be less manly or  
woman less womanly when  they meet on   
terms of equality before the law4    ,on
 the other hand1 ,i do not see that the 
exercise of the ballot by woman  will   
prove a remedy for all the evils of     
which she justly complains4  ,it  is her
 right as truly as mine1 and when she   
asks for it1 it is something  less than 
manhood to withhold it4  ,but1          
unsupported by a more practical         
education1 higher aims1 and a deeper    

sense of the responsibilities of  life  
and duty1 it is not likely to prove a   
blessing in her hands any more  than in 
man's4    ,with great respect and hearty
 sympathy1 ,i am very truly thy friend4 
,,italian ,,unity                       
,,amesbury1 ,,mass41 #ast ,mo41 #dth1   
#ahga4         ,read at the great       
meeting in ,new ,york1 ,january1 #ahga1 
in celebration       of the freedom of  
,rome and complete unity of ,italy4     
,,it would give me more than ordinary   
satisfaction to attend the meeting on   
the #abth instant for the celebration of
 ,italian ,unity1 the emancipation  of  
,rome1 and its occupation as the        
permanent capital of the nation4    ,for
 many years ,i have watched with deep   
interest and sympathy the popular       
movement on the ,italian peninsula1 and 
especially every effort for the         
deliverance of ,rome from a despotism   
counting its age by centuries4  ,i      
looked at these struggles of the people 
with little reference to their          

ecclesiastical or sectarian bearings4   
,had ,i been a ,catholic instead of a   
,protestant1 ,i should have hailed every
 symptom of ,roman deliverance from     
,papal rule1 occupying1 as ,i have1 the 
standpoint of a republican radical1     
desirous that all men1 of all creeds1   
should enjoy the civil liberty  which ,i
 prized so highly for myself4    ,i lost
 all confidence in the ,french republic 
of #ahdi1 when it forfeited  its own    
right to exist by crushing out the newly
 formed ,roman republic  under ,mazzini 
and ,garibaldi4  ,from that hour it was 
doomed1 and the  expiation of its       
monstrous crime is still going on4  ,my 
sympathies are  with ,jules ,favre and  
,leon ,gambetta in their efforts to     
establish and  sustain a republic in    
,france1 but ,i confess that the        
investment of ,paris  by ,king ,william 
seems to me the logical sequence of the 
bombardment of  ,rome by ,oudinot4  ,and
 is it not a significant fact that the  
terrible  chassepot1 which made its     

first bloody experiment upon the        
halfarmed  ,italian patriots without the
 walls of ,rome1 has failed in the hands
 of  ,french republicans against the    
inferior needle-gun of ,prussia8  ,it   
was  said of a fierce actor in the old  
,french ,revolution that he demoralized 
the guillotine4  ,the massacre at       
,mentana demoralized the chassepot4     
,it is a matter of congratulation that  
the redemption of ,rome has been        
effected so easily and bloodlessly4     
,the despotism of a thousand years  fell
 at a touch in noiseless rottenness4    
,the people of ,rome1 fifty to  one1    
cast their ballots of condemnation like 
so many shovelfuls of earth  upon its   
grave4  ,outside of ,rome there seems to
 be a very general  acquiescence in its 
downfall4  ,no ,peter the ,hermit       
preaches a crusade in  its behalf4  ,no 
one of the great ,catholic powers of    
,europe lifts a finger  for it4         
,whatever may be the feelings of        
,isabella of ,spain and the  fugitive   

son of ,king ,bomba1 they are in no     
condition to come to its  rescue4  ,it  
is reserved for ,american ecclesiastics1
 loud-mouthed in  professions of        
democracy1 to make solemn protest       
against what they call  an outrage1     
which gives the people of ,rome the     
right of choosing their  own government1
 and denies the divine right of kings in
 the person of ,pio  ,nono4    ,the     
withdrawal of the temporal power of the 
,pope will prove a blessing to  the     
,catholic ,church1 as well as to the    
world4  ,many of its most learned  and  
devout priests and laymen have long seen
 the necessity of such a  change1 which 
takes from it a reproach and scandal    
that could no longer  be excused or     
tolerated4  ,a century hence it will    
have as few apologists  as the          
,inquisition or the massacre of ,st4    
,bartholomew4    ,in this hour of       
congratulation let us not forget those  
whose suffering  and self-sacrifice1 in 
the inscrutable wisdom of ,providence1  

prepared the  way for the triumph which 
we celebrate4  ,as we call the long1    
illustrious  roll of ,italian           
patriotism--the young1 the brave1 and   
beautiful2 the  gray-haired1 saintly    
confessors2 the scholars1 poets1        
artists1 who1 shut  out from human      
sympathy1 gave their lives for ,god and 
country in the  slow1 dumb agony of     
prison martyrdom--let us hope that they 
also rejoice  with us1 and1 inaudible to
 earthly ears1 unite in our             
thanksgiving3  ,alleluia6  for the ,lord
 ,god omnipotent reigneth6  ,he hath    
avenged the  blood of his servants6     
,in the belief that the unity of ,italy 
and the overthrow of ,papal rule  will  
strengthen the cause of liberty         
throughout the civilized' world1 ,i  am 
very truly thy friend4                  
,,indian ,,civilization4    ,,the       
present condition and future prospects  
of the remnants of the  aboriginal      
inhabitants of this continent can       
scarcely be a matter of  indifference to

 any class of the people of the ,united 
,states4  ,apart from  all              
considerations of justice and duty1 a   
purely selfish regard to our  own       
well-being would compel attention to the
 subject4  ,the irreversible  laws of   
,god's moral government1 and the        
well-attested maxims of political  and  
social economy1 leave us in no doubt    
that the suffering1 neglect1 and  wrong 
of one part of the community must affect
 all others4  ,a common  responsibility 
rests upon each and all to relieve      
suffering1 enlighten  ignorance1 and    
redress wrong1 and the penalty of       
neglect in this respect  no nation has  
ever escaped4    ,it is only within a   
comparatively recent period that the    
term ,indian  ,civilization could be    
appropriately used in this country4     
,very little  real progress bad been    
made in this direction1 up to the time  
when  ,commissioner ,lang in #ahdd      
visited the tribes now most advanced4   
,so  little had been done1 that public  

opinion had acquiesced in the           
assumption that the ,indians were not   
susceptible of civilization and         
progress4  ,the few experiments had not 
been calculated to assure a  superficial
 observer4    ,the unsupported efforts  
of ,elliot in ,new ,england were        
counteracted by the  imprisonment1 and  
in some instances the massacre of his   
praying  ,indians1 by white men under   
the exasperation of war with hostile    
tribes4  ,the salutary influence of the 
,moravians and ,friends in ,pennsylvania
 was  greatly weakened by the dreadful  
massacre of the unarmed and blameless   
converts of ,gnadenhutten4  ,but since  
the first visit of ,commissioner  ,lang1
 thirty-three years ago1 the progress of
 education1 civilization1  and          
conversion to ,christianity1 has been of
 a most encouraging nature1  and if     
,indian civilization was ever a doubtful
 problem1 it has been  practically      
solved4    ,the nomadic habits and      
warlike propensities of the native      

tribes are  indeed formidable but not   
insuperable difficulties in the way of  
their  elevation4  ,the wildest of them 
may compare not unfavorably with those  
,northern barbarian hordes that swooped 
down upon ,christian ,europe1 and  who  
were so soon the docile pupils and      
proselytes of the peoples they had      
conquered4  ,the ,arapahoes and         
,camanches of our day are no further    
removed  from the sweetness and light of
 ,christian culture than were the       
,scandinavian ,sea ,kings of the middle 
centuries1 whose gods were patrons  of  
rapine and cruelty1 their heaven a vast1
 cloud-built ale-house1 where  ghostly  
warriors drank from the skulls of their 
victims1 and whose hell  was a frozen   
horror of desolation and darkness1 to be
 avoided only by  diligence in robbery  
and courage in murder4  ,the descendants
 of these  human butchers are now among 
the best exponents of the humanizing    
influence of the gospel of ,christ4     
,the report of the ,superintendent of   

the remnants of the once fierce and     
warlike ,six ,nations1 now peaceable    
and prosperous in ,canada1 shows that   
the ,indian is not inferior to the      
,norse ancestors of the ,danes and      
,norwegians of our day in capability of 
improvement4    ,it is scarcely         
necessary to say1 what is universally   
conceded1 that the  wars waged by the   
,indians against the whites have1 in    
nearly every  instance1 been provoked by
 violations of solemn treaties and      
systematic  disregard of their rights of
 person1 property1 and life4  ,the      
letter of  ,bishop ,whipple1 of         
,minnesota1 to the ,new ,york ,tribune  
of second month1  #ahgg1 calls attention
 to the emphatic language of ,generals  
,sherman1  ,harney1 ,terry1 and ,augur1 
written after a full and searching      
investigation of the subject3 ,that the 
,indian goes to war is not  astonishing3
 he is often compelled to do so3 wrongs 
are borne by him in  silence1 which     
never fail to drive civilized men to    

deeds of violence4  ,the best possible  
way to avoid war is to do no injustice4 
,it is not difficult to understand the  
feelings of the unfortunate pioneer     
settlers on the extreme borders of      
civilization1 upon whom the blind       
vengeance of the wronged and hunted     
,indians falls oftener than upon the    
real wrong-doers4  ,they point to       
terrible and revolting cruelties as     
proof that nothing short of the absolute
 extermination of the race can  prevent 
their repetition4  ,but a moment's      
consideration compels us to  admit that 
atrocious cruelty is not peculiar to the
 red man4  ,all wars  are cruel1 said   
,general ,sherman1 and for eighteen     
centuries ,christendom  has been a great
 battle-field4  ,what ,indian raid has  
been more dreadful  than the sack of    
,magdeburg1 the massacre of ,glencoe1   
the nameless  atrocities of the ,duke of
 ,alva in the ,netherlands1 the murders 
of ,st4  ,bartholomew's day1 the        
unspeakable agonies of the ,south of    

,france under  the demoniac rule of     
revolution6  ,all history1 black with   
crime and red  with blood1 is but an    
awful commentary upon man's inhumanity  
to man1  and it teaches us that there is
 nothing exceptional in the ,indian's   
ferocity and vindictiveness1 and that   
the alleged reasons for his             
extermination would1 at one time or     
another1 have applied with equal  force 
to the whole family of man4    ,a late  
lecture of my friend1 ,stanley          
,pumphrey1 comprises more of valuable   
information and pertinent suggestions on
 the ,indian question than ,i have      
found in any equal space2 and ,i am glad
 of the opportunity to add to it  my    
hearty endorsement1 and to express the  
conviction that its general  circulation
 could not fail to awaken a deeper and  
more kindly interest in  the condition  
of the red man1 and greatly aid in      
leading the public mind  to a fuller    
appreciation of the responsibility which
 rests upon us as a  people to rectify1 

as far as possible1 past abuses1 and in 
our future  relations to the native     
owners of the soil to deal justly and   
love  mercy4            ,,reading ,,for 
,,the ,,blind4    #ahhj4    ,to ,mary   
,c4  ,moore1 teacher in the ,perkins    
,asylum4    ,,dear ,,friend1--,it gives 
me great pleasure to know that the      
pupils in thy  class at the ,institution
 for the ,blind have the opportunity    
afforded them  to read through the sense
 of touch some of my writings1 and thus 
hold  what ,i hope will prove a pleasant
 communion with me4  ,very glad ,i shall
  be if the pen-pictures of nature1 and 
homely country firesides1 which ,i  have
 tried to make1 are understood and      
appreciated by those who cannot  discern
 them by natural vision4  ,i shall count
 it a great privilege to  see for them1 
or rather to let them see through my    
eyes4  ,it is the mind  after all that  
really sees1 shapes1 and colors all     
things4  ,what visions  of beauty and   
sublimity passed before the inward and  

spiritual sight of  blind ,milton and   
,beethoven6    ,i have an esteemed      
friend1 ,morrison ,hendy1 of ,kentucky1 
who is deaf and  blind2 yet under these 
circumstances he has cultivated his mind
 to a high  degree1 and has written     
poems of great beauty1 and vivid        
descriptions of  scenes which have been 
witnessed only by the light within4     
,i thank thee for thy letter1 and beg of
 thee to assure the students that  ,i am
 deeply interested in their welfare and 
progress1 and that my prayer  is that   
their inward and spiritual eyes may     
become so clear that they can  well     
dispense with the outward and material  
ones4            ,,the ,,indian         
,,question4    ,read at the meeting in  
,boston1 ,may1 #ahhc1 for the           
consideration of the  condition of the  
,indians in the ,united ,states4        
,,amesbury1 #dth mo41 #ahhc4    ,i      
,,regret that ,i cannot be present at   
the meeting called in reference to  the 
pressing question of the day1 the       

present condition and future  prospects 
of the ,indian race in the ,united      
,states4  ,the old policy1  however well
 intended1 of the government is no      
longer available4  ,the  westward       
setting tide of immigration is          
everywhere sweeping over the  lines of  
the reservations4  ,there would seem to 
be no power in the  government to       
prevent the practical abrogation of its 
solemn treaties and  the crowding out of
 the ,indians from their guaranteed     
hunting grounds4  ,outbreaks of ,indian 
ferocity and revenge1 incited by wrong  
and robbery on  the part of the whites1 
will increasingly be made the pretext of
  indiscriminate massacres4  ,the entire
 question will soon resolve itself  into
 the single alternative of education and
 civilization or  extermination4    ,the
 school experiments at ,hampton1        
,carlisle1 and ,forest ,grove in ,oregon
  have proved1 if such proof were ever  
needed1 that the roving ,indian can  be 
enlightened and civilized1 taught to    

work and take interest and  delight in  
the product of his industry1 and settle 
down on his farm or in  his workshop1 as
 an ,american citizen1 protected by and 
subject to the  laws of the republic4   
,what is needed is that not only these  
schools  should be more liberally       
supported1 but that new ones should be  
opened  without delay4  ,the matter does
 not admit of procrastination4  ,the    
work  of education and civilization must
 be done4  ,the money needed must be    
contributed with no sparing hand4  ,the 
laudable example set by the  ,friends   
and the ,american ,missionary           
,association should be followed by      
other sects and philanthropic societies4
  ,christianity1 patriotism1 and        
enlightened self interest have a common 
stake in the matter4  ,great and        
difficult as the work may be the country
 is strong enough1 rich enough1  wise   
enough1 and1 ,i believe1 humane and     
,christian enough to do it4             
,,the ,,republican ,,party4    ,read at 

a meeting of the ,essex ,club1 in       
,boston1  ,november1 #ahhe4             
,,amesbury1 #aath ,mo41 #aj1 #ahhe4     
,i ,,am sorry that ,i cannot accept thy 
invitation to attend the meeting of  the
 ,essex ,club on the #adth inst4  ,i    
should be glad to meet my old           
,republican friends and congratulate    
them on the results of the election  in 
,massachusetts1 and especially in our   
good old county of ,essex4    ,some of  
our friends and neighbors1 who have been
 with us heretofore1 last  year saw fit 
to vote with the opposite party4  ,i    
would be the last to  deny their perfect
 right to do so1 or to impeach their    
motives1 but ,i  think they were        
mistaken in expecting that party to     
reform the abuses and  evils which they 
complained of4  ,president ,cleveland   
has proved himself  better than his     
party1 and has done and said some good  
things which ,i  give him full credit   
for1 but the instincts of his party are 
against him1  and must eventually prove 

too strong for him1 and1 instead of his 
carrying the party1 it will be likely to
 carry him4  ,it has already  compelled 
him to put his hands in his pockets for 
electioneering  purposes1 and travel all
 the way from ,washington to ,buffalo to
 give his  vote for a spoilsman and     
anti-civil service machine politician4  
,i would  not like to call it a case of 
offensive partisanship1 but it looks a  
good deal like it4    ,as a ,republican 
from the outset1 ,i am proud of the     
noble record of the  party1 but ,i      
should rejoice to see its beneficent    
work taken up by the  ,democratic party 
and so faithfully carried on as to make 
our organization  no longer necessary4  
,but1 as far as we can see1 the         
,republican party has  still its mission
 and its future4  ,when labor shall     
everywhere have its  just reward1 and   
the gains of it are made secure to the  
earners2 when  education shall be       
universal1 and1 ,north and ,south1 all  
men shall have  the free and full       

enjoyment of civil rights and           
privileges1 irrespective  of color or   
former condition2 when every vice which 
debases the community  shall be         
discouraged and prohibited1 and every   
virtue which elevates it  fostered and  
strengthened2 when merit and fitness    
shall be the conditions  of office2 and 
when sectional distrust and prejudice   
shall give place to  well-merited       
confidence in the loyalty and patriotism
 of all1 then will  the work of the     
,republican party1 as a party1 be ended1
 and all political  rivalries be merged 
in the one great party of the people1   
with no other  aim than the common      
welfare1 and no other watchwords than   
peace1 liberty1  and union4  ,then may  
the language which ,milton addressed to 
his  countrymen two centuries ago be    
applied to the ,united ,states1 ,go on1 
hand in hand1 ,o peoples1 never to be   
disunited2 be the praise and heroic     
song of all posterity4  ,join your      
invincible might to do worthy and       

godlike deeds2 and then he who seeks to 
break your ,union1 a cleaving  curse be 
his inheritance4            ,,our ,,dumb
 ,,relations4    #ahhf4    ,,it was said
 of ,st4 ,francis of ,assisi1 that he   
had attained1 through the  fervor of his
 love1 the secret of that deep amity    
with ,god and ,his  creation which1 in  
the language of inspiration1 makes man  
to be in league  with the stones of the 
field1 and the beasts of the field to be
 at peace  with him4  ,the world has    
never been without tender souls1 with   
whom the  golden rule has a broader     
application than its letter might seem  
to  warrant4  ,the ancient ,eastern     
seers recognized the rights of the brute
  creation1 and regarded the unnecessary
 taking of the life of the humblest  and
 meanest as a sin2 and in almost all the
 old religions of the world  there are  
legends of saints1 in the depth of whose
 peace with ,god and  nature all life   
was sacredly regarded as the priceless  
gift of heaven1  and who were thus      

enabled to dwell safely amidst lions and
 serpents4    ,it is creditable to human
 nature and its unperverted instincts   
that  stories and anecdotes of          
reciprocal kindness and affection       
between men  and animals are always     
listened to with interest and approval4 
,how  pleasant to think of the ,arab and
 his horse1 whose friendship has been   
celebrated in song and romance4  ,of    
,vogelwied1 the ,minnesinger1 and his   
bequest to the birds4  ,of the ,english 
,quaker1 visited1 wherever he went1  by 
flocks of birds1 who with cries of joy  
alighted on his broad-brimmed  hat and  
his drab coat-sleeves4  ,of old ,samuel 
,johnson1 when half-blind  and infirm1  
groping abroad of an evening for oysters
 for his cat4  ,of  ,walter ,scott and  
,john ,brown1 of ,edinburgh1 and their  
dogs4  ,of our own  ,thoreau1           
instinctively recognized by bird and    
beast as a friend4  ,emerson  says of   
him3 ,his intimacy with animals         
suggested what ,thomas ,fuller  records 

of ,butler1 the apologist1 that either  
he had told the bees  things1 or the    
bees had told him4  ,snakes coiled round
 his legs2 the  fishes swam into his    
hand2 he pulled the woodchuck out of his
 hole by his  tail1 and took foxes under
 his protection from the hunters4    ,in
 the greatest of the ancient ,hindu     
poems--the sacred book of the           
,mahabharata--there is a passage of     
exceptional beauty and tenderness1      
which records the reception of ,king    
,yudishthira at the gate of ,paradise4  
,a pilgrim to the heavenly city1 the    
king had travelled over vast spaces1    
and1 one by one1 the loved ones1 the    
companions of his journey1 had all      
fallen and left him alone1 save his     
faithful dog1 which still followed4  ,he
 was met by ,indra1 and invited to enter
 the holy city4  ,but the king  thinks  
of his friends who have fallen on the   
way1 and declines to go in  without     
them4  ,the god tells him they are all  
within waiting for him4  ,joyful1 he is 

about to seek them1 when he looks upon  
the poor dog1 who1  weary and wasted1   
crouches at his feet1 and asks that he1 
too1 may enter  the gate4  ,indra       
refuses1 and thereupon the king declares
 that to abandon  his faithful dumb     
friend would be as great a sin as to    
kill a ,brahmin4         ,away with that
 felicity whose price is to abandon the 
faithful6       ,never1 come weal or    
woe1 will ,i leave my faithful dog4     
,the poor creature1 in fear and         
distress1 has trusted in my power to    
save him2       ,not1 therefore1 for    
life itself1 will ,i break my plighted  
word4    ,in full sight of heaven he    
chooses to go to hell with his dog1 and 
straightway descends1 as he supposes1   
thither4  ,but his virtue and           
faithfulness change his destination to  
heaven1 and he finds himself  surrounded
 by his old friends1 and in the presence
 of the gods1 who thus  honor and reward
 his humanity and unselfish love4       
,,international ,,arbitration4    ,read 

at the reception in ,boston of the      
,english delegation representing  more  
than two hundred members of the ,british
 ,parliament who favor  international   
arbitration4    ,,amesbury1 #aath ,mo41 
#i1 #ahhg4    ,,it is a very serious    
disappointment to me not to be able to  
be present at  the welcome of the       
,american ,peace ,society to the        
delegation of more than  two hundred    
members of the ,british ,parliament who 
favor international  arbitration4  ,few 
events have more profoundly impressed me
 than the  presentation of this peaceful
 overture to the ,president of the      
,united  ,states4  ,it seems to me that 
every true patriot who seeks the best   
interests of his country and every      
believer in the gospel of ,christ must  
respond to the admirable address of ,sir
 ,lyon ,playfair and that of his        
colleagues who represented the          
workingmen of ,england4  ,we do not need
 to  be told that war is always cruel1  
barbarous1 and brutal2 whether used by  

professed ,christians with ball and     
bayonet1 or by heathen with club and    
boomerang4  ,we cannot be blind to its  
waste of life and treasure and the      
demoralization which follows in its     
train2 nor cease to wonder at the       
spectacle of ,christian nations         
exhausting all their resources in       
preparing to slaughter each other1 with 
only here and there a voice1 like       
,count ,tolstoi's in the ,russian       
wilderness1 crying in heedless ears that
  the gospel of ,christ is peace1 not   
war1 and love1 not hatred4    ,the      
overture which comes to us from ,english
 advocates of arbitration is a  cheering
 assurance that the tide of sentiment is
 turning in favor of  peace among       
,english speaking peoples4  ,i cannot   
doubt that whatever stump  orators and  
newspapers may say for party purposes1  
the heart of ,america  will respond to  
the generous proposal of our kinsfolk   
across the water4  ,no two nations could
 be more favorably conditioned than     

,england and the  ,united ,states for   
making the holy experiment of           
arbitration4    ,in our associations and
 kinship1 our aims and interests1 our   
common  claims in the great names and   
achievements of a common ancestry1 we   
are  essentially one people4  ,whatever 
other nations may do1 we at least       
should be friends4  ,god grant that the 
noble and generous attempt shall  not be
 in vain6  ,may it hasten the time when 
the only rivalry between us  shall be   
the peaceful rivalry of progress and the
 gracious interchange of  good4         
,when closer strand shall lean to       
strand1                 ,till meet      
beneath saluting flags1                 
,the eagle of our mountain crags1       
,the lion of our mother land6           
,,suffrage ,,for ,,women4    ,read at   
the ,woman's ,convention at ,washington4
    ,,oak ,,knoll1 ,,danvers1 ,,mass41  
,third ,mo41 #h1 #ahhh4    ,i ,,thank   
thee for thy kind letter4  ,it would be 
a great satisfaction to be  able to be  

present at the fortieth anniversary of  
the ,woman's ,suffrage  ,association4   
,but1 as that is not possible1 ,i can   
only reiterate my  hearty sympathy with 
the object of the association1 and bid  
it take heart  and assurance in view of 
all that has been accomplished4  ,there 
is no  easy royal road to a reform of   
this kind1 but if the progress has been 
slow there has been no step backward4   
,the barriers which at first seemed     
impregnable in the shape of custom and  
prejudice have been undermined and      
their fall is certain4  ,a prophecy of  
your triumph at no distant day is  in   
the air2 your opponents feel it and     
believe it4  ,they know that yours  is a
 gaining and theirs a losing cause4     
,the work still before you  demands on  
your part great patience1 steady        
perseverance1 a firm1  dignified1 and   
self-respecting protest against the     
injustice of which you  have so much    
reason to complain1 and of serene       
confidence which is not  discouraged by 

temporary checks1 nor embittered by     
hostile criticism1 nor  provoked to use 
any weapons of retort1 which1 like the  
boomerang1 fall  back on the heads of   
those who use them4  ,you can afford  in
 your consciousness of right to be as   
calm and courteous as the  archangel    
,michael1 who1 we are told in ,scripture
 in his controversy with  ,satan        
himself1 did not bring a railing        
accusation against him4  ,a wise        
adaptation of means to ends is no       
yielding of principle1 but care should  
be taken to avoid all such methods as   
have disgraced political and  religious 
parties of the masculine sex4  ,continue
 to make it manifest  that all which is 
pure and lovely and of good repute in   
womanhood is  entirely compatible with  
the exercise of the rights of           
citizenship1 and  the performance of the
 duties which we all owe to our homes   
and our  country4  ,confident that you  
will do this1 and with no doubt or      
misgiving  as to your success1 ,i bid   

you ,godspeed4  ,i find ,i have written 
to the  association rather than to      
thyself1 but as one of the principal    
originators and most faithful           
supporters1 it was very natural that ,i 
should identify thee with it4