This letter I received on Thursday morning, Oct. 30, 1845. Being very much occupied that week, I had scarcely any time to consider the matter. On Monday morning, however, Nov. 3, I set apart some hours for the prayerful consideration of the subject, and after I had besought the Lord to guide me to a right decision, I wrote down the reasons which appeared to me to make it desirable that the Orphan Houses should be removed from Wilson Street, and also the reasons against removing. As far as they are suitable for being stated in print they were these:—
I. REASONS FOR REMOVING FROM WILSON STREET.
1. The neighbors feel themselves inconvenienced by the noise of the children in the play-hours. This complaint is neither without foundation, nor unjust; for many persons are very much inconvenienced by the noise of children, and those living close by the Orphan Houses must be so during the play-hours, even though the noise be only of that kind that one could not at all find fault with the dear children on account of it. I should myself feel it trying to my head to live next door to the Orphan Houses on that account. I therefore ought to do to others as I should wish to be done by. This point had never before appeared to me in so serious a light.
2. The greatness of the number of the inmates in the houses had several times prevented the drains from acting properly, and thus has a few times affected the water in one or two of the neighbors’ houses. With reference to these two reasons as it regards those living near the Orphan Houses, these words, “Let not your good be evil spoken of,” Rom. xiv. 16, and “Let your moderation (i. e. yieldingness) be known unto all men,” Philip. iv. 5, seemed to me two important portions of the word of God to be acted out in this matter.
But in addition to the reasons for removing the Orphan Houses from Wilson Street on account of the unavoidable occasional inconvenience that comes upon the neighbors, there appeared now to me, when once I was led to consider seriously the reasons for removing the Institution from Wilson Street, other reasons for doing so, in connection with the work itself, which had occurred to me before, but never in so strong a light as now, when the subject was brought more immediately before me by the letter in which I was politely requested to remove the Orphan Houses from Wilson Street. These reasons are:—
1. We have no proper play-grounds in Wilson Street. There is one play-ground, which, however, is only large enough for the children of one house at a time; but as there are children in four houses who ought to have the benefit of it, we cannot arrange so that all the children have the full benefit of that play-ground, as the meals, the school-hours, the weather, and other hindrances interfere. The dear orphans ought, I know, to be trained in habits of industry, but children are children, and need to be treated as such; and they should, on account of their health, have the full benefit of a play-ground. But this they cannot have in Wilson Street: and to take them out into the fields for the benefit of bodily exercise, as we have been in the habit of doing, is often very inconvenient.
2. We have no ground for cultivation near the Orphan Houses, and hence there must be more walking for the children, on account of using proper means for keeping them, with the blessing of God, in health, than is in other respects good for them; because frequent walks easily beget in children habits of idleness, which would be especially felt when boys are apprenticed. But this difficulty cannot be obviated by remaining in Wilson Street, and renting a piece of land somewhere else for cultivation; for to get the children ready and conduct them to the piece of ground not only takes a good deal of time, but is connected with other great inconveniences, yea, with insurmountable difficulties, so that we found it needful to give up a small piece of ground which we once rented for about two years for the orphan boys, at a distance of about half a mile from Wilson Street. Thus, by removing from Wilson Street, and obtaining premises surrounded by land for cultivation, we should be able to procure a most important moral benefit for the children, by having the opportunity more fully than we now have of training them in habits of industry, besides giving to the boys occupation which is more suitable for them than knitting, which is now the only employment they have, besides making their beds, cleaning the house, and attending to the cooking of their meals. Moreover, this would be occupation in the open air, which not only would bring into exercise the use of their limbs, but also make walking for the sake of health almost entirely needless.
3. If we were to remove from Wilson Street, and obtain premises in the country, we might have all the washing done at home, which now, for want of room, can be only done in part. Thus the girls also would have more laborious work at home, a point of great importance for them, so that they would not feel so much the hardships connected with going out to service.
4. The situation of Wilson Street is perhaps scarcely bracing enough for strengthening the constitution of the orphans, most of whom, being the offspring of very diseased parents, require a very invigorating place of abode.
5. The present situation is certainly not desirable for the teachers, especially as, when their hours of work are over, they have no garden or fields close to the house immediately to go into for a little refreshment of their body; and for some of them it is too far to go to fields, where they might have a bracing air.