The Story of Chautauqua

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

CHAPTER X

THE SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES

The year 1879 marked an extension in more than one direction of Chautauqua's plans and program. The season was lengthened to forty-three days, more than double the length of the earlier sessions. On July 17th began the classes in The Chautauqua Normal School of Languages, held in a rough board-walled, white-washed building, which had formerly been used as a lodging-house, but was no longer needed since cottages had opened their doors to guests. This may be regarded as the formal opening of the Chautauqua Summer Schools, although already classes had been held, some of them three years, others four years, in Greek, Hebrew, and kindergarten instruction. We will name the faculty of this year. Greek was taught by a native of Greece, Dr. T. T. Timayenis, of New York; Latin by Miss Emma M. Hall, of the Detroit High School, afterward a missionary-teacher in Rome, Italy; Prof. J. H. Worman, of Brooklyn, N. Y., taught German, never speaking one word of English in his classes, although a fluent speaker and author in English. Prof. A. Lalande was the teacher of the French language; Dr. Stephen M. Vail continued his classes in Hebrew, and Dr. James Strong in Greek; Prof. Bernhard Maimon of Chicago, taught Oriental languages; and Prof. A. S. Cook, then of Johns Hopkins, but soon afterward of Yale, conducted a class in the study of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. These studies were pursued from a fortnight before the formal opening of the Assembly until its close, making courses of six weeks, carried on in an intensive manner. Each professor pushed his department as though it were the only one in the school, and his students could scarcely find time to rest themselves by rowing on the lake or walking in the woods with their classmates.

Allied to the School of Languages was the Teachers' Retreat, opening at the same time but closing just before the Assembly proper. This was outside the realm of Sunday School instruction, being intended for secular teachers and presenting the principles and best methods of education. One of its leaders was Prof. J. W. Dickinson, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, an enthusiast as well as a master. He had at his command a fund of witticisms and stories, always in the direct line of his teaching, which added not a little to the interest of his lectures. I was with him at the table for a fortnight, and his juicy talk made even a tough steak enjoyable. Associated with Dr. Dickinson were Prof. William F. Phelps of Minnesota, Dr. Joseph Alden of the State Normal School, Albany, N. Y., and Dr. John Hancock, President of the National Teachers' Association. In the following year, 1880, the School of Languages and Teachers' Retreat were united, and the Summer School program was again enlarged. Year by year new departments were added, until Chautauqua became a summer university, and such it continues to this day, offering more than two hundred courses, taught by nearly one hundred and fifty instructors. Perhaps the most popular courses have always been those in physical culture, pursued by teachers in public and private schools, enabled by Chautauqua to make their work in their home schools more efficient and extensive. One might spend weeks at Chautauqua, attending the lectures and concerts in the Amphitheater and the Hall, and enjoying the bathing and boating opportunities of the Lake, yet never realizing that on College Hill, and down at the Gymnasium, are nearly five thousand young men and young women diligently seeking the higher education.

A third sideline during this season of 1879 was the Foreign Mission Institute, held by missionary leaders of the Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist organizations, and addressed by missionaries at home from many lands. Chautauqua was a pioneer in bringing together representatives of different churches for conference upon their work of winning the world to Christ. This series of missionary councils has been continued without the omission of a year through all the history of Chautauqua since 1879.

The Sixth Chautauqua Assembly opened on its regular evening, the first Tuesday in August, 1879. The ravine which had been the seat of the Pavilion and birthplace of the C. L. S. C. had been transformed into a great auditorium of permanent materials and fairly comfortable seats for five thousand people. It was a great advance upon any of the earlier meeting places, and made it no longer necessary to carry one's umbrella to the lectures. But a heavy rain on the extensive roof would make even the largest-lunged orator inaudible, and the many wooden pillars supporting the roof had a fashion of getting themselves between the speaker and the hearers. Notwithstanding these minor drawbacks, it proved to be one of the best audience-halls in the land for large assemblies, for its acoustic properties were almost perfect. No speaker ever heard his words flung back to him by an echo, and the orator who knew how to use his voice could be heard almost equally well in every corner of the building. When Dr. Buckley stood for the first time upon its platform, and looked at its radiating and ascending seats, he said to Dr. Vincent, "This is a genuine amphitheater." The name was adopted, and the Amphitheater became the meeting place for all the popular lectures and the great Sunday services. Many were the distinguished speakers, men and women, who stood upon its platform, and as many singers whose voices enraptured throngs. At a popular concert almost as many seemed to be standing, crowded under the eaves, as were seated beneath the roof.

The old Amphitheater stood until 1897. In that year the building of the Massey Memorial Organ made some changes necessary. The old building was taken down, and a new Amphitheater arose in its place, having above it a trussed roof and supported from the sides, and no pillars obstructing the view. It has been said that the Chautauqua Amphitheater will seat ten thousand people, but a careful computation shows that fifty-five hundred, or at the utmost fifty-six hundred are its limit upon the benches, without chairs in the aisles. But another thousand, or even fifteen hundred may sometimes be seen standing back of its seats at a popular lecture or concert.

In the season of 1879, one of the leading speakers was an Englishman, the Rev. W. O. Simpson of the Wesleyan Church, who had been for some years a missionary in India. His graphic pictures of village life in that land were a revelation, for Kipling and his followers had not yet thrown the light of their genius upon the great peninsula and its people. Mr. Simpson was over six feet in height and large in every way, in voice as well as in girth. We all hoped to meet him yet many years at Chautauqua, for he seemed to be abounding in health. But a few months later we learned of his sudden death. In those years it was the Chautauqua custom to hold a memorial service for men prominent in the class-room or on the platform, and it fell to my lot to speak in 1880 upon the Rev. W. O. Simpson. I sent to England for printed matter relating to his life, and among the appreciative articles found one story which is worthy of remembrance.

When Mr. Simpson was a student of theology at the Wesleyan Theological School, he chanced one day to read the announcement of a lecture upon the Bible, and went to hear it. To his amazement he found himself at an infidel meeting, listening to a virulent attack upon the Holy Scriptures. In the middle of his lecture, the speaker said: