“As far as numbers make a school a success, Straight is a success. There must be now two hundred pupils, of which there are ninety-three enrolled in my department, with an average of eighty-seven.
“When you know the disadvantages under which the pupils labor, you will wonder, with us, at their constant attendance. More than half in my room sit in chairs in which their feet cannot touch the floor; and the other half are seated at old-fashioned wooden desks that are loose from the floor and often so nicely balanced that one child leaving his seat will cause the books, &c., of three others to come to grief. Think of ninety-three huddled together in a room twenty-five by twenty-five, with the only two windows on one side, the other three sides being dark, the only passage from this room to the street being through another, in which recitations are being heard through the entire day. This, of course, prevents any recess, so necessary in a primary or intermediate department.
“Quite unexpectedly the severe weather has come upon us, in which, because of the unsuitable clothing of the children as well as lack of conveniences for heating the rooms, the children suffer with the cold. Last Friday the gentlemen teachers kept their winter overcoats on all day, and shivered at that. With the exception of severe colds, the teachers are well, and at their posts. The accession of new pupils each month somewhat retards school work. What to do with any more in my department is beyond my ability to answer at present. But if wishes could lay a brick or drive a nail, the new building would be well toward completion.”
CAMPAIGN IN MASSACHUSETTS.
DIST. SEC’Y POWELL, OF CHICAGO.
Thanksgiving week ended, we began our campaign in Massachusetts, at Sheffield, Monday afternoon, December 3d. Very unfavorable were the circumstances attending our first meeting. The brutal murder of an old man and woman on Thanksgiving-Day, had thrown the quiet town into an unusual state of excitement. Evidence pointed strongly to a negro as the murderer; and only the determined resistance of the sheriff at the time of arrest, had saved the town from the disgraceful presence of Judge Lynch. A murder committed by a white man would not, I think, have affected unfavorably a meeting in behalf of home missions; rather, such an event would have given it special point and interest; but a black man being the criminal, the result was different. The meeting was small, and yet I should not be surprised if that meeting at Sheffield should prove to be the most fruitful in results of any held. That murder ought to lead the “sober second thought” of the community to a very hearty endorsement of the American Missionary Association, and I believe it will.
The uniform heartiness with which the ministers of Connecticut received us was emulated by our Massachusetts brethren. Wherever we came, a cordial welcome awaited us, and when we left, an equally cordial God-speed accompanied us. Our meetings were held almost entirely in the western part of the State. Hampshire, Hampden and Berkshire counties were the field, and forty-two different churches were visited. Just here I might as well make note of the delightful weather we had all through our Massachusetts campaign—only one unpleasant evening during the time, and that not sufficiently so to keep the people at home. Very fortunate we were that evening in Lee—the well-known go-to-meeting habits of the people gave us a large audience, compared with some other places visited on pleasant evenings; and in connection with the weather, how can I forbear mention of the country—its native beauty, striking grandeur, and historic interest—who that knows New England can be ignorant of these? Valleys where poets might go crazy in the vain attempt to sing their glory, New England’s sturdy sons have turned into factories of wealth. The Mountains Holyoke, Sugar Loaf, Tom and Toby, seeming to keep perpetual watch of the busy life in the valleys below, and then the stories of Indian romance that, lingering still, encircle some spots with their own weird interest; the houses of such as Edwards, Field and Bellamy, open up historic trains of thought which lead to the fountain-head of those intellectual and moral forces which have made not only Western Massachusetts, but all New England such an influential power in the best development of our country. These “sceptred dead,” from whom not yet has the realm of empire departed! What with pleasant weather, beautiful scenery, romantic tales and historic reminiscence, the fatigue of travel and wear of speaking, were considerably lightened.
In many cases, the afternoon meetings proved, both in point of numbers and interest, the best. People who leave their homes and business in the afternoon, riding in some cases four or five miles to attend a meeting, bring with them an inspiration which a speaker cannot fail to feel; and after he has gone, his words remain to be thought over and acted upon. What a difference between an audience pleased only when the speaker entertains them, and one that is gathered because of already awakened interest in the cause of missions! Well, we had both kinds, but our afternoon audiences were chiefly of the latter. Buckland, Ashfield, Lee, Amherst and Chicopee, are especially worthy of mention for the large audiences given us, while, with the exception of two places, which I will not mention, all the others accorded us a generous hearing, larger indeed than, under the circumstances, could have been expected.
A little episode occurred during the first week, that broke up our speaking force for a few days, but added at the same time to the value of the campaign. The Worcester Central Missionary Society held its Fifty-Third Annual Meeting, December 6th, in Worcester, to which meeting Mr. Woodworth and myself repaired, and occupied a full hour kindly given us, to set forth the claims of the American Missionary Association; while Mr. Cutler, reinforced by Mr. Pike, kept on, and filled the appointments in their original order. There were two things about this Worcester meeting I wish to mention. First, it indicated the growing interest of the churches in the subject of missions. This Society was organized fifty-two years ago as auxiliary to the American Board, and, during these intervening years, has preserved this exclusive relation. This year the Society voted to change its constitution, in order that hereafter all the Missionary causes may have recognition in its deliberations and benefactions. Secondly, this meeting indicated that a whole day can be profitably given by the churches in convention assembled, to the consideration of missions. From the beginning the power of the meeting increased, and the evening session, at which there was a mingling of stirring pleas for the Education Society, the Board Home Missions, and the Missionary Association, was the crowning interest of the day.