USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > More chronicles of a pioneer school, from 1792 to 1833, being added history on the Litchfield Female Academy kept by Miss Sarah Pierce and her nephew, John Pierce Brace > Part 20
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The directions for the preservation of your liberties are few & plain. Preserve your own virtue & that of your children. Place the means of education in their hands. Teach them the character of the Consti- tution & the necessity of its preservation. Guard yourselves against innovations: that government, which can be amended with facility will become rotten by the handling. Never delegate powers that you can as well exercise yourselves & never by your own ignorance render yourselves unfit for the exercise of any power. Trust not the election of your rulers, by nomination or otherwise to any body of men, that are unaccountable to you, whether called caucus or convention. Ac- custom yourselves to judge of the character & conduct of your rulers & never blindly or implicitly follow any men, merely because they are of your own party.
As citizens of the state of Connecticut you have peculiar duties to perform & peculiar responsibilities to answer. Our state can never become formidable by its powers or its numbers, or rich by its commerce. Its character is already formed & that character, the sobriety of its manners, and the nature of its public institutions for education have given it. Addressing as I now do, an assembly of the citizens of this state, I cannot be accused of partiality (and if I am it may be pardonned)
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when I point to the character of your institutions & urge you to their support; when I speak with pride of the native sons of Connecticut, who are now governing the councils of other states or rising to emi- nence in the national congress; when I point to the many who in the walls of your college, or in this your native village, have laid the foun- dation for their usefulness and eminence in after life. Is it not your duty, then, whether as private citizens or as members of the legis- lature, to foster those institutions, that give a character to your state abroad & an influence long to be felt in the destinies of the nation. You have a right, then, this day, to be proud of your native state; to be proud of being members of the only community in the world, which, annually receive more from their government for the gratuitous education of their children than they repay in taxes for its support.
Though the soil you cultivate is rough with rocks, & though the air you breathe is often black & chilling, yet remember that the barren & rocky soil, the bleak & chilling climate have made you hardy, per- severing and industrious. The true patriot will not be dissatisfied with his lot, because the wild gales of orange groves breathe not over his domains, or the richness & luxuriance of tropical regions teem not in his fields; He will be satisfied that Providence has cast his lot among the rough rocks and in the cold & piercing air & the iron bound soil of Connecticut.
As members of this vast republic, you have many duties to perform and none more necessary than forbearance. It has been prophesied of us, in the tyrannical atmosphere of Europe, that our government was too unwieldly to hold together, that the separate interests & the prejudice of its different sections would soon destroy the artfully contrived equilibrium of our constitution. Mutual forbearance can alone render futile this prophesy. There never was a period of our government when the American patriot could look back with a more grateful feeling at its success. The two parties which for so many years raged like a hurricane on the ocean of our politics have died away & the calm that now reigns is serviceable to the best interests of our nation. The future historian of our country will unquestionably find much to blame in the prejudices of that excitement & in the in- fluence which the then two contending powers of Europe had over our parties: But the prejudices & the irascibilities of these parties have expired, & the contest for power in our nation will, hereafter depend upon other causes than the old party divisions. Such was the char- acter of the late presidential conflict: anyone of the candidates then offered for that high station would have wielded the government of this country with an able hand. Your favourite candidate was suc- cessful; but, as, in his support, you never assailed the reputation or questioned the merit of his opponents' so, in the triumph of his suc-
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cess you will preserve the same admiration of their military skill, their personal talents, their tried probity & their public services.
Had they been successful tho' disappointed, you would not have murmured. You would willingly have supported them, had they de- served it. Yes, fellow citizens: I know the temper & the feelings of those to whom I speak: under any administration, you would never have been of those, who would have formed an opposition of the dis- appointed demagogues of all parties; uniting, in an almost miraculous way, "the lion & the lamb" in politics; connecting the frantic supported of state sovereignity, with the advocates of consolidated rights; as- sociating the strenuous asserter of domestic industry with the no less strenuous supporter of foreign commerce. You would never have opposed the favourite measure of any administration, because your chief magistrate was not born in the same section with you, or because he had appointed to office the intelligent of all parties. The people of New England will remember, in sorrow & in anger one thing. I trust one thing only, in this bitter conflict, that the main argument, brought against their favourite candidate was that he was a Northern man. They would not have felt thus, & as a successor to the present incumbent, would never hesitate to give their votes for anyone who was worthy of the great gift, whether of southern or western or northern extraction. There was a man to whom Connecticut would have given her support with cheerfulness, with alacrity. Though the south saw his birth, he was an American, in feeling, in principle & in action but the waters of the Atlantic roll over the remains of William Lowndes, & the admirers of his excellence can only lament his loss. There is yet another of the sons of the south, over whom Connecticut claims by adoption, the rights of a parent, & for whom, at some distant period, when age and experience had matured his virtues she had prepared her suffrage for her greatest gift: but, "oh"! how fallen how chang'd is this her adopted son. Forgetful of the dignity of his office, of the responsibilities of his station, of the future hope & wishes of his coun- try, he has destroyed the confidence of New England and sacrificed to the malice of his opposition, the bright hopes of his future career.
The extent of our resources, the reputation of our arms & the enter- prize of our people are securities to us against invasion from abroad; the intelligence & virtue of our populace must be security to us from domination at home.
One danger arises from the sectional prejudices that may occur to divide & scatter our community. Let it be the aim then of every lover of his country of every one who is desirous that Liberty should remain with us, and with the world, to put down every effort to excite these prejudices. Those continued bickerings of sectional spirit, those constant irritations of geographical interests will soon destroy the
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happiness & ruin the stability of our government. Forbearance should be the motto of every American: a forbearance operating not only on the great political question that may agitate our nation, but extending to the minutiae of the common intercourse and everyday feeling of our citizens. The West should never feel as if manufactures alone were the strength of a nation, and every other employment but subservient to them. The East should not conclude, because their riches were made on the great deep, that commerce is alone the main spring of our existence. The South should sometimes in her haughtiness be willing to allow that talent and character exist at the North & render her sons fit for their suffrage: and the North should cease the constant reproach as unavailing, as it is irritating that slavery exists at the South. I do not stand here to advocate the principles of slavery: my ardent desire is that the time may come when not a slave shall breathe the air of our republic: but that time is far, very far distant, the origin of slavery here is to be ascribed to other generations & another power, & its necessary continuance among us ought to be deemed, by us, at the North, as a misfortune & not a fault of our Southern brethren.
Such then is the retrospect of the last 50 years, & such the advice & reflection to which it gives rise. Standing at such a distinguished period of our existence will it be deemed extravagant or enthusiastic in the speaker to turn the telescope of imagination to the future pros- pects of this country? If the free institutions, under which you now live, be continued; if the virtue and intelligence of your populace be preserved, the brightest prospects are before you. We may not see them: but the day is not far distant, when the voice of a busy popu- lation shall arise from every corner of your land; when the products of your agriculture shall cover every mountain & plain, & the canvas of your commerce shall spread over every river; when your manu- factures shall rival in extent & excellence the institutions of Europe & your country be the patron of every art and science. Already is she the example & almost the arbiter of this continent & her influence will be soon felt among "the chains & fetters of Europe & will be as the dawn of day to her inhabitants enveloped in the night of oppres- sion. The light of education & of genuine liberty will arise over her ancient monarchies, not the bloodstained & baleful comet "shedding disastrous twilight" over the uninstructed slave, struggling but to rivet his chains & with one united effort the enlightened peasantry of Europe, capable of self government, will break their chains & be free. It is your example that must accomplish this, the example of your education & freedom: and with the illumined page of your history unroll'd to them, this bloodless revolution of opinion will, without effort, crumble to pieces the fabric of a privileged aristocracy; will blot out the prescriptive & arbitrary customs of the feudal govern-
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ments & will break into fragments the thrones & scepters of tyrants & to your country will the regenerated nations of Europe point as the example to the world of all that is free in government; of all that is enlightened in education & and of all that is pure & exalted in religion.
After a number of years spent in the Litchfield School, Mr. Brace moved to Hartford and accepted the post of Principal in the Hartford Female Seminary. This continued for a time but in 1853 he became editor-in-chief of the Hartford Courant which has held a prominent place among newspapers practically since its foundation. He ran that paper for eleven years, and to show the industry of the man as well as his literary and scientific equip- ment, it is noteworthy that there came with Mr. Brace's manu- scripts two large volumes containing his editorials, collected during his eleven years, from the Hartford Courant.
The general tone of the old newspapers was undoubtedly better than that of the present day though much of the real difference is one of degree and not in the type of subject matter.
"THE FAMILY MOURNING PIECE," PAINTED IN WATER COLORS ON SILK BY DELIA COE, WHILE AT MISS PIERCE'S SCHOOL She was born in 1779, died in 1846, daughter of Col. Elisha and Elizabeth Miller Coe, of Middlefield, Connecticut. Colonel Coe's house in the distance is really two miles away, but is painted true to life as it exists to-day. Names were on the tombstones, but they have faded. No date of when she was at Litchfield is preserved
JOHN P. BRACE'S EDITORIALS FROM THE HARTFORD COURANT - 1853-1861
Connecticut.
Our State has been emphatically called "the land of steady habits". She has never given her sanction to the wild schemes of Radicalism, or ranked herself among those that would wish to extend our domains by unprincipled aggression. She has never possessed any fondness for filibusters, or any complacency in those who would extend the area of our country by a breach of existing treaties or by the exercise of force over our weak neighbors. This position in genuine Conservatism, she is now called upon to forsake. Candidates for Congress are pre- sented to her voters, nominated by Conventions of the most ultra stamp, and recommended to the public as opposed to that cautious and peace-loving policy which characterized the past administration. Let the voters of Connecticut then remember that they are required to vote for aggression, for the support of piratical expeditions against our weak neighbors, when they vote for the nominees of the Demo- cratic party. Are they prepared to do this? Are they prepared to forsake the old, steady adherence of this State to the advantages of peace and justice and the prosperity which they bring, and involve the nation in senseless quarrels for the extension of territory?
In all the arts of a quiet life, Connecticut has manifested her prog- ress; in all that adorns, and dignifies, and enobles humanity, she has made the most rapid advances. But when it comes to the unlawful acquisition of territory - to the grasping ambition that never cries enough, when foreign conquest presents the temptation -to the insane desire of forcible annexation - she has hitherto always ex- pressed her dissent. Will she change her policy now?
The Locofoco Conventions have presented their candidates to the discerning public with filibustering resolutions to serve as their in- structions; the Whigs, on the contrary, have offered to the voters men who are known to be lovers of peace and the prosperity which it brings in its train - men, who respect the faith of treaties, and who com- miserate the condition of our weak neighbors - men, who are un- willing to gratify the lust of conquest now so fast becoming a national trait. A vote for such men will show that Connecticut retains those principles of sound judgment and good common sense that have so long been her characteristics.
The Whigs of Connecticut are not averse to progress and we have but to point to our numerous inventions and to the state of the arts and sciences among us to convince any one of their fondness for the
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principles of true progress. But Aggression is not Progression - the encouragement of filibustering expeditions against a nation with whom we are at peace, is not Advance - Conquest is not Prosperity - and the true lovers of the real welfare of the State will never make the mistake.
We call upon every well-wisher of the real good of the nation to refuse to vote for the candidates for Members of Congress who are recommended by resolutions that would justify an immediate resort to the ultimatum of war at the slightest insult received by our country, or that would sanction expeditions undertaken for revolutionary pur- poses against the faith of treaties and the terms of amity that bind us to other nations.
The Fair
We continue this morning, our accounts of the noticeable things con- nected with this exhibition.
The Fine Arts.
Two very fine pictures, belonging to Mr. C. Spooner of Bridgeport are being exhibited. They are worth a visit to the Fair, if there was nothing else to be seen. They need a long study however.
Hartford has some superior teachers both in drawing and painting. The specimens of their skill are excellent. The great defect in American landscape painters is that they delight in brightness and gaudy color- ing and do not artistically manage their shades. In their endeavors to imitate our gorgeous autumns, they make a mere calico-pattern book with their gay hues. The same defect of the want of proper management of shades appears in the portraits.
Some of the crayon and pencil sketches are forcible and true to nature. Some of the crayon and pencil heads and figures are unmean- ing. The great failure here is a want of expression and character.
The Daguerreotypes are as usual very good. The smaller likenesses are better than the large owing to the difficulty there is in getting a good focus in the large portraits. Our artists here are making constant improvements. There were some exquisite little heads of women and children that were beautifully done on a new principle. Our operators here take good and faithful likenesses, which depends on the skillful ad- justment of the focus and the excellency of their chemicals. In their efforts however to undersell each other, some specimens are suffered to go abroad that are a disgrace to the art - unmeaning, flat, bright, pictures. They all need a higher attention to the management of shades.
There are some beautiful and tasteful plaster models, and some very fine things in marble, especially a marble mantle.
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Increase of Crime :
It is a lamentable fact that crime throughout the country is on the increase. Murders for the mere purpose of plunder, highway robberies, and burglaries, are much more common now than they were forty years ago, and have increased in a ratio greater than the increase in the number of inhabitants. Without commenting upon the insecurity of life, there can be no doubt that the criminal attacks on property have multiplied of late. Once, it was hardly thought necessary to fasten the doors of a house in the night time - now, the common locks and bars are no security. There is hardly a week passes without hearing of some burglarious attempt in our city, and great care must be nightly taken to secure not only doors but windows.
One of the causes of the increase of crime may be owing to the relaxation of parental discipline. There are those in the community who endeavor to do their duty by their boys, to keep them from bad company, to make home so pleasant to them that they do not desire to wander in the night around the streets. But all are not so faithful. We fear that in many families, religious instruction, proper moral training, and effective parental influence, are all wanting. We judge so from the number of rude, profane and rowdy boys that frequent our streets. Let any one go through the city and have his mind turned towards the subject, and he will be shocked at hearing the profanity which is uttered by even the small boys. He will see, from their oaths, their vulgarity, the cigars which even the little ones are sucking, and their rude, rough conduct, that they are preparing, not for a life of labor and of usefulness, but for a reckless, rowdy existence, to swell the number of the inmates of the grogshop and the brothel, and to increase the ranks of crime. This mode of early life shows that the consideration of principle, of right, of duty, and of conscience, never enters into their education. As soon, therefore, as want presses, or un- gratified desires stimulate, these boys will be ready for plunder, for there will be no checks of early instruction to restrain them. The parents of such children have much to answer for, both to society and to God, for the consequences of their neglect. Many a crime will be traced back in its origin to the want of that early control and discipline which all parents are bound to exert over their children. To reform, then, the coming age, we should commence with the children, and impress upon them early the feeling of responsibility, of duty and right. We should likewise exhibit to parents, in the most vivid colors, the im- portance of a greater control over their household, and the restraint of all those evil tempers, desires, and habits which they ascertain are budding in the soul.
As long as our streets are filled with these incipient rowdies, the
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less our sons are in them, the better. We can at least keep them clear from these contaminations, and endeavor to prevent the early influence of evil example from rotting away the principles of right.
We need not wonder at the prevalence of crime when we see boys growing up in the reckless and vile manner, in which too many are training themselves in the midst of us. A youth of rowdyism will be succeeded by a manhood of crime before which the State prison or the gallows stands as the closing scene.
Employment of Women.
We are no advocates for the assumption by women of those duties and rights which belong exclusively to men. We go still further; we are no advocates for the assumption by woman of any of those habits or employments or designative peculiarities which a well regulated pub- lic opinion has for a long time considered as pertaining exclusively to the sterner sex. We have so much old fogyism about us that we dislike to see woman forsaking the retiring delicacy so lovely in her sex, to mingle in the crowds of a contested election, to engage in the discussions of a tumultous assembly, or to jostle her way through the excited rabble of a popular convention. Neither will the goodness of the cause justify any departure from the delicacy which ought to be the characteristic of her sex. If woman wishes to further the Tem- perance movement, the silent influence of a consistent example will prove more efficacious than any public oratory - the domestic plead- ings of a crushed heart will go farther to soften the drunkard's obdurate will, than the éclat of being the presiding officer of a mixed convention. Woman's sphere is at home - There should the gentle dew of her instructions be distilled to drop on the tender and open minds of her offspring. Woman's employment is that of the great educator of the human race. There she will accomplish the object of her mission, and acquire the praise of heaven. These are the true "Woamen's Rights". In these, she will receive the love, the respect, the protection of the world. Out of these, she will be but a wandering star, moving far from her orbit, and scattering "disastrous twilight" through the universe.
These are our deliberate and long formed opinions. We shall not therefore be accused of Radicalism, when we declare that the present generation is called upon so to alter the arrangements of society, and, if necessary the existing state of public opinion, as to give more employments to women, especially in our large cities. They need something by which to earn their bread - Some other avenues of employment should be opened to them.
We have heretofore advocated the preparation of woman in the medical profession, so that they could minister to the diseases of their sex. This measure is becoming more popular, and could it be kept
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aloof from the contamination of the radicalisms of the day, would become universally acceptable. Neither would it exclude the other sex from the profession. They would still have their brethren to take care of, for the very reason that leads us to desire instructed women to prescribe for women, would equally forbid the impropriety for their prescribing for men.
We have no wish to drive the fair sex into the field as is done in Europe. But are there not many light employments now filled by young men that would be better occupied by women? In Paris, men are seldom employed as salesmen, especially in haberdashers' shops. The young men of America ought to look for some more enobling occupation than that of selling gloves and tapes, and hosiery to the ladies. There are many retail establishments in our cities, where it would be much more commendable to employ women than men - ladies' shoe stores; daguerrean saloons that are visited by ladies; all lace and embroidery and hosiery and bonnet establishments. Even the selling of silk goods, and various light articles of women's wear, might be and ought to be entrusted to women. They could readily learn book-keeping likewise, and might follow that business in an estab- lishment where others of their sex were employed. Setting type too, could be readily and easily learnt by women, so that they could find occupation and support as compositors.
But it may be asked, what shall become of the young men? For as many women as you thus find employment for, you must exclude as many young men what will you do with them? Let them remain in the country, subject to healthy influences both of body and soul, and cultivate the soil. If their paternal acres are too scanty, or too cold, or too rough, for a livelihood, let them go to the far West and attack the virgin soil of our new Territories. That is the proper employment of man.
Yankee Speed.
It is in contemplation by the proprietors of the Greenwood Cem- etery near New York, to construct a railway from the city to the cem- etery, so to facilitate the progress of funerals. Is there any other nation but the Yankee that would build a railroad to the grave?
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