USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Deerfield > History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled, vol 2 > Part 16
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[On this high plane the young ladies would build, and, -]
In order to render mutual assistance in the acquirement of these important objects, that we may walk hand in hand in the paths of learning and virtue, which are alone the paths of peace, we who have subscribed our names, have thought proper to form ourselves into a Society for these purposes. [That their walks hand in hand should be less liable to interruption it was made a secret society. ]
Every person before hearing the constitution of this Society shall take the following affirmation, to wit: You promise before this So- ciety, whether you become a member or not, that you will not di- rectly or indirectly reveal anything concerning the laws or internal regulations thereof.
Having never affirmed as above, I feel no scruple in giving some points in the constitution. I shall not give the real "internal" name of this society, which is not the one at the head of this notice, for the reason that I do not know it. The name is left blank, and is the one "secret" of the society which all these years have kept. The constitution was an
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elaborate and cumbersome affair of seventeen articles. The president and vice president were chosen to serve eight weeks; the stated meetings were once in two weeks; " Philo- sophieal or Literary questions" were to be provided for each meeting for "regular discussion or social investigation." Liberty was given every member to present "original com- munications on any subject of science, literature or the do- mestic arts ; or the description of any remarkable occurance or phenomena in nature. Those approved by the committee to be preserved in the Archives."
Members were admitted only by a unanimous vote. If no lady objected, gentlemen might be made honorary members. The records of the meetings have not been found, neither the archives, and the full results are not forthcoming. But we know that one young lady who signed the constitution was employed not long after to calculate eclipses, and assist in other astronomical observations needful for President Edward Hitchcock's famous almanac.
Subjects discussed at the meetings for four years are record- ed, with the decision of the president, but as this was always "on the weight of the arguments adduced by the sides, with- out any regard to the true merits of the question or the real sentiments of the President," little knowledge of the senti- ments of the young women of those days can be gathered. Curiously enough, however, after the flourish of trumpets at the organization, the question, "Ought ladies to endeavour to excell in the sciences?" was decided in the negative. What influences brought the strongest forces on the wrong side does not appear, but apparently the society was wrecked on that occasion, as that appears to be the last question ever de- bated by the association. Those who signed the constitution were :-
Elvira Wells, Sophronia Smith, Delia Williams, Sophia Arms, Lucinda E. Cooley,
Clarissa Dickinson, Lucy Arms, Emila Hitchcock, Fanny Hoyt, Catherine Catlin,
Catherine S. Gorman, llarriet Lyman,
Julia lloyt, Miranda Wright,
Fidelia Wells,
Hannah White,
Orra White,
Julia Ann Chapman,
Emilia A. Cooley,
Harriet J. Cooley, Fanny Smith,
Sophia Catlin,
Mary Bridgman, Mary De Wolf,
Emily Trowbridge,
Mary P. Amsden,
Louisa Wright,
Marcia Boyden,
Sarah Buel Goodhue.
Rheue Cooley,
Miry Arms Lyman.
Martha Arms,
Lucinda Nims,
Rebecca Jackson, Elizabeth Dennison, Mercy Darling,
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THE DEERFIELD PLATFORM.
The "Literary Adelphi" was succeeded by other Adelphis, and the "Young Ladies Literary society" has had many worthy successors. Probably there was no time in the first half of this century when one or more similar organizations were not in active operation, and they brought upon the platform at Deerfield, not only her own citizens of note, but some of the leading thinkers of the nation; statesmen, ju- rists, orators and divines. Among those who have graced the platform are Benjamin R. Curtis, George Bancroft, Hor- ace Greeley, Charles Sumner, Edward Everett, George N. Briggs, George S. Boutwell; and of Deerfield men, John Tay- lor, Epaphras Hoyt, Edward Hitchcock, Samuel Willard, Stephen W. Williams, John Wilson, Rodolphus Dickinson, Pliny Arms, Luther B. Lincoln, Bishop John Williams, Jon- athan A. Saxton, Samuel Willard, Jr. Intellectual activity has been a marked characteristic of the community of which I write. Its center has always been at the Old Street. The poetic element has here found a quiet home. In 1799 "The Calliopean Rivulet " was meandering among her poetic fields and flowers. Bright flashes from its waters were often reflect -. ed upon the pages of the Gazette at Greenfield, but these poems were over the nom de plume of "Loridon," "Frederick " and " Aurelia," and the writers have not been identified.
At ordinations, celebrations and other public occasions, the supply of home-made hymns, odes or songs, has been equal to the large demand. Owing to the circumstances under which they were produced, these effusions have had a preca- rious existence, being as a rule found only on worn-out pro- grammes or in worm-eaten scrap books; from these, most of the given specimens have been rescued. As witnesses of the intellectual atmosphere of Deerfield they should have a permanent place in this history.
Feb. 22d, 1832, the centennial anniversary of Washington's birthday was celebrated here with procession, military pa- rade, dinner, oration, music, &c. The orator was Benjamin R. Curtis, late chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. His oration was printed. A pamphlet copy can be found in Memorial Hall. This fact is noticed because it has been widely claimed, and published, that the orator on this occasion was George Bancroft the historian. The following ode was written for the occasion by Jonathan A. Saxton :-
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LIBRARIES-LITERATURE.
ODE.
Tune-MIRIAM'S SONG.
Hail to the day, which gave WASHINGTON birth!
And joy to America, hope to the earth.
Wreaths to the Chieftain, his Country who guided,
And vanquished her foes in the strength of their might,
Establish'd the peace, to his wisdom confided, Of's Country the father, and glory and light. Lift high our voices in triumph and joy,
The freedom he gave us, time cannot destroy.
llail to the day, which gave WASHINGTON birth!
And joy to America, hope to the earth.
Long shall his name live the first in our story,
His love in the hearts of the free ne'er decay,
His counsels still guide us to greatness and glory,
Till time shall be lost in eternity's day.
Lift high our voices in triumph and joy,
The freedom he gave us, time cannot destroy.
Ever be honored our WASHINGTON'S name,
The Nations exult in the light of his fame.
What though the fetters of tyrants have bow'd them.
And chained the free heart down to bondage and shame,
Through tempests and clouds which now darkly enshroud theni,
The star of their hope points to WASHINGTON'S name
Sing, for the hope of the glory to be,
When tyrants shall perish and earth shall be free.
Yet there is gladness awaiting the slave,
Nor heaven abandons the hopes of the brave.
Onward the light, through the Nations advancing,
Warms millions of hearts with the glow of its fire ; From hill top and mountain its bright beams are glancing,
And liberty's foes in its blaze shall expire.
Be then our banner in triumph unfurl'd,
Till knowledge and freedom have ransom'd the world.
May 14th, 1841, was the day of the national Fast, observed on the death of President Harrison. Services were held in the brick meetinghouse. Dr. Willard delivered the funeral oration and wrote the following for the occasion :-
STANZAS ON THE DEATH OF GEN. HARRISON.
Lo, the mightiest sons of time Fall beneath the shafts of heaven; As the oak, of height sublime, By the thunderbolt is riven.
So has fallen Columbia's Chief, Lately raised to power supreme; All his honors, ah! how brief! All our brilliant hopes a dream!
Hear the voice of God most high Hear, O hear, ye small and great; While for power, or place ye vie; While ye wear the robes of state.
Selfish aims be all forgot; Quench the flames of party strife;
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HOME-MADE HYMNS.
Seek to improve the common lot; Strive for justice, more than life.
Let each virtue pure and bright, Which adorned the honor'd dead,
Emulation still excite;
Every public scene pervade.
So may God in mercy deign Still to grant us joy and peace; All our dearest rights maintain Till the tide of time shall cease.
At the ordination of Daniel B. Parkhurst over the First Church, July 21st, 1841, there were two original hymns, each written "By a Member of the Society." One, I have ascer- tained, was written by Mr. Lincoln; the other is still anony- mous.
HYMN.
BY LUTHER B. LINCOLN.
O Thou, enthroned in glory, Mid angels of thy love! Who makest, still, Thy Temple, Each act Thou dost approve, Thou, whom our fathers worshipped, In that most trying hour, When Sainted Williams praying, Was nerved with holy power;
Thy love-the old traditions, From age to age, shall tell; Thy praise-our hearts most grateful, In joy, to-day, shall swell. O Father, smile benignant On this our cherished one;
And may a work all beauteous, This day, have been begun.
Thou Heaven, breathe on his spirit, Thy beauty, Earth, adorn; Thou starry Night, inspire him, And Day, with light new-born. Thus may he win the tempted, The wanderer from afar, To watch with holy rapture, "THE BRIGHT-THE MORNING STAR."
HYMN.
BY A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. Within this hallowed Temple, Lord, We come to bow a reverend knee; To own Thee as our highest good, And consecrate ourselves to Thee.
This day let fervent praise ascend For him whom Thou:in love, hast given; To warn us when we go astray, And guide us to our home in heaven.
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LIBRARIES-LITERATURE.
May every root of bitterness, Of strife and sin be torn away; While love to God and love to man, Around our hearts, like sun-beams, play.
Beneath each dwelling's quiet shade, An altar would we raise to Thee; That we on earth may ever feel The presence of the DEITY.
Hymns written for the dedication of the Town House. March ist, 1841 :-
HYMN [Old Ilundred].
Beside the Temple of Thy praise,* Another altar we would raise, O God of Truth! and let it be To justice sacred and to Thee.
And when your sacrifice to Heaven,
On wings of faith and hope, is given,
May Holy Love its beams reflect, And this our Civic Hall protect.
O, here triumphant may we see Thy Spirit, Great Humanity ! And all the kindred virtues meet That dwell around the mercy seat,
The justice-Aristides loved;
The honest heart-that Phocion moved:
The pure-the manly-Godlike thought, Which Jesus Christ so nobly taught.
Thus may the Angel of the Lord No deed of darkness here record ; But may this Forum sacred be
To Honor, Truth, and Liberty.
Anonymous.
HYMN.
Oh should those times be now forgot, The warwhoop's echo's shrill; When 'twas our Grandsires' weary lot, To guard their homes from ill. When savages were peering round, When oft the alarming cry From hill and dale with warning sound, Would through our valley fly.
No banquet halls, or costly domes, Can purer hearts regale, Than those who won for us our homes, In this our lovely vale; Then let us oft' a chorus raise, Their memory to recall, May oft' an echo to their praise Be heard in this Town Hall.
May all that's noble, just and true. Which our Fore-fathers taught,
* A meetinghouse had shortly before been erected upon the adjoining lot.
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WASHINGTONIAN.
And truth forever springing new, Within these walls be brought; Within these walls may wisdom oft Her councils wise portray, May reason cheer us on with joy, Where truth shall lead the way.
And long within these walls may we Our Fellow Townsmen greet, May strife and discord ever be Discarded when we meet; And let us now each voice unite, Let every heart dilate, With grateful feelings here to-night This House to dedicate.
To Liberty and Justice too, To freedom in debate, To equal rights for each and all, This House we dedicate. This House we dedicate my Friends, This House we dedicate. To Liberty, and Equal rights, This House we'll dedicate.
Anonymous.
The following ode was sung at a Washington birthday "Temperance Celebration at the Town Hall, Feb. 22, 1843."
ODE TO COLD WATER.
BY J. A. SAXTON. Tune-"Sparkling and bright."
Sparkling and bright, in our bowls to-night,
The true water of life is flowing.
Reflecting hues of the crystal dews
In the buds of the lily glowing. We drink to-night With sylphs of light, That love each gushing fountain; We drink with the flowers In their leafy bowers Of the Vale, or verdant Mountain.
In snow-wreathed domes, benignant gnomes
Of the clouds are e'er distilling,
In alembics of air, our beverage rare,
And all earth's fountains filling. The glass again To the clouds we drain,
In their gorgeous, changeful blending, As they float and gleam In the softened beam Of the evening sun descending.
In deeps of earth, has the forest birth,
From fountains of life ever welling;
Its strength abides in the crystal tides
Which leap in its veins glad swelling. We pledge the Oak Of the rifted rock; The pine in graceful soaring; They drink from our bowl,
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LIBRARIES-LITERATURE.
And laugh at the howl Of the storm when wildest roaring.
On watery shroud the Eastern cloud
Its glorious arch has bended;
Divinely fair, proclaiming there, The sky's wild tumult ended. Celestial bow Of promise now, The sunbeam's radiant daughter, We drink to thy shine, Our cup it is thine, Transparent, pure, cold water.
HYMN AT THE TABLE.
Creation's wine, of hue divine,
Great Nature's love confessing;
With joy and mirth it crowns the earth,
With beauty and with blessing. We pledge the herds, And the painted birds,
That sing on cleaving pinion. The laughing hills With their leaping rills Exult in its dominion.
We fear no pain, while our cup we drain,
Its depths no curse concealing; No demon wile lies hid in its smile;
Truth, Love and Peace revealing. Now ere we part, Awake each heart,
With Love and Hope before us, And in gladness arise, From the earth and skies, One Universal chorus.
The oration on this occasion was by Hon. George Grennell, Jr., of Greenfield. After the oration the following hymn was sung :-
HYMN. BY L. B. LINCOLN. Tune-"National Hymn."
That noble band of pilgrims,
The honored Mayflower bore,
Had lighted up the altar Of freedom on our shore; Columbia's soil was christened, In beauty and in youth And sprinkled from the fountain Of Liberty and Truth.
Humanity responded And songs of joy and love Reechoed through creation, In earth and heaven above; Bright genius of our country, Most fervently we pray, O, still attune thy harp strings To this all hallowed lay.
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DEA. ARMS'S OLD WELL.
And when old England's prowess Came thund'ring o'er the wave, To wrest from us those treasures Which Heaven in mercy gave, Then stood great Vernon's Chieftain, And with his patriot band Burn'd incense on the altar, And purified the land.
But yet there was a tyrant Within the human breast, That cursed the beauteous heritage Which heavenly love had blessed. The Eden of the spirit It ravaged by its fire,
The flowers of virtue wither, The angel plants expire.
Again the Holy Spirit Bade suffering man rebel; Old appetite is conquered By virtue from the Well. " Salvation, O, salvation, The joyful notes proclaim," The soul of man has risen In God, its Father's name.
At the dinner which concluded the celebration, when the wit and wisdom of the company was tested in toast and story, " Parson" Philo Munn made a good local hit. "The point lies in the application." On the old Arms homestead, then in other hands, stood a store in which "the ardent " was free- ly sold with, a back door conveniently near the well. Its customers complained that "watering the stock " had been too freely indulged in-presumably a groundless charge- but Parson Munn, accepting it, gave as his toast, "Deacon Arms's Old Well: it has done more than anything else to weaken and reduce our old Enemy."
ORDINATION OF JOHN F. MOORS OVER THE FIRST PARISH IN DEERFIELD, JAN. 28TH, 1846. ORDINATION IIYMN. (To be sung by the Congregation.) The sacred rite, O God! is done; Before thee stands the anointed one; Our prayers have borne his name above; We wait thy blessing, God of love.
'Tis thine to grant our soul's desire; 'Tis thine to bid our hopes expire; And in this glad, yet solemn hour, Our spirits own thy sovereign power.
Kind Father, bless this sacred tie! O! let our prayers be heard on high! The oft-repeated stroke restrain, Nor bid our Zion mourn again!
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The love that filled the sainted breast, Of those who now have found their rest, Their steadfast faith and dauntless zeal, May these thy Servant's bosom fill.
So let him walk with Thee below; So onward press through joy and woe; And, glad with hope, or tempest-driven, Find earth the vestibule of Heaven.
Mary Willard.
The following, by Eliza Allen Starr, was written for the same occasion :-
HYMN.
All hail! fair truth's anointed, Who of the sinless Christ A herald is appointed, Fresh girded for the right,- These hands of consecration, Pledge his whole soul to thee,-
Be Thou his inspiration, All-present Deity!
Lo! angels round the altar, In radiant circles press, To clothe thy truth's apostle With robes of righteousness; And blissful revelations Before his vision sweep,
Of Him who saves the wand'ring, And dries the eyes that weep.
And they the dear departed, Who prophet-like have trod, In meekest robes of priesthood This temple of our God, Linked in one holy union, Kneel with him, side by side,-
The perfected through sorrow,- His upward steps to guide.
(! hear, our Lord and Father, The prayers thy children raise, In earnest hope, though trembling, This day with songs of praise- The Lord-Ilis loving kindness, His mercy will not cease, Whose love is our salvation, Our everlasting peace!
The following ode was written for a Field meeting of the P. V. M. Association at Charlemont, Aug. 2d, 1871 ; on the oc- casion of dedicating a monument to the memory of Capt. Moses Rice and Phineas Arms, who were killed by Indians, June 11th, 1755.
ODE. BY CAROLINE S. CATLIN. [/1ir-" Scots wha hae."] Roll swiftly back, O mist of years, And bring once more before our view
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BI-CENTENNIAL ODE.
The days of yore, the noble men And women brave and true. The peaceful fields we till with ease, They sowed in fear of deadly foe, And oft the silent arrow sped, And laid the yeoman low.
We owe to them our smiling vales, We owe our meadows broad and fair,- And pay we faithful tribute here To virtues rich and rare. They fled from tyranny and wrong, They braved, in faith, the stormy sea, In darkest hour they raised the song, And bent to God the knee.
We mourned their virtues passed away, The nation led in Mammon's train; Ah, woe the time when faith and truth Are lost in love of gain.
But when through all the awe-struck land Rang out the clarion call "To Arms !" The nation spurned the coward brand And echoed back, "To Arms!"
No more we say that faith and truth Have left the stricken earth again,- We mourn, instead, the vanished youth All numbered with the slain. We raise to them the granite pile, We weave them wreaths of brightest sheen,
Recall their deeds, with tear and smile, And keep their memory green.
Ode written in the centennial year of our nation by Lucre- tia Wilson Eels, for the bi-centennial of the battle at Turners Falls, celebrated by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Asso- ciation, May 31st, 1876.
Faint and dim are the echoes borne From a century gone, before That signal flashed from Boston-spire Far out on a midnight shore, And onward sped, till rose the sun, The immortal day of Lexington.
A hundred years, ere flag unfurled And shot was fired by Concord flood, The deadlier savage barb was hurled, And Peskeompskut drenched in blood; And mid the roar of rushing wave, Rose dying moans of slaughtered brave.
Baptized in blood, the waters bear The fallen Turner's deathless name; Mingling for aye their ceaseless flow With the martyr'd hero's deeds and fame; Where cities rise, nor is left a trace Along its shores, of the vanquished race.
Oh, not alone, this glorious year, Let cannon boom and screaming shell Of that proud day of a nation freed
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LIBRARIES-LITERATURE.
And its majestic triumphs tell; But valiant deeds of those men of yore In the fiercer strife that had gone before.
Nursed by those faithful hearts and true, Through its early suffering years, Struggling, the new-born nation grew Like the Hebrew mother's child of tears; Trusting alone in her God to save
Its frail bark rocked on the treacherous wave,
The spark of liberty that flashed When the foot of the pilgrim prest The flinty rock of Plymouth, burned In every patriot breası, From the first print on New England shore
To the blood-stained stones of Baltimore.
And like Clan-Alpine's cross of fire, From hand to hand the brand was flung; Down the long years from son to sire The blazing torch of freedom sprung, Till the sign of its banner floating free In the breath of heaven, is liberty.
Then, not alone for one proud day Let the mightiest anthems ring, And kings and empires from afar Their gorgeous offerings bring, But for woes and toils our fathers bore, In the stern sad century gone before.
It had been my purpose to close this chapter with a biblio- graphical sketch of the literature of Deerfield ; but being met with so many difficulties, the plan was abandoned, and I give instead a bare list of those connected with the town by birth or residence, some of whose writings have appeared in book form and have come to my knowledge :--
Christopher Tyler Arms, Jennie Maria Arms, Jonathan Ashley, Charlotte Alice Baker, William Bull, Elisabeth W. Champney, Rodolphus Dickinson, Samuel Field, Chester Harding, Richard Hildreth, Edward Hitchcock, James Kendall Hosmer, Elihu Hoyt,
Epaphras Iloyt, John Hubbard,
Samuel Mather. John Farwell Moors, Jonathan Ashley Saxton,
George Sheldon,
Eliza Allen Starr, John Taylor, Mary Willard, Samuel Willard,
John Williams,
Stephen West Williams.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SCHOOLS-DEERFIELD ACADEMY-POCUMTUCK VALLEY MEMO- RIAL ASSOCIATION.
Brief annals relating to schools will be continued from Chapter X. From 1703 to 1720 there is no record of any ac- tion by the town concerning schools, but even in the strait- ened condition of the people it cannot be that the subject of education was ignored or totally neglected. Probably a sys- tem of private schools was adopted. No other explanation can be found for a vote passed by the town, Nov. 6th, 1707. to "sell the schoolhouse for five pounds to Joseph Alex- ander." This, doubtless, must have been the " Town School House " built in 1698, and so it was another building which escaped the destruction of Feb. 29th, 1704.
Nov 3, 1720 the Town then Granted ye summ of twenty pounds in money for ye year ensuing towards ye encouragment of a school in Deerfield the scholars makeing up with sd sum that a School Master may be hired for by a Committee chosen to ye Business, which com- mittee shall have power to hire sd School Master for ye whole year, half a year, or a quarter of it, or what part, and the twenty pounds in money before mentioned to be apportioned to ye time they shall hire the School Master for.
At ye same meeting ye Town made choice of Sam1 Barnard Sam11 Field and John Arms to be as a Committe for ye concerns of ye school, to hire a School Master, to hire a School house, or whatever is proper for a School Committee to Doe
Voted affirmatively
1722. The selectmen were authorized to hire a school- house and hire a school master to teach reading, writing and cyphering for half a year, the scholars being only required to furnish firewood.
1723. Voted to " build a school house forthwith " and to have the school continued for the year ensuing.
1724. March 9th, " Voted that a School Master be hired for ye year ensuing and yt ye selectmen shall take care to hire some fit person to learn youth to Read and cypher."
1725. Voted to give Moses Nash £35 for keeping school
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SCHOOLS-DEERFIELD ACADEMY.
one whole year. Nash was one of the selectmen that year.
1728. This year women came again to the front. Bridget Barnard was voted ten shillings a week for keeping school to Oct. 15th. Liberty was given "to all farmers to procure School Dames to teach their children, to be paid three pence a week for each scholar until Oct 15."
I suppose this vote refers to the Green River people living at the " Farms," which was then and long after the center of population in that district. It was voted at the same meet- ing,-
To hire a gramer School Master from ye 15th of Octr to ye first of Ap1 ensuing
[1732, Voted ] to pay a school dame for keeping a school at Green River this summer.
[1733] four pence a week per scholar allowed to farmers for there schooling the summer past
[1735] 4d a week allowed per scholar for all scholars for there schooling this summer.
1736. There was a master in town and a dame at Green River, at four pence a week per scholar. Prices were raised the next year.
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