USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Proceedings at the dedication of the building for the Public library of the city of Boston. January 1, 1858 > Part 5
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And now, Mr. Mayor, the enlightened counsels of the City Government are about to give new strength
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to those ties of gratitude and affection, which bind the hearts of the children of Boston to their beloved city. Hitherto the system of public education, excel- lent as it is, and wisely supported by a princely expenditure, does but commence the work of instruc- tion and carry it to a certain point; well advanced, indeed, but far short of the goal. It prepares our young men for college, for the counting-room, for the office of the engineer, the studio of the artist, the shop of the artisan, the laboratory of the chemist, or whatever field of employment they may be destined to enter; but there it leaves them, without further pro- vision for the culture of the mind. It disciplines the faculties, and forms a taste for the acquisition of knowledge, on the part of our young men and women ; but it provides no means for their exercise and gratification. It gives them the elementary edu- cation requisite for their future callings, but withholds all facilities of access to those boundless stores of recorded knowledge, in every department, by which alone that elementary education can be completed and made effectual for the active duties of life.
But to-day our honored city carries on and per- fects her work. The Trustees, from their first annual report to the present time, have never failed to recom- mend a first class public library, such as that, sir, for whose accommodation you destine this noble building, as the completion of the great system of public edu-
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cation. Its object is to give to the entire population, not merely to the curious student, but to the inquisi- tive member of either of the professions, to the intel- ligent merchant, mechanic, machinist, engineer, artist, or artisan, in short, to all of every age and of either sex, who desire to investigate any subject, either of utility or taste, those advantages which, without such an ample public collection, must necessarily be mo- nopolized by the proprietors of large private libraries, or those who by courtesy have the use of them; nay, to put within the reach of the entire community advantages of this kind, far beyond those which can be afforded by the largest and best provided private libraries.
The Trustees are anxious that the institution, whose prosperity they have so much at heart, should con- tinue to be viewed in this light; as one more added to the school-houses of the city, at which Boston boys and girls, when they have outgrown the other schools, will come to carry on the education which has been there commenced ; where Boston men and women, " children of a larger growth," may come to acquire. that additional knowledge which is requisite for the most successful discharge of the duties of the various callings of society, - which opens, in its pur- suit, the purest sources of happiness, and which, with- out reference to utility, contributes so materially to the grace and ornament of life.
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I am aware that there is still floating about in the community a vague prejudice against what is called book-learning. One sometimes hears doubts expressed of the utility of public libraries ; opinions that they are rather ornamental than necessary or useful; and the fact that our time-honored city, never indifferent to the mental improvement of her children, has subsisted more than two centuries without one, is a sufficient proof that until within a very few years, their importance has not been practically felt. There is, perhaps, even now a disposition to claim some superiority for what is called practical knowl- edge- knowledge gained by observation and experi- ence, (which most certainly the Trustees would not disparage,) and a kind of satisfaction felt in holding up the example of self-taught men, in supposed con- tradistinction from those who have got their knowl- edge from books; and no name, perhaps, is so frequently mentioned in this connection as that of Franklin, who, because he had scarce any school education, and never went to college, has been hastily set down as a brilliant example to show the inutility of book-learning. It has been quoted to me in this way, and to show that libraries are of no use, within three days.
Now, Mr. Mayor, I need not tell you that there never was a greater mistake in point of fact. A thirst for books, which he spared no pains to allay,
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is the first marked trait disclosed in the character of Franklin ; his success throughout the early period of his life can be directly traced to the use he made of them; and his very first important movement for the benefit of his fellow-men, was to found a public library, which still flourishes ; - one of the most con- siderable in the country. Franklin not a book-man ! whoever labors under that delusion, shows that some- body else is not much of a book-man, at least so far as concerns the biography of our illustrious townsman. We happen to have a little information on that sub- ject in a book written by Franklin himself. He there gives a very different account of himself, and I would ask any one who entertains the idea to which I am alluding, at what period of Franklin's career he sup- poses this taste for books began to be manifested by him ; how soon he ceased to be a self-formed man ? Perhaps after he had struggled through the years of his youthful poverty, - escaped to Philadelphia, - set up in business as a printer, and began to have a little money in his pocket. I need not tell you, sir, that it was earlier than that. Was it, then, while he was the clever apprentice to his brother, the editor of a journal, and wrote articles for its columns in a dis- guised hand, and tucked them under the office door, enjoying the exquisite delight of being ordered to set up his own anonymous articles ? Was it, then, at the age of fifteen or sixteen, that this fondness for
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reading, under the stimulus of boyish authorship, dis- closed itself? Earlier than that. Well, then, at the grammar school and Master Brownwell's writing school, which he attended from eight to ten, (for there are boys who show a fondness for reading even at that tender age;) was little Benjamin's taste for books developed while yet at school ? Earlier than that. Hear his own words, which you will permit me to read from that exquisite piece of autobiography to which I have already alluded: "From my infancy I was passionately fond of reading, and all the money that came into my hands was laid out in purchasing books. I was very fond of voyages. My first acqui- sition was Bunyan's works, in separate little volumes. I afterwards sold them to enable me to buy R. Bur- ton's Historical Collections. They were small chap- man's books and cheap, forty volumes in all. My father's little library consisted chiefly of books in polemic divinity, most of which I read. I have often regretted, [and this is a sentence that might be in- scribed on the lofty cornice of this noble hall,] that at a time when I had such a thirst for knowledge, more proper books had not fallen in my way. . There was among them Plutarch's Lives, which I read abundantly, and I still think that time spent to great advantage. There was also a book of Defoe's, called an 'Essay on Projects,' and another of Dr. Mather's, called an 'Essay to Do Good,' which" did what, sir ?
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-for I am now going to give you in Frank- lin's own words (they carry with them the justifi- cation of every dollar expended in raising these walls) the original secret of his illustrious career - what was the effect produced by reading these two · little books of Defoe and Cotton Mather ? “They perhaps gave me a turn of thinking, which had an influence on some of the principal future events of my life."
Yes, sir, in the reading of those books was the acorn, that sprouted into that magnificent oak; there was the fountain-drop which a fairy might sip from a buttercup, from which has flowed the Missouri and the Mississippi, - the broad, deep river of Franklin's fame, winding its way through the lapse of ages, and destined to flow on, till it shall be ingulfed in the ocean of eternity. From his "infancy," sir, "passion- ately fond of reading," nay, with the appetite of a vulture, with the digestion of an ostrich, attacking the great folios of polemic divinity in his father's library. Not a dull boy, either, sir; not a precocious little book-worm; fond of play ; doesn't dislike a little mischief; sometimes, as he tells us, "led the other boys into scrapes;" but in his intervals of play, in his leisure moments, up in the lonely garret, when the rest of the family were asleep, holding converse in his childhood with the grave old non-conformists, Howe, and Owen, and Baxter,-communing with the
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austerest lords of thought; the demigods of puri- tanism, -
· Non sine diis animosus infans.
Franklin not a book-man? Why, he goes on to tell us that it was "this bookish inclination which at length determined his father to make him a printer," against his own inclination, which was for the sea; and when he had thus by constraint become a printer, his great consolation was, as he says, that "I now had access to better books. An acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes to . borrow a small one, which I was careful to return soon and clean. Often I sat up in my chamber read- ing the greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in the evening and to be returned in the morning, lest it should be found missing."
Then he made the acquaintance of Mr. Matthew Adams, an ingenious, sensible man, " who had a pretty collection of books." He frequented the printing office, took notice of the bright little apprentice, and " very kindly proposed to lend me such books as I chose to read." Having taken to a vegetable diet at the age of sixteen, he persuaded his brother to allow him in cash half the price of his board, lived upon potatoes and hasty pudding, soon found that he could save half even of that little allowance, (which could not have exceeded two-and-sixpence a week, lawful money,) and this poor little economy "was an
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additional fund for buying books." What would the poor, underfed boy, who was glad to buy books on the savings of his potato diet, have said could he have had free access to a hall like this, stored as it soon will be with its priceless treasures ? Further, sir, while working as a journeyman in England, he says, "I made the acquaintance of one William Wilcox, a bookseller, whose shop was next door. He had an immense collection of second-hand books;"- (some- what, I suppose, like our friend Burnham, in Corn- hill;)-" circulating libraries were not then in use, but we agreed that on certain reasonable terms, which I have now forgotten, I might take, read and return any of his works. This I esteemed a great advantage, and I made as much use of it as I could."
Finally, sir, as I have already said, Franklin's first important movement for the good of his fellow-men was the foundation of the public library in Philadel- phia. At his instance, the members of a little club . to which he belonged, tradesmen and mechanics of narrow means, threw into common stock the few books which belonged to them. A subscription was then obtained from fifty young men, principally tradesmen, of two pounds each, and ten shillings per annum, and with this little fund they began. "The books were imported, the library was opened one day in the week for lending them to the subscribers, on their promissory notes to pay double the value if not
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duly returned." "This was the mother," says Frank- lin, " of all the North American subscription libraries, now so numerous. It has become a great thing itself, and continually goes on increasing. These libraries have improved the general conversation of the Ameri- cans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries, and, perhaps, have contributed in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defence of their privileges."
Those are the words of Franklin, Mr. Mayor, which I read from his own book. Our excellent friend, the President of the Commissioners, has justly felicitated himself on having been the first person publicly to raise his voice in this noble hall. He must be a happier man than I who can speak an earlier or an abler word than his on any occasion ; but I claim the credit of having read from the first book opened in this hall; and what is more, sir, I mean to have the satisfaction of presenting the first volume given ' to the library since it came into the care of the Trus- tees. In your presence, Mr. Mayor, and that of this vast assembly, on this first of January, 1858, I offer this copy of Franklin's Autobiography, in Sparks's edition, as a new year's gift to the Boston Public Library. Nay, sir, I am going to do more, and make the first, and perhaps the last, motion ever made in this hall; and that is, that every person present, of
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his own accord if of age,-with the consent of parent or guardian if a minor, -man, woman, boy; or girl, be requested, on going home, to select one good book, and, in memory of the poor boy who half fed himself to gratify his taste for reading, present it as a new year's gift to the Boston Public Library. I make you that motion, Mr. Mayor, and I call upon all present to give me their voices; especially I ask the cooperation of the fairer and the better part of cre- ation. If nowhere else, woman's rights shall be respected in this hall, while I have anything to do with it. I pray you, Mr. Mayor, put the question, and then I'll finish my speech.
His Honor the Mayor then rose and stated the question, which was seconded by Mr. Winthrop. The Mayor particularly called on the ladies to vote, and a unanimous and emphatic aye resounded through the vast hall. The negative was then called, and no response made. His Honor, amidst great cheering, pronounced it a unanimous vote.
Mr. Everett resumed -
No, sir, if there is one lesson more than another directly deducible from the life of Franklin, it is the close connection of a thoroughly practical and useful life and career with books, libraries and reading. If there is a thing on earth which would have gladdened
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his heart, could he have anticipated it, it would be the knowledge that his native city, in two genera- tions after his death, would found a library like this, to give to the rising generation, and to the lovers of knowledge of every age, that access to books of which he so much felt the want. And could it be granted to him, even now, to return to his native city, which dwelt in his affections to the close of his life, his first visit would be to the centre of the ancient burial ground, where, in after life, he duti- fully placed a marble slab on the graves of his parents; his second visit would be to the spot in Milk street where he was born; his third to the corner of Union street and Hanover street, where he passed his childhood, in a house still standing; his fourth visit would be to the site of the free grammar school-house, where, as he says in his will, he received " his first instruction in literature," and which is now adorned with the statue which a grateful posterity has dedicated to his memory; and his last and longest would be to this noble hall, where you are making provision for an ample supply of that reading of which "from his infancy he was passionately fond." The Trustees have done what they could to connect some reference to Franklin with an institution which would have been the object of his warmest affections, by providing that every Franklin medal boy shall be entitled to . its privileges; and inasmuch as the accu-
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mulating fund which he bequeathed to the city, and which now exceeds seventy thousand dollars, has proved almost wholly unavailing for the primary ob- ject of the bequest, it deserves consideration whether, when it has reached a sufficient magnitude, as it will before the end of this century, the interest of the fund, if it can be legally done, might not advan- 8 tageously be appropriated, as a permanent endowment for the support of the library.
I have not proposed at this time, sir, on the part of the Trustees, to make a formal speech; I have preferred to let Benjamin Franklin speak for us. This day belongs of right to the Commissioners for building the library, ably represented as they are by our distinguished friend their President, who has done. such ample justice to the subject; and to you, Mr. Mayor, as the organ of the City Government, whom I cannot but congratulate on closing your official career-in all respects so honorable to yourself and so acceptable to your fellow-citizens-by an act, I am sure, most grateful to your own feelings and most auspicious of the public good. It is not yet the time for the Trustees to speak. A more fitting opportunity may, hereafter present itself, when the books shall be placed on the shelves, the catalogue printed, and the library opened for public use. Occa- sion may then, perhaps, with propriety be taken, to illustrate the importance and utility of such an insti-
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tution; to do justice to the liberality on the part of the City Government and the individual benefactors by which it has been founded, endowed and sus- tained ; and especially to the generosity of our greatest benefactor and esteemed fellow-countryman, Mr. Bates, whose letters announcing his first munifi- · cent donation of fifty thousand dollars, alluding to his own early want of access to books, assign that as the moving cause which prompted his liberality. It will be the pleasing duty of those who may then be intrusted with the administration of the library, to pay a fitting tribute to so much public and private bounty.
In the mean time, sir, we must throw ourselves on the patience and considerateness of the City Coun- cil and the community. Not much short of sixty thousand volumes are to be brought together from four different places of temporary deposit, and as- signed to their final resting-places in this hall, and the circulating library below. Here they are to be arranged on the shelves, the cards and slips which pertain to them, far more numerous than the volumes themselves -reduced to alphabetical order ; a sepa- rate catalogue of each alcove prepared; and a com- prehensive catalogue of the whole collection, without which it will be little better than an unmanageable mass, prepared and printed. Every thing which could be done beforehand, has been anticipated ; but much
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of the work was of necessity reserved till the books should be placed on the shelves. In the interval, and while this labor is going on, the library in Mason street will be left in possession of the books most in request for daily circulation, and will be closed at last only when it becomes absolutely necessary that they also should be removed to the new building.
But it is time for me to conclude. The shades of evening are falling around us; those cressets which lend us their mild and tasteful illumination, will soon be extinguished; and the first day of the new year, rich in the happy prospects we now inaugurate, will come to a close. May the blessing of Heaven give effect to its largest anticipations ! A few more days, -a few more years, - will follow their appointed round, and we, who now exchange our congratula- tions on this magnificent new year's gift of our City Fathers, will have passed from the scene; but firm in the faith that the growth of knowledge is the growth of sound principles and pure morals, let us not doubt, that, by the liberality of the City Govern- ment and of our generous benefactors at home and abroad, a light will be kindled and go forth from these walls, now dedicated to the use of the FREE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, which will guide our children and our children's children in the path of intelligence and virtue till the sun himself shall fall from the heavens.
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Mr. Everett concluded his address at forty-five min- utes past six o'clock in the afternoon, occupying about forty-six minutes in speaking. The audience then joined the choir in singing the following hymn to the tune of " Old Hundred."
HYMN. 1
From all that dwell below the skies
Let the Creator's praise arise ; Let the Redeemer's name be sung ;. Through every land, by every tongue.
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord ; Eternal truth attends thy word ; Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, Till suns shall rise and set no more.
The exercises of the day were then closed by Rev. ARTHUR B. FULLER, pastor of the New North Church, who pronounced the following
BENEDICTION.
And now may the blessing of God, our Heavenly Father, rest upon this assembly. May the love of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, abide with us; and when we and those by whose beneficence and labors this building has been reared; when the countless throng who shall gather instruction from the volumes herein
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to be placed shall all have laid aside this mortal body; when this goodly edifice itself, with all transi- tory things, shall have passed away; then, when " the dead are raised and the books of God opened," may we, and all interested in this occasion, find our " names written in the Lamb's book of life;" may we enter an edifice fairer than this, even that "building of God, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
At precisely ten minutes before seven o'clock in the evening, the proceedings at the dedication of the library building terminated. Never had ceremonies of a similar character in Boston equalled these in interest, the assemblage of persons present preserving perfect decorum and stillness throughout the whole of the performances, and receiving the eloquent addresses of the occasion in a spirit that indicated warm sympathy and admiration. Every thing was arranged in the most acceptable manner, and was carried out with the greatest promptness and pre- cision, much to the credit of the Committee of Arrangements and the marshals.
After the exercises of dedication were over, the building was inspected by the company, all the rooms and halls being brilliantly illuminated for the pur- pose, and the doors being thrown open to the public.
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During the evening a sumptuous collation was given, in one of the halls, to the choir of young ladies, by the Committee of Arrangements, at which short speeches were made by His Honor the Mayor and several other gentlemen.
At a later hour of the evening, the Commissioners on the erection of the library building, the Trustees of the Library, the City Government, and some other invited guests were entertained by Mayor Rice, at his residence, No. 34 Union Park.
For several days after the dedication of the build- ing the halls were lighted up in the evening, and were visited by the citizens, who expressed generally great satisfaction at the successful termination of the labors of the Commissioners.
On the following evening a social reunion of the Committee of Arrangements, the marshals of the day, and other persons who had taken special interest in the ceremonies of dedication, was held at the Parker House. Alderman Frost presided, with his usual ability, on the occasion. After the repast was con- cluded, speeches were made by Alderman Frost, Chair- man of the Committee of Arrangements, Mayor Rice, Alderman Bonney and Mr. Pond, of the Commis- sioners, Dr. Shurtleff, of the Trustees, Capt. Bradlee, the Chief Marshal, Capt. Rogers, of the escort, Mr. Stevens, President of the Common Council, Mr. Healy, the City Solicitor, and other gentlemen. Before sepa-
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ration the marshals took measures to preserve, within the archives of the library, a suitable memorial of the occasion, in response to the motion made by Mr. Everett, in his address.
Many books were received at the library as dona- tions, in consequence of the motion offered by Mr. Everett and put to vote by the Mayor. Among these was a valuable work presented by the marshals, who each subscribed five dollars for the purpose. Scarcely a day has passed since the dedication that volumes have not been received. These will be pre- served in the archives of the library as memorials of this pleasant event.
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FINAL PROCEEDINGS.
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FINAL PROCEEDINGS.
At a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen, held at City Hall on Saturday, the second day of January, A. D. 1858, the following resolutions of thanks, offered by Alderman J. M. Wightman, were unanimously passed, and subsequently approved by His Honor, Mayor Rice.
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