USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some places in its vicinity > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
------------
58
THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.
THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.
THE Theological School first began to be spoken of, as a separate institu- tion, at about the time when the Law School was established. Instruction in Theology had, for a long period, perhaps from the foundation of the College, been given to graduates ; at first by the President, subsequently by the Hollis Professor, or by the two together, and, since May, 1811, by the Dexter Lecturer ; but in 1816 an effort was made to extend the means of this instruction, and a society was formed for the purpose of " promoting theological education in Harvard College." Something was done at this time, in the way of raising money, although the funds of the society were chiefly employed, for several years, in cooperation with those of the Cor- poration, in extending pecuniary aid to theological students; and it was not until 1819, that the "Theological School " received a more formal or- ganization, when the Hollis Professor of Divinity, the Hancock Professor of Hebrew, and the Alford Professor of Natural Religion and Moral Phi- losophy were authorized, and undertook, to assist in the instruction of the School; and Mr. Norton, who for several years had given lectures on the Dexter foundation, was appointed Dexter Professor of Sacred Litera. ture, and associated with them. An increased number of students in this department soon began to appear, and after a few years another combined effort was made, and a new board of Directors constituted and incorporated, by the name of "The Society for the Promotion of Theological Education in Harvard University "; under whose auspices an edifice for the accom- modation of theological students was erected, which, at its dedication, in August, 1826, received the name of "Divinity Hall." It is situated on "Divinity Hall Avenue," at some little distance from the other College buildings, in a northeasterly direction. It is of brick, and contains a Chapel for religious services, an apartment for the Library, and a reading. room, together with apartments for the students, &c., &c. The Library is small, numbering only about three thousand volumes, consisting mostly of select works in modern Theology, with some of the early Fathers in the original; but the students have free access to the Public Library of the University, which in some measure compensates for the deficiencies of their own. Means have been recently devised for adding to the Library, as published, valuable modern works in the various departments of The- ology and Morals.
The COURSE of INSTRUCTION comprises Lectures, Recitations, and other exercises, on all subjects usually included in a system of theological ed- ucation, embracing, -
The Hebrew Language ;
The Principles of Criticism and Interpretation ;
The Criticism and Interpretation of the Scriptures ;
Natural Religion, and the Evidences of Revealed Religion ;
.
T
59
THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.
Systematic Theology, and Christian Ethics;
Church History, and Church Polity ;
The Composition and Delivery of Sermons ; And the Duties of the Pastoral Office.
The members of the two upper classes have a weekly exercise in the practice of extemporaneous speaking, and the members of the Senior class preach in the Meeting. house of the First Parish during the summer Term.
Students are entitled to receive instruction from the Instructor in the German Language, and to attend gratis all public Lectures of the Univer- sity, given to undergraduates in the Academical Department.
Candidates for admission are requested to present themselves on the first day of the Term, and it is considered of great importance that those who enter the School should be present at the beginning of the first Term. If unknown to the Faculty, they are to produce testimonals of their moral and serious character. Those who are not Bachelors of Arts will be examined in the following books : -
Latin Grammar, Virgil, Cicero's Select Orations, and Sallust.
Greek Grammar, Felton's Greek Reader, the first four books of Xeno- phon's Anabasis, and the first book of Herodotus, or the first two books of Xenophon's Memorabilia.
Geography, Arithmetic, Geometry, and Algebra.
Whately's Logic and Rhetoric, (or some other approved treatises on Logic and Rhetoric,) Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, Stew- art's Elements of the Philosophy of the Mind, Paley's Moral Philosophy, Jouffroy's Introduction to Ethics, and Butler's Analogy.
Candidates for admission to an advanced standing must have been en- gaged in the study of Theology as long as the class into which they pro- pose to be received, and must pass an examination in the studies which that class has pursued.
Each student must possess a copy of the Old and New Testament Scrip- tures in the original languages, the latter in Griesbach's or Tischendorf's edition. A copy of all other class-books is furnished on loan. Three years, including the vacations, which amount to twelve weeks in each year, complete the term of residence, and are deemed necessary for a prop- er course of preparation for the duties of the profession.
PRIZES are annually awarded, at the close of each Academical year, for the best and second best Dissertations, written by students of the Divinity School, on subjects given out by the Faculty, as follows : -
A prize of fifty dollars for the best, and of forty dollars for the second best Dissertation, written by a member of the Senior class.
A prize of forty dollars for the best, and thirty dollars for the second best Dissertation. written by a member of the Middle class.
The merit of the Dissertations will be adjudged by Committees ap-
.
60
THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.
pointed by the Faculty of the Divinity School; but no prize will be awarded if no Dissertation offered shall be deemed to have sufficient mer- it; and the Faculty are authorized to withhold the award from any student who, in their judgment, has not been faithful in his attendance upon the stated exercises of the School, and in the performance of his required du. ties.
Students are required to reside in or near Divinity Hall. They give bonds in the sum of $ 100 for the payment of term-bills, which, including charges for instruction, rent and care of room and furniture, and use of class-books, amount to $ 66 annually. Board may be had in the city at various prices from $ 2.50 to $ 3.50 a week Indigent students are aided from Foundations, and other sources
" It has happened, singularly enough, that the connection of this School with the College has been thought disadvantageous by the especial friends of both institutions. The patrons of the School have thought it to be harmed by its union with the College, and the particular friends of the Academic Department have thought this to be injuriously affected by hav. ing a Unitarian School associated with it. An injury to its reputation, with other denominations of Christians, it may have been; but, as the reciprocal influence of the School and College on each other is practically nothing, it seems impossible that the real character of either should suffer by the connection. The Theological School has no more direct influence on the College than the Law School, - not so much, indeed, - and it seems to be forgotten by many persons, that the only connection between them, as between any other two departments, is, that they are under the general direction of the same board, the Corporation. There is little or no associ- ation between the students in any two departments, and the funds are en. tirely distinct. Not a dollar of the money given for the support or in. struction of undergraduates has ever been diverted from its legitimate purpose to the benefit of either of the Schools connected with the College. The Parkman Professorship, as is well known, was expressly devoted by its principal founder, the Rev. Dr. Parkman, to the purposes of the The- ological School ; and the large addition made to the Dexter foundation, in 1841, by the Society for the Promotion of Theological Education, was, in like manner, expressly appropriated by that society to the same insti- tution ; provision being made for the removal of the latter funds, in case the School should ever be separated from the College."
The funds for the support of the institution have been gradually increas- ing, till they now amount to upwards of $ 80,000, and two Professors have charge of from twenty to thirty pupils. The annual charge for instruction is low, being less than $ 70, while there are considerable funds for the aid of indigent students. The bequest of Mr. Bussey will probably afford to this School, as well as to the Law Department, the means of supporting two more Professors.
-
-
ʻ
C
"GRAND REFRACTOR, CAMBRIDGE."
60
CAMBRIDGE OBSERVATORY.
61
CAMBRIDGE.
THE CAMBRIDGE OBSERVATORY.
This observatory is situated on a commanding eminence called Summer House Hill, the summit of which is about fifty feet above the plain on which are erected the buildings of the University. This height is found to give from the dome an horizon almost uninterrupted to within two or three degrees of altitude. The grounds appropriated to the use of the Ob- servatory comprise about six and a half acres. It is distant nearly three- fourths of a mile northwest from University Hall, and three miles and a half in the same direction from the State House in Boston.
The wonder and adiniration caused by the unexpected appearance of the great comet in March, 1843, was a great incentive to, and, indirectly, oue of the principal causes of, the erection of this now celebrated Observa. tory, although for many years before it had been a favorite project with John Q. Adams, Nathaniel Bowditch, and other distinguished advocates of astronomical science. But few decisive steps were taken, however, un- til the sudden appearance of this brilliant comet, in 1843, when it was found that the instruments in Cambridge were entirely inadequate to make accurate observations on such a body. This roused the public-spirited Bostonians to a sense of the importance of an Astronomical Observatory, with instruments of sufficient accuracy to make the necessary observations on the heavenly bodies. Accordingly, an informal meeting was held in the office of the American Insurance Company, Boston, by several public. spirited citizens who were interested in the cause. Soon after, a large meeting of merchants and others was held in the hall of the Marine So. ciety, where it was resolved to raise by subscription the funds necessary for procuring an equatorial telescope of the first class, and twenty-five thousand dollars were immediately subscribed. Mr. David Sears, of Boston, headed the list by a donation of five hundred dollars for this ob- ject, besides giving five thousand dollars for the erection of a suitable lower to contain this instrument. Another gentleman of Boston sub- scribed one thousand dollars towards the telescope ; eight others contributed five hundred dollars each, for the same object; eighteen gentleinen gave two hundred each, and thirty others gave the sum of one hundred dollars each. The American Academy of Arts and Siences made a donation of three thousand dollars, and the Society for the diffusion of Useful Knowl- edge gave one thousand. Besides these, the principal Insurance Compa- nies of Boston contributed largely. The American, Merchants', and Na tional Insurance offices, and the Humane Society, gave five hundred each ; two other companies subscribed three hundred ; and two others gave, re- spectively, two hundred and fifty, and two hundred. Thus in a short time an amount was subscribed sufficient for procuring the instrument which has contributed so much to the advancement of astronomy gen- erally, besides reflecting so much honor on the country at large.
62
THE OBSERVATORY.
The Sears Tower. - The engraving annexed is a correct representa. tion of the Grand Refractor, which is placed in the Sears Tower, or cen- tral building of the Observatory. A correct view is also given of the south front of the Observatory and its two wings.
The site of the Observatory was purchased by the corporation of Har- vard University. The Sears' Tower, so called, in honor of David Sears, whose generous donation we have already mentioned, is built of brick, on a foundation of granite, laid with cement. It is thirty-two feet square on the outside, while on the inside the corners are gradually brought to a circular form for the better support of the dome, forming a massive arch. This dome, covering the grand equatorial, is a hemisphere of thirty.two feet interior diameter, formed with stout ribs of plank, and covered exter- nally with copper. There is an opening five feet wide, and extending a few degrees beyond the zenith; which is closed by means of weather- proof shutters, and worked by means of an endless chain and toothed wheels.
On the lower side of this dome is affixed a grooved iron rail, and on the granite cap of the wall is placed a similar rail; between these grooves are placed eight iron spheres, accurately turned, on which the dome is re. volved. The apparatus for moving the dome consists of toothed wheels, geared to a series of toothed iron plates, fastened to its lower section. By means of this, the whole dome, weighing about fourteen tons, can be turned through a whole revolution, by a single person, in thirty-five sec- onds. In this dome are placed the "Grand Refractor," and one or two smaller instruments. The Comet Seeker, a small instrument of four inches aperture, by Merz, is used from the balconies of the dome. This is the instrument with which the younger Bond has discovered no less than eleven telescopic comets, before intelligence had reached him of their having been seen by any other observer. From these balconies a most extensive and beautiful view of the neighboring towns meets the eye, their numerous hills, spires, &c.
On either side of the tower is a large wing. Of these, the eastern is used as a dwelling for the observer; the western, on which is placed the smaller dome, is used for magnetic and meteorological observations. This wing was erected in the years 1850-51, and adds greatly to the architec- tural beauty of the Observatory. In this dome is placed the smaller equa- torial, of five feet focal length, and an object glass of four and one-eighth inches, made by Merz, which is a remarkably fine instrument.
The "Grand Refractor," justly considered second to none in the world. has already become celebrated in the hands of the skillful and scientific di. rector and his assistant, from the many brilliant discoveries which have been made with it. Among these we may particularly mention the new ring and satellite of the planet Saturn. It has also enabled the observers to resolve the principal nebula, particularly those in the Constellation»
1
٢
63
CAMBRIDGE.
Orion and Andromeda. The object glass was made at the celebrated man- ufactory of Merz and Mahler, in Munich, Bavaria, who also were the ma- kers of the celebrated telescope at the Pulkova Observatory, which is of the same size and mounting as that in Cambridge. The same artists also made the Washington and Cincinnati equatorials, besides many others of a smaller size in the United States. The extreme diameter of this object glass is fifteen and a half inches, although the effective diameter is only fourteen and ninety-five hundredths inches : the focal length is twenty-two feet six inches ; the total weight nearly three tons; yet the friction is so successfully relieved by the judicious arrangement of wheels and counter- poises, that it could be pointed to any quarter of the heavens by the finger of a child.
A sidereal motion is communicated to the telescope by clock work, by which means an object may be constantly kept in the field of view, which essentially aids the observer in delicate examinations of celestial objects. The right-ascension is read off by means of an hour circle, eighteen inches diameter, reading to one second of time by a vernier, while the declination circle is twenty-six inches in diameter, reading also to one second of time or four seconds of arc. The total cost of the instrument was $ 19,842. The object glass arrived in Cambridge on the 4th of December, 1846, but the tube and mounting did not arrive until the 11th of June following. The instrument was mounted on the 23d of June, 1847, and on the even- ing of the same day was first pointed to the heavens.
The tube of the telescope is of wood, veneered with mahogany and pol- ished on the outside. Within, it is lined with paper, and is strengthened with iron diaphrans. The flexure of the tube is counteracted and its balance preserved by two brass rods, seventeen feet in length, having at their extremities nearest the eye-end, brass spheres filled with lead, eight inches in diameter. These rods turn on a universal joint near the middle or centre of motion, and oppose the influence of gravitation on the longer and heavier part of the tube in every position. The centre of motion of the whole instrument is twelve feet nine inches above the floor of the doine. The focal length of the finder telescope is forty-five inches, and its aperture three inches.
The transit circle is by Sims of London. The object glass, by Merz, is four and one eighth inches aperture, and sixty-five inches focal length. The circles are four feet in diameter, being cast in one piece, and are both grad- uated on silver from 0° to 360º into five minute spaces, which are again subdivided by micrometers, a single division of the micrometer head be- ing equal to one second of arc, and may be read to two-tenths of a second.
Besides these, the Observatory is furnished with many smaller instru- ments, and a complete set of meteorological instruments, an astronomical clock, and sidereal chronometers.
One of the most ingenious contrivances connected with the Observa.
--
-
M
64
THE OBSERVATORY.
tory is the " observer's chair," invented by the director. By means of this chair, the observer can transport himself to any part of the dome without moving from his seat.
The new method of finding the motion of the earth has been tried at the Observatory, and also by Professor Horsford, at the Lawrence Scien- tific School.
During the summer of IS13, the director being engaged with the United States Coast Survey in determining differences of longitude, turned his attention to the electro-magnetic method of recording astronomical obser- Vations. The apparatus which it has been found convenient to adopt at this Observatory consists of a Grove's battery, a circuit breaking sidereal clock, and a "spring governor." These are connected by means of cop- per wires leading to all the principal instruments.
The spring-governor is a machine devised to carry a cylinder with an equable rotary motion, so that it may make one entire revolution in oue minute of sidereal time ; on this cylinder the commencement and termi- nation of each second of the astronomical clock is recorded in exact coin- cidence with the beats of the clock, the observer at each telescope is furnished with a break-circuit key, by means of which he is enabled to cause a record of his observation to be made on the paper covering the cylinder of the spring-governor among the second marks of the clock, in such a manner that the tenths, and even hundredths of a second may be read off without difficulty, as the sheet of paper, when unrolled, presents the vertical columns in even minutes, and the horizontal in seconds ..
The clock signals are also readily connected with the lines of the tele- graph offices, by means of properly arranged switches. so that in effect the beats of the Cambridge clock are as distinctly heard at the offices in Boston, Lowell, Burlington, and elsewhere, as they are within a few feet of the clock, the only limit being the power of the battery ; by commenc. ing at the even minute, the time is given all along the line, and this is found very convenient in regulating the starting of the Railroad trains. This method has been subjected to a long and satisfactory trial, and is now considered as a permanent regulation in this Observatory.
The instrument is mounted according to the German form, which has been objected to from the fact that it requires reversal whenever the object under examination crosses the meridian. This is felt as a practical incon venience in the Cambridge equatorial, only in small zenith distances, since in most instances the telescope passes the meridian by more than an hour of right-ascension, and always by more than two hours in southern decli- nations.
There are but one or two points in which the instrument has been found susceptible of improvement. The arrangement of both the declination and hour circles is inconvenient, causing some needless trouble in reading off the angles.
1
٢
65
LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL.
LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL.
Practical instruction in the Mathematical, Physical, and Natural Scien- ces, upon a more extended plan than that pursued in the undergraduate de- partment of Harvard, had been a subject of discussion previous to the time of President Everett. The materials for it had been accumulating. In addition to the Scientific men connected with the College, and the largest Library in the country, there were valuable collections of appara- tus, numerous specimens of Natural History, a Botanic garden, and an Observatory of the first rank in progress of erection.
President Quincy, through whose efforts chiefly the Observatory had been commenced, had the satisfaction of seeing this edifice and its ap. pointments far advanced at the time of his resignation.
In the inaugural address, of President Everett, the project of a separate Scientific School received its first distinct announcement. About this time a vacancy occurred in the Runiford Professorship by the resignation of Professor Treadwell. This situation was filled by the election of Pro- fessor Horsford of New York, who soon after his arrival in Cambridge sub- mitted to the Corporation a plan for the erection and furnishing of a Lab- oratory for instruction in Chemistry and its applications to the arts, con- templating an expense of $50,000. This plan, in an able letter from the 'Treasurer, Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, was laid before Hon. Abbott Lawrence.
To this appeal Mr. Lawrence responded in a spirit of munificence al- together unexampled. The gift was accompanied by a letter, proposing, in addition to the erection of suitable buildings, including a Laboratory, to found two new Professorships, one of Zoology and Geology, and another of Engineering, which with the Rumford Professorhips were to constitute the nucleus of a School for the "acquisition, illustration, and dissemina. tion of the practical Sciences."
Soon after the receipt of the donation of Mr. Lawrence, Professor Agas- siz of Switzerland was invited to the chair of Zoology and Geology, and at a later period Lieut. Eustis of the army to that of Engineering. At the Commencement of 1818 the Corporation conferred upon the Institution the name of LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL.
In the summer and autumn of 1919, a Laboratory, unsurpassed in Europe even, in its conveniences for practical instruction, was erected and fur. nished, and in the year following a building was constructed for the tenipo. ry accommodation of the departments of Zoology, Geology and Engineering. Besides the Professors already mentioned, the Faculty of the Scientific School embraces Professor Peirce in the department of Mathematics, Pro- fessor Lovering in Physics, Professor Gray in Botany, Professor Wyman in Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, and the Messrs. Bond at the Ob- servatory.
66
LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL.
COURSES OF INSTRUCTION.
Our readers are furnished with an accurate engraving of the main build ing occupied by the Lawrence Scientific School. The frame building' ou the left is the School for Engineering. We will now proceed to detail the courses of instruction in the Lawrence Scientific School, Cambridge.
Instruction is given in practical exercises, lectures, or recitations, accord ing to the nature of the study, and at the discretion of the instructor.
Candidates for admission must have attained the age of eighteen years, must have received a good common English education, and must be qual- fied to pursue to advantage the courses of study to which they propose to give their attention. They must furnish satisfactory evidence of good moral character, and give bonds, in the sum of $ 200, with a surety resi. dent in Masachusetts, for the payment of all dues to the School.
Members of the School, on leaving it, will receive a certificate of the number of Terms for which they have been attached to it, and of the stud. ies pursued by them.
It is in contemplation by the corporation to give diplomas to menibers of the School who shall have passed a satisfactory examination in any of its departments.
The number and choice of studies to be pursued are optional on the part of the students, who will, however, be counselled on these points by the Professors. Attendance on the lectures and recitations is voluntary. For this as well as other reasons, the government of the University wish whol- ly to discourage the resort of young men to the Scientific School who do not, in the opinion of their parents and guardians, possess that stability of character and firmness of purpose which will insure a faithful perform- ance of duty, without academic discipline.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.