USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1875-1879 > Part 21
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79
Date.
Name of Groom and Bride, and Residence.
May 23. Henry O. Whiting and Annie W. Macomber, both of Plymouth.
May 28. Albert N. Fletcher, of Plymouth, and Flora E. Masou, of Brockton.
June 1. John A. Richmond and Isabella N. Towns, both of Plymouth.
June 12. William H. Frost, of Plymouth, and Ida May Brigham, of Hudson. Married at Hudson,
June 13. Henry Harlow and Marion F. Collingwood, both of Plymouth.
June 13. Charles S. Dunham and Maria M. Fleming, both of Wareham.
June 13. Charles Mahler and Mary O'Brien, both of Ply- mouth.
June 15. Frederick C. Clark and Carrie E. Goodwin, both of Plymouth.
June 20. John F. Burke and Elizabeth F. Cassady, both of Plymouth.
June 23. Austin Morton and Adelaide Hovey, both of Ply- mouth.
June 26. Daniel W. Sears and Louisa C. Holsgrove, both of Plymouth.
June 26. Elnathan S. Holmes, of Kingston, and Bessie L. Hoyt, of Plymouth.
July 3. John F. Hoyt and Sarah Blake, both of Boston.
July 3. Frederick L. Sears and Dora F. Long, both of . Plymouth.
July 6. Harvey Bartlett, Jr., and Carrie G. Bates, both of Plymouth. Married at Boston.
80
Date.
Name of Groom and Bride, and Residence.
July 9. James W. Tinkham, of Plymouth, and Martha E Clifford, of Edgecomb, Me. Married at Wilton, N. H.
July 17. Samuel Briggs and Adeline Woodruff, both of Taylorsville, Ill. Married at Boston.
July 18. Allen Bagnell and Mary Eliza Wood, both of Ply- mouth.
Aug. 3. Charles A. Eaton and Addie E. Wrightington, both of Plymouth.
Aug. 15. Daniel F. Critcherson, of Hudson, and Frances S. Barnes, of Plymouth.
Aug. 24. Charles F. Washburn and Hattie M. Benson, both of Plymouth.
Sept. 7. David Dunn and Margaret Swan, both of Plymouth. Sept. 15. Theodore T. Vaughn and Elizabeth S. Leach, both of Carver.
Oct. 1. Frank H. Pratt and Fannie A. Holmes, both of Plymouth.
Oct. 2. Arthur Lord, of Plymouth, and Sarah Shippen, of Boston. Married at Jamaica Plain.
Oct. 6. Gilbert B. Spencer, of Provincetown, and Sarah Ellis, of Plymouth.
Oct. 9. William W. Brewster and Annie L. Barnes, both of Plymouth.
Oct. 15. Andrew Sears and Mary McNeal, both of Plymouth.
Oct. 17. George H. Jackson, of Plymouth, and Hattie B. Robinson, of Falmouth. Married at Falmouth.
Oct. 20. William A. Frasier and Lucy E. Hatch, both of Plymouth.
Oct. 21. Alexander M. Harrison and Anna Russell, both of Plymouth.
81
Date.
Name of Groom and Bride, and Residence.
Oct. 29. Walter Osterdiep and Mary Fahey, both of Ply- mouth.
Nov. 7. Charles E. Douglas and Mercy B. Holbrook, both of Plymouth.
Nov. 7. Edgar Dwight Hill, of Plymouth, and Ida M. Smith, of Biddeford, Me. Married at Biddeford.
Nov. 25. James Morrison and Rachel Temple, both of Ply- mouth.
Nov. 25. Charles A. Bragdon, of Boston, and Carrie A. Peck- ham, of Plymouth.
Nov. 26. James W. Douglas, of Plymouth, and Luella M. Holmes, of Wareham.
Nov. 29. Robert F. King and Viola V. Terry, both of Plymouth.
Dec. 3. Charles F. Perkins and Lizzie L. Manter, both of Plymouth.
Dec. 5. John S. Butler, of Kingston, and Mary D. Vaughan, of Plymouth.
Dec. 12. Justus W. Gardner and Jennie H. Lucas, both of Plymouth.
Dec. 25. John J. Shaw, of Plymouth, and Edith L. Aldrich, of Nashua, N. H. Married at Nashua.
Dec. 25. William C. Chandler and Ella M. Collingwood, both of Plymouth.
Dec. 28. Israel P. Thrasher and Sarah J. Wrightington, both of Plymouth.
6
DEATHS REGISTERED IN PLYMOUTH IN 1878.
AGE.
DISEASE.
NAME OF PARENTS, ETC.
DATE.
NAME.
Y.
M.
D.
1878.
Jan.
11,
Charles Towns,
1
3
12
Consumption,
William and Nancy.
14,
Emily B. Richmond,
69
10
7
Disease of kidneys,
20,
Elias Cox,
79
10
26
Disease of brain, Cancer,
Stephen and Hannah.
26,
Elbridge G. Doten,
54
7
13
30,
Robert Cheatham,
4
10
10
Drowning,
Feb.
4,
Rebecca Hodges,
77
4
29
Pneumonia,
5,
Ann F. Hayden,
40
8
13
Disease of liver,
7,
Annie M. Whiting,
23
4
15
Phthisis,
Vinal and Esther C.
9,
Mary E. Kingman, William Swift,
19
9
24
Childbirth,
Thomas.
Died in New Hampshire.
21,
Adelia H. Perry,
61
10
19
Nervous prostration,
Robert and Margaret. Died in Taunton.
21,
James Cassady,
50
3
16
Disease of brain,
William L. and Mary E., [Boylston.
22,
Birtie Bartlett,
3
Injury at birth,
23,
George R. A. Vaughn,
10
7
Heart disease,
Aaron C. and Jane C.
March
1,
Charles H. Joseph,
7
12 Inflamation of brain,
Lothrop.
1,
Benjamin Clark,
85
9
6 Old age.
Lewis and Nancy.
2,
Sylvanus Churchill,
87
7
5
Old age,
David and Polly.
4, Russell Tomlinson,
69
5
3 Hepatitis and gall stones Recorded in Taunton,
5,
James Burns,
66
2 Premature birth,
8,
Mary Harlow,
10,
- Clark,
Premature birth,
31
9 |
17 . Puerperal fever,
Pelham W. and Etta H. Died in So. Boston. Charles W. and Lydia T. Joseph F. and Sarah R.
82
Ebenezer and Sally.
Charles and Sarah.
Pelham and Sophia B.
Lydia C. Sampson,
52
5
8
Pneumonia,
James and Elenore.
20,
52
Consumption,
Weston C. and Matilda B. Died in West
Died in Taunton.
11,
Lydia T. Clark,
Charles B. and Abbie P.
Elias and Abigail.
Thomas and Martha A.
April
11, | John T. Morton, Alice Dunham, Albert Saunders Sharpe, Andray Parks, William D. Sherman,
62
74
61
10
17 Recorded in Taunton ,
20, 21, 21, 24,
Sophia T. Harlow,
82
6
Lydia A. Benson,
38
10
28
Pneumonia, Premature birth,
- Towns,
70
2
9
Double pneumonia,
Olive Burbank,
20
10
2
Pneumonia,
Ebenezer and Lydia. Calvin and Maria.
Mercie H. King,
34
7
25
62
6
1 Pneumonia,
Eli-ha and Mary.
James S. and Mary.
William F. Brown,
6
7
32
1
16
Disease of kidneys,
16,
Mary J. Harvey,
2
23 Pneumonia, [monia,
Ichabod and Deborah. Died in Falmouth.
17,
Lemuel C. Howland,
69
Eleazer and Phebe. Died in Dorchester.
24, 24, 26, 28,
Nathaniel S. Barrows,
81
11
15 Cancer, Consumption, Bronchitis,
Cornelius and Bridget. Ebenezer and Sally. Died in South Boston.
28,
Mary Mahoney, Maria Bierce,
48 70 79
21
Exhaustion,
30,
Alanson Thomas,
55
9
Consumption,
2,
Henry W. Kimball,
48
5
Consumption,
John and Eliza.
5, Eliza A. Williams,
55
8
22
Cancer, [liver,
17, Calvin I. Damon,
56
8
28
Malignant disease of
18, Elihu B. Swift,
69
6
Dropsy,
21, Gustavus R. Jackson,
21
8 14
Disease of heart.
22,
Elizabeth E. Deane,
21
1
28
Disease of brain,
Josiah and Lucy. Daniel and Sally. Jennie M. John H. and Annie S. Elijah and Cynthia. Died in Taunton.
Supposed to belong to schooner Little Kate.
79
3
7
1 § Found on shore near the Gurnet, General debility, Paralysis,
Caleb. Seth and Jerusha. Thomas and Hannah K.
Joseph W. and Augusta F. Asaph and Polly.
Timothy and Ellen.
Mary E. Downey, Elisha Nelson,
76
1
Mary C. Hobart, Kelly,
Premature birth,
Silas D. and Lydia S.
83
15,
Allen S. Mellencot,
William and Miamia.
William N. and Susan M.
17,
Freddie Magee,
62
5 8 Heart disease and pneu- Recorded in Boston, Old age, 27 13
Thomas and Desire.
89
6
Joshua and Mary.
30,
John Ohl.
Asa and Lucy. Putnam and Ellen. Died in Somerville.
May
Lincoln and Betsey.
Thomas and Lois.
19, Joseph Maybury,
John and Celia. Isaac and Abbie.
Lemuel and Elizabeth. Died in Middleboro.
1 | 13 | Heart disease, 1 Paralytic stroke, Congenital dropsy, 21 13 Premature birth
12, 16, 16, 17, 20, Thomas Hines, Parts of two bodies, Caleb Battles,
25, 28, 28, 29, 5, 9, 14, 14,
Laura A. Bramhall, Desire Hollis,
Accidentally smothered, Marasmus from birth,
Allen and Jennie.
DEATHS - Continued.
AGE.
DATE.
NAME.
-
Y.
M.
D.
1878.
Charles H. and Sadie F.
May
23,
Esther May Edgecomb,
3
2
3
Phlegm stoppage,
Stephen and Mahala.
June
6,
Henry S. Holmes,
34
29
25
Accidental drowning,
Henry S. and Harriet E.
6,
Henry Arthur Holmes,
9
2
26
Accidental drowning,
6,
David Brown, Jr.,
32
1
18
Accidental drowning,
Lewis W. and Adeline.
14,
Lewis W. Thrasher,
5
4
20
Inflamation of bowels,
James F. and Susan M.
17,
Celia Frances Kendrick,
1
4
22
Measles,
David and Abagail.
19,
Simeon C. Farrington,
21
S
22
Pulmonary consumption,
Daniel and Hannah.
20,
William Leland,
78
6
27
Suddenly. probably heart disease,
21,
Caleb B. Holmes,
72
4
16
Heart disease,
Patrick and Hannah.
22,
Sarah Donovan,
95
9
1
Old age,
Daniel and Elizabeth.
84
25,
Betsey Bates,
85
10
12
Pneumonia,
Stephen and Elizabeth.
28,
Stephen Keran,
Ichabod S. and Deborah F.
28,
Carrie Smith Dean,
Samuel and Pamelia.
July
1.
Daniel Robbins, Lydia Chase, Mercy C. Eliott,
70
1
Consumption and dropsy.
Jacob and Hezidia. Benjamin and Hannah.
12,
Hannah Barnes,
83
6
24
Joseph and Deborah.
13,
Harriet Thompson,
71
4
9 Consumption,
Nicolas and Marie.
14,
Madeline Wolf,
19
10
Consumption,
George A. and Eliza H.
20,
George B. Hathaway,
27
4
11 Pleurisy,
G. B. and J. A.
20,
Augur Russell,
6
6 Pneumonia,
25. Emily A. Reed,
65
8
5 Gangrene of foot,
Lewis and Betsey.
27,
Harrison Finney,
64
4
11
Disease of heart,
28,
John Goeller,
68
9 Diabetes,
Died Roselle, N. Y.
4, Sarah Turner,
82
9
16 Exhaustion,
5, Georgie May Valler,
52
10
+
Cancer, [of bowels.
7,
Ephraim Bartlett Holmes 68
10
30
Strain and hemorrhage Richard and Mary.
23,
Polly Bartlett,
Premature birth, Pulmonary phthisis,
62
Disease of heart,
Paralysis of right side,
Zenas and Lydia.
7,
71
25
Exhaustion,
Luther and Judith.
Feeble at birth,
John and Elizabeth. Jeremiah and Lydia.
Aug.
3, Jeremiah Farris,
Acute hydrocephalus,
Lothrop and Susanna. Alexander and Hepsie. Abner and Lucy.
6, Abner Ellis,
DISEASE.
NAME OF PARENTS, ETC.
Amasa and Bets y.
6
12
Teething,
Samuel and Sarah.
8,
David and Marion B.
Sept.
9, Bertha E. Phinney, 9, John A. Crogan,
28
9
13
14, Ellen Brewster,
81
22, Ellen Frances Gould,
2
22, Ruth R. Harlow,
79 2
22. Edward B. Atwood,
1
22768 6 3
25 15 6
Pulmonary Consumption
31. 4,
Charlotte C. Sylvester,
5
26
Softening of brain, Lung fever, Erysipelas, Cholera infantum,
Mary E.
6, Lizzie M. Chummuck,
74
5
8,
9, James N. Holmes, William Stephens,
38 76
9
24 Impacted gall stones, Typhoid fever,
Brian.
13,
Mary McGuire,
30
William.
85
5
Spasms,
1
17
Cholera infantum,
86
8
5
Old age,
23,
Samuel Robbins,
74
2
9 Consumption,
Stephen and Hannah.
29, John S. Paine,
89
1
24 Old age,
Richard and Sophia.
Oct.
3. Eva Maggie Hubb,
8
19 Cholera morbus,
80
1
20
Old age,
Richard and Betsey C.
3,
Harriett W. Arthur,
66
Disease of bladder,
Reuben and Mary. Perry C. W. and Irena R.
5, 15,
Vaughn, Sarah Taylor,
68
6
10
Consumption,
18, Susan A. Churchill,
70
3
7 Consumption,
Joab and Jerusha B.
Jerusha B. Thomas, 20,
2
2
11 Recorded in Norwood,
23,
David Leach,
71
S
10 Disease of stomach,
24, Maria Spooner,
78
8
22
9
2 Consumption,
Edward F. and Emma. John and Mary. Samuel and Lucy. John and Mary.
Thomas and Ruth died in South Boston.
Edward B. and Deborah C. Died in So.Brook-
William A. and Rachel E. [line, N. Y. John and Sarah.
22, Cora N. Pratt,
26, Horatio Wendell Melix, Charlotte Peterson,
43 66 58
11
Ichabod and Sally.
6, Edwin Morton, Charles O'Connell,
5
12
Samuel N. and Sarah E.
10, 12,
Henry Morton,
3 3
22
Cholera infantunı,
8 Pulmonary phthisis,
William and Jane.
Ephraim and Sally.
14,
13, Anna Smith. Johnny Atwood Keith, - Hodges,
B. F. and Bettie N.
14, 20, Joshua Kneeland,
Samuel and Pamelia.
Died in Taunton.
76
5 Recorded in Taunton,
Lewis and Betsey.
28,
Betsey L. Rogers,
3, Peleg Faunce,
26 Marasmus,
Lewis Petersun,
22
Hemorrhage of bowels,
Reuben and Hannah. John and Maria.
25
5 Phthisis,
Died in Norwood. Stephen and Ann E.
21, Laura E. Howland,
Lemuel and Susan.
Died in South Scituate.
Stephen and Elizabeth.
26, Isabella R. Maddox,
9 | 10
Disease of brain, Consumption, Exhaustion,
19 Marasmus from birth, Diarrhea, Enteritis,
Cholera infantum,
Disease of liver
Belcher and Sarah. Nathan and Elizabeth.
John and Annie M.
George W. and Mercy W.
John and Maria.
DEATHS - Continued.
AGE.
DISEASE.
NAME OF PARENTS, ETC.
DATE.
NAME.
Y.
M.
D.
1878.
John H. and Ruth R. Died in Boston.
Oct.
29.
John H. Webster,
20
8
1
Angina pectoris,
David and Louisa. Died in Quincy.
30,
David Shannon,
William and Huldah.
31,
Nathan King,
75
11
24
Heart disease,
Albert L. and Annette.
31
Harriet N. Parker,
76
2
20
Died suddenly,
Nov.
6,
George Wadsworth,
50
9
13
Paralysis,
6,
James Donley,
5
24
Heart disease,
.
7, 9,
Jane Crandon,
76
26
Old age,
John and Abah.
10,
Sally Sturtevant Weston,
72
7
26
Disease of brain,
Noah and Patience.
16,
William B. Morse,
67
7
4
Pulmonary phthisis,
23,
Adam Braunecker,
6
2
18
Malignant Scarlet fever,
Robert.
86
Dec.
1,
Charles Brewster,
86
3
Old age,
John and Bridget.
3,
Catherine O'Niel,
47
Burn,
Abraham and Lucia.
4,
Francis L. Whitten,
45
5
8
Liver complaint,
Ephraim and Mary.
4,
Mary A. Barnes,
70
3
28
Heart disease,
Ezekiel.
5,
Timothy Ellis,
67
9
12
Abcess of neck,
Caspar H. and Emma.
9,
Lydia L. Voght,
8
8 Lung fever,
Coleman B. and Mary S.
15,
Mary Thomas Chandler,
72
11
23
Old age,
19,
Henry W. Swift,
36
11
9
Hernia,
David and Lucretia.
23,
David Herbert Clark, John Stewart,
3
10
15
Kidney disease,
25,
Mercy Bartlett,
77
4
8
Old age,
Died in Brookline.
30,
Mary Waite Bramhall,
75
4
17 Recorded in Brookline,
Samuel and Polly.
31,
Samuel Cahoon,
12
1 1
9
Inflamation of bowels,
Perkins and Elizabeth. Died in Brockton.
15,
Josiah M. and Lois. Died in Essex.
22
9
14
Lung fever,
25,
Joseph and Sarah.
24,
Catharine Hall,
95
7
17
Old age,
26,
Lillian G. Wasgatt,
3
7
6
Diphtheria,
Gilbert and Mary A. Died in East Boston.
Martin and Sally.
Charles F. and Ida M .*
Nettie May Johnson,
53
Paralysis,
Premature birth,
Robert and Weathly. Died in Kingston.
John and Catherine.
Benjamin and Susan.
Jacob and Mary.
James and Joanna.
Mellissa A. Mitchell,
87
SUMMARY.
Marriages.
Whole number of marriages registered in 1878 69
Births.
Whole number of births registered in 1878 139
Males 75
Females 64
139
Deaths.
Whole number of deaths registered in 1878 156
Males
84
Females 72
156
SCHOOL REPORT
1878-9.
REPORT.
To THE SCHOOL * COMMITTEE :-
Gentlemen :- In conformity to your requirements, I herewith submit the following as my Annual Report :
In my constant intercourse with the teachers of the town, and in the daily inspection of their work, I am always impressed with the amount of real good that is accomplished and with the unremitted toil by which it is brought about. Some are young, and, of course, lack the skill which experience may bring ; others, through various causes, may fail to accomplish the best results ; but all, at least, are workers, and all wish to improve.
As the only important changes made during the past year have been confined to the rearrangement of studies and methods of instruction, and as I desire that these efforts at improvement should be understood by all who
92
take an interest in the progress of the schools, any thing I may have to say in this report will have that object in view.
The work to be done in the Primary Schools is, it seems to me, quite satisfactorily arranged and very well carried out by every teacher in the central part of the town, where the schools are graded, and where alone, strictly Primary Schools are possible. There is nothing required to be taught here that is not within easy reach of the minds of children of eight years of age, and no methods of instruction practised, which are not natural and attractive. An effort has been* made in some of these schools to combine Kindergarten instruction with the common routine, but I cannot say that the results are very important. As the Kindergarten method is designed for very young children, before they begin to learn to read, and requires all the time and attention of a teacher with a small number of scholars, it is certainly not easy, perhaps not practicable, to utilize it in a school of fifty scholars. Some of our Primaries have that number, where the scholars must begin to learn to read as soon as they enter. If separate schools could be established for very young children, before they are old enough for the present Primary School, the Kindergar- ten would be a great gain for the children ; but the very great expense of such instruction renders this impracti- cable.
93
The work required to be done in the Primary Schools at the present time, is reading in the Third Franklin Reader and the small Geography, "Our World." The Geography is used as a reading book, for which its con- tents are well adapted, and as the ground-work of any oral instruction which the teacher may think proper to give ; but no lessons in political geography are to be studied. This practice, in making the children acquainted with the language of Geography and with some of the most noted animals, plants and physical features of the globe, prepares the scholars for the future more formal study of the same subject in the higher schools. The Primary scholars are expected, also, to know how to do any simple work in the four elementary rules of Arithmetic, and in writing any numbers from dictation. The examination in spelling at the end of the year, hereafter, is to be done in writing, from dictation ; so that writing with a pencil will be a necessary requi- site. In order to give an attractive variety to the read- ing matter, the monthly Nursery and Prang's History of Animals will be placed in the Primary Schools for the present year. I am very firmly convinced that our schol- ars, in the early part of their school life, never acquire a just conception of the form of the earth, and the relative positions of the continents and oceans, and for a very simple reason ; the maps from which they get their first impressions are small, flat and fragmentary, and crowded with names. To avoid all these difficulties, I have had a
94
globe made, three feet in diameter, of paper, finished with slate surface, not exceeding fifteen pounds in weight, and to be suspended by a fine wire, at the proper inclination of the axis. By means of a very simple arrangement, the teacher is enabled to draw lines of latitude and longitude with accuracy and dispatch, and thus to determine the principal points of any outline that may be needed. With this globe large enough to be seen, and simple enough to be comprehended by all, constantly before the class, any ingenious teacher in a Primary School might give, even to young children, quite accurate first impressions of the earth's surface. Mr. CORNELIUS F. BRADFORD, our ingenious fellow-townsman, is now engaged in making these globes, and is prepared to make them at so cheap a rate, that I have no hesi- tation in recommending that one should be placed in each school of the town.
At eight years of age, after satisfactory examination, the scholars of the Primaries are admitted to the schools of the Second Grade, where they continue the studies commenced in the schools below, without the addition of anything new, except the use of the pen instead of the pencil. The use of text-books in arithmetic is for the future entirely discontinued in this grade, and in all the schools of the town. The teacher is supplied with a text-book which will indicate about the amount of work expected to be done in the school, and may furnish some assistance as to the method of treatment ; but all the
95
work given to the scholars must be put on the black- board as it is wanted, and all tables of weights and measures are to be learned from the actual use of the weights and measures always at hand in the school-room.
Instead of the common reading books heretofore in use, and purchased by the scholars who used them, books containing important information, attractive in style and suitable in all respects to the age of the scholars, will be substituted, and remain permanently in the school as the property of the town and to be taken care of by the teacher. This arrangement will not only secure more profitable reading, but will also effect a great saving in books. To increase the variety, without increasing the expense, the books, after having been read in one school, may be exchanged for those of another. For the present, Hooper's Child's Book of Nature, and one or more of Rollo's Travels are to be used in this school.
The text-book of Geography, which the scholars learned to read intelligently in the Primary School, is brought with them into this grade, and used in the more formal treatment of the subject. But, in no case, are the teachers to make use of the maps of the text-books, which would only confuse the scholars ; but all questions refer- ring to maps must be answered from the drawings on the large globe, the text-book being used only for descriptive geography. These lessons in descriptive geography are not to be learned in the usual way, by endless readings and efforts to commit the words to memory without
96
thought, but, after a reasonable attention given to the text, the scholars are to be required to close their books and to write the matter of their lessons on their slates, as best they can, and thus get practice in constructing sentences, as well as in learning their Geography in a more rational manner. Two years are generally neces- sary for the accomplishment of the work of the Second Grade, but scholars of unusual abilities pass through in one.
The work of the Third Grade is only a continuation of that of the Second. The text-book in Geography is exchanged for one more advanced, and the Arithmetic placed in the hands of the teacher as a guide in deter- mining the amount of this branch to be taught in the school, is of a more comprehensive character than that in the school below, and will require a review of all that the scholar has done before. The globe will give place here, occasionally, to the common maps, for the purpose of giving more detailed instruction in the smaller politi- cal divisions of the earth ; still the globe will be con- stantly used in reviewing the scholars in all former work, and for the most of that which is in advance. The read- ing books will be Rollo's Travels, Higginson's History of the United States, Dickens' Child's History of England and Abbot's Biographies. Instruction in Penmanship is to occupy a reasonable portion of the time. Object les- sons will be given at convenient seasons, and the scholars required to write the substance of them as elementary
97
practice in English Composition, a practice which, it seems to me, ought to precede English Grammar by some years. Exercises in orthography will consist generally in spelling from dictation. The time to be spent in this grade will be one or two years, according to the capacity of scholars.
Scholars are generally about twelve years when they enter the Grammar School, and, while there, will review the studies of the school below, and increase their work by the addition of two new branches : the History of the United States and English Grammar, in the latter of which our success is not entirely satisfactory. It seems to me, the want of better results is owing to the fact that we do not approach the subject in a natural way. Our mode of treatment, the mode, I suppose, generally prac- tised elsewhere; is to rely mainly on a text book, filled with abstract terms representing, to the scholar, very abstract ideas. For the appreciation of these ideas he has not been prepared by graded exercises in writing, long practised, and faithfully criticised by the teacher in language intelligible to the inexperienced scholar. In such a course of preparation, the mind of the learner might be led to comprehend one simple fact after another, until, finally, the text book, bristling with technicalities, might be mastered, and might give some degree of com- pleteness to scholarship. This method is now required in the programme of studies.
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The reading books in the Grammar Schools are to be Abbot's Histories, Banvard's History of Plymouth, and Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales.
The instruction which is given in Arithmetic in these schools will have to conclude the scholar's course in that branch, at least, so far as any regular pursuit of it is con- cerned ; but in the High School there will be necessarily irregular practice in it, in working our problems in Physics.
The complete course of study in the Grammar Schools will embrace Arithmetic, English Grammar, Geography, Reading, Penmanship, Book-Keeping, Spelling and writ- ing Compositions. At the end of two years, scholars are admitted to examination for admission to the High School. Fifty questions in each of the three studies, Arithmetic, Grammar and Geography, are prepared ; fifty words selected for a test in Spelling ; exercises in reading the various books in use in the Grammar Schools ; specimens of Penmanship, and a brief essay, on some simple subject, suggested by the teacher at the time, and to be written in his presence. This examina- tion which lasts four days, is quite exacting, and, occa- sionally, a considerable number fail, who are sent back to the Grammar School for another year.
The programme of studies for the High School has been thoroughly re-arranged for the coming year. In
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the former programme, each study, with the exception of the languages, was completed in one year, then laid aside without the possibility of review. As the course in the High School requires four years, the scholars being young, they forgot, before they had finished, much that they had learned in the beginning. The disciplinary effect of these studies must, of course, remain ; but exactness and thoroughness of knowledge are certainly lost. It was thought that an improvement might be made, if the number of studies were reduced as far as the wants of this community would allow, and thus ren- der it possible to continue the studies, once begun, to the end of the course. This has been done : and the course of study now consists of History, Literature, Physics, Geometry and the three languages, French, German and Latin. The languages are elective ; the other branches are required. At their entrance into the school, scholars take up those studies which are required, and those which they elect, with the exception of French, which is deferred till the beginning of the second year, with the understanding that the branches thus begun are to claim their entire attention as long as they remain in the school. The instruction in History for the first year will be based on two text-books of the Freeman Series ; , the History of England and Scotland. The History of France and Germany will occupy the second year ; that of Greece and Rome, the third ; and a review of the whole in a text-book of General History, the fourth.
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