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have been better suited to his temperament than this endeavor to raise the standard and enlarge the means of popular education. The commor school system of New England, once its peculiar boast, had not kept pace with the age or with the increasing population and prosperity of the country. It had degenerated into routine, it was starved by parsimony. Any hovel would answer for a school-house, any primer would do for a text-book, any farmer's apprentice was competent to "teach school." The evils and defects of the system, or rather the want of system, wore perceived by a few reflecting persons, who began, as early as 1824, to expose them by the voice and pen, attempting to rouse the people of the State from their apathy upon the subject. Among these earliest friends of the cause, Messrs. William C. Woodbridge, James 6. Carter, and George B. Emerson deserve to be gratefully remembered. In 1835, through the agency of Mr. James S. Wadsworth of New York, Mrs. Austin's abridged translation of M. Cousin's celebrated "Report of the State of Public Instruction in Prussia," was republished in this country, in a large edition, and extensively circulated. This was a judicious and timely step, as the work contained the outlines, and even the minute details, of the most elaborate and complete system of common schools which had yet been devised in the civilized world. The attentive reader of it could perceive how much there was to be done, and could see the general character of the means um agencies through which the work was to be accomplished.

Mr. Dwight's attention had been previously directed to the subject, probably, in part, through his observation of the effects of a want of education upon the efficiency of the operatives in our great manufactories; but the perusal of this Report served to inspirit and harmonize his designs. Henceforward, he gave his whole energies to the work; it became one of the leading purposes of his life. His house became a centre of meeting and consultation upon the enterprise, and for many years, hardly one important step was taken in relation to it but with his advice, or on his urgency. Many of those whom he sought to interest in it looked coldly upon the design, because it was so encompassed with difficulties as either to appear quixotic, or to promise only

agre and profitless results. No one was more clear in his percepuo of these difficulties than Mr. Dwight, for his temperament had all the warmth and persistency, but none of the blindness, of enthusiasın. A clear and precise estimate of the obstacles in the way was 16 taken toward their removal. Massachusetts had **hool fund in 1834; this was an engine to work with, ly directed, the existence of such a fund might be, as onnecticut had proved, rather a curse than a blessing.

The decentralized system of government, which is the peculiar boast of our New England polity, throws the management of the schools into the hands of the towns, or rather of the school districts, which are small subdivisions of the towns. To take the control away from these little local authorities, and vest it in a central power at the seat of government, which was the European plan, would be to sacrifice all the advantages of exact supervision and frugal management, and to render the pressure of taxation for the support of that central power an odious and intolerable burden. Yet some centralization was necessary, in order to introduce method and regularity into the system, and to obtain the statistical returns and detailed information, without which, all the labor expended would be but groping in the dark, and might do more harm than good. The plan devised by the little volunteer council of which Mr. Dwight was the centre, was carried into effect by the school law of 1837, passed by the legislature under the active patronage and influence of Mr. Edward Everett, then governor of the State. It established a Board of Education, consisting of the governor and lieutenant governor, with eight unpaid members appointed for a limited term from the people at large. The duties of this Board were to collect information, devise plans, and make recommendations; it had little or no direct authority. It was made obligatory upon the towns to furnish the information which the Board might require, as a condition of receiving their share of the income of the school fund. Mr. Dwight was appointed one of the original members of this Board, and though his actual term of service upon it was short, owing to the limitations of the law, he continued a virtual member of it for the rest of his life.

The following is an extract from the Thirteenth Annual Report of this Board, made in December, 1849. Alluding to the then recent death of Mr. Dwight, the Report goes on to say, "it was through his exertions, perhaps, more than other individual, that this Board was established, and through his liberality, more than that of all others, that it was enabled to prosecute the system of measures which has resulted in whatever of success it has achieved. One of the first members of the Board, he watched over and took part in its proceedings with a never failing interest. To obtain the highest order of talent in the office of its Secretary, he at the outset engaged to increase the compensation allowed to that officer by the State to an amount which secured the object. The contribution was continued until his death, when it was found that he had provided by his will for its payment three years longer. In the early history of the proceedings of this Board, when it was deemed indispensable to establish

a system of normal school instruction, and it was feared that it would be difficult to obtain an appropriation from the legislature sufficient for the trial of the experiment, he promptly placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Board the sum of ten thousand dollars, to be used for that purpose, on condition that the State would appropriate an equal amount for the same object; and thus at once insured its accomplishment. On numerous other occasions, with open-handed liberality, he contributed important pecuniary aid in carrying forward the designs of the Board and of its Secretary. All this was done in that quiet and unostentatious manner which was characteristic of the man, it never having been made known to the public from what source these benefactions came until a short period before his death, and then by no agency of his. He was content with the consciousness of having done a noble deed, and regardless of the fame which followed it."

Mr. Dwight's benefactions to the cause, here briefly alluded to, were as seasonable and judicious as they were munificent. The first in time may also well be deemed the first in importance, as it was the means of securing the invaluable services of Mr. Horace Mann, whose peculiar fitness for the post of Secretary and principal agent of the Board was early discerned by him to be an indispensable requisite for the success of the measures which were then contemplated. To the mere pittance which the State granted as a salary for this office, Mr. Dwight added five hundred dollars a year from his own purse; and as this annual payment was continued for sixteen years, the whole amount of his contribution for this particular end was eight thousand dollars.

In about six months after making provision for these payments, Mr. Dwight made the further offer, above mentioned, of ten thousand dollars for the support of normal schools; and the commonwealth having acceded to his conditions by granting ten thousand dollars more, these schools, an indispensable part of the original plan of operations, were soon organized and put in efficient action. To this donation Mr. Mann himself alluded as follows, in a published address delivered the following year, in which, however, the donor is mentioned only as a "private gentleman." "Vast donations have been made in this commonwealth, both by the government and by individuals, for the cause of learning in some of its higher, and, of course, more limited departments; but I believe this to be the first instance, where any considerable sum has been given for the cause of education generally, and irrespective of class, sect, or party. Munificent donations have frequently been made amongst ourselves, as well as in other States and countries, to perpetuate some distinctive theory or dogma of one's

own, or to requite a peculiar few who may have honored or flattered the giver. But this was given to augment the common mass of intelligence and to promote universal culture; it was given with a high and enlightened disregard of all local, party, personal, or sectional views; it was given for the direct benefit of all the heart and all the mind, extant cr to be extant, in our beloved commonwealth; and in this respect, it certainly stands out almost, if not absolutely alone, both in the amount of the donation, and in the elevation of the motive that prompted it."

Again, in 1845, an offer was made to raise five thousand dollars by private subscription, on condition that the legislature would grant five thousand more, in order to erect two buildings for the Normal Schools; and the offer being accepted, the money was raised, chiefly, it is understood, through the exertions and by the aid of Mr. Dwight. The following is extracted from Mr. Mann's Annual Report, made in December of the same year, the transaction to which it refers having taken place but few months before. "Early last summer, when explaining to that liberal and well known friend of our common schools, the Hon. Edmund Dwight, the advantages which might accrue from holding Teachers' Institutes in Massachusetts, and stating my apprehensions to him, that an obstacle to their adoption might arise from their expense, which the country teachers, on account of their small compensation, might feel unable to incur, he generously placed at my disposal the sum of one thousand dollars, to be expended in such manner as might be deemed most expedient for promoting the object. This sum was amply sufficient for a fair trial of the experiment."

Large as were these pecuniary gifts, amounting in the aggregate, with the inclusion of some the history of which can not now be traced, to a sum little less than twenty-five thousand dollars, they must not be accounted the most valuable of Mr. Dwight's contributions to the movement for enlarging and improving our system of common schools. His personal exertions in the cause were indefatigable and incessant; it was the chief business of the latter part of his life. He was consulted at every step; his clear judgment and practical sagacity suggested many of the most effective measures that were pursued, and smoothed the way for the accomplishment of others. He was especially watchful to guard the movement against any connection with party or sect, and even against any suspicion of such; as he foresaw that opposition based upon political or sectarian grounds would quickly make shipwreck of the whole plan. To be successful, the people must be unanimous in its favor; and no one knew better No. 10. VOL. IV., No. 1.] 2.

than he how to make and keep them unanimous. He had much influence with the members of the legislature, especially with those from the country and the western part of the State; and after 1840, he was himself elected for several years to the lower House, where his opinions upon any matter connected with public instruction were sure to command attention and ultimately to prevail. Not less important was his action in moderating the ardor of those who were actively and heartily coöperating with him in the work. If the hot zeal and impatient temper of some among them stirred up hostile feelings, which might possibly grow into a formidable opposition, his wise and moderate counsels allayed the excitement and restored harmony. His own disposition, though very firm, was tolerant; he was patient of any diversity of honest opinion, while he abhorred meanness, evasion, or duplicity.

It is hardly necessary to speak here of the brilliant success of the noble undertaking, which in great part originated with him, which he so munificently supported, and for which he thought and labored so patiently and so long. The results are notorious, and have already become matter of history; they have far surpassed all the expectations which any judicious observer could have formed at the outset. The school system of Massachusetts has been renovated, and it is once again the pride of the State. Our public schools may now challenge comparison with any others in the civilized world, and a spirit has been awakened in the people which will probably sustain them in their preeminence. There needs no prouder inscription for any man's tombstone, than to say of him, that he was a principal agent in accomplishing so magnificent a work.

Mr. Dwight's habits during the latter part of his life were simple and regular. He went once a day to the counting-room, and was systematic in taking exercise. His evenings were almost invariably spent at home, and a part of every afternoon and evening was given to reading. And here his taste was, in one respect, peculiar; he had a great liking for sermons, especially those of the old English divines. He seemed to find more pleasure in actually reading Barrow and Jeremy Taylor, than some modern clergymen do in talking about them. His manners, though courteous and refined, in one particular did him no justice. The fastidiousness of his taste inclined him to repress all outward manifestations of his feelings and sympathies, though these were warm and active; and hence he often appeared cold and reserved, not only to strangers, but to those for whom he entertained a high personal regard. He indulged in no professions of esteem, and his eyes would sometimes fill with tears in keen sympathy