had justified the confidence reposed in them by previous good conduct have been permitted to work by themselves in distant parts of the farm, under one of their own number, as a monitor to direct in the work. It is worthy of remark that the boys themselves frown upon any attempt to betray this confidence. If on any such occasions any one should propose to escape, in their own language," they would be down upon him ;" and when any one has fallen in this respect, "he never hears the last of it" from his fellows. Last season they were permitted to go out several miles for berries, and never forgot on their return to bring a noble basketful, in addition to the rest, with no ordinary pleasure, for the superintendent. In answer to a question that the writer asked of the gentleman who so worthily fills this office at the

present time, how often his confidence had been betrayed, where indulgence had been allowed? his answer was, "Not once!" Says the former superintendent:

"We dayly send boys to the village, to mill, and to towns around us, on business. Some of those who were sent for larceny, have been trusted to pay and collect bills. Most of the carting of our supplies has been done by the boys, taking the entire charge of a two-horse team. Though our confidence has been generously bestowed, it has ever been rewarded by their faithfulness. We grant them many privileges for good conduct, such as excursions on our beautiful pond in a boat, in summer, and sliding and skating in winter, inviting them to spend a few hours in our parlor, occasionally taking tea with us, or accompanying us to ride. We depend much more upon appeals to reason life of vice, than upon any punishment. Much and representations of the consequences of a more can usually be gained by kindness and

appeals to conscience, than by any other means. Boys of this class generally have but little selfrespect, therefore great effort is made to lead them to respect themselves. Thus treated, they do not regard themselves as in the confinement of a prison; they become interested in our affairs, and speak of our farm, our cattle, &c., as though they were interested in their proper management."

The first object of the superintendent is to win the confidence of a new comer, and to learn the history of his life, so that he may be better prepared to apply the suitable moral remedies to his case. In

the stillness of the night, just after retiring, when the little fellow feels more intensely than ever the loneliness of his situation, he stands by his bedside, and taking him by the hand, kindly calls him by his name, and gives him a favorable opportunity to disclose the whole history of his short life. The kind paternal voice awakens the warmest response in the heart of the boy: he almost involuntarily calls him father, and a new relation is formed between them.

The religious discipline of the institution

rests in the hands of the chaplain, whose only business is the "cure of souls," and few have a more delicate and responsible parish than the most excellent clergyman who now officiates at the Reform School. Public services are held in the chapel twice on the Sabbath, at which the officers are always present, as well as others who reside in the vicinity-the presence of these older persons having a favorable influence upon the boys. The exercises, however, are conducted with special references to their wants. "The most practical truths of divine revelation are selected as themes for discourse." In these ser

"The thorough reformation of these youth, then, is not a visionary scheme, which we may desire, but not expect to see realized. There are, indeed, some, though the thought be a

sad one,-whose conduct does not authorize us to expect a harvest from the good seed which we are endeavoring to sow, but for whom we may nevertheless labor in hope. This number, however, is comparatively small. We may believe that by far the larger number, penitent for the past and determined for the future, will be restored to the bosom of society."

"An extremely ignorant and unpromising boy was committed about fourteen months since. The unfavorable domestic influences by which

terest.

A Sabbath school is also held on the Sabbath, the teachers of which are obtained from the village Churches. A more interesting school is not to be found in the state. In addition to the public religious services, private interviews are frequently sought by the chaplain with the boys, on which occasions the most intimate personal relations are secured, and sincere disclosures of the prevalent states of feeling are freely made. Earnest religious advices and directions are given during these interviews; and, says the chaplain speaking of them, "I have always been heard with respectful attention, and frequently asked that such interviews might be repeated." Of the success of these

ness of his past life, together with the habitual recklessness both had induced, allowed but faint expectations of his reformation; but he soon applied himself to his books with avidity, is now among the most advanced boys in his English studies, and has been pursuing the study of Latin three months, with a perseverance and success that indicates no common superiority of mind. The ferocity of the lion is changed to the mildness of the lamb. He is a model of diligence and integrity; equally desirous to know and to perform the right for the right's own sake, and is respected and beloved alike by the officers and the boys."

The death of one of the boys is thus touchingly described by the same pen :—

"My last interview with one of them, was but a few hours before his death. He seemed dwelling as much in the future as in the present; now pouring out his own soul in prayer, now desiring that he might be remembered by

others at the mercy seat. There were times when he seemed lost in his own contemplations; and these were more protracted, as he drew nearer and nearer to the close of his life.

But

the intervening moments were spent in repeating such passages of the sacred Scriptures as his memory had treasured in health. It was in the last of these lucid intervals, that he opened his eyes, already dim and unexpressive, and repeated those beautiful words of the Saviour: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' There was no hesitation or faltering. They were the last words that could be distinguished with certainty. I have no doubt they were learned in the State Reform School."

The boys for educational purposes are arranged in six principal divisions, according to their proficiency, under separate teachers, and their progress in the ordinary branches of an English education is very encouraging. Indeed, upon examination, they will compare favorably with most country schools, although many of the boys entered the institution without a knowledge of the first steps in study. In addition to their studies, they are eager to use all the facilities offered by the school for reading-they seize the newspapers sometimes sent to them with the utmost avidity. The great lack at the present moment in the establishment is a library sufficiently full to meet this extraor

dinary craving for knowledge. We cannot believe that the citizens of Massachusetts will long allow this imperative want to exist. Upon asking questions during a late visit, in reference to the current affairs of the times, the prompt answers of the boys showed the interest they had taken in public events, and the faithfulness of their teachers in their instruction.

The arrangement of the inmates for labor last year was after the following division:-Number in the stitching shop, 74; contractor's shop, (shoes,) 73; tailor's shop, 85; farming, gardening, and outdoor-work, 48; laundry, scrubbing, and work about the house, 44; kitchen, cooking, and baking, 16; miscellaneous, 4.

The laundry work performed by the little fellows is exceedingly well done; specimens of ironing for the officers were shown us, that we have rarely seen surpassed. All the clothes for the boys are cut and made by those of them that work in the tailor's department. There is an air of neatness pervading every department. The dormitories are lofty in the ceiling, well ventilated, and inviting in their appearance-the sleeping-places in the open hall being allotted to those whose behaviour and character justify special indulgence. In each division is an officer's bed. The appearance of the boys is a significant evidence of the wholesomeness of their training. A cheerful, cleanly,

healthful aspect presents itself to the eye as you look down upon them from the chaplain's desk. When they enter, the majority are haggard, ragged, emaciated, and vile in the extreme. Last winter, several lads were taken from one of the crowded dwellings of poverty and vice upon Broad-street in Boston, and sentenced to the school. A more disgusting and painful picture could hardly be conceived -uncleanly, hatless, shoeless, pinched with hunger, their feet bleeding. One little fellow said as he crept up the steps, "My feet are so cold, I cut myself." He meant that he was so numb, that he could not manage his feet, as he trod upon the frozen earth and ice; sensation having in a degree ceased, he mangled his feet every step he took. In a short period, with the cleansing processes, the comfortable clothing, abundant food, and wholesome sleep, these lads could not be distinguished from the others in their appearance.

And these boys, many of them, are among the brightest minds in the commonwealth. Many of them will make their mark upon society if God continues their lives. There are high determinations set in motion in their breasts during the hours of their Christian training. Quite a number of former inmates are now in academies, seeking an advanced education with a brave ambition for the future.

The state has not only saved herself from the evil which these active minds, if perverted, would have accomplished, but has purchased for herself an incalculable amount of good.

An interesting illustration of this we learned from Mr. Talcott, the present superintendent: the young man referred to was under his care in the Reform School in the city of Providence. Swas arrested for breaking into a bank, and was sent to the school upon an alternate sentence of two years in the state prison. When committed he could read and write, but beyond this his education had been entirely neglected. His associates having previously been of the very lowest class, his mind had become fearfully depraved. His reading had been of the most impure description; and in the compositions which he had written himself and preserved, he had closely imitated the spirit of the vile prints that he perused. A few volumes, and newspaper scraps, and some of his own productions he brought with him in a bundle to the institution. He gave them up with much reluctance, and wished to have them carefully preserved until his term should expire; for, said he, "I would not lose them for anything." About a year after this he said to Mr. Talcott, "If you have not looked over those papers, pray do n't; but burn them. They are neither fit for you nor any one else to look

upon. I wonder how I could ever take delight in such stuff." The first three months of his stay in the institution, he spent chiefly in endeavoring to effect his escape, and made little or no advancement in his studies. He commenced with the simplest arithmetic in the school; and after giving up the idea of escape, he began to study right earnestly. In mathematics he studied, in course, about all the authors used in our colleges, members of the faculty of Brown University taking a special interest in his case; and when he left the institution he was reading the Mécanique Céleste" of La Place. He also made great proficiency in history, geography, philosophy, and chemistry, besides obtaining quite an insight into the Latin, Greek, and French languages. He so far secured the confidence of the officers of the school, that he was permitted to go to the city unattended, and was often placed in charge of other boys. S is now employed as a civil engineer in the western part of Massachusetts, and we append with great satisfaction, a portion of a letter recently written by him to Mr. Talcott:

"I am now engaged in a business that suits my notions of things exactly-engineering.

All the old mathematical theorems that have long been dormant in my cranium will now be roused to vigorous action. Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, and the calculus, will now help me to master my profession. O! how happy I feel sometimes, when, engaged in some abstruse calculation, I arrive at the solution! Tell all your boys to study hard. Tell them to persevere, to conquer! I wrote you in my last that I had been down to the Reform School, but I did not tell you how I felt when I grasped the hand of my old teacher. Recollec

tions of Reform School days crowded thick and fast upon my memory. And while I gazed and beheld the change, my eyes were moistened. O thought I, thrice consecrated spot! You recollect the day when the officers brought me to be placed under your care. O, happy day! when I was taken from the dregs of society, unlettered, uncultivated, rude, filthy, and profane, and placed under such sacred influences! It seems to me if there ever was a sphere in life where a man could do good, and enjoy himself,

it is yours. What is it to live, but to do good? How much better a person feels after doing a good action!

"I am coming to see you this summer; until

finished its preparatory discipline in the state prison instead of the School of Reform?

At the dedication of the institution, Honorable Horace Mann remarked in his address, if one boy should be effectually reformed, and be led to the choice of a virtuous life, as the result of all the expense and toil incident to the establishment and support of the school, the compensation would be ample. "Did you notice that expression?" said one gentleman to another. "I did." Did you not think it rather strong?" "Not if my boy should be the one that was saved." Let us not forget that "anybody's child" is our child; and that its salvation is worth every trial and all expense.

We have presented this outline of one of the noblest charities of the age, as an example for other states. It is the true philosophy respecting crime-prevention rather than cure.

LORD JEFFREY.

THERE was no one of the friends of

Lord Jeffrey's later acquisition for whom he had greater admiration or regard than Mr. Macaulay; and he testified the interest which he took in this great writer's fame, by a proceeding which, considering his age and position, is not unworthy of being told. This judge, of seventy-four summers, revised the proofsheets of the two first volumes of the History of England, with the diligence and minute care of a corrector of the press toiling for bread; not merely suggesting changes in the matter and the expression, but attending to the very commas and colons-a task which, though humble, could not be useless, because it was one at which long practice had made him very skillful. Indeed, he used to boast that it was one of his peculiar excellences. On returning a proof to an editor of the Review, he says:-"I have myself rectified most of the errors, and made many valuable verbal improvements in a small way. But my great task has been with the punctuation-in which I have, as usual, acquitted myself to admíration; and indeed this is the department of literature in which I feel that I most excel, and on which I am most willing now to stake my reputation!"