THE LINCOLN GRAMMAR SCHOOL-HOUSE was dedicated on the 17th of September, 1859, the day on which the Statue of Daniel Webster, in the StateHouse Grounds, was inaugurated by appropriate exercises. From the address of the Mayor, Mr. Lincoln, (after whom this spacious and commodious structure was named,) we give the following extracts:

Boston, through its whole history, has regarded this as one of its dearest interests, from that April 13th, 1635, when "it was agreed upon that our Brother Philemon Purmont, shall be intreated to become a schoolmaster for teaching and nurturing of children with us," to this day, the two hundred and twenty-ninth anniversary of its settlement, when we are assembled to dedicate the most elegant edifice yet erected within our limits to be devoted to this great

cause.

The School-house and the Church have stood by the side of each other as the two main pillars which support our social fabric, and when either of them goes to decay, fallen will be our fortunes, and the days of our prosperity will be numbered and gone.

A few years since an intelligent foreigner visited all parts of the Union, and without prejudice or favor examined the condition of every community. He was struck with the industry, thrift, and general culture of the people of New England. He went into a thorough examination of the primary cause of this state of things. It could not be, he thought, our climate or the nature of our soil, for Providence had more richly endowed other portions of the land; it could not be our ancestors, for they were from the same stock as some other portions of the Union, coming from every county of old England, with representatives also from every nation of the European world; it could not be a special form or system of religious faith, for all sects had their disciples, and universal toleration gave no one a supremacy over the others; it could not be political institutions, for we were all alike under the Republic; and he finally came to the conclusion that the problem could only be solved by the fact that we had enjoyed for upwards of two centuries the benefits of free public schools. In this connection, associated as this very day will be in our memories by the erection of a statue in our city, of the great statesman, Daniel Webster, I can not forbear to quote some of his own language in regard to this subject. He said, in a communication addressed to the Hon. Mr. Twistleton, of England, which was afterwards laid before a committee of the House of Commons: "I have been familiar with the New England system of free schools for above fifty years, and I heartily approve of it. I owe to it my early training. In my own recollection of these schools, there exists to this moment a fresh feeling of the sobriety of the teachers, the good order of the school, the reverence with which the Scriptures were read, and the strictness with which all moral duties were enjoyed and enforced. In these schools, or it may be partly by my mother's. care, I was taught the elements of letters so early that I never have been able to remember a time when I could not read the New Testament, and did not read it. Many moral tales and instructive and well-contrived fables, always so alluring to childhood, learned by heart in these schools, are still perfectly preserved in my memory. And, in my own case, I can say that without these early means of instruction ordained by law, and brought home to the small villages and hamlets for the use of all their children equally, I do not see how I should have been able to become so far instructed in the elements of knowledge as to be fit for higher schools.

"In my opinion, the instruction communicated in the free schools of New England has a direct effect for good on the morals of youth. It represses vicious inclinations, it inspires love of character, and it awakens honorable aspirations. In short, I have no conception of any manner in which the popu lar republican institutions under which we live could possibly be preserved if early education were not freely furnished to all, by public law, in such forms that all shall gladly avail themselves of it. As the present tendency of things is to extend popular power, the peace and well-being of society required at the same time a corresponding extension of popular knowledge."

BRICHER RUSSELL GC-BOSTON

EVERETT GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BOSTON. ERECTED, 1860.

DEDICATION OF THE EVERETT SCHOOL-HOUSE.

The new school-building erected on Northampton street, named the Everett School-house, in honor of that distinguished orator and friend of education, was formally dedicated on the 17th of September, by the usual exercises, which took place in the large upper hall of the building. This building, which is erected on a plan which does not differ materially from the other school-buildings, is finished and furnished throughout in the most perfect manner, and in all respects may be regarded as a model Boston school-house. The first floor over the heating apparatus is fire-proof, an improvement which will be adopted in regard to the houses hereafter constructed.

The platform was occupied by His Honor Mayor Lincoln and the members of the City Government, Hon. Edward Everett, President Felton, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Rev. Dr. Putnam, Hon. J. D. Philbrick, and others.

The exercises commenced with chanting "The Lord's Prayer," by the pupils. Rev. D. C. Eddy then read selections from the Scriptures, after which a prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Burroughs. A commemorative song, written for the occasion by Mr. Rufus Leighton, was sung. Alderman Bailey, Chairman of the Building Committee, then delivered the keys of the school-house to Mayor Lincoln, who responded briefly to the remarks of Alderman Bailey, and then handed the keys to Mr. E. F. Thayer, Chairman of the local School Committee. Mr. Thayer made a few remarks and presented the keys to Mr. George B. Hyde, Principal of the Everett School. A dedicatory hymnn, written for the occasion by Mr. Wm. T. Adams, was sung by the pupils. Mr. Everett was then introduced by the Chairman, and made the following address :—

ADDRESS OF EDWARD EVERETT.

Mr. Chairman:-You will easily believe that I feel a peculiar interest in the occasion that has called us together. The dedication of a new first class schoolhouse is at all times an event of far greater importance to the welfare of the community than many of the occurrences which at the time attract much more of the public attention, and fill a larger space in the pages of history. The house which we this day dedicate is to be occupied by a school which had already, as the Dwight school for girls, established an enviable reputation among the sister institutions. It is now, in consequence of the rapid growth of this part of the city, transferred, with the happiest prospects, to this new, spacious and admirably arranged building-a model school-house, fit for the reception of a model school. I hope, as a friend to education from my youth up, I should duly appreciate the importance of such an event; but you have kindly given me a reason-to the strength of which it would be affectation to seem insensible-for taking a peculiar interest in this day's ceremonial.

One of the highest honors which can be paid to an individual-one of the most enviable tokens of the good opinion of the community in which he lives-is to connect his name with some permanent material object, some scientific discovery, some achievement in art, some beneficent institution, with reference to which, by word or by deed, he may be thought to have deserved well of his fellow-men. Hundreds of towns and cities on the continent recall the memory of the great and good men, who, in peace and in war, founded and sustained the liberties and rights of the country. Science gives the name of the astronomer to the comet, whose periodical return he has ascertained. Botany commemorates her votaries, in the flowers, and the trees-the Kalmias, the Dahlias, the Robinias-which they first discovered and described. The fossil relics of the elder world are designated by the names of the geologists who first exhumed them from their adamantine graves; and we can not but feel that one of the strongest instincts of our nature is gratified by these associations.

But what are these lifeless, soulless substances, these mute, inanimate bodies in

the heavens above, or the earth beneath-the vaporous comet, the fading flower, the extinct animal, whose very skeleton is turned into stone-compared with an institution like this-a living fountain of eternal light, a flower garden planted in each succeeding year, with germs of undying growth; a nursery, beneath whose fostering wings so many immortal spirits shall be trained up in the paths of duty, usefulness, and happiness; and in which you permit me to hope that my poor name will be kindly remembered, as long as the schools of Boston shall retain their name and their praise in the land; and that I am well aware will be as long as Boston herself shall retain her place on the earth's surface; for as long as there is a city council to appropriate a dollar, or a treasurer to pay it, I am sure it will be voted and paid for the support of the schools. Devoted for a pretty long life to the public service, in a variety of pursuits and occupations, laboring, I know I may say diligently, and I hope I may add, though sometimes with erring judgment, yet always with honest purpose, for the public good, at home and abroad, I frankly own, sir, that no public honor, compliment, or reward, which has ever fallen to my lot, has given me greater pleasure than the association of my name with one of these noble public schools of Boston.

They are indeed, sir, the just pride and boast of our ancient metropolis, and it is with great propriety that you select the 17th of September for the dedication of a new school-house. As the corporate existence of the city dates from that day, so nothing can contribute more to its continued prosperous growth-to its perpetuated life-than the organization of one of these admirable institutions. What offering to our beloved city, on this its two hundred and thirtieth birthday, can we present to her more appropriate, more welcome, more auspices of good, than the means of educating eight hundred of her daughters? Nor is it the birthday of our city alone. On this day, seventy-three years ago, the Constitution of the United States went forth to the people from the hand of the peerless chief, who, whether in war or in peace, commanded all their respect and united all their affection. The best, the only hope under Providence, that we may long enjoy, we and our children, the blessing which it secures to us as a united, happy, and prosperous people, is in the intelligence, virtue, and enlightened patriotism of which these free schools are the great living fountain.

We are accused sometimes by our brethren in other parts of the country, and by our friends on the other side of the water, with being a little given to selflaudation. I don't think that the worst fault of a community, though it may be carried too far for good taste. But it implies at least the possession of something, which we not only ourselves think worthy of praise, but which we have reason to believe is held in esteem by others. For I really do not think we habitually over-praise the common schools of Boston. Not that they are perfect; nothing human is perfect. but I must think it as liberal, comprehensive and efficient a system, as the imperfection of human affairs admits. It aims to give to the entire population of both sexes a thorough education in all the useful branches of knowledge. If there is a class in the community so low that the system does not go down to them, it is for causes which no system, established by municipal authority in a free country, can overcome. In all cities as large as Boston, there must be some hundreds of unhappy children, such as those to whom I alluded last Saturday, (it makes one's heart bleed to see them,) whose wretched parents prefer sending them into the streets to beg, to gather chips, to peddle lozenges and newspapers, rather than to send them to school. But with reasonable cooperation on the part of the parents, the city does certainly, as I have said, provide the means by which a thorough education, in all the elementary branches of useful knowledge, may be attained by all her children.

The cost at which this end is obtained, bears witness to the liberality of the city. I perceive by the Auditor's report, that, for the last financial year, the expenditure on the schools, exclusive of school-houses, amounted to $373,668.61; for school-houses, $144,202.67, making a total of $517,371.28-$17,371 over a half a million of dollars for a single year, which I am inclined to think is, in proportion to our population, a larger expenditure for the purposes of education than is made by any city or people on the face of the globe.

The school-house, whose dedication we are assembled to witness, is for the accommodation of a girl's school; and this circumstance seems to invite a few words on female education.