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THE BLIND.

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The Lens

Perkins Institution and Massachusetts
School for the Blind

***

South Boston, Massachusetts

j* CONTENTS FOR MAY j*

Editorial ** ^ Page I

Joseph B* Glovef House (with half tone) . 2

School Items & <£ <£ 3

Farewell to the Deck «£* «£* «^t 5

Nagging «£* & & 7

Roll of Honor ** «£* ^ 8

Club Notes ** t^ & 9

Visit to the State House *£ ^ \\

Alexander Pope & & 13

Kindergarten Visiting Day & ** 15

J* ANNOUNCEMENT ji

&

The Anniversary Exercises of Perkins Institu-
tion will be held in Boston Theatre, on Tuesday,
June 2, at 3 p. m,# Hon Francis H. Appleton pre-
siding* The full program is given below:

PART I,
U ORCHESTRA: Symphony in D (First
movement) <£ <£ *£ Haydn

if (See page iii)

•' ■ !

The Lens

VoL h Jt MAY. 1903 ^ No. 2

EVERETT DAVISON Editor

Associate Editors

FREDERICK V. WALBH LYMAN K. HARVEY
ALFRED HEROUX

EDWARD BRADLEY Business Manager

Aontblg fifty Cento a year

EDITORIAL.
^ ji
The first issue of the Lens was so cordially re-
ceived by our friends that it has been decided to
continue its publication; but in order to do this fur-
ther financial support is necessary. It can readily
be seen that a paper of this kind must incur some
expense, and in order to defray such expense we
must have more subscriptions. We wish to thank
those who have loyally assisted us with their inter-
est and financial support It is a new project, in a
sense on trial, and as the paper continues to appear

X

and serve its purpose more or less efficiently we
shall doubtless have the full support of the student
body.

'We call special attention to the greater Jength of
the Roll of Honor, which shows that that ths stud-
ents are trying to raise the standard of scholarship
and deportment in this department

JOSEPH B* GLOVER HOUSE.
J*

A fourth building has been added to the three al-
ready in use at the Kindergarten for the Blind at
Jamaica Plain*

This, like the others, is constructed of brxk,
with trimmings of sandstone* Over the front
entrance in letters of gold are inscribed the words,
"Joseph B* Glover," the name of one who has done
much for the blind,

As one enters he sees before him, extending
through the house, a large hall* On the left is the
parlor* In this room is a marble fireplace* Over
the fireplace hangs a portrait of Mr* Glover, and
a large oil painting, the work of the artist, Lu-
ther Terry* On this side of the hall are also the
diningroom and kitchen* On the right are two
schoolrooms, with a large cabinet for books in each*

2

There are also on this side of the of the hall a sew-
ing room, dressing-room and an office*

On the second floor are sleeping rooms for the
girls, bathrooms, a music room and a sitting-room*
The third floor plan is the same as the secpiid*
In the top of the house there is a large hall for en-
tertainments*
In the basement there is a room for Sloyd* ,
There are many large windows, through which
the bright, warm sunlight may enter*

Chesley L* Cotton,
(Fourth grade.)

SCHOOL ITEMS*

April 14 Stephen Cassassa returned from his
home in Portland, Maine, where he had been ill
since the close of the winter term*

•;■ *•;;• *

On the fifteenth of April, the pupils of the Insti-
tution were invited to a matinee performance of the
opera ^Maid Marian" at the Boston Theatre*

This opera treats of the love of Robin Hoed and
Maid Marian* The acting was very clever and the
solo work deserves high praise* The music was
light but very pleasing to listen to* It was an after-,
noon to be remembered with pleasure* and the pu-
pils of the school are very grateful for the opportu-
nity to hear this opera*

3

The scenes from Shakespeare were repeated
very successfully, and with good results, clearing
over eighty dollars* The fund that was spoken of
in the April number has now risen to about one
hundred and fifteen dollars.

Much of the success in giving the plays lies
with the faculty and other members of the school
who are not clubmen: we extend to them our
heartiest thanks and gratitude for helping us in a
cause which we believe is such a noble one*

April 21 a number from both the boys9 and girls'
departments attended "The Song of the Sea Shell/'
a comic opera given at the Bijou, for the Peabody
Home for Crippled Children. It was very well
done, and was thoroughly enjoyed by a fair steed
audience, The first act represents a summer hotel
by the seaside* There is enough of dialogue to in-
troduce the musical parts* The second act shows
Neptune's kingdom at the bottom of the ocean*
This act is very funny and kept the audience in a
gale* The third act goes back to the hotel*

The music was rather light and frivolous, but of
the kind which most people like to hear at times*
The quality of the singing was good and the work
of the orchestra was worthy of high praise*

4

FAREWELL TO THE DECK.

In order to express their feelings of regret at the
loss of the deck, and show their appreciation of the
many pleasant experiences enjoyed there, the boys
gathered Saturday night. May 2, to hold a farewell
celebration on the deck* For years it has been ihe
meeting and recreation place of all the older boys,
and I doubt not it could tell many an interesting
tale of secret initiations, "free for all" fights, plots
and conferences, of which it has been the scene*

All the boys are more or less sorry about its de-
struction and so it was thought fitting that a sort of
funeral service, as it were, should be held there be-
fore it was torn away* Accordingly an impromp-
tu band was organized, that played such doleful
airs as "The Good Old Summer Time," "Mr*
Dooley," and "The Double Eagle March/' Some
of the most eloquent orators of Perkins Institution
delivered addresses; and Mr* Reardon lifted ihe
gloom from our sad hearts by hinting at
another deck in the near future, After the speeches
a bushel of peanuts were punished, and 50 of the
^Ninety-nine green bottles" were most creditably
knocked down by the band and a chorus*

After an hour and a half of solemn enjoyment
the service broke up and the band marched away,

5

playing a parting dirge, and the old deck was left
to its fate*

The most noteworthy event of the evening was
the reading of a farewell ode to the deck, by one of
our budding poets, W* E* Robinson:

Through many a storm hast thou stood here;
Our feet have paced thee many a year, •
And new as thy doom is drawing near,

We say farewell*
It were our wish that thou could'st stay,
We would not see thee torn away;
We'll miss our stroll on thee eich day*

Old deck, farewell I

Tonight we pace thy weathered floor;
In days to come we may no more,
And now that thy long life is o'er,

We say farewell*

Out with the bottles, ninety ninel
All drained to thee, on down the line;
On thee another sun will shine,

And then, farewell !

One of the Fifth class luminaries felt as if he'd
like to take a boat down Sleepy River as far as
Dreamland, a while ago, and, asked to name the
chief occupation of Maine, roused himself and said
in a mutiled tone: "The chief occupation of
Maine's slumbering!"

6

NAGGING,

Nagging is a habit It comes without pre-
meditation, or exercise of the will. It may be the
product of unconscious cerebration* It is worse
than scolding or whipping; a constant, never-ceas-
ing habit of faultfinding degenerates into teasing
and worrying the pup^l with only bad results. It is
mean to nag a pupil while he has no chance to de-
fend himself in any way; but this is not all there is
of it. Superintendents and principals nag theif
teachers sometimes fceyond all endurance, A teach-
er who was doing gocd work once said of the
superintendent: "He came into my room a moment
this morning, glowered around, scowled a little,
found fault with everything, praised nothing, and
went out," Such a principal may make the teach-
ers fear him, but he makes them unhappy and dis-
contented at the same time. This man knows
nothing of human nature and is on a par with the
teamster who thinks he can get the most work cut
of his horses by continually using the whip* We
would not blame a father for taKing a child out
from under the care of a nagging teacher, nor a
teacher for throwing up her contract rather than
work under the direction of a nagging principal or
superintendent, "Whether in the school or in the
family, General Grants advice is good — "Let us
have peace,"— Western Teacher*

7

ROLL OF HONOR,

APRIL, 1903*

Lyman KL Harvey, 92; Joseph Bar tlett,
Francis Diamond, Alfred Heroux, Harry
Rand and John Wetherill, 9 J; Everett
Davison, Albert Fuller, Edward Ray,
Edwin Stuart, 90; Richard Barnard, 95
Francis Rochford, Frank Ierardi, George Lucier,
89; Albert Butters, Edward Cummings, Bernard
Hickey, Robert Muldoon, Edward Ryan, Charles
Stamp, 88; Henry Van Vliet, 87, William Robin-
son, 86; Edward Bradley, Wilbur Dodge, Frank
Ransom, 85# & *£ <£ J& <£ *$

Deportment, J 00 percent: <£ *£ J*

Charles Amadon, Richard Barnard, Samuel Bond,
Fred Carney, Wm« Clenon, Barnard Levin, Pat-
rick O'Neill, Frank Rochford, Eugene Smith, Fred
Walsh, Charles Black, Joseph Bartlett, Lyman K*
Harvey, Frank Nilson, Edward Ryan, Edward
Bradley, Robert Thompson, Everett Davison, Wil-
bur Dodge, Francis Drew, George Mills, Edwin
Stuart, Alfred Heroux, George Lucier, Wesley
Lord, Harry Rand, Edward Cummings, Morris
Kirshen, Olaf Lund, Frank Ransom, Henry Van-

8

Vliet, Kirkcr Hagopian, Harry Muldoon, Charles
Sticher, Francis Diamond, Bernard Hickey, Frank
Ierardi, RoLert Muldoon, Charles Stamp, Albert
Fuller, George Furrow, Gilbert De Roche, Stephen
Cassassa, Oscar Fyrberg, Edward Govereau, Al-
fred Stover, Wm, Vaughn, Fred Viggers, Allyn
Gordon and Henry Dewhurst *£ <£> &

CLUB NOTES

THE HOWE MEMORIAL CLUB.

The H* M* C Year Book, a neat line type
pamphlet of \ 8 half pages, recently appeared*

The purpose of the Year Book, as therein stated,
is to give a brief account of the origin and develop-
ment of the club, and present papers on topics
which, it is hoped, will be of general interest*

The first issue contains three articles: "Origin
and Work of the Club," "The Benefits of a Uni-
versal Point System," and "Dr* Howe and his
Work for the Blind*"

All the articles are well written, the second and
third especially so as they are of interest not only to
the club, but to all having any connection with the
blind*

The C M* A*

Thursday evening, April 23 the G M* A* had
a business meeting, and elected the following offic-
ers: president, Joseph Bartlett; vice-president, fm,
Robinson; secretary, Alfred Heroux; treasurer,
George Lucier*

The teachers, pupils and a few friends of the
boys assembled in the hall Monday evening, April
20, to listen to a literary and musical entertainment
by the G M* A*, the junior club* The program
follows:

Polonaise for the piano (Chopin), Mr* Hart well;
recitation, The Inchcape Rock, Olaf Lund; song,
Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep, Wm* Walsh;
recitation, Mrs* Malapropos Speech, Henry Van-
Vliet; violin solo, Spring Song, Alfred Heroux;
recitation, Our Magna Charta, Joseph Bartlett; A
Fantasy for the Clarinet, Edward Ray; recitation,
Sheridan's Ride, Everett Davison; song, At the
Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea, Mr* Roys; recitation;
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Alfred Heroux;
organ selection, March Militaire (Scotson Clark,)
Wilbur Dodge* After the organ number The Star
Spangled Banner was sung by all present, standing.

The president gave a short introductory address
SO

that was listened to with much interest

This was the first entertainment given by the
club, and the generous applause testified to its sue-

THE MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY

A new club has arisen among the "Sevens/'
known as the Mutual Improvement Society*

There are only eight members at present, and
the club has not yet achieved great fame, but it is
hoped that in the near future it will be able to help
many along the line of responsibility and self-reli-
ance* A list of officers follows: President, ¥m»
E* Robinson; Vice-president, Allyn Gordon: Secre-
tary, Joseph Bartlett; Treasurer, George Clark*

The name itself implies the object of the club*

A VISIT TO THE STATE HOUSE*
J*

One of the best ways to study the government of
a town, city, state or country is to attend some
meeting where an important bill is to discussed*
Some time ago our Civil Government class, con-
sisting of L* K* Harvey, E* D* Ryan, F* Nelson
and J* Bartlett with our teacher Mr* Harvey, visit-
ed the State House and attended a session of the
State Senate and Representatives*

U I

When we arrived at the State House we found
that the different committees met in the morning
and so we could not attend a meeting of either house
We found that there was time to spare before the
meeting of the committee on Federal Relations,
which we decided to attend*

We were entertained by the keeper of the Arch-
ives, who showed us many important and interest-
ing documents* and explained the latest methods
of preserving them* We saw volumes of old laws
of the State and treaties with the Indians with
whom whites had to contend* We looked over
some bocks containing the trials of those accused of
witchcraft* All these old books seemed very well
preserved* We then went into the Senate cham-
ber and the Chamber of the House of Representa-
tives* From there we went to find out where the
Committee on Federal Relations was to meet*

The chairman of the committee called upon Mr*
Robert Treat Paine to introduce the subject* "The
Need of a World Legislature*" Mr. Paine said it
was not a new idea; and called attention to several
instances of world legislation* among them the
Congress of Vienna in J8J5* to settle questions
growing out of the Napoleonic wars; the Pan-
American Conference in J 889; and the Hague
Peace Conference in J 899. the latter resulting in a
permanent tribunal* I He further outlined a plan*

\2

somewhat alter the manner of the American Un-
ion, whereby none of the contracting parties should
lose their sovereignty*

Mr* Paine was followed by Dr. Truefelood, Mr.
Edwin D. Mead and others*

From the committee room we returned to the
Senate and the House* The immensity of the
building struck us forcibly* as we went from room
to room*

On cur way out we were met by Councillor Irv-
ing* who insisted that we call on the Governor.
Gov* Bates received us graciously* and expressed
a desire to visit the school sometime*

We left the State House much pleased with our

irlp* and I am sure its educational value will re

considerable* ** J* ** Joseph BartletL

ALEXANDER POPE.

ji

Alexander Pope was born in 1688* He was the
son of a linen braper who* being a catholic* on the
accession of William and Mary locked up his for-
tune of £20*000 and retired from business*

His only child* Alexander* was a very weak boy
physically* but his active brain was in strange con-
trast to his sickly body*

Pope's education was conducted by private tut-
ors until he was J2 years of age, when he stoutly

13

denounced ail farther parental restraint and de-
termined to conduct his own education; this he did
very 'Satisfactorily, and much credit is due him-

One of the things we like to remember of Pope
is his fondness for his parents, and that is not at all
strange, lor they were very strongly attached to
iheir talented son, and devoted themselves to his
happiness*

In J 742 his health began to fail, and he wrote no
more poems but revised his old ones* He died two
years later, in \ 744,

Pope's father was not an educated man, but he
was an intelligent business man* When his son
wrote verses that didn't suit him, he made him re-
write them; if they pleased him he wouid merely
say: "These are good rhymes/' He helped his
son choose subjects to to write upon* Rewriting
his pcems taught the poet early to be painstaking,
and to take pride in his work,

When twelve years old Pope wrote an ode to
Solitude, remarkable for its versification and sub-
ject matter* When sixteen he wrote ''Windsor
Forest*" This is a carefully written poem, though
it doesn't show the love of nature characteristic of
the Elizabethan poets, but rather the utitity of the
trees tor man, When Pope was twenty-one he
wrote his "Essay on Criticism*" It is beautifully
worded and phrased, and many of Its terse sayings
have come down to us in current speech* The
thoughts are not original, for they may be found
in Horace, but they are wonderfully expressed*

"The Dunciad," or the epic of the dunces, is a
satire on the leading men of his time* It is often
unjust, as such writing is apt to be*

M

The "Essay on Man*" is one of his finest works.
His purpose, like Milton's, was to justify the ways
of Gcd to man; Pope hsd not the depth of thought
that Milton had, so his work is not as grand as. if
"Paradise Lost/' but it has many beautiful thoughts ...
exquisitely worded. It consists of four epistles, 1, •
on the relation of man to the universe; 2, on the
relation of man to himself; 3, on the relation of man
to society; and, 4, on the relation of man to happi:

ness

44

The Rape of the Lock" is a mock-heroic pcem
written in the ccuplet that Pof c was master of. It
seems to us too fine a pcem to have teen wasted en
the trivialities of its subject, but it accomplished its
purpose* and the poet was satisfied*

Pope's translation ofHcmer brought him grezt
fame and large sums of money, Bentley says of
it: "It is a very pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you
must not call it HcmerP'

Pope has, I think, left a greater rrme than Dry-
den; .were it not for Dryden's two beautiful cdes,
he would hardly rank with the man who worship-
ped him* Lyman K. Harvey.

KINDERGARTEN VISITING DAY.

Following the usual custom, the children of ihe.
Kindergarten for the Blind, at Jamaica Plain, gave
a highly pleasing entertainment in their school hail
April 2 J. The exercises, commemorative of
Froebel, father of the kindergarten, began at three
o'clock and were attended by an enthusiastic audi-
ence.

The exercises were in charge of the ladies' visit-
ing committee, and the patronesses were Mrs. Wm.

15

Appleton, president; Mrs* Louis Agassi*, Mrs. Lars
Anderson, Miss Agnes Brooks, Mrs. E. Winchester
Donald, Mrs Geo. Draper, Mrs Maud H. Elliot,

Mrs* John C bray. Miss Constance G. Lee, Mrs.
Thomas Mack, Mrs. Kingsmill Marr, Mrs. George
H, Monks, Mrs. E. P. Motley, and Miss Annie C
Warren. The program follows:

Song, Lovely Spring, by a class o! boys; songs
and recitations, by a class of girls; "Flower Song/'
Joseph Roderlgo and Ludge Jean; trio for violins,
Thomas White, Leon Gibson and Clarence Ham-
lin, song, "Come to the Woodlands," a class of
boys; slection from "Martha/9 Kinder Orchestra.

The addresses of the afternoon were given by
Rev. Chas* F. Dole, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe and
Mr. Anagnos.

Mr. Dole said In part: "Our happiness Is in pro-
portion to our service to others. It seems to me
our truest happiness consists in realizing that we
count in the world, — that we are somebody! Mr.
Dole also referred to Dr. Howe and the great work
that h being done for the blind, and showed that
the peculiar glory of that work consists in putting
this class in the position to enjoy this happiness
with others. Mrs. Howe spoke especially on the
the uniform cheerfulness of these workers. The
closing address was given by the director of the
school. Mr. Anagnos referred to a recently pub-
lished article In which there were invidious com-
parisons of American and Foreign schools, and
showed clearly that American schools compare fa-
vorably with any but picked foreign schools, with
which it is unfair to compare them.

KINDERGARTEN (From page it) ^
LA Little Child's Walk
Illustrated by modelling, and games
By the Kindergarten Children
\ \ Music, Medley in F.

By the Kinder Orchestra
Address on the Work of the Kindergarten
By Rev* Charles Fleischer
A N EXERCISE IN GEOGRAPHY #

By a Class of Girls
QUARTET & 4* & *

or strings with pianoforte accompaniment

Eichberg
By a Class on the Violin

PART IL

, ELECTRICITY: Some of its simple uses in
roducing Light, Sound, Motion and Magnetic
action

Illustrated by experiments

By Thomas Stringer

EDUCATIONAL GYMNASTICS #

By a Class of Girls

Military Drill By a Class of Boys

AN EXERCISE IN CHEMISTRY #

By a Class of Boys
ORCHESTRA 'Tavane" Sharpe

iii

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