When I was sent to my last church, I learned that there was a reading circle among its members, and I heard the news with some dismay, for in more than one place I had started a literary society and found that it was necessary for me to supply all the thought and labor to keep it in operation, to plan the course, to select people to write papers and persuade them to do it, to be ready to fill vacancies on the program. And as soon as I stopped supplying steam, the society was sure to come to a stand-still. But at this church I found a Chautauqua Circle that was taking care of itself. Its programs were provided, the members were reading a regular course and making their reports; they presided in turn at the meetings, and I was not called upon to take any part unless I desired it. Also in the prayer-meetings, I could soon recognize the members of the Circle by a touch of intelligence in their testimonies.
When I was sent to my last church, I learned that there was a reading circle among its members, and I heard the news with some dismay, for in more than one place I had started a literary society and found that it was necessary for me to supply all the thought and labor to keep it in operation, to plan the course, to select people to write papers and persuade them to do it, to be ready to fill vacancies on the program. And as soon as I stopped supplying steam, the society was sure to come to a stand-still. But at this church I found a Chautauqua Circle that was taking care of itself. Its programs were provided, the members were reading a regular course and making their reports; they presided in turn at the meetings, and I was not called upon to take any part unless I desired it. Also in the prayer-meetings, I could soon recognize the members of the Circle by a touch of intelligence in their testimonies.
It is the opinion of the writer that if one could ascertain the history of the woman's clubs thatnow cover the country, and ascertain their origin, it would be found that nearly all of the older woman's clubs arose out of Chautauqua Circles whose members, after completing the prescribed course, took up civics or politics, or literature. It would be an interesting study to ascertain how far the General Federation of Women's Clubs of America was an outgrowth of the Chautauqua movement.
Congregational HouseCongregational House
Fenton Memorial, Deaconess' HouseFenton Memorial, Deaconess' House
Theyear 1879 marked an extension in more than one direction of Chautauqua's plans and program. The season was lengthened to forty-three days, more than double the length of the earlier sessions. On July 17th began the classes in The Chautauqua Normal School of Languages, held in a rough board-walled, white-washed building, which had formerly been used as a lodging-house, but was no longer needed since cottages had opened their doors to guests. This may be regarded as the formal opening of the Chautauqua Summer Schools, although already classes had been held, some of them three years, others four years, in Greek, Hebrew, and kindergarten instruction. We will name the faculty of this year. Greek was taught by a native of Greece, Dr. T. T. Timayenis, of New York; Latin by Miss Emma M. Hall, of the Detroit High School, afterward a missionary-teacher in Rome, Italy; Prof. J. H. Worman, of Brooklyn, N. Y., taught German, never speaking one word of English in his classes, although a fluent speaker andauthor in English. Prof. A. Lalande was the teacher of the French language; Dr. Stephen M. Vail continued his classes in Hebrew, and Dr. James Strong in Greek; Prof. Bernhard Maimon of Chicago, taught Oriental languages; and Prof. A. S. Cook, then of Johns Hopkins, but soon afterward of Yale, conducted a class in the study of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. These studies were pursued from a fortnight before the formal opening of the Assembly until its close, making courses of six weeks, carried on in an intensive manner. Each professor pushed his department as though it were the only one in the school, and his students could scarcely find time to rest themselves by rowing on the lake or walking in the woods with their classmates.
Allied to the School of Languages was the Teachers' Retreat, opening at the same time but closing just before the Assembly proper. This was outside the realm of Sunday School instruction, being intended for secular teachers and presenting the principles and best methods of education. One of its leaders was Prof. J. W. Dickinson, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, an enthusiast as well as a master. He had at his command a fund of witticisms and stories, always in the direct line of his teaching, which addednot a little to the interest of his lectures. I was with him at the table for a fortnight, and his juicy talk made even a tough steak enjoyable. Associated with Dr. Dickinson were Prof. William F. Phelps of Minnesota, Dr. Joseph Alden of the State Normal School, Albany, N. Y., and Dr. John Hancock, President of the National Teachers' Association. In the following year, 1880, the School of Languages and Teachers' Retreat were united, and the Summer School program was again enlarged. Year by year new departments were added, until Chautauqua became a summer university, and such it continues to this day, offering more than two hundred courses, taught by nearly one hundred and fifty instructors. Perhaps the most popular courses have always been those in physical culture, pursued by teachers in public and private schools, enabled by Chautauqua to make their work in their home schools more efficient and extensive. One might spend weeks at Chautauqua, attending the lectures and concerts in the Amphitheater and the Hall, and enjoying the bathing and boating opportunities of the Lake, yet never realizing that on College Hill, and down at the Gymnasium, are nearly five thousand young men and young women diligently seeking the higher education.
A third sideline during this season of 1879 was the Foreign Mission Institute, held by missionary leaders of the Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist organizations, and addressed by missionaries at home from many lands. Chautauqua was a pioneer in bringing together representatives of different churches for conference upon their work of winning the world to Christ. This series of missionary councils has been continued without the omission of a year through all the history of Chautauqua since 1879.
The Sixth Chautauqua Assembly opened on its regular evening, the first Tuesday in August, 1879. The ravine which had been the seat of the Pavilion and birthplace of the C. L. S. C. had been transformed into a great auditorium of permanent materials and fairly comfortable seats for five thousand people. It was a great advance upon any of the earlier meeting places, and made it no longer necessary to carry one's umbrella to the lectures. But a heavy rain on the extensive roof would make even the largest-lunged orator inaudible, and the many wooden pillars supporting the roof had a fashion of getting themselves between the speaker and the hearers. Notwithstanding these minor drawbacks, it proved to be one of the best audience-halls in the land for largeassemblies, for its acoustic properties were almost perfect. No speaker ever heard his words flung back to him by an echo, and the orator who knew how to use his voice could be heard almost equally well in every corner of the building. When Dr. Buckley stood for the first time upon its platform, and looked at its radiating and ascending seats, he said to Dr. Vincent, "This is a genuineamphitheater." The name was adopted, and the Amphitheater became the meeting place for all the popular lectures and the great Sunday services. Many were the distinguished speakers, men and women, who stood upon its platform, and as many singers whose voices enraptured throngs. At a popular concert almost as many seemed to be standing, crowded under the eaves, as were seated beneath the roof.
The old Amphitheater stood until 1897. In that year the building of the Massey Memorial Organ made some changes necessary. The old building was taken down, and a new Amphitheater arose in its place, having above it a trussed roof and supported from the sides, and no pillars obstructing the view. It has been said that the Chautauqua Amphitheater will seat ten thousand people, but a careful computation shows that fifty-five hundred, or at the utmost fifty-six hundredare its limit upon the benches, without chairs in the aisles. But another thousand, or even fifteen hundred may sometimes be seen standing back of its seats at a popular lecture or concert.
In the season of 1879, one of the leading speakers was an Englishman, the Rev. W. O. Simpson of the Wesleyan Church, who had been for some years a missionary in India. His graphic pictures of village life in that land were a revelation, for Kipling and his followers had not yet thrown the light of their genius upon the great peninsula and its people. Mr. Simpson was over six feet in height and large in every way, in voice as well as in girth. We all hoped to meet him yet many years at Chautauqua, for he seemed to be abounding in health. But a few months later we learned of his sudden death. In those years it was the Chautauqua custom to hold a memorial service for men prominent in the class-room or on the platform, and it fell to my lot to speak in 1880 upon the Rev. W. O. Simpson. I sent to England for printed matter relating to his life, and among the appreciative articles found one story which is worthy of remembrance.
When Mr. Simpson was a student of theology at the Wesleyan Theological School, he chanced one day to read the announcement of a lectureupon the Bible, and went to hear it. To his amazement he found himself at an infidel meeting, listening to a virulent attack upon the Holy Scriptures. In the middle of his lecture, the speaker said:
There are undoubtedly good things in the Bible, but anyone who is familiar with the ancient writers of Greece, and especially those of India, knows well, if he would tell the truth, that all the good things in the Bible were stolen from earlier scholars and sages, and were originally better spoken or written than by the so-called authors of the Bible, who took them at second-hand. If anybody here is prepared to deny that statement, let him stand up and say so!
There are undoubtedly good things in the Bible, but anyone who is familiar with the ancient writers of Greece, and especially those of India, knows well, if he would tell the truth, that all the good things in the Bible were stolen from earlier scholars and sages, and were originally better spoken or written than by the so-called authors of the Bible, who took them at second-hand. If anybody here is prepared to deny that statement, let him stand up and say so!
Instantly this young student of theology stood up, six feet high, and at that time in his life very slim in his figure. That he might be seen readily he stood on the seat, and a fellow-student said that he loomed up apparently ten feet high. He held a little red-covered book, and stretching his long arm toward the speaker, said something like this:
I hold in my hand a copy of the New Testament, and I wish to say that in this little book, only a quarter of the Bible, you will find a clearer light on man's nature, and character, and destiny than may be read in all the ancient books of the world taken together.
I hold in my hand a copy of the New Testament, and I wish to say that in this little book, only a quarter of the Bible, you will find a clearer light on man's nature, and character, and destiny than may be read in all the ancient books of the world taken together.
He paused, seized the little volume with both hands, tore it in two parts, flung one part down to the floor, and still holding the rest of it, went on:
I have thrown aside one-half of this book, but this half contains the four gospels of our Lord, which will tell more what man may be here and will be hereafter than can be found in all the books of ancient Rome, or Greece, or Chaldea, or India, or China.
I have thrown aside one-half of this book, but this half contains the four gospels of our Lord, which will tell more what man may be here and will be hereafter than can be found in all the books of ancient Rome, or Greece, or Chaldea, or India, or China.
Then he tore out three leaves from the fragment, flung all the rest on the floor, and fluttering the torn pages, said:
These six pages contain Christ's Sermon on the Mount, setting forth a higher standard of righteousness, a clearer view of God, and a better knowledge of man's nature than all the other ancient books on earth. That is my answer to the speaker!
These six pages contain Christ's Sermon on the Mount, setting forth a higher standard of righteousness, a clearer view of God, and a better knowledge of man's nature than all the other ancient books on earth. That is my answer to the speaker!
And leaving the torn book on the floor, he walked out of the room.
Other speakers in the new Amphitheater in the summer of 1879 were Dr. Henry W. Warren, in the next year a Bishop; Frank Beard, with his caricatures and stories; Dr. C. H. Fowler, Dr. Joseph Cook, Bishop Foster, Dr. Alexander A. Hodge, the Princeton theologian, Dr. John Lord, the historian, Hon. J. W. Wendling of Kentucky, who brought brilliant oratory to the service of Christianity in an eloquent lecture on "The Man of Galilee"; Prof. J. W. Churchill, one of the finest readers of his time; Dr. George Dana Boardman of Philadelphia; and Dr. Vincent himself, alwaysgreeted by the largest audiences. Let us say, once for all, that Dr. Buckley was a perennial visitor, with new lectures every year, and his ever-popular answers to the question-drawer. If there was a problem which he could not solve, he could always turn the tables on the questioner with a story or a retort.
One event of 1879 not to be passed over was the dedication of the Hall of Philosophy in St. Paul's Grove. Dr. Vincent suggested the plan of the building, to be set apart for the uses of the C. L. S. C. and the interests of general culture. As everybody who has been to Chautauqua knows, it was in the form of a Greek temple, an open building surrounded by plain columns, which may have resembled marble, but were made of wood. The dedication was held on August 5th, and addresses were given by Dr. Vincent, Rev. W. O. Simpson, and Dr. Ellinwood. There are thousands of Chautauquans, some of them dwelling in distant lands, who are ready to declare that in all the week, the most precious hour was that of the five o'clock Vesper Service on Sunday afternoon, when the long rays of the setting sun fell upon the assemblage, as they sang "Day is dying in the West," and they united in that prayer of Thomas à Kempis, beginning, "In all things, O my soul, thoushalt rest in the Lord always, for He is the everlasting rest of the saints."
In the fall and winter of 1891 this writer was the traveling companion of Bishop Vincent in Europe. Every Sunday afternoon at five o'clock, whether on the Atlantic, or in London, Lucerne, Florence, or Naples, we brought out our copies of the vesper service and read it together, feeling that in spirit we were within the columns of that Hall in the Grove.
This year, 1879, the second year of the C. L. S. C., brought to its Founder a problem which threatened the ruin of the circle, but in its happy solution proved to be a powerful element in its success. This was to be the Roman Year of the course, and in the original conception the Pioneer Class of 1882 would take up Roman history, while the new class of 1883 would begin as its predecessor had begun, with English history. If this plan had been carried out, as announced in the early circulars for that year's study, then in every church and community two classes must be organized and conducted with different readings. Another year would require three circles, and still another four circles. Could members and leaders be found for four separate clubs in one locality? Would not the circle break up into fragments from the weightof the machinery needed to keep the wheel in motion? Just then came the suggestion—made by President Lewis Miller, as Dr. Vincent told me at the time—thatboththe classes should read the books together, making the same course the second year for the Pioneers, and the first year's reading of "the Vincents," as the members of '83 named themselves. In a college there is a progression of studies, for one science must follow another; but in the Chautauqua Circle, it makes no difference whether the reader begins with the history of Greece or of Rome, or of England, or of America. New members can enter any year and read with those already reading. The Circle is a railroad train on a track with four stations. You can board the train in England, America, or Greece or Rome, and when you have gone the round and reached the station where you began, you have completed the course and receive your certificate ornamented with all the seals that you have won by additional reading and study. The present four-year cycle of the C. L. S. C. consists of the English, American, Classical, and Modern European years.
Baptist Headquarters and Mission HouseBaptist Headquarters and Mission House
Presbyterian Headquarters and Mission HousePresbyterian Headquarters and Mission House
One more event of 1879 must not be forgotten. The Park of Palestine had fallen into decrepitude. Some of its mountains had sunk down, and thecourse of the River Jordan had become clogged up, so there was danger of a lake at a spot where none was on the map, and of a dry bed below, long after the Israelites had finished their crossing. Moreover, some mischievous boys had mixed up its geography by moving a few of the cities. Bethel was found where Kirjath-jearim should be; Joppa had been swept by the ice in the breaking up of winter into the Mediterranean Sea, and Megiddo was missing. The task of reconstructing the Park was given to Dr. W. H. Perrine of Michigan, a scholar and an artist, who had traveled in the Holy Land, had painted a panorama of it, and had constructed a model in plaster. He rebuilt the Park from more permanent materials, and succeeded in making it more accurate in some details, as well as more presentable in appearance. But man-made mountains are by no means "the ever-lasting hills," and the Park of Palestine needs to be made over at least once in ten years if it is to be kept worthy of Chautauqua.
Theseventh session of the Assembly opened in 1880 with another addition to the Chautauqua territory. Fifty acres along the Lake shore had been acquired, and the Assembly-ground was now three times as large as that of the old Fair Point Camp Meeting.
This season saw also the foundation laid for a large hotel. It is worthy of record that the Hotel Athenæum was built not by the Assembly Board, but by a stock company of people friendly to the movement and willing to risk considerable capital in its establishment. More than one promising Assembly had already been wrecked and many more were destined to bankruptcy by building large hotels before they were assured of guests to fill them. It must be kept in mind that everywhere the Chautauqua constituency was not, and is not now, the wealthy class who frequent summer hotels and are willing to pay high prices fortheir entertainment. A Chautauqua Assembly, whether in the east or the west, is mainly composed of people possessing only moderate means, but eager for intellectual culture. Whenever a Chautauqua has been established in connection with the conventional summer hotel, either it has become bankrupt from lack of patronage, or the hotel has swallowed up the Assembly. The Hotel Athenæum at Chautauqua was not the property of the Assembly, and might have failed—as many, perhaps most, of the summer hotels at watering-places have failed once or more than once in their history—without endangering the Assembly itself. The men who built the Athenæum, led by Lewis Miller and his business partners, risked their money, and might have lost it, for there were seasons when it paid no dividends to the stockholders, and other seasons when the profits were small. Yet this hotel drew by degrees an increasing number of visitors who were able and willing to enjoy its advantages over those of the earlier cottage boarding houses, and it led to better accommodations and a more liberal table in the cottages, until now the Hotel Athenæum is only one of a number of really good houses of entertainment at Chautauqua. It is given prominence in our story because it was first in its field. By the way,the name "Hotel Athenæum" was given by Dr. Vincent, who liked to impart a classical tone to buildings in an educational institution.
The building was begun in 1880 and opened in the following year, though even then not fully completed. It occupied the site of a three-story edifice bearing the high-sounding name "Palace Hotel," a structure of tent-cloth over a wooden frame, divided by muslin partitions, and three stories in height. When rooms for the ever-increasing multitudes at Chautauqua were few, the Palace Hotel was a blessing to many visitors. Some distinguished men slept in those tented rooms, and inasmuch as a sheet partition is not entirely sound-proof, their snores at night could be heard almost as far as their speeches by day. Some there were in the early eighties who shook their heads as the walls of the new hotel rose, and dreaded the tide of worldliness which would follow; but the Hotel Athenæum has become a genuine helper to the Chautauqua spirit, for its great parlor has opened its doors to many receptions, and the witty after-dinner speeches at banquets in its dining-hall would fill more than one volume.
Another building which deserves mention is the Congregational House, opened in 1880; the first church headquarters established at Chautauqua.We have seen how the denominations were recognized from the earliest years, and meeting places provided for their prayer meetings and conferences. The need was felt by a number of the larger churches of a place where their members could find a welcome on arrival, could form an acquaintance with fellow-members, could meet each other in social gatherings and prayer meetings, and could promote the fraternal spirit. The example of the Congregationalists was soon followed. The Presbyterian headquarters, aided by a liberal donation of Mr. Elliott F. Shepard of New York, was the earliest brick building on the ground, solid and substantial, befitting the church which it represented. After a few years its size was doubled to make a Mission House, where missionaries of that church, home and foreign, could enjoy a vacation at Chautauqua. The Methodist House is one of the largest, for its chapel is the home of the Community Church at Chautauqua through the entire year, the church home of the resident population of every denomination. The Disciples of Christ, or Christian Church, purchased a large boarding-house, built before it a pillared porch, giving it a noble frontage and furnishing rooms for guests in the upper stories. The United Presbyterians built achapel, serving also as a social room. The Protestant Episcopalians also erected a chapel consecrated to worship, but later established also a Church Home. The Unitarians purchased and improved a property fronting on St. Paul's Grove. The Baptists built a large headquarters on Clark Avenue, the street extending from the Amphitheater to the Hall of Philosophy, and the Lutherans obtained a large building near it. In all these Denominational Houses there is an absence of clannish feeling. No church uses its headquarters as a propaganda of its peculiar views; and in the receptions fellow Christians of every branch are always welcome. When some eminent man comes to Chautauqua, his church holds a reception in his honor, and everybody who would like to take his hand flocks to the meeting at his church headquarters. Speaking of receptions, I must tell of one wherein I was supposed to take a leading part, but found myself left in the rear. Dr. Vincent announced that at four o'clock, in the Hall of Philosophy, a reception would be given to Dr. Edward Everett Hale. He said to me:
Now, Dr. Hurlbut, I place this reception in your hands to manage. Dr. Hale comes from Boston and is accustomed to the formalities of the best society. Be sure to have this reception held in the proper manner.Let the Doctor stand in front of the platform, have ushers ready to introduce the people, and let there be no indiscriminate handshaking.
Now, Dr. Hurlbut, I place this reception in your hands to manage. Dr. Hale comes from Boston and is accustomed to the formalities of the best society. Be sure to have this reception held in the proper manner.Let the Doctor stand in front of the platform, have ushers ready to introduce the people, and let there be no indiscriminate handshaking.
I promised to see that everything should be done decently and in order, and a few minutes before the hour appointed, walked over to the Hall. I was amazed to see a crowd of people, all pressing toward the center, where the tall form of Dr. Hale loomed above the throng, shaking hands apparently in every direction. I rushed upon the scene and vainly endeavored to bring about some semblance of order. The reception was a tumultuous, almost a rough-and-tumble, affair, everybody reaching out for the guest in his own way. It came about in this manner, as I learned.
Everybody at Chautauqua knows that the bell invariably rings five minutes before the hour, giving notice that the exercises may begin promptly on the stroke of the clock. But Dr. Hale did not know this, and when the five-minute bell rang, he rose and said:
"The time for the meeting has come, but nobody seems to be in charge. Let us begin the reception ourselves without waiting."
He stood up, and began shaking hands right and left, without waiting for introduction, and when the four o'clock bell sounded, the reception was infull sweep, everybody crowding around at once and grasping his hand. Before the first throng had satisfied its desires, another stream poured in and the general tumult continued until the five o'clock hour compelled an adjournment, the Hall being required for another meeting.
At the close, Dr. Hale remarked to me, "I especially like the informality of such gatherings here at Chautauqua. This has been one of the most satisfactory receptions that I have ever attended!"
Chautauqua was already coming to the front as a convention-city. Its central location between New York and Chicago, with ready transportation north and south, its Amphitheater for great meetings, with numerous halls and tents for smaller gatherings and committees, the constant improvement in its lodging and commissary departments, its attractive program of lectures and entertainments, and not the least, its romantic out-of-door life, began to draw to the ground different organizations. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, led by Frances E. Willard, returned to its birthplace for its sixth annual convention, and the National Educational Association brought members from every State, presided over by Dr. J. Ormond Wilson. This Association embracededucators of widely diverging views, and some entertaining scraps occurred in its discussions. For example, the kindergarten instruction at Chautauqua was under the direction of Madame Kraus-Boelte, and her husband, a learned but rather obstinate German, Professor Kraus. There was an Americanized kindergarten, whose representative came, hired a cottage, and hung out her sign, but much to her displeasure was not allowed to conduct classes. It would never answer to let anybody hold classes unauthorized by the management, for who could tell what educational heresies might enter through the gate? But this aggressive lady paid her fee, joined the N. E. A., and in the kindergarten section proceeded to exploit her "improvements" upon the Froebel system. This aroused the ire of Professor Kraus, and in vigorous language he interrupted her address, declaring, at first in English, then half in German as his anger rose:
"Dat iss not kindergarten! Dere is but one kindergarten! You can call dat whatever you please, but not kindergarten! You can call it joss-house, if you choose, but you must not say dat mix-up is a kindergarten!"
The audience enjoyed the discussion all the more because of this scramble between opposing schools.
Methodist HeadquartersMethodist Headquarters
Disciples (Christian Church) HeadquartersDisciples (Christian Church) Headquarters
There was another, and more dignified, controversy on the Chautauqua platform in 1880. On its program was the honored name of Washington Gladden, of Columbus, Ohio, to speak upon the Standard Oil Company and its misdeeds. A friend of Dr. Vincent, who was an officer of the Standard Oil, said that it would only be fair to hear the other side, and proposed Mr. George Gunton of New York as a speaker. So it came to pass that two able men spoke on opposite sides of the mooted question. Each gave an address and afterward had an opportunity of answering the other's arguments. So far as I know, this was the first debate on public questions at Chautauqua, and it was succeeded by many others. An effort is made to have the burning questions of the time discussed by representative speakers. Some exceedingly radical utterances on capital and labor have been made on the Chautauqua platform, but it must not be inferred, because the audience listened to them respectfully, or even applauded a particularly sharp sentence, that Chautauqua was in accord with the speaker's sentiments.
On the list of speakers at this season may be read the following, a few among many names: Prof. J. H. Gilmore of Rochester University gave a series of brilliant lectures upon English literature.Ram Chandra Bose of India gave several lectures, philosophic and popular. Dr. Sheldon Jackson of Alaska thrilled a great audience with an appeal for that outlying but unknown land of ours. Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of Grant's first administration, gave a great lecture on "Abraham Lincoln." Professor Borden P. Bowne of Boston University made the deep things of philosophy plain even to unphilosophic listeners. Other orators in the new Amphitheater were Dr. Robert R. Meredith of Boston, Dr. J. O. Means of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and Dr. W. W. Keen of Philadelphia. The Fisk Jubilee Singers made their first visit this year; and with the Northwestern Band and the Assembly Chorus, already counted by the hundreds, under Professors Sherwin and Case, made music one of the most popular features of the program.
This year was also notable for the first appearance of theChautauquan Magazine, containing a part of the required readings of the C. L. S. C. It was launched and made successful by the financial, business, and editorial ability of Dr. Flood, who ventured his capital boldly and won deserved success. The ever-welcome "Pansy," Mrs. G. R. Alden, this season read a new story, published soonafterward. With Mrs. Alden in those early years was a serious small boy, ever at his mother's side, rarely entering into the sports of childhood. If we could have looked forward a quarter-century, we might have seen in him the coming Professor Raymond M. Alden of the Leland Stanford faculty, one of the most eminent scholars and critics in the Department of English Literature, and an authority quoted in all lands where the English language is spoken or read.
A visitor came to Chautauqua at the session of 1880, whose presence brought the place and the Assembly into notice throughout the nation. General James A. Garfield was at that time the candidate of his party for President of the United States. He came to Chautauqua on Saturday, August 7th, for a week-end rest in a strenuous campaign, expressing a wish not to be called upon for any public address or reception. He worshiped with the great congregation on Sunday morning, his entrance with a group of his friends being received in respectful silence. In the afternoon he mentioned to Dr. Vincent that he had heard of Palestine Park and would like to visit it. As the lectures in the Park were generally given by me, I was detailed to walk through the model and point out its localities. As we wentout of Dr. Vincent's tent a small company was standing around, waiting for a sight of the candidate. They followed us, and as we walked on toward the Park, people came flocking forth from every house and tent. By the time we reached the Land of Palestine, it was well-nigh covered with the crowds, extending from Dan to Beersheba. No former Palestine lecture of mine had ever drawn together such a multitude! It became impossible to find the cities covered by the multitudes. But I was somewhat surprised to perceive that the General knew where at least the important localities belonged even though they were not visible. He pointed out half a dozen of the cities named in the Bible, and gave their names without hesitation or suggestion. We desired to make a sort of pilgrimage through the land, but found an army obstructing our journey.
On the next morning, as General Garfield was about to leave, Dr. Vincent asked him, not to make a political speech, but to give in a few words his impressions of Chautauqua. He consented, and standing upon a stump, in the presence of a hastily assembled gathering, gave a ten-minute address, of which the following is a part.
You are struggling with one of the two great problems of civilization. The first one is a very oldstruggle: It is, how shall we get any leisure? That is the problem of every hammer stroke, of every blow that labor has struck since the foundation of the world. The fight for bread is the first great primal fight, and it is so absorbing a struggle that until one conquers it somewhat he can have no leisure whatever. So that we may divide the whole struggle of the human race into two chapters; first, the fight to get leisure; and then the second fight of civilization—what shall we do with our leisure when we get it? And I take it thatChautauquahas assailed the second problem. Now, leisure is a dreadfully bad thing unless it is well used. A man with a fortune ready made and with leisure on his hands, is likely to get sick of the world, sick of himself, tired of life, and become a useless, wasted man. What shall you do with your leisure? I understand Chautauqua is trying to answer that question and to open out fields of thought, to open out energies, a largeness of mind, a culture in the better senses, with the varnish scratched off. We are getting over the process of painting our native woods and varnishing them. We are getting down to the real grain, and finding whatever is best in it and truest in it. And ifChautauquais helping garnish our people with the native stuff that is in them, rather than with the paint and varnish and gew-gaws of culture, they are doing well.
You are struggling with one of the two great problems of civilization. The first one is a very oldstruggle: It is, how shall we get any leisure? That is the problem of every hammer stroke, of every blow that labor has struck since the foundation of the world. The fight for bread is the first great primal fight, and it is so absorbing a struggle that until one conquers it somewhat he can have no leisure whatever. So that we may divide the whole struggle of the human race into two chapters; first, the fight to get leisure; and then the second fight of civilization—what shall we do with our leisure when we get it? And I take it thatChautauquahas assailed the second problem. Now, leisure is a dreadfully bad thing unless it is well used. A man with a fortune ready made and with leisure on his hands, is likely to get sick of the world, sick of himself, tired of life, and become a useless, wasted man. What shall you do with your leisure? I understand Chautauqua is trying to answer that question and to open out fields of thought, to open out energies, a largeness of mind, a culture in the better senses, with the varnish scratched off. We are getting over the process of painting our native woods and varnishing them. We are getting down to the real grain, and finding whatever is best in it and truest in it. And ifChautauquais helping garnish our people with the native stuff that is in them, rather than with the paint and varnish and gew-gaws of culture, they are doing well.
As we looked upon that stately figure, the form of one born to command, and listened to that mellow, ringing voice, no one dreamed that within a year that frame would be laid low, that voicehushed, and that life fraught with such promise ended by an assassin's bullet!
The Assembly of 1880 came to its close on August 19th, after a session of thirty-eight days. Although the C. L. S. C. had come to the foreground and held the center of the stage, the normal work and Bible study had not been neglected. The teacher-training classes were now under the charge of Dr. Richard S. Holmes and Rev. J. L. Hurlbut. The Children's Class was maintained with a daily attendance approaching three hundred, the lessons taught by Rev. B. T. Vincent and pictures drawn by Frank Beard; also Mr. Vincent conducted an Intermediate Class in Bible Study. In all these classes for older and younger students, more than two hundred and fifty passed the examination and were enrolled as graduates.
On the last evening of the Assembly, after the closing exercises, there was seen a weird, ghostly procession, in white raiment, emerging from the Ark and parading solemnly through the grounds, pausing before the Miller Cottage and the Vincent Tent for a mournful, melancholy musical strain. This was the "ghost walk" of the guests in the Ark. Some eminent Doctors of Divinity and Ph.D.'s were in that sheeted procession, led by Professors Sherwin and Case, engineered, as suchfunctions were apt to be, by Frank and Helen Beard. The ghost walk grew into an annual march, until it was succeeded by a more elaborate performance, of which the story will be told later.
Theeighth session opened on Thursday, July 7th, and continued forty-seven days to August 22d. A glance over the program shows that among the lecturers of that year was Signor Alessandro Gavazzi, the founder of the Free Italian Church, whose lectures, spiced with his quaint accent, and emphasized by expressive shoulders, head, glance of eye, held the interest of his auditors from the opening sentence to the end. No verbal report, however accurate, can portray the charm of this wonderful Italian. Professor W. D. McClintock of the University of Chicago, gave a course on literature, analytic, critical, and suggestive. Dr. William Hayes Ward, Dr. Daniel A. Goodsell, afterward a Methodist Bishop, Professor Charles F. Richardson, Dr. Edward Everett Hale, Dr. A. E. Dunning, Editor ofThe Congregationalist;General O. O. Howard, who told war stories in a simple, charming manner; Dr. PhilipSchaff, one of the most learned yet most simple-hearted scholars of the age; Dr. A. A. Willetts, with his many times repeated, yet always welcome lecture on "Sunshine," were among the men whose voices filled the Amphitheater during the season. The Fisk Jubilee Singers were with us again and Signor Giuseppe Vitale made the birds sing through his wonderful violin.
The success of the C. L. S. C., which was widening its area every month, inspired Dr. Vincent to look for new fields to conquer. He established this year the C. Y. F. R. U., initials standing for The Chautauqua Young Folks Reading Union, which proposed to do for the boys and girls what the Reading Circle was accomplishing for men and women. But it was found after a few years of trial that the school-age seeks its own reading and is not responsive to direction in literature on a vast scale, for the C. Y. F. R. U. was not successful in winning the young readers.
Another scheme launched this year met with the same fate;—The Chautauqua School of Theology. It was thought that many ministers who had not received a theological education would avail themselves of an opportunity to obtain it while in the pastorate. This was to be not a course of reading, but of close study, under qualified instruction ineach department, with examinations, a diploma, and a degree. But it required more thorough study and much larger fees than a mere course of reading, and those who needed it most were often the poorest paid in their profession. It did not receive the support needful for its success, it had no endowment, and after an experiment extending through a number of years, it was reluctantly abandoned. Some of us have believed that if the Chautauqua Correspondence School of Theology could have found friends to give it even a moderate endowment, it might have supplied an education needed by a multitude of ministers.
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The Hotel Athenæum was opened in 1881 and speedily filled with guests. It aided in bringing to Chautauqua a new constituency and also spurred the cottage boarding-houses to improve their accommodations and their fare. From the beginning the waiters and other helpers at the Hotel, and also in the cottages, have been mostly young people seeking to obtain higher education, and paying their way at Chautauqua by service. I remember one morning finding a Hebrew book on my breakfast table. One meets unaccustomed things at Chautauqua, but I was quite sure themenuwas not in that language. I called the attention of the young man who brought in the breakfastto the book. He told me that he was studying Hebrew with Dr. Harper, and from time to time we had some conversation concerning his college work. Twenty years afterward I met a prominent Methodist minister at a Conference, who said to me, "Don't you remember me, Dr. Hurlbut? I used to wait on your table at Chautauqua and we talked together about Hebrew." That minister was a member of several General Conferences and some years ago was made one of the Bishops in his church.
Mrs. Ida B. Cole, the Executive Secretary of the C. L. S. C., is responsible for the following: A woman once said, "Chautauqua cured me of being a snob, for I found that my waitress was a senior in a college, the chambermaid had specialized in Greek, the porter taught languages in a high school, and the bell-boy, to whom I had been giving nickel tips, was the son of a wealthy family in my own State who wanted a job to prove his prowess."
There are a few, however, who do not take kindly to the democratic life of Chautauqua. I was seated at one of the hotel tables with a well-known clergyman from England, whose sermons of a highly spiritual type are widely read in America; and I remarked:
"Perhaps it may interest you to know that all the waiters in this hotel are college-students."
"What do you mean?" he said, "surely no college student would demean himself by such a servile occupation! But it may be a lark, just for fun."
"No," I answered, "they are men who are earning money to enable them to go on with their college work, a common occurrence in summer hotels in America."
Said this minister, "Well, I don't like it; and it would not be allowed in my country. No man after it could hold up his head in an English University or College. I don't enjoy being waited on by a man who considers himself my social equal!"
Other eminent Englishmen did not agree with this clergyman. When I mentioned this incident a year later to Principal Fairbairn of Oxford, he expressed his hearty sympathy with the democracy shown at Chautauqua, and said that whatever might be the ideas of class-distinction in English colleges, they were unknown in Scotland, where some of the most distinguished scholars rose from the humblest homes and regardless of their poverty were respected and honored in their colleges.
Dr. Vincent, ever fertile in sentimental touches,added two features to the usages of the C. L. S. C. One was the "Camp fire." In an open place a great bonfire was prepared; all the members stood around in a circle, clasping hands; the fire was kindled, and while the flames soared up and lit the faces of the crowd, songs were sung and speeches were made. This service was maintained annually until the ground at Chautauqua became too closely occupied by cottages for a bonfire to be safe. It is noteworthy that on the day after the camp fire, there was always a large enrollment of members for the C. L. S. C. Of course, the camp fire was introduced at other Assemblies, by this time becoming numerous, and it attracted not only spectators, but students to the reading-course. At our first camp fire in the Ottawa Assembly, Kansas, an old farmer from the country rushed up to Dr. Milner, the President, and said:
"I don't know much about this ere circle you were talking about, but I'm going to jine, and here's my fifty cents for membership and another for my wife."
There were only twenty members around the fire that night, but on the next day, there were forty or more on the registry at the Chautauqua tent.
The camp fire died down after a number ofyears, but the Vigil, also introduced in 1881, became a permanent institution. In the days of chivalry, when a youth was to receive the honor of knighthood, he spent his last night in the chapel of the castle, watching beside his armor, to be worn for the first time on the following day. Dr. Vincent called upon the members of the Pioneer class of the C. L. S. C., destined to graduate on the following year, to meet him in the Hall of Philosophy late on Sunday night, after the conclusion of the evening service. All except members of the class were requested not to come. The hall was dimly lighted, left almost in darkness. They sang a few songs from memory, listened to a Psalm, and to an earnest, deeply religious address, were led in prayer, and were dismissed, to go home in silence through the empty avenues. After a few years the Vigil was changed from a Sunday evening of the year before graduation to the Sunday immediately preceding Recognition Day, for the reason that on the graduation year, the attendance of any class is far greater than on the year before. The Vigil is still one of the time-honored and highly appreciated services of the season. Now, however, the Hall is no longer left in shadow, for around it the Athenian Watch Fires lighten up St. Paul's Grove with their flaring tongues. Generallymore people are standing outside the pillars of the Hall, watching the ceremonials, than are seated before the platform, for none are permitted to enter except members of the class about to graduate.
I am not sure whether it was in this year, 1881, or the following that Dr. Vincent inaugurated the Society of Christian Ethics. This was not an organization with a roll of membership, dues, and duties, but simply a meeting on Sunday afternoon in the Children's Temple, at which an address on character was given, in the first years by Dr. Vincent. It was especially for young people of the 'teen age. No one was admitted under the age of twelve or over that of twenty. The young people were quite proud of having Dr. Vincent all to themselves, and strongly resented the efforts of their elders to obtain admittance. No person of adult years was allowed without a card signed by Dr. Vincent. These addresses by the Founder, if they had been taken down and preserved, would have formed a valuable book for young people on the building up of true character. They were continued during the years of Dr. Vincent's active association with Chautauqua and for some time afterward; addresses being given by eminent men of the Chautauqua program. But very fewspeakers could meet the needs of that adolescent age. By degrees the attendance decreased and after some years the meeting gave place to other interests.
The regular features of the season went on as in other years. The schools were growing in students, in the number of instructors, and in the breadth of their courses. The Sunday School Normal Department was still prominent, and on August 17, 1881, one hundred and ninety diplomas were conferred upon the adults, intermediates, and children who had passed the examination.
Theopening service of the ninth session was begun, as all the opening sessions of previous years, in the out-of-doors Auditorium in front of the Miller Cottage. But a sudden dash of rain came down and a hasty adjournment was made to the new Amphitheater. From 1882 onward, "Old First Night" has been observed in that building. A few lectures during the season of '82 were given in the old Auditorium, but at the close of the season the seats were removed, save a few left here and there under the trees for social enjoyment; and the Auditorium was henceforth known as Miller Park.
The crowning event of the 1882 season was the graduation of the first class in the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. Taking into account the fact that it was the first class, for which no advertising had been given and no announcement made in advance, the number graduated at the end of the four years was remarkably large,over eighteen hundred, of which eight hundred received their diplomas at Chautauqua and a thousand more at their homes, some in distant places. Years afterward I met a minister in a small town in Texas who had seen the report of the inauguration of the C. L. S. C., had read Dr. Vincent's address on that occasion, and joined the Class of 1882, its only member, as far as he knew, in his State. One member was a teacher in South Africa, others were missionaries in India and China. Most of the regular visitors to Chautauqua in those early days were members of this class, so that even now, after nearly forty years, the Pioneer Class can always muster at its annual gatherings a larger number of its members than almost any other of the classes. For many years Mrs. B. T. Vincent was the President of the Class, and strongly interested in its social and religious life. She instituted at Chautauqua the "Quiet Hour," held every Saturday evening during the Assembly season, at Pioneer Hall, by this class, a meeting for conversation on subjects of culture and the Christian life. It is a touching sight to look upon that group of old men and women, at their annual farewell meeting, on the evening before the Recognition Day, standing in a circle with joined hands, singing together their class songwritten for them by Mary A. Lathbury, and then sounding forth their class yell: