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came out of our excursions into the region of experiment. Colonel Parker was fond of saying that one should never do a thing twice in the same way, while Dr. Hewett was rather disposed to seek for finalities in method, something upon which one could really rest and thus quench his wander thirst. But they were antipodal in many ways; perhaps I should rather characterize them as complementary.

I have said that he was not averse to praise, but that he never sought it. More should be said of this aspect of his character. He was always ready to part company with the world and walk uncomplainingly alone, rather than to swerve in the slightest degree from what he regarded as the clear leadings of truth and duty. The iron of the Puritan was in his blood. He would not go with the crowd unless convinced that the crowd was right. He was never swept away by any sudden enthusiasms. He held his balance with a certain reserve even against his closest friends. He invariably considered before he assented. He belonged to the group that never can be accounted "with us" until we have stated our case and it has commended itself to their sober judgment.

He never wore his heart upon his sleeve, yet he was thoroly sympathetic and approachable. There was no student so humble but found ready access to his heart. He was thoroly democratic, and so simple and unpretentious that he never chilled the advances of the most modest and retiring. He never forgot the days at the bench, nor did he desire to do so. His test of merit was substantial worth, and all other distinctions were to him matters of supreme indifference. His mind centered upon considerations of ultimate value, of fundamental and abiding consequence, and for them he looked when estimating the real value of men and women. He was a trifle slow in making friends, but he rarely lost one. It sometimes seems to me a matter of surprise that he was so tenderly loved by so many, and he so undemonstrative and so little given to expressions of affection. It appeared natural enough in my own case, for I thought myself in a peculiar way within the inner circle of his life; but I found that others thought their relations to him equally exceptional. Aaron Grove wrote of him: "He was at first one of the idols of my young manhood; as years passed and we were heart to heart, I loved him. Integrity, watchfulness, devotion to friends, independence in analysis; a sweet confidant and an absolutely upright man, I count his going as a personal loss; the vacancy can never be filled, neither for me nor for what is greater, the world in which we live." The gifted ex-President Sewall, of Denver, for years associated with him in the normal school, concludes a beautiful tribute to his memory as follows: "He was, taking him all in all, what the world most needs today, and what the world mourns when such a one is gone—a man, a nobleman. This too brief statement I do not count as a crown to wreathe his brow. His life-work wrought and placed the crown. I humbly, reverently, lay this tribute at his feet." Dr. Boyden, who was a teacher at Bridgewater when Mr. Hewett entered the school, writes of him: "In these early years he gave full assurance of the richness and fullness of his subsequent life. He has been a great blessing to many lives; he has wrought a great work; his life is a great legacy; he leaves a fragrant memory that shall not perish." In a similarly affectionate vein write Dr. Richard Edwards, Hon. Hiram Hadley, Dr. Canfield, George P. Brown, and others.

Socially he was a rare companion. He loved a good story, was a consummate wit, excelled at repartee, and was able to hold his own with the best in heightening the merriment of an occasion. Who can ever forget his quaint grotesqueness as he occasionally sang with appropriate action some of the old songs that were current in his boyhood? But for society in the strictest sense he had no fondness. Its formal conventionalities were offensive to him, and its "fuss and feather" were often the object of his unsparing satire. He was a lover of solitude. The little study at the head of the stairs, barely large enough for his books, his table, and his chair, was his favorite resort. There I often found him as I entered an unannounced visitor. There he read and rested, and it was also his "growlery" when the wind was in the east. Withal he had a poetic temperament, and there, like a bird in its leafy covert, that sings for the dear delight of sing

ing and with no care for the listening ear, he uttered the burden of his deeper thought in an occasional poem which invariably had for its theme the profounder problems of life and destiny. I have spoken of his disposition to dwell upon the shadowy side of life. This became apparent while he was still a young man, and was deepened by the later experiences of life. It is especially evidenced in poems written as early as 1854, while he was yet at Bridgewater. The sense of individualism and of loneliness in the midst of life, which expressed itself in hours of especial intimacy, appears in the following stanza: Borne onward by the swelling flood,

Each steers his little bark alone;
Though numberless the passing crowd,
Each tiny vessel holds but one.

Was it his Puritan inheritance that led him to brood so persistently over these somber themes? In 1870 he experienced a peculiar sorrow in the death of little Paul, his infant son, who passed away while Mr. Hewett was absent from home. He rarely spoke of the child, but his faithful diary, in which he made a daily record for many years, discloses the secret sorrow that shadowed his life. In 1871 he wrote:

There's a little mound where the maple waves,

Where the grass and the flowers are fair;

'Tis a quiet spot in a "garden of graves,"
And our thoughts turn sadly there.

The little lad's birthdays are noted as the years slip by, and much of the pensive tenderness of later years finds its explanation in the pages of the little book to whose sacred confidence he intrusted the secret story of his heart.

With such characteristics the deep religious vein which gave a marked coloring to his nature was naturally associated. The harmonies of the world, as manifested in the invariable laws of nature, appealed mightily to the characteristic quality of his intellect. His mind could not rest short of a self-conscious First Cause who holds the universe in the hollow of his hand, and who directs its manifestations with the sublime authority of an inerrant reason. In consequence, religion was a necessity to his intellect. But his

emotional nature no less craved self-conscious love as the motive of the universe. While in no sense illiberal with regard to the opinions of others, he strongly inclined to the stricter theological views of his Puritan ancestors. There was a period of storm and stress, when he was otherwise inclined. I speak confidently with regard to this matter, for it revealed itself in private conversations. But the influence of his early life reasserted itself, and he returned to his earlier faith with a new ardency; and his fealty never again faltered.

Both his rigorous sense of duty and his natural inclination led him to give much of his time and his means to religious work. He was a remarkable teacher of the Bible, and was always engaged in the work of the Sunday school. Indeed, religious contemplation and religious service were especially congenial employments. His poetic gift was exercised in the composition of several hymns, two of which were sung at his funeral.

As an educational writer Mr. Hewett is known thru two books on education, a treatise on elementary pedagogy, and another on the simpler phases of psychology. He is also the author of a series of arithmetics published by Rand & McNally. He was associated with Mr. Gove, and later with the author of this paper, in the editorship of the Illinois Schoolmaster, and recently with Mr. George P. Brown in the editorship of the well-known magazine, School and Home Education. He was for many years prominent in Illinois as a lecturer and educational writer. With the exception of one year spent in travel, he was connected with the Illinois State Normal University for thirty-two years. For sixteen and a half years he was professor of geography and history, and for fourteen and a half years president. Only two persons ever connected with that institution have a longer record in its service.

In 1863 he received the degree of A.M. from the old University of Chicago. In 1878 Shurtleff College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. He was once president of the

Illinois State Teachers' Association, was for five years treasurer of the National Educational Association, and was also a member of this body.

In August, 1857, Mr. Hewett was married to Angelina N. Benton, of Sublette, Ill. They had two children, Mrs. R. R. Reeder, born in 1860, and Paul, born in 1870. Mrs. Reeder resides in New York, where her husband is at the head of a prominent orphan asylum. As was previously stated, Paul died in 1871. Mrs. Hewett, a most estimable woman, passed away, after some years of delicate health, on November 21, 1895. On August 31, 1898, Mr. Hewett was united in marriage to Mrs. Helen E. Paisley, long a resident of Normal and formerly a student in the normal school.

Some ten years ago Mr. Hewett developed a heart weakness that caused grave solicitude on the part of his friends. He had never been obliged to submit himself to the care of a physician, and it was with extreme reluctance that he finally consented to do so. His recovery was slow, but he was restored to something quite like his customary health. Last winter, near the holidays, he had a grave attack of pneumonia. For some days his recovery was regarded as hopeless. He finally rallied, however, and was again about the house and occasionally ventured upon the street. The former heart weakness reappeared in a more aggravated form, but he could not be made to understand that his condition was critical. The afternoon before his death I called upon him and entreated him to submit to medical treatment. He did not think it necessary, believing that his indisposition was temporary, and that he would soon recover. His faithful wife attended him with the most tender and affectionate care, yet full of apprehensions of a fatal result. Her solicitude was well founded, for, as I have said, the news of his death reached me on the afternoon of March 31, 1905, within twenty-four hours of my final visit.

It is a source of gratification to me that before his last illness I tried to convey to him by letter my sense of the obligation that I owed him. He came into my life at a time when I gravely needed him. His precious name is on a sacred altar in my heart. His reply, so tender and modest, I cherish for those who come after me. In speaking thus for myself, I am at the same time uttering what is in the thought of thousands. Wherever that clean and resolute soul may fare, he is followed by the loving gratitude of a multitude who are proud to be numbered among the pupils of Edwin C. Hewett.

DEPARTMENT OF KINDERGARTEN

EDUCATION

SECRETARY'S MINUTES

FIRST SESSION.-TUESDAY MORNING, JULY 4, 1905

The Department of Kindergarten Education met in the First Congregational Church, Asbury Park, at 9:30 A. M.

Before the formal opening of the session, Miss Maud Lindsay, Tuscumbia, Ala., told two of her charming stories, "Grandmother's Birthday Present" and "The Turkey's Nest."

The meeting was called to order at 9:45 A. M. by the president, Miss Mary Jean Miller, Rochester, N. Y.

In the absence of the secretary, Miss Anna E. Harbaugh, St. Louis, Mo., Miss May Murray, of Springfield, Mass., was appointed secretary pro tempore, and Miss Carrie Twitchell was selected as assistant to the secretary.

Miss Miller delivered the opening address, and then introduced Dr. Nathan Oppenheim, New York city, as the first speaker. He presented a paper on the subject, "The Recognition of the Physical Development of the Child in the Training of Kindergartners."

Mrs. Ada Marean Hughes, Toronto, Can., president of the International Kindergarten Union, gave an address on "How Does the Routine of the Kindergarten Develop the Child Physically?"

These papers were discussed by E. Hermann Arnold, director of the Normal School of Gymnastics, New Haven, Conn., and C. F. Carroll, superintendent of schools, Rochester, N. Y.

Like a benediction came the kindly words of Mr. William N. Barringer, Newark, N. J., a teacher of sixty-one years' experience, and one of the earliest and oldest members of the National Educational Association. He spoke words of commendation to the kindergartners for work done in the past, and of encouragement for future endeavor. A rising vote of thanks was extended Mr. Barringer in appreciation of his remarks. The president appointed the following committees:

COMMITTEE ON NOMINATIONS

Mrs. Ada Marean Hughes, Toronto, Can.

Dr. Jenny B. Merrill, New York, N. Y. Miss Harriette M. Mills, New York, N. Y.

COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS

Miss Fanniebelle Curtis, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Miss Lena R. Bowen, East Orange, N. J. Miss Ada Van Stone Harris, Rochester, N. Y.

The department then adjourned.

SECOND SESSION.-THURSDAY, JULY 6

The second session of the department was held Thursday afternoon at 2:30, Miss Miller presiding.

Miss Harriette M. Mills, instructor in kindergarten education, Teachers College,

Columbia University, New York city, gave an address on "Methods of Supervision of Public School Kindergartens."

The following took part in the general discussion: J. F. Reigart, New York city; Charles B. Gilbert, New York city; Ossian H. Lang, editor of School Journal, New York city; Dr. Jenny B. Merrill, New York city; Miss Ada Van Stone Harris, Rochester, N. Y.; and Miss Fanniebelle Curtis, Brooklyn, N. Y.

A paper on "The Validity of Recent Criticisms of the Kindergarten," by M. V. O'Shea, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., was read by E. G. Lancaster, president of Olivet College, Olivet, Mich.

This paper was discussed by Carroll G. Pearse, Milwaukee, Wis.; Miss Margaret Giddings, Denver, Colo.; and E. G. Lancaster, Olivet, Mich.

The Committee on Resolutions reported resolutions of thanks to the many who had contributed to the success of the meeting, and especially to the officers of the department for their efficient services. On motion, the resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Dr. Jenny B. Merrill, New York city, paid loving tribute to the memory of active members of the department who have died during the year: Mrs. Eudora Hailmann, Miss Florence Lawson, and Miss Emma A. Newman.

The nominating committee presented the following names:

For President-Miss Mary C. May, Salt Lake City, Utah.

For Vice-President-Elmer E. Brown, Berkeley, Cal.

For Secretary-Miss May Murray, Springfield, Mass.

The report of the committee was adopted, and the nominees were declared elected as officers of the department for the ensuing year.

Upon motion, the meeting adjourned.

MAY MURRAY, Secretary pro tempore.

PAPERS AND DISCUSSIONS

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

MARY JEAN MILLER, NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL, ROCHESTER, N. Y.

[AN ABSTRACT]

The kindergarten was a natural product of its time, and Froebel a necessary person to discover the method of nature regarding humanity. The kindergarten could not be kept away from America, any more than could Christopher Columbus; and it is as integral a part of our great public-school system as the public school is, in turn, an essential part of our republic.

Rightly to understand the place of the kindergarten in our national system of education, it is necessary to look backward. It is less than a hundred years since the kindergarten had a discoverer in Germany; it is less than fifty years since the kindergarten had an existence in the United States; and it is only thirty-five years since it was first a part of any public school in our country. Today we have more than 300,000 children in kindergartens, and more than 4,000 kindergartners. And why this phenomenal growth?

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