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 e.fect 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." PLANS OF PRESCOTT GRAMMAR SCHOOL-HOUSE, BOSTON. The following description of the Prescott Grammar School-house, prepared by Hon. John D. Philbrick, Superintendent of Public Schools, is taken from the Annual Report of the School Committee for 1865: This noble edifice, which is well represented in the accompanying perspective view, is located in the easterly part of East Boston, about two miles from the City Hall. It stands near the centre of a lot which is just two hundred feet square, and is bounded on three sides by wide streets. It has a frontage of one hundred and thirty-eight feet on Prescott Street, and sixty-eight feet on Bennington and Saratoga Streets, respectively. It is three stories high, exclusive of the basement and attic. From an inspection of the accompanying cuts it will be seen that the ground plan of the building consists of five parts, namely, a central portion thirty-five feet by sixty, two wings, each thirty-one feet by sixty-eight; and two entrance halls, connecting the wings with the central portion, each twenty-one feet by fifty-six. There are four entrances, one in the front and one in the rear of each entrance hall, the two principal or front entrances being on Prescott Street. In each of the entrance halls there are two well-lighted staircases, leading from the first to the second story, and one leading from the second to the third story. The building contains sixteen school-rooms, of the same size, namely, twenty-eight feet by thirty-two. Six of these rooms are on the first floor, six on the second, and four on the third. It will be seen, on examining the plans, that each of the twelve rooms which are in the wings has a spacious and well-lighted clothes-closet attached, and that each of the four rooms in the central portion has two such closets. Each of these closets communicates both with its adjacent schoolroom and entrance hall, and serves as a passage-way for the pupils in going in and out of their rooms These closets are only half a story in height, there being above each an apartment of the same size and height, which is entered from a middle landing of a staircase. The latter are designed for dressing-rooms and water-closets for teachers, receptacles for books, school apparatus, etc. The schoolrooms of the first and second stories are twelve and a half feet high in the clear; and those of the third story fourteen feet. The whole of the third story of the central portion, with a part of the space over each entrance hall, is devoted to an assembly and exhibition hall, which is sixty-five feet long, fifty-seven feet wide, and eighteen feet high. This is the largest and best hall for school purposes in the city. Its symmetrical and convenient arrangement is shown in plan No. 3. The basement, which is well paved with bricks, is ten feet high, and its extensive area, with the exception of the space occupied by the heating apparatus, is available as play-rooms for the pupils in stormy weather. The floors of the entrance halls are rendered fire-proof by means of iron beams supporting brick arches, on which are laid North River flagging stones. The other floors are laid with scantlings 14 by 13 inches, blind-nailed, forming a solid and smooth surface, — such as is needed for receiving the screws which secure the seats and desks, -without any wide cracks at the joints. All the windows are fitted with inside folding blinds, and those on the northerly and westeriy sides have double sashes. The halls in each story are furnished with sinks, which are supplied with water from the Cochituate pipes. All the rooms are brought into communication with the master's room by means of speaking tubes and bells. Each of the school-rooms is furnished with fifty-six single desks and chairs of the most approved |