THE STORY OF A SCHOOL. 505 



that ; and, finally, lie became angry and disgusted, and took him- 

 self away permanently. I watched this affair with much interest 

 as a psychological experiment, but with some anxiety lest the 

 moral leprosy should spread ; but the character of the school told, 

 and I was superfluous. 



Another instance discloses something of the spirit prevailing 

 among our students. The use of tobacco was discouraged inci- 

 dentally in a variety of ways. We had a beautiful new building, 

 and great care was taken to preserve it free from filth of any 

 kind. A tobacco-stain, when observed, was removed at once with 

 scrubbing-brush and sand. The physiology class, too, came upon 

 the question of the action of tobacco upon the tissues of the body, 

 and, besides, there was felt to be a social discredit in its use. One 

 evening, while waiting for the mail at the post-office, a number of 

 students on the same errand gathered about, and our talk turned 

 on school matters. Allusion was made to our freedom from the 

 restraint of rules. A late comer remarked : " But you have one 

 rule, I understand. No one must use tobacco on the school prem- 

 ises." I assured him that, though I was opposed to the use of to- 

 bacco, I did not prohibit it. " But," I said, " no gentleman will 

 soil the floor of a room occupied by ladies ; and this fact, being 

 understood, prevents its use more effectually than a positive pro- 

 hibition." So powerful was the social reprobation of this filthy 

 habit, that forty young men, of their own will, gave up the prac- 

 tice. It will thus be seen that our moral training, too, was largely 

 incidental ; it was implicit in every detail of school-life. 



As will already have been anticipated, we dispensed with all 

 distinctive religious services. I had carefully observed the effect 

 in school and college throughout a long period of years, and had 

 been forced to conclude that the evil results vastly outweighed 

 the good. I had noticed that stated Bible-reading often became 

 a mere lifeless form, in which many took no interest. This was 

 contrary to the whole spirit of my system, " Vain repetitions," 

 leading to a habit of regarding words apart from thought, were 

 to be carefully avoided. Then, again, the teachings were dog- 

 matic, appealing to authority, while science regards authority as 

 an impertinence. Besides, the Constitution of the United States 

 places its whole machinery upon a strictly secular basis, and re- 

 ligious services in a State school are there upon sufferance. No 

 matter how carefully guarded, the daily performance of any re- 

 ligious service degenerates into formalism, and excites in the com- 

 munity sectarian animosities. 



But, above all, I wished to place morals upon a scientific basis, 

 so as to furnish a safe guide to conduct, independent of the shift- 

 ing standards of theological belief. We, who received our ap- 

 pointments from the State, could not, honestly, either i)romote or 



