Ecclesiastical History. 51 



" The various employments in which Mr. Brooks engaged with great 

 readiness, and in which he worked with enthusiasm and perseverance, besides 

 the discharge of his parochial duties, bore heavily upon his strength. He 

 sought relief and rest by a change of scenes and occupation. He visited 

 Europe in 1833, and made the acquaintance of many distinguished per- 

 sons, among them Rogers, Campbell, Wordsworth, Jeffrey, Cousin, Arago, 

 Schlegel, Mrs. Hemans, Miss Martineau, and many others of note. 



"It was during the voyage to Europe that he became interested in 

 the Prussian system of education. His room-mate was Dr. Julius, of 

 Hamburg, who was sent to this country by the King of Prussia, to collect 

 information respecting our prisons, hospitals, and schools ; so that Mr. 

 Brooks, in a passage of forty-one days, had a fine opportunity of becom- 

 ing acquainted with the Prussian system, and of enlarging his European 

 correspondence. In 1835 he addressed his people on Thanksgiving Day 

 on the subject of Normal Schools ; and from that day forward, on every 

 opportunity, he lectured before conventions to advance the cause into 

 which he had entered with so much enthusiasm. He lectured in nearly 

 one hundred different towns and cities, — in every place where he was 

 invited. By invitation of the legislatures of Massachusetts, New Hamp- 

 shire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- 

 vania, he delivered to crowded assemblies, in each, two or three lectures, 

 besides speaking in most of the capitals between Boston and Washington. 

 The results were the establishment of Boards of Education and Normal 

 Schools. A distinguished educator, who is entirely competent to judge 

 in this matter, says that Mr. Brooks, for Ids long, disinterested, and 

 unpaid labors in the cause of education, is entitled to be considered, 

 more than any other individual, what he has been called, the ' Father of 

 Normal Schools.' 



" The citizens of Plymouth County owe him a debt of gratitude for 

 the influences which he set in motion resulting in the establishment of the 

 Normal School at Bridgewater. It was in 1838 that the celebrated meet- 

 ing of the ' Plymouth County Association for the Improvement of Com- 

 mon Schools 'was held at Hanover, where brilliant speeches were made 

 by Horace Mann, Robert Rantoul, George Putnam, John Quincy Adams, 

 and Daniel Webster, and a powerful impression was made upon the 

 public mind. It was on this occasion that Mr. Adams, after speaking 

 of what monarchs had done to establish Normal Schools through their 

 realms, exclaimed, 'Shall we be outdone by kings?' and closed a very 

 eloquent speech amid the acclamations of the assembly. Mr. Webster 

 spoke also, with his accustomed simplicity, directness, and power. ' If,' 

 said he, ' I had as many sons as old Priam, I would send them all to the 

 public schools.' 



" Mr. Brooks was present at this meeting ; took the lead in the meas- 

 ures proposed, and was deferred to as the engineer of the work to be done 

 to create a correct public sentiment. 



" In 1838 he was elected professor of Natural History in the University 

 of the City of New York, and proposed to visit Europe to qualify himself 

 for the duties of his new office. He accepted the office with the concur- 

 rence of his parish, and it adopted resolutions on the dissolution of the 

 connection, expressing gratitude for his past services, and wishes for his 

 future success. 



" In 1839 he departed for Europe, where he remained upward of four 

 years. He devoted his time to scientific studies, and such as he deemed 



