138 WORCESTER COUNTr HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1898. 



a seat as quick as possible and the room is very quiet. In pleas- 

 ant weather, every Friday after prayers, two hundred of the boys 

 dressed in uniform, each boy carrying a gun, march to the play- 

 ground, where they have a band of music, and where they go 

 through a drill in which they do themselves great credit. 



All boys under ten years of age have their meals in another 

 building, and it would do you good to see those little boys take 

 their places at the table. They fold their hands and do not stir 

 until the blessing has been said and they have been helped. 

 There are over five hundred boys. Each boy has his wash-dish, 

 towel, soap, comb and brush, and he has to put them in their 

 place. The same is true of all his clothes. When these boys 

 graduate they have three suits of clothes and no bad habits, such 

 as drinking, smoking and using bad language. They are taught 

 to mind on the instant when spoken to. They graduate when 

 sixteen or eighteen years old, and their services are in demand. 

 Temperance young men are always in demand, and always will 

 be. This college was opened January 1, 1848, with one hundred 

 boys. Since the opening of the school, five thousand seven hun- 

 dred boys have been clothed, fed and educated, and a great 

 many of them have learned a trade. 



There were, one year ago, 1,536 boys at the college. The 

 trustees are preparing to take in more boys, as there is money 

 enough to care for them, as soon as suitable buildings can be 

 built. The cadets, two hundred in number, go out to Island 

 Heights, New Jersey, for a summer encampment which lasts 

 three weeks. The drills they go through with do them great 

 credit, and large crowds gather to witness their drills. 



When the yellow fever was in Philadelphia, Mr. Girard pro- 

 cured a pesthouse and took care of the sick himself, and he never 

 lost a patient. At one time he saved the city from bankrui)tcy 

 by lending them money, and he also helped the Government by 

 lending them money. 



There has been some fault found with Mr. Girard because he 

 would not let clergymen into the college. I will give you his 

 exact words in relation to it. "I enjoin and require that no 

 ecclesiastic, missionary or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall 



