136 A HALF CENTURY. 



and a general unanimity of interest to promote the common welfare of 

 the school. I recall those sessions with pleasure. A small room in 

 the southeast corner was partitioned otf for a prayer-meeting room 

 and in later years was used for the infant department. The cor- 

 responding room on the opposite side was used for the ladies' sewing 

 room, leaving a space for the entire Sunday-school about half the size 

 of that now occupied by our junior department. 



Listen as I recall the names of some of those who were active 

 workers in the Sundaj^-school fifty years ago, as nearly as I can 

 remember them. Horatio Waldo, superintendent; Deacon Chauncey 

 Corn well, assistant superintendent; R. G. Williams and Charles M. 

 Lewis, librarians; teachers, Prof. E. A. Andrews, Alvin North, Horace 

 Butler, O. B. Bassett, Francis Hart, Wm. H. Smith, H. F. North, 

 Henry Stanley, Dr. Samuel Hart, Josiah Dewey, Mrs. Samuel Rock- 

 well, Mrs. Dr. Samuel Hart, Mrs. Chester Hart, Mrs. Wm. H. Smith, 

 Mrs. Gilman Hinsdale, Mrs. Horace H. Brown, Mrs. G. M. Landers, 

 Mrs. C. B. Erwin, Mrs. Mary C. Emerson, Mrs. F. T. Stanley, Mrs. C. 

 A. Warner, Miss Elizabeth Smith, Mrs. Sarah North Brace, Mrs. Levi 

 W. Hart, and Miss Lucy Wright. 



The sessions were called to order by a bell, followed by singing, 

 reading of the Scriptures, and prayer. Plenty of time was always 

 given to the strangers present to talk to the school, and about an hour 

 was allowed for the entire session, as the afternoon service began at 

 half past one or two o'clock. 



On the right of the platform, Mr. Horace Butler had a class of 

 young men, among whom I remember the names of A¥m. S. Booth, 

 Philip Corbiu, Henry F. Peck, Hubert North, Frank Corbin, Thomas 

 Smith, Sherman Steele, Edward Doen, Charles W. Whaples, H. C. 

 Bowers, Lester P. Buell, and John E. Woodruff. An interesting class 

 of girls also came from the mother church, Louisa Hart, Julia A. North, 

 Caroline North, Cordelia Smith, Clara North, Julia Cornwell, Eliza 

 Seymour, Julia Belknap, and others. 



We had no book of song as now, but sang the words from our 

 regular church hymn book. For some time we had no instrument to 

 lead our music, but later a new interest was given to the singing by 

 Virgil C. Taylor, who opened a singing school, at which the scholars 

 were thoroughly instructed in the rudiments of music. 



We had no uniform system of lesson-study at that time. The inter- 

 national system of lessons had not been born. The younger classes 

 generally used a question book. I recall the " Topical Question 

 Book" as one, also "Questions on the Miracles and Parables of Christ 

 and the Acts of the Apostles." The older classes studied the book 

 of Romans. The scholars were expected to answer the questions 



