FIELD MEETING AT BRADFORD. 43 



greater than even its warmest friends were inclined to 

 esteem it ; and nowhere else than in Essex County has the 

 experiment of an organization formed for the acquiring 

 and diffusing of useful knowledge, in so wide a field, been 

 successfully carried on for so long a time, and with such 

 encouraging results. 



Brig. Gen'l William Cogswell of Salem was then intro- 

 duced and said he hardly knew why he was called upon to 

 speak, except that he was interested in both the Institute 

 and the Bradford Academy, and he knew how much good 

 both institutions were doing in their respective lines. He 

 complimented both organizations, and said he was re- 

 minded by Mr. Goodell's talk about a depreciated cur- 

 rency, that during the War of the Rebellion he ate a chicken 

 for breakfast which cost him one hundred and fifty thou- 

 sand dollars in Confederate money. 



Prof. I. N. Carleton was next asked to speak. He be- 

 gan with the query, What can be expected of a schoolmas- 

 ter after four o'clock in the afternoon ? He commended 

 the work of the Institute as bringing the people out of their 

 offices, their stores and their schoolhouses, and bringing 

 them face to face with nature and nature's works. He said 

 that statistics show that sadness and despondency are on 

 the increase and that insanity and suicide are of frequent 

 occurrence ; that these things were largely caused by in- 

 tense application to study, or to business, or to the pursuit 

 of some specialty ; again, these unfortunate conditions are 

 caused partly by the tendency to crowd the cities to excess. 

 Professor Carleton thought that if more attention was given 

 to such out-door rambles as the one of to-day it would be a 

 great gain for the community. The work of societies like 

 the Institute has a tendency to bring men and women back 

 to nature and to the country ; it is certainly healthful and 

 invigorating both to mind and body. 



