March 29, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



243 



To return to Mr. Groom's special work. When he was enabled 

 to give his whole time to it, the movement spread rapidly. Six or 

 seven large classes, each consisting of several hundreds of boys, 

 were formed in various parts of the city. Mr. Groom's earnest 

 endeavor throughout was to establish them on a self-governing and 

 self-supporting basis, and to avoid all showy display of the work 

 for the sake of obtaining " patronage " and contributions. The 

 weekly meetings of the classes are held primarily for the sake of 

 mutual entertainment. A large room is either lent or rented, and 

 a varied performance takes place, — songs, recitations, an occa- 

 sional farce, and a few words of advice, admonition, or encourage- 

 ment from the leader of the class. The chairman of the meeting 

 is elected by the boys, as also are the secretary, treasurer, and door- 

 keepers. Mr. Groom, when he is present, is always elected as leader. 

 The small dues of the class, usually about six cents, are collected 

 weekly. In connection with the classes, too, are penny banks and 

 lending libraries. A remarkable work has been carried on by some 

 of the bigger boys, who were formerly leaders in mischief and out- 

 rage among the vicious " larrikins " who nightly haunt the streets of 

 the Australian cities, and cause sore perplexity to those who study 

 social problems in those colonies. A few of these reclaimed 

 " hoodlums," sally forth together on Saturday nights, go from one 

 saloon to another, and, if they see boys drinking there, bid them 

 come out and join them. The boys instinctively obey their former 

 leaders, meekly follow them, and are brought within the circle of 

 influence of the Excelsior Classes. 



From Melbourne the movement has already spread to Sydney. 

 A young clerk in one of the government offices of New South 

 Wales, while on a visit to Melbourne, heard of Mr. Groom's work, 

 and was so deeply impressed by what he saw of it that he deter- 

 mined to devote his evenings to a similar work in his own city. 

 An admirable class is now organized in the midst of a very poor 

 district. 



It was at Sydney that I first came into contact with the work. 

 I well remember the striking character of the scene. Passing be- 

 tween two vigilant boy door-keepers, I entered a large, bare school- 

 room, lighted with flaming gas-jets. More than a hundred boys 

 of all sorts and sizes, many ragged and with bare feet, were sitting, 

 absolutely quiet and orderly, with eager, intelligent faces, listening 

 to a few words from their elected leader or " critic," as he is here 

 styled, the government clerk whom I have mentioned. The chair- 

 man, secretary, and treasurer, each adorned with a broad crimson 

 scarf, as of some knightly order, were at their posts. Then the 

 entertainment began, consisting almost entirely of recitations and 

 songs chosen by the boys themselves. No trace of any thing 

 coarse or low appeared : the tendency, oddly enough, was to pieces 

 of a profoundly melancholy and sentimental order. The choruses 

 of the more lively songs were taken up by the whole body of boys 

 with an energy which seemed almost great enough to break the 

 windows and blow off the roof. But throughout the meeting the 

 order and discipline maintained for themselves by these rough 

 street boys was simply perfect. After the entertainment was over, 

 the treasurer collected the weekly dues, and then the business of a 

 penny bank was transacted. I left the meeting, feeling that I had 

 seen the finest sight in all Australia. 



Some weeks later I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Groom 

 himself at his little house near Melbourne. At this time he was in 

 a very shattered state of health, and only just recovering from the 

 effects of a terrible railroad accident. He had been compelled for 

 six months to withdraw entirely from the supervision of the Excel- 

 sior Classes ; but he was still able to attend to a deeply interesting 

 branch of his work at home, — the rescue of boys of the most de- 

 praved and degraded class, whom he had found lying about the 

 wharves at night, or had intercepted on their discharge from 

 prison. 



He showed me in his back garden a low, long barrack of six 

 little chambers, separated from each other by solid walls, so that 

 no communication should be possible by night among the inmates. 

 Each room was simply but prettily furnished. On the wall hung 

 an illuminated and framed copy of the Lord's Prayer ; and in an- 

 other frame, a stanza of some hymn or poem, intended to meet the 

 special need of the occupant of the room. During the day the 

 boys are sent to the public school : the rest of their time is filled up 



with work of various kinds, — carpentry, digging, gardening, and 

 household duties. They take their meals with Mr. and Mrs. 

 Groom, and thus learn decent manners at table. Mr. Groom has 

 gone with great care and thoroughness into the subject of the 

 various forms of vice to which these poor boys are specially prone, 

 and uses every effort to ascertain and apply the surest and most 

 appropriate remedies and preventives. When the boys have been 

 thoroughly reclaimed, they are drafted off to places in the country. 

 The demand for the boys is far greater than Mr. Groom can sup- 

 ply. 



This is a department of his work which Mr. Groom guards with 

 the greatest care from ostentatious publicity, rightly deeming that 

 the subject is far too grave and awful to be made a matter of ad- 

 vertising and promiscuous patronage. The necessary funds are, I 

 believe, supplied by a few attached friends, and by a single large 

 business firm. It is by no means easy — experto credite — for 

 others to obtain the privilege of contributing to the work. 



It was exceedingly interesting to observe the effect upon the Ex- 

 celsior Classes of Mr. Groom's disablement. Four or five of the 

 classes, it must be confessed, had at the time of my visit lapsed into 

 a state of suspended animation, although there was every reason to 

 hope that they would revive at Mr. Groom's touch. One class 

 which I visited was still in operation, but it was evidently on the 

 point of breaking down. The temporary leader, a good and really 

 heroic young fellow, was evidently not quite fitted for his post. On 

 the evening of my visit the meeting was a very large one, and a 

 number of turbulent youths had made their way in. The leader, 

 as I could tell from my former scholastic experience, was at fault 

 in every appeal which he made to the audience, and naturally ex- 

 cited some derision. However, the performance was creditably 

 gone through, in spite of some interruptions. I was struck by the 

 genuine courtesy of the boys, who, although I was the only visitor 

 present in the unruly assembly, never by word or act made my 

 position in the slightest degree uncomfortable, although considera- 

 ble ingenuity was shown in worrying their "leader." I was not 

 surprised to learn that the subsequent meeting broke up m confu- 

 sion, and the class was suspended. 



In the next class which I visited, all was cheering and hopeful. 

 About a hundred boys, with many of their friends and relations, 

 were present in a cheerful, well-lighted schoolroom. An admirable 

 entertainment was provided, — songs, recitations, a short farce, 

 and, if I remember rightly, some gymnastic exercises. A few whole- 

 some words were addressed to the boys by their elected leader, — 

 a young, fresh-looking boy, who is employed as a clerk in a busi~ 

 ness-house. Although the class had for six months been deprived 

 of Mr. Groom's supervision, the order and discipline of the meeting 

 left nothing to be desired. The genial bonhomie and courtesy of 

 the boys deeply impressed me. I remained for some time after the 

 meeting, talking with the boys, and examining their library and 

 savings bank. My favorable impression was continually deepened. 

 Here, I thought, was a sight even grander than I had witnessed in 

 Sydney, as proving what democratic government, free from all sus- 

 picion of being qualified, may do among boys. 



Some further details of this interesting work may be derived from 

 The Excelsior, — a monthly paper which was, and not improbably 

 is still, published for the classes. Mr. Groom himself is always 

 pleased to communicate with persons who are genuinely and prac- 

 tically interested in this and similar work. Address W. Groom, 

 care of Edw. k Beckett, Brighton, Melbourne, Australia. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 

 GiNN & Co. have in preparation " Our World," by Mary L, 

 Hall, revised and arranged as a supplementary reading-book. 



— The latest issue of Ticknor's Paper Series is the novel " Under 

 Green Apple Boughs," by Helen Campbell. The story is illu- 

 minated by eight full-page pictures by Howard Pyle. 



— The Fortnightly Review for March (New York, Leonard 

 Scott Publication Company) opens with the first of Sir Charles 

 Dilke's important and valuable papers on " The Frontiers of 

 India," in which he describes his journey, and the impressions 

 made in the earlier part of it ; F. I. Ricarde-Seaver and Sir Charles 

 Metcalfe contribute a comprehensive article on " The British 



