4-00 The Story of The Bronx 



or homeless, and are committed by a magistrate, or by the 

 commissioners of charity. 



[experience has taught that to conquer the class of children 

 described above, it is necessary for them to have constant and 

 useful occupation, with a proper amount of play and out-door 

 work. The Protectory has been under the Christian Brothers 

 of the Catholic Church from its inception to the present. 

 They are not priests, but are expected to engage in no business 

 but that of teaching, and they are vowed to go and teach 

 wherever they are sent by their superiors. The Brothers 

 are with the boys at all times, whether it be in the workshop, 

 the playground, or the dormitory. 



The institution occupied two sites in Manhattan before 

 coming to Van Nest. The site here, consisting of a farm of 

 1 14 acres, was bought in June, 1865, for $40,000. The erection 

 of the necessary buildings was begun at once, both for the boys 

 and the girls, the latter being separated from the former and 

 being nearer Unionport. A great fair was held in 1867 to 

 raise funds for the erection of a building for girls, who are in 

 charge of the Sisters of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. 

 This building was completed in 1869, but was completely 

 destroyed by fire on the night of July 25, 1872; and the dis- 

 cipline and courage displayed by the older girls were remark- 

 able. One of the Sisters said: " Let no big girl pass this way 

 without a baby in her arms"; and without hesitancy "the 

 big girls" returned to the burning building and smoking dor- 

 mitories and issued from them with the babes in their arms, 

 many of them still asleep. Not a life was lost. Fire also 

 destroyed the tower of the Boys' building on August 22, 1902. 



The daily routine is varied, so that the children are not apt 

 to become tired with either too much mental or too much 

 physical labor. There is class-room work, shop-work, and work 



