Evening Star Newspaper, February 16, 1889, Page 7

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. C.. sivuRpay, FEBRUARY 16, 1889. GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. ITs A LONG AND USEFUL LIFE. Its History and Progress Sketched at Length. ooh. * ae FOUNDED BY FATHER CARROLL IN 1789, IT HAS BECOME THE LEADING CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE COUNTRY—SOME OF ITS EMINENT PRES- IDENTS, PROFESSORS AND PUPILS—SOME INTER- ESTING INCIDENTS IN ITS HONORABLE CAREER. ———— As the centennial celebration of Georgetown college takes place Wednesday, a sketch of this the most celebrated Catholic institution of learning in this country is believed to be timeiy, and it will, no doubt, be read with in- terest. From time to time bits of news in re- gard to this centennial have been published in ‘Tne Stan, but only the committees who have had charge of the details haye any real idea Of the magnitude of the proposed celebration. Former graduates of the college will come from every section of the Union to participate in the ceremonies, and former members of the faculty, who are now engaged in other labors, interest to the oc- To invest the exércises with the high- dignity Cardinal Gibbons will come from Baltimore to confer the degrees in will also be present to casion. est ecclesiastic giv theology. Although Georgetown will now only cele- brate its one hundredth anniversary, the idea of establishing a Catholic seat of learning in this locality was first broached in 1638 by Father Ferdinand Poulton, who wrote the Eng- lish provincial of the Jesuit order on the sul ject. and received encouraging permission to proceed in the execution of hhis project. This resulted in the establishment of a school at Calverton manor, the home of Lord Baltimore, in 1640, but four years after the establishment of the Harvard university at Cambridge, Mass, Another school was established at Newtown manor in 1677. but the one at Bohemia manor, in Cecil county, Md., in 1740, by the Rey. Thos. Poulton, was the direct predecessor of the col- lege at Georgetown. THE FOUNDER OF THE COLLGE. Father John Carroll, afterward the first bishop nd then the first archbishop of Baltimore, was ~ the founder of George- town college, and the history of the genesis of the college is a story of Father Carroll's life. He was the son of Daniel Carroll, who, with his father. Charles had emigrated to this country from settled at Upper Marl- F boro’, Prince George county, where, January 8, 1735, Jahn Carroll was born. He was sent at the age of eleven at the school at Bohemia Manor, Cecil Of this school, which, as has been said, may be considered the prede cessor of Georgetown college, not a trace remains, Among his schoolmates here was his cousin, the afterward fumous Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, The two young Carrolls, with a companion, Robert Brent, of Aquia Creek, Stafford county, V were sent to St, Omer’s, in French Flanders, His novitiate was completed in 1755, when he was sent to Liege to finish his course in phil- osophy and th ‘He was ordained to the priesthood in 1759, and was sent first to teach at St. Omer’s and afterward to ge as pro- fessor of philosophy. thus acquiring practical experience in the work of teaching, to which he afterward gave so many years of his life at Georgetown. Father Carroll returned to America and to his home on Rock creek, just above George- town, in 1774, and there he lived with his mother for many years. He was an ardent bm during the Revolution and had great in- ence among the Catholics of Maryland and Virginia. His importance in that respect was so well recognized that he was made a member of the commission which included Benjamin Frank- lin, Samuel Chase and Chas. Carroll, of Carroll- ton. to go to Montreal tosecure the aid or at least the neutrality of the Canadians. It 1s said that it was largely due to the efforts and in- finence of Father Carroil that the commission was able to accomplish the little that it did. During that journey Father Carroll and Frank- lin conceived a very warm regard for each ‘other to which the priest probably owed his mitre, for when Franklin was minister to France in 1784 it was partly on his advice that Carroll's name was chosen from the list sub- mitted for appointment as “Superior of the Catholic clergy in the United Stat THE FIRST BUILDING ERECTED. Father Carroll had an ambition to establish acollege in Maryland, and after the cessation of the hostilities of the Revolution he directed his energies to the accomplishment of this his foncest wish. As early as the 30th of March, 1787. there was sent out the following: “Pro- geal for establishing an academy, at George- ‘own, Patowmack River, Mai id, ~The object of the proposed institution is to unite the Means of communicating Sciences with an effectual Provision for guarding and improving the Morals of Youth. With this View the Seminary will be superintended by those who, having had experience in similar Institutions, know that an undivided Attention may be given to the Cultivation of Virtue and literary Improvement, and that a System of Discipline may be introduced and preserved incompatible with Indolence and Inattention in the Professor or with Incorrigible Habits of Immorality in the Student. ~The Benefit of this Establishment should be as general as the attainment of its Object is de- sirable. It will therefore receive soon as they have learned the first Elements of Letters, and will conduct them through the several Branches of classical Learning to that Stage of Education from which they may pro- with Advantage to the Study of the higher Sciences in the University of this or those of the neighboring states. Thus it will be caleu- lated for every Class of Citizens, as Reading, Writing. Arithmetic, the earlier Branches of the Mathematics and the Grammar of our Na- tive Tongue will be attended to no less than the Learned a “Agreeable to the literal Principle of our Con- stitution. the Seminary will be open to Students of Every Religious Profession. They who in this respect differ from <he Superintendents of the Academy will be at Liberty to frequent the Places of Worship and Instraction appointed by their Parents; but with Respect to their moral Conduct all must be subject to general and uniform Discipline. “In the choice of Situation, Salubrity of Air, Convenience of Communication and Cheapness of living have been principally consulted, and Georgetown offers these united Advantages. ~The Price of tuition will be moderate; in the course of a few years it will be reduced still the System formed for this Seminary be effectually carried into execution. “Such a Plan of Edneation solicits and, it is not Presumption to add, deserves public En- ol nt. and others that The following gentlemen, may be appointed hereafter, will receive Sub- CENTENNIAL. Pils as |* THE COLLEGE I N Tnitte, Exqs. In Pennsylvania—Geo, Mead and Thos. Fitzsimmons, Esgs.: ir. Jos man. Mr. Mark Wilcox ‘and Mr. Thos. In Virginia—€ol. Fitzgerald and Geo. Brent, Esqs: and at New York—Dominie Lynch, Esq. “Subscriptions will also be receivedand every necessary information given by the follow Gentlemen, Directors of the underteking: ‘The Rev. Messrs. John Carroll, Jas, Pellents. Robt. Molyneux, John Ashton and Leonard Neale. THIS METHOD OF RAISING FUNDS was not successfal, but the money derived from the sale of some land owned by the Jesuits was taken, A site at Georgetown was secured from Col. Deakins and Mr. Thielkeld, and the college became an established fact in 1739. Of course. the early beginnings were very modest, and the accommodations consisted of a single brick building which still stands in the center of the south range of the buildings which compose the present pile. Its appear- ance indicates its age. It is of substantial brick, with ridgepole roof, low eaves, over- hanging the upper windows, the old-fashioned attic. with dormers giving light to sleeping rooms immediately under the roof. Large, heavy brick chimneys, built of imported brick, protrude through the roof, in stolid defiance of the rules of modern architecture. The next addition to the original structure is the castellated-looking structure on the north side of the quadrangle. It was commenced in . but it was not until 1808—a struggle of sixteen years being required to secure the necessary funds to keep the work going—that it was completed. This portion of the college is after the French chateau sty! ture, having towers on the north of its expo- sure. The towers, however, were not part of the original plan of the structure, but were added partly for orname fly to give strength to the walls. Prior to 1877 th buildings numbered some half a score with those already named—the observatory, infirm- ary, gymnasium and greenhouse, together with various shops and oflices con: d with the college farm. fh building are the dormitories and class rooms of the senior de- y and museum, the philosophical : billiard-room, reading- oking-room for the stud- a , stoo, recep- arlor® the president's room, Mange a fine painting by Luca Giordano, surnamed Fra Presto, ‘The Calling of St. Matthew.” one of the few art treasures the college can boast. In the south row the west building contains the students’ refectory and chapel and the senior study hall: the middle building, the oldest of them all, which has already been described, is the community house, and the east building holds the dormi- tory, study hall and class rooms of the junior students, who have likewise a separate’ play- ground, and whose domain is known as the “small boys’ sid THE TOWERS BUILDING has a large and comfortable porch, a favorite lounging place at all times, especially in sum- mer. In its shadows famous men have sat and talked. Thirty or forty years ago the states- men at the capital would sometimes stroll over to Georgetown and up to the college for a talk with the learned fathers. or perhaps to consult some of the rare bool a their library, for the Congressional library was not in existence at that time. Benton. Clay, and Calhoun are said to have been frequent visitors at the college. ‘The tower is said to have been used asa piace of punishment for students who haa violated the college rule ber his confineme one of the upper rooms of this tower. Th were deprived of their regular fare while in confinement, but they used to obtain forbidden luxuries by letting down a basket from the window by a string to their associates who were not in disgrace. ‘These would place good things in the basket, which would be drawn up by the prisoner. Ce A ae of architec- | college | LE Joon THE CENTENNIAL NEW BUILDIN | ing health, was a man of great energy and he secured large donations and bequests from former graduates and friends of the college. The largest of the donations came from Mr. James B, Coleman, of California, amounting in all to $20,000, and from the heirs of the late Thomas Dougherty, of Canada, $51,000. The rise in value of some real estate which the col- lege owned and which it was enabled to sell ior about 30,000, was also of very material as- sistance in liquidating the debt that had been incurred on account of the new building. TRE BEAUTIFUL GnouNDs. Of course when father Carroll fixed the loca- tion of the college upon the picturesque bluff which overlooks the Potomac, he had no idea that the capital of the then infant republic would be located here, but he builded better than he knew and the university and its beau- tifal grounds now form one of the most attract- ive features of the national capital. At the entrance of the grounds are two whitewashed gate-houses, which look like guard houses, and which were used as such durin; the period that the college wes occupie by the soldiers in the early years of the war. When hostilities commenced in 1861, and the troops came to Washingion, the college was conyerted into a barracks and the students and professors were crowded into one building for about three months, The Sixty-ninth New York Irish regiment was the first to be quar- tered at the college. and when they were or- dered to the front they were replaced by the Seventy-ninth New York. a Scotch regiment. After the departure of this regiment, however, the college was free from military control until the following vear,when, after the battle of the Second Bull Run, the buildings were taken for hospital purposes and so occupied for about a year. The play-ground occupies some half dozen acres of green sward, divided into two nearly eqnal fields by a road bordered with trees. The field tothe left of the entrance is used for the foot-bal! matches, and an odd-looking structure of brick atits upper end, like the standing center wall and gable of a ruined house which used to stand there, was the bowling-all He in former days, the students used to ball, of which the modern base bal professional players, its ruies and leagnes, is an evolution. Here, too, t meet sometimes to settle their little diffe ina stand-up fight, although the spot ch most frequently for the adjustment of differ- ences by this method was “the walks.” ‘The origin of the charming woodland prome- nade known as “the walks” is said to heve been an ordinary cowpath, first enlarged by the then owner of the land in 1826, Upon his joining the order of Jesuits as a lay brother. soon afterward, he extended his labors, and, with no other assistance than a spade and a natural taste for lands he produced a little sylvan pars ng from the green- house and gymnasium, at the east end of the north building, ‘the walks” wind along the sides of a romantic, deeply-wooded glen, in an irregular somi-circle about the college build- ings for nearly a mile. Through this glen runs a little rivelet, and the deep shades of the pine and poplar trees form an ideal spot for revery, and surroundings which are calculated to bring ont the poetic side of one’s nature. Here has always centered much of the poetry and pleas- ure of college life; here the student came to engage in both physical and metaphysical con- tests—to test whether he or his adversary was the better man, where the fight would not be likely to be interrupted, and to cram for ex- aminations in nature's cool silence. Here, too, in the old days when smoking by the students was forbidden by the faculty, the youth would steal off to indulge in the luxury of a furtive pipe. There were times when the youngster, wrapped in contemplation and smoke would be startled by a heavy footstep, and turning his head would fing an amiuble professor stroll- ing down the path puffing acigar. The free- masonry of the weed always secured the scholar from being reported, and the two would diplomatically place pipe and cigar be- hind them as cach lifted his hat in salutation, “The walks” are free now, and smoking is no longer forbidden to the senior class, but it is hardly possible that the practice is so greatly enjoyed by the students as it was when a ban was placed upon the habit. prise in all 1! ‘The grounds com- acres, 64 of them wood-land, TWO HISTORIC CANNON, Before leaving the grounds reference should be made to two historic cannon which now mount guard at the eastern entrance to the new building. They stand on grassy mounda supported by their trunnions on roughly-cut blocks of Potomac gneiss, but their story runs back to the first Catholic’ settlement of Mary- land, for they were brought from England by Leonard Calvert, the first actual governor of the colony of Maryland. On the 32d of No- vember, 1633, (thirteen years after the first voyage of the Mayflower fo Plymouth), a party of about 200 persons, led by Leonard Calvert, sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight. The little fleet consisted of two vessels—the Ark, emblem Tr ills poe gs NS Ga. THE HANDSOME NEW BUILDING, The new building, which is the crowning glory of the college, was commenced in 1877, during the presidency of Father Healy, the plans having been drawn by Messrs. Smithmyer & Pelz. This building faces the east and forms the ae side of the quadrangle around which all the buildings are erecte i Of the handsomest structures, in the District, and when completed will be one of the most desirable and best equipped college buildings in the country. Its lengli is 312 feet, and the walls are of ‘blue gneiss rock from the upper Potomac, with bluish-gray Ohio free stone and North river blue stone for the ent work. The of safety and refuge, and the Dove, emblem of e. The former vessel was a ship of about tons, the latter a pinnace of about 50 tons, which flew the governor's flag. On their voy- age they stopped at the Canary Islands, Barba- does and other ports, arriving at Point Comfort in Virginia, Feb. 24, 1634, where they remained until ¢ of March following, when they roceeded up Chesapeake bay and into the Po- mac river, to which the name St. Gregory was i The river was ascended as far aé where rnon is now, and returning the voyagers tled, and for over a century lay in the bed of the river, whence they were rescued in the carly part of this century by Capt. Carberry, one of the old inhabitants of that region. They were pitted with rust and deprived of much of their weight by corrosion. From his hands they passed into the ion of his brother, Father Carberry, of the Society of Jesus, supe- rior of the house at St. Inigo’s. They were brought to Georgetown coilege in June of last year directly from St. Inigo’s. through the en- deavors of Father Doonan, then president of the college. THE OLD COLLEGE CLOCK. In the old building of the college group, at the head of the odd-looking stairway which Jeads up to the room of the president of the institution, there stands like a patient sentinel. grim and uncommunicative, a clock so old that its coming is not within the memory of man, with the exception of the venerable Father ESTARLISAMENT OF THE OTSERVATORY. Rev, Jas. Curley, who was then the professor of astronomy, personally superintended the erection of the observatory builaing iv 1844 At that time there were very few observatories in this country, and those were mostly of «ru dimen ary character. The soservatory of Williams college, began in 1836, was the first established in the United States, That erected by Prof. Elias Loomis, of the Western Reserve college, of Huc>on, Ohio, soon followed. These, with the amell tower observatory of the Philadelphia hich school, seem to have been all that preceded the great national observatory. Father Carley had drawn his plans in iguor- ance of the fact that a government observatory was contemplated. Calling upon bis friend, Capt. Gillis. he showed him the drawings, and ter drew from his op be presented: ore elaborate aring th De- Curley. who only knows that it was there when Y occurred in th waa he entered the college. sixty-two years ago. to furnish funds f ob- This clock was in olden times « place of pun- servatory, and as Con: pt ia ap ishment, or pillory. as it were, for the discipline Propriating $20,000. the sum ne for w of unruly scholars, who were put in coventry, nava! observa tor his was cnabled to precede and compelled to stand facing it for a length the college building by about . The of time adequate to the offense committed. great observatory of Harvard was mot estab- lished for some years later. THE EXPENSE OF THE GEORGETOWN BUILDING was defraved by a legacy received by the Rev. Thomas Meredith Jenkins, professor of litera- ture. This eminent man, to a most gentle and lovable character, added an intense geal for learning and the sciences, He afterwards laid down his life in Rio de Janeiro, while attend- ing upon and instructing an American boy and girlstricken with the yellow fever. The build- ing thus erected is 60 feet long and 30 wide, and is divided from cast to west into three rooms. The middle part of the observatory is three stories high and has a rotary dome. The dome-room ns a well ai equa- torial telescope. made by Troughton & Simms, This instrament has a 4 8-10-inch object-glass, giving powers from 25 to 400. It would have en one-third larger had it been x Paris, as originally intended. but the maker who had undertaken the contract dying, it was transferred to London, and during the delay thus caused Congress passed a tariff bill impos- ing a duty of 33 per cent ad valorem on all in- struments imported from abroad even for col- leges. For this reason the diameter of the lens was reduced by one-third to make the available But some one of the delinquents, studying the lineaments of the face of the old clock with an intentness which should have applied to his lessons, found means to shorten the term of probation by setting the hands forward. This was too good to keep, and was imparted to all delinquents, becoming an open secret, when the vicinity of the clock was abandoned as a corrective. It is a queer old th: made in Philadelphia, | the old English st ig. this clock. It was y one I. Fertig, after it has on its face no date, but only the arms of the state of Pennsyl- vania, and some curious ornaments indicative of the taste of its creator, whom it h: and years ago, rung ont into the cb This time-piece of antiquity has ushered gen- erations into the world, as it has ushered gen- erations into the next one; it has rung families in with peals of joyousness, as it has rung families out with vibrating sadness, the strokes of its silvery bell taking tone from passing events. But it goes on with its record of time asithas done for untold years, swaying its ever restless pendulum in cadence with its never varying monotony of tick! tick! and its sonorous toujours! jamais! alternating ringing music with the pulsation of its mechanism: en- tering another event, another habitation to the old college pile, and all the while adding more OBSERVATORY. continne Jong in office, and in 1796 he was succeeded by REV. WM, N. DU BOURG, who was THE CHARTERED AS A UNIVERSITY. Rev. Francis Neale succeeded Father Mat- thews as president, and he in turn was suc- ceeded by Rev. John Grassi in 1812, His ad- ministration was an eventful one. Washing- ton city was captured by the British and many public buildings were afterward New Or- bishop of . and finally Besaucan, Father Dn bishop France, of time and more history to the already burdened Bourg was a man of | burned. The college sory? AX pee A teil Geni Ga nee ee CBeedeghenesy ogee Pome] in; og ey os gress, petitioned by all the leges of the jamais! tick! tick! tonjours! jamais sop a Dice hapartene 1A ng had country, removed the duty. This instrument, France in 179%, and | €ver, were the re-estab- though of no great diameter as telescopes go under his rule contin- | lishment of the Jesnits nowadays, thronghout the world in 18i4, and the passage by Congress in 1815 of t chartering the ued progress was made by the college. It was during his administre- | tion, probably that the college honored by A VISIT FROM GEN. WAS then serving his second te This visit is thus described by a contemporary | of that year: “While the small college was sur- | rounded by a whitewashed paling fence a horseman, well stricken in years but of noble and soldicr-like bearing, reined up his charger | a » little way and hitched him to the Alighting with grace and ease he en- tered the humble enclosure with a benevolent Is REMARKABLY CLEAR AND PERFECT in definition. The eastern room contains a first-class meridian circle, by Troughton & Simms, of Loudon, The divided are of the circle has a diameter of 45 inches, reading by jicroscopes to fractions of a se i of an arc. The telescope is a 4-inch glass. Inthe western room is mounted ne transit instrument. by Ertel & Son, of Munich, It is 7 has a 4!.-iuch object-glass, Formerly, w the eye and car method of of observations was depe these instruments was acce sie at present ti ston, when he was a member o} House of Representatives, and its passa largeiy due to his persistent efforts. establishment of the Jesuits took to eral of the graduates of the subsequently parsued their in order th: selves in The re- | | itiate \ they might fully perfect them- “ratio studiorim” of “* rerio en Father Grassi’s immediate snc and the other for sidereal, stand beside One of the most interesting relics of the | serenity of comntenance and a placid look of | Bonedict Fenwick. was hiseelf foll nickly chronograph on the pier of the central early history of the college, around which nce for a cordial reception. ‘This every | by Rev, Anthony Kohli Enoch Fenwick, | room. There are, clusters many memories of the older gradn- ates of the institution, will be looked for in moreover, five portable al instruments, and « library of 500 visiting his friends, ian fee s Prof. Matthews had 1 the youn astronor phen Dudnis- young er | works on astronomy, mathematics and the vain by those who will next week revisit the and honor to be the first to wel- ‘5 Boab. | phy = tap et Guan aunens scenes of their youthful struggles and triumphs. These gentlemen | curious books, , 3 I ; filled the period up to| The total cost of the building and instraments This is the old bell, whose tintinnabutations for 1629, when the young | Wes about €15,800, 0 very considerable eam to yearsawakened, at inopportune moments A 4 priests spoken of above | be spent in those days in the interest of pure often, the echoes of those cloistered walls, and arty Elesdeeat pete afl HEIGL Kea tater as having gone to Nome | 8cie ly times these ye] 5 g a aia dely known as editor cist. a ie returned. having com- ample and even splendi gammoned all too soon from their slumbers | 354 caaal io Yack Seber Sk ee tie BS By ey ne hittin teat Dh olomeone oe saectae | twelve years of age when he entered college in fulls acquired the “4 sity observatories of the times, daties; but whose clamorons tongue seemed | 5747" this action of Washington in 7 . pee : exasstheiohee 4 always tardy enough in its announcement of | Georgetown college, has been followed | tudiorim” of THE PROFESSORS OF ASTRONOMY. meal time. “This old bell came from Holland | Georgetown, college, le ier. Thewe we Father Curley was the first to make'use of some time during 1770, soon after its birth, | Willinm Henry Harrisc 5 ee — dy the building and instruments, and took great a peat m= “While ‘peetorsting Sb egies month after his inaugurs | eg satisfaction in knowing that he could furnish duties of sutamoning sleepy students to pray- > public mind, all Preside tho became Presideut | to the students interested in astronomy facili- ers, one fine morning in November, 1855, there a tametad at © of the college. Father | ties so mu greater for the prosecution of in- vestigation in this sc then had been possi- ble before. A few y after the establish- ment of the observatory, however, several dis- tinguished Italian Jesuits came to Georgetown college, having been forced to fice their native was suddenly a sound of mufiled effort; the heart of the faithful old thing had snapped asunder, and oice became mute and use- less. It was carefully and tenderly laid to rest, its.goodness remembe 1 its errors foi gotten. Now, when it is wanted to shed glory nm the house of its refuge it is not to be found. Whether it has been consigned to that cemetery of useless things, the shop of a brie- a-brac dealer, whether it lingers in some safe obscure corner, listening to the ghosts of its own past vibrations, or whether it is simply lost in the multiplicity of hiding places formed by the vast improvements which Fave taken place in and about its old home, no man knoweth, but it is not where it can be reached and brought forth and set upon a pedestal as it should b add to the interest of the coming joyous ce bration. .pexrpicrrexwick Byder as vice-president Father Enoch Fenwick as prefect of studies, ement exerciss Father Du Bourg remained in office until 1798, when he proceeded to Havana in order to establish in that place a college and a semin- | ary. Failing, however, in his ob; turned to this count and became the first resident of old St. ry’scollege in Baltimore. n 1808 he aided Re ‘ir. Bois in i Mount St. Mary’s college at Emmi was three years after this that he was elevated tox bishopric. When Father Du Bourg left the college he was the recipient of TWO ADDRESSES OF REGRET, one from the students and the other from the faculty, both of which were published in full in “The Centinel of Liberty and Georgetown and Washington Adverti: “of the period. The address of the students was signed by Jas. Bankhead, son of Thomas Bankhead, of “Alex- andria, and afterward brigadier-general. U. 8. ; Wm, Carroll, son of Hon. Da roll, brother of the founder of the colleg Lav, son of Thomas I Washington’ capi- brother of Lord Ellenborongh, and ma: Vashington's granddaughter, sis- W. P. Custis, of Arlington, and Gar- 'y, son of James D. Barry, of Washing- to! ‘The address of the teachers is signed by John Wade. icholas A. Fenwick, Philip Laur- enson, Theophs. F. Dougherty, Enoch Fenwick, Charl ellemine and Jeremiah Connor. e fencing-master; Nich- olas Fenwick was the son of James Fenwick, of Georgetown, and had been a student of the college; Enoch Fenwick, it has already been stated, was a member of the first class of the and of the others nothing particular is FATHER “Tox” MULLEDY, Father “Tom” was a man not only of great executive ability, but with a certain brasque geniality combined with a native force and resolution which bled him to effecti deal with the stu when their passions were aroused and they became disobedient and turbulent. More than once concerted rebel- lions threatened not only the life of the college, but even of some obnoxious _pre- fect, as the office: charged with the disci- pline of the school are called. In the famous emeute, still tondly em- * balmed in college le- gend as the great rebellion of prefect, it is said, had to entrench himself in his room against a mob of malcontents, A story is told of Father “Tom,” while he was a scholastic, which illustrates the temper man, and also shows the charac some of the pupils of those While the young scholastic was ing class one day a burly backwoodsma nowned for fiistic prowess, defied his author and proposed to throw him ont of the window if he insisted on it. It was a crisis, as all pres- ent knew, and unless the teacher could © mand it his usefalness was gone. without stopping the lesson, quietly sent to his president for permission to treat the defiance in own way. and that obtained, tucked up his sontane and proceeded to knock the spots o' the refractory pupil, He polished him off beautifully and scientifically, to the intense a Among them were Fat Sestini. ‘The tirstof th been the director Roman college. He besides his more syste- . he had discovered less than six comets. for which he had been the recipient of agold medal from the king of Denmark. Thix medal is still preserved in the liege. Father de porgetown only a short g been called back to London to business, where he her Secchi taught , and then returned to Kome to enter upon the THE COLLEGE LiBRany. The library now contains about 45,000 vol- umes, among which are many rare books and manuscripts. ‘There are 100 with dates from 1460 to 1520, and one illuminated manuscript of the year 1280, Among these rare and cnrious volumes may be mentioned a Bible of 1609; the Gospels of St. John, in Japanese; portfolio of Pope Pius IX, presented by F. O. St. Clair, of the State department; Etymologies of St. Isadore of i tronomy soon gained promi- se and world-wide jebrity, His first in- terest in this stady dates from the observa- tions he made with Father Curley at Georgetown, Father Sestini, during his years’ professor- ip of pyhsics at orgetown, made se eral series of observa- ) tions on star colors and sun spots, which were 2 published by the FR ANGELO SECCHI Enitea States govern- ment. Then Tather Curley resumed'the work again, and others less noted also assisted in astronom- ical investigations, but this particular science has janguished at the college since the war until recently, and now it ix expected it will be pushed forward with greater energy and intel- ligence than ever before. The ground for this hope is found in the fact that FATHER |, A DISTINGUISHED ASTRONOMER, has assumed the direction of the observatory. Father Hagan was born in 1847, and has already obtained a high’ reputation among scientists both in Europe and im this? country. He first pursued his studies at the Jesuit college of Feldkirck, Austria, and then studied mathematics and astronomy at the universities of Bonn and Munster. He finished his theo- logical course in England, and was then sent to the United States. For some eight years he was engaged in observations on variable stars at a staall observatory in Prairie du Chien, Wis, Father Hagan is known in scientific circles as the author of a serics of observations on “‘Sus- ected Variables,” published in vol. xiv of the Erverd observatory arnals. His other “Ob- servations on Known Variables” will be far- nished ina forthcoming volume of the same series, when a satisfactory method of reduction has been determined on. A few years ago Father Hagan, in connection with Director Holden, of the Lick observatory, in Calif published the results of the investigation the Italian astronomer, Tacchini, on southern stars reduced to 1855.0. THE WORCESTER COLLEGE STARTED. In 1843 Father Mulledy, with some of the professors from Georgetown, opened the Col- lege of the Holy Cross at Worcester, Mass.; but until 1865 the legislature of Massachusetts re- fused to grant a charter to the institution, and the Sears wane conferred on graduates of the Holy Cross college by the faculty of Georgetown. The college at Worcester has proved tobe one of the most useful educa- tional institutions in New England. FATHER JOHN MELROY. In the meantime one of the sons of George- s 1533; a copy of Virgil "These are only a few of the bibliographical treasures hich have found a resting place in the college library, but they are suiticient to indicate that while'the collection is not so large as some it includes books and manuscripts which are in- valuable and which cannot be duplicated. In the center of the library is an ancient table—tilled with books which the gorged shelves refuse to entertain—oval in form, made of old black San Domingo maho; any, which was the dining. and council table of the first actual governor, Leonard Calvert, of the colony of Maryland. Aronnd this hospitable table, doubtless in the governor's house, if ‘tables could speak, might be told tales of meetings. social and political, After the social _ part was over came discussion on state affairs, when the grim aspect of the savages ou one side and Claiborne on the other taxed their re- sources, and was not an easy question to dis- pose of. ‘This heirloom has descended to Georgetown college. coming direct to it from St. Inigoes, The old library has long ceased to be capacious enough for ‘the store of books. It is overflowing, and order, “heaven's first law,” has sunk into abeyance, but when the new building is completed these precions yol- umes will be properly disposed, and then be consulted by all who desire 7 CECILIUS CALVERT, Georgetown college is an appropriate depos- itory for these relics of the Calvert expedition. It was through the enterprise of Cecilius Cal- vert, the second Lord Baitimore, that the cross and the English standard were planted on the shores of Mary- land. Although the charter to Maryland was granted to his father, Cecilius Calvert sles re first to take steps to secure to jo land, to the ithe tion 9 to civilization this fair REV. LEONARD NEALE succeeded Father DuBourg, and gave his atten- tion particnlarly to the improvement of the course of studies, In the beginning the school was merely an e got were taught. but those who desired tocomplete their education were compelled to go else where. Father Neale’ xertions did not cease until he had introduced the full college course. In 1800 he became co- adjutor or assistant to the bishop of Baltimore, thongh he continued to fill his position as head of the college until 180 On the death of Archbishop Carroll, in 1815, Father Neale became his successor, AN IMPORTANT EVENT. Tn 1805 an event occurred which exercised a great influence on the future of Georgetown. The Jesuits who still remained in M: and received authority to reorganize their mission, and the college again came under their com- lete control in the following year, where it as remained ever since. Rev. Robert Moly- neux again became president, having been “ appointed superior of e Society of Jesus in this country. One of his first acts was to es- tablish at Georgetown a novitiate and a scho- lasticate of the socie' that the young Jesui might receivethat train- ing which would enable them afterwards to teach in the college or hi light of the class. Some who tell this story say that Mulledy threw the boy out of the window, but others say that after h over his sur- prise at being so quickly thrashed the pupil admitted that he had not properly sized up his teacher, and was never guilty of any serious infraction of the rules during the remainder of his stay at the college. With the accession of Father Mulledy to the presidency, the entire college course was thor- oughly reorganized. He received great as- sistance from his two associates, Fathers Ryder «ud Fenwick. and to these three men the iui stitution owes much of its present status. was through the efforts of Father Ryder that the Philodemie Debat- ing Society was extab- lished in 1830. The Phi- lonomosian Society was established a few years later. The prosper [\of the college became ASso great that it was found necessary to add to the buildings already erected, and the west building of the south row was commenced in 1881 and completed so that the commen: to this commencements had been held in old always took a deep in- terest in the welfare of the colony planted through his munificence andenergy. He contributed largely from his private fortune to aiding the new colonists, and through his influence the new province became a haven for those who suffered from religious intolerance elsewhere. Georgetown college is a legitimate outcome of the true Catholic a that animated Cecilius Calvert and the loyal cavaliers who sailed over the ocean under his ner, THE FIRST PRESIDENT. Although the college was established mainly through the earnest efforts of Father Carroll he was not allowed to preside over the institu- tion, for in the very year of its foundation he was appointed bishop of Baltimore, and the first president of Georgetown college was Rev. Robert Plunkett.. He did not enter upon his duties until 1791, for it was not until were Enoch Fenwick, Benedict Fenwick, Jas. ink, Ede! Leonard i Bowling an ROBT. MOLYNEUX. about seven lay broth- ers. Up to this time great dificulty had been experienced in securing compe- tent teachers, but with the opening of the scholasticate a it well-trained prof novitiate of the society was afterward removed to Whitemarsh, Md., but in 1834 it was trans- ferred to Frederick, Md., where it still remains, ney mone _— is sous as aes a i lepartment of the university,was,in 11 removed to Woodstock, about twenty-five miles west of Baltimore: ie Hs 2 's FE E i | ! ; E E i | F i z ft ts FH i i f