Lessons Of Kindness

To the Editor of the Argus: In January last the executive committee of the Humane Society of Ann Arbor appointed what they called an educational committee, the purpose of which was to keep the community informed of the design and working of his class of organization. At an early meeting it was agreed that the most effectual way of impressing the people of the city with the subject would be o suggest the getting uij of a series of 'xercises in the ward schools, in wtaicn t should be set forth in adaptation to he several grades of the pupils. The superintendent of the city schools and ;he teachers in the several wards all showed themselves more than willing o accept the plan suggested, and it las now been carried out by all of hem with no other aid than the supply by the committee of sonie approprtate iterature. ïhe round has now been completed, as follows: Second Ward, Miss Gundert, x"in' cipal, Maren 20. First Ward, Mrs. Plympton, principal, March 27. Fifth Ward, Miss Goodale, principal, April 3. Third Ward, Mrs. Edson, principal, April 8. Sixth Ward, Mrs. Lowncles, principal, April 9. Fourth Ward, Miss Ayles, principal, April 10. The first of these exhibitions so impressed the committee that they feared they should have to praise this above the others; but in view of the antire round of the six schools, they do lot feel inclined to make such distinción, but simply report their impression of the series as a whole. The hildren seern to have been so won to the spirit of kindness that they needed anly to make its applications. The teachers will now need but to perserere in this kind of lessons to malte it sertain that their pupils will through life be kind to all living creatures, human and brute. The exercises at the schools eonsisted of recitations in which all classes from the child of six years to the seventh grade pupils, were represented. The pieces seleeted were well adapted to teach lessons of kindness, and were pronounced with evident appreciation of their import. Some of these set forth instances of the instinctive sagacity of brute animáis, some treated with deserved censure the inhumanity of those who abuse dumb animals. The birds were in all the schools the pets of the pieees spoken. The wanton destruction of these either for mere sport or for the adornment of ladies' head-gear, was aptly set off in the selections, while notes of alarm were sounded as to the danger to land tillage and to nature's musical cheer from the threatened extinction of these insectivorous songsters, which, if allowed freely to mnltiply, would keep down the greatest pests of the farm and the garden as well as charm by their ditties all humanity a round them. There were several pretty origina essays by the children on the subjec tyt these exercises, while such classic -zjoets as Cowper, Burns, Bryant anc Longfellow were made to speak in well pronounced selections their kind ly sympathies with the brute creation Perhaps the highest cheer of these occasions was when a roomful of merry children sang in unisón from Mi George T. Angell's Band of Mercy songs. Several members of the city school board deemed it worth while to attenr and encourage these exercises, as als not a few others. The superintendent of the city schools on several occasions gave the committee the favor o his presence and his earnest aid and approval. On the morning of the 17th instan members of the committee were mos cordially received by Rev. Fr. Keil and taken to every room in the pai ochial school of St. Thomas' church where we found the most perfect discipline and order, and a full sympathy with the purpose of our mission. Besides the undersigned there ar on the committeee Mr. W. N. Brow and Mesdames Jenny Vorhees and C G. Plympton, any one of whom ma be consulted on the subject of thei action. Ann Arbor, April 18, 1890.