The Two Towers: Main

ommended this promising young man. On the other hand, the choosing of George Alden, which initiated one of the school's most lasting relationships, may have hinged entirely on the reputation he had earned for himself at Harvard. He was rated as one of the most brilliant students that was ever graduated from the Scientific School.

For the time being Mr. Salisbury was listed as principal of the Institute, but this arrangement lasted for only a few months before it was announced that Mr. Thompson's inauguration would coincide with the dedication of Boynton Hall. With four teachers sharing the teaching load for thirty-two students, the school was opened on Tuesday, November 10. There were middlers and juniors--no seniors. All but two of the pupils were from the County of Worcester; one lived outside of Massachusetts. Two boys came from Templeton. Most of the boys lived at their own homes in Worcester or in surrounding towns, relying on trains or horse and buggy for transportation. A few boys planned to live with Mr. and Mrs. Thompson in the big house rented from Stephen Salisbury; the rest would find places in nearby boarding- houses where board and room was available for four to six dollars a week.

Among the students there were no girls. In the case of those few who had applied, Mr. Thompson answered: "We cannot receive any women without undertaking to instruct all competent women who apply. This we have not room for now. It is our purpose to throw the school open to youth of both sexes as soon as we can."

The first day of school was a formality of greetings. The next was a vacation, for November 11 had been chosen as the date for the dedication ceremony of Boynton Hall. It was a melancholy day, instituting what became almost traditional as far as weather and Institute celebrations are concerned. A never-ending rain made long rivulets down the steep hill, and according to the Spy report, "The streets leading to the grounds and the grounds themselves were in a horribly muddy condition."

Everybody had been invited to the ceremonies, either by special invitation or through the newspapers. Everybody had also been invited to bring food and instructed to leave it at Seth Sweetser's church in good time before the opening exercises. By actual count, there were ninety-nine persons on the collation committee.

The ceremony lasted all day, and its story by itself would fill a big book. There were twelve long speeches in which almost everyone concerned with building the school, plus a few visitors, tried manfully to put into words the purpose of the school and his hopes for it. John Woodman said in his remarks that this was an era when people were judged by the kind of speech they could make. On this historic day there were many persons willing to submit to the test.

Greeting the guests who crowded into the new chapel of Boynton Hall was D. Waldo Lincoln, chairman of the building com-