China; Chinese -- United States -- Education; Education -- China; Yung, Wing, 1828-1912
From New York we proceeded by boat to New Haven where we had an
opportunity to see Yale College and were introduced to President Day. I
had not then the remotest idea of becoming a graduate of one of the
finest colleges of the country, as I did a few years afterwards. We went
by rail from New Haven to Warehouse Point and from there to East
Windsor, the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, wife of Dr. Brown. Her
parents were then living. Her father, the Rev. Shubael Bartlett, was the
pastor of the East Windsor Congregational Church. I well remember the
first Sabbath we attended his church. We three Chinese boys sat in the
pastor’s pew which was on the left of the pulpit, having a side view of
the minister, but in full view of the whole congregation. We were the
cynosure of the whole church. I doubt whether much attention was paid to
the sermon that day.
The Rev. Shubael Bartlett was a genuine type of the old New England
Puritan. He was exact and precise in all his manners and ways. He spoke
in a deliberate and solemn tone, but full of sincerity and earnestness.
He conducted himself as though he was treading on thin ice, cautiously
and circumspectly. One would suppose from his appearance that he was
austere and exacting, but he was gentle and thoughtful. He would have
his family Bible and hymn book placed one on top of the other, squared
and in straight lines, on the same spot on the table every morning for
morning prayers. He always sat in the same spot for morning prayers. In
other words, you always knew where to find him. His habits and daily
life were as regular as clock work. I never heard him crack a joke or
burst out in open laughter.
Mrs. Bartlett, Mrs. Brown’s mother, was of a different makeup. She was
always cheerful. A smile lighted up her features nearly all the time and
for everyone she had a kind and cheerful word, while the sweet tone of
her voice always carried with it cheerfulness and good will. Her genial
temperament and her hospitality made the parsonage a favorite resort to
all the friends and relatives of the family, who were quite numerous. It
was always a puzzle to me how the old lady managed to make ends meet
when her husband’s salary was not over $400 a year. To be sure, the farm
annually realized something, but Daniel, the youngest son, who was the
staff of the old couple, had to work hard to keep up the prestige of the
parsonage. It was in this parsonage that I found a temporary home while
at school in Monson, and also in Yale.
CHAPTER IV
AT MONSON ACADEMY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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