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had learnt among many others , but in which the Supreme Being is adored as having " lighted up the great lamp of the night , and projected it in the firmament / 1 The details which will be found in
the works I have already referred to , give minute and satisfactory illustrations of the virtuous habits of these labourers , and of the happy and contented lives which they lead . I trust that one or two of them , such as the
* ' Rapport , " will be translated into English . That the complete education which it is Mr . Fellenberg ' s principle to give the children interferes in no degree with the business of their lives , but rather forwards it ; and that the farm cultivated by them succeeds
perfectly , the inspection of his accounts ( which he lays open to every visitor as a matter of course ) clearly demonstrates . The profits of the farm , consisting of £ 14 | - posen , ( nearly equal to our acre , ) for the four years
ending 1814 , were annually 14 , 176 Swiss livres , or about £ 886 . sterling , being above £ 4 . an acre , including the interest on the original purchasemoney of the land . The cattle concern is entirely kept out of this account , which , therefore , exhibits more
clearly the success of the cultivation depending upon labour . It is to be observed , that Mr . Fellenberg has had to contend with powerful prejudices on the part of his countrymen , and has certainly received neither encouragement nor countenance from the
government of the canton . On the contrary , the belief very universally prevails , that he is regarded by them with an unfavourable e ^ e , and that strangers are not much encouraged to visit Hofwyl . The first impression , propagated with some industry , was ,
that his visionary schemes would be his ruin . When the undertakingseemed to prosper , the attack was changed , and he is now upbraided with amassing a large fortune—an accusation equally unfounded , as the account which 1 have given of his great liberality and charity may serve
to shew . The patrician order ( to which he belongs ) also took umbrage at his devoting himself to what was termed " a school master ' s life" ( vie pedagogiquc ) . But I trust that these prejudices are now wearing away 5 and certainly * he is , in this respect ,
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largely indebted to the enlightened assistance of M . de Boustetten , M . Pictet , and the other men of letters at Geneva , who have always zealously favoured his undertaking . That the habits of common labour
are perfectly rcconcileable with those of a contemplative and even scientific life , and that a keen relish for the pleasures of speculation may be united with the most ordinary pursuits of the
poor , seem to be proved by this experiment of Mr , Fellenberg . I am quite aware that be has only made it upon a small scale \ that its application to a populous district may be difficult and that a substitution of
manufacturing for agricultural labour would greatly augment the difficulty . Nevertheless , when we say that little can be effected in this way , we ought to consider how limited have been Mr . Fellenberg ' s means . The farm on which he has done so much is under
220 acres , and his income , independent of the profit he derives from the breeding of horses , in which he is very skilful , and his manufactory of husbandry-implements , does not exceed £ 500 . a-year . The extraordinary economy which reigns in his
establishment is , indeed , requisite to explain the existence of such an institution y for although the academy and institute are supported by the richer pupils , these pay a very moderate
sum 3 and the family who are lodged and wholly supported at Hofwyl amounts to one hundred and eighty persons . These dine at six different tables , and their food , though simple , is extremely good .
Before concluding this statement , I must add that Mr . Fellenberg ' s principal object in establishing the academy for the wealthier classes , is to teach them their duties towards the poor j and , above all , to inculcate the propriety of their adopting , each in
his own sphere , the system pursued with respect to the poor children at Hofwyl . As they learn that system in all its details , and as they almost a 3 I become enthusiasts in it , there is reason to hope that its benefit may spread into other parts of the world .
xhe primary difficulty , no doubt , is to find such admirable superintendents as Vehril . But we may confidently trust that some of the youths trained at Hofwyl , will be able to carry the
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7 S 2 Mr . Brougham ' s Description of Hofwyl .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1818, page 732, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2483/page/4/
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