which would convene the first Monday in January, 1837. Mr. Peirce had a clear field for action and five months' time in which to prepare his report. He immediately went East and consulted such men as John A. Dix, Gov. Marcy of New York, President Humphrey of Amherst college, Gov. Everett of Massachusetts, President Day of Yale college, and other eminent men. He also attended the American Institute of Instruction held at Worcester, Mass., and the college of professional teachers at Cincinnati. During this pilgrimage among educators and schools, Mr. Peirce was a close observer of the systems examined, as he deeply appreciated the responsibility imposed upon him by the government, which had appropriated over a million acres of land for carrying out the system he was expected to recommend. The report, covering all the ground requested by the act of the legislature, was submitted, and was adopted by the legislature with scarcely a dissenting voice. His next move, in the cause of education in Michigan, was the devising a plan for the establishment of a university, which proved a very perplexing business, as it was then believed that the maintenance and success of a state institution was impracticable. It was suggested that the private academies then in existence should be named the University of Michigan, and the fund set apart for the university should be divided among them in proportion to the number of students in attendance. This scheme was favored by many throughout the state, but was vigorously opposed by Mr. Peirce, who brought to bear, in its defeat, all the influence he could con

trol. The measure passed the Senate, and was defeated in the house by only one vote. The opposition to the scheme of Mr. Peirce was very bitter; but accomplished facts have demonstrated the wisdom of his position in the matter, as Michigan now boasts of a University whose fame, with its fifteen hundred students, is world-wide. In his opposition to the confederation of the academies, he was seconded by many distinguished educators, who, like him, clearly saw the impracticability of the scheme, and the waste of time and energy that its adoption would bring. Again were his shrewdness and foresight shown in opposing the appropriation of $500,000 that had been made for the erection of buildings. Mr. Peirce believed that such an amount used at that time would seriously cripple the future of the university, which he believed should develop naturally. It will thus be seen that his efforts for the establishment of the educational system covered years of his life. And to quote the words of another," to John D. Peirce, Michigan owes her present admirable school system, of which every citizen is justly proud. Among other important measures originated by him was the homestead exemption law, by which many of the residents of the state are now owners of fine farms and comfortable homes. The provisions for the support of the public schools and the homestead exemption measure were, through his efforts, incorporated in the constitution of the state in 1850. In 1842 Mr. Peirce again took up the ministry, and in 1847 he was elected to the state legislature. He was ever a strong anti

many of the best

slavery man, and, as chairman of the committee on federal relations, he introduced a resolution instructing the Michigan delegation in congress to oppose the introduction of slavery into the territories. A few years since he took up his abode in Ypsilanti, where he resided until the summer of 1880, when, having a serious illness, his daughter, Mrs. Emerson, of Medway, Mass., was summoned to Ypsilanti. As soon as he was able to travel she persuaded him to return with her to Massachusetts, where he spent the evening of his days in the companionship of his only surviving child. Mr. Peirce resided with his daughter until March, 1882, when he was seized with a sudden illness, which terminated fatally in one week after his seizure. He died March 30, 1882. At his urgent request his remains were brought to Marshall for interment. During his illness his mind was strong, active, and unclouded. That he might feel the approach of death, and enjoy the company of dear friends to the last, he refused opiates of any description. When death claimed him, he calmly went to the reward which he had earned by a long life of service as a benefactor of the human race. He was an ardent lover of Michigan, her institutions and her people. It was in Michigan that his greatest and best labors were performed. Here he had very many warm admirers and personal friends; and his dying request was that he might be buried in the soil of his "beloved Michigan," and near the graves of those who had shared with him the burdens of pioneer life. Around the little mound of earth that marks his last resting-place are the graves of

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honored men and women who were his co-laborers in the grand work of building up a civilization upon a foundation of morality and intellecual worth, the certain fruitage of his broad and philanthropic ideas of universal education; and as long as the present system of public education lasts, every school-house in the state, and especially the University of Michigan, will be a monument to John D. Peirce and the noble band of workers of which he was the central figure. Memorial services were held in Marshall at the High School, at which all the schools in the city participated. Every honor was paid to the memory of Father Peirce" that affection, gratitude, and respect could devise. Beautiful floral tributes were brought by the pupils of the different schools : the most distinguished men of Marshall and the surrounding towns were present, and many of them made speeches, and seemed to vie with each other in bearing testimony to the worth of their deceased benefactor and friend. Many letters were read, sent by persons who could not be present, but who wished to offer their tribute of respect to his character and work in the cause of education. Both speakers and writers expressed a hope that these memorial services would assist in perpetuating the history of this great and good man, that future generations might be benefited by his example. One gentleman, a physician, who had practised in his family, and knew him in private as well as in public life, said of him,"No man could know Mr. Peirce for any length of time without becoming a better man himself." He was greatly beloved throughout the state.

During the summer last passed, while at Boar's Head hotel, we were informed by Gen. Edward F. Noyes, ex-governor of Ohio, and late U. S. minister to France, that the Fifth Avenue hotel of New York city was in all respects the leading hotel in the world. His extensive acquaintance, not only with this country but with the cities of Europe, gives to his opinion great authority.

The name of no street in New York is better known than Fifth avenue-not even Broadway. Where Fifth avenue and Broadway intersect is about the centre of population in the metropolis, and at the intersection stands the Fifth Avenue hotel. The location of this house is the finest in the great metropolis, and is simply perfect. It is on the Fifth avenue side of the beautiful Madison square, between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets, and is so central and convenient that every person visiting the city must go to it or pass by it, whether out for pleasure or for business. It is the central point whence one can easily turn to elegant homes, churches, galleries, theatres, shops, and all places of interest in the city.

When the Fifth Avenue hotel was started in 1859 it was regarded as a doubtful venture, because it was so far up town, and then out of the way of the throng of travel and traffic. It is now the very focus of a living maelstrom, and the central jewel of a cluster of great hotels, which have sprung up above, below, and all around. Of necessity it will always be near the centre of business in

New York, and its location gives it command of rapid transit in all directions to the most remote sections of the city. Now, as when this grand hotel was opened to the public, the style of the firm is Hitchcock, Darling & Company. Mr. A. B. Darling is a native of Burke, Vt. He is prominent in New York, and has a fine country seat at Darlington, N. J. Mr. Hiram Hitchcock is a native of Claremont. His hospitable summer residence is at Hanover, and he takes great interest in New Hampshire matters in general, and in the affairs of Dartmouth college in particular.

During a late visit to New York we had the pleasure of inspecting a part of this great hotel. The building is of white marble, and is a plain and simple but impressive Corinthian structure, designed by the late Mr. Thomas. The interior is of a more ornate character of Corinthian architecture, and was most admirably and effectively designed and arranged by that veteran architect, William Washburn, Esq., of Boston, coöperating with the late Col. Paran Stevens. Mr. Washburn gave his personal attention to the convenient arrangement of apartments, to the deafening of all floors from one sub-divison wall to another, making the building practically fire-proof, to the ventilation, plumbing, and drainage of the entire house, resulting in what the public have long considered the safest, most healthy, and most comfortable hotel in the world.

"Entering the main hall, the ceiling is in carton pierre, a composition which is fire and water proof. The

general style of decoration is Louis XIII, or of the last epoch of the French renaissance. The ground is divided into tiles of a fine relief draw ing The colors are of a gray lavender, brought out with old gold and silver. Skirting this tiling is a large frieze of characteristic design, which frames the ground. The frieze is treated in four shades of bronzed metal and copper. Mouldings and consols finish the ceiling, and are treated in the same general style. The frieze is grand and imposing, and is a very effective design. The colors, which are in imitation of metal, are on an azurine blue ground, and make a strong and very rich contrast with the real bronze of the ceiling. The transparency of the colors on this border has a pleasing effect, and reminds one of those grand vestibules of the old European palaces. The columns are decorated in the seventeenth century style, and are in Damasquiner work, which gives them the strong Middle Age character, adding to the imposing general ensemble, and making the decorations severe and grand. The wood-work throughout is of San Domingo mahogany. The flooring is white Italian veined marble, with colored border. The wainscoting, base, and caps are Italian bardiglio, the mouldings of yellow sienna, the panels American bardiglio, and the staircase, steps, and risers are of Italian white veined marble.

The

"The reading-room decoration is in Italian renaissance. All of the trimmings and wainscoting are of blue Fleure marble. The doors are of San Domingo mahogany. All of the work is treated severely, and is very appropriate for a reading-room.

"The bar-room ceiling, like the main hall, is in carton pierre, decorated in the Elizabethan style. The frieze is in detached shell relief work, and the walls are treated in gilt, with a hammered gold effect. The idea of the artist was to produce something new and not heretofore introduced, and one is very favorably impressed with its originality, fine colors, and good taste. The effect is new, and is much praised. The marbles introduced in this superb room are as follows: Architraves to doors, and the window and mirror frames, are ophite green; the counter and pedestals under columns are Alps green and French griotte; the wainscoting, panels, base, and caps are ophite green; and the mouldings. are Italian Verona red. The woodwork is San Domingo mahogany, of a wonderfully fine grain and fibre.

"On the main hall, or easily accessible to it, are the official departments of the hotel, which are so famous for their completeness. They include, besides the general office, the postal office, the telegraph and railway ticket offices, the newspaper, book stand, and theatre ticket office, stock and exchange telegraph, carriage and package offices, coat-room, billiard-room, barber-shop, and various committee-rooms. senger elevator is also entered from the main hall, and is a model of comfort and safety.

The pas

“One flight from the main floor we reach the grand hall, from which open the drawing-rooms, diningrooms, waiting-rooms, and corridors of the first floor. The decoration is rich and elegant in character, relieved by carpetings and hangings of

scarlet and wine color. The drawing-room is an almost perfect example in furnishing and decoration of a Louis XIV apartment. The decoration is by M. Pottier, and the carpets are by Mr. Templeton, of Glasgow. The grand dining-room is, perhaps, the finest Corinthian apartment in the country. The pedestals are of mahogany and black marble, the columns are red French marble and gold, and the ceiling is a very effective open sky. One of the dining-rooms-the finest of the kind in the country-is of the period of Queen Anne, after designs by Mr. MacPherson, of Boston; and the tea-room is too lovely to describe. The apartments throughout the house are arranged single and en suite, and are models of elegance, cleanliness, comfort, and convenience."

The great extent of the accommodations of this substantial and palatial hotel, the completeness of its appointments, the excellence of its service and the luxury of its living, the protection and courtesy extended to guests, and the fairness and uniformity of charges, conspire to make it the great representative hotel of the American system. The patrons of the hotel are people of worth and distinction from all walks in honorable life, and they require great ability and integrity on the part of the proprietors, whose fame has fortunately gone hand in hand with that of their guests, and who are always ready to do all in their power to make old friends feel entirely at home, and to welcome new ones.

The patronage, from the crowded days of the contest for the presidency in 1860, with the presence of His

Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and suite, has steadily increased, and in no hotel history has there been so distinguished a list on any register as at this house.

In the evening the corridors may be regarded as the social and business exchange of the metropolis. The flow of people is incessant, and even a stranger would not fail to note a friend or a familiar face.

From a late issue of the New York Tribune we make the following extracts, which may interest our read

ers:

Occasionally in the spring, autumn, or mid-winter there comes to the Fifth Avenue hotel such a concourse of prominent men as can be seen no where else in the country. Scores of diverse and opposite interests may have brought them under the same roof, but they meet and mingle in a general gathering, like lawyers who have closed their cases in court, and, after abusing each other roundly to the jury, are ready to go and have a "pipe" or a "glass" together. One of these remarkable assemblages has taken place within forty-eight hours. The meetings of the Peabody Education Fund trustees, the directors of the National Wool Growers' Association, the National Steam Navigation Board, the Democratic State Committee, and the National Bolt and Nut Manufacturers' Association, were among the causes that brought prominent men here. Foremost in the list was exPresident Rutherford B. Hayes, whose ripening years are leaving light impress. Mr. Hayes devotes a large share of his time and attention to educational and philanthropic labors. He has taken deep interest in prison reform and in the educational development of the black race, and in both directions is doing a quiet but noble work. Chief-Justice Morrison R. Waite, looking like a rugged and stubborn-minded Puritan, with a face of