A fête day at Earlswood, June 16, 1864.

  • Sidney, Edwin, -1872
Date:
[1864?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: A fête day at Earlswood, June 16, 1864. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    this youth is a wonder of ingenuity and skill, combined with an unconquerable inability to reason upon common things, to express himself intelligibly, or to conduct any affairs requiring management, for himself or others ; yet his car penter's work, and painting, and varnishing, and cabinet making, and other of his handicrafts, are of great value to the Institution, of which he is by no means unaware, entirely identifying himself with it, and thinking, I fancy, that they could hardly get on without him. After we had looked at the model of his original ship, he called our attention to his new one of the great vessel, which is to be thirteen feet three inches long, two feet seven inches wide, and three feet high. He has imagined it complete, and made a drawing of the launching in a pond, himself the most conspicuous figure, the Committee looking on and hurraing. His “ boys ” are helping behind him, and all the rest of the establishment looking on from a distance. “ All kind to me now ; everybody,” he said, as he shewed his presents, his tools, his model of a new cutter, the drawing of a patent anchor, and things I have not space to enumerate. This unique youth naturally excites great interest, and particularly so when it is perceived that but for the defective organism, which has been so carefully treated and ameliorated, he would have the power in a high degree of real genius, of which the germs are now imperfect, and the de velopment, marvellous as it is, only partial. After he had shewn us his models, and taken us to his pictures in another room, he said suddenly, “ Good bye; going to dinner,” and he set off to join the attendants, with whom he has his meals. The boys now began to move, and we saw a long procession of them, every one carrying a pretty flag worked in the house. As we went away a pupil met me, and I remarked that I hoped he was a good boy. He replied in a significant manner, “ Was a good boy; will be again, if he will let me go into the first class.” The invited visitors and the Board met together in the committee-room to partake of a cold collation before joining in the sports. All were much struck by the animation of the scene from the window of the room, and the manifest enjoy ment of the pupils and the spectators who were coming rapidly
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