Poughkeepsie
February 22d 1866
Cyrus Swan Esqr Sec - V.F« Colledge &c.
Dear Sir
Your three half sheets letter handed me
the other day has been perused and I find nothing therein that does not com-
mand my assent and fully meets all my interogations and suggestions in my
notes of the 15 and 16™1 addressed to the Chairman of the Executive Commit-
tee and yourself, but there was another subject which I intended to have
touched and which I had some weeks since taken action upon without impli-
cating the College directly or indirectly being rather personall interogatories,
It was somewhat in this wise as my memmory serves at this moment:
•Mons. Blout
Dear Sir
Having seen notices in several
articles in the public journals of your success in intriducing to the citizens
of New York your system of teaching the Culinary Art I am leade to confer
with you on that subject thro1 this medium and at this time as our Exective
Com* of V.F. College contemplates erecting the coming Spring an Edifice
on the College grounds adapted to impart a knowledge of that art practicaly
to such of the young Ladies pupils who desire to obtain such Instruction—----
with this view I am anxious as the Founder of the Institution to avail our-
selves of the most improved Modern inventions of the Kitchen utensials &c
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February 22, 1866 - 2
altho! the College have already the most complete (in the modern sense of
the term) the latest improvements and which I should like you to inspect
when you could make it most convienant to visit Po'keepsie this Spring,
and to confer with you in relation to the location for the Kitchen Buildings
&c. Of course your expenses would be paid by us, and the Buildings were
erected and ready for opperation we should want to make some arrangement
with you to give the necessary Instruction to the College pupils on some
terms that would be mutialaly satisfactory &c&cM— M.V.
This is the substance I wrote to Mon Prof Blout as near as I can
remember-----
Now with regard to imparting such Instructions I sincerly believe
that it will not only meet the sanction of the public, parents and pupils, but
prove in future of pecuniary immoloment to the College & place a stake in
advance in the catagory of making Domestic Science part of Womans higher
Education and this once attained becomes one of her choicest & accomplished
priviledges—— Not that she should choose it as a profession, but to adorn
her household, and be able to instruct those whom may be in her employ who
may know less of domestic art, and as "Knowledge is power1' which ever
posses it most 'Mistress or Maid" there it will rule.—— Custom has
every thing to do with human life. I well remember the time when familys
or otherwise
all made & Baked their own Bread and failures by heavyness.was ascribed to
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some kind of witchcraft, and the shrinking of the boilt Pork in the pot was
attributed to the phases of the Moon when the pig was killed, but I will not
enumerate Cases of ignorance & superstition,— I merely allude to them
to see how times and things has changed,— so with regard to physical
exercises__the time was when "Skating by Females was regarded mascu-
line an extremely vulgar and clownish and by the more Sober, and bigoted
class even wicked, placing the exercise on the same footing as Dancing and
be only one of Satans fasicitating devices to take and delude the unwarry, but
I never knew a Man or Woman that was caught in this Nett that was any the
worst for it----- Not so with Theatricals, I have known many the young and
some of the elder of my acquaintances ruined----- if not in purse in Morals—
and I have looked in vain to find a single case where Man or Woman have
been made better Citizens, Christians, Husbands or Wifes by attending them—
I object not so much to what is seen or heard on the Stage as the sorroundings
before and
evincing a licentious inferenceAbehind it &c&c
The Stage is not now what it was in the days of flShakespheren or even
40 to 50 years ago, nor are the usual attendants of the homogenious Masses,
Men and Women of the higher standard of Morality the same by no means-------
then the play-house was some what a "School of Moral reform" but now
debauchery & prostitution &c----- I see just now at this day a New Theatre
opened by the great cateriort) public taste "Barnum" a Theatre for the
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February 22, 1866 - 4
performance & Exhibition of Scriptural Selections—,—- Begining with the
historical record of "Moses and the Isrealites'1 journey through the Holy
have
Land, next I suppose we shallAChrist & his Crusifixtion &c, now the Moral
character of all these performances & thier influence must be to degrade
and weaken the influences of Sacred writ upon the rising generations, but
you will say that if the Stage as now conducted does tends to currup &
degrade, in its legitimate conductment and proper uses it would not, but if
so we must leave its reform to its friends and when it clearly and fully
illuminates its virtues it will be time for its opponents to fall into its
ranks &c-------
I have now written nthree half Sheets" which is equivalent to yours
in quanity but in substance of solid value I have nothing to say---------
I have some things more to say when at lea sure about physical health
exercises, domestic Economy &c but must defer the rest to another oppor-
tunity—_
Yours
Respectfully &c&c
M. Vassar
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