Toast to Southey by T. Romeyn Beck

 

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! On December 6, 1836 an intoxicating array of toasts were drunk at the annual banquet of the St. Nicholas Benevolent Society in Albany, NY; held that year at Congress Hall. Herman Melville, age 17, had recently re-enrolled at the Albany Academy when his… pic.twitter.com/QoxAWAEgKA

— Scott Norsworthy 🇺🇸 (@Melvilliana) December 6, 2024

Orations heard August 4, 1831 by ciphering whiz-kid Herman Melville

For a glimpse of Herman Melville's name listed among numerous award-winners at The Albany Academy, see the previous melvilliana post on Melville's 1831 prize for ciphering books. That old news is in the good old Melville Log, of course, and gets expert handling in volume 1 of Hershel Parker's Biography.

But here's something I don't recall seeing before, the list of orations delivered at the 1831 awards ceremony in City Hall. After the opening prayer by the Rev. Dr. Ludlow and a selection of music comes the "Delivery of Pieces, in Prose and Poetry, in the following order":

1. Griffith W. Griffiths. Extract from Ames’ Speech on the British Treaty.
2. William Cassidy Extract from Harper’s Speech on French Aggressions, 1794.
3. Nathaniel Niles. Extract from Clinton’s Address before the Phi Beta Kappa.
4. Henry Q. Hawley. Character of Columbus—Irving.
5. Charles Knower. Extract from Mr. Phillips’ Speech on the Destinies of America.
6. Charles E. Groesbeeck. On Missionary Efforts—Wayland.
7. John M. Bradford. Belshazzar’s Doom—Croly.
8. Abraham G. Lansing. Extract from “Hyperion,” by Josiah Quincy, 1768.
9. Wm. N. McHarg. Regulus—Dale.
10. Henry Waldren. The Star Spangled Banner—Key.
11. Wells. S. Hammond. Extract from Story’s Address before the Phi Beta Kappa.
12. Rensselaer Van Schelluyne. Speech of James Otis—Mrs. Childs.
13. Maunsell Van Rensselaer. Extract from an Address before the Albany Military Association, July 4, 1814.
14. John Furlong. Hotspur’s Description of a Fop—Shakespeare.
15. Isaac Staats. Marco Bozzaris—Halleck.
16. Wm. Austin. Extract from Rush’s 4th July Oration, 1814.
17. De Lancey Kane. Extract from Webster’s Speech, U. S. Senate.
18. Wm. J. Pohlman. Extract from an Address of Rev. Robert Hall, on the Prospect of an Invasion.
19. Thomas Frothingham. Cassabianca—Mrs. Hemans.
20. Nathan Hawley. Extract from an Oration by C. Sprague. [Possibly on Extirpation of the Indians?]
21. Stephen La Grange. Extract from John Hancock’s Oration, Boston, 1774.
22. Oliver H. Lee. Extract from the Speech of Robert Emmet.

--From the Albany [New York] Argus, Friday, August 5, 1831, Found in the newspaper archives at GenealogyBank. 

All these names show up in the List of Students in back of the 1863 volume, Celebration of the Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Albany Academy.

Isaac Staats (future Oregon emigrant) recited Halleck's poem Marco Bozzaris, which Melville's big brother Gansevoort had performed at the High School in New York City years before (December 1826). Halleck's poem and many other of the "Pieces" done at the 1831 awards ceremony may be found in The New Speaker, Or Exercises in Rhetoric by William Bentley Fowle. Here's another one, Belshazzar's Doom, recited in 1831 by John M. Bradford--a son let's suppose of the Melvilles' local minister (also named John M. Bradford), and brother of Gansevoort Melville's good friend Alexander W. Bradford.

For many interesting and significant details of Melville's schooldays, check out the great article by David K. Titus, "Herman Melville at the Albany Academy" in Melville Society Extracts 42 (May 1980): 1 and 4-10). 

Rev. George Croly (1780-1860) 
Photograph, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

BELSHAZZAR'S DOOM. — CROLY. 

Hour of an Empire's overthrow! —
The Princes from the feast were gone,
The Idol flame was burning low ; —
'Twas midnight upon Babylon.

That night the feast was wild and high,
That night was Sion's gold profaned;
The seal was set to blasphemy —
The last deep cup of wrath was drained. 

'Neath jewelled roof and silken pall,
Belshazzar on his couch was flung;—
A burst of thunder filled the hall!
He heard — but 'twas no mortal tongue:— 

"King of the East! the trumpet calls,
That calls thee to a tyrant's grave;
A curse is on thy palace walls,
A curse is on thy guardian wave;

"A surge is in Euphrates' bed,
That never filled its bed before;
A surge, that, ere the morn be red,
Shall load with death its haughty shore. 

"Behold a tide of Persian steel !
 A torrent of the Median car;
Like flame their gory banners wheel:
Rise, King! and arm thee for the war!" 

Belshazzar gazed; the voice was past —
The lofty chamber filled with gloom;
But echoed on the sudden blast,
The rushing of a mighty plume.

He listened: —all again was still:
'He heard no chariot's iron clang; —
He heard the fountain's gushing rill,
The breeze that through the roses sang. 

He slept:—in sleep wild murmurs came;
A visioned splendor fired the sky,
He heard Belshazzar's taunted name;
He heard again the Prophet cry— 

"Sleep, Sultan! 'tis thy final sleep,
Or wake, or sleep, the guilty dies.
The wrongs of those who watch and weep,
Around thee and thy nation rise."

He started; 'mid the battle's yell,
He saw the Persian rushing on;
He saw the flames around him swell;—
Thou'rt ashes! King of Babylon.

--From The New Speaker, Or Exercises in Rhetoric

Prize for Ciphering Books, 1831

Old news, but it's nice to find the newspaper announcement of Herman Melville's 1831 school prize for "Ciphering Books" available online via fultonhistory.com

Herman Melville named
in the Albany Argus, Saturday, August 6, 1831

We know also the actual prize Melville received: a volume of The London Carcanet, now in the Beinecke Library at Yale.

Stamped in gilt on the front board: "Herman Melville." Labeled on the front pastedown: "Albany Academy. To Herman Melville the first best in his class in [words erased]. T. Romeyn Beck, Principal." Contains the bookplate of Alexander Orr Vietor. An article in the Albany Argus for 6 August 1831 mentions Melville's award: the first premium in the second class in ciphering books in the fourth department.  -- Melville's Marginalia Online

But do we know what "Ciphering Books" means? Ciphering books are workbooks for doing exercises in practical arithmetic. Daboll's Schoolmaster's Assistant loomed large as the standard textbook.

"I'll get the almanack and as I have heard devils can be raised with Daboll's arithmetic...."   

-- Moby-Dick Chapter 99 The Doubloon

David K. Titus gives a detailed description of the arithmetic course in his important article on Herman Melville at the Albany Academy in Melville Society Extracts 42 (May 1980): 1 and 4-10).

Citing the Albany Argus of a few days later (August 9, 1831), Hershel Parker informs that Herman would have received his prize "at a solemn ceremony in the City Hotel." Our Argus article of the 6th indicates "Thursday last," following examinations from July 29th to August 3rd, which puts the City Hotel ceremony on Thursday, August 4, 1831. Three days after Herman's 12th birthday, if my math is right.

We might as well give the entire announcement of August 6, 1831 detailing the various premiums awarded by the Albany Academy. Looks like Frederick Leake had superb penmanship...But William Austin took the gold.

And something else: several class textbooks are named including Jamieson's Rhetoric.
Found in the great newspaper archives at Fulton History: Albany NY Argus 1831 -0745.

Gansevoort Melville at the Albany Academy, 1831

via Windswept Adventure

Below is the Albany Academy announcement that appeared in the Argus on Thursday, March 3, 1831. Accessible in the online Newspaper Archives of GenealogyBank.com.

Albany Argus - Thursday, March 3, 1831 via GenealogyBank

ALBANY ACADEMY.

On Wednesday the 2d inst. the public distribution of premiums, awarded at the semi-annual examination, was made in the hall of the Academy.  Previous to this, the compositions to which prizes had been adjudged were read.  The following report, adopted by the board of the trustees, contains the details….

That on the 26^th, the following classes under the care of Professor Bullions and Mr. Leech were examined….

5^th class in Cornelius Nepos and Irving’s Roman Antiquities.

In the classes in the second department under the care of Professor Bullions and Mr. Leech, the premiums are awarded as follows:

In Roman Antiquities—the premium to Gansevoort Melville.

 * * *

Classes in English and Orthographical Exercises in this Department

1^st class— 2d [premium] to Gansevoort Melville….

 * * *

In the classes under the care of the Principal the premiums are awarded as follows:

1^st class in Ancient History—…2d [premium] to Gansevoort Melville

* * *

The committee also report that the various classes in Penmanship have been examined, and the premiums awarded as follows....

1^st class, 1^st [premium for improvement] to Gansevoort Melville

The Albany Academy strongly promoted and encouraged student writing.  Prizes for superior compositions were awarded for the following essays, all submitted anonymously and pseudonymously:

Heavenly Bodies

Early Impressions, signed “Young Moralist”

Future Glory of the United States

French Revolution 

Santa Claus

Duelling

Desire of Fame

Influence of Civil Institutions in forming the Moral Character

Character of Lord Byron

 Let's see now, might Gansevoort have written one of the above?  Yes! 

2d class—1^st premium to the composition on the “French Revolution”

* * *

The premiums for compositions having been awarded without a knowledge of the authors, the following were ascertained at the above exercises to have been the successful competitors:

2d class—1^st premium to Gansevoort Melville.

So then, in early March 1831, 15 year-old Gansevoort (born December 6, 1815, still nine months away from his 16th birthday) took first prize in his class for his essay on the "French Revolution."  

That's on top of the awards Gansevoort brought home for excellent work in the subjects of Roman Antiquities, Ancient History, spelling (English orthography), and penmanship.

In other news, the prize-winning essay on Byron was by Gansevoort’s buddy Alexander W. Bradford.  And young Frederick F. Leake, later a pal of Herman’s, wrote the essay on “Heavenly Bodies.”

Gansevoort's teacher Peter Bullions died in 1864.