r an uncertain sea, yet, as we trust, toward lands of
perpetual security and peace. All are voyagers on the sea of life. Some,
with the knowledge of ancient days only, grope their way by headlands,
or trust themselves occasionally to the guidance of the sun or the
stars; while others, with the chart and compass of the Christian era,
move confidently on their course, attracted by the Source and Centre of
all good. And it is a blessing of this state of existence, though it may
sometimes seem to be a curse, that the choice between good and evil yet
remains. The wisdom of a right choice is here manifested in the
benevolence of this foundation.

The State Reform School for Boys has now enjoyed eight full years of
life and progress; and, though we cannot estimate nor measure the good
it may have induced, or the evil it may have prevented, yet enough of
its history and results is known to justify the course of its patrons,
both public and private, and to warrant the ultimate realization of
their early cherished hopes. The state is most honored in the honor
awarded to its sons; and the name of LYMAN, now and evermore associated
with a work of benevolence and reform, will always command the
admiration of the citizens of the commonwealth, and stimulate the youth
of the school to acquire and practise those virtues which their generous
patron cherished in his own life and honored in others. Governor
Washburn, in the Dedication Address, said, "We commend this school, with
its officers and inmates, to a generous and grateful public, with the
trust that the future lives of the young, who may be sent hither for
correction and reform, may prove the crowning glory of an enterprise so
auspiciously begun." Since these words were uttered, and this hope, the
hope of many hearts, was expressed, nearly two thousand boys, charged
with various offences,--many of them petty, and others serious or even
criminal,--have been admitted to the school; and the chaplain, in his
report for the year 1854, says that "the institution will be
instrumental in saving a majority of those who come under its fostering
care." This opinion, based, no doubt, upon the experience which the
chaplain and other officers of the institution had had, is to be taken
as possessing a substantial basis of truth; and it at once suggests
important reflections.

Massachusetts is relieved of the presence of a thousand criminal, or, at
best, viciously disposed persons. A thousand ac