Lake Harriet and cooked it at our camp-fire, and had a most enjoyable
time rowing on the lake, gathering pond lilies, singing songs, telling
stories, and taking in with every breath the delicious, invigorating
air of that most charming spot.

And while rejoicing at the present state of things, so far in advance
of those times, we sometimes look back regretfully at the days when we
seemed like one large family, with common interests, and we
involuntarily breathe a sigh for those simple, primitive pleasures,
that will be ours nevermore.

No need for me to describe in these humble records the phenomenal
growth of Minneapolis; it is known and read of all men, and the world
is startled at its rapid transition from a somewhat obscure
manufacturing town to a great and prosperous city, whose foundations
are so solid, and whose possibilities so great, that there seems no
limit to its progress. We who have watched it from infancy are justly
proud of our city, and it is certainly cause for congratulation that
so much time and thought and money are given to establishing and
fostering benevolent institutions and charities of all kinds. The
people are large-hearted and ready to take hold of anything which has
for its object the good of the community or the amelioration of
suffering in any form. Witness our "Home for Children and Aged Women;"
the beautiful "Washburn Home for Orphans;" the "Northwestern
Hospital," built by and under the care and management of women who
have been generously aided by the community in carrying on their work;
the "Bethany Home" for fallen, outcast women and deserted babies, a
work established by women in weakness and under discouraging
circumstances, but now carried on in a commodious building erected by
one man who has lived many years in our city and has grown rich here.
He has watched our work in this line for years, and his heart was
moved to donate to the management of the "Home" the beautiful,
convenient house and grounds on Bryant avenue, which shelters sad and
broken-hearted women and tender, helpless infants, and stands out
clear against the beautiful background of woodland and blue sky, an
enduring monument to his large-hearted generosity and his tender pity
for the weak and helpless. May God bless him and deal graciously with
him and all he loves. These are only a few of the various branches of
work for the good of humanity, generously encouraged by our citizens,
and the liberality with which