THE NEGRO PLOTS 207

journal. "The buildings brick generally, very
stately and high, though not altogether like ours
in Boston. The bricks in some of the houses
are of divers coullers and laid in checkers, being
glazed look very agreeable. The inside of them are
neat to admiration."

Besides its welcoming houses set among spread-
ing trees, New York possessed public buildings of
dignity and distinction. There was Trinity Church,
whose tall steeple was one of the first landmarks to
catch the traveler's eye as he journeyed down the
river from Albany. The new City Hall, dating
from Bellomont's time and standing on a site at
the corner of Wall and Broad Streets, given by
Colonel Abraham de Peyster, was also a source of
pride. With its substantial wings and arched col-
onnade in the center it was quite imposing. Here
the Assembly, Council, and Court sat. Here, too,
were offices and a library. But the cellar was used
as a dungeon and the attic as a common prison.

New markets and wharves told of the growing
commerce of the city and province. On every hand
were evidences of luxurious living. There were
taverns and coffee-houses where gold flowed in
abundant streams from the pockets of pirates and
-smugglers, and in the streets crest-emblazoned