AUBURN UNIVERSITY
LIBRARIES
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BOSTON SIGHTS
HAND ■ E O 0 E
VISITOES
R. L. MIDGLEY.
//
ILLUSTRATED BY
BILLINGS, HILL, BARRY, AND JOHN ANDREW.
BOSTON:
f
A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY.
18 6 0.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
JOHN ANDREW,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
jmmni UNIVEBSITY
BlECTROTVPEt) Al THE
JTON STEE.EOTYPE FOUNDEY-
F
MAR 4 -75
M M
PREFACE
The want of a Guide such as the one here
presented to the Travelling Public, has been so
long felt and so generally acknowledged, that
an apology for the present work would be an
impeachment of the judgment of the intelligent
Tourist.
This work, although more particularly designed
for the vise of travellers, will be found of great
service to the public generally, for few of thg
inhabitants know where - to see the sights in
the city, nor how to see them.
The materials for this publication have been
collected with great care, and here "the writer
wishes it distinctly understood, that he has not
hesitated to gather his materials wherever he
could find them, availing himself in the freest
2 ^ PREFACE.
manner, not only of the researches of others,
but even of their very language, whenever it
happened to suit his purpose."
He also takes occasion to express his acknowl-
edgments to Mr. H. W. Fuller, of Boston,
Mr. W. A. Crafts, of Roxbury, and Mr. Wm.
F. Poole, the Librarian of the Boston Athenaeum,
for copious materials furnished by them.
This little volume is not intended as a
history, nor as an index to the many public
institutions, for which this city is so famous,
but as a guide to those sights that are par-
ticularly deserving the attention of citizens and
strangers.
We have adhered as rigidly as possible to
a direct route, describing each object in order
as it is reached, and classing them according
to subjects in the index.
Boston, August 22, 1856.
INDEX TO SUBJECTS.
Addenda, Page 215
Ancient and Modem Boston, 6
Birthplace of Franklin, 28
Boston Harbor, 190
Boston Stone, 6
Frog Pond, 79
CHURCHES.
Brattle St. Church, 110
Old South Church, 21
Park Street Church, . . . . . . . . 53
Stone Chapel, 31
CEMETERIES.
Copp'sHiU, 117
Chapel Birrying Ground, 31
Granary " 53
Forest Hill " . 202
Mount Auburn " 144
Woodlawn «♦ 167
Daily* Papers, 20
Harvard University, 133
Lowell Institute, " 108
^lassachusetts Historical Society, .39
Society of Natural History, 100
Mercantile, 105
Club House 44,
Common, 68
Courts, 30
Court House, 29
United States Courts, Ill
INDEX TO SUBJECTS.
Eastern,
ritchburg,
Lowell, .
DEPOTS.
Maine, . • • " .
Old Colony and Fall River,
Providence, ...
Worcester,
114
116
113
119
89
81
86
FOETIFICATIONS.
Cambridge 131
Dorchester, 176
Port Independence 195
Port WaiTcn, 191
Port Winthrop, 197
Harbor, Boston 190
Chapman Hall, .
Cochituate "
Horticultural Hall,
Mercantile "
Paneuil "
HALLS.
31
46
31
107
10
ISLANDS, (in Boston Harbor.)
Castle Island,
Deer "
George's "
Long "
Lower Light !
Nix's Mate
Rainsford
Spectacle
Thompson's
Governor's
193
191
191
.*.'.*.' .191
sland, ...... . y^
*'*'*.... 191
„ ... 191
«'■''* ... 197
197
LIBRARIES.
Prince Library, • ^ ^^
Mercantile Library, . . . . . . . .106
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 8
Public Library 83
Athenseum " 43
Harvard «« 133
Society of Natural History, 103
Massachusetts Historical Society, . . . . ' . .40
AtJienaeum, . . . 41
Masonic Temple, .56
Time Lodges meet, .58
MONUMENTS.
National Monument to the Forefathers, , • . . .92
Bunker HiU « 154
Warren " 155
Nahant, . 181
Nahant Beach, 183
Egg Rock, 184
L:on Mine, 184
Spouting Horn, • . 184
Saunders's Ledge, . . .183
Castle Rock, 184
Caldron Cliff, .......... 185
Roaring Cavern, 185
Natural Bridge 185
Pulpit Rock, 185
Swallows' Cave, 186
Irene's Grotto, 187
Nahant House, J87
Old House, . . • a
Post Office, 18
Public Garden, 81
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
Public Library, . . , . . \. . . . 83
Massachusetts General Hospital, 121
McLean Asylum, . . 128
Medical College, 124
City Jail, 125
Eye and Ear Infirmary, 127
Perkins Institute for the Blind, 176
Quarantine, . . . 191
Almshouse, . ' 193
Farm School, 191
States Prison, 161
INDEX TO SUBJECTS.
PLACES OF AMUSEMENT.
Music HaU .54
Boston Theatre, 95
Melodeon, . . .101
Ordway'sHall, 109
Howard Athenaeum, Ill
National Theatre^ ^ 112
Museum, . . ' 35
Tremont Temple, 47
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
U. S. Custom House, 14
Faneuil Hall Market, . . . . . . . 11
FaneuilHall 9
Exchange .16
Old State House, .19
State House, 50
Post Office 18
Court House, . . 29
City Hall, . ... . . .... . . .28
PubHc Library, 83
U. S. Courts, . .111
SQUARES.
Bowdoin Square, . Ill
Dock « ....'.... 3
Haymarket « 119
Franklin " ' 200
Blackstone « 199
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
Cambridge, ► . * 131
Concord, 134
Lexington, 175
Dorchester Heights, 176
Nahant, 181
Bishop's Palace, . . 138
Washington's Residence, . . . . . . . 14 1
Riedesel House, . . . 141
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 5
RAILROADS.
Providence, 81
"Worcester, •••....,.. 87
Old Colony and Fall River, . . . " . . . 89
Cambridge, (Horse,) HI
Lowell, . . . . , 113
Eastern, ' 115
Fitchburg, .......... 117
Maine, . .120
TREES.
Great Elm, 71
Washington Elm, 142
BOSTON SIGHTS
GHAPTEE I.
DOCK-SQUARE. OLD HOUSE. — BOSTON STONE.
You are a stranger in
Boston, and desirous of
visiting the principal
objects of interest in the
« City of Notions."
This little book is in-
tended to be a Guide,
not a History ; therefore
we shall not enter into any details respecting the rise
and progress of Boston. If you know nothing of that,
Z BOSTON SIGHTS.
but are desirous of such information, procure Drake's
History, published by Stevens, Washington-street, and in
it you will find all you require.
We will, then, suppose you have arrived in Boston, and
that, having located yourself at one of its many spacious
hotels, you have commenced your tour of the city. It is
always well to have some defined point to start from, and
therefore we will select Dock-square as the scene of our
first exploration.
Dock-square. — It is not a square now, in the pleasant
acceptation of the word, though probably " once upon a
time " it was. Very long ago grass might have grown
there, and trees flourished, and birds sung, and no dock
ever have been dreamed of. Only a prowling Indian,
in search of a squaw or a scalp, might have been seen in
the vicinity, and all excitement have been confined to a
palaver around the council -fire. But a truce to the past ;
it is Dock-square, and nothing else, now.
And, in lieu of groves or glades, we have a busy, open
space, with labyrinthine thoroughfares leading into and out
of it. Bustling, anxious-faced men are to be seen there
at all hours of the day, rushing hither and thither, intent
on doUafs and dimes. House and hotel keepers pay
flying visits to the market close by ; visitors from all parts
of the States look curiously at the " Cradle of Liberty ; "
omnibuses rush along, distracting perilled pedestrians;
DOCK^SQUAKE,
3
market-carte, laden with country produce, stand sur-
rounded by dealers, and everything is full of life and
animation. Looking calmly down upon and over-
shadowing this scene of commercial activity, is a huge
structure — Faneuil Hall. Of it we shall presently
speak. At present let us direct our glance to — artis-
tically speaking — a " bit " of Old Boston.
Old House. — There it stands at the corner of North
and Market streets, dingy, quaint, time-battered, many-
gabled, but picturesque, for all that. They say it was built
BOSTON SIGHTS.
in the year 1680, soon after the great fire of 1679. The
peaks of the roof remain precisely as they were first
erected, the frame and external appearance never having
been altered. The timber used in the building was prin-
cipally oak, and, where it has been kept dry, is perfectly
sound, and intensely hard. The outside is covered with
plastering, or what is commonly called rough-cast. But
instead of pebbles, which are generally used at the present
day to make a hard surface on the mortar, broken glass
was used. This glass appears like that of common junk-
bottles, broken into pieces of about half an inch diameter,
the sharp corners of which penetrate the cement in such a
manner that this great lapse of years has had no percep-
tible effect upon them. The figures 1680 were impressed
into the rough-cast to show the year of its erection,
and are now perfectly legible. This surface was also
variegated with ornamental squares, diamonds, and flowers-
de-luce. The building is only two stories high, and is
about thirty-two feet long and seventeen wide ; yet tra-
dition informs us that it was once the residence of two
respectable families, and the front part was at the same
time occupied for two shops, or stores.
Before long, perhaps, the giant Progress may, in his
march of improvement, tread down this ancient dwelling
and where the sunshine and the moonlight glimmered on
its dim windows for years, great granite, unpicturesque
OLD HOUSE. 5
warehouses may rise and throw grim commercial shadows
over the thoroughfare. But we have an antiquarian's
desire that it may remain, if only as a memorial of the
early days of Boston. Its very dinginess is delightful.
From the upper windows, just beneath those peaked roofs,
some gentleman of the olden days might, " once upon a
time," have looked upon his little ones sporting among
the daisies of his garden; or some pretty maiden have
watched its lozenge-shaped panes flashing back the moon-
beams as she sauntered home with her lover from their
evening walk in the mall on Boston Common; for as early
as 1646 that now unrivalled promenade was so called.
Few care about the old North-street house, now-a-days.
In neglect and decay, it is eclipsed by its modern neigh-
bors. Careless and careful folk alike hurry by it ; but
occasionally children lift up their little, wondering eyes to
the strange habitation. And to them it is indeed strange ;
they are so used to newness and novelty, that they can
scarcely comprehend antiquity. To many a youthful
mind an old-fashioned house raises ideas of spectral ladies
and gentlemen walking up and down impossible stairs, or
gliding through dreary rooms, or of ghostly individuals
loudly clanking invisible chains ; but in the case of this
old dwelling of N^th-street such dismal ideas are rapidly
put to flight by furs hanging out of the windows, and
1*
6 BOSTON SIGHTS,
various articles for sale in the stores beneath. Super-
stition flies before " Sales for Cash ! "
Boston Stone, a sketch of which forms the vignette
illustration of this chapter, was found in the cellar of a
house in Marshall-street. A resident in the neighborhood
says it was a paint-mill, the ball being what painters now
call the muller. The paint was placed in the cavity of a
flat stone, and there ground with oil by the ball. Other
explanations as to the origin and uses of this Boston
Stone are afloat, but it is needless to repeat them here.
The stone itself, however, is worthy of inspection, and
deserves, perhaps, an antiquarian immortality.
Dr. J. y. C. Smitj]^, in his " Ancient and Modern
Boston," published in the Boston Almanac for 1853, says :
' There are reminiscences connected with the growth of
Boston that deserve to be kept in remembrance. For
example, where the Maine Station House, in Haymarket-
square, stands, there, was an open canal but a few years
ago, and the line of the track is over the course of it to
the water. Where Causeway-street is, there was formerly
a wall from Lowell-street, running north-easterly to rear
of Charlestown old bridge, called the Causeway, making a
pond of many acres, between Prince and Pitts streets.
Many aged persons are in the habit of calling all. that
region between Merrimac and Prince streets, to this day,
the Mill Pond. A remnant of the last tide-mill is still
ANCIENT AND MODERN BOSTON. 7
believed to exist on the east side of Charlestown-street, in
the form of a stable. All of that large tract of land
known technically as the South Cove was actually a body
of water, covering an area of seventy-two acres, within
the recollection of those not far removed from childhood.
The ,Neck may truly be said to be nearly all artificial.
Where the wide street runs to Roxbury, was a mere
ridge, scarcely removed from the reach of high tides, at the
period of the Revolution. By building the Boston and
Roxbury Mill-dam, the whole of the back bay, between
Washington-street and the wall, was reclaimed from
Charles river and the ocean.
" Whole streets have been detached from the domain of
Neptune, as India, Broad, Commercial, Brighton, nearly
the whole of Charles, Fayette, and several more that are
now at considerable distance from the water. At East
Boston very large additions to the territory have been
made within a few years. All the wharves, by which
Boston is nearly surrounded, are certainly artificial works,
of immense cost, but esteemed excellent and productive
property. It is not improbable that men are now living
who remember to have seen the bowsprit of vessels pro-
jecting into Liberty-square."
Boston is styled the Athens of America. It should
have been the State. In Boston the princely merchant's
warehouse presents the appearance of a palace, massive
8 BOSTON SIGHTS.
and grand. His counting-room is a picture of opulence,
spacious and beautiful ; his ware-rooms are crowded with
the products of manufacture. Massive buildings of
granite, all presenting the neatest and brightest appear-
ance, everywhere meet the eye. Along the wharves
immense ranges of warehouses extend the whole length,
at which the finest ships are discharging their foreign
cargoes. Again, encircling her " Common," rise in beau-
teous outlines spacious mansions, having the appearance
of palaces, and presenting a scene of quiet beauty,
unsurpassed by anything in the world ; they are the
residences of her merchant princes. The whole scene is
clothed in neatness, regularity, and good order ; there is a
characteristic quietness about it which the people of Mas-
sachusetts have made their own. Her public men are far-
seeing, discreet, and dignified ; and when they move it is to
some purpose. Her merchants are cautious, systematic in
their business transactions, ready to advance in their
proper time, and distinguished from that recklessness
which marks the New Yorker.
CHAPTER II.
FANEUIL HALL. FANEUIL HALL MAKKET. CUSTOM
HOUSE. EXCHANGE. OLD STATE HOUSE.
We must not leave this neighborhood yet, for the Old
House we have just been describing is not the only object
of interest hereabout. There is another noticeable build-
ing — second, indeed, in interest to no other in Boston.
(9)
10 BOSTON SIGHTS.
It is Faneuil Hall, or, as it is patriotically and meta-
phorically termed, " The Cradle of American Liberty.^*
Not to Boston alone, but to the entire country does it
seem to belong ; for in the amials of America it holds a
foremost and most honorable position. Within its walls
some of the finest specimens of American eloquence that
have been heard from the days of- Washington to those
of Webster were delivered. When despotism threatened
the colonies of George the Third, the first tones of defi-
ance were uttered in Faneuil Hall. Liberty held there
her high court, and from thence issued decrees a thousand
times more potent than a king's proclamation or a czar's
ukase. What wonder, then, that from far and near come
admiring visitors to it, or that Boston should be proud of
its possession ?
Years ago there hved in Boston a merchant whose
name was Peter Faneuil. He it was who immortalized
his name by the gift of the building to the town of Bos-
ton, for a town hall and market place. It was the best
monument to his memory that he could possibly have
devised. Faneuil Hall is a large, many-windowed struc-
ture, of no particular order of architecture, surmounted
by a cupola. The great hall to which you ascend (for
the lower story is not a market now, but is divided into
stores) is seventy-six feet square, and twenty-eight high ;
round three sides runs a gallery, and Doric pillars sup-
FANEUIL HALL.
11
port the ceiling. At the west end are several paintings
— one of Peter Faneuil in full length ; another of Wash-
ington by Stuart ; and there has recently been added
Healey's picture of Webster makmg his celebrated speech
in reply to Hayne.
Over the great hall is another, where military equip-
ments are kept; and there are also various offices for
civic functionaries.
Leaving Faneuil Hall at its eastern end, and crossing
Merchants' Row, we arrive at the entrance of Faneuil
Hall Market. It is raised on a base of bliie Quincy
12 BOSTON SIGHTS.
granite, with arched windows and doors communicating
with cellars. The length of the Market is five hundred
and eighty-five feet nine inches, the width fifty feet, and
built entirely of granite. In the centre is a building
seventy-four and a half by fifty-five feet, with projecting
north and south fronts. At each end of the building are
porticos. Over the Market proper is a second story, in
the centre of which is a hall seventy feet by fifty, crowned
by a dome, and named Quincy Hall, after Josiah Quincy,
former mayor of the city, and is but a fitting monument
of his genius. This hall and Faneuil Hall are united by
a bridge thrown across the street once in three years, and
in them the Massachusetts Mechanics' Charitable Associa-
tion holds its fair.
The principal entrances to the corridor, where the mar-
ket is held, are from the eastern and western porticos.
The corridor itself is eight hundred and twelve feet long
by twelve wide. This space is divided into stalls, where
various articles of provisions are always on sale. There
are fourteen departments for mutton, lamb, veal, and
poultry ; two for poultry and venison ; nineteen for pork,
lamb, mutton, and poultry ; forty-five for beef; four for
butter and cheese; nineteen for vegetables; and twenty
for fish. Besides these, the visitor will, as he strolls from
stall to stall, perceive many varieties of creature comfort ;
and in one place he will be charmed with the melody of
CUSTOM HOUSE. 13
birds offered for sale in cages, and his olfactories may be
regaled by odors from countless bouquets.
Faneuil Hall Market was commenced on the 20th of
August, 1824. Beneath the corner stone was deposited
a plate bearing the following inscription : —
"Faneuil Hall Market, established by the city of
Boston. This stone was laid April 27, Anno Domini
Mdcccxxv., in the forty-ninth y^ar of American Inde-
pendence, and in the third of the incorporation of the
city. John Quincy Adams, President of the United
States. Marcus Morton, Lt. Governor and Commander-
in-Chief of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The
population of the city estimated at 50,000 ; that of the
United States, 11,000,000."
The Market is situated between North and South Mar-
ket Streets, in each of which business of various kinds, to
immense amounts, is transacted.
Leaving the Market, a few steps through Commercial
Street bring us to the United States Custom House.
It is an imposing edifice, standing at the head of the dock
between Long and Central Wharves, at the foot of State
Street. It is in the form of a Greek cross, the opposite
sides and ends being alike. It is one hundred and forty
feet long, north and south, seventy-five feet wide at the
ends, and ninety -five feet through the centre. It is sur-
mounted by a flat dome, which is ninety-five feet from
14
BOSTON SIGHTS.
the floor, and is built in the pure Doric order of architec
ture. Each front has a portico of six fluted Doric col-
umns, thirty-two feet in height, and five feet four inches in
diameter, and is approached by fourteen steps. The col-
umns are in one piece of highly -wrought granite, and each
weighs forty-two tons.
The Custom House is built on three thousand piles, \
driven in the most thorough manner. Immediately on the 1
top of these piles is a platform of granite, one foot six \
inches thick, laid in hydrauUc cement, and upon it the \
foundations of the walls were commenced.
CUSTOM HOUSE. 15
The roof of the building is covered with wrought gran-
ite tile, and the intersection of the cross is surmounted by
a dome terminating in a skyHght twenty-five feet in diam-
eter. The dome is also covered with granite tile.
The cellar, which is ten feet six inches high to the
crown of the arches, is principally used for the storage of
goods, which are conveyed to it through the basement
story.
The principal ingress to the entrance story is through
the porticos. This story contains apartments and offices
for the assistant treasurer, the weighers and gangers, the
measurers, inspectors, markers, superintendent of build-
ing, &c. In the centre is a large vestibule, from which
two broad flights of steps lead to the principal story, land-
ing in two ,smaller vestibules therein, lighted by skylights
in the roof; and these vestibules communicate with all the
apartments in this story. The several rooms are for the
collector, assistant collector, naval officer, surveyor, public
storekeeper, their deputies and clerks. The grand cross-
shaped rotunda, for the general business of the collector's
department, in the centre of this story, is finished in the
Grecian Corinthian order. It is sixty-three feet in its
greatest length, fifty-nine feet wide, and sixty-two feet
high to the skylight.
The ceiling is supported by twelve columns of mar-
ble, three feet in diameter and twenty-nine feet in height,
16
BOSTON SIGHTS
with highly-wrought capitals; the ceiling is ornamented
in a neat and chaste manner, and the skylight is filled
with stained glass.
The building was conamenced in 1837, and entirely
completed in 1849. It has cost about $1,076,000, includ-
ing the site, foundations, &c.
Passing up State Street, we soon reach The Exchange.
It is a splendid building, fronting on State Street. The
corner stone was laid August 2, 1841 ; the building com-
pleted 1842, and cost, exclusive of land, $175,000. The
width on State Street is seventy-six feet, the height seventy
THE EXCHANGE.
17
feet, the depth two hundred and fiftj feet, and it covers
thirteen thousand feet of land.
The front is of Quincy granite, and has six columns,
each forty-five feet in height, and weighing fifty-five tons.
The staircases are of iron and stone, and the entire build-
ing is fire-proof. The front is occupied by banks, insur-
ance and other offices, and the rear is a hotel, while at the
top is a telegraph station. There are three entrances,
one on State, one on Congress, and one on Lindall Street.
The Merchants' Exchange is up stairs, and is a
magnificent hall, eighty feet by fifty-eight feet, having its
2*
18 BOSTON SIGHTS.
ceiling supported by eighteen imitation Sienna marble
columns, with Corinthian capitals. There is a grand
dome overhead, filled with stained glass. Here news-
papers from all parts of the world are received, read, and
filed. A superintendent, registrar, news collector, boat-
men, messengers, &c., are attached to the room, and are
in attendance from seven o'clock in the morning until ten
at night. Vessels arriving are immediately registered, as
well as shipping news telegraphed from distant ports.
Clearances, invoices per railroad, ships, &c., are all en-
tered, with the name of the consignee, on books kept for
the purpose. Sales of stocks, cotton, &c., are also regis-
tered. Merchants, singly, are admitted to all the privi-
leges of the room for eight dollars a year ; firms of two
persons, ten dollars, &c. These are called subscribers,
and have the privilege of introducing strangers, whose
names having been registered in a book kept for that pur-
pose, are allowed to visit the room and read the papers
during their stay in the city. The board of brokers have
their rooms in the Exchange ; and other portions of it are
used for banking offices, brokers' ofiices, railroad offices, &c.
The architectural beauty of the building, and the chaste
but elaborate workmanship of its rotunda, are alone worth
a visit.
The centre of the basement story is occupied by the
Post Office, where there is a general delivery, a box
THE OLD STATE HOUSE. " 19
delivery, a ladies' delivery, and a newspaper delivery,
besides telegraph and bank offices.
On Change are anxious men, during banking hours, as
ever met to buy stocks, sell shares, lend money, or nego-
tiate loans. From the stone steps of the Post Office to the
Old State House the crowd extends ; and even a strange
eye may soon detect the shrewd curbstone broker, balancing
himself with a tilting motion at the edge of the pavement,
or the anxious borrower, as he eagerly claims friendship
with those whose acquaintance he will want to disown a
few moments later ; while in the centre a speckled cow,
fatted pig, or evergreen tree inmates the attention of those
not otherwise engaged; while overlooking all, with a
grave and knowing look, stands the Old State House,
at the head of State Street, having one front on Washing-
ton Street. It retains to the present day many of the
architectural peculiarities of the period when it was built,
especially that part looking . towards the harbor. On its
summit are signal staffs, where are displayed the flags of
different merchants when their ships are approaching the
city, and a modern clock decorates State Street end.
The lower story is now converted into stores and lawyers'
and editors' offices ; and where the General Court of the
Province of Massachusetts used to be holden, gentlemen
are suited with legal measures, or are measured for panta-
20
BOSTON SIGHTS.
loons — lawyers and tailors pursuing their several voca-
tions beneath the Old State House roof.
Fanning the old house with their continuous fluttering,
(but still depending on it for support,) float the beauteous
flags of different daily papers ; and as they curl lazily up,
seem plainly to say, " We show the condition of the world
abroad and at home. Not a steamer ai'rives but we herald
the news." And then, as the folds roll out with an indig-
nant flap, they seem to flirt out that the last news from
Kansas or Washington was not to their liking ; then they
stop, and leave us to search in the papers they severally
THE OLD STATE HOUSE. 21
represent for particulars ; and it is no easy job to make a
selection, for there is the Journal, Atlas, Bee, Ledger, and
Chronicle close at hand, and the Traveller, Transcript,
Advertiser, Post, Herald, and I know not how many
others, whose shadows do not fall on the hundred-year-old
windows of the Old State House.
IN
CHAPTER III.
OLD SOUTH CHTJECH. BIRTHPLACE OF FRANKLIN.
CITY HALL. COURT HOUSE. STONE CHAPEL.
CEMETERY.
The Old South Church stands on "Washington
Street, not far from the Old State House. So much his-
torical interest is attached to this tune-honored buildmg
that we must be pardoned if we are rather minute in our
notice of it, for which w^e are indebted to a sketch in
Gleason's (now Ballou's) Pictorial.
During the first of the seven years' war, a«chm'ch of
this then town of Boston of ten thousand inhabitants, that
externally appeared much as it now does, internally pre-
sented a strange scene. The sanctuary was profanely
converted into a riding school for Burgoyne's cavalry.
The pulpit and the pews, all hallowed by devotion, had
been taken out to light the fires of our enemies, the hbrary
of the good pastor being used for kindlings. Hundreds
of loads of dirt and gravel were carted into the church,
that it might better answ^er the strange use to Avhich it was
put. A box was suspended four feet from the floor, over
(23)
24 BOSTON SIGHTS. I
which fierce horaes, driven by furious riders, leaped. The i
galleries were occupied, not, as now, by those who freely \
heard the word of God, but by spectators of the games i
below, and by those who sold liquors and refreshments, not ]
having a reverence for the sanctuary, nor the fear of the |
Maine Law before their eyes. The Old South Church, |
as every body knows, was the centre of this dissipation ; a j
church that has been intimately connected with the history ]
of Boston from an early period. At the time alluded to, ;
Mr. Blackstone's farm was converted into the town of ,
Boston, containing " about two thousand dwelling houses, \
mostly of wood, with scarce any public buildings, but i
eight or nine churches, the Old State House, and Faneuil i
Hall." The Old South Church, like the First Church, |
and the first Baptist, was organized in Charlestown by
seceders frem the First Church, who were disaffected with
a call extended to Rev. John Davenport. The first meet-
ing house was erected on the spot where the present one j
stands, corner of Washington and Milk Streets. The site j
was the gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of Rev. John Norton, ■■
who was pastor of the First Church. The first house was i
erected soon after the church was gathered, in 1669. It |
was built of wood, wdth a spire and square pews. The \
first pastor was Rev. Thomas Thatcher, an eminent divine, |
a native of Salisbury, England. Besides being an emi-i
nent theologian he was a physician, and published the first :
OLD SOUTH CHURCH. . 25
medical tract that ever was issued iii Massachusetts. His
successors were Willard, the eminent divine, Pemberton,
the eloquent pulpit orator, Sewall, who was known as
" good Dr. Sewall," who was pastor of the church for fifty
years, and when his health failed, near the close of his
life, was carried into the pulpit, and instructed the people
from Sabbath to Sabbath ; Prince, the able divine and
learned scholar, Gumming, Blair, Bacon, Hunt, Eckley,
Huntington, the first sole pastor, the devoted Wisner, the
gifted and short-lived Stearns, and Blagden, who now
ministers to this ancient church — fifteen in all.
The present Old South Church is a substantial structure
of brick, of a style of architecture that is chaste and be-
coming, though not uncommon. It stands as it has stood
for more than a century — • it having been erected in the
year 1730. The last sermon was preached in the old
house March 2, 1729. The next day it was taken down,
when it was found to be so much decayed that it was
thought the congregation, the day before, had ''a very
gi-acious preservation." A curious plan of the lower floor
of the present house is before us, under the head, " Pues
on ye lower flore in ye Metting House," evidently drawn
soon after the building was finished and the pews sold.
From this plan it appears that the house is eighty-eight
feet by sixty-one, and that it is substantially now as it was
at the beginning. Formerly there was a high elders' seat
26 . BOSTON SIGHTS.
directly in front of the pulpit, and a deacons' seat nearly
as high. Several of the best pcM's in the house, accord-'
ing to the custom of the time, were devoted to the accom-
modation of the aged — a custom that has become obso-
lete. In this plan the names of the pew holders are
given, embracing some of the noblest names of the time^
such as Governor Belcher, Franklin, Bromfield, Brattle,
Winslow, Cotton, Eliot, &c. The following church record
will assist the reader in understanding the disposition of
the congregation in the new edifice. " At a meeting of i
the South Church, in their brick meeting house, August 5,
1730, Voted, That the deacons be desired to procure some
suitable person to take the oversight of the children and
srervants in the galleries, and take care that good order be
maintained in time of divine worship ; and that a suffi-
cient reward be allowed for the encouragement of such a
person."
The Old South Church is a noble structure, situated
now in the very heart of the city, though, as its name indi-
cates, at the beginning at its southern extremity. It is sur-
mounted by one of the loftiest spires in the city. Its bell
is large and fine toned, and more eyes are upturned to its
clock daily, we venture to say, than to any other timekeeper
in New England. Indeed, it is to New England, as to the
hours, what Boston is as to business. The house is very
capacious, and, with its two galleries, Avill seat, perhaps,
OLD SOUTH CHURCH. '?7
more than any other church in the city. The pulpit is
rery high for these times, and is overshadowed by a sound-
ing board that miakes little children fear for the head of
the minister- This pulpit is the second in the present
house, the first one being what was styled a " tub " pulpit.
The pews, though built not after the modern style, are all
the more comfortable ; and it would seem that the owners
never thought of the fact that the land beneath them was
worth thirty dollars the square foot.
Considerable interest clusters around the Old South
Church, or " The Sanctuary of Freedom," as it has been
termed, from the patriotic assemblages that were gathered
within its walls just previous to the outbreak T)f the revo-
lution. In this church Franklin worshipped and was bap-
tized. Here that prince of preachers, Whitefield, lifted
up his voice like a trumpet. In this temple " our enemies
in war and our friends in peace " did that which for a mo-
ment saddens our interest. Within these walls the elec-
tion sermons liave been delivered annually before " the
powers that be," and multitudes have been educated for
the church triumphant in heaven. To the Bostonian, the
very name of the " Old South " brings back childish recol-
lections and happy early associations. Before the city had
so grown as to extend almost out of town^ this was a sort
of landmark in the designating of distances ; any given
locality was about so far from the " Old South," this or
28 BOSTON SIGHTS.
that side of the " Old South," &c. Indeed, the church is
not only a sort of landmark as regards the bearings in our
harbor, as considered by the pilots, but is also a point of
departure, so to speak, on the land itself. There are few
notable localities in the city of notions better known than
is this venerable and revered pile, and the site it occupies
— a silent remembrancer of scenes and events associated,
with all that is dear to Americans.
There is a library connected with this church, that was
bequeathed by Rev. Thomas Prince. It is a precious
collection, containing many standard works in church his-
tory, biblical Hterature, valuable pamphlets, and manu-
scripts. Fcrr nearly one hundred years this has been the
public library of that church, and accessible to any per-
son desirous of using it for literary purposes.
The Birthplace of Franklin was where the block
of stores now stands that bear the inscription. On that
spot, under the very shadow of the Old South's tall spire,
the printer, the legislator, the philosopher, the immortal
Franklin, was born.
Passing from Washington to Tremont Street, the visitor
will perceive on his right hand a large gray stone building,
in front of which are grounds tastefully laid out with trees
and beds of flowers, and enclosed by an iron, fence. This
is the City Hall, It stands between Court Square and
School Street, fronting on the latter. Here meetings of
NEW COURT HOLSE.
2y
the Council are held; and here may be found the oifiees
of the Chief-of-police and many of the civic functionaiies.
The Board of aldermen meet in the main room every
Monday afternoon, and the sittings of the common council
are held on Thursday evenings.
Near the City Hall, and in its rear, is the New Court
House. It stands in Court Square, and has a sedate,
sober appearance, being destitute of ornament of any kind.
Its form is that of a parallelogi-am, one hundred and
seventy-six feet in length by fifty-four feet in breadth. It
is iifty-seven feet in height, and consists of a basement and
3*
30 BOSTON SIGHTS.
three stories. At each end is a fine portico of the Doric
order, supported by four columns of fluted granite. There
is not much to attract attention within, it being merely
plain and substantial. *An entrance hall traverses the
entire length of the building, communicating with the por-
ticos and side doors. Stone staircases, branching off from
this corridor, lead to the various court rooms. On the first
floor are the Justices' Courts, Court of Insolvency, and the
offices of the clerks of the different courts.
The Supreme Judicial Court sits for the hearing of
legal arguments on the first Tuesday of March, and the
term for the trial of jury causes commences on the seventh
Tuesday next after the fourth Tuesday of September.
The Common Pleas Court for the county of Suffolk is
held in the court room in the third story on the first Tues-
day of January, April, July, and October ; and the Mu-
nicipal Court, of wliich the justices of the Common Pleas
are ex officio judges, is held in the room appropriated for
that purpose on the first Monday of every month. The
Pohce Court is busied every day in the trial of criminal
offenders, and also sits every Wednesday and Saturday as
a Justices' Court for determining civil causes under twenty
doUai's. The Social Law Library room, on the second
floor, is a comfortable and well-hghted apartment, and
contains a good selection of juridical text books, including
CEMETERY. 31
writers in general law, and the English and American
Reports.
In the basement are cells for the temporary accommo-
dation of prisoners ; and at the side door opposite the
the Railroad Exchange may be seen every morning, about
nine o'clock, the jail van discharging its load of prisoners
for examination. To one fond of seeing human nature in
all its phases, an hour in the Pohce Court any morning
will not be thrown away.
Nearly opposite the. City Hall stands Horticultural
Hall, a neat stone edifice ; up stairs is the hall, which is
lofty, lai'ge, and beautiful. It is used for horticultural,
panoramic, and other exhibitions.
Chapman Hall is directly in the rear, with an en-
trance on Chapman Place. These rooms also are light
and airy. Stone Chapel stands at the corner of School
and Tremont Streets. It was built in 1750, and is a plain,
substantial structure. The corner stone was laid by Gov-
ernor Shirley. The Cemetery adjoining (from the pre-
cious dust it holds) should be forever revered by native
and stranger. Johnson, the " Father of Boston," as he
has been termed, according to his wish w^as buried here ;
and the people evinced their affection for him by ordering
their bodies to be buried near him ; and this was the origin
of the first burying-place in Boston.
The Lady Arabella, his wife, was the pride and love
32 BOSTON SIGHTS.
of the colony; and historians tell lis that though there
were several other women of distinction who encountered
the fatigues and dangers of those days with laudable reso-
lution, the devotedness of this lady — lady in deed as well
as name — was conspicuous above all.
The sentiments of her heart to him are described in the
following language : " Whithersoever your fatall destine
shall dryve you, eyther by the fiirious waves of the great
ocean, or by the many-folde and horrible dangers of the
lande, I wyl surely not leave your company. There can
no peryll chaunce to me so terrible, nor any kinde of
death so cruell, that shall not be much easier for me to
abyde than to live so farre separate from you."
She came to the wilderness, illumined it by her love,
her piety, her charities and faith, and died in the then
mere village of Salem. Not one of those who had known
her but wept bitterly at the event. It was as if all the
flowers of the garden should hang their heads at the blast-
ing of the rose. May her memory distil sweets upon the
hearts of wives hke her
' And from her fair and unpolluted flesh.
May violets spring," forever.
Many are the good ^d great whose remains repose
CEMETERY.
33
here ; but no character of those days has come down to us
with brighter memories than that of Governor John Win-
throp, whose remains also repose in the Chapel Burial
Ground, in the family tomb, on the north side.
WINSLOW CHAIK, AT MASS. HISTORICAL SOCIETT.
CHAPTER lY.
THE BOSTON MUSEUM. HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Perhaps of all the places of public amusement in the
good citj of Boston, not one is so generally popular as this.
Nor is its great success undeserved ; for it has ever been
the aim of its enterprising proprietor, Hon. Moses Kim-
ball, while providing every possible novelty for the gratifi-
cation of the masses, to carefully exclude eveiy thing that
(35)
36 BOSTON SIGHTS. ' \
could be in the slightest degree objectionable. Hence the |
Museum has become the great family resort, as well as |
the visitors' choicest treat. j
First, for its locality. On Tremont Street, between j
Court and School Streets, it stands, a spacious and superb 1
bailding, its front adorned by elegant balconies and rows |
of ground glass globes, Uke enormous pearls, which at |
night are luminous with gas. Three tiers of elegantly '.
arched windows admit light into the building, and we \
reach the interior by a bold flight of stairs. ;
At the summit of these stairs is an elegant ticket and \
treasurer's office, and adjoining it the entrance to the j
Grand Hall of Cabinets, which is surrounded by a ]
gallery, and whose ceiling is supported by noble Corin- \
thian pillars. Around the gallery front ai'e arranged por- j
traits of celebrated Americans. On the floor of the hall !
are statuary and superb^ works of art, and, arranged in J
glass cases, curiosities from all parts of the known world. !
The galleries, reached by a grand staircase, ai'e filled with \
the rich and rare products of many a clime ; not an inch ;
of space is thrown away. Ascending still higher, we find ]
a superb collection of wax figures, singly and in groups j \
and surmounting all is an observatory, whence splendid !
panoramic views of the city, the harbor, and its islands
may be obtained. ]
The Museum Theatre is one of the most beautifully \
BOSTON 3IUSEUM.
decorated, best constructed, and well managed tlieatres in
the United States. The visitor there has no rowdyism to
4
38
BOSTON SIGHTS.
fear, and nothing ever occurs, either in the audience por-
tion or on the stage, to offend the most fastidious. As
good order is maintained in Mr, Kimball's theatre as in
any di-amng room in the land. The company, too, is
always first rate. Some of our best actors have been
trained on the Museum boards. But besides having a
stock company which cannot be surpassed, " stars " of the
first theatrical magnitude are often engaged ; and brilliant
spectacles, with all the accessories of superb scenery, deli-
cious music, gorgeous costumes, banners, and other appro-
priate appointments, are produced several times in each
season, in all the magnificence that money and skill can
accomplish, and are a marked feature of the place, that
cannot easily be surpassed. Few persons who visit Bos-
ton ever think of quitting it without paying the Museum
a visit, for it contains amusement and information for all.
The Museum building alone cost nearly a quarter of a
million of dollars, and covers twenty thousand feet of
land, the whole of which, with its numerous cabinets, is
crowded wath every variety of birds, quadrupeds, fish,
reptiles, insects, shells, minerals, fossils, &c. Then there
is the Feejee Mermaid, alluded to by Bamum, in his
BOSTON MUSEUM.
39
Autobiograpliy, together with more than one thousand
costly paintings, among wliich is Sully's great picture of
Washington crossing the Delaware, portraits by Copley,
West, Stuart, &c. In short there are to be seen nearly
five hundi-ed thousand articles of every conceivable rare
and curious thing of nature and art in the Museum, and
all for the marvellously small sum of twenty-five cents.
The theatre is open every evenuig, and on Wednesday and
Saturday afternoons.
The rooms of the Massachttsetts Historical So-
ciety are next the Museum, in a granite building on
40 BOSTON SIGHTS.
Tremont Street. The library of the society contains
about eight thousand volumes, with maps, charts, and
four hundred and fifty volumes of manuscripts. Anion^
the treasures are manuscripts of the historian Hub-
bard, of the first Governor Wintlirop, eleven volumes
of Governor Hutchinson, of Governor Jonathan Trum-
bull, of Connecticut, twenty-three volumes, and the manu-
script of Washington's address to the ofiicers of the
American army. There is also a copy of Eliot's Indian
Bible. The portraits of persons, mostly New England
worthies, adorn the room ; two of special value are. Rev.
Increase Mather and Rev. John Wilson. These rooms
contain many relics of the past ; among these are Philip's
samp pan, an article of Indian antiquity that perhaps
may have been used by Massasoit himself before it be-
came the property of his youngest son, the renowned
sachem of Pokanoket ; and here also is Captain Church's
sword, with which the chief was slain. The Carver
sword, a worthy memento of a pilgrim, speaks louder
than words of the dangers our forefathers incurred be-
fore a city's smoke rose from the three hills of Shaw-
mut ; and Winslow's chair, that tradition says " was made
in London in 1614, and brought over in the ]\Jay flower
by Edward Winslow," now, after many years of hard
service, is treasured as a valuable heirloom.
CHAPTER V,
BOSTON ATHEN^UM. — CLUB HOUSE. ^- COCHITUATE
HALL.
The majmificent biiildinoj for the use of the Boston
Athen.^um. is situated on Beacon Street, near the State
House, It is of Patterson freestone, and in the Palladian
4* I (41)
42 BOSTON SIGHTS.
Style of architecture. It is one hundred and fourteen feet
m length, of irregular breadth, sixty feet in height, and
stands ten feet back from the street, the ground space in
iront being surrounded by a balustrade with stone coping.
The main entrance opens into a pillared and panelled
rotunda, from which fine iron staircases conduct above.
The Sculpture Gallery is in the first story, and is
eighty feet in length. Its entrance is immediately oppo-
site the front door. Here is to be found a fine collection
of works of art in marble, and casts in plaster. Among
them are. The Head of Satan, by Horatio Greenough;
Little Nell, by Ball Hughes ; Orpheus, by T. G. Craw-
ford; the Shipwrecked Mother and Child, by E. A.
Brackett ; casts of Day and Night, by Michael An-
gelo ; the original model of the statue of the Dying
Indian, by P. Stephenson, and the First Whisper of
Love, by W. C. Marshall, will not fail to attract the
attention and win the admiration of all lovers of art.
Five marble bass reliefs from Nineveh are deposited here.
Apart from the value which attaches to these remains,
considered simply as antiquities, they possess a far higher
value on account of the remarkable confirmations which
the inscriptions afford of the truth of Scripture history.
These in the Sculpture Gallery are of the same kind as
those deposited in the British Museum, and described in
Layard's works.
BOSTON ATHEN^UM. 43
The Reading Rooms are on the right of the vestibule.
On the left is the Trustees' Room. Near the foot of the
staircase stands Ball Hughes's statue of Bowdit<^h, and a
very fine one of Webster, by Powers.
The Library occupies the second story, which is divided
into three rooms, two in front, and one large hall (one hun-
dred and nine feet by forty) in the rear. This hall is
beautifully finished in the Itahan style. The shelving is
carried to the height of eighteen or twenty feet, and the
upper shelves are made accessible by means of a light
iron gallery reached by five spiral staircases. Besides
sixty-seven thousand bound volumes, this library pos-
sesses twenty thousand or more of unbound pamphlets,
between four and five hundred volumes of engravings,
and the most valuable collection of coins in this part of
the country. It also contains part of the library of Wash-
ington— in all about four hundred and fifty bound vol-
umes. The library is hardly surpassed, either in size or
in value, by any other in the country ; and its regulations
are framed with the desiom that it shall answer the high-
est purposes of a public library. Strangers not residing
within twenty miles of Boston can easily obtain admittance.
Picture Gallery. — The third story contains four
rooms that are appropriated to the exhibition of paint-
ings, and of these there is an admirable collection. A
numbered catalogue may be obtained at the door. Many
44 BOSTON SIGHTS.
of the paintings belong to private individuals, and are
liable to removal ; so we shall avoid mention of them, and
briefly touch on a few belonging to the Athenaeum. Here
are the portraits of Washington and of Lady Washing-
ton, by Stuart ; the Sortie of Gibraltar, by Trumbull ;
Judith with the Head of Holofemes ; Count of Wurtem-
berg lamenting his Child, by Ary Schceffer ; St. Michael
chaining Satan, after Guido; Flaying of Marsayas, by
Luca Giordano ; Priam receiving the Dead Body of Hec-
tor, by Trumbull. In conclusion, we cannot help mention-
ing Dante and Beatrice, by Ary SchoefFer, and the Course
of Empu-e, by Cole. The gallery is well worthy of fre-
quent visits, and will doubtless do much to promote the
progress of art m Boston.
Admittance twenty-five cents, the Sculpture Gallery
included.
Returning towards Washington Street, a few steps
bring us to the Club House, corner of Beacon and
Park Streets, a mansion interesting from the fact that it
was fitted up for the accommodation of General Lafayette
and his suite, when the illustrious friend of Washington
was the guest of the city. At the period of the revolu-
tion the almshouse stood upon ihis site, extending on
Beacon Street beyond the westerly boundary of the Athe-
nseum estate. Next to it, on Park Street, was the work-
house ; then came the town pound ; on the site of Park
CLUB HOUSE.
45
Street Church stood the granary, whence the name of the
adjacent burying ground. In the enclosure of the work-
house yard, we beheve, the bodies of the British soldiers
killed at Bunker Hill were laid out, in the order of their
regiments and companies, previous to interment.
The old almshouse was pulled down in the year 1800,
and in the early part of the century the large building
shown in the engraving was erected for and occupied by
Jonathan Amory. Many a splendid ball and party have
been given in that aristocratic mansion; many a belle
there devastated the hearts of young Bostonians — many
46 BOSTON SIGHTS.
of whom, victors and vanquished, have long since passed
away from this earthly stage. For many years the build-
ing has been occupied as a club house.
CocHiTUATE Hall is not remarkable for its size, and,
although well lighted, is difficult of access.
CHAPTER VI.
TREMONT TEMPLE. MEIONAON. PARK STREET CHURCH.
GRANARY CEMETERY. NEW MUSIC HALL. MA-
SONIC TEMPLE.
This spacious edifice stands opposite the Tremont
House, Tremont Street. Of a rich and warm brown tint,
produced by a coating of mastic, it presents a peculiarly
(47)
48 BOSTON SIGHTS.
substantial and elegant frontage. It is seventy-five feet in
height, and, with the exception of ten feet by sixty-eight,
which is left open on the north side for Hght, the building
covers an area of thirteen thousand feet.
Passing through the gi-eat central doorway, we find our-
selves in the spacious entrance hall. On the first floor we
observe on our right and left hand two ticket offices, and
a broad flight of stairs also on either hand, each of which
at their summit terminates in a landing, from whence to
right and left diverge two flights of similar staircases, one
landing you in the centre of the main hall, and the other
to the rear part and the gallery.
The Main Hall is a magnificent apartment. The
utter absence of gilding and coloring on its walls renders
it far more imposing and grand in appearance than if it
had been elaborately ornamented with auriferous and
chromatic splendors. It is one hundrefl and twenty-four
feet long, seventy-two feet* wide, and fifty feet high.
Around the sides of it runs a gallery supported on trusses,
so that no pillars intervene between the spectators and the
platform, to obstruct the view. The front of this gallery
is balustraded, and by this means a very neat and uniform
effect is secured. The side galleries project over the seats
below about seven feet. They are fitted with rows of
nicely-cushioned and comfortable seats, and are not so
high as to render the ascent to them wearisome in the
TREMONT TEMPLE. 49
least degree. The front gallery, though it projects into
the hall only ten feet, extends back far enough to give it
more than three times that depth.
Du*ectly opposite this gallery is the platform, with its
gracefully-panelled, semicircular front. This platform,
covered with a neat oil cloth, communicates with the side
galleries by a few steps, for the convenience of large
choirs. There are also several avenues of communication
from the platform to the apartments, dressing rooms, &c.,
behind, which are exceedingly convenient, and are far
superior to the places of exit and entrance from and to
any other place of the kind that we have ever seen.
From the front of the platform the floor of the hall
gradually rises so as to afford every person in the hall a
full and unobstructed view of the speakers or vocalists, as
the case may be. The seats in the galleries rise in like
manner. The seats on the hall floor are admirably
arranged in a semicircular form from the front of the
platform, so that every face is directed towards the
speaker or singer. They are each one numbered, have
iron ends, are capped with mahogany, and are completely
cushioned with a drab-colored material. Each slip is
capable of containing ten or twelve persons, with an aisle
at each extremity, and open from end to end.
The side walls of the hall are very beautifully orna-
mented in panels, arched and decorated with circular
5
50 BOSTON SIGHTS.
ornaments, which would be difficult properly to describe
without the aid of accompanying drawings ; but as views
of the interior of the Temple will soon be common enough,
the omission here will be of little consequence. As we
intimated, there is no fancy coloring; it is a decorated
and relieved surface of dead white, and the effect, lighted
as it is from above by large panes of rough plate glass, is
beautifully chaste. The only color observable in the hall
is the purple screen behind the diamond open work at the
back of the platform, and which forms a screen in front
of the organ.
The ceiling is very finely designed in squares, at the
intersections of which are twenty-eight gas burners, with
strong reflectors, and a chandelier over the orchestra,
shedding a mellow but ample light over the hall. By
this arrangement the air heated by innumerable jets of
gas is got rid of, and the lights themselves act as most
efficient ventilators. The eyes are likewise protected
from glare ; and should an escape of gas take place, from
its levity it passes up through shafts to the outside, and
does not contaminate the atmosphere below. Under the
galleries are common burners. There are for day illumi-
nation twelve immense plates of glass, ten feet long by
four feet wide, placed in the ceiling, in the spring of the
arch, and open directly to the outer light, and by sixteen
smaller ones under the galleries.
TREMONT TEMPLE. 51
The whole of the flooring of the hall, in the galleries,
the body of it, and of the platform, consists of two layers
of boards, with the interstices between them filled by a
thick bed of mortar. The advantages of this in an acous-
tical point of view must be obvious to all. Another ad-
vantage is, that the applause made by the audience in this
great hall does not disturb the people who may at the
same time be holding a meeting in the other hall below —
a very important consideration.
There are eight flights of stairs leading from the floors
of the main hall, and four from the galleries, the aggre-
gate width of which is over fifty feet.
The Boston Young Men's Chi-istian Association occupy
several beautiful rooms up one flight of stairs, which are
admirably adapted for their present uses and occupants,
and are rented by the Association for twelve hundred dol-
lars per annum, though it is estimated that they are worth
at least fifteen hundred dollars ; but the Temple is owned
by a church who were very desirous that a rehgious asso-
ciation should occupy them. The great organ, built by
the Messrs. Hook, is one of the finest instruments ever
constructed in this country. Its bellows is worked by
steam.
The Tremont Temple, besides the great hall, contains a
lesser one, called The Meionaon, the main entrance to
which is through the northerly passage way, opposite the
52 BOSTON SIGHTS.
doors of the Tremont House ; this avenue is about seven
feet wide. The southerly passage way serves as an outlet
from this lesser temple.
Perhaps the reader, who may not have been initiated
into the mysteries of Greek literature, may thank us for
a definition of this strange-looking word, " Meionaon." It
is so called from two Greek words — meion, signifying
less, smaller, and naon, temple — Lesser Temple. It is
pronounced Mi-o-na-on. This lesser temple is situated
back from the street, and directly under the great hall.
It is seventy-two feet long by fifty-two feet wide, and
about twenty-five and a half feet high. Not so elaborately
adorned as its neighbor overhead, this hall is remarkably
chastely and beautifully fitted up, and within its walls the
religious society of Tremont Street Baptist Church wor-
ship. Its walls are relieved by pilasters supporting arches.
The seats are similarly arranged to those in the hall above,
and are equally comfortable and commodious in all respects.
At one end is a platform, on which, on Sabbath days, stands
a beautiful little pulpit, of dark walnut, and cushioned with
crimson velvet. At the other extremity of the hall is a
gallery for a choir ; back of it stands a neat little organ.
The place is. beautifully adapted for sound, and competent
judges say fiom their own experience that it is a remarka-
bly easy place to speak in. From the hall to the outer
door the way is through a broad passage way covered with
PAKK STREET CHUHCH. 53
Manilla matting let into the floor, so that little dirt can be
brought in from the street ; and as the doors swing on
noiseless hinges, no interruption from scufflmg of feet or
slammings can ever occur.
The Cupola. — In making our way thither we travel
over the ceiling of the great hall, dropping our heads as
we pass beneath roof and rafter, to save our hat and skull,
and beholding beneath our feet a great network of gas-
piping connected with the burners of the hall under us.
In long rows are square ventilators, which discharge then*
streams of vitiated air on the outside.
The cupola forms a spacious observatory, glazed all
round, and from every window is obtained a charming
view, the whole forming one of the most superb pano-
ramas that we ever witnessed. From this elevated spot
may be seen the adjacent villages and towns, the harbor
and its islands, the city institutions, churches, houses, and
shipping. In short, the whole city and vicinity lies at our
feet.
Park Street Church is situated at the comer of
Tremont and Park Streets. The spire is remarkably
beautiful, and the interior very spacious and striking.
Close by lies Granary Burying Ground — a spot hal-
lowed by the remains of many good, and brave, and beau-
tiful as such can be. Here a mounument has been laid
over the graves of Dr. Frankhn's parents. It is an obelisk
5*
54
BOSTON SIGHTS.
twenty-five 'feet high, formed of seven blocks of Quincy
granite, each weighing about six tons ; and the name of
" Franklin " can be easily read from the street. The
stranger often stops to gaze at the squirrels racing among
those gray old tombstones, or to read the time-worn inscrip-
tions of the mourned ones' virtues — virtues perhaps not
visible during life, but " known and read of all men " when
they have passed away.
Nearly across the street from here is
The New Music Hall. — Until within the last few
years, although a musical people^ the city was sadly in
NEAV MUSIC HALL. 55
want of a fitting place for concerts, &c. Now, however,
we have a Music Hall of the first class, which we can
refer to with pride as an ornament to our metropolis, and
an index of the taste and hberality of Boston.
There has been no attempt at display on the exterior
of the building, it being deemed important to reserve, as
far as practicable, for the interior the means contributed
for the enterprise.
The hall is one hundred and thirty feet long, seventy-
eight feet wide, and sixty-five feet high, the proportion of
length to Tiddth being as five to three, and of length to
height as two to one. Two balconies extend rwmd three
sides of the hall.
The ceiling, which is forty feet above the floor of the
upper balcony, is in general section flat, and connected
with the wall by a large cove, in which are seventeen
semicircular windows, that light the hall by day. A row
of gas jets, projecting from the edge of the cornice, just
below these windows, light the hall by night.
The floor is arranged with seats which will accommo-
date upwards of fifteen hundred persons, and there is suffi-
cient room in the balconies for upwards of one thousand
more.
The orchestral platfoi-m is raised five feet above the
floor of the hall, and rises by a few steps to' the organ.
From each side of the orchestra to the floor of the lower
56 BOSTON SIGHTS.
balcony is a series of raised platforms for choristers, or
for tlie audience, as may be required. The whole orches-
tra will accommodate upwards of four hundred persons.
The whole has been constructed with special reference
to the science of acoustics — a consideration of the utmost
importance in a building intended- for a music hall. The
architect, George Snell, Esq., has endeavored to combine
in this structure the advantages which he has been able to
discover by a careful personal examination of numerous
music halls in Europe and America. This is of especial
importance, as it is proposed to have one of the largest
organs in^he world placed here.
In the matter of ventilation, the architect has had the
assistance of the large experience, in that department, of
Dr. Morrill Wyman, of Cambridge. Mr. Alpheus C.
Morse, a native of Boston, (a partner of Mr. Snell,) has
also assisted in the arrangement of the decorations of the
interior.
The entrances are from Winter Street, Bumstead Place,
and Bromfield Street. Ample accommodations are afford-
ed for drawing rooms, alcoves, offices, &c.
Masonic Temple. — This building is situated in Tre-^
mont Street, on part of the land that was formerly Wash-
ington Gardens. The corner stone was laid October 11,
1830, with appropriate Masonic ceremonies, by the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts. This Temple was dedicated May
I
MASONIC TEMPLE.
57
30, 1832. It is sixty feet wide, and eighty and a half
feet long, and fronts westwardly on Tremont Street. The
walls are fifty-two feet high, of stone, covered with a slated
roof, twenty-four feet high, containing sixteen windows to
light the attic story. The gutters are of cast iron, and
Ihe water trunks are of copper. The basement is of fine
hammered granite, twelve feet high, with a belt of the ^
same. The towers at the comers next Tremont Street
are sixteen feet square, surmounted with granite battle- \
ments, and pinnacles rising ninety-five feet from the i
ground. The door and window frames are of fine ham- ^
58 BOSTON SIGHTS.
mered granite, and the main walls, from the basement to
the roof, are of Quincy granite, disposed in courses, in
such a manner as to present a finished appearance to the
eye. The blocks are triangulai' in shape, and there is
probably no other such building in Massachusetts.
From the street are two flights of winding stairs in
the towers, sufficiently spacious to admit a free entrance
to the five stories of the building. The first story is
occupied for miscellaneous purposes; the second by the
spacious salesrooms of Messrs. Chickering & Sons; and
the third, fourth, and fifth stories for Masonic purposes.
The different Lodges meet as follows : —
St. John's Lodge, first Monday ; St. Andrew's, second
Thursday ; Massachusetts, third Monday ; Columbian, first
Thursday; Mount Lebanon, second Monday; Winslow
Lewis Lodge, second Friday ; Revere Lodge, first Tues-
day; Germania Lodge, fourth Monday; St. Andrew's
Chapter, first Wednesday ; St. Paul's Chapter, third Tues-
day ; Boston Encampment, third Wednesday ; De Molay
Encampment, fourth Wednesday; Council Royal and
Select Masters, third Thursday; Grand Lodge, second
Wednesday in December, March, June, and September,
27th December, annually ; Grand Chapter, Tuesday pre-
ceding second Wednesday of March, June, September, and
December; Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and
Rhode Island, annually ; Grand Lodge of Perfection, fourth
Tuesday ; Board of Relief, first Tuesday in each month.
THE STATE HOUSE. — HANCOCK HOUSE. BOSTON WATER-
WORKS.
Long before the stranger reaches Boston, he must have
seen, from the window of the railway-car, or the vessel's
deck, an imposing dome, crowning the summit of the
highest of the three hills on which the city is built.
On a nearer approach, he will perceive that this dome
surmounts a splendid and spacious edifice ; and this, he
will learn, is
The State House. — To this place it would be well
to pay an early visit, as from the window of the lofty
cupola he will be enabled to take such a bird's eye
or panoramic view of the city, as will enable him, by
fully comprehending its various localities, and their rela-
tions to each other, to render his future investigations all
the easier. In any city such a proceeding would prove
advantageous, but especially is it so in Boston, where
(59)
60 BOSTON SIGHTS.
strangers, in consequence of the crooked streets, experience
more difficulty in ascertaining their whereabouts than
perhaps in any other large place in the Union ; and here
we now are.
It were scarcely possible to conceive a more appropriate
situation for sucli a building than the one occupied by the
State House. It is erected about the centre of the city,
on elevated ground, at the corner of Beacon and Mount
Vernon streets. The corner-stone was laid on tKe Fourth
of July, 1795, by Governor Samuel Adams, who made an
address on the occasion, in which " he trusted that within
its walls liberty and the rights of man would be forever
advocated and supported." In 1798 the building was
finished, and occupied by the Legislature.
When the corner-stone of the New State House was to
be laid, it was conveyed to the spot by fifteen white horses,
there being, at that time, but fifteen States in the Union.
Now they are more than doubled.
The height of the capitol, to the summit of the dome, is
one hundred and ten feet; the frontage is one hundred
and seventy-three feet. " It consists externally of a base-
ment story twenty feet high, and a principal story thirty
feet high. This, in the centre of the front, is covered with
an attic sixty feet wide, and twenty feet high, which is
covered with a pediment. Immediately above arises the
dome, fifty feet in diameter, and thirty in height; the
THE STATE HOUSE. 61
whole terminating with an elegant circular lantern, which
supports a pine cone. The basement story is finished in a
plain style on the wings, with square windows. The
centre is ninety-four feet in length, and formed of arches
which project fourteen feet, and make a covered walk
below, and support a colonnade of Corinthian columns of
the same extent above.
" The largest room is in the centre, and in the second
story (the large space below in the basement story is
directly under this) is the Representatives' Chamber, that
will accommodate five hundred members, and sometimes
they have been more numerous. The Senate Chamber is
also in the second story, at the east end of the building,
and is sixty feet by fifty. At the west is a large
room for the meetings of the Grovernor and the Executive
Council, with a convenient ante-chamber."
The view from the top of the State House is very
extensive and variegated ; perhaps nothing in the country
is superior to it. To the east appears the bay and harbor
of Boston, interspersed with beautiful islands; and in the
distance beyond the wide-extended ocean. To the north
the eye is met by Charlestown, with its interesting and
memorable heights, and the Navy Yard of the United
States ; the towns of Chelsea, Maiden, and Medford, and
other villages, and the natural forests mingling in the
distant horizon. To the west is a fine view of the Charles
6
62 BOSTON SIGHTS.
river and a bay, the ancient town of Cambridge, rendered
venerable for the university, now above two hundred
years old ; of the flourishing villages of Cambridgeport
and East Cambridge (in the latter of which is a large
glass manufacturing establishment) ; of the highly-culti-
vated towns of Brighton, Brookline, and Newton ; and to
the south is Roxbury, which seems to be only a continu-
ation of Boston, and which is rapidly increasing ; Dor-
chester, a fine, rich, agricultural town, with Milton and
Quincy beyond, and still fiirther south the Blue Hills, at
the distance of eight or nine miles, which seem to bound
the prospect. The Common, stretching in front of the
capitol, with its numerous walks and flourishing trees,
where "the rich and the poor meet together," and the
humblest have the proud consciousness that they are free,
and, in some respects (if virtuous), on a level with the
learned and the opulent, adds greatly to the whole scene.
Large sums have recently been expended in additions
to the State House, both within and without. On the
lawns in front are two beautiful fountains. The design
of the enlargement was to obtain ? ^ ional fire-proof room
for the safety and security of the archives of the state ;
a library-room sufliciently commodious to satisfy the
wants of the present and future ; and additional accom-
modations for the several departments of the government,
including the agricultural bureau recently established.
THE STATE HOUSE. 63
The plan adopted comprised ante or committee rooms for
the use of the Senate and Council, and committee rooms
for the general use of the Legislature. The dimensions of
the library are as follows : Length, eighty-eight feet ; width,
thirty-seven feet ; height, thirty-six and a half feet. It is
fitted with galleries and alcoves, which will afford abun-
dant space for the accumulations of many future years.
The basement and fire-proof rooms beneath the library are
of the same dimensions as the latter, with the exception
of the height; and they will be sufficient to accommodate
the agricultural department, and to afford room and
security for the public archives. All the designs of
the plan, so far as. providing accommodations is con-
cerned, are fully carried out in the structure, which is
completely fire-proof, and built in the most substantial
and massive style. The wall of the basement story is of
" rusticated dressed granite," and the others of brick. A
large amount of iron is used in the structure, which gives
it an air of grandeur and solidity.
The best time to ascend the cupola is before eleven
o'clock, on a bright, clear day. Visitors are required to
inscribe their names on a register. There is no fee
demanded. »
One of the first objects that attract the attention of a
stranger, on entering the State House, is the statue of
Washington, by Sir F. Chantrey, which is placed in the
64
BOSTON SIGHTS.
rotunda. This statue was purchased by private subscrip-
tion, and was placed where it now stands in 1828.
Like nearly all the works of the distinguished sculptor,
in this production Chantrey has somewhat idealized his
subject. Washington is represented in a military cloak,
and so far all is correct enough, but the features are
scarcely those of the Father of his Country. Nevertheless,
as a work of art it is extremely fine, and reflects honor
on the public spirit of those who procured it.
The Hancock House. — Near the capitol, on the west,
is the mansion-house of the eminent patriot, the late John
Hancock, now exhibiting quite an ancient appearance ;
and on the east, about the same distance, was, until
recently, situated the dwelling of the late James Bow-
HANCOCK HOUSE. 65
doin, another patriot of tlie Revolution, a distinguished
scholar and philosopher, and who, by his firmness, in the
critical period of 1786, contributed most efficiently to the
preservation of order and tranquillity in the common-
wealth.
The Hancock House is one of the celebrities of Boston,
and no stranger, who feels the patriotic impulse, fails to
pay it a visit.
It stands in Beacon-street, very near the State House,
and fronts the south, presenting a quaint and picturesque
appearance, embosomed, as it is, with shrubs, evergreens,
trees, and flowers. It is built of hewn stone, and raised
about thirteen feet above the street, the ascent being
through a garden. There it stands, beside its modern
neighbors, like a venerable grandsire surrounded by his
children's children, commanding respectful attention, and
even admiration. The front is fifty-six feet in breadth,
and it terminates in two lofty stories. Formerly there
was a delightful garden behind the house, ascending grad-
ually to the high lands in the rear.
In the governor's time we are told that in front of the
edifice " an hundred cows daily fed " on the Common.
A brave place for hospitality has that house been in old
times, when "the east wing formed a spacious hall, and
the west wing was appropriated to domestic purposes;
the whole embracing, with the stables, coach-houseS; and
66 BOSTON SIGHTS.
Other offices, an extent of two hundred and twenty feet."
There was also a glacis, in the days when Thomas Han-
cock, the governor's father, resided there ; but garden,
glacis, stables, and coach-houses, have made way for streets
and houses. The interior of the house is better preserved ;
and beneath its ancient roof reside descendants of the
governor. It is a pity that it should ever be razed to the
ground ; but it is to be feared that, by and by, the place
which now knows it will know it no more.
The Boston Water-Works. — A short walk on Beacon
Hill brings us to an enormous structure of massive granite
masonry, which will, if the stranger knows not its uses,
strike him with astonishment. It is not a jail, though it
somewhat resembles one; nor is it a warehouse, nor a
church. It is the great Beacon Hill Reservoir, into which
flows, from Cochituate Lake, formerly called Long Pond,
the water which supplies the city with the pure element.
The dimensions of this huge cistern are, on Derne-street, one
hundred and ninety-nine feet and three inches ; on Temple-
street, one hundred and eighty-two feet and eleven inches ;
on Hancock-street, one hundred and ninety-one feet seven
inches ; and on the rear of Mount Vernon-street, two
hundred and six feet and five inches. From the founda-
tion to the summit, exclusive of railing, it is on Derne-
street sixty-six feet, and on the rear of Mount Vernon-
street forty-three feet high. * ■
THE BOSTON WATER- WORKS. " 67
This building is an immense basin, or reservoir. It
rests on arches of immense strength, fourteen and tliree
fourths feet span. The basin holds 2,678,961 wine gal-
lons of water.
Two granite tablets are placed on the north side of th
Reservoir, with the following inscriptions :
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
BEGUN AUGUST, 1846. WATER INTRODUCED OCTOBER, 1848
JOSIAH QUmCY, JR., Mayor.
(NATHAN HALE,
COMMISSIONERS, ^ JAMES F. BALDWIN,
(THOMAS B. CURTIS.
BOSTON WATER- WORKS.
THE RESERVOIR COMPLETED NOVEMBER, 1849.
JOHN P. BIGELOW, Mayor.
f W. S. WHITWELL, East Div.
ENGINEERS, ^ E. S. CHESBROUGH, West Div.
(JOHN. B. JERVIS, Consulting.
CHAPTER VIII
BOSTON COMMON. OLD ELM. FROG PONDo
Were we to be asked, What is the great feature of !
Boston city, we should assuredly reply, Boston Common, j
The parks of the British metropolis have not unaptly i
been termed the lungs of London. With equal appropri- ]
ateness the Common of Boston may be styled the great J
BOSTON COMMON. 69
breathing apparatus of Boston. In summer or in winter
those forty-eight acres of undulating ground, green with
grass or white with snow, constitute a favorite place of
resort. And when the noble trees that abound there ai-e
thick with foliage, no more deUghtful promenade than
those broad avenues beneath their interlacing boughs
could well be imagined.
A glance at the early history of the Common may not
Jbe uninteresting.
"In 1634, commissioners were chosen to dispose of un-
occupied lands. They were directed to leave out portions
for new comers and the further benefits of the town. The
Common was among the reserved portions, and became
pubHc property, as a training field and pasture. In 1833
a city ordinance appeared, forbidding its use as a pasturage,
and it has long since ceased to be a training field."
The citizens of Boston have always been proud of their
beautiful Common. Several times have attempts been
made to encroach upon it, but public opinion in each case
defeated the object, and it is not now probable that a single
foot of it will be misappropriated.
The American elm is celebrated abroad for its beauty,
and our Common has extremely beautiful groves of these
graceful trees, whose hanging boughs form arches on high,
which, either in summer, autumn, or winter, atti'act gen-
eral admiration for their fairv-like tracery ' — Nature's own
70 BOSTON SIGHTS. ^ 1
\
draperj, woven by her most fantastic hands. Time and :
storm have dealt hardly with some of them, and they i
have been felled and supplanted by others, where repair !
was impossible. The extreme hardness of the malls has 1
operated injuriously upon the roots of many of them, and :
canker worms have occasionally made too free among the i
branches ; but great and judicious care and expense have j
done much to remedy these evils ; and the full foliage of ]
the Common, now shading the numerous paths with the •
magnificent garniture of their verdure, affords ample '
reward for years of intelligent husbandry. i
The richness of the soil on our Common has been one ;
reason why the multitude of trees which decorate it have i
been so long preserved in vigor and beauty. In the sum- ■
mer season the Common presents its most lovely aspect ; '
all the malls are crowned with rich green canopies, and \
the carpet spread by Nature at man's feet is of the amplest \
and freshest verdure. The birds and squirrels frolic un- i
harmed amid the broad, ancient boughs, and the malls, ■
which intersect the undulating surface of the lawn, add i
vastly to its ornate appearance. The cathedral-like arches i
which overtop the elm-lined malls are ever charming to :
the artistic eye ; and indeed it is a question Math some i
whether they do not look as beautiful in their winter ;
robes, when the network of spray-like twigs is frosted over ■
with the fleece of snow, or a crystalline coating of ice ,|
THE GREAT ELM. 71
glistens with prismatic splendors in the sunlight. Truly,
the care which has been bestowed upon the Common has
been amply repaid.
Two of the walks in Boston were formerly designated
by the names Geeat Mall and Little Mall. The
Great Mall borders the eastern edge of the Common, and
the Little Mall the eastern edge of the Granary or Park
Street burying ground. The last named was planted with
EngHsh elms by Colonel Adino Paddock, in 1770. They
are therefore more than eighty years old. The trees in
^the Great Mall were planted, as appears from the plans,
between 1722 and 1729. Those that remain are therefore
about one hundred and thirty years old. The trees on
the Little Mall were a mixture of elms and buttonwoods.
Mr. Paddock was a loyalist, left Boston in 1776, and set-
tled in Nova Scotia, where his descendants still live.
The Great Elm is one of the hons — perhaps the
lion — of Boston Common. Still hale and strong, it
stands about the centre of the green, and is supposed,
from various data, to be upwards of two hundred years
old.
In 1825 it was sixty-five feet high, the circumference at
thirty inches from the ground being twenty-one feet eight
inches, and the spread of branches eighty-six feet. Li
1855 it was measured, and found to be seventy-two and a
half feet in height ; height of first branch from the ground,
72
BOSTON SIGHTS.
twentj-two and a half feet ; girth four feet from the ground,
seventeen feet; average diameter of greatest spread of
branches, one hundred and one feet. This shows that the
elm has grown considerably within the last quarter of a
century.
But this colossal plant has more interesting features
than its age or size, though they are great.
SUMMER ELM.
There was once a powder magazine near this tree, on
the little hill at whose foot it stands. This hill, also, dur-
ing the siege of Boston, was the site of a British fortifica-
tion, bombarded by Washington.
THE GREAT ELM.
73
In the war of 1812 its existence was endangered by the
encampment around it of American troops, destined to
protect the town. It has often been exposed to injury by
the custom of hanging and burning effigies upon its giant
branches ; and many turbulent occasions, on Election and
Independence days, have exposed the tree to violence.
•WINTER ELM.
Severe tempests have at times threatened to annihilate
this tree; and in 1831 or 1832 a violent storm separated
four of its large limbs, and so far detached them that they
rested partially upon the ground. They were raised and
bolted together ; the bolts are still visible, and the branches,
7 %
74 BOSTON SIGHTS.
at- the end of twenty-five years, appear to be perfectly
united.
For many years the interior of the trunk was rotten,
and much of it had disappeared, from neglect ; but finally
the spirit of improvement, which came upon the Common,
extended to the great tree, and the edges of the aperture
were protected, and the exterior covered by canvas. The
parts have thus been regenerated, and the opening filled
and obUterated.
Notwithstanding the years that have rolled over the
veteran colossus, it still presents an aspect of grandeur
which will ever be the admiration of the beholder. Dr.
Warren remarks, in his book upon the Great Tree, —
This tree, therefore, we must venerate as a visible
relic of the Indian Shawmut, for all its other native trees
and groves have been long since prostrated. The frail
and transient memorials of the aborigines have vanished ;
even the hills of Trimountain cannot be distinguished;
and this native noble elm remains to present a substantial
association of the existing with the former ages of Boston."
A handsome iron fence now surrounds it, through which
entrance is had by a gate. Flowers adorn the little circle
enclosed at its foot, seeming to pay the homage of beauty
to majesty ; and squirrels gambol among its branches, in
which a shelter and food are provided for them. The fol-
lowing inscription is on the fence ; —
THE GREAT ELM. 75
THE OLD ELM.
This tree has been standing
here for an unknown period.
It is beheved to have existed be-
fore the settlement of Boston, be-
ing full grovm in 1722. Exhibited
marks of old age in 1792, and was
nearly destroyed by a storm in
1832. Protected by an iron
fence in 1854. J. V. C.
Smith, Mayor.
The following lines, dedicated to the old Elm Tree on
Boston Common, by Geo. E. Rice, originally appeared in
the Saturday Evening Gazette.
TO THE GREAT ELM TREE ON BOSTON COMMON.
When first from mother Earth you sprung,
Ere Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare sung,
Or Puritans had come among
The savages to loose each tongue
In psalms and prayers.
These forty acres, more or less,
Now gayly clothed in Nature's dress,
Where Yankees walk, and brag, and guess,
Was but a " howling wilderness "
Of wolves and bears.
Say, did you start with the presenti-
Ment that you'd e'er be the centre
Of all that's known
76 . BOSTON SIGHTS.
About the sciences and arts ?
For we are men of mighty parts,
And strangers say that Boston hearts
With pride are blown ;
And fondly deem their Httle state
To be "jaar excellence " the great,
And look with pity
And sore contempt on those who say
That Europe boasts a to^^^l to-day
That's not surpassed in every way
By Boston City.
What wondrous changes you have seen
Since you put forth your primal green
And tender shoot ;
Three hundred years your life has spanned,
Yet cahn, serene, erect you stand,
Of great renown throughout the land,
Braced up with many an iron band,
And showing marks of Time's hard hand
From crown to root.
You, when a slender sapHng, saw
The persecuted reach this shore.
And in their turn
Treat others as themselves were treated.
To mete the measure that's been meted.
And cheat if he has e'er been cheated.
How does man yearn !
Of tales perchance devoid of truth,
With wliich they would, in early youth,
My heart appall.
THE GREAT ELM. 77
"Was one the gossips used to tell
About a witch so grim and fell,
That here was hung for raising — well,
It wasn't Saul.
Since you beheld the light of day,
A race of men has passed away —
A warlike nation.
Who, oft with fire water plied.
Lost all their bravery and pride,
And yielded to the rapid stride
Of annexation.
Behold, a mightier race appears.
And high a vast republic rears
Her giant features,
And westward steadily we drive
The few poor Indians who survive,
And barely keep the race alive —
Degenerate creatures.
For are we not the mighty lords
And masters of all savage hordes.
In our opinion ?
And when we with inferiors deal,
'Tis well to use the iron heel.
And make them wince, and writhe, and feel
'fheir lords' dominion.
You heard the first rebellious himi
Of voices, and the fife and drum
Of revolution,
7*
78 BOSTON SIGHTS.
And heard the bells and welkin ring,
When they threw off great George, their king.
And much improved by that same thing
Their constitution.
And you still thrive and live to see
The country prosperous and free,
In spite of all
The very sage prognostications
Of prophets in exalted stations,
Who could foresee the fate of nations,
And said she'd fall.
You've seen both the tremendous spread
Of commerce, and of those it made
Rich and ambitious.
Who flaunt with parvenu's true pride,
And in their showy coaches ride,
With arms emblazoned on the side,
Which any herald who descried
Would deem flagitious.
Majestic tree ! You've seen much worth
From little Boston issue forth,
And know some men
Who love their kind, and give their store
To help the suffering and the poor,
Nor drive the beggar from their door.
Heaven bless such hearts, and give them more,
I pray again.
And you shall see much more beside,
Ere to your root, old Boston's pride,
The axe is laid.
THE FROG POND.
79
And long, I trust, the time mil be,
Ere mayor and comicil sit on thee,
And find with unanimity
That you're decayed ;
For you are still quite hale and stanch,
Though here and there perhaps a branch
Is shghtly rotten ;
And you will stand and hold your sway
When he who pens this rhyme to-day
Shall mingle with the common clay,
And be forgotten.
The Frog Pond, now called " Cochituate Lake by
super-genteel people, or, as it has been called, " Quincy
80 BOSTON SIGHTS.
Lake," is situated near the Old Elm Tree, whose roots it
has moistened for so many years. The original form has
long been changed, and the natural pond in which the boys
fished for minnows and horn-pout is now supplied from
Cochituate Lake ; and in one portion a fountain sends up
its sparkling waters to the height of over ninety feet. A
variety of jets are connected with it at pleasure ; and
nothing can be more charming than the effect produced
on a summer's evening, when bands discourse sweet
music, and the strains blend with the sound of falling
waters : the effect is inexpressibly beautiful. Then is the
time to see Boston Common and its tiny silver lake.
CHAPTER IX.
PUBLIC GARDEN. PROVIDENCE DEPOT. PUBLIC
LIBRARY.
The Public Garden is situated at the foot of the
Common, and contains about twenty acres. Like its
neighbor, all walks and beauties are open to the inspec-
tion and enjoyment of visitors. Menageries and circuses
often pitch their tents here, and hold forth to the great
delight of the curious. Close by, on Pleasant Street, is
The Providence Railroad Depot, a fine brick
structure, and rather striking in its architecture. The
interior arrangements are good, and unusually convenient.
This road is forty-three miles in length, and, joined with
the " Stonington Line," which is properly a continuation
of it, connects Boston with Long Island Sound. The
branch roads uniting with this are the Dedham, Stough-
ton, Taunton, and Attleboro' roads.
Cars leave the depot, in Boston for Providence daily,
stopping at Roxbury^ which is two miles from the city,
Jamaica Plain, three and a half miles.
Canton, fourteen miles from Boston, is a beautifully-
(81)
82
BOSTON SIGHTS.
diversified and picturesque town, watered by tlie Neponset
River, which, with the numerous ponds in its vicinity,
gives it an extensive water power. The raiboad bridge
which crosses the river at Canton is one of the finest
pieces of masonry in the country. It is of hewn granite,
is six hundred and twelve feet long, and elevated sixty-
three feet above the foundation, resting on- six arches, with J
a succession of arches on top. Its cost exceeded ninety j
thousand dollars. '
Sharon, seventeen and a half miles from Boston, occu- i
pies the highest land between Boston and Providence, j
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
83
I
Its natural scenery is exceedingly fine. Mashapoag Pond,
a beautiful sheet of water over a mile in length, rests upon
a bed of iron ore. During the low stages of the water,
the ore is extracted by machines made for tKe purpose.
Fishing and pleasure parties frequent this pond in the
summer season.
Mansfield is twenty-four miles, Attleboro' thirty-one
miles, Pawtucket thirty-nme miles, and Providence forty-
three and a half miles from Boston.
^
The Public Library building of the city of Boston
is situated on Boylston Street, opposite the Common,
84 BOSTON SIGHTS i
(although the library itself temporarily reposes in Mason ]
Street, until the new building is quite ready for its recep- ■
tion.) The building was designed by Mr. Charles Ku*by, ]
and is eighty-two feet in front, one hundred and twenty- i
eight feet deep, and two stories in height, besides the base- \
ment. The loM^er or basement story is situated below the i
level of the sidewalk. !
The first story of the building contains the large hall j
of entrance, Avhich opens directly into the room for distri-
bution, which occupies the central part of the story. It
is intended to serve also as a conversation room. This
room is connected with a large hall in the rear of the
building, having a gallery and twenty alcoves, calculated
to contain about forty thousand of the books most fre-
quently demanded for use. On the front of the building,
and entered only from the room of dehvery, are two read-
ing rooms, one on the east for ladies, and one on the west,
amply supplied with the periodicals of the day, for gen-
eral use.
The second or principal story is one hall, approached
by visitors only by the staircase in the entrance hall.
This hall, which by calculation will contain more than two
hundred thousand volumes, has ten alcoves on each of its
sides,"* and the same number in each of its galleries, mak-
ing sixty alcoves in all. Each alcove contains ten ranges
of shelves, and each range ten shelves. The object of
PUBLIC LIBRARY. 85
this decimal arrangement of shefves is to simplify all the
details connected with the library.
Beneath the principal story, and immediately over the
delivery room, is a half story, designed for workrooms
and storerooms. At the corners on the rear of the build-
ing are towers for stairs and other conveniences.
The buildmg is constructed of brick, and the ornamen-
tal portions are of sandstone. The whole building is
strictly fire-proof; even the floors are constructed of brick
and iron, and no wood enters into their construction. The
corner stone was laid with great ceremony on the 17th of
September, 1855. The Hbrary contains thirty-three thou-
sand volumes, and is free to all of good reputation residing
in the city.
8
CHAPTER X.
WORCESTER DEPOT AND ROAD. OLD COLONY AND
, FALL RIVER DEPOT AND ROAD.
Leaving the Public Library, a stroll through Boylston
Street, (passing the spot where the Liberty Tree once
grew,) down Beach Street, brings us to The Boston and
Worcester Railroad Depot. It is a very plain
(86)
WORCESTER DEPOT AND ROAD. 87
brick building, but covering a large area of ground, facing
on Kiieeland Street, with entrances and exits on Kneelandj
Albany, and Lincoln Streets. The accommodations are
spacious, and the arrangements so well made that the
stranger, on his arrival, is not in danger of being pulled
in pieces by officious hackmen, for here each has his place
and must keep it. The vicinity of this depot presents a
busy scene on the arrival and departure of the New York
and Albany trains, and it is well worth the walk to wit-
ness it. The branch roads uniting with this road are, the
Brookline, Newton Lower Falls, and Saxonville ; the Mil-
ford branch, from South Framingham depot to Milford ;
the Millbury branch, from Grafton to Millbury ; and the
Agricultural, from South Framingham to Marlboro'.
Brighton, the first stopping place on this route, five
miles from Boston, is a pleasant town on the south side
of Charles River. It is noted for its cattle market, the
largest in New England. Monday is the market day,
when buyers and sellers congregate in large numbers to
traffic in live stock. This town has become the residence
of many persons of wealth and taste, who occupy beauti-
ful country seats, with splendid gardens attached. Win-
ship's Garden is famed for its nursery of fine fruit trees
and shrubbery, and for its grand display of fruits and
flowers of every variety. It is free to visitors.
Newton is both an agricultural and a manufacturing
88 BOSTON SIGHTS.
town. Its borders are washed by Charles River for sev-
eral miles. There are two sets of falls on that river in
this town, two miles apart, called the Upper and Lower
Falls, on which are extensive paper mills, and other man-
ufacturing estabHshments. There is a Theological Semi-
nary here, established in 1825.
Needham is now quite a manufacturing town, having
several paper mills, a chocolate mill, a coach and car
manufactory, and manufactories of shoes, hats, &c. It
has also quarries of stone, which are becoming yearly
more valuable.
Natick, seventeen miles distant from the city, (called by
the Indians " the place of hills,") is watered in part by
Charles River ; it contains several delightful ponds, well
stored wuth fish. The southern part of Long Pond is in
this town, and is seen from the cars while passing. The
first Indian church in New England was established here
in 1660, under the direction of the apostle Ehot.
Framingham, twenty-one miles from Boston, has the
Sudbury River passing through its centre. Its fishing,
fowling, and other sports make it an agreeable place of
resort.
Hopkinton is twenty-four miles from Boston, and Graf-
ton thirty-eight miles. The Western, Nashua, Norwich,
and several other routes pass over this road, and through
Worcester, to gain Boston.
OLD COLONY DEPOT AND ROAD.
89
Not fai' from this depot stands The Old Colony
AND Fall River Depot, at the corner of Kneeland and
South Streets. It is a plain, substantial building of brick,
and very convenient. This road was opened for travel
on the 19th of November, 1845, and extends from Boston
to Fall River, and from Braintree to Plymouth. The
branch roads connecting with it are the South Shore, Cape
Cod, Milton, Middleboro', and Taunton roads.
South Boston, the first stopping place, was, formerly a
part of Dorchester, and is connected with Boston by two
bridges, and also by the Old Colony and Fall River Rail-
8*
90 BOSTON SIGHTS. •
i
road. - Dorchester, four miles from Boston, lies on Dor- <
Chester Bay, in Boston harbor. It is under a high state i
of cultivation — fruits, vegetables, and flowers being raised ]
here in great abundance ; and tliis town, in consequence of
the facilities for reaching Boston, has become a favorite
place of residence for many of its citizens.
Neponset Village, five miles from Boston, situated in "\
the town of Dorchester, is on the Neponset River, near J
its mouth. It has considerable trade, and the population •
is rapidly increasing. ^
Quincy, eight miles from Boston, is situated on Quincy ]
Bay, in Boston harbor. The village, which is built on an i
elevated plain, is remarkable for its neatness and beauty. J
The ancestral estate of the Quincy family, one of the
most beautiful residences in New England, is in this town.
In a church in the village, erected in 1828 at a cost of
forty thousand dollars, is a beautifiil monument to the ;
memory of John Adams and his wife. This town sup- '■
phes the " Quincy granite," noted for its durabihty and i
beauty. Immense quantities are annually quarried and ;
sent to various parts of the United States. I
The first railway constructed in this country was in ;
Quincy, it being a short line of four miles, completed in j
1827. It was built for the purpose of conveying granite .
quarried in the Granite Hills to vessels lying in the Ne- !
ponset River, and still remains in use. Of course horse |
power only was used. I
OLD COLONY DEPOT AND ROAD. 91
North Braintree is ten and a half miles from Boston,
Braintree eleven and a half, South Weymouth fifteen,
North Abington eighteen, Abington nineteen and a quar-
ter. South Abington twenty-one. North Hanson twenty-
three and a quarter, Hanson twenty-four and three quar-
ters, Plympton thirty, Kingston thirty-three.
Plymouth, the termmus of the Old Colony road, is
thirty-seven miles from Boston, and is celebrated as being
the landing place of the "Pilgi-ims," who disembarked
here on the 22d of December, 1620. It is the oldest
town in New England. Pilgrim Hall, the building most
worthy of notice, contains a valuable painting represent-
ing the landing of the Pilgrims from the " Mayflow^er." It
is thirteen by sixteen feet, and is valued at three thousand
dollars. The cabinet of the Pilgrim Society contains
many valuable antiquities. From Burying Hill, in the
rear of the town, which is elevated one hundred and sixty
feet above the level of the sea, is a fine view of the vil-
lage, the harbor, and shipping beyond, with the coast for
some miles in extent. " Plymouth Rock," a deeply inter-
esting spot to New Englanders, is near the termination of
Leyden Street. The town contains about two hundred
ponds ; the largest, called Billington Sea, is about six
miles in circumference. It is two miles south-west of
the village, and contains a good supply of pickerel and
perch.
92
BOSTON SIGHTS.
The National Monument to the Forefathers, a
description of which we take from the Boston Ahnanac of
1856, is to be erected here. The design comprises an
octagonal pedestal, eighty-three feet high, upon which
stands a figure of Faith, rising to the height of seventy
feet above the platform of the pedestal, so that the whole
monument will rise one hundred and fifty-three feet above
the earth upon which it rests. Faith is represented as
standing upon a rock, holding in her left hand an open
Bible, while the other hand is uplifted towards heaven.
OLD COLONY DEPOT AND ROAD. 93
From the four smaller faces of the main pedestal project
wings or buttresses, upon which are seated figures em-
blematic of the principles upon which the Pilgrim Fathers
proposed to found their commonwealth. These are Moral-
ity, Law, Education, and Freedom. The sides of the
seats upon which they sit are decorated with niches, in
which are statues appropriate to the figures above.
Upon the larger faces of the main pedestal are panels,
which are intended to contain records of the names of the
Pilgi'ims of the Mayflower, the events of the voyage, the
prominent events in the early history of the colony, and
the events which occurred previous to their departure from
Delft Haven. Upon smaller panels, placed below these,
are to be inscribed events connected with the Pilgrim So-
ciety and the erection of the monument, with an appro-
priate dedication. Upon the faces of the wing pedestals
are panels designed to contain alto-reliefe of the departure
from Delft Haven, the signing of the social compact in the
cabin of the Mayflower, the landing at Plymouth, and the
first treaty with the Indians.
In the main pedestal is a chamber twenty-four f^et in
diameter, and from the floor of this a stone staircase leads
to the platform upon which stands the principal figure.
The pedestal is eighty feet in diameter at the base, and
the sitting figures upon the wings are forty feet high in
their position. The figures in the panels are eighteen feet
94 BOSTON SIGHTS.
in height. In magnitude the monument will far exceed
any monumental structure of modern times, and will •
equal those stupendous works of the Egyptians which for
forty centuries have awed the world by their grandeur.
The figure of Faith will be larger than any known statue
excepting that of the great Ramses, now overthrown, and
the Colossus of Rhodes ; and the sitting figures are nearly
equal in size to the two statues of Ramses in the plain of
Luxor. The architect of the monument is Mr. Hammatt
Billings, and it is to be erected at Plymouth under the
auspices of the Pilgrim Association.
CHAPTER XI.
BOSTON THEATRE. MELODEON. — BOSTON SOCIETY OF
NATURAL HISTORY.
Returning to Washington Street, a short walk brings
us to the Boston Theatre, one of the finest places of
amusement in the world, and by far the most beautiful in
America. It is situated on Washington and Mason Streets.
The entrance front on the former is a simple three story-
building, twenty-four feet in width, covered with mastic,
and with no attempt at architectural display. On enter-
ing, the visitor ascends the inclined plane of a spacious
and elegant outer vestibule, the walls of which, hand-
somely ornamented, support a finely-arched ceiling. Here
we procure tickets, and enter the inner vestibule ; before
us is a circular staircase, nine feet in width ; ascending,
we find it conducts to the first and second circles. Enter-
ing the auditorium, we find it to be about ninety feet in
diameter, and circular in form, except that it slightly flat-
tens in the direction of the stage; the depth from the
curtain to the back of the parquet being eighty-four feet.
The front of the stage projects into the auditorium eighteen
(95)
96
BOSTON SIGHTS.
feet, and the height of the auditorium is about fifty-four
feet. There are proscenium boxes on either side of the
stage, handsomely draped. A space of ten or twelve feet
from the parquet wall, and nearly parallel with the front
of the first tier, is separated and somewhat raised from the
middle portion of the house, the whole parquet floor,
V
BOSTON THEATRE. 97
however, being constructed in a dishing form, and varying
several feet. Ai'ound the auditorium above are the first
and second tiers, the gallery, and hanging in front, a little
below the first tier or dress circle, is a light balcony con-
taining two rows of seats.
In the parquet and balcony there are iron-framed
chairs, cushioned on the back, seat, and arms, and so con-
trived that the seat rises when not in use ; and the first
and second tiers are furnished with oaken-framed sofas,
covered with crimson plush, and the amphitheatre with
iron-framed and cushioned settees. The walls of the
auditorium are of a rose tint; the fronts of the balcony
and the second cu'cle are elaborately and tasteftiUy or-
namented, and the frescoed ceiling embraces in its de-
sign allegorical representations of the twelve months.
Adding to the effect of the painting, the ceihng is deco-
rated with composition ornaments, many of them richly
gilded. In front, over the stage, is a splendid clock, with
a movable dial.
Retm^ning to the vestibule, we turn to the right, under
the arches, and reach the parquet lobby. Passing through
this apartment, we reach the saloon and dressing rooms of
this story. The parquet corridor is gained by turning
to the left, through the arches, until we arrive at the foot
of the grand oaken staircase^ which is built of soUd oak,
and separates on a broad landing into two branches, nine
9
98
BOSTON SIGHTS.
feet in width, which terminate in the dress circle lohhy.
Opposite the staircase are open arches communicating
with the grand promenade saloon, which is forty-six feet
long, twenty-six feet wide, and twenty-six feet high, and
tastefully finished with ornamented walls and ceiling, and
is elegantly furnished. The corridors to the several stories
extend entirely round the auditorium.
The stage side of the theatre is on Mason Street, and
the doors and arches, breaking the sameness of the brick
wall, comprise a passage leading to the carpenter's shop
BOSTON THEATRE.
99
and steam works, a set of double doors for the introduc-
tion of horses, carriages, &c., should such ever be required
for the purposes of the stage, a private door for the use |
of the actors, and an audience entrance at the corner of j
the buildiQg nearest West Street. ;
The stage is sixty-seven feet deep from the curtain,
and, calculated from the extreme front, or foot lights,
measures eighty-five feet. The curtain opening is about
forty-eight feet in width by forty-one in height. There is
a depth of some thirty feet below the stage, and the height
from the stage to the fly floor is sixty-six feet. These dis-
100 BOSTON SIGHTS.
tances allow the raising and lowering of scenes without
hinges or joints, the use of which soon injures their ap-
pearance. There are seven rows of side scenes, or wings,
with considerable space beyond the most remote, for per-
spective. The stage is provided with traps, bridges, and
all imaginable contrivances for effect, and is believed to
unite more improvements, and to be the best arranged of
any structure of the kind in this country. The green-
room, on the level of the stage, is a decidedly comfortable
looking apartment, thirty-four by eighteen feet, neatly fin-
ished and tinted, handsomely carpeted, and furnished
around the sides with cushioned seats, covered with dark-
grjeen enamelled cloth. Adjoining it is a small "star"
dressing room, appropriately fitted, and near by is an
apartment for the manager, also a small property room.
Above these are the actors* dressing rooms, furnished with
water, heating apparatus, and all necessary conveniences ;
and still higher is the stage wardrobe room.
On the other side of the stage there are additional
dressing rooms ; above these a spacious property store-
room. Below the extreme front of the stage is located
the usual apartment for the use of the orchestra, with side
rooms for the storage of music, instruments, &c. Farther
back is a large dressing room for the supernumeraries,
and two or three stories of cellars arranged for the recep-
tion of scenes from above, and for a variety of other pur-
SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. lOl
poses. The walls separating the stage from the audito-
rium are of brick, and considered fire-proof, while the cur-
tain opening is provided with a safety screen of iron net-
work, balanced by weights, and managed with machinery
so arranged as to be operated from either side of the cur-
tain wall. Should any portion of the stage or its sur-
roundings ever take fire during a performance, this curtain
can be immediately lowered, and afford complete protec-
tion to an audience.
Close to the entrance on Washington Street is the Melo-
DEON, a small, comfortable hall, used for religious, pano-
ramic, and other exhibitions.
The rooms of the Boston Society of Natural
History are in the brick building adjoining the Boston
Theatre, in Mason Street. They are nine in number.
One of them is occupied by the librarian, and each of
the others by objects of interest in the different depart-
ments of natural history. All who desii-e have free
access to the cabinet every Wednesday ; and strangers in
the city, who cannot conveniently visit it on that day, can
obtain admission at any time by application to an officer
of the society. The main room, which is entered from
the first floor, contains skeletons of different animals from
all parts of the world, from that of the huge mastodon to
the slender bones of the sprightly squirrel. In an ante-
room are cases filled with rare specimens of geology and
9*
102 BOSTON SIGHTS.
mineralogy. Around the main room' is a light iron bal-
cony, giving access to the glass cases, which are likewise
filled with things strange and wonderful from all parts of
the known world. Here are skulls and mummies, fishes
and serpents, fossil remains and foot marks of those huge
animals that walked, or birds that flew, before Adam arose
from kindred earth. Ascending to the next story, we
enter a room nearly filled with every variety of birds,
from the albatross to the minute humming bird, while in
the centre are long cases filled with eggs of the different
species, and many kinds of nests. One of the anterooms
is filled with shells, seemingly in endless variety, while
specimens of moss, sponges, corals, and aquatic plants
enliven the collection with their singular beauty. Another
anteroom is filled with fishes. In yet another room the
various members of the serpent family are preserved.
Here we may see the enormous boa, the fairy green snal^e,
the agile black snake, the famed hooded snake of India,
and' the poisonous copper head of our own country. Here,
also, is the fascinating rattlesnake, and such numbers of
the creeping race that a crawling feeling comes over us,
and we quit the room with a feeling of relief.
Many strangers leave the city without seeing the splen-
did cabinet of this society, and many residents are not
even aware of its existence. But whether resident or
stranger, the visitor will be well repaid for the expendi-
ture of time.
SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 103
The library belonging to the Massachusetts* Society of
Natural History contains several thousand volumes and
a number of valuable manuscripts. The society hold
monthly meetings, and several of their proceedings have
been published. The institution now owns the building
which was formerly occupied by the Massachusetts Medi-
cal College; but the building has been remodelled, to
adapt it to its present purposes. The whole estate cost
about thirty thousand dollars, which was obtained by sub-
scription from the hberal citizens of Boston.
CHAPTER XII.
MERCANTILE LIBRARY. LOWELL INSTITUTE. ORD-
WAY HALL. BRATTLE STREET CHURCH.
The Mercantile Library Association occupies the
second floor in Mercantile Building, at the comer of Haw-
ley and Summer Streets, the main entrance being from
the latter.
The Newspaper Room, which occupies the front of the
building, facing on Summer Street, is about fifty feet
square, and is ftirnished with twenty-two stands for papers,
made in the most approved form, and handsomely finished.
These stands are supplied with one hundred and sixty
newspapers, comprising nearly all of the better class of
daily papers throughout the country, and a well-selected
list of foreign weekUes and dailies, offering the largest
and best selection of any reading room in New England.
Besides the facilities for gathering news, there are other
attractions to interest visitors. Facing you, as you enter,
hangs a fine copy of Stuart's Washington, a gift from the
Hon. Edward Everett; and around the walls are sus-
pended portraits of Webster, Hamilton, Vespucius, Colum-
(105)
106 BOSTON SIGHTS.
bus, and some of our much-honored citizens of Boston,
viz. : Thomas H. Perkins, Peter C. Brooks, David
Sears, William Gray, Thomas C. Amory, and Robert
G. Shaw.
Prominent among the attractions and ornaments of the
room stands the marble statue of the " Wounded Indian,"
by Peter Stephenson. This truly American work, aside
from its excellence as a work of art, is celebrated as being
the first statue executed in the marble of this country, and
also as being the only piece of sculpture on exhibition at
the World's Fair at London that was designed and com-
pleted in the United States.
Passing from the Reading Room, you enter the periodi-
cal room. This room is about one third as large as the
other, and is furnished with ten reading tables and a con-
venient table in the centre, on which are displayed the
periodicals. There are also cases on one side of the
room, filled with encyclopaedias, lexicons, and other works
of reference.
Adjoining the Newspaper Room is a small cabinet con-
taining the curiosities belonging to the association, as well
as those belonging to the Marine Society.
The library room is seventy-five feet four inches long,
by twenty feet six inches wide. The books are arranged
on the walls and in twenty-two alcoves extending from the
walls on both sides, leaving a clear passage through the
MERCANTILE LIBRARY. 107
centre of six feet in width. The present shelving of the
library will contain twenty-five thousand volumes. Its
capacity may be doubled by means of a light gallery,
accessible by an iron circular stairway. The number of
volumes in the library at present is eighteen thousand,
and is increasing at the rate of two thousand annually.
By the terms of the constitution, any person engaged
in mercantile pursuits, who is more than fourteen years of
age, may become a member of the association by the pay-
ment of two dollars annually. Persons not engaged in
mercantile pursuits may become subscribers, and be enti-
tled to all the privileges of members, except that of voting,
b}' the payment of two dollars ; and ladies may become
subscribers on the same terms.
Mercantile Hall will accommodate about seven hundred
persons, is centrally located, easy of access, and lighted
from the ceiling. It is well ventilated, and furnished v/itli
two anterooms on each side of the rostrum. It is a pleas-
ant, cheerful room, and remarkably well adapted by its
construction for a lecture or concert room, and is in much
demand for these purposes.
The main entrance to the hall is from Summer Street,
by a broad and independent passage way from the top of
the staircase, which renders it unnecessary for persons to
pass through the other rooms in order to enter the hall.
There is another entrance from Hawley Street; and by
108 BOSTON SIGHTS.
this passage ladies who come to the library for books,
and do not wish to pass through the reading and period-
ical rooms, can reach the hbrarian's desk.
A course of lectures is delivered before the association
each winter by talented speakers. Tickets, admitting a
gentleman and lady, are sold only to members. The pop-
ularity of these lectures has been so great, that, although
delivered in the largest hall in the city, it has been found
necessary on several occasions, within a few years, to
establish two courses in order to accommodate all the
applicants for tickets.
This institution is the oldest of all the Mercantile Li-
brary Associations in the country, having been founded in
March, 1820. Among the many institutions founded in
this city for intellectual, moral, and social improvement,
none are exerting a more beneficial influence, or are more
firmly established in the confidence of the people.
The Lowell Institute, with an entrance from Wash-
ington Street, is the next object of interest. It was founded
by John Lowell, Jr., Esq., for the support of regular courses
of popular and scientific lectures. The sum bequeathed
for this purpose amounts to about two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. By his will he provides for the main-
tenance and support of pubhc lectures on natural and
revealed religion, physics and chemistry, with their appli-
cation to the arts, and on geology, botany, and other use-
ORDWAY HALL. BRATTLE STREET CHURCH. 109
ful subjects. These lectures are all free. The season for
delivering them is from October to April, during which
period four or five courses (of twelve lectures each) are
usually delivered. Mr. Lowell died at Bombay in March,
1836, in the thirty-seventh year of his age.
Ordwat Hall is situated in Province House Court.
The building is very old; and when Massachusetts was
a province, the colonial governors resided here. The
king's coat of arms, that once adorned this building, is
still treasured in the rooms of the Massachusetts Histor-
ical Society, and seems to have suffered more from the
tooth of time than the stanch old building it once adorned.
Perhaps the smoke from Lexington and Concord dimmed
its bright colors, tarnished its gilding, and caused it to
be laid aside forever. The walls of this old house, that
once echoed with kings' decrees, eloquent speeches, and
loyal toasts, now ring with the gay laugh, tender songs,
and humorous jests of the negro minstrel. The hall,
under the management of Mr. Ordway, has become de-
servedly popular, as order is preserved, and all that may
offend banished.
Brattle Street Church stands in Brattle Square.
The first house of worship, a wooden building, was taken
down in May, 1772, to make room for the present one,
which was built upon the same spot, and consecrated July
10
110
BOSTON SIGHTS.
25, 1773. In the front wall, near a window, may be seen j
the veritable cannon ball shot from Washington's camp in ;
Cambridge, at the time Boston was in possession of the ..
British.
f^MnS
CHAPTER XIII
HOWARD ATHEN^UM. BOWDOIN SQUARE. NATIONAL
THEATRE. — LOWELL DEPOT.- — EASTERN RAILROAD
DEPOT. FITCHBURG DEPOT COPP'S HILL. MAINE
DEPOT.
The Howard Athen^um is centrally located, and
fronts on Howard Street, occupying the spot where once
stood the house in which Governor Eustis died. The the-
atre, although not large, is one of the most comfortable
places of amusement in the city, and is deservedly popular.
Not far from here is Bowdoin Square, surrounded by
some of the finest buildings in Boston. On one side rise
the lofty walls of the " princely Revere ; " on another,
" Coolidge Block," (a splendid building of stone,) the strong
granite walls of Bowdoin Square Church, the " United
States Courts" which occupy the " old Parhman mansion"
and massive " Gore Block ; " while from the centre start
tlie cars for Cambrmge, Mount Auburn, &c. There are
several objects of interest not properly in the route we
have marked out, and perhaps it were as well to diverge
here, although obliged to return.
(Ill)
112
BOSTON SIGHTS.
The National Theatre, fronting on Traverse Street,
is one hundred and twenty feet long by seventy-five feet
wide, exclusive of saloons, refreshment rooms, &c., which
are spacious and convenient. The leading architectural
features are Doric, presenting broad pilasters with slight
projections on the front, which support an. unbroken en-
tablature and a pediment eighteen feet high at each end.
The roof is covered with slate and ziitc, and is surmounted
by an octagonal lantern, twelve feet in diameter and
eighteen feet high, having a window on each of its sides.
The structure is covered on the exterior walls with cement,
BOSTON AND LOWELL DEPOT. 113
in imitation of freestone, which gives a uniform and beau-
ful appearance.
The main ceiling of the interior is a single arch, of
fifty-live feet span, rising within nine feet of the ridge.
The gallery is entirely above the level cornice of the
building, having an arched ceiling, which rises five feet
higher than the main ceiling, and is ventilated by a large
round window placed in the centre of the tympanum.
The proscenium presents an opening forty feet wide and
thirty-three feet high. The circle of boxes is so arranged
that in every part of the house a full view is had of the
stage. The pit is unusually large, and although removed
for many years^ has been reinstated, and now contains
about five hundred seats. The National has been a very
popular theatre, and in the hands of a good manager is
always profitable.
The Boston, and Lovtell Depot, at the foot of
Lowell Street, is a plain brick building, with no preten-
sions to architectural elegance. The length of the road ^
proper is twenty-six miles. The branch road connecting
is the Woburn Branch. The towns passed through on the
road to Lowell are, —
East Cambridge, a flourishing place, with many exten-
sive manufactories, of which the glass works are the most
important.
Somerville, three miles distant.
10*
114
BOSTON SIGHTS.
Medford, five miles from Boston, is at the head of navi-
gation on the Mystic River, and noted for its ship building.
Woburn, ten miles, has a varied and pleasing aspect,
and contains some beautiful farms. Horn Pond, in this
town, is a delightful sheet of water, surrounded by ever-
greens, and is so remarkable for its rural beauties as to
attract many visitors from a distance.
Wilmington is fifteen miles, Billerica nineteen miles,
Billerica Mills twenty-two miles, and Lowell twenty-six
miles from Boston.
The Eastern Railkoad Depot, which is built of
EASTERN RAILROAD DEPOT.
115
wood, Stands on Causeway Street, at the foot of Friend
and Canal Streets. The length of the road to Ports-
mouth is fifty-six miles, or to Portland one hundi^ed and
seven miles. On the w^y to Portsmouth the following
towns are passed through : —
Lynn, nine miles distant, is noted for its shoe trade.
Salem, sixteen miles, was formerly engaged in the East
India trade, but has declined in commercial importance,
most of its shipping having been removed to Boston,
although continuing to be owned in Salem. The Museum
of the East India Marine Society is well worth a visit, for
116 BOSTON SIGHTS.
which tickets of admission can be procured gratis, on ap-
plication. It is remarkable for the variety and extent of
its natural and artificial curiosities, collected from every
part of the world. The road passes through a tunnel
built under Essex and Washington Streets, and is thence
carried over a bridge of considerable length to Beverly.
Beverly, sixteen miles from Boston, is connected with
Salem by a bridge across the North River fifteen hundred
feet in length.
Wenham is twenty-two miles, Ipswich twenty-seven
miles, Rowley thirty-one miles, Newburyport thirty-six
miles. The celebrated George Whitefield died in this
town in September, 1770. Salisbury Beach is thirty-
eight miles, Seabrook forty-two miles, Hampton forty-six
miles, and Portsmouth fifty-six miles from Boston. The
branch roads connecting with this road are the Saugus,
Marblehead, South Reading, Gloucester, Essex, and Ames-
bury branches.
The FiTCHBURG Depot fronts on Causeway Street, at
the corner of Haverhill Street. The building, which is
three hundred and sixteen feet long, ninety-six feet wide,
and two stories high, is of Fitchburg granite, and one of
the handsomest depots in this country. Several roads
unite with this road, and the Lexington and West Cam-
bridge, Watertown and Marlboro', Peterboro' and Shirley
branches; and the Worcester and Nashua, and Stony
Brook Railroads connect at Groton Junction.
COPPS HILL.
117
Charlestown, the first place reached after crossing the
viaduct over Charles River, is built on a peninsula fonned
by the Charles and Mystic Rivers, and is connected with
Boston by two public bridges, by one with Chelsea and
Maiden, over the Mystic, and with Cambridge by a bridge
over Charles River.
Somerville is three miles, Waltham ten miles. Concord
twenty miles, Groton thirty-five miles, and Fitchbu]*g fifty
miles fii-om Boston.
Copp's Hill, not far fi-om the Fitchburg Depot, was
formerly called Snow Hill. It came into the possession
118
BOSTON SIGHTS.
of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company ; and
when, in 1775, they were forbidden by General Gage to
parade on the Common, they went to this, their own
ground, and drilled in defiance of his threats. The fort,
or battery, that was built there by the British, just before
the battle of Bunker Hill, stood near its south-east brow,
adjoining the burying ground. The remains of many
eminent men repose in this little . cemetery. Close by the
entrance is the vault of the Mather family, covered by a
plain oblong structure of brick, three feet high and about
six feet long, upon which is laid a heavy brown stone
slab, with a tablet of slate, bearing the following inscrip-
tion : —
BOSTON AND MAINE RAILKOAD DEPOT. 119 !
The Reverend Doctors Increase, Cotton, and Samuel Mather were I
interred in this vault. -\
Increase died August 27, 1723, je. 84. ;
Cotton " Feb. 13, 1727, " 65.
Samuel "■ Jan. 27, 1785, " 79. i
The whole is surrounded by a neat iron railing. '\
t'Wt
The Boston and Maine Railroad Depot fronts
on Haymarket Square. It is a fine large brick building,
two stories high, and is more centrally located than any
other depot in the city. The lower part is used by the
Company, but the large upper hall is occupied as a carpet
wareroom by Tenny & Co. This road is seventy-four
120 BOSTON SIGHTS. ' " •
miles long, and reaches to Portland. The cars pass
through Charlestown, which is distant one mile, Maiden,
four miles, South Reading, ten miles, Reading, twelve
miles, Wilmington, eighteen miles, Andover, twenty-three
miles, Lawrence, twenty-six miles. North Andover, twenty-
eight miles, Bradford, thirty-two miles, Haverhill, thirty-
three miles, Exeter, fifty miles, Dover, sixty-eight miles,
and Portland, one hundred and eleven miles.
Most of the towns passed through by tljis road are
large manufacturing towns, Lawrence in particular being
a second Lowell, and bearing the name of one of Massa-
chusetts' noblest sons, through whose influence it gained its
present thriving position.
CHAPTER XIV.
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL. MASSACHUSETTS
MEDICAL COLLEGE. CITY JAIL. EYE AND EAK
INFIRMARY.
Returning to Bowdoin Square, and resuming our
route, a short walk brings us to the Massachusetts Gen-
eral Hospital. This building is located in Allen Street.
11 (121)
122 BOSTON SIGHTS.
It had originally a front of one hundred and sixty-eight
feet, with a depth of fifty-four feet, and a portico of eight
Ionic columns ; but in the year 1846 it was enlarged, and
now furnishes accommodations for above one hundred
patients. It. is built of Chelmsford granite, the colunms
of their capitals being of the same material. In the cen-
tre of the two principal stories are the rooms of the officers
of the institution. Above these is the operating theatre,
which is lighted from the dome. The wings of the build-
ing are divided into wards and sick rooms. The staircase
and floorings of the entries are of stone. The whole
house is supplied with heat by air flues from furnaces, and
with water by pipes and a forcing pump.
The premises have been improved by the planting of
ornamental trees 'and shrubs, and the extension, of the
gravel walks for those patients whose health will admit
of exercise in the open air, while a high fence gives
retirement to a spot that should be always still. Applica-
tions for admission of patients must be made at the Hos-
pital in Allen Street between nine and ten A. M. on each
day of the week except Sunday. In urgent cases, how-
ever, application may be made at other times. Applica-
tions from the country may be made in writing, addressed
to the admitting physician; and when a free bed is de-
sired, a statement of the pecuniary circumstances of the
patient must be made. No visitors are admitted to the
MCLEAN ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE. 123
hospital without a special permit from the officers or
trustees. The patients may be visited by their friends
daily, between twelve and one o'clock.
The McLean Asylum for the Insane is under the
direction of the trustees of the Massachusetts General
Hospital, it being a branch of that institution ; and although
situated in Somerville, it may not be amiss to describe it
here. It is about one mile from Boston, on a delightful
eminence, and consists of an elegant house for the super-
intendent, with a wing at each end, handsomely constructed
of brick, for the accommodation of the inmates, and has a
large hall fifty feet long by twenty-live feet wide and four-
teen high. The institution is supplied with bilUard tables,
&c., for the amusement of the inmates, who here receive
not only the care, comforts, and attention, but the luxuries
and retirement, which they had enjoyed at home.
The male boarders and the female boarders have apart-
ments in buildings entirely separated, and attended solely
by persons of their own sex. No newspapers, pamphlets,
or books are admitted without the assent of the attendant
physician.
Two practitioners in physic and two in surgery are
annually appointed by the board of trustees, to act as a
board of consultation. Two of the board of trustees form
the visiting committee for the month, and each month are
succeeded by two others. They meet at the asylum every
124 BOSTON SIGHTS.
Tuesday, to act upon applications for admission and dis-
charges. " They shall fix the rate of board so low as to
make it as much a charitable institution as its funds will
permit, always regarding the circumstances of the respec-
tive boarders, and the accommodation they may receive."
The lowest rate of board is three dollars per week.
Near the hospital in Allen Street, and at the foot of
of North Grove Street, stands the Massachusetts Med-
ical College. This building will accommodate more
than three hundred students, besides affording ample space
for the cabinet which has been collected for medical and
anatomical purposes, as well as for all the other objects of
the institution.
This institution is properly a branch of Harvard Col-
lege ; and taking into view the amount of instruction given
in this school, the extensive apparatus with which it is
furnished, its connection with the numerous cases and
operations of one of the best conducted hospitals in the
United States, together with the generally thorough acqui-
sitions and high respectability of its graduates, it may be
doubted whether any seminary in the country offers the
means of a more complete professional education than
may be obtained in the medical school at Boston.
The cabinet contains the " Warren anatomical cabinet,"
(consisting of the donations of Dr. Nichols, formerly of
London, and others, with a large number of preparations
NEW CITY JAIL. 125
by himself,) plaster models representing various surgical
diseases, &c., an extensive collection . of preparations in
wax, showing various tumors and diseases of the skin,
many beautiful magnified drawings of subjects in anatomy
and surgery, specimens and colored engravings of medici-
nal plants, i&c.
By the will of Dr. Warren, his skeleton is to be pre-
sented to this college, and the institution whose interests
he for so many years strove to forward is to become the
recipient of his remains. A large medical library is con-
nected with the institution.
The New City Jail is located on a street to be a
continuation of Charles Street northerly, between it and
Grove Street, on land reclaimed from the ocean, about
one hundred feet north of Cambridge Street, between that
street and the Medical College.
The Jail consists of a centre octagonal building having
four wings radiating from the centre. The main building
is seventy feet square, and eighty-five feet in height. It
is but two stories high, the lower one of which contains
the great kitchen, scullery, bakery, and laundry. The
upper story contains the great central guard and inspec-
tion room. This room is seventy feet square, and con-
tains the galleries and staircases connecting with the gal-
leries outside of the cells in the three wings.
The north, south, and east wings contain the cells,
11*
126
BOSTON SIGHTS.
and are constructed upon the " Auburn plan," being a
prison within a prison. The north and south wings each
measure eighty feet six inches in length, fifty-five feet in
width, and fifty-six feet in height. The east wing meas-
ures one hundred and sixty-four feet six inches in length,
fifty-five feet in width, and fifty-six feet in height above
the surface of the ground. The west wing measures fifty-
five feet in width, sixty-four feet in length, and of uniform^
height with the three other wings, four stories in height,
the lower one of which contains the family kitchen and
scullery of the jailer.
- ' EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY. 127
The exterior of the structure is entirely of Quincy
granite, formed with split ashlar in courses, with cornices
and other projecting portions hammered or dressed; the
remaining portions of the entire building, both inside and
outside, are of brick, iron, and stone, excepting the inte-
rior of the west wing, which is finished with wood.
The Eye and Ear Infirmary is situated on Charles
Street, a short distance south of Cambridge Bridge. The
building is o^ brick, and consists of a main building and
two wings. The front of the principal building (which is
sixty-seven feet in length and forty-four feet deep) is em-
belHshed by stone dressings to all the windows, doors,
cornices in the Italian style. The wings retire from the
front eleven feet, and are perfectly plain. Li the base-
ment are the kitchen, wash room, laundry, refectory
wards, baths, store rooms, &c. In the first story in the
main building are rooms for the matron and committee,
and receiving and reading rooms; in the wings are the
male wards, with operating, apothecary, and bath rooms.
In the second story are accommodations for the matron,
and private female wards. The building is provided with
a thorough system of ventilation, and the whole surrounded
by a spacious, airy ground, shut out from the street by a
high brick wall. This institution is intended exclusively
for the poor, and no fees are permitted to be taken.
In the rear of the Infinnary, and extending from the
128 BOSTON SIGHTS.
west end of Cambridge Street to the opposite shore in
Cambridge, is Cambridge Bridge, seemyig (from a little
distance) like a huge cable confining Boston to the main
land. This bridge was the second built over Charles
River, and the first bridge over which a horse railroad
left the city. To the original proprietors a toll was
granted for seventy years from the opening of the bridge,
which, together with the causeway, was estimated to have
cost twenty-three thousand pounds lawful m(5ney.
The vicinity of Boston presents a succession of villages
probably not to be paralleled for beauty in the United
States. They are generally the residence of business
men from the city ; and a suburban residence has become
so attractive, and the villages so stocked with comforts
and luxuries, that many wealthy famihes who used for-
merly to pass the winter in the city and the summer in
the. country make the latter their permanent dwelling-
place
THE SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
only, and the correct method of seeing them, we propose ■
to give, as it would be impossible, within our limits, and
not to our purpose, to describe the suburban towns, which
are all worthy of a visit. Therefore we shaU merely de- \
scribe the suburban sights, and leave the visitor to dis- !
cover new beauties in each town he may visit. =;
(129) .j
CHAPTER XV.
CAMBRIDGE SIGHTS. OLD FORTIFICATIONS, HARVARD
INSTITUTE, GORE HALL, WASHINGTON HOUSE, RIEDE-
SEL HOUSE, WASHINGTON ELM. MOUNT AUBURN.
Taking the cars from Bowdoin Square, it takes but a
short time to be landed in Cambridge. At the corner of
Inman Street stands a noble mansion, shaded by fine trees,
and with a noble lawn in front. Previous to the revolu-
tion it was owned and occupied by Ealph Inman, a wealthy
tory, who was unceremoniously dispossessed, and his fine
house assigned as head quarters to the redoubtable General
Putnam. The street which leads up to the side entrance
of the house perpetuates the name of its original owner.
The ridge of land called Dana Hill, which is approached
by an almost imperceptible ascent, forms the natural
boundary between the "Port" and "Old Cambridge."
On the summit of this ridge, on the right hand side of the
road, was located one of the chain of redoubts erected by
the Americans at the outset of the revolution. Traces
of it have been visible within a very few years, but they
are now .obliterated in the march of improvement — that
(131)
132
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
same spirit of progress which made it necessary to cut a
road through another old fort, a little beyond the one just
mentioned, on the opposite side of the way. The land
never having been required for building purposes, this
redoubt continued in a fine state of preservation, and its
embankment and fosse were plainly distinguishable.
Still following the " Main Street," it is not long before
the turrets of Gore Hall — the hbrary building of the
university — come in sight, and a side glimpse of the
other college buildings is obtained through the trees.
Gore Hall is of recent construction. The outer walls
CAMBRIDGE. 133
of the building are of rough Quincy granite laid in regu-
lar courses, with hammered stone buttresses, towers, pin-
nacles, drip stones, &c. The inner walls, columns, and
the main floor ai-e of brick, covered with hard pine ; the
partitions are strengthened by iron columns concealed
within them, and the roof and galleries rest on iron rafters.
It is in the form of a Latin cross, the extreme length of
which externally is one hundred and forty feet, and through
the transept eighty-one and a half feet.
The interior contains a hall one hundred and twelve
feet long and thirty-five feet high, with a vaulted ceiling
supported by twenty ribbed columns. The spaces between
the columns and side walls are divided by partitions into
stalls or alcoves for books, above and below the gallery.
The library is divided into four departments, viz. : PubHc,
Law, Theological, and Medical. It contains ninety thou-
sand volumes. Among its curiosities are seven Greek
manuscripts, (one a fragment of an evangelistary, proba-
bly of the ninth century,) and several Oriental manuscripts,
in Arabic, Persian, Hindostanee, Japanese, &c.
Of Roman coins the library has six hundred and seventy-
one in copper, forty-three in silver, and one in gold ; of
ancient coins other than Roman, eight. There are over
five hundred modern coins of all sorts, and a large number
of medals.
In term time the libraiy is open on the first four secu-
12
134 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
lar days of the week, from nine A. M. till one P. M., and
from two till four P. M., and on Fridays from nine A. M.
till one P. M. ; excepting tlie fii'st Friday of each term,
Christmas Day, the days of public Fast and Thanksgiv-
ing, "and the Fridays following them, the Fourth of July,
and the days of public exhibitions and the Dudleian Lec-
ture, during the exercises. In the vacations the library is
open every Monday from nine A. M. till one P. M. All
persons who wish to have access to the library, or to bring
their friends to see it, are expected to make their visits on
the days and within the hours above named.
University Hall is a handsome granite edifice, and
contains the chapel, lecture rooms, &c. Besides the large ■
halls occupied by the under graduates, there are Divinity
Hall, appropriated to theological students, and Holden
Chapel, which contains the anatomical museum, &c. A
large observatory is furnished with one of the largest and
finest telescopes in the world. The Legislative Gov-
ernment is vested in a corporation, which consists of the
president and six fellows, and a board of overseers, com-
posed of the president, the governor and lieutenant gov-
ernor of the state, the members of the executive council
and the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives, ex officii s, together with thirty others, fifteen
clergymen and fifteen laymen, elected for the purpose.
The faculty of instruction, embracing the professional and
CAMBRIDGE. 135
scientific schools, consists of the president, twenty-eight
professors, five tutors, and several teachers. The degree
of Bachelor of Aits is conferred at the close of a course
of four years' study. The term of study for the divinity
school is three yeai's ; that of the law school, three years
for graduates of any coUege, and five for students who
have not received a classical education. There are very
liberal funds appropriated to the support of students who
require assistance ui the prosecution of their studies.
The law school, which enjoys a high repute, was estab-
Hshed in 1817. The lectures to the medical students are
delivered at the Massachusetts Medical College, in Boston.
A degree of M. D. is conferred only upon those students
who have attended the courses of lectures, and spent three
yearg under the tuition of a regular physician.
The foundation of Harvard University is one of the
most honorable events in the history of Massachusetts.
In 1630, six years only after the settlement of Boston,
the General Court appropriated four hundred pounds for
the establishment of a school or college at Cambridge,
then called Newtown. When we consider the scantiness
of the colonial resources, and the value of money at that
time, the allowance appears no less than munificent. The
colonial records mention this appropriation in the follow-
ing terms : " The court agreed to give four hundred poimds
towards a school or college, whereof two hundred pounds
136 SUBURBAN SigHTS.
be paid the next year, and two hundred pounds when the
work is finished, and the next court to appoint where and
what building." The colonists were then involved in the
Pequod war. Savage says the sum was " equal, to a year's
rate of the whole colony." But the college owes its exist-
ence in fact — for it is doubtful whether the legislature
would have carried their plans beyond the establishment
of a grammar school — -to the lib^raKty of an English
clergyman, the Rev. John Harvard, who died in Charles-
town in 1638. Very little is known respecting this
benefactor of learning. His birthplace, even, cannot be
ascertained. He was, however, a man of education, hav-
ing graduated at Cambridge University, England; and
he preached in Newtown, afterwards Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts. Harvard left by will one half of his estate,
about eight hundred pounds sterling, to the school which
the legislature had established in Newtown. His bequest
gave a vigorous impetus to the new establishment, and the
General Court at once determined to erect it into a col-
lege, to be called Harvard, in commemoration of its bene-
factor ; while in honor of the classic seat of learning in
the mother country, where so many of the colonists had
been educated, the name of Newtown was changed to
that of Cambridge. " It pleased God," says a contempo-
rary writer, " to stir up the heart of one Mr. Harvard (a
godly gentleman and lover of learning then living among
CAMBRIDGE. 137
us) to give one half of his estate towards the erection of
a college, and all his Hbrary."
" When," says Edward Everett, in his address delivered
at the erection of a monument to John Harvard, in the
graveyard at Charlestown, September 26, 1828, " we think
of the mighty importance, in our community, of the sys-
tem of pubKc instruction, and regard the venerable man
whom we commemorate as the first to set the example of
contributing liberally for the endowment of places of edu-
cation, (an example faitlifully imitated in this region in
almost every succeeding age,) we cannot, as patriots,
admit that any honor which it is in our power to pay to
his memoi^ is beyond his desert."
The impulse given by John Harvard's generosity placed
the permanence bf the college out of danger. Four years
after Harvard's death, a class graduated, whose finished
education reflected the highest credit on their alma mater.
The university became the pride of the colony. English
youths were sent hither to receive their education. The
legislature continued its guardianship and care, and aided
it by timely donations, while private individuals, animated
by the spirit and example of Harvard, poured their con-
tributions and bequests into its treasury. It was richly
endowed, and in resources, buildings, library, and profes-
sorships it takes precedence of all other institutions of
learning in the country.
12*
138 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
The annual commencement still attracts crowds, and is
regarded with interest ; and for two centuries it was to
Cambridge, Boston, and its environs the great event of
the year. It gathered together all the dignitaries, all the
learning, and all the beauty and fashion Qf the land. The
university comprises a department for under graduates
and schools of theology, law, and medicine. A most im-
portant addition to the educational* advantages of Cam-
bridge was the founding of the Scientific School, in
1848, by Hon. Abbott Lawrence, with a fund of fifty
thousand dollars, which has since been largely increased.
In this school, young men who have not received a classi-
cal education can be fitted for various dep^tments of
business, as chemists, civil engineers, navigators, &c.
On the left, opposite Gore Hall, is seen a large, square,
old-fasliioned house, at a little distance from the street,
which was built by Mr. Apthorp, who w^as a native of
Boston, but received his education at the university of
Cambridge, in England, where he took orders, and received
the appointment of missionary to the newly-established
church in this place. He is said to have been a very am-
bitious man, and to have had his eye upon a bishopric,
which he fondly hoped would be established *in New Eng-
land, having Cambridge for its centre, and himself the
metropolitan. It must be confessed that the stately man-
sion which was erected for his use, still styled " the BisH-
CAMBRIDGE. 139
op's Palace," far surpassing in pretensions the general-
ity of houses at that day, gives some countenance to the
traditionary report of his aristocratic predilections. But
whatever may have been his expectations, they were
doomed to disappointment, and his house — the same
which, a few years after the departure of its original pro-
prietor, received the haughty Burgoyne beneath its roof,
not as a master, but as a discomfited prisoner of war —
yet retains unmistakable traces of its former elegance.
Let the stranger stroll along the old road to Watertown
— the Brattle Street of the moderns. Leaving the ven-
erable Brattle mansion on the left, — now cast into the
shade by the " Brattle House," erected on a portion of its
once elegant domam, — and passing beyond the more
thickly settled part of the village, he will find, on each
side of the way, spacious edifices, belonging to some for-
mer day and generation; extensive gardens, farms, and
orchards, evidently of no modern date; and trees whose
giant forms were the growth of years gone by. "V\Tio
built these stately mansions, so unhke the usual New Eng-
land dwellings of ancient days, with their spacious lawns,
shaded by noble elms, and adorned with shrubbery ? Who
were the proprietors of these elegant seats, which arrest
the attention and charm the eye of the passing traveller ?
"Who were the original occupants of these abodes of aris-
tocratic pride and wealth, — for such they must have been,
140
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
' — and whose voices waked the echoes in these lofty halls ?
A race of men which has passed away forever ! They are
gone. Their tombs are in a distant land; even their
names have passed from remembrance ; and nought re-
mains to tell of their sojourn here save these stately piles,
whose walls once echoed to the sound of pipe and harp,
and whose courts reverberated with the notes of their
national anthem.
^-=^ ^i/ytM^'*^'^''^'''^
Prominent among these residences of the royalists of
olden time is that of Colonel John Vassall, which became
in July, 1775, the head quarters of General Washington ;
CAMBRIDGE. 141
an edifice even more elegant and spacious than its fellows,
standing in the midst of shrubbery and stately elms, a
little distance from the street, once the highway from Har-
vard University to Waltham. At this mansion, and at
Winter Hill, Washington passed most of his time after
taking command of the continental army, until the evacu-
ation of Boston in the following spring. Its present
owner is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, widely known
in the world of literature as one of the most gifted men
of the age. It is a spot worthy of the residence of an
American bard so endowed, for the associations which
hallow it are Hnked with the noblest themes that ever
awakened the inspiration of a cliild of song.
This mansion stands upon the upper of two terraces,
which are ascended each by five stone steps. At each
front comer of the house is a lofty elm^ mere saplings
when Washington beheld them, but now stately and patri-
archal in appearance. Other elms, with flowers and shrub-
bery, beautify the grounds around it ; while within, icono-
clastic innovation has not been allowed to enter with its
mallet and trowel, to mar the work of the ancient builder,
and to cover with the vulgar stucco of modern art the
carved cornices and panelled wainscots that first enriched it.
A few rods above the residence of Professor Longfel-
low is the house in which the Brunswick general, the
Baron Riedesel, and his family were quartered, during
142
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
the stay of the captive army of Burgoyne in the vicinity
of Boston. Upon a window pane on the north side of the
house may be seen the undoubted autograph of the accom-
plished Baroness Riedesel. It is an interesting memento,
and preserved with great care.
Near the westerly corner of the Common, upon Wash-
ington Street, stands the Washington Elm, one of the
ancient anakim of the primeval forest, older, probably, by
half a century or more, than the welcome of Samoset to
the white settlers, and is distinguished by the circumstance
that beneath its broad shadow General Washington first
CAMBRIDGE.
143
drew his sword as commander-in-chief of the continental
army, on the morning of Jnly 3d, 1775. Not far from
here was the spot where pubhc town meetings were held,
and also the tree under which the Indian council fires
were lighted more than two hundred years ago. "When
i
the drum was used in Cambridge, instead of the bell, to
summon the congregation to the place of worship, or
to give warning of a savage enemy, the sound floated
thi'oughout those trailing limbs, that, could they but speak,
would take a veteran's delight in telling of the past. May
no unkind hand mar the last tree of the native forest.
144 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
Though it may hav^ stood century after century, like a
sentinel on duty, defying the lightning and the storm, still
let it stand, an interesting and sacred memorial of the
past and the present, and continue to' be associated, for
many years to come, with the history of our country.
And let the illustrious name which it bears, and which it
derives from one of the most important events in the life
of the father of his country, preserve it to remind the
coming generations of his invaluable services and labors.
Mount Auburn. — The cemetery of Mount Auburn,
justly celebrated as the most interesting object of the kind
in our country, is situated in Cambridge and Watertown,
about four and a half miles from the city of Boston, and
one and a quarter miles west of Harvard University. It
includes upwards of one hundred acres of land, purchased
at different times by the Massachusetts Horticultural Soci-
ety, extending from the main road nearly to the banks of
Charles River. A portion of the land next to the road,
and now under cultivation, once constituted the experi-
mental garden of the society. A long watercourse be-
tween this tract and the interior woodland formed a nat-
ural boundary, separating the two sections. The inner
portion, which was set apart for the purposes of a ceme-
tery, is covered, throughout most of its extent, with a
vigorous growth of forest trees, many of them of large
size, and comprising an unusual variety of species. This
IMTOtj^lim^^:;-
1. Road to Fresh Pond.
2. Chapel.
3. Spruce Avenue.
4. PubKc Lot.
5. Laurel Hill.
6. "Walnut Avenue.
7. Mountain Avenue.
8. Mount Auburn Tower.
9. Dell Path.
10. Pine Hill.
11. Central Square.
12. Cedar Hill.
13. Harvard Hill.
13
14. Juniper Hill.
15. Temple HiU.
16. Rosemary Path.
17. Jasmine Path.
18. Chestnut Avenue.
19. Poplar Avenue.
20. Meadow Pond.
21. Lime Avenue.
22. Larch Avenue.
23. Garden Pond.
24. Forest Pond.
25. Central Avenue.
(145)
146 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
tract is beautifully undulating in its surface, containing a
number of bold eminences, steep acclivities, and deep,
shadowy valleys. A remarkable natural ridge, with a
level surface, runs through the ground from south-east to
north-west, which v/as for many years a favorite walk with
the students of Harvard. The principal eminence, called
Mount Auburn, is one hundred and twenty-five feet above
the level of Charles River, and commands from its sum-
mit one of the finest prospects wliich can be obtained in
the environs of Boston. On one side is the city, in full
view, connected at its extremities with Charlestown and
Roxbury. The serpentine course of Charles River, with
the cultivated hills and fields rising beyond it, and the
Blue Hills of Milton in the distance, occupies another
portion of the landscape. On the north, at a very small
distance. Fresh Pond appears, a handsome sheet of water,
finely diversified by its woody and irregular shores.
Country seats and cottages, in various directions, and
especially those on the elevated land at Watertown, add
much to the picturesque effect of the scene. On the
summit of this elevation a tower has been erected, (of
sufficient height to be seen above the surrounding trees,)
to subserve the triple purpose of a landmark, to identify
the spot, and for an observatory, commanding an uninter-
rupted view of the surrounding landscape of cities, towns,
hills, farms, rivers, Massachusetts Bay, with its many
MOUNT AUBURN. 147
islands and shipping. The lantern or cupola of this
tower is at least one hundred and eighty -five feet above
Charles River.
The front entrance gate from Cambridge road is a
design from an Egyptian model, and is masterly chiselled
in granite, at a cost of about ten thousand dollars ; and
the cast iron picketed fence on that whole front line was
erected at a cost of about fifteen thousand dollars; a
splendid chapel was completed within its grounds in 1848,
at a cost of about twenty-five thousand dollars.
Strangers can receive on application to any trustee, or
to the secretary, a permit to enter the cemetery with a
carriage any day except Sundays and holidays ; but with-
out- a vehicle, visitors are admitted without charge. The
following direct guide through the cemetery is taken from
" Dearborn's Guide through Mount Auburn," a book that
may be procured at the entrance.
" The front line of the cemetery is east to west ; and
Central Avenue, fronting the gate, is from the north to
the south. From the gate, advance in front up Central
Avenue, and on the left, on an elevated plot, is the monu-
ment to Spurzheim, and a little farther is the metal
bronzed statue of Bowditch, in a sitting postm-e; then
turn to the west, into Chapel Avenue, and you see a
beautifril monument erected to the memory of Dr. Sharp,
and also a magnificent temple, appropriated to the sanCtu-
148 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
ary services of the grave ; pass oh into Pine Avenue, and
there are the Shaw and Dorr monuments ; continue Pine
Avenue to the north-west, which leads to Green Brier and
Yarrow Paths, and there are the monuments to Fisher,
Haughton, Fessenden, Channing, Curtis, Turner, Bangs,
the sculptured child of Binney, Doane, Gossler, Allen,
with numerous other pillars and obelisks to meet the eye ;
after this examination, turn into Heliotrope and Heath
Paths, for sculpture of Gardner's child, monument of Wil-
liam Appleton, and the splendid mausoleum of two fronts
to Dr. Binney ; Armstrong, Shattuck's boy ; pass into Fir
Avenue at the west, and view the Magoun monument of
mother and daughter; then turn to the south, where are
the monuments to Torrey, Mrs. N. P. Willis, Bates, Lin-
coln, Pickens, and many others ; pass through Fir Avenue
to the south, crossing Spruce Avenue, curving to the
south-east, and then turn to the right hand into Walnut
Avenue, and at the right hand are Elder, Pilgrim, and
Snowdrop Paths, on a north-west line, and view the ele-
gantly carved temples of Cotting, Miles, Bush, Foss, Pen-
niman, Shattuck, Farrar, Wolcott, Hartshorn, and others ;
return to Walnut Avenue, and pass through it, curbing to
the south, and view the monuments to Hicks, Worcester,
Watson, and others ; then turn to the left into Mountain
Avenue, north-westerly, and ascend Mount Auburn's high-
est mound, one hundred and twenty-five feet above the
MOUNT AUBURN. 149
River Charles, from whence Boston and the surrounding
country may be seen ; then descend Mount Auburn on
the south-east, through Hazel Path, curving round to the
north, and view the Fuller monument ; then pass on to
Harvard Hill at the north-east ; here the eye will greet
the mausoleums to Andrews, Kirkland, Ashmun, Hoff-
man, and officers of Harvard University, and also to some
of the students ; descend into Rose Path, at the south-
west, where are monuments of Scudder and Davis, encir-
cling its base, to the . eastward ; then turn to the right
hand into Sweet Brier Path, and continue to its south-east
termination, and there is a mausoleum to Coffin; then
turn to the left hand into Chestnut Avenue, and at its
junction with Hawthorn Path is the Tremont Strangers'
Tomb ; continue north-west through Hawthorn Path,
which leads to Cedar Hill, where are the monuments to
Hildreth, Appleton, and others; from thence south-west,
round Cedar Hill, is Ivy Path, which curves to the north,
and at the end of this branch, a little to the west, is Con-
secration Dell, where are monuments to Stanton, Watts,
Waterson, Leverett, Dana, &c. ; leave Consecration Dell
at its north-west corner, and pass into Vine Path, crossing
Moss Path by the monument to Stearns, on to Central
Square, where are monuments to Hannah Adams, Mur-
ray, and others ; at the north-west of Central Square is
Poplar Avenue, curving to the east; and there may be
13*
150 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
seen mementoes to Warren Colburn, Stm*gis, Choate,
Munson, Mrs. Ellis, and others ; then turn round to the
left into the eastern line of Willow Avenue, curving round
into its western line, and there are obelisks or mausoleums
to McLellan, WilUams, Buckingham, Randall, Chamber-
lain, Thayer, Tuckerman, Mrs. Gannett, Lowell, Mason,
Howard, and others ; leaving Willow Avenue at its south-
west corner, turn to the right through Poplar Avenue into
Alder Path, to the north, and see a monument to Wet-
more, Greenleaf, and others; pass into Narcissus Path
northerly, around Forest Pond, and view the monuments
to Story, Webster, Oxnard, Rich, Durgin, Faxon, Win-
chester, and others ; at the north curve of Forest Pond is
Catalpa Path, on an east line to Indian Ridge Path, where
those to Brimmer, Bond, Seaver, Greenleaf, Patterson,
Wadsworth, Francis, Fearing, West, To my Mary, Stack-
pole, and others are erected ; then return to Catalpa Path
west, to Linden Path, near to Beach Avenue, where are
monuments to Tappan, Thaxter, Raymond, and others;
pass through Beach Avenue to the south, where are the
monuments of Bigelow, Stone, Stevens, Coolidge, Putnam,
&c. ; then turn round to the right hand into Central Ave-
nue, where are the monuments of Harnden, Gibbs, Phelps,
Peck, Burges, Abbe, Clary, and the sculptured watch dog
of Perkins ; turn to the left hand into Cypress Avenue,
where the Bible monument of Gray may be seen on
UNITED STATES ARSENAL. 151
Hibiscus Path, and a little south is the Coggswell monu-
ment ; then turn to the left, easterly, and near the centre
of Central Avenue the monuments of Hewins, Tisdale,
Buckminster, Cleveland, Lawrence, Herwig, and others ;
continue through Cypress Avenue, curving to the south,
and there is the public lot, with numerous shafts and me-
mentoes to friends, with a singular horizontal slab to the
memory of M. W. B., and a little north-west of the pub-
lic lot, on Eglantine -Path, is the sculptured figure of
Christ blessing little children ; a little to the east of that
is the Ford monument. Faith w^th the Cross, and the
Fuller monument. Return through the south part of
Cypress Avenue, where is a monument to Samuel Story,
Jr., on Lupine Path; then turn round to the left, into
Cedar Avenue, leading to the north', where are monuments
to Gridley, Hayward, Benjamin, and others ; continue to
the right hand, through part of Cypress Avenue, to Cen-
tral Avenue, passing the statue of Bowditch, and view the
monument t6 the officers lost in the exploring expedition,
and others, after which a return to the gate on the north
may be made direct."
A short distance from the cemetery, in Watertown,
is the United States Arsenal. It stands on the banks
of the Charles River, a short distance below the village,
contains a large amount of munitions of war, and covers
forty acres of ground.
CHAPTER XVI.
BUNKER HILL. -^ MONUMENT. — NAVT YARD. STATE'S
PRISON. HARVARD MONUMENT.
A Charlestown omnibus can speedily set us down
at the foot of Bunker Hill, where the pride of Britain
was once humbled, and her veteran sons, in promiscuous
heaps, bit the dust. On the summit of this eminence
stands the renowned Monument, towering to the skies,
silently saying. Here was the bloody conflict between the
oppressor and the oppressed; there floated the ships of
war that vainly thundered with the engines of desolation
against the undaunted heroes who, with, pickaxe and
shovel, upheaved the mounds that were to protect them
from the enemy.
Ascending one of the long flights of granite steps to
the gravel walk that leads to the monument, we approach
the highest spot of this everlasting hill, of everlasting
remembrance. Though once soaked with the blood of
the slain, it is now a beautiful and interesting resort to
strangers and travellers. Its pleasingly verdant surface
(153)
154 SUBURBAN SIGHTS. ^
J
1
regularly descends every way to a green hedge that fringes
its base, and outside of a broad walk on its four equal
sides is a granite and iron fence, of elegant style.
Bunker Hill Monument rises, lofty and grand, from
the centre of the grounds included within the breastworks j
of the old redoubt on Breed's Hill. Its sides are precisely \
parallel with those of the redoubt. It is built of Quincy :
granite, and is two hundi-ed and twenty-one feet in height. ■
The foundation is composed of six courses of stone, and I
extends twelve feet below the surface of the ground and |
base of the shaft. The four sides of the foundation ex- J
tend about fifty feet horizontally. There are in the whole ;
pile ninety courses of stone, six of them below the surface '
of the ground, and eighty-four above. The foundation is ;
laid in lime mortar; the other parts of the structure in ;
lime mortar mixed with cinders, iron filings, and Spring- :
field hydraulic cement. The base of the obelisk is thirty j
feet square ; at the spring of the apex, fifteen feet. In- •
side of the shaft is a round, hollow cone, the outside diam- ;
eter of which at the bottom is ten feet, and at the top, six j
feet. Around this inner shaft winds a spiral flight of •
stone steps, two hundred and ninety-five in number. In i
both the cone and shaft are numerous little apertures '
for the purposes of ventilation and light. The observa- ,
tory or chamber at the top of the monument is seventeen j
feet in heisrht and eleven feet in diameter. It has four ^
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 155
windows, one on each side, which are provided with iron
shutters. The cap piece of the apex is a single stone,
three feet six inches in thickness, and four feet square at
its base. It weighs two and a half tons.
The monument was dedicated on the 17th of June,
1843. The president of the United States (Mr. Tyler)
and his whole cabinet were present, and Daniel Webster
was the orator.
Within the colossal obeHsk is a beautiful model of Dr.
Warren's Monument, which was removed to give place
to the present one ; and a simple marble slab now only
156 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
marks the spot where a patriot fell,^as Hon. Edward
Everett has beautifully expressed it, "with a numerous
band of kindred spirits — the gray-haired veteran, the
stripUng in the flower of youth — who had stood side by
side on that dreadful day, and fell together, like the beauty
of Israel in their high places." He was buried where he
fell, but his ashes now repose in " Forest HiD Cemetery."
In the top of the monument are two cannons, named
respectively "Hancock" and "Adams," which formerly
belonged to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com-
pany. Tfee "Adams" was burst by them in firing a
salute. The following is the inscription upon the two
guns: —
SACRED TO LIBERTY.
This is one of four cannons which constituted the whole train of
field artillery possessed by the Britishxcolonies of North America at the
commencement of the war, on the 19th of April, 1775. This cannon
and its fellow, belonging to a number of citizens of Boston, were used
in many engagements during the war. The other two, the property of
the government of Massachusetts, were taken by the enemy.
Though this monument was built to commemorate an
important event and a bloody battle, it is also a most
lofty observatory. The view from the top, for extent,
variety, and beauty, is certainly one of the finest in the
world, and worth a thousand miles of travel to see. Bos-
ton, its harbor, and the beautiful country around, mottled
GALLEKT OF NEEDLEWORK TAPESTRIES. 157
with villages, are spread out Hke a vast painting, and on
every side the eye may rest upon localities of great his-
torical interest — Cambridge, Eoxbury, Chelsea, Quincy,
Medford, Marblehead, Dorchester, and other places. In
the far distance, on the north-west, rise the higher peaks
of the White Mountains of New Hampshire ; and on the
north-east the peninsula of Nahant and the more remote
Cape Ann may be seen. TVonders which present science
and enterprise are developing and forming are there ex-
hibited in profusion. At one glance from this lofty obser-
vatory may be seen several railroads and many other
avenues connecting the city with the country ; and ships
from almost every region of the globe dot the waters of
the harbor. Could a tenant of the old graveyard on
Copp's Hill, who lived a hundred years ago, when the
village upon Tri-mountain was* fitting out its little armed
flotillas against the French in Acadia, or sending forth its
few vessels of trade along the neighboring coasts, or occa-
sionally to cross the Atlantic, come forth and stand beside
us a moment, what a new and wonderful world would be
presented to his vision !
The New England Gallery of Needlework
Tapestries is situated at No. 1 Adams Street, and to
those interested in needle painting it is well worthy of a
visit. Those who have not seen for themselves would
hardly believe wdth what perfect success the conception
14
158
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
of the artist is transferred to canvas by the patient accu-
racy of the needle. We shall merely mention a few of
the most striking pairitings, (for it is hard to beheve them
aught else.) They are, Surrender of Mary, Queen of
Scots, Defence of Queen Catharine, The Resignation of
the CroT\Ti by Mary, Queen of Scots, Little Eva, The
Tribute Money, The Escape of King Edward, and so
many others that it is impossible to enumerate them in
our contracted limits. Continuing on our way, we soon
reach the Charlestowk Navy Yakd. This naval depot
is situated on the north side of Charles River, on a point
CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD. 159
of land east of the centre of the city of Charlestown, ex-
tending along the harbor from the mouth of the Charles
to the mouth of the Mystic River. This yard was pur-
chased by the United States, under authority of an act of
Congress, in the year 1800. The State of Massachusetts,
by an act of the legislature of that year, gave its assent to
the sale, under certain restrictions. The cost of the whole
purchase, including commissions, was about forty thousand
dollars. On the side next the town the yard is protected
by a wall of stone masonry, sixteen feet high; on the
harbor side are several wharves and a dry dock ; except
the approach to these, a sea wall is extended the whole
harbor line. This dry dock was authorized by the nine-
teenth Congress, commenced 10th July, 1827, and opened
for the reception of vessels, 24th June, 1833. It is built
of beautifully-hammered granite, in the most workmanhke
and substantial manner; is three hundred and forty-one
feet long, eighty feet wide, and thirty feet deep, and cost
about six hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The
first vessel docked after its completion was the frigate
Constitution. A little farther oif, on their own element,
float the old copper bottoms with two or three decks, and
with threatening broadsides and bow and stern chasers
ready for the work of destruction, but now passive as so
many swans.
There are in this yard four large ship houses, various
160 SUBURBAN SIGHTS. j
!
I
}
mechanic shops, storehouses, dwelling houses for the offi- \
cers, and marine barracks, besides an extensive ropewalk i
of granite. This structure, the finest in the country, is an i
object worthy the attention of strangers, and wiU give
some idea of the vast amount of expenditure defrayed for i
pubHc works at this superb naval station. The principal I
building contains in the basement the engine room and ;
boilers ; the second story contains the spinning machinery ; ]
and the "walks," being a quarter of a mile in lengthy I
occupy the ground floor.
There are, too, in the yard large quantities of timber \
and naval stores, exceeding in value two milHons of dol- I
lars. More or less ships of war are at all times lying i
here in ordinary. There is a sufficient depth of water for i
the largest ships of war to he afloat, at all times, at the ;
ends of the wharves. The yard contains within the wall j
about one hundred acres, and, independent of all buildings j
i
and works, the site would now readily command more \
than a million of dollars. i
The visitor to the navy yard will find many objects of ]
interest to claim a share of his attention; and in every ,
department of this great establishment there is a uniform ]
neatness and order, which are always pleasing, and for
which this station is inferior to none in the world. Many
improvements have been made in it within a few years, i
Its general appearance is neat and fit ; and for all manu- j
CHARLESTOWN STATE PRISON.
161
facturing purposes connected with building and equipping
ships of war, perhaps no other yard in the Union offers
so great facilities.
The Charlestown State Prison is in the form of
a cross, having four wings united to a central octagonal
building, one for the superintendent and his family, and
three of them for inmates. The kitchen is in the centre
octagon building, in the first story ; the supervisor's room
is over the kitchen ; the chapel over the supervisor's room ;
the hospital over the chapel ; and so good is the arrange-
ment, that all areas, apartments, windows, walls, galleries,
14*
162 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
Staircases, fastenings, external walls, and external yard
walls, except the space outside, at the end of the wings,
are under supervision from the centre. If a prisoner
breaks out, he only breaks in; that is, if he escapes
from his dormitory into the area, he has still another
wall or grating to break, while at the same time he is in
sight.
The buildings being of stone, the cell floors of stone or
iron, the galleries and staircases of iron, and the doors
and gratings of the same material, render the prison
nearly fire-proof, while the whole building is ventilated in
the most thorough manner, each small room, dormitory, or
cell being provided with a ventilator, starting from the
floor of the same, in the centre wall, and conducted, sepa-
rate from every other, to the top of the block, where it is
connected with a ventiduct. Both at the top and bottom
of the room there is a slide, or register, over orifices open-
ing into this ventilator, which are capable of being opened
or shut.
School rooms, privilege rooms, chapels, private rooms
and places, comfortably large single rooms, are provided,
in which all kinds of good instruction can be given. The
hospital is large, light, convenient, easily accessible, well
warmed, and well ventilated. The separate rooms are so
located and distributed, under supervision, from the centre
building, that a gentle knock on the inner side of the door
HARVARD MOXUMENT. 163
of each separate lodging room can be heard by the person
on duty in the central room for supervision and care, and
relief be immediately procured, if seized by sickness.
Large provision is made of floors and space for employ-
ment, under cover, with good and sufficient light, conven-
ience, and supervision. In many old buildings there has
not been employment, because there was no place suitable
for it. This difficulty has received great consideration,
and every effi^rt has been made entirely to remove it, so
that all the inmates of these buildings should be kept out
of idleness, which is the mother of mischief Labor is
favorable to order, discipline, instruction, reformation,
health, and self-support. But there can be but Uttle pro-
ductive industry without a place for it. A visit to the
work rooms, comprising the shoe making, whip making, cab-
inet making, stone cutting, blacksmithing, upholstering, and
other departments, generally pleases the visitor, and calls
forth encomiums for the stillness, order, and cleanliness
observed.
The Monument erected to the memory of John Har-
vard is situated on the top of the hill in the old graveyard
near the state prison, in Charlestown. It was erected by
the subscriptions of the graduates of Harvard University.
It is constructed of granite, in a solid shaft of fifteen feet
elevation, and in the simplest style of ancient art. On
the eastern face of the shaft the name of John Harvard
164
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
is inscribed ; also on a marble tablet the following : " On
the 26th of September, A. D. 1828, this stone was erected
by the graduates of the university at Cambridge, in honor
of its founder, who died at Charlestown on the 26th of
September, 1638." On the western side of the shaft is an
inscription in Latin, of the following purport : " That one
who merits so much from our literary men should no
longer be without a monument, however humble, the
graduates of the University of Cambridge, New England,
have erected this stone, nearly two hundred years after
his death, in pious and perpetual remembrance of John
HARVARD MONUMENT. 165
Harvard." At the erection of this monument, the Hon.
Edward Everett, who is considered one of the most ac-
comphshed scholars educated at Harvard College, dehv-
ered an appropriate and eloquent address.
CHAPTER XYII.
WOODLAWN CEMETERY. ROCK TOWER. NETHER-
WOOD POND. CHELSEA.
"WooDLAWN Cemetery is about
four miles north of Boston, and two
miles from Chelsea. An omnibus for
Woodla^vn starts from Brattle Street,
Boston, every fair day in summer,
(Sundays excepted,) at two o'clock,
(161)
168 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
P. M. It returns from the cemetery at five o'clock, P. M.,
and is at present connected with the Chelsea omnibus.
The best mode of reaching Woodlawn now is to cross
over the Chelsea Bridge or Chelsea Ferry, and after con-
tinuing in the main street for a quarter of a mile, to turn
off to the left into Washington Avenue, which leads
directly to the cemetery.
By this route the visitor approaches the gate house by
Woodlawn Avenue, which is a beautiful curve, rising reg-
ularly for a distance of seventeen hundred feet, keeping a
width of fifty feet, with sides well planted, and a jet or
fountain at its lower extremity.
The gate house is a fine Gothic building, fifty-six feet
wide, with a high centre arch and two side arches. A
lodge adjoins it, and the whole structure has been much
admired for its dignity and grace. Near to it stands a
rustic well house, embowered in roses and running vines.
^ A few steps inside the gate bring the visitor to a small
triangle, where the avenues diverge. Here stands the St.
Bernard dog, the emblem of fidelity and affection, and by
his side is the wonderful Ginko tree, the form and leaf of
which demand notice.
On the right, towards the hill, is now seen the Roch
Tower, of which a view is presented on the following page.
This tower is constructed "of rude boulders, with a spiral
walk ascending easily to the top. Its base is seventy-
WOODLAWN CEMETERY
169
eight feet in diameter, and its altitude about thirty feet.
From its summit are seen Lynn, Saugus, Nahant, the sea,
bay, and other objects of interest. When covered with
lichens, mosses, ferns, woodbines, and ivy, this ponderous
pile will be exceedingly attractive. Eventually it is to
serve as the base for a high observatory of iron.
On the left of Entrance Avenue starts off the beautiful
t^etherwood Avenue, through which every one should
pass, either entering or returning. Near its junction Avith
Forest Glade Avenue, a few feet from the triangle, turn-
ing to the right, are seen the receiving tombs, remarkable
15
170 • SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
for tli€ir neatness and repose. Passing on towards tlie
north, the long vista of Woodside Avenue will appear ;
and passing through this elegant way, the approach to
Chapel Hill is marked by a beautiful rustic arch, covered
with wild grape vines, and surmounted by a cross bearing
on one side the inscription, " I am the true vine," and on
the other, " Abide in me."
In this vicinity are many beautiful lots and monuments ;
and near the junction of Floral and Chapel Avenues
another specimen of the Ginko tree is seen.
Near the entrance to Chapel Hill is the lot of John M.
Brown, and many others in good taste, which we have not
room to specify.
But one of the most delightful scenes any where to be
found is Netherwood Pond, with its fine fountains and
beautiful arbor, and the tall trees and gentle slopes which
surround it. The views from Elm Hill, also, are fine.
This cemetery will furnish some of the finest drives in
the vicinity of Boston, and is destined to occupy a high
place among the rural beauties of the country.
Chelsea is one of the pleasantest of our suburban
towns, the streets being broad, and bordered with shade
trees, well lighted by gas, and Hned with tasteful resi-
dences. Among the public buildings in the town are the
Naval Hospital and the United States Marine
Hospital. The latter, now in the course of construction.
CHELSEA. ' 171
will be a noble and substantial building, affording that ac-
commodation to patients which the present hospital estab-
lishment is inadequate to supply. The Town House is a fine
large building of brick. The surface of Chelsea is quite
undulating, rising in parts to a considerable elevation.
The most considerable of these eminences is Powder Horn
Hill, about two miles from the ferry, from the summit of
which magnificent views may be obtained of Boston,
Charlestown, Bunker Hill, Medford, Lynn, Nahant, and
Boston Harbor. Mount Bellingham is a lofty hill, com-
manding an extensive prospect, and is already nearly cov-
ered with elegant private residences. The attractions of
the place are so great that numbers of gentlemen doing
business in Boston and elsewhere make their homes ia
Chelsea.
CHAFTER XVIII j
CONCORD. LEXINGTON. DORCHESTER HEIGHTS. j
I
PERKINS INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. 1
!
Concord and Lexington may be easily reached from '
the Fitchburg depot, as Lexington is only eleven miles :
from Boston, and Concord six miles beyond. The vicinity i
of these historical places to Boston, and their accessibility :
by rail or country road, procure them large numbers of
visitors during the pleasant months of the year, Boston
and its environs abound in mementoes of the revolution- i
ary dead; Bunker Hill rises, a sanctified spot forever; i
the heights are not yet levelled which once bristled with ;
"Washington's cannon, and hastened the evacuation of the j
town by the British ; and here at Lexington and Concord \
is the soil that drank the very first blood of the martyrs
of liberty — a soil on which the first armed resistance to ;
a,ggression was attempted. i
Lexington is a very pretty place, and since the estab- \
lishment of the branch railroad connecting it with Boston, j
many of our citizens have availed themselves of the op- \
portunity of residing in the old historic town. Its area •.
(172) J
LEXINGTON. , 173
comprises a great variety of scenery, and the soil is not
ungrateful for the care of the husbandman. The town is
built principally on a broad street, and in about the centre
of it is the green on which the monument stands. It is
built of granite, and has a marble tablet on the south iront
of the pedestal, with the following inscription : —
Sacred to the Liberty and the Rights of Mankind ! ! ! The Freedom
and Independence of America — sealed and defended -with the blood of
her sons. This Monument is erected by the Inhabitants of Lexington,
under the patronage and at the expense of the Commonwealth of Mas-
sachusetts, to the memory of their Fellow-citizens, Ensign Robert Mon-
15*
174 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
roe, Messrs. Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, jun.,
Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington, and John Brown, of Lexington, and
Asahel Porter, of Wobum, who fell on this Field, the first victims of
the Sword of British Tyranny and Oppression, on the morning of the
eter-memorable Nineteenth of AprU, An. Dom. 1775. The Die was
cast!! ! The blood of these Martyrs in. the Cause of God and their
Country was the Cement of the Union of these States, then Colonies,
and gave the Spring to the Spirit, Firmness, and Resolution of their
Fellow-citizens. They rose as one man to revenge their Brethren's
blood, and at the point of the Sword to assert and defend their native
Rights. They nobly dared to be Free ! ! ! The contest was long, bloody,
and affecting. Righteous Heaven approved the Solemn Appeal ; Vic-
tory crowned their Arms, and the Peace, Liberty, and Independence of
the United States of America was their glorious Reward. Built in the
year 1799.
Concord is a pleasant little village, and lies upon thfi
Concord River, one of the chief tributaries of the Merri-
mac, near the junction of the Assabeth and Sudbury
Rivers. Its Indian name was Musketaquid. On account
of the peaceable manner in which it was obtained, by
purchase, of the aborigines, in 1635, it was named Con-
cord. At the north end of the broad street, or common,
is the house of Colonel Daniel Shattuck, a part of which,
built in 1774, was used as one of the depositories of stores
when the British invasion took place.
The Monument at Concord stands a short distance
from the road leading into the town, upon land given for
the purpose by Rev. Dr. Ripley. The river runs at the
CONCORD. 175
foot of the mound on which it stands. It is built of
Carlisle granite, and the following inscription is engraved
on a marble table inserted in the eastern face of the ped-
estal : • —
Here,
On the 19tli of April, 1775,
was made the first forcible resistance to
British Aggression.
On the opposite bank stood the American
militia, and on this spot the first of the enemy fell
in the "War of the Revolution,
which gave Independence to these United States.
In gratitude to God, and in the love of Freedom,
This Monument was erected,
A. D. 1836.
176 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
The view is from the green shaded lane which leads
from the highway to the monument, looking westward.
The two trees, standing one upon each side, without the
iron railing, were saplings at the time of the battle ; be-
tween them was the entrance to the bridge. The monu-
ment is reared upon a mound of earth, a few yards from
the left bank of the river. A little to the left, two rough,
uninscribed stones from the field mark the graves of the
two British soldiers who were killed and buried upon the
spot.
To reach South Boston from Boston we may take an
omnibus, and be landed in a very short time at Dorchester
Heights, which were occupied by Washington and his troops
on the night of March 4th, 1776, and by ten o'clock two
forts were formed, one towards the city, and the other
towards Castle Island. Preparations were made for an
attack by the British, and for defence by the Americans;
but the weather prevented the designs of the former, and
they embarked for New York. Few visit Boston without
a view of the spot that once bristled with bayonets, or the
lines of the fortifications thrown up so speedily by the
Continentals. -
Here, also, stands the Perkins Institute for the Blind.
It is open to the public on the afternoon of the first Sat-
urday in each month ; but in order to prevent a crowd,
no persons are admitted without a ticket, which may be
PERKINS INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND.
177
obtained gratuitously at No. 20 Bromfield Street. A lim-
ited number of strangers, and persons particularly inter-
ested, may be admitted any Saturday in the forenoon by
previously applying as above for tickets.
The pupils in the school are taught reading, writing,
arithmetic, geography, history, natural philosophy, natural
histoiy, and physiology. They are carefully instructed in
the theory and practice of vocal and instrumental music.
Besides this they are taught some handicraft work by
which they may earn their livelihood. In this institution,
for the first time in the world's history, successful attempts
178 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
were made to break through the double walls in which
blind deaf mutes are immured, and to teach them a sys-
tematic language for communion with their fellow-men.
Laura Bridgman and Oliver Caswell are living refutations
of the legal and popular maxim that those who are born
both deaf and blind must be necessarily idiotic. They are
pioneers in the way out into the light of knowledge,' which
may be followed by many others.
In 1844 a supplementary institution grew out of the
parent one, for the employment in handicraft work of such
blind men and women as could not readily find employ-
ment at home. This establishment has been highly suc-
cessful. A spacious and convenient workshop has been
built at South Boston, to which the work men and women
repair every day, and are furnished with work, and paid
all they can earn.
The general course and history of the Perkins Institu-
tion has been one of remarkable success. It has always
been under the direction of one person. It has grown
steadily in public favor, and is the means of extended use-
fulness. In 1832 it was an experiment; it had but six
pupils ; it was in debt, and was regarded as a visionary
enterprise. In 1833 it was taken under the patronage of
the state ; it was patronized by the wealthy, and enabled
to obtain a permanent local habitation and a name.
The terms of admission are as follows : the children of
PERKINS INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND. 179
citizens of Massachusetts not absolutely wealthy, free;
others at the rate of one hundred and sixty dollars a year,
which covers all expenses except for clothing. AppHcants
must be under sixteen years of age. Adults are not
received into the institution proper, but they can board in
the neighborhood, and be taught trades in the workshop
gratuitously. After six months they are put upon wages.
This department is a self-supporting one, but its success
depends upon the sale of goods at the depot, No. 20 Brom-
field Street. Here may be found the work of the blind
— all warranted, and put at the lowest market prices ;
nothing being asked or expected in the way of charity.
The institution is not rich, except in the confidence of the
public and the patronage of the legislature
CHAPTER XIX.
NAHANT.
Stranger, if you would visit one of the most pleasant
and delightful watering places in the world, seat yourself
in the cars, be landed at Lynn, take passage in one of the
stages that leave almost hourly, and when deposited in
Nahant — take your Guide's word for it — you will bless
your stars, and thank him. Here, isolated from the noise,
(180)
NAHANT. 181
and heat, and bustle of the city, you may wander by the
hour on the rocks, and watch the liquid chisel of the sea
at its unwearied task upon the bhie and slaty substance
of the crags. Atom by atom they yield to the muscular
swing of the billows, worn and polished by their frothy
edges, — the toughest creation conquered by the softest,
and the noise of this constant sculpture is the music of
the world.
The rocks are torn into such varieties of form, and the
beaches are so hard and smooth, that all the beauty of
wave motion and the whole gamut of ocean eloquence are
offered here to the eye and ear. The soft swash of the
lighter waves upon the sloping sand; the bellow of the
breakers that are driven into the rifts and caverns where
the sunlight never strays; the gurgle of the waters as
they run back from out the cold chambers of darkness ;
the dash of an irregular roller upon the rough front of
the battlements ; the full, majestic bass of a billow that
charges the rocks in plumed order ; the heavy thump of
the waves upon the foundation of the rocks, waking a
muffled moan, as from the earth's weary heart ; and all
the splendors which the ocean offers to the eye — the
scattering of creamy foam over the pebbly beach, and the
dying of its whiteness into the gloomy bronze of the dark
seaweed ; the sparkle of the frolicking froth in the sun ;
the curl of the solemn rollers, and the bewitching green
16
182 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
of their crests, as they bend just before thej tumble iii
music ; all the loveliness and majesty of the ocean are
displayed around the jagged and savage-browed cliffs of
Nahant.
This narrow promontory, which runs out from Lynn
Beach, is crowned with charming gardens, cottages, and
villas, and rests like an emerald in its sparkling and fretted
framework of brilliants. While the rocks present every
variety of color, the cliffs are pierced by fissures, caverns,
and grottos so numerous that the visitor stands in awe ;
and the shell-crowned beaches of shining, silvery sand are
so smooth and hard that they take no impress of the
steed's hoof or the rolling wheel ; and as the mind does
not seem capable of containing all, follow the Guide, and
view each object separately.
Turning to the left of Nahant Beach, over which we
have just come, a vast fissure in the cliff, forty feet in
depth, is seen, bearing the name of John's Peril. At
the distance of three fourths of a mile from where we
NAHAXT.
183
Stand, Egg Rock rises abruptly from the sea to the height
of eighty-six feet. Its shape is oval, and on its summit
the gulls deposit their eggs in abundance, whence it takes
its name. Passing the Iron Mine, (a huge black ledge,)
we reach The Spouting Horn. Here the water, after
being driven through a rocky tunnel one hundred feet in
length into a deep cavern, is spouted forth in wild sheets
of foam and spray, while the Atlantic's billows seem to
jar the solid rocks with thundermg sound, and shake the
very crags that dare to stay their onward progress. Pass-
ing Saunders's Ledge, we reach
Castle Rock. The battlements, buttresses, turrets,
and embrasures of an ancient castle ere so faithiuUy rep-
184
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
resented by this immense pile of rocks, that one almost
waits for the warden's challenge or the trumpet's blast
and expects to see the square openings (so like doors and
windows) peopled with armed men.
In Caldron Cliff the water boils with tremendous
force and fury during great storms ; and in Roaring
Cavern the sound is distinctly heard. Crossing Natu-
ral Bridge, we may see the varying tides and jagged
rocks full twenty feet below us, and we reach
Pulpit Rock, a huge mass of stone nearly twenty feet
square, and rising full thirty feet above the yeasty billows.
The upper portion of the rock bears a striking resem-
blance to a pile of books, with a seat opening in their
NAHANT.
185
midst; but the steepness of the crag renders the ascent ■
very difficult, as the road to knowledge always has been ]
found to be. » 1
Swallows' Cave is a passage eight feet high, ten
wide, and seventy-two feet in length, opening into the sea.
Formerly the swallows inhabited this cave in great num-
bers, and built their nests in the irregularities of the rocks
above ; but the multitude of visitors has frightened them
away. Continuing on our way, we reach
16*
186
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
Irene's Grotto, a tall arch, grotesque and beautiful,
leading ta a large room in the rock, and one of the great-
est curiosities on Nahant. Near by is the Steamboat
Wharf, where the trim Nelly Baker lies. It were im-
possible to describe all objects worthy of notice; but,
having named the most prominent, we will retire to the
Nahant House, a sketch of which forms the vignette to
this chapter.
This is probably the largest hotel in America ; the car-
peted floors cover an area of nearly four acres; nine
miles of wire are required to connect the bells with the
annunciator; and the whole of this immense establish-
ment is lighted with gas manufactured on the premises.
Upon the first floor are the drawing rooms, reception par-
NAHANT. 137
lors, offices, reading room, dining hall, and pi-ivate dining
parlors. In the basement are smoking rooms, a children's
dining room, bathing rooms for hot baths, an immense
laundry, and a culinary department ample enough to pro-
vide for an array. The whole establishment — bilhard
house, bowling alleys, shooting gallery, stables, yachts,
&c. — has been completed under the immediate supervis-
ion of Colonel Paran Stevens, of the Revere and Tre-
mont Houses, associated with Mr. James E. P. Stevens,
who have furnished it throughout with a liberal eye to
genuine comfort, and with every convenience and elegance
that experience can suggest or that money can purchase.
A line of telegraph has been constructed for the accom-
modation of guests, and arrangements are made to place
all items of news upon the hotel bulletin, in advance even
of appearing in the Boston papers.
Sailing parties and chowder picnics are furnished with
first class yachts, thoroughly manned ; and haddock, cod-
fish, mackerel, tautog, and halibut are caught in abundance
within a short distance of the shore ; and when, tired with
the day's sport, we return, sweet music from the Germania
Band soon drives dull care away, or we may seek enjoy-
ment in the concerts, hops, and theatricals that follow
each other in gay succession.
Although retired from the bustle of the world, steam so
'annihilates distance that parties can leave New York or
Saratoga after breakfast and sup at Nahant.
188 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
We cannot better finish our description of this match-
less watering place than by the following, from the pen of
Alonzo Lewis, of Lynn, a gentleman well known to the
literary world.
" The temperature of Nahant, being moderated by sea
breezes, so as to be cooler in summer and milder in winter
than the main land, is regarded as being highly conducive
to health. It is delightful in summer to ramble round
this romantic peninsula, and to examine at leisure its in-
teresting curiosities — to hear the waves rippling the col-
ored pebbles of the beaches, and see them gliding over
the projecting ledges in fanciful cascades — to behold the
plovers and sandpipers running along the beaches, the
seal slumbering upon the outer rocks, the white gulls soar-
ing overhead, the porpoises pursuing their rude gambols
along the shore, and the curlew, the loon, the black duck,
and the coot, the brant, with his dappled neck, and the
oldwife, with her strange, wild, vocal melody, swimming
gracefully in the coves, and rising and sinking with the
swell of the tide. The moonlight evenings here are ex-
ceedingly lovely ; and the phosphoric radiance of the bil-
lows, on favorable nights, (making the waters look like a
sea of fire,) exhibits a scene of wonderful beauty.
" But, however delightful Nahant may appear in sum-
mer, it is surpassed by the gi-andeur and sublimity of a
winter storm. When the strong east wind has swept ovef
the Atlantic for several days, and the billows, wrought up
NAHANT.
189
to fury, are foaming along like living mountains — break-
ing upon the precipitous cliifs — dashing into the rough
gorges — thundering in the subterranean caverns of rocks,
and throwing the white foam and spray, like vast columns
of smoke, hundreds of feet in the air, above the tallest
cliffs — an appearance is presented which the wildest
imagination cannot surpass. Then the ocean — checked
in its headlong career by a simple bar of sand — as if
mad with its detention, roars like protracted thunder ; and
the wild sea birds, borne along by the furious waters, are
dashed to death against the cliffs. Standing at such an
hour upon the rocks, I have seen the waves bend bars of
iron an inch in diameter double, float rocks of granite six-
teen feet in length, as if they were timbers of wood, and
the wind, seizing the white gull in its irresistible embrace,
bear her, shrieking, many miles into Lynn woods. In
summer a day at Nahant is delightful ; and a storm in
winter is glorious, but terrible."
CHAPTER XX
BOSTON HARBOR. ISLANDS. FARM SCHOOL. ALMS-
HOUSE. FORT INDEPENDENCE. FORT WINTHROP.
The readiest way of regaining the city is to take pas-
sage on board that trim little steamer, the " Nelly Baker."
The trip occupies only about forty minutes, and is one of
(190)
ISLANDS IN BOSTON HARBOR. FARM SCHOOL. 191
the most delightful that can be unagined. Shooting off
from the rocky peninsula, and leaving behind Nahant,
with its enchanting associations, we have time, as the little
steamer goes puffing along, to see the Islands in Boston
Harbor ; and if there are natural beauties, romantic ele-
vations,' or silent and wild retreats in the vicinity of Bos-
ton, they are in the harbor. These islands are gradually
wearing away ; and where large herds of cattle once fed,
the ocean now rolls its angry billows, and lashes with an
overwhelming surge the last remains of earth.
We can see the Lower Lights or, farther off, the smoke
rising from Hull. Nearer by, George's Island, with com-
manding Fort Warren upon it, ready to annihilate any
intruder ; (this island is the key to the harbor, command-
ing the open sea, and rising in some places nearly fifty
feet above high water mark ;) and the rocks of Nix^s Mate
may be seen, where tradition says a captain was murdered
by his mate, and buried. The Lighthouse and the splen-
did hotel, large and accommodating, in the form of a
Greek cross, and with Colonel Mitchell as one of its pro-
prietors, (whose benevolent and gentlemanly countenance
smiles a welcome to all,) show plainly on Long Island.
In the rear is Rainsford Island and the Quarantine
Ground. Not far off are Spectacle and Thompson's
Islands. On the latter is situated the Farm School.
The objects of the institution are, to rescue from the ills
192 SUBURBAN SIGHTS,
and the temptations of poverty and neglect those who
have been left without a parent's care ; to reclaim from
moral exposure those who are treading the paths of dan-
ger; and to offer to those whose^ only training would
otherwise have been in the walks of vice, if not of crime,
the greatest blessing which New England can bestow upon
her most favored sons. The occupations and employments
of the boys vary with the season. In spring, summer,
and autumn, the larger boys work upon the garden and
farm. The younger boys have small gardens of their own,
which afford them recreation when released from school.
In the winter season most of them attend school, where
they are instructed in the learning usually taught in our
common schools, and some of them are employed in
making and mending clothes and shoes for the institution.
The winter evenings are occupied with the study of geog-
raphy and the use of globes, botany and practical agri-
culture, lecturing on different subjects, singing, and reading.
Every boy in the institution is required to be present
during the evening exercises, if he is able. At the age
of twenty-one each boy is entitled to a suit of clothes, and
if apprenticed to a farmer, to one hundred dollars in money
in addition. The boys are all comfortably clad with wool-
len clothes, shoes, stockings, and caps, and appear to be
as happy in their present situation as boys generally are
under the paternal roof. They are well supplied with
ALMSHOUSE. 193
books, and required to keep them in order, tiieir library
containing about four hundred volumes of well-selected
books. Opportunities are occasionally offered to the
friends of boys at the institution of visiting them on the
island in the summer months.
On the long promontory in the rear is Squantum, the
very name of which is sufficient to conjure up ideas of
chowders, fishing parties, &c.
We shoot past Deer Island, on which stands the Alms-
house. The form of this structure is that of a "Latin
cross," having its four wings radiating at right angles from
a " central building." The central building is four stories
high ; the lower story (on a uniform level with the cellars
or work rooms of the north, east, and west wings) contains
the bathing rooms, cleansipg rooms, furnace, and fuel
rooms ; the two next stories contain the general guard
room, to be used also as a work room ; the next story is
the chapel; and the upper story is the hospital. The
south wing is four stories high ; the lower one contains the
family kitchens and entry of the superintendent's family ;
the second is appropriated for the family parlors of the
superintendent, and a room for the use of the directors,
together with the entrances and staircases, and the opening
or carriage way for receiving the paupers. The staircases
communicating with the guard room, and with the cleans-
ing rooms in the lower story of the central building, are
17
194 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
also located in this story. The two remaining stories
are used for the family sleeping rooms, superintendent's
office, officers' rooms, and bathing rooms, together with the
entries, passages, closets, and staircases. Each of the
north, east, and west wings is three stories high, with base-
ments and attics over the whole surface of each wing.
The basements are for work rooms. The remaining
stories, including the attics, contain the wards, hospitals,
and day rooms for the inmates, together with the sleeping
and inspection rooms for the nurses and attendants.
There is a chapel, with a gallery, occupying seventy-five
by seventy-five feet, on the third floor of the central build-
ing, equal in height to two stories". The floor of the
chapel is on a level with the attic floors of the wings. It
is well lighted, in a central ppsition, of convenient access
from all parts of the establishment, and is commodious
enough for those who are able to attend religious wor-
ship, out of even a larger population than twelve hundred.
The paupers, as they arrive, are received at a central
point, under the eye of the superintendent, in his office, as
they approach ; thoroughly cleaned, if necessary, in the
basement central apartments for cleansing; and distrib-
uted, when prepared for distribution, to those parts of the
building assigned to the classes to which they belong.
As the channel narrows, we pass between Gastle and
Winthrop Islands. On the former stands Fort Inde-
FORT INDEPENDENCE. 195
PENDENCE. The following is the quaint description of
the Castle as it was first built : " The Castle is built on the
North-East of the Island, upon a rising hill, very advan-
tageous to make many shots at such ships as shall offer to
enter the Harbor, without their good leave and hking;
the Commander of it is one Captain Davenport, a man
approved for his faithfulness, courage^ and skill, the Mas-
ter Canoneer is an active Ingineer ; also this Castle hath
cost about four thousand pounds, yet are not this poor pil-
grim people weary of maintaining it in good repair ; it is
of very good use to awe any insolent persons, that putting
confidence in their ships and sails, shall offer any injury to
the people, or contemn their Government ; and they have
certain signals of alarums, which suddenly spread through
the whole country." By these alarums is meant the can-
non and beacon light upon the great natural pinnacle of
Beacon Hill.
It was afterwards rebuilt with pine trees and earth. In
a short time this also became useless, and a small castle
was built, with brick walls, and had three rooms in it ; a
dwelling room, a lodging room over it, and a gun room
over that. The erection of this castle gave rise to the
present name of the island. At one time there was like-
wise a strong building erected on the island for the recep-
tion oif convicts w^hose crimes deserved the gallows, but
by the lenity of the government ]^ad their punishment
196
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
changed. Here abode the celebrated Stephen Burroughs.
This island belongs to the United States, by which Fort
Independence has been erected on the castle ruins.
On the west side of the wall a tombstone stands, beneath \
which sleeps the good old Edward Pursley, whose spirit, j
FORT AVINTHROP. 197
we trust, has spent nearly a century in heaven. There is
likewise an ancient slab, small, of red sandstone, bearing
the name of Nathaniel Ely, but no date, and, stranger to
relate, no epitaph ! But turning the western flank of a
battery that fronts on the channel towards the city, we be-
hold a different monument, each of whose four faces bears
an inscription. Here, the name — an officer of U. S.
Light Artillery ; there, that the stone is erected by the
officers of his regiment; on the third side, that he fell
near the spot ; and on the fourth, the distich from Collinses
beautiful ode : —
" Here Honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
To deck the turf that wraps his clay."
Here we may observe the wonderful beauty of the har-
bor, with its cities on land, and its steeple-pointed ship-
ping, in the midst of which sit so lovely the flocks of
graceful and motionless islands.
Governor's Island lies about one mile north of Castle
Island, and was first called Conant's Island. It was de-
mised to Governor Winthrop in 1632, and for many years
after was called the Governor's Garden. Here the United
States government is building a fortress called Fort Win-
throp. Its situation is very commanding, and in some
respects superior to Castle Island.
It is a pleasing occupation, as we glide along, to watch
• 17-*
198 SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
the outward-bound vessels, their canvas first becoming
dim as they tend towards the distant horizon, and finally
blotted out in the misty obscurity of the sea distance.
The imagination loves to follow them in their flight, and
picture their adventures on that vast watery expanse
whose daily history is full of marvel, and whose dark
depths shroud mysteries never to be unfolded to mortal
ken.
Few visitors, after landing at Liverpool Wharf, (once,
under the title of " Grifiin's Wharf," so celebrated for the
waste of English tea that occurred there,) do not cherish
the most pleasing reminiscences of their visit to Nahant
and sail up Boston Harbor.
-- CHAPTER XXI.
BLACKSTONE SQUARE. — FRANKLIN SQUARE. WILLIAMS
MARKET. FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.
Forest Hills Cemetery is situated between Norfolk
and Bristol Turnpike, Walk Hill, Canterbury, and Scar-
borough Streets, in Roxbury. It may be reached from
the Providence Depot, or by omnibus ; but it will be found
more pleasing to go by omnibus, and return in the cars.
As the omnibus rolls along, we can catch a hasty view
of Williams Market, of the high stone walls of the Ceme-
tery, and of Blackstone and Franklin Squares.
The former {Blackstone Square) on the west side of
Washington Street, beyond No. 773, containing one hun-
dred and five thousand feet of land, and now laid out
with young trees, is an Ornament to this portion of
the city. The fence is constructed of iron, and has a
length of thirteen hundred feet, the cost of which was five
thousand dollars. Of ^this sum, two thousand dollars were
contributed by the property holders or residents around
the square.
(199)
200
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
FranUin Square is opposite Blackstone Square, and
contains the same quantity of ground, and is improved in
the same style as the former. A Cochituate fountain is
provided in the centre of each square, at a cost of seven
hundred and fifty dollars each, exclusive of the pipe and
vase.
A hasty glance is all we catch of fine dwellings and
beautiful gardens, as we pass rapidly through Roxbury.
But at length we arrive at the Cemetery, the description
of which (by permission of Mr. Crafts) we are allowed to
borrow from " The Guide to Forest Hills," of which he is
the author.
FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 201
The approaches to Forest Hills from all sides are
through pleasant and quiet roads, bj well-cultivated lands,
dehghtfiil rural residences, or by the wilder beauties of
unadorned nature. In the season of verdure and flowers,
few more agreeable drives can be found in the vicinity of
Boston than through the streets and avenues that lead to
the cemetery. There are beautiful views in every direc-
tion from the elevated grounds, and in the valleys or the
woods many a nook may be observed where cottages may
nestle, while all around are springing up elegant villas,
and pleasant grounds mark the progress of taste and
refinement. But from no direction is the cemetery notice-
able at any distance, except perhaps on the south-eastern
side. It is shut out from the world, a calm retreat, though
near the rapid tide of life.
The main entrance to the cemetery is reached from the
highway, Scarborough Street, by a broad avenue, which
curves up a gentle ascent, till it reaches the gatCAvay. As
it approaches the gateway, this avenue is divided by a
group of trees, but unites again directly in front of the
entrance. The gateway at this entrance is of somewhat
imposing dimensions, the whole structure having a front
of one hundred and sixty feet. The carriage way is
through an Egyptian portico, copied from an ancient por-
tico at Garsery, on the Upper Nile. On each side, a lit-
tle removed, are smaller gates for pedestrians, and near
FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 203
these are small lodges corresponding with the gateway in
style.
Upon the outer architrave of the gateway are inscribed,
in golden letters, the words, —
" THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OP DEATH
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL."
On the interior architrave, in the same kind of letters, are
the words, —
"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE."
Consecrated June 28, 1848.
The gateway and lodges are built of wood, painted and
sanded in imitation of Jersey sandstone.
There are other entrances on the southern and eastern
sides of the cemetery. On the southern side the cemetery
grounds do not extend to any public street, but an avenue
thirty-three feet wide is laid out from Walk Hill Street to
the boundary of the cemetery, where there is an entrance
through a gate supported by Egyptian piers. This avenue
is shaded on each side by thickly-growing evergreens, and
from it the visitor enters at once upon one of the most
beautiful parts of the cemetery.
From the main entrance three avenues diverge towards
different parts of the cemetery, that on the right, however,
being designed to open into lands which have not yet been
204
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
added to the grounds. Chestnut Avenue, which leads to
the left, passes over a gentle elevation, and thence through
the vale of Lake Dell towards Consecration Hill. On the
right hand of this avenue, before reaching Lake Dell,
rises a rocky eminence, called Snowfiahe Cliff, from a ;
beautiful wild plant which grows at its base. iVom the j
summit of this rock there is a beautiful view of the village
FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 205
of Jamaica Plain, and of the wooded hills of Brookline
and the country beyond.
Lake Dell is a natural pool, tliickly overshadowed by
trees which grow from its banks. On either side an ave-
nue is laid out, and from these the wooded hills rise, en-
closing a most quiet and beautiful dell, suggesting the
name of the pond.
From the eastern end of Lake Dell, Magnolia Avenue
leads to the summit of Consecration Hill, which rises in
an angle of the cemetery, and touches its northern and
eastern boundaries. As its name indicates, the consecra-
tion services were performed here, at the foot of its south-
ern slope, while the audience which was gathered there on
that day were ranged upon the hill side. Consecration
Hill is one of the highest of the Forest Hills, and from
its summit is a beautiful prospect. Through the vistas of
the trees there are charming views of the Blue Hills and
the intervening valley, and in other directions of hills and
plains, of farm houses, villas, and cottages, with here and
there a church spire rising above the distant woods.
Following Rock Maple Avenue, the visitor is led from
the eastern end of Lake Dell around the base of Mount
Warren, which rises on the right, for the most part regu-
larly but steeply, with here and ther« large boulders pro-
truding above the surface. The side of Mount Warren is
clothed with a thick growth of wood, and this avenue, in
18
206
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
the afternoon especially, lies in deep shadow under the
foliage. Curving around the foot of the hill, it is a pleas-
ant approach to some of the more attractive spots in the
cemetery, and leads directly to the pleasant dell at the foot
of Mount Dearborn and Fountain Hill. In this dell there
is a little nook, which seems almost a orrotto under the
F0RE8T HILLS CEMETERY. 207
overhanging foliage of trees and shrubs that grow on the
precipitous sides of Fountain Hill. The deep shadows
seem to spread a refreshing coolness around, and invite
one to rest on the garden seats, which are disposed on one
side, while on the other is a rustic fountain — a natural
spring, over which is erected a covering of rough stones.
The stones are clothed with lichens, and in the interstices
are planted moss, brakes, and other wild plants, the whole
forming a pretty rustic monument. On the upper stone is
fixed a bronze plate bearing the following words : —
" WHOSOETEB. DEIXEIETH OF THIS WATER WILL THIEST AGAIN : BUT
THE WATER THAT I SHALL GIVE WILL BE IN HIM A AVT;LL OF
WATER SPRINGING UP INTO EVERLASTING LIFE."
From this vicinity two avenues lead up, through natural
depressions, to the higher plain of the cemetery, one- on
each side of Mount Dearborn. The eastern side of -this
hill is very rough and precipitous, huge boulders being
piled one above another, in fantastic shapes, clothed with
shrubbery which grows in the fissures of the stones, and
shaded by trees which have found root beneath them.
From the Fountain Dell a steep path leads up the
southern side of Mount Dearborn, and then up its more
gentle western slope to the top. As seen from the plain
on the west of the hill, it appears to be only a slight ele-
vation, but it rises, to a considerable height above the low
208
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
land on the opposite side. On the summit is the monu-
ment erected by his friends and fellow-citizens as a tribute
to the memory of General Dearborn. The prospect from
this hill is not very extensive, but ghmpses may be had of
some of th'e most finished and beautiful portions of the
cemetery. .^
FOKEST HILLS CEMETERY. 209
From the dell which divides Mount Dearborn from
Mount Warren an avenue leads, bj a somewhat steep
ascent, to the top of the latter, which is, in fact, rather
table land than a hill. The prospect from Mount Warren
is more Hmited than that from some of the other hills,
owing to the growth of the trees which skirt its sides.
But here and there, through the trees, a distant picture
of rural scenery may be seen, or a nearer one of some
beautiful spot in the cemetery, with the marble monuments
gleaming among the foliage and flowers.
The burial lot of the Warren family is on the summit
of Mount Warren. The ashes of General Warren, with
others of the family, have recently been taken from their
original resting place, deposited in urns, and reinterred in
this lot; so that these grounds are in fact the shrine which
contains his sacred remains.
The Eliot Hills, which take their name from the apostle
Eliot, are four eminences in the south-western part of the
cemetery ; or, more correctly, there is but one hill, having
several small ridges or undulations near its summit. The
summit of this hill is of sohd rock. Here it is proposed
to erect a monument to commemorate the virtues and
labors of the devoted Ehot, who for nearly sixty years
was the pastor of the First Church in Roxbury, who,
with so much of self-sacrifice and untiring energy, sought
18*
210 SUBLRBAN SIGHTS.
to civilize and Christianize the savage, and who so truly
earned the noble title of " Apostle to the Indians."
On the south of Mount Dearborn is another elevation
of about the same height, which is called Fountain Hill,
from the spring at its base, before alluded to. On the
side of the Fountain Dell this hill is very precipitous, and
thickly covered with trees and underwood. The eastern
and south-eastern slopes are quite steep, but much less
rugged and precipitous. Down its sides paths lead to
Fountain Dell and towards Lake Hibiscus, which can be
seen gleaming through the fohage. Towards the south a
path of more gentle descent, overlooking the lake, leads
down to the grounds in the vicinity of the Field of Mach-
pelah. For a portion of the distance, the outer side of
this path is supported by a rouglf wall, through which
arbor vit^e and other trees have been made to grow, the
roots being planted below the wall. These trees, when
they shall attain a larger growth, will add much to the
picturesque beauty of this hill side.
Into this portion of the cemetery the southern entrance
opens, and in the vicinity of the gateway the pine grove
retains more of its original solemn beauty. Down the
avenue which leads from this gateway to Walk Hill Street,
with its thick evergreens, is a view through the long vista
which is sure to attract the eye.
Cypress Hill, which is the first elevation on the open
FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 211
portion of the cemetery, immediately overlooks the quiet
plain of " Canterbury," and a portion of the neighboring
cemetery of Mount Hope. On the opposite side there
are views of different portions of the cemetery grounds.
There are but few trees on this hill, except those recently
planted ; but there is a quiet charm about the spot, even
in its openness and want of shade, so favorable for the
distant prospect, that makes it one of the attractive local-
ities of the cemetery. East of Cypress Hill extend the
open grounds, presenting an undulating surface — gentle
swells of land, which gradually descend to the fertile
plain near the eastern boundary.
Lake Hibiscus, already an attractive feature, promises
to be one of the chief beauties of Forest Hills. It lies a
short distance east of- Fountain Hill, and is approached by
avenues from different parts of the cemetery. In it two
islands have been formed, one of which contains a copious
and never-failing spring of crystal water, which gushes up
through the pebbly bottom of a little basin. About the
island birches are planted, and willows are trained across
the rustic bridge by which it is reached. This island is a
favorite resort for visitors, who gather here to watch the
graceful swans and the snowy ducks, as they sail about
their domain. The beautiful swans, especially, are always
objects of interest, and are quite ready to meet their vis-
itors, and receive food from their hands. From them the
212
SUBURBAN SIGHTS.
Other island, which is larger than that containing the spring,
takes its name, and to their use it is to be appropriated.
The numerous boulders which are scattered over some
parts of the cemetery have not only added to the pictu-
resque character of its scenery, but have afforded an op- |
portunity for rustic ornament in laying out the grounds \
FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 213
Some of the most striking and picturesque rocks have
been suffered to remain in their natural state, the labor
of art going only so far as more clearly to develop their
beauty, and to adorn the grounds around. One of the
most picturesque groups of these rocks is on the lot of
General William H. Sumner, called Sumner Hill, on the
western slope of Mount Warren. They have not suffered
by the hand of art, and the lot is one of the most beauti-
ful and appropriate in the whole cemetery.
The number of monuments at Forest Hills, compared
with the number of lots which have been taken, is small.
In this respect it presents a contrast with Mount Auburn,
when that cemetery was in the early period of its exist-
ence. There, monuments were erected on a large propor-
tion of the lots first taken ; in many cases before the lots
were enclosed, and before interments had been made in
them. At Forest Hills, from the first, the erection of
monuments seems to have been the exception rather than
the rule. A large number of the lots are enclosed, and
the name of the proprietor is borne upon the gate, with-
out any monumental structure or stone. Even where
interments have been made, the grave is in many cases
adorned with flowers, o-r is marked by a simple slab or
scroll, but has no more ostentatious stone to bear the in-
scriptions which sorrow sometimes places over the beloved
and the good. It is a simpler custom, perhaps less attrac-
214 SUBURBAN SIGHTS. ]
..I
tive to the eye of some observers, but quite as impressive i
to the heart of him
who wanders through these solitudes
In mood contemplative."
Such is a brief outline of some of the scenery and
beauties of Forest Hills, designed to lead the reader to
those places where the beauties may be seen, rather than
to describe them. The eye of taste will find much to ob-
serve that has not here been mentioned, and in nearly all
parts of the cemetery objects and views which will attract
and delight, ^ime, too, must create much that will add
to the attractions of the place. But, even now, it needs
only a visit to see and to feel that Foi est Hills, in their
natural and artificial beauty and fitness, are not surpassed
by any other rural or garden cemetery.
ADDENDA
The rates of fare in the city of Boston, to be taken by
or paid to the owner or driver of any licensed carriage, are
as follows : —
For carrying a passenger from one place to another,
within the city proper, thirty and thirty-seven cents.
For children between tln-ee and twelve years of age,
if more tnan one, or if accompanied by an adult, half
price only is charged for each child ; and for children
under three years of age, when accompanied by theh-
parents, or any adult, no charge is made. Every driver
or owner of any licensed carriage is obliged to carry with
each passenger one trunk, and a valise, saddle bag, carpet
bag, portmanteau, box, bundle, basket, or other article
used in travelling, if he be requested so to do, without
charge or compensation therefor ; but for every trunk or
other such article as above named, more than two, he is
entitled to demand and receive the sum of five cents.
(123)
130 ADDENDA.
DISTANCES IN BOSTON FROM THE EXCHANGE, IN |
STATE STREET. I
1
j
To the Providence Depot, three quarters of a mile ; the j
Worcester and Old Colony Depots, two thirds of a mile ; j
the Boston and Maine Depot, one third of a mile ; the ;
Lowell Depot, two thirds of a mile ; the Eastern Depot, I
half a mile ; Bunker Hill Monument and Navy Yard, j
one and a quarter miles ; Roxbury, two and a half miles ; \
Chelsea, two miles ; Cambridge bridge, three quarters of ;
a mile ; Harvard University, three and a half miles ; M
Mount Auburn, four and a half miles ; Fresh Pond, five !
miles ; East Boston, one and one third miles ; Mount !
Washington and Dorchester Heights, South Boston, two ■
miles ; House of Reformation, South Boston, two and :
three quarters miles. i
Steamers leave Boston — For Eastport, Calais,
and St. Johns, N. B. The steamers Adelaide and
Admiral leave Lincoln's Wharf.
For Gardiner, Hallowell, Richmond, and Bath.
The steamer Governor leaves Foster's Wharf.
ADDENDA.
lai
For Bangor and intermediate landings. The steamer
Menemon Sandford leaves Foster's Wharf.
For Bangor. Inland route, via Portland. The steamer
Daniel Webster leaves Portland on arrival of the train
that leaves Boston.
For HiNGHAM. The steamer Nantasket leaves Liv-
erpool Wharf.
For Nahant. The steamer Nelly Baker leaves
Liverpool Wharf.
For Portland. The steamers Montreal and Lew-
iston leave Central Wharf.
From Portland the Grand Trunk Eailwat
through
Falmouth,
Cumberland,
Yarmouth,
Yarmouth Junction,
North Yarmouth,
Pownall,
New Gloucester,
Cobb's Bridge,
Danville Junction,
Hotel Road,
Empire Road,
Mechanic Falls,
Oxford,
South Paris,
North Paris,
Bryant's Pond,
Locke's Mill,
Bethel,
West Bethel,
Gilead,
Shelbume,
Gorham,
132
ADDENDA.
Berlin Falls,
MUan,
Stark,
Northumberland,
Stratford Hollow,
North Stratford,
Wenlock,
Island Pond,
Norton,
Coaticook,
Compton,
Waterville,
Lennoxville,
Sherbrooke,
Windsor,
Richmond,
Durham,
Acton,
Upton,
Britannia Mills,
St. Hyacinthe,
Soixante,
St. Hilaire,
Boucherville Mountain,
Charons,
Montreal.
From Richmond the road running' to Quebec passes *
through ]
Richmond,
Danville,
Warwick,
Arthabaska,
Stanfold,
Somerset,
Becancour,
Methott's Mill,
Black River,
Craig's Road,
Chaudiere,
Point Levi, South Quebec.
ADDENDA.
133
The Eastern Bailroad, after leaving its depot in
Causeway Street, foot of Friend and Canal Streets, passes
through
Somerville,
Rowley,
South Maiden,
Salisbury,
Chelsea,
Newburyport,
North Chelsea,
Seabrook,
Lynn,
Hampton,
Swampscot,
Hampton Falls,
Salem,
North Hampton,
Beverly,
Greenland,
Wenham,
Portsmouth.
Ipswich,
»
The FiTCHBTJRa Railroad, after leavmg the depot in
Causeway Street, passes through
Somerville,
Porter's,
Wellington Hill,
Waverley,
Waltham,
Stony Brook,
Weston,
Lincoln,
Concord,
South Acton,
West Acton,
Littleton,
Groton Junction,
Shirley,
Lunenburg,
Leominster,
Fitchburg.
134
-ADDENDA.
The Boston and Maine Railroad, after leaving
Hayinarket Square, passes liirough
Somerville,
Edgewortb,
Maiden,
Wyoming,
Melrose,
Stoneham,
Greenwood,
South Reading,
Reading,
Wilmington,
Wilmington Junction,
Ballardvale,
Andover,
Lawrence,
North Andover,
Bradford,
Haverhill,
Atkinson,
Plaistow,
Newton,
East Kingston,
Exeter,
South Newmarket,
P. and C. Junction,
Newmarket,
Durham,
Madbury,
Dover,
Rolhnsford,
Great Falls,
Salmon Falls,
South Berwick,
Portland.
The Boston and Lowell Railrqad, leaving its
depot in Causeway Street, passes through
East Cambridge,
Milk Row, Somerville,
Somerville Centre,
Willow Bridge,
ADDENDA.
135
Branch
Road.
Medford Steps,
West Medford
Symmes's Bridge,
Winchester,
Richardson's
Horn Pond,
Woburn Centre,
East Woburn,
Woburn Watering Place,
North Woburn,
Wihnington,
Billerica and Tewksbury,
Billerica Mills,
Bleachery, Lowell,
Middlesex Street, Lowell,
Lowell.
The Old Colony and Fall River Railroad,
leaving its depot in Kneeland Street, passes through
Savin Hill,
Harrison Square,
Neponset,
North Quincy,
Quincy,
Braintree,
South Braintree,
Randolph,
North Bridgewater,
West Bridgewater,
Bridgewater,
Middleboro',
Myrick's,
Fall River,
South Abington,
East Bridgewater,
Kingston,
Plymouth.
Train leaves Myrick's for Fall River on arrival of the
train from New Bedford.
Dorchester and Milton Branch trains leave Bos-
ton for Granite Bridge, Milton Lower and Upper Mills.
136
ADDENDA,
The Boston and Worcester Eailroad, leaving
its depot in Kneeland Street, passes through
Cambridge Crossing,
Brighton,
Newton Comer,
Newtonville,
"West Newton,
Aubumdale,
Newton Lower Falls,
Grantville,
West Needham,
Natick^
Saxonville, (Branch,)
Framingham,
East Holliston,
Holliston,
Metcalf s,
Bragg's,
Milford,
Ashland,-
Southboro',
Westboro*,
Grafton,
Millbury,
Worcester.
NORWICH STEAMBOAT ROUTE FOR NEW YORK,
Landing in New York at the pier of the New Jersey
Railroad, making a direct through route from Boston to
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, &c. ; con-
necting also with the New York and Erie Railroad,
for all the principal places west and south-west.
ADDENDA. 137
Cars leave the Boston and Worcester Railroad
station, Albany Street, Boston, every day, at five and a
half, P. M.
The new, fast, and elegant steamer Commonvtealth,
Capt. J. W. Williams, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The fast and magnificent steamer Connecticut, Capt.
William Wilcox, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The boats are unrivalled, the Connecticut being one
of the finest and fastest steamers afloat, and the Common-
wealth the ne plus ultra of steamboat architecture.
The cars are the easiest ever invented, each car having
sixteen wheels, with double springs.
The road track is the freest from dust of all the roads
in New England.
The convenience of the landing in New York, being at
Pier 18 North Eiver, the pier of the Jersey Ferry, the
Philadelphia Railroad, the Erie Railroad, and next adja-
cent to the pier of the Albany boats.
The savuig of " hackage " in the transfer of baggage in
New York to those going South or West.
The expedition of the route, arriving m time to take
the early trains South or West.
The conductors accompany the passengers through from
Boston to New York, having charge of then- baggage,
whereby mistakes are avoided, or quickly rectified, should
any occur.
138 ADDENDA.
The conductors, being always at hand, will give their
attention to the transfer of baggage to the Southern or
Western lines, or procure conveyances in or from New
York.
Freight taken as low as by any other line.
Tickets, berths, and state rooms secured at the office of
the Adams Express Company, 84 Washington Street,
Boston. C. Pratt, Jr., Agent
UNION PRAYER MEETING AT THE OLD SOUTH CHAPEL.
A Union Prayer Meeting is held every day in the Old
South Chapel, Spring Lane, from 8 to 9 o'clock, A. M., and
from 12 M. to 1 o'clock, P. M. ; and an invitation is given
in these words,
"FRIEND, STEANGEE, TEAVELLER, COME IN!"
CONCLrSION
Having rendered all the services in our power to
patrons, we beg leave to introduce those who tender
theirs. They comprise some of the most influential firms
in the city ; and we cannot better finish our work than
by transferring (with many thanks) continued labor to
them.
(225)
HALLET, DAVIS & CO
Wasliington Street, near Bojlston Market, Boston, Mass. \
MANUFACTURERS DP ■{
Grand, Parlor Grand and Square I
PI^NO-FOHTES, I
With Patent Suspension Bridge, Composition Bearings, and Repeating Grand Action. \
EVERY PIANO FULLY WARRANTED..
As a proof of the superiority of our Pianos, which contain improve-
ments that cannot be found in those of any other make, we have
received TWELVE FIRST PREMIUMS within the last eight years.
As a further testimony see following extracts, from among the many
letters received : —
After the many severe testa that I have given your instruments, I unhesi-
tatingly pronounce them eminently superior in action, elasticity of touch, and
power of tone, to any I have ever used in this or the old country. Another
striking feature in both your Grand and Square Pianos, (and where others too
often fail,) is their remaining in tune under the heaviest and most difficult play-
ing, not a string shattering or flatting, and the action remaininsr so perfect tliat
the performer is enabled, at all times, to give instantaneous effect to emphatic
passages. I am. Gentlemen, vours, very sincerely,
Boston, Sept. 1855. ' GUSTAVE SATTER.
Owing to the beautiful elasticity of the action of your Grand Piano-Fortes,
(which possesses the same quUities as the action that has contributed to give
Erard his world-wide reputation,) I think it would be impossible for any pianist
who played properly, to break either a string or a hammer. I certainly never
have broken them. In conclusion, 1 beg to express to you my perfect satisfaction,
in every respect, with regard to your Grand Piano-Fortes.
Very truly yours, WM. MASON.
^ MANUPACTUBBES OF ^
Grand, Semi-Grand, Parlor Grand, and Sqnare
Warerooms, Masonic Temple,
The Kalliston is designed to render the Skin soft and velvety,
thereby relieving its glandular parts, and inducing that fine action
of the capillaries which imparts- both beauty and health to the
complexion. Besides its most prominent use for the complexion, the
Kalliston is highly recommended
For use after Sea Bathing;
For allaying the pain and inflammation produced by
Mosquito Bites, Stings of Insects, <&c. ;
As a Sponge Wash, after Shaving ; for Chapped Hands, Chiltlains, k.
AND
.^SL 3VC £2 Xt. X O j^ i^r
^aper Hangings.
S. H GEEGORT & CO
IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTLRERS
Invite the attention of Purchasers to their
extensive assortment of
Decorative and Panel Papers,
Velvet Gold, Damask Velvet,
Gold, Flowered, Satin, and
Dead Finish. Papers,
SUITABLE FOR, THE
Becoration of Parlors and Drawing Eooms, library and Dining
Rooms, Qiambers and Dressing Eooms, Halls,
Cliurclies, Public Buildings, k,
ALSO, TO THEIR
MANUFACTURED BY THEMSELVES IN THE BEST
AND MOST TASTEFUL MANNER.
^" Their Stock embraces tlie lowest Priced Papers made,,
as well as the most Elegant Paris Papers.
#
^
Goods will be sho'\%Ti Avith pleasure to all, at 1
LOWEST PRICES,
AT WHOLESALE OR RETAIL.
Nos. 23 & 25 Court St. Boston,
n. GREGORY. C. W. ROBINSON.
^^
^^^
GAS FIXTURES
AND
LAMPS
MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN
GAS PIPES
Put into public buildings or dwellings in town
or country, in the best manner.
ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS
of Gas Work done with care-, and all work
Warranted.
GAS STOVES,
for heating or cooking, of the most approved
patterns.
SOLAR AND HAND LAMPS,
for Oil or Fluid.
and every article usually found in a Lamp
Warehouse, for sale on the most
satisfactory terms.
aiFEKiiEi!
85 & 87 Court Street,
CONSTANTLY ON HAND THE BEST
ICE CREAm,
PLUM CAKES, FANCY CAKES, PASTRY,
AND
CONFECTIONEBY.
Parties supplied, in addition to the above
articles, with
[Frozen Slierbet, Jelly, Blanc Mange, & TaMe Ornaments |
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,
At the shortest notice, and with punctuality.
Siirgtoii § enlists.
BosTOJr Dentistry. — It is a conceded point, that no
city in the world excels Boston in the skill of its Dental
Surgeons. The stranger who traverses the city will be
struck with the high position they hold ; but nowhere will he
find this art in higher perfection, than if, arrested by a curious
anatomical exhibition of the progress of dentition, to be seen in
an elegant show case, at 25 Tremont Row, opposite the Boston
Museum, he ascends to the rooms of Drs. Cummings & Flagg.
The Doctors are always ready to give the latest improvements
in the best style, with betterments of their own. Their mode
of setting teeth, single or in sets, on the principle of atmos-
pheric suction, without hooks or any dependence whatever in
remaining teeth or stumps, is essentially their own and emi-
nently successful.
The power of any man to do things in the right way is always
discovered by the public sooner or later, and accordingly the
public has discovered Drs. Cummings & Flagg to be the first
practical dentists of the city of dentists, and are carrying their
work to every dinner table in Christendom. — Boston Journal.
Another Achievement in Dentistry. Teeth Extracted without
Pain. — Drs. Cummings & Flagg, 25 Tremont Street, have prac-
tised with great success, the new discovery of extracting teeth
without pain, by a simple local application to the gums. The
operation is rendered perfectly harmless and free from pain.
These enterprising gentlemen are noted for the speedy adop-
tion of every useful improvement calculated to lessen the pain
and increase the comfort of their numerous patrons. — Saturday
Evening Gazette.
Drs. Cummings & Flagg, Surgeon Dentists, 25 Tremont St.,
are professional men of the highest standing in their line. —
Transcinpt.
^^
DRS. CUMMINGS & FLAGG,
25 TREMONT STREET,
(Opposite Museum,) BOSTON.
J. A. CUMMINGS, M. D. G. H. P. FLAGG
AND
VENETIAN BLINDS
The Subscribers would invite attention of
their varied assortment of
Mmbfe Sljaks, §tmhn limbs,
Wire Screens, Mosquito Netting,
HOLLANDS, LINEN, PATCHES,
Webster's Patent Mosquito Bars, &c.
'- ORDERS FOR
CHURCHES, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, STORES, HOUSES, &c.,
FAITHFULLY ATTENDED TO.
JOHN D. FOWLE & CO.,
S0S liVastiington Street,
(HAYWARD BLOCK,)
h TJ
Pi
N
NEEDLEWORK T:APE8TRiES
TEACHER OF ORNAMENTAL EMBROIDERY^
No. 1 ADAMS ST., CHARLESTOWN.
ENGLISH
BIBLES
m VARIOUS BINDmGS, AT GREATLY
REDUCED PRICES: PRINTED BY
WILLIAM COLLINS & CO
LICENSED queen's PRINTERS, ETC.
London : Paternoster Row. Glasgow : North Montrose St.
The attention of the Trade is partic-
ularly called to our series of Reference
Bibles. They are printed on the finest
paper, and the best style, and the great-
est attention is paid to the Binding,
while the prices are extremely mod-
erate.
ENGLISH ENVELOPES,
EXTREMELY LOW.
(up stairs,)
W. T. BARRY.
W. T. BARRY & CO., Agents
13 Kiles Block, 33 Scliool Street,
ASTOR HOUSE,
LEARY & CO.
LEADERS AND INTEOMCEES 01 lASHIOSS
FOR
OENTLEMEN'S HATS.
<^
H
THE MANTJFACTURES KKD IMPORTATIONS
OF THIS CELEBRATED HOUSE TO BE
FOUND AT THE COUNTERS OF
IVES & TUTHILL,
Albion Building, Boston.
OPPOSITE STONE CHAPEL CEMETEBT.
Ionic Gold Pen Manufactory,
91 Washington St., Boston.
WHERE MAY BE FOUND, A COMPLETE ASSORTMENT OP j
STIIPSON'S PRKE MIDAl GOLD PINS AND PROTECTION HOMES, |
#olir anb 3ilhtx Cases, |nkstanbs, Slriting J^Inibs, ^c. \
N. B. Five Medals (including one from the World's Fair at London) '
and Ten Diplomas have been avearded to the inventor of the loNiO j
Gold Pens. ^
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