Skip to main content

Full text of "The Granite monthly, a New Hampshire magazine, devoted to literature, history, and state progress"

See other formats 


Hgrirulturc^ 


Ilibcral  Hrts 


MjEtlitt^loag 


DURHAM    LIBRARY    ASSOCIATION 


(9^/'<> 


V 


THE 


GRANITE    MONTHLY: 


A  mm  RAmpsRiRG  mAGAZinc, 


DEVOTED  TO  HISTORT,  BIOGRAPHY,  LITERA- 
TURE, AND  STATE  PROGRESS. 


VOLUME   IX. 


CONCORD,    N.    H.: 
JOHN   N.   McCLINTOCK, 

EDITOR  AND  PUBLISHER. 
1886! 


N 

&759 
V.9 


co:ntents  of  vol.  ix. 


Hon.  Charles  H.  Burns,         .        .        . i 

Hon.  Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals — Gen.  Geo.  Stark,  5 


Green,  M 


D., 


D. 


What  the  Old  Clock  Says — H.  E.  Walker,    . 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associations — Russell  Sturgis,  Jr.,- 

George  Fuller — Sidney  Dickinson 

The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster — Hon.  Henry  S.  Nourse,  . 

Louis  Ansart — Clara  Clayton, 

The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton,  II — Hon   Samuel  A 
Tuberoses — Laura  Garland  Carr,       ..... 
British  Forces  and  Leading  Losses  in  the  Revolution, 

Historical  Notes, 

Hon.  Jesse  Gault  (Portrait)— Col.  J.  Eastman  Pecker,    . 
George  Peabody  Little — Isaac  Walker,  A.  M., 
Publisher's  Department — Boar's  Head, 

Laconia, 

Book  Notices, 

Business  Element  in  American  History— Willard  H.  Morse,  M 
God's  Love  and  Mine — William  Hale,      .... 
A  New  Hampshire  Countess — Rev.  Edward  Cowley, 
The  Doctor's  Granddaughter — Annie  Wentworth  Baer, 

Who  Was  Publico?— A.  H.  Hoyt, 

Historic  Problems— Fred  Myron  Colby, 

Arria  Marcella  :  A  Souvenir  of  Pompeii.     A  Translation  from  the  French 

Frank  West  Rollins,  .  ,  .  , 
Ticknor  &  Co.'s  New  Books,  .... 
John  McDuffee— Rev.  Alonzo  H.  Quint,  D.  D., 

Franklin  McDuffee, 

The  Family  Emigration  to  New  England — Thomas  W.  Bichnell 

An  Incident  of  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Eighty-Six — Hon.  Mellen  Chamberl 

The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton — Hon.  Samuel  Abbott  Green, 

Wachusett  Mountain  and  Princeton— Alberton  P.  Mason,  . 

Washington  and  the  Flag — Gen.  Henry  B.  Carrington,  LL.  D., 

A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes — Fred  Myron  Colby, 

Our  National  Cemeteries — Charles  Cowley,  LL.  D., 

The  Ogunquit  Fishing  Fleet — William  Hale, 

Col.  Thomas  Cogswell — Editorial, 

Lycurgus  Pitman — W.  B.  Osgood, 

HosEA  B.  Carter, 

New  Hampshire  Fire  Insurance  Company, 

Nathaniel  E.  Martin,     .... 

Capt.  John  McClintock, 

The  Old  Stores  and  Post-Office  of  Groton — Hon.  S 


LL.  D., 


A.  Green,  M.  D., 


16 
17 

30 
40 

49 
52 
68 
69 
69 
71 
73 
75 
77 
78 

79 
83 
84 
88 
104 
105 


"3 

128 

131 
134 
13s 

n,  139 
142 
152 
158 

159 
^7S 
178 
179 
187 
188 
189 
190 
191 

195 


6  e>s^^ 


Contents  of  Volume  IX. 

Beacon  Hill  before  the  Houses — David  M.  Balfour, 205 

Col.  Joseph  Wentworth — Editorial 211 

Book  Notices, 214 

Col.  Albert  A.  Pope, 215 

The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston — E.  P,  Gould, 223 

The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage  Coaches  of  Groton — Hon.  S.  A.  Green,  M.  D.,  231 

Capt.  John  McClintock,  " 240 

Col.  Charles  H.  Sawyer — Hon.  Charles  H.  Bell,  LL.  D.,        ....  243 

Hon.  Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  M.  D., 247 

H.  G.  Sargent, 249 

Book  Notices, 250 

Robert  R.  Livingston — James  Huges  Hopkins, 251 

But  a  Step — Henrietta  E.  Page 258 

Local  Self-Government — R.  L.  Bridgeman, 259 

Lieut.  Gen.  Sir  William  Pepperrell,  Bart. — Daniel  Rollins,      .         .         .  263 

The  Harrisburg  Convention  of  December,  1839 — C.  S.  Spaulding,      .        .  268 

Protection  vs.  Free  Trade, 270 

Groton  Plantation — Hon.  S.  A.  Green,  M.  D., 272 

Jeremiah  W.  White,  Esq. — Hon.  John  H.  Goodale, 275 

Hon.  Josiah  Gardner  Abbott,  LL.  D. — Col.  John  Hatch  George,  .         .         .  278 

Esoteric  Buddhism  :  A  Review — Lucius  H.  Buckingham,  Ph.  D.,    .         .         .  281 

The  Defence  of  New  York,  1776 — Henry  B.  Carrington,  U.  S.  A.,  LL.  D.,  .  292^ 

Lowell — Editorial, 299 

Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord, 339 

A  Bit  of  Family  Brag— P.  B.  Shillaber, 348 

Historical  Sketch  of  the  Town  of  Lancaster — J.  S.  Brackett,  .        .        -351 

Localities  in  Ancient  Dover — John  R.  Ham,  M.  D., 362 

A  Jail  Adventure — William  O.  Clough, '.        .  368 


.^■ 


Eng  ^hyAEBxtzi'J-''- 


C^yh^^a/r-tj^  JY: 


lyiyt-r-i^ 


THE 


GRANITE  MONTHLY 

A  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  MAGAZINE. 

Devoted  to  Literature,  Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX. 


JANUARY  AND  FEBRUARY,  1886. 


Nos.  I.,  II. 


HON.  CHARLES  H.  BURNS. 


As  the  thoughtful  traveller  passes  the 
wayside  school-house  in  some  remote 
rural  district  of  New  England  and 
catches  a  glimpse  of  the  tow-headed 
boys  and  girls,  he  sees  not  only  future 
American  sovereigns,  but  the  blue- 
blooded  descendants  of  the  Puritan  and 
Scotch  Covenanter  ; — boys,  whose  an- 
cestors overturned  princes,  fought  and 
died  for  principle,  and  founded  a  nation, 
— boys  upon  whom  will  devolve  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  United  States. 
From  the  hill-side  farms  have  gone 
forth  the  financiers,  writers,  orators,  and 
statesmen  who  have  so  far  guided  and 
directed  the  destinies  of  this  country ; 
while  the  wisdom  exercised  in  con- 
ducting the  affairs  of  each  township,  or 
miniature  commonwealth,  is  a  school  in 
statescraft  of  the  highest  order. 

New  England  weather,  with  its  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold  and  sudden 
changes,  illustrates  the  theory  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest.  The  hardy  consti- 
tution inherited  from  stalwart  sires  and 
noble  mothers,  a  boyhood  and  youth 
passed  amid  the  health-giving  and  in- 
vigorating occupations  of  farm  life 
among  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire,  a 
character,  partly  inherited,  partly  formed 
by  precept  upon  precept  and  the  most 
loving  and  tender  guidance,  ine^is  sana 


in  corpore  sano,  fit  a  young  man  to 
enter  the  arena,  assured  of  success,  to 
struggle  for  the  prizes  given  only  to  the 
victors.  From  the  ranks  of  such  young 
men  are  recruited  the  great  actors  in  the 
political  and  social  drama. 

Hon.  Charles  H.  Burns,  of  Wilton, 
scarcely  needs  an  introduction  to  the 
people  of  New  Hampshire.  From  his 
start  in  life  as  a  farm  lad  he  has  won  a 
distinguished  rank  among  the  lawyers  of 
the  State,  as  a  legal  student,  as  an  advo- 
cate of  rare  eloquence,  and  as  an  orator 
broad  in  his  views,  and  swaying  great 
audiences  by  his  well  chosen  words. 
Mr.  Burns  is  a  representative  of  the  two 
peoples,  or  races,  who  have  made  a 
marked  impression  not  only  on  New 
Hampshire  and  New  England,  but  on 
American  history  ;  the  Puritans  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  and  the 
Scotch  Irish  clans  who  migrated  later 
were  his  forefathers. 

For  many  generations  his  ancestors 
have  been  sturdy,  liberty-loving.  God- 
fearing, upright,  and  honorable  citizens, 
yeomen  ready  to  do  service  for  their 
country  and  for  their  faith.  The  Burns 
family  is  of  Scotch  origin,  whose  annals 
are  lost  in  the  oblivion  of  border  war- 
fare and  anticjuity.  The  pioneer  an- 
cestor, John  Burns,  was  born  in  1700, 


Hon.  Charles  H.  Burns. 


came  to  this  country  in  1736  from  the 
north  of  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Milford 
in  1 746,  where  he  died  in  i  782.  Thomas 
Burns,  the  son  of  John  Burns,  married 
Elizabeth  Hartness,  of  Lunenburg, 
Mass.,  and  settled  in  Milford,  where  he 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty. 

Samuel  Burns,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (  Hartness)  Burns,  and  grand- 
father of  Charles  H.  Burns,  was  born  in 
Milford,  September  17,  1779;  married 
February  12,  1801,  Abigail  Jinies.  a 
woman  of  gieat  strength  of  mind,  and 
of  most  excellent  character,  and  settled 
in  Milford.  He  was  a  strong  man,  fre- 
quently elected  to  responsible  offices, 
serving  the  town  ten  years  as  one  of  the 
selec'men,  and  died  of  brain  fever  in 
the  prime  of  life,  September  20,  1817. 
His  funeral  was  the  largest  ever  held  in 
Milford. 

Charles  A.  Burns,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Abigail  (Jones)  Burns,  was  born  in  Mil- 
ford, January  19,  1S09  ;  married  De- 
cember 31,  1833,  Elizabeth  Hutchinson, 
of  Milford,  and  settled  in  his  native 
town.  They  were  both  people  of  the 
highest  character,  and  well  known  for 
their  intelligence  and  worth.  They  were 
the  parents  of  Charles  H.  Burns.  The 
father  died  of  fever  January  25,  1857. 
The  mother,  Elizabeth  (Hutchinson) 
Burns,  born  in  Milford,  June  18,  1816, 
and  now  living,  traces  her  descent  from 
Barnard  Hutchinson,  who  in  1282  was 
living  in  Covvlan,  in  the  county  of  York. 
He  was  an  esquire,  and  married  at 
daughter  of  John  Bagville,  of  one  of 
the  oldest  families  of  Yorkshire.  From 
their  oldest  son,  John  Hutchinson, 
(i)  Richard  Hutchinson,  the  pioneeran- 
cestor  of  Mrs.  Burns,  traced  his  descent. 
He  was  born  in  England ;  married  De- 
cember 7,  1627,  xAlice  Bosworth ;  re- 
sided in  North  Markham,  and  in  1635 
migrated   to   America.     The  following 


year  he  was  in  Salem,  Mass.     He  died 
about  the  year  1662. 

2.  Joseph  Hutchinson  was  born  in 
England  in  1633,  ^"^1  was  brought  to 
this  country  in  his  infancy. 

3.  Benjamin  Hutchinson  married  (i) 
Jane,  daughter  of  Walter  and  Margaret 
Phillips;  married  (2)  January  26,  17  14, 
Abigail  Foster;  died  in  1733. 

4.  Benjamin  Hutchinson,  son  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Jane  (Phillips)  Hutchinson, 
was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  January  27, 
1693,  ^'^'^^  married  February  7,  17 15, 
Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Nurse)  Tarbell.  He  was  a  man  of 
large  wealth. 

5.  Nathan  Hutchinson,  son  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Sarah  (Tarbell)  Hutchinson, 
was  baptized  February  10,  171 7;  mar- 
ried Rachel  Sterns,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  on  the  territory  within  the 
present  limits  of  Milford.  He  died  Jan- 
uary 12,  1795. 

6.  Nathan  Hutchinson,  son  of  Na- 
than and  Rachel  (Sterns)  Hutchinson, 
was  born  in  Milford,  which  was  then  a 
part  of  the  town  of  Amherst,  in  Febru 
ary,  1752;  married,  in  1778,  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  William  and  Rebecca 
(Smith)  Peabody  ;  was  a  farmer,  and 
died  December  26,  1831.  She  was 
born  January  2,  1752;  died  February 
25,  1826. 

7.  Abel  Hutchinson,  son  of  Nathan 
and  Rebecca  (Peabody)  Hutchinson, 
father  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Hutchinson) 
Burns,  and  grandfather  of  Charles  H. 
Burns,  was  born  in  Milford,  August  8, 

1795,  ^^d  married  January  22,  181 5, 
Betsey,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth 
Bartlett.     She    was  born    October    26, 

1796,  and  died  August  23,  1873, 
in  Milford.  He  died  February  19, 
1846.  Of  this  union  was  born,  June 
18,  1816,  Elizabeth  (Hutchinson) 
Burns. 


Hon.  Char/es  H.  Burns. 


3 


Charles  Henry  Burns  was  born  in 
Milford,  January  19,  1835.  On  his 
father's  farm  he  sjient  his  early  years, 
improving  a  naturally  good  constitution, 
sainin"  strength  of  muscle  and  habits 
of  industry  and  endurance.  His  desire 
for  an  education  was  fostered,  and  he 
took  advantage  of  all  the  scholastic 
facilities  afforded  by  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town.  These  were 
of  a  high  order.  His  academic  educa- 
tion was  acquired  at  the  Appleton  Acad- 
emy, in  the  neighboring  town  of  New 
Ipswich,  of  which  at  the  time  Professor 
E.  T.  Quimby  was  principal.  From 
this  institution  Mr.  Burns  graduated  in 
1854.  He  read  law  with  Col.  O.  W. 
Lull,  in  Milford,  and  graduated  from 
the  Harvard  Law  School  in  1858.  In 
ALay  of  the  same  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  Suffolk  bar,  and  in  the  following 
October  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice 
of  law  in  the  New  Hampshire  courts. 

In  January,  1859,  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  the 
town  of  Wilton,  where  he  has  ever  since 
resided,  although  his  extensive  and 
steadily  increasing  business  has  necessi- 
tated his  opening  an  office  of  late  years 
in  the  city  of  Nashua. 

"  He  commenced  his  professional 
labors,  as  every  young  man  must  who 
has  no  one  to  rely  upon  but  himself, 
with  the  smaller  and  more  ordinary 
kinds  of  legal  work,  but  by  slow  degrees 
he  has  risen,  until  to-day  he  is  one  of 
the  most  successful  lawyers  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  his  practice  includes 
the  highest  order  of  cases.  Mr.  Burns, 
although  a  good  lawyer  in  all  the 
branches  of  his  profession,  especially 
excels  as  an  advocate.  His  advocacy 
is  of  a  high  order.  He  is  what  most  of 
our  lawyers,  and  public  speakers  even, 
are  not,  a  natural  orator.  The  whole 
bent  and  inclination  of  his  mind  has, 
from  his  earliest  years,  always  been  in 
this  direction.  He  has  given  himself  a 
thorough   training  and  practice  at  the 


bar,  on  the  stump,  and  on  all  those  va- 
ried occasions  when  a  public  speaker  is 
called  upon  to  address  the  people.  This 
natural  talent,  thus  trained,  has  made 
him  a  clear-cut,  incisive,  and  polished 
orator,  who  never  fails  to  hold  and  im- 
press his  audience. 

"'It  can  be  said  of  him,  what  can  be 
said  of  very  few  men,  he  excels  in  ad- 
vocacy and  general  oratory.  His  argu- 
ments before  juries  best  illustrate  his 
power  as  a  speaker,  while  his  public  ad- 
dresses exhibit  his  peculiar  charm  as  an 
orator.  As  an  advocate  he  ranks  among 
the  first  in  the  New  Hampshire  bar. 
As  an  orator  he  compares  favorably  with 
our  best  public  speakers.  "  * 

Mr.  Burns  has  been  a  Republican 
since  the  formation  of  the  party.  His 
father  was  an  active  and  prominent 
worker  in  that  litde  band  of  anti-slavery 
agitators  which  existed  in  Milford  before 
the  great  Rebellion,  and  as  a  boy  young 
Burns  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 
teachings  of  Parker  Pillsbury,  Wendell 
Phillips,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and 
Fred  Douglass.  When  quite  young  his 
interest  in  the  Republican  cause,  to- 
gether with  his  aptitude  for  public 
speaking,  led  him  to  take  the  stump  for 
his  party.  For  years  he  has  performed 
in  this  way  the  most  efficient  service  for 
the  Republican  party,  and,  to-day,  is 
one  of  its  ablest  and  most  eloquent  stump 
speakers.  In  1864  and  1865  he  was 
elected  county  treasurer  of  Hillsborough 
County.  In  1873,  and  again  in  1879, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire State  Seiiate,  serving  during  both 
terms  as  chairman  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  and  taking  a  prominent 
part  in  directing  and  shaping  the  legis- 
lation of  those  years. 

In  1876  he  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Cheney  county  solicitor  for  Hills- 
borough County,  and  subsequendy  was 
twice  re-elected  to  that  office  by  the 


*  U.  M.   Wallace    in    History   of   Hillsborough 
County. 


4 


Hon.  Charles  H.  Burns. 


people,  in  all  serving  seven  years.  He 
discharged  the  difficult  and  delicate 
duties  of  a  prosecuting  officer  in  an  able 
and  satisfactory  manner. 

He  was  a  delegate-at-large  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  at  Cin- 
cinnati in  1876,  and  represented  the 
New  Hampshire  delegation  on  the  Com- 
m'ttee  on  Resolutions. 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention 
in  1878,  Mr.  Burns  presided  and  de- 
livered one  of  his  strong  and  character- 
istic speeches  which  created  a  deep  im- 
pression throughout  the  State.  It  was 
everywhere  commended  as  an  able  and 
forcible  presentation  of  the  issues  of 
the  hour.  In  1879  he  was  appointed 
judge  advocate-general,  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  on  the  staff  of  Gov- 
ernor Head.  In  February,  1881,  he 
was  appointed  United  States  district 
attorney  for  New  Hampshire,  and  in 
February,  1885,  he  was  reappointed, 
carrying  to  the  performance  of  the  du- 
ties of  that  office  the  same  zeal  and 
fidelity  displayed  in  all  his  professional 
labors. 

In  the  exciting  senatorial  contest  of 
1883,  Mr.  Burns  was  the  recipient  of 
testimonials  of  the  highest  respect  and 
confidence  from  party  leaders  through- 
out the  State  ;  and  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  his  name  was  greeted,  and  the 
ardent  support  accorded  by  his  many 
friends,  was  very  flattering,  especially  as 
he  had  not  entered  thefield  as  a  candi- 
date. 

Mr.  Burns  is  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes 
and  habits.  He  has  a  fine  law  library, 
one  of  the  best  in  the  State,  and  a 
choice  and  valuable  collection  of  mis- 
cellaneous books.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society, 
and  the  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Society.     In  1874  he  re- 


ceived from  I  )artmouth  College  the 
honorary  degree  of  A.  M.  In  Masonic 
circles  Mr.  Burns  is  very  prominent, 
having  taken  thirty-two  degrees  in  that 
order. 

Mr.  Burns  was  united  in  marriage, 
January  19,  1856,  his  twenty-first  birth- 
day, with  Sarah  N.  Mills,  of  Milford. 
They  have  been  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  four  of  whom  are  living.  Their 
oldest  son,  Arthur  H.  Burns,  a  young 
man  of  fine  character  and  great  promise, 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty, — a  se- 
rious loss  to  his  parents  and  to  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived.  He  was 
universally  loved  and  respected.  Mr. 
Burns  has  a  fine  homestead  in  Wilton, 
in  which  and  all  its  surroundings  he  very 
properly  takes  great  pride  and  pleasure. 
To  his  wife,  his  family,  and  his  home  he 
is  very  loyally  and  devotedly  attached. 

In  Mr.  Burns  are  developed  many 
traits  of  character  which  have  distin- 
guished the  two  races  from  which  he 
traces  his  descent.  He  is  conscientious 
and  firm  in  his  allegiance  to  a  principle. 
His  political  faith  is  not  a  garment  to  be 
donned  at  pleasure,  but  a  part  of  his 
being.  He  is  frank  and  hospitable. 
The  occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  his  marriage  was  celebrated 
at  his  home  in  Wilton  by  the  presence 
of  a  large  concourse  of  friends  and 
guests,  who  expressed  their  appreciation 
of  their  host  by  many  appropriate  pres- 
ents. 

Mr.  Burns  is  sincere  in  his  friendship 
and  loyal  to  his  friends.  Their  trust  in 
him  is  never  misplaced.  As  a  conse- 
quence he  has  many  warm  personal 
friends.  He  is  genial  and  affable.  The 
portrait  accompanying  this  sketch  was 
engraved  from  a  photograph  taken  on 
his  fiftieth  birthday. 


Frederick  G.  Sfark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


FREDERICK   G-  STARK  AND    THE  MERRIMACK    RIVER    CA- 
NALS. 

CFXF.RAI.    GEORGE    STARK. 


The  canals  of  the  Merrimack  river 
had  their  day  and  active  existence  in 
the  first  half  of  the  present  century. 
'I'hey  have  been  referred  to  as  the  ear- 
liest step  towards  asolution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  cheap  transportation  between 
Boston  and  the  northern  country  ;  but 
]:)erhaps  they  may  more  properly  be 
classed  as  the  second  step  in  that  di- 
rection, the  turnpikes  having  been  first 
in  the  field.  James  Sullivan  and  his 
associates,  the  original  projectors  of 
this  canal  system,  undoubtedly  had  in 
mind  not  only  to  connect  Boston  with 
the  Merrimack  river  country,  but  also 
to  extend  their  canals  from  the  iMerri- 
mack  to  the  Connecticut  river,  and 
from  the  Connecticut  to  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  through  its  outlet  to  the  St. 
Lawrence,  thus  bringing  Boston  into 
inland  water  communication  with  Mont- 
real and  the  Lower  Canadas.  The 
project  was  too  vast  and  the  physical 
obstacles  too  formidable  to  admit  of 
full  consummation,  and  their  labors  re- 
sulted only  in  uniting  by  navigable  wa- 
ters the  capitals  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire,  covering  a  distance 
by  river  and  canal  of  about  eighty-five 
miles. 

The  Middlesex  canal,  twenty-seven 
miles  in  length  from  Boston  to  the 
Merrimack  river,  at  what  is  now  known 
as  Middlesex  Village,  about  two  miles 
above  Lowell,  was  the  first  constructed. 
The  work  on  this  canal  was  com- 
menced in  1 794,  and  the  canal  was 
completed  and  opened  for  public  use 
in  1803.  A  very  complete  history  of 
the    Middlesex     canal,    by    Lorin     L. 


Dame,  A.  M.,  was  published  in  the 
February  (1885)  number  of  the  (iRAX- 
riE  Monthly. 

Following  the  construction  of  the 
Middlesex  canal  came  the  requisite 
works  to  render  the  Merrimack  river 
navigable  from  the  head  of  the  Middle- 
sex to  Concord,  N.  H.,  being  a  series 
of.  dams,  locks,  and  short  canals  to 
overcome  the  natural  ra])ids  and  falls 
of  the  river.  The  first  of  these  works 
was  a  lock  and  short  canal  at  Wicasee 
tails,  three  miles  above  the  head  of  the 
Middlesex,  at  what  is  now  known  as 
Tyng's  island.  No  fall  is  now  percep- 
tible at  that  point,  the  Lowell  dam  hav- 
ing flowed  it  out.  The  second  work, 
fifteen  miles  further  up  the  river,  at 
Cromwell's  falls,  consisted  of  a  dam 
and  single  lock.  Then  came  dams  and 
single  locks  at  Moor's,  Coos.  Goff's, 
Griffin's,  and  Merrill's  falls.  About  a 
mile  above  Merrill's  falls  were  the  lower 
locks  of  the  Amoskeag— a  canal  next 
in  importance  to  the  Middlesex.  It 
was  only  about  one  mile  in  length,  but 
surmounted  by  works  of  very  consider- 
able magnitude,  the  great  fall  of  be- 
tween fifty  and  sixty  feet,  that  now 
furnishes  the  water  power  for  the  manu- 
factories of  Manchester.  Its  construc- 
tion was  first  undertaken  by  Samuel 
Blodgett  early  as  i  794,  but  it  was  not 
completed  until  1807. 

Eight  miles  above  Amoskeag  the 
locks  and  short  canal  of  Hooksett  over- 
came a  fall  of  some  seventeen  feet : 
and  six  miles  further  on  the  Bow  locks 
and  canal  afforded  the  final  lift  of 
twentv-seven  feet,   to  the  level   of  the 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  /lie  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


navigable  water  of  the  Merrimack  river 
at  Concord. 

Short  side  canals  with  loc'ks  were 
subsequently  built  at  the  junctions  of 
the  Nashua  and  Piscataquog  rivers  with 
the  Merrimack  to  facilitate  the  passage 
of  boats  from  the  Merrimack  to  the 
storehouses  in  Nashua  and  Piscatatjuog 
villages. 


iron,  glass,  grindstones,  cordage,  paints, 
oils,  and  all  that  infinite  variety  of  mer- 
chandise required  by  country  mer- 
chants, formerly  classed  under  the  gen- 
eral terms  of  "  dry  and  West  India 
goods."  The  original  bills  of  lading, 
many  of  which  are  now  in  the  writer's 
possession,  also  show  that  they  brought 
up  from  Boston  for  consumption  in  the 


The  old  Blodgett  Mansion  at  Amoskeag  Canal.    Erected  in  1795.    Pulled  down  in  1870. 


For  forty  years  this  line  of  canals 
formed  the  principal  channel  of  heavy 
transportation  beween  the  two  capitals, 
and,  except  that  the  canals  did  not 
effectually  compete  with  the  stages  for 
carrying  passengers,  they  held  the  same 
position  to  transportation  as  is  now  held 
by  their  successor  and  destroyer — the 
railroad. 

Daring  the  entire  season  of  open 
river,  from  the  time  that  the  spring 
break-up  of  winter  ice  permitted  navi- 
gation to  commence,  until  the  frosts  of 
fall  again  closed  it,  this  eighty-five  miles 
of  water  was  thronged  with  boats,  taking 
the  products  of  the  country  to  a  market 
at  the  New  England  metropolis,  and 
returning  loaded  with  salt,  lime,  cem- 
ent, plaster,  hardware,  leather,  liciuors. 


country,  flour,  corn,  butter,  and  cheese, 
which  plainly  indicates  that  the  people 
of  the  Merrimack  river  valley  gave 
more  attention  in  those  days  to  lumber- 
ing and  river  navigation  than  to  agri- 
culture. 

These  boats,  of  which  there  are 
probably  none  now  in  existence,  were 
peculiarly  constructed,  to  answer  the 
requirements  of  the  river  and  canal 
navigation,  and  their  mode  of  propul- 
sion was  as  peculiar  as  their  model. 
They  were  about  seventy- five  feet  long 
and  nine  feet  wide  in  the  middle  ;  a 
little  narrower  at  the  ends ;  fiat  bot- 
tomed across  their  full  width,  but  the 
bottom  sloped  or  rounded  up  from 
near  the  mid-length  of  the  boat,  both 
towards  stem  and  stern,  so  that  while 


Frederick  G.  Siark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


7 


the  sides  were  level  on  top  and  about  A    cross  yard,  with    a  square  sail  at- 

three    feet  deep    at    mid-length,    they  tached,    which    could     be    hoisted    or 

were   only  a  foot  or  less   in  depth   at  lowered  at  pleasure  by  a  rope  working 

either    end.     A    load   of  about  twenty  over  a   single   block  in   the  top  of  the 

tons   would   make  the    boat  draw  two  mast,  completed  the  sailing  outfit.     It 

feet  or  more,  near  the  middle,  while  the  was  only  used  upon  the  river,  the  mast 

bottom  wouUl  be  out  of  water  at  each  being  struck  and  stowed    in   the   boat 


BOAT  ENTERING  LOCKS. 


end.  When  the  river  was  low  in  mid- 
summer, only  about  half  a  full  load 
could  be  carried  to  Concord. 

The  boats  were  built  of  two-inch 
pine  plank,  spiked  on  small  oak  cross- 
joists  and  side-knees,  and  had  heavy 
oak  horizontal  timbers  at  either  end. 
The  sides  were  vertical  and  without 
cross  thwarts,  except  what  was  called 
the  mast-board  ;  a  thick  oak  plank,  se- 
curely fastened  across  on  top,  from 
side  to  side,  a  little  forward  of  the  cen- 
tre of  the  boat.  The  seams  between 
planks  were  calked  with  oakum  and 
pitched.  The  mast  was  a  spar  about 
twenty-five  feet  long  and  six  inches  in 
its  largest  diameter.  A  foothold  or  step 
was  fixed  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat 
under  the  cross-plank  to  receive  it,  and 
it  was  further  steadied  by  the  cross- 
plank,  which  was  slotted  to  admit  it 
when  set  up,  and  had  a  wedge  and 
staple  arrangement  to  hold  it  in  place. 


when  passing  the  larger  canals.  The 
rudder  was  a  long  steering  oar,  pivoted 
on  the  centre  of  the  cross-frame  of  the 
stern,  the  blade,  about  eighteen  inches 
wide  and  ten  feet  long,  trailing  in  the 
water  behind  the  boat,  and  the  handle 
or  tiller  extending  about  the  same  dis- 
tance over  the  boat,  so  as  to  afford  a 
good  leverage  for  guiding  the  unwieldy 
craft.  Three  large  scull  oars,  about 
sixteen  feet  long  with  six-inch  blades, 
and  three  setting  poles,  or  pike  poles  as 
they-  were  sometimes  called,  stout, 
straight,  round  poles,  wrought  out  of 
tough  and  springy  ash,  about  fifteen  feet 
long,  nearly  two  inches  in  diameter  and 
shod  at  one  end  with  a  long  iron  point, 
completed  the  propelling  outfit.  The 
crew  consisted  of  a  skipper  and  two 
bowmen. 

In  going  down  the  river  between 
canals  the  usual  mode  of  propulsion 
was  bv  use  of  the  scull-oars.     The  bow- 


^ 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


men  took  position  close  to  either  side 
of  the  boat,  facing  the  l)Ovv  and  about 
six  feet  froai  it,  and  each  worked  his 
oar  against  a  thole-pin  i^laced  in  the 
o])posite  gunwale,  tlie  oar  handles 
crossing,  so  that  they  were  necessarily 
worked  simultaneously.  The  skipper 
also  had  his  oar,  which  he  worked  in  a 
similar  manner  when  his  attention  was 
not  wholly  taken  up  in  steering.  When 
there  was  a  fair  wind  the  sail  would  be 
hoisted.  The  current  also  materially 
assisted  on  the  downward  trip,  and 
sometimes  the    poles    would    be    used. 


and,  with  his  feet  firmly  braced  against 
the  cross-timbers  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  he  exerted  the  strength  of  his 
body  and  legs  to  push  the  boat  for- 
ward. As  it  moved,  he  stepped  along 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  still  bracing  his 
shoulder  firmly  against  the  pole  until 
he  had  walked  in  this  manner  to  the 
mast-board, — or,  rather,  until  the  move- 
ment of  the  boat  had  brought  the 
mast-board  to  him.  He  then  turned 
round  and  walked  to  the  bow,  trailing 
his  pole  in  the  water,  thrust  it  again  to 
the  bottom  (jf  the   river,  and  repeated 


>. 


THE  TOW-PATH  ON  THE  CANAL. 


On  the  return  trip  against  the  current, 
the  setting  poles  were  the  chief  reli- 
ance, but  sometimes  aided  by  the  sail. 
The  cargo  was  so  piled  in  the  boat  as 
to  leave  a  narrow  passage  next  each 
sunwale  from  the  bow  to  the  mast- 
board.  There  was  also  a  clear  space 
of  six  to  ten  feet  left  at  the  bow,  and 
enough  at  the  stern  to  allow  the  tiller 
to  be  moved  freely  across  the  boat. 
To  propel  the  boat  by  poling,  a  bow- 
man stood  on  either  side  of  the  bow, 
with  his  face  towards  the  stern,  and 
thrusting  the  pike  end  of  his  pole  down 
beside  the  boat  in  a  slanting  direction 
towards  the  stern  until  it  struck  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  he  placed  his 
shoulder  against   the   top  of  the    pole, 


the  pushing  movement.  The  skii)per 
also  had  his  pole,  but  having  very  limit- 
ed space  to  work  in,  and  being  obliged 
to  mind  the  helm  pretty  closely  in 
moving  against  the  current,  he  could 
do  comparatively  little  to  aid  the  prog- 
ress. These  modes  of  propulsion  ap- 
plied only  to  the  river  and  the  river 
canals.  The  boats  were  towed  through 
the  Middlesex  canal  by  horses.  A  trip 
from  Concord  to  Boston  and  return 
usually  took  from  seven  to  ten  days. 

Concord,  Piscataquog,  Litchfield,  and 
and  Nashua  each  had  its  lin^s  of  boats, 
making  in  the  aggregate  ijuite  a  little 
fleet.  The  broad  reaches  of  the  river 
below  Nashua  were  at  times  rendered 
especially   j)i(tures(|ue   by  the   bellying 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


sails   as  the   boats    drove    before    the 
wind. 

This  part  of  the  river  had  also  upon 
it.  for  three  or  four  years  subsequent  to 
1 834,  a  fair-sized  steamboat,  plying  for 
l>assengers  and  freight  between  Nashua 
and  Lowell.  She  was  commanded  one 
season  by  Capt.  Jacob  Vanderbilt  of 
Staten  Island,  New  York,  brother  to  the 
late  Commodore  Vanderbilt.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  season,  while  the  wa- 
ter of  the  river  was  at  its  highest  stages, 
it  was  also  thronged  with  logs  and  lum- 
ber being  taken  down  for  market.  The 
larger  falls  being  impassable  except  by 


structed  for  navigation  purposes  about 
the  same  time  as  the  other  Merrimack 
river  canals  but  by  different  parties, 
who  subsequently  (in  182 1)  sold  out 
to  the  Lowell  manufacturing  compa- 
nies. Newburyport  rafts  usually  con- 
sisted of  ship-timber,  masts,  lumber, 
and  wood  ;  and,  if  starling  from  any 
place  below  Amoskeag  falls,  could  be 
made  into  larger  shots  than  those  des- 
tined to  pass  through  the  Middlesex 
canal,  because  the  Fawtucket  canal 
locks  were  much  larger. 

The  construction  of  these  canals  was 
a  great  enterprise  in  that  day.     Boston 


PUSHING  AGAINST  T3E  CURRENT. 


their  canals  the  logs  and  lumber  had 
necessarily  to  be  bound  into  rafts  oi" 
such  dimensions  as  would  pass  through 
the  locks.  And  at  the  larger  canals, 
such  as  the  Amoskeag  and  Middlesex, 
the  labor  of  locking  down  and  towing 
these  rafts  —  called  shots  —  was  verv 
considerable  and  consumed  much  time. 
Between  canals  these  shots  were  bound 
together  into  large  rafts  of  eight  or  ten 
shots,  called  bands,  and  floated  down 
with  the  current,  generally  at  high  wa- 
ter, avoiding  the  locks  at  the  smaller 
canals  by  running  the  falls.  Many  of 
these  rafts  continued  down  the  river  to 
Newburyport,  passing  the  Pawtucket 
falls   through   a   canal  and  locks  con- 


was  a  town  of  only  about  twenty  thou- 
sand inhabitants  when  the  Middlesex 
canal  was  opened  ;  neither  Lowell  nor 
Manchester  had  been  commenced  ; 
Nashua  was  a  small  j^lace,  without 
manufacturing,  and  Concord  was  a 
country  village. 

Massachusetts  granted  in  aid  of  the 
Middlesex  canal  two  townships  in 
Maine,  of  small  value  at  that  time,  and 
but  little  was  realized  from  them.  Cu- 
riously enough,  a  very  considerable 
portion  of  the  money  for  the  enterprise 
was  raised  by  lotteries.  Notably  so  in 
the  case  of  the  Amoskeag  canal,  tne 
projectors  of  which  were  at  several 
different  times  authorized  by  the  legis- 


10 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


latiires  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massa- 
chusetts to  estabhsh  lotteries  for  raising 
funds  to  carry  on  the  work.  In  a  quarrel 
which  arose  between  the  lottery  mana- 
gers and  Judge  Blodgett,  the  leading 
projector  of  the  Amoskeag  canal,  it  was 
alleged  on  one  ftand  that  the  lottery 
drawings  were  unfairly  managed,  and 
that  the  money  paid  over  to  the  canal 
company  was  only  a  part  of  the  pro- 
ceeds.    On  the  other  hand,  the  lottery 


make  way  for  new  improvements.  The 
writer  hereof  was  born  in  this  house, 
and,  having  spent  his  childhood  and 
early  boyhood  on  the  place,  has  vivid 
recollections  of  all  its  surroundings. 
"  Mansion  "  it  has  been  styled,  but  as 
a  matter  of  fact  it  was  simply  one  of 
those  large  houses  so  much  affected  in 
New  England  in  the  last  century. 
Somewhat  more  ornate  in  its  external 
finish  than  the  average  of  such  houses, 


SHOT  OF  LUMBER  COMING  OUT  OF  A  LOCK. 


managers  alleged  that  a  part  of  the 
money  which  they  did  pay  over  was 
illegally  used  by  Blodgett  in  building 
"  a  splendid  mansion  "  for  his  own  resi- 
dence. The  "  mansion  "  in  question 
was  certainly  built  (about  1795)  and 
occupied  by  Blodgett  until  his  death  in 
1807  ;  but  it  was  asserted  by  him,  and 
seems  wholly  probable,  that  the  cost  of 
its  construction  came  entirely  from  his 
private  purse.  The  engraving  at  the 
head  of  this  article  gives  a  good  repre- 
sentation of  the  house  and  its  surround- 
ings about  forty  years  after  its  erection, 
at  which  time  sketches  were  taken 
from  which  the  present  drawing  was 
made.  It  stood  between  the  river  and 
the  old  boating  canal,  below  the  upper 
locks,  and  a  little  north  of  the  present 
site  of  the  Hoyt  paper  mills.  In  1870, 
or  about  that  time,  it  was  torn  down  to 


but  still  a  heavy,  matter-of-fact  struct- 
ure, relieved  only  by  the  picturesque 
row  of  tall,  lombardy  poplars,  then  in 
fashion  at  houses  of  any  pretension,  and 
by  the  soft  yellow  and  red  colors  in 
which  the  buildings  were  painted.  In- 
ternally it  had  its  large  square  rooms, 
its  tall  clock,  its  brass  fire-irons  in  open 
fireplaces,  its  wide  kitchen  chimney  and 
its  great  chambers  and  attic,  common 
to  all  its  class.  But  the  attaching  out- 
buildings were  uncommonly  numerous, 
and  included  a  little  red  store,  contain- 
ing that  indescribable  and  innumerable 
assortment  of  goods  required  by  a  rural 
community. 

The  owner  and  master  of  this  man- 
sion, from  1820  to  1837,  was  Frederick 
Ci.  Stark  ;  a  man  of  the  times  ;  in  the 
meridian  of  life  contemporaneously 
with  the  canal ;    superintendent  of  all 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimaek  River  Canals. 


II 


the  navigation  works  upon  the  river 
above  Middlesex  canal  :  merchant, 
politician,  trial  justice,  surveyor,  and 
among  the  foremost  in  all  the  business 
activities  of  the  time  and  place.  A 
short  sketch  of  his  life  may  appropri- 
ately be  given  in  this  connection. 


Silhouette  profile  of  Frederick  G.  Stark. 

Frederick  Oilman  Stark  was  born  in 
the  house  of  his  grandfather,  General 
John  Stark,  at  Derryfield,  now  ^[an- 
chester,  August  6,  1792.  The  place 
of  his  birth  was  upon  land  in  the  north- 
erly part  of  Manchester,  now  owned  by 
the  state  of  New  Hampshire,  and  oc- 
cupied for  the  Reform  School.  The 
house  was  destroyed  by  accidental  fire 
in  1866. 

Of  the  five  sons  of  Oeneral  John 
Stark,  the  third  one,  John,  Jr.,  known 
in  his  day  as  the  "justice,"  inher- 
ited the  family  mansion  and  home 
farm,  where  he  had  lived  with  and 
assisted  his  distinguished  father  during 
the  last  forty  years  of  the  life  of  the 
old  patriot,  and  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  own  long  life  engaged 
mostly    in    agricultural   pursuits.     His 


third  son,  Frederick,  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  was  one  of  a  family  of  twelve 
children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  advanced 
age   and  raised   families  of  their  own. 
Starting  in  life  with  the  advantage  of  a 
good  physical  constitution,  as  indicated 
by  the  remarkable  longevity  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  what  may  perhaps  be   consid- 
ered a  further  advantage  of  comparative 
poverty, — the     family    property     being 
inadequate  to  the   support  of  so  many 
children  without  exertions  of  their  own, 
— Frederick  seems  to  have  developi-d 
at  an  early  age  a  rugged   spirit  of  self- 
reliance,  and  a  determination  to  make 
his  way  in  the  world  by  his  own  efforts. 
The  years  of  childhood  were  passed 
at  home.     The  daily  duties   of  the  es- 
tablishment required  such  aid   from  the 
children  as  they  were  able  to  give.     In 
the   winter  there  was  some   schooling, 
and  in  this  direction   he   seems  to  have 
shown  great  aptitude,  especially  for  fig- 
ures.     There    is    now  in    existence    a 
manuscript  book  of  complete  arithme- 
tic of  the  higher   grade  wholly  in  his 
handwriting,    with    all    the    rules     and 
examples    worked    out    in    detail,    em- 
bracing  simple    rule    of  three,   inverse 
proportion,       compound       proportion, 
practice,    tare     and     ti^et,     single    fel- 
lowship, simple  interest,  compound   in- 
terest,   commission    brokerage,    insur- 
ance,  discount,  bank    discount,    equa- 
tion of  payments,  barter,  loss  and  gain, 
alligation    medial,   alligation    alternate, 
position,  double   position,  vulgar  frac- 
tions, and   decimals.     This  manuscript 
book  is  dated  in  1809,  and  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  his  own  composition. 
There  is    no    positive    evidence   of  its 
originalty,  but  it  is  at  least  evident  that 
he  thoroughly  mastered  the   subjects  of 
which  it  treats.     He  was  then  seven- 
teen  years  of  age    and    in  attendance 
upon  school  in  Londonderry. 


12 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  Rij'cr  Canals. 


His  stddious  inclinations  in  these 
early  youthful  days  seem  to  have  opened 
many  schoolhouses  to  his  care ;  and 
from  1810,  when  he  was  eighteeen 
years  old,  until  more  mature  years 
brought  higher  responsibilities  that  ab- 
sorbed all  his  time  and  energies,  we 
find  records  of  his  teaching,  for  the 
usual  short  periods  of  winter  schooling, 
in  various  districts  of  Manchester  and 
the  neighboring  towns.  During  this 
period  he  also  mastered,  without  a 
teacher,  the  art  of  surveying  land  ;  and 
subseiiuently,  up  to  a  late  time  in  his 
life,  his  ability  as  a  surveyor  was 
endorsed  by  extensive  employment 
throughout  his  own  and  neighboring 
towns.  His  surveys,  plans,  and  papers 
relating  thereto  are  yet  much  sought 
after  as  standard  references.  He  was 
ah'j  an  elegant  penman  and  book- 
keeper, his  account-books  being  mod- 
els of  neatness  and  accuracy. 

But  teaching  in  those  days  could  not 
be  a  regular  occupation.  Schools  were 
only  for  a  short  term  in  the  winter. 
Teachers  were  poorly  paid,  and  only 
taught  when  more  profitable  occupation 
was  not  at  hand.  Other  business  must 
be  depended  upon,  in  thi  main,  for  a 
livelihood.  A  natural  aptitude  and  in- 
clination for  trade  led  him  first  to  ap- 
ply for  a  situation  in  a  country  store  ; 
and  in  18 10  he  took  his  first  lessons 
with  Riddle  &  Whittle,  in  their  Bedford 
(  Piscataquog)  store,  and  remained  with 
them  about  six  months.  He  then 
changed  into  the  neighboring  store  of 
Parker  ^:  Palmer,  where  he  remained 
two  years,  leaving  December  26,  1812. 
That  winter  he  kept  school  in  district 
No.  I  of  Manchester  ;  and  in  the  spring 
of  1813  desirmg  to  see  something  of 
the  surrounding  country,  he  travelled 
through  most  of  the  towns  of  Hills- 
borough, Rockingham,  and   Middlesex 


counties,  paying  his  way  by  assuming 
for  the  occasion  the  role  of  a  foot- ped- 
dler, carrying  his  small  stock  of  goods 
in  tin  hand-trunks.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  his  diary  record  of  these  foot 
journeys  illustrate  the  times  : 

"•  Thursday,  April  1 5th,  181 3 — Set  out 
from  home  in  the  morning.  Went  to 
Piscataquog,  got  on  a  raft  and  went  down 
to  the  head  of  Pawtucket  canal,  (iot  off 
and  went  to  Manning's,  near  Chelms- 
ford meeting-house,  and  put  up. 

"  Friday — Passed  down  the  turnpike 
to  Boston.  Arrived  about  half  past  2 
p.  M. 

"Saturday — Stayed  in  Boston. 
Walked  about  town. 

"  Sunday  —  Went  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  the  forenoon,  and 
in  the  afternoon  went  in  company  with 
Charles  Stark  over  Cragie's  bridge  and 
round  to  Charlestown.  Went  on  to 
Bunker  Hill  ;  climbed  on  to  General 
Warren's  monument,  and  saw  two  Brit- 
ish frigates  lying  off  in  Boston  Bay  ;  re- 
turned to  Boston. 

"  Monday  —  Started  from  Boston 
about  1 1  o'clock  and  travelled  to  old 
Concord.  Put  up  at  Davis'es,  al)out 
two  miles  north  of  the  town. 

"  Tuesday  —  Passed  up  as  far  as 
Westford.  Sold  five  or  six  dollars' 
worth  of  goods  during  the  day. 

"  Wednesday — Passed  through  Car- 
lisle and  Groton  and  put  up  in  Pep- 
perell. 

"Thursday — Went  from  Pepperell 
to  the  upper  part  of  Hollis.  Stayed  at 
the  clothiers. 

"  Friday — Arrived  at  Amherst  about 
noon  ;  took  dinner,  and  then  came  on 
and  put  up  a  little  before  night  at  the 
widow's. 

"  Thursday,  April  29th  —  Passed 
through      Londonderry,      Hampstead, 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


n 


riaistow.  and  Haverhill   and  stayed  in 
Bradford. 

"  Friday — Walked  to  Ames'es  in  An- 
dover,  then  got  on  board  the  stage  and 
went  to  Boston.  Arrived  about  2  p.  m. 
Saw  the  marshalls  of  the  W.  B.  S.  with 
their  banners  pass  into  Faneuil  hall. 
They  were  accompanied  by  three  uni- 
formed companies  and  an  excellent 
band  of  music,  and  made  a  very  splen- 
did appearance. 

"Saturday,  May  ist  —  Left  Boston 
after  breakfast.  Passed  over  Cam- 
bridge bridge  ;  got  on  board  a  wagon 
and  rode  to  Concord  ;  then  walked  to 
Acton  and  put  up  at  Stearns 'es. 

'•  Sunday — Spent  the  day  in  Acton. 
Went  to  meeting  in  the  forenoon,  and 
spent  the  afternoon  in  and  about  the 
tavern. 

"  Monday — Passed  through  Litdeton 
and  put  up  at  a  private  house  in  Grot- 
on.  Polly  brought  in  the  milk  and 
strained  it  into  a  large  wooden  bowl, 
then  seated  herself  at  the  table  and 
crumbed  the  bread  into  some  pewter 
basons,  and  with  a  tin  dipper  laded  the 
milk  from  the  wooden  bowl ;  then 
handed  the  old  gentleman  his  bason 
and  one  to  Phineas,  and  I  was  seated 
at  the  table  to  eat  mine. 

"  Tuesday — Passed  through  a  part  of 
Shirley  and  through  Lunenberg  to 
Townsend.     Put  up  at  Stines'. 

"  Wednesday — Passed  through  Ash- 
by  and  New  Ipswich  to  the  north  part 
of  Temple.     Stayed  at  Farrar's. 

'•  Thursday — Through  Wilton  and  a 
part  of  Milford  to  Mont  Vernon. 
Stayed  in  the  north  part  of  the  town. 

"  Friday  —  From  Mont  Vernon  to 
New  Boston  and  Goffstown.  Dined  at 
Caldwell's.  Arrived  home  about  half 
past  three.     Cold  N.  E.  storm." 

I'he  first  cotton  factory  at  the  falls  of 
Amoskeag  was  erected  and  put  in  op- 


eration in  181  I.  It  stood  near  the 
head  of  the  falls  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  then  in  (roffstown,  about  upon 
the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Che- 
ney paper  mills,  within  the  present  lim- 
its of  Manchester.  The  product  was 
cotton  yarn  only,  which  was  sold  to  be 
woven  in  domestic  looms.  Jotham 
(iillis  was  the  first  agent  of  this  factory 
company.  He  was  succeeded  as  agent, 
successively,  by  Philemon  Walcott,  John 
G.  Moore,  and  Frederick  G.  Stark. 
Mr.  Stark's  appointment  dating  from 
July  28,  i8i3,and  terminating  May  11, 
1 8 14,  when  he  went  into  trade,  in 
Goffstown,  as  a  partner  to  Capt.  Trask. 
From  this  time  until  1820  he  contin- 
ued in  trade  at  Goffstown  and  at  Man- 
chester with  various  partners.  In  1820, 
after  occupying  the  place  two  years  un- 
der a  lease,  he  purchased  the  Blodgett 
mansion  with  its  attaching  property,  for 
residence  and  place  of  business,  and 
lived  and  traded  there  on  his  account 
up  to  the  time  when  he  removed  to 
Bedford  in  1837. 

In  18 1 5  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Nancy  Gillis,  daughter  of  Jotham 
Gillis,  Esq., — above  referred  to  as  the 
first  agent  of  the  Amoskeag  factory, — 
a  lady  in  every  way  calculated  to  pro- 
mote his  happiness  and  prosperity,  and 
whose  Christian  virtues  and  benevolent 
life  endeared  her  to  all  who  came  with- 
in her  sphere.  Their  happy  marriage 
relation  continued  unbroken  through 
forty-one  years,  until  her  decease  in 
1856. 

The  first  agent  appointed  by  the 
Canal  company,  "  to  superintend  the 
said  canals,  to  collect  tolls,"  &c.,  was 
Samuel  P.  Kidder,  who  had  for  many 
years  been  Blodgett's  assistant  and  con- 
fidential secretary.  He  held  the  ap- 
pointment until  his  decease  in  1822, 
when  Frederick  G.  Stark  was  appointed 


14 


F>  ederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


his  successor.  Mr.  Stark  held  the  po- 
sition continuously  about  fifteen  years 
until  1837.  During  this  period  his  cor- 
respondence shows  him  to  have  been 
in  active  communication  with  the  Bos- 
ton agents  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
Middlesex  canal,  who  also  owned  or 
controlled  the  river  canals,  and  he  ap- 
pears to  have  at  all  times  enjoyed  their 
full  confidence. 

In  summer,  matters  connected  with 
the  river  navigation  and  trade  absorbed 
his  attentton.  In  winter  there  was  leis- 
ure for  public  affairs.  So  prominent 
and  active  a  man,  possessing  such  keen 
abilities,  could  not  fail  to  become  iden- 
tified with  the  business  affairs  of  the 
town.  We  accordingly  find  that  from 
1819  to  1837,  he  held  some  town  office 
almost  every  year.  From  18 19  to 
1823,  inclusive,  he  was  town-clerk. 
He  was  on  the  board  of  selectmen  in 
1826-7-9,  1831-2-4-5-6,  and  as  mod- 
derator  in  1 830-1-2-7.  He  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  lower  branch  of 
the  legislature  in  1824-5-6,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  state  senate  in  1830  and 
1 83 1.  Most  of  the  small  quarrels  of 
the  neighborhood  were  brought  before 
him,  as  justice  of  the  peace,  for  trial  or 
adjustment.  His  record-book  of  trials 
is  carefully  written  out,  and  indicates 
discreet  judgment  in  his  decisions. 
The  river  community  had  many  rough 
members,  and  naturally  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  cases  tried  before  his 
justice  court  were  for  assault  and  bat- 
tery. It  appears  that  the  expense  of 
giving  a  man  a  sound  beating  was,  gen- 
erally, about  four  dollars  and  costs. 

In  1833  Mr.  Stark  was  appointed  one 
of  the  side  judges  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas  for  Hillsborough  county.  A 
position — since  abolished  in  1855 — for 
which  his  business  qualifications  and 
knowledge  of  the  county  eminently  fit- 


ted him.  He  retained  the  pl^ce  about 
three  years.  Geo,  A.  Ramsdell,  Esq., 
says,  in  his  history  of  the  Hillsborough 
bench  and  bar,  "  It  is  generally  sup- 
posed that  these  judges  were  but  orna- 
mental appendages  to  the  learned  judge 
who  actively  presided  in  court ;  but  in 
addition  to  the  discharge  of  the  dudes 
now  substantially  performed  by  the 
county  commissioners,  they  often  aided 
the  court  by  their  sterling  common- 
sense,  in  matters  requiring  not  legal 
learning  merely,  but  an  acquaintance 
with  men  and  the  ordinary  concerns  of 
life,  which  is  not  always  possessed  by 
learned  lawyers." 

The  commencement  of  the  present 
manufacturing  establishments  of  Man- 
chester dates  from  1836.  In  that  year 
the  Amoskeag  Company  began  to  pur- 
chase the  land  adjacent  to  the  falls, 
with  a  view  of  constructing  canals  and 
factories  and  building  up  a  manufactur- 
ing town.  Mr.  Stark  sold  to  them  such 
of  his  real  estate  as  they  desired,  in- 
cluding the  residence  at  the  old  Blodg- 
ett  mansion,  and  at  once  commenced 
to  build  him  a  new  dwelling  in  the 
neighboring  village  of  Piscataquog, — 
then  in  Bedford,  but  since  annexed  to 
Manchester, — where  he  took  up  his 
residence  the  next  year,  and  from  which 
he  never  removed.  From  this  period 
(1837)  to  1847,  or  later,  he  continued 
his  mercantile  business  in  the  village  of 
Piscataquog.  He  also  held  the  office 
of  high  sheriff  of  the  county  for  five 
years, — from  1837  to  1842.  Subse- 
quently his  attention  was  absorbed  in 
the  care  and  management  of  his  invest- 
ments, especially  his  landed  property, 
which,  being  situated  in  and  near  the 
growing  city  of  Manchester,  had  be- 
come valuable.  Thus  passed  his  de- 
declining  years.  Identified  with  the 
local  projects  of  his  vicinity,  in   good 


Frederick  G.  Stark  and  the  Merrimack  River  Canals. 


15 


fellowship  with  his  neighbors,  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him,  his  latter 
years  were  in  quiet  contrast  to  the  rest- 
less energy  of  earlier  times. 

The  death  of  his  wife,  in  1856, 
seemed  to  mark  the  turning-point  of 
his  life.  From  that  time  his  health 
gradually  declined.  Four  years  later 
he  was  stricken    by  a    slight   paralytic 


opening  of  the  railroad  to  Lowell  in 
1835,  to  Nashua  in  1838,  and  to  Con- 
cord in  1842  were  successive  steps  of 
destruction  to  the  whole  system  of 
river  navigation,  and  culminated  in  a 
total  abandonment  of  the  canals  soon 
after  the  Concord  Railroad  was  put  in 
operation. 

A  hardy  race  of  boatmen,  pilots,  and 


WITH  WIND  AND  CURRENT, 


shock,  and  on  the  26th  day  of  March, 
1 86 1,  he  died,  aged  nearly  69  years. 
The  public  journals  of  that  date  paid 
him  this  just  tribute  of  respect : 

"Judge  Stark  was  a  man  remarkable 
for  his  industry,  energy,  and  correct 
business  habits  ;  and  as  the  result  of 
nearly  half  a  century  of  public  and 
private  business  has  left  behind  a  repu- 
tation for  reliability  and  strict  integrity 
second  to  no  man  in  the  state." 

The    Merrimack    river    canals   were 
blotted    out    by    the    railroads.      The 


raftsmen — men  of  uncommon  strength 
and  endurance,  skilful  in  their  calling 
but  unfamiliar  with  other  labors-were 
suddenly  and  permanently  thrown  out 
of  employment.  The  wooden  dams 
and  locks  went  to  decay,  the  embank- 
ments were  cut  and  ploughed  down, 
and  successive  spring  freshets  have 
hurled  their  icy  batteries  against  the 
stone  abutments  and  lock  walls  until 
they  are  nearly  obliterated,  and  the 
next  generation  will  know  not  of 
them. 


/^  What  the  Old  Clock  Says. 


WHAT  THE  OLD  CLOCK  SAYS. 

HV    IKIKAC'K    KATON    WAl.KKK. 

Tick,  tick,  he  whispers  tales  of  love 

To  milkmaid  by  the  bars  ; 
She  blushes  like  the  new-blown  rose 

Beneath  the  smiling  stars. 

Tick,  tick,  the  white-haired  priest  has  come. 

'I'o  join  their  holy  love, 
And  down  from  out  propitious  skies 

The  angels  smile  above. 

Tick,  tick,  and  smiles  a  pretty  babe 

To  join  them  closer  yet. 
And  mothers  said  from  out  the  heart 

Two  mates  for  once  are  met. 

Tick,  lick,  and  now  her  aged  form 

Is  still  at  last  in  death  ; 
.\  rugged  son,  a  faded  sire. 

Are  mourning 'neath  the  l)reatii. 

Tick,  tick,  and  now  tw(.)  holy  graves 

Are  mouldering  side  by  side. 
The  bridegroom  of  her  earliest  love, 

And  she,  his  lovely  bride. 

Tick,  tick,  and  by  two  graves  at  last 

The  son  stands  there  alone  ; 
The  world  is  large,  but  crowds  of  men 

Heed  not  his  piteous  moan. 

Tick,  tick,  tick,  tick,  and  now 

The  graves  are  one, — two, — three  1 

The  same  sweet  skies  are  smiling  yet 
( )n  flower  and  weed  and  lea. 

The  old  clock  still  is  ticking  on 

Beside  the  great  hall  door. 
The  same  old  face,  tho'  faded  some. 

We  saw  in  days  of  yore. 

Its  solemn  tick  more  solemn  still, 

Does  softly  say  to  all : 
"  From  life  to  death  we  all  must  go, 

The  fairest  flower  -.vill  fall  I  " 


Clarcmont,  N.  H.,  July  23,  1883. 


Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 


17 


YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 

By  Russell  Sturgis,  Jr. 


There  is  an  old  French  proverb 
which  runs :  '■'  L'homme  propose,  et 
Dieu  dispose,"  which  is  but  the  echo  of 
the  Scripture,  "  A  man's  heart  deviseth 
his   way,   but    the    Lord    directeth   his 


GEORGE  WILLIAMS. 
Founder  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 

steps."     In  truth,   God  alone  sees  the 
end  from  the  beginning. 

From  the  beginning  men  have  been 
constantly  building  better  than  they 
knew.  No  unprejudiced  man  who 
looks  at  history  can  fail  to  see  from 
how  small  and  apparently  unimportant 
an  event  has  sprung  the  greatest  results 
to  the  individual,  tlie  nation,  and  the 
world.  The  Christian,  at  least,  needs 
no  other  explanation  of  this  than  that 
his  God,  without  whose  knowledge  no 
sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground,  guides  all 
the  affairs  of  the  world.  Surelv  God  did 
not  make  the  world,  and  purchase  the 


salvation  of  its  tenants  by  the  sacrifice 
of  his  Son,  to  take  no  further  interest  in 
it,  but  leave  it  subject  either  to  fixed 
law  or  blind  chance  !  Indeed  the  God 
who  provided  for  the  wants  of  his 
people  in  the  wilderness  is  a  God  who 
changeth  not.  The  principles  which 
once  guided  him  must  guide  him  to-day 
and  forev'er.  There  never  has  been  a 
time  when  to  the  open  eye  it  was  not 
clear  that  he  provides  for  every  want 
of  his  creatures.  Did  chance  or  the 
unassisted  powers  of  man  discover  coal, 
when  wood  was  becoming  scarce  ?  and 
oil  and  gas  from  coal,  when  the  whale 
was  failing?  Cowper's  mind  was  clear 
when  he  said  : — 

"  Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 
With  never-failing  skill, 
He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs, 
And  works  his  gracious  will." 

If  in  his  temporal  affairs  God  cares 
for  man,  much  more  will  he  do  for  his 
soul.  Great  multitudes  of  young  men 
came  to  be  congregated  in  the  cities, 
and  Satan  spread  his  nets  at  every 
street-corner  to  entrap  them. 

In  1837,  George  Williams,  then  six- 
teen years  of  age,  employed  in  a  dry- 
goods  establishment,  in  Bridgewater, 
England,  gave  himself  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  immediately 
began  to  influence  the  young  men  with 
him,  and  many  of  them  were  con- 
verted. In  1 84 1,  Williams  came  to' 
London,  and  entered  the  dry-goods 
liouse  of  Hitchcock  and  Company. 
Here  he  found  himself  one  of  more 
than  eighty  young  men,  almost  none  of 
them  Christians.  He  found,  however, 
among  them  a  few  professed  Christians, 


i8 


Young  Mais  Christian  Associations, 


and  these  he  gathered  in  his  bed- 
room, to  pray  for  the  rest.  The  number 
increased  —  a  larger  room  was  neces- 
sary, which  was  readily  obtained  from 
Mr.  Hitchcock.  The  work  spread  from 
one  establishment  to  another,  and  on 
the  sixth  of  June,  1844,  in  Mr.  Will- 
iams's bedroom  the  first  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  formed. 

In     1844,   one    association    in    the 
world:  in  November,  185 1,  one  asso- 
ciation    in     America,    at    Montreal ; 
in      December,     one     month     after, 
with   no  knowledge    on  the    part    of 
either  of  the  other's  plan,  one  asso- 
ciation in  the  United  States,  at  Boston. 
Was    it    a    mere    hap   that  these  two 
groups     formed     simultaneously    the 
associations    which    were    always    to 
unite  the  young  Christian  men  of  the    ■ 
two  countries,  and  to  grow  together, 
till  to-day  the  little  one  has  become 
a  thousand  ? 

Forty  years  ago,  one  little  associa- 
tion in  London  :  to-day  Great  Britain 
dotted  all  over  with  them ;  one  hun- 
dred   and    ninety    in    England    and 
Wales ;    one    hundred    and    seventy- 
eight  in  Scodand,  and  twenty  in  Ireland. 
France   has   eight  districts,  or   groups, 
containing  sixty-four  associations.    Ger- 
many, divided  into  five  bunds,  has  four 
hundred ;    Holland,   its    eleven    prov- 
inces, with   three  hundred   and  thirty- 
five  ;     Romansch    Switzerland,    eighty- 
seven  ;       German      Switzerland,      one 
hundred     and     thirty-five ;       Belgium, 
eighteen  ;    Spain,  fourteen  ;  Italy,  ten  ; 
Turkey     in     Europe,    one,    at     Philip- 
popolis ;         Sweden       and       Norway, 
seventy-one  ;    xA.ustria,  two,  at   Vienna 
and  Budapesth ;   Russia,  eight,  among 
them     Moscow    and    St.    Petersburg ; 
Turkey    in     Asia,    nine ;     Syria,    five, 
at   Beirut,  Damascus,  Jaffa,  Jerusalem, 
and    Nazareth ;     India,    five ;     Japan, 


two  ;  Sandwich  Islands,  one,  at 
Honolulu ;  Australia,  twenty-seven ; 
South  Africa,  seven  ;  Madagascar,  two  ; 
West  Indies,  three ;  British  Guiana, 
one,  at  Georgetown ;  South  America 
(besides),  three;  Canada  and  British 
Provinces,  fifty-one.  In  the  United 
States,  seven  hundred  and  eighty-six. 
In  all,  nearly  twenty-seven  hundred, 
scattered  over  the  world,  and  all   the 


CEPHAS    BRAINERD,  ESQ. 

Chairman  of  the  International  Executive 
Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

outgrowth  of  forty  years.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  sun  never  rises  anywhere 
that  it  is  not  saluted  by  the  British 
reveille.  Look  how  quickly  the  organ- 
ization of  young  men  has  stretched  its 
cordon  round  the  world,  and  dotted  it 
all  over  with  the  tents  of  its  conflict  for 
them  against  the  opposing  forces  of  the 
evil  one. 

What  are  its  characteristics  ? 

I.  It  is  the  universal  church  of 
Christ,  working  through  its  young  men 
for  the  salvation  of  young  men.  In  the 
words  of  a  paper,  read  at  the  last 
world's  conference,  at  London  :  — 


YoJCJKT  Men' s  CJiristian  Associations. 


19 


"  The  fundamental  idea  of  the  organ-  thus  emphasized  at  the  Chicago  con- 
ization, on  which  all  subsequent  sub-  vention  in  1863,  in  the  following 
stantial  development  has  been  based,  resolutions  presented  by  the  Reverend 
was  simply  this  :  that  in  the  associated  Henry  C.  Potter,  then  of  Troy,  and 
effort  of  young  men  connected  with  the  now  assistant  bishop  of  the  diocese 
various    branches    of    the    church    of  of  New  York :  — 


BUILDING    OF   THE   Y.  M    C.  A.   IN    MONTREAL,  CANADA. 


Christ  hes  a  great  power  to  promote 
their  own  development  and  help  their 
fellows,  thus  prosecuting  the  work  of 
the  church  among  the  most-important, 
most-tempted,  and  least-cared-for  class 
in  the  community." 

The  distinct  work  for  young  men  was 


"  Resolved,  That  the  interests  and 
welfare  of  young  men  in  our  cities 
demand,  as  heretofore,  the  steadfast 
sympathies  and  efforts  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  of  this 
country. 

"Resolved,  That  the  various  means  by 


20 


Young  Mens  CJtristian  Associations. 


which  Christian  associations  can  gain 
a  hold  upon  young  men,  and  preserve 
them  from  unhealthy  companionship 
and  the  deteriorating  influences  of  our 
large  cities,  ought  to  engage  our  most 
earnest  and  prayerful  consideration." 

2.  It  is  a  Christian  work.  It  stands 
upon  the  basis  of  the  faith  of  the 
church  of  all  ages,  which  is  thus  set 
forth  in  the  formula  of  this  organiza- 
tion. 

The  convention  in  1856  promptly 
accepted  and  ratified  the  Paris  basis, 
adopted  by  the  first  world's  conference 
of  the  associations,  in  the  following 
language : — 

"The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations seek  to  unite  those  young  men 
who,  regarding  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
God  and  Saviour,  according  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  desire  to  be  his  dis- 
ciples in  their  doctrine  and  in  their 
life,  and  to  associate  their  efforts  for 
the  extension  of  his  kingdom  among 
young  men." 

This  was  reaffirmed  in  the  convention 
of  t866  at  Albany.  In  1868,  at  the 
Detroit  convention,  was  adopted  what 
is  known  as  the  evangelical  test,  and  at 
the  Portland  convention  of  1869  the 
definition  of  the  term  evangelical ;  they 
are  as  follows  :  — 

"As  these  associations  bear  the 
name  of  Christian,  and  profess  to  be 
engaged  directly  in  the  Saviour's  service, 
so  it  is  clearly  their  duty  to  maintain 
the  control  and  management  of  all  their 
affairs  in  the  hands  of  those  who  love 
and  publicly  avow  their  faith  in  Jesus 
the  Redeemer  as  divine,  and  who  testify 
their  faith  by  becoming  and  remaining 
members  of  churches  held  to  be  evan- 
gelical :  and  we  hold  those  churches  to 
be  evangelical  which,  maintaining  the 
Holy  Scriptures  to  be  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  do  beUeve  in 


the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (the  only  begotten 
of  the  Father,  King  of  kings  and  Lord 
of  lords,  in  whom  dwelleth  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead,  bodily,  and  who  was 
made  sin  for  us,  though  knowing  no  sin, 
bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree)  as  the  only  name  under  heaven 
given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved  from  everlasting  punishment." 

But  while  the  management  is  thus 
rightly  kept  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
stand  together  upon  the  platform  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  the  benefits  and  all 
other  privileges  are  for  all  young  men 
of  good  morals,  whether  Greek, 
Romanist,  heretic,  Jew,  Moslem, 
heathen,  or  infidel.  Its  field,  the  world. 
Wherever  there  are  young  men,  there  is 
the  association  field,  and  an  extended 
work  must  be  organized.  Already  in 
August,  i8'55,  the  importance  of  the 
work  made  conference  necessary,  and 
thirty-five  delegates  met  at  Paris,  of 
whom  seven  were  from  the  United 
States,  and  the  same  number  from 
Great  Britain. 

In  1858,  a  second  conference  was 
held  at  Geneva,  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty -eight  delegates.  In  1862,  at 
London,  were  present  ninety  -  seven 
delegates;  in  1865,  at  Elberfeld,  one 
hundred  and  forty;  in  1867,  at  Paris, 
ninety-one;  in  1872,  at  Amsterdam, 
one  hundred  and  eighteen;  in  1875, 
at  Hamburg,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  ;  in  1878,  at  Geneva,  two  hundred 
and  seven,  —  forty-one  from  the  United 
States ;  in  1881,  in  London,  three 
hundred  and  thirty-eight,  —  seventy- 
five  from  the  United  States. 

At  the  conference  of  1878,  in  Geneva, 
a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  partner 
in  a  leading  banking-house  of  that  city, 
was  chosen  president.  He  spoke  with 
almost  equal  ease  the  three  languages 
of  the  conference  —  English,    French, 


Young  Mejis  Christian  Associations. 


21 


and  German.  Shortly  after  that  con- 
vention Mr.  Fermand  gave  up  his 
business  and  became  the  general  sec- 
retary of  the  world's  committee  of  the 
Youns:  Men's  Christian  Associations. 
He  traveled  over  the  whole  continent 
of  Europe,  visiting  the  associations, 
and  then   came    to  America  to    make 


of  all  nations,  brought  together  by  the 
love  of  one  person,  each  speaking  in  his 
own  tongue,  praising  the  one  name, 
so  similar  in  each,  —  that  name  alone 
in  each  address  needing  no  interpre- 
tation. 

The   conference  meets  this  year,  in 
August,  at    Berlin,   when  probably   as 


BUILDING  OF  THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.  IN   NEW  YORK. 


acquaintance  with  our  plans  of  work. 
Now  stationed  at  Geneva,  with  some 
resident  members  of  the  convention, 
ne  keeps  up  the  intercourse  of  the 
associations  through  nine  members 
representing  the  principal  nations.  I 
have  spoken  of  the  three  languages  of 
the  conference.  It  is  a  wonderful  in- 
spiration to  find  one's  self  in  a  gathering 


many  as  one  hundred  delegates  will  be 
present  from  the  United  States. 

But  inter-association  organization  has 
gone  much  further  in  this  country 
than  elsewhere,  and  communication  is 
exceedingly  close  between  tlie  nine 
hundred  associations  of  America. 

The  first  conception  of  uniting  asso- 
ciations came  to  the  Reverend  William 


22 


Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 


ChauRcey  Langdon,  then  a  layman,  and 
a  member  of  the  Washington  Asso- 
ciation, now  rector  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  at  Bedford,  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
McBurney,  in  his  fine  Historical  Sketch 
of  Associations,  says  :  "  Many  of  the 
associations  of  America  owe  their  indi- 
vidual existence  to  the  organization 
effected  through  his  wise  foresight. 
The  associations  of  our  land,  and  in 
all  lands,  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
Mr.  Langdon  far  greater  than  has  ever 
been  recognized."  Oscar  Cobb,  of 
Buffalo,  and  Mr.  Langdon  signed  the 
call  to  the  first  convention,  which 
assembled  on  June  7,  1854,  at  Buffalo. 
This  was  the  first  conference  of  associa- 
tions held  in  the  English-speaking  world. 
Here  was  appointed  a  central  committee, 
located  at  Washington,  and  six  else- 
where. 

In  i860,  Philadelphia  was  made  the 
headquarters.  The  confederation  of 
associations  and  its  committee  came 
to  an  end  in  Chicago,  June  4,  1863, 
and  the  present  organization  with  its 
international  executive  committee  was 
born,  with  members  increasing  in 
number.  The  committee  now  numbers 
thirty-three,  two  being  resident  in  New 
York  City. 

In  the  year  1865,  a  committee  was 
appointed  by  the  convention  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  president  of  this  con- 
vention became  the  chairman  of  the 
international  executive  committee,  con- 
sisting of  ten  members  resident  in 
New  York  City,  and  twenty-three 
placed  at  different  prominent  points  in 
the  United  States  and  British  Provinces. 
There  is  also  a  corresponding  member 
of  the  committee  in  each  State  and 
province,  and  means  of  constant  com- 
munication between  the  committee  and 
each  association,  and  between  the 
several  associations,  through  the  Young 


Men's  Christian  Association  Watchman, 
a  sixteen-paged  paper,  published  each 
fortnight  in  Chicago. 

On  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  1883, 
the  international  committee,  which  had 
been  superintending  the  work  since 
1865,  was  incorporated  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  Cephas  Brainerd,  a  lawyer 
of  New  York  City,  a  direct  descendant 
of  the  Brainerds   of  Connecticut,   and 

* 

present  owner  of  the  homestead,  has 
always  been  chairman  of  the  committee, 
and,  from  a  very  large  practice,  has 
managed  to  take  an  immense  amount 
of  time  for  this  work,  which  has  more 
and  more  taken  hold  on  his  heart,  —  and 
here  let  me  say  that  I  know  no  work,, 
not  even  that  of  foreign  missions, 
which  takes  such,  a  grip  upon  those 
who  enter  upon  it.  Time,  means, 
energy,  strength,  have  been  lavishly 
poured  out  by  them.  Mr.  Brainerd 
and  his  committee  work  almost  as 
though  it  were  their  only  work,  and  yet 
each  member  of  the  committee  is  one 
seemingly  fully  occupied  with  his  busi- 
ness or  professional  duties.  See  the 
members  of  the  Massachusetts  com- 
mittee, so  fired  with  love  for  this  work 
that,  in  the  gospel  canvasses  of  the 
State,  after  working  all  day,  many  of 
them  give  from  forty  to  fifty  evenings,. 
sometimes  traveling  all  night  to  get 
back  to  their  work  in  the  morning.  It 
is  no  common  cause  that  thus  draws 
men  out  of  themselves  for  others. 
Then,  too,  I  greatly  doubt  where  there 
are  such  hard-worked  men  as  the 
general  secretaries,  —  days  and  evenings 
filled  with  work  that  never  ends ;  the 
work  the  more  engrossing  and  exacting 
because  it  combines  physical  and  men- 
tal with  spiritual  responsibility.  We 
who  know  this  are  not  surprised  to  find 
the  strength  of  these  men  failing. 
Those  who  employ  them  should  care- 


Yo?mg  Men's  CJiristian  Associations. 


23 


fully    watch    that    relief    is    promptly    because  the  appliances  are  too  expen- 


given  from  time  to  time  as  needed. 
There  are  now  more  than  three  hundred 
and  fifty  of  these  paid  secretaries.  Now, 
look  back  over  the  whole  history  of  the 
associations,  and  can  you  doubt  that 
he     who     meets     the    wants     of    his 


sive  for  the  individual  churches.  Large 
well-situated  buildings,  with  all  possible 
right  attractions,  are  simply  necessary  to 
success  in  this  work.  These  things  are 
so  expensive  that  the  united  church 
only    can    procure    them.       That    in 


BUILDING  OF  THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.  AT  JACKSONVILLE,  ILL. 


creatures  has  raised  up  the  organization 
for  the  express  purpose  of  saving  young 
men  as  a  class?  And  to  do  this  he 
employs  the  church  itself —  not  the 
church  in  its  separate  organizations,  but 
the  church  universal.  A  work  for  all 
young  men  should  be  by  the  young  men 
of  the  whole  church.  First,  because  it 
is  young  manhood  that  furnishes  the 
common  ground  of  sympathy.   Second, 


Philadelphia  cost  $700,000;  in  New 
York,  $500,000 ;  in  Boston,  more  than 
$300,000  ;  in  Baltimore,  $250,000  ;  in 
Chicago,  $150,000;  San  Francisco, 
$76,000;  Montreal,  $67,000;  To- 
ronto, $48,000  ;  HaUfax,  $36,000  ; 
West  New  Brighton,  New  York,  $19,- 
000 ;  at  the  small  town  of  Rockport, 
Massachusetts,  about  $4,000 ;  and  at 
Nahant,    $2,000.       In    all    these    are 


24 


Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 


eighty  buildings,  worth  more  than 
^3,000,000,  while  as  many  more 
have  land  or  building-funds.  Third, 
how  blessedly  this  sets  forth  the  vital 
unity   of    Christ's    church,  "  that    they 


most  conspicuous  has  been  that  at  the 
West  and  South.  In  1868,  the  con- 
vention authorized  the  employment  of 
a  secretary  for  the  West.  This  man, 
Robert  Weidansall,  a  graduate  of  Penn- 


may  all  be  one,"  and  also  distinguishes    sylvania  College,  Gettysburg,  was  found 


working  in  the  shops  of  the  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  at  Omaha.  He 
had  intended  entering  the  ministry,  but 
his   health   failed   him.     To-day  there 


them  from  all  other  religious  bodies. 
"  Come  out  from  among  them  and  be 
ye  separate." 

This  association  work  is  divided  into 
local  (the  city  or  town),  state 
or   home   mission,  the  inter- 
national and  foreign  mission. 

The  local  is  purely  a  city 
or  town  work.  The  "state," 
which  I  have  called  the  home 
mission,  is  thoroughly  to  can- 
vass the  State,  learn  where 
the  association  is  needed, 
plant  it  there,  strengthen  all 
existing  associations,  and 
keep  open  communication 
between  all.  This  is  also  the 
international  work,  but  its 
field  is  the  United  States 
and  British  Provinces,  under 
the  eiificient  management  of 
this  committee. 

As  has  been  said,  the  con- 
vention of  1866  appointed 
the  international  committee, 
which  was  directed  to  call 
and  arrange  for  state  and 
provincial  conventions.  This 
is  the  result :  in  1866,  no  state  or  pro-  is  no  question  as  to  his  health  —  he  has 
vincial  committee  or  conventions.  Now,  a  superb  physique,  travels  constantly, 
thirty-three  such  committees,  thirty-one  works  extremely  hard,  and  has  been 
of  which  hold  state  or  provincial  con-  wonderfully  successful.  When  he  be- 
ventions,  together  with  a  large  number  gan  there  were  thirty-nine  associations 
of  district  and  local  conferences.  in    the     States     of    Indiana,    Illinois, 

In  1870,  Mr.  R.  C.  Morse,  a  graduate  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota, 
of  Yale  College,  and  a  minister  of  the  Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Kentucky, 
Presbyterian  Church,  became  the  gen-  and  Tennessee.  There  was  only  one 
eral  secretary  of  the  committee  and  secretary,  and  no  building.  Now  there 
continues  such  to-day.  Of  the  mis-  are  nearly  three  hundred  associations, 
sionary   work    of    the    committee    the    spending  more  than  one  hundred  and 


BUILDING  OF  Y.   M.  C.  A.  AT    LYNN,   MASS. 


Young  Mciis  Christian  Associations. 


25 


ten  thousand  dollars ;  twenty  general 
secretaries,  and  five  buildings.  Nine 
States  are  organized,  and  five  employ- 
state  secretaries.  The  following  words 
from  a  recent  Kansas  report  sound 
strangely,  almost  like  a  joke,  to  one  who 
remembers  the  peculiar  influence  of 
Missouri  upon  the  infant  Kansas : 
"  Kansas  owes  much  of  her  standing 
to-day  to  the  fostering  care  and  efforts 
of  the  Missouri  state   executive   com- 


not  only  harmony  prevailed,  but  it 
seemed  as  though  each  were  trying  to 
prove  to  the  other  his  intenser  brotherly 
love.  The  cross  truly  conquered.  No 
one  who  was  present  can  ever  forget 
those  scenes,  or  cease  to  bless  God  for 
what  I  truly  believe  was  the  greatest 
step  toward  the  uniting  again  of  North 
and  South.  Mr.  T.  K.  Cree  has  had 
charge  of  this  w^ork  since  the  begin- 
ning.    Not  only  has  sectional  spreading 


-^--;lifiMU«tflU;  TURUNTQ  ■    ^   ^ 


BUILDING  OF  THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.  AT  TORONTO,  CANADA. 


mittee."  In  1870,  two  visitors  were 
sent  to  the  Southern  States.  There 
were  then  three  associations  only  be- 
tween Virginia  and  Texas.  There  are 
now  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven. 

Previous  to  the  Civil  War  the  work 
was  well  under  way,  but  had  been  almost 
entirely  given  up.  Our  visitors  were 
not  at  once  received  as  brethren,  but 
Christian  love  did  its  work  and  gradu- 
ally all  differences  were  forgotten  by 
these  Christians  in  the  wonderful  tie 
which  truly  united  them,  and  when,  in 
1877,  the  convention  met  at  Richmond, 


of  associations  been  done  by  the  com- 
mittee, but,  in  the  language  of  the 
report  already  quoted  :  "  Special  classes 
of  young  men,  isolated  in  a  measure 
from  their  fellows  by  virtue  of  occupa- 
tion, training,  or  foreign  birth,  have 
from  time  to  time  so  strongly  appealed 
to  the  attention  of  the  American  asso- 
ciations as  to  elicit  specific  efforts  in 
their  behalf."  Thus,  in  1868,  the  first 
secretary  of  the  committee  was  directed 
to  devote  his  time  to  railroad  employees. 
For  one  year  he  labored  among  them. 
The  general  call  on  his  time  then  be- 


26 


YouHo-  Meiis  Christian  Associations. 


came  so  imperative  that  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  railroad  work.  This  work 
had  been  undertaken  at  St.  Albans, 
Vermont,  in  1854,  and  in  Canada  in 
1S55.  The  first  really  important  step 
in  this  work  was  at  Cleveland  in  1872, 
when  an  employee  of  a  railroad  com- 
pany, who  had  been  a  leader  in  every 
kind  of  dissipation,  was  converted. 
He  immediately  began  to  use  his 
influence  among  his  comrades,  and 
such  was  the  power  of  the  Spirit  that 
the  Cleveland  Association  took  up  the 
work  and  began  holding  meetings 
especially  for  these  men.  In  1877,  Mr. 
E.  D.  Ingersol  was  appointed  by  the 
international  committee  to  superintend 
the  work.  There  has  been  no  rest 
for  him  in  this.  A  leading  railroad 
official  says :  "  Ingersol  is  indeed  a 
busy  man.  Night  and  day  he  travels. 
To-day.  a  railroad  president  wants  him 
here,  to-morrow  a  manager  summons 
him.  He  is  going  like  a  shuttle  back 
and  forth  across  the  country,  weaving 
the  web  of  railroad  associations." 
When  he  entered  on  the  work  there 
were  but  three  railroad  secretaries  ;  now 
there  are  nearly  seventy.  There 
are  now  over  sixty  branches  in  opera- 
tion ;  and  the  work  is  going  on  besides 
at  twenty-five  points  ;  almost  a  hundred 
different  places,  therefore,  where  specific 
work  is  done  for  railroad  men.  They 
own  seven  buildings,  valued  at  thirty- 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  The  expense  of  maintaining 
these  reading-rooms  is  over  eighty 
thousand  dollars,  and  more  than  two 
thirds  of  this  is  paid  by  the  corporations 
themselves ;  most  of  the  secretaries 
are  on  the  regular  pay-rolls  of  the 
companies.  How  can  this  be  done? 
Simply  because  the  officers  see  such  a 
return  from  this  expenditure  in  the 
morals  and  efficiency  of  their  men  that 


they  have  no  doubt  as  to  the  propriety 
of  the  investment. 

Mr.  William  Thaw,  vice-president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Company,  writes : 
"  This  work  is  wholly  good,  both  for  the 
men  and  the  roads  which  they  serve." 
Mr.  C.  Vanderbilt,  first  vice-president 
of  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  writes  :  "  Few  things 
about  railroad  affairs  afford  more  satis- 
factory returns  than  these  reading- 
rooms."  Mr.  J.  H.  Devereux,  of 
Cleveland,  president  of  the  Cleveland, 
Columbus,  Cincinnati,  and  Indianapo- 
lis Railway,  writes  :  "  The  association 
work  has  from  the  beginning  (now 
ten  years  ago)  been  prosecuted  at 
Cleveland  satisfactorily  and  with  good 
results.  The  conviction  of  the  board 
of  superintendents  is  that  the  influence 
of  the  room  and  the  work  in  connection 
with  it  has  been  of  great  value  to  both 
the  employer  and  the  employed,  and 
that  the  instrumentalities  in  question 
should  not  only  be  encouraged  but 
further  strengthened."  Mr.  John  W. 
Garrett,  president  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company,  says  :  "  A  sec- 
retary of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  for  the  service  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  was 
appointed  in  1879,  ^^^  ^  ^"^^  gratified 
to  be  able  to  say  that  the  officers  un- 
der whose  observation  his  efforts  have 
been  conducted  informed  me  that  this 
work  has  been  fruitful  of  good  results." 
Mr.  Thomas  Dickson,  president  of  the 
Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company, 
writes  :  "  This  company  takes  an  active 
interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  will  cheerfully  co-operate  in 
all  proper  methods  for  the  extension  of 
its  usefulness."  Mr.  H.  B.  Ledyard, 
general  manager  of  the  Michigan  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company,  writes  :  "  I  have 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of 


Yoimz  Mens  CJiristian  Associations. 


27 


the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  tendent  of  another,  and  other  officials, 
among  railroad  men,  and  believe  that,  are  serving  on  the  railroad  committee 
leaving  out  all  other  questions,  it  is  a    of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 


BUILDING  OF  THE  Y.  M.  C.  A.  IN  CHICAGO. 


paying  investment  for  a  railroad  com- 
pany." 

These  are  a  few  out  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  assurances  from  railroad  men 
of  the  value  of  this  organization.  In 
Chicago,  the  president  of  one  of  the 
leading  railroads,  the  general  superin- 


tion,  and  it  is  hoped  that  at  every 
railway  centre  there  may  soon  be 
an  advisory  committee  of  the  work. 
Such  a  committee  is  now  forming  in 
Boston.  This  work  should  interest 
every  individual,  because  it  touches 
every  one  who  ever  journeys  by  train. 


28 


Yowig  Mens  Christian  Associations. 


Speak  as  some  men  may,  faithlessly, 
concerning  religion,  where  is  the  man 
who  would  not  feel  safer  should  he 
know  that  the  engineer  and  conductor 
of  his  train  were  Christians?  men  not 
only  caring  for  others,  but  themselves 
especially  cared  for. 

Frederick  von  Schluembach,  of  noble 
birth,  an  officer  in  the  Prussian  army, 
was  a  leader  there  in  infidelity  and 
dissipation  to  such  a  degree  as  to  drive 
him  to  this  country  at  the  time  of  our 
Civil  War.  He  went  into  service  and 
attained  to  the  rank  of  captain.  His 
conversion  was  remarkable  and  he 
brought  to  his  Saviour's  service  all  the 
intense  earnestness  and  zeal  that  he  had 
been  giving  to  Satan.  He  joined  the 
Methodists  and  became  a  minister 
among  them.  His  heart  went  out  to 
the  multitudes  of  his  countrymen  here, 
and  especially  to  the  young;  thus  he 
came  in  contact  with  the  central  com- 
mittee and  was  employed  by  them  to 
visit  German  centres.  This  was  in 
1871,  in  Baltimore,  where  took  place 
the  first  meeting  of  the  national  bund 
of  German-speaking  associations.  At 
their  request  Mr.  Von  Schluembach 
took  the  field,  which  has  resulted,  after 
extreme  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
German  churches,  in  eight  German 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations, 
besides  an  equal  number  of  German 
committees  in  associations.  When  we 
remember  that  there  are  more  than  two 
million  Germans  in  this  country,  and 
that  New  York  is  the  fourth  German  city 
in  the  world,  we  can  scarcely  over- 
estimate the  greatness  of  this  work. 
Mr.  Von  Schluembach  was  obliged  on 
account  of  ill  health  to  go  to  Germany 
for  a  while,  and,  recovering,  formed 
associations  there,  —  the  one  in  Berlin 
being  especially  powerful,  some  of 
*'  Caesar's  household  "  holding  official 
Vol.  I.  — No.  VI.  — c. 


positions  in  it.  He  has  now  returned, 
and  with  Claus  Olandt,  Jr.,  is  again  at 
work  among  his  countrymen.  His  first 
work  on  returning  was  to  assist  in  raising 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  German 
building  in  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Henry  E.  Brown  has  always 
since  the  war  been  intensely  interested 
in  the  colored  men  of  the  South. 
Shortly  after  graduation  at  Oberlin 
College,  Ohio,  he  founded,  and  was  for 
two  years  president  of,  a  college  for 
colored  men  in  Alabama.  He  is  now 
secretary  for  the  committee  among  this 
class  at  the  South,  and  speaks  most 
encouragingly  of  the  future  of  thi". 
work. 

In  1877,  there  was  graduated  a  young 
man  named  L.  D.  Wishard,  from 
Princeton  College.  To  him  seems  to 
^have  been  given  a  great  desire  for  an 
inter-collegiate  religious  work.  He, 
with  his  companions,  issued  a  call  to 
collegians  to  meet  at  the  general  con- 
vention of  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  at  Louisville.  Twenty-two 
colleges  responded  and  sent  delegates. 
Mr.  Wishard  was  appointed  inter- 
national secretary.  One  hundred  and 
seventy-five  associations  have  now  been 
formed,  with  nearly  ten  thousand  mem- 
bers. These  colleges  report  about 
ninety  Bible-classes  during  the  past 
year.  Fifteen  hundred  students  have 
professed  conversion  through  the  asso- 
ciation ;  of  these  forty  have  decided  to 
enter  the  ministry,  and  two  of  these  are 
going  to  the  foreign  fields. 

The  work  is  among  the  men  most 
likely  to  occupy  the  highest  position  in 
the  country,  hence  its  importance  is 
very  great.  Mr.  Wishard  is  quite  over- 
taxed and  help  has  been  given  him  at 
times,  but  he  needs,  and  so  also  does 
the  railroad  work,  an  assistant  secretary. 

There   is   a   class    of    men    in    our 


Young  Mens  Christian  Associations. 


29 


community  who  are  almost  constantly 
traveling.     Rarely   at    home,    they   go 
from  city  to  city.     The  temptations  to 
these  men  are  peculiar  and  very  great. 
In   1879,  Mr.  E.  W.  Watkins,  himself 
one  of  this  class  of  commercial  travelers, 
was  appointed  secretary  in  their  behalf. 
He  has  since  visited  all  the  principal 
associations,  and  has  crer.ted  an  interest 
in   these  neglected  men.      Among  the 
appliances  which  are  productive  of  the 
most  good  is  the  traveler's  ticket,  which 
entitles  him  to  all  the  privileges  of  mem- 
bership in  any  place  where  an  associa- 
tion may  be.     A  second  most  valuable 
work  is  the  hotel-visiting  done  by  more 
than  fifty  associations  each  week.     The 
hotel -registers  are  consulted  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  and  a  personal  note  is  sent 
to   each   young   man,   giving   him  the 
times  of  service  at  the  several  churches 
and  inviting  him  to  the  rooms.       Is  it 
necessary  to  call  the  attention  of  busi- 
ness men  to  the  importance  to  them- 
selves of  this  work?     Is  it  not  patent? 
You    cannot    follow   the    young    man 
whose  honesty  and  clear-headedness  is 
of  such  consequence  to  you.     God  has 
put  it  into  the  heart  of  this  association 
to   try  and  care  for  those  men   upon 
whom    your   success   largely   depends. 
Can  you  be  blind  to  its  value  ?      Every 
individual  man  who  employs  commer- 
cial travelers  should  aid  the  work.    But 
how  is  all  this  great  work  for  young  men 
carried  on?  It  requires  now  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  to  do  it.     Of  this 
sum  New  York  pays  more  than  one  half, 
Pennsylvania    about    one     sixth,    and 
Massachusetts  less  than  one   fifteenth. 
But   to  do  this  work  properly,  —  this 
work  of  the  universal  church  of  Christ 
for   young  men,  —  at  least  one   third 
more,  or  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
is   needed.       There   is   another   need, 
however,  much  harder  to  meet  —  the 


men  to  fill  the  places  calling  earnestly 
for  general  secretaries.  There  are 
nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  paid 
employees  in  the  field,  representing 
about  two  hundred  associations.  Since 
every  association  should  have  a  secre- 
tary, and  there  are  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
nine  hundred,  the  need  will  be  clearly 
seen.  This  need  it  is  proposed  to  meet 
by  training  men  in  schools  established 
for  the  purpose.  Something  of  this  has 
already  been  done  in  New  York  State 
and  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  and  there  must 
soon  be  a  regular  training-school  estab- 
lished to  accommodate  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  men. 

This  is  a  very  meagre  sketch  of 
a  great  work.  How  inadequately  it 
portrays  it,  none  know  so  well  as  those 
who  are  immediately  connected  with  it. 
Could  you  have  been  present  at  a 
dinner  given  a  few  months  ago  to  the 
secretaries  of  the  international  com- 
mittee, and  heard  each  man  describe 
his  field  and  its  needs  ;  could  you  have 
seen  the  intensity  with  which  each 
endeavored  to  make  us  feel  what  he 
himself  realized,  that  his  special  field 
was  the  most  important,  —  you  would 
have  come  to  our  conclusion :  that 
each  field  was  all-important,  and  that 
each  man  was  in  his  proper  place, 
peculiarly  fitted  for  it  and  assigned  to 
it  by  the  Master. 

A  prominent  divine  has  lately  said : 
"  I  believe  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  to  be  the  greatest  religious 
fact  of  the  nineteenth  century." 

What  has  been  effected  by  this  fact  ? 
Thousands  of  young  men  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  have  been  brought  to 
Jesus  Christ.  It  has  been  the  training- 
school  for  Moody,  Whittle,  and  hosts  of 
laymen  who  are  to-day  proclaiming  the 
simple  Gospel.  It  has  organized  great 
evangehstic  movements  both  here  and 


George  Fuller. 


abroad.  It  formed  the  Christian  Com- 
mission* which  not  only  reUeved  the 
wants  of  the  body  during  our  war, 
but  sent  hundreds  of  Christ's  mission- 
aries to  the  hospitals  and  battle-fields. 
It  has  gloriously  manifested  the  unity  of 
Christ's  true  church.  It  stands  to-day 
an  organic  body,  instinct  with  one  life, 
spreading  its  limbs  through  the  world, 
active,  alert,  ready  at  any  moment  to 
respond  to  the  call  of  the  church,  and 


enables  it  to  present  an  unbroken  front 
to  superstition  and  infidelity,  which  al- 
ready rear  their  brazen  heads  against 
Christ  and  his  church,  and  will  soon 
be  in  open  rebellion  and  actual  war- 
fare, and  which  Christ  at  his  coming 
will  forever  destroy. 

[Note. —  Through  the  kindness  of  Messrs.  Harper 
and  Brothers,  of  New  York,  we  present  to  our  readers 
the  two  portraits  in  this  article.  For  the  cuts  of  the 
buildings  we  are  indebted  to  the  Chicago  Watchman, 
mention  of  which  is  made  above.  —  R.  S.,  Jr.] 


GEORGE  FULLER. 

By  Sidney  Dickinson. 


The  death  of  George  Fuller  has 
removed  a  strong  and  original  figure 
from  the  activity  of  American  art,  and 
added  a  weighty  name  to  its  history. 
To  speak  of  him  now,  while  his  work 
is  fresh  in  the  public  mind,  is  a  labor 
of  some  peril ;  so  easy  is  it,  when  the 
sense  of  loss  is  keen,  to  make  mistakes 
in  judgment,  and  to  allow  the  friendly 
spirit  to  prevail  over  the  judicial,  in  an 
estimation  of  him  as  a  man  and  a 
painter.  Yet  he  has  gone  in  and  out 
before  us  long  enough  to  make  a  study 
of  him  profitable,  and  to  give  us,  even 
now,  some  occasion  for  an  opinion  as 
to  the  place  he  is  likely  to  occupy  in 
the  annals  of  our  native  art.  Mr. 
Fuller  held  a  peculiar  position  in 
American  painting,  and  one  which 
seems  likely  to  remain  hereafter  un- 
filled. He  followed  no  one,  and  had 
no  followers  ;  his  art  was  the  outgrowth 
of  personal  temperament  and  experi- 
ence, rather  than  the  result  of  teaching, 
and  although  he  studied  others,  he  was 
himself  his  only  master.  In  other  men 
whose  names  are  prominent  in  our  art, 
we  seem  to  see  the  direction  of  an  out- 
side influence.     Stuart  and  Copley  con- 


fessed to  the  teaching  of  the  English 
school  of  their  day  —  a  school  brilliant 
but  formal,  and  holding  close  guiding- 
reins  over  its  disciples  ;  Benjamin  West 
became  denationalized,  so  far  as  his  art 
was  concerned  ;  AUston  showed  the  im- 
pression of  England,  Italy,  and  Flanders, 
all  at  once,  in  his  refined  and  thoughtful 
style,  and  Hunt  manifested  in  every 
stroke  of  his  brilliant  brush  the  learned 
and  facile  methods  that  are  in  vogue  in 
the  leading  ateliers  of  modern  Paris. 
In  these  men,  and  in  the  followers  whom 
their  preeminent  ability  drew  after  them, 
we  perceive  the  dominant  impulse  to  be 
of  alien  origin ;  Fuller  alone,  of  all  the 
great  ones  in  our  art,  was  in  thought 
and  action  purely  and  simply  American. 
The  influence  that  led  others  into  the 
error  of  imitation,  seems  to  have  been 
exerted  unavailingly  upon  his  self- 
reliant  mind.  We  shall  search  vainly  if 
we  look  elsewhere  than  within  himself- 
for  the  suggestions  upon  which  his  art 
was  established.  Superficial  resem- 
blances to  other  painters  are  sometimes 
to  be  noted  in  his  works,  but  in  govern- 
ing principle  and  habit  of  thought  he 
was  serenely  and  grandly  alone. 


George  Fuller. 


31 


We  must  regard  him  thus  if  we  would 
study  him  understandingly,  and  gain 
from  our  observation  a  correct  estimate 
of  his  power.  We  think  of  our  other 
painters  as  in  the  crowd,  and  amid  the 
affairs  of  men,  and  detect  in  their  art 
a  certain  uneasiness  which  the  bustle 
about  them  necessarily  caused.  We 
perceive  this  most  in  Hunt,  who  was 
emphatically  a  man  of  the  world,  and 
in  Stuart,  who  shows  in  some  of  his 
later  work  that  his  position  as  the  court 
painter  of  America,  while  it  aided  his 
purse  and  reputation,  harmed  his  re- 
pose \  least  in  AUston,  whose  tastes 
were  literary,  whose  love  was  in  retire- 
ment, and  who  would  have  been  a  poet 
had  not  circumstances  first  placed  a 
brush  and  palette  in  his  hands.  Allston, 
however,  enjoyed  popularity,  and  was 
courted  by  the  best  society  of  his  time, 
and  was  not  permitted,  although  he 
doubtless  longed  for  it,  to  indulge  to  its 
full  extent  his  chaste  and  dreamy  fancy. 
It  may  be  said  without  disrespect  to  his 
undoubted  powers,  that  he  would  have 
been  less  esteemed  in  his  own  day  if 
his  art  had  not  been  largely  conven- 
tional, and  thus  easily  understood  by 
those  who  had  studied  the  accepted 
masters  of  painting.  He  lacked  posi- 
tive force  of  idea,  as  his  works  clearly 
show,  —  that  quality  which  was  among 
the  most  characteristic  traits  of  Fuller's 
method,  and  made  him  at  once  the 
greatest  genius,  and  the  man  most 
misunderstood,  among  contemporary 
American  painters. 

Although  men  who  have  not  had 
"advantages"  in  life  are  naturally  prone 
to  regret  their  deprivation,  they  fre- 
quently owe  their  success  to  this  seem- 
ing bar  against  opportunity.  We  have 
often  seen  illustrated  in  our  art  the  fact 
that  favorable  circumstances  do  not 
necessarily  insure  success,  and  now  from 


the  life  of  Fuller  we  gain  the  still  more 
important  truth,  that  power  is  never  so 
well  aroused  as  in  the  face  of  obstacles. 
Few  men  endured  more  for  art  than  he  ; 
none  have  waited  more  uncomplainingly 
for  a  recognition  that  was  sure  to  come 
by-and-by,  or  received  with  greater 
serenity  the  approbation  which  the  dull 
world  came  at  last  to  bestow.  His  his- 
tory is  most  wholesome  in  its  record  of 
steadfast  resting  upon  conviction,  and 
teaches  quite  as  strongly  as  his  pictures 
do,  the  value  of  absorption  in  a  lofty 
idea. 

If  the  saying  that  those  nations  are 
the  happiest  that  have  no  history  is 
true  of  men,  Mr.  Fuller's  life  must  be 
regarded  as  exceptionally  fortunate. 
Considered  by  itself,  it  was  quiet  and 
uneventful,  and  had  Httle  to  excite 
general  interest ;  but  when  viewed  in 
its  relation  to  the  practice  of  his  art, 
it  is  found  to  be  full  of  eloquent  sug- 
gestions to  all  who,  like  him,  have  been 
appointed  to  win  success  through  suf- 
fering. The  narrative  of  his  experience 
comprises  two  great  periods  —  the 
preparation,  which  covered  thirty-four 
years,  and  the  achievement,  to  the  en- 
joyment of  which  less  than  eight  years 
were  permitted.  The  first  period  is 
subdivided  into  two,  of  which  one  em- 
braces eighteen  years,  from  the  time 
when,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  his  art,  to  his  retire- 
ment from  the  world  to  the  exile  of  his 
Deerfield  farm ;  the  other  including 
sixteen  years  of  seclusion,  until,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four,  he  came  forth  again 
to  proclaim  a  new  revelation.  The 
first  part  of  his  career  may  be  dismissed 
without  any  extended  consideration. 
Its  record  consists  of  an  almost  unre- 
lieved account  of  struggle,  indifferent 
success,  and  lack  of  appreciation  and 
encouragement,  in  the  cities  of  Boston 


32 


George  Fuller. 


and  New  York.  In  Boston  he  ap- 
peared as  the  student,  rather  than  the 
producer  of  works,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  style  in  observation  of  the 
paintings  of  Stuart,  Copley,  AUston,  and 
Alexander, — all  excellent  models  upon 
which  to  base  a  practice,  although 
destined  to  show  little  of  their  influence 
upon  the  pictures  which  he  painted  in 
the  maturity  of  his  power.  It  is  not  to 
be  doubted,  however,  that  all  these 
men,  and  particularly  Stuart,  made  an 
impression  upon  him  which  he  was 
never  afterward  wholly  able  to  conceal. 
We  may  see  even  in  some  of  his  latest 
works,  under  his  own  peculiar  manner, 
suggestions  of  Stuart,  particularly  in 
portraits  of  women,  which  in  pose  and 
expression,  and  to  a  considerable 
degree  in  color,  show  much  of  that 
dignity  and  composure  which  so  dis- 
tinguish the  female  heads  of  our  great- 
est portrait-painter.  He  always  ad- 
mired Stuart,  and  in  his  later  years 
spoke  much  of  him,  with  strong  appre- 
ciation for  his  skill  in  describing  char- 
acter, and  the  refined  taste  which  is 
such  a  marked  feature  of  his  best 
manner. 

His  work  in  Boston  made  no  par- 
ticular impression  upon  the  public 
mind,  and  after  five  years'  trial  of  it  he 
removed  to  New  York,  where  he  joined 
that  brilliant  circle  of  painters  and 
sculptors  which,  with  its  followers,  has 
made  one  of  the  strongest  impressions, 
if  not  the  most  valuable  or  permanent, 
upon  the  art  of  America.  During  his 
residence  in  that  city  he  devoted  him- 
self almost  exclusively  to  portrait-paint- 
ing, in  which  he  developed  a  manner 
more  distinguished  for  conventional 
excellence  than  any  particular  individ- 
uality. It  was  remarked  of  him,  how- 
ever, that  he  was  disposed,  even  at  this 
time,  to  seek  to  present  the  thought 


and  disposition  of  his  subjects  more 
strongly  than  their  merely  physical  fea- 
tures, and  among  his  principal  asso- 
ciates excited  no  httle  appreciative 
comment  upon  this  tendency.  In 
some  of  his  portraits  of  women  of  that 
period,  wherein  he  evidently  attempted 
to  present  the  superior  fineness  and 
sensibility  of  the  feminine  nature,  this 
effort  toward  ideality  is  quite  strongly 
indicated ;  they  are  painted  with  a  more 
hesitating  and  lingering  touch  than  his 
portraits  of  men,  and  with  a  certain 
seeming  lack  of  confidence,  which 
throws  about  them  a  thin  fold  of  that 
veil  of  etherialism  and  mystery  which 
so  enwraps  nearly  all  his  pictures  of  the 
last  eight  years.  This  treatment,  how- 
ever, seems  to  have  been  at  that  time 
more  the  result  of  experiment  than  con- 
viction ;  later  in  life  he  wrought  its 
suggestions  into  a  system,  the  principles 
of  which  we  may  study  further  on. 
His  earHer  work,  as  has  been  said,  was 
chiefly  confined  to  portrait-painting, 
although  it  is  a  significant  fact  that 
among  his  pictures  of  that  time  are 
two  which  show  that  the  feeling  for 
poetical  and  imaginative  effort  was 
working  in  him.  At  a  comparatively 
early  age  he  painted  an  impression  of 
Coleridge's  Genevieve,  which  showed 
marked  evidence  of  power,  and  later, 
after  seeing  a  picture  of  the  school  of 
Rubens,  which  was  owned  by  one  of  his 
artist  friends,  produced  a  study  which 
he  afterward  seems  to  have  developed 
into  his  well-known  Boy  and  Bird; 
a  Cupid-like  figure,  holding  a  bird 
closely  against  its  breast.  These  ex- 
ercises, however,  seem  to  have  been,  as 
it  were,  accidental,  and  had  little  or  no 
effect  in  leading  him  to  the  practice 
in  which  he  afterward  became  ab- 
sorbed. 

His  life  in   New   York,   which  was 


George  Fuller.  33 

interrupted  only  by  three  winter  trips  lofty  spirit  in  which  the  greatest  of  the 
to  the  South,  whither  he  went  in  the  world's  painters  labored.  The  colorists 
hope  of  securing  some  commissions  for  and  chiaroscurists,  such  as  Titian  on 
portraits,  was  an  uneventful  experience  the  one  hand  and  Rembrandt  on  the 
of  very  modest  pecuniary  success,  and  other,  seem  to  have  impressed  him  par- 
brought  him  as  the  only  official  honor  ticularly,  and  of  all  men  Titian  the 
of  his  hfe  an  election  as  associate  of  most  strongly,  as  many  of  his  pictures 
the  National  Academy  of  Design.  He  testify,  and  as  such  glowing  works  as 
then  went  to  Europe,  where,  for  eight  the  Arethusa  and  the  Boy  and  Bird 
months,  he  carefully  studied  the  old  unmistakably  show.  Yet  it  was  not 
masters  in  the  principal  galleries  of  in  matter  or  in  manner,  but  in  the 
England  and  the  Continent.  This  visit  expression  of  a  great  truth,  that  the  old 
to  the  Old  World  was  of  incalculable  masters  most  strongly  affected  him.  He 
value  to  him  in  the  method  of  painting  felt  at  once,  and  grew  to  admire  great- 
which  he  afterward  made  his  own,  and,  ly,  their  repose  and  modesty,  calm 
in  point  of  fact,  gave  him  his  first  de-  strength  and  undisturbed  temper,  and 
cided  inclination  toward  it.  Its  best  drew  from  them  the  important  principle 
influence,  however,  was  in  giving  him  that  true  genius  may  be  known  by 
confidence  in  himself,  and  assurance  of  its  confessing  neither  pride  nor  self- 
the  reasonableness  of  the  views  which  distrust.  The  serenity  of  their  style 
he  had  already  begun  to  entertain,  he  sought  at  once  to  appropriate,  and 
He  had  been  led  before  to  regard  the  thereafter  worked  as  much  as  possible 
old  masters  as  superior  to  rivalry  and  in  imitation  of  their  evident  purpose, 
incapable  of  weakness,  superhuman  striving  simply  to  do  his  best,  without 
characters,  indeed,  whose  works  should  any  question  of  whether  the  result 
discourage  effort.  Instead  of  this,  would  please,  or  another's  effort  be 
however,  he  fotmd  them  to  be  men  like  reckoned  as  greater  than  his  own.  It 
himself,  with  their  share  of  defect  became  a  governing  principle  with  him 
and  error,  yet  made  grand  by  inspira-  never  to  seek  to  outdo  any  one,  or  to 
tion  and  idea,  and  this  knowledge  feel  anything  but  pleasure  at  another's 
greatly  encouraged  him,  a  man  who  of  success,  for  he  was  not  a  man  who 
all  painters  was  at  once  the  most  could  fail  to  recognize  the  truth  that 
modest  and  devoted.  Most  painters  envy  is  fatal  to  a  fine  mood  in  any 
who  resort  to  Europe  to  study  the  old  labor.  Few  artists,  we  may  well  he- 
art find  there  one  or  two  men  whose  lieve,  study  the  great  art  of  the  world 
works  make  the  strongest  appeals  to  in  this  spirit,  or  derive  from  it  such  a 
their  liking,  and,  devoting  their  atten-  lesson. 

tion    chiefly  to    these,   they  show  ever        On  his  return  to  America,  he  betook 

after  the  marks  of  an  influence  that  is  himself  to  his  native  town  of  Deerfield, 

easily  traced  to  its  source ;  Fuller,  how-  to  assume   for  a  time  the  care  of  the 

ever,  observed  with  broader  and  more  ancestral  farm,  which  the  death  of  his 

penetrating   view,    and,    as    his   works  father  had  placed  in  his   hands.     He 

show,  seems  to  have  studied  men  less  had  returned  from  Europe  full  of  in- 

than  principles,  and  to  have  been  filled  spired  ideas,  and  was  apparently  ready 

with  admiration,  not  so  much  for  par-  to  go  on  at  once  in  new  paths  of  labor  ; 

ticular  practices  as  for  the  common  and  but  the  voice  of  duty  seemed  to  him  to 


34                                                George  Fuller. 

call  him  away  from  his  chosen  life,  and  them  the  spaciousness  of  its  meadows, 
he  obeyed  its  summons  without  hesita-  the  inviting  slope  of  its  low  hills,  the 
tion.     Moreover,  he  loved  the  country  calm  grandeur  of  its  encircling  moun- 
and   the   family  homestead,   and   may  tains,  the  mysterious  gloom  and  whole- 
have  perceived,  also,  that  the  condition  some  brightness  of  its  changing  skies, 
of  art  in  Boston  and  New  York  was  not  the  atmosphere  of  history  and  romance 
such  as  to  encourage  an  original  pur-  which  is  its  breath  and  life.     Song  and 
pose,  and  that,  if  he  was  ever  to  gain  story  have  found   many  incidents   for 
success,  he   must   develop   himself  in  treatment  in  this  locahty.     Not  far  from 
quiet,  and  aloof  from   the   distracting  the  farm  where  Fuller's  daily  work  was 
influences  of  other  methods  and  men.  done,   the   tragedy  of    Bloody   Brook 
It  is  easy  to  perceive,  with  the  complete  was  enacted  ;  the  fields  which  he  tilled 
record  of  his  life  before  us,  that  this  have  their  legend  of  Indian  ambuscade 
experience  of  labor  and  thought  upon  and  massacre ;  the  soil  is  sown,  as  with 
the    Deerfield   farm,   although   at   first  dragon's   teeth,  with   the   arrow-heads 
sight  forming  an  hiatus  in  his  career,  and  battle-axes  of  many  bitter  conflicts  ; 
was  really  its  most  pregnant  period,  and  even  to  the   ancient   house  where,  in 
that  without  it  the  Fuller  who  is  now  so  recent    years,    the    painter's    summer 
much  admired  might  have  been  lost  to  easel  was  set  up,  a  former  owner  was 
us,  and  the  spirit  that  appears  in  his  brought  home  with  the  red  man's  bul- 
later  works  never  have  been  awakened,  let   in   his    breast.      The    menace    of 
It  is,  indeed,  a  spirit  that  can  find  no  midnight  attack  seems  even  now  to  the 
congenial  dwelling-place  in  towns,  but  wanderer  in   the   darkness   to   burden 
makes  its  home  in  the  fields  and  on  the  the  air  of  these  mournful  meadows,  and 
hillsides,    to   which    the    poet-painter,  tradition  shows  that  here  were  felt  the 
depressed  but   not   cast   down   by  his  ripples   of    that  tide   of    superstitious 
experience   of  life,    repaired    to  work  frenzy  which  flowed  from  Salem  through 
and  dream.     For  sixteen  years,  in  the  all  the  early  colonies.     No  place  could 
midst  of  the  fairest  pastoral  valley  of  have  furnished  more  potent  suggestions 
New  England,  he  lived  in  the  contem-  to   the   art-idealist   than   this,  and   al- 
plation  of  the  ideas  that  had   passed  though  it  did  not  lead  him  to  paint  its 
across    his     mind    in     the     quiet    of  tragic  history   (for   no   man   had   less 
European   galleries,    and    now  became  Hking   for  violence   and   passion    than 
more  definite  impressions.     The  secret  he),  it  impressed  him  deeply  with  its 
of  those  years,  with   their   deep,  slow  concurrent  records  of   endurance  and 
current    of    refined    and    melancholy  devotion.     Nor  did  it  invite  him,  as*  it 
thought,   is    now   sealed   with   him  in  might   have    done    in   the    case   of    a 
eternal  sleep  ;  but  from  the  works  that  weaker  man,  into  mere  description,  but 
remain  to  us  as  the  matured  fruits  of  having  aroused  his  thought,  it  submitted 
his  life,  we  may  gain  some  hint  of  his  itself  wholly  to   the   treatment   of  his 
experiences.     It  is  not  to  be  questioned  strong  and   original   genius.     He   ap- 
that  he  drew  from  the   New-England  proached   his   task  with  a   broad   and 
soil  that  he  tilled,  and  the  air  that  he  comprehensive  vision,  and  a  loving  and 
breathed,    an   inspiration  which   never  inquiring   soul.     He  was   not   satisfied 
failed  him.     The  flavor   of  the   quiet  with  the  revelation  of  his  eyes  alone, 
valley  fills  all  his  canvases.     We  see  in  but  sought  earnestly  for  the  secret  of 


George  Fuller.                                                  35 

nature's  life,  and  of  its  influence  upon  to  strike  at  once  to  the  ceatre,  present- 
the  sensitive  mind  of  man.  He  per-  ing  the  vital  idea  with  decision,  and 
ceived  the  truth  that  nature  without  departing  from  it  with  increasing  vague- 
man  is  naught,  even  as  there  is  no  ness  of  treatment,  until  the  whole  area 
color  without  light,  and  strove  earnestly  of  his  work  was  filled  with  a  harmonious 
to  show  in  his  art  the  relations  that  they  and  carefully  graduated  sense  of  sug- 
sustain  to  each  other.  He  saw,  also,  gestion.  He  arrived  at  his  method  by 
that  the  material  in  each  is  nothing  an  original  way  of  studying  the  natural 
without  the  spirit  which  they  share  in  world.  He  did  not,  as  most  artists  do, 
common,  and  thus  he  painted  not  take  his  paint-box  and  easel  and  devote 
places,  but  the  influence  of  places,  even  himself  to  description,  and  from  his 
as  he  painted  not  persons  merely,  but  studies  work  out  the  finished  picture, 
their  natures  and  minds.  It  is  for  this  Instead,  he  disencumbered  himself  of 
reason  that,  although  we  see  in  all  his  all  materials  for  making  memoranda, 
pictures  where  landscape  finds  a  place  and  merely  stood  before  the  scene  that 
the  meadows,  trees,  and  skies  of  Deer-  impressed  him,  looking  upon  it  for 
field,  we  also  see  much  more,  —  the  hours  at  a  time.  Then  he  betook  him- 
general  and  unlocated  spirit  of  New-  self  to  his  studio,  and  there  worked 
England  scenery.  from  the  impression  that  his  mind  had 
This  is  the  true  impressionism  —  a  formed  under  the  guiding-hand  of  his 
system  to  which  Fuller  was  always  con-  fancy,  the  result  being  that  nature  and 
stant  in  later  life,  and  which  he  de-  human  thought  appeared  together  upon 
veloped  grandly.  He  was,  however,  as  the  canvas,  giving  a  double  grace  and 
far  removed  as  possible  from  that  cheap,  power.  The  process  was  subtle,  and 
shallow,  and  idealess  school  of  French  not  to  be  described  clearly  even  by  the 
painters  whose  wrongful  appropriation  painter  himself,  who  found  his  work  so 
of  the  name  "  Impressionist"  has  preju-  largely  a  matter  of  inspiration  that  he 
diced  us  against  the  principle  that  it  was  never  able  to  make  copies  of  his 
involves.  The  inherent  difference  be-  pictures.  They  grew  out  of  his  con- 
tween  them  and  Fuller  lies  in  this  —  sciousness  in  a  strange  way  whose  secret 
he  exercised  a  choice,  and  thought  the  he  could  not  grasp ;  to  the  end  of  his 
beautiful  alone  to  be  worthy  of  descrip-  life  he  was  an  inquirer,  always  hesitat- 
tion,  while  they  selected  nothing,  but  ing,  and  never  confident  in  anything  ex- 
painted  indiscriminately  all  things,  with  cept  that  art  was  truth,  and  that  he  who 
whatever  preference  they  indicated  lying  followed  it  must  walk  in  modesty  and 
in  the  direction  of  the  strong  and  ugly,  humbleness  of  spirit  before  the  great- 
as  being  most  imperative  in  its  demands  ness  of  its  mystery.  A  man  of  ideas 
for  attention.  Fuller's  subjects  were  and  sentiment,  remote  from  the  clamor 
always  sweet  and  noble,  and  it  followed  of  schools  and  the  complaints  of  critics, 
as  a  matter  of  course  that  his  treatment  with  recollections  of  the  grandest  art  of 
of  them  was  refined  and  strong.  His  the  world  in  his  mind,  and  beautiful 
idea  was  also  broad ;  he  sought  for  the  aspects  of  nature  continually  before  his 
typical  in  nature  and  life,  and  grew  in-  eyes,  he  could  hardly  fail  to  work  out  a 
evitably  into  a  continually  widening  and  style  of  marked  originality.  The  effort, 
more  comprehensive  style.  He  taught  however,  was  slow ;  one  does  not  erase 
himself  to  lose  the  sense  of  detail,  and  on   the    instant    the    impressions    that 


36 


George  Fuller. 


eighteen  years  of  study  and  practice 
have  made,  and  Fuller  found  his  life 
at  Deerfield  none  too  long  to  rid  him 
of  his  respect  for  formulas. 

His  experience  there  was  a  continu- 
ous round  of  study.  He  completed 
little,  although  he  painted  much,  inex- 
orably blotting  out,  no  matter  after  what 
expenditure  of  labor,  the  work  that 
failed  to  respond  to  his  idea,  and  striv- 
ing constantly  to  be  simple,  straight- 
forward, and  impressive,  without  being 
vapid,  arrogant,  or  dogmatic.  He  pos- 
sessed in  large  measure  that  rarest  of 
gifts  to  genius  —  modesty  —  and  ap- 
proached the  secrets  of  nature  and  life 
more  tremblingly  as  he  passed  from 
their  outer  to  their  inner  circles.  It 
was  a  necessity  of  his  peculiar  feeling 
and  manner  of  study  that  he  should 
develop  a  lingering,  hesitating,  half- 
uncertain  style  of  painting,  which,  how- 
ever variously  it  may  be  viewed  by 
different  minds,  is  undoubtedly  of  the 
utmost  effectiveness  in  describing  the 
principles,  rather  than  the  facts,  of  na- 
ture and  life.  This  way  of  presenting 
his  idea,  which  some  call  a  "  manner- 
ism,"—  a  term  that  has  wrongly  come 
to  have  a  suggestion  of  contempt  at- 
tached to  it,  —  was  with  him  a  principle, 
and  employed  by  him  as  the  one  in 
which  he  could  best  express  truth.  Art 
may  justly  claim  great  latitude  in  this 
endeavor,  and  schools  and  systems  ar- 
rogate too  much  when  they  seek  to 
define  its  limitations.  Absolute  truth 
to  nature  is  impossible  in  art,  which  is 
constrained  to  lie  to  the  eye  in  order 
to  satisfy  the  mind,  and  continually 
transposes  the  harmonies  of  earth  and 
sky  into  the  minor  key.  Fuller  of- 
fended the  senses  often,  but  he  touched 
that  nerve-centre  in  the  heart,  without 
which  impressions  are  not  truly  recog- 
nized.    He    won    liking,    rather    than 


startled  men  into  it,  and  his  art,  instead 
of  approaching,  retired  and  beckoned. 
His  fisrures  never  "  came  out  of  the 
frame  at  you,"  as  is  the  common 
expression  of  admiration  nowadays. 
He  put  everything  at  a  distance,  made 
it  reposeful,  and  drew  about  figure  and 
landscape  an  atmosphere  which  not 
only  made  them  beautiful,  but  estab- 
lished a  strange  and  reciprocal  mood  of 
sentiment  between  them.  He  alone  of 
all  American  painters  filled  the  whole 
of  his  canvas  with  air ;  others  place  a 
barrier  to  atmosphere  in  their  middle 
distance,  and  it  comes  no  farther,  but 
he  brought  it  over  to  the  nearest  inch 
of  foreground.  This  treatment,  while 
it  aided  the  quietness  and  restful  mys- 
tery of  his  pictures,  also  strengthened 
his  constant  effort  to  avoid  marked 
contrasts.  He  sought  always  a  general 
impression,  and  ruthlessly  sacrificed 
everything  that  called  attention  to  itself 
at  the  expense  of  the  whole.  Yet  he 
was  not  a  man  of  swift  insight  in 
comprehensive  matters,  nor  one  who 
could  be  called  clever.  Weighty  in 
thought  as  in  figure,  he  moved  slowly 
and  in  long  waves,  and  although  of 
marked  quickness  in  intuition,  he 
seemed  to  distrust  this  quality  in  him- 
self until  he  had  proved  it  by  reason. 
He  received  his  motive  as  by  a  spark 
quicker  than  the  lightning's,  and  when 
he  began  a  work  saw  its  intention 
clearly,  although  its  form  and  details 
were  wholly  obscured.  Out  of  a  mist 
of  darkness  he  saw  a  face  shine  dimly 
with  some  light  of  joy  or  sorrow  that 
was  in  it,  and  at  the  moment  caught  its 
suggestion  upon  the  waiting  canvas. 
Then  came  inquiry,  explanation,  rea- 
soning, the  exercise  of  a  manly  and  po- 
etic sensibility,  and  endless  experiment 
with  lines  and  forms,  of  which  the 
greater  part  were  meaningless,  until  by 


George  Fuller.  37 

unwearied  searching,  and  constant  trial  by  circumstances,  and  through  it  all  he 

and  correction,  the  complete  idea  was  was  impelled  to  steps  which  he  might 

expressed  at  last.  never  have  taken  of  his  own  accord. 

When  a  painter  produces  works  in  He  was  drawn  by  influences  that  he 

this  strange   fashion,  an   involved   and  could  not  control  into  his  fruitful  course 

confused  manner  of  technical  treatment  of   study  and  experience  at  Deerfield, 

becomes  inevitable.    The  schools,  which  where  his  farm  gave  him  support,  and 

glorify  manual  skill  and  the  swift  and  permitted   him   to    indulge    in  an   un- 

exhilarating  production  of  effects,  can-  embarrassed  practice  of  his  art ;  then, 

not  appreciate  it,  for  all  their  teaching  when  his  time  was  ripe,  he  was  driven 

is  opposed  to  the  principle  that  makes  by  the  sharp  lash  of  financial   embar- 

technique  subordinate  to  idea,  and  they  rassment  into  the  world  again.     Eight 

cannot  look  with  favor  upon  a  man  who  years  ago  he  reappeared  in  Boston,  with 

boldly  reverses  everything.    The  perfect  about  a  dozen  paintings  of  landscapes, 

art  undoubtedly  rests  upon  a  combina-  ideal   heads,  and    small  figures,  which 

tion   of    sublime   thought    and    entire  were  exhibited  and  promptly  sold  amid 

command  of  resources,  but  while  we  every  expression  of  interest  and  favor, 

wait  for  this  we  shall  not  make  mistake  Confirmed    and    strengthened    in    his 

if  we  consider  the  effective,  even  if  un-  belief  by  this  success,  he  again  estab- 

licensed,  expression  of  idea  superior  to  lished  his  studio  here,  and  began  that 

a  facility  that  has  become  cheap  from  series  of  remarkable  works  which  have 

hundreds  mastering  it  yearly.     We  can-  given  him  a  place  among  the  greatest 

not  close  our  eyes  to  Fuller's  technical  of  American  painters.      The  touch  of 

faults  and  weaknesses,  but  his  pictures  popular   favor   quickened   him   into   a 

would  undeniably  be    a   less   precious  lofty  and  quiet  enthusiasm,  and  stimu- 

heritage  to  American  art  than  they  now  lated    both    his    imagination    and    his 

are,  if  he  had  not  been  great  enough  to  descriptive    powers.      During    all    his 

perceive  that  academic  skill  becomes  experience  at  Deerfield  a  certain  lack  of 

weak  by  just  so  much  as  it  is  magnified,  self-confidence  seems  to  have  prevented 

and  is  strong  only  when  viewed  in  its  him  from  making  any  large  endeavor, 

just  relation,  as  the  means  to  an   end.  but  with  his  convictions  endorsed   by 

We  perplex  and  confuse   ourselves   in  the   public,  he   attempted    at   once    to 

studying  his  work,  and  are  naturally  a  labor  on  a  more  ambitious  scale.     He 

little  irritated  that  he  keeps  his  secret  broadened  his  canvases,  and  increased 

of  power  so  well ;  yet  we  cannot  help  the  size  of  his  figures  and  landscapes, 

feeling    that    his   style   is   wonderfully  and  where   he  was   before   sweet  and 

adapted  to  the  end  in  view,  and  per-  inviting,  became  strong  and  impressive, 

haps  the  only  appropriate  medium  for  yet  still  holding  all  his  former  qualities, 

the  expression  of   a  habit  of  thought  The  first  year  of  his  new  residence  in 

that   is   as  peculiar   as   itself.     Schools  Boston    saw   the    production   of    The 

will  insist,  and  with  reason,  upon  work-  Dandelion  Girl,  a   light-hearted,  care- 

ing  by  rule ;  yet  in  art,  as  in  other  dis-  less  creature,  full  of  a  life  that  had  no 

cipline   of   teaching,  genius   does   not  touch  of  responsibility,  and  descriptive 

develop  itstlf  until  it  escapes  from  its  of  a  joyous  and  ephemeral  mood.     A 

instructors.  long  step  forward  was   taken   in    The 

Mr.  Fuller's  life  was  constantly  swayed  Romany   Girl,  which    immediately  fol- 


38  George  Fuller. 

lowed, —  a  work  full  of  fire  and  freedom,  anticipate  or  dream,  and  the  spectator's 

strongly   personal    in    suggestion,   and  interest  was  intensified  at  seeing  in  her 

marked  by  a  wild  and  impatient  indi-  and  before  her  what  she  herself  did  not 

viduality  which  revealed  in  the  girl  the  perceive.    That  art  can  give  such  power 

impression  of  a  lawless  ancestry,  that  of  suggestion  to  its  creations  is  a  marvel 

somehow  and  somewhere  had  felt  the  and  a  delight. 

action  of  a  finer  strain  of  blood.  The  Following  these  two  works  —  and  at 
next  year  Fuller  reached  the  highest  some  distance,  although  near  enough 
point  of  his  inspiration  and  power  in  to  confirm  and  even  increase  the 
The  Quadroon,  a  work  which  is  likely  painter's  fame  —  came  the  Priscilla, 
to  be  held  for  all  time  as  his  master-  Evening;  Lorette,  Nydia,  Boy  and 
piece,  so  far  as  strength  of  idea,  im-  Bird,  Hannah,  Psyche,  and  others, 
portance  of  motive,  and  vivid  force  of  ending  this  year  with  the  Arethusa, 
description  are  concerned.  Without  whose  glowing  and  chastened  love- 
violence,  even  without  expression  of  liness  makes  it  his  strongest  purely 
action,  but  simply  by  a  pair  of  haunting  artistic  work,  and  confirms  the  techni- 
eyes,  a  beautiful,  despairing  face,  and  cal  value  of  his  method  as  completely 
a  form  confessing  utter  weariness  and  as  The  Quadroon  and  Winifred 
abandonment  of  hope,  he  revealed  all  Dysart  do  his  habit  of  thought.  He 
the  national  shame  of  slavery,  and  its  painted  innumerable  landscapes,  por- 
degradation  of  body  and  soul.  Every  traits,  and  ideal  heads,  and  in  figure 
American  cannot  but  blush  to  look  upon  compositions  produced,  among  others, 
it,  so  simple  and  dignified  is  its  rebuke  two  works  of  great  and  permanent 
of  the  nation's  long  perversity  and  guilt,  value,  the  And  She  Was  a  Witch,  and 
The  artist's  next  important  effort  was  The  Gatherer  of  Simples,  to  whose 
the  famous  Winifred  Dysart,  as  far  absorbing  interest  all  who  have  studied 
removed  in  purpose  from  The  Quad-  them  closely  will  confess.  The  latter, 
roon  as  it  could  well  be,  yet  akin  particularly,  is  of  importance  as  show- 
to  it  by  its  added  testimony  to  the  ing  how  carefully  Fuller  studied  into 
painter's  constant  sympathy  with  weak  the  secret  of  expression,  and  of  nature's 
and  beseeching  things,  and  worthy  to  sympathy  with  human  moods.  This 
stand  at  an  equal  height  with  the  pic-  poor,  worn,  sad,  old  face,  in  which 
ture  of  the  slave  by  virtue  of  its  beauty  beauty  and  hope  shone  once,  and 
of  conception,  loveliness  of  character,  where  resignation  and  memory  now 
and  pathetic  appeal  to  the  interest,  dwell ;  this  trembling  figure,  to  whose 
It  was  in  all  respects  as  typical  decrepitude  the  bending  staff  confesses 
and  comprehensive  as  The  Quadroon  as  she  totters  down  the  hill ;  the  gath- 
itself,  holding  within  its  face  and  figure  ering  gloom  of  the  sky,  in  which  one 
all  the  sweetness  and  innocence  of  ray  of  promise  for  a  bright  to-morrow 
New  -  England  girlhood,  yet  with  the  shines  from  the  setting  sun ;  the  mute 
shadow  of  an  uncongenial  experience  witnessing  of  the  trees  upon  the  hill, 
brooding  over  it,  and  perhaps  of  in-  which  have  seen  her  pass  and  repass 
herited  weakness  and  early  death.  And  from  joyful  youth  to  lonely  age,  and 
the  wonder  of  it  all  was  that  the  girl  even  her  eager  grasp  upon  the  poor 
had  no  sign  about  herself  of  longing  or  treasure  of  herbs  that  she  bears,  — 
discontent ;  she  was  not  of  a  nature  to  all  these   items   of  the   scene  impress 


George  Fuller.                                                39 

one  with  a  sympathy  whose  keenness  is  yet  in  some  strange  way  seems  the  only 

even  bitter,  and  excite  a  deep  respect  proper  title  for  the  work  to  which  it  is 

and  love  for  the  man  who  could  paint  attached,  came  out  of  the  artist's  own 

with  so  mucla.  simplicity  and  power.     It  mind.     His    Priscilla    was    started   as 

is   not  strange  that  when  the  news  of  an    Elsie    Venner,    but    he   found   it 

his   death   became  known,  many   who  impossible    to   work    upon     the    lines 

had  never  seen  him,  but  had  studied  another  had    laid    down   without   too 

the   pictures    in   his   latest   exhibition,  much  cramping  his  own  fancy ;  when 

should  have  come,  with  tears  in  their  half   done   he    thought    of    calling    it 

eyes,  to  the  studios  which  neighbored  Lady  Wentworth,  and  at    last  gave,  it 

his,  to  learn  something  of  his  history.  its  present  name  by  chance  of  having 

Such  works  are  not  struck  out  in  a  taken  up  The  Blithedale  Romance, 
heat,  but  grow  and  develop  like  human  and  noting  with  pleased  surprise  how 
lives,  and  it  will  not  surprise  many  to  closely  Hawthorne's  account  of  his 
know  that  most  of  them  were  labored  heroine  fitted  his  own  creation.  The 
on  for  years.  With  Fuller,  a  picture  Nydia  was  started  with  the  idea  of 
was  never  completed.  His  idea  was  presenting  the  helplessness  of  blind- 
constantly  in  advance  of  his  work,  and  ness,  with  a  hint  of  the  exaltation  of 
persisted  in  new  suggestions,  so  that  the  other  senses  that  is  consequent 
the  Winifred  Dysart  was  two  years  upon  the  loss  of  sight,  and  showed 
in  the  painting,  the  Arethusa  five,  at  first  merely  a  girl  groping  along  a 
and  The  Gatherer  of  Simples  and  wall  in  search  of  a  door ;  and  the  Are- 
tha Witch,  after  an  even  longer  thusa  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  general 
course  of  labor,  were  held  by  him  at  inspiration  caused  by  a  reading  of  Spen- 
his  death  as  not  yet  satisfactory.  The  ser's  Faerie  Queen,  and  did  not  receive 
figures  in  the  two  works  last  mentioned  its  present  very  appropriate  name  until 
have  suffered  almost  no  change  since  its  exhibition  made  some  designation 
first   put   upon   the    canvas,    but   they  necessary. 

have  from  time  to  time  appeared  in  at  I   have   devoted    this    study   on    of 

least  a  dozen  different  landscapes,  and  Mr.   Fuller   to   his  quality  as  an  artist 

would  doubtless  have  been  placed  in  as  rather  than  to  his  character  as  a  man, 

many  more  before  he  had  satisfied  his  but  shall  have  written  in  vain  if  some 

fastidious  and  exacting  taste.  hint  has  not  been  given  of  the  loveli- 

The   artist  found  as  much  difficulty  ness  of  his  disposition,  the  modesty  of 

in  naming  his  pictures  when  they  were  his  spirit,  the  chaste  force  of  his  mind, 

done  as  he  did  in  painting  them.     It  is  A  man  inevitably  paints  as  he  himself 

a  prevalent,  but  quite  erroneous,  impres-  is,  and  shows  his  nature  in  his  works  : 

sion  that  his  habit  was  to  select  a  sub-  Fuller's    pictures    are    founded    upon 

ject  from  some  literary  work,  and  then  purity   of  thought,    and    painted   with 

attempt  to  paint  it  in  the  light  of  the  dignity    and     single-heartedness,    and 

author's    ideas.     His   practice    exactly  the  grace  of  his  life  dwells  in  them. 

reversed  this  method  :   he  painted  his  ■ — 

picture  first,  and  then  tried  to  evolve  [George  Fuller  was  born  in  Deer- 

or  find  a  name  that  would  fit  it.     The  field,  Massachusetts,  in  1822.     He  was 

name   Winifred  Dysart,  which  is  with-  descended  from  old  Puritan  stock,  and 

out   literary    origin    or    meaning,   and  his    ancesters    were    among   the  early 


40 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster. 


settlers  of  the  Connecticut  River  val- 
ley. He  inherited  a  taste  for  art,  as 
an  uncle  and  several  other  relatives  of 
the  previous  generation  were  painters, 
although  none  of  them  attained  any 
particular  reputation.  He  began  paint- 
ing by  himself  at  the  age  of  about  six- 
teen years,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty 
entered  the  studio  of  Henry  K. 
Brown,  of  Albany,  New  York,  where 
he  received  his  first  and  only  direct 
instruction.  His  work,  until  the  age  of 
about  forty  years,  was  almost  entirely 
devoted  to  portraits ;  but  he  is  best 
known,  and  will  be  longest  remem- 
bered, for  his  ideal  work  in  figure  and 


landscape  painting,  which  he  entered 
upon  about  i860,  but  did  not  make  his 
distinctive  field  until  1876.  From  the 
latter  date,  to  the  time  of  his  death,  he 
painted  many  important  works,  and  was 
pecuniarily  successful.  He  received 
probably  the  largest  prices  ever  paid  to 
an  American  artist  for  single  figures  : 
$3,000  for  the  Winifred  Dysart,  and 
$4,000  each  for  the  Priscilla  and 
Evening ;  Lorette.  He  died  in  Boston 
on  the  twenty-first  of  March,  1884, 
leaving  a  widow,  four  sons,  and  a 
daughter.  During  May,  a  memorial 
exhibition  of  his  works  was  held  at 
the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts. —  Editor.] 


THE  LOYALISTS  OF   LANCASTER. 

By  Henry  S.  Nourse. 


The  outburst  of  patriotic  rebellion  in 
1775  throughout  Massachusetts  was  so 
universal,  and  the  controversy  so  hot 
witli  the  wrath  of  a  people  politically 
wronged,  as  well  as  embittered  by  the 
hereditary  rage  of  puritanism  against 
prelacy,  that  the  term  tory  comes  down 
to  us  in  history  loaded  with  a  weight  of 
opprobrium  not  legitimately  its  own. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years  the 
word  is  perhaps  no  longer  synonymous 
with  everything  traitorous  and  vile,  but 
when  it  is  desirable  to  suggest  possible 
respectability  and  moral  rectitude  in 
any  member  of  the  conservative  party 
of  Revolutionary  days,  it  must  be  done 
under  the  less  historically  disgraced  title, 
—  loyalist.  In  fact,  then,  as  always, 
two  parties  stood  contending  for  prin- 
ciples to  which  honest  convictions  made 
adherents.  If  among  the  conservatives 
were  timid  ofifice-holders  and  corrupt 
self-seekers,  there  were  also  of  the 
Revolutionary  party  blatant  demagogues 


and  bigoted  partisans.  The  logic  of 
success,  though  a  success  made  pos- 
sible at  last  only  by  exterior  aid, 
justified  the  appeal  to  arms  begun  in 
Massachusetts  before  revolt  was  pre- 
pared or  thought  imminent  elsewhere. 
Now,  to  the  careful  student  of  the 
situation,  it  seems  among  the  most 
premature  and  rash  of  all  the  rebellions 
in  history.  But  for  the  precipitancy  of 
the  uprising,  and  the  patriotic  frenzy 
that  fired  the  public  heart  at  news  of 
the  first  bloodshed,  many  ripe  scholars, 
many  soldiers  of  experience,  might  have 
been  saved  to  aid  and  honor  the 
republic,  instead  of  being  driven  into 
ignominious  exile  by  fear  of  mob  vio- 
lence and  imprisonment,  and  scourged 
through  the  century  as  enemies  of  their 
country.  In  and  about  Lancaster, 
then  the  largest  town  in  Worcester 
County,  the  royalist  party  was  an 
eminently  respectable  minority.  At 
first,  indeed,   not  only  those  naturally 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster.                                    41 

conservative  by  reason  of  wealth,  or  accepting  the  appointment  of  councillor 
pride  of  birthright,  but  nearly  all  the  in  1774,  he  became  at  once  obnoxious 
intellectual  leaders,  both  ecclesiastic  and  to  the  dominant  party,  and  in  August, 
civilian,  deprecated  revolt  as  downright  when  visiting  Connecticut  on  business 
suicide.  They  denounced  the  Stamp  connected  with  his  large  landed  inter- 
Act  as  earnestly,  they  loved  their  coun-  ests  there,  he  was  arrested  by  the  citi- 
try  in  which  their  all  was  at  stake  as  zens  of  the  town  of  Union,  and  a  mob 
sincerely,  as  did  their  radical  neighbors,  of  five  hundred  persons  accompanied 
Some  of  them,  after  the  bloody  nine-  him  over  the  state  line  intending  to  con- 
teenth  of  April,  acquiesced  with  such  vey  him  to  the  nearest  jail.  Whether 
grace  as  they  could  in  what  they  now  their  wrath  became  somewhat  cooled 
saw  to  be  inevitable,  and  tempered  with  by  the  colonel's  bearing,  or  by  a  six- 
prudent  counsel  the  blind  zeal  of  parti-  mile  march,  they  released  him  upon  his 
sanship  :  thus  ably  serving  their  country  signing  a  paper  dictated  to  him,  of 
in  her  need.  Others  would  have  awaited  which  the  following  is  a  copy,  printed 
the  issue  of  events  as  neutrals ;  but  such  at  the  time  in  the  Boston  Gazette  :  — 
the  committees  of  safety,  or  a  mob,  not 

Sturbridge,  August  25,  1774. 

unnaturally  treated  as  enemies.  .„,           ,   ai.--  1.  nr-n    j      r  t 

•'  Whereas  I  Abijah  Willard,  of  Lancas- 

On  the  highest  rounds  of  the  social  ^^^^  ^ave  been   appointed  by  mandamus 

ladder    stood    the    great-grandsons   of  Counselor  for  this  province,  and  have  with- 

Major  Simon  Willard,  the  Puritan  com-  out  due  Consideration  taken  the  Oath,  do 

mander  in    the  war    of    1675.     These  now  freely  and  solemnly  and  in  good  faith 

three  gentlemen   had  large  possessions  promise  and  engage  that  I  will  not  set  or 

in  land,  were  widely  known  throughout  act  in  said  Council,  nor  in  any  other  that 

the  Province,  and  were  held  in  deserved  ^^all  be  appointed  in  such  manner  and 

r       ^,     .            ,.^          J      1  -i-^  form,  but  that  I  will,  as  much  as  in  me 

esteem   for   their   probity   and   ability.  ,.           .      .     ,     „,          „.  ,           ,  ^ ., 

.  -^  ,  lies,  maintain  the  Charter  Rights  and  Lib- 
They  were  all  royalists  at  heart,  and  all  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  Province,  and  do  hereby  ask 
connected  by  marriage  with  royalist  forgiveness  of  all  the  honest,  worthy  Gentle- 
families.  Abijah  Willard,  the  eldest,  had  men  that  I  have  offended  by  taking  the 
just  passed  his  fiftieth  year.  He  had  abovesaid  Oath,  and  desire  this  may  be 
won  a  captaincy  before  Louisburg  when  inserted  in  the  public  Prints.  Witness  my 
but  twenty-one,  and  was  promoted  to  a  Hand 

•'.          '                      y             .  ABIJAH  WILLARD. 

colonelcy  in  active  service  against  the 

French  ;  was  a  thorough  soldier,  a  From  that  time  forward  Colonel  Wil- 
gentleman  of  stately  presence  and  dig-  lard  lived  quietly  at  home  until  the 
nified  manners,  and  a  skilful  manager  of  nineteenth  of  April,  1775;  when,  set- 
affairs.  For  his  first  wife,  he  married  ting  out  in  the  morning  on  horseback 
Elizabeth,  sister  of  Colonel  William  to  visit  his  farm  in  Beverly,  where  he  had 
Prescott ;  for  his  second,  Mrs.  Anna  planned  to  spend  some  days  in  super- 
Prentice,  but  had  recently  married  a  intending  the  planting,  he  was  turned 
third  partner,  Mrs.  Mary  McKown,  of  from  his  course  by  the  swarming  out  of 
Boston.  He  was  the  wealthiest  citizen  minute-men  at  the  summons  of  the 
of  Lancaster,  kept  six  horses  in  his  couriers  bringing  the  alarm  from  Lex- 
stables,  and  dispensed  liberal  hospitality  ington,  and  we  next  find  him  with  the 
in  the  mansion  inherited  from  his  British  in  Boston.  He  never  saw  Lan- 
father   Colonel    Samuel   Willard.      By  caster  again.     It  is  related  that,  on  the 


42 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster. 


morning  of  the  seventeenth  of  June, 
standing  with  Governor  Gage,  in  Bos- 
ton, reconnoitring  the  busy  scene  upon 
Bunker's  Hill,  he  recognized  with  the 
glass  his  brother-in-law  Colonel  William 
Prescott,  and  pointed  him  out  to  the 
governor,  who  asked  if  he  would  fight. 
The  answer  was  :  "  Prescott  will  fight 
you  to  the  gates  of  hell !  "  or,  as  an- 
other historian  more  mildly  puts  it : 
"Ay,  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood." 
Colonel  Willard  knew  whereof  he  testi- 
fied, for  the  two  colonels  had  earned 
their  commissions  together  in  the  expe- 
ditions against  Canada.  An  officer  of 
so  well-known  skill  and  experience  as 
Abijah  Willard  was  deemed  a  valuable 
acquisition,  and  he  was  offered  a  colo- 
nel's commission  in  the  British  army, 
but  refused  to  serve  against  his  country- 
men, and  at  the  evacuation  of  Boston 
went  to  Halifax,  having  been  joined  by 
his  own  and  his  brother's  family.  In 
1778,  he  was  proscribed  and  banished. 
Later  in  the  war  he  joined  the  royal 
army,  at  Long  Island,  and  was  ap- 
pointed commissary ;  in  which  service 
it  was  afterwards  claimed  by  his  friends 
that  his  management  saved  the  crown 
thousands  of  pounds.  A  malicious 
pamphleteer  of  the  day,  however, 
accused  him  of  being  no  better  than 
others,  and  alleging  that  whatever 
saving  he  effected  went  to  swell  his  own 
coffers.  Willard's  name  stands  prom- 
inent among  the  "  Fifty-five  "  who,  in 
1783,  asked  for  large  grants  of  land  in 
Nova  Scotia  as  compensation  for  their 
losses  by  the  war.  He  chose  a  resi- 
dence on  the  coast  of  New  Brunswick, 
which  he  named  Lancaster  in  remem- 
brance of  his  beloved  birthplace,  and 
there  died  in  May,  1 789,  having  been  for 
several  years  an  influential  member  of 
the  provincial  council.  His  family  re- 
turned to  Lancaster,  recovered  the  old 


homestead,  and,  aided  by  a  small  pen- 
sion from  the  British  government,  lived 
in  comparative  prosperity.  The  son 
Samuel  died  on  January  i,  1856,  aged 
ninety-six  years  and  four  months.  His 
widowed  sister,  Mrs.  Anna  Goodhue, 
died  on  August  2,  1858,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-five.  Memories  of  their  wholly 
pleasant  and  beneficent  lives,  abound- 
ing in  social  amenities  and  Christian 
graces,  still  linger  about  the  old 
mansion. 

Levi  Willard  was  three  years  the 
junior  of  Abijah.  He  had  been  col- 
lector of  excise  for  the  county,  held 
the  military  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  was  justice  of  the  peace.  With 
his  brother-in-law  Captain  Samuel  Ward 
he  conducted  the  largest  mercantile 
establishment  in  Worcester  County  at 
that  date.  He  had  even  made  the 
voyage  to  England  to  purchase  goods. 
Although  not  so  wealthy  as  his  brother, 
he  might  have  rivaled  him  in  any  field 
of  success  but  for  his  broken  health  ; 
and  he  was  as  widely  esteemed  for  his 
character  and  capacity.  At  the  out- 
break of  hostilities  he  was  too  ill  to 
take  active  part  on  either  side,  but  his 
sympathies  were  with  his  loyalist  kindred. 
He  died  on  July  11,  i  775.  His  partner 
in  business.  Captain  Samuel  Ward,  cast 
his  lot  with  the  patriot  party,  but  his 
son,  Levi  Willard,  Jr.,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1775,  joined  his 
uncle  Abijah,  and  went  to  England  and 
there  remained  until  1785,  when  he  re- 
turned and  died  five  years  later. 

Abel  Willard,  though  equally  graced 
by  nature  with  the  physical  gifts  that 
distinguished  his  brothers,  unlike  them 
chose  the  arts  of  peace  rather  than  those 
of  war.  He  was  born  at  Lancaster  on 
January  12,  1 731-2,  and  was  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1752,  ranking 
third  in  the  class.     His  wife  was  Eliza- 


The  Loyalists  of  Lattcaster. 


43 


beth  Rogers,  daughter  of  the  loyalist 
iDinister  of  Littleton.  His  name  was 
affixed  to  the  address  to  Governor 
Gage,  June  21,  1774,  and  he  was 
forced  to  sign,  with  the  other  justices, 
a  recantation  of  the  aspersions  cast 
upon  the  people  in  that  address.  He 
has  the  distinction  of  being  recorded 
by  the  leading  statesman  of  the  Revolu- 
tion—  John  Adams — as  his  personal 
friend.  So  popular  was  Abel  Willard 
and  so  well  known  his  character  as 
a  peacemaker  and  well-wisher  to  his 
country,  that  he  might  have  remained 
unmolested  and  respected  among  his 
neighbors  in  spite  of  his  royalist  opin- 
ions ;  but,  whether  led  by  family  ties  or 
natural  timidity,  he  sought  refuge  in 
Boston,  and  quick-coming  events  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  return.  At  the 
departure  of  the  British  forces  for  Hali- 
fax, he  accompanied  them.  A  letter 
from  Edmund  Quincy  to  his  daughter 
Mrs.  Hancock,  dated  Lancaster,  March 
26,  1776,  contains  a  reference  to  him  : 
.  .  .  "  Im  sorry  for  poor  Mrs  Abel 
Willard  your  Sisters  near  neighbour  & 
Friend.  Shes  gone  we  hear  with  her 
husband  and  Bro  and  sons  to  Nova 
Scotia  P'haps  in  such  a  situation  and 
under  such  circumstances  of  Offense 
respecting  their  Wors""  Neighbours  as 
never  to  be  in  a  political  capacity  of 
returning  to  their  Houses  unless  w"* 
power  &  inimical  views  w*^^  God  forbid 
should  ever  be  ye  Case." 

In  1778,  the  act  of  proscription  and 
banishment  included  Abel  Willard's 
name.  His  health  gave  way  under 
accumulated  trouble,  and  he  died  in 
England  in  1781. 

The  estates  of  Abijah  and  Abel 
Willard  were  confiscated.  In  the  Massa- 
chusetts Archives  (cliv,  10)  is  preserved 
the  anxious  inquiry  of  the  town  author- 
ities respecting  the  proper  disposal  of 
the  wealth  thev  abandoned. 


To  the  Honotirable  Provincial  Congress 
now  holde7i  at  Watertowti  in  the  Provi- 
ance  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 

We    the    subscribers    do    request    and 

desire  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  direct 

or  Inform  this  proviance  in  General  or  the 

town  of  Lancaster  in  Partickeler  what  is 

best  to  be  done  with  the  Estates  of  those 

men  which  are  Gone  from  their  Estates  to 

General  Gage  and  to  whose  use  they  shall 

Improve   them  whether  for  the  proviance 

or  the  town  where  s^  Estate  is. 

EBENEZER  ALLEN, 
CYRUS  FAIRBANK, 
SAMLL  THURSTON,- 

The  Selectmen  of  Lancaster. 
Lancaster  June  7  day  1775. 

The  Provincial  Congress  placed  the 
property  in  question  in  the  hands  of  the 
selectmen  and  Committee  of  Safety  to 
improve,  and  instructed  them  to  report 
to  future  legislatures.  Finally,  Cyrus 
Fairbank  is  found  acting  as  the  local 
agent  for  confiscated  estates  of  royalists 
in  Lancaster,  and  his  annual  statements 
are  among  the  archives  of  the  State. 
His  accounts  embrace  the  estates  of 
"Abijah  Willard,  Esq.,  Abel  Willard, 
Esq.,  Solomon  Houghton,  Yeoman, 
and  Joseph  Moore  Gent."  The  final 
settlement  of  Abel  Willard's  estate, 
October  26,  1785,  netted  his  creditors 
but  ten  shillings,  eleven  pence  to 
the  pound.  The  claimants  and  im- 
provers probably  swallowed  even  the 
larger  estate  of  Abijah  Willard,  leaving 
nothing  to  the  Commonwealth. 

Katherine,  the  wife  of  Levi  Willard, 
was  the  sister,  and  Dorothy,  wife  of 
Captain  Samuel  Ward,  the  daughter,  of 
Judge  John  Chandler,  "  the  honest 
Refugee."  These  estimable  and  ac- 
complished ladies  lived  but  a  stone's 
throw  apart,  and  after  the  death  of 
Levi  Willard  there  came  to  reside  with 
them  an  elder  brother  of  Mrs.  Ward, 
one  of  the  most  notable  personages  in 
Lancaster  during  the  Revolution.  Clark 
Chandler  was  a  dapper  litde  bachelor 


44 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster. 


about  thirty-two  years  of  age,  eccentric 
in  person,  habits,  and  dress.  Among 
other  oddities  of  apparel,  he  was  partial 
to  bright  red  small-clothes.  His  tory 
principles  and  singularities  called  down 
upon  him  the  jibes  of  the  patriots 
among  whom  his  lot  was  temporarily 
cast,  but  his  ready  tongue  and  caustic 
wit  were  sufficient  weapons  of  defence. 
In  1774,  as  town  clerk  of  Worcester, 
he  recorded  a  protest  of  forty-three 
royalist  citizens  against  the  resolutions 
of  the  patriotic  majority.  This  record 
he  was  compelled  in  open  town  meet- 
ing to  deface,  and  when  he  failed 
to  render  it  sufficiently  illegible  with 
the  pen,  his  tormentors  dipped  his 
fingers  into  the  ink  and  used  them  to 
perfect  the  obhteration.  He  fled  to 
Halifax,  but  after  a  few  months  returned, 
and  was  thrown  into  Worcester  jail. 
The  reply  to  his  petition  for  release  is 
in  Massachusetts  Archives  (clxiv,  205). 

Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.     By 
the   Major  part  of   the  Council   of   said 
Colony.       Whereas    Clark     Chandler    of 
Worcester  has  been  Confined  in  the  Com- 
mon Prison  at  Worcester  for  holding  Cor- 
respondence   with    the    enemies    of    this 
Country  and  the  said  Clark  having  humbly 
petitioned  for  an  enlargement  and  it  having 
been  made  to  appear  that  his  health  is 
greatly  impaired  &  that  the  Publick  will  not 
be  endangered  by  his  having  some  enlarge- 
ment, and  Samuel  Ward,  John  Sprague,  & 
Ezekiel  Hull  having  Given  Bond  to   the 
Colony  Treasurer  in  the  penal  sum  of  one 
thousand  Pounds,  for  the  said  Clarks  faith- 
ful performance  of  the  order  of  Council  for 
his   said   enlargement,   the  said   Clark  is 
hereby  permitted  to  go  to  Lancaster  when 
his  health  will  permit,  and  there  to  con- 
tinue and  not  go  out  of  the  Limits  of  that 
Town,  he  in  all  Respects  Conforming  him- 
self to  the  Condition  in  said  Bond  con- 
tained, and  the  Sheriff  of  said  County  of 
Worcester    and     all     others    are    hereby 
Directed  to  permit  the  said  Clark  to  pass 
Vol.  I.  — No.  VI.  — D. 


unmolested  so  long  as  he  shall  conform 
himself  to  the  obligations  aforementioned. 
Given  under  our  Hands  at  ye  Council 
Chambers  in  Watertown  the  15  Day  of 
Dec.  Anno  Domini  1775. 
By  their  Honors  Command, 

James  Prescott         W™  Severs 
Cha  Channey  B.  Greenleaf 

M.  Farley  W.  Spooner 

Moses  Gill  Caleb  Gushing 

J.  Palmer  J.  Winthrop 

Eldad  Taylor  John  Whitcomb 

B.  White  Jedn  Foster 

B.  Lincoln 
Perez  Morton 
Dpt  Secy. 

The  air  of  Lancaster,  which  proved 
so  salubrious  to  the  pensioners  of  the 
British  government  before  named,  grew 
oppressive  to  this  tory  bachelor,  as  we 
find  by  a  lengthy  petition  in  Massachu- 
setts Archives  (clxxiii,  546),  wherein  he 
begs  for  a  wider  range,  and  especially 
for  leave  to  go  to  the  sea-shore.  A 
medical  certificate  accompanies  it. 

Lancaster,  Oct.  25.  1777. 
This  is  to  inform  whom  it  may  Concern 
that  Mr.  Clark  Chandler  now  residing  in 
this  Town  is  in  such  a  Peculiar  Bodily 
Indisposition  as  in  my  opinion  renders  it 
necessary  for  him  to  take  a  short  Trip  to 
the  Saltwater  in  order  to  assist  in  recover- 
ing his  Health. 

JOSIAH   WILDER  Phn. 

He  was  allowed  to  visit  Boston,  and 
to  wander  at  will  within  the  bounds  of 
Worcester  County.  He  returned  to 
Worcester,  and  there  died  in  1804. 

Joseph  Wilder,  Jr.,  colonel,  and 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas 
of  Worcester  County,  —  as  his  father 
had  been  before  him,  —  was  prominent 
among  the  signers  of  the  address  to 
General  Gage.  He  apologized  for  this 
indiscretion,  and  seems  to  have  received 
no  further  attention  from  the  Committee 
of  Safety.     In  the  extent  of  his  posses- 


TJie  Loyalists  of  Lancaster.                                      45 

sions  he  rivaled  Abijah  Willard,  having  Black  List,"      It  was  also  ordered  that 

increased  a  generous  inheritance  by  the  the  selectmen  "  Return  a  List  of  these 

profits  of    very  extensive   manufacture  Dangerous   Persons    to  the  Clerk,  and 

and  export  of  pearlash  and  potash  :  an  he  to  the  Justice    of   the  Quorum  as 

industry   which    he    and    his     brother  soon  as  may  be."     This  action  of  the 

Caleb  were  the  first  to  introduce  into  extremists  seems  to  have  aroused  the 

America.      He  was  now  nearly  seventy  more  conservative  citizens,  and  another 

years  of  age,  and  died  in   the  second  meeting  was  called,  on  September  23, 

year  of  the  war.  for  the  purpose  of  reconsidering  this 

Joseph  House,  at  the  evacuation  of  ill-advised  and  arbitrary  proscription,  at 

Boston,  went  with  the  army  to  Halifax,  which  meeting  the  clerk  was  instructed 

He  was  a  householder,  but  possessed  not  to  return  the  names  of  James  Carter 

no    considerable   estate    in   Lancaster,  and  the  Reverend  Timothy  Harrington 

In  1778,  his  name  appears  among  the  before    the    regular    town   meeting   in 

proscribed  and  banished.  November. 

The  Lancaster  committee  of  corre-  Thomas  Grant  was  an  old  soldier, 
spondence,  July  17,  1775,  published  having  served  in  the  French  and  Indian 
Nahum  Houghton  as  "an  unwearied  War,  and,  if  a  loyalist,  probably  con- 
pedlar  of  that  baneful  herb  tea,"  and  doned  the  offence  by  enlisting  in  the 
warned  all  patriots  "to  entirely  shun  patriot  army  ;  his  name  is  on  the  muster- 
his  company  and  have  no  manner  of  roll  of  the  Rhode  Island  expedition  in 
dealings  or  connections  with  him  except  1777,  and  in  1781  he  was  mustered 
acts  of  common  humanity."  A  special  into  the  service  for  three  years.  He 
town  meeting  was  called  on  June  30,  was  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  a  poor 
1777,  chiefly  "to  act  on  a  Resolve  of  man,  for  the  town  paid  bills  presented 
the  General  Assembly  Respecting  and  "  for  providing  for  Tom  Grant's  Family." 
Securing  this  and  the  other  United  Moses  Gerrish  was  graduated  at 
States  against  the  Danger  to  which  thay  Harvard  College  in  1762,  and  reputed 
are  Exposed  by  the  Internal  Enemies  a  man  of  considerable  ability.  Enoch 
Thereof,  and  to  Elect  some  proper  per-  Gerrish,  perhaps  a  brother  of  Moses, 
son  to  Collect  such  evidence  against  was  a  farmer  in  Lancaster  who  left  his 
such  Persons  as  shall  be  demed  by  home,  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  in 
athority  as  Dangerous  persons  to  this  York  County,  and  thence  removed  for 
and  the  other  United  States  of  Amarica."  trial  to  Worcester  by  order  of  the 
At  this  meeting  Colonel  Asa  Whitcomb  council.  May  29,  1778.  The  following 
was  chosen  to  collect  evidence  against  letter  uncomphmentary  to  these  two 
suspected  loyalists,  and  Moses  Gerrish,  loyalists  is  found  in  Massachusetts 
Daniel  Allen,  Ezra  Houghton,  Joseph  Archives  (cxcix,  278). 
Moor,   and   Solomon   Houghton,  were 

voted  "  as  Dangerous  Persons  and  In-  Sir.      The    two    Gerrishes    Moses    & 

ternal    Enemies    to    this    State."       On  Enoch    that  ware  sometime  since  appre- 

^    ,  hended  by  warrant  from  the  Council  are 

September  1 3  of  the  same  year,  appar-  ^    I^  t  -uu    *   u                 r  .1    <.  t 

^                                             7       '    I  r  j^Q^y  gg^  ^^  Libberty  by  reason  of  that  Laws 

ently  upon  a  report  from  Colonel  Asa  g^pj^ing  on  which  they  were  taken  up.     I 

Whitcomb,   it  was  voted   that  Thomas  ^^^^^^  ^love  to  your  Honrs  a  new  warrant 

Grant,  James  Carter,  and  the  Reverend  might  Isue,  Directed  to  Doer.  Silas  Hoges 

Timothy    Harrington,   "  Stand    on    the  to  apprehend  &  confine  them  as   I   look 


46 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster, 


upon  them  to  be  Dangerous  persons  to  go 

at  large.     I  am  with  respect  your  Hon^s. 

most  obedient  Hum.  Ser'. 

JAMES  PRESCOTT. 
Groton  12  of  July  1778. 

To  the  Hone  Jereh.  Powel  Esq. 

An  order  for  their  rearrest  was  voted 
by  the  council.  Moses  Gerrish  finally 
received  some  position  in  the  com- 
missary department  of  the  British  army, 
and,  when  peace  was  declared,  obtained 
a  grant  of  free  tenancy  of  the  island  of 
Grand  Menan  for  seven  years.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time,  if  a  settlement 
of  forty  families  with  schoolmaster  and 
minister  should  be  established,  the 
whole  island  was  to  become  the  free- 
hold of  the  colonists.  Associated  with 
Gerrish  in  this  project  was  Thomas 
Ross,  of  Lancaster.  They  failed  in 
obtaining  the  requisite  number  of  set- 
tlers, but  continued  to  reside  upon  the 
island,  and  there  Moses  Gerrish  died  at 
an  advanced  age. 

Solomon  Houghton,  a  Lancaster 
farmer  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
fearing  the  inquisition  of  the  patriot 
committee,  fled  from  his  home.  In 
1779,  the  judge  of  probate  for  Worces- 
ter County  appointed  commissioners  to 
care  for  his  confiscated  estate. 

Ezra  Hougliton,  a  prosperous  farmer, 
and  recently  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace,  affixed  his  name  to  the  address 
to  General  Gage  in  1775,  and  to  the 
recantation.  In  May,  1777,  he  was 
imprisoned,  under  charge  of  counter- 
feiting the  bills  of  public  credit  and 
aiding  the  enemy.  In  November  fol- 
lowing he  petitioned  to  be  admitted  to 
bail  (see  Massachusetts  Archives,  ccxvi, 
129)  and  his  request  was  favorably 
received,  his  bail  bond  being  set  at 
two  thousand  pounds. 

Joseph  Moore  was  one  of  the  six 
slave-owners  of  Lancaster  in  1771,  pos- 
sessed  a   farm   and   a   mill,    and   was 


ranked  a  "  gentleman."  On  September 
20,  1777,  being  confined  in  Worcester 
jail,  he  petitioned  for  enlargement, 
claiming  his  innocence  of  the  charges 
for  which  his  name  had  been  put  upon 
Lancaster's  black  list.  His  petition 
met  no  favor,  and  his  estate  was  duly 
confiscated.  (See  Massachusetts  Ar- 
chives, clxxxiii,  160.) 

At  the  town  meeting  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  November,  1777,  the  names  of 
James  Carter  and  Daniel  Allen  were 
stricken  from  the  black  list,  apparently 
without  opposition.  That  the  Reverend 
Timothy  Harrington,  Lancaster's  pru- 
dent and  much-beloved  minister,  should 
be  denounced  as  an  enemy  of  his  coun- 
try, and  his  name  even  placed  temporarily 
among  those  of  "  dangerous  persons," 
exhibits  the  bitterness  of  partisanship  at 
that  date.  This  town-meeting  prosecu- 
tion was  ostensibly  based  upon  certain 
incautious  expressions  of  opinion,  but 
appears  really  to  have  been  inspired  by 
the  spite  of  the  Whitcombs  and  others, 
whose  enmity  had  been  aroused  by  his 
conservative  action  several  years  before 
in  the  church  troubles,  known  as  "  the 
Goss  and  Walley  war,"  in  the  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Bolton.  The  Reverend 
Thomas  Goss,  of  Bolton,  Ebenezer 
Morse,  of  Boylston,  and  Andrew  Whit- 
ney, of  Petersham,  were  classmates  of 
Mr.  Harrington  in  the  Harvard  class  of 
1737,  and  all  of  them  were  opposed  to 
the  revolution  of  the  colonies.  The 
disaffection,  which,  ignoring  the  action 
of  an  ecclesiastical  council,  pushed  Mr. 
Goss  from  his  pulpit,  arose  more  from 
the  political  ferment  of  the  day  than 
from  any  advanced  views  of  his  oppo- 
nents respecting  the  abuse  of  alcohohc 
stimulants.  For  nearly  forty  years  Mr. 
Harrington  had  perhaps  never  omitted 
from  his  fervent  prayers  in  public  assem- 
blies   the    form    of    supplication    for 


The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster. 


47 


divine  blessing  upon  the  sovereign 
ruler  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  not  strange, 
although  he  had  yielded  reluctant  sub- 
mission to  the  new  order  of  things,  and 
was  anxiously  striving  to  perform  his 
clerical  duties  without  offense  to  any  of 
his  flock,  that  his  lips  should  sometimes 
lapse  into  the  wonted  formula,  "bless 
our  good  King  George."  It  is  related 
that  on  occasions  of  such  inadvertence, 
he,  without  embarrassing  pause,  added  : 
"  Thou  knowest,  O  Lord  1  we  mean 
George  Washington."  In  the  records 
of  the  town  clerk,  nothing  is  told  of 
the  nature  of  the  charges  against  Mr. 
Harrington,  or  of  the  manner  of  his 
defence.  Two  deacons  were  sent  as 
messengers  "  to  inform  the  Rev**  Timo" 
Harrington  that  he  has  something  in 
agitation  Now  to  be  Heard  in  this 
Meeting  at  which  he  has  Liberty  to 
attend."  Joseph  Willard,  Esq.,  in 
1826,  recording  probably  the  reminis- 
cence of  some  one  present  at  the 
dramatic  scene,  says  that  when  the 
venerable  clergyman  confronted  his 
accusers,  baring  his  breast,  he  exclaimed 
with  the  language  and  feeling  of  out- 
raged virtue  :  "Strike,  strike  here  with 
your  daggers  !  I  am  a  true  friend  to 
ray  country  !  " 

Among  the  manuscripts  left  by  Mr. 
Harrington  there  is  one  prepared  for,  if 
not  read  at,  this  town  meeting,  contain- 
ing the  charges  in  detail,  and  his  reply 
to  each.  It  is  headed":  "Harrington's 
answers  to  ye  Charges  &c."  It  is  a 
shrewd  and  eloquent  defence,  bearing 
evidence,  so  far  as  rhetoric  can,  that  its 
author  was  in  advance  of  his  people 
and  his  times  in  respect  of  Christian 
charity,  if  not  of  political  foresight. 
The  charges  were  four  in  number  :  the 
first  being  that  of  the  Bolton  Walleyites 
alleging  that  his  refusal  to  receive  them 
as  church  members  in  regular  standing 


brought  him  "  under  ye  censure  of 
shutting  up  ye  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
against  men."  To  this,  calm  answer 
is  given  by  a  review  of  the  whole  con- 
troversy in  the  Bolton  Church,  closing 
thus  :  "  Mr.  Moderator,  as  I  esteemed 
the  Proceedings  of  these  Brethren  at 
Bolton  Disorderly  and  Schismatical, 
and  as  the  Apostle  hath  given  Direction 
to  mark  those  who  cause  Divisions  and 
Offences  and  avoid  them,  I  thought  it 
my  Duty  to  bear  Testimony  against  ye 
Conduct  of  both  ye  People  at  Bolton, 
and  those  who  were  active  in  settling  a 
Pastor  over  them  in  the  Manner  Speci- 
fied, and  I  still  retain  ye  sentiment, 
and  this  not  to  shut  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  against  them,  but  to  recover 
them  from  their  wanderings  to  the 
Order  of  the  Gospel  and  to  the  direct 
way  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  And 
I  still  approve  and  think  them  just." 

The  second  charge,  in  full,  was  as 
follows  :  — 

"  It  appears  to  us  that  his  conduct 
hath  ye  greatest  Tendency  to  subvert 
our  religious  Constitution  and  ye  Faith 
of  these  churches.  —  In  his  saying  that 
the  Quebeck  Bill  was  just — and  that 
he  would  have  done  the  same  had  he 
been  one  of  ye  Parliament  —  and  also 
saying  that  he  was  in  charity  with 
a  professed  Roman  Catholick,  whose 
Principles  are  so  contrary  to  the  Faith 
of  these  churches, — That  for  a  man  to 
be  in  charity  with  them  we  conceive 
that  it  is  impossible  that  he  should  be 
in  Charity  with  professed  New  England 
Churches.  It  therefore  appears  to  us 
that  it  would  be  no  better  than  mock- 
ery for  him  to  pretend  to  stand  as 
Pastor  to  one  of  these  churches."  To 
this  Mr.  Harrington  first  replies  by  the 
pointed  question  :  "  Is  not  Liberty  of 
Conscience  and  ye  right  of  judging  for 
themselves  in  the  matters  of  Religion, 


^8                                     The  Loyalists  of  Lancaster. 

one   grand   professed   Principle    in   ye  Lastly    came    the    political     charge 

New  England  Churches ;  and  one  Cor-  pure  and  simple. 

ner  Stone  in  their  Foundation?"  He  "His  despising  contemning  and  set- 
then  explicitly  states  his  abhorrence  ting  at  naught  and  speaking  Evil  of  all 
of  "  the  anti-Christian  tenets  of  Pop-  our  Civil  Rulers,  Congress,  Continental 
ers,"  adding  :  "  However  on  the  other  and  Provincial,  of  all  our  Courts,  Legis- 
hand  they  receive  all  the  articles  of  the  lative  and  Executive,  are  not  only  sub- 
Athanasian  Creed  —  and  of  conse-  versive  of  good  Order  :  But  we  appre- 
quence  in  their  present  Constitution  hend  come  under  Predicament  of  those 
they  have  some  Gold,  Silver,  and  pre-  spoken  of  in  2  Pet.  H.  10,  who  despise 
cious  stones  as  well  as  much  wood,  hay,  government,  presumptuous,  selfwilled, 
and  stubble."  He  characterizes  the  they  are  not  afraid  to  speak  evil  of 
accusation    in    this    pithy  paragraph :  Dignities  &c." 

"Too  much  Charity  is  the  Charge  here  Mr.  Harrington  acknowledges  that 
brought  against  me,  — would  to  God  I  he  once  uttered  to  a  Mr.  North  this 
had  still  more  of  it  in  ye  most  irapor-  imprudent  speech.  "  I  disapprove 
tant  sense.  Instead  of  a  Disqualiiica-  abhor  and  detest  the  Results  of  Con- 
tion,  it  would  be  a  most  enviable  ac-  gress  whether  Continental  or  Provin- 
complishment  in  ye  Pastor  of  a  Protes-  cial,"  but  adds  that  he  "  took  the  first 
tant  New  England  Church."  A  sharp  opportunity  to  inform  Mr.  North  that  I 
argumentum  ad  hominem,  for  the  bene-  had  respect  only  to  two  articles  in  said 
fit  of  the  ultra-radical  accuser  closes  Results."  He  apologizes  for  the  speech, 
this  division  of  his  defence.  "But,  but  at  the  same  time  defends  his 
Mr.  Moderator,  if  my  charity  toward  criticism  of  the  two  articles  as  arbitrary 
some  Roman  Catholicks  disqualifieth  measures.  He  also  confesses  saying 
me  for  a  Protestant  Minister,  what,  that  "  General  Court  had  no  Business  to 
what  must  we  think  of  ye  honorable  direct  Committees  to  seize  on  Estates 
Congress  attending  Mass  in  a  Body  in  before  they  had  been  Confiscated  in  a 
ye  Roman  Catholic  Chappel  at  Phila-  course  of  Law,"  and  "  that  their  Con- 
delphia?  Must  it  not  be  equal  mock-  stituents  never  elected  or  sent  them  for 
ery  in  them  to  pretend  to  represent  that  Purpose,"  but  this  sentiment  he 
and  act  for  the  United  Protestant  claimed  that  he  had  subsequently  re- 
States.?"  .  .  .  tracted  as  rash  and  improper  to  be 
The  third  charge  was  that  he  had  spoken.  These  objectionable  expres- 
declared  himself  and  one  of  the  breth-  sions  of  opinion,  he  asserts,  were  made 
ren  to  "be  a  major  part  of  the  Church."  "  before  ye  19th  of  April  1 775  •" 
This,  like  the  first  charge,  was  a  revival  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  Reverend 
of  an  old  personal  grievance  within  the  Timothy  Harrington's  name  was  speed- 
church,  rehabilitated  to  give  cumulative  ily  erased  from  the  black  list,  and,  to 
force  to  the  political  complaints.  The  the  credit  of  his  people  be  it  said,  he 
accusation  is  summarily  disposed  of;  was  treated  with  increased  considera- 
the  accused  condemning  the  sentiment  tion  and  honor  during  the  following 
"as  grossly  Tyrannical,  inconsistent  with  eighteen  years  that  he  lived  to  serve 
common  sense  and  repugnant  to  good  them.  In  the  deliberations  of  the  Lan- 
order  "  ;  and  denying  that  he  ever  caster  town  meeting,  as  in  those  of  the 
uttered  it.  Continental  Congress,  broad   views   of 


Louis  Ansart.  49 

National    Independence    based    upon  Beau  S^jour.     Captain  Willard,  though 

civil  and  religious   liberty,  finally  pre-  not  at  Grand  Pr^,  was  placed  in  com- 

vailed    over   sectional    prejudice     and  mand  of  a  detachment  which  carried 

intolerance.     The    loyalist   pastor   was  desolation  through  the  villages  to  the 

a  far  better  republican  than  his  radical  westward  of  the  Bay  of  Minas ;   and 

inquisitors.  the   diary   affords   evidence    that    this 

warfare  against   the   defenceless   peas- 

[SiNCE  the  paper  upon  Lancaster  and  antry   was    revolting    to    that    gallant 

the  Acadiens  was  published  in  The  Bay  officer ;  and  that,  while  obedient  to  his 

State  Monthly  for  April,  I  have  been  positive  orders,  he  tempered  the  cruelty 

favored   with   the   perusal   of  Captain  of    military    necessity    with    his    own 

Abijah     Willard's     "  Orderly     Book,"  humanity. 

through  the  courtesy  of  its  possessor,  The  full  names  of  his  subalterns,  not 

Robert  Willard,  m.d.,  of    Boston,  who  given  in  the  list  from  General  Winslow's 

found  it  among  the  historical  collec-  Journal,  are  found  to  be 

tions  of  his  father,  Joseph  Willard,  Esq.  "Joshua  Willard,  Lieutenant, 

The    volume    contains,   besides    other  Moses  Haskell,          „ 

interesting  matter,  a  concise   diary  of  Caleb  Willard,  Ensign." 

experiences  during  the  military  expe-  Of  the  Lancaster  men,  Sergeant  James 

dition  of  1755  in  Nova  Scotia;    from  Houghton  died,  and  William  Hudson 

which   it   appears   that   the   Lancaster  was  killed,  in  Nova  Scotia, 

company  was  prominently  engaged  in  The    diary  is  well  worthy  of  being 

the   capture   of    Forts    Lawrence    and  printed  complete.                       h.  s.  n.J 


LOUIS    ANSART. 

By  Clara  Clayton. 

One     of    the    notable     citizens    of  had    charge    until    the    close   of    the 

Revolutionary  times  was  Colonel  Louis  Revolutionary  War. 

Ansart.     He  was  a  native  of  France,  Colonel    Ansart    was    an    educated 

and      came      to     America    in     1776,  man  —  a    graduate    of    a    college    in 

while  our  country  was  engaged  in  war  France  —  and   of  a  good   family.     It 

with  England.      He  brought  with  him  is  said  that  he  conversed  well  in  seven 

credentials   from   high   officials  in  his  different  languages, 

native   country,   and  was   immediately  His  father  purchased  him  a  commis- 

appointed    colonel     of     artillery    and  sion  of  lieutenant  at  the  age  of  fourteen 

inspector-general  of  the  foundries,  and  years ;  and  he  was  employed  in  military 

engaged  in  casting  cannon  in  Massa-  service  by  his  native  country  and  the 

chusetts.      Colonel  Ansart  understood  United  States,  and  held  a  commission 

the  art  to  great  perfection;  and  it  is  until    the   close   of  the   Revolutionary 

said  that  some  of  his  cannon  and  mor-  War,   when    he   purchased   a   farm   in 

tars  are  still  serviceable  and  valuable.  Dracut   and   resided    there    until    his 

Foundries  were   then   in   operation  in  death.     He   returned  to  France  three 

Bridgewater  and  Titicut,  of  which  he  times  after  he  first  came  to  this  country, 


50 


Louis  Aftsart. 


and  was  there  at  the  time  Louis  XVI 
was  arrested,  in  1789. 

Colonel  Ansart  married  Catherine 
Wimble,  an  American  lady,  of  Boston, 
and  reared  a  large  family  in  Dracut  — 
in  that  portion  of  the  town  which  was 
annexed  to  Lowell  in  1874.  Atis 
Ansart,  who  still  resides  there,  in  the 
eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  is  a  son 
of  Colonel  Ansart ;  also  Felix  Ansart, 
late  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  and 
for  twenty-four  years  an  officer  of  the 
regular  army,  at  one  time  stationed  at 
Fort  Moultrie,  South  Carolina,  and 
afterwards  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  remained  eight  years, 
and  died  in  January,  1874. 

There  were  five  boys  and  seven  girls. 
The  boys  were  those  above  named,  and 
Robert,  Abel,  and  Louis.  The  girls 
were  Julia  Ann,  who  married  Bradley 
Varnum  ;  Fanny,  who  died  in  childhood  \ 
Betsey,  who  married  Jonathan  Hildreth, 
moved  to  Ohio,  and  died  in  Day- 
ton, in  that  State  ;  Sophia,  who  married 
Peter  Hazelton,  who  died  some  twenty 
years  ago,  after  which  she  married  a 
Mr.  Spaulding ;  Harriet,  who  married 
Samuel  N.  Wood,  late  of  Lowell ; 
Catherine,  who  married  Mr.  Layton ; 
and  Aline,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years. 

Colonel  Ansart  was  trained  in  that 
profession  and  in  those  times  which  had 
a  tendency  to  develop  the  sterner 
qualities,  and  was  what  would  be 
termed  in  these  times  a  man  of  stern, 
rigid,  and  imperious  nature.  It  is  said 
he  never  retired  at  night  without  first 
loading  his  pistols  and  swinging  them 
over  the  headboard  of  his  bed. 

After  settling  in  Dracut,  —  and  in 
his  best  days  he  lived  in  excellent  style 
for  the  times,  kept  a  span  of  fine 
horses,  rode  in  a  sulky,  and  "lived 
like  a  nabob,"  —  he  always  received  a 


pension  from  the  government ;  but  his 
habits  were  such  that  he  never  acquired 
a  fortune,  but  spent  his  money  freely 
and  enjoyed  it  as  he  went  along. 

Before  he  came  to  America  he  had 
traveled  in  different  countries.  On  one 
occasion,  in  Italy,  he  was  waylaid  and 
robbed  of  all  he  had,  and  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life.  He  had  been 
playing  and  had  been  very  successful, 
winning  money,  gold  watches,  and  dia- 
monds. As  he  was  riding  back  to  his 
hotel  his  postilion  was  shot.  He  imme- 
diately seized  his  pistols  to  defend  him- 
self, when  he  was  struck  on  the  back  of 
the  head  with  a  bludgeon  and  rendered 
insensible.  He  did  not  return  to  con- 
sciousness until  the  next  morning,  when 
he  found  himself  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  bleeding  from  a  terrible  wound 
in  his  side  from  a  dirk-knife.  He  had 
strength  to  attract  the  attention  of 
a  man  passing  with  a  team,  and  was 
taken  to  his  hotel.  A  surgeon  was 
called,  who  pronounced  the  wound 
mortal.  Mr.  Ansart  objected  to  that 
view  of  the  case,  and  sent  for  another, 
and  with  skilful  treatment  he  finally 
recovered. 

It  is  said  that  he  was  a  splendid 
swordsman.  On  a  certain  occasion  he 
was  insulted,  and  challenged  his  foe  to 
step  out  and  defend  himself  with  his 
sword.  His  opponent  declined,  saying 
he  never  fought  with  girls,  meaning 
that  Mr.  Ansart  was  delicate,  with  soft, 
white  hands  and  fair  complexion,  and 
no  match  for  him,  whereupon  the 
young  Frenchman  drew  his  sword  to 
give  him  a  taste  of  his  quality.  He 
flourished  it  around  his  opponent's 
head,  occasionally  stratching  his  face 
and  hands,  until  he  was  covered  with 
wounds  and  blood,  but  he  could  not 
provoke  him  to  draw  his  weapon  and 
defend   himself.     After  compUmenting 


Lotiis  Ansart. 


51 


him  with  the  name  of  "  coward,"  he 
told  him  to  go  about  his  business, 
advising  him  in  future  to  be  more  care- 
ful of  his  conduct  and  less  boastful  of 
his  courage. 

During  the  inquisition  in  France, 
Colonel  Ansart  said  that  prisoners  were 
sometimes  executed  in  the  presence 
of  large  audiences,  in  a  sort  of  amphi- 
theatre. People  of  means  had  boxes, 
as  in  our  theatres  of  the  present  day. 
Colonel  Ansart  occupied  one  of  these 
boxes  on  one  occasion  with  his  lady. 
Before  the  performance  began,  another 
gentleman  with  his  lady  presented  him- 
self in  Colonel  Ansart's  box,  and 
requested  him  to  vacate.  He  was  told 
that  he  was  rather  presuming  in  his 
conduct  and  had  better  go  where  he 
belonged.  The  man  insisted  upon 
crowding  himself  in,  and  was  very 
insolent,  when  Colonel  Ansart  seized 
him  and  threw  him  over  the  front, 
when,  of  course,  he  went  tumbling 
down  among  the  audience  below. 
Colonel  Ansart  was  for  this  act  after- 
ward arrested  and  imprisoned  for  a 
short  time,  but  was  finally  liberated 
without  trial. 

History  informs  us  that  a  combined 
attack  by  D'Estaing  and  General 
Sullivan  was  planned,  in  1778,  for  the 
expulsion  of  the  British  from  Rhode 
Island,  where,  under  General  Pigot, 
they  had  established  a  military  depot. 
Colonel  Ansart  was  aide-de-camp  to 
General  Sullivan  in  this  expedition, 
and  was  wounded  in  the  engagement 
of  August  29. 

On  a  certain  occasion  he  was  taking 
a  sleigh-ride  with  his  family,  and  in  one 
of  the  adjacent  towns  met  a  gentle- 
man with  his  turn-out  in  a  narrow  and 
drifted  part  of  the  road,  where  some 
difficulty  occurred  in  passing  each  other. 
Colonel  Ansart  suggested  to  him  that 


he  should  not  have,  driven  into  such  a 
place  when  he  saw  him  coming.  The 
man  denied  that  he  saw  the  colonel, 
and  told  him  he  lied.  Colonel  Ansart 
seized  his  pistol  to  punish  him  for  his 
insolence,  when  his  wife  interfered,  an 
explanation  followed,  and  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  both  gentlemen  were  from 
Dracut.  One  was  deacon  of  the 
church,  and  the  other  "  inspector- 
general  of  artillery."  Of  course  the 
pistols  were  put  up,  as  the  deacon 
did  n't  wish  to  be  shot,  and  the  colonel 
wouldn't  tell  a  lie. 

In  his  prime,  our  hero  stood  six  feet 
high  in  his  boots,  and  weighed  two 
hundred  pounds.  He  died  in  Dracut, 
May  28,  1804,  at  the  age  of  sixty- two 
years. 

Mrs.  Ansart  was  bom  in  Boston,  and 
witnessed  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
and  often  described  the  appearance  of 
the  British  soldiers  as  they  marched 
along  past  her  residence,  both  in  going 
to  the  battle  and  in  returning.  She  was 
thirteen  years  of  age,  and  recollected  it 
perfectly.  She  said  they  were  grand 
as  they  passed  along  the  streets  of 
Boston  toward  Charlestown.  The 
officers  v/ere  elegantly  dressed  and 
were  in  great  spirits,  thinking  it  was 
only  a  pleasant  little  enterprise  to  go 
over  to  Charlestown  and  drive  those 
Yankees  out  of  their  fort ;  but  when 
they  returned  it  was  a  sad  sight.  The 
dead  and  dying  were  carried  through 
the  streets  pale  and  ghastly  and  covered 
with  blood.  She  said  the  people  wit- 
nessed the  battle  from  the  houses  in 
Boston,  and  as  regiment  after  regiment 
was  swept  down  by  the  terrible  fire  of 
the  Americans,  they  said  that  the 
British  were  feigning  to  be  frightened 
and  falling  down  for  sport;  but  when 
they  saw  that  they  did  not  get  up  again, 
and  when  the  dead  and  wounded  were 


52 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton. — //. 


brought  back  to  Boston,  the  reality 
began  to  be  made  known,  and  that 
little  frolic  of  taking  the  fort  was  really 
an  ugly  job,  and  hard  to  accomplish. 
Mrs.  Ansart  died  in  Dracut  at  the 
age  of  eighty-six  years,  January  27, 
1849.  She  retained  her  mental  and 
physical  faculties  to  a  great  degree  till 


within  a  short  time  before  her  death. 
She  was  accustomed  to  walk  to  church, 
a  distance  of  one  mile,  when  she  was 
eighty  years  of  age.  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Ansart  were  both  buried  in  Woodbine 
Cemetery,  in  the  part  of  Lowell  which 
belonged  to  Dracut  at  the  time  of  their 
interment. 


THE  BOUNDARY  LINES  OF  OLD  GROTON.  — U. 

By  the  Hon.  Samuel  Abbott  Green,  M.D. 


The  report  of  the  Comitty  of  the  Honbie 
Court  vpon  the  petition  of  Concord 
Chelmsford  Lancaster  &  Stow  for  a 
grant  of  part  of  Nashobe  lands 

Persuant  to  the  directions  giuen  by  this 
Honbie  Court  bareng  Date  the  30'h  of 
May  171 1  The  Comity  Reports  as 
foloweth  that  is  to  say  &ce 

That  on  the  second  day  of  October  171 1 
the  s'l  comitty  went  vpon  the  premises 
with  an  Artis  and  veved  [viewed]  and 
servaied  the  Land  mentioned  in  the 
Peticion  and  find  that  the  most  south- 
erly line  of  the  plantation  of  Nashobe  is 
bounded  partly  on  Concord  &  partly  on 
Stow  and  this  line  contains  by  Estimation 
vpon  the  servey  a  bought  three  miles  &  50 
polle  The  Westerly  line  Runs  partly  on 
Stowe  &  partly  on  land  claimed  by  Groton 
and  containes  four  miles  and  20  poll  ex- 
tending to  a  place  called  Brown  hill.  The 
North  line  Runs  a  long  curtain  lands 
claimed  by  Groton  and  contains  three 
miles,  the  Easterle  line  Runs  partly  on 
Chelmsford,  and  partly  on  a  farm  cald 
Powersis  farm  in  Concord ;  this  line 
contains  a  bought  fouer  miles  and 
twenty  fine  pole 

The  lands  a  boue  mentioned  wer  shewed 
to  vs  for  Nashobe  Plantation*  and  there 
were  ancient  marks  in  the  seuerall  lines 
fairly  marked,  And  sd  comite  find  vpon  the 
servey  that  Groton  hath  Run  into  Nashobe 
(as  it  was  showed  to  vs)  so  as  to  take  out 
nere  one  half  s^  plantation  and  the  bigest 
part  of  the  medows,  it  appears  to  vs  to 
Agree  well  with   the    report  of  Mr  John 


Flint  &  M""  Joseph  Wheeler  who  were  a 
Commetty  imployed  by  the  County  Court 
in  midlesexs  to  Run  the  bounds  of  said 
plantation  (June  ye  2o'ii  82)  The  plat  will 
demonstrate  how  the  plantation  lyeth  & 
how  Groton  coms  in  vpon  it :  as  aleso  the 
quaintete  which  is  a  bought  7840  acres 

And  said  Comite  are  of  the  opinion  that 
ther  may  [be]  a  township  in  that  place  it 
lying  so  remote  from  most  of  the 
neighboreng  Towns,  provided  this  Court 
shall  se  reson  to  continew  the  bounds  as 
we  do  judg  thay  have  been  made  at  the 
first  laieng  out  And  that  ther  be  sum 
addition  from  Concord  &  Chelmsford 
which  we  are  redy  to  think  will  be  com- 
plyed  with  by  s^  Towns  And  s^  Comite 
do  find  a  bought  15  famelys  setled  in  s^ 
plantation  of  Nashobe  (5)  in  Groton 
claimed  and  ten  in  the  remainder  and  3 
famelys  which  are  allredy  setled  on  the 
powerses  farm :  were  convenient  to  joyn 
w  sd  plantation  and  are  a  bought  Eaight 
mille  to  any  meting-house  (Also  ther  are 
a  bought  Eaight  famelys  in  Chelmsford 
which  are  allredy  setled  neer  Nashobe 
line  &  six  or  seven  miles  from  thir  own 
meeting  house 

JONATHAN   TYNG 
THOMAS   HOW 
JOHN   STEARNS 

\\\  the  Houes  of  Representatives 
Nov™  2  :   171 1.    Read 
Octo.  23,  1713.  In  Council     . 

Read  and  accepted ;  And  the  Indians 
native  Proprietors  of  the  sd  Plantacon. 
Being  removed    by  death    Except  two  or 


TJie  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  — //. 


5; 


Three  families  only  remaining  Its  Declared 
and  Directed  That  the  said  Lands  of 
Nashoba  be   preserved   for  a  Township. 

And  Whereas  it  appears  That  Groton 
Concord  and  Stow  by  several  of  their 
Inhabitants  have  Encroached  and  Setled 
upon  the  said  Lands  ;  This  Court  sees  not 
reason  to  remove  them  to  their  Damage ; 
but  will  allow  them  to  be  and  remain  with 
other  Inhabitants  that  may  be  admitted 
into  the  Town  to  be  there  Setled  ;  And  that 
they  have  full  Liberty  when  their  Names 
and  Number  are  determined  to  purchase  of 
the  few  Indians  there  remaining  for  the 
Establishment  of  a  Township  accordingly. 

Saving     convenient      Allotments     and 

portions  of  Land  to  the  remaining  Indian 

Inhabitants  for  their  Setling  and  Planting. 

Is*  Addington  Secry. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives 
Octo"":  23th:  17 13.  Read 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiii,  600.] 

The  inhabitants  of  Groton  had  now 
become  alarmed  at  the  situation  of 
affairs,  fearing  that  the  new  town 
would  take  away  some  of  their  land. 
Through  neglect  the  plan  of  the 
original  grant,  drawn  up  in  the  year 
1668,  had  never  been  returned  to  the 
General  Court  for  confirmation,  as  was 
customary  in  such  cases ;  and  this  fact 
also  excited  further  apprehension.  It 
was  not  confirmed  finally  until  February 
10,  1 71 7,  several  years  after  the  incor- 
poration of  Nashobah. 

In  the  General  Court  Records 
(ix,  263)  in  the  State  Library,  under 
the  date  of  June  i8,  1713,  it  is 
entered  :  — 

Upon  reading  a  Petition  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  Town  of  Groton,  Praying 
that  the  Return  &  Plat  of  the  Surveyor  of 
their  Township  impowered  by  the  General 
Court  may  be  Accepted  for  the  Settlement 
&  Ascertaining  the  Bounds  of  their  Town- 
ship, Apprehending  they  are  likely  to  be 
prejudiced  by  a  Survey  lately  taken  of  the 
Grant  of  Nashoba ; 

Voted  a  Concurrence  with   the   Order 


passed  thereon  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentees That  the  Petitioners  serve  the 
Proprietors  of  Nashoba  Lands  with  a  copy 
of  this  Petition,  That  they  may  Shew  Cause, 
if  any  they  have  on  the  second  Fryday  of 
the  Session  of  this  Court  in  the  P'all  of  the 
Year,  Why  the  Prayer  therof  may  not  be 
granted,  &  the  Bounds  of  Groton  settled 
according  to  the  ancient  Plat  of  said  Town 
herewith  exhibited. 

It  is  evident  from  the  records  that 
the  Nashobah  lands  gave  rise  to  much 
controversy.  Many  petitions  were  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Court,  and  manv 
claims  made,  growing  out  of  this  ter- 
ritory. The  following  entry  is  found 
in  the  General  Court  Records  (ix,  369) 
in  the  State  Library,  under  the  date 
of  November  2,  17 14:  — 

The  following  Order  passed  by  the 
Representees.     Read  &  Concur'd ;  viz, 

Upon  Consideration  of  the  many  Peti- 
tions &  Claims  relating  to  the  Land  called 
Nashoba  Land ;  Ordered  that  the  said 
Nashoba  Land  be  made  a  Township,  with 
the  Addition  of  such  adjoining  Lands 
of  the  Neighbouring  Towns,  whose  Owners 
shall  petition  for  that  End,  &  that  this 
Court  should  think  fit  to  grant.  That  the 
said  Nashoba  Lands  having  been  long  since 
purchased  of  the  Indians  by  M''  Bulkley  & 
Henchman  one  Half,  the  other  Half  by 
Whetcomb  &  Powers,  That  the  said  pur- 
chase be  confirmed  to  the  children  of  the 
said  Bulkley,  Whetcomb  &  Powers,  &  Cpt. 
Robert  Meers  as  Assignee  to  M""  Hench- 
man according  to  their  respective  Propor- 
tions ;  Reserving  to  the  Inhabitants,  who 
have  settled  within  these  Bounds,  their 
Settlements  with  Divisions  of  Lands,  in 
proportion  to  the  Grantees,  &  such  as 
shall  be  hereafter  admitted ;  the  said 
Occupants  or  present  Inhabitants  paying 
in  Proportion  as  others  shall  pay  for  their 
Allotments  ;  .  Provided  the  said  Plantation 
shall  be  settled  with  Thirty  five  Families  & 
an  orthodox  Minister  in  three  years  time. 
And  that  Five  hundred  Acres  of  Land  be 
reserved  and  laid  out  for  the  Benefit  of  any 
of  the   Descendants   of  the   Indian  Pro- 


54 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  — //. 


prietors  of  the  said  Plantation,  that  may  be 
surviving ;  A  Proportion  thereof  to  be  for 
Sarah  Doublet  alias  Sarah  Indian ;  .  The 
Rev.  W.  John  Leveret  &  Spencer  Phips 
Esqr.  to  be  Trustees  for  the  said  Indians  to 
take  Care  of  the  said  Lands  for  their  Use. 
And  it  is  further  Ordered  that  Cpt.  Hope- 
still  Brown,  M^.  Timothy  Wily  &  M>-. 
Joseph  Burnap  of  Reading  be  a  Committee 
to  lay  out  the  said  Five  hundred  Acres  of 
Land  reserved  for  the  Indians,  &  to  run 
the  Line  between  Groton  &  Nashoba,  at 
the  Charge  of  both  Parties  &  make  Report 
to  this  Court,  And  that  however  the  Line 
may  divide  the  Land  with  regard  to  the 
Township,  yet  the  Proprietors  on  either 
side  may  be  continued  in  the  Possession  of 
their  Improvements,  paying  as  aforesaid ; 
And  that  no  Persons  legal  Right  or 
Property  in  the  said  Lands  shall  [be] 
hereby  taken  away  or  infringed. 

Consented  to  J  Dudley 

The  report  of  this  committee  is 
entered  in  the  same  volume  of  General 
Court  Records  (ix,  395,  396)  as  the 
order  of  their  appointment,  though  the 
date  as  given  by  them  does  not  agree 
with  the  one  there  mentioned. 

The  following  Report  of  the  Committee 
for  Running  the  Line  between  Groton  & 
Nashoba  Accepted  by  Representees.  Read 
&  Concur'd ;  Viz. 

We  the  Subscribers  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee by  the  General  Court  to  run  the 
Line  between  Groton  &  Nashoba  &  to  lay 
out  Five  hundred  Acres  of  Land  in  said 
Nashoba  to  the  the  \sic\  Descendants  of 
the  Indians ;  Pursuant  to  said  Order  of 
Court,  bearing  Date  Octob^  20*  [Nov- 
ember 2?]  17 14,  We  the  Subscribers 
return   as   follows  ; 

That  on  the  301^1.  of  November  last,  we 
met  on  the  Premises,  &  heard  the  Infor- 
mation of  the  Inhabitants  of  Groton, 
Nashoba  &  others  of  the  Neighbouring 
Towns,  referring  to  the  Line  that  has  been 
between  Groton  &  Nashoba  &  seen  several 
Records,  out  of  Groton  Town  Book,  & 
considered  other  Writings,  that  belong  to 
Groton  &  Nashoba,  &  We  have  considered 


all,  &  We  have  run  the  Line  (Which  we 

account  is  the  old  Line  between  Groton  & 

Nashoba;)    We   began    next    Chelmsford 

Line,  at  a  Heap  of  Stones,  where.  We  were 

informed,  that  there  had  been  a  great  Pine 

Tree,  the  Northeast  Corner  of  Nashoba, 

and   run  Westerly  by  many   old    mark'd 

Trees,  to  a   Pine   Tree  standing   on   the 

Southerly  End  of  Brown    Hill  mark'd   N 

and  those  marked  Trees  had  been  many 

times  marked  or  renewed,  thd  they  do  not 

stand  in  a  direct  or  strait  Line  to  said  Pine 

Tree  on  said  Brown  Hill ;  And  then  from 

said  Brown  Hill  we  turned  a  little  to  the 

East  of  the  South,  &  run  to  a  white  Oak 

being  an  old  Mark,  &  so  from  said  Oak  to 

a  Pitch  Pine  by  a  Meadow,  being  an  other 

old  Mark ;  &  the  same  Line  extended  to 

a  white  Oak  near  the  North  east  Corner  of 

Stow  :  And  this  is  all,  as  we  were  informed, 

that   Groton  &  Nashoba  joins  together: 

Notwithstanding  the  Committees  Opinion 

is,  that  Groton  Men  be  continued  in  their 

honest  Rights,   thd   they  fall   within   the 

Bounds  of  Nashoba ;  And  We  have  laid 

out   to   the   Descendants   of  the   Indians 

Five   hundred   Acres   at   the    South   east 

Corner    of   the    Plantation   of   Nashoba ; 

East  side,    Three    hundred    Poles    long. 

West  side  three  hundred  Poles,  South  & 

North  ends,  Two  hundred  &  eighty  Poles 

broad ;  A  large  white  Oak  marked  at  the 

North  west  Corner,  &   many  Line  Trees 

we  marked  at  the  West  side  &  North  End, 

&  it  takes  in  Part  of  two  Ponds. 

Dated  Decemr  14.  1714. 

HOPESTILL  BROWN 
TIMOTHY  WILY 
JOSEPH  BURNAP 

Consented  to      J  Dudley. 

The  incorporation  of  Nashobah  on 
November  2,  1714,  settled  many  of 
the  disputes  connected  with  the  lands  ; 
but  on  December  3  of  the  next  year, 
the  name  was  changed  from  Nashobah 
to  Littleton.  As  already  stated,  the 
plan  of  the  original  Groton  grant  had 
never  been  returned  by  the  proprietors 
to  the  General  Court  for  confirmation, 
and   this   neglect   had   acted   to    their 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


55 


prejudice.  After  Littleton  had  been  set 
off,  the  town  of  Groton  undertook  to 
repair  the  injury  and  make  up  the  loss. 
John  Shepley  and  John  Ames  were 
appointed  agents  to  bring  about  the 
necessary  confirmation  by  the  General 
Court.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  to 
know  that  in  their  petition  (General 
Court  Records,  x,  216,  February  11, 
1 71 7,  in  the  ofifice  of  the  secretary  of 
state)  they  speak  of  having  in  their 
possession  at  that  time  the  original  plan 
of  the  town,  made  by  Danforth  in  the 
year  1668,  though  it  was  somewhat 
defaced.  In  the  language  of  the 
Records,  it  was  said  to  be  "  with  the 
Petitioner,"  which  expression  in  the 
singular  number  may  have  been  inten- 
tional, referring  to  John  Shepley,  prob- 
ably the  older  one,  as  certainly  the 
more  influential,  of  the  two  agents. 
This  plan  was  also  exhibited  before 
the  General  Court  on  June  18,  1713, 
according  to  the  Records  (ix,  263)  of 
that  date. 

The  case,  as  presented  by  the  agents, 
was  as  follows  :  — 

A  petition  of  John  Sheply  &  John 
Ames  Agents  for  the  Town  of  Groton 
Shewing  that  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Province  did  in  the  year  1655,  Grant 
unto  Mr  Dean  Winthrop  &  his  Associates 
a  Tract  of  Land  of  Eight  miles  quare  for 
a  Plantation  to  be  called  by  the  name  of 
Groton,  that  Thorns.  &  Jonathan  Danforth 
did  in  the  year  1668,  lay  out  the  said 
Grant,  but  the  Plat  thereof  through 
Neglect  was  not  returned  to  the  Court  for 
Confirmation  that  the  said  Plat  th6  some- 
thing defaced  is  with  the  Petitioner,  That 
in  the  Year  17 13  M^  Samuel  Danforth 
Surveyour  &  Son  of  the  abovesaid 
Jonathan  Danforth,  at  the  desire  of  the 
said  Town  of  Groton  did  run  the  Lines  & 
make  an  Implatment  of  the  said  Township 
laid  out  as  before  &  found  it  agreeable  to 
the  former.  Wh.  last  Plat  the  Petitioners 
do   herewith  exhibit,  And  pray  that   this 


HonWe  Court  would  allow  &  confirm  the 
same  as  the  Township  of  Groton 

In  the  House  of  Representves;  Feb.  10. 
1 717.  Read,  Read  a  second  time,  And 
Ordered  that  the  Prayer  of  the  Petition  be 
so  far  granted  that  the  Plat  herewith  ex- 
hibited (Althd  not  exactly  conformable  to 
the  Original  Grant  of  Eight  Miles  quare) 
be  accounted,  accepted  &  Confirmed  as 
the  Bounds  of  the  Township  of  Groton  in 
all  parts.  Except  where  the  said  Township 
bounds  on  the  Township  of  Littleton, 
Where  the  Bounds  shall  be  &  remain 
between  the  Towns  as  already  stated  & 
settled  by  this  Court,  And  that  this  Order 
shall  not  be  understood  or  interpreted  to 
alter  or  infringe  the  Right  &  Title  which 
any  Inhabitant  or  Inhabitants  of  either  of 
the  said  Towns  have  or  ought  to  have  to 
Lands  in  either  of  the  said  Townships 

In  Council,  Read  &  Concur'd, 

Consented  to     Sam'i  Shute 

[General  Court  Records  (x,  216),  February  11,  1717, 
in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state.] 

The  proprietors  of  Groton  felt  sore 
at  the  loss  of  their  territory  along  the 
Nashobah  line  in  the  year  1714, 
although  it  would  seem  without  reason. 
They  had  neglected  to  have  the  plan  of 
their  grant  confirmed  by  the  proper 
authorities  at  the  proper  time  ;  and  no 
one  was  to  blame  for  this  oversight  but 
themselves.  In  the  autumn  of  1734 
they  represented  to  the  General  Court 
that  in  the  laying  out  of  the  original 
plantation  no  allowance  had  been  made 
for  prior  grants  in  the  same  territory, 
and  that  in  settling  the  line  with  Little- 
ton they  had  lost  more  than  four 
thousand  acres  of  land  ;  and  in  con- 
sideration of  these  facts  they  petitioned 
for  an  unappropriated  gore  of  land 
lying  between  Dunstable  and  Town- 
send. 

The  necessary  steps  for  bringing  the 
matter  before  the  General  Court  at  this 
time  were  taken  at  a  town  meeting, 
held   on  July   25,   1734.     It 'was  then 


56 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  //. 


stated  that  the  town  had  lost  more 
than  twenty-seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  acres  by  the  encroachment  of 
Littleton  line ;  and  that  two  farms  had 
been  laid  out  within  the  plantation 
before  it  was  granted  to  the  proprietors. 
Under  these  circumstances  Benjamin 
Prescott  was  authorized  to  present  the 
petition  to  the  General  Court,  setting 
forth  the  true  state  of  the  case  and  all 
the  facts  connected  with  it.  The  two 
farms  alluded  to  were  Major  Simon 
Willard's,  situated  at  Nonacoicus  or 
Coicus,  now  within  the  limits  of  Ayer, 
and  Ralph  Reed's,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Ridges  ;  so  Mr.  Butler  told 
me  several  years  before  his  death,  giving 
Judge  James  Prescott  as  his  authority, 
and  I  carefully  wrote  it  down  at  the 
time.  The  statement  is  confirmed  by 
the  report  of  a  committee  on  the  peti- 
tion of  Josiah  Sartell,  made  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  on  June  13, 
1 7  7 1 .  Willard's  farm,  however,  was  not 
laid  out  before  the  original  plantation 
was  granted,  but  in  the  spring  of  1658, 
three  years  after  the  grant.  At  this 
time  Danforth  had  not  made  his  plan 
of  the  plantation,  which  fact  may  have 
given  rise  to  the  misapprehension. 
Ralph  Reed  was  one  of  the  original 
proprietors  of  the  town,  and  owned 
a  fifteen-acre  right ;  but  I  do  not  find 
that  any  land  was  granted  him  by  the 
General  Court. 

It  has  been  incorrectly  supposed, 
and  more  than  once  so  stated  in  print, 
that  the  gore  of  land,  petitioned  for  by 
Benjamin  Prescott,  lay  in  the  territory 
now  belonging  to  Pepperell ;  but  this  is 
a  mistake.  The  only  unappropriated 
land  between  Dunstable  and  Townsend, 
as  asked  for  in  the  petition,  lay  in  the 
angle  made  by  the  western  boundary 
of  Dunstable  and  the  northern  bound- 
ary   of   Townsend.       At   that    period 


Dunstable  was  a  very  large  township, 
and  included  within  its  territory 
several  modern  towns,  lying  mostly 
in  New  Hampshire.  The  manuscript 
records  of  the  General  Court  define 
very  clearly  the  lines  of  the  gore,  and 
leave  no  doubt  in  regard  to  it.  It  lay 
within  the  present  towns  of  Mason, 
Brookline,  Wilton,  Milford,  and  Green- 
ville, New  Hampshire.  Benjamin  Pre- 
scott was  at  the  time  a  member  of 
the  General  Court  and  the  most  in- 
fluential man  in  town.  His  petition  was 
presented  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives on  November  28,  1734, 
and  referred  to  a  committee,  which 
made  a  report  thereon  a  fortnight  later. 
They  are  as  follows  :  — 

A  Petition  of  Benjatnin  Prescot,  Esq ; 
Representative  of  the  Town  of  Groton, 
and  in  behalf  of  the  Proprietors  of  the 
said  Town,  shewing  that  the  General 
Court  in  May  1655,  in  answer  to  the  Peti- 
tion of  Mr.  Dean  Winihrop  and  others, 
were  pleased  to  grant  the  Petitioners  a 
tract  of  Land  of  the  contents  of  eight 
miles  square,  the  Plantation  to  be  called 
Groton,  that  in  taking  a  Plat  of  the  said 
tract  there  was  no  allowance  made  for 
prior  Grants  &c.  by  means  whereof  and  in 
settling  the  Line  with  Littleton  Amio  171 S, 
or  thereabouts,  the  said  Town  of  Groton 
falls  short  more  than  four  thousand  acres 
of  the  Original  Grant,  praying  that  the 
said  Proprietors  may  obtain  a  Grant  of 
what  remains  undisposed  of  of  a  Gore 
of  Land  lying  between  Dimstable  and 
Towns/lend,  or  an  equivalent  elsewhere  of 
the  Province  Land.  Read  and  Ordered, 
That  Col.  Chandler,  Capt.  Blattchard, 
Capt.  Hobson,  Major  Epes,  and  Mr.  Hale, 
be  a  Committee  to  take  this  Petition  under 
consideration,  and  report  what  may  be 
proper  for  the  Court  to  do  in  answer 
thereto. 

rjournal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  November 
28,  1734,  page  94.] 

Col.    Chandler    from    the     Committee 
appointed   the   28///.  ult.  to   consider  the 


The  Boicndary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  //. 


57 


Petition  of  Benjamin  Prescot,  Esq;  in 
behalf  of  the  Proprietors  of  Groton,  made 
report,  which  was  read  and  accepted,  and 
in  answer  to  this  Petition,  Voted,  That  a 
Grant  of  ten  tliousand  eight  hundred  acres 
of  the  Lands  lying  in  the  Gore  between 
Dunstable  and  Townshend,  be  and  hereby 
is  made  to  the  Proprietors  of  the  Town  of 
Groton,  as  an  equivalent  for  what  was 
taken  from  them  by  Littleton  and  Coyachus 
or  Willard^s  Farm  (being  about  two  acres 
and  a  half  for  one)  and  is  in  full  satisfac- 
tion thereof,  and  that  the  said  Proprietors 
be  and  hereby  are  allowed  and  impowred 
by  a  Sun-eyor  and  Chain-men  on  Oath  to 
survey  and  lay  out  the  said  ten  thousand 
eight  hundred  acres  in  the  said  Gore,  and 
return  a  Plat  thereof  to  this  Court  within 
twelve  months  for  confirmation  to  them 
their  heirs  and  assigns  respectively. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  December 
12.  1734.  page  119.] 

The  proprietors  of  Groton  had  a 
year's  time  allowed  them,  in  which  they 
could  lay  out  the  grant,  but  they  appear 
to  have  taken  fifteen  months  for  the 
purpose.  The  record  of  the  grant  is 
as  follows  :  — 

A  Memorial  of  Benja  Prescott  Esq : 
Representa  of  the  Town  of  Groton  in 
behalf  of  the  Proprietors  there,  praying 
that  the  Votes  of  the  House  on  his  Me- 
morial &  a  plat  of  Ten  Thousand  Eight 
hundred  Acres  of  Land,  lately  Granted  to 
the  said  Proprietors,  as  Entred  in  the 
House  the  25  of  March  last,  may  be 
Revived  and  Granted,  The  bounds  of 
which  Tract  of  Land  as  Mentioned  on  the 
said  Plat  are  as  follows  vizt. :  beginins: 
at  the  North  West  Corner  of  Dunstable 
at  Dram  Cup  hill  by  Sohegan  River 
and  Runing  South  in  Dunstable  line  last 
Perambulated  and  Run  by  a  Comtee  of  the 
General  Court,  two  Thousand  one  hundred 
&  fifty  two  poles  to  Townshend  line,  there 
making  an  angle,  and  Runing  West 
31  1-2  Deg.  North  on  Townshend  line  & 
province  Land  Two  Thousand  and  Fifty 
Six  poles  to  a  Pillar  of  Stones  then  turning 


and  Runing  by  Province  Land  31  1-2  deg 
North  two  Thousand  &  forty  Eight  poles 
to  Dunstable  Corner  first  mentioned 

In  the  House  of  Representa.  Read  & 
Ordered  that  the  prayer  of  the  Memorial 
be  Granted,  and  further  that  the  within 
Plat  as  Reformed  and  Altered  by  Jonas 
Houghton  Survey,  be  and  hereby  is 
accepted  and  the  Lands  therein  Delineated 
and  Described  (Excepting  the  said  One 
Thousand  Acres  belonging  to  Cambridge 
School  Farm  and  therein  included)  be  and 
hereby  are  Confirmed  to  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Town  of  Groton  their  heirs  and 
Assignes  Respectivly  forever.  According 
to  their  Several  Interests ;  Provided  the 
same  do  not  interfere  with  any  former 
Grant  of  this  Court  nor  Exceeds  the 
Quantity  of  Eleven  thousand  and  Eight 
hundred  Acres  and  the  Committee  for 
the  Town  of  Ipswich  are  Allowed  and 
Impowred  to  lay  out  such  quantity  of  Land 
on  their  West  line  as  is  Equivalent  to 
what  is  taken  off  their  East  line  as  afore- 
said, and  Return  a  plat  thereof  to  this 
Court  within  twelve  Months  for  confirma- 
tion. In  Council  Read  &  Concurred. 
Consented  to  J  Belcher 

And  in  Answer  to  the  said  Memorial  of 
Benja  Prescott  Esq"" 

In  the  House  of  Representa.  Ordered 
that  the  prayer  of  the  Memorial  be 
Granted  and  the  Comt^e.  for  the  new 
Township  Granted  to  some  of  the  In- 
habitants of  Ipswich  are  hereby  Allowed 
to  lay  out  an  Equivalent  on  the  West  line 
of  the  said  New  Township  Accordingly. 

In  Council  Read  &  Concurr'd 

Consented  to  J  Belcher 

[General  Court  Records  (xvi,  334),  June  15,  1736,  m 
the  oflSce  of  the  secretary  of  state.] 

This  grant,  now  made  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  Groton,  interfered  with  the 
territory  previously  given  on  April,  1 735, 
to  certain  inhabitants  of  Ipswich,  but 
the  mistake  was  soon  rectified,  as 
appears  by  the  following  :  — 

Voted,  That  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
Acres  of  the  unappropriated  Lands  of  the 
Province    be    and    hereby  is    given    and 


58 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  11. 


gmnted  to  the  I'roprietors  or  Grantees  of 
the  Townsliip  hitely  granted  to  sixty  Inhab- 
itants of  the  Town  of  Ipswich,  as  an  Equiv- 
alent for  about  that  quantity  being  taken 
off  their  Plat  by  the  Proprietors  of  the 
Common  Lands  of  Groton,  and  that  the 
Ipswich  Grantees  be  allowed  to  lay  out  the 


shire.  From  that  point  the  line  ran 
south  for  six  or  seven  miles,  following 
the  western  boundary  of  Dunstable,  until 
it  came  to  the  old  Townsend  line  ;  then 
it  turned  and  ran  northwesterly  six  miles 
or  more,  when  turning  again  it  made 


N 

U 


■w- 


''A 


iisr 
lS84r 

scALc    or  M I  LE E 
ORIGINAL         AREA     SHADED 

DRAWN      BY     JX.McCLlNTOCK 


^m:heiist 


R    I   V  ^^ 


'& 


F 


31    33 


GAH,  OJT  O  J^       /  G  O  RVE 


V 


\ 


ivti 


s  o 


vn: 


BOUNDARX    L1ne\  between     NEN 


T 

ASI£B"Y 


T  o^vvnsr 


NJ 


pj 


HEIili 


same  on  the  Northern  or  Westerly  Line  of 
the  said  new  Township  or  on  both  sides. 
Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  io8), 
January  12,  1736.] 

The  record  of  the  grant  clearly  marks 
the  boundaries  of  Groton  Gore,  and  by 
it  they  can  easily  be  identified.  Dram 
Cup  Hill,  near  Souhegan  River,  the  old 
northwest  corner  of  Dunstable,  is  in  the 
present  territory  of  Milford,  New  Hamp- 


for  the  original  starting-place  at  Dun- 
stable northwest  corner.  These  lines 
enclosed  a  triangular  district  which 
became  known  as  Groton  Gore ;  in 
fact,  the  word  gore  means  a  lot  of  land 
of  triangular  shape.  This  territory  is 
now  entirely  within  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  lying  mostly  in  Mason,  but 
partly  in  Brookline,  Wilton,  Milford, 
and  Greenville.  It  touches  in  no 
place   the    tract,    hitherto    erroneously 


The  Boiindary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


59 


supposed  to  comprise  the  Gore.  It 
was  destined,  however,  to  remain  only 
a  few  years  in  the  possession  of  the 
proprietors;  but  during  this  short 
period  it  was  used  by  them  for  pas- 
turing cattle.  Mr.  John  B.  Hill,  in  his 
History  of  the  Town  of  Mason,  New 
Hampshire,  says  :  — 

Under  this  grant,  the  inhabitants  of 
Groton  took  possession  of,  and  occupied 
the  territory.  It  was  their  custom  to  cut 
the  hay  upon  the  meadows,  and  stack  it, 
and  early  in  the  spring  to  send  up  their 
young  cattle  to  be  fed  upon  the  hay,  under 
the  care  of  Boad,  the  negro  slave.  They 
would  cause  the  woods  to  be  fired,  as  it 
was  called,  that  is,  burnt  over  in  the 
spring;  after  which  fresh  and  succulent 
herbage  springing  up,  furnished  good 
store  of  the  finest  feed,  upon  which  the 
cattle  would  thrive  and  fatten  through  the 
season.  Boad's  camp  was  upon  the  east 
side  of  the  meadow,  near  the  residence  of 
the  late  Joel  Ames.     (Page  26.) 

In  connection  with  the  loss  of  the 
Gore,  a  brief  statement  of  the  boun- 
dary question  between  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire  is  here  given. 

During  many  years  the  dividing-line 
between  these  two  provinces  was  the 
subject  of  controversy.  The  cause  of 
dispute  dated  back  to  the  time  when 
the  original  grant  was  made  to  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The 
charter  was  drawn  up  in  England  at 
a  period  when  little  was  known  in  re- 
gard to  the  interior  of  this  country; 
and  the  boundary  lines,  necessarily, 
were  very  indefinite.  The  Merrimack 
River  was  an  important  factor  in  fixing 
the  limits  of  the  grant,  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  Massachusetts  was  to  be 
a  line  three  miles  north  of  any  and 
every  part  of  it.  At  the  date  of  the 
charter,  the  general  direction  of  the 
river  was  not  known,  but  it  was  incor- 
rectly   assumed    to    be    easterly    and 


westerly.      As    a   matter    of    fact,    the 
course  of  the  Merrimack  is   southerly, 
for  a  long   distance    from  where   it   is 
formed   by  the   union   of  the  Winne- 
peseogee  and  the  Pemigewasset  Rivers, 
and  then  it  turns  and  runs  twenty-five 
or  thirty  miles  in  a  northeasterly  direc- 
tion to  its  mouth ;  and   this  deflexion 
in  the  current  caused  the  dispute.     The 
difference  between  the  actual  and  the 
supposed    direction   was   a   matter    of 
little  practical  importance  so  long  as 
the  neighboring  territory  remained  im- 
settled,  or  so  long  as  the  two  provinces 
were  essentially  under  one  government ; 
but    as    the    population    increased    it 
became     an     exciting     and    vexatious 
question.      Towns   were    chartered   by 
Massachusetts   in   territory  claimed  by 
New  Hampshire,  and  this  action  led  to 
bitter  feeling  and  provoking  legislation. 
Massachusetts  contended  for  the  land 
"  nominated  in  the  bond,"  which  would 
carry  the  line  fifty  miles  northward  into 
the  very  heart  of  New  Hampshire  ;  and 
on  the  other  hand  that  province  stren- 
uously opposed  this  view  of  the  case, 
and  claimed  that  the  line  should  run, 
east  and  west,  three  miles  north  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river.     At  one   time,  a 
royal    commission  was    appointed    to 
consider  the  subject,  but  their   labors 
produced   no    satisfactory   result.      At 
last  the  matter  was  carried  to  England 
for  a  decision,  which  was  rendered  by 
the  king  on  March  5,   1739-40.     His 
judgment  was  final,  and  in  favor  of  New 
Hampshire.      It    gave    that     j^rovince 
not  only  all  the  territory  in  dispute,  but 
a  strip  of  land  fourteen  miles  in  width, 
lying  along  her  southern  border,  mostly 
west  of  the  Merrimack,  which  she  had 
never  claimed.     This  strip  was  the  tract 
of  land  between  the  line  running  east 
and  west,   three   miles    north    of    the 
southernmost  trend    of  the   river,  and 


Co 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


a  similar  line  three  miles  north  of  its 
mouth.  By  the  decision  twenty-eight 
townships  were  taken  from  Massachu- 
setts and  transferred  to  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  settlement  of  this  disputed 
question  was  undoubtedly  a  public  ben- 
efit, although  it  caused,  at  the  time, 
a  great  deal  of  hard  feeling.  In  estab- 
lishing the  new  boundary  Pawtucket 
Falls,  situated  now  in  the  city  of 
Lowell,  and  near  the  most  southern 
portion  of  the  river's  course,  was  taken 
as  the  starting-place ;  and  the  line 
which  now  separates  the  two  States  was 
run  west,  three  miles  north  of  this 
point.  It  was  surveyed  ofificially  in 
the  spring  of  1741. 

The  new  boundary  passed  through 
the  original  Groton  grant,  and  cut  off 
a  triangular  portion  of  its  territory,  now 
within  the  limits  of  Nashua,  and  went 
to  the  southward  of  Groton  Gore,  leav- 
ing that  tract  of  land  wholly  in  New 
Hampshire. 

A  few  years  previously  to  this  time 
the  original  grant  had  undergone  other 
dismemberment,  when  a  slice  of  its 
territory  was  given  to  Westford.  It 
was  a  long  and  narrow  tract  of  land, 
triangular  in  shape,  with  its  base  resting 
on  Stony  Brook  Pond,  now  known  as 
Forge  Pond,  and  coming  to  a  point 
near  Millstone  Hill,  where  the  boundary 
lines  of  Groton,  Westford,  and  Tyngs- 
borough  intersect.  The  Reverend 
Edwin  R.  Hodgman,  in  his  History 
of  Westford,  says  :  — 

Probably  there  was  no  computation  of 
the  area  of  this  triangle  at  any  time. 
Only  four  men  are  named  as  the  owners 
of  it,  but  they,  it  is  supposed,  held  titles 
to  only  a  portion,  and  the  remainder  was 
wild,  or  "  common,"  land.     (Page  25.) 

In  the  Journal  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  (page  9),  September 
10,  1730,  there  is  recorded:  — 


A  petition  of  Jojias  Prescoi,  Ebenezer 
Prescot,  Abner  Kejit,  and  Ebenezer  Town- 
send,  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Groton, 
praying.  That  they  and  their  Estates,  con- 
tained in  the  following  Boundaries,  viz. 
beginning  at  the  Northwesterly  Corner  of 
Stony  Brook  Pond,  from  thence  extending 
to  the  Northwesterly  Corner  of  Westford, 
commonly  called  Tyng^s  Corner,  and  so 
bound  Southerly  by  said  Pond,  may  be  set 
off  to  the  Town  of  Westford,  for  Reasons 
mentioned.  Read  and  Ordered,  That  the 
Petitioners  within  named,  with  their 
Estates,  according  to  the  Bounds  before 
recited,  be  and  hereby  are  to  all  Intents 
and  Purposes  set  off  from  the  Town  of 
Groton,  and  annexed   to   the   said  Town 

of  Westford. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

This  order  received  the  concurrence 
of  the  council,  and  was  signed  by  the 
governor,  on  the  same  day  that  it 
passed  the  House. 

During  this  period  the  town  of 
Harvard  was  incorporated.  It  was 
made  up  from  portions  of  Groton, 
Lancaster,  and  Stow,  and  the  engrossed 
act  signed  by  the  governor,  on  June 
29,  1732.  The  petition  for  the  town- 
ship was  presented  to  the  General 
Court  nearly  two  years  before  the 
date  of  incorporation.  In  the  Journal 
of  the  House  of  Representatives 
(pages  84,  85),  October  9,  1730,  it 
is  recorded :  — 

A  Petition  of  Jorias  Houghton,  Simon 
Stotte,  Jonathan  Whitney,  and  Thotnas 
Wheeler,  on  behalf  of  themselves,  and  on 
behalf  and  at  the  desire  of  sundry  of  the 
Inhabitants  on  the  extream  parts  of  the 
Towns  of  Lancaster,  Groton  and  Stow, 
named  in  the  Schedule  thereunto  annexed ; 
praying,  That  a  Tract  of  Land  (with  the 
Inhabitants  thereon,  particularly  described 
and  bounded  in  said  Petition)  belonging 
to  the  Towns  above-mentioned,  may  be 
incorporated  and  erected  into  a  distinct 
Township,  agreeable  to  said  Bounds,  for 
Reasons  mentioned.     Read,  together  with 


The  Bowidary  Lines  of  Old  Grotoji.  —  //. 


61 


the  Schedule,  and  Ordered,  That  the 
Petitioners  serve  the  Towns  of  Laticaster, 
Groton  and  Stow  with  Copies  of  the 
Petition,  that  they  may  shew  Cause  (if 
any  they  have)  on  the  first  Thursday  of 
the  next  Session,  why  the  Prayer  thereof 
may  not  be  granted. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

Further  on,  in  the  same  Journal 
(page  136),  December  29,  1730,  it  is 
also  recorded  :  — 

The  Petition  of  Jonas  Houghton,  Simon 
Stone,  and  others,  praying  as  entred  the 
9th.  of  October  last.  Read  again,  together 
with  the  Answers  of  the  Towns  of  Lan- 
caster, Groton  and  Stow,  and  Ordered, 
That  Maj.  Brattle  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Chandler,  with  such  as  the  Honourable 
Board  shall  appoint,  be  a  Committee,  (at 
the  Charge  of  the  Petitioners)  to  repair  to 
the  Land  Petitioned  for  to  be  a  Township, 
that  they  carefully  view  and  consider  the 
Situation  and  Circumstances  of  the  Peti- 
tioners, and  Report  their  Opinion  what 
may  be  proper  for  this  Court  to  do  in 
Answer  thereto,  at  their  next  Session. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

Ebenezer  Burrel  Esq ;  brought  from  the 
Honourable  Board,  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  this  Court  the  30th  of 
December  last,  to  take  under  Consideration 
the  Petition  of  Jonas  Houghton  and  others, 
in  behalf  of  themselves  and  sundry  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  part  of  the 
Towns  of  Lancaster,  Groton  and  Stow, 
praying  that  they  may  be  erected  into  a 
separate  Township.  Likewise  a  Petition 
of  Jacob  Houghton  and  others,  of  the 
North-easterly  part  of  the  Town  of  Lan- 
caster, praying  the  like.  As  also  a  Petition 
of  sundry  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  South- 
west part  of  the  North-east  Quarter  of  the 
Township  of  Lancaster,  praying  they  may 
be  continued  as  they  are.  PassM  in  Coun- 
cil, viz.  In  CouncU,  June  21,  1731.  Read, 
and  Ordered,  That  this  Report  be  accepted. 

Sent  down  for  Concurrence.     Read  and 

Concurred. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  52), 
June  22,  1731.] 


The  original  copy  of  the  petition  for 
Harvard  is  now  probably  lost ;  but  in 
the  first  volume  (page  53)  of  "Ancient 
Plans  Grants  &c."  among  the  Massa- 
chusetts Archives,  is  a  rough  plan  of 
the  town,  with  a  list  of  the  petitioners, 
which  may  be  the  "  Schedule  "  referred 
to  in  the  extract  from  the  printed  Jour- 
nal. It  appears  from  this  document 
that,  in  forming  the  new  town,  forty- 
eight  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land 
were  taken  from  the  territory  of  Groton ; 
and  with  the  tract  were  nine  families, 
including  six  by  the  name  of  Fams- 
worth.  This  section  comprised  the 
district  known,  even  now,  as  "  the  old 
mill,"  where  Jonas  Prescott  had,  as 
early  as  the  year  1667,  a  gristmill.  The 
heads  of  these  families  were  Jonathan 
Farnsworth,  Eleazer  Robbins,  Simon 
Stone,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Farnsworth,  Jr., 
Jeremiah  Farnsworth,  Eleazer  Davis, 
Ephraim  Farnsworth,  Reuben  Farns- 
worth, and  \torn'\  Farnsworth,  who 
had  petitioned  the  General  Court  to 
be  set  off  from  Groton.  On  this  plan 
of  Harvard  the  names  of  John  Burk, 
John  Burk,  Jr.,  and  John  Davis,  appear 
in  opposition  to  Houghton's  petition. 

The  town  of  Harvard  took  its  name 
from  the  founder  of  Harvard  College, 
probably  at  the  suggestion  of  Jcuathan 
Belcher,  who  was  governor  of  the 
province  at  the  time  and  a  graduate 
of  the  college. 

To  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher 
Esqi".  Capt  General  and  Governour  in  Chief 
The  Honbie.  The  Council  and  the  Honour- 
able House  of  Representatives  of  His 
Majestys  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England  in  General  Courl 
Assembled  by  Adjournment  Decemb''   16 

1730 

The  Memorial  of  Jonas  Houghton  Simon 
Stone  Jonathan  Whitney  and  Thomas 
Wheeler  Humbly  Sheweth 

That  upon  their  Petition  to  this  Great 


62 


TJie  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


and  Honourable  Court  in  October  last  [the 
9th]  praying  tha,  a  Certain  Tract  of  Land 
belonging  to  Lancaster  Stow  and  Groton 
with  the  Inhabitants  thereon  may  be 
Erected  into  a  Distinct  and  Seperate 
Township  (and  for  Reasons  therein  As- 
signed) your  Excellency  and  Honours  were 
pleased  to  Order  that  the  petitioners  Serve 
The  Towns  of  Lancaster  Groton  and  Stow 
with  a  Copy  of  their  said  Petition  that 
they  may  shew  Cause  if  any  they  have  on 
the  first  Thursday  of  the  next  Sessions 
why  the  prayers  thereof  may  not  be 
granted. 

And  for  as  much  as  this  great  and 
Honbie.  Court  now  Sitts  by  Adjournment 
and  the  next  Session  may  be  very  Remote 
And  your  Memorialists  have  attended  the 
Order  of  this  Hon^'e :  Court  in  serving  the 
said  Several  Towns  with  Copys  of  the  said 
Petition  And  the  partys  are  attending  and 
Desirous  the  hearing  thereon  may  be 
brought  forward  ye  former  order  of  this 
Honl  Court  notwithstanding 

They  therefore  most  humbly  pray  your 
Excellency  &  Honours  would  be  pleased 
to  Cause  the  hearing  to  be  had  this  present 
Session  and  that  a  Certain  day  may  be 
assigned  for  the  same  as  your  Excellency 
&  Honours  in  your  great  wisdom  &  Justice 
shall  see  meet 

And  your  Memorialists  as  in  Duty  bound 
Shall  Ever  pray 

JONAS  HOUGHTON 
SIMON  STOON  JuNER 
JONATHAN  WHITNEY 
THOMAS  WHELER 

In  the  House  of  Rept'ves  Dec  17  1730 
Read  and  in  Answer  to  this  Petition 
Ordered  That  the  Pefs  give  Notice  to  the 
Towns  of  Lancaster  Groton  and  Stow  or 
their  Agents  that  they  give  in  their 
Answer  on  the  twenty  ninth  Instt.  why 
the  Prayer  of  the  Petition  within  referred 
to  may  not  be  granted 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence 

J  QuiNCY  Spl^r : 

In  Council  Dec.  18,  1730;  Read  and 
Concur'd 

J  WiLLARD  Secry 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  6-8.] 

The   next    dismemberment    of    the 


Groton  grant  took  place  in  the  winter 
of  1738-39,  when  a  parcel  of  land  was 
set  off  to  Littleton.  I  do  not  find 
a  copy  of  the  petition  for  this  change, 
but  from  Mr.  Sartell's  communication 
it  seems  to  have  received  the  qualified 
assent  of  the  town. 

To  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher 
Esqr  Captain  General  &  Governour  in 
Chief  &c  the  Honorable  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court 
assembled  at  Boston  JanT.  i.  1738. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency  and  the 
Honorable  Court. 

Whereas  there  is  Petition  offered  to 
your  Excellency  and  the  Honorable  Court 
by  several  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town 
of  Groton  praying  to  be  annexed  to  the 
Town  of  Littleton  &c. 

The  Subscriber  as  Representative  of 
said  Town  of  Groton  and  in  Behalf  of 
said  Town  doth  hereby  manifest  the  Will- 
ingness of  the  Inhabitants  of  Groton  in 
general  that  the  Petitioners  should  be 
annexed  to  the  said  Town  of  Littleton 
with  the  Lands  that  belong  to  them  Lying 
within  the  Line  Petitioned  for,  but  there 
being  a  Considerable  Quantity  of  Proprie- 
tors Lands  and  other  particular  persons 
Lying  within  the  Line  that  is  Petitioned 
for  by  the  said  Petitioners.  The  Sub- 
scriber in  Behalf  of  said  Town  of  Groton 
&  the  Proprietors  and  others  would  humbly 
pray  your  Excellency  and  the  Honorable 
Court  that  that  part  of  their  Petition 
may  be  rejected  if  in  your  Wisdom  you 
shall  think  it  proper  and  that  they  be  sett 
off  with  the  lands  only  that  belong  to  them 
Lying  within  the  Line  Petitioned  for  as 
aforesaid,  and  the  Subscriber  in  Behalf  of 
the  Town  of  Groton  &c  will  as  in  Duty 
Bound  ever  pray  &c. 

NATHANIEL  SARTELL 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  300.J 

yohn  yeffries.  Esq ;  brought  down  the 
Petition  of  Peter  Lawrence  and  others  of 
Groton,  praying  to  be  annexed  to  Littleton, 
as  entred  the  12th  ult.  Pass'd  in  Council, 
viz.  In  Council  Jatiuary  /[th  1738. 
Read  again,  together  with  the  Answer  of 
Nathanael   Sartell,   Esq ;    Representative 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


for  the  Town  of  Groton,  which  being  con- 
sidered, Ordered,  That  the  Prayer  of  the 
Petition  be  so  far  granted  as  that  the  Peti- 
tioners with  their  Families  &  Estates  with- 
in the  Bounds  mentioned  in  the  Petition 
be  and  hereby  are  set  off  from  the  Town 
of  Groton,  and  are  annexed  to  and 
accounted  as  part  of  the  Town  of  Little- 
ton, there  to  do  Duty  and  receive  Privi- 
ledge  accordingly. 

Sent  down  for  Concurrence.  Read  and 
concur'd. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  86), 
January  4,  1738.] 

In  the  autumn  of  1738,  many  of  the 
settlers  living  in  the  northerly  part  of 
Groton,  now  within  the  limits  of  Pep- 
perell,  and  in  the  westerly  part  of 
Dunstable,  now  Hollis,  New  Hamp- 
shire, were  desirous  to  be  set  off  in 
a  new  township.  Their  petition  for 
this  object  was  also  signed  by  a  consider- 
able number  of  non-resident  proprietors, 
and  duly  presented  to  the  General 
Court.  The  reasons  given  by  them  for 
the  change  are  found  in  the  following 
documents  :  — 

To  His  Excellency  Jon^.  Belcher  Esq"". 
Captain  General  and  Governour  in  Chief 
&c  The  Honbie.  the  Council  and  House  of 
Reptiles  in  General  Court  Assembled  at 
Boston  November  the  29*  1738 

The  Petition  of  the  Subscribers  Inhab- 
itants and  Proprietors  of  the  Towns  of 
Dunstable  and  Groton. 

Humbly  Sheweth 

That  your  Petitioners  are  Situated  on 
the  Westerly  side  Dunstable  Township 
and  the  Northerly  side  Groton  Township 
those  in  the  Township  of  Dunstable  in 
General  their  houses  are  nine  or  ten  miles 
from  Dunstable  Meeting  house  and  those 
in  the  Township  of  Groton  none  but  what 
lives  at  least  on  or  near  Six  miles  from 
Groton  Meeting  house  by  which  means 
your  petitioners  are  deprived  of  the  benefit 
of  preaching,  the  greatest  part  of  the  year, 
nor  is  it  possible  at  any  season  of  the 
year  for  their  familys  in  General  to  get  to 
•  Meeting  under  which  Disadvantages  your 


pefs.  has  this  Several  years  Laboured, 
excepting  the  Winter  Seasons  for  this  two 
winters  past,  which  they  have  at  their  Own 
Cost  and  Charge  hired  preaching  amongst 
themselves  which  Disadvantages  has  very 
much  prevented  peoples  Settling  land 
there. 

That  there  is  a  Tract  of  good  land  well 
Situated  for  a  Township  of  the  Contents 
of  about  Six  miles  and  an  half  Square 
bounded  thus,  beginning  at  Dunstable 
Line  by  Nashaway  River  So  running  by 
the  Westerly  side  said  River  Southerly 
One  mile  in  Groton  Land,  then  running 
Westerly  a  Paralel  Line  with  Groton  North 
Line,  till  it  comes  to  Townsend  Line  and 
then  turning  and  running  north  to  Grot- 
ton  Northwest  Corner,  and  from  Grotton 
Northwest  Corner  by  Townsend  line  and 
by  the  Line  of  Groton  New  Grant  till  it 
comes  to  be  five  miles  and  an  half  to  the 
Northward  of  Groton  North  Line  from 
thence  due  east,  Seven  miles,  from  thence 
South  to  Nashua  River  and  So  by  Nashua 
River  Southwesterly  to  Grotton  line  the 
first  mentioned  bounds,  which  described 
Lands  can  by  no  means  be  prejudicial 
either  to  the  Town  of  Dunstable  or  Groton 
(if  not  coming  within  Six  miles  or  there- 
abouts of  either  of  their  Meeting  houses 
at  the  nearest  place)  to  be  taken  off  from 
them  and  Erected  into  a  Seperate  Town- 
ship. 

That  there  is  already  Settled  in  the 
bounds  of  the  aforedescribed  Tract  near 
forty  familys  and  many  more  ready  to 
come  on  were  it  not  for  the  difficulties  and 
hardships  afores<i.  of  getting  to  meeting. 
These  with  many  other  disadvantages  We 
find  very  troublesome  to  Us,  Our  living  so 
remote  from  the  Towns  We  respectively 
belong  to. 

Wherefore  your  Petitioners  most  humbly 
pray  Your  Excellency  and  Honours  would 
take  the  premises  into  your  Consideration 
and  make  an  Act  for  the  Erecting  the 
aforesaid  Lands  into  a  Seperate  and  dis- 
tinct Township  with  the  powers  priviledges 
and  Immunities  of  a  distinct  and  Seperate 
Township  under  such  restrictions  and  Lim- 
itations, as  you  in  your  Great  Wisdom 
shall  see  meet. 


64 


77/1?  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  — II. 


And  Whereas  it  will  be  a  great  benefit 
and  Advantage  to  the  Non  resident  pro- 
prietors owning  Lands  there  by  Increasing 
the  Value  of  their  Lands  or  rendering  easy 
Settleing  the  same,  Your  Pefs.  also  pray 
that  they  may  be  at  their  proportionable 
part  according  to  their  respective  Interest 
in  Lands  there,  for  the  building  a  Meeting- 
house and  Settling  a  Minister,  and  so 
much  towards  Constant  preaching  as  in 
your  wisdom  shall  be  thought  proper. 

Settlers  on  the  afores^.  Lands 
Obadiah  Parker  Willm  Colburn 

Josiah  Blood  Stephen  Harris 

Jerahmal  Cumings  Tho^.  Dinsmoor 

Ebenr.  Pearce  Peter  Pawer 

Abrm.  Taylor  Jun""  Benja  Farley 

Henry  Barton  Peter  Wheeler 

Robert  Colburn  David  Vering 

Philip  Woolerick  NatW.  Blood 

William  Adams  Joseph  Taylor 

Moses  Procter  Will™  Shattuck 

Thos.  Navins 

Non  Resident  Proprietors 

Samuel  Browne  W  Browne 

Joseph  Blanchard  John  Fowle  Jun"". 

Nath  Saltonstall  Joseph  Eaton 

Joseph  Lemmon  Jeremiah  Baldwin 

Sam'  Baldwin  Daniel  Remant 

John  Malven  Jona.  Malven 

James  Cumings  Isaac  Farwell 
Eben'  Procter 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  Dec. 
12*.  1738.  Read  and  Ordered  that  the 
Petitioners  Serve  the  Towns  of  Grotton 
and  Dunstable  with  Coppys  of  the  peti- 
tion. 

In  Council  January  4*.  1738. 

Read  again  and  Ordered  that  the 
further  Consideration  of  this  Petition  be 
referred  to  the  first  tuesday  of  the  next 
May  Session  and  that  James  Minot  and 
John  Hobson  Esqi^.  with  Such  as  the  Hon- 
ourable Board  shall  joine  be  a  Committee 
at  the  Charge  of  the  Petitioners  to  repair 
to  the  Lands  petitioned  for  to  be  Erected 
into  a  Township  first  giving  Seasonable 
notice  as  well  to  the  petitioners  as  to  the 
Inhabitants  and  Non  Resident  Proprietors' 
of  Lands  within  the  s^  Towns  of  Dunstable 
and  Groton  of  the  time  of  their  going  by 


Causing  the  same  to  be  publish'd  in  the 
Boston  Gazette,  that  they  carefully  View 
the  sd.  Lands  as  well  as  the  other  parts  of 
the  sd.  Towns,  so  farr  as  may  be  desired 
by  the  Partys  or  thought  proper,  that  the 
Petitioners  and  all  others  Concerned  be 
fully  heard  in  their  pleas  and  Allegations 
for,  as  well  as  against  the  prayer  of  the 
Petition ;  and  that  upon  Mature  Consid- 
eration on  the  whole  the  Committee  then 
report  what  in  their  Opinion  may  be 
proper  for  the  Court  to  do  in  Answer  there 
to     Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

J  QuiNCY  Spi'r. 

In  Council  Jano^  9th.  1738 
Read  and  Concurred  and  Thomas  Berry 
Esqr.  is  joined  in  the  Affair 

Simon  Frost  Depty.  Seer. 
Consented  to 

J.  Belcher 

A  true  Copy  Exam^.  per  Simon  Frost, 
Depy  SeCT. 

In  the  House  of  Rept'ves  June  7'h  :  1739 
Read  and  Concurred 

J  QuiNCY  Splor ; 
[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  268-271.] 

The  Committee  Appointed  on  the  Peti- 
tion of  the  Inhabitants  and  Proprietors 
situated  on  the  Westerly  side  of  Dunstable 
and  Northerly  side  of  Groton,  Having  after 
Notifying  all  parties,  Repaired  to  the 
Lands,  Petitioned  to  be  Erected  into  a 
Township,  Carefully  Viewed  the  same. 
Find  a  very  Good  Tract  of  Land  in  Dun- 
stable Westward  of  Nashuway  River 
between  s^  River  and  Souhegan  River 
Extending  from  Groton  New  Grant  and 
Townsend  Line  Six  Miles  East,  lying  in 
a  very  Commodious  Form  for  a  Township, 
and  on  said  Lands  there  now  is  about 
Twenty  Families,  and  many  more  settling, 
that  none  of  the  Inhabitants  live  nearer  to 
a  Meeting  House  tlien  Seven  miles  and  if 
they  go  to  their  own  Town  have  to  pass 
over  a  ferry  the  greatest  part  of  the  Year. 
We  also  Find  in  Groton  a  sufficient  Quan- 
tity of  Land  accommodable  for  settlement, 
and  a  considerable  Number  of  Inhabitants 
thereon,  that  in  Some  Short  Time  when 
they  are  well  Agreed  may  be  Erected  into 
a  Distinct  Parish  ;  And  that  it  will  be  very 


The  Boiindary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  //. 


65 


Form  prayed  for  or  to  Break  in  upon 
Either  Town.  The  Committee  are  of 
Opinion  that  the  Petitioners  in  Dunstable 
are  under  such  Circumstances  as  necessi- 
tates them  to  Ask  Relief  which  will  be  fully 
Obtained  by  their  being  made  Township, 
which  if  this  HonWe.  Court  should  Judge 
necessary  to  be  done ;  The  Committee  are 
Further  of  Opinion  that  it  Will  be  greatly 
for  the  Good  and  Interest  of  the  Township 
that  the  Non  Resident  Proprietors,  have 
Liberty  of  Voting  with  the  Inhabitants  as 
to  the  Building  and  Placing  a  Meeting 
House  and  that  the  Lands  be  Equally 
Taxed,  towards  said  House  And  that  for 
the  Support  of  the  Gosple  Ministry  among 
them  the  Lands  of  the  Non  Resident  Pro- 
prietors be  Taxed  at  Two  pence  per  Acre 
for  the  Space  of  Five  Years. 

All  which  is  Humbly  Submitted  in  the 
Name  &  by  Order  of  the  Committee 

Thomas  Berry 

In  Council  July  7  1739 
Read  and  ordered  that  the  further  Con- 
sideration of  this  Report  be  referred  to  the 
next  Sitting,  and  that  the  Petitioners  be 
in  the  meantime  freed  from  paying  any 
thing  toward  the  support  of  the  ministry 
in  the  Towns  to  which  they  respectively 
belong 

Sent  down  for  Concurrence 

J  WiLLARD  SecT. 

In  the  House  of  Rep'ives  June  7 :  1739 
Read  and  Concurred 

J  QUINCY  Spkr  : 

Consented  to 

J  Belcher 

In  Council  Decemr.  27,  1739. 
Read  again  and  Ordered  that  this  Re- 
port be  so  far  accepted  as  that  the  Lands 
mentioned  and  described  therein,  with  the 
Inhabitants  there  be  erected  into  a  Sep- 
arate &  distinct  precinct,  and  the  Said 
Inhabitants  are  hereby  vested  with  all  Such 
Powers  and  Priviledges  that  any  other  Pre- 
cinct in  this  Province  have  or  by  Law 
ought  to  enjoy  and  they  are  also  impowered 
to  assess  &  levy  a  Tax  of  Two  pence  per 
Acre  per  Annum  for  the  Space  of  Five 
years  on  all  the  unimproved  Lands  belong- 
ing to  the  non  residents  Proprietors  to  be 


applied  for  the   Support  of  the   Ministry 
according  to  the  Said  Report. 
Sent  down  for  Concurrence 

Simon  Frost  Depy  SecT. 
In  the  House  of  Reptiles  Dec  28.  1739 
Read  and  Concur'd. 

J  QuiNCY  Spkr : 
Janua.  I :  Consented  to, 

J  Belcher 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  272,  273.] 

While  this  petition  was  before  the 
General  Court,  another  one  was  pre- 
sented praying  for  a  new  township  to 
be  made  up  from  the  same  towns,  but 
including  a  larger  portion  of  Groton 
than  was  asked  for  in  the  first  petition. 
This  application  met  with  bitter  oppo- 
sition on  the  part  of  both  places,  but  it 
may  have  hastened  the  final  action  on 
the  first  petition.  It  resulted  in  setting 
off  a  precinct  from  Dunstable,  under 
the  name  of  the  West  Parish,  which  is 
now  known  as  HoUis,  New  Hampshire. 
The  papers  relating  to  the  second 
petition  are  as  follows  :  — 

To  His  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher 
Esquire  Captain  General  and  Governor  in 
Chief  in  and  over  His  Majesty's  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England, 
the  Honourable  the  Council  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  said  Province,  in  Gen- 
eral Court  Assembled  Dec.  12*,  1739. 

The  Petition  of  Richard  Warner  and 
Others,  Inhabitants  of  the  Towns  of 
Groton  and  Dunstable. 

Most  Humbly  Sheweth 

That  Your  Petitioners  dwell  very  far 
from  the  place  of  Public  Worship  in  either 
of  the  said  Towns,  Many  of  them  Eight 
Miles  distant,  some  more,  and  none  less 
than  four  miles,  Whereby  Your  Petitioners 
are  put  to  great  difficulties  in  Travelling  on 
the  Lord's  Days,  with  our  Families. 

Your  Petitioners  therefore  Humbly  Pray 
Your  Excellency  and  Honours  to  take  their 
circumstances  into  your  Wise  and  Com- 
passionate Consideration,  And  that  a  part 
of  the  Town  of  Groton,  Beginning  at  the 
line  between  Groton  and  Dunstable  where 
inconvenient  to  Erect  a  Township  in  the 


66 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  //. 


it  crosses  Lancaster  [Nashua]  River,  and 
so  up  the  said  River  until  it  comes  to 
a  Place  called  and  Known  by  the  name  of 
Joseph  Blood's  Ford  Way  on  said  River, 
thence  a  West  Point  Hill  it  comes  to 
Townshend  line  &c.  With  such  a  part 
and  so  much  of  the  Town  of  Dunstable  as 
this  Honourable  Court  in  their  great  Wis- 
dom shall  think  proper,  with  the  Inhab- 
itants Thereon,  may  be  Erected  into  a 
separate  and  distinct  Township,  that  so 
they  may  attend  the  Public  Worship  of 
God  with  more  ease  than  at  present  they 
can,  by  reason  of  the  great  distance  they 
live  from  the  Places  thereof  as  aforesaid. 

And  Your  Petitioners,  as  in  Duty  bound, 
shall  ever  Pray  &c. 

Richard  Warner 
Benjamin  Swallow 
William  Allin 
Isaac  Williams 
Ebenezer  Gilson 
Ebenezer  Peirce 
Samuel  Fisk 
John  Green 
Josiah  Tucker 
Zachariah  Lawrence  Junf 
William  Blood 
Jeremiah  Lawrence 
Stephen  Eames 

"[Inhabitants  of  Groton]" 

Enoch  Hunt 
Eleazer  Flegg 
Samuel  Cumings 
William  Blanchard 
Gideon  Howe 
Josiah  Blood 
Samuel  Parker 
Samuel  Farle 
William  Adams 
Philip  Wolrich 

•'[Inhabitants  of  Dunstable]" 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  274,  275.] 

Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 

To  His  Excellency  The  Governour  The 

Honbie  Council  &  House  of  Reptives  in 

Generall  Court  Assembled  Dec.  1739 

The  Answer  of  ye  Subscribers  agents  for 

the  Town  of  Groton  to  ye  Petition  of  Rich- 


ard Warner  &  others  praying  that  part  of 
Said  Town  with  part  of  Dunstable  may 
be  Erected  into  a  Distinct  &  Seperate 
Township. 
May  it  please  your  Excellency  &  Hon"^ 
The  Town  of  Groton  Duely  Assembled 
and  Taking  into  Consideration  ye  Reason- 
ableness of  said  Petition  have  Voted  their 
Willingness,  That  the  prayer  of  ye  Petition 
be  Granted  as  per  their  Vote  herewith 
humbly  presented  appears,  with  this  altera- 
tion namely  That  they  Include  the  River 
(vizt  Nashua  River)  over  wch  is  a  Bridge, 
built  Intirely  to  accommodate  said  Peti- 
tioners heretofore,  &  your  Respondents 
therefore  apprehend  it  is  but  Just  &  Rea- 
sonable the  same  should  for  the  futiu-e 
be  by  them  maintain'd  if  they  are  Set  of 
from  us. 

Your  Respondents  Pursuant  to  ye  Vote 
Aforesaid,  humbly  move  to  your  Excel- 
lency &  Hours  That  no  more  of  Dunstable 
be  Laid  to  Groton  Then  Groton  have 
voted  of,  for  one  Great  Reason  that  In- 
duced Sundry  of  ye  Inhabitants  of  Groton 
to  come  into  Said  Vote  was  This  Namely 
They  owning  a  very  Considerable  part  of 
the  Lands  Voted  to  be  set  of  as  afores^ 
were  willing  to  Condesent  to  ye  Desires  of 
their  Neighbours  apprehending  that  a 
meeting  House  being  Erected  on  or  near 
ye  Groton  Lands  &  a  minister  settled  it 
would  Raise  their  Lands  in  Valine  but 
should  considerable  part  of  Dunstable  be 
set  of  more  then  of  Groton  it  must  oi 
course  draw  the  Meeting  House  farther 
from  ye  Groton  Inhabitants  w^h  would  be 
very  hurtfull  both  to  the  people  petitioners 
&  those  that  will  be  Non  Resident  pro- 
prietors if  the  Township  is  made. 

Wherefore  they  pray  That  Said  New 
Township  may  be  Incorporated  Agreeable 
to  Groton  Vote  vizt  Made  Equally  out  of 
both  Towns  &  as  in  Duty  bound  Shall 
Ever  pray 

Natell  Sartell 
William  Lawrence 

[Massachusetts  Archives, cxiv,  278,  279.] 

At  A  Legall  town  Meeting  of  the  Inhab- 
itants &  free  holders  of  the  town  of  Groton 
assembled  December  ye.  24*:  1739  Voted 


The  Botaidary  Lhies  of  Old  Groton.  — //. 


^7 


&  Chose  Cap'.  William   Lawrance   Mad- 
derator  for  said  meeting  &c : 

In  Answer  to  the  Petion  of  Richard 
Warnor  &  others  Voted  that  the  land  with 
the  Inhabitance  mentioned  in  said  Petion 
Including  the  Riuer  from  Dunstable  Line 
to  o''.  ford  way  Called  and  Known  by  ye. 
Name  of  Joseph  Bloods  ford  way :  be  Set 
of  from  the  town  of  Grotou  to  Joyn  with 
sum  of  the  westerdly  Part  of  the  town  of 
Dunstable  to  make  a  Distinct  and  Sepprate 
town  Ship  Prouided  that  their  be  no  :  More 
taken  from  Dunstable  then  irom  Groton  in 
making  of  Said  new  town.  Also  Voted 
that  Nathaniel  Sawtell  Esqr.  and  Cap' 
William  Lawrance  be  Agiants  In  the  affair 
or  Either  of  them  to  wait  upon  the  Great 
and  Generial  Cort:  to  Vse  their  Best  in 
Deauer  lo  set  off  the  Land  as  a  forest,  so 
that  the  one  half  of  y^.  said  New  town  may 
be  made  out  of  Groton  and  no  :  more. 

Abstract  Examined  &  Compaird  of  the 
town  book  of  Record  tor  Groton  per 

lona*.  Sheple  Town  Clark 
Groton  Decenifr ;  24th  :  A :  D  :  1739 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  281.] 

Province  of  ye  Masses  Bay 
To  His  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher  Esqi" 
Governour  &c   To   The    Hon^.    His 
Majesty's  Councill  &  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  Gen'i  Court  Assembled 
December  1739 
Whereas  some  few  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
Groton  &  Dunstable  have  Joyned  in  their 
Petition  to  this  Hond.  Court  to  be  erected 
with  Certain  Lands  into  a  Township  as  per 
their    Petition    entered    the    I2«h:    Curr. 
which   prayer   if  granted  will  very  much 
Effect  ye.  Quiet  &  Interest  of  the  Inhab- 
itants on  the  northerly  part  of  Groton 

Wherefore  the  Subscribers  most  Humbly 
begg  leave  To  Remonstrate  to  y^""  Excel- 
lency &  Honi's,  the  great  &  Numerous 
Damages  that  we  and  many  Others  Shall 
Sustain  if  their  Petition  should  be  granted 
and  would  Humbly  Shew 

That  the  Contents  of  Groton  is  ab* .  forty 
Thousand  Acres  Good  Land  Sufficient  & 
"nappily  Situated  for  Two  Townships,  and 
have  on  or  near  Two  Hundred  &  Sixty 
Familys  Setled  there  with  Large  Accomo- 
dations for  many  more 


That  the  land  pray'd  for  Out  of  Groton 
Could  it  be  Spared  is  in  a  very  Incomo- 
dious  place,  &  will  render  a  Division  of 
the  remaining  part  of  the  town  Imprac- 
ticable &  no  ways  Shorten  the  travel  of 
the  remotest  Inhabit^ts. 

That  it  will  leave  the  town  from  the 
northeast  and  to  the  Southwest  end  at 
least  fourteen  miles  and  no  possibillity  for 
those  ends  to  be  Accomodated  at  any 
Other  place  w^h  will  render  the  Difficulties 
we  have  long  Laboured  under  without 
Remidy 

That  part  of  the  lands  Petitioned  for  (will 
when  This  Hond.  Court  shall  see  meet  to 
Divide  us)  be  in  &  near  the  Middle  of  one 
of  ye.  Townships 

And  Alth6  the  number  of  thirteen  per- 
sons is  there  Sett  forth  to  Petition,  it  is 
wrong  and  Delusive  Severall  of  them  gave 
no  Consent  to  any  Such  thing  And  to 
compleat  their  Guile  have  entered  the 
names  of  four  persons  who  has  no  Interest 
in  that  part  of  the  town  viz  Swallow  Tucker 
Ames  &  Green 

That  there  is  near  Double  the  number 
On  the  Lands  Petitd.  for  and  Setled 
amongst  them  who  Declare  Against  their 
Proceedings,  &  here  Signifie  the  Same 

That  many  of  us  now  are  at  Least  Seven 
miles  from  Our  meeting  And  the  Only 
Encouragement  to  Settle  there  was  the  un- 
deniable Accomodations  to  make  An  Other 
town  without  wch.  We  Should  by  no  means 
have  undertaken 

That  if  this  their  Pet^.  Should  Succed  — 
Our  hopes  must  Perish  —  thay  by  no  means 
benifitted  —  &  we  put  to  all  the  Hardships 
Immaginable. 

That  the  whole  tract  of  Land  thay  pray 
may  be  Taken  Out  of  groton  Contains 
about  Six  or  Seven  Thousand  Acres,  (the 
Quantity  and  Situation  may  be  Seen  on  ye, 
plan  herewith  And  but  Abt.  four  Or  five 
hundred  Acres  thereof  Owned  by  the  Peti". 
and  but  very  Small  Improvements  On  that. 
Under  all  wch.  Circumstances  wee  Humbly 
conceive  it  unreasonable  for  them  to  desire 
thus  to  Harrase  and  perplex  us.  Nor  is  it 
by  Any  means  for  the  Accomodation  of 
Dunstable  thus  to  Joyn  who  have  land 
of  their  Own  Sufficient  and  none  to  Spare 


G8 


Tuberoses. 


without  prejudicing  their  begun  Settlement 
Wherefore  we  most  Humbly  pray  Yor. 
Excellency  &  Hon^s.  to  compassionate  Our 
Circumstances  and  that  thay  may  not  be 
set  off  and  as  in  Duly  bound  &c 


John  Woods 
Samuel  Shattuck   iu 
James  Larwance 
Jonathan  Shattuck 
James  Shattuck 
John  Chambrlen 
John  Cumings 
Henery  Jefes 
David  Shattuck 
Seth  Phillips 
Samuel  Wright 
John  Swallow 
William  Spoalding 
Jonathan  Woods 
Wiliam  Cumings 


Benj"*.  Parker 
Josiah  Sartell 
Joseph  Spoaldeng 

Juner 
Nath".  Parker 
Jacob  Lakin 
Thomas  Fisk 
Isaac  Lakin 
John  Shattuck 
John  Scott 
Benj'".  Robines 
Isaac  Woods 
Enoch  larwance 
John  Blood 
James  Green 
Joseph  Blood  Nathaniel  Lawrence 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  282-284.] 

Wee  the  Sub*^ :  Inhab^s :  of  y=  Town  of 
Dunstable  &  Resident  in  that  part  of  it 


lU 


Called  Nissitisitt  Do  hereby  authorize  and 
Fully  I mpower  Abraham  Taylor  Jun^.  and 
Peter  Power  to  Represent  to  GenH.  Court 
our  unwillingness  that  any  Part  of  Dun- 
stable should  [be]  sett  off  to  Groton  to 
make  a  Township  or  Parish  and  to  Shew 
forth  our  Earness  Desire  that  a  Township 
be  maide  intirely  out  out  \jic\  off  Dun- 
stable Land,  Extending  Six  mils  North 
from  Groton  Line  which  will  Bring  the  on 
the  Line  on  y^  Brake  of  Land  and  Just 
Include  the  Present  Sellers :  or  otherwise 
As  ye  HonU.  Commitee  Reported  and 
Agreeable  to  the  tenour  thereoff  as  The 
Honrd  Court  shall  see  meet  and  as  Duly 
bound  &c 

Thos :  Dinmore,  and  20  others. 
Dunstable  DecC:  ye  21st:  1739 

These  may  sertifie  to  ye  Hon^d.  Court 
that  there  is  Nomber  of  Eleven  more  yt 
has  not  signed  this  Nor  ye  Petetion  of 
Richard  Worner  «&  others,  that  is  now 
setled  and  About  to  setle 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  277.] 


TUBEROSES. 

By  Laura  Garland  Carr. 

In  misty  greenhouse  aisles  or  garden  walks, 

In  crowded  halls  or  in  the  lonely  room, 
Where  fair  tuberoses,  from  their  slender  stalks, 

Lade  all  the  air  with  heavy,  rich  perfume. 
My  heart  grows  sick ;  ray  spirits  sink  like  lead,  — 

The  scene  before  me  slips  and  fades  away  : 
A  small,  still  room  uprising  in  its  stead. 

With  softened  light,  and  grief's  dread,  dark  array. 
Shrined  in  its  midst,  with  folded  hands,  at  rest, 

Life's  work  all  over  ere  'twas  well  begun. 
Lies  a  fair  girl  in  snowy  garments  dressed. 

And  all  the  place  with  bud  and  bloom  o'errun; 
Pinks,  roses,  lilies,  blend  in  odorous  death. 
But  over  all  the  tuberose  sends  its  wealth, 
Seeming  to  hold  the  lost  one  by  its  breath 
While  creeping  o'er  our  living  hearts  in  stealth. 
O  subtle  blossoms,  you  are  death's  own  flowers ! 
You  have  no  part  with  love  or  festal  hours. 


British  Force  and  the  Leading  Losses. 


69 


BRITISH  FORCE  AND  THE  LEADING  LOSSES  IN 
THE  REVOLUTION. 

[From  Original  Returns  in  the  British  Record  OflSce.] 

Compiled  by  Henry  B.  Carrington,  U.S.A. 


At  Boston,  in  1775,  9,147- 
At  New  York,  in  1776,  31,626. 
In  America:  June,  1777,  30j957; 
August,  1778,  33,756;  February,  1779, 
30,283;  May,  1779,  33,45s;  Decem- 
ber, 1779,  38,569  ;  May,  1780,  38,002  ; 
August,  1780,  33,020;  December,  1780, 
33,766;  May,  1781,  33,374;  Septem- 
ber, 1 781,  42,075. 

CASUALTIES. 

Bunker  Hill,  1,054;  Long  Isjand, 
400 ;  Fort  Washington,  454 ;  Trenton, 
1,049  (including  prisoners)  ;  Hubbard- 


ton,  360;  Bennington,  207  (besides 
prisoners);  Freeman's  Farm,  550; 
Bemis  Heights,  500 ;  Burgoyne's  Sur- 
render, 5,763 ;  Forts  Clinton  and 
Montgomery,  190;  Brandywine,  600; 
Germantown,  535  ;  Monmouth,  2,400 
(including  deserters)  ;  Siege  of  Charles- 
town,  265  ;  Camden,  324 ;  Cowpens, 
729;  Guilford  Court  House,  554; 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  258 ;  Eutaw  Springs, 
693;  New  London,  163;  Yorktown, 
552;   Comwallis's  Surrender,  7,963. 


HISTORICAL  NOTES. 


Bird  and  Squirrel  Legislation  in 
1776. 
"  Whereas,  much  mischief  happens 
from  Crows,  Black  Birds,  and  Squirrels,  by 
pulling  up  corn  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
therefore,  be  it  enacted  by  this  Town 
meeting,  that  ninepence  as  a  bounty  per 
head  be  given  for  every  full-grown  crow, 
and  twopence  half-penny  per  head  for 
every  young  crow,  and  twopence  half- 
penny per  head  for  every  crow  blackbird, 
and  one  penny  half-penny  per  head  for 
every  red-winged  blackbird,  and  one 
penny  half-penny  per  head  for  every  thrush 
or  jay  bird  and  streaked  squirrel  that  shall 
be  killed,  and  presented  to  the  Town 
Treasurer  by  the  twentyeth  day  of  June 
next,  and  that  the  same  be  paid  out  of  the 
town  treasury." 

'     Barrington,  Rhode  Island. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  town  held  on 
the  fourteenth  of  March,  1774,  James 
Brown,  the  fourth,  was  the  first  on  the 
committee  to  draw  up  resolves  to  be 


laid  before  the  meeting  respecting  the 
infringements  made  upon  the  Americans 
by  certain  "  ministerial  decrees."  These 
were  laid  before  a  meeting  held  March 
21,  1774,  and  received  by  the  town's 
votes,  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  inhabitants  of  this  Town  being 
justly  Alarmed  at  the  several  acts  of 
Parliament  made  and  passed  for  having 
a  revenue  in  America,  and,  more  es- 
pecially the  acts  for  the  East  India 
Company,  exporting  their  tea  into 
America  subject  to  a  duty  payable  here, 
on  purpose  to  raise  a  revenue  in  Amer- 
ica, with  many  more  unconstitutional 
acts,  which  are  taken  into  consideration 
by  a  number  of  our  sister  towns  in  the 
Colony,  therefore  we  think  it  needless 
to  enlarge  upon  them ;  but  being  sensible 
of  the  dangerous  condition  the  Colonies 
are  in,  Occasioned  by  the  Influence  of 
wicked  and  designing  men,  we  enter 
into  the  following  Resolves ; 


70 


Historical  Notes. 


"  First,  That  we,  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  To\vn  ever  have  been  &  now  are 
Loyal  &  dutiful  subjects  to  the  king 
of  G.  Britain. 

"  Second,  That  we  highly  approve  of 
the  resolutions  of  our  sister  Colonies 
and  the  noble  stand  they  have  made 
in  the  defense  of  the  liberties  & 
priviledges  of  the  Colonys,  and  we 
thank  the  worthy  author  of  '  the  rights 
of  the  Colonies  examined.' 

"  Third,  That  the  act  for  the  East 
India  Company  to  export  their  Tea  to 
America  payable  here,  and  the  sending 
of  said  tea  by  the  Company,  is  with  an 
intent  to  enforce  the  Revenue  Acts  and 
Design^  for  a  precedent  for  Establish- 
ing Taxes,  Duties  &  Monopolies  in 
America,  that  they  might  take  our 
property  from  us  and  dispose  of  it  as 
they  please  and  reduce  us  to  a  state  of 
abject  slavery. 

"  Foicrth,  That  we  will  not  buy  or  sell, 
or  receive  as  a  gift,  any  dutied  Tea,  nor 
have  any  dealings  with  any  person  or 
persons  that  shall  buy  or  sell  or  give 
or  receive  or  trade  in  s**  Tea,  directly 
or  indirectly,  knowing  it  or  suspecting 
it  to  be  such,  but  will  consider  all  per- 
sons concern**  in  introducing  dutied 
Teas  ....  into  any  Town  in  Amer- 
ica, as  enemies  to  this  country  and 
unworthy  the  society  of  free  men. 

"  Fifth,  That  it  is  the  duty  of .  every 
man  in  America  to  oppose  by  all  proper 
measures  to  the  uttermost  of  his  Power 
and  Abilities  every  attempt  upon  the 
liberties  of  his  Country  and  especially 
those  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  Re- 
solves, &  to  exert  himself  to  the  utter- 
most of  his  power  to  obtain  a  redress  of 
the  grievances  the  Colonies  now  groan 
under. 

"We  do  therefore  solemnly  resolve 
that  we  will  heartily  unite  with  the 
Town   of  Newport   and   all  the   other 


Towns  in  this  and  the  sister  Colonies, 
and  exert  our  whole  force  in  support  of 
the  just  rights  and  priviledges  of 
the  American  Colonies. 

"  Sixth,  That  James  Brown,  Isaiah 
Humphrey,  Edw^  Bosworth,  Sam' 
Allen,  Nathaniel  Martin,  Moses  Tyler, 
&  Thomas  Allen,  Esq.,  or  a  major 
part  of  them,  be  a  committee  for  this 
town  to  Correspond  with  all  the  other 
Committees  appointed  by  any  Town  in 
this  or  the  neighboring  Colonies,  and 
the  committee  is  desir*"-  to  give  their 
attention  to  every  thing  that  concerns 
the  liberties  of  America ;  and  if  any  of 
that  obnoxious  Tea  should  be  brought 
into  this  Town,  or  any  attempt  made  on 
the  liberties  of  the  inhabitants  thereof, 
the  committee  is  directed  and  empow- 
ered to  call  a  town  meeting  forthwith 
that  such  measures  may  be  taken  as 
the  publick  safty  may  require. 

''■  Seventh,  That  we  do  heartily  unite 
in  and  resolve  to  support  the  foregoing 
resolves  with  our  lives  &  fortunes." 

John  Rogers,  Esquire. 

A  DESCENDANT  of  JoHq  Rogers,  of 
Smithfield  farm,  came  to  America  in  the 
early  emigration.  Can  any  one  give  any 
information  as  to  the  life  and  death  of 
a  son,  John  Rogers,  Jr.,  of  Roxbury  ? 

Answer.  — John  Rogers,  Jr.,  or  second, 
was  born  at  Duxbury,  about  February  28, 
1641.  He  married  Elisabeth  Peabody, 
and,  after  King  Philip's  War,  removed  to 
Mount  Hope  Neck,  Bristol,  Rhode  Island, 
about  1680.  He  again  removed  to  Boston 
in  1697;  to  Taunton  in  1707;  and  to 
Swansea  in  1710.  He  became  blind  in 
1723,  and  died  after  nine  days'  sickness, 
June  28,  1732,  in  the  ninety-second  year  of 
his  age,  leaving  at  the  time  of  his  death 
ninety-one  descendants,  children,  grand- 
children, and  great-grandchildren.  He 
was  buried  at  Prince's  Hill  Cemetery,  in 
Harrington,  Rhode  Island,  where  his  grave 
is  marked  by  a  fine  slate  headstone  in 
excellent  presei-vation.  m.  h.  w. 


""'^^i^AH.Ritchie 


The 


RANITE  neWTHLY. 


A   NEW   HAMPSHIRE   MAGAZINE. 
Uevoted  to  Literature,  'Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX. 


MARCH  AND  APRIL,  1886. 


Nos.  III.,  IV. 


HON.  JESSE  G-AULT. 


BY   COLONEL   J.    EASTAL^N    PECKER. 


Hon.  Jesse  Gault  was. born  in  Hook- 
sett,  N.  H.,  September  20,  1823,  and 
is  a  direct  descendant,  in  the  fifth  gen- 
eration, of  Samuel  Gault,  who  was  born 
in  Scotland  and  emigrated  to  the  north- 
ern part  of  Chester,  now  included  in 
Hooksett,  and  settled  on  the  '*'  Suncook 
Grant,  "  so  called.  Matthew  Gault,  who 
was  born  in  1755  on  the  old  Gault 
homestead  in  Chester,  and  who  married 
Elizabeth  Bunton,  was  the  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  They 
had  twelve  children,  nine  living  to  be 
married,  of  whom  Jesse,  the  second 
son,  who  was  born  October  22,  1790, 
while  the  family  was  temporarily  resid- 
ing in  Springfield,  N.  H.,  and  who  died 
in  Hooksett  September  25,  1855,  aged 
sixty-five,  was  the  father  of  Hon.  Jesse 
Gault.  He  was  a  successful  farmer  and 
a  man  of  property,  his  homestead  was 
one  of  the  finest  in  his  town  or  county. 
He  married  Dolly  Clement,  who  was 
born  in  Pembroke  April  21,  1794,  and 
died  March  30,  1873,  her  father  being 
Joshua  Clement,  who  was  born  in  Go- 
shen June  12,  1764,  and  died  in  Con- 
cord December  26,  1840.  Mr.  Clem- 
ent was  a  clothier,  and  was  many  years 
in  business  in  what  is  now  Suncook, 
where  he  was  a  large  owner  of  real  es- 
tate, including  considerable  water  power. 


He  married  Abbie  Head,  daughter  of 
General  Nathaniel  Head,  of  Pembroke, 
September  26,  1790,  and  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  was  of  English  descent. 

Jesse  Gault,  Sr.,  had  four  children, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Matthew, 
the  elder  son,  was  born  September  23, 
181 7,  and  died  December  2,  1846.  Of 
the  daughters,  Almira  C,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  18 19,  and  died  February  20, 
1853,  married  Harlon  P.  Gerrish,  of 
Boscawen.  She  left  a  son,  John  C. 
Gerrish,  now  living  in  Missouri.  The 
remaining  sister,  Martha  H.,  was  born 
July  3,  1828,  and  died  April  23,  1853. 

Hon.  Jesse  Gault  was  brought  up  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  his  opportunities 
for  obtaining  an  education  were  the 
public  school  and  Pembroke  Academy. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began  teach- 
ing in  his  own  district,  where  he  taught 
the  winter  school  for  four  consecutive 
years,  working  on  the  farm  in  summer. 
Subsequently  he  was  an  instructor  in 
Suncook  and  Hooksett  village.  On 
reaching  twenty-two  he  left  home  to 
commence  life's  work  for  himself  and 
went  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  en- 
gaged as  book-keeper  and  surveyor  for 
Messrs.  Abbott  &  Jones,  ship  lumber 
merchants.  His  health  becoming  im- 
paired,  he  was  forced  in   less  than  a 


72 


Hon.  Jesse   Gault. 


year  to  relinquish  his  situatioii,  which 
had  ah-eady  become  a  most  promising 
one,  and  returned  home.  After  regain- 
ing his  strength  he,  upon  the  soHcitation 
of  his  aged  parents,  consented  to  re- 
main in  Hooksett.  April  3,  1846,  he 
married  Miss  Martha  A.,  daughter  of 
Isaac  C.  Otterson,  of  Hooksett,  whose 
wife  was  Margaret  Head,  an  aunt  of  ex- 
Governor  Nathaniel  Head.  The  same 
year  Mr.  Gault  opened  a  brick  yard  in 
Hooksett  on  a  small  scale  wliich  he  has 
developed  until  its  production  is  about 
six  millions  yearly,  affording  employ- 
ment to  sixty  men.  This  extensive  bus- 
iness necessitates  the  purchase  of  large 
tracts  of  woodland  for  obtaining  fuel, 
while  the  lumber  is  sold  in  the  market. 
In  this  way  he  has  bought  some  three 
thousand  acres  of  forest  domain.  In 
addition,  he  owns  several  farms,  tlie  one 
upon  which  he  lives  cutting  seveniy-five 
tons  of  hay  annually,  and  producing 
largely  of  other  crops.  His  re*idQ«*e, 
on  the  old  stage  road  from  Concord  to 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  was  built  some   five 

years  ago,  and  is  one  of  the  most  ex- 
pensive in  that  section. 

Mr.  Gault  was  early  active  in  civil  af- 
fairs. After  filling  various  local  posi- 
tions, including  chairman  of  the  board 
of  selectmen  for  many  years,  he  was 
chosen  delegate  from  Hooksett  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1851,  be- 
ing the  youngest  member  of  that  body. 
Mr.  Gault  was  then  a  Whig,  and  Hook- 
sett was  at  that  time  Democratic  by 
more  than  two  to  one.  In  iS'7  and 
1858  he  represented  his  town  in  the 
lower  branch  of  the  legislature,  and  in 
1867  was  elected  a  railroad  comaiis- 
sioner  for  a  triennial  term,  being  chair- 


man of  the  board  the  last  year.  In 
1 8 76  he  was  delegate  to  the  Republican 
National  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  and 
has  for  many  years  been  a  member  of 
the  Republican  State  Committee.  He 
was  chosen  from  the  Londonderry  Dis- 
trict to  the  State  Senate  in  1885,  and 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
claims,  aixd  a  member  of  those  on  the 
revision  of  the  statutes  and  the  Asylum 
for  the  Insane.  Mr.  Gault,  by  great 
industry  and  perseverance,  has  accumu- 
lated a  large  property,  and  is  extensively 
interested  in  ownership  and  officially  in 
milway,  banking,  and  other  corporations. 
He  is  a  regular  attendant  at  the  Union 
church  in  Hooksett,  is  universally  re- 
spected in  private  life  for  the  purity  and 
Uprightness  of  his  character,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Of 
the  five  children,  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gault, 
four  have  died,  the  oldest,  a  son,  reach- 
ing sixteen.  The  surviving  child  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  C.  Towle,  a  young  busi- 
ness man  of  Suncook.  Senator  Gault 
i*a  gentleman  of  commanding  personal 
presence,  is  a  fine  speaker,  and  often 
presides  over  public  assemblages.  Pos- 
sessing executive  abilities  of  the  highest 
order  and  excellent  judgment,  his  opin- 
ion upon  important  matters,  both  pri- 
vate and  public,  is  often  sought.  Al- 
though, as  will  be  seen  above,  he  has 
already  filled  many  responsible  civil 
offices,  yet  his  host  of  friends  are  confi- 
dent that  higher  political  honors  will 
hereafter  be  bestowed  upon  him.  His 
house,  presided  over  by  his  refined  and 
accomplished  wife,  is  widely  known,  no 
less  for  its  elegance  than  for  its  generous 
hospitality,  and  attracts  many  visitors. 


fi{-. 


-x^^ 


tts"' 


George  Peabody  LiMle.  jj 

GEORGE  PEABODY  LITTLE. 

BY    ISAAC    WALKER,  A.  .M. 

George  Peabody  Little  was  the  son         In  187 1  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
of  Elbridge  Gerry  and  Sophronia  Phelps    the  board  of  trustees  of  Pembroke  Acad- 
(Peabody)  Little.     His  father  was  bcfrn    emy,  and  from  about  the  first  has  been 
in  Bradford,  Mass.,  and  his  mother  in    chairman  of  the  executive  committee  ; 
Danvers,    Mass.     His  mother  was  the    and  the  school  has  always  found  in  him 
sister  of  the  late  George  Peabody,  the    a  firm  friend   and  supporter.     He  has 
distinguished  London  banker  and  phi-    twice  been  elected  representative  to  the 
lanthropist,  from  whom  the  son  received    legislature.     At  present  he  is  one  of  the 
his  name,  and  by  whom  he  was  liberally    selectmen    and    also   county  treasurer, 
remembered  in  the  last  will  and  testa-    this  being   his   second  term    of  office, 
ment  of  the  banker.  Mr.  Little  was  born     He  is  a  Mason,  being  a  member  of  the 
in    Pembroke,    Genesee    County,   New    Mount   Horeb   Commandery,  of  Con- 
York,  June  20,  1834.    His  early  life  was    cord,  N.  H.,  and  the  De  Witt  OHnton 
passed   in  that  town  and   in   Lewiston,    Consistory,  of  Nashua,   N.   H.,  to  the 
New  York,  when  lie  attended  Lewiston    thirty-second    degree  ;  also  a   member 
Academy.     He  came  with   his  mother    of    the    Odd    Fellows'     Encampment. 
to  Pembroke,  N.  H.,  at  about  the  age    Although  belonging  to  these  secret  so- 
of  thirteen  years.     He  attended  Pern-    cieties,  he  is  loyal  U3  the  church  (Con- 
brol<e  Academy  and  the  People's  Gym-    gregational)  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
nasium    and    Literary    Institute,       He    always   showing  himself  ready  to  bear 
taught  one  term  of  district  school  at  the    his  part  in  every  good  work.     For  many 
age  of  eighteen.     When  nineteen  years    years    he   has  been    superintendent  of 
old  he  went  to  Portland,  Maine,  as  clerk    the  Sabbath  school.     In   1854  he  mar- 
in  a  store.     It  was  then  that  he  cast  his    ried  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Knox,  daughter 
first  vote,  the  same  being  for  Neal  Dow    of    Daniel    M.    Knox,    of     Pembroke, 
as  mayor.     The  next  ten  years  he  spent    N.  H.     Their  children  are  George  Wil- 
in  Palmyra,  N.  Y.  He  held  the  office  of    liam,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  and 
United  States  deputy  collector,  and  as-    a    half  years,  Clarence    Belden,    Mary 
sisted  in  the  formation  of  the  first  Re-    Georgiana,  Lizzie  Ellen,  Nettie  Knox, 
publican  Club  in  western  New  York.   In    Lucy    Bowman,    and    Clara    Frances. 
1868  he  returned  to  Pembroke,  N.  H.,    Clarence  B.  Little  is  a  resident  of  Bis- 
buying  the  farm  and  buildings  formerly    marck,  Dakota,     He  is  Judge  of  Pro- 
belonging   to    the    late    Hon.    Boswell    bate  for  Burleigh  County,  a  member  of 


Stevens,  where  he  had  lived  when  a  boy. 
The  same  year  (1868)  he  erected  his 
present  substantial  and  elegant  resi- 
dence, and  from  time  to   time  has  en- 


the  Governor's  staff,  and  a  director  in 
the  National  Bank.  Lizzie  married 
Lester  Thurber,  of  Nashua,  N.  H.,  and 
Nettie  is  a  student  at  Smith  College, 


larged  the  farm  until  now  it  comprises    Northampton.,    Mass.     The  others   re- 
about  one  thousand  acres  lying  in  Pern-    main  at  home  with  their  parents, 
broke  and  adjoining  towns. 


74 


George  Peabody  Little. 


w 

H 
H 


Ph 

H 
C5 

o 

w 

c5 

Ph 
O 

H 

W 
fi 

h- 1 

w 


Publisher'' s  Department. 


75 


BOAR'S  HEAD,   HAMPTON  BEACH,  N.  H. 


The  popularity  of  summer  travel  in- 
cr-eases  every  year.  The  desire  if  not 
the  need  of  a  vacation  thrusts  itself 
upon  the  overworked  father  and  mother 
of  a  family,  and  the  pale  faces  of  school 
children  demand  for  them  a  change  of 
scene  and  air.  From  the  great  cities 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  every  summer 
rush  forth  a  host  to  find  rest  and  repose 
in  the  hill  country  of  New  Hampshire. 


For  a  change  the  people  of  New  Hamp- 
shire demand  a  view  of  the  great  ocean 
and  flock  to  the  sea-shore.  All  along 
the  New  England  coast  our  citizens 
have  built  cottages  to  which  they  resort 
in  July  and  x'X.ugust  with  their  families, 
and  gain  health  and  vigor  for  the  ensu- 
ing year.  However,  all  cannot  afford 
to  build  cottages ;  many  can  ill  spare 
the  time  save  for  a  sniff  of  the  salt  air : 


76 


Publisher'' s  Deparime7it. 


one  will  be  satisfied  with  a  day  at  the 
sea-shore  ;  another  will  never  tire  watch- 
ing the  restless  waves  break  upon  the 
rock  bound  coast.  To  those  in  our  in- 
land towns  who  wish  a  change  ive  recom- 
mend Boar's  Head  Hotel,  in  the  town 
of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire. 

From  Col.  John  B.  Batchelder's 
Popular  Resorts  we  glean  this  informa- 
tion about  the  town.  It  "  has  little  to 
distinguish  it  from  towns  of  modest 
pretensions  generally,  but  its  beach  — 
Hampton  Beach — is  renowned  in  every 


lashed  by  the  fury  of  the  waves,  to  the 
enraged  boar. 

This  summer  resort  has  been  long 
and  favorably  known.  The  house  stands 
on  the  crest  of  a  rocky  promontory, 
which  rises  gradually  to  the  height  of 
eighty  feet,  against  whose  jagged  base 
for  ages  past  the  waves  in  ceaseless  roll 
have  dashed  their  whitened  spray.  On 
either  side,  stretching  for  miles  away, 
extend  beautiful  beaches,  whose  waters' 
furnish  rare  facilities  for  bathing,  and 
whose  hardened  sands  present  a  surface 


^J-'-^ 


BOAR'S  HEAD,  HAMPTON  BEACH. 


Cjuarter.  Boar's  Head,  a  bold  anti  com- 
manding promontory  projecting  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  from  the  main  land  di- 
rectly into  the  sea  is  the  hospitable 
castle  which  ''lords  it"  over  the  adja- 
cent beaches.  Here  the  admirer  of  the 
murmuring  sea  can  find  full  scope  for 
his  admiration.  The  views  from  this 
lofty  eminence  are  numberless  and 
varied.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  some- 
what shrouded  in  mystery.  Tradition 
says  it  was  given  by  fishermen  from  the 
similarity  of  its  foam-laved  rocks,  when 


for    driving    not    excelled    along    the 
coast." 

The  landlord  of  the  hotel,  Col.  S.  H. 
Dumas,  is  a  veteran  in  administering  to 
the  wants  of  an  exacting  public.  He 
has  a  nice,  large,  comfortable  hotel  and 
knows  how  to  conduct  it.  During  the 
season  the  table  is  supplied  with  the 
latest  luxuries,  while  the  sea  at  his  very 
feet  furnishes  the  most  delicious  of  fresh 
fish  to  tempt  the  appetite.  The  rooms 
are  large  and  airy,  the  furniture  service- 
able, the  public  parlors,  reading  rooms 


Publisher's  Departmeiit. 


77 


and  ofifices  home  like  and  comfortable. 
The  house  is  of  four  stories  like  an  I., 
and  on  five  of  its  six  sides  is  surrounded 
by  a  wide  piazza  affording  a  delightful 
promenade.  It  is  but  a  step  from  this 
piazza  to  the  green  sward  of  the  lawn, 
one  of  the  most  charming  lawns  in  the 
world,  surrounded  on  thre^  sides  by  the 
ocean,  and  without  obstruction  in  every 
direction.  A  glorious  place  for  chil- 
dren, for  croquet,  for  lawn  tennis,  for 
foot  races,  for  kite  flying.  The  point 
extending  into  the  sea  makes  a  haven 
tor  small  boats  or  yachts,  and  just  out- 
side the  surf  is  an  inexhaustible  fishing- 
ground. 

The  colonel  got  rich  many  years  ago 
in  the  hotel  business,  and  now  .carries 
on  the  caravansary  more  as  an  English 
manor  house  in  which  to  entertain  his 
guests  than  as  a  public  house.  His 
prices  are  merely  nominal,  what  ordina- 
rily go  to  feeing  servants  at  the  great 


popular  resorts.  Three  dollars  a  day 
for  transient  guests,  and  ten  and  twelve 
dollars  a  week  for  boarders  may  be  con- 
sidered very  moderate  charges  for  a 
first  class  hotel  open  less  than  three 
months  in  the  summer.  The  season 
here  commences  about  the  middle  of 
June  and  ends  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, although  season  after  season  his 
delighted  guests  refuse  to  leave  his  do- 
main for  a  month  or  six  weeks  after  the 
house  is  nominally  closed  for  the  sum- 
mer. 

In  short,  Col.  Dumas  has  a  large  first 
class  hotel  at  Boar's  Head,  Hampton 
Beach,  on  the  coast  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, which  he  wishes  filled  all  through 
the  summer  of  1886.  Every  visitor  will 
be  charmed  with  his  sojourn  there  and 
will  regret  his  departure.  Write  early 
for  terms  and  accommodation  that  he 
may  be  prepared  for  you  and  that  you 
may  not  be  disappointed. 


LACONIA,  N.   H. 


The  pioneer  of  the  hosiery  industry 
in  Laconia  was  John  W.  Busiel,  who 
came  to  Laconia  in  1846  and  began 
the  manufacture  of  woollen  yarns.  In 
1856  he  began  to  use  the  yarn  product 
of  his  mill  in  making  the  coarser  grades 
of  wool  hosiery,  and  continued  in  the 
business  until  his  death  in  1872.  His 
sons,  Charles  A.  Busiel,  John  T.  Busiel, 
and  Frank  E.  Busiel,  succeeded  him 
under  the  firm  name  of  J.  W.  Busiel  & 
Co.  They  have  largely  increased  the 
business  and  have  erected  as  fine  a  set 
of  mills  as  can  be  found  in  New  Eng- 


land devoted  to  the  line  of  woollen 
goods.  They  are  manufacturing  the 
finer  grades  of  woollen  hosiery  in  full 
fashioned  goods,  using  machinery  of 
the  latest  pattern,  some  of  which  they 
control  exclusively  under  letters  patent. 
They  employ  two  hundred  and  fifty 
hands,  and  their  annual  product  is  about 
$500,000,  with  a  monthly  pay  roll  of 
$6500  to  $7000.  Their  goods  are 
known  in  the  trade  as  the  Perfect  Foot 
goods,  and  find  a  ready  and  increasing 
sale  all  over  the  country. 


7c? 


Publisher's  Department. 


"Next  Dddk."  A  story  modest  in  aim, 
hut  cleverly  executed  and  remarkal)ly  interest- 
ing as  a  jiiece  of  narration,  will  lie  found  in 
"  Xext  Door,"  by  Clara  Louise  Ikirnham. 
This  author  writes  a_<^reeal)ly,  in  a  clear,  fluent 
style,  and  describes  the  domestic  and  social 
life  of  our  day  in  a  manner  which  merits  high 
praise.  She  has  a  good  eye  for  character  as 
well,  and  in  one  of  her  personages,  Aunt  Ann 
Eaton,  has  given  us  a  genuine  portrait  of  a 
woman  which  many  jicople  will  admire  for  its 
felicitous  touches.  The  other  people  who  fig- 
ure in  the  story  are  perhaps  less  carefully  dis- 
criminated; hut  unless  it  he  the  antipode  of 
Aunt  Ann  in  the  city  matron,  who  also  pre- 
sents familiar  traits,  the  remaining  characters 
are  all  interesting  to  the  reader.  The  quar- 
tet of  lovers  especially  enlists  sympathy.  It 
is  on  their  experiences  that  the  story  turns. 
We  see  what  its  inevitable  result  will  be,  for 
the  writer  of  this  book  is  not  one  of  those  au- 
thors who  are  given  to  harrowing  the  sensibil- 
ities of  his  audience;  but  we  follow  the  tale 
none  the  less,  always  entertained  by  it,  and 
with  a  curiosity  as  to  how  the  end  is  to  be 
brought  about,  which  is  more  agreeable  than 
anxious  misgiving  as  to  what  is  to  be  done 
with  the  characters.  This  story,  as  we  have 
said,  is  charmingly  told.  It  has  some  of  the 
qualities  which  have  made  the  works  of  that 
English  writer  known  as  "The  Duchess"  pop- 
ular, without  her  effusiveness,  sometime  slang 
and  ultra-romanticism.  The  conversations  are 
particularly  good.  They  are  easy  and  natural, 
and  they  well  illustrate  much  of  the  manner 
of  the  day  which  is  found  among  young  peo- 
ple. Margery  is  agreeably  and  often  spicily 
vivacious,  and  Ray  Ingalls  is  a  good  specimen 
of  a  genuine,  warm  hearted  youth.  The  hu- 
mor of  the  introductions  of  two  of  the  char- 
acters in  the  opening  chapter  is  especially 
neat,  and  we  can  jjromise  readers  a  genuine 
entertainment  from  the  story  throughout. 
["Next  Door,"  by  Clara  Louise  Burnham. 
Boston  :  Ticknor  &  Co.  :    i2mo,  pp.  371.] 

Life  of  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. 
With  Extracts  from  his  Journals  and  Cor- 
respondence. By  Samuel  Longfellow.  Bos- 
ton :  Ticknor  &  Company.  2  vols.,  450  pp. 
each  :  price,  $6.00. 

The  life  of  no  man  of  letters  could  be  more 
welcome  than  that  of  the  admired,  honored, 
beloved  poet  of  "  creative  imagination,  airy 
fancy,  exquisite  grace,  harmony  and  simplic- 
ity, rhetorical  brilliancy,  and  incisive  force," 
who  vitalized  everything  he  touched  in  verse 
by  the  sympathy  of  his  nature.  He  always 
touched  humanity  with  voice  or  pen  tenderly. 
Humanity's  response  is  in  the  welcome  given 
these  exquisite  volumes,  which  could  not  have 
been  written  with  more  appreciative  fervor,  or 
more  modest,  cla.ssic  phrase,  and  could  not 
have  been  issued  with  more  delicate  elegance 
than  from  the  press  of  Ticknor  &  Co.  As  a 
biography  it  is  complete  in  a  sense  that  no 
other    writer    could     have     made    it.       The 


boyhood  life  is  tenderly  revealed,  not  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  literary  critic,  not  as  one  who 
tries  to  write,  but  the  most  delicately  sensitive 
memories  of  a  devoted  brother.  School  days 
and  college  years  are  briefly  hut  significantly 
portrayed.  Where  the  professional  biographer 
would  have  reveled  in  the  abundant  material, 
we  are  given  all  that  is  of  any  real  interest 
without  any  of  the  tediousness  that  usually  af- 
flicts. In  turning  the  pages  as  the  paper-knife 
runs  through  the  uncut  leaves,  the  impression 
is  that  the  Ijiographer  tarries  too  long  on  his 
early  foreign  travels,  but  as  we  read,  and  find 
Mr.  Longfellow's  choicest  descriptions,  with  a 
vein  of  wit  rarely  revealed  by  him  intermingled 
with  original  art  sketches,  we  regret  that  it  so 
soon  shades  into  his  professional  days  at  Bow- 
doin,  only  to  rejoice  us  by  emerging  into  a 
second  European  tour,  prolonged  but  delight- 
ful. 

The  Cambridge  home,  life,  work  and  friends 
are  left  to  appear  as  visitors  here  and  there, 
delicate  glimpses  in  journals,  letters  and  poems. 
One  of  the  most  genuine  phases  of  the  writer's 
art  is  the  ease,  good  taste,  and  discriminating 
judgment  with  which  he  brings  into  view  for  a 
moment's  entertaining  thought  the  characters 
worth  knowing  in  both  hemispheres  for  a  half- 
century.  The  world  is  richer  for  having  in  its 
libraries  and  upon  its  tables  two  such  elegant 
volumes  as  Ticknor  &  Co.  have  given  us  in 
Samuel  Longfellow's  life  of  his  brother, 
Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. 

The  Sphinx's  Children  :  and  Other  Peo- 
ple's. By  Rose  Terry  Cooke,  author  of 
Somebody's  Neighbors,  etc.     i2mo.     ^1.50. 

"A  bouquet  of  native  New  P^ngland  flow- 
ers, and  the  flowers  have  a  peculiar  beauty  and 
fragrance  too.  " — Flartford  Courant. 

The  short  stories  in  this  volume  are  of  the 
very  essence  of  New  England.  A  somewhat 
fanciful  revery  lends  its  peculiar  title  to  the 
book,  but  the  "  Other  People's  "  offspring  are 
the  individual  product  of  the  soil,  full  of  the 
grit,  the  doggedness  and  the  grim  humor  that 
came  over  with  our  grandparents'  furniture  in 
the  Mayflower.  These  stories  are  the  fruit 
and  blossom  of  all  that  is  noblest  and  best  in 
the  qualities  of  the  Puritan,  and  it  may  be 
that  their  appreciation — though  not  their 
beauty  or  their  power — will  be  restricted  by 
reason  of  what  is  distinctive  and  individual 
about  them.  Surely  no  short  story  of  recent 
years  has  surpassed  "The  Deacon's  Week" 
in  pathos,  in  artistic  truth,  in  the  inspiration  of 
a  sublime  and  noble  purpose.  It  would  seem 
that  no  one  could  rise  from  its  perusal  with- 
out an  impulse  toward  kindness  and  charity 
and  a  sense  of  benefit  received.  Without  a 
word  of  moralizing  or  tawdry  reflection,  it 
gives  the  same  lesson  that  is  practiced  out  by 
true  and  manly  conduct  and  unselfishness. 
And  all  the  time  the  perfection  of  the  picture 
as  a  work  of  art,  as  a  truthful  portrait  set  out 
with  exquisite  literary  finish,  captures  the 
mind  and  entrances  the  imagination. 


The  Business  Element  in  American  History.  'jc^ 

THE    BUSINESS    ELEMENT    IN   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

By  Willard  H.  Morse,  M.D. 

When   this  country  has  attained  to  tion  stalks  through   our  daily  markets 

twice  its  present  age,  and  Americans  ready  to  devour.     Then  there  existed 

begin  to  think  more  of  life  than  they  gigantic  bubble  companies  that  are  the 

do  of  money,  some   careful   historian  direct  ancestors  of  our  modem  stock 

will  trace  the  province  of  business  in  enterprises.      Then  as   now  big   sums 

our    national    history,   and   make    that  were  risked,  and  at  times  the  ventures 

chapter  of  American  history  one  of  the  exceeded  in  magnitude  any  thing  we 

most  readable  in  our  chronicles.     Since  have  seen. 

the  days  of  Miles  Standish,  we  have  I  like  to  hear  wise  men  say  that  we 
been  a  business  people  ;  and  the  phrase  of  to-day  are  fools  in  business.  Of 
has  meant  more  on  this  side  of  the  At-  course  it  is  true  ;  and  why  should  it  not 
lantic  than  it  has  in  any  of  the  mother  be,  when  the  men  of  1884  are  sons  of 
countries.  Blankets  for  com,  and  whis-  men  who  in  the  years  of  a  not-long-gone 
key  for  venison,  has  changed  in  the  century  did  much  foolish  business? 
century  to  stock-jobbing  and  mark-  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun 
down  sales ;  but  nevertheless  business  that  has  shone  on  a  goodly  lot  of  Amer- 
is  and  was  a  dominant  factor,  and  a  ican  business  folly.  To  him  who  points 
matter  of  astonishment.  One  hundred  the  finger  of  scom  at  our  Wall  Street,  I 
years  ago  the  old  Dutch  store-keepers  like  to  talk  of  the  "  Darien  scheme," 
of  New  York  stood  still  in  their  door-  the  "  South-sea  bubble,"  or  perchance 
ways  in  mute  astonishment  as  they  saw  of  the  "  scheme  of  William  Law." 
farmers  and  strangers  come  by  with  Alas,  we  cannot  make  men  like  Law 
their  produce  on  their  wagons,  and  a  in  this  year  of  grace,  our  best  efforts  in 
determination  for  a  good  bargain  on  that  direction  only  resulting  in  a  Ferdi- 
their  calculating  faces.  The  same  sen-  nand  Ward  !  Just  think  of  that  man 
timent  is  with  us  who  are  idlers  to-day,  and  his  Mississippi  scheme  !  He  went: 
and  stand  at  an  elevated-railway  station  to  work  on  an  arbitrary  court,  pro- 
any  morning,  and  watch  the  horde  of  fessing  magnificent  faith  in  boundless 
passengers.  If  the  Nick  Van  Stans  sources  of  credit.  He  made  ready 
stared  in  amazement,  so  do  we,  as  we  converts  of  wise  men  who  could  find 
look  at  the  trains  discharging  their  no  bound  between  the  real  and  ideal, 
loads,  and  see  on  anxious,  worried,  and  Under  his  sophistry  Paris  lost  its  head, 
excited  faces  the  deep-worn  signs  of  the  and  the  world  witnessed  a  financial  ex- 
never-ceasing  struggle  for  business  pros-  citement  never  equalled.  There  was  a 
perity.  It  is  quite  the  same  to-day  as  rush  to  the  Bank  of  France,  to  change 
it  was  in  1784.  Then  men  traded  gold  and  silver  for  empty  promises 
under  difficulties,  and  now  gains  are  not  concerning  an  American  scheme.  The 
to  be  had  except  at  extreme  risk.  Then  Scotch  parvenu  held  levees,  where  the 
pirates,  Indians,  and  other  treachery  nobles  of  France  were  his  obsequious 
lurked  somewhere  as  a  perpetual  terror,  courtiers.  In  short,  he  was  the  fashion, 
just  the  same  as  treacherous  Specula-  and  has  had  no  successor.     He  anti- 


So 


The  Business  Element  in  American  History. 


cipated  such  schemes  as  the  Credit 
Mohilicr,  and  the  selling  of  imaginary 
silver  mines  to  sanguine  English  invest- 
ors ;  but  none  of  these  ventures  have 
equalled  the  original.  Then  a  Scotch- 
man could  sell  a  French  regent  a  league 
of  Louisiana  swamp  for  three  thou- 
sand livres,  while  now  we  have  "  puts  " 
and  "  calls  "  on  railroad  stocks  that  are 
just  as  swampy.  Ah,  but  we  cannot 
do  such  magnificent  swindling  in  Wall 
Street !  The  good  American  is  as 
"  cute  "  as  the  evil  one,  and  both  are 
"  cuter  "  than  the  William  Laws.  He 
spoilt  all  by  dying  poor,  while  our 
modern  speculator  dies  rich,  even  after 
he  is  ruined  !  Poor  Law,  if  he  had 
only  known  how  to  go  into  bankruptcy, 
or  to  settle  his  estate  on  his  wife  ! 

But  there  were  solid  business-men  in 
those  last  centuries  as  well  as  specula- 
tors. In  New  York  and  Boston,  at  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  there  were 
merchants  of  ability  and  energy, 
stanch,  steady  heads  of  houses,  with- 
out a  particle  of  folly  or  romance  about 
them.  Such  men  might  live  over  their 
shops,  or  might  have  ships  trading  in 
the  Levant.  Men  who  were  the  direct 
progenitors  of  some  of  our  best  modern 
houses  got  a  respectable  and  honest 
living  out  of  coffee  and  sugar,  or  in 
butter  and  eggs,  and  were  esteemed  for 
their  principles.  Such  men  got  influ- 
ence, and  went  about  making  their 
country's  history.  Theirs  was  an  abso- 
lutely unique  position.  While  lawyers 
played  the  leading  characters  on  the 
stage,  there  were  times  when  a  business- 
man was  asked  for,  and  a  John  Jay 
stepped  forward.  The  lawyer  and  sol- 
dier gave  his  country  his  brain  ;  but  the 
business-man  added  to  that  gift  the 
product  of  his  brain,  —  his  money.  He 
had  calculation  and  prudence  about 
him ;   and,  though  the  pet  of  Fortune, 


he  never  presumed  on  her  favors. 
Strangely,  the  troubled  times  in  which 
his  lot  was  cast  well  served  his  sagacity. 
His  tact  developed  into  genius,  and  his 
gains  were  only  measured  by  his  cred- 
its. He  knew  no  "  bulls,"  and  he  never 
felt  the  mercy  of  "  bears."  Boti  chien 
chasse  de  race  ;  and,  like  the  speculator, 
the  old-fashioned  merchant  has  his  heirs 
in  our  time.  When  that  American  his- 
tory is  written,  it  will  tell  of  these 
steady-going  merchants  of  to-day,  who 
are  masters  of  many  situations,  and  who 
are  even  wiser  and  stronger  than  their 
honored  fathers.  We  want  such  men 
more  now  than  we  ever  did  before.  In 
the  twenty-five  years  since  1859,  how 
many  such  men  have  there  been ! 
They  do  not  fritter  away  time  and  tal- 
ents in  speculation.  Their  habits  are 
of  steady  application.  Their  ways  are 
respected.  The  self-styled  capitalist  is 
shy  of  entertaining  proposals  which  are 
already  prejudiced  in  the  opinion  of 
steady-going  business-men.  That  which 
they  accept  is  launched  handsomely. 
If  real  business-men  push  a  railway 
scheme,  the  public  has  no  fear  of  what 
the  Law  and  Ward  element  may  do. 
The  undertakings  of  the  solid  element 
are  measured  by  its  ambition  and  energy, 
rather  than  its  resources ;  and  it  is  not 
strange  to  see  a  million  of  capital  follow 
in  the  road  a  single  dollar  has  cut. 

But  in  the  same  history  we  shall  have 
to  read  of  a  class  that  is  not  of  specu- 
lators or  of  solid  men.  There  is  a  mid- 
dle class,  —  the  class  of  honorable  men 
who  have  speculated,  and  have  hung 
on  the  slippery  edge  of  the  abyss  of  dis- 
honor until  they  have  failed.  These 
men  have  tried  to  keep  a  footing  by 
means  desperate  and  discreditable,  in 
hopes  to  avert  the  evil  day.  Not  dar- 
ing to  show  the  world  that  they  want 
to  retrench,  they  have  become  slowly 


The  Business  Element  in  American  History. 


8i 


resigned  to  the  life  of  swindlers.  Their 
dinners,  equipages,  and  other  extrava- 
gance become  parts  of  a  system  of  im- 
posture. They  dare  not  do  aught  else 
than  to  try  and  maintain  their  position  ; 
and  they  strain  every  nerve  for  that  pur- 
pose, until  the  morning  comes  when  we 
read  of  their  suspension,  and  in  the 
crash  the  creditors  are  dismayed.  It 
is  a  relief  to  a  once  honorable  man  to 
lose  all,  and  make  a  clean  breast  of  his 
folly.  His  only  regret  is  that  he  may 
have  cast  his  character  after  his  fortune 
into  the  vortex  of  speculation.  But  if 
he  hasn't  done  any  act  of  overt  crimi- 
nality, he  has  come  off  better  than  he 
deserves,  and  can  show  that  he  has  no 
moral  liabilities.  If  the  contrary  is  the 
case,  the  means  did  not  justify  it.  From 
such  means  we  shrink.  If  a  well-known 
business-man  goes  openly  into  specula- 
tion, and  is  known  as  the  promoter  of 
a  stock  enterprise,  we  throw  stones  at 
him  when  he  suspends.  We  cannot 
help  it,  and  we  do  not  want  to  help  it. 
The  public  wants  the  business- men  to 
do  that  which  they  advise  the  cobbler 
to  do,  —  "  stick  to  his  last."  If  he  fails 
to  keep  to  that  little  law  of  conduct,  he 
is  supposed  to  be  worthy  of  suspicion. 

Imagine  how  it  will  tell  in  that  com- 
ing American  history,  that  a  most  won- 
derful event  was  an  assignment !  As 
the  story  of  Law's  bubble  and  its  burst- 
ing has  amused  us,  so  will  our  children 
be  interested  in  reading  of  the  crashes, 
suspensions,  and  panics  of  the  last  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  We  are  too 
near  them,  and  too  much  in  them,  to 
realize  how  tragic,  grotesque,  and  mel- 
ancholy they  are.  But,  when  it  comes 
to  the  fall  of  a  real  rascal,  we  can  real- 
ize that ;  for  such  a  person  is  known 
where  the  quiet  business-man  is  not. 
You  knew  this  rascal,  and  everybody 
did.     He  was   smooth,  seductive,  and 


fashionable.  He  took  liberties  with  the 
public  credulity.  He  had  talent  and 
enterprise,  and  made  a  big  show.  He 
had  gold-letter  prospectuses,  elegant  of- 
fices, a  sumptuous  reception-room,  and 
magnificent  house,  horses,  and  plate. 
He  was  puffed  by  the  press.  He  was 
a  lion  in  society,  and  gave  grand  enter- 
tainments. He  subscribed  largely  to 
charities,  and  to  churches  and  schools. 
He  had  lots  of  money ;  because,  for 
some  unexplainable  reason,  the  public 
took  in  his  scheme,  and  invested  liber- 
ally in  the  stock  that  he  sold.  Then 
came  the  re-action.  Insolvency  fol- 
lowed close  on  inflation.  The  bank- 
rupt became  defendant  in  a  legion  of 
transactions.  He  was  alleged  to  be  a 
fraud.  His  estabhshments  were  in  the 
hands  of  a  keeper.  He  was  in  the  last 
throes,  when  presto  !  he  came  up  smil- 
ing. He  had  made  friends  of  the  mam- 
mon of  unrighteousness;  he  had  it  in 
his  power  to  involve  others  :  immedi- 
ately he  had  all  the  help  he  wanted, 
and  he  shpped  through  the  fetters  he 
should  have  worn.  He  had  money  laid 
by  for  the  emergency,  his  broken  char- 
acter at  once  stepped  forward  again, 
and,  before  the  scandal  of  his  failure 
was  cold,  he  was  once  more  in  the  full 
tide  of  business.  That  was  your  sharp 
American  gentleman  rascal. 

The  Old  World  has  made  marvellous 
progress  in  the  ways  of  business,  but 
we  get  the  real  drama  of  business  in 
America.  The  story  will  be  interest- 
ing reading,  and  no  one  will  pass  it 
by  because  it  is  dry  as  dust.  Ours  is 
a  big  field,  big  men,  and  big,  bold 
ventures.  The  climate  or  the  soil  pro- 
duces all  kinds  of  daring  and  shrewd- 
ness. We  have  both  the  mushroom 
dealer,  and  the  man  of  enormous 
wealth  ;  men  making  splendid  fortunes, 
and  men  continually  failing  and  begin- 


82 


The  Business  Element  in  American  History. 


ning  anew.  WTiat  a  place  these  classes 
have  in  our  history  !  Put  aside  one 
steady-going  man  out  of  a  hundred, 
and  you  will  find  the  ninety-and-nine 
are  quite  worthy  to  be  called  gamblers. 
We  all  play  at  the  game  of  chance.  The 
Puritans  played  it,  —  selling  one  newly 
settled  farm,  and  striking  out  into  a 
newer  country  to  better  themselves. 
The  Californian  miner  played  it,  — 
prospecting  in  wild  solitudes  for  the 
sake  of  hope.  The  store-keeper  plays 
it  when  he  starts  his  business  on  credit. 
The  physician  and  lawyer  play  it  as 
they  choose  debt  and  trusting  to  the 
"  pay-as-you-go  "  modus.  We  all  play 
it.  If  the  game  succeeds, —  and  in 
some  measure  or  other  it  generally 
does  succeed,  —  the  player  is  not  sel- 
fish. Your  American  man  of  business 
is  not  a  selfish  man.  Quickly  his 
money  changes  hands ;  he  makes  the 
trade  of  his  fellows  brisk  by  his  mites 
or  his  millions ;  he  backs  all  of  his 
acquaintances  with  ready  dollars.  But 
he  is  provident.  While  he  makes  free 
with  his  capital,  he  has  a  good  life,  and 
a  "  pile  "  of  some  size  or  other  laid  by 
for  keeping.  This  idea  was  got  from 
the  old-time  New-York  burgher,  whose 
rule  of  "  putting  by  a  dollar  for  every 
dollar  spent "  is  amended  a  good  deal 
by  present  usage.  The  inheritance  of 
fun  in  business,  of  making  business  a 
pleasure,  came  from  the  old-time  Bos- 
ton tradesman.  Even  as  Caleb  Grosve- 
nor  of  Milk  Street  found  trade  "  more 
amusing  than  a  game  of  quoits,"  so  our 
modern  business-man  enjoys  his  trade 
to  such  an  extent,  that,  even  though 
he  is  unfortunate,  he  prides  himself  on 
the  pleasure  it  afforded  him,  and  com- 
mences again  with  the  idea  of  having  a 
new  game  of  amusement.  Then  comes 
the  satisfaction  of  the  reflection,  that, 
whatever  one's  change  of  fortune  may 


be,  the  country  has  such  magnificent 
resources  that  the  phoenix  of  prosperity 
will  rise  even  from  the  ashes  of  panics. 

Trade  in  Colonial  times  was  sensa- 
tional. There  was  first  of  all  the  fur 
trade,  and  nothing  more  thrilling  than 
the  adventures  of  the  trappers  of  the 
last  century  has  ever  been  written. 
Though  powder  and  fire-water  bought 
the  furs  of  the  white  or  Indian  trapper, 
there  was  fine  business  in  collecting 
the  furs,  and  there  was  excitement  as 
well.  Perhaps  an  itinerant  fur-buyer 
paid  occasionally  for  an  otter  skin  with 
his  scalp  ;  yet  the  game  was  fascinating, 
and  the  chances  of  death  had  few  ter- 
rors. There  were  also  privations,  long 
journeys,  and  the  battle  with  the  ex- 
tremes of  cold ;  but  then  at  last  came 
the  journey's  end,  and  money  payment. 
There  was  rivalry  of  merchants,  too,  in 
the  wilds,  —  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
each  bidding  rum  prices  for  furs.  There 
were  savage  fights  in  this  rivalry,  and 
the  staining  of  many  a  fur  robe  with 
crimson.  There  was  cheating  too, — 
the  cheating  of  Indians  by  the  agents, 
who  had  passed  out  the  whiskey  until 
the  red  men  did  not  know  what  they 
were  doing.  There  were  losses  too, — 
moths,  and  robbery,  and  the  burden  of 
the  power  of  storm. 

In  other  branches  of  industry  the  like 
prevailed,  until  we  who  have  come 
after  have  pride  in  saying  that  our  his- 
tory has  been  that  of  a  trading  people. 
Every  colonist,  and  every  colonist's  son, 
had  a  mercantile  aptitude.  From  the 
first,  there  were  grand  openings  in  agri- 
culture and  commerce  ;  and  with  fertile 
soil  and  magnificent  harbors,  the  prom- 
ise first  made  has  never  been  broken. 
New  blood  provoked  feverish  action. 
As  the  country  grew,  its  people  worked 
with  the  force  of  a  high-pressure  engine, 


God's  Love  and  Mine.  83 

until  business  had  been  taken  from  the  aim,  and  that  is  to  be  busy.     Perhaps 

quiet,  plodding  labor  to   the  grasp    of  we  do  not  so  much  want  money ;  but 

restless  enterprise.     Now  it  has  so  hap-  money  is  the  wages  of  the  busy  ones, 

pened  that  we  have  no  time  for  aught  and  the  impetus  that  makes  room  for 

but  business ;  no  time  to  take  a  good  another   impetus   is    the  prize   of   our 

meal,  no  time  to  sleep,  no  time  for  the  high   calling.     Our   grandchildren   will 

pleasures  of  the  world.     Realizing  the  write  and  read  an  interesting  history; 

scope  that  is  offered  to  financial  ambi-  and  it  is  quite  to  be  feared,  that,  when 

tion,  we  have  only  to  live  for  the  sake  of  they  are  asked  what  they  will  do  with 

business.     Every  man  is  alike.     There  the  past,  they  will  say,  ''  Like  the  past 

are   no   lazy  ones   in   America.     Rich  is   the    present.     We  are  not    through 

and  poor,  saint  and  sinner,  legitimate  with  it  yet.     The  hopes  and  desires  of 

effort  and  illegal  effort,  —  all  have  one  business  are  peremiial." 


GOD'S    LOVE    AND    MINE. 

William  Hale. 

God's  love  is  like  a  light-house  tower, 

My  love  is  like  the  sea  : 
By  day,  by  night,  that  faithful  tower 

Looks  patient  down  on  me. 

By  day  the  stately  shaft  looms  high, 
By  night  its  strong  lights  burn, 

To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  to  tell 
The  way  that  I  should  turn. 

God's  love  is  like  a  light-house  tower, 

My  love  is  like  the  sea  : 
He  strong,  unshaken  as  the  rock ; 

I  chafing  restlessly. 

God's  love  and  my  love  !   Oh,  how  sweet 
That  such  should  be  my  joy ! 

God's  love  and  mine  are  one  to-day: 
No  longer  doubts  annoy. 

By  day  or  night  he  gazes  on 

My  bitter,  brackish  sea ; 
Forever  tends  it  with  his  grace, 
Though  smooth  or  rough  it  be. 

So,  singing  at  its  base,  it  rolls 
And  leaps  toward  that  tower, 

That  all  my  life  illuminates, 
And  brightens  every  hour. 

God's  love  is  like  a  light-house  tower, 

My  love  is  like  the  sea : 
I,  peevish,  changeful,  moaning  muchj 

Steadfast,  eternal,  he. 


84 


A  New-Hampshire  Countess, 


A    NEW-HAMPSHIRE    COUNTESS. 

By  the  Rev.  Edward  Cowley. 


Upon  visiting  the  ancient  and  pic- 
turesque cemetery  of  Concord,  where 
FrankHn  Pierce  and  many  others  not 
unknown  to  fame  await  the  archangel's 
summons,  one  is  struck  by  the  name  and 
title  of  Sarah,  Countess  of  Ru.mford, 
inscribed  upon  a  certain  gravestone 
there,  in  memory  of  the  first  American 
who  inherited  and  bore  the  title  of 
countess.  She  was  born  at  the  Rolfe 
mansion,  Concord,  Oct.  i8,  1774  (not 
Oct.  10,  as  her  epitaph  erroneously 
reads).  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Major  Benjamin  and  Sarah  (Walker) 
Thompson.  The  major  fairly  earned, 
by  his  various  merits  and  works,  before 
he  was  forty  years  of  age,  the  especial 
favor  of  the  reigning  Duke  of  Bavaria, 
and  by  him  was  made  a  count  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire. 

His  first  wife  was  the  above-men- 
tioned Sarah  Walker,  the  widow  of  Col. 
Benjamin  Rolfe,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Concord,  which  was  original- 
ly called  Rumford.  She  was  the  oldest 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Walker, 
pastor  of  the  first  Congregationalist 
church  in  Concord,  where  she  was 
born,  and  where  she  passed  the  larger 
portion  of  her  life.  She  was  thirty 
years  old  when  first  married  to  the 
colonel,  —  a  rather  late  age  for  a  bright 
and  winsome  lady  of  those  days,  —  yet 
his  years  numbered  twice  as  many  as 
hers  ;  and,  after  two  happy  summers  of 
wedded  life.  Col.  Rolfe  died,  leaving 
one  son,  Paul  Rolfe,  who  also  became 
a  colonel.  To  the  young  mother  was 
left  one  of  the  largest  estates  in  New 
Hampshire.  She  remained  a  widow 
but  one  year,  when  she  married  Benja- 


min Thompson,  late  of  Wobum,  Mass., 
and  then  in  his  twentieth  year.  He 
was  tall  and  comely  of  person,  mature 
above  his  age,  with  capacity  and  for- 
tune seemingly  in  his  favor,  and  was 
forty-two  years  younger  than  the  for- 
mer husband  of  his  bride.  In  October 
following,  1774,  Sarah,  whose  history 
we  shall  briefly  relate,  was  born  of  this 
marriage  in  the  Rolfe  mansion. 

What  changes  are  wrought  by  war  ! 
Within  six  months  of  the  birth  of  this 
infant,  the  father  became  suspected  of 
his  attachment  to  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence, and  the  victim  of  an  intoler- 
ant and  cruel  persecution.  Threats 
of  personal  violence  compelled  him  to 
leave  his  home  and  child  and  wife ;  so 
he  returned  to  his  native  town,  seeking 
safety  in  Woburn,  Mass.  But  jealousy 
and  suspicion  followed  him  even  there  ; 
and  the  early  spring  of  1776  found  him 
a  refugee  within  the  British  lines,  and 
soon  afterward  the  bearer  of  royal  de- 
spatches to  England.  Major  Thompson 
seems  to  illustrate  what  Renan  says,  that, 
when  you  have  excited  the  antipathy  of 
your  country,  you  are  too  often  led  to 
take  a  dislike  to  your  country.  Having 
honest  doubts  of  the  wisdom  and  prac- 
ticability of  colonial  separation  from 
Great  Britain,  he  was  bitterly  calumni- 
ated as  a  Tory,  was  driven  from  his 
home,  separated  from  his  family,  and  he 
sought  safety  in  exile.  His  lovely  babe, 
whom  he  left  sleeping  in  her  cradle, 
he  saw  not  again  for  twenty  years,  till 
she  had  grown  to  womanhood,  remem- 
bering her  father  only  by  name,  when 
he  sent  her  the  means,  and  requested 
that  she  would  sail   for  London  and 


ic 


A  Nezv-Hampshire  Cotintess. 


85 


join  him  there,  which  she  did  in  Janu-  Leopold  II.,  reigned  as  vicar.  And  in 
ary,  1799,  being  in  her  twenty-second  1797  the  Elector  received  his  daughter 
year.      Her  mother  had  already  died,     Sarah  as  a  countess  of  the  empire,  and 


Jan.  19,  1792,  after  a  semi-widowhood 
of  near  sixteen  years.  Her  husband 
bade  her  adieu  in  Woburn,  Oct.  13, 
1775,  when  he  set  out  for  Narragansett 
Bay  and  the  British  frigate,  then  in  the 
harbor  of  Newport.  Frequent  letters 
show  that  he  had  the  heart  of  a  man 
for  the  wife  of  his  youth. 

Already  had  he  been  made  a  major 
by  Gov.  Wentworth  of  New  Hampshire. 
On  his  arrival  in  England  he  was  soon 
employed  as  under  secretary  to  Lord 
George  Germaine,  and  then  became  by 
royal  appointment  a  colonel  of  his 
Majesty's  forces.  In  such  official  ca- 
pacity he  returned  to  this  country, 
near  the  close  of  the  war,  and  then 
back  to  England ;  was  allowed  half 
pay  as  pension  for  his  services  to  the 
king,  and  subsequently  was  knighted 
by  his  royal  master.  This  put  him  in 
comfortable  circumstances  as  to  income. 
But,  in  the  mean  time,  his  goods   and 


allowed  her  to  receive  one-half  of  her 
father's  pension,  with  permission  to  re- 
side wherever  she  might  choose.  The 
half  pension  was  worth  a  thousand  dol- 
lars annually  :  so  that  to  the  daughter 
her  title  was  not  an  empty  sound,  but 
the  reward  conferred  upon  her  father 
for  his  merits  and  talents.  He  had 
labored  assiduously  for  the  good  of 
mankind  :  in  the  preparation  of  foods, 
soups,  and  various  cooking ;  in  the  use 
of  fuel  and  lamps,  baths,  and  chimneys  ; 
in  heating-appliances  of  fire  and  steam ; 
for  the  comfort  of  soldiers  in  camp  and 
in  barracks,  giving  them  employment, 
better  food,  and  better  pay ;  in  houses 
of  industry  and  instruction  for  prevent- 
ing mendicity,  and  furnishing  work  to 
the  idle ;  in  schemes  of  humanity  and 
economy  for  improving  the  condition 
of  the  poor ;  in  founding  prizes  for  the 
encouragement  of  scientific  research, 
one  in  England  and  one    in  Harvard. 


property  in  this  country  had  been  for-  His  bequests  to  the  latter  college  now 

feited  ;  even  his  personal  effects,  which  amount  to   more   than   fifty    thousand 

he  had  invoked  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  dollars  in   value.     Americans    may   be 

of  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  to  protect,  proud  to  remember  that  the  Royal  In- 


including  his  most  valuable  papers, 
which,  as  he  says,  were  of  "  the  greatest 
consequence  "  to  him,  were  saved  only 
by  the  efforts  of  that  gentleman.  We 
have  Major  Thompson's  imploring  let- 
ter to  him,  but  not  the  reply  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Parker.  This  clergyman  was  after- 
ward known  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  Parker, 
and  father  of  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Edson  of  Lowell,  Mass. 


stitution  of  Great  Britain  (1799)  was 
founded,  and  for  some  time  managed, 
by  a  son  of  Massachusetts,  Benjamin 
Thompson,  Count  Rumford,  who  as- 
sumed that  name  because  it  was  the 
ancient  name  of  the  town  where  his 
wife  and  daughter  were  born.  In  con- 
sideration of  plans  and  endeavors  for 
benefiting  the  poorer  classes,  Rumford 
was  largely  in  advance  of  his  age.  While 


In  1 791  Sir  Benjamin  Thompson  was     Rumford  prizes  and  professorships  will 


raised  to  the  dignity  of  Count  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire  by  his  friend  and 
patron  the  Elector,  who,  during  the 
interval  between  the  death  of  the 
Emperor  Joseph  and  the  coronation  of 


ever  be  remembered,  the  Rumford  me- 
morials at  Munich,  and  the  Rolfe  and 
Rumford  Asylum  at  Concord,  will  never 
be  forgotten.  Both  and  all  are  of  last- 
ing benefit  to  mankind,  on  both  sides 


86 


A  New-Hampshire  Countess. 


the  ocean,  to  illustrate  the  broad  sym- 
pathies of  the  man  who  founded  them. 

The  count  died  at  Auteuil,  near  Paris, 
Aug.  2  1,  1 8 14,  in  his  sixty -second 
year,  where  his  remains  are  entombed. 
His  first  wife  died  the  year  after  he  re- 
ceived his  high  title,  and  was  buried  in 
Concord  by  the  side  of  her  first  hus- 
band, Col.  Rolfe.  Their  graves  adjoin 
the  plat  which  contains  the  ashes  of 
Sarah,  Countess  of  Rumford,  but  there  is 
no  tombstone  erected  to  their  memory. 

During  the  life  of  her  grandmother, 
.the  countess  often  visited  the  birthplace 
of  her  father,  and  quite  a  portion  of 
her  childhood  was  passed  in  North 
Woburn.  The  house  in  which  the 
count  first  saw  the  light  of  day  still 
stands,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the 
Rumford  Historical  Society.  Very 
noteworthy  is  it  that  the  man  himself, 
not  his  inherited  wealth,  —  for  he  never 
enjoyed  it,  —  is  entitled  to  all  the  praise 
of  his  achievements,  honors,  and  money 
gains. 

The  first  passage  of  the  countess 
across  the  Atlantic,  in  1 796,  occupied 
nearly  as  many  weeks  as  her  last  con- 
templated trip  (in  1852)  would  have 
taken  days.  When  she  joined  her  fa- 
ther in  London,  he  and  all  his  friends 
gave  her  a  cordial  welcome  ;  though  he 
and  they  were  in  person  strangers  to 
her,  knowing  them  only  by  name  and 
correspondence.  But  her  father  had 
access  to  the  best  society,  and  was 
literally  famous  for  his  deeds  and  writ- 
ings. In  Munich  she  found  a  Bava- 
rian marble  and  freestone  memorial 
erected  to  his  honor  in  the  English 
Gardens  he  had  planned,  and  that  the 
hearts  of  thousands  pulsed  with  joy  on 
his  return.  His  public  reception  was 
a  triumph.  Even  the  inmates  of  the 
workhouses  praised  him,  as  w^ell  as  the 
soldiers,  for  the  improvements  he  had 


made  for  them.      Thus    the   countess 
soon  learned  to  love  the  Germans  for 
their  admiration  of  her  father;  to  re- 
spect the  English  for   the   honor   they 
had  done  him,   and  for   the  generous 
pension  which  they  regularly  paid  ;  and 
she  thoroughly  enjoyed  "  the  graceful 
good-humor   of  the    French  :  "  hence 
the  years  she  passed  in  Paris,  and  her 
protracted  visits  to  London.     With  her 
father  she  "  did "   the  Continent   and 
visited  Italy.     Like  him,  also,  she  early 
became  interested  in  devising  generous 
things  for  the  poor.     In  March,  1797, 
writes  the  count,  "  My  daughter,  desir- 
ous  of   celebrating  my    birthday  in  a 
manner  which  she   thought  would   be 
pleasing   to   me,  went   privately  to  the 
House  of  Industry,  and    choosing  out 
half  a  dozen  of  the  most  industrious 
little   boys   of  eight   and    ten  years  of 
age,  and   as   many  girls,  dressed  them 
new  from  hand  to  foot,  in  the  uniform 
of  that  public  establishment,  at  her  own 
expense,  and  dressing  herself  in  white, 
early  in  the  morning  of  my  birthday 
led  them  into  my  room  and  presented 
them  to  me,  when  I  was  at  breakfast. 
I  was  so  much  affected  by  this  proof  of 
her  affection  for  me,  and  by  the  lively 
pleasure  that  she  enjoyed  in  it,  that  I 
resolved  it  should  not   be    forgotten." 
Immediately  he  formed  a  plan  for  per- 
petuating the  remembrance  of  this  in- 
cident, and  for  renewing  the  pleasure 
that  it  gave.     He  made  his  daughter 
a  present  of  two  thousand   dollars    in 
American  stocks,  in  order  that  she  might 
foj-ever  repeat   a  like  benefaction  on 
behalf  of  the  poor  children  of  her  na- 
tive town.  Concord.    Thus  commenced 
the  foundation  of  the  fund  for  the  Rolfe 
and  Rumford  Asylum  in  that  city,    to 
which  other  endowments  were    subse- 
quently made.   And  no  good  deed  which 
the   count   and  his  daughter  ever  did 


A  Neiv-Hampshire  Countess. 


87 


has  produced  more  unmixed  pleasure. 
Their  several  gifts  have  created  no 
jealousy  nor  ambition  of  management, 
nor  sinister  purpose  in  any  trustee  to 
rule  or  ruin  the  charity.  All  rejoice  at 
its  judicious  management,  its  gentle- 
manly trustees,  its  kind  and  competent 
officers,  its  thirteen  happy,  industrious, 
and  improving  children.  Its  system  of 
home  training  and  education,  of  dress 
and  pastimes,  of  alternate  work  and  play, 
and  of  inculcating  and  applying  Chris- 
tian principles  to  the  practical  needs  of 
daily  duty,  is  essentially  the  same  as 
that  which  had  governed  and  had  been 
happily  illustrated  in  a  similar  institu- 
tion of  the  city  of  New  York.  Long, 
long  may  it  be  before  any  one  shall 
arise  to  disturb  its  harmony,  or  lessen 
its  prosperity  ! 

The  house  of  the  countess's  mother, 
inherited  from  her  first  husband,  Col. 
Rolfe,  and  from  his  son  Paul,  who  died 
childless,  has  been  enlarged  and  con- 
verted into  the  Rolfe  and  Rumford 
Asylum,  "  for  the  poor  and  needy,  par- 
ticularly young  females  without  moth- 
ers, natives  of  Concord."  The  entire 
bequests,  with  their  accumulations,  now 
amount  to  more  than  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  are  taken  in  trust  by  the 
city.  The  countess  also  bequeathed 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  the  New- 
Hampshire  Asylum  for  the  Insane  ;  to 
the  Concord  Female  Charitable  Society, 
two  thousand  dollars ;  to  the  Boston 
Children's  Friend  Society,  two  thousand 


dollars  ;  to  the  Fatherless  and  Widows' 
Society,  Boston,  two  thousand  dollars. 
And  she  left  ten  thousand  dollars  to 
the  son  of  her  half  brother,  Joseph 
Amedie  Lefevre,  and  provided  that  her 
legacy  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to 
found  the  asylum  should  revert  to  him 
if  the  city  of  Concord  failed  to  assume 
the  trust.  All  the  remaining  real  estate 
of  Col.  Rolfe  was  devised  to  the  Institu- 
tion. This  was  duly  incorporated  by 
special  statute  in  July,  1872  ;  but  the 
asylum  itself  was  not  opened  for  the 
reception  of  beneficiaries  till  the  fif- 
teenth day  of  January,  1880. 

After  the  count's  death,  the  count- 
ess seems  to  have  divided  her  time 
between  residence  in  London  and  her 
house  at  Brompton,  protracted  visits 
to  Paris  of  two  and  three  years'  du- 
ration, and  to  residence  in  Concord. 
From  July,  1844,  she  occupied  the 
house  and  chamber  in  which  she  was 
born.  After  an  eventful  life,  and  while 
preparing  for  another  visit  to  France, 
where  she  had  vested  funds,  she  was 
taken  with  the  illness  of  which  she 
died,  Dec.  2,  1852,  in  her  seventy-ninth 
year.  Her  only  companion,  and  the 
solace  of  her  declining  years,  was  a 
young  lady,  Miss  Emma  G.,  a  native  of 
Birmingham,  whom  she  had  adopted 
when  a  child,  at  Brompton,  and  who 
has  married  Mr.  John  Burgum  of  Con- 
cord. Thus  in  family  and  institutional 
life,  her  charity  has  immortalized  the 
Countess  of  Rumford. 


88 


The  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


THE    DOCTOR'S    GRANDDAUGHTER. 

By  Annie  Wentworth  Baer. 


CHAPTER  I. 

One  evening  in  the  spring  of  1776, 
in  a  small  town  of  one  of  the  early  Col- 
onies, a  young  couple  were  saying  their 
sad  farewell. 

John  Pendexter  had  enlisted,  and 
the  next  morning  would  find  him  well 
on  his  way  to  join  his  regiment.  At 
this  time  he  had  come  to  have  his  last 
talk  with  Susanna  Carwin,  his  affianced. 

Long  had  they  been  sitting  before 
the  open  fireplace,  many  plans  had  they 
laid  for  the  future  ;  and,  when  the  shad- 
ows began  to  gather  in  the  corners  of 
the  low-posted,  spacious  room,  John  re- 
membered the  numerous  arrangements 
he  had  to  make  before  leaving  his 
mother,  already  widowed  by  the  war. 

Turning  to  Susanna,  in  whose  black 
eyes  a  world  of  sorrow  was  expressed, 
he  took  her  hand,  now  cold  and  damp, 
in  his  broad  palm,  and  led  her  to  one 
of  the  deep  windows  in  the  room  facing 
eastward. 

Susanna  leaned  her  head  against  the 
edge  of  the  sliding  shutter,  and  mus- 
tered all  her  will-power  to  keep  back 
the  bitter  tears. 

John  said,  "  Susanna,  I  want  you  to 
wear  this  little  ring  until  I  return.  I 
will  put  it  on  your  finger,  with  a  wish  for 
our  future  happiness  and  the  freedom  of 
our  country."  He  slipped  the  tiny  cir- 
clet on  her  finger,  saying,  "  My  love  for 
you  is  like  this  ring,  —  without  end." 

Susanna  said,  "  My  heart  is  too  full 
of  woe  to-night,  John,  to  say  half  that 
I  want  to.  I  feel  a  cloud  of  sadness 
settling  over  me.  How  can  I  live  with- 
out you?  How  can  I  let  you  go?" 
sobbed  forth  the  poor  girl. 


"  Susanna,  we  have  talked  this  over 
many  times ;  and  to-morrow  you  will 
feel  about  the  matter  as  you  have  felt 
in  times  past.  Dear  girl,  I  must  go  ! 
Keep  up  good  heart,  and  remember  our 
happy  home  in  the  future,  God  will- 
ing." 

He  put  his  arm  around  her,  and  drew 
her  towards  him,  as  he  walked  out  into 
the  great  hall  for  his  hat. 

Susanna  picked  up  a  small  leather- 
bound  Bible  from  a  half-round  table 
standing  in  the  hall,  and  gave  it  to  him, 
saying,  "  Take  this  with  you,  John  :  it 
was  mother's,  and  I  have  always  used 
it." 

With  a  misty  look  in  his  frank  blue 
eyes,  John  Pendexter  took  the  book, 
and  carefully  put  it  in  the  pocket  of  his 
home-spun  coat.  For  a  few  minutes 
he  seemed  to  try  to  smooth  his  rough 
hat,  as  if  his  whole  attention  was  given 
to  the  trivial  matter.  At  once  he  thrust 
the  hat  onto  his  head,  put  his  arms 
around  the  tearful  girl,  kissed  her  many 
times,  bade  her  good-by,  and,  without 
waiting  to  hear  her  trembling  words, 
swung  open  the  great  door,  and  walked 
with  long,  strengthful  strides  down  the 
walk  to  the  road. 

Susanna  stood  by  the  heavy  stair- 
post,  much  like  a  lily  beaten  by  the 
wind.  At  last  she  went  into  the  room 
again,  and  stood  by  the  window  watch- 
ing the  tall,  stalwart  form  stalking  along 
the  sloppy  road,  in  the  gloaming  of  a 
dull  spring  day :  she  saw  him  turn  the 
corner  by  the  meeting-house,  and  then 
he  passed  out  of  her  sight.  Susanna 
felt  that  her  heart,  her  life,  had  gone 
with  him. 


The  Doctor* s  Granddaughter. 


89 


Left  an  orphan  when  a  small  child, 
her  grandfather  had  brought  her  up  in 
his  desolate  home.  Dr.  Carvvin  had 
educated  the  girl ;  and  she  had  found  a 
playmate  in  John  Pendexter,  five  years 
her  senior.  Mrs.  Pendexter  had  taught 
her  many  womanly  accomplishments, 
and  had  told  the  two  children  tales  of 
her  ancestors.  The  landing  of  the  little 
band  in  November,  1620,  on  the  bleak 
shores  of  Cape  Cod,  the  names  of 
Carver,  Bradford,  Winslow,  and  Miles 
Standish,  were  familiar  to  them.  The 
little  fellow.  Peregrine  White,  seemed 
almost  a  baby  then,  when  Mrs.  Pen- 
dexter told  them  about  the  first  New 
Englander.  With  open  eyes  they  lis- 
tened to  the  rehearsal  of  the  hardships 
of  the  sixty  men,  women,  and  children 
who  started  out  from  Newtown  and 
Watertown  in  Massachusetts,  for  Con- 
necticut. With  tears  running  down 
their  ruddy  cheeks,  they  heard  of  their 
journeying  through  swamps,  over  rivers, 
and  up  mountains,  driving  their  cattle 
before  them  ;  and  how,  in  November, 
they  reached  the  frozen  Connecticut, 
and  had  to  halt  to  build  huts  to  protect 
themselves  and  their  herds.  To  divert 
their  minds  from  this  sadness,  "Mother 
Goose  Melodies  "  for  children,  printed 
in  Pudding  Lane,  Boston,  would  be 
read ;  and  this  never  failed  to  chase 
their  tears  away. 

In  this  manner  Susanna  grew  to  be  a 
tall,  graceful,  handsome  girl ;  and  John 
Pendexter  knew  that  he  loved  her,  and 
told  her  so.  She  accepted  his  love, 
and  in  return  gave  him  the  wealth  of 
her  pure  heart. 

As  John  grew  to  manhood,  he  had  the 
wrongs  of  the  Stamp  Act  to  dwell  on ; 
and  he  smiled  at  the  account  of  the 
raid  by  Boston  citizens  on  the  house  of 
Oliver,  the  stamp-officer ;  he  rejoiced 
at  the  bold  assertions  of  Patrick  Henry. 


A  little  later,  the  manner  in  which  tea 
was  received  by  the  Americans  pleased 
him ;  and  when  he  read  the  notice  of 
the  strong  cup  of  tea  made  in  Boston 
Harbor,  at  the  expense  of  Great  Britain, 
in  "  The  Essex  Gazette"  of  March  29, 

1774,  printed  in  Salem  by  Samuel  and 
Ebenezer  Hall,  he  was  proud  of  his 
countrymen. 

Following  close  on  this  came  the  be- 
sieged condition  of  Boston.  The  in- 
solent way  in  which  the  citizens  were 
treated  by  the  British  soldiers  fired 
every  American  heart ;  and  James  Pen- 
dexter, John's  father,  marched  to  the 
aid   of  the  distressed  city.     June   17, 

1775,  the  brave  man  fell ;  and  with  this 
sad  news  came  the  story  of  the  burning 
of  Charlestown,  and  of  the  hundreds  of 
people  who  were  left  homeless,  and  of 
the  thousands  of  pounds  in  property 
scattered  in  ashes. 

In  less  than  a  year  after  this  George 
Washington  was  made  lawful  com- 
mander of  the  army ;  and  in  answer  to 
the  call  for  more  men,  John  Pendexter 
stepped  boldly  forward  to  fill  the  place 
of  his  slaughtered  father,  willing  to  fight 
for  his  country,  come  weal  or  woe. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Susanna  found  no  comfort  in  the 
fields,  the  woods,  or  the  sky,  on  this 
gloomy  spring  night.  A  heavy  mist 
hung  from  the  shaggy  branches  of  the 
pitch-pines,  and  every  little  knoll  in 
the  fields  was  bare  and  brown,  and  the 
snow  looked  dirty  and  sullen  as  it 
slipped  down  their  sides.  Pools  of 
muddy  water  stood  in  the  road,  and 
the  whole  world  about  seemed  weeping 
and  sad. 

With  much  fluster,  the  forestick 
burned  in  two,  and  dropped  down  on 
either  side  of  the  tall  brass  andirons ; 
a  cloud  of  sparks  went  up  as  if  in  pro- 


90 


TJie  Doctor^ s  Granddaughter. 


test — such  flighty  conduct  was  unseem- 
ingly  in  the  long  forestick.  The  huge 
back-log  blazed  up,  and  threw  weird 
shadows  out  into  the  large,  square 
room :  these  shadows  flickered,  and 
then  ran  out  long  on  the  wide  beams 
supporting  the  low  ceiling,  as  if  trying 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  sad  girl 
by  the  window ;  but  she  heeded  them 
not. 

Soon  the  door  opened  from  the  hall ; 
and  Peter,  with  many  a  grunt  and  gri- 
mace, laid  a  large  pile  of  wood  on  the 
brick  hearth.  He  glanced  at  Susanna, 
but,  with  instinctive  kindness,  turned 
away.  Peter  knew  that  John  Pendex- 
ter  had  been  there  and  gone,  and  all 
the  servants  loved  Susanna  very  much. 

He  gathered  up  the  charred  ends  of 
the  forestick,  raked  over  the  coals,  and 
laid  the  wood  on  in  a  skilful  manner. 
Finally  Susanna  turned  around.  Many 
times  had  she  smiled  at  the  funny  face 
old  Peter  made  when  he  blew  the  coals  ; 
but  to-night  her  heart  was  too  sore  for 
her  to  see  any  thing  comical  in  the  purs- 
ing-up  of  the  monstrous  lips,  or  the  dis- 
tended appearance  of  his  eyes ;  the 
white  ashes  powdered  his  crisp  wool 
unheeded  by  Susanna  this  woeful  night. 

When  Dr.  Carwin  came  in  from  a 
long  ride  in  the  country  on  Sorrel,  he 
rubbed  his  hands  before  the  new  fire, 
and  said,  "  Come,  Susanna,  let  us  have 
supper  :  old  MoUie  has  it  ready."  Dur- 
ing the  meal  he  never  spoke  of  John, 
but  talked  of  his  patients  ;  and  after 
they  had  finished,  and  Susanna  had 
pushed  back  her  plate  unused,  her 
grandfather  asked  her  to  help  him 
about  some  herbs.  He  talked  of  every 
thing  but  John,  and  Susanna  felt  that 
her  grandfather  was  thoughtless  for 
once  ;  but,  when  she  took  her  candle- 
stick for  bed,  the  old  doctor  kissed  her, 
and   said,  "  God  bless  you,  my  poor 


child  ! "  and  led  her  out  to  the  wide 
staircase. 

In  this  same  spring  of  1776,  Gen. 
Washington  contemplated  the  expul- 
sion of  the  British  army  from  Boston. 
He  decided  to  fortify  Dorchester 
Heights,  which  commanded  the  harbor 
and  British  shipping.  The  army  forti- 
fied itself  so  quietly  and  expeditiously, 
that  the  British  knew  nothing  of  the 
matter  until  the  small  band  of  two 
thousand  men  had  taken  possession  of 
the  Heights.  John  Pendexter  worked 
faithfully  at  this  time,  and  felt  his  labors 
well  paid,  when,  on  the  17th  of  March, 
the  British  began  to  evacuate  Boston, 
under  command  of  Lord  William  Howe. 
When  the  rear  guard  of  the  British 
troops  were  leaving  one  side  of  the 
city,  Gen.  Washington,  with  his  joyous 
soldiers,  marched  in  on  the  other. 
The  inhabitants  hailed  these  troops 
with  gratitude  ;  for  sixteen  months  Bos- 
ton had  been  the  headquarters  of  the 
British  army,  and  the  people  had  suf- 
fered at  the  hand  of  an  insolent  sol- 
diery. John  Pendexter  wrote  a  letter 
to  Susanna,  describing  the  forlorn  con- 
dition of  the  town.  Many  of  the  Roy- 
alists had  fled  with  the  British  army. 
Churches  had  been  stripped  of  pews 
and  benches  to  supply'  the  soldiers' 
fires ;  stores  had  been  rifled  to  clothe 
them,  and  houses  pillaged  at  their  will. 
John's  description  of  the  joy  of  the 
people  when  Gen.  Washington  came 
among  them  caused  Mrs.  Pendexter 
and  Susanna  to  weep.  How  proud 
they  were  of  John  !  How  brave  he 
appeared  to  them  !  But  a  nameless 
dread  crept  into  the  heart  of  each,  when 
they  thought  of  the  battles  yet  to 
come. 

In  the  following  June,  Richard  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia  rose  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  made  a  motion  to  de- 


The  Doctor's  GranddaiigJiter.  91 

clare  America   free   and   independent,  at  the  four  comers,  and  stamped  out 

John  Adams  seconded  the  motion.    For  the  king's  arms.     Joseph  Brownlow  cut 

three  days  this  motion  was  discussed,  down  his  sign  of  the  '  Crown  and  Scep- 

—  amotion  fraught  with  intense  inter-  tre,'   and   calls   his  tavern  the  '  Inde- 

est ;  on  the  last  day  it  was  postponed  pendence '  now." 
for  further  consideration  to  the  first  day         "  O  grandfather  !  I  fear  we  shall  have 

of  July,  and  it  was  voted  a  committee  much  bloodshed  before  we  can  enjoy 

be  appointed  to  propose  a  declaration  our  freedom  :  it  must  be  bought  with 

to  the  effect  of  the   resolution.     The  the  lives  of  our  best  men,"  said  Su- 

committee  was  elected   by  ballot   the  sanna. 

following  day  :  this  committee  numbered         "I  can't  deny  that,  child,"  said  the 

five,  and  their  names  were  well  known  old  doctor ;  "  but,  as  John  Adams  said, 

in  the  Colonies.     Thomas  Jefferson  re-  '  The  die  is  cast.'     It  is  now  gain  all,  or 

received  the   largest   number  of  votes  lose  all." 

by  one,  and  Mr.  Adams  came  next  by        During  the  weary  months  that  fol- 

choice.  lowed,  Susanna  knew  of  the  long  march- 

The  other  three  requested  Mr.  Jeffer-  es,  the  poor  quality  of  the  supplies  for 

son  and  Mr.  Adams  to  draw  up  the  the  army,  and  of  the  dire  sickness  that 

paper ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson  did  so,  with  fell  upon  them.     The  letters  that  she 

hints  and  help    from  the  others.     On  received  from  John  encouraged  her  and 

the  ist  of  July  the  subject  was  resumed ;  his  mother  :  these  letters  were  few  and 

and  upon  the  report  of  Thomas  Jeffer-  far  between.     In  one   he  wrote   them 

son,  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  that  he  had  been  inoculated  with  the 

Roger  Sherman,  and  Philip  Livingston,  small-pox,  and  did  nicely.     Every  word 

the   thirteen   Colonies  declared  them-  was  read  over  and  over  again  by  the 

selves    free    and    independent    States,  two     sad     women.      John     Pendexter 

and  dissolved  their  allegiance   to    the  proved  himself  a   good  soldier,  and  a 

British   Crown   on    the    4th    of   July,  strong  one  too :  he  kept  with  his  regi- 

1776.     Three  of  these  five  men  were  ment,  and  encountered  the  British,  and 

born  in  Massachusetts,  and  had  recently  fought  manfully  for  his  country, 
felt  the  British  heel.  The   surrender   of  Burgoyne's  army 

This   news  was   received  with  great  was  a  proud  moment  for  him  ;  and  the 

joy  by  the  Colonies  :  bells  were  rung,  forced  march  of  forty  miles  in  fourteen 

cannon   fired,   and   public   processions  hours,  to  waylay  the  British  Gen.  Clin- 

formed.  ton,  was  cheerfully  performed   by  the 

The   far-away  towns   speedily  heard  battle-worn    troops.     Clinton,   hearing 

the  news,  and  quickly  began  to  show  of  Burgoyne's    defeat,   went   back    to 

their  hatred  for  the  British  yoke.  New  York,  and  left  Albany  in  peace. 

Dr.  Carwin  said  one  day  when  he  The  British  army  now  took  up  its 
came  in,  "  Susanna,  the  thing  is  done,  winter  quarters  at  Philadelphia,  and  the 
We  have  cut  loose  from  England  now,  American  troops  established  themselves 
and  we  stand  or  fall  for  ourselves.  I  at  Valley  Forge.  Here  the  suffering  of 
want  that  old  portrait  of  King  George  the  army  was  intense  :  famine  threat- 
taken  down  and  put  in  the  attic  :  he  is  ened  them,  and  the  bitter  cold  was 
my  king  no  longer.  To-day  the  young  keenly  felt  through  their  scanty  cloth- 
lads  pulled  the  old  sign-board   down  ing ;  many  sickened  and  died. 


92 


The  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


CHAPTER  III. 
Susanna  had  noticed  for  some  time 
that  Mrs.  Pendexter  seemed  feeble : 
she  had  a  sharp,  dry  cough,  and  com- 
plained of  a  pain  in  her  side.  As  the 
weather  grew  cold  in  the  fall,  Mrs.  Pen- 
dexter grew  worse.  Once  Susanna  said 
to  her  grandfather,  "  Mrs.  Pendexter  is 
very  poorly  ;  can't  you  give  her  some- 
thing to  help  her?  She  has  been  doc- 
toring herself,  but  she  grows  worse."  — 
"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "I  can  give 
her  something  to  loosen  her  cough; 
but  Mrs.  Pendexter  has  been  ailing  for 
a  good  while.  She  belongs  to  a  con- 
sumptive family."  As  the  weather  grew 
colder,  Mrs.  Pendexter  was  confined  to 
the  house.  John  wrote  cheerful  letters, 
and  Susanna  tried  to  keep  the  failing 
health  of  his  mother  from  him.  Su- 
sanna was  with  Mrs.  Pendexter  a  great 
deal  this  long  winter.  She  tried  to 
tempt  her  failing  appetite  with  little 
delicacies,  but  the  flattering  disease 
kept  gaining  every  day.  The  fever 
spots  came,  her  eyes  grew  bright,  and 
her  cough  dry.  Dr.  Carwin  gave  her 
medicines  to  strengthen  her;  but  she 
said,  "  Doctor,  it's  no  use,  you  can't 
help  me  :  my  course  is  almost  run.  I 
told  Mr.  Bostwick  yesterday  that  I  was 
ready,  I  only  waited  my  summons.  I 
have  had  one  hard  struggle,  and  that 
was  about  John.  Poor  boy  !  How  he 
will  miss  his  mother  when  he  gets  back 
to  the  old  home  !  But  I  have  fought 
the  battle,  and  I  can  say,  *  Thy  will  be 
done.' " 

One  bright  winter  day  Susanna  was 
sitting  with  Mrs.  Pendexter,  and  the 
latter  was  very  comfortable.  They  had 
talked  of  John,  and  Mrs.  Pendexter  had 
worried  about  his  condition.  Susanna 
took  the  part  of  comforter,  and  with 
cheerful  words  soothed  Mrs.  Pendexter 
wonderfully. 


The  sick  woman  leaned  back  in  her 
low,  rind-bottomed  chair,  and  said,  "  Su- 
sanna, a  flock  of  snow-birds  just  flew 
by  the  window.  Has  Amos  thrown  out 
the  hay-seed?  John  always  did,  and 
the  little  birds  expect  it.  In  about 
three  days  we  shall  have  a  snow-storm. 
I  wonder  if  I  shall  live  to  see  it." 
Susanna  said,  "  Oh,  yes  !  You  seem 
real  bright  to-day ;  and  you  know  the 
winter  is  going,  and  you  will  feel  better 
when  the  weather  is  warmer,  I  hope." 
Mrs.  Pendexter  shook  her  head  slowly, 
and  said,  "  Not  much  longer.  I  could 
never  climb  '  May  Hill '  any  way ;  but 
I  shall  go  before  that.  Here  comes 
Mr.  Bostwick.  He  is  a  good  man,  but 
his  idea  of  heaven  is  so  cold."  Su- 
sanna opened  the  door,  and  invited 
the  minister  in,  and  told  him,  in  answer 
to  his  inquiry,  "that  Mrs.  Pendexter 
was  quite  comfortable."  She  passed 
into  the  room,  and  placed  a  chair  by 
the  fire  for  the  caller.  After  he  had 
warmed  his  hands  before  the  crackling 
fire,  he  took  the  fever-parched  hand  of 
Mrs.  Pendexter,  and  said,  "  How  are 
you  to-day?  Susanna  thinks  you  are 
quite  comfortable." — "Yes,"  she  said, 
"  for  now  I  am,  but  somehow  I  think  I 
shall  have  a  hard  night."  Susanna  left 
the  two  alone,  and  went  into  the  kitch- 
en to  see  about  something  tempting  for 
Mrs.  Pendextet's  supper.  "Who  sits 
up  to-night,  Catherine?"  she  asked  of 
the  woman  who  lived  with  Mrs.  Pen- 
dexter. "  One  of  the  Alden  girls  and 
Jane  Burrows.  Y"ou  go  home,  Miss 
Susanna :  you  are  most  tired  out,  and 
we  shall  need  you  more."  —  "No,  I 
shall  stay  to-night.  She  is  very  feeble, 
her  breath  is  short,  and  she  hasn't 
coughed  any  to-day." 

The  short  winter  day  was  waning 
when  Mr.  Bostwick  left  the  sick  wo- 
man.   He  felt  as  if  she  had  looked  into 


The  Doctor^ s  Granddaughter. 


93 


the  "  promised  land  :  "  she  had  talked 
to  him  like  one  inspired.  But  he  found 
that  she  grew  weak,  and  her  breath 
came  short ;  rising,  he  took  her  hand 
once  more,  bowed  his  head  over  it, 
and  said,  "  God  be  with  you."  — 
"  Amen,"  said  Mrs.  Pendexter ;  and  the 
minister  passed  out  of  the  house  over 
which  the  Angel  of  Death  hovered. 

After  Mrs.  Pendexter  had  been  made 
as  comfortable  as  possible  in  her  bed, 
Dr.  Carwin  came  in ;  when  he  stepped 
to  the  bedside,  he  noticed  a  great 
change.  Looking  up,  Mrs.  Pendexter 
said,  "  I  know  it,  doctor,  call  Susanna." 

Susanna  came  in  ;  and  Mrs.  Pendex- 
ter said  to  her,  "  Break  it  easy  to  John. 
Poor  boy ! "  Susanna  felt  the  tears 
filling  her  eyes,  and  she  turned  away. 

Ere  morning  Mrs.  Pendexter's  soul 
had  been  released,  and  only  the  shat- 
tered tenement  was  left. 

A  hard  task  was  before  Susanna. 
Daily  she  asked  herself,  "  How  shall 
I  write  John  ?  "  The  posts  were  slow 
and  uncertain :  many  weeks  perhaps 
would  pass  before  the  black-winged 
letter  would  reach  him  in  his  desolate 
condition. . 

Many'  letters  she  wrote,  and  then 
watched  them  grow  white  and  crisp 
between  the  andirons.  Finally  she 
wrote  and  told  him  of  the  time  when 
his  mother  passed  away,  how  happy 
she  was  to  go,  her  loving  message  to 
him.  She  even  told  him  of  the  snow- 
birds his  mother  had  spoken  of;  and 
how  the  soft  snow  fell  on  the  third  dav, 
and  covered  her  grave  with  a  fleecy 
covering.  She  carefully  avoided  telling 
him  of  the  suffering  his  mother  endured, 
and  made  her  death  seem  like  a  happy 
release.  Susanna  carried  the  letter  to 
her  grandfather  in  his  office.  The  old 
man  looked  up  from  his  battered  lig- 
num-vitae  mortar  as  she  came  in.     She 


said,  "  Grandfather,  I  have  \vritten  to 
John  about  his  mother.  Will  you  read 
it?"  Without  speaking,  the  old  man 
reached  out  his  hand ;  and  leaning  on 
the  table  littered  with  books,  herbs, 
bottles,  and  a  skull,  he  read  slowly  the 
written  page.  Once  he  took  off  his 
glasses  and  wiped  them,  and  then  read 
on.  When  he  had  finished,  he  said, 
"  Susanna,  you  have  done  well.  John 
is  fortunate  to  have  one  so  kind  to 
break  this  sad  news  to  him.  Come, 
get  ready  and  go  with  me  up  to  Joel 
Heard's  :  the  old  man  has  got  bad  eyes, 
and  has  sent  for  me.  I  have  got  some 
medicine  fixed  here  for  him."  Susanna 
said,  "  I  will  be  ready  soon."  She  took 
the  letter,  and  went  out  to  direct  and 
seal  it. 

Dr.  Carwin  said  to  himself  when  the 
girl  had  gone,  "  How  sad  Susanna  is  ! 
She  has  had  so  much  trouble  in  the 
last  year  or  two.  I  shall  be  glad  when 
John's  time  is  out,  and  he  gets  back. 
There  !  I  believe  that  is  fine  enough. 
Now  I  will  get  the  saddle-bags,  and 
tell  Peter  to  put  on  the  pillion.  A  ride 
will  do  Susanna  good."  When  Peter 
led  Sorrel  round  to  the  horse-block, 
Susanna  came  out.  Peter  grinned  and 
showed  his  white  teeth,  he  was  so  glad 
for  Miss  Susanna  to  ride  once  more. 

When  they  started  off,  the  doctor 
said,  "  What  did  you  do  with  your  let- 
ter?" 

"  I  left  it  on  the  table  in  the  hall,  for 
Peter  to  post,"  answered  Susanna. 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  am  glad 
that  you  have  got  through  with  that 
task.  You  mustn't  dwell  on  these  sad 
things.  Cheer  up,  and  be  the  bright 
girl  you  used  to  be."  Susanna  smiled 
at  her  grandfather's  earnest  words,  and 
felt  a  relief  herself  that  the  sad  missive 
was  off  her  hands. 

After  a  short   ride   over  the   sloppy 


94 


The  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


roads,  —  for  there  had  been  a  rain,  and 
it  had  cleared  off  warm,  —  they  rode  up 
to  a  great  two-story  doul)le-in-width 
house.  Joel  Heard  lived  here  with  his 
youngest  son  :  two  of  his  boys  were  in 
the  army  with  John  Pendexter. 

The  old  man  was  very  glad  to  see 
Susanna  with  her  grandfather ;  and,  to 
show  how  welcome  they  were,  he  filled 
the  wide-mouthed  fire-place  full  of 
wood,  and  drew  the  kitchen  chairs 
close  to  the  brick  hearth.  "Well, 
Joel,"  said  the  doctor.  "  How  are  your 
eyes  to-day?  Joseph  said  that  you 
were  pretty  bad  off  this  morning."  — 
"Yes,"  answered  Joel,  "I  tell  ye  they 
smart  awfully.  I  can't  look  out  door 
at  all  without  their  runnin'  water." 
With  a  merry  look  the  old  man  said  to 
Susanna,  "  I  guess  I  shall  have  to  have 
my  eyes  pulled'^  While  the  doctor  and 
his  patient  were  talking,  Joseph's  wife 
came  in  from  the  barn  with  some  hens' 
eggs  in  her  woollen  tire.  She  put  them 
in  a  basket  standing  on  the  black  case 
of  drawers  by  the  window,  and  then 
came  along  to  the  hearth.  She  said, 
"How  d'ye  do  to-day,  Miss  Susanna? 
I'm  glad  to  see  ye  out.  Oh  dear,  what  a 
dirty  hearth  !  Father  always  makes  sich 
a  clutter  when  he  puts  on  wood  ;  "  and 
she  brushed  vigorously  with  the  speckled 
turkey's  vving,  until  every  chip  and  spill 
was  lodged  between  the  huge  iron  fire- 
dogs.  When  she  had  pulled  out  the 
ungainly  oven-stopper,  and  tossed  the 
wing  into  the  oven,  she  said  to  Susanna, 
"  Has  John  Pendexter  heard  of  his 
mother's  death?  I  s'pose  he'll  feel  or- 
ful  when  he  hears  how  sick  she  was."  — 
"  I  have  written  him,"  said  Susanna, 
"  but  it  will  be  some  time  before  he  will 
get  it."  —  "Joseph  got  a  letter  from 
Oliver  last  week,  and  he  said  as  how 
John  wa'nt  very  well.  I  guess  they  have 
had  a  tough  time  this  winter,  and  it  has 


told  on  'em  all,"  said  Joseph's  wife. 
"  I  hope  that  the  army  will  be  more 
comfortable  now  the  spring  is  at  hand," 
said  Susanna.  "  The  British  have  been 
living  in  Philadelphia,  and  having  all 
they  needed ;  while  our  poor  boys  have 
suffered  every  thing."  —  "  Well,  Susan- 
na, shall  we  go  ?  I  have  got  to  be  at 
a  parish  meeting  to-night,  and  we  must 
be  off,"  said  the  doctor.  "  Come  up 
agin,  Susanna  :  I  hain't  had  no  chance 
to  talk  with  ye  this  time,"  said  the  poor 
old  man.  "  I  thank  you,"  said  Susanna, 
"  and  I  hope  your  eyes  will  be  better 
soon,  so  that  you  can  come  down  to 
meeting."  —  "Thank  ye,  thank  ye.  I 
hope  so." 

When  Susanna  and  her  grandfather 
got  home,  the  letter  had  gone,  and  the 
ride  had  done  her  good  ;  but  the  little 
word  dropped  by  Joseph  Heard's  wife 
troubled  her.  She  went  into  the  great 
room  where  she  and  John  had  stood 
so  many  months  before,  and  tried  to 
feel  that  all  would  be  well.  She  could 
hardly  realize  that  she  was  the  same 
girl  who  used  to  be  so  blithe  and  gay, 
and  she  wondered  if  she  had  left  all 
her  happiness  behind  her.  .  Her  love 
for  John  Pendexter  had  been  so  strong, 
that  at  times  it  had  been  almost  a  pain. 
She  had  tried  to  live  in  the  future, 
had  borrowed  trouble  :  now  things  had 
changed,  —  she  dreaded  to  know  the 

future. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  spring  had  come,  and  grown  into 
summer.  All  the  evening  in  the  soft 
twilight  Susanna  had  been  sitting  in  the 
front-door.  She  was  looking  back  over 
the  past  few  months.  She  had  had  so 
much  to  be  thankful  for.  John  was  well, 
and  her  grandfather  declared  "  that  he 
was  never  better  in  his  life."  Bluff,  the 
great  yellow  house-dog,  was  lying  at  her 
feet ;  and  she  stooped  to  pat  his  broad 


The  Doctor's  G randdanfrhter. 


95 


head,  when  she  noticed  a  dark  cloud 
rising  in  the  south.  Soon  after  a  breeze 
freshened  up,  and  she  thought  there 
was  going  to  be  a  shower.  Bluff  got 
up  and  walked  around  uneasily,  and 
seemed  anxious.  Peter  went  about  shut- 
ting up  the  stable  windows  and  doors. 
He  said,  "Thar's  gwine  to  be  a  big 
shower,  or  a  sou'-east  storm  ;  'twont  last 
long,  but  'twill  be  tough."  Mollie  shut 
every  window  in  the  house,  and  waited 
in  terror  by  the  kitchen  hearth  for  the 
"  thunder." 

When  Susanna  retired,  she  opened 
her  Bible  in  an  absent  way,  thinking 
of  the  shower  meanwhile.  When  she 
looked,  the  book  lay  open  in  Ecclesias- 
tes,  and  she  read  the  twelfth  chapter. 
Many  times  had  she  read  the  beautiful 
words,  "  Or  ever  the  silver  cord  be 
loosed,  or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken, 
or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain, 
or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern  ; "  but 
to-night  they  gave  her  a  restless  feeling, 
their  beauty  had  fled,  and  they  seemed 
a  portent  of  ill.  She  thought,  "  It  is 
the  weather,  something  in  the  air,  that 
gives  me  this  feeling.  I  will  go  to  sleep, 
and  perhaps  I  shall  know  nothing  of 
the  shower."  Just  then  Bluff  gave  out 
the  most  pitiful  howl,  something  he 
seldom  did ;  and  it  sounded  uncanny 
in  the  thickening  gloom.  Poor  Mollie 
believed  that  she  or  Peter  were  to  be 
struck  by  thunder  sure  :  "  a  dog's  howl- 
ing meant  death  alius." 

Slowly  the  rain-ladened  clouds  rolled 
on,  and  midnight  had  come  before  the 
fury  of  the  storm  burst  over  Dr.  Car- 
win's  home.  Susanna  had  succeeded 
in  getting  to  sleep  ;  and  the  thunder  had 
muttered,  and  the  lightning  had  darted 
out  its  forked  tongue  like  a  venomous 
serpent,  and  finally  rent  the  sagging 
clouds,  and  the  rain  rushed  before 
the  fierce  south-east  wind.     The  wiry 


branches  of  the  elms  before  the  house 
rattled  and  scraped  against  the  win- 
dows, as  if  trying  to  get  in ;  the  hang- 
bird's  nest  was  beaten  and  tossed  by 
the  swinging  branches.  The  wind 
boomed  in  the  great  chimney  in  Susan- 
na's room,  and  it  sounded  like  artillery. 
The  thunder  crashed  close  to  them,  and 
shook  the  oaken  frame  of  their  dwell- 


ing. 


Susanna  pulled  aside  the  curtains  of 
her  bedstead,  and  saw  the  room  filled 
with  a  garish  light,  and  the  shadow  of 
the  writhing  elm  branches  looked  like 
a  strange  writing  on  the  wall ;  following 
this  another  peal  of  thunder,  and  crash 
after  crash  followed.  During  a  momen- 
tary silence,  the  tall  clock  in  the  hall 
struck  one,  that  lonesome  hour.  Al- 
though the  elements  were  at  war,  and 
over  her  head  the  battle-ground,  Su- 
sanna felt  the  sound  to  be  prophetic. 
Was  she  one  alone  ? 

After  a  few  hours  of  fury  the  tempest 
was  over,  and  morning  dawned  on  many 
a  shattered  tree  and  rain-washed  road  ; 
the  tender  grass  had  been  laid  low,  and 
the  tiny  birds  were  drowned  in  their 
nests. 

One  morning  in  July,  Susanna  saw 
Joseph  Heard  coming  down  the  road 
in  a  hurried  way.  He  walked  into 
their  yard,  and  went  to  the  stable ; 
when  he  passed  the  house,  he  gave  a 
guilty  look  at  the  windows,  as  if  he 
feared  he  might  be  detected  in  some 
crime. 

Susanna  heard  him  say  "  Good-morn- 
ing "  to  Peter,  who  was  currying  Sorrel. 
All  the  time  Joseph  was  looking  beyond 
Peter  in  search  of  some  one  else. 
"Has  the  doctor  gone  out  yet?"  he_ 
asked,  "  No  sar,  he's  in  the  office. 
Shall  I  speak  to  him?"  — "No,"  said 
Joseph,  "  I  will  go  in  and  find  him." 
—  "Is   yer  father  wus?"  asked  Peter 


96 


The  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


hurriedly,  as  he  saw  Joseph  moving  off. 
"  No,"  said  Joseph  ;  and  he  walked  on, 
with  his  right  hand  thrust  deep  into  his 
coat-pocket. 

Joseph  went  in  through  the  long  hall, 
and  halted  at  the  doctor's  door.  He 
took  a  crumpled  letter  out  of  his  pocket, 
folded  it  up,  looked  at  the  directions, 
and  put  it  back.  He  took  off  his  hat, 
pulled  out  his  blue-and-white  checked 
handkerchief,  and  wiped  his  face  ;  then 
he  put  the  handkerchief  back  into  the 
hat,  put  the  hat  on,  and  stepped  up 
near  the  door.  He  touched  the  rough 
brass  latch,  and  it  rattled.  "  Come  in," 
said  the  doctor.  Joseph  started  like  a 
thief,  but  it  was  too  late  to  turn  back. 
He  opened  the  door  and  walked  in. 
"  Good-morning,  Joseph,  good-morn- 
ing," said  the  doctor.  "  How  is  your 
father  this  morning?"  —  "Oh,  he  is 
well ' "  and  there  Joseph  stopped. 
"  Have  a  chair,  Joseph  ;  "  and  the  doc- 
tor motioned  to  a  large  square  chair  by 
the  table.  "  No,  I  can't  stop,"  said 
Joseph,  but  he  seemed  loath  to  make 
known  his  business.  The  doctor  spoke 
of  the  heavy  shower  they  had  in  June ; 
and  Joseph  answered  in  an  abstracted 
way,  all  the  while  keeping  his  hand  in 
his  pocket.  At  last  he  said,  "  Doctor, 
we  got  a  letter  from  Oliver  last  night, 
and  we  have  heard  some  bad  news."  — 
"Is  Alex  hurt?"  inquired  the  doctor 
eagerly.  "  Well,  yes,  wounded  in  the 
arm  ;  but  you  know  that  battle  at  Mon- 
mouth on  the  2Sth  of  June  was  terrible. 
It  was  so  hot."  Joseph  seemed  over- 
come with  the  thoughts  of  this  battle, 
and  he  dropped  into  the  great  square 
chair.  "Where  in  the  arm  is  Alex 
wounded,  and  what  ails  you,  man?" 
said  the  doctor.  "  Well,  doctor,  to  tell 
the  truth,  I  have  got  bad  news  for  you  : 
John  Pendexter  is  killed  —  killed  out- 
right."    The  doctor  sat  down  like  one 


paralyzed.  "  Poor  Susanna !  Poor 
child  !  "  he  said.  "  I  don't  know  but 
what  this  will  finish  her.  She  has 
seemed  for  a  year  or  two  like  a  sapling 
bent  down  by  some  great  weight ;  but 
this  summer  she  has  been  springing 
back.  What  does  the  letter  say?"  — 
"  Here  it  is,  you  can  read  it ; "  and 
Joseph  took  out  once  more  the  small 
piece  of  paper  freighted  with  so  much 
sadness  for  Susanna.  He  dropped  it  as 
if  he  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  the  crum- 
pled sheet. 

The  doctor  read  how  the  army  had 
crossed  the  Delaware,  and  met  the  Brit- 
ish at  Monmouth,  N.J.  Oliver  de- 
scribed the  heat  of  the  day,  how  the 
troops  suffered,  and  many  died.  He 
wrote  that  his  tongue  was  swollen  so 
that  he  couldn't  keep  it  in  his  mouth, 
and  how  at  times  a  British  bullet  would 
have  been  welcome.  At  length  he 
wrote,  "  This  sad  news  I  have  to  write  : 
John,  Alex,  and  I  marched  together  and 
stood  together  till  John  fell.  He  never 
spoke.  Alex  and  I  took  him  up,  but 
the  work  was  done.  We  buried  him 
carefully,  and  wept  as  we  would  have 
for  each  other.  John  had  got  Susanna's 
letter  telling  of  his  mother's  death, —  it 
had  been  delayed.  It  was  hard  for  him  : 
he  often  spoke  of  the  old  home,  and 
wanted  to  keep  it  for  himself  and  Su- 
sanna," Oliver  wrote  kind  words  to  his 
poor  old  father,  and  told  him  not  to 
worry  about  Alex  :  he  sent  messages  to 
the  neighbors,  and  told  Joseph  to  give 
the  letter  to  Dr.  Carwin.  "  Joseph,  this 
is  dreadful,"  said  the  doctor.  "  How 
can  I  tell  Susanna?"  Just  as  he  was 
speaking,  Susanna  opened  the  door,  and 
said,  "  Grandfather,  I  am  going  up  in  the 
pasture  with  Bluff."  The  old  dog,  hear- 
ing his  name,  brushed  by  her,  wagging 
his  tail  with  evident  pleasure,  "  Why, 
grandfather,  what  is  the  matter  ?  —  Jo- 


The  Doctor's  GranddaugJiter. 


97 


seph,  who  is  ill  ?  "  —  "  O  Susanna,  no 
one  is  ill:  he  is  past  that!"  said  the 
doctor.  "Who  is  past  that?"  cried 
Susanna  in  a  shrill,  unnatural  voice. 
"  What  letter  have  you  ?  O  Joseph  !  who 
is  killed?  Is  John?"  Both  the  men 
were  silent.  The  doctor's  eyes  grew 
misty  behind  his  glasses,  and  Joseph 
had  his  handkerchief  bound  to  his  face, 
Susanna  took  the  letter,  and  read  it 
calmly  through  ;  slowly  the  color  left  her 
face,  and  her  eyes  seemed  to  fill  with  a 
suffering  look.  "  Grandfather,"  she 
said,  "  is  this  the  last  ?  Have  I  reached 
the  bottom  of  misery?"  With  one 
wringing  clasp  of  her  hands,  she  said, 
"  John,  I  wish  I  were  with  you  ;  "  and 
she  walked  out  of  the  room  in  a  blind 
way,  and  left  the  two  men  sitting  there, 
helpless  to  comfort  her.  Every  thing 
was  so  still  that  they  heard  her  uncer- 
tain steps  through  the  long  hall,  heard 
the  rattle  of  Bluft's  nails  as  he  followed 
her  at  a  little  distance;  and  the  hall- 
clock  ticked  slow  and  loud  as  its  long 
pendulum  swung  back  and  forth. 

The  doctor  got  up,  went  out,  and 
looked  after  the  girl  as  she  walked  on 
in  the  footpath  towards  the  pasture. 
Bluff  followed,  with  his  tail  dropped ; 
and  he  kept  behind  her  all  the  way. 
Joseph  came  out,  and  said,  "  I  must  go  : 
doctor,  as  true  as  you  live,  I  should 
have  rather  had  Alex's  arm,  than 
brought  that  letter  to  you."  —  "I  don't 
doubt  it,  Joseph,"  said  the  doctor. 
"  You  pitied  us  both ;  and  you  knew 
what  such  a  message  meant  to  Susanna. 
I  feel  as  if  my  prop  was  gone.  I  in- 
tended for  John  to  come  here  and  live  : 
I  couldn't  let  Susanna  go.  But  it  is  all 
over  now :  the  poor  child  and  I  will 
plod  on  till  we  get  through  with  affairs 
of  this  life."  —  "I  know,  doctor.  I  do 
feel  awfully  about  John  ;  "  and  Joseph 
went  out  in  a  sideling  manner  over  the 


oaken  threshold,  and  walked  down  the 
wide  path  much  as  one  goes  from 
the  house  of  the  dead. 

Susanna  walked  along  through  the 
tall,  waving  grass.  Long  shadows  were 
chasing  each  other  over  the  fields,  and 
the  pearl  and  blue  sky  was  calm  over 
her.  When  she  reached  the  tall  pines 
in  the  pasture  beyond  the  field,  she 
threw  herself  down  on  the  warm  ground, 
and  tried  to  realize  what  this  news 
meant.  "Was  John  dead?  Had  he 
gone  to  the  echoless  shore ;  and  was 
she  left  a  wreck  on  the  shores  of 
time  ?  " 

"  The  Lord  loveth  whom  he  chasten- 
eth,"  went  through  her  mind ;  but  she 
felt  rebellious,  and  thought,  "  No : 
grandfather  wouldn't  have  made  me 
suffer  like  this,  because  he  loved  me." 
Then  she  thought  of  John  and  his 
mother :  Would  they  meet  his  father  ? 
or  had  they  all  got  to  sleep  until  the 
resurrection?  Oh,  what  a  muddle  ! 
Was  there  a  heaven  ?  She  almost  shud- 
dered at  this  last  thought.  She  had 
never  been  so  wicked  in  all  her  life. 
Had  she  come  out  here  to  be  tempt- 
ed, and  was  she  going  to  lose  her 
faith?  Not  a  tear  had  come  to  her 
relief:  her  head  seemed  to  be  bursting, 
and  her  eye-balls  felt  too  large  for  their 
sockets.  She  thought  of  her  last  talk 
with  John,  of  his  last  caress  ;  and  she 
pressed  the  tiny  gold  ring  to  her  lips, 
and  remembered  that  he  said,  "  Wear  it 
till  I  come."  "  Now  I  must  wear  it  till 
I  can  go  to  him."  When  she  looked  at 
the  ring,  the  tears  burst  forth,  and  she 
buried  her  face  in  her  hands  among  the 
sweet  pine-spills.  The  birds  twittered 
above  her  head,  and  the  cattle  stood 
off  chewing  their  cuds,  and  seemed  to 
wonder  at  the  strange  figure. 

At  once  she  felt  a  cold,  damp  nose 
nuzzling    her   hair;    and,   looking   up, 


98 


The  Doctor's  Gratiddaughter. 


Bluff  stood  over  her :  his  eyes  grew 
dark,  and  he  uttered  a  low  whine,  as 
she  laid  her  tear-stained  face  on  his 
soft,  round  neck.  The  dog  sympathized 
with  his  mistress  :  he  stood  by  her,  with 
his  head  hung  down,  and  his  face  was 
sad.  The  shadows  fell  towards  the 
east,  and  the  sun  began  to  slip  behind 
the  western  hills,  when  Susanna  sat  up, 
and  pushed  back  her  hair.  She  laid 
her  hand  on  Bluffs  head,  and  felt  that 
even  the  company  of  this  mute  friend 
had  done  her  good.  She  trembled  as 
she  looked  back  over  the  last  few 
hours,  and  saw  how  near  to  the  brink 
of  unbelief  she  had  wandered.  She  felt 
that  now  she  must  take  up  the  burden 
of  life  again,  and  travel  on  alone.  She 
should  have  no  plans  now,  —  only  live 
from  day  to  day. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  hay  had  been  cut,  and  the  grain 
garnered ;  the  oaks  had  begun  to  drop 
their  acorns ;  the  squirrels,  rabbits, 
partridges,  and  wild  pigeons  were 
gleaning ;  the  air  was  balmy,  and  all 
nature  seemed  at  peace. 

Susanna  was  getting  ready  to  ride 
with  her  grandfather ;  she  heard  his 
step  in  the  hall,  and  hastened  down 
to  help  him.  "  Well,  dear,  are  you  all 
ready?"  said  the  doctor,  with  a  kindly 
smile.  "  Yes,  grandfather.  What  can 
I  do  to  help  you?"  said  Susanna.  "Let 
me  see,"  said  her  grandfather,  peering 
into  the  saddle-bags  :  "  I  have  got  my 
cupping-glass,  —  there,  just  step  into  the 
office,  and  get  that  punk  on  the  table  : 
the  old  lady  Grummet  always  wants  to 
use  punk  when  she  is  cupped ; "  and 
the  doctor  went  on  looking  over  his 
'  articles.  He  took  out  his  often-used 
lancet,  felt  of  the  edges,  and  said  to 
Susanna  when  she  returned,  "I  suppose 
Jason's  wife  will  want  to  be  bled  while 


I  am  there  ;  about  twice  a  year  I  bleed 
her.  —  Peter,"  said  the  doctor,  when 
he  and  Susanna  were  ready  to  ride  off, 
"if  any  one  calls,  tell  them  that  we 
have  gone  to  Jason  Grummet's,  and 
sha'n't  get  back  very  early."  — "  Yar, 
sar,"  said  Peter,  with  a  low  bow. 

Sorrel  seemed  to  feel  young  this  fine 
morning ;  and  he  shook  his  rusty  mane, 
and  cantered  along  with  his  double 
burden. 

"  Did  Jason  think  his  mother  very 
sick,  grandfather?  "  —  "  No  :  her  cough 
was  a  little  more  troublesome  ;  and  she 
thought  winter  was  at  hand,  and  wanted 
me  to  come  up  and  attend  to  her  be- 
fore cold  weather."  —  "  What  is  that 
in  the  road,  grandfather?"  —  "I  don't 
know.  Ah  !  it's  Jabez  West :  he  is  hav- 
ing another  crazy  spell."  Sorrel  stopped 
to  walk,  and  eyed  askance  the  rocks 
rolled  into  the  road,  and  the  strange 
antics  of  the  man  before  him.  "  Good- 
morning,  Jabez.  What's  the  matter 
here  ?  "  —  "I  want  you  to  pay  for  going 
this  way :  this  road  is  mine ;  and  you 
must  pay,  or  I  shall  murder  you,"  said 
the  madman.  Susanna  drew  back  be- 
hind her  grandfather :  a  murderous 
look  gleamed  in  the  maniac's  eye,  and 
his  hair  was  hanging  over  his  face,  crim- 
son with  madness.  The  doctor  drew  a 
small  silver  coin  from  his  waistcoat 
pocket,  and  tossed  it  to  Jabez.  "  How 
is  that,  Jabez?"  —  "All  right,  sir,  go 
on ;  "  and  he  rolled  away  the  rocks  so 
that  Sorrel  could  get  through. 

Susanna  felt  a  sense  of  relief  when 
they  had  left  the  poor  soul  behind  them  : 
he  was  busily  engaged  in  barricading 
the  road  against  the  next  traveller. 

"  Do  you  consider  him  dangerous, 
grandfather?"  asked  Susanna.  "At 
times  I  suppose  he  is ;  but  Stephen 
can't  do  much  with  him  unless  he 
chains  him,  and  he  don't  like   to   do 


TJie  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


99 


that."  —  "What  caused  him  to  have 
these  attacks?"  —  "I  think  it  was  a 
sunstroke,"  answered  the  doctor. 

As  they  rode  up  a  long  hill,  off  to  the 
left,  partly  hidden  by  large  oaks,  Su- 
sanna caught  a  glimpse  of  buildings  in 
a  tumbled-down  condition. 

"  Is  that  the  Captain  Flanders  place 
over  there  ?  "  she  asked  her  grandfather. 
The  doctor  turned  and  said,  "  Yes ; 
that's  the  old  place,  and  there  seems  to 
be  something  mysterious  about  that 
farm  :  ill  luck  goes  with  it.  My  father 
said  that  Capt.  Flanders  had  been  a 
pirate,  and  got  his  money  by  sea-rob- 
bery. Father  always  told  this  story 
about  the  captain.  He  said  that  when 
Capt.  Kidd  came  back  from  London, 
with  his  ship  the  "  Adventure  Galley," 
to  get  a  crew  in  New  York,  Capt.  Flan- 
ders was  among  the  volunteers.  You 
know  that  the  Earl  of  Bellamont  was 
sent  over  by  King  William  as  governor 
of  New  York  and  Massachusetts  in  the 
latter  part  of  1600.  He  was  anxious  to 
put  down  piracy  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 
After  a  good  deal  of  talk,  and  by  the 
aid  of  friends  in  England,  he  got  a  ship, 
and  hired  Capt.  Kidd  —  an  old  sailor 
of  the  settlement  —  to  take  command 
of  her.  Capt.  Kidd  couldn't  get  a  crew 
in  England,  the  men  were  taken  up  so 
by  the  English  navy  :  so  he  came  back 
to  New  York,  shipped  a  full  crew,  and 
left  the  Hudson  in  February,  1697. 
When  he  reached  the  Indian  Ocean,  he 
found  how  much  easier  it  was  to  capture 
the  slow-sailing,  defenceless  merchant- 
ships,  than  it  was  to  defend  them,  and 
try  to  capture  the  armed  and  desperate 
pirates  :  his  pay  would  be  small  in  com- 
parison to  the  prize  he  could  easily 
take ;  and  he  decided  to  throw  over  his 
command  as  privateer,  and  commenced 
piracy  on  his  own  hook  in  the  English 
ship.     He    made   a   savage  pirate,  we 


always  heard  ;  and  his  deeds  of  cold- 
blooded murder  were  fearful."  The 
old  man  paused,  and  Susanna  said, 
"  How  did  Capt.  Flanders  get  here, 
grandfather?" —"Well,  when  Capt. 
Kidd  knew  that  England  had  heard  of 
his  treachery,  he  concluded  to  divide 
the  riches  they  had  captured  among  the 
crew,  and  burn  the  ship  :  he  thought 
that  they  could  get  back  to  America 
with  their  spoils  on  some  pirate  ships, 
and  they  did.  He,  with  several  of  his 
crew,  got  berths  in  a  pirate  sloop,  and 
came  back  to  New  York.  Capt.  Kidd 
told  many  plausible  lies  to  the  gov- 
ernor, who  at  first  believed  him,  and 
Kidd  expected  to  live  in  luxury  on  his 
blood-money ;  but  at  last  the  governor 
got  his  eyes  open,  and  captured  Kidd, 
and  kept  him  until  he  was  ordered  to 
send  him  to  England,  where  he  was 
hanged.  Some  think  that  his  trial  was 
unfair,  as  he  was  tried  for  the  murder 
of  one  of  his  sailors.  This  sailor  was 
so  dissatisfied  with  the  way  they  were 
doing  on  the  ship,  that  he  said  to  Capt. 
Kidd, '  I  shipped  to  protect  these  ships, 
and  now  we  are  stealing  them,  and 
killing  the  crews.'  In  the  heat  of  this 
quarrel  it  is  said  Kidd  struck  the  man, 
and  killed  him.  Some  don't  believe  it ; 
but  I  guess  he  deserved  hanging  any 
way."  —  "And  Capt.  Flanders,"  said 
Susanna,  trying  to  call  her  grandfather 
back  to  his  story.  "Capt.  Flanders 
was  never  a  captain,  so  father  said,  but 
people  called  him  so.  When  he  landed 
with  Kidd,  he  didn't  stop  in  New  York, 
but  came  on  this  way,  and  bought  that 
great  farm.  He  built  a  nice  set  of 
buildings,  a  monstrous  barn,  over  a  hun- 
dred feet  long,  and  fixed  the  house  off 
in  great  style.  His  wife  was  some  out- 
landish woman  —  a  Spaniard,  I  believe. 
They  had  some  children,  and  they  died 
except  one  :  that  lived  a  few  years,  and 


100 


The  Doctor's  Granddatighter. 


was  foolish,  and  then  it  died.  His  wife 
took  to  drink  ;  and  he  carried  on  with 
such  a  high  hand,  that,  a  year  or  two 
after  she  died,  he  sold  out  to  the  Mor- 
gan boys.  These  young  men  were  two 
brothers  from  Vermont :  tliey  were 
married,  and  father  said  every  thing 
looked  bright  for  them.  In  a  few  years 
the  eldest  brother's  wife  died,  and  he 
was  left  desolate ;  shortly  after,  the 
younger  brother  broke  his  arm,  and  it 
withered.  In  the  few  years  they  lived 
there  they  lost  two  children,  and  de- 
struction seemed  to  be  in  their  midst. 
They  sold,  and  went  back  to  Vermont 
maimed  in  heart  and  body. 

"  The  next  man  came  with  a  family  of 
boys  and  girls,  some  of  them  grown  up. 
I  can  remember  them.  Everybody 
said,  'They  will  make  things  brighten 
up  on  the  Captain  Flanders  place  now ; 
but  the  curse  appeared  to  rest  on  them. 
The  boys  took  to  drink,  and  the  girls 
went  to  the  bad  :  the  old  man  was  hurt 
by  his  oxen,  and  died  in  a  few  days. 
The  mother  took  what  the  law  allowed 
her,  and  went  away,  I  don't  know 
where.  Since  that  time,  no  one  has 
lived  there,  and  the  house  is  all  going 
to  ruin.  Some  say  that  the  house  is 
haunted,  but  I  guess  not.  I  do  think 
that  there  is  something  there  that  is 
wrong :  some  demon  holds  possession, 
and  it  seems  to  crave  human  life  and 
human  happiness.  I  don't  believe  in 
ghosts,  but  your  grandmother  always 
had  forerunners  of  death :  she  could 
tell  when  she  was  going  to  lose  a 
friend." 

During  this  long  talk.  Sorrel  had  been 
jogging  slowly  along  in  the  grass-grown 
road ;  recollecting  himself,  the  doctor 
slapped  him  on  his  neck  with  the  reins, 
and  told  him  in  affectionate  way  that 
he  was  as  stupid  as  a  woodchuck  in 
the  spring. 


Soon  they  turned  into  the  long  lane 
leading  to  Jason  Grummet's  house. 
The  double  front-door  stood  open,  and 
the  dog  got  up  and  welcomed  them 
most  graciously.  Jason  came  out  of 
the  barn,  and  took  the  doctor's  horse, 
and  invited  them  into  the  house. 
"  Miss  Susanna,  I  am  very  glad  to  see 
you  ;  you  hain't  been  here  for  years," 
said  Jason.  Susanna  thanked  him,  and 
said,  "  Not  since  I  was  a  child."  The 
old  lady  met  them  in  the  door,  dressed 
in  short-gown  and  petticoat.  She  was 
very  glad  to  see  them,  and  exclaimed 
when  she  shook  hands  with  Susanna, 
"  Massy,  child  !  you  are  the  picter  of 
your  mother  ;  and  Mary  Carwin  was  the 
handsomest  bride  that  ever  went  into  the 
old  meetin'-house  1 "  Susanna  smiled 
at  the  compliment,  and  thanked  the 
old  lady.  The  odor  of  roasting  fowl 
greeted  them  as  they  went  into  the 
great  front-room,  and  the  tall  clock 
soon  told  the  hour  of  noon.  The  doc- 
tor was  astonished  to  think  that  they 
had  spent  so  much  time  on  the  road. 

Soon  Jason's  wife  came  in  flushed 
from  the  spit,  but  she  greeted  them 
cordially.  The  old  lady  said,  "We 
sha'n't  have  any  doctorin'  done  till  arter 
dinner.  I'm  so  glad'  it  was  pleasant 
to-day,  so  you  could  come.  She 
reached  down  into  her  huge  pocket, 
and  drew  out  her  round  snuff-box  :  she 
wiped  it,  gave  it  a  tap,  and  passed  it 
to  the  doctor,  saying,  "  Have  a  pinch 
of  rappee  !  "  —  "I  don't  care  if  I  do  : 
this  is  good,  Mrs.  Grummet.  —  Susanna, 
have  some."  Susanna  acquiesced,  and 
the  three  enjoyed  the  pinch  from  the 
small  black  box, 

"  Gome,  doctor,  mother,  and  Su- 
sanna," said  Jason,  standing  in  the 
kitchen-door  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  his 
face  shining,  and  his  hair  damp,  from 
his  wash  in  the  skillet  on  the   door- 


The  Doctor's  Granddaughter. 


loi 


step,  and  his  wipe  on  the  coarse  tow 
towel.  In  the  long,  dark  kitchen  stood 
a  cross-legged  table,  and  the  family  and 
guests  sat  down  to  a  large  pewter  plat- 
ter of  smoking  birds.  "  Pigeons,  Ja- 
son?" said  the  doctor.  "Yes:  I  went 
out  on  the  wheat  stubble  early  this  morn- 
ing, and  I  got  a  good  shot :  they  are 
very  plenty  this  fall,"  said  Jason. 

"You  have  roasted  the  birds  to  a 
turn,  Mollie,"  said  the  doctor  to  Jason's 
wife.  A  pleased  look  crossed  the 
woman's  face ;  and  feeling  that  she 
must  do  something  —  words  failing  her 
—  she  jumped  up  and  brushed  the 
whitening  coals  from  the  Dutch  oven, 
and  flopped  into  a  pewter  plate  in  a 
skilful  manner  a  wheaten  short-cake. 
This  dainty  was  hastily  prepared  after 
the  arrival  of  the  doctor  and  Susanna. 
The  old  lady  gave  Jason's  wife  a  grate- 
ful look  when  this  was  brought  on. 
"  Now,  doctor,"  she  said,  "  have  some 
o'  this  short-cake.  I  think  Mollie  can't 
be  beat  makin'  '  em ;  and  have  some 
o'  this  cheese.  We  made  a  few  small 
ones,  and  they  ain't  very  dry  yit ;  but 
new  cheese  goes  good  with  short-cake." 

Susanna  thought  that  there  was  never 
a  dinner  cooked  that  tasted  so  good  as 
this  :  the  long  ride  in  the  clear  air  had 
given  her  an  appetite,  and  she  was  glad 
to  see  her  grandfather  enjoy  it.  The 
old  lady  had  always  known  him  :  she 
said,  "  I  remember  when  you  fust  started 
here,  and  Debby  was  putty  proud  when 
you  begun  to  keep  company  with  her ; 
but  that  was  a  long  time  ago,  wa'n't  it, 
doctor?  "  —  "  Yes,  Mrs.  Grummet,  you 
and  I  have  reached  the  age  of  man," 
said  the  doctor.  "  I'm  living  on  God's 
time  now,"  said  the  old  woman.  "  If 
I  live  till  next  Jinerwary,  I  shall  be  sev- 
enty-nine year  old.  You  ain't  quite  so 
old,  doctor?"  —  "No,  I  shall  be  sev- 
enty-eight next  March."     Susanna  felt 


a  pang  of  sadness  when  she  looked  at 
her  grandfather.  "  How  much  longer 
should  she  have  him?"  "Not  long," 
she  feared ;  and  she  herself  was  a  girl 
no  longer,  although  people  called  her 
"a  girl,"  and  always  would  unless  she 
was  married. 

She  found  herself  dreaming,  and 
hastened  to  talk  with  Jason's  wife. 
"Are  your  children  at  school,  Mrs. 
Grummet?"  she  asked.  "Yes:  we 
have  only  a  few  weeks  of  schoolin' ;  and 
it's  way  up  in  the  north-west  part,  so 
they  take  their  dinners." 

The  dinner  had  long  been  over,  and 
the  party  had  been  talking  around  the 
table,  when  the  doctor  said,  "  Mollie, 
do  you  want  me  to  bleed  you  to-day?" 
With  a  glance  at  her  husband,  Mollie 
said,  "  I  don't  care  if  you  do,  my  head 
troubles  me  an  awful  sight ;  when  I 
stoop  over  round  the  fire,  I  am  terrible 
dizzy."  — "All  right,  I'll  bleed  you." 
Turning  to  the  old  lady,  he  said,  "  I 
suppose  you  still  have  faith  in  cup- 
ping?"—  "  Yes  indeed,  I  do,"  she  said. 

After  attending  to  his  patients,  and 
when  he  had  looked  over  Jason's  crops, 
the  doctor  went  in  to  call  Susanna. 
She  and  the  old  lady  were  sitting  in 
low  chairs  before  the  fire  :  they  had 
evidently  been  talking  very  seriously. 
The  old  lady  had  been  asking  Susanna 
about  John,  and  the  trials  she  had 
passed  through,  and  she  wanted  to 
console  her. 

Although  a  few  years  had  sent  their 
rain  and  snow  on  John  Pendexter's  un- 
marked grave  in  New  Jersey,  still  it 
seemed  to  Susanna  like  a  new  death  to 
have  the  smouldering  ashes  of  her  grief 
raked  over  by  curious  hands ;  but  she 
bore  the  torture  well,  thinking  that  the 
old  lady  meant  kindly.  Her  grand- 
father's voice  was  a  welcome  sound. 
As  they  rode  out  in  the  narrow  lane, 


102 


The  Doctor'' s  Granddaughter. 


they  heard  the  old  lady  say  in  a  thin, 
feeble  voice,  "  Come  agin."  They 
might,  but  she  would  be  missing. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  months  rolled  on  with  Susanna 
and  her  grandfather,  and  one  day  was 
much  like  another,  save  in  the  failing 
strength  of  the  three  old  people  around 
her. 

Her  grandfather  rode  off  occasionally 
among  his  patients ;  but  Sorrel  was 
clumsy,  and  often  stumbled,  and  the 
doctor  was  talking  of  buying  a  new 
horse,  and  of  giving  Sorrel  "his  time." 
Mollie  was  so  feeble  that  Susanna  had 
talked  with  her  grandfather  about  hav- 
ing one  of  the  Samson  girls  come  and 
help  Mollie,  and  learn  about  the  work. 
The  doctor  had  thought  it  best,  and 
Patty  Samson  was  in  the  family.  It 
was  like  sunshine  to  hear  the  young 
girl's  voice  singing  so  gayly,  as  she 
skipped  up  the  wide,  low  stairs.  Peter 
had  given  up  many  of  his  old  ways,  and 
was  like  Sorrel,  —  stiff  and  clumsy. 
Mollie  sat  by  the  kitchen  fire  and 
jogged  herself  in  a  pitiful  way ;  but  she 
said  "  she  didn't  think  much  o'  that 
Samson  gal,  young  'uns  was  more 
plague  than  profit  alius." 

When  the  summer  came  again,  Su- 
sanna helped  her  grandfather  in  the 
garden,  where  he  raised  many  of  his 
herbs.  In  the  sweet  summer  days  she 
walked  with  him,  and  gathered  the 
bright  saffron  blossoms.  At  this  time 
he  talked  with  her  about  her  grand- 
mother, and  her  father  and  mother. 
The  old  man  always  spoke  of  his 
wife  with  so  much  tenderness  and  love, 
and  once  only  he  told  of  her  sickness 
and  death.  Tears  filled  his  eyes,  dimmed 
with  age,  as  he  went  over  this  scene 
again.  "Your  mother  was  a  beautiful 
woman,  Susanna :  when  James  told  me 


that  he  was  going  to  be  married,  I  felt 
thankful  to  have  them  come  home. 
Mollie  was  young  when  your  grand- 
mother died,  but  she  did  very  well. 
When  Mary  came,  she  straightened  every 
thing,  and  we  were  so  happy.  In  a 
little  while  after  you  were  born,  I  found 
that  your  mother  had  got  to  leave  us, 
and  I  felt  that  my  cup  was  too  full.  She 
lingered  along  through  the  winter,  and 
died  in  May.  You  were  three  years 
old  :  when  you  were  five,  your  father 
died,  and  you  were  all  I  had.  I  never 
realized  how  thankful  I  was  for  you 
until  then.  When  you  were  eight  years 
old,  you  had  the  throat  distemper.  I  had 
almost  given  you  up.  Peter  and  Mollie 
worked  and  watched  over  you,  Susanna ; 
and,  when  your  throat  was  swollen  out 
even  with  your  face,  Peter  was  nearly 
crazy.  He  went  down  to  the  spring  by 
the  thick  hemlocks,  and  dug  through 
the  frozen  ground  till  he  found  a  frog. 
He  brought  it  up,  and  sat  it  on  your 
chest  close  to  your  mouth :  the  frog 
drew  several  long  breaths,  and  then  top- 
pled over,  dead :  we  thought  that  it 
helped  your  throat."  Susanna  felt  after 
this  talk  how  good  they  had  all  been  to 
her ;  and,  if  she  could  comfort  them  in 
their  old  age,  she  was  glad  that  she  had 
lived,  had  loved  and  lost. 

Once  in  early  autumn  the  doctor 
walked  to  the  church  with  Susanna,  and 
this  sabbath  Mr.  Bostwick  preached 
such  a  comforting  sermon  ;  often  before 
Susanna  had  thought  his  sermons  were 
cold.  He  had  made  God  seem  unap- 
proachable, not  a  God  to  love,  but  a 
God  to  fear ;  but  this  day  that  feeling 
melted  away,  and  his  words  floated  out 
from  under  the  sounding-board,  and 
settled  like  a  balm  on  his  listeners. 
Susanna  and  her  grandfather  had  many 
pleasant  talks  before  the  fire  when  the 
days  grew  colder,  and  the  doctor  had 


The  Doctor'' s  Granddaughter. 


103 


given  up  going  out :  patients  came  to 
the  house,  but  he  was  too  feeble  to 
ride. 

One  night  he  went  to  his  room  ;  and, 
when  Susanna  went  in  to  see  that  he 
was  made  comfortable  for  the  night,  he 
said,  *'  Sit  down  here  by  me,  Susanna, 
I  want  to  talk  with  you  a  Httle."  Su- 
sanna gave  him  an  anxious  look. 
"  Don't  be  worried,  child,"  he  said : 
"you  know  I  can't  live  long.  I  have 
passed  by  my  days  of  usefulness,  and 
I  have  no  desire  to  live  longer."  —  "  Oh, 
don't  say  so,  grandfather  !  You  are  all 
I  have,"  said  Susanna,  "\yell,  dear, 
when  I  am  gone,  you  will  live  here  just 
the  same,  of  course.  I  have  made  all 
legal  arrangements.  Mollie  and  Peter 
won't  last  long.  I  want  you  to  keep 
Sorrel  and  Bluff  as  long  as  they  live, 
and  give  them  a  decent  burial.  There, 
that  is  all,  now  go  to  bed.  Peter  will 
see  to  the  fire."  Susanna  bent  over 
and  kissed  his  forehead,  and  took  his 
shrunken  hand  in  hers.  "  Now  go, 
Susanna.     I  shall  soon  sleep." 

In  the  morning  Peter  knocked  at 
Susanna's  door,  and  said,  "  Somethin' 
is  the  matter  with  massa,  he  don't  answer 
me."  Susanna's  heart  seemed  to  stop 
as  she  walked  into  her  grandfather's 
room.  Just  as  she  had  left  him,  lying 
on  his  side  :  not  a  struggle  had  he  made 
when  death  came.  He  had  met  the 
stern  messenger  fearlessly,  and  had 
gone  into  a  better  life.  Susanna  felt 
that  he  was  ripe  for  the  harvest,  and 
that  he  longed  to  be  with  those  who 
had  crossed  before. 

Patty  came  into  the  sitting-room  one 
morning  with  an  armful  of  sheets,  and 
said,  "  Miss  Susanna,  where  shall  I  put 
these  fine  sheets?  in  the  press  in  the 
attic?  Mollie  always  kept  them  there." 
— "  Yes,    I  think    so,"    said  Susanna. 


"  I  will  go  up  with  you,  and  we  will 
look  them  over."  Standing  in  one  end 
of  the  attic  was  a  large  press  filled  with 
homespun  linen,  sheets,  towels,  and 
table-cloths :  they  were  yellow  with 
age,  and  Patty  said,  "  Hadn't  I  better 
bleach  these  on  the  grass  ?  "  —  "  Yes, 
I  think  so,"  said  Susanna,  and  they 
piled  them  out  to  take  dowTi.  "  What's 
in  this  great  chist  ? ' '  asked  Patty. 
"Things  of  by-gone  days,"  answered 
Susanna,  as  she  went  along  to  open  the 
heavy  oaken  lid. 

"  Here  is  my  mother's  wedding- 
dress,"  she  said,  as  she  unfolded  a  stiff 
white  brocade.  "  Grandfather  always 
said  that  he  wanted  me  to  be  married 
in  it."  With  a  sigh  she  took  out  a 
thin  white  gown,  and  a  pair  of  white 
spangled  slippers.  "  There,  Patty,  this 
was  my  only  party  dress.  I  wore  it  to 
'Squire  Ricker's  ball.  You  know  the 
old  'Squire  Ricker  house?  The  whole 
upper  story  is  a  hall.  I  wore  this  dress 
there  full  twenty  years  ago,  and  I  was 
as  happy  then  as  a  mortal  ever  was." 

Susanna  lived  on  with  Patty.  Peter 
and  Mollie  had  died  very  near  each 
other,  and  Susanna  cared  for  them  as 
tenderly  as  they  had  watched  over  her 
in  her  childhood.  Sorrel  and  Bluff 
were  sleeping  in  company  under  the 
pines  where  Bluff  had  shown  so  much 
sympathy  for  Susanna  in  her  hour  of 
trial. 

Susanna  grew  old  beautifully.  She 
mellowed,  and  ripened,  and  shed  hap- 
piness in  her  pathway.  The  young 
people  in  the  old  town  came  to  her 
for  counsel ;  and  many  a  disappointed 
maiden  and  jilted  lover  found  comfort 
in  talking  with  "  Miss  Susanna."  She 
cared  for  the  poor ;  and  Patty  expected 
always  to  cook  extra  "  for  stragglers," 
she  said.  The  sick  felt  that  her  pres- 
ence was  a  medicine  to  them,  and  the 


I04 


IV/io  was  Piiblicola  ? 


afflicted  hailed  her  with  thankfulness. 
For  years  she  had  been  tried  in  the 
furnace,  and  they  believed  that  she 
was  cleared  of  all  earthly  dross.  Su- 
sanna saw,  as  the  years  rolled  on,  the 
marks  of  age  plainly  in  her  face  and 
form  ;  and  she  called  them  mile-stones. 
And  she  counted  many  behind,  and 
believed  that   there   were  few  ahead  : 


not  that  she  wanted  her  life  closed,  she 
was  happy  now  in  a  peaceful  way ;  but 
she  had  thought  of  her  own  in  heaven 
for  so  many  years,  that  heaven  had 
grown  to  seem  like  a  home  to  her. 
She  didn't  expect  to  be  surprised  when 
she  had  crossed  the  dark  river,  but 
hoped  for  this  from  her  Master,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant.' ' 


WHO    WAS    PUBLICOLA? 


Can  any  reader  of  this  magazine  in- 
form me  who  was  the  author  of  the  book 
with  the  following  title  ? 

"  New  Vade  Mecum ;  or.  Pocket 
Companion  for  Lawyers,  Deputy  Sher- 
iffs, and  Constables ;  suggesting  many 
grievous  abuses  and  alarming  evils, 
which  attend  the  present  mode  of  ad- 
ministering the  laws  of  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  together  with  the  most  obvious 
means  of  redressing  and  removing  them. 
In  nine  numbers,  humbly  inscribed  '  To 
all  whom  it  may  concern.'  To  which 
is  subjoined  an  appendix,  containing  all 
the  laws  relating  to  fees,  and  those 
requiring  oaths  to  be  administered  to 
attorneys  and  sheriffs '  officers."  By 
Publicola. 

"  Non  mihi,  si   linguae  centum   sint,  oraque 
centum, 
Ferrea  vox,  omnes   scelerum   comprendere 
formas." 

Virgil. 

Boston  :  Published  by  Hews  &  Goss, 
and  Isaac  Hill,  Concord,  N.H.  Hews 
&  Goss,  printers,  1819. 

This  is  a  i6mo  volume  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  pages.  The  author 
opens  his  introduction  with  the  follow- 
ing statement :  — 

"  I  have  lived  something  more  than  forty 
years  in  one  of  the  towns  of  this  State,  where 
there  is  held  annually  a  term  of  the  Superior 


Court,  and  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
The  same  town  being,  moreover,  blessed  with 
four  or  five  lawyers,  and  some  half  a  score  of 
deputy  sheriffs  and  constables,  is  likewise  fav- 
ored with  a  weekly  session  of  one  or  more  of 
those  august  and  dignified  tribunals  denomi- 
nated Justices'  Courts." 

The  book  is  ably  and  keenly  written, 
and  shows  that  the  author  had  been 
classically  educated  and  was  a  practised 
writer.  There  are,  it  seems  to  me,  also 
unmistakable  indications,  all  through 
the  book,  that  its  author  had  been  edu- 
cated for  the  bar,  and  that  he  was  en- 
tirely familiar  with  the  methods  of  court 
procedure.  The  friendly  personal  ref- 
erences to  Gov.  Plumer,  who  was  in 
office  when  the  volume  was  written, 
would  clearly  imply  that  the  author  was 
of  the  same  political  party ;  at  least, 
that  he  was  anti-Federal.  A  good  deal 
of  correspondence  had  with  elderly 
members  of  the  bar  in  New  Hampshire 
has  thus  far  failed  to  discover  the  name 
of  the  writer ;  but  it  would  seem  that 
there  must  be  some  one,  at  least,  of  the 
readers  of  this  magazine  who  will  be 
able  to  recall  the  name  of  the  author 
of  one  of  the  ablest  books  ever  written 
in  the  Granite  State.  There  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  antiquarian  or 
bibliographical  interest  connected  with 
the  subject. 

A.  H.  HoYT. 


Historic  Problems. 


105 


HISTORIC    PROBLEMS. 

By  Fred  Myron  Colby. 


There  are  historic  as  well  as  mathe- 
matical problems,  but  there  is  no  gen- 
eral similarity  in  them  save  in  the 
name.  Theorems  in  mathematics  are 
susceptible  of  solution,  if  one  can  only 
get  at  the  principles  that  underlie  them  ; 
but  there  are  no  known  rules  by  which 
the  historical  student  can  certainly  and 
demonstrably  solve  the  problems  that 
are  ever  appearing  on  Clio's  scroll.  A 
theorem  of  Euclid,  however  difficult, 
consists  of  certain  logical  elements  ;  and 
a  series  of  mathematical  processes  will 
prove  the  truth  or  the  fallacy  of  an 
operation  indisputably  and  unerringly. 
None  of  the  problems  of  history  can  be 
disposed  of  so  readily.  Assumptions 
of  solutions  can  easily  be  made;,  but 
these,  in  turn,  can  be  overthrown  by  the 
more  subtle  reasoning  or  the  profounder 
erudition  of  another.  And  even  the 
assumption  of  the  last  is  not  received 
as  irrevocable.  They  are  only  specu- 
lations at  the  best,  dependent  on  the 
animus  of  the  writer,  and  can  never 
receive  the  credence  accorded  to  testi- 
mony irrespective  of  personal  consid- 
erations. 

Many  of  these  questions  are  perhaps 
silly  ones,  the  more  so  as  it  does  not 
appear  in  all  cases  what  should  be  the 
conditions  of  the  problems.  And  still 
the  amusement  experienced  in  their 
examination  is  not  surpassed  by  the 
interest  and  importance  many  times 
attached  to  them.  An  acute  observer 
has  declared  that  the  study  of  history 
makes  one  wise.  Accepting  the  truth 
of  this  apothegm,  as  applied  to  history 
in  its  political  and  philosophical  bear- 
ing, it  must  be  no  less  true  that  an*  ex- 


amination of  its  mathematical  qualities, 
as  we  are  pleased  to  term  them,  must 
render  one  subtle  and  profound.  Take, 
for  instance,  that  problem  of  Herodo- 
tus :  What  would  have  been  the  result 
if  Xerxes  had  been  victorious  at  Sala- 
mis?  In  order  to  arrive  at  any  satis- 
factory conclusion,  one  must  read 
through  long  annals,  look  at  this  and 
that  authority,  examine  the  religious 
and  civil  institutions  of  the  rival  na- 
tions ;  and  not  only  must  he  be  conver- 
sant with  all  the  details  of  contemporary 
history,  but  he  must  stand  far  enough 
off  to  judge  of  the  effects  pro  and  con 
upon  his  own  age.  In  fact,  he  must 
bring  to  the  investigation  a  mind  filled 
with  the  knowledge  of  long  years  of 
study.  No  novice,  no  empiric,  can  sit 
in  judgment  upon  the  declarations  of 
astute  and  experienced  historians. 

Sir  Edward  Creasy,  in  his  "  Fifteen 
Decisive  Battles,"  maintains  that  Mara- 
thon was  the  important  and  decisive 
event  of  the  Grseco- Persian  war,  rather 
than  Salamis.  How  this  could  well  be, 
when  the  Persians  were  urged  on  to 
still  more  desperate  undertakings  by 
Xerxes,  and  the  Greeks  had  all  their 
glories  to  win  over  again,  we  fail  to  see. 
Nor  do  we  accept  the  assertion  that 
Europe  was  saved  from  a  desolation 
greater  than  would  have  occurred  from 
a  deluge  by  the  destruction  of  the  Per- 
sian armament.  Greece  rose,  indeed, 
to  unprecedented  greatness  and  splen- 
dor after  the  billows  of  that  mighty  tor- 
rent had  ceased  to  roll ;  but  has  one 
ever  thought  what  lay  at  the  bottom  of 
that  majestic  and  brilliant  upheaval? 
The  inherent  genius  of  the  Greek  mind 


io6 


Historic  Problems, 


alone  would  never  have  forced  into  such 
sudden  action  the  arts  and  philosophy. 
Nor  was  it  through  the  artificial  and 
forced  influence  of  the  fierce  struggle 
the  Greeks  had  passed  through.  Some- 
times, but  not  in  this  case,  has  civili- 
zation been  matured  by  the  energy  of 
distress.  What  was  it,  then,  that 
brought  about  this  unexpected  and  glo- 
rious epoch  that  boasted  of  the  Parthe- 
non, of  Plato,  and  of  Sophocles?  We 
answer,  it  was  the  influence  of  the  Ori- 
ental upon  the  Greek  mind. 

The  results  were  brilliant,  but  per- 
manent :  the  process  had  been  of  slow 
growth.  From  the  time  of  Croesus, 
from  the  time  when  Solon  and  Pythag- 
oras had  studied  at  Asiatic  courts, 
this  influence  had  been  going  out  si- 
lently and  slowly.  The  injection  of 
the  vast  hosts  of  Darius  and  Xerxes 
into  Greece  forwarded  this  revolution. 
Mere  contact  alone  would  have  done 
much,  but  how  much  more  these  count- 
er-surges of  invasion.  Doubtless  many 
of  the  conquered  —  some  of  them  were 
Asiaticized  Greeks  —  remained  behind, 
and  their  influence  performed  no  un- 
important work.  Greece  threw  off  the 
Asiatic  despotism,  but  succumbed  to 
Asiatic  thought,  Asiatic  manners,  Asi- 
atic religion.  To  the  active,  subtle, 
restless  spirit  of  the  Greek  were  now 
joined  the  gravity,  the  philosophy,  of 
the  Oriental.  All  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers drank  their  wisdom  from  founts 
in  the  East.  All  the  Greek  poets 
caught  their  imagery  and  inspiration 
from  the  Orient.  Greek  commanders 
copied  the  military  system  of  Cyrus. 
Greek  architects  took  their  models  from 
the  grandeur,  the  beauty,  the  splendor, 
of  Eastern  monuments.  - 

In  all  this  no  evil  was  done  to  Greece, 
but  much  good.  But  would  there 
not  have  been  good  of  much  greater 


abundance,  had  Persian  and  not  Greek 
arms  prevailed  at  Salamis?  No,  re- 
plies the  modern  democrat.  Greek 
genius  soared  only  for  the  reason  that 
it  was  free.  But  when  was  Greece  ever 
free?  True,  foreign  domination  did 
not  always  hold  her  in  subjection  ;  but 
her  gigantic  oligarchies,  her  rude  de- 
mocracies, her  bad  institutions,  were 
worse  than  foreign  masters.  Besides, 
if  democracies  and  oligarchies  were  in- 
deed so  stimulative  of  genius,  so  patron- 
izing of  letters,  why  sought  Plato  the 
court  of  the  tyrant  Dionysius,  Pindar 
and  Euripides  the  court  of  the  Mace- 
donian Alexander,  and  Aristotle  the 
court  of  Philip?  Moreover,  did  not 
the  first  soarings  of  Greek  genius  take 
place  under  the  early  tyrants?  Oh, 
no  !  genius  is  not  dwarfed  or  fettered 
by  any  thing.  It  flourishes  at  the 
courts  of  despots,  under  the  rule  of 
oligarchies,  under  the  sway  of  democ- 
racies. Its  habitat  does  not  make  nor 
mar  it.  Genius  is  divine,  and  God  is 
everywhere. 

But  if  Persia  had  conquered  Greece, 
what  then?  What  evil  would  have 
been  done  ?  The  religion  of  Zoroaster 
was  superior  to  that  of  Homer  and 
Hesiod,  less  animated  and  picturesque 
indeed,  but  more  simple  and  exalted. 
The  Persians  had  no  gods  partaking  of 
the  worst  characteristics  of  a  mortal 
nature.  They  worshipped  their  Great 
One  not  in  statues  nor  in  temples,  but 
upon  the  sublime  altars  of  lofty  moun- 
tain-tops. In  many  respects  it  resem- 
bled the  religion  of  the  Hebrews,  and  it 
was  about  the  only  other  religion  in  the 
world  which  was  not  defiled  by  human 
sacrifices  and  brutal  worship.  Surely  it 
would  not  have  injured  Greece  to  have 
received  this  paternal,  mild  monotheism 
over  their  false  though  very  beautiful 
system  of  polytheism. 


Historic  Problems.  107 

Nor  were  the  Persians  inferior  in  men-  been  stronger ;  and  the  Roman  might 

tal  vigor  or  graceful  accomplishments  not  have  succeeded  against  the  Perso- 

to  their  Greek  neighbors.     They  culti-  Greek,     It  is  suggestive  that  it  was  not 

vated  all  the  elegant  arts.    The  remains  democratic  Athens  or  oligarchal  Sparta 

of  the  palace  of  Chil-menar  at  Persepo-  that  withstood  Rome    the  longest  and 

lis,  ascribed  by  modem  superstition  to  the  last,  but  Macedon   and    Etolia,  — 

the   architecture   of  genii,    its   mighty  Macedon  whose  king  paid  the  tribute 

masonry,  its  terrace  flights,  its  graceful  of  earth  and  water  to  Darius,  and  Etolia 

columns,  its   marble  basins,  its   sculp-  whose  wild  tribes  rushed  to  the  aid  of 

tured  designs   stamped  with   the   em-  Xerxes. 

blems  of  the  IMagian   faith,  show  the  It  has  always  been  a  mooted  question 

advance  of  the    Persian   mind   in  the  whether,  if  Alexander  the  Great  had  met 

elaborate  art  of  architecture.    The  Per-  the  Romans,  he  himself  or  the  Romans 

sian  kings  were  in  most  cases  men  of  would  have  succumbed,     Livy  the  his- 

ability,  of  broad  benevolence,  of  active  torian,  in  a  marked  passage,  undertakes 

energy.     Palestine  renewed  her  former  to  weigh  the  chances  of  success  with 

glory  under  their  sway.    Why  should  not  which  the  mighty  conqueror  of  the  East 

Greece  have  flourished  the  same,  nay,  would   have   encountered  the  growing 

ten  times  more  abundantly,  the  active  Western  Republic,  had  he  lived  to  lead 

Greek   blood    stimulated    by   Oriental  his  veterans  across  the  sea  into  Italy, 

magnificence,  had   she   succumbed   to  He  decides  in  favor  of  Rome  ;  but  Livy 

Xerxes  ?     Nor  would  it  have  been  the  was   a  Roman,  and  could  well  do  no 

first  or  the  last  time  that  Asia  has  con-  otherwise.     Besides,  he  was   not  in   a 

quered  Europe.     Every  thing  good,  ex-  position  to  fairly  examine  the  question 

alted,  and  venerable  has  come  from  the  upon  its  merits.     Livy  lived  in  the  time 

East.    It  was  the  cradle  of  art,  of  poesy,  of  Augustus  ;  and  it  was  not  easy  to  con- 

of  every  civilizing  agent.     All  the  pro-  template,  when  Rome  was  the  world, 

gressive  religions  of  the  world  rose  in  that   Rome    could    ever    have    fallen, 

the  Orient.     It  would  not  have  been  so  Hannibal,  Antiochus,  Mithridates,  had 

fearful,  after  all,  if  Greece  had  been  con-  been  conquered  :  surely,  Livy  argued, 

quered.     A   hundred  years    more    of  Alexander  would  have  been  conquered 

glory  might  have  been  hers;  and  her  too.     A  modern   scholar  will   hesitate 

wise  men,  her  artists,  her  poets,  and  before  he  accepts  this  decision, 

her  statesmen,  instead  of  having  their  Alexander    concluded    his    Oriental 

genius  cramped  by  the  petty  jealousies,  conquests,  and  died  at  Babylon,  in  the 

the  limited  ambitions,  of  their  native  year  324  B.C.     AX  this  time  Rome  was 

states,  might  have  developed  their  full  engaged   in   a   life-and-death    struggle 

powers   under  the   fostering  care  and  with  the  Samnite  league.     Hardly  did 

the  brilliant  courts  of  the  great  kings,  she  succeed  against  the  skill  of  C.  Pon- 

In  fact,  Greece   conquered  by  Persia,  tius,  the  Samnite  leader ;  and  when  the 

Oriental  blood  infused  into  her  veins  as  war  closed,  the  victorious  republic  was 

well  as  Oriental  thought  into  her  brain,  reduced  to  the  last  stage  of  exhaustion, 

she  would  have  been  stronger  than  she  Had  the  Macedonian  led  his  thirty  thou- 

could  ever  have  been  else.     The  Greek  sand  Greeks,  flushed  with  the  conquest 

mind   would   not   only   have   risen    to  of  the  Eastern  world,  into   Italy,  and 

greater  affluence,  but   politically   have  joined  the  Samnites ;  or  had  he  alone 


io8 


Historic  Problems. 


marched  up  with  the  cities  of  Magna- 
Groecia,  and  presented  a  second  foe 
to  Rome,  —  what  would  have  availed 
the  valor  of  all  her  great  captains,  of 
a  Fabius  or  of  a  Papirus,  to  save  the 
republic?  Rome  fell  once  under  C. 
Pontius  unassisted,  and  only  the  most 
desperate  measures  saved  her  in  the 
end.  Assailed  by  a  second  and  far 
more  formidable  enemy,  what  could  she 
have  done?  Even  fifty  years  after- 
wards, Pyrrhus  beat  her  armies  in 
three  great  battles  when  she  had  the 
Samnites  under  her  feet ;  and  had  that 
hero  possessed  half  the  vast  resources 
of  Alexander,  together  with  his  persist- 
ence, he  might  easily  have  conquered 
Italy.  Think  you  not,  then,  that  a  great- 
er than  Pyrrhus  might  have  been  the 
conqueror  at  this  earlier  date  ? 

But,  objects  the  disciple  of  Livy, 
mighty  as  Alexander's  name  is  among 
military  captains,  there  is  little  evidence 
of  his  capacity  in  conflict  with  equal 
enemies.  Was  not  Memnon,  who  com- 
manded the  Persians  at  the  Granicus, 
an  equal  enemy,  and  had  twenty  thou- 
sand trained  Greeks,  besides  fifty  thou- 
sand Persians?  And  was  not  Porus 
an  equal  enemy,  who  was  the  monarch 
of  a  highly  civilized  Indo-European 
race,  and  who  could  bring  into  the  field 
a  hundred  thousand  trained  infantry, 
besides  chariots  and  elephants?  Yet 
the  genius  of  the  Macedonian  over- 
came them  both.  It  is  well  to  remem- 
ber, too,  that  the  Macedonian  phalanx 
was  the  most  perfect  instrument  of  war- 
fare the  world  had  yet  seen.  The 
Roman  legion  was  nothing  like  it  until 
Scipio  improved  it  a  hundred  years 
later.  None  of  the  Greek  soldiers 
showed  fear  before  the  elephants  of 
Darius  and  Porus.  How  did  the  Ro- 
mans withstand  them  in  the  ranks  of 
Pyrrhus?      In     Alexander's     day    the 


Romans  were  probably  not  so  civilized, 
though  they  might  have  been  as  far 
advanced  in  military  art,  as  were  the 
Persians  and  the  Indians.  It  was  only 
through  contact  with  the  magnificence 
of  the  Greek  cities  of  Southern  Italy, 
and  by  the  long  campaigns  with  the 
Samnites,  their  equals,  that  Rome  in 
the  time  of  Pyrrhus  was  the  powerful 
state  she  was. 

Hannibal  was  a  greater  general  than 
either  Pyrrhus  or  Alexander,  and  would 
not  his  ultimate  failure  teach  us  to 
doubt  the  Macedonian's  success  ?  We 
answer.  No.  There  were  excellent  and 
logical  reasons  why  the  great  Cartha- 
ginian hero  met  with  defeat.  In  the 
first  place,  he  was  not  supported  by 
the  Carthaginian  government.  Hanno, 
the  great  enemy  of  the  Barcine  family, 
was  all-powerful  in  the  home  senate, 
and  Hannibal  was  forced  to  rely  on  the 
aid  of  the  Italian  tribes.  In  this  also 
he  was  disappointed.  Despite  his  dip- 
lomatic skill,  despite  his  series  of  bril- 
liant victories,  the  aid  of  the  Italians 
was  lukewarm  and  limited.  Their  sub- 
jugation and  humiliation  had  been  so 
complete  that  even  the  sentiment  of 
revenge  was  obliterated  ;  consequently, 
Hannibal's  accession  of  native  soldiers 
was  wholly  inadequate  to  enable  him 
to  press  on  as  he  had  begun.  He  then 
summoned  his  brother  from  Spain,  but 
that  brother's  head  alone  reached  him  : 
his  body  and  the  bones  of  his  soldiers 
lay  rotting  on  the  banks  of  the  Metau- 
rus.  The  home  government  inactive, 
his  Italian  allies  lukewarm,  his  brother 
defeated,  there  was  nothing  for  the 
Carthaginian  to  fall  back  upon  but  his 
own  genius ;  and  that,  unparalleled  as 
it  was,  could  not  long  avail  him  against 
the  resources,  the  valor,  the  persistence, 
of  Rome. 

In  Alexander's  case  it  would   have 


Historic  Problems.  109 

been  different.     His  authority  was  ab-  in   the   long   and   tedious   siege   of    a 

solute    in   Greece,    and    his    resources  powerful  walled  city.     Secondly,  Han- 

without  end.     Even  had  he  been  beaten  nibal  had  no  engineers  or  apparatus  for 

in  one  or  two  battles,  he  could  easily  a  siege,  and  no  means  to  organize  a 

have  summoned  new  contingents  from  force  of  this  nature.     Thirdly,  the  idea 

Greece,  from  Macedon,  from  his  Asiat-  of  twenty  thousand  regular  troops,  aided 

ic  territories.     He  could  have  piled  in  perhaps  by  as    many  irregular   Italian 

not   merely   thirty   thousand    Macedo-  allies,   even  if  they  had  possessed  all 

nians,  but  double  that  force,  with  myr-  the  necessary  siege  equipments,  laying 

iads  of  Syrians,  Persians,  and  Greeks,  leaguer  to  a  city  whose  men  vfere  all 

with  chariots,  elephants,  and  horsemen,  warriors,  and  which  could  summon  from 

He  could  have  exhausted  the  Roman  her  Italian  tributaries  two  hundred  and 

armies  in  a  twelve-month.      Hannibal  fifty  thousand  conscripts,  is  in  itself  pre- 

was  always  m  need  of  a  good  engineer  posterous.     Hannibal  would  have  been 

corps  and  siege  apparatus.     Alexander  crushed  in  a  moment, 

possessed  an  excellent  supply  of  these  Hannibal  excelled  in  the  qualities  of 

accessories.     He   would   have   pressed  a  deplomat  as  well  as  those  of  a  miU- 

right  on  to  the  siege  of  Rome,  and  the  tary    chieftain.      His    emissaries    were 

Roman   capital   would   have    fallen   as  already    at    work    among    the    Italian 

Tyre   fell.      And    the    republic   would  cities.     His  great  project  was  to  raise 

have  expired  when  the  capital  fell.  Italy   in    insurrection    against    Rome. 

Another  question  that  has  been  the  The  Roman  conquests  of  that  country 

occasion  of  much  dispute  is  the  more  had  been  so  thorough,  her  system  of 

familiar  one  of  Hannibal's   chance  of  colonization   so   perfect,   that   Italy  in 

conquering  Rome  if  he  had  not  stopped  one  sense  was  Rome,  and  Rome  Italy, 

at  Capua.     It  has  always  been  fashion-  Therefore,  he  could  not  hope  to  pre- 

ble  to  suppose  that  Hannibal  was  guilty  vail  against  Rome  while  all  the  Italian 

of  a  great  military  error  in  going"  into  cities  were  free  and  ready  to  aid  her. 

winter  quarters,  and  submitting  his  men  He  wished  to  detach  them  from  their 

to  the  luxuries  and  Circean  blandish-  allegiance  to  the   republic,  incorporate 

ments  of  the  splendid  Campanian  cap-  their  soldiers  into  his  army,  and  then 

ital.     He  should  have  marched  on  while  he  could  march  on  to  the  capital  with 

Rome  was  paralyzed  by  the  defeat  of  no  enemy  behind  him.     Meanwhile,  he 

Cannse,  and  attacked  the  capital  itself,  needed  some  city  for  headquarters  ;  and 

But  had  Hannibal  done  this  latter  thing,  Capua  the  opulent,  Capua  whose  walls 

instead   of  fifteen   years   of  victorious  were   seven    miles    in    circumference, 

occupancy  of  Italy,  he  would  have  met  Capua   the    second    city    of    Italy   in 

with  instantaneous  and  irrevocable  de-  strength  and  the  first  in  wealth,  offered 

feat.     In  the  first  place,  Hannibal's  men  suitable  accommodations, 

were  mercenaries,  Numidians  and  Span-  That  Hannibal's  plans  did  not  suc- 

iards,  fierce  desert  men  and  wilder  clans-  ceed  was  through  no  fault  of  his.     Only 

men  from  the  hills  of  interior  Spain,  paltry   aid  was   granted    him  by  Car- 

that  he   and   his   father   had    trained,  thage.     The  Italian  tribes,  long  held  in 

They  were  fitted  only  for  fighting  in  subservience  to  the  military  despotism 

the  field,  and  had  not  the  determina-  of  Rome,  were  slow  to  rally  under  the 

tion  and  the  pertinacity  to  participate  Carthaginian  banners.     Lastly,  the  de- 


no 


Historic  Problems. 


feat  of  his  brother,  who  was  advancing 
from  Spain  to  aid  him,  completely  de- 
stroyed all  chances  of  his  success.  "  I 
see  the  doom  of  Carthage,"  groaned  the 
chieftain,  when  the  head  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Hasdrubal  was  thrown  into  his 
camp  in  Apulia.  But  he  did  not  yet 
give  up  the  field.  Once,  in  fact,  he 
appeared  before  Rome,  but  it  was  an 
act  of  mere  bravado  on  his  part.  His 
army  was  small,  and  he  was  unprovided 
with  material  for  a  siege.  Rome 
was  strongly  fortified,  and  would  have 
laughed  all  his  toils  to  scorn.  He 
flitted  from  place  to  place,  the  Ro- 
mans never  daring  to  meet  him  in  the 
field ;  and  after  a  few  years  the  needs 
of  his  own  country,  that  was  lying  at  the 
mercy  of  Scipio,  called  him  home.  As 
explanatory  of  his  defeat  at  Zama,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  he  had  only 
raw  and  inexperienced  troops  —  many 
of  them  the  merchants  and  the  young 
patricians  of  Carthage,  unaccustomed  to 
toil  —  to  pit  against  the  experienced 
legions  of  Scipio.  The  fact  that  he 
made  as  good  defence  as  he  did  alone 
justifies  the  homage  which  is  still  paid 
to  the  genius  of  Hannibal. 

Did  Ccesar  pause  on  the  Rubicon? 
No,  we  answer,  despite  the  assertions  of 
many  to  the  contrary.  Why  should 
he  have  paused?  What  reason  was 
there  for  his  doing  so?  We  know 
none.  Yet  Plutarch  says  that  he 
paused,  enumerating  the  calamities 
which  the  passage  of  that  river  would 
bring  upon  the  world,  and  the  reflec- 
tions that  might  be  made  upon  it  by 
posterity.  At  last  exclaiming,  "The 
die  is  cast ! "  he  drove  his  horse  into 
the  stream,  and  Rome  was  free  no 
more.  The  tale  reads  like  a  passage 
from  a  romance,  and  is  evidently  a 
fiction.  Although  rhetorical  writers  of 
later  times  have  delighted  to  refer  to 


this  dramatic  scene  somewhat  in  the 
style  of  J.  Sheridan  Knowles,  there  are 
both  critical  and  internal  evidence  that 
it  is  a  fraudulent  piece  of  history, 
either  written  for  dramatic  effect,  or  in- 
tended as  a  libel  on  Caesar. 

Let  us  glance  at  the  authorities.  Sev- 
eral writers  give  us  the  history  of  that 
interesting  and  important  epoch.  First 
of  all  is  the  unrivalled  narrative  of  the 
great  commander  himself,  who  wrote 
as  ably  as  he  fought  battles  or  prac- 
tised state  -  craft.  Yet  Caesar,  in  his 
Commentaries,  makes  no  mention  of 
this  incident.  His  simple  narrative 
reads,  that  at  nightfall  he  left  Ravenna 
secretly,  crossed  the  Rubicon  in  the 
night,  and  at  daybreak  entered  Ari- 
minum.  Of  Livy's  history  of  this  age, 
we  have  only  the  Epitomes ;  but  these 
Epitomes  form  a  complete,  though  of 
course  far  from  a  detailed,  narrative. 
Yet  in  them  is  no  allusion  to  Caesar's 
halting  at  the  Rubicon.  If  such  an 
event  had  happened,  Livy  must  have 
known  of  it,  for  he  lived  in  the  succeed- 
ing generation  ;  and,  if  he  had  heard  of 
it,  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not 
have  recorded  it.  Nor  do  Dion  Cassius 
or  Velleius,  in  their  histories,  —  the  for- 
mer living  in  the  time  of  Alexander 
Severus,  the  latter  in  that  of  Tiberius, — 
seem  to  know  any  thing  about  such  an 
incident. 

Suetonius,  in  his  "  Lives  of  the 
Caesars,"  was  the  first  to  mention  it. 
Who  was  Suetonius  ?  He  was  a  Roman 
biographer  who  lived  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Hadrian,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years  after  our  era,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  First  Twelve 
Caesars,"  in  eight  books.  They  have 
little  critical  value,  and  abound  in  de- 
tails and  anecdotes  of  a  questionable 
character.  The  next  author  who  speaks 
of  the   incident  is  Plutarch,  whom  we 


Historic  Problems. 


Ill 


have  already  quoted.  Plutarch  was  a 
Greek  writer  contemporary  with  Sue- 
tonius, whose  parallel  "  Lives  of  Greek 
and  Roman  Commanders  "  are  among 
the  most  useful  and  popular  of  ancient 
compositions.  But  Plutarch  has  very 
little  historical  value,  and  he  is  regarded 
as  authority  only  when  his  statements 
coincide  with  those  of  other  writers. 
In  fact,  he  himself  tells  us  that  he  does 
not  write  history :  he  writes  the  lives  of 
great  men,  with  a  moral  purpose.  His 
life  of  Julius  Caesar  is  the  most  imper- 
fect in  the  whole  series.  It  is  a  con- 
fused jumble  of  facts  snatched  from 
different  sources,  without  order,  consis- 
tency, regularity,  or  accuracy.  The 
writer  seemed  to  labor  like  a  man 
under  restraint.  He  skimmed  over  all 
of  Caesar's  great  actions,  and  manifestly 
showed  a  satisfaction  when  he  could 
draw  the  attention  of  the  reader  to 
other  characters  and  circumstances, 
however  insignificant.  Where  he  de- 
rived his  information  concerning  the 
dramatic  incident  of  the  great  captain's 
anxious  pause  on  the  banks  of  the 
Italian  river,  we  do  not  know ;  but  this 
we  know,  that  no  reliable  historian, 
contemporary  or  otherwise,  has  made 
mention  of  it. 

The  internal  evidences  are  still 
stronger  that  Caesar  never  acted  the 
part  ascribed  to  him  on  the  Rubicon. 
Caesar  was  not  the  man  to  hesitate 
after  he  had  once  determined  on  a 
thing.  If  he  ever  possessed  doubts 
at  all,  they  were  all  settled  before  he 
summoned  his  legions  to  march  out 
of  Cisalpine  Gaul.  The  idea  of  his 
stopping  in  full  march,  and  anxiously 
weighing  the  probable  consequences 
of  one  irremediable  step,  is  not  consis- 
tent with  Caesar's  character.  He  had 
calculated  his  chances,  examined  the 
whole  field  from  every  point  of  view, 


before  he  left  Ravenna.  He  never 
undertook  an  enterprise  until  he  had 
carefully  examined  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess ;  and,  when  once  he  had  deter- 
mined upon  his  course,  his  audacity 
and  his  despatch  confounded  his  ene- 
mies, and  his  genius  overthrew  them. 

Why  should  Caesar  have  paused  on 
the  Rubicon  ?  You  answer  that  he  was 
a  rebel  marching  to  enslave  his  countrj-. 
But  Rome  was  already  enslaved.  The 
Rome  of  the  Fabii  and  the  Comelii 
was  no  more.  Her  republican  institu^ 
tions  had  been  overthrown  by  Marius, 
by  Sulla,  by  Pompey.  Ten  years  pre- 
vious her  territories  had  been  parcelled 
among  the  triumvirs.  Caesar  was  no 
upstart  rebel.  The  strife  was  not  be- 
tween principles  or  parties,  but  it  was  a 
strife  for  power  between  two  individuals. 
That  Pompey  was  the  representative  of 
the  senatorial  party,  made  it  no  better 
for  him,  but  worse  ;  for  it  had  been  the 
subserviency  of  the  senate  that  at  first 
paved  the  way  for  the  dictators  and  the 
triumvirs.  That  Caesar  was  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  people,  did  indeed 
better  his  circumstances ;  for  Rome  was 
free,  you  say.  Pompey  and  the  senate 
fled:  the  people  welcomed  him.  Caesar 
was  no  rebel  then  ;  or,  if  a  rebel,  Pompey 
was  a  tyrant.  If  Pompey  was  a  tyrant, 
then  Caesar,  instead  of  being  a  base,  dis- 
honorable wretch  plotting  to  overthrow 
his  country,  was  rather  an  ardent  patriot 
seeking  to  deliver  her.  Surely  there 
was  no  more  need  of  Cassar  pausing 
on  the  Rubicon  than  there  was  of 
Washington  pausing  on  the  bank  of  the 
Delaware,  when  he  was  about  to  attack 
the  Hessians ;  and  as  the  latter  did  not 
hesitate,  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
the  other  did. 

It  has  been  strongly  doubted  whether 
Jeanne  d'Arc  ever  suffered  the  punish- 
ment   that    has    made    her    a    martyr, 


112 


Historic  Problems. 


though  details  of  her  execution  and  last 
moments  crowd  the  civic  records  of 
Rouen.  Several  books  have  been  pub- 
lished discussing  the  question.  A  Bel- 
gium lawyer  is  the  author  of  one 
of  these.  He  contends  that  the  his- 
torians —  who  have  done  nothing  but 
copy  each  other  in  the  narratives  of  her 
death  —  err  exceedingly  in  saying  that 
it  took  place  on  the  last  day  of  May, 
1429,  the  fact  being  that  she  was  alive. 

There  are  good  grounds,  it  is  also 
asserted,  for  believing  that  the  pretty 
tale  of  Abelard  and  Heloise  is  a  pure 
fiction. 

Nobody  has  yet  unriddled  the  mys- 
tery of  the  man  in  the  iron  mask,  and 
nobody  seems  likely  to  do  so.  Of  the 
various  theories  advanced  by  different 
writers,  some  are  more  probable  than 
others.  It  is  not  likely  that  he  was  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth,  or  a  bastard  son 
of  Anne  of  Austria,  or  a  twin  brother 
of  Louis  XIV.  He  was  probably  a 
political  offender,  or  else  a  rival  of  the 
king  in  one  of  his  numerous  amours. 
Still,  his  identity  remains  unsettled,  a 
problem  as  uncertain  as  that  regarding 
the  identity  of  the  writer  of  the  famous 
"  Junius  "  letters.  These  are  two  in- 
soluble enigmas,  impenetrable  mysteries, 
that  baffle  solutions,  and  about  which 
perhaps  the  public  has  become  tired  of 
surmises. 

An  extremely  witty  and  characteristic 
anecdote  of  the  late  Lord  Beaconsfield 


will  bear  repetition  in  this  connection. 
An  adherent  from  a  distant  county 
brought  his  two  sons  to  the  then  Mr. 
Disraeli,  and  asked  him  to  give  them  a 
word  of  advice  on  their  introduction 
into  hfe.  "  Never  try  to  ascertain," 
said  the  illustrious  statesman  to  the 
eldest  boy,  "  who  was  the  man  who 
wore  the  iron  mask,  or  you  will  be 
thought  a  terrible  bore.  —  Nor  do  you," 
turning  to  the  second,  "  ask  who  was 
the  author  of  'Junius,'  or  you  will 
be  thought  a  bigger  bore  than  your 
brother." 

VValpole  wrote  an  ingenious  work  to 
show  —  taking  for  his  base  the  con- 
flicting statements  in  history  and  biog- 
raphy —  that  no  such  person  as 
Richard  the  Third  of  England  ever 
existed,  or  that,  if  he  did,  he  could  not 
have  been  a  tyrant  or  a  hunchback. 
"  Historic  Doubts  Relative  to  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  "  was  published  in  London 
in  1820,  and  created  widespread  amuse- 
ment because  of  its  many  clear  strokes 
of  humor  and  satirical  pungency.  Na- 
poleon, who  was  at  the  time  a  captive 
at  St.  Helena,  admired  the  composition 
greatly.  Archbishop  Whately  and  Syd- 
ney were  each  reported  to  be  the 
authors.  Since  the  publication  of  that 
sketch,  numerous  imitations  have  been 
issued ;  but  none  have  shown  much 
originality  or  literary  skill,  and  have 
therefore  vanished  into  the  darkness  of 
merited  oblivion. 


Arria  Marcella.  113 


ARRIA   MARCELLA:    A   SOUVENIR    OF    POMPEIL 

By  Frank  West  Rollins. 

Three  young  men,  who  were  travel-  too  much  absorbed  to  hear  their  ap- 

Hng  together  in  Italy,  found  themselves  proach. 

one  day  in  the  museum  at  Naples,  where  "  Come,  Octavio,"  said  Max,  "  don't 

the  results  of  the  excavations  in  Hercu-  spend   the   day  at  each  alcove,  or  we 

laneum  and  Pompeii  are  exhibited.  shall   miss    the    train,  and   not  get  to 

They  strolled  through  the  halls  ;  and  Pompeii  till  night." 

when    one    of    them    discovered    any  "What  are  you  looking  at  ? "  added 

thing  curious  he  called  his  companions  Fabio.     "  Ah  !    the   cast  found  in  the 

in  a  loud  tone,  to  the  great  scandal  of  house  of  Arrius  Diomedes."     And   he 

the  taciturn  English  people  who  were  gave   a  rapid   and   curious   glance    at 

present.  Octavio. 

But  the  youngest  of  these  three  stood  The  latter  blushed,  and  taking  Max's 

absorbed  before  one  of  the  alcoves,  and  arm  they  finished  the  museum  without 

paid   no   attention  to  the  cries  of  his  further  incident.     On   getting  outside, 

friends.     The  object  that  he  was  look-  they  at  once  called  a  carriage,  and  pro- 

ing  at  so  intently  was  a  mass  of  hard-  ceeded   to   the   railway   station.     The 

ened  ashes  which  contained  the  imprint  corricolo,  with  its  huge  red  wheels,  is 

of  a  human  form.     It  had  the  appear-  too  well  known  to  need  a  description 

ance   of  a   piece   of  the  mould  for  a  here ;  and,  besides,  we  are  not  writing 
statue,  broken   by  a  fall :    the   eye  of    a  story  of  Naples,  but  a  simple,  though 

an  artist  would  readily  detect  the  form  strange,   adventure,   which    may   seem 

of  the  side  and  breast  of  a  beautiful  incredible,  yet  still  is  true, 

figure,   as   pure   in   style   as   a    Greek  The  road  to  Pompeii  follows  the  sea 

statue.     The  traveller's  guide  will   tell  almost  all  the  way,  and  the  long  white 

you  that  this  lava  formed  around   the  waves    come  rolling  in  upon  the  dark 

body  of  a  woman,  and   preserved   its  sand   with   a   pleasant   murmur.     This 

beautiful  contour.     Thanks  to  a  caprice  beach  is  formed  of  powdered  lava  and 

of  the   eruption  which  destroyed  four  cinders,  and  makes  a  fine  contrast  to 

cities,  this  noble  form,  turned  into  dust  the  deep  blue  of  the  heavens  and  the 

centuries  ago,  has  been  preserved  for  white  foam  of  the  breakers, 

us  :    the  soft  roundness  of  a  neck  has  On  the  way  you  pass  through  Portici, 

survived  the  centuries  in  which  so  many  —  made  famous  by  M.  Auber's  opera, 

empires   have  disappeared,  leaving  no  "Torre  del  Greco,  and  Torre  del  An- 

trace.  nunziata,"  —  with  its  galleried   houses 

Seeing  that  he  obstinately  refused  to  and  terraced  roofs.     The  sand  here  is 

be  turned  from  his  contemplation.  Max  black,  and  an  almost  impalpable  soot 

and  Fabio  returned  to  him,  and  touched  covers  every  thing.    One  feels  the  near- 

him   on  the  shoulder,  upon  which   he  ness  of  the  fiery  Vesuvius, 

trembled  like  a  man  surprised  in  some  The  three  friends  got  out  at  the  sta- 

guilty  action.     Evidently  he  had  been  tion  at  Pompeii,  laughing  at  the  strange 


114 


Arria  Marcella. 


mixture  of  the  past  and  present  sug- 
gested by  the  cry  of  the  guard,  "Sta- 
tion de  Pompeii."  They  took  a  guide 
for  the  hotel,  situated  outside  of  the 
ramparts  of  the  old  city,  and  started 
off  through  a  field  of  cotton-wood  trees. 
It  was  one  of  those  beautiful  days  so 
common  in  Italy,  when  the  light  of  the 
sun  is  so  transparent  that  objects  have 
a  rich  color  unknown  in  the  North,  and 
appear  to  belong  rather  to  the  land  of 
dreams  than  to  that  of  reality.  Who- 
ever has  once  seen  this  golden  and 
azure  light  will  remember  it  all  his  life. 
The  excavated  town,  having  raised  a 
corner  of  its  shroud  of  cinders,  gleams 
with  its  thousand  details  under  the 
burning  sun.  Vesuvius  stands  at  the 
back,  with  its  furrowed  sides  of  many- 
colored  lava  —  blue,  red,  violet  — 
changing  with  the  sun.  A  faint  cloud, 
almost  imperceptible  in  the  light,  en- 
circles the  summit.  At  first  glance,  you 
would  take  it  for  one  of  those  mists, 
which,  even  in  the  clearest  days,  en- 
velop the  summits  of  high  peaks ;  but, 
on  looking  at  it  more  sharply,  you  would 
see  that  little  streams  of  vapor  are  com- 
ing out  of  the  mouth.  The  volcano,  in 
good-humor  to-day,  smoked  quietly ; 
and,  if  it  were  not  for  Pompeii  at  your 
feet,  you  would  not  believe  it  more 
fierce  than  Montmartre.  On  the  other 
side,  beautiful  undulating  hills  marked 
the  horizon;  and  farther  still,  lay  the 
sea,  which  formerly  bore  ships  with 
their  two  or  three  banks  of  oars  under 
the  very  ramparts. 

The  appearance  of  Pompeii  is  very 
surprising  :  this  sudden  leap  over  nine- 
teen centuries  startles  even  the  most 
prosaic  natures.  Within  a  few  feet  of 
each  other,  ancient  and  modern  life 
are  mingled,  Christianity  and  Pagan- 
ism. When  the  three  friends  saw  the 
street  in  which  the  remains  of  a  van- 


ished existence  are  preserved  intact, 
they  experienced  a  profound  sensation 
of  awe.  Octavio,  especially,  seemed 
struck  by  a  kind  of  stupor,  and  followed 
the  guide  mechanically,  without  listen- 
ing to  the  monotonous  description  which 
his  ready  tongue  was  giving. 

He  looked  with  a  bewildered  stare 
at  the  ruts  in  the  streets,  fresh  as  though 
they  were  made  but  yesterday ;  the 
inscriptions  written  in  a  running  hand 
upon  the  walls ;  notices  of  spectacles, 
and  announcements  of  all  sorts,  as 
curious  to  them  as  ours  would  be  two 
thousand  years  from  now ;  these  houses 
with  their  crushed  roofs,  allowing  one 
to  see  all  the  mysteries  of  their  interi- 
ors, all  the  domestic  details  which  his- 
torians neglect ;  these  fountains  ;  this 
forum,  surprised  in  the  midst  of  doing 
an  act  of  reparation  by  the  catastrophe, 
and  whose  sculptured  columns  are  as 
perfect  to-day  as  when  they  were 
erected  ;  these  temples  devoted  to 
some  god  of  the  age  of  mythology ; 
these  shops  where  only  the  shop-keeper 
is  wanting;  these  cabarets  where  one 
can  still  see  the  round  glass  left  by  the 
last  customer ;  these  barracks  with  their 
red  and  yellow  columns,  which  the  sol- 
diers have  covered  with  caricatures  of 
struggles ;  and  the  double  theatres  of 
the  drama  and  of  song,  opposite  each 
other,  which  might  go  on  with  their 
performances  if  the  troupe  which  oc- 
cupied them  were  alive. 

Fabio  stood  upon  the  entrance  of 
the  theatre,  while  Octavio  and  Max 
climbed  to  the  highest  seat  by  the  stairs, 
and  the  latter  delivered  in  a  loud  voice, 
and  with  appropriate  gestures,  all  the 
bits  of  poetry  that  he  could  think  of, 
to  the  great  fright  of  the  lizards,  who 
ran  off,  twisting  their  tails,  into  the 
crevices  in  the  walls ;  and,  although  the 
plates  of  brass  for  reflecting  the  sound 


Arria  Marcclla. 


115 


no  longer  existed,  his  voice  was  none 
the  less  full  and  resonant. 

The  guide  conducted  them  across 
the  agricultural  land  to  the  amphithea- 
tre, situated  at  the  extremity  of  the 
town.  They  walked  under  trees  whose 
branches  hung  over  into  the  now  roof- 
less houses.  Among  these  marvels  of 
art  grew  vulgar  vegetables,  a  reminder 
of  the  forgetfulness  with  which  time 
covers  the  most  beautiful  things. 

The  amphitheatre  did  not  surprise 
them.  They  had  seen  the  one  at  Ve- 
rona, more  vast  and  better  preserved ; 
and  they  knew  the  arrangement  of 
these  ancient  arenas  as  well  as  they 
knew  their  native  land.  They  then  re- 
turned by  way  of  the  rue  de  la  Fortune, 
listening  absently  to  the  guide,  who 
gave  the  name  of  each  house  as  they 
passed  it.  Each  one  was  named  for 
some  peculiarity :  the  house  of  the 
Bronze  Bull,  the  house  of  the  Faun, 
the  house  of  Fortune,  the  Academy  of 
Music,  the  Pharmacy,  the  Surgeon's 
Office,  the  house  of  the  Vestal  Virgins, 
the  inn  of  Albinus,  and  so  on  to  the 
door  which  leads  to  the  tombs. 

This  brick  door,  covered  with  bas- 
reliefs  now  effaced,  has  on  its  inner  side 
two  deep  grooves  through  which  the 
portcullis  was  raised. 

"Who  would  have  expected,"  said 
Max  to  his  friends,  "  to  see  at  Pompeii 
a  door  fit  for  the  romantic  age  of 
chivalry?  Imagine  a  Roman  cavalier 
sounding  his  horn  before  this  door  for 
them  to  raise  the  portcullis,  like  a  knight 
of  the  fourteenth  century  !  " 

"There  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun,"  continued  Octavio,  smihng  with 
melancholy  irony. 

"  My  dear  Octavio,"  said  Max,  stop- 
ping before  an  inscription  on  a  wall, 
"  would  you  like  to  see  a  combat  in  the 
arena?     Here  are  the  notices  :  — 


COMBAT   AND   CHASE    ON    THE    FIFTH 
OF  APRIL. 

Twenty  pairs  of  Gladiators  will  fight ;  and, 
if  you  are  afraid  of  your  complexion,  re-assure 
yourself,  for  there  will  be  curtains  overhead; 
unless  you  prefer  to  go  early  in  the  morning, 
and  then  in  your  hurry  you  will  cut  your  throat 
with  your  knife,  and  will  not  be  the  happier." 

In  examinations  of  this  sort  the  three 
friends  passed  along  the  edge  of  the 
tombs,  which  in  our  modern  times  are  a 
lugubrious  spectacle,  but  which  were 
the  contrary  for  the  ancients,  whose 
tombs,  instead  of  a  horrible  corpse, 
contained  only  a  mass  of  cinders,  the 
abstract  idea  of  death.  Art  embellished 
these  relics ;  and,  as  Goethe  said,  "  The 
pagans  decorated  their  tombs  with  the 
representations  of  life." 

It  was  this,  no  doubt,  that  made  Max 
and  Fabio  look  upon  them  with  such 
gayety  and  light  curiosity,  —  a  feeling 
which  they  would  not  have  had  in  one 
of  our  cemeteries.  They  stopped  be- 
fore the  tomb  of  Mammia,  the  public 
priestess,  near  which  grows  a  poplar ; 
they  sat  down  near  it,  laughing  like  her- 
etics ;  they  lazily  read  the  epitaphs  of 
Nevoleja,  and  of  the  family  of  Arria, 
followed  by  Octavio,  who  seemed  more 
touched  than  his  companions  by  these 
souvenirs  of  past  centuries. 

At  last  they  arrived  at  the  house  of 
Arrius  Diomedes,  one  of  the  most 
important  in  Pompeii.  They  mounted 
the  brick  steps  ;  and,  when  they  had 
entered  the  door  flanked  by  two  lateral 
cohmins,  they  found  themselves  in  a 
sort  of  court,  like  those  in  the  centre 
of  a  Spanish  house ;  fourteen  coluinns 
of  brick  covered  with  stucco-work 
formed  the  four  sides  of  a  portico  or 
covered  peristyle,  under  Avhich  one 
could  move  about  without  fear  of  the 
rain.  The  pavement  of  this  court  is  a 
mosaic  of  brick  and  white  marble,  hav- 


Ii6 


Arria  Marcella. 


ing  a  soft,  pleasant  effect  upon  the  eye. 
In  the  middle,  a  basin  of  marble,  which 
still  exists,  received  the  rain  -  water 
which  ran  from  the  roof.  The  effect 
of  entering  upon  this  antique  life  was 
singular.  They  were  treading  the  very 
floors  where  the  contemporaries  of  Au- 
gustus and  Caesar  had  passed  with  their 
sandalled  feet. 

The  guide  then  led  them  into  the  tri- 
cHnium,  or  summer  room,  which  opened 
toward  the  sea  to  allow  the  fresh  ocean 
breezes  to  enter.     Here  they  were  ac- 
customed to  receive  visitors,  and  pass 
the  burning  afternoons  of  summer,  when 
those   hot,  storm-laden   African  winds 
swept  over  the  city.     From  this  room 
they  entered  into  a  long  gallery,  having 
no  roof,  in  order  to  give  light  to  the 
other  apartments.     This  was  the  place 
in  which  visitors  and  clients  waited  un- 
til summoned  to  the  audience-chamber. 
They  were  then  conducted  upon  a  ter- 
race of  white  marble,  which  commanded 
a  fine  view  of  the  rich  gardens  and  the 
blue  sea ;  then  into  the  nympheum,  or 
bath-room,  with  its  walls  painted  yellow, 
its  columns  of  stucco-work,  and  its  mo- 
saic pavement  and  marble  bath,  which 
had  held  so  many  beautiful  forms  now 
less  than  the  dust ;  then  into  the  cubicu- 
lum,  with  its  curtained  alcoves  ;  the  tet- 
rastyle,  or  recreation-room  ;  the  chapel 
of  the  gods ;  the  library ;  the  picture- 
gallery  ;  the  women's  apartments,  little 
rooms  partly  ruined  now,  whose  walls 
still  retain  traces  of  paintings  and  arab- 
esques. 

After  viewing  this,  they  descended  to 
the  lower  floor ;  for  the  ground  is  much 
higher  on  the  garden  side  than  on  the 
side  towards  the  tombs.  They  went 
through  eight  rooms  painted  red,  one 
of  which  is  full  of  niches  like  those 
used  at  the  present  day  for  statuary ; 
and  at  last   they  arrived  at  a  kind  of 


cave  or  cellar,  the  use  of  which  was 
clearly  indicated  by  eight  clay  pitchers 
placed  against  the  wall,  and  which  had 
been  filled  with  the  wine  of  Crete  and 
f  alerna,  as  the  odes  of  Horace  tell  us. 
A  bright  ray  of  light  passed  through 
a  crevice  in  the  roof,  and  the  foliage 
outside  was  turned  into  emeralds  and 
topaz ;  and  this  beauty  of  the  outer 
world  only  made  the  sombre  interior 
more  gloomy  by  the  contrast. 

"  It  was  here  that  they  found,  among 
seventeen  other  skeletons,  the  form  that 
you  will  see  in  the  museum  at  Naples," 
said  the  guide  in  a  nonchalant  voice. 
"  There  were  some  gold  rings  and  fila- 
ments of  her  tunic  still  adhering  to  the 
hardened  cinders  which  preserved  her 
form." 

These  words,  carelessly  spoken  by  the 
guide,  strangely  excited  Octavio.  He 
went  in  to  see  the  exact  place  where 
her  body  had  lain ;  and,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  presence  of  his  friends,  he 
would  have  dona  something  extrava- 
gant :  his  breast  heaved,  and  his  eyes 
trembled  with  tears.  This  catastrophe 
of  two  thousand  years  ago  touched  him 
as  though  it  had  happened  yesterday. 
The  death  of  a  wife  or  a  friend  could 
not  have  affected  him  more  ;  and  a  tear 
fell  upon  the  spot  where  this  woman, 
for  whom  he  felt  a  hopeless  love,  had 
perished,  stifled  by  the  falling  ashes  of 
the  volcano. 

"  Enough  of  archseology,"  cried  Fabio. 
"  We  do  not  intend  to  write  a  disserta- 
tion upon  the  times  of  Julius  Csesar. 
These  classical  souvenirs  cause  a  vac- 
uum in  my  stomach.  Let's  go  to  din- 
ner, if  such  a  thing  is  possible  in  this 
picturesque  hotel,  where  I  am  afraid 
they  will  serve  us  fossilized  beefsteak, 
and  eggs  fried  before  the  death  of 
Pliny." 

"  I  will  not  say,  like  Boileau,  '  A  fool 


Arria  Marcella. 


117 


sometimes  says  something  important,'  " 
said  Max,  laughing :  "  that  would  be 
unkind ;  but  your  idea  is  good.  It 
would  be  far  more  pleasant,  however, 
to  dine  here  in  the  triclinium,  among 
these  antiquities,  served  by  slaves,  like 
LucuUus  or  Trimalcion.  It  is  true  that 
I  do  not  see  many  oysters ;  that  the  tur- 
bots  and  roaches  are  absent ;  the  wild 
boar  of 'Apulia  is  missing  in  the  mar- 
ket ;  the  bread  and  cakes  are  seen  in 
the  museum  at  Naples,  as  hard  as  the 
stones ;  but  maccaroni,  though  detest- 
able, is  better  than  nothing.  Don't  you 
think  so,  Octavio  ?  " 

Octavio,  who  was  regretting  that  he 
had  not  been  at  Pompeii  on  the  day  of 
the  eruption,  in  order  to  save  the  beau- 
tiful young  girl,  and  thus  win  her  love, 
had  not  heard  a  word  of  this  conversa- 
tion. But  Max's  last  words  called  him 
back  to  himself,  and  he  made  a  sign  of 
assent ;  and  they  all  started  towards  the 
hotel. 

The  table  was  spread  under  an  open 
porch,  which  served  as  a  vestibule  for 
the  hotel.  The  walls  were  decorated  by 
some  indifferent  pictures  by  the  host, 
and  which  he  described  with  fluent 
tongue. 

"Venerable  host,"  said  Fabio,  "do 
not  waste  your  eloquence.  We  are  not 
English,  and  we  prefer  young  girls  to 
old  men.  Send  us  the  hst  of  your 
wines  by  that  pretty  brunette,  with  the 
velvet  eyes,  whom  I  saw  at  the  top  of 
the  stairs." 

Then  he  ceased  to  vaunt  his  paint- 
ings, and  began  to  praise  his  wines. 
He  had  all  of  the  best  vintages,  —  Cha- 
teaux-Margaux,  Grand- Lafitte,  Sillery  de 
Moet,  Hochmeyer,  Scarlat-wine,  porter, 
ale  and  ginger-beer,  Capri  and  Falema. 

"  What  !  you  have  Falerna  wine,  ani- 
mal, and  put  it  at  the  end  of  your  list : 
you  are  insupportable,"  cried  Max,  with 


a  comical  expression  of  fury :  "  you 
are  unworthy  to  live  in  this  ancient 
neighborhood.  Is  your  Falerna  good? 
^\'as  it  put  in  casks  during  the  reign  of 
the  consul  Plancus  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  the  consul  Plancus, 
and  my  wine  is  not  in  casks ;  but  it  is 
old,  and  cost  me  ten  carlins  per  bottle," 
replied  the  host. 

The  sun  had  set,  and  night  had  fallen, 
clear  and  beautiful,  clearer  than  mid- 
day in  London  :  every  thing  had  taken 
a  rich  blue  hue,  while  the  heavens  were 
of  clear  silver.  It  was  so  still  that  a 
candle-flame  would  scarcely  flicker. 

A  young  boy  with  a  flute  came  up  to 
the  table,  and  blew  upon  his  instrument 
a  few  soft,  melodious  notes. 

Perhaps  this  boy  was  descended  in 
direct  line  from  the  flute-player  who 
preceded  Duilius. 

"Our  supper  has  all  the  surroundings 
of  antiquity,  except  the  dancing-girls 
and  the  crowns  of  ivy,"  said  Fabio, 
drinking  a  large  glass  of  Falerna  wine. 

"  I  feel  like  making  some  Latin  quo- 
tations," added  Max. 

"  Spare  us,"  cried  Octavio  and  Fabio, 
justly  alarmed :  "  nothing  is  so  indi- 
gestible as  Latin." 

The  conversation  of  these  young  men, 
who  sat  with  cigars  in  their  mouths, 
and  several  empty  bottles  before  them, 
soon  turned  upon  women.  Each  re- 
lated his  experience,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  resume. 

Octavio  declared  that  reality  never 
had  any  charm  for  him  ;  not  that  he  was, 
like  a  student,  filled  with  rose-colored 
dreams,  but  every  beautiful  woman  was 
surrounded  by  too  many  prosaic  and 
repulsive  friends,  too  many  stupid  fa- 
thers, too  many  coquettish  mothers,  too 
many  anxious  cousins  ready  to  propose, 
too  many  ridiculous  aunts  with  little 
poodles.     A  water-tint  engraving  after 


ii8 


Arria  Marcella. 


Horace  Vernet  or  Delaroche  affected 
him  far  more.  More  poetical  than  pas- 
sionate, he  would  prefer  a  quiet  spot 
on  the  shore  of  a  lake  by  the  soft  light 
of  the  moon  to  meet  his  lady-love.  He 
wished  to  raise  his  love  above  earthly 
things,  even  to  the  stars.  He  felt  the 
greatest  admiration  for  the  grand  types 
of  womanhood  of  antiquity,  preserved 
by  art  and  history.  Like  Faust,  he  loved 
Helen  ;  and  he  longed  for  those  subHme 
personifications  of  human  desires  and 
dreams,  whose  forms,  invisible  to  vulgar 
eyes,  exist  forever  in  space  and  time. 
Sometimes  he  loved  statues ;  and  once, 
in  passing  by  the  Venus  de  Milo  at  a 
museum,  he  had  cried,  "  Oh,  who  will 
give  you  arms  to  press  me  to  your  mar- 
ble breast  !  " 

Fabio  loved  youth  and  beauty.  Vo- 
luptuous and  passionate,  his  illusions 
cost  him  no  twinges  of  conscience,  and 
he  was  without  prejudice.  A  peasant 
pleased  him  as  well  as  a  duchess,  pro- 
vided she  were  beautiful ;  the  form 
pleased  him  more  than  the  dress ;  he 
laughed  at  his  friends  who  were  in  love 
with  a  robe  of  silk,  and  thought  it  would 
be  wiser  to  fall  in  love  with  a  modiste's 
form. 

Max,  less  artistic  than  Fabio,  cared 
for  nothing  except  difficult  enterprises, 
complicated  intrigues :  he  wished  to 
overcome  resistance  and  obstacles,  and 
conduct  a  love-affair  as  one  would  a 
battle,  by  stratagem.  Among  a  party 
of  women  he  would  choose  the  one  who 
seemed  to  dislike  him  the  most,  and 
attempt  to  overcome  her  dislike,  and 
turn  it  to  love.  To  cause  the  fair  one 
to  pass  by  gradual  steps  from  hatred  to 
love,  was  to  him  a  delicious  pleasure ; 
like  a  thorough  hunter,  who  pursues 
his  game  in  rain  and  sun  and  snow,  and 
when  it  is  at  last  killed  cares  nothing 
about  it. 


As  Fabio  had  expected,  the  sight  of 
the  place  where  the  form  of  the  woman 
seen  at  the  museum  was  found  deeply 
agitated  Octavio  :  he  tried  to  forget  his 
identity,  and  transport  himself  to  the 
times  of  Titus. 

Max  and  Fabio  went  to  their  cham- 
bers, and  the  wine  they  had  drunk  soon 
put  them  to  sleep.  Octavio,  who  had 
hardly  touched  his  wine,  not  wishing  to 
mingle  it  with  his  poetic  dreams,  felt 
that  he  could  not  sleep,  and  went  out- 
side to  cool  his  heated  brow  in  the  fresh 
air.  Unconsciously  his  feet  carried 
him  to  the  entrance  of  the  excavated 
city :  he  took  down  the  wooden  bar 
which  closed  the  gate,  and  entered 
among  the  shades. 

The  moon  cast  a  white  light  on  the 
houses,  making  the  shadows  all  the 
deeper.  This  soft  light  covered  up 
many  of  the  defects  of  day,  and  made 
the  city  appear  more  complete.  The 
broken  columns,  the  fagades  covered 
with  lizards,  the  crushed  roofs,  were  not 
so  noticeable  as  in  the  sunlight.  The 
genius  of  the  night  seemed  to  have  re- 
paired the  fossilized  city  for  some  rep- 
resentation of  fantastic  life. 

Sometimes  Octavio  thought  he  saw 
shadowy  human  forms  glide  among  the 
shadows,  but  they  quickly  disappeared 
on  nearing  them.  Heavy  falls,  a  vague 
rumbling,  broke  the  silence.  Octavio 
attributed  them  at  first  to  his  imagina- 
tion. It  might  be  caused  by  the  wind 
or  by  a  Hzard.  Meanwhile,  he  felt  an 
involuntary  fear,  a  slight  trembling, 
which  perhaps  was  caused  by  the  cool 
air.  He  turned  his  head  two  or  three 
times :  he  did  not  feel  alone  as  when 
they  were  here  in  the  day.  Had  his 
friends  followed  his  example,  and  were 
they  now  wandering  among  the  ruins  ? 
These  vanishing  forms,  these  distant 
noises,  were  they  caused  by  Max  and 


Arria  Marcella. 


119 


Fabio  chatting  and  walking  in  the  dis- 
tance ?  Octavio  knew  at  once  that  this 
very  natural  explanation  was  not  suf- 
ficient. The  solitude  and  the  shadows 
were  filled  by  invisible  beings  whom  he 
was  disturbing ;  he  had  stumbled  upon 
a  mystery ;  and  they  all  seemed  to  be 
waiting  for  him  to  depart  to  come  out 
of  their  hiding-places.  Such  were  the 
extravagant  ideas  which  whirled  through 
his  brain,  and  which  were  strengthened 
by  the  hour,  the  place,  and  a  thousand 
and  one  details  which  only  those  who 
have  been  at  night  in  some  vast  ruin 
can  comprehend. 

In  passing  before  a  house  which  he 
had  noticed  during  the  day,  and  upon 
which  the  moon  shone  full,  he  saw  a 
portico  as  perfect  as  the  day  it  was 
built,  which  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  re- 
construct in  his  mind  only  that  after- 
noon :  four  columns  of  the  Doric  order 
fluted  to  the  centre,  and  the  shafts  en- 
veloped as  by  a  purple  drapery,  sus- 
tained a  moulding  decorated  with 
colored  ornaments,  which  it  seemed  as 
though  the  decorator  had  finished  yes- 
terday ;  on  the  face  of  the  door  was  a 
verse  by  Laconic,  accompanied  by  a 
Latin  inscription.  Upon  the  sill,  in 
mosaics,  was  the  word  "  have,''  in  Latin 
letters.  The  outside  walls,  painted  in 
yellow  and  ruby  color,  were  without  a 
crack.  The  house  was  of  one  story ; 
and  the  tiled  roof,  of  bronze  color,  cast 
its  profile  against  the  sky. 

This  strange  restoration,  made  at 
midnight  by  an  unknown  architect, 
troubled  Octavio,  who  was  sure  he  had 
seen  it  that  day  in  hopeless  ruin.  The 
mysterious  reconstructor  had  worked 
very  quickly,  for  the  neighboring  houses 
all  had  the  same  appearance  of  perfect 
repair :  all  the  pillars  had  their  fluting 
entire  ;  not  a  stone  was  missing,  not  a 
brick,  not  a  piece  of  stucco ;  not  a  fig- 


ure was  wanting  in  the  pictures  which 
ornamented  the  walls ;  and  around  the 
fountains  he  could  see  laurels,  roses, 
and  myrtle  growing.  History  was  mis- 
taken :  the  eruption  had  not  taken 
place,  or  else  the  needle  of  time  had 
gone  backwards  twenty  centuries  upon 
the  dial  of  eternity. 

Octavio,  thunderstruck,  asked  him- 
self if  he  were  sleeping  and  this  a 
fevered  dream ;  but  he  was  obliged  to 
acknowledge  that  he  was  not  asleep, 
nor  was  he  drunk. 

A  singular  change  had  taken  place 
in  the  atmosphere  :  vague  rosy  tints, 
mingled  with  violet,  succeeded  to  the 
azure  light  of  the  moon ;  the  heavens 
grew  light  in  the  east ;  day  was  appar- 
ently about  to  dawn.  Octavio  took 
out  his  watch,  and  touched  the  spring : 
it  struck  twelve  times.  He  listened, 
and  touched  it  again ;  and,  as  before, 
it  struck  twelve.  It  was  certainly  mid- 
night ;  but  still  the  light  grew  brighter, 
and  the  moon  disappeared,  —  the  sun 
was  up. 

Then  Octavio,  who  began  to  lose  all 
idea  of  time,  was  convinced  that  he 
was  not  walking  in  a  dead  Pompeii,  but 
in  a  living  Pompeii,  youthful,  complete, 
and  upon  which  the  torrents  of  boiling 
lava  had  not  rushed. 

This  was  proved  to  him  ;  for  a  man, 
clothed  in  the  ancient  costume  of  Pom- 
peii, came  out  of  a  neighboring  house. 
This  man  wore  his  hair  short,  and  had 
no  beard.  A  tunic  of  a  brown  color, 
and  a  gray  mantle  (the  ends  of  which 
were  held  back  so  as  not  to  retard  his 
movements),  constituted  his  dress.  He 
walked  rapidly,  and  passed  by  Octavio 
without  seeing  him.  A  basket  made  of 
cords  hung  on  his  arm,  and  he  went 
towards  the  Forum  Nundinarium :  it 
was  a  slave  going  to  market.  There 
could  be  no  mistake. 


120 


Arria  Marcella, 


The  sound  of  wheels  caught  his  ear ; 
and  a  cart  drawn  by  white  oxen,  and 
loaded  with  vegetables,  passed  through 
the  streets.  By  its  side  walked  an  ox- 
driver,  with  naked  legs  browned  by  the 
sun,  with  sandals  on  his  feet,  and 
clothed  in  a  kind  of  a  shirt  with  a  belt 
round  the  waist.  He  wore  a  conical 
straw  hat  \  its  point  thrown  behind  the 
neck,  and  fastened  by  a  button.  His 
head  was  of  a  type  unheard  of  to-day  : 
his  low  forehead  covered  with  hard 
bunches,  his  hair  crisp  and  black,  his 
nose  straight,  his  eyes  calm  as  those  of 
an  ox  ;  and  his  neck  like  that  of  a  Her- 
cules. He  touched  the  oxen  gravely  with 
his  stick,  with  a  pose  which  would  have 
put  Ingres  into  an  ecstasy  of  delight. 

The  ox-driver  saw  Octavio,  and 
seemed  surprised ;  but  he  went  on  his 
way.  Once  he  turned  his  head ;  but, 
finding  no  explanation  for  the  strange 
appearance,  he  plodded  steadily  on,  too 
stupid  to  examine  more  closely. 

Some  peasants  passed  also,  driving 
before  them  asses  loaded  with  wipe. 
They  were  as  different  from  the  peas- 
ants of  to-day  as  black  is  from  white. 

Gradually  the  streets  became  filled 
with  people.  Octavio's  feelings  had 
changed.  Just  now  he  had  been  a 
prey  to  an  unknown  fear  amongst  the 
shadows  and  spectres,  but  his  vague 
terror  was  changed  to  stupefaction : 
he  could  no  longer  doubt  the  evidence 
of  his  senses,  but  nevertheless  what  he 
saw  was  perfectly  incredible.  Hardly 
convinced,  he  tried  by  noticing  the 
smallest  details  to  prove  to  himself  that 
he  was  not  the  victim  of  an  hallucina- 
tion. These  were  not  phantoms  which 
walked  by  him,  for  the  sun  shone  upon 
them,  and  made  their  reality  undenia- 
ble ;  and  their  shadows,  elongated  by 
the  height  of  the  sun,  were  thrown  upon 
the  walls  and  sidewalks. 


Octavio  did  not  understand  what  was 
happening  to  him,  but  still  was  filled 
with  delight  to  see  one  of  his  most 
cherished  dreams  fulfilled.  He  resisted 
no  longer,  and  gave  himself  up  to  the 
enjoyment  of  it,  without  pretending  to 
account  for  it.  He  said  to  himself  that 
since,  by  the  aid  of  some  mysterious 
power,  he  was  allowed  to  live  in  a  cen- 
tury which  had  long  disappeared,  he 
would  not  lose  time  by  seeking  for  a 
solution  of  an  incomprehensible  prob- 
lem ;  and  he  continued  bravely  on  his 
way,  looking  to  right  and  left  at  this 
spectacle,  so  old  and  so  new  for  him. 
But  to  what  epoch  in  the  life  of  Pom- 
peii was  he  translated  ?  An  inscription 
upon  a  wall  told  him  the  name  of  the 
public  personages,  and  he  saw  that  it 
was  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Titus ;  that  is,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
year  79  of  our  era.  A  sudden  idea 
crossed  Octvaio's  mind :  the  woman 
whose  imprint  he  had  fallen  in  love 
with  at  Naples  must  have  lived  at  this 
time,  since  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius, 
in  which  she  had  perished,  was  on  the 
24th  of  August  of  this  same  year ;  he 
might  then  find  her,  see  her,  speak  to 
her.  The  insane  desire  that  the  sight 
of  this  lava  cast  had  caused  him  would 
be  perhaps  satisfied,  for  nothing  could 
be  impossible  to  a  love  which  had 
caused  the  centuries  to  roll  back. 

While  these  thoughts  were  passing 
through  Octavio's  mind,  some  beautiful 
young  girls  passed  on  their  way  to  the 
fountain,  supporting  urns  upon  their 
heads  with  the  tips  of  their  white  fin- 
gers. Some  patricians,  with  white  togas 
bordered  with  purple  bands,  followed 
by  their  clients,  went  towards  the  forum. 
Buyers  pressed  around  the  stalls,  each 
stall  having  its  proper  design  in  sculp- 
ture or  painting. 

While  walking  along  the    sidewalks 


Arria  Marcella. 


121 


which  bordered  every  street  in  Pom- 
peii, Octavio  found  himself  face  to  face 
with  a  handsome  young  man  of  his  own 
age,  dressed  in  a  saffron-colored  tunic, 
and  wearing  a  mantle  of  white  wool,  soft 
as  cashmere.  The  sight  of  Octavio, 
with  his  frightful  modern  hat,  wearing  a 
black  coat,  and  his  legs  imprisoned  in 
pantaloons,  his  feet  pinched  into  tight 
boots,  appeared  to  surprise  the  young 
Pompeiian,  as  a  wild  Indian  would  sur- 
prise us  upon  the  boulevard  with  his 
plumes.  But,  as  he  was  a  well-bred 
young  man,  he  did  not  burst  into  laugh- 
ter ;  but  taking  pity  upon  Octavio,  whom 
he  thought  a  poor  barbarian,  he  said  to 
him. in  a  voice  accentuated  and  soft,  — 

"  Advena  salve." 

Nothing  was  more  natural  than  that 
an  inhabitant  of  Pompeii  under  the 
Emperor  Titus,  very  powerful  and  very 
august,  should  express  himself  in  Latin  ; 
but  Octavio  trembled  at  hearing  this 
dead  language  in  a  living  mouth. 
Then  he  congratulated  himself  for  hav- 
ing studied  it  so  thoroughly.  The 
Latin  taught  at  the  university  served 
him  on  this  occasion  ;  and,  recalling  his 
knowledge  of  the  classics,  he  replied  to 
the  salutation  of  the  Pompeiian,  in  the 
style  of  de  viris  illustribus  and  of  s elec- 
tee e  pro/ants,  in  a  manner  sufficiently 
intelligible,  but  with  a  Parisian  accent 
which  caused  the  young  man  to  smile. 

"  Perhaps  it  will  be  easier  for  you  to 
speak  Greek,"  said  the  Pompeiian  :  "  I 
know  that  language,  for  I  studied  at 
Athens." 

''  I  know  still  less  of  Greek  than  of 
Latin,"  replied  Octavio  :  "  I  am  from 
the  country  of  the  Gauls,  —  from  Paris." 

"  I  know  of  that  country.  My  grand- 
father fought  there  under  Julius  Caesar. 
But  what  a  strange  costume  you  wear  ! 
The  Gauls  whom  I  have  seen  at  Rome 
were  not  dressed  like  you." 


Octavio  undertook  to  explain  to  the 
young  man  that  twenty  centuries  had 
rolled  past  since  the  conquest  of  the 
Gauls  by  Julius  Caesar,  and  that  the 
styles  had  changed  :  but  he  got  in  over 
his  head  in  his  Latin ;  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  it  was  no  difficult  work  to  do  so. 

"  I  am  called  Rufus  Holconius,  and 
ray  house  is  yours,"  said  the  young 
man,  "  unless  you  prefer  the  liberty  of 
the  tavern.  They  would  treat  you  well 
at  the  inn  of  Albinus,  near  the  gate  of 
i\\t  faubourg  Augustus  Felix,  and  at  the 
tavern  of  Sarimus,  son  of  Publius,  near 
the  second  tower  ;  but,  if  you  wish,  I  will 
serve  as  your  guide  in  this  town,  which  is 
perhaps  slightly  unknown  to  you.  You 
please  me,  young  barbarian,  although 
you  have  tried  to  play  upou  my  cre- 
dulity by  pretending  that  the  Emperor 
Titus,  who  is  reigning  to-day,  died  two 
thousand  years  ago  ;  and  that  the  Naza- 
rene,  whose  infamous  followers,  covered 
with  pitch,  have  lighted  the  gardens  of 
Nero,  rules  single  and  alone  in  the  de- 
serted heavens  from  whence  the  gods 
have  fallen.  By  Pollux ! "  cried  he, 
casting  his  eye  upon  an  inscription 
written  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  "  you 
arrive  at  a  good  time  :  they  play  Plau- 
tus's  'Casina'  at  the  theatre  to-day.  It 
is  a  curious  comedy,  which  will  amuse 
you,  although  you  will  only  compre- 
hend the  pantomime.  This  is  the  time 
for  it  to  begin  :  I  will  take  you  into  the 
seats  reserved  for  strangers." 

And  Rufus  Holconius  turned  towards 
the  little  thedtre-comique,  which  the 
three  friends  had  seen  during  the  day. 

The  Frenchman  and  the  citizen  of 
Pompeii  went  along  the  street  called  la 
Fontaine  d'Abondance,  passing  by  the 
temple  of  Isis,  the  school  of  statuary, 
and  entered  the  Odeon,  or  thedtre- 
comique,  by  a  lateral  entrance.  Thanks 
to  the  recommendation  of  Holconius, 


122 


Arria  Marcella. 


Octavio  was  placed  near  the  prosceni- 
um. All  eyes  were  turned  towards  him 
with  a  wondering  curiosity,  and  a  wave 
of  audible  laughter  passed  over  the 
house. 

The  play  had  not  yet  commenced. 
Octavio  looked  around  him.  The  semi- 
circular rows  of  seats  ended  on  each 
side  by  a  magnificent  lion's  paw  sculp- 
tured from  Vesuvian  lava;  in  front  of 
this  was  an  open  space  corresponding 
to  our  parterre,  and  paved  with  mosaics 
of  Greek  marble ;  a  longer  row  of  seats 
extended  in  the  rear;  and  four  stair- 
ways, corresponding  to  the  entrances, 
ascended  to  the  highest  seats,  dividing 
them  into  four  sections.  The  specta- 
tors were  furnished  with  programmes 
made  of  little  leaves  of  ivory,  and  bear- 
ing the  title  of  the  piece,  the  name  of 
the  author,  and  each  having  the  num- 
ber and  position  of  the  seat  which  the 
holder  was  to  occupy  upon  it.  The 
judges,  nobles,  married  men,  young 
men,  soldiers  (whose  casques  of  bronze 
glittered  in  the  light),  occupied  sepa- 
rate rows. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  those 
elegant  togas  and  fine  mantles  filling 
the  first  rows,  and  contrasting  with  the 
varied  costumes  of  the  women  ranged 
behind,  and  the  gray  capes  of  the 
common  people  sitting  in  the  back 
rows,  near  the  columns  which  supported 
the  roof,  and  through  which  the  in- 
tensely blue  heaven  could  be  seen.  A 
fine  mist  of  perfumed  water  fell  from 
the  frieze  in  imperceptible  drops,  and 
perfumed  the  air  which  it  refreshed. 
Octavio  thought  of  the  hot,  ill-smelling 
interiors  of  our  theatres,  so  uncom- 
fortable that  they  become  places  of 
torture ;  and  it  occurred  to  him  that 
civilization  had  not  progressed  much. 

The  curtain,  sustained  by  a  transverse 
beam,  was  lost  in  the  depths  of  the 


orchestra.  The  musicians  came  into 
their  stalls  ;  and  the  "  prologue  "  ap- 
jjeared,  grotesquely  clothed,  and  with 
his  head  covered  by  an  immense  mask. 

After  having  saluted  the  audience, 
he  began  a  ridiculous  argumentation. 
"  The  old  pieces,"  said  he,  "  were  like 
wine  which  grew  better  with  years  ;  and 
'  Casina,'  dear  to  the  old  ones,  ought  not 
to  be  less  so  to  the  young.  All  could 
take  pleasure  in  it,  —  the  old  because 
they  knew  it,  and  the  young  because 
they  did  not  know  it.  The  piece  had 
been,  moreover,  put  on  with  care  ;  and 
one  must  listen  with  a  soul  free  from 
all  anxiety,  without  thinking  of  one's 
debts  nor  of  one's  creditors,  for  .they 
cannot  arrest  at  the  theatre.  This  was 
to  be  a  happy  day,  and  the  halcyons 
hovered  over  the  theatre."  Then  he 
gave  an  analysis  of  the  play  which  they 
were  about  to  give,  with  a  detail  which 
proved  that  surprise  did  not  enter  into 
the  Roman  idea  of  enjoyment  at  the 
theatre.  He  told  how  the  old  Stalino, 
in  love  with  his  beautiful  slave  Casina, 
wishes  to  marry  her  to  his  farmer, 
Omlympio,  a  weak  man,  whom  he  will 
replace  on  the  wedding  night ;  and 
how  Lycostra,  the  wife  of  Stalino,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  luxury  of  her  vi- 
cious husband,  wants  to  unite  Casina 
to  the  riding-master,  Chalinus,  with 
the  idea  of  favoring  the  love  of  her 
sons  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  Stalino, 
mystified,  takes  a  young  slave  disguised 
for  Casina,  who  marries  the  young  rid- 
ing-master, whom  she  loves,  and  by 
whom  she  is  beloved. 

The  young  Frenchman  looked  dis- 
tractedly at  the  actors,  with  their  masks 
with  bronze  mouths.  The  slaves  ran 
here  and  there,  to  represent  haste ;  the 
old  wagged  their  heads,  and  held  out 
their  trembling  hands ;  the  matrons, 
with  high   voices   and   disdainful  airs, 


Arria  Marcella. 


123 


looked  important,  and  quarrelled  with 
their  husbands,  to  the  great  amusement 
of  the  audience.  All  the  characters 
entered  and  went  out  by  three  doors 
in  the  wall  at  the  back,  and  communi- 
cating with  the  dressing-rooms  of  the 
actors.  Stalino's  house  was  at  one  cor- 
ner of  the  stage,  and  that  of  Alcesimus 
facing  it.  These  scenes,  though  very 
well  painted,  were  rather  representa- 
tions of  places  than  places  themselves. 

When  the  bridal  train  accompanying 
the  false  Casina  entered,  an  immense 
burst  of  laughter  greeted  them,  and 
thunders  of  applause  shook  the  theatre  ; 
but  Octavio  neither  saw  nor  heard. 

In  the  procession  of  women  he  saw 
a  creature  of  marvellous  beauty.  From 
this  moment  the  charming  beings  who 
had  attracted  his  eye  were  eclipsed  like 
the  stars  before  Phoebe :  all  vanished, 
all  disappeared,  as  in  a  dream  \  a  mist 
hid  the  people  in  front  of  him,  and  the 
voices  of  the  actors  seemed  lost  in  the 
distance. 

He  had  been  struck  as  by  an  electric 
shock ;  and,  when  the  woman  looked 
towards  him,  he  felt  as  though  his  heart 
would  leap  out  of  his  breast. 

She  was  dark  and  pale.  Her  waving 
hair  was  black  as  night,  and  was  raised 
slightly  over  the  temples  in  the  Greek 
style  ;  and  under  her  beautiful  brows 
there  shone  two  wonderful  eyes,  dark 
and  sombre,  yet  soft,  filled  with  an  in- 
definable expression.  Her  mouth,  dis- 
dainfully arched  at  the  corners,  showed 
two  beautiful  red  lips  against  the  white 
of  the  mask  :  her  neck  had  those  per- 
fectly pure  lines  only  seen  now  in  statu- 
ary. Her  arms  were  naked  to  the 
shoulder ;  and  over  her  proud  breast 
there  hung  down  her  tunic  of  a  rose 
mauve,  falling  in  two  folds  which  might 
have  been  chiselled  in  the  marble  of 
Phidias  or  Cleiomene. 


The  sight  of  this  perfect  throat,  with 
its  pure  lines,  starded  Octavio :  ic 
seemed  to  him  that  this  form  would  fit 
exactly  into  the  mould  he  had  seen  at 
Naples,  and  a  voice  from  his  heart  told 
him  that  this  was  the  woman  stifled  by 
the  cinders  and  ashes  of  Vesuvius  at 
the  villa  of  Arrius  Diomedes.  By  what 
miracle  came  she  there,  living,  taking 
part  in  the  comedy?  He  sought  for 
no  explanation ;  besides,  how  came  he 
there  himself?  He  accepted  her  pres- 
ence, as  in  a  dream  one  submits  to  the 
intervention  of  dead  persons,  who  act 
as  though  they  were  alive ;  and  his 
emotion  would  not  permit  him  to  reason. 
For  him  the  wheel  of  time  had  left  its 
rut.  He  found  himself  face  to  face 
with  his  dream,  his  vision,  one  of  the 
most  impossible  of  dreams,  a  child's 
wish.  His  life  was  filled  with  joy  at  a 
single  blow. 

While  looking  at  this  being,  so  cold 
yet  so  ardent,  so  dead  and  yet  full  of 
life,  he  felt  that  here  before  him  was 
his  first  and  last  love,  —  his  cup  of 
supreme  happiness  was  full.  He  saw 
the  memory  of  all  those  with  whom  he 
had  thought  himself  in  love  vanish  like 
shadows,  and  his  soul  was  free  from 
every  thing  of  the  past. 

Meanwhile,  the  beautiful  Pompeiian, 
leaning  her  chin  upon  her  hand,  looked 
at  Octavio,  while  pretending  to  be  oc- 
cupied with  the  performance,  with  a 
soft,  deep  glance  ;  and  this  glance  was 
piercing  and  burning  as  a  ball  of  fire. 
Then  she  whispered  in  the  ear  of  a  girl 
seated  at  her  side.  The  comedy  was 
finished :  the  crowd  left  by  the  en- 
trances. Octavio,  disdaining  the  kind 
olBces  of  Holconius,  entered  the 
first  passageway  that  presented  itself. 
Hardly  had  he  reached  the  door  when 
a  hand  was  placed  upon  his  shoulder, 
and  a  female  voice  said  to  him  in  a 


124  Arria  Marcella. 

low  tone,  but  so  that  he  did  not  lose  The  walls   were   made  of  fancifully 

a  word,  —  decorated  panels.     Octavio  noticed  all 

"  I  am  Tyche  Novoleja,  companion  the  details  with  a  glance ;    for  Tyche 

of    the   pleasures    of   Arria    Marcella,  put  him  into  the  hands  of  some  slaves, 

daughter   of    Arrius    Diomedes.      My  who  carried  him  into  a  thermal  bath,  in 

mistress  loves  you  ;  follow  me  !  "  spite  of  his  impatience.     After  having 

Arria  Marcella  had  just  stepped  into  passed  through  the  different  degrees  of 

her  litter,  carried  by  four  slaves  naked  vaporized    heat,   being  rubbed   with  a 

to  the  waist,  their  bronze  skins  glitter-  flesh  brush,  then  washed  in    perfumed 

ing  in  the  sun.     The  curtain  of  the  litter  oils  and  cosmetics,  he  was  clothed  in  a 

was  open  ;  and  a  white  hand,  glittering  white   tunic,  and  found  Tyche  at  the 

with  rings,  made  a  sign  to  Octavio,  as  opposite   door  waiting   for  him.      She 

if  to  confirm  the  words  of  her  maid,  took  his  hand,  and  led  him  into  an- 

The  purple  curtain  fell,  and  the  litter  other  richly  decorated  room, 

went  on  its  way.  Upon  the  ceiling  were  paintings,  ex- 

Tyche  conducted  Octavio  by  short  ceedingly  pure  in  design,  of  a  richness 
cuts  and  alleys,  crossing  the  streets  by  of  color,  and  freedom  of  touch,  which 
stepping  lightly  upon  the  pieces  of  belong  to  the  hand  of  a  master  and  not 
stone  which  connected  the  sidewalks,  of  a  simple  decorator ;  a  frieze  com- 
and  between  which  were  the  ruts  for  posed  of  stags,  hares,  and  birds  play- 
carriage-wheels.  Octavio  noticed  that  ing  among  foliage  extended  above  a 
they  traversed  some  quarters  of  Pom-  border  of  marble ;  the  mosaic  pave- 
peii  that  modern  people  have  not  dis-  ment,  marvellously  done,  —  perhaps  by 
covered,  and  which  were  consequently  Sosimus  of  Pergame,  —  represented  fig- 
unknown  to  him.  This  strange  circum-  ures  in  relief,  executed  with  a  skill  that 
stance,  among  so  many  others,  did  not  rendered  them  lifelike, 
astonish  him.  He  had  decided  to  be  At  the  rear  of  the  room,  upon  a  di- 
astonished  at  nothing.  In  all  this  phan-  van  or  bed,  Arria  Marcella  was  stretched 
tasmagoria,  which  would  have  driven  an  in  a  position  which  recalled  the  woman 
antiquary  wild  with  happiness,  he  saw  in  bed,  by  Phidias,  upon  the  front  of 
only  the  black  and  profound  eye  of  the  Parthenon.  Her  stockings,  embroi- 
Arria  Marcella,  and  the  superb  throat  dered  with  pearis,  lay  at  the  foot  of  the 
victorious  over  the  centuries,  and  which  bed  ;  and  her  beautiful  naked  foot, 
even  destruction  wanted  to  preserve,  whiter  than  snow  or  marble,  peeped 
They  arrived  at  a  door,  which  opened  out  from  under  a  light  coverlid  of  white 
and  closed  quickly  after  their  entrance  ;  linen  of  the  finest  quality, 
and  Octavio  found  himself  in  a  court  Two  earrings  made  of  strung  pearls 
surrounded  by  columns  of  marble  of  lay  along  her  pale  cheeks ;  a  collar 
the  Ionic  order,  painted  half  their  height  of  balls  of  gold,  with  pear-shaped  pen- 
of  a  lively  yellow  color,  and  the  capital  dants,  hung  over  her  breast,  left  half 
relieved  by  red  and  blue  ornaments,  uncovered  by  the  negligently  arranged 
A  garland  of  birthwort  suspended  its  folds  of  a  light  straw-colored  hand- 
large  leaves,  in  the  form  of  a  heart,  from  kerchief,  with  a  Greek  border  of  black ; 
the  summit;  and  near  a  basin  sur-  a  band  of  black  and  gold  held  her 
rounded  by  plants,  a  flaming  rose  was  ebony-black  hair  in  place  (for  she  had 
held  by  a  sculptured  paw.  changed  her  costume  on  returning  from 


Arria  Majxella. 


125 


the  theatre)  ;  and  around  her  arm,  like 
the  asp  around  the  arm  of  Cleopatra, 
was  coiled  several  times  a  golden  ser- 
pent, \A;ith  eyes  of  precious  stones. 

A  little  table  supported  by  griffins, 
incRisted  with  gold,  silver,  and  ivory, 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  bed ;  and  upon 
it  were  confections  in  little  plates  of 
silver  and  gold.  These  plates  were 
ornamented  with  precious  paintings. 

Every  thing  indicated  that  all  was 
prepared  for  a  husband  or  lover  :  fresh 
flowers  .filled  the  air  with  their  perfume, 
and  vessels  laden  with  wine  were  placed 
in  urns  heaped  with  snow. 

Arria  Marcella  signed  to  Octavio  to 
sit  down  beside  her  on  the  divan,  and 
to  partake  of  the  repast.  The  young 
man,  half  crazed  by  surprise  and  love, 
took  at  hazard  some  mouthfuls  from 
the  plates  which  the  small  Asiatic  slaves 
with  white  hair  held  up  to  him.  Arria 
did  not  eat ;  but  she  sipped  continually 
from  a  vase  of  opal  tint,  filled  with 
wine  of  a  deep  purple  color.  As  she 
drank,  a  hardly  perceptible  rose  tint 
spread  itself  over  her  pale  face  from 
her  heart,  which  had  not  beaten  for  so 
many  years.  Meanwhile,  her  naked  arm, 
which  Octavio  slightly  touched  in  rais- 
ing his  glass,  was  cold  as  marble. 

"  Oh  !  when  you  stopped  at  Studij 
to  contemplate  the  piece  of  hardened 
lava  which  preserved  my  form,"  said 
Arria  Marcella,  turning  her  long,  deep 
glance  upon  Octavio, "  and  which  caused 
your  soul  to  ardently  wish  for  me,  I 
felt  it  in  this  world  in  which  my  soul 
floats  invisible  to  human  eyes.  Faith 
made  God,  and  love  made  woman. 
One  is  really  dead,  only  when  she  is  no 
longer  loved.  Your  love  has  given  me 
life :  the  powerful  evocation  of  your 
heart  has  spanned  the  distance  which 
separated  us. 

"  In   fact,  nothing   dies,"    she  con- 


tinued ;  "  every  thing  exists  forever : 
no  power  can  destroy  that  which  once 
exists.  All  action,  all  words,  all  forms, 
all  thoughts,  fall  into  the  universal  ocean 
of  things,  and  make  circles,  which  go 
on  growing  larger  to  the  confines  of 
eternity.  Material  forms  disappear  only 
for  the  gross  eye  ;  and  the  spirits,  which 
are  detached,  people  the  Infinite.  Paris 
is  still  charming  Helen  in  the  unknown 
regions  of  space.  Cleopatra's  galley 
still  spreads  its  silken  sails  upon  the 
azure  of  an  ideal  Cyanus.  Some  pas- 
sionate and  powerful  natures  have  been 
able  to  call  back  the  centuries  appar- 
ently gone,  and  give  life  to  people  dead 
for  all  eternity.  Faust  had  for  his  mis- 
tress the  daughter  of  Tyndare,  and  has 
led  her  to  his  Gothic  chateau  at  the 
bottom  of  the  mysterious  abyss  of 
Hades.  Octavio  has  now  come  to  live 
an  hour  under  the  reign  of  Titus,  and 
make  love  to  Arria  Marcella,  daughter 
of  Arrius  Diomedes,  at  this  moment 
lying  near  him  upon  an  antique  bed  in 
a  town  destroyed  for  all  the  rest  of  the 
world." 

"  I  was  disgusted  with  all  women," 
said  Octavio,  "  and  all  things  common, 
and  it  was  for  you  whom  I  waited ;  and 
this  memento,  preserved  by  the  curi- 
osity of  man,  has  by  its  secret  magnet- 
ism put  me  in  communication  with 
your  soul.  I  do  not  know  whether  you 
are  a  dream  or  a  reality,  a  phantom  or 
a  woman ;  whether,  like  Ixion,  I  press 
a  cloud  to  my  breast ;  or  whether  I  am 
the  victim  of  sorcery :  but  I  do  know 
that  you  will  be  my  first  and  my  last 
love." 

"  May  Eros,  son  of  Aphrodite,  hear 
your  promise  !  "  said  Arria,  resting  her 
head  upon  his  shoulder  with  a  passion- 
ate gesture.  "  Held  me  to  your  young 
breast ;  breathe  upon  me  with  your  hot, 
sweet  breath  :    I  am  cold  from   being 


126 


Arria  Marcella. 


so  long  without  love."  And  Octavio 
pressed  this  beautiful  creature  to  his 
heart,  and  kissed  her  lips  :  the  softness 
of  this  beautiful  flesh  could  be  felt 
through  his  tunic.  The  band  which 
detained  her  hair  became  unloosed, 
and  her  ebon  locks  spread  themselves 
like  a  black  sea  over  her  lover. 

The  slaves  had  carried  away  the 
table.  There  was  nothing  to  be  heard 
except  the  soft  murmur  of  their  own 
voices,  mingled  with  the  tinkling  of  fall- 
ing water  from  the  fountain.  The  little 
slaves,  familiar  with  these  loving  scenes, 
pirouetted  upon  the  mosaic  pavement. 

Suddenly  the  portiere  was  pushed 
back ;  and  an  old  man  of  severe  coun- 
tenance, in  an  ample  mantle,  stood  in 
the  entrance.  His  gray  beard  was  sep- 
arated into  two  points  like  the  Naza- 
rene's,  and  his  face  was  seamed  and 
lined  ;  a  little  cross  of  black  wood  hung 
from  his  neck,  and  left  no  doubt  as  to 
his  belief:  he  belonged  to  the  sect, 
quite  recent  at  that  time,  called  the 
"  Disciples  of  Christ." 

Upon  seeing  him,  Arria  Marcella 
seemed  covered  with  confusion,  and 
hid  her  face  under  the  folds  of  her 
mantle,  like  a  bird  who  puts  his  head 
under  his  wing  when  he  sees  an  enemy 
whom  he  cannot  avoid ;  while  Octavio 
leaned  upon  his  elbow,  and  looked  fix- 
edly at  the  scowling  personage  who 
entered  so  brusquely  upon  them. 

"  Arria,  Arria  !  "  said  the  stern-look- 
ing man  in  a  tone  of  reproach,  "was 
your  life  not  sufficient  for  your  misbe- 
haviors, and  must  your  infamous  loves 
encroach  upon  the  centuries  which  do 
not  belong  to  you  ?  Can  you  not  leave 
the  living  in  their  sphere  ?  Has  not  your 
body  had  time  to  cool  since  the  day 
in  which  you  died,  without  repenting, 
under  the  ashes  of  the  volcano  ?  Your 
two  thousand  years  of  death  have  not 


calmed  you ;  and  your  voracious  arms 
draw  to  your  cold  breast,  from  which 
your  heart  has  disappeared,  the  poor 
insane  beings  intoxicated  by  your  phil- 
tres." 

"  Pardon,  my  father :  do  not  crush 
me  in  the  name  of  this  gloomy  religion 
in  which  I  never  believed.  I  believe  in 
our  ancient  gods,  who  loved  life,  youth, 
beauty,  pleasure.  Do  not  send  me 
back  into  the  shades.  Leave  me  to 
enjoy  this  life  which  love  has  given  to 
me." 
•  "  Be  quiet,  impious  girl !  Do  not 
speak  to  me  of  your  gods,  who  are 
really  demons.  Leave  this  young  man, 
enchained  by  your  affections,  by  your 
seductions ;  do  not  hold  him  longer 
outside  the  realms  of  his  life,  of  which 
God  has  fixed  the  bounds ;  return  to 
your  paganism,  to  your  Asiatic  lovers, 
Roman  or  Greek.  —  Young  Christian, 
abandon  this  phantom,  who  would  seem 
more  hideous  to  you  than  Empouse 
and  Phorkyas  if  you  could  see  her  as 
she  is." 

Octavio,  cold  and  frigid  with  horror, 
tried  to  speak ;  but  the  words  would 
not  leave  his  lips. 

"Will  you  obey  me,  Arria?"  cried 
the  old  man  imperiously. 

"  No,  never ! "  replied  Arria,  her 
eyes  flashing ;  and  with  dilated  nostrils 
and  trembling  lips,  she  threw  her  arms 
around  Octavio,  and  pressed  him  to 
her  cold  breast.  Her  furious  beauty, 
exasperated  by  the  stmggle,  seemed 
almost  supernatural  at  this  supreme 
moment,  as  though  to  leave  her  young 
lover  an  ineffaceable  souvenir  of  her 
presence. 

"Come,  unhappy  girl,"  replied  the 
old  man,  "  I  must  use  stronger  means, 
and  show  this  fascinated  boy  that  you 
are  but  a  phantom,  a  shadow ;  "  and  he 
pronounced  in  a  commanding  voice  a 


Airia  Marcella. 


127 


formula  which  caused  the  tender  red 
tint  which  the  rich  wine  had  brought 
to  Arria's  cheeks  to  disappear. 

At  this  moment  the  clock  of  one  of 
the  distant  villages  by  the  sea  struck 
the  "Angelus." 

At  this  sound,  a  sigh  of  agony  broke 
from  the  lips  of  the  young  woman. 
Octavio  felt  the  arms  which  held  him 
relax ;  the  draperies  which  she  wore, 
and  which  covered  her,  sunk  in  as 
though  that  which  they  enclosed  had 
disappeared  ;  and  the  unhappy  young 
man  saw  nothing  by  his  side  but  a 
handful  of  ashes  mingled  with  hard- 
ened bones,  among  which  shone  the 
bracelets  and  golden  jewels,  crushe'd 
out  of  shape,  as  you  may  see  them  to- 
day at  the  museum  at  Naples. 

A  terrible  cry  broke  from  his  lips, 
and  he  lost  consciousness. 

The  old  man  had  disappeared.  The 
sun  rose  ;  and  the  room,  just  now  filled 
with  so  much  magnificence  and  beauty, 
was  nothing  but  a  confused  ruin. 

After  having  slept  off  the  effect  of 
the  wine,  Max  and  Fabio  awoke  ;  and 
their  first  thought  was  to  call  their  com- 
panion, whose  chamber  was  near  their 
own.  Octavio  did  not  reply,  for  good 
reasons.  Fabio  and  Max,  receiving  no 
answer,  entered  his  room,  and  saw  that 
his  bed  had  not  been  slept  in. 

"  He  must  have  slept  upon  a  chair," 
said  Fabio,  "  not  being  able  to  undress 
himself,  —  he  can't  stand  much  wine, 
our  dear  Octavio,  —  then  he  went  out 
early,  to  walk  off  the  effects." 

"  But,"  said  Max,  "  he  drank  hardly 
any  thing.  This  seems  very  strange  to 
me  :  let's  look  him  up." 

The  two  friends,  aided  by  the  hotel- 
keeper,  searched  every  street,  alley, 
and  archway ;  entered  into  all  the  odd 
houses  in  which  they  thought  Octavio 


might  have  strayed  to  copy  a  painting 
or  an  inscription ;  and  at  last  found 
him  stretched  out,  unconscious,  upon 
the  mosaic  floor  of  a  half-ruined  cham- 
ber. They  found  great  difficulty  in 
awaking  him ;  and,  when  at  last  they 
succeeded,  he  would  give  no  explana- 
tion of  how  he  came  there,  except  that 
he  had  a  fancy  to  see  Pompeii  by  moon- 
light, and  that  he  had  been  overcome 
by  dizziness  probably,  and  had  fallen 
where  they  found  him. 

The  litde  party  returned  to  Naples 
as  they  had  come ;  and  that  evening, 
in  their  box  at  San  Carlo,  Max  and 
Fabio  witnessed  with  more  delight  than 
ever  the  pirouettes  of  two  twin-sisters 
of  the  ballet.  Octavio,  with  a  pale  face 
and  troubled  brow,  looked  at  the  panto- 
mime and  the  jugglery  which  followed 
as  though  he  did  not  much  doubt  its 
reality  after  the  adventures  of  the  pre- 
vious night.  He  had  hardly  come  to 
himself  yet. 

From  this  time  Octavio  was  a  prey 
to  a  mournful  melancholy,  which  the 
good  humor  and  jests  of  his  friends 
aggravated  rather  than  soothed  :  the 
memory  of  Arria  Marcella  pursued  him 
night  and  day,  and  the  sad  ending  of 
his  strange  adventure  had  not  destroyed 
its  charm. 

He  could  not  keep  away,  and  secretly 
returned  to  Pompeii,  and  walked  as  be- 
fore among  the  ruins,  by  the  light  of  the 
moon,  with  a  palpitating  heart,  filled  with 
a  wild  hope  ;  but  the  vision,  or  whatever 
it  may  have  been,  did  not  return.  He 
saw  only  the  lizards  scurrying  over  the 
stones ;  he  heard  only  the  cries  of 
the  night-birds ;  he  met  no  more  his 
friend  Rufus  Holconius  ;  Tyche  did  not 
come,  and  lead  him  by  the  hand  ;  Arria 
Marcella  obstinately  refused  to  rise 
from  her  ashes. 

At  last  despairing,  with  good  cause. 


128 


Arria  Marcella. 


Octavio  married  a  young  and  charming 
English  girl,  who  adores  him.  He  is 
perfection,  his  wife  thinks ;  but  Ellen, 
with  that  instinct  which  nothing  can 
escape,  feels  that  there  is  something 
wrong  with  her  husband.  But  what? 
Her  most  careful  watching  reveals 
nothing,  Octavio  does  not  visit  any 
actress  ;  in  society  he  takes  hardly  any 


notice  of  women ;  he  even  replied  very 
coolly  to  the  marked  advances  of  a 
Russian  princess,  celebrated  for  beauty 
and  coquetry.  His  secret  drawer, 
opened  during  his  absence,  revealed 
no  proof  of  infidehty  to  the  suspicious 
Ellen.  But  how  could  she  be  jealous 
of  Arria  Marcella,  daughter  of  Arrius 
Diomedes  ? 


TICKNOR    &    CO.'S    NEW    BOOKS.* 


Life  of  Henry  Wadsworth  Long- 
fellow. Edited  by  Rev.  Samuel  Longfellow. 
2  vols.,  i2mo.  With  five  new  steel-engraved 
Portraits,  and  many  Wood  -  Engravings  and 
fac-similes.  In  cloth,  $6.00.  In  half-calf, 
with  marbled  edges,  $11.00.  In  half-morocco, 
with  gilt  top  and  rough  edges,  $11.00. 

"  It  has  not  been  generally  known  that 
Mr.  Longfellow  added  to  his  poetic  gifts 
those  of  an  artist.  In  this  biography  will  be 
found  letters  and  diaries  written  by  the  poet 
while  abroad,  and  charmingly  illustrated  by 
him  with  dainty  pen-and-ink  drawings."  — 
Chicago   Tribune. 

"  A  vast  amount  of  Mr.  Longfellow's  corre- 
Bpondence,  which  is  of  far  more  interest  than 
is  usual,  even  among  men  of  letters,  on  ac- 
count of  its  fine  and  sympathetic  literary 
quality.  The  poet's  beautiful  spirit  shines 
through  every  private  letter  that  he  wrote. 
There  will  be  no  Carlyle  revelations."  —  Bos- 
ton Traveller. 

"  Remarkably  rich  in  material  relating  to 
the  daily  life  of  the  poet.  Of  course,  a  wealth 
of  resource  has  been  at  the  command  of  the 
biographer ;  and  the  volume  will  include,  in 
addition  to  the  correspondence,  several  por- 
traits, taken  at  different  periods  of  Longfel- 
low's life,  from  early  youth  to  advanced  age." 
—  New  York  Evening  Post. 

*  Sent,  Postpaid,  on  Receipt  of 


The  biography  of  the  foremost  American 
poet,  written  by  his  brother,  is  probably  the 
most  important  work  of  the  kind  brought  out 
in  the  United  States  for  many  years.  It  is 
rich  in  domestic,  personal,  and  family  inter- 
est, anecdotes,  reminiscences,  and  other  thor- 
oughly charming  me?norabilia. 

Curiosities  of  the  Old  Lottery.  The 
first  volumes  of  "  The  Olden  Time  Se- 
ries," or  "  Gleanings  from  the  Old  News- 
papers, chiefly  of  Boston  and  Salem,"  with 
brief  Comments  by  Henry  M.  Brooks  of 
Salem,  Mass.  161110.  Cloth.  Price  50  cents 
per  vol. 

Vol.  I.     "  Curiosities  of  the  Old  Lottery." 
Vol.  II.     "  Days   of   the   Spinning-Wheel 
in  New  England." 

Vol.  III.    "  New-England  Sunday." 
Should  there  be  sufficient  encouragement, 
the  Series  will  be  continued  by  these  :  — 

"  Quaint  and  Curious  Advertisements  ;  " 
"  Literary  Curiosities ;  "  "  Some  Strange  and 
Curious  Punishments ;  "  "  New-England  Mu- 
sic in  the  latter  part  of  the  i8th,  and  in  the 
beginning  of  the  19th  Century;"  "  Travel  in 
Old  Times,  with  Some  Account  of  Stages, 
Taverns,  etc.  ; "  "  Curiosities  of  Politics 
among  the  Old  Federalists  and  Republi- 
cans," etc. 

Price  by  Ticknor  &  Co.,  Boston. 


Tick  nor  &  Co.'s  Nezv  Books. 


I2g 


The  Prelate  (by  Isaac  Henderson, 
i2mo,  $1.50)  is  a  romance  of  the  American 
colony  and  native  society  at  Rome,  with  most 
intense  and  dramatic  situations,  and  rare 
power  of  description.  The  weird  and  bril- 
liant designs  for  the  covers  of  "  The  Prelate  " 
were  made  by  Elihu  Vedder,  who  is  a  friend 
of  the  author. 

The  Boston  "  Budget "  thus  recognizes  one 
of  the  unseen  beauties  of  Howells's  new 
novel,  "  Indian  Summer  : "  — 

"  Mr.  Howells,  in  this  the  latest  of  his 
completed  stories,  paints  life  in  Florence 
with  a  truthfulness  begot  of  long  acquaint- 
ance with  the  localities  he  is  describing,  and 
with  that  literary  skill  for  which  he  is  justly 
celebrated." 

Next  week  will  appear  the  new  "  Artistic 
Homes  :  In  the  City  and  Country."  By  Albert 
W.  Fuller,  Architect.  (Fourth  edition,  re- 
vised, enlarged,  and  improved.)  This  rich 
new  edition  will  have  76  full-page  illustra- 
tions, many  of  which  are  from  gelatine,  sup- 
planting designs  discarded  from  the  earlier 
editions.  There  will  also  be  one  handsome 
colored  plate  (folio,  $3.50).  It  is  doubtful 
whether  any  of  the  numerous  books  of 
similar  purport  have  succeeded  so  richly  and 
steadily  as  Fuller's  "  Artistic  Homes." 

The  Cambridge  "  Tribune  "  says  of  Low- 
ell's Chozon  (illustrated  and  richly  bound, 
8vo,  $5.00)  :  — 

"  Mr.  Lowell's  book  is  one  of  rare  interest 
and  value.  He  has  seen  that  which  is  wholly 
novel ;  and  he  tells  his  story  with  delightful 
relish,  evidently  enjoying  the  telling  as  well 
as  the  rest  of  us  do  the  reading.  He  begins 
with  a  vivid  monograph  on  the  myths  and 
traditions  of  the  far-off  East,  and  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  peninsula.  He  then  gives  an 
amusing  description  of  the  journey  from  his 
landing-place  in  Korea  up  to  Soul,  the  capital 
of  the  country,  and  adds  scores  of  episodes 


of  his  life  in  that  great  city,  —  diverting, 
pathetic,  and  all  full  of  quaintness  and  origi- 
nality. The  book  is  rich  in  allusions  to  the 
architecture,  costumes,  government,  super- 
stitions, landscape-gardening,  and  other  inter- 
esting features  of  thd  Korean  people,  set 
forth  with  scientific  precision  and  literary 
grace,  yet  without  undue  obtrusion  of  the 
author's  personality.  The  book  is  full  of 
quotable  passages,  describing  the  customs 
and  oddities  of  the  people,  and  giving  many 
enticing  glimpses  of  beautiful  scenery  and 
enjoyable  experiences." 

An  admirable  suggestion  to  architects  and 
persons  interested  in  interior  decoration  is 
contained  in  the  following  paragraphs  from 
the  "  Scientific  American  "  referring  to  Pro- 
fessor Edward  S.  Morse's  "  Japanese  Homes, 
and  their  Surroundings  "  (300  illustrations, 
8vo,  $5.00) :  — 

"  For  cultivated  people  of  small  means, 
desiiing  to  build  for  themselves,  and  having 
tastes  which  lead  them  to  take  pleasure  in 
beautifying  their  homes  and  surroundings 
where  this  can  be  done  in  an  inexpensive  way, 
we  know  of  no  other  publication  so  brimful 
of  suggestion  and  valuable  information  as 
is  this  handsome  and  profusely  illustrated 
volume.  We  do  not  mean,  in  saying  this,  to 
have  any  one  infer  that  the  book  is  not  equal- 
ly well  worth  the  attention  of  those  who  can 
build  brownstone  houses,  or  of  the  architects 
who  design  the  most  costly  residences ;  for,  of 
the  latter  structures,  too  many  are  wanting  in 
many  of  the  essentials  to  comfortable  living, 
that  are  generally  found  in  less  pretentious 
buildings.  But  the  conditions  of  life  in  Japan, 
and  the  genius  of  its  people,  are  such,  that  we 
often  find  in  their  work  the  development  of 
an  exquisite  taste  that  makes  the  commonest 
articles  they  produce  a  source  of  constant 
pleasure.  How  this  taste  and  Japanese  con- 
structive ingenuity  are  manifested  in  their 
residences,  in  those  of  the  humblest  as  well 
as  those  of  the  higher  classes,  the  work  of 


130 


Ticknor  &  Go's  Nciv  Books. 


Professor  Morse  points  out  in  ample  detail, 
and  in  most  attractive  style." 

The  "  Hartford  Courant  "  speaks  thus  of 
the  new  novel  ("  Two  College  Girls,"  by 
Helen  Dawes  Brown,  $1.50) :  — 

"  'Two  College  Girls  '  must  be  pronounced 
a  decidedly  successful  story.  Edna  Howe  of 
New  England,  and  Rosamond  Mills  of  Chi- 
cago, are  the  two  girls  of  the  tale,  but 
around  them,  in  the  college  life,  are  grouped 
others  who  are  only  a  little  less  important 
and  interesting ;  and  their  individual  charac- 
ters are  sketched  with  a  firm,  sure,  skilful 
hand.  In  the  first  chapter  we  are  introduced 
to  a  family  gathering  in  a  New-England 
village,  in  the  home  of  Edna  Howe,  at  which 
uncle  Lemuel  and  aunt  Almira  and  uncle 
Ira  and  all  the  relations  discuss  the  matter  of 
Edna's  going  to  college.  And  we  know  not 
where  to  look  for  a  more  faithful  description 
of  such  a  scene.  But  Edna  goes  to  college ; 
and  from  the  day  of  examination  to  the  day 
of  graduation,  her  life  there,  interwoven  with 
the  lives  of  her  mates  and  teachers,  is  one 
whose  story  will  be  read  with  eager  delight. 
It  is  a  delightful  story,  not  in  the  least  frivo- 
lous or  superficial,  but  true  to  the  life,  and 
wought  out  with  ease,  grace,  and  power." 

The  "  Scotsman"  (of  Edinburgh),  which  is 
probably  the  most  influential  journal  in  Scot- 
land, thus  praises  Percival  Lowell's  "  Choson: 
The  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm  "  (Korea) :  — 


"  In  his  capacity  of  Foreign  Secretary  and 
Counsellor  to  the  Korean  Special  Mission, 
he  had  exceptional  opportunities  afforded  to 
him  of  studying  the  structure  of  Korean 
society,  from  the  court  life  down  to  the  low- 
est strata  ;  and  these  he  has  turned  to  excel- 
lent account.  Specially  interesting  are  the 
chapters  on  the  origin,  characteristics,  and 
tendencies  of  Korean  art,  science,  and  phi- 
losophy." 

Professor  Edward  S.  Morse's  admirable 
"  Japanese  Homes  and  their  Surroundings  " 
is  thus  commented  upon  (in  a  three-column 
review)  by  the  "  London  Building  News  :  "  — 

"  Mr.  Morse's  very  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive work  is  the  only  reliable  guide  to  the 
architecture  of  Japan  we  have  seen." 

"  Edge-Tools  of  Speech  "  is  one  of  the 
best  books  of  quotations  in  the  language.  It 
was  a  happy  thought  that  prompted  that 
industrious,  graceful,  and  talented  man  of 
letters,  Mr.  M.  M.  Ballou,  to  prepare  such  a 
work.  It  is  indispensable  in  the  library  and 
at  the  ofiiice.  The  book  is  handsomely  issued 
by  Messrs.  Ticknor  &  Co. 

The  covers  of  Isaac  Henderson's  novel 
of  Roman  Life,  "  The  Prelate,"  are  embel- 
lished with  original  and  striking  designs  by 
Elihu  Vedder,  who  is  an  intimate  friend  of 
Henderson. 


THE 


GRANITE    MONTHLY. 

A  Xl-W  HAMPSHIRE  MAGAZINE. 

Devoted  to  Literature,  Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX. 


MAY   AND   JUNE,    1 886. 


Nos.  5,  6. 


JOHN    McDUFFEE. 


]!y  Rev.  Alonzo 

To  men  of  their  own  energetic  stock, 
■who,  refusing  all  political  preferment, 
have  given  comprehensive  abilities,  ster- 
ling integrity,  and  sagacious  industry, 
to  the  development  of  business,  many 
New- Hampshire  towns  owe  an  imper- 
ishable debt.  John  McDuffee's  record 
is  in  the  prosperity  of  Rochester. 

The  name  itself  suggests  that  strong 
Scotch-Irish  blood  which  endured  the 
siege  of  Londonderry,  in  which  were 
Mr.  McDuffee's  ancestors,  John  ]\Ic- 
Duffee  and  his  wife  Martha,  honored  in 
tradition.  John  and  Martha  ]\IcDuffee 
had  four  sons ;  viz.,  Mansfield,  Archi- 
bald, John,  and  Daniel.  Mansfield  went 
to  London,  England ;  the  other  three 
came  with  their  parents  to  America  in 
the  emigration  which  gave  New  Hamp- 
shire the  powerful  stock  of  Derry  and 
Londonderry.  John,  the  father  of  these 
sons,  settled  in  Rochester,  in  1729,  on 
land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cocheco 
River,  adjoining  Gonic  Lower  Falls,  — 
the  farm  of  eighty-five  acres  remaining 
without  break  in  the  family,  and  now 
owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
The  Rochester  settler  was,  as  just  stated, 
the  father  of  Daniel  McDuffee,  and  also 
of  Colonel  John  McDuffee,  a  gallant 
officer  in  the  old  French  and  Revolu- 
tionary wars,  lieutenant-colonel  in  Col. 
Poor's  regiment,  who,  never  marrying. 


li.  Quint,  D.D. 

adopted  his  brother  Daniel's  son  John, 
and  eventually  made  him  his  heir.  John, 
the  colonel's  heir,  was  a  farmer  in  good 
circumstances,  married  Abigail,  daugh- 
ter of  Simon  and  Sarah  (Ham)  Torr, 
and  was  father  of  John  McDuffee,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  born  on 
the  farm  once  the  colonel's,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Rochester  \illage,  on 
the  Dover  road,  Dec.  6,  1803. 

Of  course,  while  working  on  the  farm 
more  or  less,  he  had  for  five  or  more 
years  the  advantage  of  a  good  school. 

In  1 818,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  the  boy 
entered  Franklin  Academy,  in  Dover. 
In  1 82 1,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he 
went  into  the  store  of  his  uncle,  John 
Greenfield,  at  Rochester. 

After  two  years'  experience,  he  be- 
gan the  same  business  for  himself  on 
the  same  square  ;  was  successful,  and, 
after  two  years,  took  into  partnership 
his  uncle,  Jonathan  H.  Torr.  During 
this  period  he  was  commissioned  post- 
m.aster  of  Rochester,  being  not  of  age 
when  appointed  ;  and  he  held  this  office 
until  removed  on  Jackson's  accession 
to  the  presidency. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  183 1  he 
went  to  Dover,  and  began  the  same 
business  on  a  broader  scale.  Steady 
success  continued  to  reward  his  energy 
and  industry.     In  Februar}',  1833,  he 


i;?l 


1^2 


John  McDiijfce. 


sold  out  his  business  in  Dover,  and  re- 
turned to  Rochester  to  settle  the  estate 
of  his  wife's  father,  Joseph  Hanson,  an 
old  and  wealthy  merchant  of  Roches- 
ter, whose  daughter  Johanna  Mr.  Mc- 
Duffec  had  married  June  21,  1829. 

There  was  no  bank  in  Rochester. 
Mr.  McDuffee  saw  that  a  bank  was 
needed.  He  prepared  the  plans,  se- 
cured signatures,  obtained  a  charter 
from  the  Legislature  in  1834,  and  or- 
cjanized  the  Rochester  Bank.  He  be- 
came  cashier,  his  brother-in-law,  Dr. 
James  Farrington,  being  president. 

Cashier  for  twenty  years,  on  the  then 
renewal  of  its  charter,  Mr.  McDuffee  re- 
signed the  cashiership  in  favor  of  his 
son  Franklin,  and  became  president. 
The  bank  did  not  become  a  national 
bank  until  1874,  and  in  the  six  years 
previous  he  and  his  son  formed  the 
house  of  "John  McDuffee  &  Co.,  pri- 
vate bankers,"  took  up  the  old  bank's 
business,  and  successfully  carried  it  on. 
In  1 8  74  they  merged  it  in  a  national 
bank,  the  one  being  president  and  the 
other  cashier,  as  before,  and  the  •  two 
taking  two-fifths  of  its  stock. 

Mr.  McDuffee  was  one  of  the  original 
grantees  of  the  Dover  National  Bank, 
and  for  a  short  time  was  a  director. 
He  is  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Straf- 
ford National  Bank,  and  has  been  an 
active  director  since  1870. 

The  Norway  Plains  Savings  Bank,  at 
Rochester,  was  chartered  in  185 1,  and 
Mr.  McDuffee  became  its  treasurer,  be- 
ing succeeded  by  his  son  Franklin  in 
1867,  and  himself  becoming  president, 
an  office  in  which  he  still  remains. 

Mr.  McDuffee  early  saw  the  advan- 
tages of  manufacturing  to  a  community. 
By  his  own  means  and  a  liberal  allow- 
ance of  banking  facilities  he  has  greatly 
aided  their  development :  the  first  such 
enterprise  in  Rochester,  the  Mechanics' 


Manufacturing  Company,  being  decided 
to  locate  there  by  the  new  banking  facili- 
ties. Mr.  McDuffee  was  a  director.  It 
was  a  manufacture  of  blankets,  and  its 
successor  is  tlie  Norway  Plains  Manufac- 
turing Company.  The  original  company 
Mr.  McDuffee  carried  safely  through 
the  crisis  of  1837.  The  mill  property  at 
Gonic  Mr.  McDuffee  bought  in  1845 
to  lease  to  N.  V.  Whitehouse,  that  the 
business  might  not  be  given  up.  He 
held  his  purchase  for  about  ten  years. 
The  effort  was  successful,  and  the  prop- 
erty was  eventually  taken  by  a  joint- 
stock  company. 

Stephen  Shorey,  owning  some  facili- 
ties for  manufacturing  at  East  Roches- 
ter, came  to  Mr.  McDuffee  to  see  if  the 
bank  would  advance  means  to  build. 
Mr.  McDuffee  at  once  pledged  the 
means,  and  the  mills  were  built.  A 
stock  company  afterwards  purchased 
mills  and  machinery,  and  the  thriving 
village  of  East  Rochester  owes  its  pros- 
perity to  Mr.  McDuffee's  liberal  policy. 
Thus  have  been  developed  the  three- 
principal  water-powers  of  Rochester. 

Mr.  McDuffee's  personal  interests  in 
manufacturing  were  also  in  tlie  Great 
Falls  Manufacturing  Company,  in  whose 
great  business  he  was  a  director  for  four 
years.  Capital,  one  million  five  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  In  1S62  he 
bought  large  interests  in  the  Cocheco 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  has  there 
remained.  Since  1874  he  has  been  a 
director  of  that  corporation. 

The  need  of  railroad  facilities  at 
Rochester  was  early  apparent  to  Mr. 
McDuffee.  In  1846  he  entered  into 
two  enterprises,  —  the  Cocheco  road, 
from  Dover  to  Alton  Bay,  and  Conway 
road,  from  Great  Falls  to  Conway. 
Each  was  to,  and  did,  pass  through 
Rochester. 

In  each  road  Mr.  McDuffee  was  the 


Jolin  McDuffee. 


133 


largest  individual  stockholder,  and  of 
each  was  the  first  treasurer.  When  the 
Conway  road  reached  Rochester,  Mr. 
McDuffee  resigned  its  treasurership. 
The  other  road,  after  various  difficul- 
ties, became  the  Dover  and  Winnipe- 
saukee  by  the  incorporation  of  its  bond- 
holders, and  Mr.  McDuffee  continued 
to  be  a  director.  Rochester  was  thus 
doubly  accommodated ;  but  another 
avenue  was  needed,  and  Mr.  McDuffee 
took  part  in  the  Portland  and  Roches- 
ter, which  secured  a  route  eastward, 
of  which  road  he  was  a  director  ;  and 
he  invested  liberally  in  the  Rochester 
and  Nashua,  which  opened  a  line  to  the 
west.  The  result  has  been  that  Roches- 
ter is  the  "  billing-point,"  and  its  vari- 
ous manufacturing  interests  have  felt  its 
impetus. 

The  beauty  of  the  "  McDuffee  Block" 
in  Rochester,  built  by  him  in  1868,  ex- 
hibits the  owner's  public  spirit. 

As  a  Mason  he  joined  Humane  Lodge 
on  the  very  day  he  became  '•  of  lawful 
age." 

In  religion,  Mr.  McDuffee  was  brought 
up  under  good  old  Parson  Joseph  Haven, 
and  has  remained  a  liberal  supporter  of 
the  Congregational  Society. 

In  politics  he  was  an  earnest  Whig. 
His  first  vote  was  for  the  electors  who 
chose  John  Quincy  x\dams  president, 
and  his  postmastership  was  ended  by 
Andrew  Jackson.  He  has  always  been 
a  decided  Republican. 

Mr.  McDuffee's  great  amount  of  la- 
bor has  been  possible  only  by  the  vigor- 
ous constitution  which  he  inherited. 
The  boy  who,  before  he  left  home, 
•'  carried  the  forward  swath  "  in  the  hay- 
field  made  the  man  who  now  accom- 
plishes an  amount  of  work  which  would 
surprise  many  younger  men.  Monday 
is  always  given  to   the   Strafford  Bank 


at  Dover  ;  Tuesday  he  presides  at  the 
Rochester  Bank  meeting ;  Wednesday, 
at  the  Savings  bank  ;  and  no  day  is 
idle. 

Of  Mr.  McDuffee's  happy  domestic 
relations  nothing  need  be  said.  Of 
his  eight  children,  naming  them  in  the 
order  of  birth,  ( i )  Joseph,  who  fol- 
lowed the  sea,  died  (single)  on  the 
ocean,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five.  (2) 
Franklin,  left  two  sons,  John  Edgar 
and  Willis.  (3)  John  Randolph,  grad- 
uated at  the  Chandler  Scientific  De- 
partment in  1 85  7,  was  a  civil  engineer 
in  Rochester,  and  died  single,  aged 
twenty-five.  (4)  Anna  M.  is  the  wife 
of  Frank  S.  Brown  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
of  the  firm  of  Brown,  Thompson,  & 
Co.  She  has  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters. (5)  Mary  Abbie  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  K.  Chase,  a  merchant  in 
Rochester,  and  has  tv/o  daughters. 
(6)  Sarah,  died  single.  {7)  George, 
♦the  only  surviving  son,  is  engaged  in 
extensive  grain,  mill,  ami  lumber  busi- 
ness in  Rochester.  He  married,  first, 
Lizzie  Hanson,  who  died  leaving  a  son  ; 
afterward  he  married,  second,  Nellie, 
daughter  of  Dr.  James  Farrington  of 
Rochester,  her  father  being  nephew  of 
Dr.  James  Farrington  M.C.  (8)  Oli- 
ver, died  in  infancy. 

Judged  by  the  sucess  of  his  work  as 
a  banker,  as  developing  by  a  liberal 
and  wise  help  every  worthy  manufac- 
turing enterprise,  and  as  foremost  in  the 
building  of  the  various  railways  center- 
ing in  Rochester,  it  is  clear  that  Mr. 
McDuffee  nobly  comes  into  the  list  of 
those  spoken  of  in  our  first  paragraph, 
whose  record  is  in  the  prosperity  of  his 
native  town,  where  ability,  sagacity,  in- 
tegrity, and  kindness  have  united  to 
make  that  record,  as  well  as  his  own 
personal  success. 


134 


Franklin  McDujfce. 


FRANKLIN    McDUFFEE, 


Fr.\nklin  McDuffee,  son  of  John 
and  Joanna  (Hanson)  McDuffee,  was 
born  at  Dover,  Aug.  27,  1832.  He 
entered  Gilmanton  Academy  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  and  graduated  with 
honor  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1853. 
He  read  law  for  a  short  time  with  Hon. 
Daniel  M.  Christie  of  Dover.  In  May, 
1854,  he  accepted  the  position  of 
cashier  of  the  Rochester  State  Bank. 
In  1857  he  was  seriously  injured  by  ex- 
posure incurred  while  on  an  expedition 
to  the  White  Mountains,  from  the  effect 
of  which  he  never  fully  recovered. 

He  married,  Dec.  4,  1861,  Fanny 
Hayes  of  Rochester. 

In  1866  he  was  appointed  treasurer 
of  the  Norway  Plains  Savings  Bank^ 
which  office  he  held  until  his  death. 
Two  years  later  he  became  one  of  the 
firm  of  "  John  McDuffee  &  Co.,  Bank- 
ers." In  1874  he  was  appointed  cashier 
of  the  Rochester  National  Bank.  He 
was  initiated  in  the  Humane  Lodge  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Dec.  9, 
1856.  The  next  year  he  was  chosen 
secretary.  He  was  master  of  the  lodge 
in  1863-64.  In  1866  and  1867  he 
officiated  as  District  Deputy  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
served  the  town  as  selectman,  and  many 
years  as  superintending  school  com- 
mittee ;  was  a  memb<jr  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1862,  and  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  in  1876.  He  joined  the 
Congregational  Church  in  1868,  and 
was  chosen  deacon  four  years  later. 
After  a  sickness  of  a  few  weeks  he  died 
at  Rochester,  Nov.  11,  1880. 

The  character  of  Franklin  McDuffee 


was  one  of  rare  excellence,  blending 
many  valuable  traits.  As  a  lad  he  was 
studious,  thoughtful,  kind,  and  mature 
beyond  his  years.  He  was  thorough  and 
exact  in  his  studies,  faithful  and  exem- 
plary as  a  student,  and  esteemed  by  his 
associate:;.  He  was  industrious  and 
honest,  modest  and  retiring. 

In  i)olitics  he  was  a  stanch  Republi- 
can, an  unflinching  friend  of  temper- 
ance and  good  order.  He  had  decision, 
energy,  and  sturdy  pluck,  without  mal- 
ice or  bitterness.  He  was  an  effective 
speaker,  his  words  having  weight  from 
the  influence  of  his  character.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  entertaining  lecturers  in 
New  Hampshire.  He  took  a  deep 
interest  in  education,  and  zealously 
soufrht  to  elevate  the  schools  of  Roches- 
ter.  From  his  interest  in  historical 
subjects,  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society  ; 
and  wrote  a  series  of  valuable  historical 
articles  for  the  "  Rochester  Courier," 
which  have  lately  been  gathered  into 
book  form  and  will  shortly  be  published. 
His  mind  was  essentially  mathematical, 
with  keen  powers  of  analytic  thought. 
His  methodical  turn  of  mind  fitted  him 
especially  for  business,  in  which  he  was 
a  model  of  diligence,  exactness,  and 
integrity.  His  neighbors  and  towns- 
men highly  appreciated  his  sterling 
worth,  and  his  intimates  prized  his 
friendship. 

His  firm  and  substantial  character 
was  beautified  and  crowned  with  the 
graces  of  a  Christian  life.  His  religion, 
like  every  other  part  of  his  character, 
was  genuine. 


,.-«?. 


■.-Vx^» 


The  Family  Immigration  to  New  England. 


05 


THE    FAMILY    IMMIGRATION    TO    NEW    ENGLAND. 

By  Thomas  W.  Bicknell,  LL.D. 


The  unit  of  society  is  the  individual. 
The  u-nit  of  civihzation  is  the  family. 
Prior  to  December  20,  1620,  New- 
England  life  had  never  seen  a  civilized 
family  or  felt  its  influences.  It  is  true 
that  the  Icelandic  Chronicles  tell 
us  that  Lief,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red, 
1 00 1,  sailed  with  a  crew  of  thirty-five 
men,  in  a  Norwegian  vessel,  and  driven 
southward  in  a  storm,  from  Greenland 
along  the  coasts  of  Labrador,  wintered 
in  Vineland  on  the  shores  of  Mount 
Hope  Bay,  Longfellow's  Skeleton  in 
Armor  has  revealed  their  temporary 
settlement.  Thither  sailed  Eric's  son, 
Thorstein,  with  his  young  and  beautiful 
wife,  Gudrida,  and  their  twenty-five 
companions,  the  following  year.  His 
death  occurred,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
expedition,  which  Thorfinn  took  up 
with  his  marriage  to  the  young  widow, 
Gudrida ;  with  his  bride  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  persons  (five  of 
them  young  married  women),  they  spent 
three  years  on  the  shores  of  the  Nar- 
ragansett  Bay,  where  Snorre,  the  Jirst 
white  child,  was  born,  —  the  progenitor 
of  the  great  Danish  sculptor,  Thor- 
waldsen.  But  this  is  tradition,  not 
history.  Later  still,  came  other  adven- 
turers to  seek  fortunes  in  the  New 
World,  but  they  came  as  individuals,  — 
young,  adventurous  men,  with  all  to 
gain  and  nothing  to  lose,  and,  if  suc- 
cessful, to  return  with  gold  or  fame, 
as  the  reward  of  their  sacrifice  and 
daring. 

Six  hundred  years  pass,  and  a  colony 
of  one  hundred  and  five  men,  not  a 
woman  in  the  company,  sailed  from 
England     for    America,    and     landed 


at  Jamestown,  Virginia.  Within  six 
months  half  of  the  immigrants  had 
perished,  and  only  for  the  courage  and 
bravery  of  John  Smith,  the  whole  would 
have  met  a  sad  fate.  The  first 
European  woman  seen  on  the  banks 
of  the  James  was  the  wife  of  one  of  the 
seventy  Virginia  colonists  who  came 
later,  and  her  maid,  Anne  Burroughs, 
who  helped  to  give  permanency  and 
character  to  a  fugitive  settlement  in 
a  colony,  which  waited  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  to  learn  the  value  of 
a  New-England  home,  and  to  appre- 
ciate the  civilization  which  sprang  up 
in  a  New-England  town,  through  the 
agency  of  a  New-England  family. 

An  experience  similar  to  that  of 
the  Virginia  settlers  —  disappointment, 
hardship,  death  —  attended  the  immi- 
grants who,  under  George  Popham, 
Raleigh,  and  Gilbert,  attempted  to  make 
a  permanent  home  on  the  coast  of 
Maine,  but  their  house  was  a  log  camp, 
with  not  a  solitary  woman  to  light  its 
gloom  or  cheer  its  occupants.  Failure, 
defeat,  and  death  were  the  inevitable 
consequences.  There  was  no  family, 
and  there  could  be  no  permanency  of 
civilization. 

The  planting  of  Plymouth  and  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  Colonies  was  of  another 
sort.  Whole  families  embarked  on 
board  the  Mayflower,  the  Fortune,  the 
Ann,  the  Mary  and  John,  and  other 
ships  that  brought  their  precious  freight 
in  safety  to  a  New  World.  Of  the  one 
hundred  and  one  persons  who  came  in 
the  Mayflower,  in  1620,  twenty-eight 
were  females,  and  eighteen  were  wives 
and  mothers.     Thevdid  not  leave  their 


136 


77^1?  Family  Immigration  to  New  England. 


homes,  in  the  truest  sense,  —  they 
brought  them  with  them.  Their 
household  goods  and  hearthstone  gods 
were  all  snugly  stowed  beneath  the 
decks  of  the  historic  ship,  and  the 
multitude  of  Mayflower  relics,  now  held 
in  precious  regard  in  public  and  private 
collections,  but  testify  to  the  immense 
inventory  of  that  one  little  ship  of 
almost  fabulous  carrying  capacity.  To 
the  compact  signed  in  Plymouth  har- 
bor, in  1620,  John  Carv^/  signs  eight 
persons,  whom  he  represents;  Edward 
Winslow,  five  ;  William  Brewster,  six ; 
William  MuUins,  five  ;  William  White, 
five  ;  Stephen  Hopkins,  Edward  Fuller, 
and  John  Turner,  each,  eight ;  John 
Chilton,  three,  —  one  of  whom,  his 
daughter  Mary,  was  the  first  woman,  as 
tradition  says,  to  jump  from  the  boat 
upon  Plymouth  Rock.  In  the  Wey- 
mouth Company,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  Reverend  Joseph  Hull,  who  set  sail 
from  Old  Weymouth,  England,  on  the 
twentieth  of  March,  1635,  ^^*^  landed  at 
Wessaguscus,  —  now  Weymouth,  Mas- 
sachusetts, —  there  were  one  hundred 
and  five  persons,  divided  into  twenty- 
one  families.  Among  these  were  John 
Whitmarsh,  his  wife  Alice,  and  four 
children ;  Robert  Lovell,  husbandman, 
with  his  good  wife  Elizabeth  and  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom,  Ellen  and  James, 
were  year-old  twins ;  Edward  Poole 
and  family ;  Henry  Kingman,  Thomas 
Holbrook,  Richard  Porter,  and  jiot  least 
of  all,  Zachary  Bicknell,  his  wife  Agnes, 
their  son  John,  and  servant  John 
Kitchen. 

Families  these,  —  all  on  board,  — 
households,  treasures,  all  worldly 
estates,  and  best  of  all  the  rich  sym- 
pathies and  supports  of  united,  trust- 
ing hearts,  daring  to  face  the  perils  of 
an  ocean -passage  of  forty-six  days' 
duration,  and  the  new,  strange  life  in 


the  wilds  of  America,  that  they  might 
prove  their  faith  in  each  other,  in  their 
principles,  and  in  God.  "  He  setteth 
the  solitary  in  families,"  says  the 
Psalmist ;  and  the  truth  was  never 
better  illustrated  than  in  the  isolated 
and  weary  life  of  our  ancestry,  two  and 
a  half  centuries  ago. 

To  the  Pilgrim  and  the  Puritan,  wife, 
children,  house,  home,  family,  church, 
were  the  most  precious  possessions. 
Nothing  human  could  divorce  ties 
which  nature  had  so  strongly  woven. 
And  whenever  we  think  of  our  honored 
ancestry,  it  is  not  as  individual  adven- 
turers ;  but  we  see  the  good-man,  the 
good-wife,  and  their  children,  as  the 
representatives  of  the  great  body  of 
those,  who  with  them  planted  homes, 
families,  society,  civilization,  in  the 
Western  World.  They  came  together, 
or  if  alone,  to  pioneer  the  way  for 
wife  and  children  or  sweetheart  by  the 
next  ship,  and  they  came  to  stay,  as 
witness  the  names  of  the  old  families 
of  Plymouth,  Weymouth,  Salem, 
Boston,  Dorchester,  in  the  leading 
circles  of  wealth  and  social  position  in 
all  of  these  old  towns.  "  Behold," 
says  Dr.  Bushnell,  "  the  Mayflower, 
rounding  now  the  southern  cape  of 
England,  filled  with  husbands  and 
wives  and  children ;  families  of 
righteous  men,  under  covenant  with 
God  and  each  other  to  lay  some  good 
foundation  for  religion,  engaged  both 
to  make  and  keep  their  own  laws, 
expecting  to  supply  their  own  wants 
and  bear  their  own  burdens,  assisted  by 
none  but  the  God  in  whom  they  trust  1 
Here  are  the  hands  of  industry  !  the 
germs  of  liberty  !  the  dear  pledges  of 
order  !  and  the  sacred  beginnings  of  a 
home  !  "  Of  such,  only,  could  Mrs. 
Hemans's  inspired  hymn  have  been 
written :  —>- 


The  Family  Immigration  to  New  EnglaJid.  137 

"There  were  men  with  hoary  hair  VIII.       One  Rcvercnd  EdmUnd   Pcach- 

Amidst  that  pilgrim  band;  ,                        •       o                  ^    i  •         i      j 

Why  had  they  come  to  wither  there.    ^  am,  a  clergyman  m  Somersetshire,  had 

Away  from  their  childhood's  land  ?    '  his  study  brokcn   Open,  and  a  manu- 

._,                     ,  r    ,  script   sermon   beinsr    there    found    in 

"  There  was  woman  s  fearless  eye,  >^                                     ° 

Lit  by  her  deep  love's  truth;  which  there  was  Strong  censurc  of  the 

There  was  manhood's  brow,  serenely  high,  gxtravaganc  6  of  the  king  and  the  opprcs- 

And  the  fiery  heart  of  youth.  °                                       °                         ^ '^ 

sion  of  his  officers,  the  preacher  was  put 

to  the  rack  and    interrogated,  "  before 

REASONS  FOR  FAMILY  REMOVAi^.  ^^^^^^^^  ._^  ^^^^^^^^  \,^^s^^^n  torture,  and 

To  understand  the  reasons  why  after  torture,"  in  order  to  draw  from 
thirty-five  thousand  loyal  and  respecta-  him  evidence  of  treason ;  but  this  hor- 
ble  subjects  of  Charles  I  should  leave  rible  severity  could  wring  no  confession 
Old  England  for  the  New,  in  family  from  him.  His  sermon  was  not  found 
relations,  between  1620  and  1625,  let  treasonable  by  the  judges  of  the 
us  look,  if  we  can,  through  a  chink  in  King's  Bench  and  by  Lord  Coke ;  but 
the  wall,  into  the  state  of  affairs,  civil,  the  unhappy  man  was  tried  and  con- 
social,  and  religious,  as  they  existed  in  demned,  dying  in  jail  before  the  time 
the  best  land,  and  under  the  best  gov-  set  for  his  execution.  Just  about  this 
emment,  the  sun  then  shone  upon.  time  was  the  State  murder  of  Over- 
Charles  I  succeeded  his  father,  bury,  and  the  execution  of  Sir  Walter 
James  I  of  Scotland,  in  1624.  The  Raleigh,  one  of  England's  noblest  sons, 
great,  good  act  of  James  was  the  trans-  brave  and  chivalric,  who,  at  the  execu- 
lation  of  our  English  Bible,  known  as  tioner's  block,  took  the  axe  in  his 
King  James's  Version,  a  work  which,  hand,  kissed  the  blade,  and  said  to  the 
for  the  exercise  of  learning,  scholar-  sheriff:  "'Tisasharp  medicine,  but  a 
ship,  and  a  zealous  religious  faith,  has  sound  cure  for  all  diseases."  These 
not  been  surpassed  in  any  age.  Take  and  kindred  acts  serve  to  illustrate  the 
him  all  in  all,  James  was  a  bigot,  a  history  of  a  king  whose  personal  and 
t)Tant,  a  conceited  fool.  He  professed  selfish  interests  overruled  all  sentiments 
to  be  the  most  ardent  devotee  of  of  honor  and  regard  for  his  subjects, 
piety,  and  at  the  same  time  issued  a  and  who  publicly  declared  that  "he 
proclamation  that  all  lawful  recreations,  would  govern  according  to  the  good  of 
such  as  dancing,  archery,  leaping,  the  commonweal,  but  not  according  to 
May-games,  etc.,  might  be  used  after  the  common  will,"  With  such  a  king 
divine  service,  on  Sundays.  An  advo-  as  James  on  the  throne,  is  it  a  wonder 
cate  of  religious  freedom,  he  attempted  that  the  more  intelligent  and  conscien- 
to  enforce  the  most  abject  conformity  tious  of  his  subjects  —  like  the  Pil- 
in  his  own  Scottish  home,  against  the  grims  and  Puritans  —  sought  a  home 
well-known  independence  of  that  sec-  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  where  wild 
tion  of  his  realm,  and  drove  the  Puri-  beasts  and  savage  men  were  their  only 
tans   to   seek   an   asylum   in    Holland,  persecutors?  . 

where  they  might  find  liberty  to  wor-  We  are  told  that  "  the  face  of  the 

ship  God.  Court  was  much  changed  in  the  change 

In  the  county  of  Somerset,  the  old  of  the  king  "  from  James  to  Charles  I ; 

king  consented  to  an  act  of  tjTanny  "  that   the    grossness   of  the   Court   of 

which  would  grace  the  age  of  Henry  James   grew  out  of  fashion,"  but   the 


138  TIte  Family  Immigration  to  New  England. 

people  were  slow  to  learn  the  differ-  sharp  and  untenable,"  with  "  an  elo- 
ence.  Of  the  two  evils,  James  was  to  quence  full  of  fervor."  That  young 
be  preferred.  Charles  ascends  the  man  is  yet  to  be  heard  from.  His 
throne  with  flattering  promises,  attends  name  is  Cromwell,  known  in  history 
prayers  and  listens  to  sermons,  pays  as  Oliver  Cromwell.  His  briefly- 
his  father's  debts  and  promises  to  reported  speech  of  six  lines  is  destined 
reform  the  Court.  Let  us  see  what  to  be  weightier  than  the  edicts  of  a 
he  does.  The  brilliant  but  profligate  king.  The  session  was  brief.  Popery 
Buckingham  is  retained  as  prime  minis-  and  Arminianism,  unjust  taxation  and 
ter.  Charles  marries  the  beautiful  voluntary  payment  of  taxes  not  ordered 
Henrietta  Maria,  the  Roman  Catholic  by  Parliament,  were  declared  treason- 
princess  of  France.  He  fits  out  fleets  able  and  hostile  principles  in  Church 
against  Spain  and  other  quarters,  and  and  State,  —  so  said  Parliament, 
demands  heavy  taxes  to  meet  his  heavy  "  You  are  a  Parliament  of  vipers,"  — 
expenses.  Parliament  is  on  its  dignity,  so  said  the  king ;  and,  on  the  tenth  of 
and  demands  its  proper  recognition.  March,  Parliament  was  dissolved,  not 
He  dissolves  it,  and  calls  another,  to  meet  again  in  the  old  historic  hall 
That  is  more  rebellious,  and  that  he  for  eleven  long  years ;  until,  in  1640, 
summarily  dissolves.  Men  of  high  the  majesty  of  an  outraged  people 
and  low  degree  go  to  prison  at  the  rises  superior  to  the  majesty  of  an 
king's  behest,  and  the  disobedient  were  outraging  ruler.  Now  follow  the 
threatened  with  severer  penalties.  attempted   riveting    of   the    chains   of 

The  people  of  England  are  aroused,  a  despotic  and  unscrupulous  power, 
as  the  king  of  the  earth  sets  himself  which  does  not  understand  the  temper 
against  their  claims  in  behalf  of  the  of  the  common  people,  nor  the 
royal  prerogative.  The  king  and  the  methods  of  counteracting  a  great 
people  are  at  war.  Which  will  come  popular  upheaval  in  society, 
off  conquerer?  There  is  only  one  It  is  not  easy  to  resist  the  iron  pres- 
answer  to  that  question,  for  the  batde  sure  of  a  tyrant ;  but,  to  our  ancestors, 
IS  one  between  the  pigmy  and  the  it  was  far  better  than  to  accept  the 
giant.  The  contest  grows  sharper  as  peace  and  profit  which  might  follow 
the  months  go  on,  and  the  people  are  abject  submission.  To  borrow  the 
in  constant  alarm.  Murders  are  words  of  De  Tocqueville  :  "  They  cling 
common,  and  even  Buckingham,  the  to  freedom  for  its  native  charms  inde- 
favorite  minister,  dies  at  the  point  of  pendent  of  its  gifts,  —  the  pleasure  of 
the  assassin's  knife,  and  the  murderer  speaking,  acting,  and  breathing  without 
goes  to  the  Tower  and  the  scaffold  restraint,  under  no  master  but  God  and 
accompanied  by  the  tumultuous  cheers  the  Law."  The  EngUshmen  of  the 
of  London.  Soon  comes  the  Parlia-  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
nient  of  1629,  in  which  the  popular  were  the  fathers  of  the  men  who 
leaders  make  their  great  remonstrance  fired  shots  at  Lexington  and  Concord, 
against  the  regal  tyranny.  In  that  "  heard  round  the  world." 
House  sat  a  plain  young  man,  with  But  how  do  the  royal  prerogatives 
ordinary  cloth  apparel,  as  if  made  by  affect  our  ancestors  in  England }  Our 
an  old-country  tailor,  "  his  counte-  fathers  were  of  common  mould,  and 
nance  swollen  and   reddish,  his   voice    feel  the  unjust  demand  of  the  tax-gath- 


An  Incident  of  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Eighty -Six. 


139 


erer  and  the  insolent  demeanor  of  the 
Crown  officers,  who  threaten  fines  and 
imprisonment  for  a  refusal  to  obey. 
The  people  are  aroused  and  are 
united ;  some  are  hopeless,  some 
hopeful.  The  Crown  seems  to  have 
its  sway,  but  the  far-sighted  see  the 
people  on  the  coming  throne  of  right- 
eous judgment.  What  troubles  our 
ancestors  most  is  the  interference  with 
their  religious  life.  Archbishop. Laud  is 
now  supreme,  and  the  Pope  never  had 
a  more  willing  vassal.  Ministers  are 
examined  as  to  their  loyalty  to  the 
government,  their  sermons  are  read  to 
private  judges  of  their  orthodoxy,  the 
confessional    is    established,    and    the 


altar-service  is  restored.  It  is  a  time 
when  earnest  men  and  women  cannot 
be  trifled  with  on  soul  concerns.  Their 
property  may  perish  or  be  confiscated, 
hut  the  right  to  unmolested  worship 
is  older  than  Magna  Charta,  and  as 
inalienable  as  life  itself.  What  is  to 
be  done  ?  Resistance  or  emigration  — 
which.?  Resist  and  die,  say  Crom- 
well and  Wentworth,  Ehot  and  Hamp- 
den. Emigrate  and  live,  say  the  men 
and  women  who  came  by  thousands 
from  all  parts  of  England  during  the 
reign  of  this  monarch,  and  made  pos- 
sible the  permanent  establishment  of 
a  new  society,  on  the  basis  of  social 
order  and  family  life. 


AN    INCIDENT    OF    SIXTEEN    HUNDRED    AND 

EIGHTY-SIX. 

By  the  Hon.  Mellen  Chamberlain. 


On  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-sixth 
of  May,  1686,  two  horsemen  were  rid- 
ing from  Boston  to  Cambridge.  By 
which  route  they  left  the  town  is  not 
known ;  but  most  probably  over  the 
Roxbury  Neck,  following  the  path  taken 
by  Lord  Percy  when  he  went  to  the 
relief  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Smith's 
ill-starred  expedition  to  seize  the  miU- 
tary  stores  at  Concord,  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  April,  1775.  Of  the  nature 
of  their  errand  —  whether  peaceful  or 
hostile,  —  of  the  subject  of  their  conver- 
sation, as  they  rode  along  the  King's 
highway,  neither  history  nor  tradition 
has  left  any  account.  But  when  they 
had  reached  Muddy  River,  now  the 
beautiful  suburb  of  Brookline,  about 
two  miles  from  Cambridge,  they  were 
met  by  a  young  man  riding  in  the 
opposite  direction,  who,  as  he  came 
against    them,    abruptly    and    without 


other  salutation,  said  :  "  God  save  King 
James  the  Second  !  "  and  then  rode  on. 
But  soon  turning  his  horse  towards  the 
travelers  he  most  inconsequentially 
completed  his  sentence  by  adding, 
"  But  I  say,  God  curse  King  James  !  " 
and  this  malediction  he  repeated  so 
many  times  and  with  such  vehemence, 
that  the  two  horsemen  at  last  turned 
their  horses  and  riding  up  to  him,  told 
him  plainly  that  he  was  a  rogue.  This 
expression  of  their  opinion  produced, 
however,  only  a  slight  modification  of 
the  young  man's  sentiments,  to  this 
form :  "  God  curse  King  James  and 
God  bless  Duke  James  !''  But  a  few 
strokes  of  their  whips  effected  his  com- 
plete conversion,  and  then,  as  a  loyal 
subject,  he  exclaimed :  "  God  curse 
Duke  James,  and  God  bless  King 
James  1 " 

Such  is  the  unadorned  statement  of 


140 


An  Incident  of  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Eighty-Six. 


facts  as  sworn  to  the  next  day  in  the 
Council  by  these  riders,  and  their  oath 
was  attested  by  Edward  Randolph,  the 
"  evil  genius  of  New  England."  I 
present  it  in  its  legal  baldness  of 
detail.  The  two  horsemen  are  no 
reminiscence  of  Mr.  James's  celebrated 
opening,  but  two  substantial  citizens 
of  Boston,  Captain  Peter  Bowden 
and  Dr.  Thomas  Clarke;  and  the 
young  man  with  somewhat  original 
objurgatory  tendencies  was  one  Wiswell, 
as  they  called  him  —  presumably  not 
a  son  of  the  excellent  Duxbury  parson 
of  the  same  name ;  and  for  the  same 
reason,  even  less  probably,  a  student  of 
Cambridge  University,  as  it  was  at  that 
early  day  sometimes  called. 

The    original    paper    in   which    the 
foregoing  facts  are  recorded  has  long 
been  in  my  possession ;  and  as  often  as 
my  eye  has  rested  on  it,  I  have  won- 
dered  what    made    that    young    man 
swear  so  ;  and  by  what  nicety  of  moral 
discrimination   he   found   his  justifica- 
tion in  blessing  the  Duke  and  cursing 
the  King  —  "unus  et  idem"  —  in  the 
same  breath.     Who  and  what  was  he? 
and   of    what   nature   were   his   griev- 
ances ?     Was  there  any  political  signifi- 
cance   in    that    strange    mingling     of 
curses  and  blessings?     That  his  tem- 
per was    not    of  martyr   firmness    was 
evident     enough     from     the     sudden 
change  in  the  current  of  his  thoughts 
brought  about  by  the  tingling  of  the 
horsewhip.     All  else  was  mystery.     But 
the  commonest  knowledge  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  colonial  history  of  those  days 
was  sufficient  to   stimulate    conjecture 
on  these  points.     At  the  date   of  the 
incident  recorded  James  II    had  been 
on  the  throne   more   than   a  year,  and 
for  a  long  time  both  as  duke  and  king 
had  been    hated   and    feared   on  both 
sides   of    the    ocean.     The    Duke    of 


Monmouth's  ill-fated  adventure  for 
the  Crown  had  failed  at  Sedgemoor, 
and  his  young  life  ended  on  the  block, 
denied  expected  mercy  by  his  uncle, 
the  king :  ended  on  the  block :  but 
not  so  believed  the  common  people  of 
England.  They  believed  him  to  be 
still  living,  and  the  legitimate  heir  to 
the  British  crown,  and  that  his  unnat- 
ural uncle  was  only  Duke  James  of 
England.  In  those  days  English  affairs 
were  more  closely  followed  by  the  col- 
onists than  at  present,  and  for  obvious 
reasons ;  and  it  is  quite  open  to  con- 
jecture at  least  that  the  feelings  of  Eng- 
lish yeomen  and  artisans  were  known 
to,  and  shared  by,  their  cousins  in 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  that  Master 
Wiswell  only  gave  expression  to  a 
sentiment  common  to  people  of  his 
class  on  both  sides  the  water. 

This,  however,   is   mere   conjecture. 
But  there  are  important  facts.     On  the 
preceding   day,    in  the    Town   House, 
which  stood  at  the  head  of  State  Street, 
where  the  old  State  House  now  stands, 
events  culminated,  in  comparison  with 
which  the  causes  which  led  to  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  sink  into  utter  insig- 
nificance.      On    the    twenty-third    of 
October,   1684,  in  the   High  Court  of 
Chancery   of  England,  judgment   was 
entered  on  the  writ  of  scire  facias,  by 
which  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
was  vacated  ;  and  as  a  consequence,  the 
title  to  the  soil,  with  all  improvements, 
reverted  to  the   Crown,  to  the  ruin  of 
those  who  had  wrested  it  from  the  wil- 
derness, and  guarded  it  from  the  savage 
foe.     The  old  government,  so  endeared 
to   the   people,   and   defended   against 
kingly  assault  with  the  truest  courage, 
was   swept    away   by   arbitrary   power, 
and  in  its  place  a  new  one  established, 
under  the  presidency  of  Joseph  Dudley, 
and  he  a  recreant  son  of  the  colony. 


Ati  Incident  of  Sixteen  Hundred  and  Eighty-Six. 


141 


It  was  the  inauguration  of  this  govern- 
ment which  had  taken  place  on  the  day 
before  Captain  Bowden  and  Dr.  Clarice 
encountered  John  Wiswell,  Jr.,  on  their 
ride  to  Cambridge.  The  ceremonies  of 
the  inauguration  were  not  without  cir- 
cumstances of  pomp,  and  are  set  forth 
in  the  Council  records  at  the  State  House, 
from  which  I  transcribe  the  following 
incidents  :  When  the  new  government, 
the  president,  and  Council  were  assem- 
bled, the  exemplification  of  the  judgment 
against  the  charter  of  the  late  governor 
and  company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
in  New  England,  publicly  (in  the  court 
where  were  present  divers  of  the  eminent 
ministers,  gentlemen,  and  inhabitants  of 
the  town  and  county)  was  read  with  an 
audible  voice.  The  commission  was 
read  and  the  oaths  administered,  and 
the  new  president  made  his  speech, 
after  which,  proclamation  was  openly 
read  in  court,  and  commanded  to  be 
published  by  beat  of  drum  and  trumpet, 
which  was  accordingly  done. 

The  people  in  the  Forum  heard  these 
drums  and  trumpets  —  young  Wiswell, 
doubtless,  with  the  rest  —  and  knew 
what  they  signified  :  the  confiscation 
of  houses  and  lands ;  the  abrogation 
of  existing  laws  ;  taxes  exacted  without 
consent  or  legislation ;  the  enforced 
support  of  a  religion  not  of  the  people's 
choice  ;  and  navigation  laws  ruinous  to 
their  foreign  commerce,  then  beginning 
to  assume  importance  ;  and  from  these 
consequences  they  were  saved  only 
by  the  revolution,  which  two  years 
later  drove  James  II  from  his 
throne.  It  is  difficult  to  credit  these 
sober  facts  of  history,  and  still  more  to 
fully  realize  their  destructive  import ; 
but  they  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind ;  for  if  any  one  reflecting  on  the 
causes  assigned  by  the  leaders  of  the 
great  Revolution,  as  justifying  the  violent 


partition  of  an  empire,  is  led  for  a 
moment  to  question  their  sufficiency, 
let  him  then  consider  that  they  were 
assigned  by  a  people  full  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  long  struggle  against  kingly 
injustice,  in  the  days  of  the  second 
Charles  and  the  second  James. 

A  few  words  —  the  result  of  latei 
investigation  —  as  to  the  actors  in  the 
events  of  this  ride  to  Cambridge. 
When  Bowden  and  Clarke  had  attested 
iJieir  loyalty  by  horsewhipping  young 
Wiswell,  they  took  him  in  charge  to 
Cambridge,  and  vainly  tried  to  persuade 
Nathaniel  Hancock,  the  constable,  to 
carry  him  before  a  magistrate.  This 
refusal  brought  him  into  difficulty  with 
Council ;  but  his  humble  submission 
was  finally  accept^  and  he  was  dis- 
charged on  payment  of  costs,  on  the 
plea  that  upon  the  change  of  the 
government  there  was  no  magistrate 
authorized  to  commit  him  to  prison. 
Not  quite  so  fortunate  was  John 
Wiswell,  Jr.,  for  on  the  third  of  August 
the  grand  jury  found  a  true  bill  against 
him  for  uttering  "  these  devilish, 
unnatural,  and  wicked  words  following, 
namely,  God  curse  King  JatnesJ" 
That  he  was  brought  to  trial  on  this 
complaint  I  cannot  find.  And  so  the 
actors  in  these  scenes  pass  away.  Of 
Bowden  and  Clarke  I  know  nothing 
more  ;  and  the  little  which  appears  of 
John  Wiswell's  subsequent  life  is  not 
wholly  to  his  credit,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
and  the  more  so,  as  I  have  recently 
discovered  that  he  was  once  a  towns- 
man of  mine,  and  doubtless  a  playmate 
of  my  kindred  at  Rumney  Marsh. 

These  actors  have  all  gone,  and  so 
has  gone  the  old  Town  House  ;  not  so, 
as  yet,  let  us  heartily  thank  God,  has 
gone  the  old  State  House  which  stands 
where  that  stood ;  on  the  one  spot — 
if  there  is  but  one  — which  ought  to  be 


142 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  ///. 


dear  to  the  heart  of  every  Bostonian, 
and  sacred  from  his  violating  hand. 
For  here,  on  the  spot  of  that  eastern 
balcony,  looking  down  into  the  old 
Puritan  Forum,  what  epochs  in  our 
history  have  been  announced  !  —  the 
abrogation  of  the  First  Charter  —  the 
deposition  of  Andros  —  the  inaugura- 
tion    of    the     Second     Charter  —  the 


death  and  ascension  of  English  sove- 
reigns—  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, and  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  here  still  stands  the  grandest 
historic  edifice  in  America,  and  within 
it?  —  why  add  to  the  hallowing  words 
of  old  John  Adams?  —  "Within  its 
walls  Liberty  was  born  !  " 


THE    BOUNDARY    LINES    OF   OLD    GROTON.  — III. 

By  the  Hon.  Samuel  Abbott  Green. 


The  running  of  the  Provincial  line  in 
1 74 1  cut  off  a  large  part  of  Dunstable, 
and  left  it  on  the  New  Hampshire  side 
of  the  boundary.  It  separated  even  the 
meeting-house  from  that  portion  of  the 
town  still  remaining  in  Massachusetts, 
and  this  fact  added  not  a  little  to  the 
deep  animosity  felt  by  the  inhabitants 
when  the  disputed  question  was  settled. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that, 
throughout  the  old  township,  the  feel- 
ings and  sympathies  of  the  inhabitants 
on  both  sides  of  the  line  were  entirely 
with  Massachusetts.  A  short  time 
before  this  period  the  town  of  Notting- 
ham had  been  incorporated  by  the 
General  Court,  and  its  territory  taken 
from  Dunstable.  It  comprised  all  the 
lands  of  that  town,  lying  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  Merrimack  River ;  and  the 
difficulty  of  attending  public  worship 
led  to  the  division.  When  the  Provin- 
cial  line   was    established,    it    affected 


Nottingham,  like  many  other  towns, 
most  unfavorably.  It  divided  its  terri- 
tory and  left  a  tract  of  land  in  Massa- 
chusetts, too  small  for  a  separate  town- 
ship, but  by  its  associations  belonging 
to  Dunstable.  This  tract  is  to-day  that 
part  of  Tyngsborough  lying  east  of  the 
river. 

The  question  of  a  new  meeting-house 
was  now  agitating  the  inhabitants  of 
Dunstable.  Their  former  building  was 
in  another  Province,  where  different 
laws  prevailed  respecting  the  qualifica- 
tions and  settlement  of  ministers.  It 
was  clearly  evident  that  another  struc- 
ture must  be  built,  and  the  customary 
dispute  of  small  communities  arose  in 
regard  to  its  site.  Some  persons  favored 
one  locality,  and  others  another ;  some 
wanted  the  centre  of  territory,  and 
others  the  centre  of  population.  Akin 
to  this  subject  I  give  the  words  of  the 
Reverend  Joseph  Emerson,  of  Pepper- 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  ///. 


J  43 


ell  —  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Butler,  in  his 
History  of  Groton  (page  306),  —  taken 
from  a  sermon  delivered  on  March  8, 
1770,  at  the  dedication  of  the  second 
meeting-house  in  Pepperell :  "  It  hath 
been  observed  that  some  of  the  hottest 
contentions  in  this  land  hath  been  about 
settling  of  ministers  and  building  meet- 
ing-houses :  and  what  is  the  reason  ? 
The  devil  is  a  great  enemy  to  settling 
ministers  and  building  meeting-houses  ; 
wherefore  he  sets  on  his  own  children 
to  work  and  make  difficulties,  and  to 
the  utmost  of  his  power  stirs  up  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  children  of  God  in 
some  way  to  oppose  or  obstruct  so  good 
a  work."  This  explanation  was  con- 
sidered highly  satisfactory,  as  the  hand 
of  the  evil  one  was  always  seen  in  such 
disputes. 

During  this  period  of  local  excite- 
ment an  effort  was  made  to  annex 
Nottingham  to  Dunstable ;  and  at  the 
same  time  Joint  Grass  to  Dunstable. 
Joint  Grass  was  a  district  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Groton,  settled  by  a  few 
families,  and  so  named  from  a  brook 
running  through  the  neighborhood.  It 
is  evident  from  the  documents  that  the 
questions  of  annexation  and  the  site  of 
the  meeting-house  were  closely  con 
nected.  The  petition  in  favor  of 
annexation  was  granted  by  the  General 
Court  on  certain  conditions,  which 
were  not  fulfilled,  and  consequently  the 
attempt  fell  to  the  ground.  Some  of 
the  papers  relating  to  it  are  as  follows  : 

A  Petition  of  sundry  Inhabitants  of  the 
most  northerly  Part  of  the  first  Parish  in 
Groton,  praying  that  they  may  be  set  off 
from  said  Groton  to  Dimstable,  for  the 
Reasons  mentioned. 

Read  and  Ordered,  That  the  Petitioners 
serve  the  Towns  of  Groton  and  Dunstable 
with  Copies  of  this  Petition,  that  they 
show  Cause,  if  any  they  have,  on  the  first 


Friday  of  the  next  Sitting  of  this  Court, 
why  the  Prayer  thereof  should  not  be 
granted. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representaiives  (pag-  -64), 
March  11,  1746.] 

Fraiicis  Foxcroft,  Esq ;  brought  down 
the  Petition  of  the  northerly  Part  of  Groton, 
as  entred  the  nth  of  March  last,  and 
refer'd.  Pass'd  in  Council,  inz.  In  Coun- 
cil May  29th  1747.  Read  again,  together 
with  the  Answers  of  the  Towns  of  Groton 
and  Dimstable,  and  Ordered,  That  Joseph 
Wilder  and  Joh^i  (Jinncy,  Esqrs  ;  together 
with  such  as  the  honourable  House  shall 
join,  be  a  Committee  to  take  under  Con- 
sideration this  Petition,  together  with  the 
other  Petitions  and  Papers  referring  to  the 
Affair  within  mentioned,  and  report  what 
they  judge  proper  for  this  Court  to  do 
thereon.     Sent  down  for  Concurrence. 

Read  and  concur'd,  and  Major  Jones, 
Mr.  Fox,  and  Col.  Gerrish,  are  joined 
in  the  Affair. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  iij, 
May  29, 1747.] 

John  Hill,  Esq ;  brought  down  the 
Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Groton  and 
Notti7ig]iam,  with  the  Report  of  a  Com- 
mittee of  both  Houses  thereon. 

Signed  Joseph  Wilder,  per  Order. 

Pass'd  in  Council,  viz.  In  Council 
June  5th  1747.  The  within  Report  was 
read  and  accepted,  and  Ordered,  That  the 
Petition  of  JoJm  Swallow  and  others.  In- 
habitants of  the  northerly  Part  of  Groton 
be  so  far  granted,  as  that  the  Petitioners, 
with  their  Estates  petition'd  for,  be  set  off 
from  Groton,  and  annexed  to  the  Town  of 
Dunstable,  agreable  to  Groton  Town  Vote 
of  the  1 8th  of  May  last:  and  that  the 
Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Nottingham 
be  granted,  and  that  that  Part  of  Notting- 
ham left  to  the  Province,  with  the  Inhab- 
itants theron,  be  annexed  to  said  Dun- 
stable, and  that  they  thus  Incorporated,  do 
Duty  and  receive  Priviledges  as  other 
Towns  within  this  Province  do  or  by  Law 
ought  to  enjoy. 

And   it  is    fiirther   Ordered,   That    the 


144 


TJic  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  ///. 


House  for  publick  Worship  be  placed  two 
Hundred  and  forty  eight  Rods  distant  from 
Mr.  John  Tyng's  North-East  Corner,  to 
run  from  said  Corner  North  fifty  two  De- 
grees West,  or  as  near  that  Place  as  the 
Land  will  admit  of. 

Sent  down  for  Concurrence. 

Read  and  concur'd  with  the  Amend- 
ment, viz.  instead  of  those  Words,  .  .  . 
And  it  is  further  Ordered,  That  the  House 
for  publick  Worship  be.  .  .  insert  the  fol- 
lowing Words  .  .  .  Provided  that  within 
one  Year  a  House  for  the  publick  Worship 
of  GOD  be  erected,  and  .  .   . 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  a6). 
June  6,  1747.] 

To  his  Excellency  William  Shirley 
Esquire  Captain  General  and  Governour 
in  Chief  in  and  over  his  Majestys  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England 
The  Rouble :  the  Council  and  HonWe : 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  said 
Province  in  General  Court  Assembled  at 
Boston  the  31st.  of  May  1749. 

The  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Dunstable  in  the  Province  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay 

Most  Humbly  Shew 

That  in  the  Year  1747,  that  part  of  Not- 
tingham which  lyes  within  this  Govern- 
ment and  part  of  the  Town  of  Groton 
Called  Joint  Grass  preferred  two  petitions 
to  this  Great  and  Hon^ie ;  Court  praying 
that  they  might  be  Annexed  to  the  Town 
of  Dunstable  which  petitions  Your  Excel- 
lency and  Honours  were  pleased  to  Grant 
upon  Conditions  that  a  meeting  house  for 
the  Publick  Worship  of  God  should  be  built 
two  hundred  and  forty  Eight  Rods  52 
Degs :  West  of  the  North  from  North  East 
Corner  of  Mr.  John  Tyngs  land  But  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Town  Apprehending 
Your  Excellency  and  Honours  were  not 
fully  Acquainted  with  the  Inconveniencys 
that  would  Attend  placeing  the  Meeting 
House  there  Soon  after  Convened  in  Pub- 
lick Town  Meeting  Legally  Called  to  Con- 
clude upon  a  place  for  fixing  said  meeting 
house  where  it  vyould  best  Accommodate 
all  the  Inhabitants  at  which  meeting  pro- 


posals were  made  by  some  of  the  Inhab- 
itants to  take  the  Advice  and  Assistance 
of  three  men  of  other  Towns  which  pro- 
posal was  Accepted  by  the  Town  and  they 
accordingly  made  Choice  of  The  HonWe : 
James  Minot  Esq"".  Maj"" :  Lawrence  and 
M"".  Brewer  and  then  Adjourned  the 
Meeting. 

That  the  said  Gentlemen   mett  at   the 
Towns  Request  and  Determined  upon  a 


place  for   fixing   the   said 


meetmg 


house 


which  was  approved  of  by  the  Town  and 
they  Accordingly  Voted  to  Raise  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  pounds  towards  defreying 
the  Charge  of  Building  the  said  House  But 
Upon  Reviewing  the  Spot  pitched  upon  as 
aforesaid  many  of  the  Inhabitants  Appre- 
hended it  was  more  to  the  southward  than 
the  Committee  Intended  it  should  be  And 
thereupon  a  Meeting  was  Called  on  the 
Twenty  Sixth  day  of  May  last  when  the 
Town  voted  to  Build  the  meeting  house 
on  the  East  side  of  the  Road  that  leads 
from  Cap' :  Cummings's  to  M^  Simon 
Tompsons  where  some  part  of  the  Timber 
now  lyes  being  about  Forty  Rods  North- 
ward of  Isaac  Colburns  house  which  they 
Apprehended  to  be  the  Spot  of  Ground 
the  Committee  Intended  to  fix  upon. 

And  for  as  much  as  the  place  Last  Voted 
by  the  Town  to  Build  their  meeting  house 
upon  will  best  Accommodate  all  the  In- 
habitants, 

Your  pefs.  therefore  most  humbly  pray 
Your  Excellency  and  Honours  would  be 
pleased  to  Confirm  the  said  Vote  of  the 
Town  of  the  26'^ :  day  of  May  last  and 
order  the  meeting  Iwuse  for  the  Publick 
Worship  of  God  to  be  Erected  on  the 
peice  of  Ground  aforementioned. 

And  in  duty  bound  they  will  ever  pray 
&c 

Simon  tompson  1       Comtee  for  the 
Eben  Parkhurst  \  Town  of  Dunstable 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxv,  507,  508.] 

The  Committee  appointed  on  the  Peti- 
tion of  a  Committee  for  the  Town  of  Dtm- 
stable,  reported  according  to  Order. 

Read  and  accepted,  and  thereupon  the 
following  Order  pass'd,  viz.  In  as  imcch 
as  the  House  for  the  publick  Worship  of 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  ///. 


145 


GOD  in  Dunstable  was  not  erected  tuithin 
the  Line  limitted  inthe  Order  of  thi<;  Court 
of  June  6th  1747,  the  Inhabitants  of 
Groton  and  Nottingham  have  lost  the 
Benefit  of  Incorporation  with  the  Town  of 
Dunstable :     Therefore 

Voted,  That  a  Meeting  House  for  the 
publick  Worship  of  GOD  be  erected  as 
soon  as  may  be  on  the  East  Side  of  the 
Road  that  leads  from  Capt.  Cumtnins  to 
Simon  Thompson''s,  where  the  Timber  for 
such  a  House  now  lies,  agreeable  to  a  Vote 
of  the  said  Town  of  Dunstable onthe  26th 
of  May  last ;  and  that  the  said  Inhabitants 
of  Groton  and  Nottingham  be  and  con- 
tinue to  be  set  oflf  and  annexed  to  the 
Town  of  Dunstable,  to  do  Duty  and  receive 
Priviledge  there,  their  Neglect  of  Com- 
pliance with  the  said  Order  of  fune  6th 
1747,  notwithstanding,  unless  the  major 
Part  of  the  Inhabitants  and  rateable  Estate 
belonging  to  said  Groton  and  Nottingham 
respectively,  shall  on  or  before  the  first 
Day  of  September  next  in  writing  under 
their  Hands,  transmit  to  the  Secretary's 
Office  their  Desire  not  to  continue  so  incor- 
porated with  the  town  of  Dunstable  as 
aforesaid  ;  provided  also,  That  in  Case  the 
said  Inhabitants  of  Groton  and  Notti7ig- 
ham  shall  signify  such  their  Desire  in 
Manner  and  Time  as  aforesaid,  they  be 
nevertheless  subjected  to  pay  and  discharge 
their  Proportion  of  all  Publick  Town  or 
Ministerial  Rates  or  Taxes  hitherto  granted 
or  regularly  laid  on  them ;  excepting  the 
last  Sum  granted  for  building  a  Meeting 
House.  And  that  the  present  Town 
Officers  stand  and  execute  their  Offices 
respectively  until  the  Anniversary  Town- 
Meeting  at  Dunstable  in  March  next. 
Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (pages  46, 
47),  June  26,  1749.] 

Whereas  the  Great  &  Generall  Court  of 
the  the  \sic'\  Province  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  June  Last,  On  the  Petitions  of 
Dunstable  &  Nottingham  has  Ordered 
that  the  Inhabitants  of  Groton  and  Not- 
tingham, Which  by  Order  of  the  s^  Court 
the  6th  of  June  1747  Were  On  Certain  Con- 
ditions Annexed  to  s^  Dunstable  &  (Which 


Conditions  not  being  Complyed  with)  be 
Annexed  to  s^.  Dunstable  to  do  duty  & 
Receive  priviledge  there  their  neglect  of 
Complyance  notwithstanding.  Unless  the 
major  part  of  the  Inhabitants  and  ratable 
Estate  belonging  to  the  s^.  Groton  &  Not- 
tingham respectively  Shall  on  or  before  the 
first  day  of  September  next  in  Writing 
under  their  hands  Transmitt  to  the  Secre- 
tarys  Office  their  desire  not  to  Continue  so 
Incorporated  With  the  town  of  Dunstable 
as  aforesd.  Now  therefore  Wee  the  Sub- 
scribers Inhabitants  of  Groton  &  Notting- 
ham Sett  of  as  aforesd.  do  hereby  Signifie 
Our  desire  not  to  Continue  so  Incorporated 
with  the  town  of  Dunstable  as  afores^.  but 
to  be  Sett  at  Liberty  As  tho  that  Order  of 
Court  had  not  ben  passed 

Dated  the  loth  day  of  July  1749 

Inhabitants  of  Groton 

Timothy  Read 
Joseph  fletcher 
John  Swallow 
Samuel  Comings 
Benjamin  Robbins 
Joseph  Spalding  iuner 

Inhabitants  of  Nottingham 

Samuell  Gould 

Robert  Fletcher 

Joseph  perriaham  Daken  [Deacon  ?] 

iohn  Collans 

Zacheus  Spaulding 

and  ten  others 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxv,  515.] 

A  manuscript  plan  of  Dunstable, 
made  by  Joseph  Blanchard,  in  the 
autumn  of  1748,  and  accompanying 
these  papers  among  the  Archives  (cxv, 
519),  has  considerable  interest  for  the 
local  antiquary. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years  some  of 
these  Groton  signers  reconsidered  the 
matter,  and  changed  their  minds.  It 
appears  from  the  following  communica- 
tion that  the  question  of  the  site  of  the 
meeting-house  had  some  influence  in 
the  matter :  — 


r46 


TJie  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  ///. 


Groton,  May  lo,  1753.  We  have  con- 
cluded to  Joine  with  Dunstable  in  settling 
the  gospell  and  all  other  affairs  hart  & 
hand  in  case  Dunstable  woud  meet  us  in 
erecting  a  meting  house  in  center  of 
Lands  or  center  of  Travel. 

Joseph  Spaulding  jr. 

John  Swallow. 

Timothy  Read. 

Samuel  Cumings. 

Joseph  Parkhurst. 

[Nason's  History  of  Dunstable,  page  85.] 

The  desired  result  of  annexation  was 
now  brought  about,  and  in  this  way 
Joint  Grass  became  a  part  and  portion 
of  Dunstable.  The  following  extracts 
give  further  particulars  in  regard  to 
it:  — 

A  Petition  of  a  Committee  in  Behalf  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  Dunstable,  within  this 
Province,  shewing,  that  that  Part  of  Dun- 
stable by  the  late  running  of  the  Line  is 
small,  and  the  Land  much  broken,  unable 
to  support  the  Ministry,  and  other  neces- 
sary Charges  ;  that  there  is  a  small  Part 
of  Groton  contiguous,  and  well  situated  to 
be  united  to  them  in  the  same  Incorpora- 
tion, lying  to  the  West  and  Northwest  of 
them;  that  in  the  Year  1744,  the  Inhab- 
itants there  requested  them  that  they  might 
be  incorporated  with  them,  which  was  con- 
ceeded  to  by  the  Town  of  Groto?t ;  that  in 
Consequence  of  this,  upon  Application  to 
this  Court  they  were  annexed  to  the  Town 
of  Dunstable  with  the  following  Proviso, 
viz.  "  That  within  one  Year  from  that 
Time  a  House  for  the  publick  Worship  of 
GOD  should  be  erected  at  a  certain  Place 
therein  mentioned'*  :  Which  Place  was 
esteemed  by  all  Parties  both  in  Groton 
and  Nottinghajn,  so  incommodious,  that  it 
was  not  complied  withal ;  that  on  a  further 
Application  to  this  Court  to  alter  the  Place, 
Liberty  was  given  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
Groton  and  Nottingliani,  to  withdraw, 
whereby  they  are  deprived  of  that  con- 
tiguous and  necessary  Assistance  which 
they  expected  :  Now  as  the  Reasons  hold 
good  in  every  Respect  for  their  Incorpora- 
tion with  them,  they  humbly  pray  that  the 


said  Inhabitants  of  Groton  by  the  same 
Bounds  as  in  the  former  Order  stated,  may 
be  reannexed  to  them,  for  the  Reasons 
mentioned. 

Read  and  Ordered,  That  the  Petitioners 
serve  the  Inhabitants  of  Groton  therein 
refer'd  to,  as  also  the  Clerk  of  the  Town 
of  Groton,  with  Copies  of  this  Petition, 
that  so  the  said  Inhabitants,  as  also  the 
Town  of  Grot 071,  shew  Cause,  if  any  they 
have,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  the  next 
May  Session,  why  the  Prayer  thereof 
should  not  be  granted. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (pages 
138,  139),  April  4,  1753.] 

JoJin  Hill,  Esq ;  brought  down  the 
Petition  of  a  Committee  of  the  Town  of 
Dunstable,  as  entred  the  4th  of  April  last, 
and  refer'd.  Pass'd  in  Council,  vis.  In 
Council  Jutie  5th  1753.  Read  again, 
together  with  the  Answer  of  the  Inhabitants 
of  that  Part  of  Groton  commonly  called 
Joint-Grass,  and  likewise  Williajn  Law- 
rence, Esq;  being  heard  in  Behalf  of  the 
Town  of  Groton,  and  the  Matter  being 
fully  considered.  Ordered,  That  the  Prayer 
of  the  Petition  be  so  far  granted,  as  that 
Joseph  Fletcher,  Joseph  Spaulding,  Samuel 
Comings,  Benjamin  Robbitis,  Timothy 
Read,  John  Swallow,  Joseph  Parkhurst, 
and  Ebenezer  Parkhurst,  Jun.  with  their 
Families  and  Estates,  and  other  Lands 
petitioned  for,  be  set  off  from  the  Town  of 
Groton,  and  annexed  to  the  town  of  Duti- 
stable,  agreable  to  the  Vote  of  the  Town 
of  Groton  on  the  i8th  of  May  1747,  to 
receive  Priviledge  and  do  Duty  there,  pro- 
vided that  TimotJiy  Read,  Constable  for 
the  Town  of  Groton,  and  Collector  of  the 
said  Parish  in  said  Town  tlie  last  Year,  and 
Joseph  Fletcher,  Constable  for  the  said 
Town  this  present  Year,  finish  their  Col- 
lection of  the  Taxes  committed  or  to  be 
committed  to  them  respectively ;  and  also 
that  the  said  Inhabitants  pay  their  Propor- 
tion of  the  Taxes  that  are  already  due 
or  shall  be  due  to  the  said  Town 
of  Groton  for  the  present  Year,  for 
which  they  may  be  taxed  by  the  Assess- 
ors of  Groton,  as  tho'  this  Order  had  not 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton. — ///. 


147 


past :  provided  also  that  the  Meeting- 
House  for  the  publick  Worship  of  GOD 
in  DiiJistable  be  erected  agreable  to  the 
Vote  of  Dunstable  relating  thereto  in  May 
17 S3-  Sent  down  for  Concurrence. 
Read  and  concur'd. 

[Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (page  21), 
June  7,  1753.] 

The  part  of  Nottingham,  mentioned 
in  these  petitions,  was  not  joined  to 
Dunstable  until  a  later  period.  On 
June  14,  1754,  an  order  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives,  annexing 
"  a  very  small  Part  of  Nottingham  now 
lying  in  this  Province,  unable  to  be 
made  into  a  District,  but  very  commo- 
dious for  Dunstable  ;  "  but  the  matter 
was  delayed  in  the  Council,  and  it  was 
a  year  or  two  before  the  end  was 
brought  about. 

The  west  parish  of  Groton  was  set  off 
as  a  precinct  on  November  26,  1742. 
It  comprised  that  part  of  the  town 
lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  Nashua 
River,  north  of  the  road  from  Groton 
to  Townsend.  Its  incorporation  as  a 
parish  or  precinct  allowed  the  inhabi- 
tants to  manage  their  own  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  while  in  all  other  matters  they 
continued  to  act  with  the  parent  town. 
Its  partial  separation  gave  them  the 
benefit  of  a  settled  minister  in  their 
neighborhood,  which,  in  those  days, 
was  considered  of  great  importance. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  to  note 
that,  in  early  times,  the  main  reason 
given  in  the  petitions  for  dividing  towns 
was  the  long  distance  to  the  meeting- 
house, by  which  the  inliabitants  were 
prevented  from  hearing  the  stated 
preaching  of  the  gospel. 

The  petitioners  for  the  change  first 
asked  for  a  township,  which  was  not 
granted  ;  but  subsequently  they  changed 
their  request  to  a  precinct  instead, 
which  was  duly  allowed.  The  papers 
relating  to  the  matter  are  as  follows  :  — 

Vol.  II.    -  No.  I.  —  B. 


Province  of  The    Massechuetts  Bay  in 

New  England. 

To  His  Excellency  W^  :  Shirley  Esqf : 
Goveinr  in  &  over  ye  Same  And  To  The 
Hon'e :  his  Majestis  Council  &  House  of 
Representetives  in  Gen"  :  Court  Assembled 
June  1742  : 

The  Petition  of  Sundry  Inhabitants  & 
Resendant  in  the  Northerly  Part  of  Groton 
Humbly  Sheweth  that  the  Town  of  Groton 
is  at  Least  ten  miles  in  Length  North  & 
South  &  seven  miles  in  wedth  East  &  West 
And  that  in  Runing  two  miles  Due  North 
from  the  Present  Meeting  House  &  from 
thence  to  Run  Due  East  to  Dunstable  Wes , 
Line.  And  from  the  Ende  of  the  S^ :  two 
miles  to  Run  West  till  it  Comes  to  the 
Cuntry  Rode  that  is  Laide  out  to  Towns 
hend  &  soon  S^ :  Rode  till  it  Comes  tc 
Townshend  East  Line  then  tur[n]ing  & 
Runing  Northly  to  Nestiquaset  Cornei 
which  is  for  Groton  &  Townshend  ther 
tur[n]ing  &  Runing  Easterly  on  Dun 
stable  South  Line  &  So  on  Dunstable  Line 
till  it  comes  to  the  Line  first  mentioned, 
Which  Land  Lyeth  about  Seven  miles  ic 
Length  &  four  miles  &  a  Ouai'ter  in  Wedth. 

And  Thare  is  Now  Setled  in  those  Lines 
here  after  mentioned  is  about  the  Number  of 
Seventy  families  all  Redy  And  may  [many  ?] 
more  ready  to  Settle  there  and  as  soon  as 
scet  oiT  to  the  Petitioners  &  those  families 
Settled  in  ye  Lines  afore  sd :  Would  make 
A  Good  township  &  the  Remaining  Part 
of  Groton  Left  in  a  regular  forme  And  by 
reason  of  the  ofreat  Distance  vour  Petition- 
ers  are  from  the  Present.  Meeting  House 
are  put  to  very  Great  Disadvantages  in 
Attending  the  Public  Worship  of  God 
many  of  Whom  are  Oblidged  to  travel  Seven 
or  Eight  miles  &  that  the  Remaining  Part 
of  Groton  Consisting  of  such  good  land  & 
ye  Inhabitants  so  Numerous  that  thay  Can 
by  no  means  be  Hurt  Should  your  Peti- 
tioners &  those  families  Settled  in  ye  Lines 
afore  s^ :  Be  Erected  to  a  Seprate  &  Dis- 
tinct Township  :  That  the  in  Contestable 
situation  &  accomodations  on  the  sd : 
Lands  was  ye  one  great  reason  of  your 
Petitioners  Settling  thare  &  Had  Not  those 
Prospects  been  so  Clear  to  us  We  should 


148 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  ///. 


by  no  means  have  under  taken  The  Hard- 
ship We  have  already  &  must  go  Throu. 
Wherefore  Your  Petitioners  Would 
farther  Shew  that  Part  of  ye  Land  here 
Prayed  for  all  Redy  Voted  of  by  the  S^ 
town  to  be  a  PresLnct  &  that  the  most  of 
them  that  are  in  that  Lines  have  Subscribed 
with  us  to  be  a  Dest[i]ncte  Township 
Wherefore  Your  Petitioners  Humbly  Pray 
your  Honnors  to  Grante  us  our  Desire 
according  to  This  our  Request  as  we  in 
Duty  Bound  Shall  Ever  Pray  &c 

Joseph  Spaulding  iur 
'  Zachariah  Lawrance 

William  Allen 
Jeremiah  Lawrance 
William  Blood 
Nathaniel  Parker 
Enoch  Lawarnce 
Samuel  Right 
James  larwance 
Josiah  Tucker 
Samil  fisk 
Soloman  blood 
John  Woods 
Josiah  Sartell 
benjn.  Swallow 
Elies  Ellat 
Richard  Worner 
Ebenezer  Gillson 
Ebenezer  Parce 
James  Blood  iu 
Joseph  Spaulding 
Phiniahas  Parker  iur 
Joseph  Warner 
Phineahas  Chambrlin 
Isacc  laken 
Isacc  Williams 
John  Swallow 
Joseph  Swallow 
Benj" :  Robins 
Nathan  Fisk 
John  Chamberlin 
Jacob  Lakin 
Seth  Phillips 
John  Cumings 
Benj" :  Parker 
Gersham  Hobart 
Joseph  Lawrance 
John  Spaulding 
Isaac  Woods 


In  the  House  of  Repines  June.  10.  1742. 
Read  and  Ordered  that  the  Pet*^^  serve 
the  Town  of  Groton  with  a  Copy  of  this 
Pet"  that  they  shew  cause  if  any  they 
have  on  the  first  fryday  of  the  next  session 
of  this  Court  why  the  Prayer  there»  i  should 
not  be  granted 

Sent  up  for  concurrtcce 

T  Cu:  ling  Spkr 
In  Council  June  15.  1742; 
Read  &  Non  Concur'd 

J  Willard  Sec'ry 

fMassachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  779,  780.] 

To  his  Excellency  William  Shirley  Esqr. 
Captain  General  and  Governour  in  Cheiff 
in  and  over  his  Majesties  Province  of  ye. 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England :  To 
ye.  Honourable  his  Majesties  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  General  Court 
Assembled  on  ye :  Twenty  sixth  Day  of 
May.  A:  D.  1742. 

The  Petition  of  as  the  Subscribers  to 
your  Excellency  and  Honours  Humbley 
Sheweth  that  we  are  Proprietors  and  In- 
habitants of  ye.  Land  Lying  on  ye.  West- 
erly Side  Lancester  River  (so  called)  [now 
known  as  the  Nashua  River]  in  ye  North 
west  corner  of  ye.  Township  of  Groton : 
&  Such  of  us  as  are  Inhabitants  thereon 
Live  very  Remote  from  ye  Publick  worship 
of  God  in  sd  Town  and  at  many  Times 
and  Season  of  ye.  year  are  Put  to  Great 
Difficulty  to  attend  ye.  same :  And  the 
Lands  Bounded  as  Followeth  (viz)  South- 
erly on  Townshend  Rode :  Westerly  on 
Townshend  Line  :  Northerly  on  Dunstable 
West  Precint,  &  old  Town :  and  Easterly 
on  said  River  as  it  now  Runs  to  ye.  First 
mentioned  Bounds,  being  of  ye.  Contents 
of  about  Four  Miles  Square  of  Good  Land, 
well  Scituated  for  a  Precint :  And  the 
Town  of  Groton  hath  been  Petitioned  to 
Set  of  ye.  Lands  bounded  as  aforesd.  to  be 
a  Distinct  and  Seperate  Precint  and  at  a 
Town  Meeting  of  ye.  Inhabitants  of  s^. 
Town  of  Groton  Assembled  on  ye  Twenty 
Fifth  Day  of  May  Last  Past  The  Town 
voted  ye  Prayer  of  ye.  s^.  Petition  and  that 
ye  Lands  before  Described  should  be  a 
Separate  Precinct  and  that  ye.  Inhabitants 
thereon  and  Such  others  as  hereafter  Shal' 


Tlie  Bowidary  Lines  of  Old  Groton.  —  ///. 


149 


Settle  on  lA.  Lands  should  have  ye  Powers 
and  Priviledges  that  other  Precincts  in  s<i. 
Province  have  or  Do  Enjoy  :  as  p^.  a  Coppy 
from  Groton  Town  Book  herewith  Ex- 
hibited may  Appear:  For  the  Reasons 
mentioned  we  the  Subscribers  as  afores^. 
Humbley  Prayes'  }our  Excellency  and 
Honours  to  Set  oflf  y^  s^  Lands  bounded 
as  aforesd.  to  be  a  Distinct  and  Sepperate 
Precinct  and  Invest  ye  Inhabitants  thereon 
(Containing  about  y^  No.  of  Forty  Fam- 
elies)  and  Such  others  as  Shall  hereafter 
Settle  on  sd.  Lands  with  Such  Powers  & 
Priviledges  as  other  Precincts  in  s^.  Prov- 
ince have  &c  or  Grant  to  your  Petitioners 
Such  other  Releaf  in  y^.  Premises  as  your 
Excellency  and  Honours  in  your  Great 
Wisdom  Shall  think  Fit:  and  your  Peti- 
tioners as  in  Duty  bound  Shall  Ever  pray 

&c. 

Benj  Swallow 
Wf" :  Spalden 
Isaac  Williams 
Ebenezer  Gilson 
Elias  Ellit 

Samuel  Shattuck    iu 
James  Shattuck 
David  Shattuck 
David  Blood 
Jonathan  Woods 
John  Blood    iuner 
Josiah  Parker 
Jacob  Ames 
Jonas  Varnum 
Moses  Woods 
Zachery  Lawrence  Junf^ 
Jeremiah  Lawrence 
John  Mozier 
Josiah  Tucher 
Wm  Allen 
John  Shadd 
Jams.  Green 
John  Kemp 
Nehemiah  Jewett 
Eleazar  Green 
Jonathan  Shattuck 
Jonathan  Shattuck  Jun^ 

In  the  House  of  Rep^ives  Novr.  26.   1742 

In  Answer  to  the  within  Petition  ordered 

that  that  Part   of  the   Town   of   Groton 

Lying  on  the  Westerly  Side  of  Lancaster 


River  within  the  following  bounds  viz* 
bounding  Easterly  on  said  River  Southerly 
on  Townsend  Road  so  called  Wisterly  on 
Townsend  line  aad  Northerly  on  Dun- 
stable West  Precinct  with  the  Inhabitants 
thereon  be  and  hereby  are  Set  otf  a  dis- 
tinct and  seperate  precinct  and  Vested 
with  the  powers  &  priviledges  which  Other 
Precincts  do  or  by  Law  ought  to  enjoy 
Always  provided  that  the  Inhabitants 
Dwelling  on  the  Lands  abovementioned 
be  subject  to  pay  their  Just  part  and  pro- 
portions of  all  ministeriall  Rates  and 
Taxes  in  the  Town  of  Groton  already 
Granted  or  Assessed. 
Sent  up  for  Concurrence. 

T  Gushing  Spk-. 
In  Council  Novr.    26    1742     Read  and 
Concurr'd 

J  Willard  Secry 
Consented  to,  W  Shirley. 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxiv,  768,  769.] 

When  the  new  Provincial  line  was 
run  between  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire,  in  the  spring  of  1741,  it 
left  a  gore  of  land,  previously  belonging 
to  the  west  parish  of  Dunstable,  lying 
north  of  the  territory  of  Groton  and 
contiguous  to  it.  It  formed  a  narrow 
strip,  perhaps  three  hundred  rods  in 
width  at  the  western  end,  running 
easterly  for  three  miles  and  tapering 
off  to  a  point  at  the  Nashua  River,  by 
which  stream  it  was  entirely  separated 
from  Dunstable.  Shaped  like  a  thin 
wedge,  it  lay  along  the  border  of  the 
province,  and  belonged  geographically 
to  the  west  precinct  or  parish  of  Gro- 
ton. Under  these  circumstances  the 
second  parish  petitioned  the  General 
Court  to  have  it  annexed  to  their  juris- 
diction, which  request  was  granted. 
William  Prescott,  one  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  matter, 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  was 
the  commander  of  the  American  forces 
at  the   battle  of  Bunker  Hill.     It  has 


I50 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Grot  on.  —  ///. 


been  incorrectly  stated  by  writers  that 
tliis  triangular  parcel  of  land  was  the 
gore  ceded,  in  the  summer  of  1736,  to 
the  proprietors  of  Groton,  on  the  peti- 
tion of  Benjamin  Prescott.  The  doc- 
uments relating  to  this  matter  are  as 
follows :  — 

To  his  Honnor  Spencer  Pliipes  Esq"" 
CajDt  Geniorl  and  Commander  In  Cheaf  in 
and  ouer  his  majists  prouince  of  the  Mas- 
sachusets  Bay  in  New  england  and  to  The 
Honbie  his  majestys  Counsel  and  House  of 
Representatiues  In  Geniral  Courte  assam- 
bled  at  Boston  The  26  of  December 
1751 

The  Petition  of  Peleg  Lawrance  Jarimah 
Lawrance  and  william  Prescott  a  Cumttee. 
for  the  Second  Parish  In  Groton  in  The 
County  of  Middle  sikes. 

Humbly  Shew  That  Theare  is  a  strip  of 
Land  of  about  fiue  or  six  hundred  acors 
Lys  ajoyning  To  The  Town  of  Groton 
which  be  Longs  To  the  town  of  Dun- 
stable the  said  strip  of  land  Lys  near 
fouer  mill  in  Length  and  bounds  on  the 
North  Line  of  the  said  second  Parrish  in 
Groton  and  on  the  South  Side  of  New- 
hampsher  Line  which  Peeace  by  Runing 
the  sd  Line  of  Newhampsher  was  Intierly 
Cut  off"  from  the  town  of  Dunstable  from 
Receueing  any  Priuelidge  their  for  it  Lys 
not  Less  then  aboute  Eight  mill  from  the 
Senter  of  the  town  of  Dunstable  and  but 
about  two  mill  and  a  half  from  the  meeting 
house  in  the  said  second  Parish  in  Groton 
so  that  they  that  settel  on  the  sd  Strip  of 
Land  may  be  much  beter  acommadated  to 
be  Joyned  to  ye  town  of  Groton  and  to  the 
sd  second  Parish  than  Euer  thay  Can  any 
other  way  in  this  Prouince  and  the  town  of 
Dunstable  being  well  sencable  thare  of 
haue  at  thare  town  meeting  on  the  19  Day 
of  December  Currant  voted  of  the  sd  Strip 
of  Land  allso  James  Colburn  who  now 
Lines  on  sd  Strip  Land  from  the  town  of 
Dunstable  to  be  annexed  to  the  town  of 
Groton  and  to  the  sd  second  Parish  in  sd 
town  and  the  second  Parish  haue  aCord- 
ingly  voted  to  Recue  the  same  all  which 
may  appear  by  the  vote  of  sd  Dunstable 


and  said  Parish  which  will  be  of  Grate 
advantige  to  the  owners  of  the  sd.  strip  of 
Land  and  a  benefit  to  the  said  second 
Parish  in  Groton  so  that  your  Petitioners 
Humbly  Pray  that  the  sd.  strip  of  Land 
may  be  annexed  to  the  said  second  Parish  in 
Groton  so  far  as  Groton  Nor  west  corner 
to  do  Duty  and  Recue  Priulidge  theare  and 
your  petionrs  In  Duty  bound  shall  Euer 

Pray 

Peleg  Lawrence 
Willm  Prescott 
Jeremiah  Lawrence 

Dunstable  December  24  1751 

this  may  Certifye  the  Grate  and  Genirol 

Courte  that  I   Line  on  the  slip  of  Land 

within  mentioned  and  it  tis  my  Desier  that 

the  prayer  of  this  Petition  be  Granted 

James  Colburn 
In  the  House  of  Reptives  JanT  4.  1752 
Voted  that  the  prayer  of  the  Petition  be 
so  farr  granted  that  the  said  strip  of  Land 
prayed  for,  that  is  the  Jurisdiction  of  it  be 
Annex'd  to  the  Town  of  Groton  &  to  y^ 
Second  Precinct  in  said  Town  &  to  do 
dutys  there  &  to  recieve  Priviledges  from 
them. 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence 

T.  Hubbard  Spkr. 

In  Council  Jany  6.  1752  Read  &  Con- 
cur'd 

J  Willard  Secry. 
Consented  to 

S  Phips 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxvi,  162,  163. 1 

The  west  parish  of  Groton  was  made 
a  district  on  April  12,  1753,  the  day  the 
Act  was  signed  by  the  Governor,  which 
was  a  second  step  toward  its  final  and 
complete  separation.  It  then  took  the 
name  of  Pepperell,  and  was  vested  with 
still  broader  political  powers.  It  was  so 
called  after  Sir  William  Pepperrell,  who 
had  successfully  commanded  the  New 
England  troops  against  Louisburg ;  and 
the  name  was  suggested,  doubtless,  by 
the  Reverend  Joseph  Emerson,  the  first 
settled  minister  of  the  parish.  He  had 
accompanied  that  famous  expedition  in 


The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groion.  —  ///. 


i^i 


the  capacity  of  chaplain,  only  the  year 
before  he  had  received  a  call  for  his 
settlement,  and  his  associations  with  the 
commander  were  fresh  in  his  memory. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  Act  for 
incorporating  the  district  leaves  the 
name  blank,  which  was  customary  in 
this  kind  of  legislation  at  that  period  ; 
and  the  governor,  perhaps  with  the 
advice  of  his  council,  was  in  the  habit 
subsequently  of  filling  out  the  came. 

Pepperell,  for  one  "  r  "  is  dropped  from 
the  name,  had  now  all  the  privileges  of 
a  town,  except  the  right  to  choose  a 
representative  to  the  General  Court,  and 
this  political  connection  with  Groton 
was  kept  up  until  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolution.  In  the-  session  of  the 
General  Court  which  met  at  Watertown, 
on  July  19,  1775,  Pepperell  was  repre- 
sented by  a  member,  and  in  this  way 
acquired  the  privileges  of  a  town  with- 
out any  special  act  of  incorporation. 
Other  similar  districts  were  likewise 
represented,  in  accordance  with  the 
precept  calling  that  body  together,  and 
they  thus  obtained  municipal  rights 
without  the  usual  formality.  The  pre- 
cedent seems  to  have  been  set  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, 
which  was  made  up  of  delegates  from 
the  districts  as  well  as  from  the  towns. 
It  was  a  revolutionary  step  taken  out- 
side of  the  law.  On  March  23,  1786, 
this  anomalous  condition  of  affairs  was 
settled  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature, 
which  declared  all  districts,  incor- 
porated before  January  i,  1777,  to  be 
towns  for  all  intents  and  purposes. 

The  act  for  the  incorporation  of 
Pepperell  is  as  follows  :  — 

Anno  Regni  Regis  Georgij  Secundi 
vlcesimo  Sexto 

An  Act  for  Erecting  the  second  Precinct 
in  the  Town  of  Groton  into  a  seperate 
District 


Be  it  enacted  by  the  Leiu'.  Govf  Joun- 
cil  and  House  of  Representatives 

That  the  second  Precinct  in  Groton 
bounding  Southerly  on  the  old  Country 
Road  leading  to  Townshend,  Westerly  on 
Townshend  Line  Northerly  on  the  Line 
last  run  by  the  Governm^  of  New  Hamp- 
shire as  the  Boundary  betwixt  that  Prov- 
ince and  this  Easterly  to  the  middle  of  the 
River,  called  Lancaster  [Nashua]  River, 
from  where  the  said  Boundary  Line  crosses 
said  River,  so  up  the  middle  of  ye.  said 
River  to  where  the  Bridge  did  stand,  called 
Kemps  Bridge,  to  the  Road  first  men- 
tioned, be  &  hereby  is  erected  into  a  sep- 
erate   District   by   the   Name   of 

and  that  the  said  District  be  and  hereby  is 
invested  with  all  the  Priviledges  Powers 
and  Immunities  that  Towns  in  this  Prov- 
ince by  Law  do  or  may  enjoy,  that  of 
sending  a  Representative  to  the  generall 
Assembly  only  excepted,  and  that  the  In- 
habitants of  said  District  shall  have  full 
power  &  Right  from  Time  to  time  to  joyn 
with  the  sd :  Town  of  Groton  in  the  choice 
of  Representative  or  Representatives,  in 
which  Choice  they  shall  enjoy  all  the  Priv- 
iledges which  by  Law  they  would  have 
been  entitled  to,  if  this  Act  had  not  been 
made.  And  that  the  said  District  shall 
from  Time  to  time  pay  their  proportionable 
part  of  the  Expence  of  such  Representative 
or  Representatives  According  to  their 
respective  proportions  of  y=.  Province 
Tax. 

And  that  the  s^.  Town  of  Groton  as 
often  as  they  shall  call  a  Meeting  for  the 
Choice  of  a  Representative  shall  give  sea- 
sonable Notice  to  the  Clerk  of  said  Dis- 
trict for  the  Time  being,  of  the  Time  and 
place  of  holding  such  Meeting,  to  the  End 
that  said  District  may  join  them  therein, 
and  the  Clerk  of  said  District  shall  set  up 
in  some  publick  place  in  s^.  District  a 
Notification  thereof  accordingly  or  other- 
wise give  Seasonable  Notice,  as  the  Dis- 
trict shall  determine. 

Provided  Nevertheless  and  be  it  further 
enacted  That  the  said  District  shall  pay 
their  proportion  :  of  all  Town  County  and 
Province  Taxes  already  set  on  or  granted 


15^ 


WacJmsett  Mountain  and  Princeton. 


to  be  raised  by  s''.  Town  as  if  this  act  had 
not  been  made,  and  also  be  at  one  half  the 
charge  in  building  and  repairing  the  Two 
Bridges  on  Lancaster  River  aforesaid  in  sd  : 
District. 

Provided  also  and  be  it  further  Enacted 
That  no  poor  Persons  residing  in  said  Dis- 
trict and  Who  have  been  Warn'd  by  the 
Selectmen  of  said  Groton  to  depart  sd : 
Town  shall  be  understood  as  hereby  ex- 
empted from  any  Process  they  would  have 
been  exposed  to  if  this  Act  had  not  been 
made. 

And  be  it  further  enacted  that  W™  Law- 
rence *  Esq""  Be  and  hereby  is  impowered 

•  This  name   apparently   inserted   after    the    original 
draft  was  made. 


to  issue  his  Warrant  directed  to  some  prin- 
cipal Inhabitant  in  s^.  District  requiring 
him  to  notify  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Dis- 
trict to  meet  at  such  Time  &  place  as  he 
shall  appoint  to  choose  all  such  Officers  as 
by  Law  they  are  Impowered  to  Choose  for 
conducting  the  Affairs  for  sd.  District. 

In  the  House  of  Reptives  April  5,  1753 

Read  three  several  times  and  pass'd  to 
be  Engross'd 

Sent  up  for  Concurrence 

T.  Hubbard  Spk^. 

In  Council  April  5  1753     AM 

Read  a  first  and  Second  Time  and  pass'd 
a  Concurrence 

Thos.  Clarke  Dpty.  Secry 

[Massachusetts  Archives,  cxvi,  360-362.] 


WACHUSETT    MOUNTAIN    AND    PRINCETON. 

By  Atherton  P.  Mason. 


Almost  the  first  land  seen  by  a 
person  on  board  a  vessel  approaching 
the  Massachusetts  coast  is  the  summit 
of  Wachusett  Mountain  ;  and  any  one 
standing  upon  its  rocky  top  beholds 
more  of  Massachusetts  than  can  be 
seen  from  any  other  mountain  in  the 
State.  For  these  two  reasons,  if  for  no 
others,  a  short  historical  and  sceno- 
graphical  description  of  this  lonely  and 
majestic  eminence,  and  of  the  beautiful 
township  in  which  it  lies,  would  seem 
to  be  interesting. 

Wachusett,  or  "  Great  Watchusett 
Hill,"  as  it  was  originally  called,  lies  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township  of 
Princeton,  and  is  about  fifty  miles  due 
west  from  Boston.  The  Nashaways,  or 
Nashuas,  originally  held  this  tract  and 
all  the  land  west  of  the  river  that  still 


bears  their  name,  and  they  gave  to  this 
mountain  and  the  region  around  its 
base  the  name  of  "  Watchusett."  Ris- 
ing by  a  gradual  ascent  from  its  base, 
it  has  the  appearance  of  a  vast  dome. 
The  Reverend  Peter  Whitney,*  speak- 
ing of  its  dimensions,  says  :  ''The  cir- 
cumference of  this  monstrous  mass  is 
about  three  miles,  and  its  height  is 
3,012  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
as  was  found  by  the  Hon.  John  Win- 
throp,  Esq.,  ll.d.,  in  the  year  1777: 
and  this  must  be  i,Soo  or  1,900  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  adjacent  coun- 
try." More  recent  measurements  have 
not  materially  changed  these  figures,  so 
they  may  be  regarded  as  substantially 
correct. 

The  first  mention,  and  probably  the 

*  History  of  Worcester  County.     Worcester:   1793. 


WacJmsett  Mountain  and  Princeton. 


153 


first  sight,  of  this  mountain,  or  of  any 
portion  of  the  region  now  comprised 
in  Worcester  County,  is  recorded  in 
Governor  Winthrop's  journal,  in  which, 
under  the  date  of  January  27,  1632,  is 
written  :  "  The  Governour  and  some 
company  with  him,  went  up  by  Charles 
Ri\er  about  eight  miles  above  Water- 
town."  The  party  after  climbing  an 
eminence  in  the  vicinity  of  their  halt- 
ing-place saw  "  a  very  high  hill,  due 
west  about  forty  miles  off,  and  to  the 
N.  W.  the  high  hills  by  Merrimack, 
above  sixty  miles  off."  The  "  very 
high  hill "  seen  by  them  for  the  first 
time  was  unquestionably  Wachusett. 

"On  the  20th  of  October,  1759, 
the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
passed  an  act  for  incorporating  the  east 
wing,  so  called,  of  Rutland,  together 
with  sundry  farms  and  some  publick 
lands  contiguous  thereto,"  as  a  district 
under  the  name  of  Prince  Town,  "  to 
perpetuate  the  name  and  memory  of 
the  late  Rev.  Thomas  Prince,  colleague 
pastor  of  the  Old  South  church  in 
Boston,  and  a  large  proprietor  of  this 
tract  of  land."  The  district  thus  in- 
corporated contained  about  nineteen 
thousand  acres  ;  but  on  April  24,  1771, 
its  inhabitants  petitioned  the  General 
Court,  that  it,  "  with  all  the  lands  ad- 
joining said  District,  not  included  in 
any  other  town  or  District,"  be  incor- 
porated into  a  town  by  the  name  of 
Princeton ;  and  by  the  granting  of 
this  petition,  the  area  of  the  town 
was  increased  to  twenty-two  thousand 
acres. 

The  principal  citizen  of  Princeton  at 
this  period  was  the  Honorable  Moses 
Gill,  who  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Reverend  Thomas  Prince.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  note  in  the  county 
also,  holding  office  as  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  the 


county  of  Worcester,  and  being  "  for 
several  years  Counsellor  of  this  Com- 
monwealth." His  country-seat,  located 
at  Princeton,  was  a  very  extensive  es- 
tate, comprising  nearly  three  thousand 
acres.  Mr.  Whitney  appears  to  have 
been  personally  familiar  with  this  place, 
and  his  description  of  it  is  so  graphic 
and  enthusiastic,  that  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  quote  a  portion  of  it. 

"  His  noble  and  elegant  seat  is  about 
one  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  meet- 
ing-house, to  the  south.  The  mansion- 
house  is  large,  being  fifty  by  fifty  feet, 
with  four  stacks  of  chimneys.  The 
farmhouse  is  forty  feet  by  thirty-six. 
In  a  line  with  this  stands  the  coach  and 
chaise  house,  fifty  feet  by  thirty-six. 
This  is  joined  to  the  barn  by  a  shed 
seventy  feet  in  length  —  the  bam  is 
two  hundred  feet  by  thirty-two.  Very 
elegant  fences  are  erected  around  the 
mansion-house,  the  outhouses,  and  the 
garden.  When  we  view  this  seat,  these 
buildings,  and  this  farm  of  so  many 
hundred  acres  under  a  high  degree  of 
profitable  cultivation,  and  are  told  that 
in  the  year  1776  it  was  a  perfect 
wilderness,  we  are  struck  with  wonder, 
admiration,  and  astonishment.  Upon 
the  whole,  the  seat  of  Judge  Gill,  all 
the  agreeable  circumstances  respecting 
it  being  attentively  considered,  is  not 
paralleled  by  any  in  the  New  England 
States  :  perhaps  not  by  any  this  side 
the  Delaware." 

Judge  Gill  was  a  very  benevolent  and 
enterprising  man,  and  did  much  to 
advance  the  welfare  of  the  town  in  its 
infancy.  During  the  first  thirty  years 
of  its  existence,  it  increased  rapidly  in 
wealth  and  population,  having  in  1 790 
one  thousand  and  sixteen  inhabitants. 
For  the  next  half-century  it  increased 
slowly,  having  in  1840  thirteen  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  inhabitants.  Since 


154 


Wachusett  Mountain  and  Pi'inceton. 


then,  like  all  our  beautiful  New-Eng- 
land farming- towns,  it  has  fallen  off  in 
population,  having  at  the  present  time 
but  little  over  one  thousand  people 
dwelling  within  its  limits.  Yet  neither 
the  town  nor  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple has  degenerated  in  the  last  cen- 
tury. Persevering  industry  has  brought 
into  existence  in  this  town  some  of 
the  most  beautiful  farms  in  New 
England,  and  in  1875  the  value  of 
farm  products  was  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars.  Manufacturing  has 
never  been  carried  on  to  any  great 
extent  in  this  town.  "  In  Princeton 
there  are  four  grist  mills,  five  saw  mills, 
and  one  fulling  mill  and  clothiers' 
works,"  says  Whitney  in  1793.  Now 
lumber  and  chair-stock  are  the  prin- 
cipal manufactured  products,  and  in 
1875  the  value  of  these,  together  with 
the  products  of  other  smaller  manufac- 
turing industries,  was  nearly  seventy 
thousand  dollars. 

Princeton  is  the  birthplace  of  several 
men  who  have  become  well  known, 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Ed- 
ward Savage  (1761-181  7),  noted  as  a 
skilful  portrait-painter ;  David  Everett 
(i  770-1813),  the  journahst,  and  author 
of  those  famihar  schoolboy  verses  be- 
ginning :  — 

"You'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage"; 

and  Leonard  Woods,  d.d.,  the  eminent 
theologian. 

This  locality  derives  additional  in- 
terest from  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Row- 
landson,  in  her  book  entitled  Twenty 
Removes,  designates  it  as  the  place 
where  King  Philip  released  her  from 
captivity  in  the  spring  of  1676.  Tra- 
dition still  points  out  the  spot  where 
this  release  took  place,  in  a  meadow 
near  a  large  bowlder  at  the  eastern 
base  of  the  mountain.     The  bowlder  is 


known  to  this  day  as  "  Redemption 
Rock."  It  is  quite  near  the  margin 
of  Wachusett  Lake,  a  beautiful  sheet  of 
water  covering  over  one  hundred  acres. 
This  is  a  favorite  place  for  picnic  par- 
ties from  neighboring  towns,  and  the 
several  excellent  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses  in  the  immediate  vicinity  afford 
accommodations  for  summer  visitors, 
who  frequent  this  locality  in  large 
numbers. 

The  Indian  history  of  this  region  is 
brief,  but  what  there  is  of  it  is  interest- 
ing to  us  on  account  of  King  Philip's 
connection  with  it.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Narragansett  War,  in  1675,  ^^^ 
Wachusetts,  in  spite  of  their  solemn 
compact  with  the  colonists,  joined  King 
Philip,  and,  after  his  defeat,  "  the  lands 
about  the  Wachusetts"  became  one  of 
his  headquarters,  and  he  was  frequently 
in  that  region.  For  many  years  their 
wigwams  were  scattered  about  the  base 
of  the  mountain  and  along  the  border 
of  the  lake,  and  tradition  informs  us 
that  on  a  large  fiat  rock  near  the  lake 
their  council-fires  were  often  hghted. 

Until  1 75 1,  but  three  families  had 
settled  in  the  Wachusett  tract.  In  May 
of  that  year  Robert  Keyes,  a  noted 
hunter,  settled  there  with  his  family, 
upon  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountain, 
near  where  the  present  carriage-road  to 
the  summit  begins.  On  April  14,  1755, 
a  child  of  his  named  Lucy,  about  five 
years  old,  strayed  away,  presumably  to 
follow  her  sisters  wh  -)  had  gone  to  the 
lake,  about  a  mile  distant.  She  was 
never  heard  of  again,  though  the  woods 
were  diligently  searched  for  weeks. 
Whitney  speaks  of  this  incident,  and 
concludes  that  "  she  was  taken  by  the 
Indians  and  carried  into  their  countrv, 
and  soon  forgot  her  relations,  lost  her 
native  language,  and  became  as  one  of 
the  aborigines."      In  1765  Keyes  peti- 


Waclnisett  Mountain  and  Princeton. 


'55 


tioned  the  General  Court  to  grant  him 
"  ye  easterly  half  of  said  Wachusett 
hill "  in  consideration  of  the  loss  of 
"  lOo  pounds  lawful  money"  incurred 
by  him  in  seeking  for  his  lost  child. 
This  petition  was  endorsed  "  nega- 
tived "  in  the  handwriting  of  the  sec- 
retary. With  this  one  exception  the 
early  settlers  of  Princeton  seem  to  have 
suffered  very  little  at  the  hands  of  the 
Indians. 

Princeton,  in  common  with  its  neigh- 
bors, underwent  much  religious  contro- 
versy during  the  first  half-century  of  its 
existence.  The  first  meeting-house, 
"  50  foots  long  and  40  foots  wide," 
was  erected  in  1762  "on  the  highest 
part  of  the  land,  near  three  pine  trees, 
being  near  a  large  flat  rock."  This 
edifice  was  taken  down  in  1 796,  and 
replaced  by  a  more  "elegant"  building, 
which  in  turn  was  removed  in  1S3S. 
The  three  pine  trees  are  now  no  more, 
but  the  flat  rock  remains,  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  fine  sunset  view  obtained 
from  it  has  been  named  "  Sunset 
Rock." 

The  first  minister  in  Princeton  was 
the  Reverend  Timothy  Fuller,  settled 
in  1767.  In  1768  the  General  Court 
granted  him  Wachusett  Mountain  to 
compensate  him  for  his  settlement  over 
"  a  heavily  burdened  people  in  a  wilder- 
ness country."  It  was  certainly  at  that 
time  neither  a  profitable  nor  useful 
gift,  and  it  was  a  pity  to  have  this 
grand  old  pile  pass  into  private  hands. 
Mr.  Fuller  continued  as  pastor  until 
1776.  His  successors  were  the  Rev- 
erend Thomas  Crafts,  the  Reverend 
Joseph  Russell,  and  the  Reverend  James 
Murdock,  d.d.  At  the  time  when  Dr. 
Murdock  left,  in  18 15,  Unitarian  senti- 
ments had  developed  extensively,  and 
"  the  town  and  a  minority  of  the 
church  "  called  the  Reverend  Samuel 


Clarke,  who  had  been  a  pupil  of  Dr. 
Channing.  The  call  was  accepted  and, 
as  a  result,  a  portion  of  the  church 
seceded  and  built  a  small  house  of  wor- 
ship ;  but  in  1836  the  church  and 
society  reunited  and  have  remained  so 
ever  since. 

In  1 81 7  a  Baptist  society  was  organ- 
ized, and  had  several  pastors ;  but  in 
1844  the  society  began  to  diminish, 
and  not  long  after  ceased  to  exist.  The 
meeting-house  was  sold  and  is  now  an 
hotel  —  the  Prospect  House.  In  1839 
a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized  which  still  flourishes. 

Besides  Wachusett  Mountain  there 
are  two  other  hills  in  Princeton  that  are 
deserving  of  mention  —  Pine  HiU  and 
Little  Wachusett.  The  former  is  about 
two  miles  from  the  centre  of  the  town 
and  not  far  from  Wachusett,  and  the 
latter  is  about  half  a  mile  to  the  north 
of  the  centre.  Neither  of  these  hills 
is  large  or  high,  their  elevation  being 
about  one  thousand  feet  less  than  that 
of  Wachusett,  but  they  appear  like  two 
beautiful  children  of  the  majestic  father 
that  looms  above  them.  All  these  hills 
were  once  heavily  wooded,  but  much 
timber  has  been  cut  off  during  the  last 
century,  and  forest-fires  have  devastated 
portions  at  different  times  ;  yet  there  is 
still  an  abundance  left.  Whitney  speaks 
of  the  region  as  abounding  in  oak  of 
various  kinds,  chestnut,  white  ash, 
beech,  birch,  and  maple,  with  some 
butternut  and  walnut  trees.  The  vigor- 
ous grow;h  of  the  primeval  forest  indi- 
cated the  strength  and  richness  of  the 
soil  which  has  since  been  turned  to  such 
profitable  use  by  the  farmers.  The 
houses  in  which  the  people  live  are  all 
substantial,  convenient,  ctnd.  in  many 
cases,  beautiful,  being  surrounded  by 
neatly  kept  grounds  and  well  -  tilled 
land. 


156 


IVac/msett  Mojmtain  and  Princeton. 


In  a  hilly  country  such  as  this  is, 
springs  and  brooks  of  course  abound. 
The  height  of  land  upon  which  Prince- 
ton is  situated  is  a  watershed  between 
the  Connecticut  and  Merrimack  Rivers, 
and  of  the  three  beautiful  brooks  hav- 
ing their  source  in  the  township,  one, 
Wachusett  Brook,  runs  into  Ware 
River,  and  thence  to  the  Connecticut, 
while  the  other  two,  East  Wachusett 
and  Keyes  Brooks,  get  to  the  Merri- 
mack by  Still  River  and   the    Nashua. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  AVachu- 
sett  Lake.  Properly  speaking,  this 
cannot  perhaps  be  considered  as  being 
in  Princeton,  inasmuch  as  about  four 
fifths  of  its  surface  lie  in  the  adjoining 
township  of  Westminster.  Besides 
Wachusett  Lake  there  is  another  called 
Quinnepoxet,  which  lies  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  township,  a  small 
portion  of  it  being  in  Holden.  It  is 
smaller  than  its  northern  neighbor, 
covering  only  about  seventy  acres,  but 
it  is  a  very  charming  sheet  of  water. 

A  brief  account  of  the  geology  of 
this  region  may  perhaps  prove  interest- 
ing. In  the  eastern  portion  of  Prince- 
ton the  underlying  rock  is  a  kind  of 
micaceous  schist,  and  in  the  western  is 
granitic  gneiss.  The  gneiss  abounds  in 
sulphuret  of  iron,  and  for  this  reason  is 
peculiarly  liable  to  undergo  disintegra- 
tion ;  hence  the  excellent  character  of 
the  soil  in  this  portion  of  Worcester 
County  where  naked  rock  is  seldom 
seen  in  place,  except  in  case  of  the 
summits  of  the  hills  scattered  here  and 
there  ;  and  these  summits  are  rounded, 
and  show  the  effects  of  weathering. 
As  we  go  westerly  upon  this  gneiss 
range,  and  get  into  the  hmits  of  Frank- 
lin and  Hampshire  Counties,  a  larger 
amount  of  naked  rock  appears,  the  hills 
are   more  craggy  and  precipitous,  and 


in  general  the  soil  is  poorer.  The  three 
principal  elevations  in  Princeton  are 
mainly  composed  of  gneiss.  This 
variety  of  rock  is  identical  with  granite 
in  its  composition,  the  distinctive  point 
between  the  two  being  that  gneiss  has 
lines  of  stratification  while  granite  has 
none.  The  rock  of  which  Wachusett 
is  mainly  composed  has  rather  obscure 
stratification,  and  hence  may  be  called 
granitic  gneiss.  What  stratification 
there  is  does  not  show  the  irregularity 
that  one  would  suppose  would  result 
from  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  to 
so  great  a  height  above  the  surrounding 
country ;  on  the  other  hand  the  rock 
does  not  differ  essentially  in  hardness 
from  that  in  the  regions  below,  and 
hence  the  theory  that  all  the  adjacent 
land  was  once  as  high  as  the  summit 
of  the  mountain,  and  was  subsequently 
worn  away  by  the  action  of  water  and 
weather,  is  hardly  tenable.  The  gneiss 
of  this  region  is  not  especially  rich  in 
other  mineral  contents.  Some  fine 
specimens  of  mica  have  however  been 
obtained  from  the  summit  of  Wachu- 
sett. The  only  other  extraneous  min- 
eral found  there  to  any  great  extent  is 
the  sulphuret  of  iron  before  mentioned. 
The  common  name  of  this  mineral  is 
iron  pyrites,  and  being  of  a  yellow 
color  has  in  many  localities  in  New 
England,  in  times  past,  caused  a  vast 
waste  of  time  and  money  in  a  vain 
search  for  gold.  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Princeton  were 
ever  thus  deceived,  though  Whitney 
wrote  in  1 793  :  "  Perhaps  its  bowels 
may  contain  very  valuable  hid  treasure, 
which  in  some  future  period  may  be 
descried."  In  describing  the  summit  of 
the  mountain  he  speaks  of  it  as  "  a  flat 
rock,  or  ledge  of  rocks  for  some  rods 
round ;  and  there  is  a  small  pond  of 


Wachusett  Mountain  and  Princeton. 


157 


A'ater  generally  upon  the  top  of  it,  of 
^vo  or  three  rods  square ;  and  where 
there  is  any  earth  it  is  covered  with 
olueberry  bushes  for  acres  round." 
The  small  pond  and  blueberry  bushes 
are  visible  at  present,  or  were  a  year  or 
two  ago  at  any  rate,  but  the  area  of 
bare  rock  has  increased  somewhat  as 
time  went  on,  though  the  top  is  not  as 
bare  as  is  that  of  its  New  Hampshire 
brother,  Monadnock,  nor  are  its  sides 
so  craggy  and  precipitous. 

The  people  of  Princeton  have  always 
kept  abreast  of  the  times.  From  the 
first  they  were  ardent  supporters  of 
the  measures  of  the  Revolution,  and 
foremost  among  them  in  patriotic  spirit 
was  the  Honorable  Moses  Gill,  pre- 
viously mentioned  in  this  paper,  who, 
on  account  of  his  devotion  to  the 
good  cause,  was  called  by  Samuel 
Adams  "The  Duke  of  Princeton." 
Their  strong  adherence  to  the  "  state 
rights"  principle  led  the  people  of  the 
town  to  vote  against  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ; 
but  when  it  was  adopted  they  abided 
by  it,  and  when  the  Union  was  men- 
aced in  the  recent  RebeUion  they 
nobly  responded  to  the  call  of  the 
nation  with  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  men  and  nearly  twenty  thousand 
dollars  in  money  —  exceeding  in  both 
items  the  demand  made  upon  them. 
Nor  is  their  record  in  the  pursuits 
of  peace  less  honorable,  for  in  dairy 
products  and  in  the  rearing  of  fine 
cattle  they  have  earned  an  enviable 
and  well-deserved  reputation.  As  a 
community  it  is  cultured  and  industrious, 
and  has  ever  been  in  full  syronathy  with 


progress  in  education,  religion,  and 
social  relations. 

But  few  towns  in  Massachusetts  offer 
to  summer  visitors  as  many  attractions 
as  does  Princeton.  The  air  is  clear 
and  bracing,  the  landscape  charming, 
and  the  pleasant,  shady  woodroads 
afford  opportunities  for  drives  through 
most  picturesque  scenery.  Near  at 
hand  is  the  lake,  and  above  it  towers 
Wachusett.  It  has  been  proposed  to 
run  a  railroad  up  to  and  around  the 
mountain,  but  thus  far,  fortunately, 
nothing  has  come  of  it.  A  fine  road 
of  easy  ascent  winds  up  the  mountain, 
and  on  the  summit  is  a  good  hotel 
which  is  annually  patronized  by  thou- 
sands of  transient  visitors. 

The  view  from  here  is  magnificent 
on  a  clear  day.  The  misty  blue  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  silver  thread  of  the  Con- 
necticut, Mounts  Tom  and  Holyoke, 
and  cloud  -  clapped  Monadnock,  the 
cities  of  Worcester  and  Fitchburg  —  all 
these  and  many  other  beautiful  objects 
are  spread  out  before  the  spectator. 
But  it  cannot  be  described  —  it  must 
be  seen  to  be  appreciated ;  and  the 
throngs  of  visitors  that  flit  through  the 
town  every  summer  afford  abundant 
evidence  that  the  love  of  the  beautiful 
and  grand  in  nature  still  lives  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 

Brief  is  the  sketch  of  this  beautiful 
mountain  town,  which  is  neither  large 
nor  possessed  of  very  eventful  history  : 
but  in  its  quiet  seclusion  dwell  peace 
and  prosperity,  and  its  worthy  inhabi- 
tants are  most  deeply  attached  to  the 
beautiful  heritage  handed  down  to 
them  by  their  ancestors. 


I  58  Washington  and  the  Flag. 


WASHINGTON    AND    THE    FLAG. 

By  Henry  B.  Carrington. 

"Strike,  strike!  O  Liberty,  thy  silver  strings!  " 

Note.  —  On  a  pavement  slab  in  Brighton  Chapel,  Northamptonshire,  England,  the  Washington  coat-of-arms 
appears:  a  bird  rising  from  nest  (coronet),  upon  azure  field  with  three  five-pointed  stars,  and  parallel  red-and-white 
bands  on  field  below ;  suggesting  origin  of  the  national  escutcheon. 

I. 

Strike,  strike  !  O  Liberty,  thy  silver  strings  ; 
And  fill  with  melody  the  clear  blue  sky  ! 
Give  swell  to  chorus  full,  —  to  gladness  wings, 
And  let  swift  heralds  with  the  tidings  fly  ! 
Faint  not,  nor  tire,  but  glorify  the  record 
Which  honors  him  who  gave  the  nation  life ; 
Fill  up  the  story,  and  with  one  accord 
Our  people  hush  their  conflicts  —  end  their  strife  ! 

II. 

Tell  me,  ye  people,  why  doth  this  appeal 
Go  forth  in  measure  swift  as  it  has  force, 
To  quicken  souls,  and  make  the  nation's  weal 
Advance,  unfettered,  in  its  onward  course, 
Unless  that  they  who  live  in  these  our  times 
May  grasp  the  grand,  o'erwhelming  thought, 
That  he  who  led  our  troops  in  battle-lines, 
But  our  best  interests  ever  sought ! 

III. 

What  is  this  story,  thus  redolent  of  praise? 
Why  challenge  Liberty  herself  to  lend  her  voice? 
Why  must  ye  hallelujah  anthems  raise, 
And  bid  the  world  in  plaudits  loud  rejoice? 
Why  hft  the  banner  with  its  star-lit  folds. 
And  give  it  honors,  grandest  and  the  best. 
Unless  its  blood-stripes  and  its  stars  of  gold 
Bring  ransom  to  the  toilers  —  to  the  weary  rest  ? 

• 

IV. 

O  yes,  there  's  a  secret  in  the  stars  and  stripes : 
It  was  the  emblem  of  our  nation's  sire  ; 
And  from  the  record  of  his  father's  stripes, 
He  gathered  zeal  which  did  his  youth  inspire. 
Fearless  and  keen  in  the  border  batde. 


A  Summer  07i  the  Great  Lakes.  \  eg 

Careless  of  risk  while  dealing  blow  for  blow, 
What  did  he  care  for  yell  or  rifle-rattle 
If  he  in  peril  only  duty  e'er  could  know  ! 

V. 

As  thus  in  youth  he  measured  well  his  work. 
And  filled  that  measure  ever  full  and  true, 
So  then  to  him  to  lead  the  nation  looked, 
When  all  to  arms  in  holy  frenzy  flew. 
Great  faith  was  that,  to  inspire  our  sires, 
And  honor  him,  so  true,  with  chief  command, 
And  fervid  be  our  joy,  while  beacon-fires 
Do  honor  to  this  hero  through  the  land. 

VI. 

Strike,  strike  !  O  Liberty,  thy  silver  strings  ! 

Bid  nations  many  in  the  contest  try  ! 

Tell  them,  O,  tell,  of  all  thy  mercy  brings 

For  all  that  languish,  be  it  far  or  nigh  ! 

For  all  oppressed  the  time  shall  surely  come, 

When,  stripped  of  fear,  and  hushed  each  plaintive  cry, 

All,  all,  will  find  in  Washington 

The  model  guide,  for  now  —  for  aye,  for  aye. 


A   SUMMER    ON    THE    GREAT    LAKES. 

By  Fred.  Myron  Colby. 

Where   shall  we  go    this    year  ?  is  rondacks  in  years  gone  by.     Saratoga  ? 

he   annual  recurring   question   as   the  We  have  never  been  there,  but  we  have 

ummer   heats    draw   near.     We   must  an    abhorrence  for  a  great  fashionable 

go  somewhere,  for   it   will   be  no  less  crowd.     To  say  the  truth,  we  are  heart- 

mwholesome    than    unfashionable    to  ily  sick  of  "summer  resorts,"  with  their 

emain  in  town.     The  body  needs  rest ;  gambling,  smoking,  and  drinking.     The 

the  brain,  no   less   wearied,   unites    in  great  watering-places   hold  no  charms 

the  demand  for  change,  for  recreation,  for   us.     "  The   world,  the    flesh,   and 

A  relief  from  the  wear  and  tear  of  pro-  the  devil"  there  hold  undisputed  sway  : 

fessional  life  is  a  necessity.     The  sea-  we  desire  a  gentler  rule. 

side?    Cape  May  and  York  Beach  are        "What  do  you  say  to  a  trip  on  the 

among   our    first    remembrances.     We  Great    Lakes?"    suggests     my   friend, 

believe   in  change.     The    mountains?  Ralph     Vincent,      with     indefatigable 

Their  inexhaustible   variety   will   never  patience. 

pall,   but  then   we   have    "done"    the        "I— I    don't   know,"     I    answered, 

White   Mountains,  explored  the   Cats-  thoughtfully. 
kills,  and   encamped   among  the  Adi-        "Don't   know!"  cried  "the  Histo- 


i6o  A  Siiuinier  on  the  Great  Lakes. 

rian  "  —  (we  called  Hugh  Warren  by  iiig  Duluth  the  terminus  of  our  journey, 
that  title  from  his  abiUty  to  always  Our  return  would  be  leisurely,  stopping 
give  information  on  any  mooted  here  and  there,  at  out-of-the-way  places, 
point) .  He  was  a  walking  encyclopse-  camping-out  whenever  the  fancy  seized 
dia  of  historical  lore.  "  Don't  know !  us  and  the  opportunity  offered,  to  hunt, 
Yes,  you  do.  It  is  just  what  we  want,  to  fish,  to  rest,  being  for  the  time  knight- 
It  will  be  a  delightful  voyage,  with  errants  of  pleasure,  or,  as  the  Historian 
scenes  of  beauty  at  every  sunset  and  dubbed  us,  peripatetic  philosophers,  in 
every  sunrise.  The  Sault  de  Ste.  Marie  search,  not  of  the  touchstone  to  make 
with  its  fairy  isles,  the  waters  of  Lake  gold,  but  the  touchstone  to  make 
Huron  so  darkly,  deeply,  beautifully  health.  Our  trip  was  to  occupy  two 
green,  and  the  storied  waves  of  Superior  months. 

with    their    memories    of    the    martyr  It  was  well  toward  the  latter  part  of 

missionaries,  of  old  French  broils  and  June  in  i88i^  on  one  of  the  brightest 

the   musical   flow   of    Hiawatha.     The  of  summer  mornings,  that  our  steamer, 

very   thought   is  enough   to  make  one  belonging   to  the  regular  daily  line  to 

enthusiastic.     How  came  you  to  think  Toronto,  steamed  slowly  out  from  the 

of  it,  Vincent?"  harbor  of  Oswego.     So  we  were  at  last 

"  I  never  think :  I  scorn  the  imputa-  on  the  "beautiful  water,"    for   that   is* 

tion,"  repled  Vincent,  with  a  look  of  as-  the  meaning  of  Ontario  in  the  Indian 

sumed  disdain.     "  It  was  a  inspiration."  tongue.     Here,     two     hundred     years 

"  And  you  have  inspired  us  to  a  before  us,  the  war-canoes  of  De  Cham- 
glorious  undertaking.  The  Crusades  plain  and  his  Huron  allies  had  spurned 
were  nothing  to  it.  Say,  Montague,"  the  foaming  tide.  Here,  a  hundred 
to  me,  "you  are  agreed.?"  years   later  the  batteaux  of  that  great 

"Yes,  I  am  agreed,"  I  assented,  soldier,  Montcalm,  had  swept  round 
"We  will  spend  our  summer  on  the  the  bluff  to  win  the  fortress  on  its  height, 
Great  Lakes.  It  will  be  novel,  it  will  then  in  English  hands.  Historic  mem- 
be  refreshing,  it  will  be  classical."  ories    haunted    it.      The    very    waves 

So  it  was  concluded.     A  week  from  sparkling     in    the    morning    sunshine 

that   time   found  us  at   Oswego.     Our  whispered  of  romantic  tales, 

proposed   route  was  an  elaborate  one.  Seated  at   the  stern  of  the  boat  we 

It  was  to  start  at  Oswego,  take  a  bee-  looked    back    upon   the    fading    city, 

line  across   Lake  Ontario  to  Toronto,  Hugh  Warren   was   smoking,  and   his 

hence    up   the   lake   and   through   the  slow-moving     blue      eyes    were    fixed 

Welland   Canal   into  Lake  Erie,  along  dreamily  upon  the  shore.     He  did  not 

the   shores   of    that    historical    inland  seem  to  be  gazing  at  anything,  and  yet 

sea,  touching  at  Erie,  Cleveland,  San-  we  knew  he  saw  more  than  any  of  us. 

dusky,  and  Toledo,  up  Detroit  River,  "A     centime     for     your     thoughts, 

through   the    Lake   and    River   of   St.  Hugh  ! "     cried    Vincent,    rising    and 

Clair,  then  gliding   over  the  waters  of  stretching  his  limbs. 

Lake    Huron,    dash    down    along    the  "  I  was  thinking,"  said  the  Historian, 

shores   of  Lake  Michigan  to  Chicago,  "  of  that  Frenchman,  Montcalm,  who 

and  back  past  Milwaukee,  through  the  one   summer  day  came    down   on  the 

Straits  of  Mackinaw  and  the  ship-canal  English   at   Oswego  unawares  with  his 

into  the  placid  waves  of  Superior,  mak-  gunboats  and  Indians  and  gendarmes. 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


i6i 


Of  the  twenty-five  thousand  people  in 
yonder  city  I  don't  suppose  there  are 
a  dozen  who  know  what  his  plans  were. 
They  were  grand  ones.  In  no  country 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  has  nature 
traced  outlines  of  internal  navigation 
on  so  grand  a  scale  as  upon  our  Amer- 
ican continent.  Entering  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  we  are  carried  by 
that  river  through  the  Great  Lakes  to 
the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  a  distance 
of  more  than  two  thousand  miles.  On 
the  south  we  find  the  Mississippi  pour- 
ing its  waters  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
within  a  few  degrees  of  the  tropics  after 
a  course  of  three  thousand  miles. 
'  The  Great  Water,'  as  its  name  signi- 
fies, and  its  numerous  branches  drain 
the  surface  of  about  one  million  one 
hundred  thousand  square  miles,  or  an 
area  twenty  times  greater  than  England 
and  Wales.  The  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi  equal  the  largest  rivers  of 
Europe.  The  course  of  the  Missouri 
is  probably  not  less  than  twenty-five 
hundred  miles.  The  Ohio  winds  above 
a  thousand  miles  through  fertile  coun- 
tries. The  tributaries  of  these  tributa- 
ries are  great  rivers.  The  Wabash,  a 
feeder  of  the  Ohio,  has  a  course  of 
above  five  hundred  miles,  four  hundred 
of  which  are  navigable.  If  the  contem- 
plated canal  is  ever  completed  which 
will  unite  Lake  Michigan  with  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Illinois  River,  it 
will  be  possible  to  proceed  by  hues  of 
inland  navigation  from  Quebec  to  New 
Orleans.  There  is  space  within  the 
regions  enjoying  these  advantages  of 
water  communication,  and  already 
peopled  by  the  x^nglo-Saxon  race,  for 
four  hundred  millions  of  the  human 
race,  or  more  than  double  the  popula- 
tion of  Europe  at  the  present  time. 
Imagination  cannot  conceive  the  new 
influences    which     will     be     exercised 


on  the  affairs  of  the  world  when  the 
great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
continent  from  Lake  Superior  to  New 
Orleans,  is  thronged  with  population. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  alone 
there  is  abundant  room  for  a  popula- 
tion of  a  hundred  million. 

"  In  Montcalm's  day  all  this  territory 
belonged  to  France.  It  was  that  sol- 
dier's dream,  and  he  was  no  less  a 
statesman. than  a  soldier,  to  make  here 
a  great  nation.  Toward  that  end  a 
great  chain  of  forts  was  to  be  built 
along  the  line  from  Ontario  to  New 
Orleans.  Sandusky,  Mackinaw,  Detroit, 
Oswego,  Du  Quesne,  were  but  a  few 
links  in  the  contemplated  chain  that 
was  to  bind  the  continent  forever  to 
French  interests.  It  was  for  this  he 
battled  through  all  those  bloody,  brilliant 
campaigns  of  the  old  French  war.  But 
the  English  were  too  strong  for  him. 
Montcalm  perished,  and  the  power  of 
F^rance  was  at  an  end  in  the  New 
World.  But  it  almost  overwhelms  me 
at  the  thought  of  what  a  mighty  empire 
was  lost  when  the  English  huzza  rose 
above  the  French  clarion  on  the  Plains 
of  Abraham." 

"Better  for  the  continent  and  the 
world  that  England  won,"  said  Vincent. 

"  Perhaps  so,"  allowed  Hugh. 
"  Though  we  cannot  tell  what  might 
have  been.  But  that  does  not  concern 
this  Ulysses  and  his  crew.  Onward, 
voyagers  and  voyageresses." 

"Your  simile  is  an  unfortunate  one. 
Ulysses  was  wrecked  off  Circe's  island 
and  at  other  places.  Rather  let  us  be 
the  Argonauts  in  search  of  the  Golden 
Fleece." 

"  Mercenary  wretch  !  "  exclaimed 
Hugh.  "  My  taste  is  different.  I  am 
going  in  search  of  a  dinner." 

Hugh  Warren's  ability  for  discovering 
anything  of  that  oort  was  proverbially 


1 62 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


good,  so  we,  having  the  same  disposition, 
followed  him  below  to  the  dining- 
saloon. 

We  arrived  at  Toronto,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  from  Oswego,  a  little 
before  dusk.  This  city,  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Ontario,  is  situated  on 
an  arm  of  the  lake.  Its  bay  is  a  beauti- 
ful inlet  about  four  miles  long  and  two 
miles  wide,  forming  a  capacious  and 
well-protected  harbor.  The  site  of  the 
town  is  low,  but  rises  gently  from  the 
water's  edge.  The  streets  are  regular 
and  wide,  crossing  each  other  generally 
at  right  angles.  There  is  an  esplanade 
fronting  the  bay  which  extends  for  a 
distance  of  two  miles.  The  population 
of  the  city  has  increased  from  twelve 
hundred  in  1817  to  nearly  sixty  thou- 
sand at  present.  In  the  morning  we 
took  a  hurried  survey  of  its  chief  build- 
ings, visited  Queen's  Park  in  the  centre 
of  the  city,  and  got  round  in  season  to 
take  the  afternoon  steamer  for  Buffalo. 

The  district  situated  between  Lake 
Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  as  it  has  been 
longest  settled,  so  also  is  it  the  best- 
cultivated  part  of  Western  Canada. 
The  vicinity  to  the  two  Great  Lakes 
renders  the  climate  more  agreeable,  by 
diminishing  the  severity  of  the  winters 
and  tempering  the  summers'  heats. 
Fruits  of  various  kind  arrive  at  great 
perfection,  cargoes  of  which  are  ex- 
ported to  Montreal,  Quebec,  and  other 
places  situated  in  the  less  genial  parts 
of  the  eastern  province.  Mrs.  Jameson 
speaks  of  this  district  as  "  superlatively 
beautiful."  The  only  place  approach- 
ing a  town  in  size  and  the  number  of 
inhabitants,  from  the  Falls  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Erie  for  a  great  distance, 
beyond  even  Grand  River,  is  Chippewa, 
situated  on  the  river  Welland,  or  Chip- 
pewa, which  empties  itself  into  Niagara 
Strait,  just  where  the  rapids  commence 


and  navigation  terminates.  One  or 
more  steamers  run  between  Chippewa 
and  Buffalo.  Chippewa  is  still  but  a 
small  village,  but,  as  it  lies  directly  on 
the  great  route  from  the  Western  States 
of  the  Union  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara 
and  the  Eastern  States,  it  will  probably 
rise  into  importance.  Its  greatest  cele- 
brity at  present  arises  from  the  fact  of 
there  having  been  a  great  battle  foughit 
near  by  between  the  British  and  Ameri- 
cans in  the  war  of  181 2. 

The  line  of  navigation  by  the  St. 
Lawrence  did  not  extend  beyond  Lake 
Ontario  until  the  Welland  Canal  was 
constructed.  This  important  work  is 
thirty-two  miles  long,  and  admits  ships 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  guns, 
which  is  about  the  average  tonnage  of 
the  trading-vessels  on  the  lakes.  The 
Niagara  Strait  is  nearly  parallel  to  the 
Welland  Canal,  and  more  than  one 
third  of  it  is  not  navigable.  The  canal, 
by  opening  this  communication  between 
Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  has  con- 
ferred an  immense  benefit  on  all  the 
districts  west  of  Ontario.  The  great 
Erie  Canal  has  been  still  more  beneficial, 
by  connecting  the  lakes  with  New  York 
and  the  Atlantic  by  the  Hudson  River, 
which  the  canal  joins  after  a  course  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  The 
effect  of  these  two  canals  was  quickly 
perceptible  in  the  increased  activity  of 
commerce  on  Lake  Erie,  and  the  Erie 
Canal  has  rendered  this  lake  the  great 
line  of  transit  from  New  York  to  the 
Western  States. 

Lake  Erie  is  the  most  shallow  of  all 
the  lakes,  its  average  depth  being  only 
sixty  or  seventy  feet.  Owing  to  this 
shallowness  the  lake  is  readily  dis- 
turbed by  the  wind  ;  and  for  this  reason, 
and  for  its  paucity  of  good  harbors,  it 
has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most 
dangerous    to    navigate  of  any  cf  the 


A  Sunimei  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


163 


Great  Lakes.  Neither  are  its  shores 
as  picturesquely  beautiful  as  those  of 
Ontario,  Huron,  and  Superior.  Still  it 
is  a  lovely  and  romantic  body  of  water, 
and  its  historic  memories  are  interesting 
and  important.  In  this  last  respect  all 
the  Great  Lakes  are  remarkable.  Some 
of  the  most  picturesque  and  interesting 
chapters  of  our  colonial  and  military 
history  have  for  their  scenes  the  shores 
and  the  waters  of  these  vast  inland  seas. 
A  host  of  great  names  —  Champlain, 
Frontenac,  La  Salle,  Marquette,  Perry, 
Tecumseh,  and  Harrison — has  wreathed 
the  lakes  with  glory.  The  scene  of  the 
stirrins:  events  in  which  Pontiac  was  the 
conspicuous  figure  is  now  marked  on 
the  map  by  such  names  as  Detroit, 
Sandusky,  Green  Bay,  and  Mackinaw. 
The  thunder  of  the  battles  of  Lundy's 
Lane  and  the  Thames  was  heard  not 
far  off,  and  the  very  waters  of  Lake 
Erie  were  once  canopied  with  the  sul- 
phur smoke  from  the  cannon  of  Perry's 
conquering  fleet. 

We  spent  two  days  in  Buffalo,  and 
they  were  days  well  spent.  This  city  is 
the  second  in  size  of  the  five  Great  Lake 
ports,  being  outranked  only  by  Chicago. 
Founded  in  1 801,  it  now  boasts  of  a 
population  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  souls.  The  site  is  a  plain, 
which,  from  a  point  about  two  miles 
distant  from  the  lake,  slopes  gently  to 
the  water's  edge.  The  city  has  a  water 
front  of  two  and  a  half  miles  on  the 
lake  and  of  about  the  same  extent  on 
Niagara  River.  It  has  one  of  the  finest 
harbors  on  the  lake.  The  public  build- 
ings are  costly  and  imposing  edifices, 
and  many  of  the  private  residences  are 
elegant.  The  pride  of  the  city  is  its 
pubUc  park  of  five  hundred  and  thirty 
acres,  laid  out  by  Frederick  Law  01m- 
stead  in  1870.     It  has  the  reputation  of 


being  the  healthiest  city  of  the  United 
States. 

Buffalo  was  the  home  of  Millard 
Fillmore,  the  thirteenth  President  of 
the  United  States.  Here  the  great  man 
spent  the  larger  part  of  his  life.  He 
went  there  a  poor  youth  of  twenty,  with 
four  dollars  in  his  pocket.  He  died 
there  more  than  fifty  years  aftenvard 
worth  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  after  having  filled  the 
highest  offices  his  country  could  bestow 
upon  him.  He  owned  a  beautiful  and 
elegant  residence  in  the  city,  situated 
on  one  of  the  avenues,  with  a  frontage 
toward  the  lake,  of  which  a  fine  view  is 
obtained.  It  is  a  modern  mansion, 
three  stories  in  height,  with  large  stately 
rooms.  It  looks  very  little  different 
externally  from  some  of  its  neighbors, 
but  the  fact  that  it  was  for  thirty  years 
the  home  of  one  of  our  Presidents 
gives  it  importance  and  invests  it  with 
historic  charm. 

On  board  a  steamer  bound  for 
Detroit  we  again  plowed  the  waves. 
The  day  was  a  delightful  one ;  the 
morning  had  been  cloudy  and  some 
rain  had  fallen,  but  by  ten  o'clock  the 
sky  was  clear,  and  the  sunbeams  went 
dancing  over  the  laughing  waters. 
Hugh  was  on  his  high- horse,  and  full 
of  historic  reminiscences. 

"  Do  you  know  that  this  year  is  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  a  remark- 
able event  for  this  lake?"  he  began. 
"Well,  it  is.  It  was  in  1681,  in  the 
summer  of  the  year,  that  the  keel  of 
the  first  vessel  launched  in  Western 
waters  was  laid  at  a  point  six  miles  this 
side  of  the  Niagara  Falls.  She  was 
built  by  Count  Frontenac  who  named 
her  the  Griffen.  I  should  like  to  have 
sailed  in  it." 

"  Its  speed  could  hardly  equal   that 


164 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


of  the  Detroit,"  obsen/ed  Vincent, 
complacently. 

"  You  hard,  cold  utilitarian  !  "  ex- 
claimed the  Historian  ;  "  who  cares  any- 
thing about  that?  It  is  the  romance  of 
the  thing  that  would  charm  me." 

"  And  the  romance  consists  in  its 
being  distant.  We  always  talk  of  the 
good  old  times  as  though  they  were 
really  any  better  than  our  own  age  !  It 
is   a   beautiful   delusion.      Don't    you 


the  lakes  communicating  with  the  St. 
Lawrence,  but  no  others.  As  the  Falls 
of  Niagara  must  always  have  existed,  it 
would  puzzle  the  naturalists  to  say  how 
those  fish  got  into  the  upper  lakes 
unless  there  is  a  subterranean  river ; 
moreover,  any  periodical  obstruction 
of  the  river  would  furnish  a  not  im- 
probable solution  of  the  mysterious 
flux  and  influx  of  the  lakes. 

Some  after  noon  we  steamed  past  a 


know  how  in  walking  the  shady  places    small  city  on  the  southern  coast  which 


are  always  behind  us?" 

The  Historian's  only  answer  to  this 
banter  was  to  shrug  his  shoulders  scorn- 
fully and  to  liglit  a  fresh  cigar. 

Lake  Erie  is  about  two  hundred  and 


had  a  large  natural  harbor. 

"  Erie  and  Presque  Isle  Bay,"  an- 
nounced the  Historian.  "A  famous 
place.  From  it  sailed  Oliver  Hazard 
Perry  with  his  fleet  of  nine  sail  to  most 


forty  miles  in  length  and  has  a  mean    unmercifully  drub  the  British  lion  on 


breadth  of  forty  miles.  Its  surface  is 
three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  above 
Lake  Ontario,  and  five  hundred  and 
sixty-five  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It 
receives  the  waters  of  the  upper  lakes 
by  means  of  the  Detroit  River,  and 
discharges  them  again  by  the  Niagara 
into  Lake  Ontario.  Lake  Erie  has  a 
shallow  depth,  but  Ontario,  which  is 
five  hundred  and  two  feet  deep,  is  two 
hxmdred  and  thirty  feet  below  the  tide 
level  of  the  ocean,  or  as  low  as  most 
parts  of  .the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and 
the  bottoms  of  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan, 
and  Superior,  although  their  surface  is 
much  higher,  are  all,  from  their  vast 


that  tenth  day  of  September,  181 3. 
The  battle  took  place  some  distance 
from  here  over  against  Sandusky.  J 
will  tell  you  all  about  it  when  we  get 
there.  My  grandfather  was  one  of  the 
actorSi*' 

He  said  no  more,  and  for  a  long 
time  the  conversation  was  sustained  by 
Vincent  and  myself.  The  steamer  put 
in  at  Cleveland  just  at  dusk.  The  stop 
was  brief,  however,  and  we  left  the 
beautiful  and  thriving  city  looking  like 
a  queen  on  the  Ohio  shore  under  the 
bridal  veil  of  night.  The  evening  was 
brilliant  with  moonlight.  The  lake  was 
like   a  mirror  or    an   enchanted    sea. 


depths,  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of   Hour  after  hour  passed,  and  we  still  sat 
Ontario.  Now,  as  the  discharge  through    on  deck  gazing  on  the  scene.      Far  to 


Detroit  River,  after  allowing  all  the 
probable  portion  carried  off  by  evapo- 
ration, does  not  appear  by  any  means 
equal  to  the  quantity  of  water  which 
the  other  three  lakes  receive,  it  has 
been  conjectured  that  a  subterranean 
river  may  run  from  Lake  Ontario. 
This  conjecture  is  not  improbable,  and 
accounts  for  the  singular  fact  that 
salmon  and  herring  are  caught  in  all 


the  south  we  saw  the  many  lights  of  a 
city  shining.     It  was  Sandusky. 

"  How  delightful  it  is  !  "  murmured 
Vincent. 

"Beautiful,"  I  replied.  "  If  it  were 
only  the  Ionian  Sea,  now,  or  the  cleat 
yEgean"  — 

"Those  classic  waters  cannot  match 
this  lake,"  interrupted  Hugh.  "The 
battle   of   Erie  will  outlive  Salamis  or 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


165 


Actium.  The  laurels  of  Themistokles 
and  Augustus  fade  even  now  before 
those  of  Perry.  He  was  a  hero  worth 
talking  about,  something  more  human 
altogether  than  any  of  Plutarch's  men. 
I  feel  it  to  be  so  now  at  least.  It 
>^ais  right  here  somewhere  that  the 
battle  raged." 

"  He  was  quite  a  young  man,  I  be- 
lieve," said  I,  glad  to  show  that  I  knew 
something  of  the  hero.  I  had  seen  his 
house  at  Newport  many  times,  one  of 
the  old  colonial  kind,  and  his  picture, 
that  of  a  tall,  sHm  man,  with  dash  and 
bravery  in  his  face,  w^as  not  unfamiliar 
to  me. 

"  Yes ;  only  twenty-seven,  and  just 
ioaarried,"  continued  the  Historian,  set- 
tling down  to  work.  "  Before  the 
battle  he  read  over  his  wife's  letters  for 
the  last  time,  and  then  tore  them  up, 
so  that  the  enemy  should  not  see  those 
records  of  the  heart,  if  victorious. 
'  This  is  the  most  important  day  of  my 
life,'  he  said  to  his  officers,  as  the  first 
shot  from  the  British  came  crashing 
among  the  sails  of  the  Lawrence ;  '  but 
we  know  how  to  beat  those  fellows,'  he 
added,  with  a  laugh.  He  had  nine 
vessels,  with  fifty-four  guns  and  four 
hundred  and  ninety  officers  and  men. 
The  British  had  six  ships  mounting 
sixty-three  guns,  with  five  hundred  and 
two  officers  and  men. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  the  battle  the 
British  had  the  advantage.  Their  guns 
were  of  longer  range,  and  Perry  was 
exposed  to  their  fire  half  an  hour  before 
he  got  in  position  where  he  could  do 
execution.  When  he  had  succeeded 
in  this  the  British  concentrated  their 
tire  on  his  flag-ship.  Enveloped  in 
flame  and  smoke.  Perry  strove  des- 
perately to  maintain  his  ground  till  the 
*est  of  his  ships  could  get  into  action. 
For  more  than  two  hours  he  sustained 


the  unequal  conflict  without  flinching. 
It  was  his  first  battle,  and,  moreover, 
he  was  enfeebled  by  a  fever  from  which 
he  had  just  risen  ;  but  he  never  lost  his 
ease  and  confidence.  When  most  of 
his  men  had  fallen,  when  his  ship  lay 
an  unmanageable  wreck  on  the  water, 
'  every  brace  and  bowline  shot  away,' 
and  all  his  guns  were  rendered  inef- 
fective, he  still  remained  calm  and 
unmoved. 

"  Eighteen  men  out  of  one  hundred 
stood  alive  on  his  deck  ;  many  of  those 
were  wounded.  Lieutenant  Varnell, 
with  a  red  handkerchief  tied  round  his 
head  and  another  round  his  neck  to 
stanch  the  blood  flowing  from  two 
wounds,  stood  bravely  by  his  com- 
mander. But  all  seemed  lost  when, 
through  the  smoke.  Perry  saw  the 
Niagara  approaching  uncrippled. 

"  '  If  a  victory  is  to  be  won  I  will  win 
it,'  he  said  to  the  lieutenant.  He  tore 
down  his  flag  with  ita  glorious  motto,  — 
'  Don't  give  up  the  ship,'  —  and  leap- 
ing into  a  boat  with  half  a  dozen  others, 
told  the  sailors  to  give  way  with  a  will. 
The  Niagara  was  half  a  mile  distant  to 
the  windward,  and  the  enemy,  as  soon 
as  they  observed  his  movement,  direct- 
ed their  fire  upon  his  boat.  Oars 
were  splintered  in  the  rowers'  hands  by 
musket-balls,  and  the  men  themselves 
covered  with  spray  from  the  roundshot 
and  grape  that  smote  the  water  on 
every  side.  But  they  passed  safely 
through  the  iron  storm,  and  at  last 
reached  the  deck  of  the  Niagara,  where 
they  were  welcomed  with  thundering 
cheers.  Lieutenant  Elliot  of  the 
Niagara,  leaving  his  own  ship,  took 
command  of  the  Somers,  and  brought 
up  the  smaller  vessels  of  the  fleet, 
which  had  as  yet  been  little  in  the 
action.  Perry  ran  up  his  signal  for 
close  action,  and  from  vessel  to  vessel 


1 66 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


the  answering  signals  went  up  in  the 
sunhght  and  the  cheers  rang  over  the 
water.  All  together  now  bore  down 
upon  the  enemy  and,  passing  through 
his  line,  opened  a  raking  crossfire.  So 
close  and  terrible  was  that  fire  that  the 
crew  of  the  Lady  Prevost  ran  below, 
leaving  the  wounded  and  stunned  com- 
mander alone  on  the  deck.  Shrieks 
and  groans  rose  fi-om  every  side.  In 
fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  the  signal 
was  made  Captain  Barclay,  the  British 
commander,  flung  out  the  white  flag. 
The  firing  then  ceased ;  the  smoke 
slowly  cleared  away,  revealing  the  two 
fleets  commingled,  shattered,  and  torn, 
and  the  decks  strewn  with  dead.  The 
loss  on  each  side  was  the  same,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  killed  and 
wounded.  The  combat  had  lasted 
about  three  hours.  When  Perry  saw 
that  victory  was  secure  he  wrote  with 
a  pencil  on  the  back  of  an  old  letter, 
resting  it  on  his  navy  cap,  the  despatch 
to  General  Harrison  :  '  We  have  met  the 
enemy,  and  they  are  ours :  two  ships, 
two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one  sloop.' 

"  It  was  a  great  victory,"  concluded 
the  eloquent  narrator.  "  The  young 
conqueror  did  not  sleep  a  wink  that 
night.  Until  the  morning  light  he  was 
on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Lawrence, 
doing  what  he  could  to  relieve  his  suf- 
fering comrades,  while  the  stifled  groans 
of  the  wounded  men  echoed  from  ship 
to  ship.  The  next  day  the  dead,  both 
the  British  and  the  American,  were 
buried  in  a  wild  and  solitary  spot  on 
the  Aore.  And  there  they  sleep  the 
sleep  of  the  brave,  with  the  sullen  waves 
to  sing  their  perpetual  requiem." 

We  sat  in  silence  a  long  time  afler ; 
no  one  was  disposed  to  speak.  It 
came  to  us  with  power  there  on  the 
moonlit  lake,  a  realization  of  the  hard- 
fought  battle,  the  gallant  bearing  of  the 

Vol.  II.  — No.  I.— D. 


young  commander,  his  daring  passage 
in  an  open  boat  through  the  enemy's 
fire  to  the  Niagara,  the  motto  on  his 
flag,  the  manner  in  which  he  carried 
his  vessel  alone  through  the  enemy's 
Hne,  and  then  closed  in  half  pistol-shot, 
his  laconic  account  of  the  victory  to 
his  superior  oiificer,  the  ships  stripped 
of  their  spars  and  canvas,  the  groans  of 
the  wounded,  and  the  mournful  spec- 
tacle of  the  burial  on  the  lake  shore. 
Our  next  stopping-place  was  at 
Detroit,  the  metropolis  of  Michigan,  on 
the  river  of  the  same  name,  the  colony 
of  the  old  Frenchman  De  la  Mothe 
Cadillac,  the  colonial  Pontchartrain,  the 
scene  of  Pontiac's  defeat  and  of  Hull's 
treachery,  cowardice,  or  incapacity, 
grandly  seated  on  the  green  Michigan 
shore,  overlooking  the  best  harbor  on 
the  Great  Lakes,  and  with  a  population 
of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand. 
Two  stormy  days  kept  us  within  doors 
most  of  the  time.  The  third  day  we 
were  again  "  on  board,"  steaming  up 
Detroit  River  into  Lake  St.  Clair.  On 
and  on  we  kept,  till  the  green  waters 
of  Huron  sparkled  beneath  the  keel  of 
our  steamer.  All  the  way  over  the 
lake  we  kept  the  shores  of  Michigan  in 
sight,  beaches  of  white  sand  alternating 
with  others  of  limestone  shingle,  and 
the  forests  behind,  a  tangled  growth  of 
cedar,  fir,  and  spruce  in  impenetrable 
swamps,  or  a  scanty,  scrubby  growth 
upon  a  sandy  soil.  Two  hours  were 
spent  at  Thunder  Bay,  where  the 
steamer  stopped  for  a  supply  of  wood, 
and  we  went  steaming  on  toward  Mack- 
inaw, a  hundred  miles  away.  At  sun- 
set of  that  day  the  shores  of  the  green 
rocky  island  dawned  upon  us.  The 
steamer  swept  up  to  an  excellent  dock, 
as  the  sinking  sun  was  pouring  a  stream 
of  molten  gold  across  the  flood,  out  of 
the  amber  srates  of  the  west. 


A  Summer  on  tlie  Great  Lakes. 


167 


"  At  last  Mackinaw,  great  in  history 
and  story,"  announced  the  Historian 
leaning  on  the  taffrail  and  gazing  at  the 
clear  pebbly  bottom  and  through  forty 
feet  of  water. 

"  My  hisfory  consists  of  a  series  of 
statues  and  tableaux  —  statues  of  the 
great  men,  tableaux  of  the  great 
events,"  said  Vincent.  '•'  Were  there 
any  such  at  Mackinaw?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Hugh,  "  two  statues 
and  one  tableau  —  the  former  Mar- 
quette and  ]SIae-che-ne-mock-qua,  the 
latter  the  massacre  at  Fort  Michili- 
makinack." 

"  The  event  happened  during  Pon- 
tiac's  war,  I  believe,"  I  hastened  to 
observe.  "  The  Indians  took  the  place 
by  stratagem,  did  they  not?" 

"  They  did.  It  was  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1763.  The  fort  contained  a  hun- 
dred soldiers  under  the  command  of 
Major  Etherington.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood were  four  hundred  Indians  ap- 
parently friendly.  On  the  day  specified 
the  savages  played  a  great  game  of  ball 
or  baggatiway  on  the  parade  before  the 
fort.  Many  of  the  soldiers  went  out  to 
witness  it  and  the  gate  was  left  open. 
During  the  game  the  ball  was  many 
times  pitched  over  the  pickets  of  the 
fort.  Instantly  it  was  followed  by  the 
whole  body  of  players,  in  the  unre- 
strained pursuit  of  a  rude  athletic 
exercise.  The  garrison  feared  nothing ; 
but  suddenly  the  Indians  drawing  their 
concealed  weapons  began  the  massacre. 
No  resistance  was  offered,  so  sudden 
and  unexpected  was  the  surprise. 
Seventy  of  the  soldiers  were  murdered, 
the  remainder  were  sold  for  slaves. 
Only  one  Englishman  escaped.  He 
was  a  trader  named  Henry.  He  was  in 
his  own  house  writing  a  letter  to  his 
Montreal  friends  by  the  canoe  which  was 
just  on  Uie  eve  of  departure,  when  the 


massacre  began.  Only  a  low  board  fence 
separated  his  grounds  from  those  of  M. 
Longlade,  a  Frenchman,  who  had  great 
influence  with  the  savages.  He  ob- 
tained entrance  into  the  house,  where 
he  was  concealed  by  one  of  the 
women,  and  though  the  savages  made 
vigorous  search  for  him,  he  remained 
undiscovered.  You  can  imagine  the 
horrible  sight  the  fort  presented  when 
the  sun  went  down,  the  soldiers  in  their 
red  uniforms  lying  there  scalped  and 
mangled,  a  ghastly  heap  under  the 
summer  sky.  And  to  just  think  it  was 
only  a  short  time  ago,  a  little  more 
than  a  hundred  years." 

We  could  hardly  realize  it  as  we 
gazed  up  the  rocky  eminence  at  the 
United  States  fort,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high, 'overlooking  the  little 
village.  And  yet  Mackinaw's  history 
is  very  little  different  from  that  of 
most  Western  settlements  and  military 
stations.  Dark,  sanguinary,  and  bloody 
tragedies  were  constantly  enacted  upon 
the  frontiers  for  generations.  As  every 
one  acquainted  with  our  history  must 
know,  the  war  on  the  border  has  been 
an  almost  interminable  one.  As  the 
tide  of  emigration  has  rolled  westsvard 
it  has  ever  met  that  fiery  counter-surge, 
and  only  overcome  it  by  incessant 
battling  and  effort.  And  even  now,  as 
the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific  are 
wellnigh  reached,  that  resisting  wave 
still  gives  forth  its  lurid  flashes  of 
conflict. 

Mackinaw  Island  is  only  about  three 
miles  long  and  two  in  breadth,  with 
a  circuit  of  nine  miles  in  all.  It  rises 
out  of  the  lake  to  an  average  height 
of  three  hundred  feet,  and  is  heavily 
wooded  with  cedar,  beech,  maple,  and 
yew.  Three  of  its  sides  are  bold  and 
rocky,  the  fourth  slopes  down  gradually 
toward    the   north    to    meet    the    blue 


1 68 


A  Slimmer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


waters  of  the  lake.  The  island  is  inter- 
sected in  all  directions  with  carriage- 
roads  and  paths,  and  in  the  bay  are 
always  to  be  seen  the  row  and  sail  boats 
belonging  to  pleasure-seekers.  From 
four  to  seven  steamers  call  at  the  wharf 
daily,  while  fleets  of  sailing-vessels  may 
at  any  time  be  descried  from  old  Fort 
Holmes,  creeping  noiselessly  on  to  the 
commercial  marts  of  those  great  inland 
seas. 

Tradition  lends  its  enchantment  to 
the  isle.  According  to  the  Indian 
legend  it  rose  suddenly  from  the  calm 
bosom  of  the  lake  at  the  sunset  hour. 
In  their  fancy  it  took  the  form  of  a 
huge  turtle,  and  so  they  bestowed  upon 
it  the  name  of  Moe-che-ne-nock-e- 
nung.  In  the  Ojibway  mythology  it 
became  the  home  of  the  Great  Fairies, 
and  to  this  day  it  is  said  to  be  a  sacred 
spot  to  all  Indians  who  preserve  the 
memory  of  the  primal  times.  The 
fairies  lived  in  a  subterranean  abode 
under  the  island,  and  an  old  sagamore, 
Chees-a-kee,  is  related  to  have  been 
conducted  a  la  ^neus,  in  Virgil,  to  the 
halls  of  the  spirits  and  to  have  seen 
them  all  assembled  in  the  spacious  wig- 
wam. Had  some  bard  taken  up  the 
tale  of  this  fortunate  individual,  the 
literature  of  the  red  man  might  have 
boasted  an  epic  ranking  perhaps  with 
the  ^neid  or  the  IHad. 

From  the  walls  of  old  Fort  Holmes, 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  a  fine 
view  is  obtained  of  the  island  and  its 
surroundings.  Westward  is  Point  St. 
Ignace,  a  sharply  defined  cape  run- 
ning out  from  the  mainland  into  the 
strait.  There  rest  the  bones  of  good 
Father  Marquette,  who,  in  1 6  7 1 ,  erected 
a  chapel  on  the  island  and  began  to 
Christianize  the  wild  natives  of  this 
region.  On  the  northwest  we  see  the 
"  Sitting  Rabbits,"  two  curious-looking 


rockhills  which  bear  a  singular  resem- 
blance to  our  common  American  hare. 
Eastward  stretches  away  the  boundless 
inland  sea,  a  beautiful  greenish-blue,  to 
the  horizon.  The  mountains  of  St. 
Martin,  and  the  hills  frorn  which  flow 
Carp  and  Pine  Rivers  meet  the  northern 
vision.  To  the  south  is  Boisblanc  Island, 
lying  like  an  emerald  paradise  on  the 
bosom  of  Lake  Huron,  and  close  beside 
it,  as  if  seeking  protection,  is  lovely 
Round  Island.  Among  all  these  islands, 
and  laving  the  shores  of  the  adjacent 
mainland,  are  the  rippling  waves  of  the 
lake,  now  lying  as  if  asleep  in  the  flood- 
ing light,  anon  white-capped  and  angry, 
driven  by  the  strong  winds.  Beneath 
us  are  the  undulations  of  billowy  green 
foliage,  calm  and  cool,  intersected  with 
carriage-roads,  and  showing  yonder  the 
white  stones  of  the  soldiers'  and  citizens' 
graves.  Here,  down  by  the  water,  and 
close  under  the  fort,  the  white,  quaint 
houses  lie  wrapped  in  light  and  quiet. 
Breezes  cool  and  delightful,  breezes  that 
have  traversed  the  broad  expanse  of 
the  lakes,  blow  over  your  face  softly, 
as  in  Indian  myth  blows  the  wind  from 
the  Land  of  Souls.  The  scene  and  the 
hour  lulls  you  into  a  sense  of  delicious 
quietude.  You  are  aroused  by  the 
shrill  whistle  of  a  steamer,  and  you 
descend  dockward  to  note  the  fresh 
arrivals. 

Several  days'  excursions  do  not  ex- 
haust the  island.  One  day  we  go  to 
see  Arch  Rock,  a  beautiful  natural 
bridge  of  rock  spanning  a  chasm  some 
eighty  feet  in  height  and  forty  in  width. 
The  summit  is  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  level.  Another  day 
we  visit  Sugar-loaf  Rock,  an  isolated 
conical  shape  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet  high,  rising  from  a  plateau  in  the 
centre  of  the  island.  A  hole  half-way 
up  its  side  is  large  enough  to   hold  a 


A  Siimvier  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


169 


dozen  persons,  and  has  in  it  the  names 
of  a  hundred  eager  aspirants  after  im- 
mortality. On  the  southwest  side  of 
the  island  is  a  perp  jndicular  rock  bluff, 
rising  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from 
the  lake  and  called  "Lover's  Leap." 
The  legend  was  told  us  one  afternoon 
by  Hugh,  as  follows  :  — 

"In  the  ancient  time,  when  the  red 
men  held  their  councils  in  this  heart  of 
the  waters,  and  the  lake  around  rippled 
to  the  canoe  fleets  of  warrior  tribes 
going  and  returning,  a  young  Ojibway 
girl  had  her  home  on  this  sacred  isle. 
Her  name  was  Mae-che-ne-mock-qua, 
and  she  was  beautiful  as  the  sunrise  of 
a  summer  morning.  She  had  many 
lovers,  but  only  to  one  brave  did  the 
blooming  Indian  girl  give  her  heart. 
Often  would  Mae-che-ne-mock-qua 
wander  to  this  solitary  rock  and  gaze 
out  upon  the  wide  waters  after  the 
receding  canoes  of  the  combined  Ojib- 
way and  Ottawa  bands,  speeding  south 
for  scalps  and  glory.  There,  too,  she 
always  watched  for  their  return,  for 
among  them  was  the  one  she  loved,  an 
eagle -plumed  warrior,  Ge-win-e-gnon, 
the  bravest  of  the  brave.  The  west  wind 
often  wafted  the  shouts  of  the  victori- 
ous braves  far  in  advance  of  them  as 
they  returned  from  the  mainland,  and 
highest  above  all  she  always  heard  the 
voice  of  Ge-win-e-gnon.  But  one  time, 
in  the  chorus  of  shouts,  the  maiden 
heard  no  longer  the  voice  of  her  lover. 
Her  heart  told  her  that  he  had  gone 
to  the  spirit-land  behind  the  sunset, 
and  she  should  no  more  behold  his 
face  among  the  chieftains.  So  it  was  : 
a  Huron  arrow  had  pierced  his  heart, 
and  his  last  words  were  of  his  maiden 
in  the  Fairy  Isle.  Sad  grew  the  heart 
of  the  lovely  Mae-che-ne-mock-qua. 
She  had  no  wish  to  live.  She  could 
onlv  stand  on  the  cliff  and  ^aze  at  the 


west,  where  the  form  of  her  lover  ap- 
peared beckoning  her  to  follow  him. 
One  morning  her  mangled  body  was 
found  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff;  she  had 
gone  to  meet  her  lover  in  the  spirit- 
land.  So  love  gained  its  sacrifice  and 
a  maiden  became  immortal." 

A  well-earned  night's  sleep,  bathed 
in  this  highly  ozoned  lake  atmosphere, 
which  magically  soothes  every  nerve 
and  refreshes  every  sense  like  an  elixir, 
and  we  are  off  again  on  the  broad 
bosom  of  the  Mackinaw  strait,  thread- 
ing a  verdant  labyrinth  of  emerald  islets 
and  following  the  course  of  Father 
Jacques  Marquette,  who  two  hundred 
years  before  us  had  set  off  from  the 
island  in  two  canoes,  with  his  friend 
Louis  Joliet,  to  explore  and  Christianize 
the  region  of  the  Mississippi.  We 
looked  back  upon  the  Fairy  Island  with 
regretful  eyes,  and  as  it  sunk  into  the 
lake  Hugh  repeated  the  lines  of  the 
poet :  — 

"  A  gem  amid  gems,  set  in  blue  yielding  waters, 
Is  Mackinac  Island  with  cliffs  girded  round, 
For  her  eagle-plumed  braves  and  her  true-hearted 

daughters ; 
Long,  long  ere  the  pale  face   came  widely   re- 
nowned. 

"  Tradition  invests  thee  with  Spirit  and  Fairy ; 
Thy  dead  soldiers"   sleep    shall    no    drum-beat 

awake. 
While  about  thee  the  cool  winds  do  lovingly  tarry 
And  kiss  thy  green  brows  with  the  breath  of  the 

lake. 

"  Thy  memory  shall   haunt    me    wherever    life 

reaches, 
Thy  day-dreams  of  fancy,  thy  night's  balmy  sleep. 
The  plash  of  thy  waters  along  the  smooth  beaches, 
The  shade  of  thine  evergreens,  grateful  and  deep. 

"  O  Mackinac  Island !  rest  long  in  thy  glory ! 
Sweet  native  to  peacefulness,  home  of  delight  1 
Beneath  thy  soft  ministry,  care  and  sad  worry 
Shall  flee  from  the  weary  eyes  blessed  with  thv 

sight." 

"That   poet   had    taste,"   remarked 
our   friend   when   he    had    concluded. 


I70 


A  Sfimmer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


"  Beautiful  Isle  !  No  wonder  the  great 
missionary  wished  his  bones  to  rest 
within  sight  of  its  shores.  Marquette 
never  seemed  to  me  so  great  as  now. 
He  was  one  of  those  Jesuits  like  Zin- 
zendorf  and  Sebastian  Ralle,  wonderful 
men,  all  of  them,  full  of  energy  and 
adventure  and  missionary  zeal,  and 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  their  order. 
At  the  age  of  thirty  he  was  sent  among 
the  Hurons  as  a  missionary.  He 
founded  the  mission  of  Sault  de  Ste. 
Marie  in  Lake  Superior,  in  1668,  and 
three  years  later  that  of  Mackinaw. 
In  1673,  in  company  with  Joliet  and 
five  other  Frenchmen,  the  adventurous 
missionary  set  out  on  a  voyage  toward 
the  South  Sea.  They  followed  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Gulf,  and  returning, 
arrived  at  Green  Bay  in  September.  In 
four  months  they  had  traveled  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-five  hundred  miles  in 
an  open  canoe.  Marquette  was  sick 
a  whole  year,  but  in  1674,  at  the  solici- 
tation of  his  superior,  set  out  to  preach 
to  the  Kaskaskia  Indians.  He  was 
compelled  to  halt  on  the  way  by  his 
infirmities,  and  remained  all  winter  at 
the  place,  with  only  two  Frenchmen  to 
minister  to  his  wants.  As  soon  as  it  was 
spring,  knowing  full  well  that  he  could 
not  hve,  he  attempted  to  return  to 
Mackinaw.  He  died  on  the  way,  on  a 
small  river  that  bears  his  name,  which 
empties  into  Lake  Michigan  on  the 
western  shore.  His  memory  en- 
wreathes  the  very  names  of  Superior 
and  Michigan  with  the  halo  of 
romance." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Vincent,  looking 
out  over  the  dark  water.  "  I  can  fancy 
his  ghost  haunting  the  lake  at  mid- 
night." 

*'  Speak  not  of  that  down  at  the 
Queen  City,"  returned  Hugh,  with  a 
tragic  air.     "  Pork  and  grain  are  more 


substantial  things  than  ghosts  at  Chi- 
cago, and  they  might  look  on  ycu  as 
an  escaped  lunatic.  Nathless,  it  was 
a  pretty  idea  to  promulgate  among 
the  Indians  two  centuries  ago.  Observe 
how  civilization  has  changed.  Two 
hundred  years  ago  we  sent  missionaries 
among  them  :  now  we  send  soldiers  to 
shoot  them  down,  after  we  have  plun- 
dered them  of  their  lands." 

Neither  of  us  were  disposed  to  discuss 
the  Indian  question  with  Hugh  Warren, 
and  the  conversation  dropped  after 
a  while. 

At  noon  of  the  next  day  the  steamer 
made  Milwaukee,  and  the  evening  of 
the  day  after  Chicago.  These  two 
cities  are  excellent  types  of  the  Western 
city,  and  both  show,  in  a  wonderful 
degree,  the  rapid  growth  of  towns  in 
the  great  West.  Neither  had  an  inhab- 
itant before  1825,  and  now  one  has 
a  population  of  one  hundred  thousand, 
and  the  other  of  five  hundred  thou- 
sand. Chicago  is,  in  fact,  a  wonder  of 
the  world.  Its  unparalleled  growth,  its 
phoenix-like  rise  from  the  devastation 
of  the  great  fire  of  1871,  and  its  cos- 
mopolitan character,  all  contribute  to 
render  it  a  remarkable  city. 

The  city  looks  out  upon  the  lake  like 
a  queen,  as  in  fact  she  is,  crowned  by 
the  triple  diadem  of  beauty,  wealth, 
and  dignity.  She  is  the  commercial 
metropolis  of  the  whole  Northwest,  an 
emporium  second  only  to  New  York  in 
the  quantity  of  her  imports  and  exports. 
The  commodious  harbor  is  thronged 
with  shipping.  Her  water  communica- 
tion has  a  vast  area.  Foreign  consuls 
from  Austria,  France,  Great  Britain, 
Belgium,  Italy,  Sweden,  Germany,  and 
the  Netherlands,  have  their  residence 
in  the  city.  It  is  an  art-centre,  and 
almost  equally  with  Brooklyn  is  entided 
to  be  called  a  city  of  churches. 


A  Slimmer  on  the  Great  Lakes.  1 7  r 

A  week  is  a  short  time  to  devote  to  mores   whose   memories   she    has   for- 

seeing  all  that  this  queen  city  has  that  gotten. 

is  interesting,  and  that  included  every  On  the  third  day  we  steamed  past 
day  we  spent  there.  Neither  in  a  Mackinaw,  and  soon  made  the  ship- 
sketch  Hke  the  present  shall  we  have  canal  which  was  constructed  for  the 
space  to  give  more  than  we  have  done  passage  of  large  ships,  a  channel 
—  a  general  idea  of  the  city.  One  a  dozen  miles  long  and  half  a  mile 
day  about  noon  we  steamed  out  of  the  wide.  And  now,  hurrah  !  We  are  on 
harbor,  on  a  magnificent  lake-steamer,  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior,  the 
bound  for  Duluth.  We  were  to  have  "  Gitche  Gumee,  the  shining  Big  Sea- 
a  run  of  over  seven  hundred,  miles  with  Water,"  of  Longfellow's  musical  verse, 
but  a  single  stopping-place  the  whole  The  lake  is  a  great  sea.  Its  greatest 
distance.  It  would  be  three  days  length  is  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles, 
before  we  should  step  on  land  again,  its  greatest  breadth  one  hundred  and 

"  Farewell,  a  long  farewell,   to   the  forty  miles ;   the   whole   length   of  its 

city  of  the  Indian  sachem,"  said  Hugh,  coast  is  fifteen  hundred  miles.     It  has 

as  the   grand   emporium   and   railway-  an  area  of  thirty-two  thousand  square 

centre  grew  dim  in  the  distance.     "By  miles,  and  a  mean  depth  of  one  thou- 

the    way,"    continued    he,    "are    you  sand  feet.     These  dimensions  show  it 

aware  that  the  correct  etymology  of  the  to  be  by  far  the  largest  body  of  fresh 

name  Chicago  is  not  generally  known?"  water  on  the  globe. 

Vincent  and  I  confessed  that  we  did        Nothing    can    be    conceived    more 

not  even  know  the  supposed  etymology  charming  than  a  cruise  on  this  lake  in 

of  the  name.  summer.    The   memories   of  the  lake 

"  No  matter  about  that,"  went  on  the  are  striking  and  romantic  in  the  ex- 
Historian.  "  The  name  is  undoubtedly  treme.  There  is  a  background  of 
Indian,  corrupted  from  Chercaqua,  the  history  and  romance  which  renders 
name  of  a  long  line  of  chiefs,  meaning  Superior  a  classic  water.  It  was  a  fav- 
strong,  also  applied  to  a  wild  onion,  orite  fishing-ground  for  several  tribes 
Long  before  the  white  men  knew  the  of  Indians,  and  its  aboriginal  name 
region  the  site  of  Chicago  was  a  favorite  Ojibwakechegun,  was  derived  from  one 
rendezvous  of  several  Indian  tribes,  of  these,  the  Ojibways,  who  lived  on  the 
The  first  geographical  notice  of  the  southern  shore  when  the  lake  first  be- 
place  occurs  in  a  map  dated  Quebec,  came  known  to  white  men.  The  waters 
Canada,  1683,  as  'Fort  Chicagon.'  of  the  lake  vary  in  color  from  a  dazzling 
Marquette  camped  on  the  site  during  green  to  a  sea-blue,  and  are  stocked  with 
the  winter  of  1674-5.  A  fort  was  built  all  kinds  of  excellent  fish.  Numerous 
there  by  the  French  and  afterward  islands  are  scattered  about  the  lake, 
abandoned.  So  you  see  that  Chicago  some  low  and  green,  others  rocky  and 
has  a  history  that  is  long  anterior  to  the  rising  precipitately  to  great  heights 
existence  of  the  present  city.  Have  directly  up  from  the  deep  water.  The 
a  cigar,  Montague?"  coast  of  the  lake  is  for  the  most  part 

Clouds   of    fragrant    tobacco-smoke  rocky.      Nowhere     upon     the     inland 

soon  obscured  the  view  of  the   Queen  waters  of  North  America  is  the  scenery 

City  of   the  Northwest,  busy  with   Hfe  so   bold   and    grand   as  around    Lake 

above  the  graves  of  the  Indian  saga-  Superior.     Famous     among     travelers 


1/2 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


are  those  precipitous  walls  of  red  sand- 
stone on  the  south  coast,  described  in 
all  the  earlier  accounts  of  the  lake  as 
the  "Picl^ired  Rocks."  They  stand 
opposite  the  greatest  width  of  the  lake 
and  exposed  to  the  greatest  force  of 
the  heavy  storms  from  the  north.  The 
effect  of  the  waves  upon  them  is  not 
only  seen  in  their  irregular  shape,  but 
the  sand  derived  from  their  disintegra- 
tion is  swept  down  the  coast  below  and 
raised  by  the  \vinds  into  long  lines  of 
sandy  cliffs.  At  the  place  called  the 
Grand  Sable  these  are  from  one  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred  feet  high,  and 
the  region  around  consists  of  hills  of 
drifting  sand. 

Half-way  across  the  lake  Keweenaw 
Point  stretches  out  into  the  water. 
Here  the  steamer  halted  for  wood.  We 
landed  on  the  shore  in  a  beautiful 
grove.  "  What  a  place  for  a  dinner  !  " 
cried  one  of  the  party. 

"Glorious!  glorious!"  chimed  in  a 
dozen  voices. 

"  How  long  has  the  boat  to  wait?" 
asked  Hugh. 

"One  hour,"  was  the  answer  of  the 
weather-beaten  son  of  Neptune. 

"  That  gives  us  plenty  of  time,"  was 
the  general  verdict.  So  without  more 
ado  lunch-baskets  were  brought  ashore. 
The  steamer's  steward  was  prevailed 
upon,  by  a  silver  dollar  thrust  slyly  into 
his  hand,  to  help  us,  and  presently  the 
whole  party  was  feasting  by  the  lakeside. 
And  what  a  royal  dining-room  was  that 
grove,  its  outer  pillars  rising  from  the 
very  lake  itself,  its  smooth  brown  floor 
of  pine-needles,  arabesqued  with  a  flit- 
ting tracery  of  sun  shadows  and  flutter- 
ing leaves,  and  giving  through  the  true 
Gothic  arches  of  its  myriad  windows 
glorious  views  of  the  lake  that  lay  like 
an  enchanted  sea  before  us  !  And 
whoever  dined  more  regally,  more  di- 


vinely, even,  though  upon  nectar  and 
ambrosia,  than  our  merry-makers  as 
they  sat  at  their  well-spread  board, 
with  such  glowing,  heaven-tinted  pic- 
tures before  their  eyes,  such  balmy  airs 
floating  about  their  happy  heads,  and 
such  music  as  the  sunshiny  waves 
made  in  their  glad,  listening  ears?  It 
was  like  a  picture  out  of  Hiawatha. 
At  least  it  seemed  to  strike  our  young 
lady  so,  who  in  a  voice  of  peculiar 
sweetness  and  power  recited  the  open- 
ing of  the  twenty-second  book  of  that 
poem  :  — 

"  By  the  shore  of  Gitche  Gumee, 
By  the  shining  Big  Sea- Water, 
At  the  doorway  of  his  wigwam,  # 

In  the  pleasant  Summer  morning, 
Hiawatha  stood  and  waited. 

All  the  air  was  full  of  freshness, 
All  the  earth  was  bright  and  joyous. 
And  before  him,  through  the  sunshine. 
Westward  toward  the  neighboring  forest 
Passed  in  golden  swarms  the  Ahmo, 
Passed  the  bees,  the  honey-makers. 
Burning,  singing  in  the  sunshine. 

Bright  above  him  shone  the  heavens, 
Level  spread  the  lake  before  him; 
From  its  bosom  leaped  the  sturgeon. 
Sparkling,  flashing  in  the  sunshine; 
On  its  margin  the  great  forest 
Stood  reflected  in  the  water, 
Every  treetop  had  its  shadow 
Motionless  beneath  the  water." 

"Thank  you.  Miss,"  said  Hugh, 
gallantly.  "We  only  need  a  wigwam 
with  smoke  curling  from  it  under  these 
trees,  and  a  '  birch  canoe  with  paddles, 
rising,  sinking  on  the  water,  dripping, 
flashing  in  the  sunshine,'  to  complete 
the  picture.  It's  a  pity  the  Indians 
ever  left  this  shore." 

"  So  the  settlers  of  Minnesota  thought 
in  '62,"  observed  Vincent,  ironically. 

"  The  Indians  would  have  been  all 
right  if  the  white  man  had  stayed 
away,"  replied  the   Historian,  hotly. 

"  In  that  case  we  should  not  be  here 
now,  and,  consequently"  — 


A  Summer  ou  tJie  Great  Lakes. 


^73 


What  promised  to  be  quite  a  warm 
discussion  was  liilled  in  tlie  embryo  by 
the  captain's  clear  cry,  "All  aboard  !  " 

Once  more  we  were  steaming  west- 
ward toward  the  land  of  the  Dacotahs. 
That  night  we  all  sat  up  till  after  mid- 
night to  see  the  last  of  our  lake,  for  in 
the  morning  Duluth  would  be  in  sight. 
It  was  a  night  never  to  be  forgotten. 
The  idle  words  and  deeds  of  my  com- 
panions have  faded  from  my  mind,  but 
never  will  the  memory  of  the  bright 
lake  rippling  under  that   moonlit  sky. 

A  city  picturesquely  situated  on  the 
side  of  a  hill  which  overlooks  the  lake 
and  rises  gradually  toward  the  north- 
west, reaching  the  height  of  six  hundred 
feet  a  mile  from  the  shore,  with  a  river 
on  one  side.  That  is  Duluth.  The 
city  takes  its  name  from  Juan  du  Luth, 
a  French  officer,  who  visited  the  region 
in  1679.  ^"  1S60  there  were  only 
seventy  white  inhabitants  in  the  place, 
and  in  1869  the  number  had  not  much 
increased.  The  selection  of  the  village 
as  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  gave  it  an  impetus, 
and  now  Duluth  is  a  city  of  fifteen 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  rapidly  grow- 
ing. The  harbor  is  a  good  one,  and  is 
open  about  two  hundred  days  in  the 
year.  Six  regular  lines  of  steamers  run 
to  Ciiicago,  Cleveland,  Canadian  ports, 
and  ports  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake 
Superior.  The  commerce  of  Duluth, 
situated  as  it  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
mineral  districts  on  both  shores  of  the 
lake,  surrounded  by  a  well-timbered 
country,  and  offering  the  most  con- 
venient outlet  for  the  products  of  the 
wheat  region  further  west,  is  of  growing 
importance.  In  half  a  century  Duluth 
will  be  outranked  in  wealth  and  popula- 
tion by  no  more  than  a  dozen  cities  in 
America. 

Our  stay  at  Duluth  was   protracted 


many  days.  One  finds  himself  at  home 
in  this  new  Western  city,  and  there  are 
a  thousand  ways  in  which  to  amuse 
yourself.  If  you  are  disposed  for  a  walk, 
there  are  any  number  of  delightful 
woodpaths  leading  to  famous  bits  of 
beach  where  you  may  sit  and  dream 
the  livelong  day  without  fear  of  inter- 
ruption or  notice.  If  you  would  try 
camping-out,  there  are  guides  and 
canoes  riglit  at  your  hand,  and  the 
choice  of  scores  of  beautiful  and 
delightful  spots  within  easy  reach  of 
your  hotel  or  along  the  shore  of  the 
lake  and  its  numerous  beautiful  islands, 
or  as  far  away  into  the  forest  as  you 
care  to  penetrate.  Lastly,  if  piscatorially 
inclined,  here  is  a  boathouse  with  every 
kind  of  boat  from  the  steam-yacht 
down  to  the  birch  canoe,  and  there  is 
the  lake,  full  of  "  lakers,"  sturgeon, 
whitefish,  and  speckled  trout,  some  of 
the  latter  weighing  from  thirty  to  forty 
pounds  apiece,  —  a  condition  of  things 
alike  satisfactory  and  tempting  to  every 
owner  of  a  rod  and  line. 

Tlfe  guides,  of  whom  there  are  large 
numbers  to  be  found  at  Duluth,  as 
indeed  at  all  of  the  northern  border 
towns,  are  a  class  of  men  too  interest- 
ing and  peculiar  to  be  passed  over 
without  more  than  a  cursory  notice. 
These  men  are  mostly  French-Canadians 
and  Indians,  with  now  and  then  a 
native,  and  for  hardihood,  skill,  and 
reliability,  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any 
other  similar  class  of  men  the  world 
over.  They  are  usually  men  of  many 
parts,  can  act  equally  well  as  guide, 
boatman,  baggage -carrier,  purveyor,  and 
cook.  They  are  respectful  and  chival- 
rous :  no  woman,  be  she  old  or  young, 
fair  or  faded,  fails  to  receive  the  most 
polite  and  courteous  treatment  at  their 
hands,  and  with  these  quahties  they 
possess  a  manly  independence  that  is 


174 


A  Summer  on  the  Great  Lakes. 


as  far  removed  from  servility  as  forward- 
ness. Some  of  these  men  are  strikingly 
handsome,  with  shapely  statuesque 
figures  that  recall  the  Antinous  and  the 
Apollo  Belvidere.  Their  life  is  neces- 
sarily a  hard  one,  exposed  as  they  are 
to  all  sorts  of  weather  and  the  dangers 
incidental  to  their  profession.  At  a 
comparatively  early  age  they  break 
down,  and  extended  excursions  are  left 
to  the  younger  and  more  active  mem- 
bers of  the  fraternity. 

Camping-out,  provided  the  weather 
is  reasonably  agreeable,  is  one  of  the 
most  delightful  and  healthful  ways  to 
spend  vacation.  It  is  a  sort  of  wood- 
man's or  frontier  life.  It  means  living 
in  a  tent,  sleeping  on  boughs  or  leaves, 
cooking  your  own  meals,  washing  your 
own  dishes  and  clothes  perhaps,  get- 
ting up  your  own  fuel,  making  your  own 
fire,  and  foraging  for  your  own  proven- 
der. It  means  activity,  variety,  novelty, 
and  fun  alive ;  and  the  more  you  have 
of  it  the  more  you  like  it ;  and  the 
longer  you  stay  the  less  willing  you  are 
to  give  it  up.  There  is  a  freedofh  in  it 
that  you  do  not  get  elsewhere.  All  the 
stiff  formalties  of  conventional  life  are 
put  aside  :  you  are  left  free  to  enjoy 
yourself  as  you  choose.  All  in  all,  it  is 
the  very  best  way  we  know  to  enjoy 
a  "glorious  vacation." 

At  Duluth,  at  Sault  de  Ste.  Marie,  at 
Mackinaw,  at  Saginaw,  we  wandered 
away  days  at  a  time,  with  nothing  but 
our  birch  canoe,  rifles,  and  fishing-rods, 
and  for  provisions,  hard  bread,  pork, 
potatoes,  coffee,  tea,  rice,  butter,  and 
sugar,  closely  packed.  Any  camper- 
out  can  make  himself  comfortable  with 


an  outfit  as  simple  as  the  one  named. 
How  memory  clings  around  some  of 
those  bright  spots  we  visited  !  I  pass 
over  them  again,  in  thought,  as  I  write 
these  lines,  longing  to  nestle  amid  them 
forever. 

Following  along  the  coast,  now  in 
small  yachts  hired  for  the  occasion,  now 
in  a  birch  canoe  of  our  own,  we  passed 
from  one  village  to  another.  Where\eT 
we  happened  to  be  at  night,  we  en- 
camped. Many  a  time  it  was  on  a 
lonely  shore.  Standing  at  sunset  on 
a  pleasant  strand,  more  than  once  we 
saw  the  glow  of  the  vanished  sun 
behind  the  western  mountains  or  the 
western  waves,  darkly  piled  in  mist  and 
shadow  along  the  sky ;  near  at  hand, 
the  dead  pine,  mighty  in  decay,  stretch- 
ing its  ragged  arms  athwart  the  burning 
heavens,  the  crow  perched  on  its  top 
like  an  image  carved  in  jet;  and  aloft, 
the  night-hawk,  circling  in  his  flight, 
and,  with  a  strange  whining  sound, 
diving  through  the  air  each  moment  for 
the  insects  he  makes  his  prey. 

But  all  good  things,  as  well  as  others, 
have  an  end.  The  season  drew  to  a 
close  at  last.  August  nights  are  chilly 
for  sleeping  in  tents.  Our  flitting  must 
cease,  and  our  thoughts  and  steps  turn 
homeward.  But  a  few  days  are  still 
left  us.  At  Buffalo  once  more  we  go 
to  see  the  Falls.  Then  by  boat  to 
Hamilton,  thence  to  Kingston  at  the 
foot  of  the  lake,  and  so  on  through 
the  Tiiousand  Isles  to  Montreal,  and 
finally  to  Quebec,  —  a  tour  as  fascinat- 
ing in  its  innumerable  and  singularly 
wild  and  beautiful  "  sights  "  as  heart 
could  desire. 


Our  National  Cemeteries, 


175 


OUR    NATIONAL    CEMETERIES. 

By  Charles  Cowley,  LL.D. 


There  are  circumstances  generally 
attending  the  death  of  the  soldier  or 
the  sailor,  whether  on  battle-field  or 
gun-deck,  whether  in  the  captives' 
prison,  the  cockpit,  or  the  field-hospi- 
tal, which  touch  our  sensibilities  far 
more  deeply  than  any  circumstances 
which  usually  attend  the  death  of  men 
of  any  other  class ;  moving  within  us 
mingled  emotions  of  pathos  and  pity, 
of  mystery  and  awe. 

"There  is  a  tear  for  all  that  die, 
A  mourner  o'er  the  humblest  grave; 

But  nations  swell  the  funeral  cry, 
And  freedom  weeps  above  the  brave; 

"For  them  is  sorrow's  purest  sigh, 

O'er  ocean's  heaving  bosom  sent; 
In  vain  their  bones  unburied  lie, — 

All  earth  becomes  their  monument. 

"A  tomb  is  their's  on  every  page; 

An  epitaph  on  every  tongue; 
The  present  hours,  the  future  age. 

Nor  mem  bewail,  to  them  belong. 

"A  theme  to  crowds  that  knew  them  not, 

Lamented  by  admiring  foes. 
Who  would  not  share  their  glorious  lot? 

Who  would  not  die  the  death  they  chose?" 

A  similar  halo  invests  our  National 
Cemeteries  —  which  are  the  most  per- 
manent mementos  of  our  sanguinary 
Civil  War. 

Nature  labors  diligently  to  cover 
up  her  scars.  Most  of  the  battle-fields 
of  the  Rebellion  now  show  growths 
of  use  and  beauty.  Many  of  the 
structures  of  that  great  conflict  have 
already  ceased  to  be.  Some  of  them 
have  been  swept  away  by  the  Avinds 
or  overgrown  with  weeds ;  others,  like 
Fort  Wagner,  have  been  washed  away 
by  the  waves.  But  neither  winds  nor 
waves  are  likely  to  disturb  the  monu- 
ments or  the  cemeteries  of  our  soldiers 
and  sailors.     Where  they  were  placed, 


there  they  remain ;    "  and   there   they 
will  remain  forever." 

The  seventy-eight  National  Ceme- 
teries distributed  over  the  country 
contain  the  remains  of  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fifty-five  men,  classed  as  follows  : 
known,  170,960;  unknown,  147,495; 
total,  318,455.  And  these  are  not  half 
of  those  whose  deaths  are  attributable 
to  their  service  in  the  armies  and  navies 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Confeder- 
ate States,  who  are  buried  in  all  sec- 
tions of  the  Union  and  in  foreign  lands. 

In  some  of  these  cemeteries,  as  at 
Gettysburg,  Antietam,  City  Point,  Win- 
chester, Marietta,  Woodlawn,  Hampton, 
and  Beaufort,  by  means  of  public  ap- 
propriations and  private  subscriptions, 
statues  and  other  monuments  have  at 
different  times  been  erected  ;  and  many 
others  doubtless  will  be  erected  in  them 
hereafter.  Some  of  them  are  in  secluded 
situations,  where  for  many  miles  the 
population  is  sparse,  and  the  few  people 
that  live  near  them  cherish  tenderer 
recollections  of  the  "  Lost  Cause  "  than 
of  that  which  finally  won.  But  such  of 
them  as  are  contiguous  to  cities  are 
places  of  interest  to  more  or  less  of 
the  neighboring  population ;  and,  in 
some  of  them,  there  are  commemora- 
tive services  upon  Memorial  Days. 

These  cemeteries  have  many  features 
in  common ;  and  much  that  may  be 
said  of  one  of  them  may  also  be  said 
of  the  others  —  merely  changing  the 
names. 

It  happened  to  the  present  writer 
to  visit  the  National  Cemetery  at 
Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  to  deliver  an 
oration  on  Memorial  Day,  1881,  in  the 


176 


Our  National  Cemeteries. 


nidst  of  ten  thousand  graves  of  the 
lOldiers  and  sailors  of  the  department 
of  the  South  and  South  Atlantic  block- 
ading squadron.  The  dead  interretl  in 
these  thirty  acres  of  graves  are  :  known, 
4,748,  unknown,  4,493;  total,  9,241. 
Among  the  trees  planted  in  this  ceme- 
tery is  a  willow,  grown  from  a  branch 
of  the  historic  tree  which  once  over- 
shadowed the  grave  of  Napoleon  at 
St.  Helena. 

Generals  Thomas  W.  Sherman  and 
John  G.  Foster,  who  commanded  that 
department,  and  Admirals  Dupont  and 
Dahlgren,  who  commanded  that  squad- 
ron, all  died  in  their  Northern  homes 
since  the  peace,  and  their  graves  are 
not  to  be  looked  for  here.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  hundreds  of  mihtary 
and  naval  officers  who  performed  valu- 
able services  on  these  shores  and  along 
these  coasts,  and  have  since  "  passed 
over  to  the  great  majority." 

That  neither  General  Strong  nor 
General  Schimmelfennig  is  buried  here 
might  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that,  though  they  died  by  reason  of  their 
having  served  in  this  department,  they 
died  at  the  North.  But  even  General 
Mitchell,  whose  flag  of  command  was 
last  unfurled  in  this  department,  who 
died  in  Beaufort,  and  was  originally 
buried  under  the  sycamores  of  the 
Episcopal  churchyard,  now  sleeps  in 
the  shades  of  Greenwood,  and  not  (as 
he  would  probably  have  preferred,  could 
he  have  foreseen  this  cemetery)  among 
the  brave  men  whom  he  commanded. 

The  best  known  names  among  those 
here  buried  (to  use  a  pardonable 
Hibernianism)  are  among  the  "  un- 
known." For  here,  as  we  may  believe, 
in  unknown  graves,  rest  the  remains 
of  Colonel  Robert  G.  Shaw,  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  (colored), 
Colonel  Haldimand  S.  Putnam,  of  the 


Seventh  New  Hampshire,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  James  M.  Green,  of  the  Forty- 
eighth  New  York,  and  many  other  gal- 
lant officers  and  men  who  were  killed 
in  the  assault  on  Fort  Wagner,  July 
18,  1863,  and  who  were  first  buried 
by  the  Confederates  in  the  sands  of 
Morris  Island. 

Many  a  Northern  college  is  repre- 
sented here.  Among  those  to  whom 
tablets  have  been  erected  in  the  Memo- 
rial Hall  of  Harvard  University,  who 
are  buried  here,  besides  Colonel  Shaw, 
are  Captains  VVinthrop  P.  Boynton  and 
William  D.  Crane,  who  were  killed  at 
Honey  Hill,  November  30,  1864 ;  and 
Captain  Cabot  J.  Russell,  who  fell  with 
Shaw  at  Fort  Wagner.  Yet  these  are 
but  the  beginning  of  the  list  of  the 
sons  of  Massachusetts  who  rest  in  this 
"  garden  of  graves." 

Among  the  many  gallant  men  of  the 
navy  buried  here  is  Acting-Master 
Charles  W.  Howard,  of  the  ironclad 
steam  -  frigate  New  Ironsides,  #hom 
Lieutentant  Glassell  shot  during  his 
bold  attempt  to  blow  up  the  New 
Ironsides  with  the  torpedo  steamer 
David,  October  5,  1863.  Another 
is  Thomas  Jackson,  coxswain  of  the 
Wabash,  the  beau  ideal  of  an  Ameri- 
can sailor,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Port  Royal,  November  7,  1861. 

Death,  Hke  a  true  democrat,  levels  all 
distinctions.  Still,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  N. 
Reed,  who  was  mortally  wounded  at 
Olustee  while  in  command  of  the  Thirty- 
fifth  United  States  colored  troops, 
February  20,  1864,  was,  while  living, 
the  highest  officer  in  rank,  whose  grave 
is  known  here.  Other  gallant  officers, 
killed  at  Olustee,  are  buried  near  him. 
Among  these,  probably,  is  Colonel 
Charles  W.  Fribley,  of  the  Eighth 
United  States  colored  troops ;   though 


Our  National  Cemeteries. 


177 


he  may  be  still  sleeping  beneath  the 
sighing  pines  of  Olustee. 

As  far  as  practicable,  all  Federal  sol- 
diers and  sailors  buried  along  the  sea- 
board of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
Florida,  have  been  removed  to  Beaufort 
Cemetery  ;  and,  as  Governor  Alexander 
H.  Bullock  said :  "  Wherever  they 
offered  up  their  lives,  amid  the  thunder 
of  battle,  or  on  the  exhausting  march, 
in  victory  or  in  defeat,  in  hospital  or 
in  prison,  officers  and  privates,  soldiers 
and  sailors,  patriots  all,  they  fell  like 
the  beauty  of  Israel  on  their  high 
places,  burying  all  distinctions  of  rank 
in  the  august  equality  of  death." 

One  section  of  the  cemetery  is 
devoted  to  the  Confederates.  There 
are  more  than  a  hundred  of  these, 
including  several  commissioned  officers  ; 
and  on  Memorial  Days  the  same  ladies 
who  decorate  the  graves  of  the  Federals 
decorate  also  in  the  same  manner  the 
graves  of  the  Confederates  ;  recognizing 
that,  though  in  life  they  were  arrayed 
as  mortal  enemies,  they  are  now 
reconciled  in  "  the  awful  but  kindly 
brotherhood    of    death."      Sir    Walter 

Scott  enjoins  :  — 

« 

"Speak  not  for  those  a  separate  doom, 
Whom  fate  made  brothers  in  the  tomb." 

And  One  infinitely  greater  than  Sir 
Walter  has  inculcated  still  loftier  senti- 
ments. 

Among  the  graves  to  which  the  at- 
tention of  the  writer  was   particularly 

attracted  was  that  of  Charley  ,  a 

boy  of  Colonel  Putnam's  regiment,  who 
had  now  been  dead  more  years  than  he 


had  lived.  His  parents,  living  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Winnipiseogee,  and 
walking  daily  over  the  paths  which  he 
had  often  trod,  had  plucked  the  earliest 
flower  of  their  northern  clime  and  sent 
it  to  the  superintendent  of  the  cem- 
etery, to  be  planted  at  Charley's  grave. 
The  burning  sun  of  South  Carolina  had 
not  spared  that  flower ;  but  something 
of  it  still  remained.  Its  mute  eloquence 
spoke  to  the  heart  of  the  tender  recol- 
lections of  a  father  and  of  a  mother's 
undying  love.  How  truly  does  Words- 
worth say,  — 

"  The  meanest  flower  that  blows  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears." 

For  US  who  have  survived  the  perils 
of  battle  and  the  far  more  fatal  diseases 
that  wasted  our  forces,  and  for  all  who 
cherish  the  memory  of  these  dead,  it 
will  always  be  a  consoling  thought  that 
the  Federal  government  has  done  so 
much  to  provide  honorable  sepulture 
for  those  who  fell  in  defence  of  the 
Union.  We  can  all  appreciate  Lord 
Byron's  lament  for  the  great  Florentine 
poet  and  patriot :  — 

"  Ungrateful  Florence !     Dante  sleeps  afar, 
Like  Scipio,  buried  by  the  upbraiding  shore." 

But  we  can  have  no  such  regret  for 
our  lost  comrades,  buried  not  upon  a 
foreign,  nor  upon  an  unfriendly  shore, 
but  in  the  bosom  of  the  soil  which  their 
blood  redeemed.  Sacred  is  the  tear 
that  is  shed  for  the  unreturning  brave. 

"'Tis  the  tear   through  many  a  long  day  wept, 
"Tis  life's  whole  path  o'ershaded; 
'Tis  the  one  remembrance,  fondly  kept, 
When  all  lighter  griefs  have  faded." 


i;8 


OgiDujnit  Fishing  Fleet. 


OCUNQUIT    FISHING    FLEET. 


WILLIAM    HALE. 


I  SEE  the  fishing  boats  put  out 
Each  morn  ujion  the  sea, 

And  from  my  early  window  watch 
Them  floating  far  and  free. 

Ere  the  first  flush  of  day  appears, 
While  stars  are  in  the  sky. 

Out  steal  the  boats  all  silently, 
And  to  their  moorings  hie. 


By  heart  and  rote  I  know  each  boat, 
Name  each  familiar  friend ; 

And  out  to  each,  in  earnest  speech, 
A  hearty  God-speed  send. 

To  each  familiar  form  I  turn, 

A-bending  o'er  the  bay ; 
And  ask  of  Him  who  made  the  sea, 

To  guide  them  in  his  way. 


While  rest  their  wives  and  little  ones, 

And  all  the  world's  asleep, 
These  hardy  fishers  launch  their  boats. 

And  sail  forth  on  the  deep. 


O  friends  of  mine,  O  fishers  free, 

Sail  on,  and  nobly  on. 
Until  the  voyage  of  life  be  o'er. 

And  the  safe  harbor  won. 


To  feed  the  little  hungry  mouths, 

To  cover  little  feet, 
Each  day,  when  wind  and  wave  allow, 

Toils  hard  the  fishing  fleet. 


Sail  on,  and  learn  to  prize  full  weU 

The  joys  of  simple  life  ; 
Let  not  the  great  world  beat  for  you 

Her  noisy  wings  of  strife. 


To  keep  their  wives  and  little  ones. 
And  their  snug  homes  maintain. 

They  draw  a  well-earned  livelihood 
From  the  begrudging  main. 


Sail  on,  and  ever  fearless  on, 
The  billows  bravely  breast ; 

Nor  let  the  hollow  world  entice 
You  from  your  port  of  rest. 


A  league  or  more  out  from  the  shore. 
They  fish  with  trawl  and  line; 

With  cunning  hand  draw  deftly  in 
The  trophies  of  the  brine. 


Sail  on,  and  lean  your  trusting  hearts 

Upon  God's  ocean  wide ; 
And  learn  to  prize  his  love  more  thaa 

The  great  round  world  beside. 


I  see  them  stealing  here  and  there. 
In  distance  small  and  slow; 

And  with  my  glass  I  find  each  one 
As  m  and  out  they  go. 


O  friends  of  mine,  O  sailors  strong, 

O  hearts  that  beat  so  true ; 
Ye  cannot  know  these  earnest  thoughts 

That  go  out  after  you. 


I  know  each  boat,  I  find  them  all. 
And  count  them  one  by  one ; 

Dark  spots  upon  the  waters  bright. 
Like  motes  upon  the  sun. 


Good  friends,  ye  cannot  hear  this  song, 

Nor  feel  this  heart  of  mine. 
That  warm  and  loving  beats  for  you 

Far  out  upon  the  brine. 


But  heart  shall  read  each  heart  one  day, 
And  friend  with  friend  shall  meet. 

Peace  be  with  ye,  O  sailors  of  Ogunquit, 
Ogunquit  fishing  fleet! 


£'ilq^Oy  A.H-IlilcT-'-' 


6(J 


The 


RANITE  neNTHLY. 


A   NEW   HAMPSHIRE   MAGAZINE. 

'Devoted  to  Literature,  'biography.  History,  ami  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX. 


JULY,  1886. 


No.  7. 


HON.  THOMAS  COGSWELL. 


BY    JOHN   N,    MCCLINTOCK,    A.  M. 


It  has  been  suggested  that  Colonel 
Thomas  Cogswell,  the  Democratic  can- 
didate for  Governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, is  a  blue-blooded  aristocrat.  If 
having  a  long  line  of  honorable,  Chris- 
tian ancestors,  the  record  of  whom  ex- 
tends back  to  the  old  country,  to  the 
days  when  the  Stuarts  ruled  England 
and  Cromwell  was  unheard  of,  if  pious, 
patriotic,  and  sagacious  forefathers  give 
a  man  blue  blood,  the  Colonel  is  really 
afflicted  with  blue  blood.  If  being  a 
hard  working  and  practical  lawyer,  a 
farmer  who  personally  superintends  the 
cultivation  of  five  hundred  acres  of 
land,  a  scholar  who  tries  to  keep  up 
with  the  literature  of  the  period,  a  kind 
and  considerate  neighbor,  a  cidzen 
always  at  the  command  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  a  brave  soldier  in  the  late  war, 
an  easy  and  graceful  public  speaker,  a 
man  with  a  multitude  of  personal  friends, 
if  these  are  the  characteristics  of  an 
aristocrat,  then  is  Colonel  Cogswell  an 
aristocrat.  If  in  his  veins  flows  the 
best  New  England  blood,  if  his  charac- 
ter for  honor  and  integrity  is  as  estab- 
lished as  the  granite  hills  which  hem  in 
his  paternal  farm,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
his  ancestors  are  in  part  responsible. 
If  a  man's  sins  will  live  after  him  for 
generations  so  also  will  the  noble  actions 


of  a  man's  ancestors  be  reflected  in 
him  and  help  him  in  the  race.  The 
Colonel's  ancestors  were  among  the 
first  settlers  who  planted  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  Colony  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  In  every  generation  they  have 
been  law-abiding,  God-fearing,  and  pa- 
triotic citizens,  ready  to  serve  their 
country  in  war  or  peace.  • 

BOYHOOD. 

Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell,  son  of  Hon. 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Noyes)  Cogswell, 
was  born  February  8,  1841,  in  Gilman- 
ton,  in  the  house  which  in  the  early 
part  of  this  century  was  the  homestead 
of  his  great  grandfather,  General  Joseph 
Badger,  and  which  stood  a  few  rods 
east  of  the  Colonel's  present  residence, 
under  the  shade  of  a  great  elm  tree 
lately  injured  by  lightning.  The  frame 
of  the  old  house  was  taken  and  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  residence  of 
James  W.  Cogswell,  another  son  of  Hon. 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Noyes)  Cogswell, 
who  lives  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  on 
the  main  highway  from  Gilmanton  Iron 
Works  to  Laconia.  The  present  resi- 
dence was  built  in  1784  by  Colonel' 
Thomas  Cogswell,  of  the  Continental 
.•\rmy,  his  father's  uncle,  and  came  into 
his  father's  possession  over  forty  years 


i8o 


Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell. 


ago,  reuniting  the  old  General  Badger 
estate.  It  is  a  large,  square,  two-story, 
old-fashioned  mansion,  built  in  the  sub- 
stantial manner  in  vogue  about  the 
time  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
as  serviceable  to-day  as  when  erected 
by  the  old  patriot.  Here  was  passed 
the  boyhood  and  youth  of  our  friend. 
Colonel  Cogswell.  Here  on  his  father's 
farm  of  a  thousand  acres  he  acquired  a 
practical  knowledge  of  farming,  of 
stock  raising,  and  of  the  many  duties 
and  obli2;ations  of  a  successful  farmer's 
career.  Here  he  was  surrounded  by 
scenery  unsurpassed  in  the  hill  country 
of  New  Hampshire.  The  farm  occu- 
pies the  summit  and  sides  of  a  hill ; 
and  the  house,  not  far  from  the  highest 
ground,  commands  a  very  extended 
view  of  hill  and  mountain,  valley, 
stream  and  lake,  woodland  and  cultiva- 
ted field,  reaching  to  the  horizon  formed 
by  distant  elevations. 

EDUCATION. 

With  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood 
he  received  the  first  rudiments  of  an 
education  at  the  little  red  school-house 
of  the  district.  Here  he  developed  a 
fondness  not  only  for  boyish  sports  but 
for  books,  and  at  an  early  age  deter- 
mined to  acquire  a  classical  education 
with  a  ^•iew  to  becoming  a  lawyer.  He 
entered  Gilmanton  Academy  in  1857, 
and  continued  his  studies  there  two 
years  under  the  instruction  of  Professor 
Chase  Parsons  and  of  Professor  Andrew 
Marshall.  The  Cogswell  family  have 
always  been  actively  interested  in  main- 
taining this  venerable  institution,  found- 
ed in  1 794  ;  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  in  its  board  of  directors  the  name 
of  Thomas  Cogswell  has  appeared  every 
year  since  its  charter  was  granted.  It 
is  also  remarkable  that  since  1 794  Gil- 
manton Academy  has  never  missed  a 


term  of  school.  Here  young  Cogswell 
formed  a  close  friendship  with  his  room- 
mate and  classmate,  John  B.  Peaslee, 
with  whom  he  went  to  Hanover  in  1859, 
and  entered  the  Freshman  class  of 
Dartmouth  College.  Of  that  class  of 
eighty-nine  members,  forty-eight  were 
living  three  years  ago  who  graduated 
with  their  class  in  1863.  The  class  has 
given  to  the  world  fourteen  lawyers,  ten 
physicians,  seven  clergymen,  ten  teach- 
ers, besides  nine  patriots  who  laid  down 
their  lives  for  the  good  of  their  country. 
In  his  class  was  Alfred  K.  Hamilton,  of 
Milwaukee,  Charles  C.  Pearson,  of 
Concord,  Charles  A.  Pillsbury,  of  Min- 
neapolis, John  vScales,  of  Dover,  Isaac 
Walker,  of  Pembroke,  Evarts  W.  Farr, 
of  Litdeton,  Stephen  B.  Kenrick,  of 
Fort  Madison,  Iowa,  and  Hon.  W.  H. 
Clement,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York. 
Young  Cogswell  was  a  good  scholar, 
ranking  well  in  his  class,  and  excelling 
as  a  speaker  and  debater.  He  was  out 
all  of  the  Senior  year  but  graduated 
with  his  class.  Before  and  during  his 
college  course  young  Cogswell  taught 
school,  first  in  Alton,  when  he  was  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  afterwards  in 
Deerfield,  East  Concord,  and  Laconia. 
Frequently  he  had  scholars  older  than 
himself,  and  during  one  term  of  school 
he  "boarded  round." 

ARMY    LIFE. 

At  the  end  of  his  Junior  year  in 
Dartmouth  College  the  fate  of  the  Re- 
public was  in  doubt.  Those  were  the 
darkest  days  of  the  Great  Rebellion. 
More  soldiers  were  needed  to  fill  the 
ranks  of  veteran  regiments,  and  new 
regiments  were  needed  at  the  front. 
The  herculean  task  of  suppressing  trea- 
son began  to  be  realized  by  the  loyal 
North,  and  in  the  summer  of  1862 
300,000   more   volunteers  were  called 


Hon. 


Thomas  Cogswell. 


i8i 


for.  Twenty  boys  from  the  class  of 
1863  responded  to  the  call,  among 
whom  was  Thomas  Cogswell.  He  en- 
listed in  that  summer  as  a  private  in 
Company  A,  Fifteenth  Regiment,  New 
Hampshire  Volunteers,  a  company  re- 
cruited in  Gilmanton,  Guilford,  Alton, 
and  Belmont,  and  entered  the  service 
for  nine  months.  He  was  chosen  by 
his  company  first  lieutenant  and  was 
presented  by  his  command  with  sword 
and  equipments.  For  the  ensuing  year 
his  history  and  that  of  the  regiment  are 
identical. 

In  October,  1862,  the  regiment  was 
in  camp  in  Concord,  going  to  Long  Is- 
land, New  York,  in  November  of  the 
same  year.  The  regiment  was  des- 
tined to  join  the  expedition  of  Gen- 
eral Banks  and  proceeded  to  Louisiana, 
where  in  the  following  spring  Lieuten- 
ant Cogswell  was  taken  sick  with  the 
chills  and  fever.  He  lost  twenty-five 
pounds  in  weight  in  one  week.  He  re- 
covered sufficiently  to  join  his  company, 
of  which  he  was  commissioned  captain 
April  8,  1863,  before  Port  Hudson,  and 
participated  in  the  memorable  attack. 
For  a  day  and  a  half  during  the  siege 
his  command  were  without  food.  His 
weakened  constitution  could  not  with- 
stand such  exposure  and  deprivation, 
and  again  he  was  sent  to  the  hospital. 
When  the  regiment  was  embarking  to 
return  north,  after  their  term  of  service 
had  expired,  the  physicians  forbade  his 
being  moved,  but  he  ordered  four  of 
his  men,  who  came  to  see  him,  to  carry 
him  upon  the  boat  with  the  regiment. 
This  they  did  and  he  was  brought  home 
with  them  almost  a  physical  wreck. 
When  he  entered  the  service  he  was  a 
strong,  rugged,  healthy  boy  of  twenty- 
one,  weighing  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  pounds ;  he  weighed  one  hundred 
and  six  when  he  arrived  at  Gass'  hotel 


in  Concord,  August  8,  1863.  He  was 
then  twenty-two  years  old  and  wore  the 
epaulets  of  a  captain  gained  by  gallant 
service  before  the  enemy. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  Captain 
Cogswell  was  a  brave  soldier.  He  left 
a  sick  bed  to  join  his  regiment  on  the 
eve  of  a  great  battle.  He  was  a  good 
executive  officer,  kind  and  considerate 
to  his  men,  and  thoughtful  of  their 
needs  and  interests.  When  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  from  Long  Island  to 
embark  on  a  transport  for  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  he  joined  with  his  captain  in 
refusing  to  march  his  company  on  board 
of  a  boat  manifestly  unsafe  and  over- 
loaded. This  refusal  led  to  a  court- 
martial,  by  which  the  young  officers 
were  exonerated  from  blame.  He  never 
wanted  his  men  exposed  to  danger  in 
which  he  could  not  share,  and  looked 
after  them  like  younger  brothers.  For 
a  year  after  his  return  from  the  south 
he  was  recuperating  and  regaining  his 
lost  health,  six  months  of  the  time  be- 
ing confined  to  his  house  and  room. 
In  the  fall  of  1864  Captain  Cogswell 
was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  com- 
missary department  and  reported  to 
Captain  John  R.  Hynes,  but  saw  no 
more  active  service. 

LAW. 

Mr.  Cogswell  commenced  to  read 
law  in  the  office  of  Stevens  &  Vaughan, 
of  Laconia,  and  afterwards  studied  at 
the  Harvard  Law  School.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Belknap  County  bar  dur- 
ing the  September  term,  1866.  In  De- 
cember of  the  same  year  he  opened  a 
law  office  in  the  village  of  Gilmanton 
Iron  Works,  where  no  lawyer  had  been 
settled  for  the  previous  twenty  years. 
Formerly  some  noted  lawyers  had  prac- 
ticed law  there,  among  whom  may  be 
mentioned  James  Bell,  George  Minot, 


l82 


Hen.  Thomas  Cogswell. 


Arthur  St.  Loe  Livermore  and  his 
brother,  William  Butterfield,  George  G. 
Fogg,  and  O.  A.  J.  Vaughan.  Here 
for  twenty  years  has  Mr.  Cogswell  prac- 
ticed law,  doing  the  legal  business  for 
all  the  country  round.  He  enjoys  an 
excellent  standing  at  the  bar,  not  only 
with  his  clients  and  the  people  gener- 
ally, but  with  his  brother  lawyers  and 
with  the  court.  It  has  always  been  his 
j)olicy  to  discourage  litigation,  and  many 
a  promising  lawsuit  has  been  nipped  in 
the  bud  by  his  advice.  He  has  had 
the  confidence  of  his  neighbors  and 
townsmen,  and  has  done  a  large  pro- 
bate business,  written  many  wills,  set- 
tled many  estates  and  accepted  many 
fiduciary  trusts.  He  has  had  no 
specialty  but  has  done  a  general  law 
business  in  Belknap  and  in  Strafford 
counties,  and  in  the  United  States 
Courts,  to  which  he  has  been  admitted 
to  practice.-  He  is  bold  and  aggressive 
in  the  trial  of  causes  and  is  a  strong 
advocate  before  a  jury.  He  is  gener- 
ally considered  a  well  educated,  well 
read,  and  safe  lawyer,  careful  in  giving 
advice,  and  careful  not  to  be  drawn  into 
a  suit  when  his  client  is  in  the  wrong. 
A  compromise  with  him  is  a  very  com- 
mon and  effective  mode  of  procedure. 
Possibly  had  he  been  more  dependent 
upon  his  profession  for  a  livelihood,  he 
might  have  been  more  industrious,  but 
he  could  not  have  been  more  conscien- 
cious  or  more  careful  of  the  interests 
of  his  clients. 

In  1884  he  was  elected  solicitor  of 
Belknap  County,  running  ahead  of  his 
party  ticket,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

POLITICS. 

The  town  of  Gilmanton  was  divided 
in  1859,  when  Belmont  was  set  off;  but 
as  it  was  against  the  will  of  the  people 
of  that  section,  they  retained  the  old 


organization  and  the  records,  while  the 
new  town  kept  the  old  name.  Of  Gil- 
manton Mr.  Cogswell  was  chosen  rep- 
resentative to  the  General  Court  in  187 1 
and  1872,  although  the  town  was  Re- 
publican. (The  first  office  to  which  he 
was  elected  was  that  of  superintending 
school  committee,  which  office  he  held 
for  one  year.)  During  the  latter  term 
he  received  the  nomination  of  his  party 
for  speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. He  was  elected  Senator  from 
the  old  district,  Number  Six,  in  1878, 
and  was  the  candidate  the  following 
year  for  re-election  in  the  new  district, 
Number  Six.  In  this  election  there  was 
no  choice  by  the  people  and  he  lost  his 
election  in  the  Senate.  In  1880  he 
was  candidate  for  councillor  in  the  Sec- 
ond Councillor  District,  but  found  it 
impossible  to  overcome  a  Republican 
majority  of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen 
hundred.  In  June,  1886,  he  received 
of  the  Democratic  State  Convention 
the  nomination  for  Governor. 

Mr.  Cogswell  is  a  Democrat.  His  fa- 
ther before  him  was  a  Democrat,  a  loyal 
supporter  of  the  administration  during 
the  Rebellion,  and  a  firm  believer  in  the 
great  underlying  principles  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  He  believes  in  the  sa- 
credness  of  the  Constitution  which  forms 
the  union  of  the  States,  in  maintaining 
our  national  honor  at  home  and  abroad, 
in  the  equality  of  American  citizens, 
and,  with  President  Cleveland,  heartily 
endorses  the  doctrine  that  public  office 
is  a  public  trust.  He  is^  and  has  always 
been,  a  conservative  Democrat.  Al- 
though he  was  defeated  for  councillor 
in  1880,  that  was  the  year  he  was 
elected  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  Gilman- 
ton to  the  office  of  selectman,  succeed- 
ing in  raising  that  most  important  office 
out  of  the  realm  of  party  politics  and 
inaugurating  a  non-partisan  board,  which 


Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell. 


^8z 


the  town  has  continued  to  this  day.  At 
that  time  the  town  was  then,  as  it  is 
now,  strongly  RepubHcan,  and  this  over- 
turn was  only  accompHshed  after  a 
hard  fight.  He  was  re-elected  in  i88r, 
and  1 882,  during  both  of  which  years 
he  served  as  chairman  of  the  board. 
During  his  term  of  office  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  town  were  straightened 
out  and  a  system  of  reform  inaugurated 
which  saved  money  to  the  town  and 
benefited  everybody.  For  many  years 
he  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  State 
Conventions  and  other  conventions  of 
his  party,  and  has  always  been  ready 
and  willing  to  serve  his  party  on  the 
stump.  His  own  nomination  in  June, 
1886,  although  given  by  a  very  large 
majority  on  the  first  ballot,  came  unso- 
licited and  apparently  spontane- 
ously. This  result  was  brought  about 
by  his  very  large  circle  of  personal 
friends,  men  who  know  him,  who  be- 
lieve in  him,  who  want  to  vote  for  him 
and  who  hope  to  elect  him.  They 
know  his  strength  as  a  speaker,  as  an 
executive,  as  a  man  of  affairs,  and  his 
great  personal  popularity. 

EDUCATIONAL     AFFAIRS. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Cogswell  has 
been  interested  in  educational  affairs. 
Mention  has  been  made  of  his  service 
one  year  as  superintending  school  com- 
mittee of  Gilmanton.  Since  186S  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Gilmanton  Academy.  He 
has  been  President  of  the  Board  since 
the  death  of  Judge  Eastman,  and  is 
now  its  Treasurer.  To  the  affairs  of 
the  institution  he  has  given  a  great  deal 
of  time  and  attention.  In  no  small  de- 
gree is  its  increasing  reputation  owing 
to  his  interest  in  it.     At  all  times  he  has 


been  generous  in  helping  students  who 
are  seeking  an  education. 

FARM. 

Since  the  death  of  his  father  in  1868 
he  has  had  the  charge  of  a  farm  of  over 
four  hundred  acres,  now^increased  to 
five  hundred   acres,   and   this    he    has 
steadily  improved,  not  only  in  its  capac- 
ity for  yielding  crops,  but  in  its  build- 
ings,   fences,  and   orchards.     Its  chief 
crop  is  hay,  of  which  he  cuts  from  sev- 
enty-five to  one  hundred  tons  annually. 
He  winters  from  forty  to  sixty  head  of 
cattle,  and  keeps  from  six  to  ten  horses. 
His    cattle   are    Durham    and    Devon 
grades,    well    adapted   to    his    hillside 
farm.     His  horses  are  of   the   Wilkes 
stock.      Only  a  few  sheep  remain  at 
present  of  what  was  formerly  a  large 
flock.      For   sixty-five  years  the   farm 
has  produced  a  crop  of  wheat,  some- 
times amounting  to  one  hundred  bush- 
els ;  and  in   1869  he  received  a  silver 
medal  for  the  best  wheat  from  the  New 
Hampshire  Agricultural  Society.     Corn, 
beans,  potatoes,  and  vegetables  enough 
are  raised  on  the  farm  for  home  con- 
sumption.     There     is   much   valuable 
wood   and  timber  land  on  the  estate. 
Mr.  Cogswell  requires  the    services  of 
two  assistants  through  the  whole  year, 
and  during  the  haying  and  harvest  sea- 
sons of  as  many  as  are  available.  There 
is  a  system    in  all  his  farm  operations, 
and  for  the  last  ten  years  that  of  calling 
ten   hours'  labor  a  day's  work  on   his 
farm  has  been  in  force.     This  is  true 
even  in  haying  weather.     His  men  are 
always  well  treated,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  it  is  considered  very  desirable 
to  obtain  work  on  the  Cogswell  farm. 

Mr.    Cogswell  was  one  of   the  first 
members  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture, 


i84 


Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell. 


and  served  two  years,  and  as 
his  successor  named  Professor  Jere- 
miah W.  Sanborn,  who  has  since 
done  so  much  to  elevate  the  farm  and 
the  farmer.  He  was  President  of  the 
Belknap  County  Agricultural  Society  in 
1883  and  in  1884,  and  was  a  charter 
member  of  Crystal  Lake  Grange,  num- 
ber one  hundred  and  one.  Patrons  of 
Husbandry,  of  Gilmanton  Iron  Works, 
and  has  been  its  Lecturer  since  its  for- 
mation. He  takes  especial  pride  in  his 
horses,  for  one  of  which  he  took  the 
first  prize  at  the  New  England  Fair  a 
few  years  since.  His  farm,  as  a  whole, 
is  one  of  the  best  in  the  town  of  Gilman- 
ton, and  is  excelled  by  only  a  few  in 
the  State.  It  is  good,  strong  land,  and 
is  very  carefully  cultivated. 

CITIZEN. 

Mr.  Cogswell  was  commissioned  col- 
onel by  Governor  Weston.  His  fight- 
ing rank  was  captain,  won  on  the  field 
of  battle  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years, 
and  very  acceptable  to  him  when  used 
in  addressing  him  by  an  old  comrade 
of  army  days.  The  Colonel  is  a  very 
generous  man  to  his  needy  townsmen. 
Many  good  men  are  ready  to  help  the 
"  Lord's  poor  ;  "  Colonel  Cogswell  al- 
ways has  a  kind  word  and  a  helping 
hand  and  purse  for  that  other  kind  of 
poor  not  so  often  in  high  favor.  A  ten- 
dollar  bill,  given  or  loaned  at  times  by 
him,  has  saved  many  a  poor  fellow  from 
trouble  and  distress  of  a  serious  nature. 
The  Colonel  is  public-spirited.  He 
supports  all  measures  calculated  to  bet- 
ter his  immediate  locality,  his  native 
town,  the  State,  or  the  nation.  The 
village  at  the  Iron  Works  has  been  im- 
proved and  the  value  of  property  en- 
hanced by  his  efforts  with  others  in 
erecting  there    a    shoe   factory,    which 


gives  employment  to  above  one  hundred 
operatives.     His  large  house  is  the  home 
for  the  whole  family  of  Cogswells  where- 
ever  scattered,  and   his  many  personal 
friends  are  there  hospitably  entertained. 
For  many  years  he    has  been   a   liberal 
supporter  of  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Gilmanton  Iron  Works,  of  which  so- 
ciety he  is  a  member,  and  he  attends 
meeting  regularly    every  Sunday.     He 
is  a  member  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee, which  has  charge  of  a  fund  of  some 
I3500.     He  is  not  bigoted  in  his  relig- 
ious views,  however,  but  contributes  to 
the  support   of   the  gospel  in  all  the 
neighboring  churches.     He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  John   L.   Perley,    Jr.,    Post, 
No.  37,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Laconia,  and  has 
frequently  been  called  upon  to  deliver 
Memorial    Day    addresses.       He     is    a 
member  of  the  Winnipisseogee  Lodge, 
F.  and  A.  Masons,  of   Alton,  and  for 
two  years  was  Master  of   the  Lodge. 
He  possesses  a  retentive  memory  and 
is  an  eloquent  speaker,  his  off-hand  ad- 
dresses being  especially  pleasing  to  his 
audiences.     He  is  a  storehouse  of  facts 
relating  to  the  early  history  of  Gilman- 
ton and  its  pioneers,  and  is  especially 
interested  in  genealogies  and  subjects 
of  antiquarian  interest.     He  is  a  man 
of  large  frame,  large  head,  large  heart, 
popular   with  all  who  know    him    and 
with  all  who'can  appreciate  a  thoroughly 
good  fellow.     In  the  entertainment  of 
company  at  his  hospitable  home  he  is 
ably  seconded  by  his  bright  and  viva- 
cious wife,  who   heartily  enters  into  all 
plans  and  aspirations  of  the  Colonel's 
life. 

ANCESTRY.* 

The  Cogswell  family  of  America  can 
trace  their  descent  from  John  Cogswell, 

-*Large'y  compiled  from  -'The  Cogs- 


wells of  America."  by  E.  O.  Jameson. 


Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell. 


1S5 


the  emigrant  ancestor,  who  came  to  this 
country  with  his  wife  and  family 'in  1635 
and  settled  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts. 

I.  John  Cogswfxl,  son  of  Edward 
and  Alice  Cogswell,  and  grandson  of 
Robert  and  Alicia  Cogswell,  was  born 
in  1592  in  Westbury  Leigh,  County  of 
Wilts,  England.  His  father  and  his 
grandfather  and  his  ancestors  for  gener- 
ations had  been  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  woollen  cloths  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  his  birthplace  ;  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Cogswell  family  continue  to 
this  day  making  cloth  in  the  same  local- 
ity. He  married,  September  10,  16 15, 
Elizabeth  Thompson,  daughter  of  Rev. 
William  and  Phillis  Thompson,  and  set- 
tled down  in  the  old  homestead.  His 
parents  died  soon  after  his  marriage, 
and  he  succeeded  to  the  business.  This 
business  he  carried  on  successfully  for  a 
score  of  years,  when  he  was  impelled 
to  migrate  with  his  family.  Those  were 
troublesome  times  in  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  the  tide  of  emigration  had  al- 
ready commenced  to  flow  towards  the 
New  England  coast.  With  his  wife, 
the  daughter  of  the  parish  vicar  of 
Westbury  Leigh,  and  eight  of  their  nine 
children,  he  embarked  May  23,  1635, 
at  Bristol,  England,  on  the  ship  Angel 
Gabriel,  to  find  the  home  of  religious 
freedom  in  the  new  world.  He  had 
previously  disposed  of  his  "  mylls,  "  his 
houses,  his  land,  and  his  business,  and 
took  with  him  several  farm  and  house- 
hold servants,  an  amount  of  valuable 
furniture,  farming  implements,  house- 
keeping utensils,  and  a  considerable 
sum  of  money.  After  a  very  long  pas- 
sage the  vessel  approached  the  harbor 
of  Pemaquid,  on  the  coast  of  Maine, 
when,  within  sight  of  their  haven,  they 
were  overtaken  by  a  fearful  gale,  which 
made  a  wreck  of  the  Angel  Gabriel  and 
caused  the  loss  of  much  of  Mr.  Cogs- 


well's property.  The  whole  family, 
however,  reached  the  shore  in  safety. 
Mr.  Cogswell  soon  after  settled  in  Ips- 
wich, where  he  became  a  leading  citizen, 
and  died  full  of  years  and  honors,  No- 
vember 29,  1869.  Mrs.  Cogswell,  who 
"  was  a  woman  of  sterling  qualities  and 
dearly  beloved  by  all  wlx)  knew  her," 
died,  June  2,  1676. 

II.  William  Cogswell,  eldest  son 
of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Thompson) 
Cogswell,  was  baptized  in  March,  1619, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  America. 
He  settled  on  the  home  place  in  Ips- 
wich, now  in  the  town  of  Essex,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  an  influential  and 
highly  respected  citizen.  He  married, 
in  1649,  Susanna  Hawkes,  daughter  of 
Adam  and  Mrs,  Anne  (Hutchinson) 
Hawkes.  She  was  born  in  1633,  in 
Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  and  died 
in  1696.     He  died  December  15,  1700. 

III.  Lieutenant  John  Cogswell, 
son  of  William  and  Susanna  (Hawkes) 
Cogswell,  was  born  May  12,  1665,  in 
Chebacco,  Ipswich,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death.  He  was  called  to  fill  various 
public  offices  in  the  town  and  was  a 
member  of  the  church.  He  married 
before  1693  Hannah  Goodhue,  daugh- 
ter of  Deacon  William,  Jr.,  and  Han- 
nah (Dane)  Goodhue.  He  died  in 
1 710.  Mrs.  Cogswell,  born  July  4, 
1673,  ^ft^""  ^'''*^  death  of  her  first  hus- 
band married  in  1713  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Perley.  She  died  December 
25,  1742. 

IV.  Nathaniel  Cogswell,  son  of 
Lieutenant  John  and  Hannah  (Good- 
hue) Cogswell,  was  born  January  19, 
1 707,  in  Chebacco  Parish,  Ipswich.  He 
was  three  years  old  when  his  father 
died  and  in  earlv  bovhood  entered  a 
store  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  He 
became  a  leading  merchant  and  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  the  town.     He   was  a 


j86 


Hon.  Thomas  Coi^s^vell. 


man  of  integrity  and  business  capacity, 
and  was  a  devoted  and  efficient  member 
of  the  church.  He  married  January 
31,  1740,  Judith  Badger,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Hannah  (Peaslee)  Badger. 
Mrs.  Cogswell  was  the  only  surviving 
daughter  of  her  father,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant of  Haverhill.  She  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1724,  and  died  May  7,  1810. 
After  a  successful  business  life,  Mr. 
Cogswell  retired  in  1766,  and  settled 
upon  a  farm  in  Atkinson,  New  Hamp- 
shire. He  at  once  became  active  in 
religious  and  educational  matters  in  the 
town.  During  the  Revolutionary  War 
his  patriotism  was  declared  by  large 
loans  of  money  to  provide  equipments 
and  provisions  for  the  soldiers.  These 
loans  of  money,  by  reason  of  a  depre- 
ciated currency,  proved  almost  a  total 
loss.  Besides  providing  money  Mr. 
Cogswell  gave  eight  sons  to  the  army 
who  served  with  distinction  and  fulfilled 
an  aggregate  term  of  service  of  more 
than  thirty-eight  years.  The  aggregate 
height  of  these  eight  brothers  was  about 
fifty  feet.  They  all  survived  the  war  and 
became  prominent  in  professional  and 
civil  life.     Mr.  Cogswell  died  March  23, 

1783- 

V.  Dr.  William  Cogswell,  son  of 
Nathaniel  and  Judith  (Badger)  Cogs- 
well, was  born  July  11,  1760,  in  Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution  he  entered  the 
army  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  enlist- 
ing in  the  company  commanded  by  his 
older  brother,  Captain  Thomas  Cogs- 
well, in  Colonel  Baldwin's  regiment.  He 
served  through  the  year  1776.  For  the 
next  year  he  studied  medicine  and  sur- 
gery with  Dr.  Nathaniel  Peabody,  at 
Atkinson.  In  1 7  78  he  served  with  Gen- 
eral Sullivan  in  Rhode  Island.  Havins: 
completed  his  medical  studies  he  was 
appointed,    July    19,    1781,    surgeon's 


mate  in  the  Military  Hospital  at  West 
Point.  'January  5,  1784,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  surgeon-in- 
chief  of  the  hospital,  and  chief  medical 
officer  of  the  United  States  Army, 
June  20,  1784.  Dr.  Cogswell  resigned 
September  i,  1785,  after  five  years'  ser- 
vice, married,  and  settled  in  Atkinson, 
where  he  continued  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  until  his  death,  nearly 
half  a  century  later.  He  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Medical  Society,  which  was 
incorporated  in  1 791,  and  was  appointed 
one  of  its  nineteen  Fellows  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  Many  medical  students 
were  under  his  instruction.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  Atkinson  Acad- 
emy, and  a  member  and  President  of 
its  Board  of  Trustees  for  many  years. 
He  gave  the  land  on  which  the  Acad- 
emy was  erected.  He  married,  July  22, 
1786,  Judith  Badger,  daughter  of  Gen- 
eral Joseph  and  Hannah  (Pearson) 
Badger,  of  Gilmanton.  She  was  born 
May  15,  1766,  and  died  September  30, 
1859.  Dr.  Cogswell  died  January  i, 
1 83 ijleaving  behind  him  a  distinguished 
family  of  children.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters was  the  wife  of  Governor  William 
Badger. 

VI.  Honorable  Thomas  Cogswell, 
son  of  Dr.  William  and  Judith  (Badger) 
Cogswell,  and  father  of  Honorable 
Thomas  Cogswell,  of  Gilmanton,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  Decem- 
ber 7,  1798,  in  Atkinson.  He  married, 
February  25,  1820,  Mary  Noyes,  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Mary  (Weston) 
Noyes,  and  settled  and  resided  in  Gil- 
manton until  his  death,  nearly  fifty  years 
later.  He  was  an  extensive  farmer, 
owning  the  homestead  of  his  maternal 
grandfather,  General  Joseph  Badger, 
which  he  increased  to  one  thousand 
acres.     He  was  a  man  of   great  influ. 


Hon.  Lycurgiis  Pitman. 


187 


ence  in  the  town  and  State.  Mr,  Cogs- 
well was  justice  of  the  peace  some 
forty  years,  county  treasurer,  deputy 
sheriff,  selectman,  representative,  judge 
of  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  1841- 
1855,  of  Belknap  county,  member  of 
the  Governor's  Council  in  1856,  trustee 
of  Gilmanton  Academy  and  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  and  deacon  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Gilmanton  Iron 
Works.  For  many  years  he  was  mod- 
erator of  that  stormy  legislative  assem- 
bly, the  annual  town-meeting,  and  his 
voice  always  commanded  the  attention 
and  respect  of  that  critical  and  exact- 
ing body  of  citizens. 


Mrs.  Cogswell  was  born  in  Plaistow, 
April  25,  1 80 1.  She  died  May  3,  1886. 
Mr.  Cogswell  died  August  8,  1868. 

VII.  Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell,  son 
of  Hon.  Thomas  and  Mary  (Noyes) 
Cogswell,  was  born  February  8,  1841, 
in  Gilmanton.  He  married,  October  8, 
1873,  Florence  Mooers,  daughter  of 
Reuben  D.  and  Betsey  S.  (Currier) 
Mooers.  She  was  born  July  21,  1851, 
in  Manchester,  N.  H. 

CHILDREN. 

Anna  Mooers,  born  Sept.  17,  1874. 
Thomas,  born  November  23,  1875, 
Clarence  Noyes,  born  Nov.  3,  1877. 


The  firm  of  James  R.  Hill  &  Co. 
have  lately  been  obliged  to  enlarge  their 
accommodations  in  the  city  of  Concord 
foi  the  manufacture  of  their  Concord 
Harness,  so  much  has  their  business  in- 
creased. This  is  no  doubt  owing  to 
their  judicious  advertising  in  the  pages 


of  the  Gr-«^ite  Monthly.  The  addi- 
tion to  their  premises  is  a  two  story 
brick  block,  already  fully  occupied  by 
their  skilled  workmen  making  harness 
for  every  land  and  every  people  the  sun 
shines  upon. 


HON.   LYCURGUS  PITMAN. 


BY  F.  B.  OSGOOD,  ESQUIRE. 


Hon.  Lycurgus  Pitman,  of  North 
Conway,  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Senator  in  the  Grafton  District,  Num- 
ber 2,  is  a  young  man  of  great  business 
ability,  always  ready  to  forward  any  en- 
terprise that  may  be  beneficial  to  the 
town  or  to  the  State.  He  is  the  son  of 
G.  W.  M.  Pitman,  a  lawyer  of  northern 
New  Hampshire,  and  Emeline  Pitman, 
and  was  born  in  Bartlett  April  9,  184S. 
He  received  his  education  at  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  town  and 
North  Conway,  and  as  a  young  man 
was     for    several    terms   a   successful 


teacher  of  youth.  He  finally  embarked 
in  business  in  1870  as  a  pharmacist  and 
settled  in  North  Conway.  He  is  an 
earnest  Democrat,  prominent  in  his 
party  and  ready  to  promote  its  interests 
in  all  legitimate  ways.  As  a  neighbor 
and  townsman  he  is  open  handed  and 
generous  ;  no  one,  irrespective  of  patty, 
ever  called  on  him  for  assistance  in 
vain.  His  circle  of  acquaintances,  both 
in  and  out  of  the  State,  is  large  ;  and 
no  one  in  tliis  section  is  better  or  more 
favorably  known  than  he  to  the  many 
tourists  who  annually  visit  the    White 


i88 


Hon.  Hosea  B.  Carter. 


Hills,  and  no  one  stands  higher  as  a 
man,  a  citizen,  and  a  gentleman,  among 
his  friends  and  intimates. 

He  was  married  December  25,  1S70, 
to  Lizzie  I.  Merrill,  and  their  home  is 
graced  by  three  daughters,  the  oldest 
fourteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  Pitman 
was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  North 
Conway  &  Mt.  Kearsarge  Railroad,  is 
one  of  the  directors,  and  is  clerk  of 
the  corporation. 


During  the  last  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature Hon.  Harry  Bingham  represented 
the  district  in  the  Senate,  receiving 
3,074  votes,  a  plurality  of  697  over  his 
Republican  antagonist,  Joseph  M.  Jack- 
man,  so  we  may  naturally  infer  that  Mr. 
Pitman's  chances  of  election  are  well 
assured.  Mr.  Pitman  is  a  genial,  whole 
souled  citizen,  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fel- 
low, and  a  Knight  of  Pythias. 


HON.  HOSEA  B.   CARTER. 


Hosea  B.  Carter;  Democratic  candi- 
date for  State  Senator  in  District  Num  • 
ber  21,  is  a  resident  of  Harapstead, 
where  he  was  born  September  5,  1834. 
His  education  was  obtained  at  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  he  was  master  of  a 
good  trade  when  he  came  of  age.  Tiring 
of  home  life  he  got  employment  as  a 
canvasser,  meeting  with  fair  success. 
During  the  war  he  was  active  in  helping 
towns  fill  their  quotas,  and  in  1862  was 
keeping  a  hotel  at  Camp  Stanton,  Box- 
ford,  Mass.  Thence  he  went  to  Can- 
ada in  the  interests  of  the  secret  ser- 
vice, and  had  the  pleasure  of  attending 
the  Peace  Conference  at  the  Clifton 
House  in  1864.  He  was  at  Montreal 
and  St.  Johns  during  the  rebel  raid  into 
Vermont,  the  following  year  was  an  im- 
portant witness  in  the  Mrs.  Surratt  trial 
in  Washington.  From  1865  to  1870 
he  was  superintendent  of  agencies  for 
New  England  for  the  Singer  Sewing 
Machine  Co.  In  1872  he  opened  a 
store  for  a  short  time  in  Concord,  and 
that  same  year  he  became  a  disciple  of 
Ruel  Durkee,  obtaining  active  employ- 
ment in  the  lobby.  In  1876  he  divided 
the  State  into  councillor  and  senatorial 
Districts,    giving  the   Republican  party 


four  of  the  five  councillors  and  eight  of 
the  twelve  senators.  In  1879  he  drew 
up  the  apportionment  bill,  displaying  his 
statesmanship  on  that  occasion,  for  the 
bill  gives  the  Democratic  towns  a  vote 
in  the  legislature  in  off  years,  while  the 
Republican  towns  are  fully  represented 
when  a  United  States  Senator  is  to  be 
chosen.  He  was  also  the  author  of  the 
bill  dividmg  the  State  into  24  Districts, 
giving  the  Republicans  sixteen  senators. 
In  iSSo  he  was  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials  in  the  Republi- 
can State  Convention,  and  the  next  day 
held  the  same  ofiice  in  the  Democratic 
State  Convention.  He  was  postmaster 
at  Hampstead  from  1874  to  1879,  rail- 
road commissioner  for  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railroad  from  1876  to  1880. 
He  is  married  and  has  two  children  and 
four  grandchildren.  His  wife  was  Kate 
E.  Martin,  of  Malone,  N.  Y.  He  was 
publishing  in  Haverhill  in  1880  when 
he  was  burned  out  by  the  great  fire ; 
since  then  he  has  represented  a  St. 
Louis  Safe  Co.  He  is  remarkable  for 
his  knowledge  of  men  and  figures,  and 
if  elected  to  the  Senate  will  be  a  heavy 
weight. 


New  Hampshire  Fire  Insurance  Company. 


i8<) 


NE^W  BUILDING  OF  THE  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  FIRE 
INSURANCE  COMPANY. 


***'V7<*C. 


This  engraving  gives  but  a  slight  idea 
of  the  sound,  solid,  and  substantial  fire- 
proof building  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Fire  Insurance  Company  at  Manches- 
ter. The  new  building  just  completed 
is  30  feet  front  and  100  feet  deep,  situ- 
ate on  the  west  side  of  Elm  Street, 
nearly  opposite  the  office  formerly  oc- 
cupied by  the  Company.  The  front  is 
Nova  Sc(  tia  sandstone  lined  with  brick, 
the  facade  being  of  a  modified  Queen 


Anne  style  of  architecture.  The  walls 
are  of  brick,  20  inches  in  thickness. 
The  floors  and  roof  are  12  inches  thick, 
and  of  the  most  solid  description. 
They  are  built  of  spruce  plank,  placed 
side  by  side  and  spiked  together,  and 
both  underneath  and  above  this  plank- 
ing is  a  wire  lathing  and  layer  of  asbes- 
tos paper.  The  first  floor  and  base- 
ment are  leased  by  a  dry  goods  estab- 
lishment at  a  rental  that  pays  the  Com- 
pany fair  interest  on  the  investment. 

The  northerly  entrance  leads  by  an 
easy  flight  of  stairs  to  the  second  story, 
where  is  found  a  permanent  home  for 
the  Company.  Competent  judges  pro- 
nounce it  one  of  the  best  arranged, 
best  lighted  and  ventilated  insurance 
offices  in  the  country,  specially  adapted 
to  the  growing  wants  of  the  Company. 
The  ofiice,  or  working  room,  is  100 
feet  long  by  30  wide,  14  feet  stud.  The 
front  is  lighted  by  one  plate  glass  vvin- 
dow,  8x10  feet  in  size,  and  two,  5x8 
feet,  and  the  rear  in  a  similar  way,  and 
supplemented  by  two  large  turret  sky- 
lights, furnishing  the  room  with  a  flood 
of  light.  Four  handsomely  finished 
fire-places,  one  in  each  corner,  furnish 
ample  ventilation  to  this  story.  Over 
these  fire-places  are  handsome  mantles 
and  large  plate  glass  mirrors.  This 
story  is  also  amply  supplied  with  lava- 
tories, closets  and  coat  rooms,  most 
conveniently  arranged.  Upon  the  south 
wall  of  the  ofiice  is«a  row  of  cherry 
casings,  65  feet  long  and  14  feet  high, 
divided  into  two  sections,  provided  with 
sliding  glass  doors,  and  shelves  and 
pigeon-holes  to  accommodate  the  accu- 
mulation  of   records  and  other  docu- 


/po 


Nathaniel  E.  Martin. 


ments.  The  upper  section  is  reached 
1)y  means  of  a  narrow  balcony  provided 
with  a  hand  rail.  All  of  the  officers 
and  clerks  of  the  Company  have  desks 
in  this  room,  each  department  of  the 
business  being  arranged  by  itself.  The 
desk  at  which  the  local  business  of  the 
Company  is  transacted  occupies  a  space 
upon  the  north  side  of  the  building,  and 
the  other  desks  are  ranged  in  order  in 
the  south  side  of  the  room.  The  office 
is  finished  in  whitewood  with  cherry 
trimmings,  and  the  desks  are  of  solid 
black  walnut.  The  third  story  room  is 
reached  from  the  main  office,  and  will 
be  used  by  the  Company  for  the  storing 
of  records,  etc.  This  room  is  54  feet 
in  depth. 

The  plans  for  the  building  were  pre- 
pared by  Col.  J.    T.  Fanning,  and  the 


building  has  been  constructed  under 
the  personal  direction  of  the  architect. 
Head  &  Dowst  were  the  contractors. 
The  building  is  heated  thoroughly  by 
steam  from  a  large  boiler  located  in  the 
basement.  The  work  throughout  is  of 
a  character  to  reflect  the  utmost  credit 
upon  those  by  whom  it  was  performed. 
The  building  in  its  manner  of  construc- 
tion is  a  new  departure  for  the  city  and 
State,  being  the  first  absolutely  fire- 
proof structure  of  the  kind  to  be 
erected.  It  will  undoubtedly  mark  a 
new  era  in  the  construction  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  mercantile  blocks  in  New 
Hampshire.  Here  in  their  new  home 
the  Company  solicit  increased  business 
and  will  gladly  welcome  agents,  patrons, 
members  of  the  insurance  fraternity, 
and  all  who  will  make  a  friendly  call. 


NATHANIEL  E.  MARTIN. 


Nathaniel  E.  Martin,  Democratic 
candidate  for  Solicitor  of  Merrimack 
county,  is  a  widely  and  favorably  known 
young  lawyer  of  Concord,  whose  en- 
ergy, solid  legal  attainments  and  faith- 
fulness to  the  interests  of  his  clients 
have  been  rapidly  advancing  him  in  the 
estimation  of  the  business  men  of  the 
State.  He  has  already  built  up  a  very 
extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  and 
commands  the  respect  of  the  whole 
community.  His  paternal  ancestors 
were  among  the  first  settlers  of  London- 
derry. Nathaniel  Martin  and  his  son, 
William  Martin,  migrated  from  the  north 
of  Ireland  and  settled  in  Londonderry 
in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. James  Martin,  the  son  of  Wil- 
liam Martin,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Conti- 
nental army  during  the  Revolution,  and 
settled  on  Buck  Street,  in  the  town  of 
Pembroke.     Gov.  Noah  Martin  was  a 


descendant  of  his.  Nathaniel  Martin, 
a  son  of  James  Martin  and  grandfather 
of  Nathaniel  E.  Martin  settled  in  Lou- 
don in  1808. 

Nathaniel  E.  Martin,  son  of  Theoph- 
ilus  B.  and  Sarah  L.  (Rowell)  Martin, 
was  born  in  Loudon,  August  9,  1855  ; 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  town  and  in  the  Concord 
High  School,  his  family  having  moved 
to  Concord  in  1870;  read  law  with 
Tappan  &  Albin,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1879. 

From  the  first  he  has  been  a  perse- 
vering and  industrious  lawyer,  winning 
many  friends  and  keeping  them.  By 
his  brother  lawyers  he  is  considered  well 
read,  and  he  has  one  of  the  finest  pri- 
vate legal  libraries  in  the  State.  He 
has  been  called  upon  to  settle  many  es- 
tates, and  with  his  partner,  John  H.  Al- 
bin, Esquire,  he  enjoys  his  share  of  the 


C apt.  John  McClintock. 


191 


legal  business  of  Concord  and  Merri-  an  officer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 

mack  county.     Mr.  Martin  is  well  read  Hampshire.     We  regret  to  add  that  Mr. 

on  a  great  variety  of  subjects  outside  Martin  is  still  a  bachelor,  but  that  is  a 

of  his  profession,  and  has  developed  a  fault  which  we  hope  may  be  soon  cor- 

taste  for  historical   studies  which  he  is  rected,  and  he  need  not  go  outside  of 

cultivating.     He  is  an  Odd   Fellow,  a  Merrimack    county    to    choose    a    fair 

Past  Grand  of  a  Concord  Lodge  and  bride. 


CAPT.  JOHN  McCLINTOCK. 


We  cannot  but  regret  the  loss  of  a 
life  in  youth  and  middle  age,  but  when 
the  allotted  span  of  life  is  fully  com- 
pleted, we  bow  to  the  inexorable  law  of 
nature  and  lay  our  loved  ones  away 
with  their  kindred,  shed  tears  over  their 
graves,  and  build  a  monument  to  per- 
petuate their  memory.  A  man's  life, 
however,  is  but  a  single  link  in  the  fam- 
ily history,  in  the  countless  generations 
which  have  preceded  him,  and  in  the 
generations  which  will  live  after  him. 
His  acts  and  his  character  make  an  im- 
pression on  his  surroundings  ;  and  as 
his  forefathers  are  in  great  measure  re- 
sponsible for  his  personality,  so  also  he 
impresses  and  stamps  his  descendants 
with  qualities  and  characteristics  pecu- 
liar to  himself.  In  sketching  a  man's 
life,  therefore,  it  is  but  just  to  give  the 
meagre  details  obtainable  of  his  fore- 
fathers, their  surroundings,  their  actions, 
and  their  character. 

The  origin  of  the  McClintock  family 
is  lost  in  antiquity.  The  coat-of-arms 
of  the  Irish  branch  translated  means 
that  some  member  of  the  family  went 
on  several  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land 
and  was  in  command  of  a  body  of 
horsemen  in  two  or  more  of  the  cru- 
sades. The  ermine  indicates  the  descent 
of  the  family  from  royalty.  The  motto 
is  Virtuie  et  Lahore.  The  family  is  of 
Scotch  origin.     In  the  north  of  Ireland, 


where  a  branch  of  the  family  has  been 
settled  for  over  three  hundred  years, 
there  are  six  distinct  families  of  the 
name  enumerated  with  the  English  gen- 
try. The  best  known  of  this  branch  is 
Sir  Francis  Leopold  McClintock,  the 
Arctic  explorer,  who  discovered  the 
traces  and  fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin's 
expedition. 

I.  William  McClintock,  the  progen- 
itor of  the  New  England  branch  of  the 
family,  was  born  in  Scotland  about  1670, 
migrated  at  an  early  age  to  the  north  of 
Ireland,  and  was  engaged  in  the  mem- 
orable defense  of  Londonderry  in  1689. 
He  came  to  America  about  1730  and 
settled  in  Medford,  Mass.,  before  1732. 
He  was  an  industrious  farmer,  busy  with 
Scotch  thrift  in  increasing  his  property, 
and  not  entering  into  the  politics  of  the 
day.  He  was  married  three  times  be- 
fore migrating,  and  his  third  wife  ac- 
companied him  to  New  England.  He 
was  married  a  fourth  time  in  this  coun- 
try, was  the  father  of  nineteen  children, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  ninety,  about 
1760.  He  belonged  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  and  was  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  Samuel  McClintock,  d.  d.,  of 
Greenland,  N,  H.,  an  ancestor  of  the 
Rev.  John  McClintock,  d.  d.,  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  of  the  New  Hampshire 
branch  of  the  family. 

II.  William    McClintock    and     his 


ig2 


Cap/.  John  McClintock. 


wife,  Jane,  settled  in  Medford  for  a  few 
years  after  their  marriage.  Upon  her 
death  he  moved  to  Boothbay,  in  the 
District  of  Maine,  where  he  married 
Margaret  Fullerton,  March  ii,  1770, 
the  New  Hampshire  Legislature  voted 
"giving  leave  to  William  McClintock, 
of  Boothbay,  in  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, to  export  70  bushels  of  corn  for 
said  Boothbay."  He  died  June  3, 
1779,  aged  49  years,  of  yellow  fever. 

HI.  William  McClintock,  born  in 
Boothbay  September  26,  1778,  com- 
menced his  sea-faring  life  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  and  pursued  that  calling  for 
forty  years.  In  i  798  he  was  mate  with 
Capt.  Dickey,  in  the  schooner  Hester, 
bound  to  Bristol  from  the  West  Indies. 
She  was  captured  August  18  by  a  French 
privateer  and  a  prize  crew  put  aboard. 
The  vessel  was  recovered  by  her  old 
crew,  who  overpowered  their  captors 
and  completed  her  voyage  to  Bristol. 
The  Frenchmen  accepted  the  situation 
so  gracefully  and  behaved  so'  well  that 
the  intention  was  not  to  deliver  them 
up  to  the  authorities,  but  they  were 
found  out  and  lodged  in  Wiscasset  jail. 
While  there  Capt.  McClintock  supplied 
the  officer  with  clothing  and  made  him 
as  comfortable  as  possible.  On  a  sub- 
sequent voyage,  while  master  of  the 
sloop  Hunter,  Capt.  McClintock  was 
overhauled  by  a  French  privateer,  who 
boarded  him  in  his  own  boat.  The  of- 
ficer no  sooner  stepped  on  deck  than 
he  seized  the  captain,  hugged  and  kissed 
him,  and  began  to  inquire  for  people  in 
Bristol.  He  was  his  old  friend,  the 
prize  officer  of  the  Hester,  who  suffered 
him  and  his  vessel  to  go  in  peace. 

In  October,  1800,  while  master  of 
the  sloop  Hunter,  from  the  West  Indies 
to  Bristol,  Capt.  McClintock  providen- 
tially rescued  from  death  a  portion  of 
the  crew  of  the  Galgo,  a  wrecked  Brit- 


ish sloop-of-war.  Of  121  but  29  were 
saved.  A  few  days  later,  October  12, 
the  Hunter  was  hove  to  by  an  armed 
vessel  under  Spanish  colors  that  took 
two  puncheons  of  rum  from  the  cargo, 
robbed  the  vessel  of  spare  cordage, 
twine,  arms  and  other  things,  and  left 
her.  Next  day  the  same  cruiser  hove 
the  Hunter  to  again  and  took  another 
puncheon  of  rum,  leaving  word  that  if 
he  fell  in  with  the  vessel  the  next  day 
he  would  take  two  more.  What  the 
real  character  of  this  queer  craft  was 
Capt.  McClintock  never  knew,  but  he 
was  certainly  what  the  sailors  call  "a 
rum  customer."  Probably  he  was  one 
of  those  cruisers  that  were  either  priva- 
teer or  pirate,  as  opportunity  offered. 
For  some  years  Capt.  McClintock  sailed 
a  sloop  packet  between  Ireland  and  the 
United  States. 

Capt  McClintock  enjoyed  the  high- 
est respect  and  confidence  of  all  with 
whom  he  was  associated  in  business,  and 
was  a  remarkably  successful  commander. 
No  vessel  under  his  command  was 
wrecked  or  seriously  damaged.  In  the 
intervals  of  his  sea  life  Capt.  McClin- 
tock filled  various  offices  of  trust  con- 
ferred by  his  fellow  citizens.  His  pro- 
ficiency in  mathematics  was  such  that 
when  disputes  arose  between  the  pro- 
prietors of  Bristol  and  the  settlers  he 
was  selected  as  referee,  and  made  a 
survey  of  the  whole  town,  which  quieted 
the  differences  and  marks  the  bounda- 
ries of  lots  to  this  day.  He  held  jus- 
tice commissions  from  Gov.  Gerry  in 
1810  and  from  Gov.  Brooks  in  1817. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature  in  1809,  iSio  and 
181 1.  When  Maine  separated  from 
Massachusetts  in  1820,  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  that  formed  a 
constitution  for  the  new  State.  He  was 
twice  a  member  of  the  Maine  Legisla- 


Capt.  John  AfcC/intock. 


193 


ture,  the  last  time  in  1835.  He  held  a 
commission  in  the  custom  house  under 
Collectors  Farley  and  McCobb.  Capt. 
McClintock  was  a  man  of  deep  religious 
feeling.  It  was  his  custcm  'O  have 
daily  prayers  on  board  his  vessel,  and 
to  discourage  profanity  and  every  form 
of  irreligion  and  vice.  A  man  of  tem- 
perate life  and  regular  habits,  he  enjoyed 
vigorous  health  almost  to  his  latest  days, 
and  his  mental  faculties' were  strong  and 
clear  to  the  last.  To  such  a  man  death 
could  have  neither  terrors  nor  pangs.  ■ 
In  calmness  he  awaited  the  hour  of  dis- 
solution. He  died  March  18,  1875,  in 
his  ninety-seventh  year.  [The  above 
account  of  Capt.  William  xMcClintock 
is  condensed  from  an  article  in  the  Re- 
publican Journal,  of  Belfast,  Me.] 

He  was  very  much  interested  in  his- 
torical subjects,  and  his  retentive  mem- 
ory was  stored  with  facts  and  traditions. 
A  delegation  of  the  Maine  Historical 
Society  visited  him  after  he  was  eighty 
years  of  age  and  gained  many  impor- 
tant  facts  from  oblivion.  With  his 
young  grandson  he  would  start  off  for 
a  week's  cruise  over  the  winding  roads 
of  the  old  town  of  Bristol,  and  would 
make  every  moment  interesting  by  sto- 
ries and  legends.  Old  Pemaquid  was 
a  source  of  never  failing  interest  to 
him,  and  all  the  inlets  and  points  about 
the  bay  were  crowded  with  memories. 
He  always  maintained  that  the  settle- 
ment founded  at  the  old  fort  before 
Jamestown  was  settled  was  permanent 
and  therefore  first  in  the  thirteen  colo- 
nies. Many  historians  and  antiquarians 
now  believe  as  he  did.  The  old  tomb- 
stone at  the  fort  dated  1694  is  of  one 
of  his  ancestors. 

IV.  John  McClintock,  born  in  Bris- 
tol, Maine,  April  9,  1807,  died  in  Chel- 
sea, September  8,  1886.  He  was  the 
second    son    of    William    and    Francis 


(Young)  McClintock,  and  on  his  moth- 
er's side  a  direct  descendant  of  John 
Rogers,  the  martyr.  His  boyhood  was 
passed  on  his  father's  farm  and  on 
the  adjacent  ocean,  and  he  was  at  home 
on  either.  His  education  was  received 
at  the  district  schoolhouse,  and  so  well 
did  he  improve  his  opportunities  that 
he  taught  school  seven  winters  while  a 
young  man.  His  natural  bent  was  to 
follow  the  sea,  and  soon  after  he  was 
twenty-one  he  was  in  command  of  a 
coaster.  In  1833  he  bought  an  interest 
in  the  Eliza,  the  first  of  a  long  list  of 
vessels  of  which  he  owned  a  part. 
There  was  the  Increase,  the  Mary  and 
Susan,  Araxene,  Briganza,  Genesee, 
Narcoochee,  Roderick  Dhu,  Medal- 
lion, Dashaway,  Harry  Hammond, 
Clara  and  Hattie — making  his  last  voy- 
age in  the  latter  vessel  in  1880, — anal- 
most  continuous  sea  service  of  fifty- 
three  years.  During  those  years  he 
had  several  times  circumnavigated  the 
globe  and  has  been  into  nearly  every 
foreign  and  domestic  port.  He  was  a 
very  fortunate  ship  master,  never  hav- 
ing lost  a  vessel. 

He  was  a  skilful  navigator  and  appre- 
ciated the  science  of  taking  advantage 
of  winds  and  currents  to  help  him  on 
his  way.  He  was  popular  with  his 
brother  sea  captains  and  generous  to 
all  in  distress.  He  was  a  very  modest 
man,  shunning  evil,  honorable  in  all  his 
dealings,  scrupulously  honest  in  all  his 
business  relations.  He  was  fond  of 
music,  a  game  of  whist,  a  good  story, 
and  good  company  generally.  He  was 
deferential  in  his  treatment  of  ladies, 
his  manner  being  courtly,  if  a  little  old- 
fashioned.  He  reveled  in  good  books. 
The  standard  authors,  from  Herodotus 
to  Dickens,  were  familiar  to  him.  He 
found  delight  in  the  conceptions  of  the 
poets,  and  had  such  a  retentive  mem- 


jg4 


Cap/.  John  McClintock. 


ory  that  he  would  quote  page  after  page 
from  his  favorite  author.  His  voyages 
up  the  Mediterranean  Sea  gave  Hfe  to 
the  ancient  writers  whose  works  he  ea- 
gerly read  from  the  best  translations, 
and  he  was  a  critic  on  classical  literature. 
As  a  matter  of  course  he  was  an  ad- 
vanced student  in  mathematics.  One 
winter,  when  he  was  ice-bound,  he  at- 
tended for  several  weeks  the  lectures  at 
a  Connecticut  college,  and  always  re- 
gretted his  lack  of  opportunity  to  take 
the  whole  course. 

As  a  ship  master  he  was  kind  to  his 
men  and  to  his  junior  officers,  helping 
them  to  become  thorough  sailors  and 
navigators.  Young  men  up  the  Ken- 
nebec River  considered  it  a  great  priv- 
ilege to  ship  for  a  voyage  with  Capt. 
McClintock,  and  sometimes  half  a 
dozen  youths  of  good  families  would 
be  in  his  crew.  In  his  prime  he  was  a 
very  athletic  and  powerful  man  physi- 
cally ;  his  muscles  were  of  iron.  His 
chief  officer  once  said  that  the  captain 
could,  single-handed,  handle  the  whole 
crew  of  a  score  or  more  of  men.  He 
was  a  very  strong  man.  He  was  an  in- 
defatigable reader  as  shown  by  his  read- 
ing consecutively  the  whole  of  .A.pple- 


ton's  Encyclopaedia.  As  a  citizen  he 
was  highly  respected  in  Hallowell  where 
he  passed  the  most  of  his  married  life. 
He  was  liberal  to  the  church,  to  fellow- 
mariners,  to  all  in  need  of  aid.  He 
gave  first  and  made  inquiries  afterwards. 

In  the  domestic  relations  Capt.  Mc- 
Clintock was  a  dutiful  and  respectful 
son,  a  brother  ever  thoughtful  of  his 
sisters  and  brothers,  a  devoted  and  af- 
fectionate husband,  proud  of  his  home, 
considerate  in  every  act,  and  a  model 
father,  tender,  loving,  indulgent  and 
forgiving.  He  gave  his  children  the 
benefit  of  true  counsel  and  prudent  ex- 
ample, and  early  inculcated  in  them  the 
principles  of  truthfulness,  sobriety, 
manly  courage,  honor  and  honesty. 
He  placed  a  good  name  above  riches. 
He  encouraged  each  of  them  to  obtain 
a  liberal  education. 

He  was  of  high  rank  in  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  a  Knight  Templar  well  skilled, 
and  an  authority  in  the  usages  and  in 
several  of  the  mystic  rites.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  but  very  liberal 
in  his  creed,  believing  in  the  goodness 
and  justice  of  his  Heavenly  Father. 
(Continued  on  page  240.) 


In  this  age  of  sharp  competition, 
when  every  line  of  business  is  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity,  the  merchant 
must  not  only  fill  his  stores  with  wares 
calculated  to  please  the  people,  in  both 
quality  and  price,  but  he  must  announce 
his  bargains  and  inducements  clearly 
and  forcibly   to   the  community    from 


which  he  expects  his  trade.  We  try  to 
conform  ourselves  to  facts,  and  when 
we  assure  our  readers  that  E.  W.  Wil- 
lard  &  Co.,  Concord,  have  an  extra  nice 
stock,  we  speak  the  plain,  unvarnished 
truth.  Read  their  advertisement  in  this 
number. 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton. 


195 


THE  OLD  STORES  AND  THE  POST-OFFICE  OF  GROTON. 

By  the  Hon.  Samuel  Abbott  Green,  M.D. 


TRAcrnoN  has  preserved  little  or 
nothing  in  regard  to  the  earliest  trading 
stores  of  Groton.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  they  were  kept  in  dwelling- 
houses,  by  the  occupants,  who  sold 
articles  in  common  use  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  neighborhood,  and  at  the 
same  time  pursued  their  regular  voca- 
tions. 

Jonas  Cutler  was  keeping  a  shop  on 
the  site  of  Mr.  Gerrish's  store,  before 
the  Revolution;  and  the  following 
notice,  signed  by  him,  appears  in 
The  Massachusetts  Gazette  (Boston), 
November  28,  1768  :  — 

A   THEFT. 

Whereas  on  the  19th  or  20th  Night  of 
November  Instant,  the  Shop  of  the  Sub- 
scriber was  broke  open  in  Groton,  and 
from  thence  was  stoUen  a  large  Sum  of 
Cash,  viz.  four  Half  Johannes,  two 
Guineas,  Two  Half  Ditto,  One  Pistole 
miird,  nine  Crowns,  a  Considerable  Num- 
ber of  Dollars,  with  a  considerable  Quan- 
tity of  small  Silver  &  Copper,  together 
with  one  Bever  Hat,  about  fifteen  Yards  of 
Holland,  eleven  Bandannas,  blue  Ground 
with  white,  twelve  red  ditto  with  white, 
Part  of  a  Piece  of  Silk  Romails,  i  Pair 
black  Worsted  Hose,  i  strip'd  Cap,  8  or 
10  black  barcelona  Handkerchiefs,  Part 
of  a  Piece  of  red  silver'd  Ribband,  blue  & 
white  do.  Part  of  three  Pieces  of  black 
Sattin  Ribband,  Part  of  three  Pieces  of 
black  Tafferty  ditto,  two  bundles  of 
Razors,  Part  of  2  Dozen  Penknives,  Part 
of  2  Dozen  ditto  with  Seals,  Part  of  i 
Dozen  SnuflF  Boxes,  Part  of  3  Dozen  Shoe 
Buckels,  Part  of  several  Groce  of  Buttons, 
one  Piece  of  gellow  [yellow  ?]   Ribband, 

with  sundry  Articles  not  yet  known  of 

Whoever  will  apprehend  the  said  Thief  or 
Thieves,  so  that  he  or  they  may  be  brought 


to  Justice,  shall  receive  TEN  DOLLARS 
Reward  and  all  necessary  Charges  paid. 

JONAS  CUTLER. 

Groton,  Nov.  22, 1763  [8  ?]. 

^^  If  any  of  the  above  mentioned 
Articles  are  offered  to  Sail,  it  is  desired 
they  may  be  stop'd  with  the  Thief,  and 
Notice  given  to  said  Cutler  or  to  the 
Printers. 

On  October  21,  1773,  a  noted  burg- 
lar was  hanged  in  Boston  for  various 
robberies  committed  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  and  covering  a  period  of 
some  years.  The  unfortunate  man  was 
present  at  the  delivery  of  a  sermon, 
preached  at  his  own  request,  on 
the  Sunday  before  his  execution ;  and 
to  many  of  the  printed  copies  is  ap- 
pended an  account  of  his  life.  In  it 
the  poor  fellow  states  that  he  was  only 
twenty-one  years  old,  and  that  he  was 
bom  at  Groton  of  a  respectable  family. 
He  confesses  that  he  broke  into  Mr. 
Cutler's  shop,  and  took  away  "  a  good 
piece  of  broad-cloth,  a  quantity  of  silk 
mitts,  and  several  pieces  of  silk  hand- 
kerchiefs." He  was  hardly  seventeen 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  this  burg- 
lary. To  the  present  generation  it 
would  seem  cruel  and  wicked  to  hang 
a  misguided  youth  for  offences  of  this 
character. 

Mr.  Cutler  died  December  19,  1782  ; 
and  he  was  succeeded  in  business  by 
Major  Thomas  Gardner,  who  erected 
the  present  building  known  as  Gerrish's 
block,  which  is  soon  to  be  removed. 
Major  Gardner  lived  in  the  house  now 
owned  by  the  Waters  family. 

Near  the  end  of  the  last  century  a 
store,  situated  a  little  north  of  the  late 


196 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton. 


Mr.  Dix's  house,  was  kept  by  James 
Brazer,  which  had  an  extensive  trade 
for  twenty  miles  in  different  directions. 
'•'It  was  here  that  the  late  Amos  Law- 
rence served  an  apprenticeship  of  seven 
years,  which  ended  on  April  22,  1807  ; 
and  he  often  spoke  of  his  success  in 
business  as  due,  in  part,  to  the  expe- 
rience in  this  store.  Late  in  life  he 
wrote  that  "  the  knowledge  of  every-day 
affairs- which  I  acquired  in  my  business 
apprenticeship  at  Groton  has  been  a 
source  of  pleasure  and  profit  even  in 
my  last  ten  years'  discipline." 

The  quantity  of  New-England  rum 
and  other  liquors  sold  at  that  period 
would  astonish  the  temperance  people 
of  the  present  day.  Social  drinking  was 
then  a  common  practice,  and  each  fore- 
noon some  stimulating  beverage  was 
served  up  to  the  customers  in  order  to 
keep  their  trade.  There  were  five 
clerks  employed  in  the  establishments  ; 
and  many  years  later  Mr.  Lawrence,  in 
giving  advice  to  a  young  student  in 
college,  wrote :  — 

*'  In  the  first  place,  take  this  for  your 
motto  at  the  commencement  of  your 
journey,  that  the  difference  oi%Qvs\gjust 
right,  or  a  little  wrong,  will  be  the 
difference  of  finding  yourself  in  good 
quarters,  or  in  a  miserable  bog  or  slough, 
at  the  end  of  it.  Of  the  whole  number 
educated  in  the  Groton  stores  for  some 
years  before  and  after  myself,  no  one 
else,  to  my  knowledge,  escaped  the  bog 
or  slough ;  and  my  escape  I  trace  to 
the  simple  fact  of  my  having  put  a 
restraint  upon  my  appetite.  We  five 
boys  were  in  the  habit,  every  forenoon, 
of  making  a  drink  compounded  of  rum, 
raisins,  sugar,  nutmeg,  &c.,  with  biscuit, 
—  all  palatable  to  eat  and  drink.  After 
being  in  the  store  four  weeks,  I  found 
myself  admonished  by  my  appetite  of 
the  approach  of  the  hour  for  indulgence. 


Thinking  the  habit  might  make  trouble 
if  allowed  to  grow  stronger,  without 
further  apology  to  my  seniors  I  declined 
partaking  with  them.  My  first  resolu- 
tion was  to  abstain  for  a  week,  and,  when 
the  week  was  out,  for  a  month,  and 
then  for  a  year.  Finally,  I  resolved  to 
abstain  for  the  rest  of  my  apprentice- 
ship, which  was  for  five  years  longer. 
During  that  whole  period,  I  never  drank 
a  spoonful,  though  I  mixed  gallons  daily 
for  my  old  master  and  his  customers."  * 
The  following  advertisement  is  found 
in  the  Columbian  Centinel  (Boston), 
June  8,  1805  :  — 

James  Brazer, 

Would  inform  the  public  that  having  dis- 
solved the  Copartnership  lately  subsisting 
between  AARON  BROWN,  Esq.  SAM- 
UEL HALE  and  the  subscriber;  he  has 
taken  into  Copartnership  his  son  WIL- 
LIAM F.  BRAZER,  and  the  business  in 
future  will  be  transacted  under  the  firm  of 
JAMES  BRAZER  &  SON; 

They  will  offer  for  sale,  at  their  store  in 
Groton,  within  six  days  a  complete  assort- 
ment of  English,  India,  and  W.  India 
GOODS,  which  they  will  sell  for  ready 
pay,  at  as  low  a  rate  as  any  store  in  the 
Country. 

Groton,  May  29,  1803. 


JAMES  BRAZER. 


"'Squire  Brazer,"  as  he  was  gener- 
ally called,  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 
position.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  Groton  Academy,  and  his  subscrip- 
tion of  ;!^i5  to  the  building-fund  in  the 
year  1792  was  as  large  as  that  given, 
by  any  other  person.  In  the  early  part 
of  this  century  he  built  the  house  now 
belonging  to  the  Academy  and  situated 
just  south  of  it,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  November  10, 
i8i8.  His  widow,  also,  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the   institution,  and   at  her 

*  Diary  and  Correspondence  of  Amos  Lawrence,  pages 
24, 25- 


Tlie  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton.  197 

decease,  April  14,  1826,  bequeathed  to  style  of  the  firm  being  Woods  and  Bout- 
it  nearly  five  thousand  dollars.  well.     Mr.  Woods  died  on  January  12, 

After  Mr.  Brazer's   death   the   store  1841  ;   and  he  was   succeeded   by  his 

was  moved  across  the  street,  where  it  surviving  partner,  who  carried   on  the 

still  remains,  forming  the  ell  of  Gerrish's  store    for    a    long    time,    even    while 

block.    The  post-ofiice  was  in  the  north  holding  the  highest  executive  position 

end  of  it,  during  Mr.  Butler's  term  as  in  the  State.     The   post-office  was  in 

postmaster.     About  this  time  the  son,  this   building   during    the   years     1839 

William   Farwell   Brazer,  built  a   store  and    1840.     For  the   past    twenty- five 

nearly  opposite  to  the  Academy,  which  years  it  has  been  occupied  by  various 

he  kept  during   some  years.      It  was  firms,  and  now  is  kept  by  D.  H.  Shat- 

made  finally  into  a  dwelling-house,  and  tuck  and  Company, 

occupied  by  the  late  Jeremiah  Kilburn,  During  the   last  war  with   England, 

whose  family  still  own  it.  Eliphalet  Wheeler   had  a   store  where 

James  Brazer's  house  was  built  on  Miss  Betsey  Capell,  in  more  modem 
the  site  of  one  burnt  down  during  the  times,  kept  a  haberdasher's  shop.  It 
winter  season  a  year  or  two  previously,  is  situated  opposite  to  the  Common, 
There  was  no  fire-engine  then  in  town,  and  now  used  as  a  dwelling-house, 
and  the  neighbors  had  to  fight  the  She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Capell, 
flames,  as  best  they  could,  with  snow  who  owoied  the  sawmill  and  gristmill, 
as  well  as  water.  At  that  time  Loammi  which  formerly  stood  near  the  present 
Baldwin,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  site  of  the  Tileston  and  HoUingsworth 
College  in  the  class  of  1800,  was  a  paper-mills,  on  the  Great  Road,  north 
law-student  in  Timothy  Bigelow's  office,  of  the  village.  Afterward  Wheeler  and 
He  had  a  natural  taste  for  mechanics ;  his  brother,  Abner,  took  Major  Thomas 
and  he  was  so  impressed  with  the  need  Gardner's  store,  where  he  was  followed 
of  an  engine  that  with  his  own  hands  by  Park  and  Woods,  Park  and  Potter, 
he  constructed  the  first  one  the  town  Potter  and  Gerrish,  and  lastly  by  Charles 
ever  had.  This  identical  machine,  now  Gerrish,  who  has  kept  it  for  more  than 
kno%vn  as  Torrent,  No.  i,  is  still  service-  thirty  years.  It  is  said  that  this  build- 
able  after  a  use  of  more  than  eighty  ing  will  soon  give  way  to  modem  im- 
years,  and  will  throw  a  stream  of  water  provements. 

over  the  highest  roof  in  the  village.  It  Near  the  beginning  of  the  present 
was  made  in  Jonathan  Loring's  shop,  century  there  were  three  military  corn- 
then  opposite  to  Mr.  Boynton's  black-  panics  in  town ;  the  Artillery  company, 
smith  shop,  where  the  iron  work  was  commanded  at  one  time  by  Captain 
done.  The  tub  is  of  copper,  and  bears  James  Lewis ;  the  North  company  by 
the  date  of  1802.  Mr.  Baldwin,  soon  Captain  Jonas  Gilson;  and  the  South 
after  this  time,  gave  up  the  profession  company  by  Captain  Abel  Tarbell. 
of  law,  and  became,  like  his  father,  a  Two  of  these  officers  were  soon  pro- 
distinguished  civil  engineer.  moted  in  the  regimental  service  :  Cap- 

The  brick  store,  opposite  to  the  tain  Tarbell  to  a  colonelcy,  and  Captain 
High  School,  was  built  about  the  year  Lewis  to  a  majorate.  Captain  Gilson 
1836,  by  Henry  Woods,  for  his  own  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Cap- 
place  of  business,  and  afterward  kept  tain  Noah  Shattuck.  They  had  their 
by  him  and  George  S.  Boutwell,  the  spring  and  fall  training- days,  when  they 


198 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Offi,ce  of  Groton. 


drilled  as  a  battalion  on  the  Common, 
—  there  were  no  trees  there,  then, — 
and  marched  through  the  village. 
They  formed  a  very  respectable  com- 
mand, and  sometimes  would  be  drawn 
up  before  Esquire  Brazer's  store,  and 
at  other  times  before  Major  Gardner's, 
to  be  treated  with  toddy,  which  was 
then  considered  a  harmless  drink. 

David  Child  had  a  store,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  century,  at  the  south 
corner  of  Main  and  Pleasant  Streets, 
nearly  opposite  to  the  site  of  the  Ortho- 
dox meeting-house,  though  Pleasant 
Street  was  not  then  laid  out.  It  was 
afterward  occupied  by  Deacon  Jona- 
than Adams,  then  by  Artemas  Wood, 
and  lastly  by  Milo  H.  Shattuck.  This 
was  moved  off  twelve  or  fifteen  years 
ago,  and  a  spacious  building  put  up,  a 
few  rods  north,  on  the  old  tavern  site 
across  the  way,  by  Mr.  Shattuck,  who 
still  carries  on  a  large  business. 

Alpheus  Richardson  kept  a  store, 
about  the  year  18 15,  in  his  dwelling- 
house,  at  the  south  comer  of  Main  and 
Elm  Streets,  besides  Ij^aving  a  book- 
bindery  in  the  same  building.  The 
binder's  shop  was  continued  until  about 
1850.  It  is  said  that  this  house  was 
built  originally  by  Colonel  James 
Prescott,  for  the  use  of  his  son,  Abijah, 
as  a  store ;  but  it  never  was  so  occu- 
pied. 

Joseph  and  Phineas  Heraenway  built 
a  store  on  the  north  corner  of  Main 
and  Elm  Streets,  about  the  year  18 15, 
where  they  carried  on  a  trading  busi- 
ness. They  were  succeeded  by  one 
Richardson,  then  by  David  Childs; 
and  finally  by  John  Spalter,  who  had 
for  many  years  a  bookstore  and  binder's 
shop  in  the  building,  which  is  now  used 
as  a  dwelling-house.  At  the  present 
time  Mr.  Spalter  is  living  in  Keene, 
New  Hampshire. 


About  the  year  1826,  General 
Thomas  A.  Staples  built  and  kept  a 
store  on  Main  Street,  directly  north  of 
the  Union  Church.  He  was  followed 
successively  by  Benjamin  Franklin  Law- 
rence, Henry  Hill,  and  Walter  Shattuck. 
The  building  was  burned  down  about 
ten  years  ago,  and  its  site  is  now  occu- 
pied by  Dr.  David  R.  Steere's  house. 

In  the  year  1847  ^  large  building 
was  moved  firom  HolUs  Street  to  the 
comer  of  Main  and  Court  Streets. 
It  was  put  up  originally  as  a  meeting- 
house for  the  Second  Adventists,  or 
Millerites  as  they  were  called  in  this 
neighborhood,  after  William  Miller,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  sect;  but  after 
it  was  taken  to  the  new  site,  it  was  fitted 
up  in  a  commodious  manner,  with 
shops  in  the  basement  and  a  spacious 
hall  in  the  second  story.  The  building 
was  known  as  Liberty  Hall,  and  formed 
a  conspicuous  structure  in  the  village. 
The  post-office  was  kept  in  it,  while 
Mr.  Lothrop  and  Mr.  Andruss  were  the 
postmasters.  It  was  used  as  a  shoe 
shop,  a  grocery,  and  a  bakery,  when, 
on  Sunday,  March  31,  1878,  it  was 
bumed  to  the  ground. 

The  brick  store,  owned  by  the  Dix 
family,  was  built  and  kept  by  Aaron 
Brown,  near  the  beginning  of  the 
century.      He  was  followed  by  Moses 

Parker,  and  after  him  came and 

Merriam,  and  then  Benjamin  P.  Dix. 
It  is  situated  at  the  comer  of  Main 
Street  and  Broad-Meadow  Road,  and 
now  used  as  a  dwelling-house.  A  very 
good  engraving  of  this  building  is  given 
in  The  Groton  Herald,  May  8,  1830, 
which  is  called  by  persons  who  remem- 
ber it  at  that  time  a  faithful  representa- 
tion, though  it  has  since  undergone 
some  changes. 

Near  the  end   of  the   last   century. 
Major  Wilham    Swan    traded    in    the 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton. 


199 


house  now  occupied  by  Charles  Wool- 
ley,  Jr.,  north  of  the  Common  near 
the  old  burying-ground.  It  was  Major 
Swan  who  set  out  the  elm-trees  in  front 
of  this  house,  which  was  the  Reverend 
Dr.  Chaplin's  dwelling  for  many  years. 

Two  daughters  of  Isaac  Bowers,  a 
son  of  Landlord  Bowers,  had  a  dry- 
goods  shop  in  the  house  owned  and 
occupied  by  the  late  Samuel  W,  Rowe, 
Esq.  About  the  year  1825,  Walter 
Shattuck  opened  a  store  in  the  building 
originally  intended  for  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  opposite  to  the  present  en- 
trance of  the  Groton  Cemetery.  There 
was  formerly  a  store  kept  by  one  Mr. 
Lewis,  near  the  site  of  Captain  Asa  Still- 
man  Lawrence's  house,  north  of  the 
Town  Hall.  There  was  a  trader  in  town, 
Thomas  Sackville  Tufton  by  name,  who 
died  in  the  year  1778,  though  I  do  not 
know  the  site  of  his  shop.  Captain 
Samuel  Ward,  a  native  of  Worcester, 
and  an  officer  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  was  engaged  in  business 
at  Groton  some  time  before  the  Rev- 
olution. He  removed  to  Lancaster, 
where  at  one  time  he  was  town- clerk, 
and  died  there  on  August  14,  1826. 

The  Groton  post-office  was  estab- 
lished at  the  very  beginning  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  and  before  that  time  let- 
ters intended  for  this  town  were  sent 
through  private  hands.  Previous  to 
the  Revolution  there  were  only  a  few 
post-offices  in  the  Province,  and  often 
persons  in  distant  parts  of  Massachu- 
setts received  their  correspondence  at 
Boston.  In  the  Supplement  to  The 
Boston  Gazette,  February  9,  1756, 
letters  are  advertised  as  remaining  un- 
called for,  at  the  Boston  office,  ad- 
dressed to  William  Lakin  and  Abigail 
Parker,  both  of  Groton,  as  well  as  to 
Samuel   Manning,   Townsend,  William 


Gleany,  Dunstable,  and  Jonathan  Law- 
rence, Littleton.  Nearly  five  months 
afterward  these  same  letters  are  adver- 
tised in  The  Boston  Weekly  News- 
Letter,  July  i,  1756,  as  still  uncalled 
for.  The  name  of  David  Famum, 
America,  appears  also  in  this  list,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  wherever  he  was  he 
received  the  missive.  The  names  of 
Oliver  Lack  (probably  intended  for 
Lakin)  and  Ebenezer  Parker,  both  of 
this  town,  are  given  in  another  list 
printed  in  the  Gazette  of  June  28, 
1763;  and  in  the  same  issue  one  is 
advertised  for  Samuel  Starling,  America. 
In  the  Supplement  to  the  Gazette, 
October  10,  1768,  Ebenezer  Farns- 
worth,  Jr.,  and  George  Peirce,  of 
Groton,  had  letters  advertised ;  and  in 
the  Gazette,  October  18,  1773,  the 
names  of  Amos  Famsworth,  Jonas 
Farnsworth,  and  William  Lawrence,  all 
of  this  town,  appear  in  the  list. 

I  find  no  record  of  a  post-rider  pass- 
ing through  Groton,  during  the  period 
immediately  preceding  the  establish- 
ment of  the  post-office ;  but  there  was 
doubtless  such  a  person  who  used  to 
ride  on  horseback,  equipped  with  sad- 
dle-bags, and  delivered  at  regular  inter- 
vals the  weekly  newspapers  and  letters 
along  the  way.  In  the  year  1 794,  ac- 
cording to  the  History  of  New  Ipswich, 
New  Hampshire  (page  129),  a  post- 
rider,  by  the  name  of  Balch,  rode  from 
Boston  to  Keene  one  week  and  back 
the  next.  Probably  he  passed  through 
this  town,  and  served  the  inhabitants 
with  his  favors. 

Several  years  ago  I  procured,  through 
the  kindness  of  General  Charles  Dev- 
ens,  at  that  time  a  member  of  President 
Hayes's  cabinet,  some  statistics  of  the 
Groton  post-office,  which  are  contained 
in  the  following  letter  :  — 


200 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton. 


Post-Office  Department,  Appointment  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C,  September  3,  1877. 

Hon.  Charles  Deveks,  Attorney-General,  Department 
of  Justice. 

Sir,  —  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  a  communication  from  Samuel  A.  Green, 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  with  your  en- 
dorsement thereon,  requesting  to  be  fur- 
nished with  a  list  of  postmasters  at  the 
office  of  Groton,  in  that  State,  from  the 
date  of  its  establishment  to  the  present 
time. 

In  reply,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you, 
that  the  fire  which  consumed  the  depart- 
ment building,  on  the  night  of  the  fifteenth 
of  December,  1836,  destroyed  three  of  the 
earliest  record-books  of  this  office;  but 
by  the  aid  of  the  auditor's  ledger-books, 
it  is  ascertained  that  the  office  began  to 
render  accounts  on  the  first  of  January, 
1 80 1,  but  the  exact  day  is  not  known. 
Samuel  Dana  was  the  first  postmaster, 
and  the  following  list  furnishes  the  history 
of  the  office,  as  shown  by  the  old  records. 

Groton,  Middlesex  County,  Massachu- 
setts.     Office     probably    established     in 

November,  1800.      Samuel    Dana    began 

rendering     accounts     January     i,     1801. 

Wm.  M.  Richardson,  October  i,  1804, 
From   this    time    the   exact    dates   are 

known. 

Abraham  Moore,  appointed  postmaster  Jan- 
uary 31,  1812. 

Eliphalet  Wheeler,  August  20,  1815. 

James  Lewis,  September  9,  18 15. 

Caleb  Butler,  July  i,  1826. 

Henry  Woods,  January  15,  1839. 

George  S.  Boutwell,  January  22,  1841. 

Caleb  Butler,  April  15,  1841. 

Welcome  Lothrop,  December  21,  1846. 

Artemas  Wood,  February  22-,  1849. 

George  H.  Brown,  May  4,  1849. 

Theodore  Andruss,  April  il,  1853. 

George  W.  Fiske,  April  22,  1861. 

Henry  Woodcock,  February  13,  1867. 

Miss  Hattie  E.  Farnsworth,  June  11,  1869, 
who  is  the  present  incumbent. 

Each  postmaster  held  the  office  up  to 
the  appointment  of  his  successor,  but  it  is 
probable  that  Mr.  Boutwell  and  Mr.  A. 
Wood,  although  regularly  appointed,  did 


not  accept,  judging  by  the  dates  of  the 
next  postmasters. 

As  to  the  "income"  of  the  office,  to 
which  allusion  is  made,  it  is  very  difficult 
to  obtain  any  of  the  amounts ;  but  the 
first  year  and  the  last  year  are  herewith 
appended,  as  follows :  — 

(1 80 1)        Fiscal  Year        (1876) 


First  quarter,  $1.91 
Second  ,,  2.13 

Third     „  2.93 

Fourth   ,,  5.29 


For  the  year,  $12.26 


First  quarter,  $314.15 
Second  ,,  296.94 
Third  „  3057i 
Fourth   ,,  294.28 

Forthey'r,  $1,211.08 

Trusting  the  foregoing,  which  is  believed 
to  be  correct,  will  be  acceptable  to  you,  I 
am,  sir,  respectfully, 

Your  ob't  serv't, 

JAMES  H.  MARR, 
Acting  First  Ass't  P.M.  General. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  net  income  of 
the  office,  during  the  first  seventy-five 
years  of  its  existence,  increased  one 
hundred  fold. 

West  Groton  is  a  small  settlement 
that  has  sprung  up  in  the  western  part 
of  the  town,  dating  back  in  its  history 
to  the  last  century.  It  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Squanna- 
cook  River,  and  in  my  boyhood  was 
known  as  Squannacook,  a  much  better 
name  than  the  present  one.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  so  many  of  the  old 
Indian  words,  which  smack  of  the 
region,  should  have  been  crowded  out 
of  our  local  nomenclature.  There  is 
a  small  water-power  here,  and  formerly 
a  sawmill,  gristmill,  and  a  paper-mill 
were  in  operation ;  but  these  have  now 
given  way  to  a  factory,  where  leather- 
board  is  made.  The  Peterborough  and 
Shirley  branch  of  the  Fitchburg  Rail- 
road passes  through  the  place,  and 
some  local  business  is  transacted  in  the 
neighborhood.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
a  post-office  was  needed  in  the  village, 
and  one  was  established  on  March  19, 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Grot  on. 


20 1 


1850.  The  first  person  to  fill  the 
office  was  Adams  Archibald,  a  native 
of  Truro,  Nova  Scotia,  who  kept  it  in 
the  railway-station. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  post- 
masters, with  the  dates  of  their  appoint- 
ment :  — 

Adams  Archibald,  March  19,  1850. 
Edmund  Blood,  May  25,  1868. 
Charles  H.  Hill,  July  31,  1871. 
George  H.  Bixby,  June,  1S78. 

During  the  postraastership  of  Mr. 
Blood,  and  since  that  time,  the  office 
has  been  kept  at  the  only  store  in  the 
place. 

A  post-office  was  established  at  South 
Groton,  on  June  i,  1849,  ^"^^  the  first 
postmaster  was  Andrew  B.  Gardner. 
The  village  was  widely  known  as 
Groton  Junction,  and  resulted  from  the 
intersection  of  several  railroads.  Here 
six  passenger-trains  coming  from  differ- 
ent points  were  due  in  the  same  station 
at  the  same  time,  and  they  all  were 
supposed  to  leave  as  punctually. 

The  trains  on  the  Fitchburg  Railroad, 
arriving  from  each  direction,  and  like- 
wise the  trains  on  the  Worcester  and 
Nashua  Road  from  the  north  and  the 
south,  passed  each  other  at  this  place. 
There  was  also  a  train  from  Lowell, 
on  the  Stony  Brook  Railroad,  and 
another  on  the  Peterborough  and  Shir- 
ley branch,  coming  at  that  time  from 
West  Townsend. 

A  busy  settlement  grew  up,  which  was 
incorporated  as  a  distinct  town  under 
the  name  of  Ayer,  on  February  14, 
1871. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  post- 
masters, with  the  dates  of  their  ap- 
pointment :  — 

Andrew  B.  Gardner,  June  i,  1849. 
Karvey  A.  Wood,  August  11,  1853. 
George  H.  Brown,  December  30,  1861. 


William  H.  Harlow,  December  5,  1862. 
George  H.  Brown,  January  15,  1863. 
William  H.  Harlow,  July  18,  1865. 

Th€  name  of  the  post-office  was 
changed  by  the  department  at  Wash- 
ington, from  South  Groton  to  Groion 
Junction,  on  March  i,  1862  ;  and  sub- 
sequently this  was  changed  to  Ayer,  on 
March  22,  187 1,  soon  after  the  incor- 
poration of  the  town,  during  the  post- 
mastership  of  Mr.  Harlow. 

The  letter  of  the  acting  first  assist- 
ant postmaster-general,  printed  above, 
supplements  the  account  in  Butler's 
History  of  Groton  (pages  249-251). 
According  to  Mr.  Butler's  statement, 
the  post-office  was  established  on  Sep- 
tember 29,  1800,  and  the  Honorable 
Samuel  Dana  was  appointed  the  first 
postmaster.  No  mail,  however,  was 
delivered  at  the  office  until  the  last 
week  in  November.  For  a  while  it 
came  to  Groton  by  the  way  of  Leom- 
inster, certainly  a  very  indirect  route. 
This  fact  appears  from  a  letter  written 
to  Judge  Dana,  by  the  Postmaster- 
General,  under  date  of  December  18, 
1800,  apparently  in  answer  to  a  request 
to  have  the  mail  brought  directly  from 
Boston.  In  this  communication  the 
writer  says  :  — 

It  appears  to  me,  that  the  arrangement 
which  has  been  made  for  carrying  the  mail 
to  Groton  is  sufficient  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  as  it  gives  them 
the  opportunity  of  receiving  their  letters 
regularly,  and  with  despatch,  once  a  week. 
The  route  from  Boston,  by  Leominster,  to 
Groton  is  only  twenty  miles  farther  than 
by  the  direct  route,  and  the  delay  of  half 
a  day,  which  is  occasioned  thereby,  is  not 
of  much  consequence  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Groton.  If  it  should  prove  that  Groton 
produces  as  much  postage  as  Lancaster 
and  Leominster,  the  new  contract  for  carry- 
ing the  mail,  which  is  to  be  in  operation  on 
the  first  of  October  next,  will  be  made  bj 


202 


TJie  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton. 


Concord  and  Groton  to  Walpole,  and  a 
branch  from  Concord  to  Marlborough. 

I  am,  respectfully,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant,  jos.  Habersham. 

The  amount  of  postage  received  from 
the  office,  after  deducting  the  nec- 
essary expenses,  including  the  post- 
master's salary,  was,  for  the  first  year 
after  its  establishment,  about  twelve 
dollars,  or  three  dollars  for  three 
months.  In  the  year  1802  it  was 
thirty-six  dollars,  or  nine  dollars  for 
three  months,  a  large  proportional  in- 
crease. At  this  time  the  mail  came 
once  a  week  only,  and  was  brought  by 
the  stage-coach. 

Samuel  Dana,  the  first  postmaster, 
was  a  prominent  lawyer  at  the  time  of 
his  appointment.  He  was  the  son  of 
the  Reverend  Samuel  Dana,  of  Groton, 
and  bom  in  this  town,  June  26,  1767. 
He  occupied  a  high  position  in  the 
community,  and  exerted  a  wide 
influence  in  the  neighborhood.  At  a 
later  period  he  was  president  of  the 
Massachusetts  Senate,  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  finally  chief- justice  of 
the  circuit  court  of  common  pleas. 
He  died  at  Charlestown,  on  Novem- 
ber 20,  1835. 

Judge  Dana  kept  the  post-office  in 
his  own  office,  which  was  in  the  same 
building  as  that  of  the  Honorable 
Timothy  Bigelow,  another  noted  lawyer. 
These  eminent  men  were  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  same  entry ;  and  they  were 
generally  on  opposite  sides  of  all  im- 
portant cases  in  the  northern  part  of 
Middlesex  County.  The  building  stood 
on  the  site  of  Governor  Boutwell's 
house,  and  is  still  remembered  as  the 
medical  office  of  the  venerable  Dr. 
Amos  Bancroft.  It  was  afterward 
moved  away,  and  now  stands  near  the 
railway-station,  where  it  is  occupied  as 
a   dwelling-house.     Judge    Dana    held 


the  office  during  four  years,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  William  M.  Richard- 
son, Esq.,  afterward  the  chief-justice  of 
the  superior  court  of  New  Hampshire. 
Mr.  Richardson  was  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard College  in  the  class  of  1797,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  appointment  as  post- 
master had  recently  finished  his  pro- 
fessional studies  in  Groton,  under  the 
guidance  of  Judge  Dana.  After  his 
admission  to  the  bar,  Mr.  Richardson 
entered  into  partnership  with  his  former 
instructor,  succeeding  him  as  post- 
master in  July,  1804;  and  the  office 
was  still  kept  in  the  same  building. 
During  Judge  Richardson's  term,  the 
net  revenue  to  the  department  rose 
from  nine  dollars  to  about  twenty-eight 
dollars  for  three  months.  He  held  the 
position  nearly  eight  years,  and  was 
followed  by  Abraham  Moore,  who  was 
commissioned  on  January  31,  1812. 

Mr.  Moore  was  a  native  of  Bolton, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  born  on 
January  5,  1785.  He  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1806, 
and  studied  law  at  Groton  with  the 
Honorable  Timothy  Bigelow,  and  after 
his  admission  to  the  bar  settled  here  as 
a  lawyer.  His  office  was  on  the  site  of 
the  north  end  of  Gerrish's  block,  and  it 
was  here  that  the  post-office  was  kept. 
During  his  administration  the  average 
income  from  the  office  was  about  thirty- 
three  dollars,  for  the  quarter.  In  the 
summer  of  18 15,  Mr.  Moore  resigned 
the  position  and  removed  to  Boston. 

Eliphalet  Wheeler,  who  kept  the 
store  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Gerrish,  was 
appointed  in  Mr.  Moore's  stead,  and  the 
post-office  was  transferred  to  his  place 
of  business.  He,  however,  was  not 
commissioned,  owing,  it  is  thought,  to 
his  poUtical  views ;  and  Major  James 
Lewis,  who  was  sound  in  his  politics, 
received  the  appointment  in  his  stead. 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Groton, 


20: 


Major  Lewis,  retained  Mr.  Wheeler  for 
a  short  time  as  his  assistant,  and  during 
this  period  the  duties  were  performed  by 
him  in  his  own  store.  Shortly  afterward 
Caleb  Butler,  Esq.,  was  appointed  the 
assistant,  and  he  continued  to  hold 
the  position  for  eight  years.  During 
this  time  the  business  was  carried  on 
in  Mr.  Butler's  law  office,  and  the 
revenue  to  the  government  reached  the 
sum  of  fifty  dollars  a  quarter.  His 
office  was  then  in  a  small  building, — 
just  south  of  Mr.  Hoar's  tavern, — which 
was  moved  away  about  the  year  1820, 
and  taken  to  the  lot  where  Colonel 
Needham's  house  now  stands,  at  the 
comer  of  Main  and  HoUis  Streets.  It 
was  fitted  up  as  a  dwelling,  and  subse- 
quently moved  away  again.  At  this 
time  the  old  store  of  Mr.  Brazer, 
who  had  previously  died,  was  brought 
from  over  the  way,  and  occupied  by 
Mr.  Butler,  on  the  site  of  his  former 
office. 

On  July  I,  1826,  Mr.  Butler,  who  had 
been  Major  Lewis's  assistant  for  many 
years,  and  performed  most  of  the  duties 
of  the  office,  was  commissioned  post- 
master. 

Mr.  Butler  was  a  native  of  Pelham, 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  bom  on 
September  13,  1776,  and  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth  College  in  the  class  of 
1800.  He  had  been  the  preceptor 
of  Groton  Academy  for  some  years, 
and  was  widely  known  as  a  critical 
scholar.  He  had  previously  studied 
law  with  the  Honorable  Luther  Law- 
rence, of  Groton,  though  his  subsequent 
practice  was  more  in  drawing  up  papers 
and  settling  estates  than  in  attendance 
at  courts.  His  name  is  now  identified 
with  the  town  as  its  historian.  During 
his  term  of  office  as  postmaster,  the 
revenue  rose  from  fifty  dollars  to  one 
hundred  and  ten  dollars  a  quarter.     He 


held  the  position  nearly  thirteen  years, 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  public ; 
but  for  political  heresy  was  removed  on 
January  15,  1839,  when  Henry  Woods 
was  commissioned  as  his  successor. 

Mr.  Woods  held  the  office  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  January  12 
1 841 ;  and  he  was  followed  by  the 
Honorable  George  S.  Boutwell,  since 
the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth 
and  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  During  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Woods  and  Mr.  Boutwell,  the 
office  was  kept  in  the  brick  store, 
opposite  to  the  present  High  School. 

Upon  the  change  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  National  Government,  Mr. 
Butler  was  reinstated  in  office,  and 
commissioned  on  April  15,  1841.  He 
continued  to  hold  the  position  until 
December  21,  1846,  when  he  was  again 
removed  for  political  reasons.  Mr. 
Butler  was  a  most  obliging  man,  and 
his  removal  was  received  by  the  public 
with  general  regret.  During  his  two 
terms  he  filled  the  office  for  more  than 
eighteen  years,  a  longer  period  than 
has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  post- 
master of  the  town.  Near  the  end  of 
his  service  a  material  change  was  made 
in  the  rate  of  postage  on  letters ;  and 
in  his  History  (page  251)  he  thus  com- 
ments on  it :  — 

The  experiment  of  a  cheap  rate  was  put 
upon  trial.  From  May  14,  1841,  to  Decem- 
ber 31,  1844,  the  net  revenue  averaged  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  dollars  and  seven- 
ty-one cents  per  quarter.  Under  the  new 
law,  for  the  first  year  and  a  half,  the  reve- 
nue has  been  one  hundred  and  four  dollars 
and  seventy-seven  cents  per  quarter.  Had 
the  former  rates  remained,  the  natural  in- 
crease of  business  should  have  raised  it  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  quarter. 
The  department,  which  for  some  years 
before  had  fallen  short  of  supporting  itself, 
now   became    a    heavy  charge  upon   the 


204 


The  Old  Stores  and  the  Post-Office  of  Grot  on. 


treasury.  Whether  the  present  rates  will 
eventually  raise  a  sufficient  revenue  to 
meet  the  expenditures,  remains  to  be  seen. 
The  greatest  difficulty  to  be  overcome  is 
evasion  of  the  post-office  laws  and  fraud 
upon  the  department. 

Like  many  other  persons  of  that 
period,  Mr.  Butler  did  not  appreciate 
the  fact  that  the  best  way  to  prevent 
evasions  of  the  law  is  to  reduce  the 
rates  of  postage  so  low  that  it  will  not 
pay  to  run  the  risk  of  fraud. 

Captain  Welcome  Lothrop  succeed- 
ed Mr.  Butler  as  postmaster,  and 
during  his  administration  the  office  was 
kept  in  Liberty  Hall.  Captain  Lothrop 
was  a  native  of  Easton,  Massachusetts, 
and  a  land-surveyor  of  some  repute  in 
this  neighborhood.  Artemas  Wood  fol- 
lowed him  by  appointment  on  February 
22,  1849 ;  but  he  never  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  H.  Brown,  who  had 
published  The  Spirit  of  the  Times  —  a 
political  newspaper  —  during  the  pres- 
idential canvass  of  1848,  and  in  this 
way  had  become  somewhat  prominent 
as  a  local  politician.  Mr.  Brown  was 
appointed  on  May  4,  1849  i  ^^^  during 
his  term  the  office  was  kept  in  an  ell  of 
his  dwelling-house,  which  was  situated 
nearly  opposite  to  the  Orthodox  meet- 
ing-house. He  was  afterward  the  post- 
master of  Ayer.  Mr.  Brown  was  fol- 
lowed by  Theodore  Andruss,  a  native 
of  Orford,  New  Hampshire,  who  was 
commissioned  on  April  11,  1853.  Mr. 
Andruss  brought  the  office  back  to  Lib- 
erty Hall,  ajid  continued  to  be  the  in- 
cumbent until  April  22,  1 86 1,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  George  W.  Fiske. 
On  February  13,  1867,  Henry  Wood- 
cock was  appointed  to  the  position,  and 
the  office  was  then  removed  to  the 
Town  Hall,  where  most  excellent  ac- 
commodations were  given  to  the  public. 


He  was  followed  on  June  11,  1869, 
by  Miss  Harriet  E.  Famsworth,  now 
Mrs.  Marion  Putnam ;  and  she  in  turn 
was  succeeded  on  July  2,  1880,  by  Mrs. 
Christina  D.  (Caryl)  Fosdick,  the  widow 
of  Samuel  Woodbury  Fosdick,  and  the 
present  incumbent. 

The  office  is  still  kept  in  the  Town 
Hall,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  it  will  be  removed  from  the  spa- 
cious and  commodious  quarters  it  now 
occupies,  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Few  towns  in  the  Commonwealth  can 
present  such  an  array  of  distinguished 
men  among  their  postmasters  as  those 
of  Groton,  including,  as  it  does,  the 
names  of  Judge  Dana,  Judge  Richard- 
son, Mr.  Butler,  and  Governor  Boutwell. 

By  the  new  postal  law  which  went 
into  operation  on  the  first  of  last 
October,  the  postage  is  now  two  cents 
to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  on 
all  letters  not  exceeding  half  an  ounce 
in  weight.  This  rate  certainly  seems 
cheap  enough,  but  in  time  the  pub- 
lic will  demand  the  same  service  for 
a  cent.  Less  than  forty  years  ago  the 
charge  was  five  cents  for  any  distance 
not  exceeding  three  hundred  miles,  and 
ten  cents  for  any  greater  distance. 
This  was  the  rate  established  by  the 
law  which  took  effect  on  July  i ,  1 845  ; 
and  it  was  not  changed  until  July,  1851, 
when  it  was  reduced  to  three  cents  on 
single  letters,  prepaid,  or  five  cents,  if 
not  prepaid,  for  all  distances  under 
three  thousand  miles.  By  the  law 
which  went  into  operation  on  June  30, 
1863,  prepayment  by  stamps  was  made 
compulsory,  the  rate  remaining  at  three 
cents ;  though  a  special  clause  was  in- 
serted, by  which  the  letters  of  soldiers 
or  sailors,  then  fighting  for  the  Union 
in  the  army  or  navy,  might  go  without 
prepayment. 


Beacon  Hill  Before  the  Houses.  205 


BEACON   HILL  BEFORE  THE  HOUSES. 

By  David  M.  Balfour. 

The  visitor  to  the  dome  of  the  Capi-  from  its  side,  supporting  an  iron  pot. 

tol  of  the  State,  as  he  looks  out  from  The  mast  was  placed  on  cross-timbers, 

its  lantern  and  beholds  spread  imme-  with  a  stone  foundation,  supported  by 

diately  beneath  his  feet  a  semi-circular  braces,  and  provided  with  cross-sticks 

space,   whose  radius  does  not  exceed  serving  as  a  ladder  for  ascending  to  the 

a  quarter  of  a  mile,  covered  with  up-  crane.     It  remained  until  1776,  when 

ward  of  two  thousand  dwelling-houses,  it  was  destroyed   by   the   British ;  but 

churches,    hotels,    and     other    public  was  replaced  in  1 790  by  a  monument, 

edifices,   does    not   in   all    probability  inclosed   in  a  space  six   rods   square, 

ask  himself  the  question:  "  Wliat  did  where  it  remained  until  181 1.     It  was 

this  place  look  like  before  there   was  surmounted  by   an   eagle,  which   now 

any  house  here?"     When  Lieutenant-  surmounts   the   speaker's   desk  in  the 

Colonel-  George    Washington    visited  hall   of  the  House  of  Representatives, 

Boston  in  1756,  on  business  connected  and   had   tablets    upon   its   four   sides 

with  the  French  war,  and  lodged  at  the  with    inscriptions    commemorative    of 

Cromwell's   Head  Tavern,   a  building  Revolutionary  event?.     It  stood  nearly 

which  is  still  standing  on  the  north  side  opposite   the   southeast   comer  of  the 

of  School  Street,  upon  the  site  of  No.  reservoir  lot,  upon  the  site  of  No.  82 

13,  where  Mrs.  Harrington  now  deals  Temple    Street,    and     its    foundation 

out  coffee  and  "mince "-pie  to  her  cus-  was  sixty  feet  higher  up  in  the  air  than 

tomers.   Beacon  Hill  was  a  collection  the   present  level  of  that  street.     The 

of  pastures,  owned  by  thirteen  propri-  lot  was  sold,  in  181 1,  for  the  miserable 

etors,  in  lots  containing  from  a  half  to  pittance   of    eighty    cents    per    square 

twenty  acres  each.     The  southwesterly  foot ! 

slope  of  the  prominence  is  designated  Starting  upon   our    pedestrian   tour 

upon  the  old  maps  as  "  Copley  Hill."  from  the  comer  of  Tremont  and  Bea- 

We  will  now  endeavor   to   describe  con    Streets,   where    now   stands    the 

the  appearance  of  the  hill,  at  the  com-  Albion,  was  an  acre  lot  owned  by  the 

mencement   of  the   American  Revolu-  heirs   of  James   Penn,  a  selectman  of 

tion,  with  the  beacon  on  its  top,  from  the   town,   and   a  mling   elder  in   the 

which  it  took  its  name,  consisting  of  a  First    Church,    which   stood    in   State 

tall  mast  sixty  feet  in  height,  erected  in  Street  upon  the  site  of  Brazer's  Build- 

1635,   with   an   iron   crane    projecting  ing.      The   parsonage   stood   opposite, 


2o6  Beacon  Hill  Before  the  Houses. 

upon  the  site  of  the  Merchants  Bank  stands  upon  it.  Having  reached  the 
Building,  and  extended  with  its  garden  summit  of  the  hill,  we  come  abreast  of 
to  Dock  Square,  the  water  flowing  up  the  five-and-a-half-acre  pasture  of  Gov- 
nearly  to  the  base  of  the  Samuel  Adams  ernor  John  Hancock,  the  first  signer 
statue.  Next  comes  a  half-acre  lot  of  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Ameri- 
owned  by  Samuel  Eliot,  grandfather  can  Independence,  extending  from 
of  President  Eliot  of  Harvard  Univer-  Mount  Vernon  Street  to  Joy  Street,  and 
sity.  Then  follows  a  second  half-acre  northerly  to  Deme  Street,  embracing 
lot  owned  by  the  heirs  of  the  Reverend  the  Capitol  lot,  and  also  the  reser- 
James  Allen,  fifth  minister  of  the  First  voir  lot,  for  which  last  two  he  paid,  in 
Church,  who,  in  his  day,  as  will  be  1752,  the  modest  sum  of  eleven  hun- 
shown  in  the  sequel,  owned  a  larger  dred  dollars  !  It  is  now  worth  a  thou- 
portion  of  the  surface  of  Boston  than  sand  times  as  much.  For  the  remainder 
any  other  man,  being  owner  of  thirty-  of  his  possessions  in  that  vicinity  he 
seven  of  the  seven  hundred  acres  which  paid  nine  hundred  dollars  more.  The 
inclosed  the  territory  of  the  town,  upper  part  of  Mount  Vernon  Street,  the 
His  name  is  perpetuated  in  the  street  upper  part  of  Hancock  Street,  and 
of  that  name  bounding  the  Massachu-  Deme  Street,  were  laid  out  through  it. 
setts  General  Hospital  grounds.  Som-  Then,  descending  the  hill,  comes  Ben- 
erset  Street  was  laid  out  through  it.  jamin  Joy's  two-acre  pasture,  extending 
The  Congregational  House,  Jacob  from  Joy  Street  to  Walnut  Street,  and 
Sleeper  Hall,  and  Boston  University  extending  northerly  to  Pinckney  Street ; 
Building,  which  occupies  the  former  forty-seven  dwelling-houses  now  stand- 
site  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  under  ing  upon  it.  Mr.  Joy  paid  two  thou- 
the  pastorship  of  the  Reverend  RoUin  sand  dollars  for  it.  At  the  time  of  its 
H.  Neale,  stand  upon  it.  Next  comes  purchase  he  was  desirous  of  getting  a 
Governor  James  Bowdoin's  two-acre  house  in  the  country,  as  being  more 
pasture,  extending  from  the  last-named  healthy  than  a  town-residence,  and  he 
street  to  Mount  Vernon  Street,  and  selected  this  localty  as  "  being  country 
northerly  to  Allston  Street;  the  upper  enough  for  him."  The  upper  part  of 
part  of  Bowdoin  Street  and  Ashburton  Joy  Street  was  laid  out  through  it. 
Place  were  laid  out  through  it;  the  Now  follows  the  valuable  twenty-acre 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires,  pasture  of  John  Singleton  Copley,  the 
formerly  Freeman-place  Chapel,  built  eminent  historical  painter,  one  of  whose 
by  the  Second  Church,  under  the  pas-  productions  (Charles  the  First  demand- 
toral  care  of  the  Reverend  Chandler  ing  in  the  House  of  Commons  the 
Robbins,  and  afterwards  occupied  by  arrest  of  the  five  impeached  members) 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  the  is  now  in  the  art-room  of  the  Public 
Church  of  the  Disciples,  the  Brattle-  Library.  It  extended  for  a  third  of  a 
square  Church,  the  Old  South  Church,  mile  on  Beacon  Street,  from  Walnut 
and  the  First  Reformed  Episcopal  Street  to  Beaver  Street,  and  northerly 
Church ;  so  that  the  entire  theological  to  Pinckney  Street,  which  he  purchased 
gamut  has  resounded  from  its  walls;  in  lots  at  prices  ranging  from  fifty  to 
the  Swedenborgian  Church,  over  which  seventy  dollars  per  acre.  Walnut, 
the  Reverend  Thomas  Worcester  pre-  Spruce,  a  part  of  Charles,  River,  Brim- 
sided  for  a  long   series  of  years,  also  mer.   Branch   Avenue,  Byron  Avenue, 


Beacon  Hill  Before  the  Houses. 


207 


2o8  Beacoji  Hill  Before  the  Houses. 

Lime,  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Louisburg  ervoir  lot  about  twenty  feet,  and  Louis- 
Square,  the  lower  parts  of  Mount  Ver-  burg  Square  about  fifteen  feet.  The 
non  and  Pinckney  Streets,  and  the  contents  of  the  excavations  were  used 
sotitherly  part  of  West  Cedar  Street,  to  fill  up  Charles  Street  as  far  north  as 
have  been  laid  out  through  it.  Copley  Cambridge  Street,  the  parade-ground 
left  Boston,  in  1774,  for  England,  and  on  the  Common,  and  the  Leverett- 
never  returned  to  his  native  land.  He  street  jail  lands.  The  territory  thus 
wrote  to  his  agent  in  Boston,  Gardner  conveyed  novv  embraces  some  of  the 
Greene  (whose  mansion  subsequently  finest  residences  in  the  city.  The 
stood  upon  the  enclosure  in  Pemberton  Somerset  Club-house,  the  Church  of 
Square,  surrounded  by  a  garden  of  two  the  Advent,  and  the  First  African 
and  a  quarter  acres,  for  which  he  paid  Church,  built  in  1807  by  the  congre- 
thirty- three  thousand  dollars),  to  sell  gation  worshiping  with  the  Reverend 
the  twenty-acre  pasture  for  the  best  Daniel  Sharp,  stand  upon  it. 
price  which  could  be  obtained.  After  Bounded  southerly  on  Copley's  pas- 
a  delay  of  some  time  he  sold  it,  ture,  westerly  on  Charles  River,  and 
in  1796,  for  eighteen  thousand  four  northerly  on  Cambridge  Street,  was 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars;  equivalent  Zachariah  Phillips's  nine-acre  pasture, 
to  nine  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  or  which  extended  easterly  to  Grove 
two  cents  per  square  foot.  It  is  a  singu-  Street ;  for  which  he  paid  one  hundred 
lar  fact  that  a  record  title  to  only  two  pounds  sterling,  equivalent  to  fifty 
and  a  half  of  the  twenty  acres  could  dollars  per  acre.  The  northerly  parts 
be  found.  It  was  purchased  by  the  of  Charles  and  West  Cedar  Streets,  and 
Mount  Vernon  Proprietors,  consisting  the  westerly  parts  of  May  and  Phillips 
of  Jonathan  Mason,  three  tenths ;  Har-  Streets,  have  been  laid  out  through  it. 
rison  Gray  Otis,  three  tenths ;  Benja-  The  Twelfth  Baptist  Church,  formerly 
min  Joy,  two  tenths ;  and  Henry  Jack-  under  the  pastorship  of  the  Reverend 
son,  two  tenths.  The  barberry  bushes  Samuel  Snowdon,  stands  upon  it.  Pro- 
speedily  disappeared  after  the  Copley  ceeding  easterly  was  the  sixteen-and- 
sale.  The  southerly  part  of  Charles  a-half-acre  pasture  of  the  Reverend 
Street  was  laid  out  through  it.  And  the  James  Allen,  before  alluded  to  as  the 
first  railroad  in  the  United  States  was  greatest  landowner  in  the  town  of 
here  employed.  It  was  gravitation  in  Boston,  for  which  he  paid  one  hundred 
principle.  An  inclined  plane  was  laid  and  fifty  pounds,  New-England  cur- 
from  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  the  dirt-cars  rency,  equivalent  to  twenty-two  dollars 
slid  down,  emptying  their  loads  into  per  acre.  It  bounded  southerly  on 
the  water  at  the  foot  and  drawing  the  Copley's,  Joy's,  and  Hancock's  pas- 
empty  cars  upward.  The  apex  of  the  tures,  and  extended  easterly  to  Temple 
hill  was  in  the  rear  of  the  Capitol  near  Street.  Anderson,  Irving,  Garden, 
the  junction  of  Mount  Vernon  and  South  Russell,  Revere,  and  the  easterly 
Temple  Streets,  and  was  about  sbcty  parts  of  Phillips  and  Myrtle  Streets, 
feet  above  the  present  level  of  that  were  laid  out  through  it.  Next  comes 
locality,  and  about  even  with  the  roof  Richard  Middlecott's  four-acre  pasture, 
of  the  Capitol.  The  level  at  the  corner  extending  from  Temple  Street  to  Bow- 
of  Bowdoin  Street  and  Ashburton  Place  doin  Street,  and  from  Cambridge  Street 
has  been  reduced  about  thirty  feet,  to  AUston  Street.  Ridgeway  Lane,  the 
and  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  res-  lower  parts  of  Hancock,  Temple,  and 


Beacon  Hill  Before  the  Houses. 


209 


Bowdoin  Streets,  were  laid  out  through 
it.  The  Independent  Baptist  Church, 
formerly  under  the  pastorship  of  the 
Reverend  Thomas  Paul ;  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  built  in 
1835  by  the  parish  of  Grace  Church, 
under  the  rectorship  of  the  Reverend 
Thomas  M.  Clark,  now  bishop  of  the 
diocese  of  Rhode  Island ;  the  Mission 
Chapel  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist, 
which  was  erected  in  1830  by  the 
congregation  of  the  Reverend  Lyman 
Beecher,  just  after  the  destruction  of 
their  edifice  by  fire,  which  stood  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Hanover  and  (new) 
Washington  Streets,  stand  upon  it. 
Next  comes  the  four-acre  pasture  of 
Charles  Bulfinch,  the  architect  of  the 
Capitol  at  Washington,  also  of  the 
Massachusetts  Capitol,  Faneuil  Hall, 
and  other  public  buildings,  and  for 
fourteen  years  chairman  of  the  board 
of  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Boston, 
extending  from  Bowdoin  Street  to  Bul- 
finch Street,  and  from  Bowdoin  Square 
to  Ashburton  Place,  for  which  he  paid 
two  hundred  pounds,  New-England 
currency,  equivalent  to  six  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  dollars.  Bulfinch  Street 
and  Bulfinch  Place  were  laid  out 
through  it.  The  Revere  House,  for- 
merly the  mansion  of  Kirk  Boott,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  city  of  Lowell ; 
Bulfinch-place  Church,  which  occupies 
the  site  of  the  Central  Universalist 
Church,  erected  in  1822  by  the  con- 
gregation of  the  Reverend  Paul  Dean ; 
and  also  Mount  Vernon  Church, 
erected  in  1842  by  the  congregation 
over  which  the  Reverend  Edward  N. 
Kirk  presided,  stand  upon  it.  Then 
follows  the  two-acre  pasture  of  Cyprian 
Southack,  extending  to  Tremont  Row 
easterly,  and  westerly  to  Somerset 
Street.  Stoddard  Street  and  Howard 
Street  were  laid  out  through  it.  The 
Howard   Athenaeum,   formerly  the  site 


of  Father  Miller's  Tabernacle,  stands 
upon  it.  Then  follows  the  one-and-a- 
half-acre  pasture  of  the  heirs  of  the 
Reverend  John  Cotton,  second  minister 
of  the  First  Church,  extending  from 
Howard  Street  to  Pemberton  Square, 
which  constitutes  a  large  portion  of 
that  enclosure.  And  lastly,  proceed- 
ing southerly,  comes  the  four-acre 
pasture  of  William  Phillips,  extending 
from  the  southeasterly  comer  of  Pem- 
berton Square  to  the  point  of  beginning, 
and  enclosing  the  largest  portion  of 
that  enclosure.  The  Hotel  Pavilion, 
the  Suffolk  Savings  Bank,  and  Hough- 
ton and  Button's  stores,  stand  upon  it. 

Less  than  a  century  ago  Charles  River 
flowed  at  high  tide  from  the  southeast 
comer  of  Cambridge  Street  and  Ander- 
son Street  across  intervening  streets  to 
Beacon  Street,  up  which  it  flowed  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  feet  easterly 
across  Charles  Street  to  No.  61.  When 
Mr.  John  Bryant  dug  the  cellar  for  that 
building  he  came  to  the  natural  beach, 
with  its  rounded  pebbles,  at  the  depth 
of  three  or  four  feet  below  the  surface. 
It  also  flowed  over  the  Public  Garden, 
across  the  southem  portion  of  the 
parade-ground,  to  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
upon  which  stands  the  Soldiers'  Monu- 
ment. A  son  of  H.  G.  Otis  was 
drowned,  about  seventy  years  ago,  in  a 
quagmire  which  existed  at  that  spot. 
It  also  flowed  across  the  westerly  por- 
tion of  Boylston  Street  and  Tremont 
Street,  and  Shawmut  Avenue,  to  the 
comer  of  Washington  Street  and  Groton 
Street,  where  stood  the  fortifications 
during  the  American  Revolution,  across 
the  Neck,  which  was  only  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  width  at  that  point,  and 
thence  to  the  boundary  of  Roxbury. 
A  beach  existed  where  now  is  Charles 
Street,  and  the  lower  part  of  Cambridge 
Street,  on  both  sides,  was  a  marsh. 

Less   than   a   century   ago,  land   on 


210  Beacon  Hill  Before  the  Houses. 

Beacon  Hill  was  as   cheap   as   public  ward  compelled  by  the  town  to  fence 

documents.     Ministers  are  enjoined  not  in  his  vacant  land,  he  conveyed  back 

to  be  worldly  minded,  and  not  to  be  to  the  town,  for  thirty  pounds,  all  but 

given  to  filthy  lucre.    But  the  Reverend  the  six-acre  lot  at  the  corner  of  Beacon 

James  Allen  would  furnish  an  excellent  and     Spruce    Streets,    and    extending 

pattern  for  a  modern  real-estate  specu-  westerly  to  Charles  River,  and  northerly 

lator.      In    addition    to    his    pasture  to    Pinckney  Street,   where    he    lived 

on  the  south  side  of  Cambridge  Street,  until  1635,  when  he  removed  to  Rhode 

he  had  also  a  twenty-acre  pasture  on  Island,  and  founded   the   town  which 

the  north  side  of  that  street,  between  bears  his  name. 

Chambers  Street  and  Charles  River,  It  will  thus  be  perceived  that  the 
extending  to  Poplar  Street,  for  which  he  portion  of  Beacon  Hill,  included  be- 
paid  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds,  tween  Beacon  Street,  Beaver  Street, 
New-England  currency,  equivalent  to  Cambridge  Street,  Bowdoin  Square, 
four  hundred  and  sbcty-seven  dollars.  Court  Street,  Tremont  Row,  and  Tre- 
equal  to  twenty-three  dollars  per  acre,  mont  Street,  containing  about  seventy- 
He  was  thus  the  proprietor  of  all  the  three  acres,  was  sold,  less  than  a  century 
territory  from  Pinckney  Street  to  Poplar  ago,  at  prices  ranging  from  twenty- two 
Street,  between  Joy  Street  and  Chambers  to  nine  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  aggre- 
Street  on  the  east,  and  Grove  Street  gating  less  than  thirty  thousand  dollars, 
and  Charles  River  on  the  west ;  for  It  now  comprises  the  ninth  ward  of  the 
which  he  paid  the  magnificent  sum  of  city  of  Boston,  and  contains  within  its 
nine  hundred  and  sixty-seven  dollars  !  limits  a  real  estate  valuation  of  sixteen 
It  was  called  "Allen's  Farm."  The  millions  of  dollars.  Its  name  and  fame 
Capitol  lot,  containing  ninety -five  are  associated  with  important  events 
thousand  square  feet.  Was  bought  by  and  men  prominent  in  Amepcan  annals, 
the  town  of  Boston  of  John  Hancock  Upon  its  slopes  have  dwelt  Josiah 
(who,  though  a  devoted  patriot  to  the  Quincy,  of  ante  -  Revolutionary  fame, 
American  cause,  yet  in  all  his  busi-  and  his  son  and  namesake  of  civic 
ness  transactions  had  an  eye  to  profit),  fame ;  and  also  his  grandson  and  name- 
for  the  sum  of  thirteen  thousand  sake,  and  Edmund,  equally  distin- 
three  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars ;  guished ;  Lemuel  Shaw,  Robert  G. 
only  twenty  times  as  much  as  he  gave  Shaw,  Daniel  Webster,  Abbott  Law- 
for  it !  The  town  afterward  conveyed  it  rence,  Samuel,  Nathan,  and  William 
to  the  Commonwealth  for  five  shillings,  Appleton,  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  Mrs. 
upon  condition  that  it  should  be  used  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  J.  Lothrop  Motley, 
for  a  Capitol.  In  1846,  the  city  of  William  H.  Prescott,  Charles  Sumner, 
Boston  paid  one  hundred  and  forty-five  John  A.  Andrew,  John  C.  Warren,  Mrs. 
thousand  one  hundred  and  seven  dollars  Sarah  J.  Hale,  Lyman  Beecher,  William 
for  the  reservoir  lot  containing  thirty-  E.  Channing,  and  Hosea  Ballou.  La- 
seven  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-  fayette  made  it  his  temporary  home  in 
eight  square  feet.  In  1633,  the  town  1824,  and  Kossuth  in  1852.  During  the 
granted  to  William  Blackstone  fifty  acres  present  century,  the  laws  of  Massachu- 
of  land  wherever  he  might  select.  He  setts  have  been  enacted  upon  and  pro- 
accordingly  selected  upon  the  south-  mulgated  from  its  summit,  and  will 
westerly  slope  of  Beacon  Hill,  which  probably  continue  so  to  be  for  ages 
included   the   Common.     Being  after-  to  come. 


-iai^ir/ii'- 


'^^^i./u^Try^^/ 


THE 

RANiTE  neNTHLY. 

A   NEW    HAMPSHIRE   MAGAZINE. 
'Devoted  to  Literature,  T^iographv,  History,  ami  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX.      -  AUGUST,   r8S6.  No.  8. 


COLONEL  JOSEPH  'WENTWORTH. 


liY   JOHN    N.    MCCLINTOCK,    A.    M. 


The  Prohibition  party  of  the  State  of  of  Representatives  from  1807  to   18 10, 

New  Hampshire  in  convention  assem-  in   1812,  1814   and    1815,  was   in  the 

bled,  in  July,  1886,  duly  chose  as  their  State  Senate  in   18 18,  18 19  and  1820, 

candidate  for  governor  of  the  common-  and  was  one  of  the  Presidential  electors 

wealth  Colonel    Joseph  Wentworth,  of  in  18 16.     He  died  in    Dover  January 

Concord.  28,    1826.     Abigal  Cogswell,  his  wife, 

The  Prohibition  party,  like  the  anti-  died  February  14,  1828.     Their  daugh- 
slavery  party  of   ank  bellum   days,   is  ter,   Lydia  C,  above  named,  was  born 
composed  of  men  who  are  banded  to-  in  Dover,  May  30,    1793,  and  died  in 
gether  to  enforce  a  great  moral  reform,  Concord,  N.  H.,  August  24,  1872. 
the    suppression  of   the   liquor   traffic.         His  paternal  great  grandfather.  Judge 
They  see  on  every  hand  the  evil  of  in-  John  Wentworth,  presided  at  the  Rev- 
temperance,    the  curse   of   rum,  more  olutionary  Convention  in  New  Hamp- 
baneful   and   fatal    than    slavery.     The  shire.     His    grandfather,    John   Went- 
rank  and  file  of  the  party  have  been  re-  worth,  Jr.,  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
cruited  from  both  of  the  great  political  tinental  Congress, 
organizations,   from  among  men  of  all        His  father,  Paul  Wentworth,  was  born 
creeds  ;  and  they  are  determined  to  per-  in  Dover,  N.  H.,  April  22,  1782;  was 
severe  in   a  course   they    think  to   be  married  March  30,   18 14.     He  was  a 
right  until  they  are  finally  successful  in  successful  merchant  for  several  years  at 
enforcing  their  ideas.  Dover,  but  soon  after  his  marriage  he 

Col.  Joseph  Wentworth  was  born  in  removed  to  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  where  he 
Sandwich,  N.  H.,  January  30,  1818.  had  eight  children  born,  four  of  whom 
His  parents,  Paul  and  Lydia  C-  Went-  now  survive,  to  wit :  Hon.  John  Went- 
worth, were  both  descendants  of  Ezek-  worth,  of  Chicago,  Joseph,  aforenamed, 
iel,  son  of  Elder  William  Wentworth.  Samuel  H.  Wentworth,  attorney-at-law 
His  maternal  grandfather,  Col.  Amos  in  Boston,  and  Mrs.  Mary  F.  (Went- 
Cogswell,  served  through  the  entire  war  worth)  Porter,  of  Boston, 
of  the  Revolution.  He  represented  He  was  representative  in  the  Legis- 
Dovcr  in  the  New  Hampshire   House  lature  from  Sandwich  in   1831,    1832, 


2/2 


Col.  Joseph  WentwortJi. 


1833,  1S34.  1839,  1840,  and  1841.  In 
1844  he  removed  to  Concord,  N.  H., 
and  died  August  31,  1855. 

Col.  Joseph  VVoiitworth,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  is  a  descendant  of  no- 
ble ancestry.  No  better  blood  courses 
through  the  veins  of  any  man  in  the 
(Jranite  State.  Me  took  his  first  Lessons 
in  life  among  the  ha'rdy  sons  of  that 
mountainous  region.  He  was  educated 
at  the  Academy  at  New  Hampton  in 
1835,  at  Hopkinton  in  1836,  and  South 
Berwick  in  1837.  He  was  a  successful 
merchant  thirty  years  in  his  native  town, 
not  only  conducting  a  general  country 
store  and  a  large  farm,  but  dealing 
largely  in  cattle  and  horses.  He  was 
town  clerk,  selectman,  and  representa- 

'J  :  i  J 

tiyetothe  Legislature  in  1844  and  1845, 
delegate  from  Sandwich  in  1850  to  the 
convention  called  to  revise  the  Consti- 
tution  of  the  State,  and  from  Concord 
to  the  Constitutional  Convention  in 
1876.  He  was  aid  to  Gov.  John  Page, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  was  quar- 
termaster  several '  years  ^  \\\  the  New 
Hampshire  Horse  Guards.  He  \yas 
register  of  deeds  for  Carroll  county  two 
years,  high  sheriff  for  same  county  five 
years,  and  for  fifteen  years  was  post- 
master. He  was  also  for  many  years 
President  and  chief  owner  of  Carroll 
County  National  Bank.  '_'^"  ^ 

Xx^  i3;7.P,  he  gave  the  old  homestead 
to  his  son  Paul  and  removed  to  Con- 
cord, where  he  bought  the  residence  o^ 
the  late  President  Pierce,  on  Main  Street' 
and  other  property  adjoining  amount- 
ing to  some  $26,000,  and  went  into 
mercantile  business  for  a  while,  after 
that,  into  banking.  He  was  elected  two 
years  as  assessor  of  taxes,  apd.  yvas  rep- 
resentative, to  the  State  Legislature  in 
1878.  He  married,  May  7,  1845,  Sa- 
rah Payson  Jones,  of  Brookline,  Mass. 
They  had^born  in  Sandwich  six  children, 


two  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of 
whom  survive.  The  two  sons,  Paul  and 
Moses,  were  three  years  at  the  Academy 
at  Andover,  Mass.,  entered  Har\ard 
College  the  same  day,  graduated  the 
same  day  in  1868,  just  one  hundred 
years  after  the  graduation  of  their  great 
grandfather  from  the  same  college  :  ami 
from  their  high  rank  in  their  class  both 
were  assigned  a  part  on  graduation  day, 
the  records  of  the  college  showing  no 
other  such  case  of  two  brothers.  The 
daughters  are  Sarah  C,  wife  of  W.  F. 
Tha\er,  of  Concord,  Lydia  C,  wife  of 
George  S.  Hoyt,  of  Sandwich,  Susan  J. 
wife  of  Charles  W.  Woodward,  of  Con- 
cord, and  Dolly  F.  Wentworth,  who  re- 
sides with  her  parents. 

He  was  nominated  in  July,  1886,  as 
a  candidate  for  governor  of  the  State 
by  the  prohibition  party,  and  is  drawing 
many  voters  to  the  ranks  by  the  moral 
and  religious  sentiment  he  inculcates  in 
his  lectures  as  he  canvasses  the  State. 
He  is  a  good  speaker,  of  commanding 
personal  appearance,  being  six  feet 
three  inches  in  height,  and  of  unblem- 
ished character.  He  is  a  man  of  brains, 
pluck,  and  of  great  activity.  He  has 
by  industry  and  sobriety  (never  having 
used  tobacco  or  intoxicating  drinks  in 
any  form)  accumulated  a  plenty  of  this 
world's  goods,  generously  disposing  of 
portions  of  it  to  his  children  and  to 
benevolent  objects,  as  they  have  from 
time  to  time  favorably  come  to  his  no- 
tice. He  possesses  executive  abilities 
of  the  highest  order  and  excellent  judg- 
ment. His  opinions  upon  important 
matters  both  private  and  public  are  fre- 
quently sought  for.  -  Weighing,  as  he 
doeS;  every  question  in  his  own  even 
scales  of  justice,  he  usually  arrives  at  a 
correct  verdict.  '  -c   •■'■.:-::.•  'ffii 

And  last  and  besl't'f  al  Tie  iG^astrotig" 
believer  in  the  verities  of   the  Bible, 


Col.  Joseph  IVentwortJi. 


213 


having  those  truths  early  instilled  into  eternal  future.     If  the  Prohibition  party 

his  youthful  mind    by  the   pious   teach-  is  successful  in  the  contest  with  its  two 

ings  of  a   beloved   father  and   mother,  opponents  and  elects   Col.  Wentworth 

anil  is  at  present  a   constant   attendant  for  the  next  governor  of   New   Hamp- 

of    Rev.    Dr.    Crane's    church    of    his  shire,  the  citizens  of  the  Slate  will  have 

adopted  city.     On  the  sacred  teachings  a  governor  in  whom  tliey  w.ll  take  pride. 

o(  the  holy  scriptures  he,  when  a  young  He   will   honor  the   office   and    do    his 

man,    founded    his   taith,    and    on    thai  whole  duty, 
faith    he  is   perfectly  willing  to  rest    his 


While  the  outside  world  are  being 
slowly  enlightened  as  to  the  advantages 
to  be  secured  by  using  ''  The  Concord 
Harness,"  the  Standard  Harness  of 
America,  manufactured  only  by  the  old 
and  reliable  firm  of  James  R.  Hill  & 
Co.,  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  the 
people  of  our  own  State  should  fully 


appreciate  the  advantages  of  having  in 
the  most  central  location  in  the  com- 
monwealth a  firm  which  caters  so  di- 
rectly to  the  welfare  and  peace  of  mind 
of  the  travelling  i)ublic  as  to  furnish 
a  harness  that  can  be  depended  upon 
implicitly  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances. 


Constant  Reader.     Of    course   it   is  Hampshire,   you  would    do  well   to  call 

so.     We  try  to  have  only  the  best  stores  at  their  store  and  see  if  it  is  not  just  as 

represented  in  our  advertisements,  and  they  say.     Read  their  advertisement  in 

when   E.  W.   Willard  &   Co.  say  they  this  number, 
have  the  best  line  of  garments  in  New 


.TiVi    . 


214 


Book  Notice. 


BOOK    NOTICE. 


I"ki,i,()W-Traveli,krs:    a    Story.      l>y   Ed- 
ward Fuller. 

\\\\\  Mr.  P'uller  should  have  taken 
the  pains  to  style  his  book  a  "  story," 
we  surely  have  not  the  least  idea.  No 
one  would  be  likely  to  mistake  it  for  an 
epic,  a  drama,  or  a  philosophical  treat- 
ise. We  do  not  understand  Mr.  Fuller's 
object.  Possibly  he  objects  to  the  word 
"novel,"  or  "romance,"  and  uses 
"  story  "  in  preference  as  a  milder  or 
humbler  term.  It  is  certainly  mild 
enough, — the  story,  we  mean.  Dish- 
water couldn't  well  be  weaker.  One 
needs  a  bottle  of  ammonia  while  reading 
it,  to  keep  awake.  It  is  a  combination 
of  Sue  and  Professor  Ingraham  (not  the 
author  of  the  "  Prince  of  the  House  of 
David,"  but  his  son),  much  diluted.  It 
has  the  insi})idity  of  Ingraham  and  the 
tiresome  narration  of  Sue.  Is  it,  in- 
deed, a  "story"?  In  our  opinion, 
"  Fellow-Travellers "  bears  the  same 
relation  to  a  story,  which  a  Turkey 
carpet  bears  to  a  picture.  There  are 
colors  in  the  Turkey  carpet  of  which  a 
picture  might  be  made.  So  are  there 
words  in  Mr.  Fuller's  book,  which,  when 
disjiosed  in  certain  orders  and  combi- 
nations, would  make  an  excellent  story  ; 
but,  as  they  now  stand,  they  make  only 
a  vague,  wearisome,  rambling  composi- 
tion. — •  a  rhapsody,  without  plot,  char- 
acter, painting,  strong  situations,  or 
graphic  description  of  any  sort.  He 
should  have  written  a  "  strange  story," 
or  "an  uncommon  story  :  "  that  would 
have  expressed  something. 

We  really  did  our  best  to  read  the 
"  story,"  but  the  dulness  on  every  page 
exacted  a  vast  expenditure  of  nervous 
energy  before  we  finished  it.  The 
characters  are  ordinary,  commonplace 
people.  We  do  not  believe  there  are 
half  as  many  inane,  wearisome  people 
in  all  Salem  (the  locale  of  the  story)  as 
are  in  this  book.  Miss  Mira  Damon  has 
the  most  flesh  and  blood ;  but  she  evi- 
ently  is  not  the  author's  favorite,  for  he 
makes  the  hero,  Winslow  Carver,  marry 
Grace  Winthrop.  There  is  a  breath  of 
the    Puritans   in  the   names ;    but   the 


breath  is  very  faint,  and  the  maidens 
are  no  more  Puritans  than  they  are  any 
thing  else. 

The  dialogue  is  uniformly  tame  and 
uninteresting'  Very  little  is  said  to  for- 
ward the  movement  of  the  "  story." 
The  following  is  a  very  good  illustration 
of  Mr.  Fuller's  style  :  — 

"  '  I  wish  people  made  less  talk  over 
us  young  people,'  the  girl  continued. 
'  They  always  fasten  one  to  —  to  the 
wrong  one.' 

" ' Oh ! ' 

"  '  I  think  he  liked  Grace  Winthrop 
very  much.'  Mrs.  Elsmore  pursed  uj) 
her  lips.  She  would  feel  bitterly  toward 
Grace,  in  case  Winslow  never  married 
Fanny. 

"  '  Oh,  she  is  not  at  all  the  girl  for 
him  !  She  is  too  young,  and  not  at  all 
his  style.'  " 

Other  portions  remind  us  of  the 
dialogue  in  a  "  New-York  Weekly " 
detective  story.  The  following  is  a 
sample  :  — 

"  '  Whew,'  whistled  Jonder.  'So  you 
know  Ike  Damon  ?  ' 

"  '  I  didn't  say  I  knew  him.' 

"'Wal,  I  do.' 

" '  I  ran  across  him  in  New  York. 
He  has  lived  there  several  years,  you 
know.' 

"  '  How  do  New  York  folks  take  to 
him?' 

"  How  do  Posett  folks  take  to 
him  ? '  retorted  Murse  with  a  sinister 
grin." 

Does  this  not  read  as  if  taken  right 
out  of  the  columns  of  "  Steve's  Pard  ; 
Or,  the  One-handed  Detective  of  Five 
Points  "  ? 

And  so  we  go  on  over  three  hundred, 
or,  to  be  exact,  three  hundred  and  forty- 
one  pages,  until  Mr.  Fuller  tells  us  that 
we  are  fellow-travellers  no  longer,  with 
a  seeming  tone  of  regret  that  few  will 
appreciate.  To  us  it  was  a  most  pleas- 
ing declaration ;  and  if,  we  are  ever 
again  "fellow-travellers"  with  Mr.  Ful- 
ler, we  trust  that  the  skies  will  be  fairer, 
and  the  summer  woods  more  green 
than  ever.  F.  M.  C. 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


215 


"" '  mm 


COLONEL   ALBERT  A.  POPE. 

BY  JOHX   y.  McCLINTOCK. 


In  the  minds  of  Americans  the  name 
of  Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope  is  insepara- 
bly connected  with  the  introduction  and 
manufacture  in  this  country  of  bicycles 
and  tricycles.  Outside  of  a  large  circle 
of  personal  friends,  however,  his  career, 
already  crowned  with  brilliant  success, 
his  manly  attributes  and  his  splendid 
character  are  unknown.  He  won  his 
rank  on  the  field  of  battle ;  he  is  one 
of  the  heroes  of  the  Union  army  ;  facts 
entitling  him  to  honor  and  recogni- 
tion aside  from  his  remarkable  business 
prosperity.  Energy,  sagacity,  executive 
ability  and  tenacity  are  among  his  per- 
sonal characteristics,  contributing  to  his 
good  fortune.  Good  sense,  and  not 
good  luck,  has  been  the  cause  of  his 
victory  in  the  strife  for  fame  and  riches. 

Albert  A.  Pope  was  born  in  Boston 
May  20,  1843.  ^^  sprang  from  good 
stock.  His  father,  Charles  Pope,  of 
Boston,  still  vigorous  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-two years,  has  been  an  active  and 
stirring  business  man.  His  grandfather, 
Frederick  Pope,  Jr.,  of  Dorchester,  was 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  merchants 
and  builders  of  that  town  at  the  open- 
ing of  this  century,  and  had  the  sagacity 


to  open  a  branch  of  his  lumber  business 
in  eastern  Maine.  His  great  grand- 
father. Colonel  Frederick  Pope,  was  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Stoughton,  repre- 
sentative to  the  General  Court,  and  a 
gallant  officer  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  The  father  of  this  first  American 
Colonel  Pope  of  whom  record  appears 
was  the  greatly  beloved  Dr.  Ralph  Pope, 
one  of  Stoughton's  pioneers,  son  of 
Ralph  Pope,  husbandman,  a  well  to  do 
citizen  of  old  Dorchester,  whose  father, 
John  Pope,  first  appears  in  the  records  of 
that  oldest  plantation  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  Colony  in  1633.  The  John 
Pope,  Senior,  who  is  mentioned  in  the 
records  from  1634  onward,  and  named  as 
a  selectman  in  1 63  7,  and  who  was  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  covenant  with  Rev. 
Richard  Mather  in  1636,  is  presumed 
to  have  been  the  emigrant  ancestor  of 
the  Pope  family  of  Dorchester.  The 
mothers  of  the  line  have  been  well  con- 
nected, bringing  in  the  qualities  of  wor- 
thy families,  Neale,  Stubbs,  Cole,  Clapp, 
Blake,  Pierce,  and  others,  Puritan  or 
Pilgrim,  of  English  descent. 

Albert  A.  Pope's  mother  was  a  lady 
of  rare  discernment  and  quiet  decision 


2l6 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


of  character,  one  of  the  best  of  moth- 
ers, a  daughter  of  Captain  James  Bog- 
man  of  Boston,  an  enterprising  ship- 
master and  a  commander  in  the 
U.  S.  Army  during  the  War  of  1812. 
Sons  often  owe  much  of  their  inner 
quahty  and  merit  to  their  mother ; 
certainly  it  was  a  great  element  in  the 
make-up  and  progress  of  Colonel  Pope's 
career  to  be  the  child,  and  so  long 
under  the  influence  of  that  peculiarly 
clear  headed,  true  hearted,  Christian 
mother. 

In  1846  the  family  removed  to  Brook- 
line.  In  April,  1852,  his  father  having 
failed  in  business,  young  Pope,  then  in  his 
ninth  year,  applied  to  a  farmer  for  work 
and  obtained  employment  in  riding  a 
horse  to  plough.  This  he  continued  af- 
ternoons until  the  summer  vacation, 
when  he  devoted  all  his  time  to  working 
on  the  farm  ;  and  for  the  next  three  years, 
during  about  six  months  of  the  year  after- 
noons, in  the  summer  time  late  into  the 
night.  His  vacations  also  were  all 
spent  in  farm  work. 

In  the  summer  of  1856  he  com- 
menced buying  fruit  and  vegetables  of 
the  farmers  and  selling  them  to  the 
neighbors,  carrying  them  in  baskets  on 
his  arm.  The  next  year  he  was  able  to 
hire  a  horse  and  wagon  for  the  whole 
season.  Early  in  the  morning  he  was 
on  the  road  to  Boston,  arriving  at  Quincy 
market  before  light,  where  he  made 
purchases  of  vegetables  ;  then  he  would 
drive  home  to  deliver  part  of  them  on 
orders  before  going  to  school  and  the 
balance  in  the  afternoon.  This  work 
he  continued  to  do  during  that  season 
and  the  next  and  during  a  part  of  the 
summer  of  1858,  going  to  school  all 
the  time  and  keeping  up  in  his  studies 
with  the  average  of  the  boys  of  his  own 
age  in  the  school.  He  had  a  good 
memory,  learned  easily,  was  quick  of 


comprehension,  and  stood  well  in  his 
classes.  As  a  boy  he  developed  a  re- 
markable business  ability,  and  was  ad- 
mired for  his  enterprise  and  pluck  by 
his  schoolmates,  for  whom  he  frequently 
found  employment  in  gathering  crops 
which  he  had  purchased  in  the  field  or 
in  the  orchard.  During  these  years  of 
his  early  youth  he  had  very  little  time 
to  play,  for  he  had  not  only  the  care  of 
his  own  horse  but  the  care  of  the  horse 
and  cow  belonging  to  his  father ;  and 
besides  he  did  all  the  chores  around 
the  place. 

In  the  late  fall  of  1858,  when  he  was 
fifteen  years  of  age,  young  Pope  went 
to  work  for  Mr.  Harrington  in  Quincy 
market,  and  all  winter  long  had  to  ride 
from  Brookline  to  the  market  with  him 
in  an  open  wagon  before  daylight.  To 
show  the  severity  of  this  experience  it 
is  recorded  that  during  the  winter  three 
mornings  in  succession  the  thermome- 
ter indicated  twenty-two,  twenty-three 
and  twenty-four  degrees  below  zero. 
Late  in  the  winter  he  gave  up  his  place 
in  the  market  and  was  employed  by  the 
firm  of  Brooks  &  Mecuen,  dealers  in 
shoe  findings,  shoe  machinery,  leather, 
pegs,  etc.  Their  store  was  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Blackstone  and  Shoe  and  Leather 
Streets.  He  used  to  walk  from  Brook- 
line  during  the  summer  and  walk  home 
at  night,  five  miles  each  way,  to  save 
eight  cents  car  fare.  He  carried  all 
that  he  had  to  eat  during  the  day,  and 
when  he  got  home  at  night  he  was  fre- 
quently so  tired  that  he  could  hardly 
eat  the  frugal  supper  that  was  ready  for 
him.  His  wages  were  four  dollars  a 
week,  half  of  which  he  paid  for  his 
board ;  from  the  balance  he  used  to 
save  money.  His  old  account  books, 
which  he  kept  with  great  care,  show 
that  one  month  he  spent  fourteen  cents 
and  another  month  twenty-eight  cents. 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


21  7 


While  in  the  employment  of  Brooks 
&  Mecuen  he  had  to  do  the  work  that 
porters  do  now ;  shovel  the  sidewalks, 
wash  the  windows  about  once  a  week 
winter  and  summer,  lift  heavy  machin- 
ery, carry  bags  of  pegs  amounting  to 
three  bushels  from  the  store  to  the  cor- 
ner of  Milk  and  Kilby  Streets,  and  sev- 
eral times  a  week  carry  on  his  back 
bales  of  thread  weighing  one  hundred 
pounds  many  blocks  away.  In  those 
days  he  had  to  do  work  that  no  one 
now  would  think  of  imposing  upon  a 
full  grown  man. 

When  the  mutterings  of  the  Rebellion 
were  first  heard  in  the  land  the  young 
man  was  imbued  with  patriotic  and  mili- 
tary ardor,  and  devoted  all  his  spare  time 
to  studying  the  tactics  and  army  regula- 
tions. He  joined  the  Zalimac  Zouaves, 
was  sergeant  in  a  battery  of  artillery,  a 
section  of  which  he  used  to  drill  to  be- 
come familiar  with  artillery  practice, 
and  was  a  captain  in  a  company  of 
Home  Guards.  In  the  meantime  the 
firm  which  employed  him  moved  up  to 
107  Milk  Street.  He  had  a  gun  in  the 
store,  business  then  was  very  dull,  the 
neighboring  clerks  frequently  dropped 
in,  and  whenever  he  could  he  drilled 
them  in  the  manual  of  arms. 

In  the  summer  of  1862  President 
Lincoln  called  for  three  hundred  thou- 
sand volunteers  for  three  years  or  for 
the  war  ;  and  in  response  to  the  call  the 
Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  took  the  field.  One  com- 
pany was  from  Newburyport,  one  from 
Chelsea,  one  from  Haverhill,  one  from 
Weymouth,  one  from  Roxbury,  the  bal- 
ance from  eastern  Massachusetts  towns. 
The  Roxbury  company,  K,  illustrates 
the  character  of  the  regiment.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  volunteers  offered 
their  services.  Of  the  one  hundred 
and  one  who  were  accepted,  eighty  were 


between  twenty  and  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  and  about  one  half  of  the  company 
were  married  men.  All  signed  their 
names  in  a  clear,  legible  hand  writing. 
In  this  regiment  of  one  thousand  and 
thirteen  men,  Albert  A.  Pope,  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  years,  was  commissioned 
second  lieutenant,  being  the  junior,  and 
joined  his  command  at  Camp  Whipple, 
on  Arlington  Heights,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Washington,  early  in  Septem- 
ber. Before  the  close  of  the  war  it 
happened  that  in  an  important  engage- 
ment the  junior  officer  had  command 
of  the  regiment. 

The  history  of  this  regiment,  the 
Thirty-fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers, 
has  been  ably  and  carefully  written  by 
a  committee  of  the  survivors,  and  from 
it  one  can  trace  not  only  the  perils  and 
hardships  of  the  organization  as  a  whole, 
but  of  the  individual  soldiers  and  offi- 
cers. Of  the  original  members  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  were  killed  or 
died  of  wounds  in  the  service  ;  sixty- 
four  died  of  disease  or  accident  in  the 
service  ;  three  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
were  discharged  for  disability  from  dis- 
ease or  wounds ;  one  hundred  and  ten 
were  transferred  to  the  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps  and  other  organizations ;  and 
only  three  hundred  and  thirty-two  vet- 
erans were  mustered  out  at  expiration 
of  service  at  the  close  of  the  war  in 
1865. 

The  regiment  participated  in  the  Bat- 
tle of  South  Mountain  with  but  slight 
loss,  but  at  Antietam  it  was  terribly  cut 
up,  losing  in  the  two  days  fight  seventy- 
eight  killed  and  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five wounded.  Less  than  three 
hundred  men  reported  for  duty  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  including  five  line  offi- 
cers. These  first  battles  made  men  of 
boys,  soldiers  of  recruits ;  the  ensuing 
campaign  made  every  soldier  a  veteran. 


!l8 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


The  regiment  participated  in  the  at- 
tack on  Sulphur  Springs  and  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg  in  1862;  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg  and  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
in  1863;  the  invasion  ^f  eastern  Ten- 
nessee and  defense  of  Knoxville ;  the 
Wilderness  campaign  and  the  siege  of 
Petersburg ;  the  charge  into  the  crater 
of  the  Mine ;  the  bombardment ;  and 
the  pursuit  of  the  remnant  of  Lee's 
army  towards  Appomattox.  The  regi- 
ment was  the  first  to  enter  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  after  seven  days  fighting, 
and  captured  more  prisoners  than  they 
had  men  in  their  command. 

After  the  fall  of  Chattanooga  and  the 
deliverance  of  East  Tennessee  fi-om  the 
Confederates,  Captain  Pope  was  ordered 
home  for  a  short  time  on  recruiting  ser- 
vice, his  duty  being  to  take  detach- 
ments of  recruits  from  Boston  to  the 
front.  After  about  two  months  of  this 
service  Captain  Pope  was  ordered  to 
join  his  regiment,  then  fighting  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  campaigns 
of  Grant.  He  was  directed  to  take 
about  six  hundred  recruits  on  the 
steamer  United  States  from  Boston  Har- 
bor to  Alexandria  on  his  way,  a  duty  he 
performed  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  On 
his  arrival  in  Washington  the  city  was 
threatened  by  the  enemy  and  he  was  or- 
dered to  headquarters  to  report  for  duty. 
The  task  of  organizing  a  regiment  of  artil- 
lery men  from  the  convalescent  camp 
inside  of  thirty-six  hours  was  assigned 
to  him.  Fifteen  officers  reported  to  him, 
and  in  less  than  twelve  hours  he  had  a 
regiment  of  eight  hundred  men  organ- 
ized, armed,  equipped,  and  ready  to 
march.  With  this  regiment  he  relieved 
the  garrisons  at  Forts  Slocum  and  Ste- 
vens and  was  assigned  command  of 
these  important  posts.  When  the  im- 
mediate danger  was  over  he  was  relieved 
and  served  a  few  days  on  court  martial, 


then  joined  his  regiment  before  Peters- 
burg. At  one  time  he  was  temporarily 
in  command  of  Fort  Hell,  a  most  im- 
portant position  on  the  line,  where  his 
men  were  under  fire  continuously  and 
where  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
picket  posts  were  only  fifteen  yards 
apart.  It  was  a  proud  moment  for  Col- 
onel Pope  when  he  rode  into  Peters- 
burg at  the  head  of  his  regiment. 

After  he  had  been  in  the  regiment  a 
little  over  two  years  he  was  the  only  orig- 
inal officer  in  the  line  left  with  it ;  and  at 
one  time  there  was  no  line  offtcer  serv- 
ing with  the  regimect  who  was  even  a 
commissioned  officer  when  he  was  a 
captain. 

Colonel  Pope  was  commissioned  first 
lieutenant  of  Company  K  March  23, 
1863.  He  was  commissioned  captain 
of  Company  I  November  15,  1863.  He 
was  commissioned  brevet  major  and 
lieutenant  colonel  March  13,  1865,  for 
meritorious  conduct  before  Petersburg. 
He  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment 
June  9,  1865.  He  served  continuously^ 
in  the  field  save  for  the  short  time  in 
the  summer  of  1864  when  he  was  de- 
tailed on  recruiting  service,  and  returned 
to  civil  life  a  veteran  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-two years.  His  clerkship  before  the 
war  had  been  his  preparatory  school ; 
his  army  life  was  his  college  course  ;  he 
was  graduated  with  high  honors. 

During  his  three  years  service  he  im- 
proved all  his  leisure  moments  by  study. 
The  science  of  war  received  his  atten- 
tion first ;  art,  physical  science  and  liter- 
ature came  next. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
home  and  applied  for  employment  with 
the  old  firm.  They  had  signed  a  pa- 
per in  common  with  other  merchants 
that  the  clerks  who  went  to  the  war  and 
who  lived  to  come  home  should  have 
as  good  a  place  provided  for  them  as  if 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


219 


they  had  not  gone.  They  offered  him 
seven  dollars  a  week  to  go  to  work  for 
them,  which,  inasmuch  as  he  had  led  a 
regiment  in  battle  and  commanded  a 
regiment  of  artillery,  seemed  to  be 
rather  a  come  down.  He  finally  went 
back  at  the  solicitation  of  one  of  the 
firm,  and  stayed  there  a  few  weeks. 
When  he  left  the  firm  were  liberal 
enough  to  pay  him  ten  dollars  a  week. 
Having  left  the  old  firm  he  went  into 
business  for  himself  with  a  capital  of 
nine  hundred  dollars  which  he  had 
saved  and  the  first  year,  notwith- 
standing his  old  employers  said  he 
would  not  earn  his  salt,  he  made  nine 
thousand  six  hundred  dollars.  Every 
year  since  then  his  business  has  been 
constantly  increasing.  It  was  but  a 
very  few  years  before  he  did  a  very 
much  larger  business  and  made  a  great 
deal  more  money  than  the  firm  of  his 
old  employers.  The  watchword  of  his 
regiment,  "promptly,  "  became  a  busi- 
ness motto  with  him. 

Soon  after  entering  business  for  him- 
self he  began  to  take  on  extra  personal 
expenses  in  helping  his  father's  family. 
He  assumed  the  care  and  expense  of 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  one  after  an- 
other, educating  his  two  sisters  for  the 
medical  profession,  later  on  his  brother 
for  the  ministry,  and  within  a  ver}'  short 
time  assummg  the  entire  expense  of  the 
household,  which  consisted  of  his  fa- 
ther and  mother,  three  sisters  and  two 
brothers,  and  his  older  brother's  two 
children,  who  fell  to  his  care  at  his 
brother's  death.  His  business  grew 
and  prospered  each  year  until  the  Bos- 
ton fire,  when,  like  many  others,  his 
losses  were  large, — more  than  sixty 
thousand  dollars, — yet  this  did  not  in- 
terfere or  cripple  him  in  his  business, 
for  he  paid  everything  he  owed  to  every- 
body within  two  weeks  after  the  Boston 


fire.  A  dozen  years  of  successful  com- 
petition in  the  commercial  world  gave 
him  the  experience  needed  to  inaugurate 
and  conduct  a  great  business  enterprise 
in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  bicycles, 
an  undertaking  which  required  great 
foresight,  good  judgment,  the  executive 
ability  of  a  commanding  general,  the 
skill  of  an  engineer,  the  courage  and 
pluck  of  a  brave  soldier,  and  financial 
genius.  These  qualities  were  happily 
combined  in  Colonel  Pope ;  he  seized 
the  command ;  the  public  recognized 
the  justice  of  his  claim  to  lead,  and 
have  never  asked  for  his  removal  from 
power. 

In  1863  Pierre  Lallement,  a  work- 
man from  a  velocipede  factory  in  Paris, 
conceived  the  idea  of  applying  cranks 
to  the  forward  wheel  for  propulsion, 
made  one  on  this  principle  and  rode  it 
in  the  streets  of  New  Haven  to  the  as- 
tonishment of  the  public,  and  took  out 
a  patent  in  November,  1866,  in  con- 
nection with  an  enterprising  na- 
tive of  New  England.  In  1868  the 
manufacture  of  velocipedes  was  com- 
menced in  a  small  way  in  this  country. 
The  following  year  there  was  a  craze  on 
the  subject,  rinks  and  riding  schools 
springing  up  in  every  city  and  large 
town  while  the  fever  lasted.  The 
spring  and  summer  of  1870  demonstra- 
ted in  every  quarter  that  the  machines 
were  not  adapted  for  use  on  the  high- 
ways and  therefore  practically  useless 
except  as  toys  at  rinks.  The  velocipede 
for  men  was  completely  abandoned  in 
this  country  as  a  total  failure,  but  the 
English  mechanics  would  not  give  up  the 
idea  and  worked  away  at  it  until  they 
developed  the  modern  bicycle,  using  to 
advantage  the  inventions  of  American 
mechanics.  The  most  important 
changes  introduced  were  the  round  rub- 
ber tire,  the  suspension  wheel  with  its 


220 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


wire  spokes  and  steel  rims,  the  tubular 
frame  work,  the  enlargement  of  the 
forward  wheel,  the  decreasing  in  size  of 
the  rear  wheel,  the  leg  guard,  the  bi- 
furcated fork  over  the  rear  wheel, 
besides  other  improvements  of  less 
importance.  The  first  bicycles  pub- 
licly exhibited  in  this  country  were 
shown  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in 
Philadelphia  in  1876. 

After  twelve  years  of  business  at  the 
head  of  the  shoe-finding  house,  Col- 
onel Pope  retired  from  that  to  take 
charge  of  the  bicycle  business,  which 
he  had  just  commenced  under  the  name 
of  The  Pope  Manufacturing  Co.,  which 
belonged  to  him  and  which  he  had  or- 
ganized into  a  company  some  time  be- 
fore for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the 
air  pistol  business. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  Mr.  John  Har- 
rington, an  English  gentleman,  was  a 
guest  at  his  house,  spending  several 
months  with  him,  and  he  was  so 
enthusiastic  over  the  bicycle  that  in  or- 
der to  show  what  it  was  and  its  practica- 
bility he  had  one  made.  On  that  Colonel 
Pope  learned  to  ride,  and  having  learned 
he  began  to  think,  as  did  his  English 
friend,  that  the  bicycle  was  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  American  public.  Mr. 
Harrington  went  home  in  September  and 
Colonel  Pope  told  him  to  send  over  a  few- 
bicycles,  but  he  delayed  sending  them 
and  later  in  the  season  Colonel  Pope 
ordered  eight  bicycles  through  his  Eng- 
lish correspondent  in  Manchester.  They 
arrived  here  about  the  first  of  January. 
After  he  had  received  and  examined 
them  he  made  up  his  mind  that  there 
would  be  enough  in  the  business  to 
warrant  a  proper  outlay  of  capital,  and 
decided  to  go  into  it. 

Believing  that  if  there  was  much  to 
do  in  bicycling  we  should  have  to  man- 
ufacture  in   this   country,   early   in   the 


year  1878  he  interested  the  Weed  Sew- 
ing Machine  Company  in  the  manufac- 
ture. After  getting  them  started  on  the 
way  he  went  over  to  Europe  to  study 
up  the  manufacture  and  to  see  what 
hold  it  had  upon  the  English  people, 
and  also  to  determine  whether  he  should 
be  justified  in  making  the  large  outlay 
that  would  be  necessary  in  order  to 
make  it  a  successful  business.  He  re- 
turned in  the  sumi«er  well  satisfied  and 
fully  convinced  in  his  own  mind  that  in 
process  of  time  the  bicycle  interest  in 
this  country  would  equal  that  in  Eng- 
land, The  first  lot  of  fifty  was  made 
and  sold  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1878. 
Suddenly  there  arose  a  small  army  of 
owners  of  patents  demanding  royalties, 
for  more  than  a  thousand  inventions  for 
the  improvement  and  perfection  of  the 
velocipede  had  been  patented.  Emi- 
nent counsel  was  employed  and  all 
claims  were  carefully  investigated. 
Eventually  more  than  forty  patentees 
had  to  be  conciliated,  and  royalties 
ranging  from  %\  to  $10  each  had  to  be 
paid. 

Colonel  Pope's  policy  from  the  first 
was  to  secure  the  control  of  the  most 
important  inventions,  for  he  foresaw  the 
future  of  the  bicycle  business  and  real- 
ized the  necessity  of  being  in  command. 
He  was  obliged  to  invest  large  amounts 
of  money  in  patents. 

It  was  a  great  and  hazardous  under- 
taking to  embark  capital  jn  the  bicycle 
business  when  the  public  was  so  preju- 
diced against  them,  remembering  the 
total  failure  of  the  velocipede  craze  of 
earlier  days.  With  one  hand  he  had  to 
create  a  demand  and  with  the  other  cre- 
ate the  supply  ;  with  no  material  "at 
hand  suitable  for  the  work,  with  no  me- 
chanics familiar  with  bicycle  construc- 
tion,— all  having  to  be  educated  and 
trained  to  the  business.     There  was  no 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


231 


rolling  mill  in  the  country  that  would 
at  first  undertake  to  roll  the  steel  rims, 
and  it  was  only  by  giving  a  large  order 
far  in  excess  of  the  demand  that  at  last 
a  rolling  mill  would  consent  to  under- 
take to  roll  the  felloes.  He  had  the 
same  difficulty  with  back  bones,  forks, 
rubber  tires,  and  almost  everything  else 
that  entered  into  the  construction  of  the 
bicycle. 

At  last,  having  overcome  all  difficul- 
ties, he  put  on  the  market  a  bicycle  en- 
tirely the  product  of  American  industry, 
which  modestly  he  considers  equal  if 
not  superior  to  the  best  that  has  ever 
been  made.  With  its  introduction 
arose  several  legal  points  ;  even  its  right 
to  be  used  on  highways  had  to  be  es- 
tablished. All  these  points  have  been 
satisfactorily  adjusted. 

Since  its  organization  Colonel  Pope 
has  been  at  the  head  of  the  Pope  Man- 
ufacturing Company,  which  under  his 
management  ha'-  become  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  and  best  organized  of 
corporations  for  the  production  and  dis- 
tribution of  fine  machinery.  It  has  a 
large  factory  at  Hartford,  stores  and 
shops  in  Boston,  New  York  and  Chi- 
cago, and  some  four  hundred  agencies 
in  the  large  cities  and  towns,  and  it 
controls  nearly  one  hundred  patents. 
The  manufacture  of  tricycles  it  has 
more  recently  converted  into  a  great 
industry. 

This  sketch,  however,  is  a  personal 
account  of  the  founder  of  the  business 
rather  than  of  the  business  itself.  A 
gentleman  of  fine  executive  and  finan- 
cial ability,  Colonel  Pope's  attention 
has  not  been  confined  to  the  manufac- 
turing of  bicycles  and  tricycles  alone, 
for  he  is  largely  interested  in  other  bus- 
iness enterprises  of  magnitude,  and  is 
President  and  Director  in  several  cor- 
porations.    He  is  a  member  of  several 


social  clubs,  and  all  organizations  en- 
couraging athletic  sports  have  his  good 
will  if  not  membership. 

For  two  years  after  returning  from 
the  war  he  made  his  home  in  Brook- 
line  ;  since  then  in  Newton  until  very 
lately  he  has  taken  up  his  residence  on 
Commonwealth  Avenue,  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  to  be  nearer  his  place  of  busi- 
ness. A  view  of  his  house  in  Newton, 
his  home  for  many  years,  accompanies 
this  article.  His  Boston  residence  is  a 
model  for  convenience  and  elegant  ap- 
pointments. Here  is  displayed  the  fine 
artistic  taste  of  its  Qwner.  The  walls 
of  the  spacious  rooms  are  hung  with 
paintings  of  great  merit — the  produc- 
tion of  home  and  foreign  talent. 

In  politics  Colonel  Pope  is  an  In- 
dependent, one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  that  growing  party,  and  has 
always  favored  civil  service  reform. 
He  has  never  had  time  to  accept  office 
from  his  fellow  citizens,  except  a  minor 
town  office  in  Newton,  and  has  shunned 
publicity  except  in  the  way  of  business. 

In  his  domestic  relations  Colonel 
Pope  has  always  been  a  kind  and  con- 
siderate son  to  his  parents,  a  good 
brother,  a  father  to  his  orphaned  nephew 
and  niece,  a  devoted  husband,  and  a  ten- 
der parent  to  his  own  children.  To  his 
own  family  he  has  been  more  than  gener- 
ous,— he  has  been  lavish.  He  is  very 
hospitable  and  enjoys  company  at  his 
home.  He  has  a  large,  kind  heart,  is 
modest,  liberal  towards  charitable  ob- 
jects, good  natured,  fond  ofa  joke,  full  of 
fun  in  his  hours  of  relaxation,  unselfish, 
generous,  not  quarrelsome,  true  to  his 
friends,  kind  to  his  employees,  although 
a  strict  disciplinarian,  and  a  good  off- 
hand, after-dinner  speaker.  He  is  far- 
seeing  in  business,  patient  of  results, 
with  remarkable  business  and  executive 
ability. 


22; 


Colonel  Albert  A.  Pope. 


Eesidence  of  Col.  Ai  Ai  Pope,  Newton,  Mass 


He  cherishes  the  most  tender  mem- 
ories of  his  mother,  who  died  in  1885. 
To  him  she  was  the  noblest  and  truest 
woman  who  ever  lived.  She  was 
a  woman  of  large  intelligence, 
reading  on  all  subjects  that  her  chil- 
dren were  interested  in,  always  progres- 
sive, and  ready  to  discuss  any  subject 
of  interest  to  them.     She  taught  habits 


of  economy  and  taught  him  to  be  ord- 
erly and  methodical.  To  her  he  attrib- 
utes his  success  in  life. 

He  was  married  September  20,  1871, 
to  Abbie  Linder,  of  Newton,  whose  fa- 
ther, George  Linder,  was  one  of  the 
well  known  merchants  of  Boston.  Four 
children,  three  boys  and  one  girl,  bless 
their  home. 


/ 


"The  Story  of  a  Timid  Brave  "  is  a 
very  exciting  and  thrilling  one.  The 
scene  is  laid  at  the  far  West,  on  the  very 
frontier  of  civilization,  and  is  a  very  vivid 
and  graphic  description  of  life  among 
the  Indians  and  cowboys  and  first  set- 
tlers.     It  brings  out  in  glaring  light  the 


wrongs  and  iniquities  practiced  upon 
the  Indians  at  some  of  the  Agencies  of 
the  Government.  It  sheds  not  a  little 
light  on  the  Indian  question,  and  the 
origin  and  cause  of  some  of  our  Indian 
wars.  It  is  a  story  of  thrilling  inter- 
est. 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston.  223 


THE  FIRST  SCHOOLMASTER  OF  BOSTON. 

By  Elizabeth  Porter  Gould. 

When  Agassiz  requested  to  go  down  and  in  1643,  while  receiving  this  salary, 

the    ages   with   no    other    name   than  his  name  is  sixth  in  the  list  of  planters 

"Teacher,"  he  not  only  appropriately  and  their  estates,  his  estate  being  valued 

crowned  his  own  life-work,  but  stamped  only  at   twenty  pounds.     In  the   year 

the  vocation  of  teaching  with  a  royalty  following,  his  salary  was  raised  to  thirty 

which  can  never  be  gainsaid.     By  this  pounds  a  year.     This  probably  was  an 

act  he  dignified  with  lasting  honor  all  actual   necessity,   for    his    family  now 

thosf  to  whom  the  name  "Teacher,"  consisted,  besides  himself  and  wife,  of 

in  its  truest  meaning,  can  be  applied,  a  son  Samuel,  five  years   old,  and   a 

In   this  work  of  teaching,  one  man  daughter  Mary  of  four  years.     Ezekiel, 

stands  out  in  the  history  of  New  England  bom  two  years  before,  had  died .     This 

who   should   be   better   known   to  the  son,  Samuel,  it  may  be  said  in  passing, 

present   generation.     He  was   a  bene-  was  graduated   at  Harvard   College  in 

factor  in  the  colonial  days  when  educa-  1659,  and  was  settled  as  a  clergyman 

tion  was    striving  to   keep   her    lamp  at  Marblehead,  Massachusetts,  where  he 

burning  in  the  midst  of  the  necessary  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  having 

practical     work    which     engaged    the  been  universally   esteemed   during   his 

attention  of  most  of  the  people  of  that  long  life. 

time.     His  name  was  Ezekiel  Cheever,  Besides   being  the   teacher    of    the 

When   a  young   man   of  twenty-three  new  colony,  Mr.  Cheever  entered  into 

years,  he  came  from  London  —  where  other  parts  of  its  work.    He  was  one  of 

he   was   born    January   25,  16 14  —  to  the  twelve  men  chosen  as  "fittfor  the 

Boston,  seven  years  after  its  settlement,  foundacon  worke  of  the  church."     He 

The  following  spring  he  went  to  New  was  also  chosen  a  member  of  the  Court 

Haven,  where   he   soon  married,   and  for  the  plantation,  at  its   first  session, 

became  actively  engaged   in   founding  and  in  1646  he  was  one  of  the  depu- 

the   colony  there.      Among   the    men  ties  to  the  General  Court.     It  is  sup- 

who  went  there  the   same   year  was  a  posed  that  during  this  time   he  wrote 

Mr.  Wigglesworth,  whose  son,  in  later  his  valuable  little  book  called  The  Acci- 

years,  as  the  Reverend  Michael  Wiggles-  dence.      It  passed   through  seventeen 

worth,  gave  an  account  of  Mr,  Cheever's  editions  before  the  Revolution.     A  copy 

success  in  the  work  of  teaching,  which  of  the  eighteenth  edition,  printed    in 

he  began  soon  after  reaching  the  place.  Boston  in  1785,  is  now  in  the  Boston 

"  I  was  sent  to  school  to  Mr.  Ezekiel  Athenaeum.     It  is  a  quaint  little  book 

Cheever,  who  at  that  time  taught  school  of  seventy-two  pages,  with  one  cover 

in  his  own   house,  and  under  him  in  gone,  and  is  surely  an  object  of  interest 

a  year  or  two  I  profited  so  much  through  to  all  loving  students  of  Latin.     A  copy 

y«  blessing  of  God,  that   I   began   to  of  the  tenth  edition  is  found  in  Har- 

make  Latin  &  to  get  forward  apace."  vard  College,  while  it  has  been   said 

Mr.    Cheever    received    as  a  salary  that  a  copy  of  the  seventh  is  in  a  pri- 

for  two  or  three  years  twenty  pounds ;  vate  library  in  Hartford,  Connecticut. 


224 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston. 


The  last  edition  was  published  in  Boston 
in  1838.  In  a  prospectus,  containing 
commendations  of  the  work  from  many 
eminent  men  of  learning,  the  Honor- 
able Josiah  Quincy,  ll.d.,  president  of 
Harvard  College,  said  of  it :  "A  work 
which  was  used  for  more  than  a  century 
in  the  schools  of  New  England,  as  the 
first  elementary  book  for  learners  of  the 
Latin  language  ;  which  held  its  place 
in  some  of  the  most  eminent  of  those 
schools,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  end 
of  the  last  century;  which  has  passed 
through  at  least  twenty  editions  in  this 
country ;  which  was  the  subject  of  the 
successive  labor  and  improvement  of  a 
man  who  spent  seventy  years  in  the 
business  of  instruction,  and  whose  fame 
is  second  to  that  of  no  schoolmaster 
New  England  has  ever  produced,  re- 
quires no  additional  testimony  to  its 
worth  or  its  merits."  A  copy  of  this 
edition  is  now  in  the  library  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  Dr. 
David  W.  Cheever,  of  Boston,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  schoolmaster,  also  has 
one  in  his  possession. 

There  is  another  old  book  in  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  published  in  1757, 
containing  three  short  essays  under  the 
title  of  Scripture  Prophecies  Explained. 
The  first  one  is  "  On  the  Restitution  of 
All  Things  "  ;  the  second  is  "  On  St. 
John's  First  Resurrection  " ;  and  the 
third,  "  On  t'he  Personal  Coming  of 
Jesus  Christ,  as  Commencing  at  the 
Beginning  of  the  Millenium  described 
in  the  Apocalypse."  These  were  written 
by  Mr.  Cheever,  but  at  what  time  of 
his  life  there  seems  to  be  some  doubt. 
They  indicate  his  religious  zeal,  which 
at  this  time  in  New  Haven  was  put 
forth  for  the  good  of  the  church. 
Although  he  was  never  ordained  to  the 
ministry,  yet  he  occasionally  preached. 
In  1649,  however,  he  dissented   from 


the  judgment  of  the  church  and  elders 
in  regard  to  some  cases  of  discipline, 
and  for  some  comments  on  their  action, 
which  seemed  to  them  severe,  they 
brought  charges  against  him.  Two  of 
the  principal  ones  were  :  "  i.  His  un- 
seemly gestures  and  carriage  before  the 
church,  in  the  mixed  assembly ;  "  and 
"  2.  That  when  the  church  did  agree  to 
two  charges  (namely,  of  assumption  and 
partiality),  he  did  not  give  his  vote 
either  to  the  affirmative  or  the  negative." 

As  showing  some  of  the  phases  »of  a 
common  humanity,  the  reading  of  the 
trial  is  interesting.  Mr.  Cheever,  who 
was  then  thirty-five  years  old,  was  de- 
sired to  answer  these  charges  of  un- 
seemly gestures,  which  his  accusers  had 
brought  down  to  a  rather  small  point, 
such  as  holding  down  his  head  into  the 
seat,  "then  laughing  or  smiling,"  and 
also  "  wrapping  his  handkerchief  about 
his  face,  and  then  pulling  it  off  again  ;  " 
and  still  another,  "  that  his  carriage  was 
offensively  uncomely,"  three  affirming 
"  that  he  rather  carried  it  as  one  acting 
a  play,  than  as  one  in  the  presence  of 
God  in  an  ordinance." 

In  his  answer  to  these,  Mr.  Cheever 
explained  his  actions  as  arising  from 
violent  headaches,  which,  coming  upon 
him  usually  "  on  the  Lord's  day  in  the 
evening,  and  after  church  meeting," 
were  mitigated  by  winding  his  handker- 
chief around  his  head  '  as  a  fillet.'  As 
to  his  smiling  or  laughing,  he  knew  not 
whether  there  was  any  more  than  a  nat- 
ural, ordinary  cheerfulness  of  counte- 
nance seeming  to  smile,  which  whether 
it  be  sinful  or  avoidable  by  him,  he 
knew  not ;  "  but  he  wished  to  humble 
himself  for  the  •*  least  appearance 
of  evil,  and  occasion  of  offence,  and 
to  watch  agamst  it."  As  to  his  work- 
ing with  the  church,  he  said :  "  I 
must  act  with  the  church,  and  (which 


TJie  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston 


225 


is  uncomfortable)  I  must  either  act 
with  their  light,  or  may  expect  to  suffer, 
as  I  have  done,  and  do  at  this  day,  for 
conscience'  sake  ;  but  I  had  rather  suf- 
fer anything  from  men  than  make  a 
shipwreck  of  a  good  conscience  or  go 
against  my  present  light,  though  erro- 
neous, when  discovered." 

He  then  went  on  to  say  that,  while 
he  did  not  wholly  free  himself  from 
blame  as  to  his  carriage,  and  as  to  his 
"  want  of  wisdom  and  coolness  in  or- 
dering and  uttering  his  speeches,"  yet 
he  could  not  be  convinced  as  yet  that 
he  had  been  guilty  of  "  Miriam's  sin," 
or  deserved  the  censure  which  the 
church  had  inflicted  upon  him ;  and  he 
could  not  look  upon  it  "as  dispensed 
according  to  the  rules  of  Christ." 
Then  he  closed  his  address  with  the 
following  words,  which  will  give  some 
idea  of  his  Christian  spirit :  "  Yet  I 
wait  upon  God  for  the  discovery  of 
truth  in  His  own  time,  either  to  myself 
or  church,  that  what  is  amiss  may  be 
repented  of  and  reformed ;  that  His 
blessing  and  presence  may  be  among 
them  and  upon  His  holy  ordinances 
rightly  dispensed,  to  His  glory  and 
their  present  and  everlasting  comfort, 
which  I  heartily  pray  for,  and  am  so 
bound,  having  received  much  good 
and  comfort  in  that  fellowship,  though 
I  am  now  deprived  of  it." 

At  about  this  time  of  his  trial  with 
the  church  he  was  afflicted  by  the  death 
of  his  wife.  Three  more  children  had 
been  bom  to  them  —  Elizabeth,  Sarah, 
and  Hannah.  Soon  after  this,  in  1650, 
—  and,  it  has  been  said,  on  account  of 
his  troubles,  —  he  removed  to  Ipswich, 
Massachusetts,  to  become  master  of  the 
grammar  school  there.  His  services  as 
teacher  in  New  Haven  must  have  been 
valued,  if  one  can  judge  by  the  amount 
of  salary  received,  for,  in  the  case  of  the 


teacher  who  followed  him,  the  people 
were  not  willing  "  to  pay  as  large  a  sal- 
ary as  they  had  done  to  Mr.  Cheever," 
and  so  they  gave  him  ten  pounds  a 
year. 

After  Mr.  Cheever  had  been  in 
Ipswich  two  years,  Robert  Payne,  a 
philanthropic  man,  gave  to  the  town 
a  dwelling-house  with  two  acres  of  land 
for  the  schoolmaster;  he  also  gave  a 
new  schoolhouse  for  the  school,  of 
which  this  man  was  the  appreciated 
teacher;  for  many  neighboring  towns 
sent  scholars  to  him,  and  it  was  said 
that  those  who  received  "  the  Cheeve- 
rian  education  "  were  better  fitted  for 
college  than  any  others. 

In  November  of  this  same  year  he 
married  Ellen  Lathrop,  sister  of  Captain 
Thomas  Lathrop,  of  Beverly,  who  two 
years  before  had  brought  her  from  Eng- 
land to  America  with  him,  with  the 
promise  that  he  would  be  a  father  to 
her.  While  living  in  Ipswich  they  had 
four  children,  Abigail,  Ezekiel,  Nathan- 
iel, and  Thomas ;  two  more,  William 
and  Susanna,  were  bom  later,  in 
Charlestown.  Their  son  Ezekiel  must 
have  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  at  least 
seventy-seven  years,  for  as  late  as  173 1 
his  name  appears  in  the  annals  of  the 
village  parish  of  Salem,  where  he  be- 
came heir  to  Captain  Lathrop's  real 
estate  ;  while  their  son  Thomas,  born  in 
1658,  was  graduated  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1677,  was  settled  as  a  minister 
at  Maiden,  Massachusetts,  and  later  at 
Rumney  Marsh  (Chelsea),  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  died  at  a  good  old 
age. 

After  having  thus  lived  in  Ipswich 
eleven  years,  Mr.  Cheever  removed,  in 
1 66 1,  to  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  to 
become  master  of  the  school  there  at 
a  salary  of  thirty  pounds  a  year.  The 
smallness  of  this  salary  astonishes  and 


226 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston. 


suggests  much  to  the  modem  reader; 
but  when  he  is  informed  that  the 
worthy  teacher  was  obliged  during  his 
teaching  there  to  petition  the  selectmen 
that  his  "  yeerly  salarie  be  paid  to  him, 
as  the  counstables  were  much  behind 
w*  him,"  the  whole  matter  becomes 
pathetic .  Mr.  Cheever  also  asked  that 
the  schoolhouse,  which  was  much  out 
of  order,  be  repaired.  And  in  1669  he 
is  again  before  them  asking  for  a  "  peece 
of  ground  or  house  plott  whereon  to 
build  an  house  for  his  familie,"  which 
petition  he  left  for  the  townsmen  to 
consider.  They  afterward  voted  that 
the  selectmen  should  carry  out  the 
request,  but  as  Mr.  Cheever  removed 
in  the  following  year  to  Boston,  it  is 
probable  that  his  successor  had  the 
benefit  of  it. 

When  Mr,  Cheever  entered  upon  his 
work  as   head   master  of  the   Boston 
Latin  School,  in  1670,  he  was  fifty-seven 
years   old ;   and   he   remained    master 
of  this   school  until   his  death,  thirty- 
seven    years   later.     The   schoolhouse 
was,  at  this  time,  in  School  Street  (it 
was  not  so  named  by  the  town,  however, 
until  1 708)  just  behind  King's  Chapel, 
on  a  part  of  the  burying-ground.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  building  was  of  two 
stories  to  accommodate  the  teacher  and 
his  family.     This  seems  probable  when 
we  read  that  Mr.  Cheever  was  to  have 
a  salary  of  sixty  pounds   a  year,  and 
the  "  possession  and  use  of  y'  schoole 
house."     But  if  he  lived  in  the  building 
at  all,  it  was   not  very  long,  for  he  is 
later  living  in  a  house  by  himself;  and 
in  1701  the  selectmen  voted  that  two 
men   should   provide  a  house  for  him 
while  his  house  was  being  built.     The 
agreement  which   the  selectmen  made 
with  Captain  John  Bamet  with  reference 
to  this  house  is  given  in  such  curious 
detail  in  the  old  records,  and  suggests 


so  much,  that  it  is  well  worth  reading. 
It  is  as  follows  :  — 

"That   the   said    Bamet  shall   erect  a 
House  on  the   Land  where   Mr.  Ezekiel 
Cheever  Lately  dwelt,  of  forty  foot  Long 
Twenty  foot  wide  and  Twenty  foot  stud 
with  four  foot  Rise  in  the  Roof,  to  make  a 
cellar  floor  under  one  half  of  Sd  house  and 
to  build    a    Kitchen  of   Sixteen  foot  in 
Length  and  twelve  foot  in  breadth  with  a 
Chamber   therein,  and   to  Lay  the  floors 
flush  through  out  the  maine  house  and  to 
make  three  paire  of  Stayers   in  ye  main 
house  and  one  paire  in  the  Kitchen  and  to 
Inclose  sJ  house  and  to  do  and  complete 
all  carpenters  worke  and  to  find  all  timber 
boards  clapboards  nayles  glass  and  Glaz- 
iers worke  and  Iron  worke  and  to  make 
one  Cellar  door  and  to   finde  one  Lock 
for  the  Outer  door  of  said  House,  and  also 
to  make  the  Casements  for  Sd  house,  and 
perform  Sd  worke  and  to  finish  S^  building 
by  the  first  day  of  August  next.     In  con- 
sideration whereof  the  Selectmen  do  agree 
that  the  Sd  Capt.  Bamet  shall  have  the  Old 
Timber  boards  Iron  worke  and   glass  of 
the  Old  house  now  Standing  on  Sd  Land 
and  to  pay  unto  him  the  Sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  pounds  money,  that  is  to 
say  forty  pounds  down  in  hand  and  the 
rest  as  the  worke  goes  on." 

Then  follows  the  agreement  for  the 
"  masons'  worke "  in  all  its  details. 
Later  on,  in  March,  1702,  there  is  some 
discussion  as  to  how  far  back  from  the 
street  the  house  should  be  placed.  But 
in  June  of  that  year  the  house  is  up, 
for  the  worthy  dignities  order  that 
"Capt.  John  Barnard  do  provide  a 
Raysing  Dinner  for  the  Raysing  the 
Schoolmasters  House  at  the  Charge 
of  the  town  not  exceeding  the  Sum  of 
Three  pounds."  This  was  done,  for 
later  they  order  the  "noat  for  three 
pounds,  expended  by  him  for  a  dinner 
at  Raysing  the  Schoolmasters  House," 
be  paid  him. 

After   Mr.  Cheever's  house  had  re- 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston. 


22- 


ceived  all  this  painstaking  attention 
of  the  town,  it  was  voted  that  the 
selectmen  should  see  that  a  new  school- 
house  be  built  for  him  in  the  place  of 
the  old  one ;  this  to  be  done  with  the 
advice  of  Mr.  Cheever.  The  particulars 
of  this  work  are  given  in  as  much 
detail,  and  are  interesting  to  show  the 
style  of  schoolhouse  at  that  day.  They 
are  as  follows,  in  the  "Selectmen's 
Minutes,  under  July  24,  1704  "  :  — 

"Agreed  w*  M' John  Barnerd  as  fol- 
loweth,  he  to  build  a  new  School  House 
of  forty  foot  Long  Twenty  five  foot  wide 
and  Eleven  foot  Stud,  with  eight  windows 
below  and  five  in  the  Roofe,  with  wooden 
Casements  to  the  eight  Windows,  to  Lay 
the  lower  floor  with  Sleepers  &  double 
boards  So  far  as  needful,  and  the  Chamber 
floor  with  Single  boards,  to  board  below 
the  plate  inside  &  inside  and  out,  to  Clap- 
board the  Outside  and  Shingle  the  Roof, 
to  make  a  place  to  hang  the  Bell  in,  to 
make  a  paire  of  Staires  up  to  the  Chamber, 
and  from  thence  a  Ladder  to  the  bell,  to 
make  one  door  next  the  Street,  and  a 
petition  Cross  the  house  below,  and  to 
make  three  rows  of  benches  for  the  boyes 
on  each  Side  of  the  room,  to  find  all  Tim- 
ber, boards.  Clapboards  shingles  nayles 
hinges.  In  consideration  whereof  the  sd 
Mr  John  Barnerd  is  to  be  paid  One  hun- 
dred pounds,  and  to  have  the  Timber, 
Boards,  and  Iron  worke  of  the  Old  School 
House." 

Some  interesting  reminiscences  are 
given,  by  some  of  his  pupils,  of  these 
school-days  in  Boston.  The  Reverend 
John  Barnard,  of  Marblehead,  who  was 
bom  in  Boston  in  1681,  speaks  of  his 
early  days  at  the  Latin  School,  in 
his  Autobiography,  which  is  now  in 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 
Among  other  things  he  says :  "  I 
remember  once,  iu  making  a  piece  of 
Latin,  my  master  found  fault  with  the 
syntax  of  one  word,  which  was  not 
used  by  me  heedlessly,  but  designedly. 


and  therefore  I  told  him  there  was  a 
plain  grammar  rule  for  it.  He  angrily 
replied,  there  was  no  such  rule.  I  took 
the  grammar  and  showed  the  rule  to 
him.  Then  he  smilingly  said,  'Thou 
art  a  brave  boy;  I  had  forgot  it.'  And 
no  wonder:  for  he  was  then  above 
eighty  years  old."  President  Stiles  of 
Yale  College,  in  his  Diary,  says  that  he 
had  seen  a  man  who  said  that  he  "well 
knew  a  famous  grammar-school  master, 
Mr.  E.  Cheever,  of  Boston,  author  of 
The  Accidence ;  that  he  wore  a  long 
white  beard,  terminating  in  a  point ; 
that  when  he  stroked  his  beard  to  the 
point,  it  was  a  sign  for  the  boys  to 
stand  clear." 

Judge  Sewall,  in  his  Diary,  often  re- 
fers to  him.  He  speaks  of  a  visit  from 
him,  at  one  time,  when  Mr.  Cheever 
told  him  that  he  had  entered  his  eighty- 
eighth  year,  and  was  the  oldest  man  in 
town  ;  and  another  time,  when  he  says  : 
"  Master  Chiever,  his  coming  to  me 
last  Saturday  January  31,  on  purpose 
to  tell  me  he  blessed  God  that  I  had 
stood  up  for  the  Truth,  is  more  comfort 
to  me  than  Mr.  Borland's  imhandsome- 
ness  is  discomfort."  He  also  speaks 
of  him  as  being  a  bearer  several  times 
at  funerals,  where,  at  one,  with  others, 
he  received  a  scarf  and  ring  which  were 
"  given  at  the  House  after  coming  from 
the  Grave,"  A  peculiarity  of  the 
venerable  schoolmaster  is  seen  where 
Judge  Sewall  says :  "  Mr.  Wadsworth 
appears  at  Lecttire  in  his  Perriwigg. 
Mr.  Chiever  is  grieved  at  it."  In  1708, 
the  judge  gives  in  this  Diary  some 
touching  particulars  as  to  the  sickness 
and  death  of  Mr.  Cheever.  They  are 
valuable  not  only  for  themselves,  but  as 
preserving  in  a  literary  form  the  close 
friendship  which  existed  between  these 
two  strong  men  of  that  day.  Hence 
they  are  given  here  :  — 


28 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston. 


''Aug.  12,  1708.  —  Mr.  Chiever  is  abroad 
and  hears  Mr.  Cotton  Mather  preach.  This 
is  the  last  of  his  going  abroad.  Was  taken 
very  sick,  like  to  die  with  a  Flux.  Aug. 
13.  —  I  go  to  see  him,  went  in  with  his  son 
Thomas  and  Mr.  Lewis.  His  Son  spake 
to  him  and  he  knew  him  not ;  I  spake  to 
him  and  he  bid  me  speak  again ;  then  he 
said,  Now  I  know  you,  and  speaking  cheer- 
ily mentioned  my  name.  I  ask''d  his  Bless- 
ing for  me  and  my  family ;  He  said  I  was 
Bless'd,  and  it  could  not  be  Reversed. 
Yet  at  my  going  away  He  pray'd  for  a 
Blessing  for  me. 

"•Aug.  19.  —  I  visited  Mr.  Chiever  again, 
just  before  Lecture ;  Thank'd  him  for  his 
kindness  to  me  and  mine ;  desired  his 
prayers  for  me,  my  family,  Boston,  Salem, 
the  Province.  He  rec'd  me  with  abun- 
dance of  Affection,  taking  me  by  the  hand 
several  times.  He  said.  The  Afflictions  of 
God's  people,  God  by  them  did  as  a  Gold- 
smith, knock,  knock,  knock ;  knock,  knock, 
knock,  to  finish  the  plate  ;  It  was  to  perfect 
them  not  to  punish  them.  I  went  and  told 
Mr.  Pemberton  (the  Pastor  of  Old  South) 
who  preached. 

''Aug.  20.  —  I  visited  Mr.  Chiever  who 
was  now  grown  much  weaker,  and  his 
speech  very  low.  He  call'd  Daughter! 
When  his  daughter  Russel  came,  He  ask'd 
if  the  family  were  composed  ;  They  apre- 
hended  He  was  uneasy  because  there  had 
not  been  Prayer  that  morn ;  and  solicited 
me  to  Pray ;  I  was  loth  and  advised  them 
to  send  for  Mr.  Williams,  as  most  natural, 
homogeneous  ;  They  declin'd  it,  and  I  went 
to  Prayer.  After,  I  told  him.  The  last 
enemy  was  Death,  and  God  hath  made  that 
a  friend  too ;  He  put  his  hand  out  of  the 
Bed,  and  held  it  up,  to  signify  his  Assent. 
Observing  he  suck'd  a  piece  of  an  Orange, 
put  it  orderly  into  his  mouth  and  chew'd  it, 
and  then  took  out  the  core.  After  dinner 
I  carried  a  few  of  the  best  Figs  I  could  get 
and  a  dish  Marmalet.  I  spake  not  to  him 
now. 

"Aug.  21.  —  Mr.  Edward  Oakes  tells  me 
Mr.  Chiever  died  this  last  night." 

Then  in  a  note  he  tells  the  chief  facts 
in  his  life,  which  he  closes  with,  — 


"  So  that  he  has  Laboured  in  that  calling 
(teaching)  skilfully,  diligently,  constantly, 
Religiously,  Seventy  years.  A  rare  In- 
stance of  Piety,  Health,  Strength,  Service- 
ableness.  The  Wellfare  of  the  Province 
was  much  upon  his  spirit.  He  abominated 
Perriwiggs." 

"Aug.  23,  1708.  —  Mr.  Chiever  was 
buried  from  the  Schoolhouse.  The  Gov'r, 
Councillors,  Ministers,  Justices,  Gentlemen 
there.  Mr.  Williams  made  a  handsome 
Latin  Oration  in  his  Honour.  Elder 
Bridgham,  Copp,  Jackson,  Dyer,  Griggs, 
Hubbard,  &c.,  Bearers.  After  the  Funeral, 
Elder  Bridgham,  Mr.  Jackson,  Hubbard, 
Dyer,  Tim.  Wadsworth,  Edw.  Procter, 
Griggs,  and  two  more  came  to  me  and 
earnestly  solicited  me  to  speak  to  a  place 
of  Scripture,  at  the  private  Quarter  Meet- 
ing in  the  room  of  Mr.  Chiever." 

Cotton  Mather,  who  had  been  a 
pupil  of  his,  preached  a  funeral  sermon 
in  honor  of  his  loved  teacher.  It  was 
printed  in  Boston  in  1 708,  and  later  in 
1 774.  A  copy  of  it  in  the  Athenaeum  is 
well  worth  a  perusal.  Some  of  Mr. 
Cheever's  Latin  poems  are  attached  to 
it.  Cotton  Mather  precedes  his  sermon 
by  An  Historical  Introduction,  in  which, 
after  referring  to  "his  great  privilege,  he 
gives  the  main  facts  in  the  long  life  of 
the  schoolmaster  of  nearly  ninety-four 
years.  In  closing  it,  he  says  :  "  After 
he  had  been  a  Skilful,  Painful,  Faithful 
Schoolmaster  for  Seventy  years ;  and 
had  the  Singular  Favours  of  Heaven 
that  tho'  he  had  Usefully  spent  his  Life 
among  children,  yet  he  was  not  become 
Twice  a  child  but  held  his  Abilities, 
with  his  usefulness,  in  an  unusual  Degree 
to  the  very  last."  Then  follows  the 
sermon,  remarkable  in  its  way  as  a 
eulogy.  But  the  Essay  in  Rhyme  in 
Memory  of  his  "Venerable  Master," 
which  follows  the  sermon,  is  even  more 
characteristic  and  remarkable.  In  it 
are  some  couplets  which  are  unique  and 
interesting. 


The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Boston. 


229 


"  Do  but  name  Cherver,  and  the  Echo  straight 
Upon  that  name,  Good  Latin  will  Repeat. 

"And  in  our  School,  a  Miracle  is  wrought: 
For  the  Dead  Languages  to  Li/e  are  brought. 

"  Who  serv'd  the  School,  the  Church  did  not  forget, 
But  Thought  aiid  Prayed  &  often  wept  for  it. 

"  How  oft  we  saw  him  tread  the  Milky  IVay 
Which  to  the  Glorious  Throne  of  Mercy  lay! 

"  Come  from  the  Mount  he  shone  with  ancient  Grace, 
Awful  the  Splendor  of  his  Aged  Face. 

"  He  Liv'd  and  to  vast  age  no  Illness  knew. 
Till  Times  Scythe  waiting  for  him  Rusty  grew. 

"  He  Liv'd  Ttai  Wrought ;  His  Labours  were  Immense, 
But  ne'r  Declined  to  Praeter-perfect  Tense." 

He  closes  this  eulogy  with  an  epitaph 
in  Latin. 

Mr.  Cheever's  will,  found  in  the  Suf- 
folk probate  office,  was  offered  by  his 
son  Thomas  and  his  daughter  Susanna, 
August  26,  1708,  a  few  days  after  his 
death.  He  wrote  it  two  years  previous, 
when  he  was  ninety-one  years  old,  a 
short  time  before  his  "  dear  wife,"  whom 
he  mentions,  died.  In  it  his  estate  is 
appraised  at  £Zt^ 7:19:6.  One  handles 
reverently  this  old  piece  of  yellow  paper, 
perhaps  ten  by  twelve  inches  in  size, 
with  red  lines,  on  which  is  written  in  a 
clear  handwriting  the  last  will  of  this 
dear  old  man.  He  characteristically 
begins  it  thus :  — 

"In  nomine  Domini  Amen,  I  Ezekiel 
Cheever  of  the  Towne  of  Bostoa  in  the 
County  of  Suffolk  in  New  England,  School- 
master, living  through  great  mercy  in  good 
health  and  understanding  wonderful!  in  my 
age,  do  make  and  ordain  this  as  my  last 
Will  &  Testament  as  FoUoweth  :  I  give  up 
my  soule  to  God  my  Father  in  Jesus  Christ, 
my  body  to  the  earth  to  be  buried  in  a 
decent  manner  according  to  my  desires  in 
hope  of  a  Blessed  part  in  ye  first  resurrec- 
tion &  glorious  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth 
a  thousand  years." 

He  then  gives  all  his  household 
goods  *'  &  of  my  plate  ye  two-ear'd  Cup, 
my  least  tankard  porringer  a  spoon," 
to  his  wife ;  "all  my  books  saving  what 


Ezekiel  may  need  &  what  godly  books 
my  wife  may  desire,"  to  his  son  Thomas ;  1 
£\o  to  Mary  Phillips;  £20  to  his 
grandchild,  Ezekiel  Russel;  and  ^5 
to  the  poor.  The  remainder  of  the 
estate  he  leaves  to  his  wife  and  six 
children,  Samuel,  Mary,  Elizabeth, 
Ezekiel,  Thomas,  and  Susanna. 

One  handles  still  more  reverently  a 
httle  brown,  stiff-covered  book,  kept  in 
the  safe  in  the  Athenaeum,  of  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pages,  yellow 
with  age,  on  the  first  of  which  is  the 
year  "  163 1,"  and  on  the  second, 
"  Ezekiel  Cheever,  his  booke,"  both  in 
his  own  handwriting.  Then  come 
nearly  fifty  pages  of  finely- written  Latin 
poems,  composed  and  written  by  him- 
self, probably  in  London;  then,  there 
are  scattered  over  some  of  the  remain- 
ing pages  a  few  short-hand  notes  which 
have  been  deciphered  as  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture. On  the  last  page  of  this  quaint  little 
treasure  —  only  three  by  four  inches 
large  —  are  written  in  English  some 
verses,  one  of  which  can  be  clearly 
read  as,  "Oh,  first  seek  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  Righteousness,  and 
all  things  else  shall  be  added  unto 
you." 

Another  ms.  of  Mr.  Cheever's  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society.  It  is  a  book  six 
by  eight  inches  in  size,  of  about  four 
hundred  pages,  all  well  filled  with  Latin 
dissertations,  with  occasionally  a  mathe- 
matical figure  drawn.  One  turns  over 
the  old  leaves  with  affectionate  interest, 
even  if  the  matter  written  upon  them 
is  beyond  his  comprehension.  It  cer- 
tainly is  a  pleasure  to  read  on  one  of 
them  the  date  May  18,  1664. 

Verily,  New  England  should  treasure 
the  memory  of  Ezekiel  Cheever,  the 
man  who  called  himself  "  Schoolmas- 
ter." for  she  owes  much  to  him. 


230  The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coaches  of  Groton. 

A    LOCK     OF     HAIR. 

[From  "  The  Transcript."] 

It  lies  before  me.     A  bright  tress  of  hair 

That  once,  lang  syne,  thy  young,  proud  head  didst  bear 

To  its  adornment.     Yet  I  have  no  need 

Of  relic  fond  or  token,  e'er  to  lead 

My  memory  back  to  thee.     Thou  wast  and  art 

The  dearest,  aye,  and  nearest  to  my  heart ; 

And  though  from  Death  I  rescued  only  this 

Of  thee,  for  loving  look  and  reverent  kiss, 

Yet  impotent  is  he  to  touch  or  rive 

Our  souls'  sure  bond,  v/hose  viewless,  mystic  gyve 

From  the  unseen  doth  hold  thee  close  to  me 

In  presence  sweet  with  gentle  ministry. 


Oh,  precious  souvenir  !    With  tenderest  care 
I  treasure  this  soft,  shining  lock  of  hair. 


D.  A.  Kellogg. 


THE  OLD  TAVERNS  AND  STAGE-COACHES  OF  GROTON. 

Bv  THE  Hon.  Samuel  Abbott  Green,  M.D. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  is  nothing  ers,"  —  the  innkeeper  of  that  period 
contrived  by  man  which  has  produced  being  generally  addressed  by  the  title 
so  much  happiness  as  a  good  tavern,  of  landlord.  I  do  not  know  who  sue- 
Without  granting  or  denying  the  state-  ceeded  him  in  his  useful  and  important 
ment,  all  will   agree    that  many  good  functions. 

times   have   been   passed   around    the  The  next  tavern  of  which  I  have  any 

cheerful   hearth   of    the    old-fashioned  knowledge  was  the  one  kept  by  Captain 

inn.  Jonathan   Keep,  during  the  latter  part 

The  earliest  tavern  in  Groton,  of  of  the  Revolution.  In  "The  Independ- 
which  there  is  any  record  or  tradition,  ent  Chronicle"  (Boston),  February  15, 
was  kept  by  Samuel  Bowers,  jun.,  in  the  1781,  the  Committee  of  the  General 
house  lately  and  for  a  long  time  occu-  Court,  for  the  sale  of  confiscated  prop- 
pied  by  the  Champney  family.  Mr.  erty  in  Middlesex  County,  advertise 
Bowers  was  born  in  Groton,  on  Decem-  the  estate  of  Dr.  Joseph  Adams  of 
ber  21,  1711;  and,  according  to  his  Townsend,  to  be  sold  "  at  Mr.  Keep's, 
tombstone,  died  on  "the  Sixteenth  innholder  in  Groton."  This  tavern  has 
Day  of  December  Anno  Domini  1 768.  now  been  kept  as  an  inn  during  more 
Half  a  hour  after  Three  of  the  Clock  than  a  century.  It  was  originally  built 
in  y«  Afternoon,  and  in  the  Fifty  Eight  for  a  dwelling-house,  and  before  the 
year  of  his  age."  He  kept  the  house  Revolution  occupied  by  the  Reverend 
during  many  years,  and  was  known  in  Samuel  Dana ;  though  since  that  time 
the  neighborhood  as  "land'urd   Bow-  it  has  been  lengthened   in   front   and 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coachcs  of  Groton. 


^31 


otherwise  considerably  enlarged.  Cap- 
tain Keep  was  followed  by  the  brothers 
Isaiah  and  Joseph  Hall,  who  were  the 
landlords  as  early  as  the  year  1798. 
They  were  succeeded  in  1825  by 
Joseph  Hoar,  who  had  just  sold  the 
Emerson  tavern,  at  the  other  end  of 
the  village  street.  He  kept  it  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  —  excepting  the  year 
1S36,  when  Moses  Gill  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Henry  Lewis  Lawrence,  were 
the  landlords,  —  and  sold  out  about 
1842  to  Thomas  Treadwell  Famsworth. 
It  was  then  conducted  as  a  temperance 
house,  at  that  time  considered  a 
great  innovation  on  former  customs. 
After  a  short  period  it  was  sold  to 
Daniel  Hunt,  who  kept  it  until  1852, 
and  he  was  followed  by  James  M.  Col- 
bum,  who  had  it  for  two  years.  It  then 
came  into  the  possession  of  J.  Nelson 
Hoar,  a  son  of  the  former  landlord, 
who  took  it  in  1854,  and  in  whose 
family  it  has  since  remained.  Latterly 
it  has  been  managed  by  three  of  his 
daughters,  and  now  is  known  as  the 
Central  House.  It  is  the  only  tavern 
in  the  village,  and  for  neatness  and 
comfort  can  not  easily  be  surpassed. 

In  the  list  of  innholders,  near  the 
end  of  Isaiah  Thomas's  Almanack,  for 
1785,  appears  the  name  of  Richardson, 
whose  tavern  stood  on  the  present  site 
of  the  Baptist  church.  It  was  originally 
the  house  owned  and  occupied  by  the 
Reverend  Gershom  Hobart,  which  had 
been  considerably  enlarged  by  addi- 
tions on  the  north  and  east  sides,  in 
order  to  make  it  more  suitable  for  its 
new  purposes.  Mine  host  was  Captain 
Jephthah  Richardson,  who  died  on 
October  9,  1806.  His  father  was  Con- 
verse Richardson,  who  had  previously 
kept  a  small  inn,  on  the  present  Elm 
Street,  near  the  corner  of  Pleasant. 
It  was  in  this  Elm  Street  house  that 


Tynothy  Bigelow,  the  rising  young 
lawyer,  lived,  when  he  first  came  to 
Groton.  Within  a  few  years  this  build- 
ing has  been  moved  away.  Soon  after 
the  death  of  Captain  Jephthah  Richard- 
son, the  tavern  was  sold  to  Timothy 
Spaulding,  who  carried  on  the  business 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
February  19,  1808.  Spaulding's  widow 
subsequently  married  John  Spalter,  who 
was  the  landlord  for  a  short  time. 
About  1 81 2  the  house  was  rented  to 
Dearborn  Emerson,  who  had  been 
a  driver  of  a  stage-coach,  as  well  as  the 
owner  of  a  line.  He  remained  in 
possession  of  it  for  a  few  years. 

During  the  War  of  181 2  it  was  an 
inn  of  local  renown  ;  and  a  Lieutenant 
Chase  had  his  headquarters  here  for  a 
while,  when  recruiting  for  the  army. 
He  raised  a  company  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, which  was  ordered  to  Sackett's 
Harbor,  near  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario. 
The  men  were  put  into  uniforms  as 
they  enlisted,  and  drilled  daily.  They 
were  in  the  habit  of  marching  through 
the  village  streets  to  the  music  of  the 
spirit-stirring  drum  and  the  ear-piercing 
fife  ;  and  occasionally  they  were  invited 
into  the  yard  of  some  hospitable  citizen, 
who  would  treat  them  to  "  the  cups 
that  cheer  but  not  inebriate,"  when 
taken  in  moderation.  William  Kemp 
was  the  drummer,  and  Wilder  Shep- 
ley  the  fifer,  both  noted  musicians 
in  their  day.  Sometimes  his  brother, 
Moses  Kemp,  would  act  as  fifer.  Wil- 
liam is  still  alive,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  nearly  ninety-five  years,  and  gives 
many  reminiscences  of  that  period.  He 
was  born  at  Groton  on  May  8,  1789, 
and  [began  to  drum  in  early  boyhood. 
His  first  appearance  in  the  public  ser- 
vice was  during  the  year  1805,  as  drum- 
mer of  the  South  Company  of  Groton, 
commanded  by  Luther  LawTence,  after- 


23: 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coaches  of  Grotou. 


ward  the  mayor  of  Lowell.  He  has 
been  the  father  of  nine  children,  and 
has  had  thirty  grandchildren,  thirty- 
three  great-grandchildren,  and  one  great- 
great-grandchild.  Mr.  Kemp  can  even 
now  handle  the  drumsticks  with  a 
dexterity  rarely  equaled ;  and  within 
a  short  time  I  have  seen  him  give 
an  exhibition  of  his  skill  which  would 
reflect  credit  on  a  much  younger  per- 
son. Among  the  men  enlisted  here 
during  that  campaign  were  Marquis 
D.  Farnsworth,  Aaron  Lewis,  William 
Shepley,  and  John  Woodward,  of  this 
town ;  and  James  Adams,  and  his  son, 
James,  Jr.,  of  Pepperell. 

It  was  about  the  year  1815  that 
Dear,bom  Emerson  left  the  Richardson 
tavern,  and  moved  down  the  street, 
perhaps  thirty  rods,  where  he  opened 
another  public  'house  on  the  present 
site  of  Milo  H.  Shattuck's  store.  The 
old  tavern,  in  the  meantime,  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Daniel  Shattuck,  who 
kept  it  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  April  8,  1831.  The  business  was 
then  carried  on  during  a  short  time 
by  Clark  Tenny,  who  was  followed  by 
Lemuel  Lakin,  and  afterward  by  Francis 
Shattuck,  a  son  of  Daniel,  for  another 
brief  period.  About  the  year  1833  it 
was  given  up  entirely  as  a  public  house, 
and  thus  passed  away  an  old  landmark 
widely  known  in  those  times.  It  stood 
well  out  on  the  present  road,  the  front 
door  facing  down  what  is  now  Main 
Street,  the  upper  end  of  which  then 
had  no  existence.  In  approaching  the 
tavern  from  the  south,  the  road  went 
up  Hollis  Street  and  turned  to  the  left 
somewhere  south  of  the  Burying- 
Ground.  The  house  afterward  was  cut 
up  and  moved  off,  just  before  the 
Baptist  meeting-house  was  built.  My 
earliest  recollections  carry  me  back 
faintly  to  the  time  when  it  was  last  used 


as  a  tavern,  though  I  remember  dis- 
tinctly the  building  as  it  looked  before 
it  was  taken  away. 

Dearborn  Emerson  married  a  sister 
of  Daniel  Brooks,  a  large  owner  in  the 
hne  of  stage-coaches  running  through 
Groton  from  Boston  to  the  northward  ; 
and  this  family  connection  was  of  great 
service  to  him.  Jonas  Parker,  com- 
monly known  as  "  Tecumseh  "  Parker, 
was  now  associated  with  Emerson  in 
keeping  the  new  hotel.  The  stage 
business  was  taken  away  from  the 
Richardson  tavern,  and  transferred  to 
this  one.  The  house  was  enlarged, 
spacious  barns  and  stables  were  erected, 
and  better  accommodations  given  to 
man  and  beast,  —  on  too  large  a  scale 
for  profit,  it  seems,  as  Parker  and 
Emerson  failed  shortly  afterward. 
This  was  in  the  spring  of  18 18,  during 
which  year  the  tavern  was  purchased 
by  Joseph  Hoar,  who  kept  it  a  little 
more  than  six  years,  when  he  sold  it  to 
Amos  Alexander.  This  landlord,  after 
a  long  time,  was  succeeded  in  turn  by 
Isaac  J.  Fox,  Horace  Brown,  William 
Childs,  Artemas  Brown,  John  McGil- 
son,  Abijah  Wright,  and  Moses  Gill. 
It  was  given  up  as  a  hotel  in  1856,  and 
made  into  a  shoe  factory ;  and  finally 
it  was  burned.  Mr.  Gill  had  the  house 
for  eight  years,  and  was  the  last  land- 
lord. He  then  opened  a  public  house 
directly  opposite  to  the  Orthodox 
church,  and  called  it  The  Globe,  which 
he  kept  for  two  years.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Stephen  Woods,  who  re- 
mained only  one  year,  after  which  time 
this  also  was  given  up  as  a  public 
house. 

Another  hostelry  was  the  Ridge  Hill 
tavern,  situated  at  the  Ridges,  three 
miles  from  the  village,  on  the  Great 
Road  to  Boston.  This  was  built  about 
the  year   1805,  and   much   frequented 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stagc-Coackcs  of  Groton. 


233 


\ 


by  travelers  and  teamsters.  At  this 
point  the  roads  diverge  and  come 
together  again  in  Lexington,  making 
two  routes  to  Boston.  It  was  claimed 
by  interested  persons  that  one  was 
considerably  shorter  than  the  other,  — 
though  the  actual  difference  was  less 
than  a  mile.  In  the  year  1824  a  guide- 
board  was  set  up  at  the  crotch  of  the 
roads,  proclaiming  the  fact  that  the 
distance  to  Lexington  through  Concord 
was  two  miles  longer  than  throu2;h 
Carlisle.  Straightway  the  storekeepers 
and  innholders  along  the  Concord 
road  published  a  counter  -  statement, 
that  it  had  been  measured  by  sworn 
surveyors,  and  the  distance  found  to  be 
only  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  rods 
further  than  by  the  other  way. 

The  first  landlord  of  the  Ridge  Hill 
tavern  was  Levi  Parker,  noted  for  his 
hospitality.  He  was  afterward  deputy- 
sheriff  of  Middlesex  County,  and  lived 
in  Westford.  He  was  followed,  for  a 
short  time,  by  John  Stevens,  and  then 
by  John  H.  Loring,  who  conducted  the 
house  during  many  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Jefferson.  After 
him  came  Henry  L.  LawTence,  who 
kept  it  during  one  year;  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  brother-in-law,  Moses  Gill, 
who  took  the  tavern  in  April,  1837, 
and  kept  it  just  five  years.  When 
Mr.  Gill  gave  up  the  house,  he  was 
followed  by  one  Langdon  for  a  short 
time,  and  he  in  turn  by  Kimball  Farr 
as  the  landlord,  who  had  bought  it 
the  year  previously,  and  who  remained 
in  charge  until  1868.  During  a  part 
of  the  time  when  the  place  was  man- 
aged by  Mr.  Farr  his  son  Augustus 
was  associated  with  him.  Mr.  Farr 
sold  the  tavern  to  John  Fuzzard,  who 
kept  it  for  a  while,  and  is  still  the  owner 
of  the  property.  He  was  followed  by 
Newell  M.  Jewett;  the  present  land- 


lord is  Stephen  Perkins,  a  native  of 
York,  Maine,  who  took  it  in  1880. 
The  house  had  been  vacant  for  some 
years  before  this  time.  A  fair  is  held 
here  regularly  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
every  month,  for  the  sale  of  hoi'ses,  and 
buyers  are  attracted  from  a  long  dis- 
tance. At  one  time  this  property  was 
owned  by  Judge  Samuel  Dana,  who 
sold  it  to  John  H.  Loring. 

As  early  as  the  year  1798  there  was 
a  tavern  about  a  mile  from  the  Ridges, 
toward  Groton.  It  was  kept  by 
Stephen  Farrar,  in  the  house  now 
standing  near  where  the  brook  crosses 
the  Great  Road.  Afterward  one  Green 
was  the  landlord.  The  house  known 
as  the  Levi  Tufts  place  in  this  neigh- 
borhood was  an  inn  during  the  early 
part  of  this  century,  conducted  by  Tilly 
Buttrick.  Also  about  this  time,  or 
previously,  the  house  situated  south  of 
Indian  Hill,  and  occupied  by  Charles 
Prescott, — when  the  map  in  Mr.  But- 
ler's History  was  made,  —  was  an  inn. 
There  was  a  tavern  kept  from  the  year 
1812  to  1818  by  a  Mr.  Page,  in  Mr. 
Gerrish's  house,  near  the  Unitarian 
church  in  the  village.  There  was  also 
a  tavern,  near  the  present  paper-milis 
of  Tileston  and  Hollingsworih,  kept 
for  many  years  (1825-55)  by  Aaron 
Lewis,  and  after  him  for  a  short  time 
by  one  Veazie.  It  was  originally  the 
house  of  John  Capell,  who  owned  the 
sawmill  and  gristmill  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  Amos  Adams  had  an 
inn  near  Squannacook,  a  hundred  years 
ago,  in  a  house  now  owned  by  James 
Kemp. 

Just  before  and  during  the  Revolu- 
tion a  tavern  was  kept  by  George 
Peirce,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town, 
within  the  present  limits  of  Ayer, 
This  landlord  was  probably  the  inn- 
holder  of  Littleton,  whose  name  appears 


234 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coaches  of  Groton. 


in  The  Massachusetts  Gazette,  of 
August  8,  1765.  The  house  was  the 
one  formerly  owned  by  the  late  Calvin 
Fletcher,  and  burned  March  25,  1880. 
It  was  advertised  for  sale,  as  appears 
from  the  following  advertisement  in 
The  Boston  Gazette,  September  27, 
1773:  — 

To  be  Sold  at  PUBLIC  VENDUE,  to 
the  highest  Bidder,  on  Wednesday  the  3d 
Day  of  November  next,  at  four  o'Clock  in 
the  Afternoon  (if  not  Sold  before  at 
Private  Sale)  by  me  the  Subscriber,  A 
valuable  FARM  in  Groton,  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex,  pleasantly  situated  on  the 
great  County  Road,  leading  from  Crown 
Point  and  No.  4  to  Boston:  Said  Farm 
contains  172  Acres  of  Upland  and 
Meadow,  with  the  bigger  Part  under 
improvement,  with  a  large  Dwelling  House 
and  Barn,  and  Out  Houses,  together  with 
a  good  Grist  Mill  and  Saw  Mill,  the  latter 
new  last  Year,  both  in  good  Repair,  and 
on  a  good  Stream,  and  within  a  few  Rods 
of  the  House.  Said  Farm  would  make 
two  good  Livings,  and  would  sell  it  in  two 
Divisions,  or  together,  as  it  would  best 
suit  the  Purchaser.  Said  House  is  situ- 
ated very  conveniently  for  a  Tavern,  and 
has  been  improved  as  such  for  Ten  Years 
past,  with  a  Number  of  other  Conveniences, 
too  many  to  enumerate.  And  the  Pur- 
chaser may  depend  upon  having  a  good 
warrantee  Deed  of  the  same,  and  the  bigger 
Part  of  the  Pay  made  very  easy,  on  good 
Security.  The  whole  of  the  Farming 
Tools,  and  Part  of  the  Stock,  will  be  sold 
as  above-mentioned,  at  the  Subscriber's 
House  on  said  Farm. 

GEORGE   PEIRCE. 

Groton,  Aug.  30,  1773. 

The  gristmill  and  sawmill,  men- 
tioned in  the  advertisement,  were  on 
Nonacoicus  Brook.  In  the  Gazette, 
of  November  15,  1773,  another  notice 
appears,  which  shows  that  the  tavern 
was  not  sold  at  the  time  originally 
appointed.     It  is  as  follows  :  — 


The  Publick  are  hereby  Notified  that  the 
Sale  of  the  FARM  in  Groton,  which  was 
to  have  been  sold  the  3d  Instant  on  the 
Premisses,  at  the  House  of  Mr.  George 
Peirce,  is  adjourn'd  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Moulton,  Innholder  in  Boston, 
where  it  will  certainly  be  Sold  to  the 
highest  Bidder,  on  Wednesday  the  ist 
Day  of  December  next,  at  4  o'Clock, 
P.M. 

The  following  advertisement  appears 
in  The  Independent  Chronicle  (Bos- 
ton), September  19,  1808;  the  site  oi 
the  farm  was  near  that  of  Peirce's  inn, 
just  mentioned.  Stone's  tavern  was 
afterward  kept  by  one  Day,  and  subse- 
quently burned. 

A  FARM— for  Sale, 
CONTAINING  140  acres  of  Land,  situ- 
ated in  the  South  part  of  Groton,  {Mass.) 
vnth  a  new  and  well-finished  House,  Barn, 
&  Out-houses,  and  Aqueduct,  pleasantly 
situated,  where  a  Tavern  has  been  kept 
for  the  last  seven  years ;  —  a  part  of  the 
whole  will  be  sold,  as  best  suits  the  pur- 
chaser. For  further  particulars,  inquire  of 
THO's  B.  RAND,  of  Charlestown,  or  the 
Subscriber,  living  on  the  Premises. 

Sept.  12.  JESSE   STONE. 

About  a  generation  ago  an  attempt 
was  made  to  organize  a  company  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  a  hotel  in 
the  village,  and  a  charter  was  obtained 
from  the  Legislature.  The  stock,  how- 
ever, was  not  fully  taken  up,  and  the 
project  fell  through.  Of  the  cor- 
porators, Mr.  Potter  and  Mr.  Smith  still 
survive.  Below  is  a  copy  of  the 
act :  — 

An  Act  to  incorporate  the  Groton  Hotel 
Company. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  in  General  Court  assem- 
bled, and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  as 
follows :  — 


The  Old  Tavertis  and  Stage-CoacJies  of  Groton. 


235 


Sect.  i.  Luther  F.  Potter,  Natlianiel 
P.  Smith,  Simeon  Ames,  their  associates 
and  successors,  are  hereby  made  a  cor- 
poration, by  the  name  of  the  Groton  Hotel 
Company,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting,  in 
the  town  of  Groton,  buildings  necessary 
and  convenient  for  a  public  house,  with  all 
the  powers  and  privileges,  and  subject  to 
all  the  liabilities,  duties,  and  restrictions, 
set  forth  in  the  forty-fourth  chapter  of  the 
Revised  Statutes. 

Sect.  2.  Said  corporation  may  hold 
such  real  and  personal  property,  as  may  be 
necessary  and  convenient  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid,  not  exceeding  in  amount  twenty 
thousand  dollars  :  provided,  that  no  shares 
in  the  capital  stock  of  said  corporation 
shall  be  issued  for  a  less  sum  or  amount, 
to  be  actually  paid  in  on  each,  than  the 
par  value  of  the  shares  which  shall  be  first 
issued.  And  if  any  ardent  spirits,  or  in- 
toxicating drinks  of  any  kind  whatever, 
shall  be  sold  by  said  company,  or  by  their 
agents,  lessees,  or  persons  in  their  employ, 
contrary  to  law,  in  any  of  said  buildings, 
then  this  act  shall  be  void.  {Approved  by 
the  Governor,  May  2,  1850.] 

In  the  spring  of  1852,  a  charter  was 
given  to  Benjamin  Webb,  Daniel  D.  R. 
Bowker,  and  their  associates,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  corporation  to 
carry  on  a  hotel  at  the  Massapoag 
Springs,  in  the  eastern  part  of  this 
town,  but  the  project  fell  through. 
It  was  to  be  called  the  Massa- 
poag Spring  Hotel,  and  its  capital 
stock  was  limited  to  $30,000.  The 
act  was  approved  by  the  Governor, 
May  18,  1852,  and  it  contained  similar 
conditions  to  those  mentioned  above 
in  regard  to  the  sale  of  liquors.  These 
enterprises  are  now  nearly  forgotten, 
though  the  mention  of  them  may  revive 
the  recollections  of  elderly  people. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  present 
century  Groton  had  one  characteristic 
mark,  closely  connected  with  the  old 
taverns,  which  it  no  longer  possesses. 


It  was  a  radiating  centre  for  different 
lines  of  stage-coaches,  until  this  mode 
of  travel  was  superseded  by  the  swifter 
one  of  the  railroad.  During  many 
years  the  stage-coaches  were  a  dis- 
tinctive feature  of  the  place ;  and  their 
coming  and  going  was  watched  with 
great  interest,  and  created  the  excite- 
ment of  the  day.  In  early  times  the 
drivers,  as  they  approached  the  village, 
would  blow  a  bugle  in  order  to  give 
notice  of  their  arrival;  and  this  blast 
was  the  signal  at  the  taverns  to  put  the 
food  on  the  table.  More  than  a  gen- 
eration has  now  passed  away  since 
these  coaches  were  wont  to  be  seen  in 
the  village  streets.  They  were  drawn 
usually  by  four  horses,  and  in  bad  going 
by  six.  Here  a  change  of  coaches, 
horses,  and  drivers  was  made. 

The  stage-driver  of  former  times 
belonged  to  a  class  of  men  that  has 
entirely  disappeared  from  this  com- 
munity. His  position  was  one  of 
considerable  responsibility.  This  im- 
portant personage  was  well  known  along 
his  route,  and  his  opinions  were  always 
quoted  with  respect.  I  can  easily 
recall  the  familiar  face  of  Aaron  Corey, 
who  drove  the  accommodation  stage  to 
Boston  for  so  many  years.  He  was 
a  careful  and  skilful  driver,  and  a  man 
of  most  obliging  disposition.  He  would 
go  out  of  his  way  to  bear  a  message  or 
leave  a  newspaper;  but  his  specialty 
was  to  look  after  women  and  children 
committed  to  his  charge.  He  carried, 
also,  packages  and  parcels,  and  largely 
what  is  to-day  entrusted  to  the  express. 
I  recall,  too,  with  pleasure,  Horace 
George,  another  driver,  popular  with 
all  the  boys,  because  in  sleighing-time 
he  would  let  us  ride  on  the  rack  behind, 
and  even  slacken  the  speed  of  his 
horses  so  as  to  allow  us  to  catch  hold 
of  the  straps. 


236 


The  Old  Taverns  ajtd  Stage-Coaches  of  Groton. 


Some  people  now  remember  the 
scenes  of  life  and  activity  that  used 
to  be  witnessed  in  the  town  on  the 
arrival  and  departure  of  the  stages. 
Some  remember,  too,  the  loud  snap  of 
the  whip  which  gave  increased  speed 
to  the  horses,  as  they  dashed  up  in 
approved  style  to  the  stopping-place, 
where  the  loungers  were  collected  to 
see  the  travelers  and  listen  to  the 
gossip  which  fell  from  their  lips. 
There  were  no  telegraphs  then,  and 
but  few  railroads  in  the  country.  The 
papers  did  not  gather  the  news  so 
eagerly,  nor  spread  it  abroad  so 
promptly,  as  they  do  now,  and  items 
of  intelligence  were  carried  largely  by 
word  of  mouth. 

The  earliest  line  of  stage-coaches 
between  Boston  and  Groton  was  the 
one  mentioned  in  The  Columbian 
Centinel,  April  6,  1793.  The  ad- 
vertisement is  headed  "  New  Line  of 
Stages,"  and  gives  notice  that  — 

A  Stage-Carriage  drives  from  Rabbins' 
Tavern,  at  Charles-River  Bridge,  on  Mon- 
day and  Friday,  in  each  week,  and  passing 
through  Cojicord  and  Groton,  arrives  at 
IVymari's  tavern  in  Ashley  [Ashby?]  in 
the  evening  of  the  same  days ;  and  after 
exchanging  passengers  there,  with  the 
Stage-Carriage  from  Walpole,  it  returns  on 
Tuesdays  and  Saturdays,  by  the  same 
route  to  Ro b bins'' s. 

The  Charlestown  Carriage  drives  also 
from  Robbins''  on  Wednesday  in  each 
week,  and  passing  through  Concord,  arrives 
at  Richardson'' s  tavern,  in  Groton,  on  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  and  from  thence 
returns  on  Thursday  to  Robbins\ 

Another  Carriage  drives  from  Richard- 
son's tavern  in  Groton,  on  Monday  in  each 
week,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
passing  by  Richardson''s  tavern  in  Concord 
at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  arrives  at 


Charlestown  at  tliree  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. From  Charlestown  it  drives  on 
Tuesday  and  Thursday  in  each  week,  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  returns 
back  as  far  as  Richardson's  tavern  in 
Concord —  and  from  that  place  it  starts  at 
8  o'clock  in  the  mornings,  of  Wednesday 
and  Friday,  and  runs  again  to  Charles- 
town. From  there  it  moves  at  six  o'clock 
on  Saturday  morning,  and  returns  to 
Richardson'' s  tavern  in  Groton,  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day. 

It  was  probably  one  of  these  "Car- 
riages "  to  which  allusion  is  made  in 
Mr.  Winthrop's  Memoir  of  the  Hon- 
orable NathaaAppleton,*  as  follows  :  — 

At  early  dusk  on  some  October  or 
November  evening,  in  the  year  1794, 
a  fresh,  vigorous,  bright-eyed  lad,  just 
turned  of  fifteen,  might  have  been  seen 
alighting  from  a  stage-coach  near  Quaker 
Lane.f  as  it  was  then  called,  in  the  old 
town  of  Boston.  He  had  been  two  days 
on  the  road  from  his  home  in  the  town  of 
New  Ipswich,  in  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. On  the  last  of  the  two  days,  the 
stage-coach  had  brought  him  all  the  way 
from  Groton  in  Massachusetts ;  startiiig 
for  that  purpose  early  in  the  morning, 
stopping  at  Concord  for  the  passengers  to 
dine,  trundling  them  through  Charlestown 
about  the  time  the  evening  lamps  were 
lighted,  and  finishing  the  whole  distance 
of  rather  more  than  thirty  miles  in  season 
for  supper.  For  his  first  day's  journey, 
there  had  been  no  such  eligible  and 
expeditious  conveyance.  The  Boston 
stage-coach,  in  those  days,  went  no 
farther  than  Groton  in  that  dii-ection.  His 
fathers  farm-horse,  or  perhaps  that  of  one 
of  the  neighbors,  had  served  his  turn  for 
the  first  six  or  seven  miles ;  his  little 
brother  of  ten  years  old  having  followed 
him  as  far  as  Townsend,  to  ride  the  horse 
home  again.  But  from  there  he  had 
trudged   along   to   Groton    on    foot,  with 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Soci- 
ety, V,  249,  250. 

t  Now  Congress  Street. 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coaches  of  Grot  on. 


237 


a  bundle-handkerchief  in  his  hand,  which 
contained  all  the  wearing  apparel  he  had, 
except  what  was  on  his  back. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  first  public 
conveyance  between  Boston  and 
Groton  was  a  covered  wagon,  hung 
on  chains  for  thoroughbraces  :  perhaps 
it  was  the  "Charlestown  Carriage," 
mentioned  in  the  advertisement.  It  was 
owned  and  driven  by  Lemuel  Lakin, 
but  after  a  few  years  the  owner  sold 
out  to  Dearborn  Emerson. 

The  following  advertisement  from 
The  Columbian  Centinel,  June  25, 
1800,  will  give  a  notion  of  what  an 
undertaking  a  trip  to  Boston  was,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century  :  — 

GROTON  STAGE. 
The  subscriber  respectfully  informs  the 
public  that  he  drives  the  Stage  from  Boston 
to  Groton,  running  through  Lexington, 
Concord,  and  Littleton,  to  Groton :  Starts 
from  Boston  every  Wednesday  morning,  at 
5  o'clock,  and  arrives  at  Groton  the  same 
day ;  Starts  from  Groton  every  Monday 
morning,  at  J  o'clock,  and  arrives  at  Bos- 
ton the  same  day  at  4  o'clock.  Passage 
through,  2  dols.  per  mile,  4^ 

DANBORN   EMERSON. 

Seats  taken  at  Mr.  Silas  Button's  in 
Royal  Exchange  Lane.  Newspapers  sup- 
plied on  the  road,  and  every  attention  paid 
to  conveyances. 

The  given  name  of  Emerson  was 
Dearborn,  and  not  "Danborn,"  which 
is  a  misprint.  Two  years  later  he  was 
running  a  stage-coach  from  Groton  to 
New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  and 
on  the  first  return  trip  he  brought  three 
passengers,  —  according  to  the  History 
of  New  Ipswich  (page  129).  Emerson 
was  a  noted  driver  in  his  day ;  and 
he  is  mentioned,  with  pleasant  recollec- 
tions, by  the  Honorable  Abbott  Law- 
rence, in  an  after-dinner  speech  at  the 


jubilee  of  Lawrence  Academy,  on  July 
12,  1854.  Subsequently  he  was  the 
landlord  of  one  of  the  local  taverns. 
It  is  advertised  in  The  Massachu- 
setts Register,  for  the  year  1802,  that 
the 

GROTON  Stage  sets  off  from  J.  and  S. 
Wheelock's  [Indian  Queen  Inn],  No.  37, 
Marlboro'-Street  [now  a  part  of  Washing- 
ton Street,  Boston] ,  every  Wednesday  at 
4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  arrives 
at  Groton  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
same  day ;  leaves  Groton  every  Monday 
at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  arrives  in 
Boston  at  6  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  same 
day.     (Pages  19,  20.) 

It  seems  from  this  notice  that  it  took 
three  hours  longer  to  make  the  trip 
down  to  Boston  than  up  to  Groton,  — 
of  which  the  explanation  is  not  clear. 
In  the  Register  for  1803  a  semi- 
weekly  line  is  advertised,  and  the  same 
length  of  time  is  given  for  making  the 
trip  each  way. 

About  the  year  1807  there  was  a  tri- 
weekly line  of  coaches  to  Boston,  and 
as  early  as  1820  a  daily  line,  which 
connected  at  Groton  with  others  ex- 
tending into  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont.  Soon  after  this  time  there 
were  two  lines  to  Boston,  running  in 
opposition  to  each  other,  —  one  known 
as  the  Union  and  Accommodation 
Line,  and  the  other  as  the  Telegraph 
and  Despatch. 

One  of  the  drivers  for  the  Telegraph 
and  Despatch  line  was  Phineas  Har- 
rington, known  along  the  road  as 
"  Phin  "  Harrington.  He  had  orders 
to  take  but  eight  passengers  in  his 
coach,  and  the  trip  was  made  with 
remarkable  speed  for  that  period. 
"Phin  "  was  a  man  of  small  size,  and 
the  story  used  to  be  told  of  him  that, 
on  cold  and  stormy  nights,  he  would 
get  inside  of  one  of  the  lamps  fixed  to 


2.^.8 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-CoacJies  of  Groton. 


his  box  in  order  to  warm  his  feet  by  the 
Hghted  wick  !  He  passed  almost  his 
whole  life  as  a  stage-man,  and  it  is  said 
that  he  drove  for  nearly  forty  years. 
He  could  handle  the  reins  of  six  horses 
with  more  skill  than  any  other  driver  in 
town. 

William  Shephard  and  Company  ad- 
vertise in  The  Groton  Herald,  April  lo, 
1830,  their  accommodation  stage. 
"  Good  Teams  and  Coaches,  with  care- 
ful and  obliging  drivers,  will  be  pro- 
vided by  the  subscribers."  Books  were 
•  kept  in  Boston  at  A.  M.  Brigham's,  No. 
42  Hanover  Street,  and  in  Groton  at 
the  taverns  of  Amos  Alexander  and 
Joseph  Hoar.  The  fare  was  one  dol- 
lar, and  the  coach  went  three  times 
a  week. 

About  this  time  George  Flint  had 
a  line  to  Nashua,  and  John  Holt 
another  to  Fitchburg.  They  advertise 
together  in  the  Herald,  May  i,  1830, 
that  "no  pains  shall  be  spared  to 
accommodate  those  who  shall  favor 
them  with  their  custom,  and  all  business 
intrusted  to  their  care  will  be  faithfully 
attended  to."  The  first  stage-coach 
from  this  town  to  Lowell  began  to  run 
about  the  year  1829,  and  John  Austin 
was  the  driver.  An  opposition  line 
was  established  soon  afterwafrd,  and 
kept  up  during  a  short  time,  until  a 
compromise  was  made  between  them. 
Later,  John  Russ  was  the  owner  and 
driver  of  the  line  to  Lowell,  and  still 
later,  John  M.  Maynard  the  owner. 
Near  this  period  there  was  a  coach 
running  to  Worcester,  and  previously 
one  to  Amherst,  New  Hampshire. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of 
the  old  drivers,  who  were  well  known 
along  their  respective  routes.  It  is  ar- 
ranged in  no  particular  order  and  by  no 
means  complete  \  and  the  dates  against 
a  few  of  the  names  are  only  approx- 


imations to   the   time  when  each  one 
sat  on  the  box  :  — 

Lemuel  Lakin  was  among  the  earli- 
est ;  and  he  was  followed  by  Dear- 
born Emerson.  Daniel  Brooks  drove 
to  Boston  during  the  period  of  the  last 
war  with  England,  and  probably  later. 

Aaron  Corey  drove  the  accommoda- 
tion stage  to  Boston,  through  Carlisle, 
Bedford,  and  Lexington,  for  a  long 
time,  and  he  had  previously  driven  the 
mail-coach.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Calvin,  the  driver  for  a  few  years, 
until  the  line  was  given  up  in  1850. 
Mr.  Corey,  the  father,  was  one  of  the 
veterans,  having  held  the  reins  during 
thirty-two  years;  he  died  March  15, 
1857,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three. 

Isaac  Bullard,  1817-30;  WilHam 
Smart,  1S25-30  ;  George  Hunt,  Jonathan 
Buttrick,  Thomas  A.  Staples,  Obediah 
Kendall,  Albert  Hay  den.  Charles  Briggs, 
Levi  Robbins,  James  Lord,  Frank  Brown, 
Silas  Burgess,  Augustus  Adams,  William 
Dana,    Horace    Brown,    Levi  Wheeler, 

Timothy     Underwood,    Bacon, 

Horace  George,  1838-45  ;  Lyman  W. 
Gushing,  1842-45,  and  Joseph  Stewart. 
These  drove  to  Boston.  After  the 
stages  were  taken  off,  "  Joe "  Stewart 
drove  the  passenger-coach  from  the 
village  to  the  station  on  the  Fitchburg 
Railroad,  which  ran  to  connect  with  the 
three  daily  trains  for  Boston.  The 
station  was  three  miles  away,  and  now 
within  the  limits  of  Ayer. 

Among  the  drivers  to  Keene,  New 
Hampshire,  were  Kimball  Danforth, 
1817-40;  Ira  Brown,  Oliver  Scales, 
Amos  Nicholas,  Otis  Bardwell,  Abel 
Marshall,  the  brothers  Ira  and  Hiram 
Hodgkins,  George  Brown,  Houghton 
Lawrence,  Palmer  Thomas,  Ira  Green, 
Barney  Pike,  William  Johnson,  Walter 
Carleton,  and  John  Carleton.  There 
were  two  stage  routes  to  Keene,  both 


The  Old  Taverns  and  Stage-Coaches  of  Groton. 


239 


going  as  far  as  West  Townsend  in  com- 
mon, and  then  sejja rating,  one  passing 
through  Ashby,  Rindge,  and  Fitzwil- 
liam,  while  the  other  went  through 
New  Ipswich  and  Jaffrey. 

Anson  Johnson  and  Beriah  Curtis 
drove  to  Worcester ;  Addison  Parker, 
Henry  L.  Lawrence.  Stephen  Corbin, 
John  Webber,  and  his  son,  Ward,  drove 
to  Lowell ;  the  brothers  Abiel  and 
Nathan  Fawcett,  Wilder  Proctor,  and 
Abel  H.  Fuller,  to  Nashua  ;  Alicah  Ball, 
who  came  from  Leominster  about  the 
year  1824,  drove  to  Amherst,  New 
Hampshire,  and  after  him  Benjamin 
Lewis,  who  continued  to  drive  as  long 
as  he  lived,  and  at  his  death  the  line  was 
given  up.  The  route  to  Amherst  lay 
through  Pepperell,  Hollis,  and  Milford. 

Other  drivers  were  John  Chase,  Joel 
Shattuck,  Wilham  Shattuck,  Moses 
Titus,  Frank  Shattuck,  David  Coburn, 

Chickering,  Thomas  Emory,  and 

William  Kemp,  Jr. 

The  sad  recollection  of  an  accident 
at  Littleton,  resulting  in  the  death  of 
Silas  Bullard,  is  occasionally  revived  by 
some  of  the  older  people.  It  occurred 
about  the  year  1825.  and  was  caused 
by  the  upsetting  of  the  Groton  coach, 
driven  by  Samuel  Stone,  and  at  the  time 
just  descending  the  hill  between  Little- 
ton Common  and  Nagog  Pond,  then 
known  as  Kimball's  Hill.  Mr.  Bul- 
lard was  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
line,  and  a  brother  of  Isaac,  the  veteran 
driver. 

Besides  the  stage-coaches  the  carrier 
wagons  added  to  the  business  of 
Groton,  and  helped  largely  to  support 
the  taverns.  The  town  was  situated  on 
one  of  the  main  thoroughfares  leading 
from  Boston  to  the  northern  country, 
comprising  an  important  part  of  New 


Hampshire  and  Vermont,  and  extend- 
ing into  Canada.  This  road  was 
traversed  by  a  great  number  of  wagons, 
drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  carrying  to 
the  city  the  various  products  of  the 
country,  such  as  grain,  pork,  butter, 
cheese,  eggs,  venison,  hides ;  and 
returning  with  goods  found  in  the  city, 
such  as  molasses,  sugar,  New-England 
rum,  coffee,  tea,  nails,  iron,  cloths,  and 
the  innumerable  articles  found  in  the 
country  stores,  to  be  distributed  among 
the  to\vns  above  here.  In  some  sea- 
sons, it  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see 
forty  such  wagons  passing  through  the 
village  in  one  day. 

In  addition  to  these  were  many 
smaller  vehicles,  drawn  by  one  or  two 
horses,  to  say  nothing  of  the  private 
carriages  of  individuals  who  were 
traveling  for  business  or  pleasure. 

For  many  of  the  facts  mentioned  in 
this  paper  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Moses 
Gill,  an  octogenarian  of  Groton,  whose 
mind  is  clear  and  body  active  for  a  man 
of  his  years.  Mr.  Gill  is  a  grandson  of 
Lieutenant-Governor  Moses  Gill,  and 
was  born  at  Princeton,  on  March  6, 
1800.  He  has  kept  several  public 
houses  in  Groton,  already  mentioned, 
besides  the  old  brick  tavern  situated 
on  the  Lowell  road,  near  Long- 
sought-for  Pond,  and  formerly  known 
as  the  Half-way  House.  This  hotel 
came  within  the  hmitsof  Westford,  and 
was  kept  by  Mr.  Gill  from  the  year 
1842  to  1847.  In  his  day  he  has 
known  personally  seventy-five  landlords 
doing  business  between  Davenport's 
(opposite  to  the  celebrated  Porter's 
tavern  in  Cambridge)  and  Keene,  New 
Hampshire  ;  and  of  this  number,  only 
seven  are  thought  to  be  living  at  the 
present  time. 


?^0 


Capt.  John  McClintock. 


CAPT.  JOHN  McCLINTOCK. 


(( '(lilt  iimcd  I'nmi  \y.\\l^'  I'.i  1.) 
Seplcmbcr  26,  1  .S4  1 ,  he  married  Mary 
Bailey  Shaw,  of  Winthrop,  Maine,  who 
bore  him  six  children,  four  of  whom  sur- 
vive. During  one  of  his  long  voyages 
round  the  workl  she  departed  this  life, 
Oct.  25,  1866.  Rev.  C.  C.  Mason  thus 
writes  of  her  in  the  Zlou's  Herald: 

"  Hy  the  death  of  this  sister  the 
church  sustams  a  great  loss,  for  she  was 
a  constant  friend  and  exemplary  mem- 
ber. Tilt:  poor  and  afflicted  will  re- 
member her  as  a  sympathizer  and 
helper,  for  she  endeared  herself  to  all 
by  her  active  yet  gentle  and  uuostenta 
tious  exertions  for  the  good  of  others. 
I  do  not  pen  an  untruth  or  write  unde- 
served praise  when  I  say  that  few  women 
have  a  record  so  full  of  lovely  remem- 
brances as  Sister  Mary  McClintock. 
She  was  a  woman  of  superior  gifts,  gen- 
erous and  true,  earnest  and  hopeiul, 
consistent  and  faithiul  in  her  chrirtian 
life.  Her  piety  was  distinguished  by  a 
firm  and  cheerful  trust  in  her  God. 
Seldom  was  she  cast  down  or  disc]uieted. 
In  September  last,  Willie,  the  next  to 
the  eldest  son,  was  smitten  with  typhoid 
fever,  and  for  weeks  that  affectionate 
mother  watched  every  symptom,  at- 
tended to  every  want,  and  by  her  ten- 
der, watchful  care  he  was  restored  to 
health.  Ere  Willie  recovered,  John, 
the  eldest  son,  was  prostrated  by  the 
same  fever,  and  to-day  lies  hovering  be- 
tween life  and  death.  The  mother  was 
compelled  to  resign  the  care  of  this 
dear  son  to  others  and  seek  her  own 
couch  to  lie  down  and  die.  Ttie  min- 
isters of  the  Maine  Conference  will  re- 


member her  rare  .nd  solicitude  for 
their  good,  and  thai  incmorv  will  shine 
upon  their  weary  ]xuliway  like  moon 
light  when  the  sun  lias  set,  leaving  a 
sweet  and  tender  radiance.  Her  house 
with  its  many  comforts  vvas  the  frequent 
and  welcome  home  of  the  itinerant. 
With  her  generous  and  warm-hearted 
husband  she  was  a  weeklv  visitor  at  the 
parsonage,  and  its  orcu[)ants  this  year 
will  miss  a  devoted  fricml.  In  her  do- 
mestic circle  she  was  very  affable  and 
queenly,  almost  idolized  by  her  fond 
and  confiiing  husband  and  affectionate 
children." 

The  death  of  the  mother  broke  up 
the  family  circle,  the  boys  struck  out 
for  themselves,  and  the  father  passed  the 
last  years  of  his  life  with  the  son,  "  Wil- 
lie," at  Chelsea,  Mass.  His  declining 
years  were  amidst  pleasant  surround- 
ings, where  he  had  every  care  and  at- 
tention, but  toward  the  last  his  mind 
wandered  and  he  lived  over  again 
scenes  in  his  stormy  life.  His  crew  was 
mutinous  as  of  old.  Robbers  were  at- 
tacking him.  Lawyers  were  his  dread 
and  terror,  especially  the  English  spec- 
iuien.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  gale, 
or  he  was  becalmed  in  a  bad  current. 
His  end  was  very  peaceful  and  he  was 
laid  to  rest  by  the  side  of  his  only  wife 
in  a  peaceful  graveyard  in  Winthrop, 
overhung  by  elms  and  commanding  a 
view  of  a  beautiful  little  lake.  They 
are  in  the  midst  of  her  kindred. 


THE 

RANITE  neNTHLY. 

A  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  MAGAZINE. 

Tfrcoted  to  Literature,  'Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 
Vol.  IX.  SEPTEMBER,    1886.  No.  IX. 

COL.  CHARLES  H.  SAWYER. 

By  Hon.  Charles  H.  Bell,  LL.D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  does  not  Several   of  them,   including  Jonathan 

owe  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held  Sawyer,  the  youngest,  became  manufac- 

to  the  doings  of  his  ancestors.     He  has  turers.     Jonathan  was  fortunate  in  ob- 

eamed  his  own  position  in  the  world,  taining  an  education  in  the  high  school 

Yet  he  cannot  fail  to  feel  an  honorable  of  Lowell,  and  afterwards  at  the  great 

pride  in  the  fact,  that  he  is  sprung  from  Methodist    institution    in    VVilbraham, 

a  line  of  energetic  and  ingenious  work-  Mass.     Then  he  learned  the  business 

ers,  who  made  themselves  useful   and  of  a  dyer  in  a  woollen-mill  in  Lowell, 

respected  in  their  generations.  and    subsequently    had    charge    of   a 

Charles  H.  Sawyer  is  a  lineal  de-  similar  establishment  in  Watertown, 
scendant  of  John  Sawyer,  a  farmer  of  N.Y.  In  1850  he  took  up  his  abode 
Lincolnshire  in  England,  three  of  whose  in  Dover  in  our  own  State,  and  entered 
sons  emigrated  to  this  country  about  into  the  manufacture  of  flannels.  He 
the  year  1636.  One  of  them,  Thomas,  is  still  a  principal  and  active  pro- 
settled  in  1647  ^t  Lancaster,  Mass.;  prietor  of  the  Sawyer  Woollen  Mills, 
where  in  1708  he  (or  possibly  a  son  in  the  enjoyment  of  health,  compet- 
of  his,  bearing  the  same  name)  was  ence,  and  the  respect  won  by  a  life 
captured  by  the  Indians  and  taken  to  of  honorable  exertion  and  spotless  in- 
Canada,  and  purchased  his  deliverance,  tegrity. 

and  that  of  several  fellow-captives,  by         Charles  H.  Sawyer,  the  eldest  son  of 

building    for   the   French    governor  a  Jonathan  and  Martha  (Perkins)  Sawyer, 

saw-mill;   the  first,  it  is  said,  in  that  was   bom  in  Watertown,  N.Y.,  March 

region  of  country.  30,   1840.     At  the  age  of  ten,  he  was 

Phineas,  the  great-great-grandson  of  brought  by  his  father  to  Dover,  and 

Thomas,  and  the  grandfather  of  Charles  acquired  the  basis  of  his  education  in 

H.    Sawyer,    bought   in    Marlborough,  the    excellent   public   schools   of  that 

Mass.,  a  century  later,  a  water  privilege  place.     When   he   became   seventeen, 

and  mills,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  his  father,  who  designed   him  for  the 

a  cotton  factory ;  a  difiicult  and  hazard-  hereditary    calling    of    manufacturing, 

ous  undertaking  at  that  early  day.     He  placed   him  in  the   flannel-mill  as   an 

operated  it  for  some  years,  about  the  ordinary  hand,  to  enable  him  to  form 

time  of  the  last  war  with  England,  but  a  practical  acquaintance  with  the  vari- 

probably  with  more  public  spirit  than  ous  and  complicated  processes  required 

private  advantage,  and  died  in   1820,  to  transform  the  rough  fleece  into  the 

leaving  a  widow  and   twelve  children,  finished  fabric.    Here  he  supplemented 


244 


Col.   Charles  H.   Sawyer. 


his  book-education  by  the  education 
of  work,  observation,  and  experience. 
Step  by  step  he  rose  to  the  higher 
grades  of  employment,  mastering  every 
detail  of  the  business  as  he  went,  until 
at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  the  estab- 
lishment. Meantime,  the  proprietors 
of  the  mills  had  greatly  extended  their 
operations,  and  had  adapted  the  ma- 
chinery to  the  manufacture  of  fine  cas- 
simere  cloths  and  suitings.  In  1873 
they  were  incorporated  by  the  name  of 
the  Sawyer  Woollen  Mills,  and  Col. 
Sawyer  became  a  part  owner  and  agent ; 
and  in  1881,  on  the  death  of  his  uncle, 
Francis  A.  Sawyer  the  senior  proprie- 
tor, he  was  chosen  the  president. 

The  Sawyer  Woollen  Mills  Corpora- 
tion is  now  a  large  and  prosperous  con- 
cern, employing  somewhere  about  five 
hundred  operatives,  and  turning  out  a 
quality  of  cloth  which  has  acquired 
a  high  reputation  in  the  market  for 
beauty,  durability,  and  uniform  excel- 
lence of  workmanship.  None  but  the 
best  materials  are  used,  and  the  best 
class  of  help  is  employed.  "  Live  and 
let  live  "  is  the  motto  of  the  managers. 
The  employees  have  mainly  grown  up 
with  the  business,  the  changes  having 
been  very  few;  a  great  part  of  them 
have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  con- 
cern for  twenty  years  or  more.  They 
are  paid  liberal  wages,  and  are  com- 
fortable and  independent.  They  are 
large  depositors  in  the  savings-banks ; 
and  many  of  them  own  their  own 
houses,  purchased  with  their  earnings. 
As  may  be  inferred,  they  are,  as  a  body, 
temperate,  industrious,  and  orderly. 
They  feel  that  their  interests  are  iden- 
tified with  those  of  their  employers ; 
and  no  strikes  or  other  labor  troubles 
have  ever  disturbed  the  harmonious 
relations  between  them. 


The  Sawyer  Woollen  Mills  have  in- 
troduced one  new  feature  into  their 
business,  which  commends  itself  to  the 
good  sense  of  all.  Instead  of  employ- 
ing commission  houses  to  dispose  of 
their  goods,  as  the  former  practice  was, 
they  now  make  their  own  sales.  They 
thus  reduce  the  chances  of  loss  to  the 
minimum  ;  and  there  being  no  middle- 
man's profit  to  pay,  they  can  better 
afford  employment  to  their  hands  in 
times  of  depression. 

For  a  number  of  years  past,  the  ac- 
tive management  of  the  entire  business 
—  buying,  manufacturing,  and  selling — 
has  fallen  upon  Col.  Sawyer;  and  it 
has  been  so  conducted,  that  the  credit 
of  no  other  establishment  stands  higher. 
As  a  business  man,  alert,  sagacious,  and 
successful,  the  colonel  has  no  superior 
in  the  State  ;  and  that  is  saying  a  great 
deal  at  this  day,  when  the  brightest  of 
our  New-Hampshire  boys  are  finding 
employment  at  home. 

The  sterling  business  qualities  which 
Col.  Sawyer  displayed  in  the  conduct 
of  his  own  affairs  have  naturally  led  to 
his  being  selected  upon  the  board  of 
management  of  other  enterprises.  He 
is  a  director  of  the  Strafford  National 
Bank,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Strafford 
Savings  Bank ;  a  director  of  the  Dover 
Gas-light  Company,  and  president  of 
the  Dover  Horse-Railroad  Company ;  a 
director  and  member  of  the  Executive 
Board  of  the  Granite-State  Insurance 
Company  ;  a  director  of  the  Portsmouth 
Bridge  Company,  and  president  of  the 
Eliot  Bridge  Company ;  and  a  director 
in  the  Portsmouth  and  Dover,  in  the 
Portsmouth,  Great  Falls,  and  Conway, 
and  in  the  Wolfeborough  Branch  Rail- 
roads. These  various  and  important 
trusts,  numerous  as  they  and  his  pri- 
vate engagements  are,  receive  his  care- 
ful attention ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that 


Col.   Charles  H.   Sawyer. 


245 


the  opinion  of  no  one  concerned  in 
their  administration  carries  more  weight 
than  his. 

Col.  Sawyer  has  too  great  an  interest 
in  pubhc  alitairs  to  be  without  decided 
pohtical  convictions.  He  cast  his  earU- 
est  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  has 
ever  since  been  unswerving  in  his  alle- 
giance to  the  Republican  party.  His 
experience  in  the  service  of  the  pubUc 
has  not  been  inconsiderable.  After  hav- 
ing served  with  credit  in  both  branches 
of  the  city  council  of  Dover,  he  was 
chosen  a  representative  in  the  State 
Legislature  in  the  years  1869  and  1870, 
and  again  in  1876  and  1877.  His 
ability  and  standing  in  that  body  are 
indicated  by  the  fact  of  his  assignment 
to  the  important  committees  on  the 
judiciary,  railroads,  manufactures,  and 
national  affairs.  His  last  political  ser- 
vice was  that  of  delegate  at  large  to 
the  National  Republican  Convention  at 
Chicago,  in  1884.  The  military  title 
by  which  he  is  known.  Col.  Sawyer 
derived  from  his  appointment  upon  the 
staff  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  in 
1 88 1.  It  is  the  barest  justice  to  him 
to  add  that  he  is  no  office-seeker. 
Modest  and  unassuming  in  a  remarka- 
ble degree,  the  public  positions  he  has 
held  have  come  to  him  through  no 
longing  or  efforts  of  his  own ;  in  his 
case  it  is  emphatically  true  that  "the 
office  has  always  sought  the  man." 

Col.  Sawyer  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  Society  in  Dover,  and 
a  liberal  contributor  to  its  support,  a^s 
well  as  to  every  worthy  object  of  charity 
and  scheme  of  benevolence  that  is 
brought  to  his  notice  from  whatever 
quarter.  Though  his  manner  is  re- 
served, his  heart  is  warm,  and  his  sym- 
pathies are  quick  and  wide ;  and  his 
generosity  and  helpfulness  in  a  good 
cause  are  not  limited  by  place  or  creed 


or  nationality.  He  is  a  consistent  tem- 
perance man,  and  a  firm  upholder  of 
the  prohibitory  law.  Every  work  for 
the  improvement  of  the  city  or  the 
public  benefit  finds  in  him  a  hearty 
supporter,  grudging  neither  money  nor 
more  valuable  personal  effort  to  pro- 
mote its  advancement.  For  years  he 
has  been  a  zealous  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity.  He  was  twice  elected 
to  the  chair  of  the  Strafford  Lodge  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  and  for 
the  past  seven  years  he  has  been  the 
Eminent  Commander  of  the  St.  Paul 
Commandery  of  Knights  Templar. 

Though  so  diligent  a  man  of  affairs, 
Col.  Sawyer  finds  the  time  for  mental 
cultivation.  His  library  contains  the 
best  books  of  sohd  value,  and  he  has 
made  himself  acquainted  with  their 
contents.  On  all  subjects  of  public 
interest  and  practical  importance  he 
keeps  thoroughly  informed,  and  has 
well-considered  opinions.  Naturally 
somewhat  reticent,  he  never  obtrudes 
his  views ;  but  when  they  are  sought 
for,  they  are  found  to  go  straight  to  the 
mark,  and  to  have  behind  them  all 
the  force  of  rare  sagacity  and  careful 
thought.  He  makes  no  pretentions  to 
oratory,  yet  orators  might  well  envy 
the  impression  which  his  plain,  con- 
vincing statements  command.  In  the 
recent  panic  caused  by  the  withdrawal 
from  the  State  of  foreign  insurance 
companies,  it  was  mainly  Col.  Sawyer's 
calm  and  clear  demonstration  of  the 
feasibility  of  a  manufacturers'  mutual 
system  of  home  insurance  that  quieted 
the  needless  feelings  of  alarm. 

It  has  been  truly  remarked  of  Col. 
Sa\v}'er,  that  "  Nature  made  him  on  a 
large  scale."  His  great  interests  he 
wields  easily,  and  carries  his  broad 
responsibilities  without  fatigue.  His 
remarkable     executive     ability    never 


246 


Col.   Charles  H.   Sawyer. 


seems  to  be  taxed  to  its  full  ca- 
pacity ;  there  is  always  an  appearance 
of  reserve  strength  beyond.  He  has 
a  large  way  of  estimating  men  and 
things.  No  petty  prejudices  obscure 
the  clearness  of  his  vision,  or  weaken 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment.  He 
has  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and 
does  not  shrink  from  telling  an  unpal- 
atable truth  when  necessary ;  but  he 
has  the  rare  faculty  of  giving  no  need- 
less offence.  In  the  wide  round  of 
his  occupations  he  must  needs  have 
caused  some  disappointments ;  but  his 
character  for  justice  and  square  dealing 
is  so  universally  understood,  that  cen- 
sure finds  no  vulnerable  spot  to  fasten 
on.  Few  prominent  men  are  so  free 
from  enemies. 

The  imperturbable  poise  of  charac- 
ter which  Col.  Sawyer  exhibits  is  one 
of  his  distinguishing  features.  Nothing 
throws  him  off  his  balance.  He  keeps 
entire  control  of  his  temper ;  he  allows 
neither  success  to  elate  him,  nor  failure 
to  depress  him.  As  the  western  peo- 
ple say,  he  is  "  a  man  to  tie  to."  This 
is  the  result  of  natural  equanimity,  sup- 
plemented by  careful  self-discipline. 
His  powers  are  so  cultivated  that  they 
are  evenly  developed  ;  his  character  is 
matured,  well-rounded,  and  symmet- 
rical. 

Moreover,  he  is,  in  the  expressive 
phrase  of  the  day,  a  "  clean "  man. 
His  life  has  been  soiled  by  no  mean  or 
sordid  action.  Amidst  many  tempta- 
tions to  self-indulgence,  he  has  pre- 
served himself  pure  and  unspoiled. 
In  the  several  relations  of  son  and 
husband  and  father,  of  friend  and  of 
citizen,  he  has  been  faithful  and  true 
to  his  duty.  At  twenty-five  years  of 
age  he  married  Susan  E.,  daughter  of 
Dr.  James  W.  Cowan.  Their  home  is 
on  the  bank  of  the  stream  whose  waters 


turn  the  wheels  of  Sawyer's  Mills.  It 
is  the  unostentatious  abode  of  genuine 
comfort  and  refinement.  It  is  there 
that  Col.  Sawyer  finds,  in  the  society 
of  his  wife  and  children,  rest  from  the 
cares  of  his  business,  and  the  truest 
enjoyment  of  his  Hfe. 

For  several  years  past  those  who 
knew  Col.  Sawyer  best  have  felt  that 
he  was  destined  ere  long  to  fill  the 
chief  executive  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
people  of  New  Hampshire  ;  and  when, 
a  few  months  since,  his  name  was  pub- 
licly mentioned  for  the  gubernatorial 
nomination  by  the  Republican  party, 
it  was  received  with  enthusiasm  by 
people  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  The 
Convention,  when  assembled,  ratified 
what  appeared  to  be  the  popular  voice, 
and  nominated  him  as  their  candidate 
for  the  governorship  by  a  vote  of  nearly 
three-fourths  of  their  whole  number. 

Gratifying  to  the  nominee  as  this 
spontaneous  mark  of  the  confidence  . 
of  his  party  must  have  been,  his  recep- 
tion by  the  people  of  his  city,  without 
distinction  of  party,  must  have  been 
even  more  so.  He  was  met  on  his 
return  from  the  Convention  to  Dover, 
by  a  great  procession,  civic  and  mili- 
tary, of  men  of  all  opinions  and  callings, 
and  escorted  to  his  home  amid  cheers 
and  music  and  illuminations  all  along 
the  way.  It  was  an  ovation  that  testified 
more  eloquently  than  words  to  the  high 
estimation  in  which  his  character  is 
held  by  his  neighbors  and  townsmen. 

Col.  Sawyer  is  yet  in  his  prime.  It 
is  probable  that  one-half  of  his  adult 
life  is  still  before  him.  The  qualities  that 
have  already  made  him  one  of  our  fore- 
most men  will  guide  and  govern  him 
throughout  the  remainder  of  his  career. 
And  all  that  he  has  thus  far  accomplished 
is  not  unlikely  to  prove  but  the  vestibule 
to  the  noble  edifice  of  his  completed  life. 


Hon.  Jacob  H.   Gallingcr. 


247 


HON.  JACOB    H.   GALLINGER,   M.  D. 


Since  July,  1879,  when  a  sketch  of 
Hon.  Jacob  H.  Gallinger  appeared  in 
The  Granite  Monthly,  at  which  time 
he  was  president  of  the  New- Hamp- 
shire Senate,  he  has  not  been  idle.  At 
this  time,  when  he  is  a  candidate  for 
re-election  to  Congress,  a  few  addition- 
al facts  may  be  of  interest  to  the  read- 
ers of  The  Granite  Monthly.  Allen  J. 
Hackett,  a  well  known  political  writer, 
contributes  the  following  :  "  Dr.  Gallinger 
had  long  been  an  active  and  influential 
member  of  the  Republican  State  Cen- 
tral Committee,  and  in  September, 
1882,  he  was  made  its  chairman.  The 
campaign  which  followed  was  one  of 
exceeding  bitterness,  and  beset  with  ex- 
ceptional difficulties.  The  tidal  wave, 
which,  two  years  later,  carried  the 
Democratic  party  into  power  in  the  Na- 
tion, had  already  set  in.  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  even  Massachusetts 
chose  Democratic  governors,  and  a 
Democratic  Congress  was  elected.  In 
addition  to  these  general  discourage- 
ments, the  Republicans  of  New  Hamp- 
shire were  called  upon  to  face  serious 
obstacles  of  their  own,  which  are  well 
known  to  all ;  and  which,  therefore, 
need  not  be  discussed  here.  It  is  only 
just  to  say  that,  with  a  less  adroit  man- 
ager at  the  head  of  the  Republican 
organization,  the  Republican  victory 
which  followed  would  have  been  im- 
possible. Dr.  Gallinger  was  re-elected 
to  the  chairmanship  in  1884,  ^^id  again 
demonstrated  his  especial  fitness  for 
the  place. 

"  In  the  Second  District  Convention, 
held  at  Concord,  Sept.  9,  1884,  Dr. 
Gallinger  was  nominated  for  member 
of  Congress,  receiving  on  the  first  bal- 
lot 171  out  of  a  total  of  329  votes. 
The  nomination  was  subsequently  made 


unanimous.  His  competitors  were 
Hon.  Daniel  Barnard  of  Franklin,  and 
Hon.  Levi  W.  Barton  of  Newport,  two 
of  the  ablest  men  of  the  State.  He 
was  elected  in  November  following, 
running  several  hundred  votes  ahead 
of  his  ticket. 

"  Dr.  Gallinger  has  been  prominent 
in  politics  otherwise  than  in  an  official 
capacity.  He  is  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ular and  successful  campaign  orators 
in  the  State.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  rapid, 
direct,  and  practical ;  has  an  excellent 
voice,  and  always  commands  the  close 
attention  of  his  audience.  He  is  also 
a  facile  and  effective  writer.  He  has 
frequently  prepared  the  resolutions  for 
State  and  District  Conventions,  and 
has  written  to  a  considerable  extent 
for  the  daily  press.  He  has  also  per- 
formed considerable  literary  labor  of 
a  general  character.  He  has  frequent- 
ly lectured  before  lyceums  and  other 
literary  societies ;  and  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege has  conferred  upon  him  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  master  of  arts. 

"  Dr.  Gallinger  is  slighdy  above  the 
medium  height,  and  is  somewhat  portly. 
He  has  always  been  strictly  temperate 
in  his  habits,  and  the  happy  results  of 
his  abstemious  life  are  apparent  in  his 
cheery  and  healthful  countenance.  He 
has  a  fine  presence,  a  cordial,  hearty 
manner,  and  a  pleasing,  winning  ad- 
dress. His  rare  social  qualities,  abun- 
dant good  nature,  keen  sense  of  hu- 
mor, and  excellent  conversational  power, 
make  him  a  most  agreeable  compan- 
ion ;  and  few  men  in  the  State  enjoy  a 
higher  degree  of  personal  popularity." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  State  Commit- 
tee and  Delegates  on  the  evening  of 
Sept.  13,  1886,  to  form  a  plan  for  the 
organization   of  the  Republican   State 


248 


Hon.  Jacob  H.   Gallingcr. 


Convention  for  the  following  clay,  Dr. 
Gallinger  presided ;  and,  in  response 
to  an  urgent  call,  gave  an  address 
which,  from  its  wisdom  and  appropri- 
ateness, might  well  be  termed  an 
oration.  Every  hearer  in  his  large  au- 
dience, composed  of  the  leading  Re- 
publican politicians  of  New  Hampshire, 
were,  under  his  generalship,  brought 
under  one  banner,  and  united  for  a 
hard  fight  and  a  victory  in  the  coming 
election. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Sept.  14,  Dr. 
Gallinger  was  renominated  by  accla- 
mation for  member  of  Congress  from 
the  second  district.  "The  Concord 
Monitor"  says, — 

"  It  is  conceded  on  all  hands  that  Dr.  Gal- 
iinger's  speech  accepting  the  renomination 
for  the  member  of  Congress  was  one  of  the 
most  graceful  speeches  of  acceptance  ever 
heard  in  this  State. 

"  The  nomination  of  Congressman  Gallin- 
ger, for  a  second  term,  by  acclamation,  while 
it  was  in  accordance  with  a  long  established 
custom,  yet  had  a  significance  peculiarly  its 
own ;  for  the  reason  that  the  result  would 
have  been  the  same  if  the  proceedings  had 
been  different.  Dr.  Gallinger  has  been  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  faithful  representa- 
tives that  his  district  has  ever  had.  His  initi- 
ation into  the  practical  duties  of  congressional 
life  have  been  very  rapid.  He  has  an  ex- 
ceedingly happy  facility  in  adapting  himself 
to  any  position  in  which  he  finds  himself 
placed.  This  quality  has  enabled  him  to  dis- 
charge the  functions  of  the  numerous  State 
offices  which  he  has  held,  with  readiness  and 
unusual  success ;  and  it  stands  him  in  good 


stead  in  the  higher  office  which  he  now  fills. 
He  has  not  found  it  necessary  to  serve  a  long 
apprenticeship  of  timid  silence.  He  has 
served  but  half  of  his  first  term  in  Congress, 
but  he  has  already  been  "heard  from,"  and 
in  a  way  creditable  to  himself  and  gratifying 
to  the  people  of  his  State.  He  has  success- 
fully participated  in  the  debates,  and  his 
speech  on  the  silver  question  was  one  of  the 
ablest  of  the  session.  He  has  faithfully  rep- 
resented the  interests  of  his  constituents,  and 
has  cheerfully  responded  to  all  demands 
which  they  have  made  upon  him. 

"There  should  be,  and  indeed  there  is,  no 
doubt  of  his  re-election  by  a  very  large  ma- 
jority. Two  years  ago  he  ran  several  hun- 
dred votes  ahead  of  his  ticket.  To  the  per- 
sonal popularity  to  which  that  result  was  due, 
he  can  now  add  an  excellent  public  record, 
and  the  voters  of  the  second  district  will 
doubtless  show  their  appreciation  of  his  ser- 
vices by  giving  him  a  generous  support  at 
the  polls." 

Dr.  Gallinger's  congressional  record, 
as  above  outlined,  is  one  of  exceptional 
brilliancy.  Rarely,  if  ever,  has  the 
State  had  a  representative  who,  during 
his  first  session,  gained  so  prominent  a 
a  place  in  Congress  as  he.  Industrious, 
faithful,  and  aggessive,  his  reputation  is 
already  established  as  a  congressman 
of  great  oratorical  power  and  rare  ex- 
ecutive ability.  His  future  career  will 
be  carefully  watched  by  the  people  of 
the  State,  who  to-day  look  upon  him  as 
one  of  the  few  men  in  New  Hampshire 
who  can  properly  look  forward  to  the 
probability  of  further  preferment  in  the 
political  field. 


The  firm  of  James  R.  Hill  &  Co. 
of  Concord,  the  manufacturers  of  the 
Concord  harness,  the  standard  harness 
of  America,  to  whom  the  attention  of 
the  readers  of  The  Granite  Monthly 
has  been  frequently  called  in  past  years, 
have  continued  to  sustain  and  increase 
the  reputation  of  their  goods  until,  not 
only  in  name  but  in  fact,  they  are 
at  the  head  in  this  country  in  their 
line.  They  furnish  from  their  factory 
all  classes  of  harnesses,  from  the  one- 
thousand   dollar  set  for  fancy  coaches 


to  the  common  buggy  and  freight  har- 
ness used  by  teamsters  and  farmers ; 
adapting  their  prices  to  the  demand  of 
every  community,  but  insisting  on  fur- 
nishing reliable  goods  to  their  custom- 
ers. They  now  employ  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  skilled  operatives. 

They  have  lately  issued  an  advertising 
chart  of  their  various  kinds  of  harnesses 
which  will  prove  an  ornament  to  every 
counting-room,  where  its  occupants  take 
an  interest  in  the  horse  or  in  its  ac- 
coutrements. 


Harry  G.  Sargent.                                          249 

HARRY   G.  SARGENT. 

Harry  G.  Sargent,  Esq.,  the  Repub-  connection  with    Hon.   W.   L.   Foster 

lican  candidate  for  Sohcitor  of  IMerri-  and  Hon.  A.  W.  Silsby.     From  the  first 

mack   County,    is   a  young  lawyer  of  he  has  been  successful.     He   brought 

Concord,  who  has  already  won  an  envi-  to  the   profession  a  level  head,  sound 

able  rank  in  his  chosen  profession  ;  and,  common  sense,  and  a  good  constitu- 

in  the  opinion  of  his  many  friends,  is  tion.     He  is  very  energetic.     What  he 

bound  to  rise  higher.  has  to  do,  he  does  with  all  his  might. 

He  is  the  son  of  Samuel  M.  Sargent,  His  discharge  of  official  duties  is  done 

for   many   years    an   engineer   on    the  in  the  most  conscientious  manner,  and 

Concord  Railroad,  and  Cyrene  M.  Sar-  with   the   most  painstaking  care.     He 

gent.     He  was  born  in  Pittsfield,  N.H.,  cannot   be    bought    or   influenced    by 

Sept.  30,  1859;    and  after  residing  in  promises    or    threats.     With    a    deep 

Hooksett  and  Bow,  N.H.,  a  few  years,  voice,  clear  and   full,  his    speaking   is 

while  still  a  lad,  removed  with  his  pa-  impressive  and  earnest.     His  untiring 

rents  to  Concord,  where  he  has  ever  energy,  physical  strength,  and  mental 

since  resided ;  receiving  the  advantages  activity  make  him  a  force  before  the 

of  the  excellent  schools  of  the  city,  and  courts. 

graduating  from  the  High  School  with  He  has  already  been   employed   in 

honor  in  1878.  many  important   cases;  he    has    been 

He  immediately  commenced  the  administrator  of  several  estates ;  he 
study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  W.  T.  has  been  the  assignee  of  several  firms. 
&  H.  F.  Norris,  where  he  remained  His  chief  reputation  at  the  bar,  how- 
one  year,  when  he  entered  the  Law  ever,  has  been  gained  during  the  past 
.School  of  the  Boston  University,  and  two  years,  while  he  has  been  engaged 
continued  his  studies  there  for  another  in  the  important  duties  attached  to  his 
year.  On  his  return  to  Concord,  he  office  of  county  solicitor,  to  which  he 
entered  the  office  of  Hon.  John  Y.  was  elected  in  1884.  He  has  proved 
Mugridge,  and  there  finished  his  pre-  himself  an  able  lawyer,  a  strong  and 
paratory  course  of  reading ;  being  ad-  forcible  advocate,  skilful  in  argument 
mitted  to  the  bar  at  the  September  and  in  the  conduct  of  cases,  and  a 
term,  1881.  In  the  rigid  examination  close  law-student, 
to  which  the  applicants  were  subjected.  Socially  he  is  good-natured,  a  pleas- 
Mr.  Sargent,  the  youngest  of  the  thir-  ant  companion,  fond  of  witnessing  the 
teen  successful  candidates  who  passed  '''national  game,"  temperate,  dignified, 
the  ordeal,  stood  third;  ranking  above  and  popular.  He  married,  Dec.  14, 
six  of  the  eight  applicants  who  had  re-  1881,  Elizabeth  Dudley  of  Concord, 
received  the  advantage  of  a  college  and  their  home  is  blessed  by  a  lovely 
education.  child,  Margaret  Dudley  Sargent. 

For  a  few  months  after  his  admission  In  the  coming  contest  Mr.  Sargent 

he    occupied   a   part   of  the   office  of  will  prove,  as  in  the  last  election,  a  very 

Jackman  &  Larkin,  after  which  he  en-  strong  candidate,  and  one  hard  to  de- 

tered    the    office    of    Mr.    Mugridge,  feat  in  a  county  where  he  is  so  well 

where   he  continued  until  the  latter's  and  favorably  known.     He  will  at  least 

death,  and  which  he  still  occupies  in  receive  a  full  party  vote. 


250 


Book  Notices. 


BOOK    NOTICES. 


Scott's  "The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel." 
An  entirely  new  edition  of  this  famous  and 
popular  poem,  from  new  plates,  with  nearly 
one  hundred  new  illustrations  by  leading 
American  artists.  Elegantly  and  appropri- 
ately bound,  with  full  gilt  edges.  In  box. 
Cloth,  $6.00.  Padded-calf,  tree-calf,  or  an- 
tique morocco,  $10.  Crushed  Levant,  $25. 
Ticknor  &  Co.,  publishers,  Boston. 

"The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel"  is  the 
swan-song  of  the  age  of  chivalry  and  romance, 
and  breathes  from  every  stanza  the  thrilling 
sentiments  of  those  halcyon  days  when  honor 
and  valor  and  beauty  ruled  the  world.  The 
critics  of  three  generations  have  lavished 
upon  it  their  pasans  of  praise,  from  the  care- 
ful essays  of  Jeffrey  and  Wilson  down  to  the 
scholarly  and  erudite  reviews  of  the  foremost 
essayists  of  the  present  day.  The  poem  was 
published  in  1805,  and  met  with  an  imme- 
diate and  astonishing  success;  and  has  ever 
since  been  a  high  favorite  among  all  lovers 
of  noble  sentiment  and  melodious  verse. 

The  scene  is  laid  mainly  at  the  old  Border 
stronghold  of  Branksome  Hall :  — 

"  The  Scots  they  rade,  the  Scots  they  ran, 
Sae  starkly  and  sae  steadilie! 
And  aye  the  o'er-word  o'  the  thrang 
Was  — '  Rise  for  Branksome  readilie.'" 

So,  appropriately,  the  cover  of  the  new  Bos- 
ton edition  is  emblazoned  with  the  arms  of  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch,  the  Lord  of  Branksome, 
and  with  the  towers  and  battlements  of  a  feu- 
dal fortalice.  The  large  size  of  the  volume, 
which  exceeds  very  considerably  its  prede- 
cessors, "  Lucille,'^  "  Marmion,''  etc.,  favors  the 
rich  display  of  these  emblems,  which  go  to 
make  up  a  beautiful  parlor-table  book. 

The  paper  on  which  the  text  is  printed  is 
of  a  fine  dead-finish,  like  old  English  hand- 
made paper,  remarkably  firm  and  thick,  and 
free  from  the  unpleasant  reflections  so  no- 
ticeable in  calendered  paper  of  high  polish. 
This  paper  was  made  expressly  for  the  book, 
and  takes  the  impressions  of  the  most  deli- 
cate cuts  with  efficiency  and  good  results. 

Among  the  more  conspicuous  of  the  illus- 
trations we  may  note  the  beautiful  full-page 
frontispiece,  "  She  gazed  upon  the  Inner 
Court,"  after  W.  St.  John  Harper's  drawing ; 
and  the  many  vigorous  figure-pieces,  in  which 
appear  fair  Margaret,  the  Knight  of  Delo- 
raine,  the  Goblin  Page,  Dark  Musgrave,  and 
all  the  other  characters  of  this  mighty  song 
of  Border  wars  and  noble  loves.  Even  more 
noticeable  are  the  landscape  pictures  and  re- 


productions of  famous  localities  of  the  poem. 
Newark's  stately  tower,  Naworth  Castle, 
Branksome  Turrets,  fair  Melrose,  Liddes- 
dale,  the  Eildon  Hills,  Yarrow's  Stream,  dark 
Ruberslaw,  Kelso  Abbey,  Carlisle's  Wall, 
Roslin  Castle,  and  other  beautiful  and  le- 
gend-haunted localities  of  the  Scottish  Bor- 
der Marches. 


Confessions  and  Criticisms.  By  Julian 
Hawthorne.  I  vol.  i2mo.  $1.50.  Bos- 
ton :  Ticknor  &  Co. 

A  series  of  very  delightful  essays  and  pa- 
pers, with  reminiscences  and  other  memora- 
ble papers,  prepared  by  one  of  the  most 
skilful  and  interesting  of  American  authors, 
and  calculated  to  attract  and  keep  the  atten- 
tion of  all  readers.  It  includes  a  great  va- 
riety of  valuable  miscellany,  and  several  papers 
that  have  already  become  classic  among  peo- 
ple of  cultivation  and  acumen. 

The  first  essay  is  a  piquant  description  of 
how  the  author  came  to  write  "Garth," 
"  Bressant,"  and  "  Idolatry,"  and  the  well- 
known  "  Fortune's  Fool,"  with  descriptions 
of  how  their  plots  grew  into  shape.  The 
second  essay  is  entitled  "  Novels  and  Agnos- 
ticism," and  speaks  of  Thackeray,  Turgue- 
nieff,  Zola,  Henry  JameS,  and  Howells,  and 
their  methods  and  peculiarities.  Next  comes 
a  paper  on  "  Americanism  in  Fiction,"  begin- 
ning with  Cooper,  Irving,  and  Poe,  passing 
onward  by  Hawthorne,  Emerson,  and  Long- 
fellow, and  brightly  touching  the  newer  men 
of  to-day.  "  Literature  for  Children "  is  a 
monograph  of  great  value  for  parents  and 
friends  of  children. 

"The  Moral  Aim  in  Fiction"  is  a  subtle 
speculation  as  to  the  true  relations  of  art  and 
morals  to  each  other.  "  The  Maker  of  Many 
Books"  is  a  very  delightful  personal  and  bio- 
graphical reminiscence  of  Anthony  TroUope, 
with  whom  Mr.  Hawthorne  became  acquainted 
in  1879.  I"  Mr.  Mallock's  "  Missing  Sci- 
ence "  there  is  a  quaint  little  skit  at  democ- 
racy, socialism,  and  other  modern  isms. 
Theodore  Winthrop's  writings  will  deeply 
interest  any  one  who  has  read  "John  Brent," 
or  "  Cecil  Dreeme,"  or  who  feels  interest  in 
the  mesozoic  period  of  our  literature.  "  Em- 
erson as  an  American"  is  a  grand  and  elo- 
quent essay  on  the  Puritans  of  Plymouth  and 
of  later  Concord,  with  vivid  characterizations 
and  illustrations  of  Emerson's  patriotic  traits. 
The  remaining  papers  in  this  singular  and 
valuable  book  are  full  of  the  Hawthorne 
spirit,  and  must  find  many  profoundly  inter- 
ested readers. 


Robert  R.  Livingston. 


251 


ROBERT    R.  LIVINGSTON. 

15v  James  Hughes  Hopkins. 

Robert  R.  Livingstox,  the  great  \\'illiam  Smith,  the  future  historian  of 
Chancellor  Livingston  of  our  fathers'  the  Colony  of  New  York,  young  Living- 
time,  is  forgotten.  Time  has  dealt  un-  ston  devoted  himself  to  the  study. of 
kindly  with  his  memory.  The  man  law  with  such  assiduity  and  success, 
who  entered  public  life  as  a  member  of  that  soon  after  his  admission  to  the 
the  committee  that  framed  the  Decla-  bar  he  was  appointed  to  the  honorable 
ration  of  Independence,  and  closed  a  and  lucrative  position  of  recorder  of 
long  diplomatic  career  spent  in  patri-  New  -  York  City.  His  success  as  a 
otic  services  of  his  country  with  the  lawyer,  notwithstanding  the  advantages 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  deserved  a  high  derived  from  his  connection  with  a 
place  on  the  roll  of  American  states-  distinguished  family,  was  remarkable, 
men.  "The  National  Picture  Gallery,"  New  York,  before  the  Revolution,  had 
a  publication  accessible  to  few  but  dili-  not  yet  begun  that  marvellous  growth 
gent  students  of  our  national  history,  which  has  finally  made  it  the  great 
contains  a  brief  sketch  of  Livingston  commercial  city  of  the  new  continent, 
and  his  family.  Such  is  fame.  A  few  and  afforded  no  alluring  hopes  of  suc- 
pages  of  an  ephemeral  magazine  con-  cess  to  a  young  barrister,  who  began 
stitute  the  tribute  of  American  historical  practice  at  a  bar  distinguished  by  the 
writers  to  the  memory  of  the  statesman,  efforts  of  the  great  Colonial  lawyers, 
jurist,  and  scholar,  who  in  his  time  was  Duane,  Egbert  Benson,  Robert  Troup, 
the  friend  of  emperors,  the  rival  of  and  Melancthon  Smith,  and  in  after 
presidents,  and  the  head  of  a  family  years  by  the  successes  of  Jay,  Kent, 
that  at  his  behest  might  easily  have  Hamilton,  and  Burr, 
destroyed  a  nation.  Eminent,  however,  as  was  his  future 

Descended  from  the  great  Livingston  career  as  a  lawyer,  Robert  R.  Living- 
family  that  for  fifty  years  had  exercised  ston  early  gave  indications  of  a  fitness 
a  powerful  influence  in  the  public  af-  for  the  duties  of  a  position  that  would 
fairs  of  New  York  ;  the  son  of  a  judge  of  call  into  action  those  qualities  that  had 
the  Supreme  Court,  who,  as  a  member  won  for  him  a  high  place  as  a  brilliant 
of  the  famous  Stamp  Act  Congress  of  advocate  and  learned  jurist.  As  early 
1765,  draughted  the  address  to  the  king  as  1765,  "The  New- York  Gazette,"  in 
adopted  by  that  body;  and  already  commenting  on  his  oration  at  gradu- 
noted  at  his  graduation  from  King's  ation  from  King's  College,  had  stated 
College,  in  1765,  for  "the  sublimity  of  that  "many  of  the  audience  please 
his  sentiments,  the  elegance  of  his  themselves  with  hopes  that  the  young 
style,  and  the  graceful  propriety  of  his  orator  may  prove  an  able  and  zealous 
pronunciation  and  gesture,"  —  young  asserter  and  defender  of  the  rights  and 
Robert  may  well  be  said  to  have  been  liberties  of  his  country,  as  well  as  an 
born  great.  The  only  path  to  distinc-  ornament  to  it."  The  early  promise 
tion  then  open  to  young  men  of  talent  was  not  unfulfilled.  The  father  and 
and  ambition  was  through  the  legal  grandfather  were  both  active  in  the 
profession.    Entering  the  office  of  Judge  cause  of  liberty;    and  the  removal  of 


252 


Robert  R.  Livingston. 


the  grandson  in  1775  from  his  position 
as  recorder  of  the  city  of  New  York 
speaks  louder  than  words  of  the  attach- 
ment of  the  youngest  member  of  the 
Livingston  family  to  the  popular  cause. 
A  delegate  from  Dutchess  County  to 
the  New-York  Provincial  Convention 
of  1775,  his  abilities  and  influential 
family  connection  led  that  body  to  ap- 
point him,  though  hardly  twenty-nine 
years  of  age,  one  of  its  delegates  to  the 
Second  Continental  Congress,  —  a  posi- 
tion that  the  necessities  of  his  native 
State,  invaded  by  British  soldiery,  al- 
lowed him  to  hold  but  a  few  months. 
Chosen  by  ballot  a  member  of  the  fa- 
mous committee  that  draughted  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Living- 
ston began  public  life  as  an  associate 
of  Jefferson,  Adams,  Franklin,  and 
Sherman.  To  Jefferson  belongs  the 
honor  of  draughting,  and  to  Adams 
'hat  of  supporting  the  Declaration  on 
the  floor  of  Congress.  But  the  knowl- 
edge that  the  representative  of  the 
most  powerful  family  in  the  Colonies,  a 
man  who  had  every  thing  to  lose  and 
little  to  gain  from  a  successful  revolu- 
tion, gave  his  hearty  approval  to  so 
radical  a  measure,  won  for  that  act  the 
votes  of  members  whom  the  eloquent 
words  of  John  Adams  could  not  influ- 
ence. 

The  social  and  political  system  of 
Colonial  New  York,  that  allowed  young 
Robert  Livingston  and  other  great 
landed  proprietors  to  exercise  a  dom- 
inant influence  in  all  public  and  social 
life,  was  peculiar  to  the  time.  Unlike 
the  New- England  Colonies,  which  were 
ruled  by  the  yeomanry,  New  York,  with 
its  great  population  of  farmers  and 
traders,  had  from  the  earliest  times 
supported  an  aristocracy  not  unlike,  in 
many  of  its  characteristics,  that  of  Vir- 
ginia.     A  few  great  families,  the  Van 


Rensselaers,  the  Cortlandts,  the  Living- 
stons, and  the  Phillipses,  had  received 
from  the  Crown  vast  grants,  embracing 
thousands  of  acres  of  the  best  land  of 
the  Colony.  Indeed,  the  manorial  sys- 
tem of  England  in  its  entirety  was 
transferred  to  this  portion  of  the  New 
World.  The  manor  of  Livingston, 
farmed  out  to  a  numerous  tenantry,  was 
entitled  to  three  representatives  in  the 
Assembly.  Allied  by  marriage  with  the 
most  distinguished  families  of  the  Col- 
ony, and  endowed  with  wealth,  social 
influence,  and  political  power  by  inher- 
itance, it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
youngest  member  of  the  Livingston 
family  became  a  leader  in  the  Sec- 
ond Continental  Congress,  and  was 
looked  upon  as  representing  the  ruling 
and  aristocratic  families  of  his  Colony ; 
a  position,  however,  which  none  but  a 
man  of  brilliant  intellect  and  versatile 
talents  could  have  long  maintained  in 
a  delegation  that  numbered  such  men 
as  James  Duane,  the  learned  lawyer ; 
John  Jay,  the  friend,  and  afterwards 
successful  rival,  of  Robert  R.  Living- 
ston ;  George  Clinton,  the  great  gov- 
ernor ;  and  Philip  Livingston,  the  signer 
of  the  Declaration. 

The  exigencies  of  his  native  State, 
and  the  protection  of  his  own  home 
and  family,  demanded  his  presence  ;  and 
Livingston  left  Congress,  to  take  a  seat 
in  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New 
York,  —  thus  depriving  himself  of  the 
privilege  of  signing  the  immortal  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  but  not  of 
the  honor  of  having  supported  in  com- 
mittee the  act  that  gave  birth  to  a 
nation.  Of  his  participation  in  the 
stirring  events  of  those  years  of  war, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  at  length. 
That  he  was  a  leader,  is  apparent.  His 
position  as  a  member  of  nearly  every 
committee    appointed     by    the    New- 


Robert  R.  Livingston. 


255 


tork  Congress  exacted  the  most  un- 
tiring devotion  and  labor.  His  name 
appears  as  an  associate  with  Jay  and 
others  on  the  secret  committee  for  the 
obstruction  of  the  Hudson  ;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  that  reported 
the  first  constitution  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  indeed  had  a  large 
share  in  draughting  that  instrument ;  he 
was  also  a  member  of  a  committee  to 
report  a  plan  for  a  council  of  safety ; 
and  a  month  or  two  later  his  services 
were  required  as  a  member  of  a  com- 
mittee of  twelve  to  co-operate  with 
Gen.  Schuyler  against  Burgoyne.  Fi- 
nally, the  3d  of  May,  1777,  Living- 
ston was  commissioned  chancellor  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  an  office  since 
abolished,  but  not  before  the  services 
of  Livingston,  Lansing,  and  Kent  ren- 
dered the  office  one  of  world-wide 
fame. 

Notwithstanding  the  duties  of  his 
judicial  position,  Livingston  continued 
active  in  public  affairs.  In  October, 
1779,  he  became  a  special  delegate  to 
the  National  Congress,  and  a  few  weeks 
later  was  appointed  a  member  of  a 
council  to  govern  the  southern  districts 
of  New  York  as  fast  as  recovered  from 
the  enemy's  possession.  Again  chosen, 
in  1781,  a  special  delegate  to  Congress, 
lie  was  elected  by  that  body  secretary  of 
foreign  affairs,  and  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office  the  20th  of  October, 
1 781,  serving  in  that  position  till  the 
end  of  the  war. 

The  diplomatic  correspondence  of 
the  Revolution  affords  ample  testimony 
to  the  ability  with  which  our  foreign 
correspondence  was  conducted  by  Rob- 
ert R.  Livingston.  Upon  him  fell  the 
duty  of  corresponding  with  our  minis- 
ters in  foreign  countries,  a  task  which 
our  unpleasant  relations  abroad  made 
ioubly  difficult.     Congress   was   abso- 


lutely unable  to  meet  accming  obliga- 
tions at  home,  much  less  those  arising 
abroad.  To  this  task  of  preserving 
friendly  relations,  and  especially  to  the 
negotiation  of  the  preliminary  treaty 
of  peace,  Livingston  devoted  much  of 
his  time.  His  letters  still  attest  his 
abilities  as  a  diplomatist,  for  the  duties 
of  which  profession  he  was  especially 
fitted  by  long  experience  in  legislative 
bodies,  his  learning  as  a  jurist,  and  par- 
ticularly by  tact  and  suavity  of  manner. 
To  the  varied  duties  of  diplomacy  was 
added  the  task  of  organizing  a  depart- 
ment that  owes  much  of  its  present 
efficiency  to  the  wisdom  and  care  of 
the  first  secretary. 

Forced  by  the  laborious  duties  of 
his  position  to  seek  relief,  and  unable 
longer  to  remain  in  an  office  the  salary 
of  which  was  entirely  inadequate  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  his  family,  the  great 
chancellor  retired  from  office  in  1783, 
and  returned  to  the  less  laborious  and 
more  congenial  duties  of  the  chancel- 
lorship, which  was  again  bestowed  by 
his  native  State.  Unfortunately,  his 
judicial  decisions,  which  at  the  time 
were  described  as  exhibiting  great 
learning,  sagacious  judgment,  and  vig- 
orous language,  have  not  been  pre- 
served ;  and  his  reputation  as  a  jurist 
must  rest  on  the  tributes  of  his  con- 
temporaries. On  the  authority  of  his 
successor,  Chancellor  Jones,  it  has  been 
said  that  the  august  tribunal  whose  jus- 
tice he  dispensed,  though  since  covered 
with  a  halo  of  glory,  never  boasted  a 
more  prompt,  more  able,  or  more  faith- 
ful officer. 

The  next  great  service  for  which 
Chancellor  Livingston  must  ever  receive 
the  gratitude  of  all  lovers  of  their  coun- 
try was  in  the  convention  that  finally 
gave  the  assent  of  the  people  of  New 
York  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 


254 


Robert  R.  Livingston. 


States.  The  vote  of  New  York  was 
not  technically  necessary  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  constitution  ;  but  practically, 
without  the  adhesion  of  the  powerful 
Empire  State,  that  might  well  claim  the 
title  of  "  Keystone  State, "  our  Union 
could  not  long  have  continued.  The 
struggle  in  that  convention  was  of  his- 
torical importance.  Against  the  Con- 
stitution was  thrown  the  mighty  influence 
of  George  Clinton,  then  supreme  in  the 
political  contests  of  the  State  ;  while  for 
the  Constitution  stood  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton and  Robert  R.  Livingston.  Others 
there  were  to  whose  fidelity  all  praise  is 
due,  but  the  chief  burden  of  the  debates 
was  sustained  by  Hamilton  and  Chan- 
cellor Livingston.  Hamilton's  brilliant 
presentations  of  the  arguments  for  union 
were  the  admiration  of  his  hearers ; 
but  the  clear,  earnest,  logical  efforts 
of  Livingston  carried  conviction.  For 
days  the  contest  seemed  hopeless. 
Clinton  was  a  formidable  antagonist, 
and  did  not  willingly  allow  his  empire 
pass  to  the  control  of  other  States.  To 
be  first  man  in  New  York  was  a  much 
easier  task  than  to  become  chief  of  a 
united  confederacy.  Then  it  was  that 
the  Livingstons  threw  the  whole  family 
influence  into  the  contest.  Wealth, 
social  position,  culture,  and  influence 
were  potent  where  eloquence  and  bril- 
liant logic  were  futile.  Without  Ham- 
ilton, the  Constitution  might  have  been 
adopted  ;  without  Livingston,  no  earthly 
power  would  have  availed  to  save  the 
precious  charter.  Destroyed  a  nation? 
Yes,  easily  could  George  Clinton  and 
Robert  R.  Livingston  have  founded  an 
empire.  Who  can  conjecture  the  re- 
sults had  Hamilton  been  less  eloquent, 
or  Livingston  less  powerful?  Had 
Hamilton's  eloquence  not  touched  men 
already  half  persuaded  by  Livingston's 
example  ? 


To  Robert  Livingston  fell  the  pleas- 
ant duty  of  aiding  in  the  inauguration 
of  the  first  President.  Proud  must  he 
have  been,  when,  after  administering 
the  oath  of  office,  he  turned  to  the 
audience  assembled  to  witness  the  cere- 
monies, and,  waving  his  hand,  cried  in 
a  loud  voice,  "  Long  live  George  Wash- 
ington, President  of  the  United  States  !  " 

The  beginning  of  Washington's  ad- 
ministration marks  a  turning-point  in 
Livingston's  career.  His  friendship 
with  Washington  began  in  the  early 
years  of  the  war.  During  the  cam- 
paigns in  New  York,  Washington  was 
a  frequent  and  welcome  guest  at  the 
house  of  Margaret  Beekman,  mother 
of  the  chancellor ;  and  the  mutual 
friendship  existing  between  the  two 
families  never  appeared  stronger  than 
during  the  first  few  months  of  the  new 
administration.  Within  a  few  years  of 
the  first  inauguration,  an  estrangement 
had  taken  place ;  and  the  chancellor, 
withdrawing  from  the  Federal  party, 
threw  his  immense  influence  against 
the  administration.  The  reason  of  this 
political  revolution  cannot  now  be  de- 
termined. Popular  feeling  of  the  time 
ascribed  the  change  to  the  chancellor's 
disappointment  at  not  receiving  one  of 
the  great  ofiflces  of  State  under  the  new 
government.  That  Livingston  very 
much  desired  the  position  of  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  United  States,  and  failing 
to  receive  that  would  have  been  con- 
tent with  the  Treasury  Department,  is 
evident  from  the  correspondence  still  in 
existence  ;  but  that  this  disappointment 
was  any  more  than  one  of  the  incidents 
leading  to  the  change  is  doubtful.  In 
1794  the  position  of  minister  to  France 
was  tendered  by  Washington  to  the 
chancellor,  and  immediately  declined 
by  the  latter.  Unfortunately  for  Liv- 
ingston's  aspirations,    New   York    had 


Robert  R.  Livingston.                                      255 

two  eminent  statesmen  whose  claims  The  continued  opposition  of  the  Liv- 
for  the  leading  positions  of  the  govern-  ingstons  suggests  that  their  political 
ment  were  not  lightly  to  be  set  aside,  conduct  was  actuated  by  something 
To  Jay,  the  friend  of  Livingston,  the  more  noble  than  mere  personal  ani- 
companion  of  his  early  years,  his  asso-  mosity.  Against  the  ratification  of  Jay's 
ciate  in  many  public  positions,  and  his  treaty,  the  Livingstons  used  every  in- 
relative  by  marriage,  was  assigned  the  strument  in  their  power.  The  chancel- 
chief-justiceship  of  the  United  States  ;  lor ;  his  younger  brother  Edward,  author 
to  Alexander  Hamilton,  whose  services  of  the  famous  Louisiana  code,  then  a 
in  the  New- York  Convention,  and  abil-  young  member  of  Congress ;  and  the 
ities  as  a  statesman,  as  well  as  his  long  talented,  versatile  Brockholst  Living- 
friendship  and  association  with  the  new  ston,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  —  left 
President,  naturally  deserved  recogni-  no  stone  unturned  in  their  efforts  to 
tion,  was  given  the  Treasury ;  and  to  defeat  the  hated  treaty.  A  most  skil- 
Livingston,  who  declined  any  subordi-  ful  exposition  of  the  faults  of  the  new 
nate  position,  was  offered  in  later  years,  treaty  appeared  in  the  letters  of  "  De- 
as  already  indicated  above,  the  mission  cius,"  ascribed  by  John  C.  Hamilton  to 
to  France.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  and  by  Mrs. 
Very  likely  the  growing  popularity  of  Martha  Lamb,  in  her  history  of  New- 
Hamilton,  a  young  foreigner,  advanced  York  City,  to  Judge  Brockholst  Living- 
to  the  highest  office  of  state  over  the  ston.  A  letter  of  Chancellor  Livingston 
head  of  the  Livingstons,  may  have  ex-  to  Washington  in  the  year  1795,  detail- 
cited  the  jealousy  of  that  distinguished  ing  at  some  length  the  objections  to 
family.  Political  gossip  of  the  day  as-  the  treaty,  is  so  like  in  sentiments  to  the 
serted  that  the  chancellor  summoned  expressions  contained  in  the  letters  of 
the  family  to  his  house  one  evening,  and  "  Decius,"  that  one  can  hardly  suppose 
that  ever  afterwards  the  family  stood  the  latter  the  work  of  Judge  Brockholst 
united  against  the  Federalists.  How-  Livingston.  The  ratification  of  the 
ever  that  may  be.  Chancellor  Living-  treaty  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to 
ston  soon  made  apparent  his  opposition  the  Republicans  of  New  York,  and  the 
to  Hamilton  and  his  doctrines,  and  in  animosities  excited  by  the  struggles  of 
the  senatorial  election  of  1 79 1  espoused  that  eventful  period  seem  to  have  left 
the  cause  of  Burr  against  that  of  Schuy-  their  traces  through  all  subsequent  po- 
ler,  the  father-in-law  of  Hamilton.  The  litical  campaigns.  From  this  period 
triumphant  election  of  Burr  reminded  may  be  dated  the  estrangement  be- 
the  Federalists  that  a  reconciliation  with  tween  Chancellor  Livingston  and  John 
the  Livingstons  was  the  only  hope  of  Jay.  The  hitherto  friends  became 
their  party  supremacy  in  the  Empire  rivals  for  the  leading  office  of  their 
State.     Accordingly  the  next  year  the  native  State. 

nomination  of  governor  was  tendered  Jay,  the  most  popular  member  of 
Livingston,  and  a  year  or  two  later  the  the  Federalist  party,  received  the  Fed- 
ministry  to  France  was  offered,  in  the  eral  nomination  for  governor  in  1798. 
hope  of  placating  the  supposed  dis-  Against  the  popular,  genial  Jay,  the 
pleasure  of  the  chancellor  at  his  neg-  Republicans  presented  the  powerful, 
lect  in  the  distribution  of  the  great  talented  Livingston.  Jay  was  elected 
offices  of  state.  by  a  large  majority.     Livingston  seems 


256 


Robert  R.  Livingston. 


always  to  have  regarded  his  defeat  with 
mortification  and  shame.  Yet  the  con- 
test strengthened  the  growing  Repub- 
lican party ;  and  when,  in  1 800,  the 
Republicans  sought  a  candidate  whose 
power  and  popularity  would  insure  vic- 
tory, the  name  of  Livingston  was  the 
first  considered,  and  but  for  his  deaf- 
ness (a  misfortune  that  rendered  his 
nomination  impossible)  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston would  have  occupied  the  posi- 
tion that  fell  finally  to  Aaron  Burr. 
The  three  factions  in  New  York  were 
led  by  Clinton,  Burr,  and  Robert  R. 
Livingston.  Livingston  aside,  the  nom- 
ination for  the  vice-presidency  lay  be- 
tween Clinton  and  Burr,  and  was  finally, 
through  the  all-powerful  influence  of 
the  Livingstons,  bestowed  upon  Burr, 
a  man  whom  the  Livingstons  most  cor- 
dially hated,  but  preferred  to  their 
more  formidable  opponent,  George 
Clinton. 

With  the  accession  of  Jefferson,  who 
acknowledged  the  potent  aid  of  the 
Livingstons,  —  and  well  he  might,  for 
Chancellor  Livingston  might  easily 
have  turned  the  Republican  victory  into 
a  Federal  triumph,  —  the  Livingstons  re- 
gained the  dominion  which  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  Jay  and  the  Federalists 
had  wrested  from  them  ;  and  Chancellor 
Livingston  felt  that  at  last  the  disgrace 
of  his  defeat  by  John  Jay,  in  1 798,  was 
removed. 

After  refiising  the  secretaryship  of 
the  navy,  Livingston  finally  was  in- 
duced to  accept  the  position  of  minis- 
ter to  France  as  a  reward  for  his 
faithful  service  in  the  cause  of  Republi- 
canism. Other  members  of  his  family 
were  rewarded  ;  indeed,  a  majority  of 
the  political  offices  of  the  state  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Livingstons. 
Morgan  Lewis,  a  brother-in-law  of  the 
chancellor,  became  chief  judge  of  the 


Supreme  Court ;  Smith  Thompson, 
whose  wife  was  a  Livingston,  was  ap- 
pointed judge  ;  Thomas  Tillotson,  bro- 
ther-in-law of  the  chancellor,  received 
an  appointment  as  secretary  of  state ; 
and  John  Armstrong,  a  relative,  was 
elected  to  the  United  -  States  Senate. 
The  young,  yet  able,  Edward  Livingston 
received  a  district-attomeyship ;  while 
Brockholst  Livingston  became  an  asso- 
ciate justice  of  the  United  States. 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  after  resigning  ' 
his  position  of  chancellor  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  an  office  which  he  had 
filled  with  great  honor  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  in  1801  sailed  for 
France.  His  private  correspondence 
indicates  that  he  accepted  that  position, 
which  was  to  prove  the  crowning  glory 
of  a  great  career,  with  reluctance. 

The  leaders  of  the  Republicans  never 
fully  accepted  Livingston  as  a  member 
of  their  party.  Federalists  and  Repub- 
licans alike  honored  him,  desired  his 
support,  and  feared  his  ambition.  A 
growing  feeling  of  opposition  to  the 
landed  proprietors  was  developing  in 
the  population  of  the  fast  developing 
city  of  New  York  ;  and  Jefferson,  shrewd- 
ly separating  his  fortunes  from  those  of 
the  Livingstons,  removed  the  great 
rival  of  the  Clintonians  and  Burrites  by 
the  tender  of  a  foreign  mission.  A 
short  quotation  from  a  letter  of  Gouv- 
erneur  Morris  to  his  friend  in  Paris  in- 
dicates the  progress  of  party  affairs  in 
1802,  immediately  after  the  departure 
of  Livingston  for  France  :  "  The  Clin- 
tonian  faction  will,  I  believe,  prepon- 
derate ;  and  their  powerful  adherents 
will  be  flattered,  if  not  respected,  until 
the  Burrites  shall  be  disposed  of. 
When  you  return,  you  will  be  able  to 
give  many  of  your  friends  good  advice  ; 
but  whether  you  can  give  them  so  much 
of  your  experience  as  may  induce  them 


Robert  R.  Livingston.  257 

to   follow  that   ach-ice,  is   not   certain,  patrician  dignity  of  bearing  gave  added 

You   will   all   discover   some    time    or  force,  said, — 

other,    that,    in     leaving    the    mother         *•  We  have  lived  long,  but  this  is  the 

church  of  Federalism,  you  have  brought  noblest  work  of  our  whole  lives.     From 

yourselves   into   reprobation.      I    hope  this  day  the  United  States  take  their 

you  will  not  have  reason  to  say  with  the  place  among  the  powers   of  the    first 

•^o^\.,  facilis  est  descensus ,"  t\.c.  rank;    the    English  lose   all   exclusive 

Again  Morris  writes  :  "  It  is  well  for  power  and   influence   in  the  affairs  of 

you  who  desire  a  position  in  public  life,  America.     Now   one   of  the   principal 

that  you  are  in  a  position  not  to  take  causes   of  European  rivalries  and  ani- 

immediate  part  either  way.     The  only  mosities  is  about  to  cease.     The  United 

danger  is  that  your  interest  should  be  States   will   re-establish     the    maritime 

compromised    by    the    zeal     of    your  rights  of  all  the  world,  which  are  now 

friends."     The  gossip    of  Gouverneur  usurped   by   a    single    nation.      These 

Morris,  perhaps,  deserves  little  respect ;  treaties  will  be  a  guaranty  of  peace  and 

and  yet  the  reader  of  his  letters  to  Liv-  concord     among     commercial     states, 

ingston  cannot  help  entertaining  the  sus-  The   instruments  we   have   just  signed 

picion  that  the  complications  of  political  will  cause  no  tears  to   be  shed  ;    they 

affairs  at  home,  during  the  first  months  prepare  ages  of  happiness  for  innumer- 

of   Jefferson's    administration,    caused  able  generations   of  human   creatures. 

Livingston  to  indulge  certain  aspirations  The  Mississippi  and  Missouri  will  see 

for  the  presidency  that  succeeding  events  them  succeed  one  another  and  multiply, 

rendered  futile.  truly  worthy  of  the  regard  of  Providence, 

The   glorious   event   of  Livingston's  in  the  bosom   of  equality,  under  just 

career  as  minister  to    France  was   the  laws,  freed  from  the  errors  of  supersti- 

acquisition  of  Louisiana.     Of  the  his-  tion  and  the  scourges  of  bad  govem- 

tory  of  that  transaction  much  has  been  ment." 

written,  and  the  bitter  controversy  as  While  in  Paris,  Livingston  formed  the 
to  whom  the  honor  of  that  purchase  acquaintance  of  Robert  Fulton,  the  in- 
should  be  given  is  not  yet  ended.  The  ventor  of  the  steamboat,  and  shared 
details  of  the  negotiation  are  interesting,  the  struggles  of  that  famous  inventor  to 
and  the  importance  of  that  treaty  by  introduce  his  steamboat.  Livingston 
which  the  immense  territory  west  of  willingly  advanced  the  money  to  com- 
the  Mississippi  was  added  to  our  coun-  plete  the  inventor's  steamboats,  and 
try  can  never  be  overestimated.  The  secured  the  exclusive  privilege  of  navi- 
words  of  Livingston,  after  the  signature  gating  the  waters  of  New  York  for  him- 
of  the  treaty  of  cession,  are  peculiarly  self  and  Fulton.  To  untiring  and 
significant  of  the  importance  which  the  patient  efforts  Fulton  owed  his  success, 
chief  actor  in  that  memorable  event  but  none  the  less  does  Robert  R.  Liv- 
attached  to  his  deed,  and  are  deserving  ingston  deserve  praise  for  his  foresight 
of  our  respect  and  admiration.  Mr.  in  aiding  the  needy  inventor  at  a  time 
Marbois,  one  of  the  three  ministers,  when,  but  for  the  wealth  of  Livingston, 
thus  quotes  the  words  of  Livingston,  his  inventions  would  have  proved  futile, 
who  rose  at  the  close  of  the  negotia-  Of  Livingston's  interest  in  art,  educa- 
tions, and  in  clear,  impressive  tones,  tion,  and  agriculture  ;  of  his  abilities  as 
to  which  his  tall  and  graceful  figure  and  a   writer,  orator,  and    essayist ;    of  his 


258 


But  a  Sup. 


published  works  on  farming,  sheep  rais- 
ing, and  agriculture  ;  and  of  his  benefac- 
tions to  the  American  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  which  was  established  through  his 
efforts  and  aid,  —  space  prevents  our 
speaking. 

His  death  occurred  in  1813,  at  the 
end  of  a  career  nearly  fifty  years  of 
which  had  been  passed  in  the  service 
of  his  native  State,  and  the  Union  which 
his  efforts  had  established.  Judged  by 
ability,  education,  and  the  success  of 
his  life,  Robert  R.  Livingston  belonged, 
perhaps,  to  the  class  of  statesmen  of 
which  John  Jay,  John  Marshall,  and 
John  Adams  were  representatives.  It 
was  not  his  fortune,  like  Hamilton  and 
Jefferson,  to  establish  a  great  political 
party,  nor  like  Washington  to  become 
the  idol  of  all  future  generations ;  but 
estimated  by  the  great  results  which  his 
influence  helped  to  bring  about,  Living- 
ston deserved  a  rank  not  far  below  that 
of  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Hamilton. 


The  statesman  who  was  a  member 
of  the  committee  to  frame  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  the  secretary 
of  foreign  affairs  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  the  draughter  of  the  first  con- 
stitution of  New  York,  and  the  first 
chancellor  of  his  native  State,  deserved 
the  gratitude  of  mankind.  But  Robert 
R.  Livingston  did  more  than  that.  To 
his  efforts  we  owe  the  very  existence 
of  our  Union  ;  to  him  the  Republican 
party  of  his  time  was  indebted  for  its 
first  success,  for  its  first  induction  into 
the  offices  of  government ;  Chancellor 
Livingston  we  must  thank  for  our  vast 
territory  beyond  the  Mississippi ;  and 
perhaps  not  the  least  of  the  great  ser- 
vices for  which  he  deserves  our  lasting 
gratitude  was  his  introduction  of  steam 
navigation  on  the  waters  of  the  Hudson. 

"  May  the  name  of  Robert  R.  Living- 
ston be  rescued  from  the  oblivion  that 
now  impends  !  " 

Provincetown,  Mass.,  1885. 


BUT    A    STEP. 


A  GIANT  precipice,  whose  rugged  face  bold 
fronts  the  lashing  sea, 

Which  writhes  and  roars,  and  strives  to  mount, 
but  then  perforce  must  flee ; 

Stolid  and  grand,  forever  it  stands  with  many 
a  ghastly  tear, 

Where  fearlessly  the  sea-birds  build,  and  ser- 
pents make  their  lair ; 

At  its  foot  a  raging,  seething  cauldron,  boil- 
ing with  briny  foam, 

Darksome  and  deep  and  doleful,  seems  of 
fiends  a  fitting  home  ; 

But,  above,  the  rugged  monster  slopes  to  a 
sweet  and  gent''?  lea, 

Bedecked  with  bright  and  blooming  flowers, 
beloved  of  bird  and  bee. 

O'er  all  bends  the  smiling  blue-arched  heav- 
ens, picked  out  with  feathery  white. 

Towards  which  the  screaming  sea-birds  re- 
joicing wing  their  flight. 

Poised  fearlessly  on  its  highest  peak,  great 
God  of  mercy  !  stands 

A  laughing,  prattling  infant  boy,  a  bright  moth 
in  his  hands. 


There  stands  the  babe  in  breathless,  boyish 

glee,  his  trophy  in  his  clasp. 
Nor  knows,  nor  fears,  that  ghastly  Death  longs 

his  fair  form  to  grasp ; 
And  just  beyond,  the  frighted  mother  kneels, 

her  heart  with  anguish  numb. 
Pleading  the  while,  with  pretty  wiles,  that  to 

her  arms  he'll  come. 

From  beneath  his  golden  curling  lashes  his 

sparkling  blue  eyes  peep. 
Watching  to  see  if  "weal  and  tue  "  his  mother 

dear  doth  weep. 
His  smiles  are  flown,  his  tiny  bosom  heaves, 

his  feet  scarce  touch  a  flower. 
And  he  is  in  his  mother's  arms,  saved !  and 

by  love's  sweet  power. 
Thus  upon  life's  precipice  we  dally,  nor  fear 

Death's  chilling  stream. 
We  chase  the  pleasures  of  the  hour,  and  little 

do  we  dream 
It  were  but  a  step  to  tide  us  o'er  to  that  great 

and  unknown  land ; 
But  the  loving  great  God  holds  us  i'  the  hol- 
low of  his  hand. 


Local  Self-Governvient.  259 


LOCAL    SELF-GOVERNMENT. 

By  R.  L.  Bridgman. 

"  The  right  of  local  self-government  "  sisted  to  the  last  that  it  was  an  inva- 
is  a  common  expression.  Believers  in  sion  of  local  rights. 
that  "  right  "  are  numerous  and  influ-  Apparently  it  is  a  common  doctrine, 
ential  in  politics,  from  the  ancient  accepted  without  question  by  most  of 
democrat  who  insists  upon  a  narrow  our  people,  that  there  is  inherent  in 
limitation  of  the  powers  of  our  national  municipal  corporations  an  indefeasible 
government,  to  the  local  leader  who  right  to  rule  themselves  in  local  mat- 
asserts  that  his  towTi  has  an  exclusive  ters.  A  recent  pamphlet  by  Mr.  James 
right  to  manage  its  own  affairs.  They  M.  Bugbee  of  Boston  says,  — 
maintain  this  "  right  "  as  apohtical  prin-  "  How  jealously  the  people  guarded 
ciple,  no  matter  if  the  local  manage-  their  7-ights  of  local  self-government 
ment  injures  seriously  the  adjoining  against  the  encroachments  of  the  cen- 
municipalities,  and  practically  brings  tral  power,  is  shown  in  the  refusal  of  the 
the  law  of  the  State  into  contempt.  inhabitants  of  Watertown  to  pay  a  tax 

The  recent  enactment  by  the  Massa-  of  eight  pounds  "  for  fortifications  in 
chusetts  Legislature  of  a  law  vesting  in  Cambridge  ;  and  their  pastor  and  elders 
the  governor  the  power  of  appointing  said  :  "  It  was  not  safe  to  pay  moneys 
the  Boston  Police  Commissioners,  em-  after  that  sort,  for  fear  of  bringing 
phasized  in  the  public  mind  by  pro-  themselves  and  posterity  into  bond- 
longed  hostile   filibustering  under  the  age." 

lead  of  Boston  members,  has  revealed  The  writer  of  to-day,  and  the  local 

a  public  opinion  concerning  the  rights  leaders  of  two  hundred  years  ago,  evi- 

of  local  self-government  which  involves  dently  agree  that  the  local  government 

a  serious  misapprehension  of  the  real  had   rights   not   to  be   restricted  by  a 

right  of  towns  and  cities  to  rule  over  higher  power. 

their  own  affairs.  Not  until  the  agi-  Professor  Edward  Channing  of  Har- 
tation  had  proceeded  for  weeks,  did  vard  University,  in  a  pamphlet  in  the 
the  difficulties  involved  concerning  the  Johns  Hopkins  historical  series,  con- 
rights  of  self-government  become  set-  trasting  New  England  with  Virginia, 
tied  in  the  minds  of  the  majority ;  and  says,  — 

it  was  doubtless  true  that  the  position  "  In  New  England,  on  the  contrary, 

maintained  throughout  by  the  minority  the  mass  of  the  people,  from  the  very 

was  at  first  held  in  common  by  most  earliest    time,    seized   the    control   of 

of  the  members.    Abundant  press  com-  affairs,   and   fiercely   resented  any  en- 

ment  also.  Republican  and  Democratic,  croachment   on  what  they  considered 

both  within  and  without  the  State,  was  their  rights.^^ 

to  the  effect  that  the  law  was  a  direct  Professor  James  K.  Hosmer,  in  an- 

blow  at  the  city's  right  of  self-govern-  other    pamphlet   of    the    same    series, 

ment,  and  hostile  to  the  principles  of  remarks, — 

democracy.     Some  journals  which  even  "  At  the  time  of  the  colonization  of 

advised  the  enactment  of  the  law  in-  America,    the   old    self-government  of 


26o 


Local  Self-Government. 


the  people  had  been  in  England,  in 
great  part,  lost.  The  responsibility 
.  .  .  rested,  to  some  extent,  on  the 
people  themselves,  who  forgot  their 
birthright: ' 

In  Lieber's  "  Civil  Liberty  and  Self- 
Government,"  the  essence  of  our  demo- 
cratic system  is  thus  expressed,  — 

"  Anglican  self-government  requires 
that  every  institution  of  local  self-gov- 
ernment shall  have  the  right  to  pass 
such  by-laws  as  it  finds  necessary  for 
its  own  government,  without  obtaining 
the  consent  of  any  superior  power.  .  .  . 
The  character  of  self-government  is, 
moreover,  manifested  by  the  fact  that 
the  right  of  making  by-laws  is  not  de- 
rived by  any  grant  of  superior  power, 
but  has  been  ever  considered  in  the 
English  polity  as  inhering  in  the  local 
community,  —  the  natural  7-ight  of  free 
men." 

Perhaps  the  writers  quoted  would 
not  maintain  the  doctrine  to  the  extent 
to  which  it  has  recently  been  carried ; 
but  they  coincide  apparently  with  the 
popular  belief  that  local  communities 
can  draw  a  line  beyond  which  the  cen- 
tral government  must  not  go,  and  can 
say  to  it,  "  You  have  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  our  affairs.  It  is  our  right  to 
settle  this  matter  by  ourselves  exclusive- 
ly,—  a  right  which  inheres  in  us,  and 
can  never  be  lost,  or  rightfully  taken 
away." 

Recent  historical  studies  have  set 
forth  in  a  clear  light  the  great  part 
played  in  Teutonic  and  English  history 
by  the  village  communities  and  by  the 
local  governing  bodies,  which  have  man- 
aged their  affairs  so  admirably  that  they 
have  made  this  country  what  it  is. 
Deserved  eulogy  of  the  community- 
government,  frequent  mention  of  its 
successful  management  of  local  con- 
cerns, honest  admiration  for  the  conflicts 


and  triumphs  of  these  communities  in 
defence  of  their  integrity,  have  led  to 
the  present  popular  belief  that  there 
is  a  right  of  local  self-government  in 
the  same  sense  in  which  there  is  a 
right  of  freedom  of  thought.  It  is  an 
idolized  belief.  It  has  come  to  be 
associated  with  Plymouth  Rock,  with 
democratic  institutions  wherever  they 
are  successful,  and  with  the  integrity 
and  perpetuity  of  the  government. 
Over  and  over  again  every  year  is  it 
reiterated  upon  the  political  stump  that 
the  salvation  of  the  nation  depends 
upon  the  healthful  life  of  the  local 
democratic  governments  ;  and  this  un- 
doubted truth  carries  the  erroneous 
conclusion,  that,  therefore,  a  town  has 
rights  of  its  own,  inherent  and  inalien- 
able. 

But  this  belief  cannot  bear  the  strain 
which  comes  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
or  when  the  executive  department  finds 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  enforcing  the 
laws.  The  radical  difficulty  underlying 
this  conception  of  a  right  of  local  self- 
government  is  that  it  ignores  the  larger 
community  of  which  the  city  or  town 
forms  a  part.  It  fixes  the  attention 
upon  a  small  circle,  and  does  not  see 
the  relation  in  which  that  circle  stands 
to  the  larger.  Theoretically  one  doc- 
trine is  held,  but  another  is  actually 
practised.  In  all  state  legislation  the 
supremacy  of  the  whole  body  politic 
is  tacitly  admitted  on  every  hand  ;  and 
this  admission  is  made  in  respect  to 
the  relations  of  the  national  government 
to  the  States  as  truly  as  it  is  in  respect 
to  the  relations  of  the  States  to  the 
cities  and  towns  incorporated  by  them. 
If  towns  have  the  right  to  regulate  their 
own  conduct,  then  the  State  has  no  right 
to  compel  them  to  follow  a  prescribed 
course.  Yet  interference  by  States  with 
town  governments  is  constantly  occur- 


Local  Self -Government.  261 

ring  ;  and  in  practice,  —  and  in  justice,  hinderance  ;  and  it  would  be  wrong  in 
too,  —  a  town  has  no  more  the  right  of  the  central  authority  to  permit  a  con- 
self-government  than    has   a   person  a  tinuance,  due  regard  being  given  to  the 
rio-ht  to  do  as  he  pleases  regardless  of  precedent  to  be  established, 
people  about  him.  While  this  position  is  tacitly  held  by 

Indeed,  the  right  of  self-government  most   men   at  the  very  moment  when 

is  much  the  same,  whether  personal  or  they  are    insisting  upon    "  the   sacred 

municipal.     It    is   right  that  both  the  principle  of  local  democracies ; "  while 

person  and  the  town  should  do  what  is  no  town  can  put  its  finger  upon  a  cer- 

for  the   good   of  the   one  and  of  the  tain   class  of    acts    (either  its  control 

whole.      It  is   their  duty  to   do   these  of  roads,  or  fire  apparatus,  or  sanitary 

right  things.     Doing  them  better  than  measures,  or  schools,  or  its  poor),  and 

they  can  be  done  othenvise,  it  is  their  say :  "  Here    I   am    sovereign ;  here  I 

right  that  they  should  be  protected  in  a  have  absolute  power,  and  here  you  have 

continuance  of  their  action.     But  their  no  right  to  enter,"  —  yet  it  is  in  the 

right  to  protection  is  a  consequence  of  power  of  any  town  to  establish  a  strong 

their  fitness  and  purpose  to  act  for  their  presumptive  right  to  self-government ; 

OUT!  good  and  for  the  good  of  the  com-  and   here  is  where  the  worth  of  local 

munity.     If  the   self-government  of  a  democracies    can  be  most   thoroughly 

town  were  such  that  justice  were  denied  demonstrated.     So  long  as   the  towns 

to  the  weak  within  its  borders,  if  there  manage  any  department  of  government 

were  systematic  persecution  of  any  class  better  for  the  good  of  the  whole  people 

by  vexatious  by-laws,  or  if  there  were  than  it  can  be  managed  by  the  central 

chronic  mismanagement  and  confusion,  authority,  just  so  long  it  is  right  that  they 

there  would  clearly  be  no  right  inherent  should  have  the  management.     Were  it 

in  the  town  to  continue  such  a  mockery  certain  that  insane  people  could  be  best 

of  government.     Its  continuance  would  cared    for  by   institutions   under   town 

re-act  to  the  injury  of  neighboring  mu-  management,  then  the  State  would  need 

nicipalities ;  and  the  larger  community  to  provide  for  only  those  persons  who 

would  have  the  right  and  duty  to  inter-  have   no   settlement.      Were   there  no 

fere,  and  restore  a  proper  observance  doubt  that   the  towois  neglected  their 

of  justice  and  good  order.  poor  shamefully,  from  some  fault  in  their 

The   issue   needs  only  to  be  clearly  government  which  they  would  not  rem- 

presented  to  show  that  there  is  no  right  edy,  and  that  the  State  would  do  better 

of  local  self-government  apart  from  the  for  the  unfortunates,  then  it  would  be 

ability  to  meet  well  the  responsibility  right  to  take  from  towns  the  oversight 

of   governing   efficiently.     This   ability  of  their  poor. 

varies  with  the  intelligence  and  political  Now,  good  government  in  a  town  is 

activity  of  the  towns  ;  but  the  practice  best   obtained   by  thorough   participa- 

of  local  self-government  is  undoubtedly  tion    in    its  affairs  by  all   its   citizens, 

a  matter  of  expediency,  and  not  a  matter  That  constant  interest  in  public  busi- 

of  right.      Given   an   efficient,  upright  ness  which  brings  all  the  voters  to  the 

local    government,    it   is   right   that   it  polls ;  that  discussion  in  town  meeting 

should  continue.      Given  a  local  gov-  in   which    every   man    may   state   his 

emment  weak  and  corrupt,  it  is  clearly  opinions  ;  that  exposure  to  question  and 

not   right   that  it  should  exist  without  ridicule  which'  only  the  right  side  of 


l62 


Local  Self-Govermnent. 


an  issue  can  endure ;  that  familiarity 
with  pubhc  debate  and  pubHc  concerns 
which  broadens  the  mind  and  makes 
its  action  more  intelHgent ;  that  per- 
sonal responsibihty  which  is  put  upon 
every  man  to  vote  understandingly ;  that 
watchfulness  against  cunning  schemes  ; 
that  meeting  of  combination  by  coun- 
ter-combination ;  that  jostle,  stir,  and 
freedom  which  are  always  found  in 
a  thorough  democracy,  —  all  tend  to 
make  the  participants  better  citizens 
and  better  managers  of  their  local 
affairs. 

It  is  equally  true  that  failure  to  take 
part  in  the  local  meeting  results  in  a 
disuse  of  the  political  faculties,  which 
in  turn  is  an  added  temptation  to  fur- 
ther abstention.  So,  instead  of  having 
the  right  to  manage  its  own  affairs  be- 
cause it  can  manage  them  best,  the 
degenerate  town  may  either  drag  along 
under  its  own  misgovernment,  or  the 
State  may  step  in,  as  a  matter  of  self- 
protection,  and  insist  upon  a  more  vig- 
orous administration. 

A  more  lamentable  catastrophe  to 
the  State  than  the  loss  of  the  virility  of 
the  town  democracies  cannot  be  im- 
agined. If  in  all  the  towTis  there  is  a 
synchronous  growth  of  the  disinclina- 
tion to  take  part  in  affairs,  then  the 
State  has  no  material  at  hand  with  which 
to  procure  the  enforcement  of  good 
laws  in  the  towns.  Political  strength 
has  been  lost  by  disuse.  That  constant 
exercise  in  which  lies  the  only  safety 
of  the  political  body  has  been  discon- 


tinued, until  flabbiness  has  succeeded 
firmness,  indecision  has  supplanted  a 
fixed  purpose,  ignorance  and  inexperi- 
ence have  taken  the  place  of  thorough 
familiarity  and  trained  skill.  A  few 
managers  will  control  politics  for  their 
own  advancement.  Watchful  corpora- 
tions and  keen  business- men  will  pro- 
cure the  election  of  their  creatures  to 
the  legislature.  Laws  will  be  enacted 
for  the  benefit  of  the  few  to  the  loss 
of  the  many  tax-payers,  and  bad  will  go 
to  worse,  until  the  conscience  of  the 
community  is  at  last  awakened,  and 
there  is  a  political  reformation. 

Wherever  the  town  democracies  have 
maintained  their  right  of  self-govern- 
ment by  making  it  right  that  they 
should  govern,  this  political  deteriora- 
tion has  not  made  progress.  It  cannot 
begin  as  long  as  the  governing  faculty 
is  constantly  exercised.  Dr.  Edward 
Hitchcock,  head  of  the  department  of 
physical  culture  in  Amherst  College, 
says  to  his  students  :  "  Young  men,  you 
cannot  exercise  enough  on  Saturday 
afternoons  to  last  you  a  week."  It  is 
with  the  political  faculties  of  a  self- 
governing  community  as  it  is  with  the 
muscles  of  the  body.  Frequent  exer- 
cise is  necessary  for  their  highest 
efficiency ;  and  the  time  spent  in  that 
exercise,  and  its  cost  as  reckoned  in  time 
taken  from  money- making  work,  is  the 
most  economical  outlay  of  the  year. 
This  is  the  practical  corollary  to  the 
true  proposition  regarding  the  right  of 
local  self-government. 


Lieut. -Gen.   Sir   William  Pepperrell,  Bart. 


262, 


LIEUT.-GEN.    SIR    WILLIAM    PEPPERRELL,    BART. 

By  Daniel  Rolluns. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
at  Kittery  Point,  Maine,  June  27,  1696. 
The  Colony  was  then  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Massachusetts  :  both  being 
subject,  of  course,  to  the  Crown. 

His  father  came  from  Tavistock  par- 
ish, in  the  county  of  Devon,  England. 
The  following  is  the  Pepperrell  coat- 
of-arms  :  Arg.  a  chevron  gu.  between 
three  pine-apples  or  cones-vert,  with  the 
augmentation  of  a  canton  of  the  sec- 
ond, charged  with  a  fleur-de-lis  of  the 
first.  No  crest :  it  being  an  ancient 
coat,  before  crests  were  used. 

Mr.  Usher  Parsons,  in  his  admirable 
life  of  Sir  William,  says,  "  His  boyhood 
was  passed  at  the  village  school,  where 
he  learned  to  read,  \vrite,  and  cipher. 
Under  a  private  instructor,  he  was  taught 
the  art  of  surveying  land,  and  of  navi- 
gating a  ship,  and  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  geography.  .  .  .  His 
chirography  was  beautiful,  which  ren- 
dered him  very  useful  to  his  father. 
When  not  more  than  ten  years  old,  he 
assisted  in  writing  his  father's  Justice 
Docket,  in  copying  his  letters,  and 
keeping  his  accounts,  and  probably 
soon  after  acted  as  clerk  in  his  store. 
.  .  .  His  education  was  therefore  prac- 
tical, and  imparted  an  early  and  close  in- 
sight into  human  character,  and  brought 
him  into  the  ways  and  means  of  suc- 
cessful trade  and  financiering."  Still, 
even  this  instruction  in  the  rudimentary 
branches  was  almost  a  liberal  education 
for  those  days. 

In  1 7 1 5  John  WheelwTight  of  Wells, 
Lieut.-Col.  William  Pepperrell  of  Kit- 
tery (father  of  Sir  William),  Charles 
Ffrost  of  Kittery,  and  Abraham  Preble 


of  York  were  appointed  judges  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas.  Sir  William, 
while  a  minor,  served  as  clerk  of  this 
court. 

His  father  had  built  up  a  large  fishing 
and  trading  business,  and  sometimes 
had  over  a  hundred  sail  of  ships  on  the 
Grand  Banks.  But  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that  the  vessels  which  went  under 
the  dignified  name  of  ships  at  that  time 
were  but  little  larger  than  fishing-craft 
of  the  present  day. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Sir  William 
became  a  soldier ;  for  he  was  bom  dur- 
ing the  troublous  Indian  times,  and  was 
so  early  accustomed  to  the  use  of  arms, 
that  he  did  patrol  duty  at  the  age  of 
sixteen. 

On  attaining  his  majority,  he  was 
commissioned  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  also  captain  of  a  cavalry  company. 

The  Pepperrells,  father  and  son,  were 
now  in  partnership,  and  had  extensive 
business  connections  in  Boston,  which 
brought  the  latter  into  the  best  society 
of  this  city.  It  was  then  not  ^nly  the 
business  centre  of  New  England,  but 
virtually  the  Colonial  capital  of  the 
country.  This  was  of  great  advantage 
to  him,  for  by  means  of  it  he  acquired 
the  courtly  manners  and  easy  address 
for  which  he  was  afterwards  noted.  Bos- 
ton society  yet  retains  many  of  its  old 
characteristics. 

It  was  as  famous  then  for  its  pretty 
women  as  it  is  to-day ;  and  among  the 
many  fair  ones  whom  Pepperrell  met 
during  his  frequent  visits  here  was  the 
beautiful  Mary  Hirst,  daughter  of  Grove 
Hirst,  esquire,  deceased,  a  rich  mer- 
chant.     She  was   a  granddaughter  of 


264 


Lieiit.-Gen.  Sir   WilUavi  Pepperrcll,  Bart. 


the  celebrated  Judge  Sewall  of  the  su- 
preme court.  She  had  many  attrac- 
tions, not  the  least  of  which  was  a  fine 
education.  He  soon  fell  in  love  with 
her,  and,  after  a  short  but  assiduous 
courtship,  they  were  married  March  1 6, 

1723- 

A.D.  1726  he  was  chosen  to  repre- 
sent the  town  of  Kittery  (it  also  then 
included  Elliot),  and  the  next  year  he 
was  appointed  a  councillor.  He  was 
re-appointed  to  the  latter  office  for 
thirty-two  years,  until  his  death.  He 
was  president  of  the  board  during 
eighteen  years. 

In  1729  he  added  to  some  purchases 
of  land  he  had  made  several  years  be- 
fore, on  the  banks  of  the  Saco  River : 
and  he  thus  became  the  owner  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  towns  of  Saco  and 
Scarborough.  The  mill  privileges  made 
the  property  especially  valuable. 

During  the  past  few  years,  he  had 
been  made  successively  a  captain,  major, 
lieutenant-colonel :  and  he  was  commis- 
sioned a  colonel  on  reaching  the  age  of 
thirty  years.  This  rank  gave  him  the 
command  of  all  the  militia  in  Maine. 

In  1730  Gov.  Belcher,  "my  own  and 
my  father's  friend,"  as  he  affectionately 
describtd  him  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
an  acquaintance,  appointed  him  chief 
justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas ; 
and  he  held  this  high  office  until  his 
death  in  1759. 

He  now  appears  to  have  had  quite 
enough  for  such  comparatively  young 
shoulders  to  bear.  There  were  his  offi- 
cial duties  as  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas,  member  of  the  governor's  coun- 
cil, and  colonel  of  a  regiment.  His 
business  also  demanded  much  of  his 
time,  to  say  nothing  of  his  family  cares. 

Although  their  home  was  in  Kittery, 
Col.  Pepperrell  and  his  wife  spent  much 


of  their  time  in  Boston,  as  his  duties 
often  called  him  here. 

France  declared  war  on  the  15  th  of 
March,  1 744 ;  and  about  six  months 
prior  to  that.  Gov.  Shirley  sent  a  let- 
ter to  Col.  Pepperrell,  desiring  him 
to  hold  his  regiment  in  readiness  to 
protect  the  frontier  against  the  Indians. 
He  accordingly  sent  copies  of  it  to 
each  of  his  captains,  and  also  added 
the  following  spirited  sentence :  "I 
hope  that  He  who  gave  us  our  breath 
will  give  us  the  courage  and  prudence 
to  behave  ourselves  like  true  -  born 
Englishmen." 

Having  glanced  at  Col.  Pepperrell's 
early  history,  let  us  now  turn  to  the 
great  act  of  his  life,  which  will  hand 
his  name  down  to  posterity,  —  the  cap- 
ture of  Louisburg,  the  "  Gibraltar  of 
America."  It  was  the  leading  event  in 
our  Colonial  history  ;  but  it  was  followed 
so  closely  by  the  Revolution,  that  it  is 
somewhat  obscured  in  the  light  of  that 
great  struggle.  The  town  of  Louisburg, 
named  after  "  le  gratid  monarque,^''  is 
situated  in  the  south-eastern  part  of 
Cape  Breton  Island,  adjoining  Nova 
Scotia,  and  controls  the  entrance  to  the 
Gulf  and  River  St.  Lawrence.  It  com- 
manded the  fisheries  by  its  position. 
The  island  also  produced  large  quanti- 
ties of  excellent  ship  timber.  That  ripe 
scholar,  the  Rev.  Jeremy  Belknap,  in 
his  exhaustive  description  of  its  capture, 
says  the  town  of  Louisburg  "  was  two 
and  a  half  miles  in  circumference,  for- 
tified in  every-  accessible  part,  with  a 
rampart  of  stone  from  thirty  to  thirty- 
six  feet  high,  and  a  ditch  eighty  feet 
wide.  .  .  .  On  an  island  at  the  entrance 
to  the  harbor,  which  was  only  four  hun- 
dred yards  wide,  was  a  battery  of  thirty 
cannon,  carrying  twenty  -  eight  pound 
shot ;  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  harbor, 
directly  opposite  to  the  entrance,   was 


LiciU.-Gcn.   Sir   William  Peppcrrcll,  Bart.  265 

the  grand  or  royal  battery,  of  t\venty-  it  to  say  that  the  place  capitulated  after 
eight  forty -twos,  and  two  eighteen-  a  seven-weeks  arduous  attack  by  land 
pound  cannon.  .  .  .  The  entrance  to  and  sea.  The  cross  of  St.  George  had 
the  town  was  at  the  west  gate,  over  a  supplanted  the  lilies  of  France.  On 
drawbridge,  which  was  protected  by  a  the  17th  of  June,  1745,  Gen.  Pepperrell 
circular  battery  of  thirteen  twenty-four-  marched  into  the  town  at  the  head  of 
pound  cannon.  These  works  had  been  his  troops,  and  received  the  keys  :  al- 
twenty  -  five  years  in  building,  and,  though  Commodore  Warren  had  vainly 
though  unfinished,  had  cost  France  not  flattered  himself  that  he  or  one  of  his 
less  than  six  millions  of  dollars."  It  is  officers  should  have  the  honor  of  re- 
worthy  of  notice  that  only  New-Eng-  ceiving  the  surrender  of  the  place.  He 
land  troops  took  part  in  the  siege.  Col.  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  send  a  letter 
Pepperrell  was  selected  to  command  the  to  the  French  governor,  ordering  him  to 
forces,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-gen-  deliver  the  keys  to  some  one  whom  he 
eral.  He  already  occupied  the  next  should  afterwards  designate.  Gen.  Pep- 
highest  post  to  that  of  the  governor ;  perrell  did  not  know  of  this  action  at  the 
viz.,  president  of  the  council.  He  time ;  and  he  probably  never  learned  of 
was  also  very  wealthy  and  popular,  and  it,  as  they  continued  to  be  good  friends, 
likely  to  draw  soldiers  to  his  stand-  Very  likely  he  knew  of  Warren's  desire 
ard,  as  indeed  proved  to  be  the  case,  to  assume  the  glory ;  for  this  was  the 
^^  Nil  desperandiim  Chris  to  duce,'^  was  general  opinion  among  the  people  of 
the  motto  of  the  invaders.  Col.  Pep-  New  England  at  the  time,  and,  indeed, 
perrell  advanced  five  thousand  pounds  feeling  ran  very  high  on  the  subject. 
from  his  own  fortune,  and  threw  himself  Dr.  Chauncey  expressed  their  senti- 
into  the  work  of  preparation  with  all  ments  when  he  wrote  the  following  to 
the  impetuosity  of  his  nature.  Gen.  Pepperrell.  He  said,  "  If  the  high 
The  West  India  squadron  under  admiral  of  England  had  been  there,  he 
Commodore  Warren,  which  was  to  co-  would  not  have  had  the  least  right  to 
operate  with  the  New-England  troops,  command  an>"where  but  aboard  his  own 
failed  to  arrive  at  the  appointed  time  :  ships."  A  good  instance  of  the  Amer- 
but  they  set  sail  without  them  on  March  ican  spirit  thirty  years  prior  to  the 
24,    1745,   and  after   a   short   passage  Revolution. 

reached  Louisburg,  and  began  at  once  Smollett    says,    "The    conquest   of 

to  disembark  and  invest  the  town.     On  Louisburg    was    the     most    important 

the  24th  of  April,  Warren  and  three  of  achievement  of  the  war  of  1744." 

his  men-of-war  joined  them,  and  others  Ward,  in  his  edition  of  "  Curwen's 

arrived  later.    It  appears  that  they  took  Journal  of  the  Loyalists,"  says,  "That 

part  in  the  bombardment  to  some  ex-  such  a  city  should  have  yielded  to  the 

tent,  but  most  of  the  work  had  neces-  farmers,  merchants,  and  fishermen  of 

sarily  to  be  done   by  the   land   forces  New    England,   is    almost    incredible, 

with  their  heavy  siege-guns.    The  ships  The  lovers  of  the  wonderful  may  read 

also  served  to  good  purpose  in  prevent-  the  works  which  contain  accounts   of 

ing  re-enforcements  and  supplies  from  its  rise  and  ruin,  and  be  satisfied  that 

entering  the  harbor.    But  space  will  not  truth   is   sometimes   stranger  than  fic- 

permit  a  detailed  account  of  the  capture  tion." 

of  the  "  Dunkirk  of  America."     Suffice  He  received  a  letter  from  the  Duke 


266 


LicJit.-Geii.   Sir   Williavi  Pcppcrrell,  Bart. 


of  Newcastle,  dated  at  ^Vhitehall,  Aug. 
lo,  1745,  acquainting  him  that  his  maj- 
esty had  sent  a  patent  from  Hanover 
creating  him  a  baronet  of  Great  Britain, 
—  an  honor  never  before  conferred  on 
a  native  of  America.  Commodore  War- 
ren was  also  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
admiral. 

A  trophy  of  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg  lies  almost  at  our  own  doors.  The 
visitor,  on  approaching  the  massive  and 
stately  building  known  as  Gore  Hall, 
at  Cambridge,  may  see  a  gilded  cross 
over  one  of  its  doors,  which  was  taken 
from  a  French  church  and  eventually 
found  a  resting-place  there.  The  gran- 
ite pile  stands  for  learning  and  progress. 
The  cross  may  well  remind  the  students 
and  all  friends  of  the  university  of  its 
motto,  "  Christo  et  Ecclesiae,"  that  its 
meaning  may  never  be  forgotten  in  our 
onward  march. 

Sir  William  embarked  in  Admiral 
Knowles's  squadron  for  Boston,  Sept. 
24,  1 746,  and  arrived  diere  on  the  2d 
of  October,  after  a  stormy  passage. 
The  ships  then  dropped  down  the  har- 
bor, and  anchored  in  Nantasket  Roads. 
Many  of  Knowles's  men  having  de- 
serted here,  he  thought  that  Boston 
should  make  up  the  deficiency.  He 
accordingly  sent  press-gangs  —  an  in- 
famous practice  sanctioned,  or  at  least 
submitted  to,  in  those  days  —  to  the 
merchantmen  and  wharves,  and  carried 
off  many  poor  fellows,  including  a  few 
landsmen.  A  mob  of  several  thousand 
people  soon  collected  at  the  head  of 
King  (now  State)  Street,  and  even  threw 
missiles  into  the  windows  of  the  Province 
House.  Speeches  were  made  from  the 
balcony  by  Sir  William,  and  also  by 
Gov.  Shirley ;  and  the  former,  by  his 
tact  and  popularity,  avoided  any  fur- 
ther trouble  (as  Knowles  agreed  to 
release  the  citizens),  but  the  cowardly 


Shirley  had  meanwhile  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  go  to  the  castle  in  the  har- 
bor. 

On  Dec.  9,  1746,  the  Province 
House  (now  the  Old  State  House) 
took  fire,  and  all  but  the  walls  were 
consumed.  It  was  rebuilt  shortly  after, 
and  still  stands  in  the  heart  of  our  busy 
city,  a  fitting  link  between  all  that  was 
noteworthy  in  our  Colonial  history,  and 
all  the  good  that  has  been  accomplished 
since  we  became  a  nation.  The  lion 
and  the  unicorn  represent  the  puissant 
British  race  from  which  we  sprung; 
while  the  Indian,  facing  to  the  west, 
illustrates  the  onward  march  of  our 
great  Republic. 

Sir  William  set  sail  for  London  in 
September,  1 749,  and  was  cordially  re- 
ceived at  court  by  his  Majesty  King 
George  II.  He  was  also  the  recipient 
of  many  attentions  from  the  -Prince  of 
Wales  and  Lord  Halifax.  The  mayor 
of  London  waited  on  him,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  a  set  of  plate  in  honor 
of  his  distinguished  services.  Sir  Wil- 
liam was  a  man  of  fine  appearance, 
somewhat  inclined  to  be  portly,  and 
his  dignified  and  elegant  bearing  made 
him  noted,  even  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James.  A  description  of  the  dress 
which  he  wore  when  presented  has  not 
come  down  to  us,  but  he  ordinarily 
dressed  in  the  rich  apparel  customary 
for  gentlemen  in  his  day ;  viz.,  a  suit  of 
scarlet  cloth  trimmed  with  gold  lace, 
silk  stockings,  and  silver  shoe-buckles, 
and  the  usual  powdered  wig.  He  also 
wore  lace  rufiles  at  his  wrists,  and  the 
long  vest  then  in  fashion.  There  is 
extant  a  full-length  portrait  of  him  by 
the  gifted  Smibert  in  the  Essex  Insti- 
tute at  Salem.  It  belongs  to,  and  was 
formerly  in,  the  Portsmouth  Athenaeum, 
where  it  should  have  remained. 

He  lived  in  great  style  at   Kittery, 


Lietit.-Gen.   Sir   William  Pepperrell,  Bart. 


267 


and  kept  open  house  for  all  his  friends, 
although  he  was  choice  in  his  acquaint- 
ance. His  library  was  the  best  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  was  much  con- 
sulted by  scholars,  especially  the  clergy. 
His  large  and  substantial  house  was  hung 
with  beautiful  paintings  and  costly  mir- 
rors. His  cellar  was  filled  with  rare 
old  wines,  —  not  to  mention  the  highly 
prized  New-England  rum,  that  had  been 
mellowed  by  its  voyage  to  the  Indies 
and  back.  His  park  was  stocked  with 
deer ;  he  kept  a  coach-and-six,  and  also 
had  a  splendid  barge,  manned  by  six 
slaves  in  uniform. 

In  March,  1751,  Sir  William  and 
Lady  Pepperrell  met  with  a  severe 
affliction  in  the  death  of  their  son 
Andrew,  who  died  from  the  effects  of  a 
severe  cold  contracted  while  crossing 
the  Piscataqua  River  late  one  night, 
after  attending  a  party  at  Portsmouth. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  much  promise. 
They  had  three  other  children  ;  namely, 
Elizabeth,  William,  and  Margery,  but 
the  latter  two  died  in  infancy.  Andrew 
was  born  Jan.  4,  1726,  and,  after  a  care- 
ful preparatory  course,  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  1 743.  He  of  course  had 
the  best  social  advantages  that  Boston 
afforded,  and  was  very  much  of  a  favor- 
ite in  society.     He  never  married. 

The  name  of  Pepperrell,  that  was  a 
power  fn  the  eighteenth  century,  is  now 
extinct ;  and  but  one  or  two  of  his  de- 
scendants, if  any,  are  living.  There 
are,  however,  several  collateral  relatives 
of  the  baronet  in  New  England. 

Having  seen  something  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam in  his  official  capacity,  let  us  now 
look  at  him  for  a  moment  in  his  higher 
character,  —  that  of  a  man.     Perhaps 


the  best  thing  that  can  be  said  of  him 
is  that  he  had  deep  religious  convic- 
tions, and  always  followed  the  Golden 
Rule.  His  benefactions  were  many  and 
large.  Among  other  public  gifts  was 
that  of  a  four-acre  lot  to  the  town  of 
Saco,  for  a  church.  He  also  gave  a  bell 
to  the  town  of  Pepperrell  in  Massachu- 
setts. 

Pie  owned  immense  tracts  of  land  in 
Maine  :  and  it  is  said  that  he  could 
travel  from  Portsmouth  to  Saco  River, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  all  the  way 
on  his  own  soil.  All  these  vast  estates 
were  confiscated  during  the  Revolution. 

Still  another  honor  awaited  him  ;  for 
he  received  a  commission  of  lieutenant- 
general  in  the  royal  army,  bearing  date 
Feb.  20,  1759,  giving  him  the  command 
of  all  the  forces  engaged  against  the 
French  and  their  savage  allies.  But 
the  old  veteran  could  not  take  the  field, 
for  his  health  was  failing  ;  and  he  died 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1759,  in  the  sixty- 
third  year  of  his  age.  His  remains 
were  placed  in  the  family  tomb  on  his 
estate  at  Kittery  Point.  There  he 
sleeps  in  a  quiet  spot  overlooking  the 
restless,  changing  sea,  —  fit  burial-place 
for  his  ambitious  soul.  The  same  winds 
play  over  his  tomb  that  brought  his 
argosies  from  foreign  lands.  The  waves 
still  break  upon  the  shore.  But  his 
tide  had  ebbed  into  the  great  sea.  He 
was  brought  up  to  beUeve  that  his  duty 
consisted  in  being  a  loyal  subject  of 
the  British  Crown.  Had  he  Hved  un- 
til the  stormy  days  of  the  Revolution, 
would  he  have  led  the  colonists,  or 
would  he  have  been  a  royalist,  and  man- 
fully supported  his  king,  who  had  so 
trusted  and  honored  him  ? 


268 


The  Harrisburg  Convention  of  Decetnber,  l8jg. 


THE    HARRISBURG    CONVENTION    OF    DECEMBER,    1839. 

By  C.  S.  Si'AUlding. 


It  was  customary  for  many  years 
among  politicians  to  charge  that  Mr. 
Henry  Clay  was  defrauded  of  the  nomi- 
nation for  the  presidency  at  the  Harris- 
burg convention,  by  the  devices  of  cer- 
tain personal  opponents,  and  that  his 
election  in  the  following  year  would  have 
been  as  certain  as  any  future  event  can 
be  that  depends  upon  the  contingencies 
of  politics.  This  was  the  language  of 
political  declaration ;  and  the  quiet, 
discerning  men  among  the  Whigs,  who 
knew  better,  were  generally  silenced  by 
the  concurring  averments  of  Mr.  Clay's 
adherents.  On  both  these  points  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Clay  amounted  to  con- 
viction ;  and  he  went  to  his  grave  with 
the  sincere  conviction  and  belief  that 
he  was  defeated  at  Harrisburg  by  un- 
worthy trickery,  and  that  his  electoral 
majority  would  have  fully  equalled  that 
of  Gen.  Harrison.  That  impression 
prevailed  generally  throughout  the 
country  for  many  years ;  and  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  it  is  still  entertained 
by  those  who  are  old  enough  to  re- 
member the  circumstances  attending 
the  presidential  election  of  1840,  and 
the  political  condition  of  the  country 
during  the  three  or  four  preceding 
years. 

It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  those  men 
who  composed  the  Harrisburg  conven- 
tion, that  certain  facts  and  circum- 
stances, tending  to  show  that  the  public 
mind  has  been  greatly  abused  on  this 
subject,  should  be  recalled,  and  the 
considerations  which  led  to  the  nomina- 
tion of  Gen.  Harrison  fairly  stated  ;  and 
as  preliminary  to  this,  and  in  order  to 
a  correct  understanding  of  the  situation, 


it  is  necessary  to  glance  hastily  at  the 
political  condition  of  the  country  dur- 
ing the  presidency  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
The  financial  revulsion  of  1837  had  led 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  several  large  States,  where  its 
ascendency  had  been  almost  perpetual, 
and  notably  in  New  York,  Ohio,  In- 
diana, Maine,  and  several  other  States ; 
and  it  had  come  to  be  generally  sup- 
posed that  the  Whigs  would  be  able  to 
carry  the  election  in  1840.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Clay 
would  be  the  candidate ;  and  under 
that  expectation  the  Democrats  had 
regained  the  power  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Maine,  and  several  other  States,  and 
the  party  had  gained  largely  in  New 
York  ;  and  then  there  was  the  unexpect- 
edly large  vote  for  Gen.  Harrison  in 
1836,  when  he  was  brought  forward 
irregularly  and  partially,  with  no  effec- 
tive organization  of  his  supporters,  and 
no  hope  of  his  election.  These  things 
conspired  to  direct  the  attention  of 
sagacious  Whigs  to  the  question  of  the 
expediency  of  nominating  him  as  a 
stronger  man  with  the  people  than  Mr. 
Clay. 

With  the  exception  of  some  of  the 
adherents  of  Mr.  Webster,  the  delegates 
were  generally  anxious  to  elect  a  pres- 
ident irrespective  of  any  personal  con- 
siderations. The  feelings  of  jealousy 
and  rivalry  which  had  for  some  time 
subsisted  between  Messrs.  Clay  and 
Webster,  and  which  culminated  in  an 
open  rupture  in  1841,  were  shared  to 
some  extent  by  their  friends.  But  Mr. 
Webster  was  not  a  candidate  before  the 
convention,  and  therefore  there  was  no 


77/1?  Harrisburg  Coiivoition  of  December,  ^^39- 


269 


competition  between  them ;  but  the 
more  pronounced  and  zealous  of  his 
supporters  were  the  persistent  and 
efficient  advocates  of  Gen.  Harrison's 
nomination,  and  the  result  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  convention  was  owing 
in  a  large  measure  to  their  address,  per- 
severance, and  determination.  Scott 
had  a  few  earnest  supporters  in  the 
convention,  mostly  from  New  York : 
but  evidently  they  had  no  hope  of 
nominating  him,  and  were  inspired 
chiefly  by  their  dislike  of  Clay ;  and 
when  he  was  defeated,  they  came 
readily  and  heartily  into  the  support  of 
Gen.  Harrison. 

It  was  ascertained  before  the  conven- 
tion was  organized  that  a  majority  of 
the  delegates  had  been  chosen  to  sup- 
port Mr.  Clay;  and  it  was  easily  seen 
that,  if  an  informal  per  capita  vote 
should  be  taken  in  advance,  his  nomi- 
nation was  inevitable.  It  was  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  this  should  be 
prevented ;  and  Peleg  Sprague,  who 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Senate  from 
Maine,  having  served  from  1829  to 
1835,  ^'^^  ^  warm  partisan  of  Mr. 
Webster,  before  any  other  steps  could 
be  taken  offered  a  plan  for  the  action 
of  the  convention,  which  was  adopted 
by  a  small  majority  against  the  earnest 
opposition  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay. 
It  was  substantially  as  follows :  That 
there  should  be  no  vote  of  preference 
taken  in  the  convention,  until  the  follow- 
ing questions  should  have  been  deter- 
mined by  the  delegations  of  the  several 
States,  each  sitting  as  a  committee,  to 
wit :  First,  Can  the  state  be  carried  for 
the  Whig  candidate  for  the  presidency  ? 
Second,  If  yes,  who  is  the  strongest 
man  to  nominate?  Third,  Can  the 
vote  of  the  State  be  given  to  Mr.  Clay  ? 


A  very  animated  debate  sprang  upon 
the  resolution,  and  it  only  prevailed  by 
a  small  majority ;  where  upon  the  con- 
vention adjourned  for  the  day.  As  the 
delegates  were  leaving  the  hall,  Benjamin 
W.  Leigh  of  Virginia,  who  had  been 
in  the  Senate  from  1834  to  1837  from 
that  State,  and  a  persistent  supporter  of 
Henry  Clay,  remarked  to  John  Tyler, 
who  was  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of 
the  convention,  "  Clay  is  surely  beaten. 
That  sharp  black-eyed  Yankee  has 
stolen  a  march  upon  us,  and  Harrison's 
nomination  is  certain."  Mr.  Tyler  ex- 
pressed his  apprehensions  about  the 
result,  but  did  not  consider  the  game 
as  wholly  lost. 

The  deliberations  of  the  delegations 
ran  through  several  days,  and  every 
hour's  delay  darkened  the  prospects  of 
Mr.  Clay.  Consultation  and  compari- 
son of  views  ascertained  the  fact  that 
Gen.  Harrison  was  the  strongest  man 
with  the  people ;  and  there  was  never 
a  moment,  after  the  adoption  of  Mr. 
Sprague's  resolution,  that  the  nomination 
of  another  candidate  was  at  all  probable. 

The  delegates  generally  were  moved 
by  a  common  feeling.  The  desire  to 
break  down  the  Van  Buren  dynasty  was 
the  all  -  important  consideration,  and 
personal  feeling  was  compelled  to  give 
way  before  it. 

Whether  any  other  candidate  could 
have  been  elected  is  a  question ;  but 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that, 
had  Mr.  Clay  been  nominated,  he  would 
have  been  defeated. 

It  is  said  that  John  Tyler  cried  when 
Harrison's  nomination  was  announced 
to  the  convention,  and  Horace  Greeley 
said  that  the  whole  Whig  party  had 
reason  to  cry  when  John  Tyler  became 
President. 


270 


Protection  vs.  Free-trade. 


PROTECTION    vs.    FREE-TRADE. 


The  October  meeting  of  the  Liberal 
Union  Club  was  held  at  Young's  Hotel, 
Saturday,  Oct.  31,  1885,  when  Senator 
Morrill  of  Vermont  made  some  very  in- 
teresting remarks.  In  the  course  of  his 
address  he  said,  — 

"  I  understand,  gentlemen,  that  there  are 
here  Republicans  and  Democrats,  protective 
tariff  men  and  free-trade  men,  and,  in  the  clas- 
sic language  of  the  newspapers.  Mugwumps. 
If  I  am  to  say  any  thing  at  all  to  you  to-night, 
I  must  speak  my  honest  sentiments.  I  have 
been  long  suspected  of  being  somewhat  in  fa- 
vor of  a  protective  tariff,  and  of  being  a  pretty 
stanch  Republican;  and  while  it  has  been 
my  effort  heretofore  to  always  speak  what  I 
believed,  if  it  should  run  contrary  to  some  of 
your  views,  it  may  be  useful  in  creating  a  lit- 
tle effervescence  in  your  stomachs  not  to  be 
regretted. 

"  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  say  that  I  feel  almost 
as  much  love  and  admiration  for  Massachu- 
setts as  one  to  the  manor  born:  for  near 
here  I  found  my  wife,  and  she  claims  Mas- 
sachusetts as  the  State  of  her  birth ;  and  here 
from  1824  to  1850  I  found  the  great  tariff 
authority  was  Daniel  Webster,  the  authority 
not  only  in  Massachusetts,  where  his  name 
ought  to  be  immortal,  but  throughout  the 
country.  It  may  have  been  my  misfortune 
that  I  have  not  had  the  later  guides  and  phi- 
losophers of  some  of  your  learned  institu- 
tions ;  but  I  must  frankly  confess,  that,  while  I 
have  some  respect  for  standard  English  lit- 
erature, I  have  none  at  all  for  the  standard 
English  political  economy. 

"  Let  me  say  that,  that  free-trade  economy 
may  be  good  enough  for  Great  Britain,  for 
England,  but  it  don't  do  anywhere  else.  It 
won't  do  even  for  Ireland,  and  certainly  not 
for  America.  It  may  be  that  some  of  your 
learned  professors,  who  are  sometimes  politi- 
cians, are  greater  men  than  were  Webster 
and  Choate,  or  than  are  our  Hoar  and  Dawes ; 
but,  I  beg  your  pardon,  up  in  Vermont  we 
don't  think  so. 

"  They  say,  however,  that  we  must  have  rev- 
enue reform.  Cui  bono .''  For  whose  benefit  ? 
For  they  assent  that  if  we  should  reduce  the 


tariff  a  good  deal  lower,  we  might  collect  the 
the  same  amount  of  revenue.  Suppose  that 
that  were  to  be  admitted,  it  is  evident  then 
that  we  should  have  to  import  a  much  larger 
amount  of  foreign  merchandise,  and  also 
should  have  to  furnish  a  market  for  a  much 
less,  a  correspondingly  less,  amount  of  Amer- 
ican productions.  It  strikes  me  that  the 
statesmanship  that  only  seeks  to  create  a  mar- 
ket for  foreign  productions  is  un-American, 
and  in  my  judgment  the  advocates  of  that 
policy  have  a  legitimate  claim  upon  the  Brit- 
ish Parliament  for  their  services. 

"  The  Lowells,  the  Appletons,  the  Law- 
rences, the  Lymans,  and  the  Bigelows,  by  plant- 
ing manufactures  on  the  sterile  soil  of  Massa- 
chusetts,—  and  they  were  the  contemporaries 
of  such  men  as  Webster  and  Choate,  and  of 
honest  John  Davis,  and  of  Winthrop,  —  and 
thus  developing  and  multiplying  the  employ- 
ments of  your  people,  giving  every  man  of 
your  State  an  opportunity  to  do  his  best,  have 
secured  its  growth,  its  prosperity,  and  its 
reputation  the  world  over. 

"  Without  this  policy,  the  farms  of  Massa- 
chusetts to-day  would  not  bring  one-half  of 
their  present  valuation.  It  is  through  this 
policy  that  the  rich  endowments  of  your  col- 
leges have  taken  place.  It  is  by  this  policy 
that  you  have  established  broadcast  your 
common  schools.  Without  it,  one-half,  more 
than  one-half,  of  the  pulpits  of  your  churches, 
and  the  church-going  bells,  would  to-day  be 
silent.  Without  this  policy,  your  State  to-day 
would  not  have  one-fourth  of  the  present 
magnitude  of  its  population.  And  yet  some 
of  these  men,  if  they  could  carry  out  their 
policy,  if  they  could  be  successful,  in  my  judg- 
ment, in  a  very  short  time,  would  be  nothing 
but  tramps  in  the  streets. 

"  The  protective  tariff  is  not  a  local  ques- 
tion. Its  beneficence  touches  the  foot  as  well 
as  the  hand,  the  heart  as  well  as  the  head. 
Its  example,  the  example  of  Massachusetts, 
may  be  as  safely  followed  in  the  South  as  in 
the  North,  in  Virginia  and  Georgia  as  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  in  the  States 
beyond  the  Mississippi  as  well  as  in  Illinois 
and  Ohio.  In  fact,  our  great  wheat-fields  of 
the  West,  unless  they  can  find  a  great  and 
steadfast   home   market,  will  soon   find  that 


Protection  vs.  Free-trade. 


271 


they  have  no  attraction  to  emigrants  for  their 
magnficent  productions. 

"  A  foreign  market  is  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  The 
only  sure  props  of  our  great  Western  wheat 
and  corn  growing  territories  is  a  tariff  and 
cheap  transportation. 

"  But  it  is  said  that  we  must  have  reve- 
nue reform.  And  what  is  that  ?  Why,  it  is  a 
Mugwump  gravitation  downward  toward  free- 
trade.  The  effect  of  it  will  be,  whether  de- 
signed or  not,  to  cheapen  labor,  and  to  deprive 
labor  of  some  of  its  present  comforts  and  orna- 
ments. Its  effect  will  be  to  send  more  of  our 
children  barefoot  into  the  fields  and  into  the 
workshops,  and  less  to  the  common  schools. 

"  I  may  say  that  the  free-traders  would  emas- 
culate the  Declaration  of  Independence;  they 
would  not  leave  us  enough  manhood  to  sup- 
port any  thing  more  than  a  government  of  the 
police,  not  enough  to  enable  us  to  chose  our 
own  avocations.  I  trust,  however,  that  we 
shall  have  enough  of  that  ancient  heroic  in- 
dependence to  show  that  we  intend  now  and 
forever,  in  peace  or  in  war,  to  make  our  own 
coats  and  shirts  (in  homely  phrase),  to  make 
our  own  dresses  and  blankets,  to  make  our  own 
shoes  and  stockings,  to  make  our  own  dinner 
plates  and  knives  and  forks,  above  all  to  make 
our  own  ships  and  cannon ;  and  finally  that  we 
shall  have  enough  to  demand  a  little  Ameri- 
canism in  our  colleges.  It  strikes  me  that  it 
would  be  well,  and  I  don't  wish  to  boycott 
them,  but  life  is  too  short  for  our  young  men 
men  to  learn  and  unlearn  theories  that  have 
no  root  anywhere  except  upon  aristocratic 
soil,  upon  the  soil  of  England.  And  I  think 
that  I  am  in  favor  of  an  e.xtension  of  civil 
service  reform  ;  and,  while  I  won't  do  any 
thing  to  injure  any  educational  institution, 
God  forbid,  yet  if  any  vacancies  should  hap- 
pen in  their  staffs,  I  would  subject  the  can- 
didates to  a  proper  civil  service  examination 
as  to  their  qualifications." 

On  the  same  occasion  Hon.  William 
D.  Kelley  of  Pennsylvania  made  a  strong 
appeal  for  high  tariff.  A  few  of  his  re- 
marks are  of  especial  interest  to  all. 

"  Now,  as  to  foreign  markets ;  for,  as  I 
say,  I  came  not  as  a  propagandist,  not  as  a 
missionary,  but  because  I  had  been  invited, 
and  was  glad  to  come.  On  the  subject  of 
foreign  markets,  let  me  ask  you  where  they 
are  to  be  be  found.  Are  you  ready  to  enter 
Congo,  the  Congo  country,  the  Congo  Free 


State  ?  What  could  you  sell  there  ?  What 
can  our  generation,  or  your  generation,  —  for 
I  have  passed  beyond  it,  —  trade  with  in  Con- 
go ?  We  cannot  enter  the  British  markets. 
British  industry  has  never  been  more  paral- 
yzed. Manufacturers  were  never  producing 
goods  with  less  certainty  of  profits  on  the 
British  Islands  than  now.  You  cannot  hope 
to  get  into  France.  They  simply  confiscate 
raw  goods  ;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  matter  of 
cutlery,  drugs  :  whatever  is  not  free,  or  put  at 
a  fixed  dutiable  rate,  is  confiscated,  and  the 
party  bringing  it  in  is  put  under  penalty.  You 
cannot  find  markets  there.  You  cannot  beat 
the  French  people  in  producing  that  which  is 
elegant.  You  cannot  beat  them  in  cheapness. 
You  cannot  beat  the  Swiss.  There  is  nobody 
there  to  buy  any  thing.  Where  can  you  find 
a  market  in  which  you  can  compete  success- 
fully with  Germany,  with  France,  with  Eng- 
and,  with  Switzerland,  unless  you  bring  your 
laboring  people  to  live  as  unhappily  as  the 
British  laboring  people  are  now  living,  as  I 
have  shown  you  the  Swiss  people  are  living, 
as  the  German  peasants  are  living  ?  You 
can't  do  that.  You  can't  maintain  a  republic 
with  a  starving  laboring  population.  You 
can't  promote  the  welfare  and  strength  of  the 
country,  and  the  safety  of  capital  and  society, 
by  degrading  the  laboring  people,  and  making 
them  feel  that  they  are  under  the  heel  of  op- 
pressors instead  of  co-operating  fraternally 
with  their  countrymen,  and  hopeful  in  seeing 
others  of  their  countrymen  rising  from  poverty 
to  wealth  as  they  pass  from  youth  or  young 
manhood  to  graver  maturity.  We  require  sym- 
pathetic action  with  our  laboring  people.  .  .  . 
"  I  live  where  manufacturers  are  concen- 
trated in  power  and  authority  as  they  are,  I 
think,  in  no  other  Congressional  district  in  the 
country.  My  district  is  a  set  of  homes.  A 
larger  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Philadel- 
phia live  in  houses  owned  by  the  head  of  the 
family,  or  which  have  descended  from  him  to 
his  widow  and  heirs,  than  in  any  other  com- 
munity in  the  world.  We  have  gone  through 
a  very  severe  pressure.  But  it  does  not  come 
from  either  free  trade  or  protection.  The 
United  States,  protected  as  they  are,  have 
felt  it.  England,  free  trade  as  she  is,  has  felt 
it  on  a  higher,  a  broader,  a  keener  degree.  I 
think  that  the  depression  will  continue,  with 
little  waves  of  apparent  prosperity,  so  long  as 
the  nations  struggle  to  show  the  Almighty 
that  he  was  wrong  in  making  two  metals  which 
might  be  used  as  money." 


272  Grototi  Plantation. 


GROTON    PLANTATION.' 

The  description  of  the  original  grant  Of  the  first  hne,  about  three-quarters 

of  Dunstable  has   been   twice  printed,  of  an  inch  is  gone,  and  near  the  mid- 

but  with  so  many  inaccuracies  and  in-  die  of  the  edge  probably  an  inch  and 

terpolations,  that  I  am  constrained  to  a   quarter  is   also   gone.     Without   at- 

print  it  again  for  the  third  time.  '  The  tempting  to  supply  the  missing  letters 

original    copy,  in   the    handwriting  of  or  words,  I  have  placed  brackets  thus 

Jonathan  Danforth,  surveyor,  is   found  [         ]    to    indicate    them,    which    in 

on  the  first  page  of  the  earliest  book  some  lines  are  very  evident.     The  fol- 

of  Dunstable  town  records,  now  in  the  lowing   copy   was   made    by   me   with 

possession  of  the  city  of  Nashua.     The  much  care  on  June  5,  1885,  and  it  is 

leaf   on  which  it   is   written   is   much  here    given    line    for    line    with    the 

torn   and   worn   near   the   front   edge,  original :  — 


THE   NEW   PLANTATION   GRANTE 
APON  MERIMACK   REUER 

It  Lieth  on  both  sids  merimack  Riuer  on  the  n[  ] 

Riuer  it  is  bounded  by  Chelmsford  on  the  south  by[  ] 

partly  by  Cuntry  land  the  Line  runing  from  the  boun[  ] 

du  north  Ten  mile  untill  you  Come  to  Souhegon  Riuer  [  ] 

Called  dram  Cup  hill  to  a  great  Pine  ny  toy''  said  Riuer:  a[  ] 

of  Charlstown  Scoole  farm  bounded  by  Souhegon  Riuer 
North  and  on  the  east  Sid  merrimacke:  It  begins  at  a  great  che[  ] 

corner  of 
which  was  supposed  to  be  near  the  northern  M''  Brintons  land 

and  from  thence  it  runs  sou  south  east  six  miles  to  a  Pine  [  ] 

with  :  F  :  standinge  within  sight  of  Beauer  Broke 

It  Runs  two  degres  west  from  the  tits  south  four  mile  and  ouer  [  ] 

which  reached  to  the  tc=lhc=iC=iJie  south  side  of  henery  [  ] 

ffarme  at  Jeremies  Hill  then  from  y*^  South-East  angell  of  [  ] 

it  runs  two  degres  and  a  quartor  westward  of  the  south  [  ] 

of  the  long  Pond  which  lieth  at  y^  head  of  Edward  Co[  ] 

And  thus  it  is  Bounded  by  the  said  Pond  and  the  head  of  th[  ] 

Takeinge  in  Captaine  Scarlets  farme  to  that  bou[  ] 

All  which  is  sofficiantly  Bounded  and  described  [  ] 

danforth  Suruayer  :  3*?:  1674: 

3 

The  map  of  Old  Dunstable,  between  have  tended  to  confuse  the  author's 
pages  12  and  13  in  Fox's  History  of  ideas.  The  southern  boundary  of  Dun- 
that  town,  is  very  incorrect,  so  far  as  it  stable  was  by  no  means  a  straight  line, 
relates  to  the  boundaries  of  Groton.  but  was  made  to  conform  in  part  to  the 
The  Squannacook  River  is  put  down  as  northern  boundary  of  Groton,  which 
the   Nissitissett,  and  this  mistake  may  was    somewhat  angular.      Groton  was 

'  From  The  Boundary  Line  of  Old  Groton,  by  Hon.  Samuel  A.  Green,  M.D.      Groton,  Mass.,  1885. 


Groton  Plantation. 


^71 


incorporated  on  May  25,  1655,  and 
Dunstable  on  Oct.  15,  1673,  ^"^  no 
part  of  it  came  within  the  limits  of  this 
town.  The  eastern  boundary  of  Groton 
originally  ran  northerly  through  Massa- 
poag  Pond,  and  continued  into  the 
present  Hmits  of  Nashua,  N.H.  (pp. 
17,  18.) 

A  brief  statement  of  the  boundary 
question  between  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire  is  here  given. 

During  many  years  the  dividing  line 
between  the  two  Provinces  was  the 
subject  of  controversy.  The  cause  of 
dispute  dated  back  to  the  time  when 
the  original  grant  was  made  to  the  Col- 
ony of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  char- 
ter was  drawn  up  in  England  at  a 
period  when  little  was  known  in  regard 
to  the  interior  of  this  country ;  and  the 
boundary  lines,  necessarily,  were  some- 
what indefinite.  The  Merrimack  River 
was  an  important  factor  in  fixing  the 
limits  of  the  grant,  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  Massachusetts  was  to  be  a 
line  three  miles  north  of  any  and  every 
part  of  it.  At  the  date  of  the  charter, 
the  general  direction  of  the  river  was 
not  known,  but  it  was  incorrectly  as- 
sumed to  be  easterly  and  westerly.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  course  of  the  Mer- 
riiT^ck  is  southerly  for  a  long  distance 
from  where  it  is  formed  by  the  union 
of  the  Winnepesaukee  and  the  Pemige- 
wasset  Rivers,  and  then  it  turns  and 
runs  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  in  a 
north-easterly  direction  to  its  mouth  : 
and  this  deflexion  in  the  current  caused 
the  dispute.  The  difference  between 
the  actual  and  the  supposed  direction 
was  a  matter  of  little  practical  impor- 
tance, so  long  as  the  neighboring  ter- 
ritory remained  unsettled,  or  so  long 
as  the  two  Provinces  were  essentially 
under    one    government ;    but   as   the 


population  increased,  it  became  an 
exciting  and  vexatious  question.  Towns 
were  chartered  by  Massachusetts  in 
territory  claimed  by  New  Hampshire, 
and  this  action  led  to  bitter  feeling  and 
provoking  legislation.  Massachusetts 
contended  for  the  land  "  nominated  in 
the  bond,"  which  would  carry  the  line 
fifty  miles  northward  into  the  ver)^  heart 
of  New  Hampshire  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  Province  strenuously  opposed 
this  view  of  the  case,  and  claimed  that 
the  line  should  run  east  and  west  three 
miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
At  one  time,  a  royal  commission  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  subject,  but 
their  labors  produced  no  satisfactory 
result.  At  last  the  matter  was  carried 
to  England  for  a  decision,  which  was 
rendered  by  the  king  on  March  5, 
1 739-40.  His  judgment  was  final,  and 
in  favor  of  New  Hampshire.  It  gave 
that  Province  not  only  all  the  territory 
in  dispute,  but  a  strip  of  land  fourteen 
miles  in  width,  lying  along  her  southern 
border,  mostly  west  of  the  Merrimack, 
which  she  had  never  claimed.  This 
strip  was  the  tract  of  land  between  the 
line  running  east  and  west  three  miles 
north  of  the  southernmost  trend  of  the 
river,  and  a  similar  line  three  miles 
north  of  its  mouth.  By  the  decision 
twenty- eight  townships  were  taken  from 
Massachusetts,  and  transferred  to  New 
Hampshire.  The  settlement  of  this 
disputed  question  was  undoubtedly  a 
public  benefit,  although  it  caused,  at 
the  time,  a  great  deal  of  hard  feeling. 
In  establishing  the  new  boundary,  Paw- 
tucket  Falls,  situated  now  in  the  city 
of  Lowell,  and  near  the  most  southern 
portion  of  the  river's  course,  was  taken 
as  the  starting-place ;  and  the  line 
which  now  separates  the  two  States  was 
run  west,  three  miles  north  of  this 
point.     It  was  surveyed  ofificially  in  the 


274 


Groton  Plantation. 


spring  of  1741,  with  reference  to  the 
settlement  of  this  dispute. 

The  new  boundary  passed  through 
the  original  Groton  Plantation,  cutting 
off  a  triangular  portion  of  its  territory, 
now  within  the  limits  of  Nashua,  and  a 
very  small  corner  of  Mollis,  and  went 
to  the  southward  of  Groton  Gore,  leav- 
ing that  tract  of  land  wholly  in  New 
Hampshire,     (pp.  37-39.) 


GREEN  S     GROTON   BOUNDARIES. 

No  town  in  Massachusetts  has  a  more 
loyal  son,  or  one  who  has  done  more  to 
illustrate  her  history,  than  Groton  has 
in  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Green.  His  numer- 
ous publications,  designed  to  preserve 
the  perishable  records  or  memories  of 
the  past,  have  been  true  labors  of  love, 
and  have  left  nothing  to  be  desired  as 
respects  thoroughness  of  research  and 
accuracy  of  statement.     The  latest  of 


his  Groton  monographs  deals  with  the 
original  boundaries  of  the  town,  and 
with  the  repeated  partitions  of  the 
township,  by  which  her  area  has  been 
reduced  to  a  mere  fraction  of  what  it 
was  two  centuries  or  more  ago.  His 
narrative  is  clear  and  succinct,  and  is 
made  perfectly  intelligible  to  every  one 
by  three  excellent  plans.  The  value  of 
the  publication  is  greatly  enhanced  by 
the  very  large  number  of  petitions  and 
legislative  orders,  which  are  now  printed 
for  the  first  time  ;  and  it  is  only  fair  to 
add  that  it  is  just  what  such  a  publica- 
tion ought  to  be.  It  will  make  every 
reader  impatient  for  the  time  when  Dr. 
Green  shall  gather  his  materials  into  a 
well  compacted  history  of  Groton. 

\_The  Boundary  Lines  of  Old  Groton. 
By  Samuel  A.  Green,  M.D.  Groton, 
Mass.,  1885.     8vo,  pp.  105.] 


PUBLISHER'S  DEPARTMENT. 


We  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  our 
readers  to  our  advertising  pages.  It 
will  be  noticed,  in  glancing  over  the 
list,  that  our  patronage  has  been  lib- 
eral, and  from  the  leading  houses  in 
their  several  lines  in  Concord,  Boston, 
and  New  York.  We  seek  advertising 
only  from  firms  whose  standing  is  high 
in  the  commercial  world ;  and  it  would 
be  a  favor  to  them  and  to  the  pub- 
lisher of  this  magazine,  if,  in  com- 
municating with  them,  mention  should 
be  made  of  this  publication.  To  those 
who  receive  this  number  of  the  maga- 
zine, whose  names  are  not  already  on 
the  subscription  list,  we  wish  to  state 


that  we  offer  to  give  eighteen  months' 
subscription  for  $1.50,  —  an  offer  open 
until  Jan.  i,  1887,  —  subscription^  to 
commence  with  July,  1886.  We  wish 
to  add  a  thousand  names  to  our  list 
this  fall,  and  embrace  this  opportunity 
to  do  it. 


Styles,  Qualities,  Prices.  Three 
things  every  one  should  consider  when 
buying  goods.  With  this  in  mind,  we 
recommend  the  fine  dry-goods  store  of 
E.  W.  Willard  &  Co.,  Concord,  and  call 
attention  to  their  advertisement  in  this 
number  of  The  Granite  Monthly. 


THE 


GRANITE    MONTHLY. 

A  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  MAGAZINE. 

Devoted  to  Literature,  Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX.      OCTOBER  and  NOVEMBER,  1886.      Nos.  X  &  XL 


JEREMIAH  W.  WHITE,  Esq. 


By  Hon.  John  H.  Goodale. 


On  the  headwaters  of  Suncook  River, 
in  the  central  region  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, is  the  town  of  Pittsfield.  It  is 
hmited  in  extent,  undulating  in  surface, 
rich  in  the  quality  of  its  soil.  Its  ear- 
liest settlers  were  sturdy  farmers,  men 
and  women  who  from  infancy  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  hardships  and  priva- 
tions of  pioneer  life. 

Among  these  settlers  was  Josiah 
White,  who,  with  his  wife  of  Scottish 
origin,  in  the  spring  of  i  775  took  up  his 
abode  in  the  outskirts  of  an  unbroken 
forest.  Years  of  hard  labor  followed, 
which  at  length  brought  to  him  and  his 
family  the  comforts  of  a  rural  home. 
Of  his  sons,  Jeremiah  White,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  succeeded 
to  the  homestead.  He  was  born  March 
4,  1775,  ^^d'  passing  his  life  amid  the 
scenes  of  his  earlier  days,  died  Decem- 
ber 5,  1848.  He  is  still  remembered 
by  the  older  residents  of  Pittsfield  as  a 
citizen  who  was  useful,  influential,  and 
respected.  Of  great  personal  activity 
and  tact  in  business,  genial  and  gen- 
erous, an  enterprising  farmer  of  the 
old  school,  a  safe  and  sagacious  ad- 
viser, his  departure  left  a  place  difficult 
to  fill  in  the  business  affairs  of  the 
vicinity. 


Jeremiah  Wilson  White  was  bom 
in  Pittsfield,  September  16,  182 1.  The 
active  habits  and  pure  atmosphere  of 
his  early  rural  life  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  sound  physical  constitution.  His 
opportunities  for  education  during  child- 
hood were  limited  to  a  few  months  at  a 
distant  district  school.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  entered  the  Pittsfield  Acade- 
my, under  the  instruction  of  James  F, 
Joy,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth,  and  in 
later  years  well  known  as  president  of  the 
Michigan  Central  Railroad.  Pittsfield 
village  had  a  thrifty  and  vigorous  popu- 
lation, and  among  her  ambitious  and 
talented  young  men  were  several  who 
have  since  been  conspicuous  in  public 
life.  One  became  United  States  sena- 
tor ;  three,  judges  of  the  supreme  court 
in  their  respective  States ;  and  one, 
founder  of  the  system  of  public  instruc- 
tion now  in  successful  operation  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Remaining  at  the  Acad- 
emy two  and  a  half  years,  Mr.  White, 
then  in  his  seventeenth  year,  decided 
to  prepare  himself  for  mercantile  and 
active  business  life.  Adopting  the  plan 
which  appeared  most  feasible,  he  went 
to  Boston  and  entered  upon  an  appren- 
ticeship in  a  drug-store.  Forty  years 
ago  a  mercantile  apprenticeship  in  that 


2^6 


Jeremiah  IV.   White,  Esq. 


city  was  not  a  sinecure  position.  But 
the  young  man  was  not  averse  to  toil, 
and  by  assiduous  and  systematic  atten- 
tion to  his  duties  was  preparing  the 
way  for  future  success.  Added  to  his 
other  duties  he  began  the  study  of 
medicine  in  all  its  branches,  and  con- 
tinued it  for  several  years  after,  until  he 
was  qualified  for,  and,  if  occasion  had 
required,  could  have  entered  upon, 
professional  service. 

Finishing  his  engagement  at  Boston, 
he  engaged  as  clerk  to  Luther  Angier, 
postmaster  and  druggist  at  Medford, 
Massachusetts,  with  the  agreement  that 
with  proper  notice  he  could  leave  to 
engage  in  business  for  himself.  Early 
in  the  summer  of  1845,  Mr.  White  be- 
lieved that  that  time  had  arrived.  He 
had  never  visited  Nashua,  but  had  heard 
of  its  reputation  as  a  growing  manufac- 
turing town.  A  few  hours'  inspection 
settled  the  question,  and  before  leaving 
he  hired  the  store  which  he  afterwards 
occupied  for  nearly  thirty  years. 

Mr.  White,  in  engaging  in  trade  for 
himself  in  Nashua,  was  aware  that  a 
young  man  and  a  stranger  must  en- 
counter severe  difficulties  in  entering 
upon  mercantile  life.  Many  before  him 
succumbed  to  the  obstacles  which  he 
was  now  to  encounter.  He  did  not 
hesitate.  Laying  out  his  plan  of  busi- 
ness, he  examined  into  the  most  minute 
details  of  its  management.  He  was 
never  idle.  No  man  was  more  thor- 
ough and  painstaking  in  the  discharge 
of  obligations  to  his  customers.  His 
labors  often  extended  far  into  the  night. 
In  fact,  he  lived  in  labor,  and  thought 
no  plan  complete  till  its  execution  was 
secured.  With  these  habits,  added  to 
sound  business  judgment  and  foresight 
and  a  rare  knowledge  of  men,  the 
record  of  the  business  life  of  Mr.  White 
has  been  an  uninterrupted  success  ;  and 


it  is  in  this  department  of  consistent 
and  persistent  effort  that  his  example 
is  worthy  of  imitation. 

In  many  of  the  business  enterprises 
of  Nashua  Mr.  White  has  taken  an  ac- 
tive, and  in  some  of  them  a  prominent, 
part.  Engaging  in  the  transportation 
and  sale  of  coal  on  his  arrival,  he  has 
always  been  the  leading  dealer  in  the 
trade.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he 
originated  the  project  of,  and  gave  his 
attention  to,  the  construction  of  the 
large  block  of  stores  on  Main  Street, 
known  as  the  "  Merchants'  Exchange," 
retaining  for  himself  and  son  the  corner 
store,  which  he  still  occupies.  Early 
in  1875  l"*^  conceived  the  idea  of  estab- 
lishing a  new  national  bank,  and  in  the 
April  following  obtained  a  charter.  The 
people  of  Nashua  and  vicinity,  believ- 
ing in  his  financial  ability,  immediately 
subscribed  for  the  stock  and  elected 
him  president,  a  position  he  continues 
to  hold  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  stock- 
holders and  the  advantage  of  the  insti- 
tution. 

In  addition  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Second  National  Bank,  Mr,  White  is 
now  recognized  by  the  public  as  a  sa- 
gacious and  influential  railroad  manager. 
Since  1876  he  has  been  prominendy 
connected  with  the  affairs  of  the  Nashua 
&  Lowell  Railroad  as  a  director  and 
large  stockholder.  For  many  years  this 
road  had  been  connected  with,  and  used 
by,  the  Boston  &  Lowell  Railroad  cor- 
poration, and,  as  Mr.  White  clearly  saw, 
on  terms  greatly  disadvantageous  to  the 
stockholders  of  the  Nashua  &  Lowell 
company.  The  stock  had  gradually 
declined  much  below  par.  To  resist  so 
great  and  powerful  a  corporation  re- 
quired pluck  and  energy.  To  be  suc- 
cessful ag-ainst  such  odds  demanded  a 
leader  daring,  prompt,  aggressive.  Mr. 
White  was  the  man  for  the  emergency. 


Jeremiah  IV.   White,  Esq. 


277 


How  well  his  measures  succeeded  is 
realized  not  only  by  every  stockholder, 
but  in  all  railroad  circles  throughout 
New  England. 

In  the  transaction  of  business  Mr. 
White  is  not  only  methodical  but  posi- 
tive. He  reaches  his  conclusions 
quickly  and  acts  upon  them  with  the 
utmost  directness.  Having  decided 
upon  a  measure,  he  engages  in  it  with 
all  his  might,  bending  all  his  efforts  to 
make  sure  of  the  desired  end.  Select- 
ing his  agents,  he  accomplishes  the 
whole  work  while  many  would  be  halt- 
ing to  determine  whether  the  project 
was  feasible.  A  man  of  so  pronounced 
opinions  and  prompt  action  naturally 
makes  some  enemies ;  but  he  has  no 
opponents  who  do  not  accord  to  him 
the  credit  of  an  open  and  honorable 
warfare.  In  a  word,  he  is  essentially  a 
business  man  in  the  full  sense  of  that 
term.  Not  only  in  occupation,  but  in 
taste  and  aptitude,  he  is  a  representa- 
tive of  that  class  of  American  citizens 
who  have  won  a  world-wide  reputation 
for  practical  sagacity,  enterprise,  and 
thrift. 

Mr.  White  is  in  no  sense  of  the  word  a 
party  politician.  Of  Whig  antecedents, 
his  first  vote  was  cast  for  Henry  Clay,  in 
1844,  for  President.  Before  leaving  his 
native  town  his  liberal  tendencies  had 
been  quickened  by  witnessing  the  un- 
warranted arrest,  in  the  pulpit,  of  Rev. 
George  Storrs,  who  was  about  to  deliv- 
er the  first  anti-slavery  lecture  in  Pitts- 
field.  The  event  justly  occasioned  an 
unusual  excitement,  and  was  the  begin- 
ning of  that  agitation  which  reached 
every  town  and  hamlet  in  the  Union. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  Mr.  White  has  supported  it 
in  all  national  issues ;  but  is  one  of  the 
independent  thinkers  who  does  not  hes- 
itate to  exercise   "  the   divine  right  of 


bolting "   when  unfit  men   are   put   in 
nomination. 

In  the  winter  of  1861,  Mr.  White  and 
his  family  left  on  a  southern  trip,  and 
reached  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the 
last  of  February,  not  long  after  the 
United  States  troops  under  Major  An- 
derson were  shut  up  in  Fort  Sumter 
by  the  rebel  forces.  Mr.  White  had 
letters  of  introduction  to  several  citi- 
zens of  the  city,  high  in  authority,  who 
received  him  kindly  and,  learning  that 
he  was  a  business  man  and  not  a  politi- 
cian, were  anxious  to  learn  from  him 
the  state  of  feeling  among  the  business 
men  and  the  middle-class  of  citizens  at 
the  North.  While  the  statements  of 
Mr.  White  were  far  from  gratifying, 
they  continued  their  friendly  relations. 
Previously  he  had  written  to  his  friend, 
Captain  J.  G.  Foster,  second  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Sumter,  of  his  intended 
tarry  at  Charleston.  He  w^as  desirous 
of  an  interview  with  him.  Applying  to 
the  Confederate  authorities  for  a  pass 
to  Fort  Sumter,  it  was  granted  him  —  a 
privilege  not  allowed  to  any  other  civil- 
ian during  the  siege. 

On  the  following  day,  March  5,  he 
went  on  the  steamer  Clinch  to  Fort 
Johnson,  to  which  point  Major  Ander- 
son was  allowed  to  send  his  boat  under 
a  flag  of  truce  for  the  daily  mail.  Here 
a  new  obstacle  was  encountered,  for  the 
boat  was  forbidden  by  Major  Anderson 
to  bring  any  person  to  the  fort.  But, 
with  the  restriction  that  he  should  re- 
main outside  with  the  boat  till  Captain 
Foster  could  be  notified,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  go.  The  interview  was  a 
great  surprise  as  well  as  gratification. 

Reaching'Washington  before  the  bom- 
bardment of  Fort  Sumter  and  the  begin- 
ning of  actual  hostilities,  Mr.  White  was 
taken  to  the  war  department  and  inter- 
viewed by  General  Scott  as  to  the  deter- 


278 


Hon.  Josiali  Gardner  Abbott,  LL.D. 


mination  and  strength  of  the  Confed- 
erate force  at  Charleston.  Mr.  White 
thought  it  would  require  a  force  of  ten 
thousand  men  to  relieve  Fort  Sumter, 
and  said  so.  General  Scott  laughed  hear- 
tily, and  told  him  that  two  thousand  men 
would  be  ample  for  the  purpose.  In 
common  with  most  of  the  leading  men  at 
the  capital,  General  Scott  underestimat- 
ed the  pluck  and  strength  of  the  rebels. 
In  1846,  the  year  after  coming  to 
Nashua,  Mr.  White  was  united  in  mar- 


riage with  Miss  Caroline  G.  Merrill, 
of  his  native  town.  Of  their  two  chil- 
dren, the  eldest,  Caroline  Wilson,  died 
in  infancy.  The  son,  James  Wilson 
White,  born  June  10,  1849,  died  in 
Florida,  January  27,  1876.  Mrs.  White, 
having  survived  her  children,  died  sud- 
denly of  apoplexy  in  1880. 

In  April,  i88t,  Mr.  White  was  mar- 
ried the  second  time  to  Mrs.  Ann  M. 
Prichard,  of  Bradford,  Vermont. 


Hon.  JOSIAH  GARDNER  ABBOTT,  LL.D. 

By  Colonel  John  Hatch  George. 


The  Honorable  Josiah  Gardner 
Abbott,  the  subject  of  this  biographic 
sketch,  traces  his  lineage  back  to  the 
first  settlers  of  this  Commonwealth. 
The  Puritan  George  Abbott,  who  came 
from  Yorkshire,  England,  in  1630,  and 
settled  in  Andover,  was  his  ancestor  on 
his  father's  side ;  while  on  his  mother's 
side  his  English  ancestor  was  William 
Fletcher,  who  came  from  Devonshire 
in  1640,  and  settled,  first,  in  Concord, 
and,  finally,  in  1651,  in  Chelmsford. 
It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  Devon- 
shire, particularly  in  the  first  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  was  not  an  obscure 
part  of  England  to  hail  from,  for  it  was 
the  native  shire  of  England's  first  great 
naval  heroes  and  circumnavigators  of 
the  globe,  such  as  Drake  md  Caven- 
dish. 

George  Abbott  married  Hannah, 
the  daughter  of  William  and  Annis 
Chandler,  whose  descendants  have 
been  both  numerous  and  influential. 
The  young  couple  setded  in  Andover. 
As  has  been  said,  ten  years  after  the 
advent  on  these  shores  of  George 
Abbott  came  William  Fletcher,  who, 
after  living  for  a  short  time  in  Concord, 

Vol.  I.— No.  III.— A. 


settled  finally  in  Chelmsford.  In  direct 
descent  from  these  two  original  settlers 
of  New  England  were  Caleb  Abbott 
and  Mercy  Fletcher,  the  parents  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Judge  Abbott 
is,  therefore,  of  good  yeomanly  pedi- 
gree. His  ancestors  have  always  lived 
in  Massachusetts  since  the  settlement  of 
the  country,  and  have  always  been 
patriotic  citizens,  prompt  to  respond  to 
every  call  of  duty  in  the  emergencies 
of  their  country,  whether  in  peace 
or  war.  Both  his  grandfathers  served 
honorably  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
as  their  fathers  and  grandfathers  before 
them  served  in  the,  French  and  Indian 
wars  of  the  colonial  period  of  our  history. 
In  his  genealogy  there  is  no  trace  of 
Norman  blood  or  high  rank  :  but 

"The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp, 
The  man  's  the  gowd  for  a'  that." 

In  this  country,  while  it  is  not  nec- 
essary to  success  to  be  able  to  lay 
claim  to  an  aristocratic  descent,  it  is 
certainly  a  satisfaction,  however  demo- 
cratic the  community  may  be,  for  any 
person  to  know  that  his  grandfather 
was  an  honest  man  and  a  public-spirited 
citizen. 


l^eu-opDliia.ii  FuiiUciuiLg  SEagrOTint  Co  Ne\N'YoTK. 


Ho7t.  Josiah  Gardner  Abbott,  LL.D. 


17^ 


Judge  Abbott  was  born  in  Chelms- 
ford on  the  first  of  November,  1814. 
He  was  fitted  for  college  under  the 
instruction  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
He  entered  Harvard  College  at  the 
early  age  of  fourteen  and  was  graduated 
in  1832.  After  taking  his  degree,  he 
studied  law  with  Nathaniel  Wright,  of 
Lowell,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1837.  In  1840,  he  formed  with 
Samuel  A.  Brown  a  partnership,  which 
continued  until  he  was  appointed  to  the 
bench  in  1855. 

From  the  very  first,  Judge  Abbott 
took  a  leading  position  in  his  profes- 
sion, and  at  once  acquired  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice,  without  under- 
going a  tedious  probation,  or  having 
any  experience  of  the  "  hope  deferred 
which  maketh  the  heart  sick."  In 
criminal  cases  his  services  were  in 
great  demand.  He  had,  and  has,  the 
advantage  of  a  fine  and  commanding 
person,  which,  both  at  the  bar  and 
in  the  Senate,  and,  in  fact,  in  all  situ- 
ations where  a  man  sustains  the  rela- 
tion of  an  advocate  or  orator  before  the 
public,  is  really  a  great  advantage, 
other  things  being  equal.  As  a  speaker, 
Judge  Abbott  is  fluent,  persuasive,  and 
effective.  He  excites  his  own  intensity 
of  feeling  in  the  jury  or  audience  that 
he  is  addressing.  His  client's  cause  is 
emphatically  his  own.  He  is  equal  to 
any  emergency  of  attack  or  defence. 
If  be  believes  in  a  person  or  cause,  he 
believes  fully  and  without  reservation ; 
thus  he  is  no  trimmer  or  half-and-half 
advocate.  He  has  great  capacity  for 
labor,  and  immense  power  of  applica- 
tion, extremely  industrious  habits,  and 
what  may  be  called  a  nervous  intellectu- 
ality, which,  in  athletic  phrase,  gives  him 
great  staying  power,  a  most  important 
quality  in  the  conduct  of  long  and  sharply 
contested  jury  trials.   After  saying  this,  it 


is  almost  needless  to  add  that  he  is  full 
of  self-reliance  and  of  confidence  in 
whatever  he  deliberately  champions. 
His  nerve  and  pluck  are  inherited  traits, 
which  were  conspicuous  in  his  ancestors, 
as  their  participation  in  the  French  and 
Indian  wars,  and  in  the  war  for  Inde- 
pendence, sufficiently  shows.  Three  of 
Judge  Abbott's  sons  served  in  the  army 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and 
two  of  them  fell  in  battle,  thus  showing 
that  they,  too,  inherited  the  martial 
spirit  of  their  ancestors. 

Judge  Abbott  had  just  reached  his 
majority,  when  he  was  chosen  as  repre- 
sentative to  the  Legislature.  In  1841, 
he  was  elected  State  senator.  During 
his  first  term  in  the  Senate  he  served 
on  the  railroad  and  judiciary  com- 
mittees ;  and  during  his  second  term, 
as  chairman  of  these  committees,  he 
rendered  services  of  great  and  per- 
manent value  to  the  State.  At  the  close 
of  his  youthful  legislative  career  he 
returned  with  renewed  zeal  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  His  ability 
as  a  legislator  had  made  him  conspic- 
uous and  brought  him  in  contact  with 
persons  managing  large  business  inter- 
ests, who  were  greatly  attracted  by  the 
brilliant  young  lawyer  and  law-maker, 
and  swelled  the  list  of  his  clients. 

At  this  period  General  Butler  was 
almost  invariably  his  opposing  o! 
associate  <  ounsel.  When  they  were 
opposed,  ii  is  needless  to  say  that  their 
cases  were  tried  with  the  utmost 
thoroughness  and  ability.  When  they 
were  associated,  it  is  equally  needless 
to  say  that  there  could  hardly  have 
been  a  greater  concentration  of  legal 
abihty.  In  1 844,  Judge  Abbott  was  a 
delegate  to  the  National  Democratic 
Convention  at  Baltimore,  which  nomi- 
nated James  K.  Polk  as  its  presidential 
candidate  ;  and  he  has  been  a  delegate. 


28o 


Ho7i.  Josiah  Gardner  Abbott ,  LL.D. 


either  from  his  district  or  the  State  at 
large,  to  all  but  one  of  the  Democratic 
National  Conventions  since,  including, 
of  course,  the  last  one,  at  Cincinnati, 
which  nominated  General  VVinfield  S. 
Hancock.  His  political  prominence  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  has  invariably 
been  the  chairman  of  the  delegation 
from  his  State,  and,  several  times,  the 
candidate  of  his  party  in  the  Legislature 
for  the  office  of  United  States  senator. 
Judge  Abbott  was  on  the  staff  of 
Governor  Marcus  Morton.  In  1853, 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional 


volved  in  this  selection ;  a  compliment 
which  was  fully  justified  by  the  courage 
and  ability  which  Judge  Abbott  mani- 
fested as  a  member  of  that  commis- 
sion. It  should  have  been  mentioned 
before,  that,  in  1838,  Judge  Abbott 
married  Caroline,  daughter  of  Judge 
Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore.  After 
what  has  been  said,  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  give  a  summary  of  the  promi- 
nent traits  of  Judge  Abbott  as  a  man 
and  a  lawyer.  The  warmth  and  fidelity 
of  his  friendship  are  known  to  all  such 
as  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy 


Convention,  which  consisted  so  largely    that  friendship.     He  is  as  conspicuous 


for  integrity  and  purity  of  character  as 
for  professional  ability.  As  a  citizen, 
he  is  noted  for  patriotism,  liberality, 
and  public  spirit.  As  a  politician,  he 
is  true  to  his  convictions.  As  a  busi- 
ness man,  he  has  brought   to   the   aid 


of  men  of  exceptional  ability.  In  the 
debates  and  deliberations  of  this  con- 
vention, he  took  a  conspicuous  part. 
In  1835,  he  was  appointed  judge  of 
the  superior  court  of  Suffolk  County. 
He  retired  from  the  bench  in  1858, 
having  won  an  enviable  reputation  for  of  the  large  railroad  and  manufacturing 
judicial  fairness  and  acumen,  and  suav- 
ity of  manner,  in  the  trial  of  cases, 
which  made  him  deservedly  popular 
with  the  members  of  the  bar  who 
practised  in  his  court.  In  the  year 
following  his  retirement  from  the 
bench,  he  removed  his  office  from 
Lowell  to  Boston,  where  he  has  since 
resided,  practising  in  the  courts,  not 
only  of  this  Commonwealth,  but  of  the 
neighboring  States  and  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  In  1874, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress, 
from  the  fourth  congressional  district 
of  Massachusetts.  He  was  chosen  by 
his  Democratic  colleagues  of  the 
House  a  member  of  the  Electoral 
Commission,  to  determine  the  contro- 
verted result  of  the  presidential  elec- 
tion. When  the  gravity  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  the  dangers  of  the  country  at 
that  time,  are  taken  into  account,  it  is 
obvious  that  no  higher  compliment 
could   have   been   paid   than    that   in- 


interests,  with  which  he  has  long  been, 
and  is  still,  connected,  large  intelli- 
gence, great  energy,  and  sound  judg- 
ment. His  physical  and  mental  powers 
are  undiminished,  and  it  may  be 
hoped  that  many  years  of  honor  and 
prosperity  are  still  in  store  for  him. 

GENEALOGY. 

[i.  George  Abbot,  the  pioneer,  bom  in  1615, 
emigrated  from  Yorkshire,  England,  about  1640, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  and  proprietors  of 
Andover,  in  1643.  His  house  was  a  garrison 
for  many  years.  In  1647,  he  married  Hannah 
Chandler,  daughter  of  William  and  Annis 
Chandler.  They  were  industrious,  economical, 
sober,  pious,  and  respected.  With  Christian 
fortitude  they  endured  their  trials,  privations,  and 
dangers.  He  died  December  24,  1681,  aged  66. 
She  married  (2)  the  Reverend  Francis  Dane, 
minister  of  Andover,  who  died  in  February,  1697, 
aged  81.    She  died  June  11,  1711,  aged  82. 

2.  Timothy  Abbot,  seventh  son  and  ninth 
child  of  George  and  Hannah  (Chandler)  Abbot, 
bom  November  17, 1663 ;  was  captured  during  the 
Indian  War  in  1676,  and  returned  in  a  few  months 
to  his  parents ;  was  married  in  January,  1690,  to 
Hannah  Graves,  who  died  November  16,  1726. 
He  lived  at  the  garrison-house,  and  died  Septem- 
ber 9,  1730. 


Esoteric  Bicddhistn.  — A  Review. 


28r 


3.  Timothy  Abbot,  eldest  son  of  Timothy 
and  Hannah  (Graves)  Abbott,  was  born  July  i, 
1663 ;  lived  with  his  father  in  the  garrison-house ; 
was  industrious,  honest,  useful,  and  respected.  He 
married  in  December,  1717,  Mary  Foster,  and  died 
July  10,  1766. 

4.  Nathan  Abbot,  third  son  and  sixth  child 
of  Timothy  and  Mary  (Foster)  Abbot,  was  bom 
January  18,  1729 ;  married,  in  1759,  Jane  Paul. 

5.  Caleb  Abbot,  son  of  Nathan  and  Jane 
(Paul)  Abbot,  married,  in  1779,  Luc-y  Lovejoy,  who 
died  February  21,  1802 ;  he  married  (2)  Deborah 
Baker;  he  died  1819. 

6.  Caleb  Abbott,  son  of  Caleb  and  Lucy 
(Lovejoy)  Abbot,  was  born  November  10,  1779; 
settled  in  Chelmsford;  married  Mercy  Fletcher 
(daughter  of  Josiah  Fletcher),  who  died  in  1834; 
he  died  December  5,  1846. 

7.  Josiah  Gardner  Abbott,  second  son 
and  fourth  child  of  Caleb  and  Mercy  (Fletcher) 
Abbott,  was  bom  November  i,  1814.  In  1838,  he 
married  Caroline  Livermore,  daughter  of  the 
Honorable  Edward  St.  Loe  Livermore,  and  grand- 
daughter of  the  Honorable  Samuel  Livermore,  of 
New  Hampshire.    Their  children  are :  — 

I.  Carohne  Marcy  Abbott,  born  April  25,  1839 ; 
married  April  19,  1869;  and  died  in  May,  1872, 
leaving  one  daughter,  Caroline  Derby,  born  in 
April,  1872. 


II.  Edward  Gardner  Abbott,  bom  in  Lowell. 
September  29, 1840 ;  was  killed  in  battle  August  9, 
1862. 

III.  Henry  Livermore  Abbott,  born  January  21, 
1842 ;  was  killed  in  battle  May  6,  1864. 

IV.  Fletcher  Morton  Abbott,  bom  February  18, 
1843- 

V.  William  Stackpole  Abbott,  born  Novemlier 
18,  1844 ;  died  May  6,  1846. 

VI.  Samuel  Appleton  Browne  Abbott,  bom 
March  6,  1846 ;  married  October  15,  1873,  Abby 
F'rancis  Woods,  and  has  four  children. 

(a)  Helen  Francis  Abbott,  born  July  29,  1874. 

(b)  Madeline  Abbott,  bom  November  2,  1876. 

(c)  Francis  Abbott,  born  September  8,  1878. 
{d)  Caroline  Livermore  Abbott,  born  April  25, 

1880. 

VII.  Sarah  Livermore  Abbott,  bom  May  14, 
1850 ;  married  October  12,  1870,  William  P.  Fay, 
and  has  three  children.  ^ 

(a)  Richard  Sullivan  Fay,  born  in  July,  1871. 
(^)  Catherine  Fay,  born  in  September,  1872. 
(c)  Edward  Henry  Fay,  born  in  1876. 

VIII.  Franklin  Pierce  Abbott,  bom  May  6,  1842. 

IX.  Arthur  St.  Loe  Livermore  Abbott,  born 
November  6,  1853  ;  died  March  28,  1863. 

X.  Grafton,  born  November  14,  1856. 

XI.  Holker  Welch  Abbott,  bom  February  28, 
1858.  EDITOR.] 


ESOTERIC  BUDDHISM. —  A  Review. 

By  Lucius  H.  Buckingham,  Ph.D. 


Those  who  have  read  Sinnett's 
Esoteric  Buddhism  will  probably  agree 
on  one  point,  namely  :  that,  whether  the 
statements  of  the  book  be  true  or  false, 
the  book,  as  a  whole,  is  a  great  stimulant 
of  thought.  The  European  world  has 
looked  upon  Indian  philosophy  as  mere 
dreams,  idle  speculations,  built  only 
on  a  foundation  of  metaphysical  subtle- 
ties. Here  comes  a  book  which,  going 
down  to  the  root  of  the  whole  matter, 
claims  that,  instead  of  resting  on  mere 
imaginations,  this  whole  structure  of 
Buddhistic  philosophy  has,  as  its  corner- 
stone, certain  facts  which  have  been 
preserved  from  the  wrecks  of  a  time 
earlier  than  that  which  our  grandfathers 


ascribe  to  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  handed  down  without  interruption 
from  eras  of  civilization  of  which  the 
earth  at  present  does  not  retain  even 
the  ruins.  Such  a  claim  of  antiquity 
rouses  an  interest  in  our  minds,  were 
it  only  for  its  stupendous  contempt 
of  common  belief. 

There  is  one  direction  in  which  the 
book  so  harmonizes  with  one's  specula- 
tions that  it  makes  upon  us  a  very 
peculiar  impression.  It  carries  out  the 
theory  of  human  development,  physical 
and  metaphysical.  Darwin's  idea  of 
the  origin  of  the  human  animal,  in 
connection  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest,  might,  if  one  had 


J82 


Esoteric  Buddhism.  —  A  Review. 


the  time  to  make  it  all  out,  be  shown 
to  be  the  sufficient  basis  for  a  belief  in, 
and  a  logical   ground  for  anticipating, 
the  progress  of  man  toward  moral  and 
spiritual    perfection.      A    healthy   man 
is  an  optimist.     Pessimism  is  the  pro- 
duct of  dyspepsia  ;  and  all  the  interme- 
diate phases  of  philosophy  come  from 
some   want     of    noimal    brain-action. 
Following  out  the  Darwinian  theory,  — 
supported  as  it  seems  to  be  by  the  facts, 
—  one   must   believe    that  the    human 
race  as  a  whole  is  improving  in  bodily 
development ;  that  the  results  of  what 
we  call  civilization  are,  increase  of  sym- 
metry in  the  growth  of  the  human  body, 
diminution  of  disease,  greater  perfec- 
tion in  the  power  of  the  senses,  in  short, 
a  gradual   progress    toward   a   healthy 
body.      Now,   a   healthy   body   brings 
with  it  a  healthy  mind.     The  two  can- 
not be  separated.    Whatever  brings  the 
one  will  bring  the  other ;  whatever  im- 
pairs the  one  will  impair  the  other.     A 
sound  mind  must  bring,  in  time,  a  sound 
moral  nature  ;  and  all,  together,  will  tend 
toward  the  perfection  of  humanity   in 
the  development  of  his  spiritual  affini- 
ties.   Such  has  been,  roughly  sketched, 
my  belief    regarding   the    progress   of 
man.     It   has   left  all  the  men  of  the 
past  ages,  all  of  the  present  time,  all 
of    many    generations   yet    to    come, 
in  a  condition,  which,  compared  with 
that  which  I   try  to  foresee,  must  be 
called  very  immature.     This  has  never 
been   a  stumbling-block   to  me ;  for  I 
hold  that  the  Lord  understands  his  own 
work,  the  end  from  the  beginning ;  and 
that,  if  "order  is  heaven's  first   law," 
there  is  a  place  for  every  soul  that  is 
in  it,  and  a  possible  satisfaction  of  the 
desires  of  every  one.     Dr.  Clarke  ex- 
presses the  thought  that,  however  much 
any  being   may  have  gone  astray,  the 
soul  reconciled  at  last  to  God,  though 


it  can  never  undo  the  past,  or  be  at 
that  point  it  might  have  reached,  will 
yet  be  perfectly  content  with  its  place 
in  the  universe,  and  as  much  blessed 
as  the  archangels.  That  consideration 
has  satisfied  my  mind  when  I  contem- 
plated humanity,  seeming  to  stop  so 
far  short  of  its  perfection.     My  regrets 

—  if  I  can  use  such  a  term — came, 
as  I  believed,  out  of  my  ignorance. 

Now  comes  a  book  which  claims  to 
give  us  the  key  of  the  whole  problem 
of  human  destiny  —  a  book  containing 
some  assertions  regarding  occult  science, 
belief  in  which  must  remain  suspended 
in  our  minds,  and  some  points  in  cos- 
mogony which  conflict  with  our  Christian 
convictions  —  yet  a  book  making  state- 
ments about  human  history  which, 
though  in  the  highest  degree  startling, 
are  not  contradicted  by  anything  we 
know  of  the  past,  but  are  rather  an 
explanation  of  some  of  its  dark  passages 

—  a  book  developing  a  system  of 
human  growth  which  cannot  be  dis- 
proved and  which  makes  plain  some 
of  the  riddles  of  destiny. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature 
of  the  book  is  its  tremendous  assump- 
tion. "  All  that  have  hitherto  written 
on  this  subject  have  been  only  half- 
taught.  They  have  not  been  admitted 
to  the  real  inner  doctrine.  Here  is 
the  first  putting-forth,  to  the  world,  of 
the  real  teaching,  as  the  Buddhists 
present  it  to  those  who  have  been  ini- 
tiated into  occult  science."  Such  is,  in 
substance,  the  author's  claim.  We  may 
believe  just  as  much  of  this  as  we  can. 
I,  for  my  part,  knowing  nothing  about 
the  matter,  choose,  just  now,  and  for 
our  purpose,  to  assume  that  the  doc- 
trines of  Esoteric  Buddhism  are  what 
Sinnett  says  they  are,  because  they 
suggest  to  my  mind  so  many  attractive 
avenues  for  my  imagination  to  wander  in. 


Esoteric  Buddhisvi.  —  A  Review. 


'^3 


There  are  two  main  points  in  this 
book  which  give  it  its  chief  interest : 
(i)  "The  past  history  of  the  human 
race  as  now  hving  on  this  planet ;  "  and 
(2)  "The  manner  in  which,  and  the 
circumstances  under  which,  any  in- 
dividual man  works  out  his  own  salva- 
tion." But  before  entering  upon 
these,  we  should  say  a  word  about  the 
Buddhist  statements  regarding  the 
nature  of  man. 

Seven  is  the  sacred  number  in  the 
Buddhist  system.     As  there  are  seven 
worlds   in   the   planetary  chain,  seven 
kingdoms  in  Nature,  seven  root-races 
of  men,  in  like  manner  man  is  a  seven- 
fold being,  continuing,  through  untold 
millions  of  years,  his  existence  as  an 
individual,   yet    changing,    one    knows 
not  how  many  times,  many  of  his  com- 
ponent elements.     As  the  Buddhist  sees 
the  mortal  body  to  be  dissolved  into 
its  molecules,  and  these  molecules  to 
be  transferred  with  their  inherent  vital- 
ity to  other  organisms,  so  some  of  his 
higher    elements,     among     them     his 
"  astral   body,"  his  impulses   and    de- 
sires, under  the  name,  as   our   author 
gives  it,  of  animal  soul,  may  separate 
from  the  more  enduring  parts  of  his 
composition,  and  become  lost  to  him 
in  Nature's  great  store  of  material  sub- 
stance.    As  there  is  an   anitnal  sotd, 
the   seat   of  those   faculties  which  we 
possess    in    common   with    the    lower 
beings  about  us,  so  there  is  a  human 
soul,    the    seat   of   intelligence ;    and, 
higher  still,  a  spiritual  soul,  possessing 
powers  of  which  as  yet  we  know  but 
little,  yet  destined  to  give  us,  when  it 
shall    be    more    fully   developed,   new 
powers  of  sense,  new  avenues  for  the 
entrance   of  knowledge,   by  which  we 
shall  be  able  to  communicate  directly 
with    Nature,   and    become    as    much 
greater  than  the  present  race  of  men, 


as  that  is  greater  than  the  lowest 
brutes.  Above  all  these  elements  of 
man,  controlling  all,  and  preserving  its 
individuahty  throughout,  is  "  spirit." 
Yet  even  this,  when  absorbed  into 
Nirvana,  is  lost  in  that  great  whole 
which  includes  all  things  and  is  Nature 
herself.  Lost,  do  I  say  ?  —  yes,  lost 
for  inconceivable  ages  upon  ages,  yet 
destined  to  come  forth  again  at  some 
moment  in  eternity,  and  to  begin  its 
round  through  the  everlasting  cycle  of 
evolution. 

Here,  you  will   say,   is   materialism. 
As  the   intelligent   man   of   early  ages 
looked  out  upon  the  world,  he  felt  the 
wind  he  could  not  see,  he  smelt  the 
odor  that  he  could   not   feel,  and   he 
reasoned  with  himself,  I  think,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  There  is  somewhat  too  subtile 
for   these   bodily   senses   to    grasp    it. 
Something  of  which  I  cannot  directly 
take  cognizance  brings  to  me  the  light 
of  sun  and  stars."     These  somethings 
were,  in  his  conception,  forms  of  matter. 
He  saw  the  intelligence  and  the  moral 
worth  of  his  friend,  and  then  he  saw 
that   friend   a   lifeless    body  stretched 
upon   the  ground,  and  he   said   some 
thing  is  gone.     This  thing  was  again  to 
him  only  another  and  m.ore  subtile  form 
of  matter.     We,  with  all   the   aids   of 
modern   knowledge   and    thought,   are 
absolutely  unable  to  say  what  distinc- 
tion there  is  between  matter  and  spirit. 
The  old  philosopher  was  logical.     He 
could  find  no  point  at  which  to  draw 
his  hne.     Therefore  he  drew  no  line. 
He  recognized  only  different  manifesta- 
tions of  one  substance.     In  terms  of 
our  language,  he  was  a  materialist.     So 
is  the  modern  scientist;  yet  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  the  Buddhist  stands 
much  nearer  to  truth  than  the  material- 
ist of  to-day.     The  various  faculties  of 
human  sense  and  human  intellect  are 


284 


Esoteric  BuddJiism.  —  A  Revieiv. 


so  many  molecules  forming,  by  their 
accretion,  the  animal  and  the  human 
soul.  As,  at  death,  the  molecules  of 
the  body  separate  and  are,  by-and-by, 
absorbed  with  their  inherent  vitality 
into  new  agglomerations,  and  become 
part  of  new  living  forms,  so  the  ele- 
ments of  the  human  soul  may  be  torn 
apart,  and  some  of  them,  being  no 
longer  man,  but  following  the  fortunes 
of  the  lower  principles,  may  be  lost  to 
us,  while  other  elements,  clinging  to  the 
spiritual  soul,  follow  its  destiny  in  the 
after-life.  I  know  a  thinking  man  who 
believes  in  nothing  but  matter  and 
motion ;  add  time  and  space,  and  we 
have  the  all  in  all,  the  Nature,  of 
Buddhism.  Yet  the  Buddhist  believes 
in  a  state  of  being  beyond  this  earthly 
life  :  a  state  whose  conditions  are  de- 
termined absolutely  by  the  use  which 
the  human  soul  has  made  of  its  oppor- 
tunities in  the  life  that  now  is,  and  my 
friend  says  he  does  not.  Truly,  Bud- 
dhism is  better  than  the  materialism  of 
to-day. 

Let  me  now  turn  to  the  history  of 
humanity  as  revealed  to  us  in  our  book. 
Every  monad,  or  spirit-element,  be- 
ginning its  course  by  becoming  sep- 
arated from  what  I  conceive  as  the 
great  central  reservoir  of  Nature,  must, 
before  returning  thither,  make  a  cer- 
tain fixed  round  through  an  individual 
existence.  If  it  belongs  to  the  plan- 
etary chain,  of  which  our  earth  is  the 
fourth  and  lowest  link,  it  must  pass 
seven  times  through  each  of  the 
kingdoms  of  Nature  on  each  one 
of  the  seven  planets.  Of  these  seven 
planets.  Mars,  our  Earth,  and  Mercury, 
are  three.  The  other  four  are  too 
tenuous  to  be  cognizable  by  our  present 
senses.  Of  the  seven  kingdoms  of 
Nature,  three  are  likewise  beyond  our 
ken  or  conception  ;  the  highest  four  are 


the  mineral,  the  vegetable,  the  animal, 
and  man.  Our  immortal  part  has 
therefore  passed  already  through  six  of 
the  kingdoms  of  its  destiny,  and  is,  in 
fact,  now  near  the  middle  of  its  fourth 
round  of  human  existence  upon  the 
earth.  One  life  on  earth  is,  however, 
not  sufficient  for  the  development  of 
our  powers.  Every  human  being  must 
pass  through  each  of  the  seven  branch- 
races  of  each  of  the  sub-races  of  each 
of  the  root-races  of  humanity;  and 
mtist,  in  short,  live,  or,  as  our  author 
expresses  the  idea,  be  incarnated  about 
eight  hundred  times  —  some  more  and 
some  less  —  upon  this  planet,  before 
the  hour  will  come  when  it  will  be 
permitted  to  him,  by  a  path  as  easy 
of  passage  for  him  then,  as  is  that 
followed  by  the  rays  of  light,  to  visit 
the  planet  Mercury,  for  his  next  two 
million  years  of  existence. 

Through  each  of  these  eight  hundred 
mortal  lives,  man  is  purifying  and 
developing  his  nature.  When,  at  the 
end  of  each,  his  body  dies,  his  higher 
principles  leave  the  lower  to  gradual 
dissolution,  while  they  themselves  re- 
maining still  bound  in  space  to  this 
planet,  pass  into  Devachan,  the  state  of 
effects.  Here,  entirely  unconscious  of 
what  passes  on  earth,  the  soul  remains, 
absorbed  in  its  own  subjectivity.  For  a 
length  of  time,  stated  as  never  less 
than  fifteen  hundred  years,  and  shown 
by  figures  to  average  not  less  than 
eight  thousand,  the  soul,  enjoying  in  its 
own  contemplation  those  things  it  most 
desired  in  mortal  life,  surrounded  in  its 
own  imagination  by  the  friends  and  the 
scenes  it  has  loved  on  earth,  reaps  the 
exact  reward  of  its  own  deeds.  Wherr 
Nature  has  thus  paid  the  laborer  his 
hire,  when  his  power  of  enjoyment  has 
exhausted  itself,  the  soul  passes  by  a 
gradual  process  into  oblivion  of  all  the 


Esoteric  Buddhism.  —  A  Review. 


285 


past  —  an  oblivion  from  which  it  returns 
only  on  its  approach  to  Nirvana  — 
and  waits  the  moment  for  reincarnation. 
Yet  it  comes  not  again  to  conscious 
Hfe,  unaffected  by  the  forgotten  past. 
Karma,  —  the  resultant  of  its  upward 
or  downward  tendencies,  —  which  has 
been  accumulating  through  all  the 
course  of  its  existence,  remains ;  and 
the  new-born  man  comes  into  visible 
being  with  good  or  evil  propensities, 
the  balance  of  which  is  to  be  affected 
by  the  struggles  of  one  more  mortal 
phase  of  existence.  Thus  we  go  on 
through  one  life  after  another,  each 
time  a  new  person  yet  the  same  human 
soul,  ignorant  of  our  own  past  lives,  yet 
never  free  from  their  influence  upon 
our  character,  exactly  as  in  mature  life 
we  have  absolutely  forgotton  what  hap- 
pened to  us  in  our  infancy,  yet  are 
never  free  from  its  influence.  In 
Devachan,  which  corresponds,  says  our 
author,  to  what  in  other  religions  is  the 
final  and  eternal  heaven,  we  receive, 
from  time  to  time,  the  reward  of  our 
deeds  done  in  the  body,  yet  still  pass 
on  with  all  our  upward  or  downward 
tendencies  until,  many  millions  of  years 
in  the  future,  during  our  next  passage 
through  life  on  this  planet,  we  shall 
come  to  the  crisis  in  our  existence 
which  shall  determine  whether  we  are 
to  become  gods  or  demons. 

Let  me  now  turn  back  the  page  of 
history.  A  little  more  than  one  million 
years  ago  this  earth  was  covered,  as 
now,  with  vegetable  forms,  and  was  the 
dwelling  of  animals,  as  numerous,  per- 
haps, and  as  various  as  now ;  but  there 
was  no  humanity.  The  time  was  come 
when  man,  who  had  passed  already 
three  times  round  the  planetary  chain, 
and  was  nearly  half  way  through  his 
fourth  round,  should  again  make  his 
appearance    on    the    scene.       Nature 


works  only  in  her  own  way,  and  that 
way  is  uniform.  The  first  man  must  be 
born  of  parents  already  living.  As 
there  are  no  human  parents,  he  must 
be  born  of  lower  animals,  and  of  those 
lower  animals  most  nearly  resembling 
the  coming  human  animal.  Darwin 
has  told  us  what  the  animal  was,  yet  the 
new  being  was  a  man  and  not  an  ape, 
because,  in  addition  to  its  animal  soul,  it 
was  possessed  also  of  a  human  soul.  We 
all  know  that  man  is  an  animal.  Those 
modem  students  of  science,  who  affirm 
that  that  is  the  whole  truth  of  human 
nature,  take  a  lower  view  of  their  own 
being  than  the  Indian  philosophers. 
Man  is  an  animal  plus  a  human  and 
a  spiritual  soul. 

Behold,  now,  the  earth  peopled  by 
man.  Through  seven  races  must  he 
pass,  each  with  its  various  branches. 
Yet  these  races  are  not  contempo- 
raneous ;  for  Nature  is  in  no  hurry. 
One  race  comes  forAvard  at  a  time, 
reaches  the  height  of  its  possibility, 
then  passes  away  during  great  physical 
transformations,  and  leaves  but  a  wreck 
behind  to  live,  and  witness,  in  some 
new  part  of  earth,  the  coming  of 
another  race.  These  races  and  branch- 
races  and  sub-branch  races  are  to  be 
animated  by  the  same  identical  souls. 
Hence,  one  race  at  a  time ;  at  first, 
even,  one  sub-race  only,  for  the  next  is 
to  be  of  a  higher  order.  After  each 
root-race  has  run  its  course,  the  earth 
has  always  been  prepared  by  a  great 
geological  convulsion  for  the  next.  In 
this  convulsion  has  perished  all  that 
makes  up  what  we  call  civilization,  yet 
not  all  men  then  living.  Since  some 
souls  are  slower  than  others,  all  are  not 
ready  to  pass  into  the  second  race, 
when  the  time  for  that  race  has  come. 
Hence  fragments  of  old  races  survive, 
kept  up  for  a  time  by  the  incarnation 


286 


Esoteric  Buddhism.  —  A  Review. 


of  the  laggard  souls  whose  progress  has 
been  too  slow.  Thus,  we  are  told, 
although  the  first  and  second  root- 
races  have  now  entirely  disappeared, 
there  still  remain  relics  of  the  third  and 
fourth.  The  proper  seat  of  this  third 
root-race  was  that  lost  continent  which 
Wallace  told  us,  long  ago,  stood  where 
now  roll  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  and 
Indian  Oceans,  south  and  southwest  of 
Asia.  Here  we  have,  in  the  degraded 
Papuan  and  Australian,  the  remainder 
of  the  third  race.  Degraded  I  call 
him,  because  his  ancestors,  though 
inferior  to  the  highest  races  of  to-day, 
were  far  in  advance  of  him.  So  it  must 
always  be.  Destroy  the  accumulations 
of  the  highest  race  of  men  now  living, 
and  the  next  generation  will  be  bar- 
barians ;  the  second,  savages. 

The  fourth  root-race  inhabited  the 
famous,  but  no  longer  fabulous,  Atlantis, 
now  sunk,  in  greater  part,  beneath  the 
waters  of  the  Atlantic.  Fragments  of 
this  race  were  left  in  Northern  Africa, 
though  perhaps  none  now  remain  there, 
and  we  are  told  that  there  is  a  remnant 
in  the  heart  of  China.  From  the  relics 
of  the  African  branch  of  this  root-race, 
the  old  Egyptian  priests  had  knowledge 
regarding  the  sunken  continent,  knowl- 
edge which  was  no  fable,  but  the 
traditionary  lore  and  history  of  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  lost  Atlantis. 

Such  is,  in  brief,  an  outline  of  the 
nature,  history,  and  destiny  of  man, 
as  the  Buddhist  relates  it.  How  has 
he  obtained  his  knowledge  ?  By  means 
which,  he  says,  are  within  the  reach 
of  any  one.  First,  of  the  history  : 
it  is  said  to  be  well  -  authenticated 
tradition.  Of  the  actual  knowledge 
of  former  races,  the  Egyptian  priests 
were  the  repositories,  inheriting  their 
information  from  the  Atlantids.  Of 
human    nature   and   destiny   the    Bud- 


dhist would  say :  Here  are  the 
facts,  look  about  you  and  see.  From 
a  theory  of  astronomy,  or  botany,  or 
chemistry,  we  find  an  explanation  of 
facts,  and  these  facts  explained,  con- 
firm and  establish  the  theory.  So,  too, 
of  man,  here  is  the  view,  once  a  theory, 
but  now  as  firmly  established  as  the  law 
of  gravitation.  Besides,  by  study  and 
contemplation,  the  expert  has  devel- 
oped, in  advance  of  the  age  in  which 
he  lives,  his  spiritual  soul,  and  this 
opens  to  him  sources  of  information 
which  place  him  on  a  higher  level  in 
point  of  knowledge  than  the  rest  of 
mankind,  just  as  the  man  with  seeing 
eyes  has  possibilities  of  information 
which  are  absolutely  closed  to  one 
born  blind. 

Let  me  stop  here  to  explain  more 
fully  what  is  the  spiritual  soul.  I  should 
call  it,  using  a  term  that  seems  to  me 
more  natural  to  our  vocabulary,  the 
transcendental  sense.  In  the  reality 
of  such  a  sense  I  am  a  firm  believer. 
It  was  once  fashionable  to  ridicule 
whatever  was  thought,  or  nicknamed, 
transcendental.  Yet  transcendentalism 
seems  to  me  the  only  complete  bar  to 
modern  scepticism.  Faith,  in  the 
highest  Christian  sense,  is  transcend- 
ental. We  know  some  things  for  which 
we  can  bring  no  evidence,  things  the 
truth  of  which  lies  not  in  logic,  nor 
even  in  intellect.  The  intellect  never 
gave  man  any  firm  conviction  of  God's 
being.  Paley's  mode  of  reasoning 
never  brought  conviction  to  any  man's 
mind.  At  best,  it  only  serves  to  con- 
firm belief,  to  stifle  doubt,  to  silence 
logic  misapplied.  Faith  is  the  action 
of  the  spiritual  sense  —  or,  as  the 
Buddhist  says,  the  spiritual  soul.  It 
seems  to  me  that  it  is  a  fair  statement, 
that  every  man  who  has  a  conviction  of 
the  being  of  God,  has  that  conviction 


Esoteric  Buddhis7n.  —  A  Review. 


287 


from  inspiration.  Many  people  have 
it.  or  think  they  have  it,  as  a  result  of 
reasoning,  or  it  has  been,  they  say, 
grounded  and  rooted  in  their  minds  by 
the  earliest  teaching.  There  are  those, 
perhaps,  who  have  no  other  reason  than 
this  tradition,  for  their  supersensuous 
ideas.  Such  people,  as  soon  as  they 
come  to  reason  seriously  on  or  about 
those  ideas,  begin  to  doubt  and  to  lose 
their  hold.  But  others  have  a  convic- 
tion regarding  things  unseen,  that  no 
reasoning  can  shake,  except  for  a 
moment ;  because  their  belief,  though 
it  may  have  been  originally  the  result 
of  early  teaching,  is  now  established  on 
other  foundations.  One  can  no  more 
tell  how  he  knows  some  things,  than  he 
can  tell  how  he  sees  ;  yet  he  does  know 
them,  and  all  the  world  cannot  get  the 
knowledge  out  of  him.  The  source  of 
this  knowledge  is  transcendental.  It  is 
a  sixth  sense.  It  is  what  the  Buddhist 
calls  an  activity  of  the  spiritual,  as 
distinct  from  the  human,  soul.  By  his 
animal  soul  man  has  knowledge  of  the 
world  around  him  ;  he  sees,  he  hears,  he 
feels  bodily  pain  or  pleasure ;  by  his 
human  soul,  he  reasons,  he  receives  the 
conceptions  of  geometry  or  the  higher 
mathematics ;  by  his  spiritual  soul,  he 
comes  to  a  conception  of  God  and  of 
his  attributes,  and  receives  impressions 
whose  source  is  unknown  to  him  because 
his  spiritual  soul,  in  this  his  fourth 
planetary  round,  is,  as  yet,  only  imper- 
fectly active.  The  reality  of  the  spirit- 
ual soul,  the  v^icle  of  inspiration,  the 
source  of  faith,  is  the  only  earnest  man 
has  for  this  trust  in  the  Divine  Father. 
It  is  not  developed  in  us  as  it  will  be  in 
our  next  round  through  earthly  life, 
when,  by  its  awakening,  faith  will 
become  sight,  and  we  shall  know  even 
as  we  are  known.  Yet  some  there  are, 
say  the  Buddhists,  who  have,  by  effort. 


already,  pushed  their  development  to 
the  point  that  most  men  will  reach 
millions  of  years  hence,  when  we  shall 
return  again,  not  to  this  life  —  that  we 
shall  do  perhaps  in  a  few  thousand 
years  —  but  to  this  planet. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Buddhist  idea 
of  spirituality  is  very  unlike  our  Chris- 
tian idea.  The  thought  of  man's 
higher  sense  striving  after  the  Divine, 
the  whole  conception,  in  short,  of  what 
the  word  spirituality  suggests  to  modern 
thought,  is  impossible  in  a  system  of 
philosophy  which  has  no  personal  God. 
To  apply  the  term  religion  to  a  scheme 
which  has  no  place  for  the  dependence 
of  man  upon  a  conscious  protector,  is 
to  use  the  word  in  a  sense  entirely  new 
to  us.  Buddhism  —  notwithstandmg  its 
claims  to  revelation  —  is  a  philosophy, 
not  a  religion. 

I  have  sketched,  as  well  as  I  can  in 
so  short  a  time,  what  seem  to  me  the 
main  points  in  the  book  under  review. 
There  are  many  things  unexplained. 
Of  .some  of  them,  the  author  claims  to 
have  no  knowledge.  Others  he  does 
not  make  clear ;  but,  "  take  it  for  all  in 
all,"  the  book  will  probably  give  the 
reader  a  very  great  number  of  sug- 
gestions. I  am  heterodox  enough  to 
say  that  if  the  idea  of  a  personal  God, 
the  Father  of  all,  were  superadded  to 
the  system  (or  perhaps  I  ought  to  say 
were  substituted  for  the  idea  of  absorp- 
tion into  Nirvana),  there  would  be 
nothing  in  Buddhism  contradictory  of 
Christianity.  What  orthodox  Christians 
of  the  present  day  and  of  this  country 
believe  with  regard  to  eternal  punish- 
ment is  a  question  about  which  they  do 
not  altogether  agree  among  themselves. 
Whether  the  so-called  heil  is  a  place 
of  everlasting  degradation,  is  a  point 
on  which  those  who  cannot  deny  to 
each  other  the  name  of  Christian  are 


288 


Esoteric  Buddhism.  —  A  Review. 


not  in  accord.  Why,  then,  should  it 
be  thought  heretical  to  maintain  that 
the  future  world  of  rewards  is  also  not 
eternal?  I  believe  that  the  Christian 
Scriptures  use  the  same  words  with 
reference  to  both  conditions  — 

"  Tb  Tzvp  TO  aiiivcov:  —  elg  ^uijv  al6viov." 

The  Buddhist  denial  of  the  eternity  of 
the  condition  next  following  the  separa- 
tion of  soul  and  body  cannot,  I  think, 
be  pronounced  a  subversion  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  by  any  one  who  will  admit 
that  the  Greek  word  al^viog  may  mean 
something  less  than  endless. 

Of  the  antiquity  of  Buddhistic  philos- 
ophy, I  have  already  spoken  indirectly. 
Buddha  came  upon  the  earth  only 
643  B.C.  But  he  was  not  the  founder 
of  the  system.  His  purpose  in  re- 
incarnating himself  at  that  time  was  to 
reform  the  lives  of  men.  Doubtless 
he  made  many  explanations  of  doctrine, 
perhaps  gave  some  new  teaching ;  but 
the  philosophy  comes  down  to  us  from, 
at  least,  the  times  of  the  fourth  root- 
race,  the  men  of  Atlantis. 

However  we  may  regard  a  claim  to 
so  great  age,  a  little  reflection  will  con- 
vince us  that  the  Buddhistic  view  of 
what  may  fairly  be  called  the  natural 
history  of  the  human  soul  is  very  old, 
for  it  seems  to  have  been  essentially  the 
doctrine  of  Pythagoras,  who  was  not  its 
founder,  but  who  may  have  got  it 
either  from  Egypt  or  from  India,  since 
he  visited  and  studied  in  both  those 
countries.  If,  as  Sinnett  asserts,  the 
true  Chinese  belong  to  the  fourth  root- 
race,  as  appears  not  improbable,  did 
not  the  system  come  into  India  from 
China?  Plato  was  a  Buddhist,  says 
our  author.  Quintilian,  perhaps  get- 
ting his  idea  from  Cicero,  says  of  Plato 
that  he  learned  his  philosophy  from  the 
Egyptian  priests.  It  is  much  more 
probable  that  the  latter  received  it  from 


the  Atlantids  —  if  we  are  to  believe  in 
them  —  than  that  it  came  from  India. 
Indeed,  when  we  seem  to  trace  the 
same  teachings  to  the  Indians,  on  the 
one  side,  and  to  the  Egyptians  on  the 
other,  putting  the  one,  through  Thibet, 
—  the  land,  above  all  others,  of  occult 
science,  —  into  communication  with  the 
true  Chinese,  and  the  other,  through 
their  tradition,  with  the  lost  race  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  asserted  history  of  the 
fourth  root-race  of  humanity  assumes 
a  very  attractive  degree  of  reasonable- 
ness. 

That  Cicero  held  to  the  Buddhist 
doctrines  at  points  so  important  as  to 
make  it  improbable  that  he  did  not 
have  esoteric  teaching  in  the  system, 
any  one  will,  I  believe,  admit,  who  will 
read  the  last  chapter  of  the  Somnium 
Scipionis.  And  Cicero's  ideas  must 
have  been  those  of  the  students  and 
scholars  of  his  day.  He  puts  them 
forward  in  a  manner  too  commonplace, 
too  much  as  if  they  were  things  of 
course,  for  us  to  suppose  that  there  was 
anything  unusual  in  them.  On  this 
subject  of  the  wide  extension  of  that 
philosophy  which  in  India  we  call 
Buddhism,  I  will  make  only  one  other 
suggestion.  It  is  the  guess  that  it  lay 
at  the  foundation  of  the  famous  Eleu- 
sinian  Mysteries. 

Let  me  now  come  back  to  the  idea 
that  the  succession  of  human  races 
upon  this  earth  is,  like  that  of  animal 
races,  a  development.  Sinnett  tells  us 
that  what  we  recognize  as  language 
began  with  the  third  root-race.  I 
imagine  that  the  preceding  races  had, 
in  progressive  development,  some  vocal 
means  of  communication ;  for  we  find 
that  even  the  lower  animals  have  that, 
and  the  lowest  man  of  the  first  race  was 
superior  to  the  highest  possible  animal, 
by  the  very  fact  that  he  had  developed 


Esoteric  BiiddJusni.  —  A  Review 


289 


a  human  soul.  Now,  we  are  told  that 
the  home  of  the  third  race  was  on  the 
continent  "  Lemuria,"  which  stretched 
across  the  Indian  Ocean.  I  imagine 
the  Tasmanians,  the  Papuans,  and  the 
degraded  races  of  that  part  of  the 
world  to  be  fragments  of  the  third  race. 
Query  :  Is  the  famous  click  of  the  Zulu 
a  remainder  of  the  gradual  passage 
from  animal  noise  to  human  articula- 
tion in  speech? 

Again,  the  true  Chinese  belong  to 
the  fourth  root-race.  They  have 
reached  the  height  of  their  possible 
intellectual  advance.  They  have  been 
stationary  for  untold  centuries.  Query  : 
Does  this  account  for  their  apparent 
inability  to  develop  their  language 
beyond  the  monosyllable? 

There  are,  have  been,  or  will  be, 
seven  branches  to  each  of  the  seven 
great  races.  These  branches  must 
originate  at  long  intervals  of  time,  one 
after  the  other,  though  several  may 
be  running  their  course  at  the  same 
moment.  For  instance,  the  second 
race  could  not  come  into  the  world, 
until  some  human  souls  had  passed  at 
least  twice,  as  we  are  told,  through  "  the 
world  of  effects."  This  would  occupy 
at  least  sixteen  thousand  years,  accord- 
ing to  our  author's  calculation,  though 
he  does  not  claim  to  have  on  this  point 
exact  information.  He  says,  only,  that 
the  initiated  know  exactly  the  periods 
of  time  :  but  they  are  withheld  from 
him.  Now,  according  to  a  French 
savant,  geological  investigation  proves 
that  the  Aryan  race  —  branch-race, 
I  will  call  it  —  was  preceded  in  Europe 
by  at  least  three  others,  whose  remains 
are  found  in  the  caves  or  strata  that 
have  been  examined.  Of  these  the  first 
has  entirely  disappeared  :  no  represen- 
tatives of  it  are  now  to  be  found  in  any 
known  part  of  the  world.     The  second 


was  driven,  apparendy,  from  the  north, 
by  the  invasions  of  the  ice,  during  the 
glacial  period  and  spread  as  far,  at 
least,  as  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  With 
the  disappearance  of  the  ice,  they  also 
traveled  toward  the  pole,  and  are  now 
existing  in  the  northern  regions  of  the 
earth,  under  the  name  of  Esquimaux. 
Following  them  came  a  race,  the  frag- 
ments of  which  were  powerful  within 
historic  days  in  the  Iberian  peninsula, 
—  the  Iberians  of  the  Roman  writers  — 
the  Basques  of  to-day.  Then  came 
from  the  east  the  Aryan  race,  hitherto 
the  highest  form  of  humanity.  These 
races  do  not,  of  course,  begin  existence 
as  new  creations.  They  are  developed 
from  —  their  first  members  must  be 
bom  from  —  the  preceding  race. 
Query :  Is  a  fifth  race  now  in  the 
throes  of  nativity?  Have  the  different 
sub-races  of  the  Aryan  branch  sent 
their  contingents  to  the  New  World, 
that  from  the  mixture  of  their  boldest 
and  most  vigorous  blood  the  fifth  sub- 
race  might  have  its  origin?  "  Westward 
the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way." 

Buddhism  gives  a  peculiar  explana- 
tion of  the  disappearance  of  inferior 
races.  Since  the  object  of  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  human  soul  is  its  progress 
toward  the  perfect  and  divine  man ; 
since  every  human  soul  must  dwell  on 
earth  as  a  member  of  each  one  of  the 
sub-races,  the  time  must  come  when 
all  shall  have  passed  through  a  given 
stage.  Then  there  can  be  no  more 
births  into  that  race.  There  is,  at  this 
moment,  a  finite  number  of  human  souls 
whose  existence  is  Hmited  to  this  planet, 
and  no  other  planet  in  our  chain  is  at 
present  the  abode  of  humanity.  For 
the  larger  part  of  all  these  souls  —  at 
least  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
in  a  thousand  —  are,  at  any  one  instant, 
existing  in  "the  world  of  effects,"  in 


2( 


')o 


Esoteric  BiiddJnsni.  —  A  Review. 


Devachan.  All  will  remain  linked  by 
their  destiny  to  this  planet,  until  the 
moment  when  all  —  a  few  rare,  unfortu- 
nate, negligent  laggards  excepted  — 
shall  have  passed  through  their  last 
mortal  probation,  in  the*  seventh  root- 
race.  Then  will  the  tide  of  humanity 
overflow  to  the  planet  Mercury,  and 
this  earth,  abandoned  by  conscious 
men,  will  for  a  million  years  fall  back 
into  desolation,  gradually  deprived  of 
all  life,  even  of  all  development.  In 
that  condition  it  will  remain,  sleeping, 
as  it  were,  for  ages — "not  dead,  but 
sleeping";  for  the  germs  of  mineral, 
vegetable,  and  animal  life  will  await, 
quiescent,  until  the  tide  of  human  soul 
shall  have  passed  around  the  chain,  and 
is  again  approaching  our  globe.  Then 
will  earth  awake  from  its  sleep.  In 
successive  eons,  the  germs  of  life, 
mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal,  in  their 
due  order,  will  awake ;  the  old  miracle 
of  creation  will  begin  again,  but  on 
a  higher  plan  than  before,  until,  at  last, 
the  first  human  being — something 
vastly  higher  in  body,  mind,  and  spirit- 
uality than  the  former  man  —  will  make 
his  appearance  on  the  new  earth.  From 
this  explanation  of  the  doctrine  that 
life  moves  not  by  a  steady  flow,  but  by 
what  Sinnett  calls  gushes,  it  follows, 
of  course,  that  there  must  come  a  time 
when  each  race,  and  each  sub-race,  must 
have  finished  its  course,  completed  its 
destiny.  There  are  no  more  human 
souls  in  Devachan  to  pass  through  that 
stage  of  progress.  For  a  long  time  the 
number  has  been  diminishing,  and  that 
race  has  been  losing  ground.  Now  it 
has  come  to  its  end.  So,  within  a  hun- 
dred years,  has  passed  away  the  Tasma- 
nian.  So,  to-day,  are  passing  many 
races.  The  disappearance  of  a  lower 
race  is  therefore  no  calamity;  it  is 
evidence   of  progress.     It  means  that 


that  long  line  of  undevevoped  humanity 
must  go  up  higher.  "  That  which  thou 
sowest,  is  not  quickened  except  it  die." 
If  there  be  "joy  among  the  angels 
of  God,  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth," 
why  not  when  the  whole  human  race, 
to  the  last  man,  has  passed  successfully 
up  into  a  higher  class  in  the  great 
school  ? 

I  am  constantly  turning  back  to  a 
thought  that  I  have  passed  by.  Let 
me  now  return  to  the  consideration  of 
Buddhism  as  a  religion.  It  is  evident 
that,  viewed  on  this  side,  Buddhism  is 
one  thing «to  the  initiated,  another  to 
the  masses.  So  was  the  religion  of  the 
Romans,  so  is  Christianity.  It  is 
necessarily  so.  No  two  persons  receive 
the  formal  creed  of  the  same  church  in 
the  same  way.  The  man  of  higher 
grade,  and  the  man  of  lower,  cannot 
understand  things  in  the  same  sense 
because  they  have  not  the  same  fac- 
ulties for  understanding.  Hence  the 
polytheism  among  those  called  Bud- 
dhists. There  could  be  no  such  thins 
among  the  initiated.  Religion,  then, 
like  everything  else,  is  subject  to 
growth.  Such  must  be  the  Buddhist 
doctrine.  If,  then,  Buddhism,  or  the 
philosophy  which  bears  that  name, 
originated  with  the  fourth  root-race  of 
men,  does  it  not  occur  to  the  initiated 
that  the  fifth  race  ought,  by  this  same 
theory,  to  develop  a  higher  form  of 
truth?  Looking  at  the  matter  merely 
on  its  intellectual  side,  ought  not  the 
higher  development  of  the  power  of 
thought  to  bring  truer  conceptions  of 
the  highest  things  ?  Again,  a  query : 
Is  the  rise  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj  a  step 
toward  the  practical  extension  of  Chris- 
tianity into  the  domain  of  Buddhism? 

This  brings  to  discussion  the  whole 
question  of  the  work  done  by  mission- 
ary eff'ort  among  the  lower  races.     I  do 


Esoteric  Buddhism.  —  A  Review. 


■9' 


not  mean  tlie  question  whether  we 
should  try  to  Christianize  them,  but 
what  result  is  it  reasonable  to  expect. 
And  here  I  imagine  that  there  is  a 
strict  limit,  beyond  which  it  is  impos- 
sible for  the  members  of  a  given  race 
to  be  developed.  On  the  Buddhist 
principle,  given  a  certain  human  being, 
and  we  have  a  human  soul  passing 
through  a  definite  stage  of  its  progress. 
While  it  occupies  its  present  body  it  is, 
except,  our  author  always  says,  in  very 
peculiar  cases,  incapable  of  more  than 
a  certain  advance,  —  as  incapable  as  a 
given  species  of  animal,  or  tree,  or  even 
as  the  body  of  the  man  itself  is  in- 
capable of  more  than  a  certain  growth. 
I  think  that  any  one  who  has  studied 
or  observed  the  processes  of  ordinary 
school  training,  must  have  been  some- 
times convinced  that  he  has  in  hand 
a  boy  whose  ability  to  be  further 
advanced  has  come  to  an  end.  Some- 
times we  find  a  boy  who  will  come 
forward  with  the  greatest  promise  ;  but, 
at  a  certain  point,  although  goodwill  is 
not  lacking,  the  growth  seems  to  be 
arrested.  The  biologist  will  explain 
this  as  due  to  the  physical  character  of 
the  brain.  The  Buddhist  affirms  that 
when  that  human  soul  last  came  from 
the  oblivion  which  closes  the  Deva- 
chanic  state,  it  chose  unconsciously,  but 
by  natural  affinity,  out  of  all  the  pos- 
sible conditions  and  circumstances  of 
mortal  life,  that  embryonic  human 
body,  for  which  its  spiritual  condition 
rendered  it  fit. 

Some  years  ago,  in  conversation  with 
a  missionary  who  had  spent  many  years 
in  China,  I  asked  him,  having  this  sub- 
ject in  my  mind,  whether  he  thought 
that  his  converts  were  capable  of 
receiving  Christianity  in  the  sense  in 
which  he  himself  held  the  faith.  His 
answer,   which    he     illustrated    by   in- 


stances, was  that  the  heathen  concep- 
tions and  propensities  could  not  be 
entirely  eradicated ;  and  that,  under 
unfavorable  circumstances,  the  most 
trusted  converts  would  sometimes  re- 
lapse into  a  condition  as  bad  as  ever 
they  had  known. 

It  is  also  a  matter  of  common  asser- 
tion that  our  American  Indians,  after 
years  of  training  in  the  society  of  civil- 
ized life,  are  generally  ready  to  fall 
back  at  once  to  their  old  ways.  What 
we  call  civilization  is  to  them  but  an 
easy-fitting  garment. 

I  do  not  know  what  is  the  belief  of 
scholars  regarding  the  comparative  age 
of  the  different  minor  divisions  —  sub- 
branches,  as  Sinnett  calls  them  —  of 
the  Aryan  race.  I  imagine,  however, 
that  of  the  European  sub-branches,  the 
Celtic  is  practically  the  oldest.  The 
Italic  or  Hellenic  may  have  broken  off 
from  the  parent  stem  earlier  than  the 
Celtic,  but  they  have  not  wandered  so 
far  away,  and  have  not  been  so  isolated 
from  the  influence  of  later  migrations. 
The  Celtic  race  has  mingled  its  blood 
with  the  Iberian  in  Spain  and  with 
many  elements  in  Gaul  and  Italy ;  but 
in  the  northwest  of  Europe,  on  its  own 
peculiar  isle,  it  seems  to  have  re- 
mained, if  not  purer  than  elsewhere,  at 
least  less  affected  by  mixture  with  later, 
that  is,  higher,  races. 

What  is  the  practical  use  of  all  this 
study?  Ever  since  I  first  read  Esoteric 
Buddhism,  my  attention  has  been 
turned  to  the  confirmation  of  its  theory 
of  human  development.  As  I  ride  in 
the  horse-car,  as  I  walk  on  the  street, 
still  more  constantly  as  I  stand  before 
one  class  after  another  in  the  school- 
room, I  am  struck  with  the  thought 
that  here,  behind  the  face  I  am  looking 
into,  is  a  human  soul  whose  capacities 
are  limited  —  a  soul  that  caunot  grasp 


292 


T lie  Defence  of  New  York,    1776. 


the  thought  which  catches  Hke  a  spark 
uiion  tlie  mind  of  its  next  neighbor. 
Yet  that  half-awakened  soul  is  des- 
tined to  work  its  way  through  all  the 
phases  of  human  possibility  and  reach 
at  last  the  harbor  of  peace.  This 
thought  should  make  one  ashamed  to  be 
impatient  or  negligent.  Why  should  one 
lose  patience  with  this  boy's  inabihty  to 
learn,  more  than  at  the  inanimate  ob- 
stacle in  one's  pathway?  How  can  one 
be  unfaithful  in  one's  effort,  when  it  may 
be  the  means  of  lessening  the  number 


of  times  that  that  poor  soul  must  pass 
through  earthly  life? 

Do  I  believe  in  the  teachings  of  this 
book  ?  I  do  not  know.  So  far  as  the 
doctrine  of  repeated  incarnation  goes, 
I  hold  it  to  be  not  inconsistent  with 
Christianity  ;  but  rather  an  explanation 
of  Christ's  coming  upon  earth  at  the 
precise  time  when  he  did.  I  still  hold 
the  subject  of  Buddhistic  philosophy 
as  a  matter  of  very  serious  and  edifying 
reflection. 


THE  DEFENCE  OF   NEW  YORK,  1776. 


By  Henry  B.  Carrington,  U.S.A.,  LL.D. 


[The  siege  of  Boston  gave  to  the  Continental  Army  that  instruction  in  military  engineering  and  that  contact 
with  a  disciplined  foe  which  prepared  it  for  the  immediate  operations  at  New  York  and  in  New  Jersey.  (See 
The  Bay  State  Monthly,  January,  1884,  pages  37-44.) 

The  occupation  and  defence  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  so  promptly  made,  was  a  strategic  necessity,  fully 
warranted  by  existing  conditions,  although  temporary'.] 


It  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  views 
which  we  take,  in  turn,  through  the  eye 
and  object  lenses  of  a  field-glass  so 
that  the  real  subject  of  examination 
will  not  be  distorted  by  too  great  near- 
ness or  remoteness. 

If  we  bring  back  to  this  hour  the 
events  of  one  hundred  years  ago,  it  is 
certain  that  the  small  armies  and  the 
smaller  appliances  of  force  then  in  use 
will  seem  trifling,  in  contrast  with  those 
which  have  so  recently  wearied  science 
and  have  tasked  invention  in  the  work 
and  waste  of  war. 

If  we  thrust  them  back  to  their 
proper  place  behind  the  memory  of  all 
living  men,  we  only  see  a  scattered 
people,  poorly  armed,  but  engaged  in 


hopeful  conflict  with  Great  Britain, 
then  mistress  of  the  seas,  proudly 
challenging  the  world  to  arms,  and 
boldly  vindicating  her  challenge. 

In  an  eftbrt  to  reproduce  that  period 
and  so  balance  the  opposing  factors 
that  the  siege  of  Boston  and  the  deliv- 
erance of  Washington  at  Brooklyn  and 
New  York  shall  have  fair  co-relation 
and  full  bearing  upon  the  resulting 
struggle  for  National  Independence, 
there  must  be  some  exact  standard  for 
the  test ;  and  this  will  be  found  by 
grouping  such  data  as  illustrate  the 
governing  laws  of  military  art. 

It  has  never  been  claimed  that  the 
siege  of  Boston  was  not  the  legitimate 
result  of  British  blunder  and  American 


The  Defence  of  New  York,  i  'J'j6. 


293 


pluck.  In  a  previous  paper,  the  siege 
itself  has  been  presented  as  that  oppor- 
tunity and  training-school  exercise 
which  projected  its  experience  into  the 
entire  war,  and  assured  final  triumph. 
It  has  not  been  as  generally  accepted, 
as  both  philosophical  and  necessary, 
that  the  fortification  and  defence  of 
Brooklyn  became  the  wise  and  in- 
evitable sequence  to  that  siege. 

Let  us  drop  a  century  and  handle 
the  old  records. 

If  Great  Britain  had  not  called  con- 
tinental auxiliaries  to  her  aid  in  1776, 
her  disposable  force  for  colonial  service 
would  have  been  less  than  half  of  the 
army  of  Washington. 

Until  the  fortification  of  Brooklyn 
and  New  York  had  been  well  advanced, 
the  British  ministry  had  not  been  able 
to  assign  even  fifteen  thousand  men  for 
that  service.  General  Clinton  did, 
indeed,  anchor  at  the  New  York  Nar- 
rows, just  when  General  Charles  Lee 
reached  that  city  for  its  defence,  but 
did  not  risk  a  landing,  and  sailed  for 
South   Carolina,  only  to  be   repulsed. 

The  British  Crown  had  no  alternative 
but  to  seek  foreign  aid.  The  appeal 
to  Catharine  of  Russia  for  twenty  thou- 
sand men  was  met  by  the  laconic 
resporise,  "There  are  other  ways  of 
settling  this  dispute  than  by  resort  to 
arms."  The  Duke  of  Richmond  pro- 
phetically declared,  "  The  colonies 
themselves,  after  our  example,  will 
apply  to  strangers  for  assistance."  The 
opposition  to  hiring  foreign  troops  was 
so  intense,  that,  for  many  weeks,  there 
was  no  practical  advance  in  prepara- 
tions for  a  really  effective  blow  at  the 
rebels,  while  the  rebellion  itself  was 
daily  gaining  head  and  spirit. 

The  British  army,  just  before  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  including  Hes- 
sians,  Brunswickers,   and    Waldeckers, 


was  but  a  little  larger  than  that  which 
the   American    Congress,   as    early   as 
October  4,  1775.  had  officially  assigned 
to  the  siege  operations  before  Boston. 
That  force  was    fixed  at   twenty-three 
thousand,  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  men.     General  Howe  landed  about 
twenty  thousand  men.     With  the  sick, 
the  reserves  on  Staten  Island,  all  officers 
and  supernumeraries  included,  his  en- 
tire   force    exhibited  a  paper   strength 
of  thirty-one  thousand,  six  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men.     It  is  true  that  Gen- 
eral Howe  claimed,  after  the  battle  of 
Long    Island,    that    his    entire    force 
(Hessians  included)  was  only  twenty- 
four  thousand  men,  and  that  Washing- 
ton opposed  the  advance  of  his  division 
with     twenty    thousand    men.       The 
British  muster  rolls,  as  exhibited  before 
the  British  Parliament,  accord  with  the 
statement   already  made.     The    actual 
force  of  the  American  army  at  Brook- 
lyn was   not   far   from   nine    thousand 
men,  instead  of  twenty  thousand,  and 
the  effective  force  (New  York  included) 
was  only  about  twenty  thousand  men. 
As  the   British  regiments  brought  but 
six,  instead  of  eight,  companies  to  a 
battalion,  there  is  evidence  that  Wash- 
ington  himself   occasionally   over-esti- 
mated  the    British   force   proper ;  but 
the  foreign  battalions  realized  their  full 
force,  and  they  were  paid  accordingly, 
upon  their  muster  rolls.     Nearly  three 
fifths   of    General   Howe's    army   was 
made  up  from  continental  mercenaries. 
These  troops  arrived  in  detachments, 
to  supplement  the  army  which  other- 
wise would  have  been  entirely  unequal 
to  the  conquest  of  New  York,  if  the 
city  were  fairly  defended. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  Washington 
had  secured  the  force  which  he  de- 
manded from  Congress,  namely,  fifty- 
eight  thousand  men,  which  was,  indeed 


294 


The  Defence  of  New  York,  i  "jjG. 


(but  too  tardily),  authorized,  he  could 
have  met  General  Howe  upon  terms  of 
numerical  equality,  backed   by  breast- 
works, and  have  held  New  York  with 
an  equal  force. 

This  estimate,  by  Washington  him- 
self, of  the  contingencies  of  the  cam- 
paign, will  have  the  greater  significance 
when  reference  is  made  to  the  details 
of  British  preparations  in  England. 

While  Congress  did,  indeed,  as  early 
as  June,  assign  thirteen  thousand  addi- 
tional troops  for  the  defence  of  New 
York,  the  peremptory  detachment  of 
ten  battalions  to  Canada,  in  addition  to 
previous  details,  persistently  foiled 
every  preparation  to  meet  Howe  with 
an  adequate  force.  Regiments  from 
Connecticut  and  from  other  colonies 
reported  with  'a  strength  of  only  three 
hundred  and  sixty  men.  While  the 
"  paper  strength  "  of  the  army  was  far 
beyond  its  effective  force,  even  the 
"  paper  strength  "  was  but  one  half  of 
the  force  which  the  Commander-in- 
chief  had  the  right  to  assume  as  at  his 
disposal. 

Other  facts  fall  in  line  just  here. 

At  no  later  period  of  the  war  did 
either  commander  have  under  his  im- 
mediate control  so  large  a  nominal 
force  as  then.  During  but  one  year  of 
the  succeeding  struggle  did  the  entire 
British  army,  from  Halifax  to  the  West 
Indies  inclusive  (including  foreign  and 
provincial  auxiliaries),  exceed,  by  more 
than  seven  thousand  men,  the  force 
which  occupied  both  sides  of  the  New 
York  Narrows  in  1776.  The  British 
Army  at  that  time,  without  its  foreign 
contingent,  would  have  been  as  inferior 
to  the  force  which  had  been  ordered 
by  Congress  (and  should  have  been 
available)  as  the  depleted  American 
army  of  1781  would  have  been  inferior 
to  the  British  without  the  French  con- 
tingent. 


The  largest  continental  force  under 
arms,  in  any  one  year  of  the  war,  did 
not  greatly  exceed  forty  thousand  men, 
and  the  largest  British  force,  as  late  as 
1 781,  including  all  arrivals,  numbered, 
all  told,  but  forty-two  thousand  and 
seventy-five  men. 

The  annual  British  average,  including 
provincials,  ranged  from  thirty-three  to 
thirty-eight  thousand  men.  The  physi- 
cal agencies  which  Great  Britain  em- 
ployed were,  therefore,  far  beneath  the 
prestige  of  her  accredited  position 
among  the  nations  ;  and  the  disparity 
between  the  contending  forces  was 
mainly  in  discipline  and  equipment, 
with  the  advantage  to  Great  Britain  in 
naval  strength,  until  that  was  supplanted 
by  that  of  France. 

To  free  the  question  from  a  popular 
fallacy  which  treats  oldtime  operations 
as  insignificant,  in  view  of  large  modern 
armies  and  campaigns,  it  is  pertinent  to 
state,  just  here,  that  the  issues  of  the 
battle-field  for  all  time,  up  to  the  latest 
hour,  have  not  been  determined  by  the 
size  of  armies,  or  by  improvements  in 
weapons  of  war,  except  relatively,  in 
proportion  as  civilized  peoples  fought 
those  of  less  civilization ;  or  where 
some  precocity  of  race  or  invention 
more  quickly  matured  the  operations  of 
the  winning  side. 

If  the  maxims  of  Napoleon  are  but 
a  terse  restatement  of  those  of  Caesar, 
and  the  skill  of  Hannibal  at  Cannae  still 
holds  place  as  a  model  for  the  concave 
formation  of  a  battle-line,  so  have  all 
the  decisive  battles  of  history  taken 
shape  from  the  timely  handling  of  men, 
in  the  exercise  of  that  sound  judgment 
which  adapts  means  to  ends,  in  every 
work  of  life.  Thus  it  is  that  equally 
great  battles,  those  in  the  highest  sense 
great,  have  become  memorial,  although 
numbers  did  not  impart  value  to  the 
struggle  ;  but  they  were  the  expression 


TJic  Defence  of  New  York,  1776. 


295 


of  that  skill  and  wisdom  which  would 
have  ensured  success,  if  the  opposing 
armies  had  been  greater  or  less. 

If  a  timely  fog  did  aid  the  retreat  of 
Washington  from  Brooklyn,  in  1776,  so 
did  a  petty  stream,  filled  to  the  brim 
by  a  midnight  shower,  make  altogether 
desperate,  if  it  did  nol;,  alone,  change, 
the  fortunes  of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo. 

If,  also,  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  in 
1 781,  was  conducted  by  few  against 
few,  as  compared  with  modern  armies, 
it  is  well  to  note  the  historical  fact  that, 
at  the  second  siege,  in  1861,  the  same 
ravine  was  used  by  General  Poe  (United 
States  Engineers)  to  connect  "parallels." 
and  thereby  save  a  "  regular  approach." 
Numbers  did  not  change  relations,  but 
simply  augmented  the  physical  force 
employed  and.  imperilled. 

He  who  can  seize  the  local,  inci- 
dental, and  seemingly  immaterial  ele- 
ments which  enter  into  all  human  plans, 
and  convert  them  into  determining 
factors,  is  to  be  honored  ;  but  the  man 
who  can  so  anticipate  the  possibilities 
and  risks  which  lie  ahead,  that  the  world 
counts  as  a  miracle,  or,  at  least,  as  mar- 
velous, that  which  is  only  the  legitimate 
result  of  faith,  courage,  and  skill,  is 
truly  great.  Washington  did  it.  His 
retreat  from  Long  Island  was  delib- 
erately planned  before  he  had  a  con- 
ference with  his  subordinates  ;  and  the 
entire  policy  and  conduct  of  his  opera- 
tions at  and  near  New  York  will  defy 
criticism.  To  hold  the  facts  of  the 
issue  discussed,  right  under  the  light  of 
that  military  science  (that  is,  that  men- 
tal philosophy  which  does  not  change 
with  physical  modes  and  appliances),  is 
simply  to  bring  out  clearly  the  necessity 
for  the  occupation  of  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  by  Washington  in  1776. 

The  mere  statement  of  the  British 
forces   which   were   available    in    1776 


will  show  that  if  Washington  knew,  in 
advance,  exactly  what  he  had  to  meet, 
then  he  had  a  right  to  anticipate  a  suc- 
cessful resistance.  As  early  as  July, 
1775,  he  demanded  that  the  army 
should  be  enlisted  "for  the  war."  In 
a  previous  article,  the  policy  of  the 
Commander-in-chief  and  of  General 
Greene  was  noticed,  and  the  formulated 
proposition,  then  accepted  by  both, 
gave  vitality  and  hope  to  the  struggle. 
When  the  issue  ripened  at  New  York, 
and,  swiftly  as  possible,  the  besieging 
force  before  Boston  became  the  resist- 
ing force  at  New  York,  there  was  one 
man  who  understood  the  exact  issue. 
The  temper  of  the  British  press,  and 
that  of  the  British  House  of  Commons, 
was  fully  appreciated  by  the  American 
Commander-in-chief.  He  knew  that 
General  Gage  had  urged  that  "  thirty 
thousand  men,  promptly  sent  to  Amer- 
ica, would  be  the  quickest  way  to  save 
blood  and  end  the  war."  He  also 
knew  that  when  John  Wesley  predicted 
that  "  neither  twenty,  forty,  nor  sixty 
thousand  men  would  suppress  the 
rebeUion,"  the  British  Cabinet  had 
placed  before  Parliament  a  careful 
statement  of  the  entire  resources  which 
were  deemed  available  for  military  pur- 
poses abroad.  As  early  as  May,  1776, 
Washington  was  advised  of  the  follow- 
ing facts : — 

First,  That  the  contracts  at  that  time 
made  with  continental  States,  including 
that  with  Hesse  and  Brunswick,  would 
place  at  British  disposal  a  nominal 
strength  of  fifty-five  thousand  men. 

Second,  That,  with  all  due  allowance 
for  deficiencies,  the  effective  force,  as 
claimed  by  the  ministry,  could  not 
exceed,  but  might  fall  below,  forty 
thousand  men. 

The  debate  in  Parliament  was  so 
sharp,  and  the  details  of  the  proposed 


296 


The  Defence  of  New  York,  1776. 


operations  were  so  closely  defined  and 
analyzed,  that  Washington  had  full  right 
to  assume,  as  known,  the  strength  of  his 
adversary. 

When,  during  May,  1776,  the  Amer- 
ican Congress  sent  troops  from  New 
York  to  Canada,  he  sharply  protested, 
thus :  "  This  diversion  of  forces  will 
endanger  both  enterprises;  for  Great 
Britain  will  attempt  to  capture  New 
York  as  weU  as  Canada,  if  they  have  the 
men."  He  did  not  believe  that  they 
would  capture  New  York,  if  he  could 
acquire  and  retain  the  force  which  he 
demanded. 

The  point  to  be  made  emphatic,  is 
this  :  That,  from  the  date  of  the  call  of 
Massachusetts,  early  in  1775,  for  thirty 
thousand  men,  up  to  the  occupation  of 
New  York,  the  force  which  he  had  the 
right  to  assume  as  at  his  own  disposal 
was  equal  to  the  contingencies  of  the 
conflict ;  and  that,  when  he  did  occupy 
New  York,  and  begin  its  exterior  de- 
fences at  Brooklyn,  the  British  ministry 
had  admitted  its  inability  to  send  to 
America  a  force  sufficiently  strong  to 
capture  the  city.  The  maximum  force 
proposed  was  less  than  that  which  Con- 
gress could  easily  supply  for  resistance. 
In  other  words,  Washington  would  not 
have  to  fight  Great  Britain,  but  a 
specific  force ;  namely,  all  that  Great 
Britain  could  spare  for  that  service ;  so 
that  the  issue  was  not  between  the  new 
Republic  and  England,  but  between  the 
Republic  and  a  single  army,  of  known 
elements  and  numbers.  In  fact,  the 
opinion  that  France  had  already  made 
war  upon  England  had  so  early  gained 
credit,  that  Washington,  while  still  in 
New  York,  was  forced  to  issue  an  order 
correcting  the  rumor,  and  thus  prevent 
undue  confidence  and  its  correspond- 
ing neglect  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
crisis. 


Thus  far,  it  is  clear  that  there  was 
nothing  extravagant  in  the  American 
claim  to  independence ;  nor  in  the 
readiness  of  Washington  to  seize  and 
hold  New  York ;  nor  in  his  belief  that 
the  colonial  resources  were  equal  to  the 
contest. 

One  other  element  is  of  determining 
value  as  to  the  necessity  for  his  occupa- 
tion and  defence  of  Brooklyn  Heights. 
New  York  was  the  only  base  from  which 
Great  Britain  could  operate  against  the 
colonies  as  an  organized  State.  By 
Long  Island  Sound  and  the  Hudson 
River,  her  right  hand  would  hold  New 
England  under  the  guns  of  her  war- 
ships, and  by  quick  occupation  of 
Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays  and 
their  tributary  streams,  her  left  hand 
would  cut  off  the  South. 

If  the  views  of  Lord  Dartmouth  had 
prevailed,  in  1775,  there  would  have 
been  no  siege  of  Boston ;  but  New 
York  would  have  had  a  garrison  fully 
equal  to  its  defence,  while  sparing 
troops  for  operations  outside.  But  the 
prompt  occupation  of  New  York,  as  the 
headquarters  of  revolution,  was  a  clear 
declaration  to  the  world,  and  to  the 
scattered  people  of  the  colonies,  that  a 
new  nation  was  asserting  life,  and  that 
its  soil  was  free  from  a  hostile  garrison. 
The  occupation  of  New  York  cen- 
tralized, at  the  social,  commercial,  and 
natural  capital  of  the  Republic,  all 
interests  and  resources,  and  gave  to  the 
struggle  real  force,  inspiration,  and 
dignity. 

Just  as  the  men  at  Bunker  Hill 
fought  so  long  as  powder  and  ball  held 
out,  but  could  not  have  been  led  to 
assail,  in  open  field,  the  veterans  whom 
they  did,  in  fact,  so  effectively  resist ; 
and,  as  very  often,  a  patriotic  band  has 
bravely  defended,  when  unequal  to 
aggressive  action,  —  so  the  possession. 


The  Defence  of  New  York,  1776. 


297 


defence,  and  even  the  loss,  of  New 
York,  as  an  incident  of  a  campaign, 
were  very  different  from  an  effort  to 
wrest  the  city  from  the  grasp  of  a 
British  garrison,  under  cover  of  yawn- 
ing broadsides. 

History  is  replete  with  facts  to  show 
how  hopefully  men  will  seek  to  regain 
lost  positions,  when  an  original  qapture 
would  have  been  deemed  utterly  hope- 
less. Poland  wellnigh  reijained  a 
smothered  nationality  through  an  in- 
spiration, which  never  could  have  been 
evoked,  in  a  plan  to  seize  from  the 
Russian  domain  a  grand  estate,  upon 
which  to  establish  an  original   Poland. 

To  have  held  but  to  have  lost  New 
York,  would  simply  show  the  defects  of 
the  defence,  and  the  margin  wanting  in 
ability  to  retain,  while  no  less  suggest- 
ing how,  in  turn,  it  might  be  regained, 
at  the  right  time,  by  adequate  means 
and  methods.  The  occupation  and 
defence  of  Brooklyn  Heights  was  the 
.  chief  element  of  value  in  this  direction. 
It  not  only  combined  the  general  pro- 
tection of  the  city  and  post,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  works  upon  Governor's 
Island,  but  to  have  neglected  either 
would  have  admitted  an  inability  to 
retain  either. 

British  troops  at  Brooklyn  would 
command  New  York.  American  troops 
at  Brooklyn  presented  the  young  nation 
in  the  attitude  of  guarding  the  outer 
doorway  of  its  freshly-asserted  inde- 
pendence. It  put  the  British  to  the 
defensive,  and  compelled  them  to  risk 
the  landing  of  a  large  army,  after  a  pro- 
tracted ocean  voyage,  before  they  could 
gain  a  footing  and  measure  strength 
with  the  colonists.  It  does  not  lessen 
our  estimate  of  the  skill  of  Washington 
to  know  that  Congress  failed  to  supply 
adequate  forces ;  but  he  made  wise 
estimates,  and  had  reason  to  expect  a 
prompt  response  to  his  requisitions. 


That  episode  at  Breed's  Hill,  which 
tested  the  value  of  even  a  light  cover 
for  keen  sharpshooters,  had  so  warned 
Howe  of  the  courage  of  his  enenr>y  that 
the  garrison  of  Bunker  Hill  had  never 
worried  Putnam's  litde  redoubt  across 
the  Charlestown  Isthmus ;  neither  had 
the  troops  at  Boston  ever  assailed,  with 
success,  the  thin  circumvallation  which 
protected  the  besiegers. 

At  Brooklyn,  Washington  established 
ranges  for  firing-parties,  so  that  the 
rifle  could  be  intelligently  and  effective- 
ly used,  as  the  British  might,  in  turn, 
approach  the  danger  line.  All  these 
preparations,  although  impaired  by  the 
illness  and  absence  of  General  Greene, 
had  been  so  well  devised,  that  even 
after  General  Howe  gained  the  rear  of 
Sullivan  and  Stirling  and  captured  both, 
he  halted  before  the  entrenchments 
and  resorted  to  regular  approaches 
rather  than  venture  an  assault. 

If  that  portion  of  the  proper  garrison 
of  New  York  which  had  been  sent  to 
Canada,  to  waste  from  disease  and  fill 
six  thousand  graves,  had  been  avail- 
able at  New  York,  they  might  have 
made  of  Jamaica  Ridge  and  Prospect 
Hill  a  British  Golgotha  before  the  Mnes 
of  Brooklyn. 

If  we  conceive  of  an  invasion  of 
New  York  to-day,  other  than  by  some 
devastating  fleet,  we  can  at  once  see 
that  the  whole  outline  of  defence  as 
proposed  by  Washington,  until  he 
ordered  the  retreat,  was  characteristic 
of  his  wisdom  and  his  settled  purpose 
to  resist  a  landing,  fight  at  every  ridge, 
}deld  only  to  compulsion,  enure  his  men 
to  face  fire,  and  "make  every  British 
advance  as  costly  as  possible  to  the 
enemy." 

The  summary  is  briefly  this  :  There 
was  an  universal  revolt  of  the  colonies, 
and  a  fixed  purpose  to  achieve  and 
maintain    independence.      There   was, 


298 


The  Defence  of  New  York,  1776. 


at  the  same  time,  in  England,  not  only 
a  vigorous  opposition  to  the  use  of 
force,  but  a  clearly-defined  exhibit  of 
the  maximum  military  resources  which 
its  authorities  could  call  into  exercise. 
Imminent  European  complications  were 
already  bristling  for  battle,  both  by 
land  and  sea.  and  Great  Britain  was 
without  a  continental  ally  or  friend. 
As  the  British  resources  were  thus 
definitely  defined,  so  was  the  military 
policy  distinctly  stated ;  namely,  to 
make,  as  the  first  objective,  the  recov- 
ery of  New  York,  and  its  acceptance  as 
the  permanent  base  for  prosecution  of 
the  war.  The  first  blow  was  designed 
to  be  a  fatal  blow.  It  was  for  Wash- 
ington to  take  the  offensive.  He  did 
so,  and  by  the  occupation  of  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  put  himself  in  the  atti- 
tude of  resisting  invasion,  rather  than 
as  attempting  the  expulsion  of  a  right- 
ful British  garrison  from  the  British 
capital  of  its  American  colonies. 

Not  only  did  the  metal  of  such  men 
as  he  commanded   stand   fire   on   the 


seventeenth  of  June,  1775,  at  Breed's 
Hill,  but  when  he  followed  up  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  garrison  of  Boston  by 
the  equally  aggressive  demonstrations 
at  New  York,  he  gave  assurance  of  the 
thoroughness  of  his  purpose  to  achieve 
independence,  and  thereby  inspired 
confidence  at  home  and  abroad.  The 
failure  to  realize  a  competent  field  force 
for  the  issue  with  Howe,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  retreat  and  evacua- 
tion, do  not  impair  the  statement  that, 
in  view  of  his  knowledge  of  British 
resources  and  those  of  America,  the 
occupation  and  defence  of  Brooklyn 
and  New  York  was  a  military  necessity, 
warranted  by  existing  conditions,  and 
not  impaired  by  his  disappointment  in 
not  securing  a  sufficient  force  to  meet 
his  enemy  upon  terms  of  equality  and 
victory.  It  increases  our  admiration 
of  that  strategic  forethought  which 
habitually  inspired  him  to  maintain  an 
aggressive  attitude,  until  the  surrender 
at  Yorktown  consummated  his  plans, 
and  verified  his  wisdom  and  his  faith. 


Loiocll. 


299 


LOWELL. 


Twenty-six  miles  northwest  from 
Boston,  on  the  banks  of  the  Merrimack 
at  its  confluence  with  the  Concord,  is 
situated  the  city  of  Lowell,  —  the  Spin- 
dle City,  the  Manchester  of  America. 
The  Merrimack,  which  affords  the  chief 
water-power  that  gives  life  to  the  thou- 
sand industries  of  Lowell,  takes  its  rise 
among  the  White  Mountains,  in  New 
Hampshire,  its  source  being  in  the 
Notch  of  the  Franconia  Range,  at  the 


ell's  fair  rival  is  built ;  thence  onward 
past  Nashua,  to  the  Falls  of  Pawtucket, 
where  its  waters  are  thoroughly  utilized 
to  propel  the  machinery  of  a  great  city. 

The  men  are  still  living  who  have 
witnessed  the  growth  of  Lowell  from  an 
inconsiderable  village  to  a  great  manu- 
facturing city,  whose  fabrics  are  as 
world-renowned  as  those  of  Marseilles 
and  Lyons,  or  ancient  Damascus. 

With  the  dawn  of  American  history. 


LOWELL  AS  IT  APPEARED  IN  1840. 


base  of  Mount  Lafayette.  For  many 
miles  it  dashes  down  toward  the  sea, 
known  at  first  as  the  Pemigewasset,  until 
finally  its  waters  are  joined  by  the  out- 
flow from  Lake  Winnipiseogee,  and  a 
great  river  is  formed,  which,  in  its  fall 
of  several  hundred  feet,  offers  immense 
power  to  the  mechanic.  Past  Pena- 
cook  the  river  glides,  its  volume  in- 
creased by  the  Contoocook ;  through 
fertile  intervales,  over  rapids  and  falls, 
past  Suncook  and  Hooksett,  it  comes 
to  the  Falls  of  Amoskeag,  where  Low- 

VolI.— No.  III.— c. 


the  Penacooks,  a  tribe  of  Indians,  were 
known  to  have  occupied  the  site  of 
Lowell  as  their  favorite  rendezvous. 
Here  the  salmon  and  shad  were  caught 
in  great  abundance  by  the  dusky  war- 
riors. Passaconaway  was  their  first 
great  chief  known  to  the  white  man, 
and  he  was  acknowledged  as  leader  by 
many  neighboring  tribes.  He  was  a 
friend  to  the  English.  Before  the  com- 
ing of  the  Pilgrims  a  great  plague  had 
swept  over  New  England,  making  deso- 
late the  Indian  villages.     Added  to  the 


?oo 


Lowell. 


terrors   of  the   pestilence,   which   was  Wamesit    Falls,  on    the    Concord,  the 

resistless  as  fate  to  the  children  of  the  Musketaquid    of  the   aborigines,    were 

forest,  was  the  fear  and  dread  of  their  first  visited  in   1647  by  the    Reverend 

implacable  enemies,  the  fierce  Mohawks  John  Eliot,  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians. 

of  the  west.     The  spirit  of  the  Indian  In   1652,  Captain   Simon  Willard   and 

was   broken.     In    1644,  Passaconaway  Captain   Edward  Johnson  made    their 


\  ^  


MERRIMACK  RIVER  BELOW  HUNT'S  FALLS. 


renounced  his  authority  as  an  inde- 
pendent chief,  and  placed  himself  and 
his  tribe  of  several  thousand  souls 
under  the  protection  of  the  colonial 
magistrates.  The  Indian  villages  at 
Pawtucket  Falls,  on  the  Merrimack,  and 


tour  up  the  Merrimack  River  to 
Lake  Winnipiseogee,  and  marked  a 
stone  near  the  Weirs  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony.  The  following  year  the  work 
of  settlement  swept  onward,  crowding 


Loivell. 


30  r 


in  upon  the  cornfields  of  the  red  men ; 
and  Eliot,  caring  for  his  charges,  pro- 
cured the  passage  of  an  act  by  the 
General  Court  reserving  a  good  part  of 
the  land  on  which  Lowell  now  stands 
to  the  exclusi\e   use   of   the   Indians. 

The  towns  of  Chelmsford  and  Bil- 
lerica  were  incorporated  May  29,  1655. 

In  1656,  Major  -  General  Daniel 
Gookin  was  appointed  superintendent 
of  all  the  Indians  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Colony.  By  his  fair  dealing  he 
won  their  entire  confidence.    They  had 


in  dread  of  tlie  Mohawks,  came  down 
the  river  with  his  whole  tribe,  and 
located  at  Wamesit,  and  built  a  fortifi- 
cation on  Fort  Hill  in  Belvidere,  which 
was  surrounded  with  palisades.  The 
white  settlers  of  the  vicinity,  catching 
the  alarm,  took  refuge  in  garrison- 
houses. 

In  1674,  there  were  at  Wamesit 
fifteen  families,  or  seventy-five  souls, 
enumerated  as  Christian  Indians,  aside 
from  about  two  hundred  who  adhered 
to    their   primitive   faith   in  the    Great 


OLD  BRIDGE  OVER  PAWTUCKET  FALLS. 


good  friends  in  Judge  Gookin  and  the 
Apostle  Eliot,  who  were  ever  ready  to 
protect  them  from  encroachments  of 
their  neighbors. 

In  1660,  Passaconaway  relinquished 
all  authority  over  his  tribe,  retiring  at  a 
ripe  old  age,  and  turning  over  his  office 
of  sachem  to  his  son  Wannalancet, 
whose,  headquarters  were  at  Pena- 
cook.  Numphow,  who  was  married  to 
one  of  Passaconaway's  daughters,  was 
the  chief  for  some  years  of  the  village 
of  Pawtucket.     In  1669,  Wannalancet, 


Spirit.  Numphow  was  their  magistrate 
as  well  as  chief,  his  cabin  standing  near 
the  Boott  Canal.  The  log  chapel  pre- 
sided over  by  the  Indian  preacher, 
Samuel,  stood  at  the  west  end  of  Apple- 
ton  Street  near  the  site  of  the  Eliot 
Church.  In  May  of  each  year  came 
Eliot  and  Gookin  :  the  former  to  give 
spiritual  advice ;  the  latter  to  act  as 
umpire  or  judge,  having  jurisdiction 
of  higher  offences,  and  directing  all 
matters  affecting  the  interests  of  the 
village.     Wannalancet   held   his  court. 


?02 


Loioell. 


as  sachem,  in  a  log  cabin  near    Paw- 
tucket  Falls. 

King    rhllip's   War   broke     out     in 


SAINT  ANNE'S  CHURCH,  1850. 

1675.  Wannalancet  and  the  local 
Indians,  faithful  to  the  counsels  of 
Passaconaway,  took  sides  with  the 
settlers,  or  remained  neutral.  Be- 
tween the  two  parties  they  suffered 
severely.  Some  were  put  to  death 
by  Philip,  for  exposing  his  designs  ; 
some  were  put  to  death  by  the 
colonists,  as  Philip's  accomplices ; 
some  fell  in  battle,  fighting  for  the 
whites ;  some  were  slain  by  the 
settlers,  who  mistrusted  alike  praying 
and  hostile  Indians. 

During  the  following  year,  1676,  the 
able-bodied  Indians  of  Wamesit  and 
Pawtucket  withdrew  to  Canada,  leaving 


a  few  of  their  helpless  and  inhrm  old 

people  at  the  mercy  of  their  neighbois. 

Around  their  fate  let  history  draw  the 
veil  of  oblivion,  lest  the  present 
generation  blush  for  their  ances- 

L  tors.     The  Indians  of  those  days, 

like  their  descendants,  had  no 
rights  which  the  white  men  were 
bound  to  respect. 

During  the  war  the  white 
settlers  were  gathered  for  pro- 
tection in  garrison-houses.  Bil- 
lerica  escaped  harm,  but  Chelms- 
ford was  twice  visited  by  hostile 
bands  and  several  buildings  were 
burned.  Two  sons  of  Samuel 
Varnum  were  shot  while  crossing 
the  Merrimack  in  a  boat  with 
their  father. 

\\\  April,  1676,  Captain  Sam- 
uel Hunting  and  Lieutenant 
James  Richardson  built  a  fort  at 
Pawtucket  Falls,  which,  with  a 
garrison,  was  left  under  command 
of  Lieutenant  Richardson.  A 
month  later  it  was  reinforced  and 
the  command  entrusted  to  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Henchman.  This 
proved  an  effectual  check  to  the 
incursions  of  marauding  Indians. 


^^fAJSiiff^^M,^ 


RUINS  OF  A  CELLAR,   BELVIDERE. 

When  the  war  was  over,  Wannalancet 
returned  with  the  remnant  of  his  tribe, 
to  find  the  reservation  in  possession  of 
the  settlers.  The  tribe  was  placed  on 
Wickasauke   Island,  in   charge   of  Col- 


Loxvcll. 


j"-'j 


oncl  Jonathan  Tvng,  where  tliey  re- 
mained until  their  last  rod  of  land  had 
been  bartered  awav,  when  thev  retired 
to  Canada  and  joined  the  St.  Francis 
tribe.  Colonel  Tyng  and  Major 
Henchman  purchased  of  the  Indians 
all  tlieir  remaining  interest  in  the  land 
about  Pawtucket  Falls. 

During  the  nine  years  of  King  Wil- 
liam's War,  which  followed  the  English 
Revolution  of  1688,  the  people  of 
Chelmsford  and  neighboring  towns 
again  took  refuge  in  forts  and  garrison- 


in  170 1.  It  contained  twenty-five  fam- 
ilies, and  was  set  off  from  Chelmsford. 
The  Wamesit  purchase  was  di\ided 
into  small  parcels  of  land  and  sold  to 
settlers.  Samuel  Pierce,  who  had  his 
domicile  on  the  Indian  reservation,  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  General  Court, 
in  1725,  but  was  refused  his  seat  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  not  an  inhabitant  of 
Chelmsford.  Accordingly  the  people 
of  the  reservation  refused  to  pay  taxes 
to  the  town  of  Chelmsford  until  an  act 
was  passed  legally  annexing  them  to  the 


OLD  BUTMAN  HOUSE,  BELVIDERE. 


houses.  Major  Henchman  had  com- 
mand of  the  fortification  at  the  Falls. 
August  I,  1682,  a  hostile  raid  was 
made  into  Billerica  and  eight  of  the 
inhabitants  were  killed.  August  5, 
1695,  fourteen  inhabitants  of  Tewks- 
bury  were  massacred.  Colonel  Joseph 
Lynde,  from  whom  Lynde  Hill  in  Bel- 
videre  derives  its  name,  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  force  of  three  hundred  men 
who  ranged  through  the  neighboring 
country  to  protect  the  frontier. 
,  The  town  of  Dracut  was  incorporated 


town.     The  place  was  afterward  known 
as  East  Chelmsford. 

The  year  1729  is  memorable  for  the 
great  earthquake  which  occurred  on 
October  29,  and  did  considerable  dam- 
age in  the  Merrimack  valley. 

Tewksbury  was  incorporated  in  1734, 
its  territory  before  having  been  included 
in  Billerica. 

At  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  two 
companies  of  Chelmsford  men  were 
present,  one  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain John  Ford,  the  other  under  Cap- 


304 


Loivcll. 


tain  Benjamin  Walker;  and  one  com-    command  of  General   Lincoln   served 
pany  composed  largely  of  Dracut  men     in  the  western  counties, 
was    under    Captain    Peter    Colburn.         The  people  of  Chelmsford,  from  the 

earliest  settlement,  gave  every 
encouragement  to  millers,  lum- 
bermen, mechanics,  and  traders, 
making  grants  of  land,  and  tem- 
porary exemption  from  taxation, 
to  such  as  would  settle  in  their 
town.  It  became  distinguished 
for  its  sawmills,  gristmills,  and 
mechanics'  shops  of  various 
kinds.  Billerica,  Dracut,  and 
Tewksbury  gave  like  encourage- 
ment. About  the  time  of  the 
Revolution*  a  sawmill  was  built 
belov/  Pawtucket  Falls  and  owned 
by  Judge  John  Tyng. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  last 
century  the  lumbering  industry 
on  the  Merrimack  grew  into 
prominence  ;  and,  in  1792,  Dud- 
ley A.  Tyng,  William  Coombs, 
and  others,  of  Newburyport,  were 
incorporated  as  "  The  Proprietors 
of  the  Locks  and  Canals  on 
FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,  1840.  Merrimack  River."     This  canal, 

Captain  Ford  had  served  pre- 
viously at  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Louisburg,  in  1745.  When 
the  first  man  in  his  company 
fell  at  Bunker  Hill,  an  officer 
prevented  a  panic  by  singing 
Old  Hundred.  When  closely 
pressed  by  the  British,  and  the 
ammunition  had  been  exhausted, 
Captain  Colburn,  on  the  point 
of  retreating,  threw  a  stone  at 
the  advancing  enemy  and  saw 
an  officer  fall  from  the  blow. 

Colonel  Simeon  Spaulding,  of 
Chelmsford,  was  an  active  patriot 

during  the    Revolution    and  did   good     which  was  demanded  for  the  safe  con- 
service  in  the  Provnicial  Congress.  duct  of  rafts   by  the    Falls,  was    com- 

During   Shays'  Rebellion,    in    1786,     pleted  in  1797,  at  an  expense  of  fifty 
a  body   of    Chelmsford   militia   under    thousand   dollars.     The  fall  of   thirty- 


PAIGE-STREET  FREEWILL  BAPTIST  CHURCH,  1840. 


Lowell. 


305 


two  feet  was  passed  by  four  sets  of 
locks. 

The  first  bridge  across  the  Merriuiacl<: 
was  built,  in  1792,  by  Parker  Varnum 
and  associates ;  the  Concord  had  been 
bridged  some  twenty  years  earlier. 

In  1793,  the  proprietors  of  the 
Middlesex  Canal  were  incorporated. 
Loammi  Baldwin,  of  Woburn,  super- 
intended the  construction.  The  canal 
began  at  the  Merrimack,  about  *a  mile 
above  Pawtucket  Falls,  extended  south 
by  east  thirty-one  miles,  and  terminated 


shire,  was  made  in  1814;  the  first 
steamboat  from  lioston  reached  Con- 
cord in   1 81 9. 

The  competition  of  the  Middlesex 
Canal  ruined  the  Pawtucket  Canal,  as  it 
in  turn,  in  after  years,  was  ruined  by 
the  Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad.  Nav- 
igation finally  ceased  on  its  waters  in 
1853,  since  which  date  its  channel  has 
been  filling  up  and  its  banks  have  been 
falling  away. 

In  1 80 1,  Moses  Hale,  whose  father 
had  long  before  started  a  fulling-mill  in 


.'^^i»%:«&:7^_ 


gj^^g^£g^^^^^^fe?^^^'^^^^fe^ 


^. 


DAM  AT  PAWTUCKET  FALLS. 


at  Charlestown.  It  was  twenty-four 
feet  wide  and  four  feet  deep  and  was 
fed  by  the  Concord  River.  It  cost 
$700,000,  and  was  completed  in  1804, 
—  the  first  canal  in  the  United  States 
opened  for  the  transportation  of  pas- 
sengers and  merchandise.  For  forty 
years  it  was  the  outlet  of  the  whole 
Merrimack  valley  north  of  Pawtucket 
Falls 

The  first  boat  \oyage  from  Boston, 
by  the  Middlesex  Canal  and -the  Merri- 
mack River,  to  Concord,  New  Hamp- 


Dracut,  established  a  carding-mill  on 
River  Meadow  Brook,  —  the  first  enter- 
prise of  the  kind  in  Middlesex  County. 

In  1805,  the  bridge  across  the  Merri- 
mack was  demolished  and  a  new  bridge 
with  stone  piers  and  abutments  was 
constructed.  It  was  a  toll-bridge  as 
late  as  i860. 

The  second  war  with  England 
stimulated  manufacturing  enterprises 
throughout  the  United  States  ;  and  sev- 
eral were  started,  depending  upon  the 
water-power  of  the  Concord  River.     In 


3o6 


Lowell. 


1813,  Captain  Phineas  Whiting  and  In  181 8,  Moses  Hale  started  the 
Major  Josiah  Fletcher  erected  a  wooden  ])owder-mills  on  Concord  River.  The 
cotton-mill  on  the  site  of  the  Middlesex     tbllowing  year  Oliver  M.  Whipple  and 

•  William  Tileston  were  associ- 
ated with  him  in  business.  In 
1 82 1,  the  firm  opened  Whipple's 
Canal.  The  business  was  en- 
larged from  time  to  time  and  was 
at  its  zenith  during  the  Mexican 
War,  when,  in  one  year,  nearly 
five  hundred  tons  of  powder  were 
made.  The  manufacture  of  pow- 
der in  Lowell  ceased  in  1855. 
In  1 81 8,  also,  came  Thomas 
Hurd,  who  purchased  the  cotton- 
mill  started  by  Whiting  and 
Fletcher  and  converted  it  into  a 
woolen-mill.  He  soon  enlarged 
his  operations,  building  a  large 
brick  mill  near  the  other.  He 
was  the  pioneer  manufacturer  of 
satinets  in  this  country.  His  mill 
was  destroyed  by  fire  and  rebuilt 
in  1826.  About  this  time  he 
built  the  Middlesex  (Mills)  Canal, 
which  conveyed  water  from  the 
Pawtucket  Canal  to  his  satinet- 
jOHN-STREET  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  niills,    thus    affording    additional 

Company's  mills,  and  were  suc- 
cessful in  their  enterprise.  John 
Gelding,  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, was  not  so  fortunate. 

The  year  18 15  is  memorable 
for  the  most  disastrous  gale  that 
has  devastated  New  England  dur- 
ing two  centuries ;  it  was  very 
severe  in  Chelmsford. 

The  sawmill  and  gristmill  of 
the  Messrs.  Bowers,  at  Pawtucket 
Falls,  was  started  in  1S16.  The 
same  year  Nathan  Tyler  started  a 
gristmill  where  the  Middlesex 
Company's  mill  No.  3  now  stands,  power.  His  business  was  ruined  in 
Captain  John  Ford's  sawmill  stood  1828  by  the  reaction  in  trade  ;  and  two 
near  the  junction  of  the  Concord  and  years  later  the  property  passed  into  the 
Merrimack  Rivers.  hands  of  the  Middlesex  Company. 


FREE  CHAPEL,  I860. 


Lowell. 


307 


The  year  18 18  also  brought  Winthrop 
Howe  to  town.  He  started  a  mill  for 
the  manufacture  of  flannels  at  Wamesit 
Falls,  in  Belvidere,  and  continued  in 
the  business  until  1S27,  when  he  sold 
out  to  Harrison  G.  Howe,  who  intro- 
duced power-looms,  and  who,  in  turn, 


and  Ames  was  built.  The  works  were 
extended  in  1823,  and  continued  by 
them  until  1836,  when  the  privilege 
was  sold  to  Perez  O.  Richmond. 

In  1 82 1,  the  capabilities  of  Pawtucket 
Falls  for  maintaining  vast  mechanical 
industries  were  brought  to  the  attention 


KIRK   BOOTT. 
Born  in  Boston,  October  20,  1790.     Died  in  Lowell,  April  11,  1837. 


sold  the  property  to  John  Nesmith  and 
others  in  1831.  In  the  year  1819  a 
new  bridge  across  the  Concord  River 
was  built  to  replace  the  old  one  built  in 
I  774.  About  this  time  the  dam  across 
the  Concord  at  Massic  Falls  was  con- 
structed, and  the  forging-mill  of  Fisher 


of  a  iitw  successful  manufacturers,  who 
readily  perceived  its  advantages  and 
liastened  to  purchased  the  almost 
worthless  stock  of  the  Pawtucket  Canal 
Company.  In  November,  Nathan 
Appleton,  Patrick  Tracy  Jackson,  Kirk 
Boott,    Warren    Button,   Paul    Moody, 


3o8 


Lotvcll. 


and  John  W.  Boott,  visited  the  canal,  wide  and  eight  feet  deep.  The  first 
which  ihcy  now  controlled,  perambu-  mile  of  the  company  was  completed 
lated  the  ground,  and  planned  for  the    and  started  September  i,  1823.     The 

first  treasurer  and  agent  was 
Kirk  Boott,  a  man  of  great  influ- 
ence, who  left  his  mark  on  the 
growing  village. 

Paul  Moody  settled  in  the 
village  in  1823,  and  took  charge 
of  the  company's  machine-shop, 
which  was  completed  in  1826. 
Ezra  VVorthen  was  the  first  super- 
intendent. The  founders  of  the 
Merrimack  Company  comtem- 
plated  from  the  first  the  intro- 
duction of  calico-printing.  In 
this  they  were  successful,  in  1826, 
when  John  D.  Prince,  from  Man- 
chester, England,  took  charge 
of  the  Merrimack  print-works. 
Mr.  Prince  was  assisted  by  the 
chemist.  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Dana ; 
and  together  they  made  the 
products  of  the  mills  famous  in 
all  parts  of  the  globe. 

In    1825,  the  old  Locks  and 
Canals    Company    of    1792    was 
SECOND  uNivERSALisT  CHURCH.  SHATTucK  STREET.       re-cstablishcd  as  a  separate  cor- 


future.  February  5,  1822,  these 
gentlemen  and  others  were  incor- 
porated as  the  Merrimack  Manu- 
facturing Company,  with  Warren 
Dutton  as  president.  The  first 
business  of  the  new  company  was 
to  erect  a  dam  ^cross  the  Merri- 
mack at  Pawtucket  Falls,  widen 
and  repair  Pawtucket  Canal, 
renew  the  locks,  and  open  a  lat- 
eral canal  from  the  main  canal  to 
the  river,  on  the  margin  of  which 
their  mills  were  to  stand.  Five 
hundred  men  were  employed  in 
digging  and  blasting,  and  six  thousand  poration,  with  the  added  right  to  pur- 
pounds  of  powder  were  used.  The  chase,  hold,  sell,  or  lease  land  and 
canal,   as   reconstructed,    is   sixty   feet    water-power,  and  the  affairs  of  the  com- 


APPLETON-STREET  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


Lowell. 


309 


pany  wqre  placed  in  the  hands  of  Kirk 
Boott. 

In  1820,  there  were  in  the  villages  of 
East  Chelmsford,  Belvidere,  and  Cen- 
tralville,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
inhabitants.  Whipple's  powder-mills 
and  Howe's  flannel-mill  were  then  in 
operation,  and  there  were  several  saw- 
mills and  gristmills.  Ira  Frye's  Tavern 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  American 
House.  There  was  Hurd's  mill,  a  black- 
smith shop  at  Massic  Falls,  a  few  other 
such  establishments  as  a  country  village 
usually  aifords,  and  several  substantial 


Middlesex  Mechanics'  Association  and 
the  Central  Bridge  Corporation  were 
incorporated  ;  the  Hamilton  Manufac- 
turing Company  was  established  ;  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  East 
Chelmsford  petitioned  to  be  incor- 
porated. The  petition  was  granted, 
and  Lowell  became  a  town  March  i, 
1826,  with  a  population  of  about  two 
thousand.  The  name  of  the  town  was 
adopted  in  honor  of  Francis  Cabot 
Lowell,  a  business  associate  of  Nathan 
Appleton,  and  a  promoter  of  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  goods  in  this  country. 


ROGERS   HOMESTEAD,  BELVIDERE. 


dwelling-houses,  farmhouses,  and  cot- 
tages, conspicuous  among  which  was 
the  Livermore  House  in  Belvidere. 

The  operations  of  the  Merrimack  Com- 
pany soon  attracted  settlers.  In  1822, 
a  regular  line  of  stages  was  esta*blished 
between  East  Chelmsford  and  Boston. 
In  1824,  the  Chelmsford  Courier  was 
established,  and  became  at  once  the 
organ  of  the  growing  community. 
The  next  year  a  militia  company  was 
organized  ;  the  Fourth  of  July  was  cele- 
brated with  appropriate  ceremonies  ;  the 


The  years  of  1827  and  1828  were 
marked  by  great  depression  in  the 
commercial  and  manufacturing  circles 
of  the  country,  but  Lowell  had  a  good 
start,  and  her  prosperity  was  assured. 
The  Lowell  Bank,  the  Appleton  Com- 
pany, and  the  Lowell  Manufacturing 
Company,  were  established  in  1828, — 
the  }-ear  the  first  ton  of  coal  was 
brought  to  town.  The  coal  was  used 
for  fuel  in  the  law  office  of  Samuel 
H.  Mann. 

In   1829,  *^^   Lowell  Jnstitution  for 


3IO 


Lowell. 


'^ms=± 


Savings  was  incorporated,  and  William  j^rojected  ;  and  it  was  a  part  of  the 
Livingston  established  himself  in  trade,  original  plan  to  have  the  cars  drawn  by 
For  a   quarter   of   a    century  Mr.  Liv-     horses.      The    successful   operation    of 

Stephenson's  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railroad  was  known  to 
Mr.  Jackson,  and  he  was  encour- 
aged to  persevere.  The  road 
was  completed  at  a  cost  of 
$1,800,000  and  was  opened  to 
the  public,  July  4,  1835.  The 
cars  and  locomotive  would  be  a 
curiosity  to-day.  The  former, 
resembling  Concord  coaches, 
were  divided  by  a  partition  into 
two  compartments,  each  entered 
by  two  doors,  on  the  sides. 
The  interiors  of  the  compart- 
ments were  upholstered  with 
drab-colored  cashmere,  and  each 
accommodated  eight  passengers. 
The  conductor  and  engineer  had 
each  a  silver  whistle.  After  the 
former  had  ascertained  the  des- 
tination of  each  passenger  and 
collected  the  necessary  fare,  he 
would  close  the  car  doors,  climb 
to  his  place  in  a  cab  at  the  top 
woRTHEN-sTREET  OR  SECOND  BAPTIST  CHURCH  of  the  coachj  and  whistlc  to  the 


mgston 


was  one  of  the  most 
active,  most  enterprising,  and 
most  public-spirited  citizens  of 
Lowell.  Much  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  city  was  built  up 
by  his  instrumentality. 

The  Middlesex  Company  was 
established  in  1830,  as  was  the 
Lowell  fire  department.  The 
Town  Hall  was  also  built ;  and 
Lowell  numbered  sixty-four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  inhab- 
itants. 

In  1830,  Mr,    Jackson   under- 
took to  connect  Boston  and  Lowell  with 
a  railroad.     A  macadamized  road  had 
been  surveyed,  when  this  new  road  was 


CENTRAL  METHODIST  CHURCH. 

engineer  as  a  signal  for  starting.  The 
engineer,  who  was  protected  by  no  cab, 
would   respond   with  his  whistle,  when 


Lozvell. 


311 


the  train  would  dash  out  of  the  station. 
The  brakes  were  such  as  are  used  on  a 
coach,  and  it  was  a  scientific  matter, 
when  the  engineer  gave  his  warning- 
whistle  to  break  up  a  train  on  arriving 
at  a  station.  The  rails  were  secured  to 
granite  ties,  by  means  of  cast-iron 
plates,  and  the  road  was  very,  voy 
solid.  Frost  soon  rendered  it  necessary 
to  introduce  wooden  ties,  and  nothing 


In  1833,  the  town  felt  the  need  of  a 
police  court,  and  one  was  established. 
Joseph  Locke  was  the  first  justice. 
During  the  same  year  the  Lawrence 
Mills  were  started  ;  and  the  town  was 
visited  by  President  Andrew  Jackson 
and  members  of  his  Cabinet,  and  later 
by  the  great  statesman,  Henry  Clay. 

In  1834,  Belvidere  was  included  in 
Lowell,  and  the    town   had  the  honor 


JOHN   NESMITH. 
Born  in  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  August  3,  1793. 


has  yet  been  discovered  which  can  be 
used  as  a  substitute  for  them. 

The  Lowell  Railroad  was  not  the  first 
opened  in  the  United  States,  but  it  was 
the  first  passenger  road  in  successful 
operation  in  New  England. 

In  1 83 1,  the  Railroad  Bank  vas 
established. 

In  1832,  the  Suffolk  and  Tremont 
Mills  were  established. 


of  entertaining  Colonel  David  Crockett, 
George  Thompson,  m.p.,  the  English 
abolitionist  (not  cordially),  and  M. 
Chevalier,  the  French  political  econ- 
omist. 

In  1835,  Joel  Stone,  of  Lowell,  and 
Joseph  P.  Simpson,  of  Boston,  built 
the  steamboat  Herald,  for  navigating 
between  Lowell  and  Nashua,  but  the 
enterprise  proved  a  failure  ;  the  Nashua 


312 


Loivell. 


and  Lowell  Railroad  Company  was  by  Dr.  Huntington;  in  1S53,  by  the 
incorporated;  the  Lowell  Almshouse  Honorable  Sewall  G.  Mack;  in  1855, 
was  started ;  the  hall  of  the  Middlesex    l)y  the  Honorable  Ambrose  Lawrence  ; 

in  1856,  by  Dr.  Huntington  ;  in 
1 85  7,  by  the  Honorable  Stephen 
Mansur,  the  first  Republican 
mayor  ;  in  1858,  by  Dr.  Hunting- 
ton, for  his  eighth  term  ;  in  1859, 
by  the  Honorable  James  Cook ; 
in  i860,  by  the  Honorable  Ben- 
jamin C.  Sargent;  in  1862,  by 
the  Honorable  Hocum  Hosford  ; 
in  1865,  by  the  Honorable  Josiah 
G.  Peabody  ;  in  1S67,  by  .  the 
Honorable  George  F.  Richard- 
son ;  in  1869,  by  the  Honorable 
Jonathan  P.  Folsom  ;  in  1 8  7 1 ,  by 
the  Honorable  Edward  F.  Sher 
man;  in  1S72,  by  the  Honorable 
Josiah  G.  Peabody;  in  1873,  by 
the  Honorable  Francis  Jewett ;  in 
1876,  by  the  Honorable  Charles 
A.  Stott ;  in  1878,  by  the  Honor- 
able  John  A.  G.  Richardson  ;  in 
SUFFOLK-STREET  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.  i88o,  by  the  Honorable  Frederic 


Mechanics'  Association  was  built ; 
and  the  Lowell  Courier,  the 
oldest  daily  newspaper  in  Mid- 
dlesex   County,  was    established. 

In  1836,  the  population  -  of 
Lowell  was  17,633.  During  the 
year  the  Boott  Mills  were  started, 
and  a  city  charter  was  adopted. 

Dr.  Elisha  Bartlett  was  elected 
first  mayor  of  the  city  of  Lowell. 
He  was  succeeded,  in  1838,  by 
the  Honorable  Luther  Lawrence  ; 
in  1 840,  by  the  Honorable  Elisha 
Huntington,  M.D.  ;  in  1842,.  by  the 
Honorable  Nathaniel  Wright ;  in 
1844.  by  Dr.  Huntington;  in 
1 846,  by  the  Honorable  Jefferson 
Bancroft ;  in  1849,  by  the  Hon- 
orable Josiah  B.  French;  in  1851,  by  T.  Greenhalge  ;  in  1882,  by  the  Hon- 
the  Honorable  J.  H.  B,  Ayer ;  in  1852,     orable  George  Runels  ;  in  1883,  by  the 


THE   THIRD    UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH. 
Now  Barristers'  Hall. 


Lowell. 


313 


present  mayor,  the  Honorable  John  J. 
Donovan. 

The  young  city  met  with  a  serious 
loss  April  II,  1837,  in  the  sudden  death 
of  Kirk  Boott. 

A  county  jail  was  built  in  1S38,  and 
the  Nasliua  and  Lowell  Railroad  was 
opened  for  travel. 

Luther  Lawrence  was  killed,  April  1 7, 
1839,  by  a  foil  into  a  wheel-pit.     He 


peared  the  Lowell  Offering,  a  monthly 
journal,  edited  by  Miss  Harriet  Farley 
and  Miss  Hariot  Curtiss,  two  factory 
girls.  The  journal  was  praised  by  John 
G.  Whittier,  Charles  Dickens,  and 
other  gifted  writers,  for  its  intrinsic 
merits. 

Lowell  is  largely  indebted  to  Oliver 
M.  Whipple  for  its  cemetery,  which  was 
consecrated  June    20,    1841.     It  con- 


WILLIAM   LIVINGSTON. 
Born  April  \i,  1803.     Died  March  17,  1853. 


was  serving  his  second  term  as  mayor 
of  the  city  at  the  time  of  the  accident. 
His  residence  was  bought  by  the  cor- 
porations and  converted  into  the  Lowell 
Hospital. 

\\\  1840,  the  Massachusetts  Mills 
were  established ;  and  the  South  Com- 
mon, of  about  twenty  acres,  and  the 
North  Common,  of  about  ten  acres, 
were    laid   out.      During   this   year  ap- 


tains  about  forty-five  acres,  and  has 
near  the  centre  a  small  gothic  chapel. 

In  January,  1842,  Charles  Dickens 
made  a  flvin^  visit  to  Lowell,  and  has 
left  on  record  in  American  Notes  his 
impressions  of  the  city. 

During  this  period  the  court-room  of 
the  city  was  occasionally  graced  by  the 
presence  of  Daniel  Webster  and  Rufus 
Choate. 


314 


Loivell. 


The  City  Library  was  instituted  in 
1844. 

The  Stony  Brook  Raihoad  Company 
was  incorporated  in  1S45. 

Hie  Honorable  Nathan  Crosby  was 
appointed  justice  of  the  poHce  court 
in  1846,  and  still  continues  in  office. 
The    Lowell    and    Lawrence    Railroad 


guished  hydraulic  engineer  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  a  stupendous  work  and 
stands  a  monument  to  the  genius  of  its 
constructor.  Daniel  Webster,  in  com- 
pany with  Abbott  Lawrence,  rode  along 
its  dry  channel,  before  the  water  was 
admitted,  and  fully  appreciated  the 
immense  undertaking. 


SAINT  ANNE'S  CHURCH,  1840. 


was  incorporated  this  year ,  and  the 
population  of  Lowell  numbered  29,127. 
President  James  K.  Polk  visited 
Lowell  in  1847  ;  and  the  city  met  with 
the  loss  of  Patrick  Tracy  Jackson,  a 
Hian  whose  name  should  be  always 
honored  in  Lowell.  The  gfreat  North- 
em  Canal  was  completed  this  year  by 
James    B.    Francis,   the    most    distin- 


The  Salem  and  Lowell  Railroad  was 
incorporated  in  1848,  and  was  opened 
for  travel  two  years  later. 

The  reservoir  on  Lynde's  Hill  was 
constructed  in  1849. 

Gas  was  introduced,  and  the  Court 
House  on  Gorham  Street  built,  in  1 850. 

In  1851,  Centralville,  previously  a 
part   of    Dracut,  was    included   within 


Lowell. 


3>5 


the  city  limits,  and  the  Lowell  Reform 
School  was  established. 

In  1852,  George  Wellman  completed 
his  first  working  model  of  his  self  top 
card  stripper  —  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able inventions  of  the  present  century  ; 
Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hungarian  patriot, 
visited  Lowell ;  and  the  Legislature  of 


her  young  men  many  of  the  best  were 
sacrificed  to  preserve  the  Union. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  i)roduced 
a  profound  sensation  in  Lowell.  Four 
companies  from  the  city  hastened  to 
join  their  regiment :  the  Mechanic 
Phalanx,  under  command  of  Captain 
Albert  S.  FoUansbee ;  the  City  Guards, 


OLIVER  M.WHIPPLE. 


Massachusetts  enacted  the  first  prohib- 
itory liquor  law. 

The  City  Hall  was  reconstructed  in 
1853.  The  Lowell  Jail  was  built  in 
1856.  Thomas  H.  Benton  visited 
Lowell  in  1857.  Washington  Square 
was  laid  out  in  1858. 

During  the  dark  days  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, Lowell  responded  103-ally  to  the 
appeal  for  soldiers  and  money,  and  of 

Vol.  L— No.  iii.— P. 


Captain  James  W.  Hart ;  the  WatsoM 
Light  Guard,  Captain  John  F.  Noyes, 
and  the  Lawrence  Cadets  (National 
Grays),  Captain  Josiah  A.  Sawtelle. 
They  assembled  at  Huntington  Hall, 
the  day  after  President  Lincoln's  call 
for  troops,  and  were  mustered  into  the 
Sixth  Massachusetts  Regiment  under 
command  of  Colonel  Edward  F.  Jones. 
They  at  once  proceeded  to  Boston  and 


3i6 


L(nvc//. 


were  joined  at  Faneuil  Hall  \)\  the  the  Richardson  Light  Infantry,  Captain 
other  companies  of  the  regiment  and  Phineas  A.  Davis,  were  formed  the  day 
the  next  day  were  on  their  way  to  the     after  the  Baltimore  riot.     The  company 

known    as    the     Abbott     Grays, 

--  -=i-5v^-.-„-  under   Captain  Edward  Gardner 

_  "^^^i^'  \  ''■%^__  Abbott,  was  organized  five  days 

later.  That  called  the  Butler 
Rifles  was  organized  May  i,  by 
Eben  James  and  Thomas  O'Hare. 
While  these  active  preparations 
for  war  were  progressing,  Judge 
Crosby  called  a  public  meeting, 
April  20,  at  which  the  Pioneer 
Soldiers'  Aid  Association,  the 
germ  of  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
was  formed.  The  city  govern- 
ment was  liberal,  too,  in  its  ap- 
propriations for  the  families  of 
absent  soldiers.  In  September, 
Camp  Chase,  a  military  rendez- 
vous, was  established  at  Lowell. 
Among  the  first,  and  most  dis- 
tinguished, of  the  citizens  of 
Lowell  to  offer  his  services  to 
the  general  government  at  this 
crisis,  was  General  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,    already    a     lawyer     and 

FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH,  I860. 

seat  of  war.  A  detachment  of 
the  regiment  had  to  fight  their 
way  through  a  mob  in  Baltimore, 
and  four  of  the  Lowell  Citv 
Guards  were  the  first  to  lay  down 
their  lives  in  the  great  drama  of 
war  known  as  the  Rebellion. 
Addison  O.  Whitney  and  Luther 
C.  Ladd,  of  Lowell,  were  the 
first  martyrs ;  their  last  resting- 
place  is  commemorated  by  a 
monument  in  a  public  square  of 
the  city.  The  regimfent  arrived 
at  Washington,  were  quartered 
in  the  Senate  Chamber,  and 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  rapidly 
gathering  Northern  army.  The  Hill  orator  of  great  reputation,  who  had 
Cadets,  under  Captain  S.  Proctor,  and     previously  held  high  rank  in  the  militia. 


KIRK-STREET  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,  1840. 


Lowell. 


317 


Six  companies  from  Lowell  joined  his 
expedition  to  the  Gulf. 

Early  in  1S62,  the  Sixth  and  Seventh 
Batteries,  mostly  Lowell  men,  were 
organized.  Li  response  to  the  Pres- 
ident's call  in  July,  1862,  three  com- 
panies  joined    the   Thirty-third    Regi- 


the  second  held  in  the  Northern  States. 
In  July,  1863,  the  "draft"  called  for 
over  four  hundred  additional  soldiers 
from  Lowell ;  less  than  thirty  were 
forced  into  the  service.  These  were 
the  palmy  days  for  the  substitute  brokers 
and   bounty-jumpers.       In  July,    1864, 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH    1840. 


Formerly  Appleton-street  Congregational  Church. 


ment.  In  August,  the  Sixth  Regiment 
again  entered  the  field  for  a  campaign 
of  nine  months. 

In  February,  1863,  Lowell  sent  to 
the  war  the  Fifteenth  Battery,  in  com- 
mand of  Captain  Timothy  Pearson  and 
Lieutenant  Albert  Rowse.  During  this 
month  the  ladies  of  the  city  raised 
about  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  S.in- 
itary  Commission  by  a  Soldiers'  Fair — 


the  Sixth  Regiment  again    responded, 
and  served  one  hundred  days. 

In  1865,  came  the  close  of  the  war 
and  the  return  of  the  battle-scarred 
veterans.  During  the  long  struggle 
more  than  five  thousand  citizens  of 
Lowell  were  in  the  army  and  navy  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  city  expended 
over  $300,000  in  equipment  and  boun- 
ties. 


3i8 


Lowell. 


The  Lowell  Horse  Railroad  Com-  In  1869,  the  city  authorities  under- 
pany  and  the  First  National  Bank  were  took  a  system  of  water-supply  works 
incorporated   in    1864.     The    French-     which  was  completed  four  years  later ; 

the     Lowell     Hosiery    Company 
_^^^^  if;?^£^^_  ....._.  was  incorporated  in  May.      The 

Thorndike  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany commenced  operations  in 
June,  1870. 

The  fire-alarm  telegraph  was 
introduced  in  187 1  ;  in  August, 
trains  on  the  Lowell  and  Fram- 
ingham  Railroad  commenced 
running ;  in  November,  the  new 
iron  bridge  across  the  Merrimack 
was  finished  ;  during  the  year, 
the  city  suffered  severely  from  the 
scourge  of  sniall-pox. 

The  boundaries  of  Lowell  were 
extended,  in  1873,  to  include 
Middlesex  Village,  taken  from 
Chelmsford,  and  a  part  of  Dracut 
and  Tewksbury.  A  new  railroad 
by  the  way  of  Andover  con- 
nected Lowell  with  Boston  in 
1874. 

ST.  PETER'S  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  I860. 


Canadians    began    to    settle     in 
Lowell  just  after  the  war. 

In  October,  1866,  Dr.  J.  C. 
Ayer  presented  the  city  with  the 
statue  of  Victory  which  stands  in 
Monument  Square. 

The  Old  Ladies'  Home  was 
dedicated  July  10,  1867.  St. 
John's  Hospital  -was  completed 
and  opened  in  1868.  It  occu- 
pies the  site  of  the  old  yellow 
house  built  in  1770  by  Timothy 
Brown.  In  November  of  the 
same  year  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Old  Residents'  Historical 
Association  of  Lowell  was  held 
at  the  store  of  Joshua  Merrill ; 
in  December,  the  city  was  visited  by 
General  Grant. 


OLD  FIRST  UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH, 
Which  stood  on  site  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  Station. 


The  city  celebrated  the  semi-centen- 
nial of  its  incorporation,  March  i,  1876. 


Lozvcll. 


319 


The  Emperor  Dom  Pedro  of  Brazil 
visited  the  city  in  June  of  the  same  year. 

The  Lowell  Art  Association  was 
formed  in  May,  1878.  In  December 
of  that  year  the  waters  of  the  Mer- 
rimack rose  nearly  eleven  feet  on  Paw- 
tucket  Danij  in   the   same    month   the 


wisdom  of  tlieir  early  managers ; 
accordingly  the  record  of  these  cor- 
porate bodies  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  annals  of  the  city.  The 
reader  has  noted  the  fact  that  the  first 
impetus  was  given  to  the  place  l)y  the 
acts  of  the  Merrrimack   Manufacturing 


JOHN   DYNELY  PRINCE. 
Bom  ill  England,  1780.     Died  Janiiarj^  5,  i860. 


Merrimack  Company  introduced  the 
electric  light. 

In  August,  1880,  Boston  and  Lowell 
were  connected  by  telephone. 

As  one  glances  over  the  history  of 
Lowell,  he  recognizes  the  fact  that  the 
city  has  gained  its  prominence,  its 
wealth,  and  its  population,  chiefly 
through  the  great  corporations,  and  the 


Compan}-.  This  company  was  in- 
corporated February  5,  1822;  and  the 
iirst  mill  was  started  the  following  year. 
The  company  is  not  only  the  oldest  in 
the  city  but  is  the  largest,  employing 
the  most  operatives  and  producing  the 
most  cloth  ;  their  chimney,  two  hundred 
and  eighty-three  fee*  high,  is  the  tallest 
in  the  country. 


320 


Lowell. 


Ezra  Worthen,  the  first  superintend- 
ent of  the  mills,  died,  suddenly,  June 


UNITARIAN  CHURCH,  1845. 

1 8,  1824,  and  was  succeeded  by  Warren 
Colburn,  the  author  of  the  popular 
arithmetic.  Mr.  Colburn  died  Septem- 
ber 13,  1833,  and  was  succeeded  by 
John  Clark,  who  held  the  office  until 
1848.  Mr.  Clark  was  succeeded  by 
Emory  Washburn,  afterward  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  by  Edward  L.  Lebreton, 
and  from  1850  to  1865  by  Isaac  Hinck- 
ley, now  president  of  the  Philadelphia, 
Wilmington,  and  Baltimore  Railroad. 
John  C.  Palfrey  was  superintendent 
from  1865  to  1874,  when  Joseph  S. 
Ludlam  was  appointed.  The  print- 
works were  in  charge  of  Kirk  Boott  in 

1822  ;    after   him    was    Allen    Pollock, 

1823  to  1826  ;  John  D.  Prince,  1826  to 
1855;  Henry  Barrows,  1855  to  1878; 
James  Duckworth,  1878  to  1882  ;  Robert 
Latham,  since  1882.  The  treasurers 
of  the  company  have  been  Kirk  Boott, 
Francis  C.  Lowell,  Eben  Chadwick, 
Francis  B.  Crowinshield,  Arthur  T. 
Lyman,  Augustus  Lowell,  and  Charles 
H.  Dalton. 


The  property  of  the  company  occu- 
pies twenty-four  acres  of  land.  They 
have  five  mills  besides  the  print- 
works, 153,552  spindles,  4,465 
looms,  and  employ  3,300  oper- 
atives. They  use  up  1 8,000  tons 
of  coal.  The  prints  made  at 
this  establishment,  are  marked 
"  Merrimack,"  and  are  too  well 
known  to  require  description. 

The  Hamilton  Manufacturing 
Company  was  incorporated  in 
1825.  The  treasurers  have  been 
William  Appleton,  1825  ;  Eben- 
ezer  Appleton,  1830;  George  W. 
Lyman,  1833  ;  Thomas  G.  Car}', 
1839;  William  B.  Bacon,  1859; 
Arthur  T.  Lyman,  i860;  Arthur 
L.  Devens,  1863  ;  Eben  Bacon 
1867  ;  Samuel  Batchelder,  1869  ; 
George    R.     Chapman,     1876 ; 


■^^<^S££/-L-ae»UMes»V^9 


FIRST    UNIVERSALIST    CHURCH,    HURD    STREET. 

James  A.  Dupee,  since  1870.  The 
agents  have  been  Samuel  Batchelder, 
1825  ;     John    Avery,     183 1  ;     O.     H. 


Lowell. 


\2\. 


Moulton,  since  1864.  The  superintend- 
ents of  print-works  have  been  William 
Spencer,  1828;  William  Hunter,  1S62  ; 
William  Harley,  1866  ;  Thomas  Walsh, 
1876.  The  company  manufactures 
flannels,  prints,  ticks,  stripes,  drills,  and 
sheetings. 

The  Appleton  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1828.  The  treasurers  have 
been  William  Appleton,  1828;  Patrick 


Wright,  1 88 1.     The  company  manufac- 
tures sheetings,  drillings,  and  yarn. 

The  Lowell  Manufacturing  Company 
was  incorporated  in  1828.  The  treas- 
urers have  been  Frederick  Cabot,  1828  ; 
George  W.  Lyman,  1831  ;  Nathaniel 
W.  Appleton,  1841  ;  William  C.  Apple- 
ton,  1843  j  J-  Thomas  Stevenson,  1847  >' 
Israel  Whitney,  1848;  Charles  L. 
Harding,     1863 ;     David    B.    Jewett, 


NATHAN   CROSBY. 
Bom  in  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  February  12,  1798. 


T.Jackson,  1829;  George  W.  Lyman, 
1832  ;  Thomas  G.  Cary,  1841  :  Will- 
iam B.  Bacon,  1859;  Arthur 
Lyman,  1861  ;  Arthur  L.  Devens, 
1863  ;  John  A.  Burnham,  1867  ;  George 
Motley,  1867  ;  James  A.  Dupee,  since 
1874.  The  superintendents  have  been 
John  Avery,  1828;  George  Motley, 
1831  ;    J.    H.    Sawyer,    1867;    Daniel 


1865;  Samuel  Fay,  1874;  George  C. 
Richardson,  1880;  Arthur  T.  Lyman, 
1 88 1.  The  superintendents  have  been 
Alexander  Wright,  1828;  Samuel  Fay, 
1852  ;  Andrew  F.  Swapp,  1874  ;  Albion 
C.  Lyon  was  appointed  June  i,  1883. 
The  company  makes  ingrain,  Brussels, 
and  Wilton  caqDcts. 

The  Middlesex  Company  was  incor- 


Lowell. 


incorporated  March  19,  183 1. 
The  two  were  consoHdated  in 
187 1.  The  treasurers  of  Suf- 
folk Manufacturing  Company 
were  John  W.  Boott,  1831  ; 
Henry  Hall,  1832  ;  Henry  V. 
^^'ard,  185  7  ;  Walter  Hastings, 


186 


D  ^ 


William 


A.  Burke, 
1868;  James  C.  Ayer,  1870. 
The  treasurers  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Tremont  Mills 
were  William  Appleton,  1831  ; 
Henry  Hall,  1832  ;  Henry  V. 
Ward,  1857  ;  Walter  Hastings, 
1865  ;  William  A.  Burke, 
1868;  James  C.  Ayer,  1870. 
The  treasurers  of  Tremont 
and  Suffolk  Mills  have  been 
James  C  Ayer  1S71  ;  John 
C  Birdseye,  1872.  The 
agents  of  Suffolk  Manufactur- 
ing   Company    were     Robert 


Means,   1831  ;    John 


FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

porated  in  1830.  The  treasurers 
have  been  William  D.  Stone, 
1830;  Samuel  Lawrence,  1840; 
R.  S.  Fay,  1857;  George  Z. 
Silsbee,  1882.  The  agents  have 
been  James  Cook,  1830;  Nelson 
Palmer,  1845  j  Samuel  Lawrence, 
1846;  O.  H.  Perry,  1848;  Will- 
iam T.  Mann,  1851;  Josiah 
Humphrey,  1S52  ;  James  Cook, 
1858  ;  O,  H.  Perry,  1858  ;  G.  V. 
Fox,  1869  ;  William  C.  Avery, 
1874;  O.  H.  Perry,  from  June, 
1882.  O.  Saunderson,  superin- 
tendent. The  company  makes 
indigo  blue  coatings,  cassimeres, 
police,  yacht,  and  cadet  cloth, 
ladies'  sackings,  beavers,  and 
shawls. 

The  Suffolk  Manufacturing  Company 
was  incorporated  January  17, 183 1.  The 
proprietors  of  the  Tremont  Mills  were 


Wrig 


ht, 


1842  ;  Thomas  S.  Shaw,  1868. 


WORTHEN-STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH, 

The  agents  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
Tremont  Mills  were  Israel  Whitney, 
1831  ;  John  Aiken,    1834;   Charles    L. 


Loivf//. 


Tilden,  1837;  Charles  F.  ]5attles, 
1858;  Thomas  S.  Shaw,  1870.  The 
agent  of  Tremoiit  and  Suffolk  Mills  is 
Thomas  S.  Shaw,  appointed  August  19, 
1 87 1.  These  mills  make  jeans,  cotton 
flannels,  drillings,  sheetings,  shirtings 
and  print  cloth. 

The  Lawrence  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  in  1831.     The 


burn,  1878.  The  company  makes 
shirtings,  sheetings,  cotton  flannels, 
and  cotton  and  merino  hosiery. 

The  Boott  Cotton  Mills  were  incor- 
porated in  1835.  The  treasurers  have 
been  John  Amory  Lowell,  1835  ;  J. 
Pickering  Putnam,  1848  ;  T.  Jefferson 
Coolidge,  1858;  Richard  D.  Rogers, 
1865  ;    Augustus   Lowell,    1875.      The 


GEORGE  WELLMAN. 
Born  in  Boston,  March  i6,  1810.     Died  April  4,  18 


treasurers  have  been  William  Appleton, 
1831  ;  Henry  Hall,  1832;  Henry  V. 
Ward,  1857;  T.  Jefferson  Coolidge, 
1868;  Lucius  M.  Sargent,  1 880.  The 
agents  have  been  William  Austin, 
1830;  John  Aiken,  1837;  William  S. 
Southworth,  1849  ;  William  F.  Salmon, 
1865  ;  Daniel  Hussey,  1869  ;  John  Kil- 


agents  have  been  Benjamin  F.  French, 
1836  ;  Linus  Child,  1845  ;  William  A. 
Burke,  1862  ;  Alexander  G.  Cumnock, 
1868.  The  company  makes  sheetings, 
shirtings,  and  printing  cloth. 

The  Massachusetts  Cotton  Mills  were 
incorporated  in  1838.  The  treasurers 
have  been  John  Amory  Lowell,   1839; 


;24 


LcnvclL 


Homer  Bartlett,  1848;  George  Atkin-  1837;  P.  T.  Jackson,  1838;  John  T. 
son,  1872.  The  agents  have  been  Morse,  1845.  The  agents  have  been 
Homer  liartlctt,    1840 ;  Joseph  White,     Kirk     I'.oott,     1822;     Joseph    Tilden, 

1837;  William  Boott,  1838; 
Jarnes  B.  Francis,  1845,  ^^  present 
date. 

The  Winnipiseogee  Lake  Cot- 
ton and  Woolen  Manufacturing 
Company  was  incorporated  in 
1 83 1.  The  presidents  were 
Abbott  Lawrence,  from  August, 
1846,  to  July,  1850  ;  Henry  Hall, 
to  June,  1856  ;  Francis  B.  Crow- 
inshield,  to  August,  1857;  John 
Amory  Lowell,  to  June,  1864; 
J.  Thomas  Stevenson,  to  June, 
1877  ;  Richard  S.  Fay,  until  his 
decease,  March  7,  1882.  The 
treasurers  were  James  Bell,  from 
1845  until  his  decease,  in  May, 
1857;  Francis  B.   Crowinshield, 

LEE-STREET  UNITARIAN  CHURCH,  toOctobcr,     1861;     J.     ThomaS 

Now  French  Catholic.     Enlarged  and  rebuilt.  StCVCnSOn,        tO        June,  1864  ; 


1848;  Frank  F.  Battles,  1856. 
The  mills  turn  out  sheetings, 
shirtings,  and  drillings. 

The  Lowell  Machine  Shop  was 
incorporated  in  1845.  The 
treasurers  have  been  J.  Thomas 
Stevenson,  1845  ;  William  A. 
Burke,  from  1876.  The  agents 
have  been  William  A.  Burke, 
1845  ;  Mertoun  C.  Bryant,  1862  ; 
Andrew  Moody,  1862;  George 
Richardson,  1870;  Charles  L. 
Hildreth,  1879.  The  company 
makes  all  kinds  of  machinery  for 
mills. 

The  Proprietors  of  Locks  and 
Canals  on  Merrimack  River  were 
incorporated  in  1792.  The 
treasurers  have  been  Joseph  Cut- 
ler, 1792  ;  W.  W.  Prout,  1804;  Samuel  Homer  Bartlett,  to  June,  1872  ;  Charles 
Cutler,  1809;  Samuel  Tenney,  181 7;  S.  Storrow,  to  June,  1878;  James  A. 
Kirk    Boott,     1822;     Joseph    Tilden,    Dupee,    to    June,     1882.       Directors. 


HRESCO.TT-STREET  CHURCH. 


Lowell. 


l-S 


1883  :  Charles  Storrow,  president ;  of  J.  C.  Ayer  and  Company.  Dr.  J.  C. 
James  A.  Dupee,  Augustus  Lowell,  Ayer  started  the  business  in  1837,  when 
Howard    Stockton,    George    Atkinson,    he  offered  to  physicians  the   prescrip- 


llliilSlfilM]!)   I13II  li  i|l' 


LOWELL  MACHINt  SHOP      About  I860 


Clerk  of  corporation,  Augustus  T.  tion  of  cherry  pectoral.  It  soon 
Owen  ;  treasurer,  George  Atkinson  ;  became  a  very  popular  remedy,  and  he 
agent,  T.  P.  Hutchinson.      The    com-     was  soon  embarked  in   the    enterprise 


^^^lllll^lljj;!]];!^^:;-^ 


APPLETON   MILLS.     1845. 


pany  guards    the    storage   of  water   at  of  manufacturing  it.     Later  he   added 

Lake  Winnipiseogee.  to  the  list  of  his  proprietary  medicines 

Nor  would  a  sketch    of    Lowell   be  cathartic  pills,  sarsaparilla,  ague    cure, 

complete  without  mention  of  the    firm  and     hair    vigor.        He    died   July    3, 


326 


Lowell. 


1878,  after  having  accumulated  a  tories  in  llie  city,  of  more  or  less  ex- 
princely  fortune.  His  brother,  and  tent.  Their  products  consist  of  porus 
partner,  Frederick  Ayer,  conducts  the  and  adhesive  plasters,  lung  protectors, 
business.       The    firm    occupy    several    sulphuric,  hydrochloric,  and  nitric  acids, 

and  other  chemicals  and  dye- 
stuffs,  belting,  paper  stock,  yarns, 
shoulder-braces,  suspenders, 
shoe  -  linings,  elastic  webbing, 
sackings,  rugs,  mats,  gauze  under- 
garments, looms,  harnesses,  felt- 
ing, hose,  bunting,  seamless  flags, 
awning  stripes,  reeds,  braid,  cord, 
chalk-lines,  picture  cords,  twines, 
belts,  fire  hose,  leather,  bolts, 
nuts,  screws,  washers,  boilers, 
tanks,  kettles,  presses,  fire- 
escapes,  water-wheels,  wire-hed- 
dies,  card-clothing,  wood-work- 
ing and  knitting  machinery, 
cartridges,  chimney-caps,  stamps, 
tools,  lathes,  files,  wire-cloth, 
scales,  steel  wire,  paper  boxes, 
music  stands,  mouldings,  car- 
HiGH-STREET  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  riagcs,    sleighs,     shuttles,     doors, 


large  buildings  and 
employ  three  hundred 
people.  The  world 
demands  fifteen  tons  of 
Ayer's  pills  yearly.  They 
publish  thirteen  million 
almanacs,  in  ten  lan- 
guages, issuing  twenty- 
six  editions  for  different 
localities,  keeping  sev- 
eral large  presses  con- 
stantly at  work. 

C.  I.  Hood  and  Com- 
pany also  make  sarsa- 
parilla  and  other  pro- 
prietary medicines. 
They  employ  seventy-five  operatives.         sashes,  blinds,  furniture,  asbestos  cover- 

E.  W.  Hoyt  and  Company  employ  ing,  blotters,  crayons,  drain-pipe,  glue, 
twenty  hands,  and  make  two  million  lamp-black,  machine  brushes,  matches, 
bottles  of  German  cologne.  croquet  sets. 

There  are  numerous  other  manufac-         Proper  attention  has  always  been  paid 


MERRIWIAC   HOUSE 
Built  in  1833,  rebuilt  in  1S72.     Heniy  Emery  proprietor  since  1845. 


Lotvell. 


327 


to  education  in  Lowell,  In  1822,  there 
were  two  schoolhouses  within  the  terri- 
tory, one  near  the  pound,  the  other 
near  the  stone  house  at  Pawtucket  Falls. 
The  Merrimack  Company  soon  after  its 
organization  built  a  schoolhouse  on 
Merrimack  Street  and  paid  the  teacher. 
The   Reverend   Theodore    Edson   had 


from  1845  to  1883.     He  was  succeeded 


F.    C'obum,     the     present 


by     Frank 
teacher. 

After  the  log  chapel  presided  over  by 
the  Indian  Samuel  had  fallen  into 
decay,  a  century  and  a  half  passed 
before  another  place  of  worship  was 
erected  within  the  limits  of  Lowell.     I* 


SOLON    A.  PERKINS. 
Born  in  Lancaster,  N.  H.,  December  6,  1836.     Killed  in  Louisiana,  June  3,  1863. 


charge  of  the  school.  Joel  Lewis  was  the 
first  male  teacher.  Alfred  V.  Bassett  was 
the  second.  In  1829,  the  school  had 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  pupils.  In 
1834.  the  school  was  divided.  The 
High  School  building  on  Kirk  Street 
was  erected  in  1840.  and  remodeled  in 
1867.     Charles  C.  Chase   was   teacher 


December,  1822,  a  comm.ittee  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Merrimack  Corporation 
to  build  a  suitable  church,  and  in  April, 
1824,  the  sum  of  nine  thousand  dollars 
was  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  The 
church  was  organized  February  24, 
1824,  as  "The  Merrimack  Religious 
Society,"  and    tiie    Episcopal   form   of 


328 


Lowell. 


B\rt.  Brig -Gen.  HENRY  LIVERMORE  ABBOTT. 

Born  in  Lowell,  January  21.  1S42      Killed  in  battle  of  the 

Wildeme.ss,  May  6,  1864. 

worship  was  adopted.  The  first 
religious  services  were  conducted 
by  the  Reverend  Theodore 
Edson,   on    Sunday,    March     7, 

1824,  in  the  schoolhouse.  The 
church  edifice  is  known  as  St. 
Anne's,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop     Griswold,     March     16, 

1825,  The  Reverend  Dr.  Edson 
was  the  first  rector.  After  a  pas- 
torate of  over  half  a  century,  he 
died  in  1883.  In  the  tower  of 
St.  Anne's  is  a  chime  of  eleven 
bells,  mounted  in  1857,  and 
weighing  five  tons. 

The  First  Baptist  Church  was 
organized  February  8,  1826. 
The  church  edifice,  built  the 
same  year,  occupied  land  given 
to  the  society  by  Thomas  Hurd. 
It  was  dedicated  November  15, 

1826,  when  the  Reverend  John 
Cookson  was  installed  as  pastor. 


He  was  dismissed  August  5, 
1827,  and  was  succeeded,  June 
4,  1828,  by  the  Reverend  Enoch 
N.  Freeman,  who  died  Septem- 
ber 22,  1835.  The  Reverend 
Joseph  W.  Eaton  was  ordained 
pastor,  February  24,  1836,  and 
dismissed  February  i,  1837. 
The  Reverend  Joseph  Ballard 
was  installed  December  25,  1837, 
and      dismissed     September     1, 

1845.  The  Reverend  Daniel  C. 
Eddy  was  ordained  January  29, 

1846,  was  speaker  of  the  Mass- 
achusetts House  of  Represen- 
tatives in  1855,  was  chaplain  of 
the  Senate  in  1856,  and  was  dis- 
missed at  the  close  of  1856. 
The  Reverend  William  H.  Alden 
was  installed  June  14,  1857,  and 
dismissed  in  April,  1864.  The 
Reverend    WilUam    E.    Stanton 


Major  EDWARD  GARDNER  ABBOTT. 

Born  in  Lowell,  September  29,  1840.     Killed  at  tiie  battle 
of  Cedar  Mountain,  August  9,  1862. 


Lowell. 


329 


was  ordained  November  2,  1S65,  and  ber  was  installed  in  October,  1862,  and 
resigned  June  30,  1870;  the  Reverend  dismissed  April  i,  1867.  The  Rever- 
Norman  C.  Mallory  was  settled  Sep-  end  Horace  James  was  installed  Octo- 
teniber  14,  1870,  and  resigned 
June  30,  1874;  the  Reverend 
Orson  E.  Mallory  was  settled 
March  24,  1875,  resigned  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1878;  the  Reverend 
Thomas  M.  Colwell  was  settled 
May  4,  1878. 

The  ^  First  Congregational 
Church  was  organized  June  6, 
1S26.  The  church  edifice  was 
built,  in  1827,  on  land  given  by 
the  Locks  and  Canals  Company. 
The  Reverend  George  C.  Beck- 
with,  the  first  pastor,  was  or- 
dained July  18,  1827,  and  dis- 
missed March  18,  1829.  The 
Reverend  Amos  Blanchard,  d.d., 
was  ordained  December  5,  1829, 
and  dismissed  May  21,  1845, 
when  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Kirk-street  Church.  The  Rev- 
erend Willard  Child  was  installed 
pastor,  October  i,  184=:,  and  dis-  ^^°^^  ^"^  corner  of  central  and  middle 

STREETS,  1848 


ber  31,  1867,  and  dismissed 
December  13,  1870.  The  Rev- 
erend Smith  Baker  was  installed 
September  13,  187 1. 

The  Hurd-street  Methodist 
Episcopat  Churcli  dates  from 
1826 ;  the  church  edifice  was 
built  in  1839.  The  Reverend 
Benjamin  Griffin  was  pastor  in 
1826  ;  the  Reverend  A.  D.  Mer- 
rill, in  1827  ;  the  Reverend  B.  F. 
Lambert,  in  1828;  the  Reverend 
A.  D.  Sargent,  in  1829  ;  the  Rev- 
erend E.  K.  Avery,  in  1830  and 
1831  ;  the  Reverend  George  Pickering, 
in   1832  ;    the  Rev.  A.  D.   Merrill,   in 

ber,  17,  1855,  and  dismissed  in  April,     1833  and  1834;  the  Reverend  Ira  M. 

1862.     The  Reverend  George  N.  Web-    Bidwell,  in  1835  >  ^^'^^  Reverend  Orange 


NORTHERN  RAILROAD  STATION. 


missed  January  31,   1855.     The   Rev- 
erend J.  L.  Jenkins  was  ordained  Octo- 


J  J 


o 


Lowell. 


Scott,  in    1836  ;  the  Reverend   E.    M. 
Stickney,  in  1837  and  1838;  the  Rev- 


COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE,  GORHAM  STREET,  I860, 


erend  Orange  Scott,  in  1839 
and  1840;  the  Reverend 
Schuyler  Hoes,  in  1841  and 
1842  ;  the  Reverend  W.  H. 
Hatch,  in  1843  and  1844; 
the  Reverend  Abel  Stevens, 
in  1845  ;  the  Reverend  C.  K. 
True,  in  1846  and  1847;  the 
Reverend  A.  A.  Willets,  in 
1848  ;  the  Reverend  John  H. 
Twonibly,  in  1849  and  1850; 
the  Reverend  G.  F.  Cox,  in 
185 1  and  1852  j  the  Reverend 
L.  D.  Barrows,  in  1853   and 


in  1856  and  1857;  the   Reverend  H. 

M.  Loud,  in  1858  and  1859;  the  Rev- 
erend William  R.  Clark,  in  i860 
and  1 86 1  ;  the  Reverend  Daniel 
Dorchester,  in  1862  and  1863; 
the  Reverend  Samuel  F.  Upham, 
in  1864,  1865,  and  1866  (during 
the  year  1865  he  was  chaplain  of 
the  Massachusetts  House  of 
Representatives)  ;  the  Reverend 
S.  F.  Jones,  in  1867.  The 
church  is  known  as  St.  Paul's, 
and  the  Reverend  Hiram  D. 
Weston  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  First  Universalist  Church 
was  organized  in  July,  1827. 
The  following  year  they  built 
their  church  on  Chapel  Street, 
but  removed  it  in  1837  to  Cen- 
tral Street.  The  Reverend  Eli- 
phalet  Case  was  pastor  from  1828 
to  1830;  the  Reverend  Calvin 
Gardner,  from  1830  to  1833  '•>  the 
Reverend  Thomas  B.  Thayer, 
from  1833  to  1845  ;  the  Rev- 
erend E.  G.  Brooks,  in  1845  ; 
the  Reverend  Uriah  Clark,  from 
1846    to     1850;    the    Reverend 


LOWELL  SKATING   RINK    GORHAM  STREET. 


1854  ;  the  Reverend  D.  E.  Chapin,  in    Thomas  B.  Thayer,  from  1851  to 

1855  'y  tl^^  Reverend  George  M.  Steele,    ber,    1857  ;    the   Reverend  J.  J. 


Octo- 
Twiss, 


Lozvell. 


331 


from  1859  to  January  i,  1872  ;  the 
Reverend  G.  T.  Flanders  was  settled  in 
1872;  the  Reverend  George  W.  Bick- 
nell  was  settled  December  21,  1880. 

The  South  Congregational  (Unita- 
rian) Church  was  organized  November 
7,  1830,  and  the  edifice  was  dedicated 
December  25,  1832,  The  Reverend 
William  Barry  was  pastor  from  1830  to 
1835  ;  the  Reverend  Henry  A.  Mills, 
D.D.,  from  1836  to   1853  ;    the  Rever- 


183 1  to  1835  ;  A.  C.  Burnap,  from 
1837  to  1852;  the  Reverend  George 
Darling,  from  1852  to  1855  ;  the  Rev- 
erend John  P.  Cleaveland,  d.d.,  from 
1855  to  1862,  when  he  became  chap- 
lain of  the  Thirtieth  Massachusetts 
Regiment  in  the  Department  of  the 
Gulf ;  the  Reverend  J .  E.  Rankin,  from 
1863  to  1865  ;  the  Reverend  A,  P. 
Foster,  was  settled  October  3,  1866, 
resigned  October  17,   1868;  the  Rev- 


DANIEL  LOVEJOY  AND  SON'S  MACHINE  KNIFE  WORKS. 


end  Theodore  Tibbetts,  in  1855  and 
1856  ;  the  Reverend  Frederick  Hinck- 
ley, from  1856  to  1864;  the  Reverend 
Charles  Grinnell  was  settled  February 
19,  1867;  the  Reverend  Henry 
Blanchard  was  ordained  January  19, 
1871  :  the  Reverend  Josiah  Lafayette 
Seward  was  ordained  December  31, 
1S74. 

The  Appleton  -  street  (Orthodox) 
Congregational  Church  was  organized 
December  2,  1830;  their  edifice  was 
built  the  following  year.  The  Rev- 
erend William  Twining  was  pastor  from 

Vol.  I.— No.  III.— E. 


erend  J.  M.  Green  was  installed   July 
30,  1870. 

The  Worthen-street  Baptist  Church 
was  organized  in  1831.  The  edifice 
known  as  St.  Mary's  Church  was  built 
for  this  society.  Their  present  edifice 
was  built  in  1838.  The  Reverend 
James  Barnaby  was  pastor  from  1832 
to  1835  ;  the  Reverend  Lemuel  Porter, 
from   1835  to   1851  ;  the  Reverend  J. 


W.   Smith,    from    1851    to    185 


o  } 


the 


Reverend  D.  D.  Winn,  from  1853  to 
1855  ;  the  Reverend  T.  D.  Worrall, 
from    1855  ^^  1S57;  the  Reverend  J. 


33: 


LozvelL 


W.  Bonham,  from  1857  to  i860;  the  spacious  edifice  was  erected.  Through 
Reverend  George  F.  Warren,  from  i860  mismanagement  the  society  came  to 
to  1867;  the  Reverend  "F.  R.  Morse,  grief  and  the  building  was  used  for 
from  1867  to  1870;  the  Reverend  D.    commercial  purposes.      In    1853,    the 

society  built  another  edifice  on  Paige 
Street.  The  pastors  of  this  church 
have  beeji  the  Reverend  Nathaniel 
Thurston,  the  Reverend  Jonathan 
Woodman,  the  Reverend  Silas  Curtis, 
the  Reverend  A.  K.  Moulton,  the  Rev- 
erend J.  B.  Davis,  the  Reverend  Dar- 
win Mott,  the  Reverend  George  W. 
Bean,  the  Reverend  J.  B.  Drew,  the 
Reverend  D.  A.  Marham,  the  Reverend 
J.  E.  Dame,  and  the  Reverend  E.  W. 
Porter. 

The  Second  Universalist  Church  was 
organized  in  1836,  and  their  house  was 
built  the  following  year.     The  pastors 


HOYT  &  SHEDD'S    BLOCK,  MIDDLESEX  STREET. 

H.  Miller,  d.d.,  from  1870  to  1873  ; 
the  Reverend  E.  A.  Lecompte,  in  1873. 
The  present  pastor  is  the  Reverend 
John  C.  Emery. 

In  1 83 1,  the  St.  Patrick's  Roman 
Catholic  Church  was  erected,  but  was 
replaced  in  1854  by  the  present  more 
spacious  edifice.  The  church  was  con- 
secrated October  29,  1854,  by  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick,  of  Boston,  and  Bishop 
O'Riley,  of  Hartford.  The  pastors 
have  been  the  Reverend  John  Mahoney, 
the  Reverend  Peter  Connelly,  the  Rev- 
erend James  T.  McDermott,  the  Rev- 
erend Henry  J.  Tucker,  and  the  Rever- 
end John  O'Brien. 

In  1833,  3  f''^s  church  of  the  Chris- 
tian denomination  was  organized  under 
the  ministry  of  the  Reverend  Timothy 
Cole.  The  experiment  proved  a  failure 
and  the  building  was  afterwards  con- 
verted to  the  uses  of  an  armory. 

The  Freewill  Baptist  Church  was 
organized     in    1834,    and    in    1837    a 


CHALIFOUX  BLOCK. 

of  this  church  have  been  the  Reverend 
Z.  Thompson,  from  1837  to  1839  ;  the 
Reverend  Abel  C.  Thomas,  from  1839 
to  1842;  the  Reverend  A.  A.  Miner, 
D.D.,  from  1842  to  1848;  the  Rev- 
erend L.  J.  Fletcher ;  the  Reverend  L. 


Linuell. 


m 


B.  Mason,  from  1S4S  to  1S49;  the 
Reverend  I.  D.  Williamson,  from  1849 
to  1S50;  the  Reverend  N.  M.  Gaylord, 
from  1850  to  1S53  ;  the  Reverend  John 
S.  Dennis ;  the  Reverend  Charles 
Cravens ;  the  Reverend  Charles  H. 
Dntton  ;  the  Reverend  L.  J.  Fletcher, 
from  1859  to  1862;  the  Reverend  F. 


ordained  March  20,  1840,  and  dis- 
missed February  3,  1S53.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Reverend  Eden  B.  Fos- 
ter, D.D.,  who  resigned  his  charge  in 
1S61,  but  resumed  it  in  1866.  During 
his  absence  the  Reverend  Joseph  W. 
Backus  was  pastor.  The  Reverend  J  . 
B.   Seabury  was   installed  as   associate 


FIVE   CENTS   SAVINGS    BANK. 


E.  Hicks,  from  1862  to  1866  ;  the  Rev- 
erend John  G.  Adams,  from  1S66  ;  the 
Reverend  W.  G.  Haskell,  from  1873; 
the  Reverend  R.  A.Greene,  from  1877. 
The  John- street  (Orthodox)  Congre- 
gational Church  was  organized  May  9, 
1S39.  The  house  was  dedicated  Jan- 
uary 24,  1840.  The  Reverend  Sted- 
man  W.    Hanks,  the   first  pastor,  was 


pastor  in  1S75.     The  present  pastor  is 
the  Reverend  Henry  T.  Rose. 

In  1840,  the  Third  Baptist  Church 
was  organized.  In  1846,  the  edifice, 
afterwards  occupied  by  the  Central 
Methodist  Church,  was  built  for  this 
society.  The  pastors  were  the  Rev- 
erend John  G.  Naylor,  the  Reverend 
Ira  Person,  the  Reverend  John  Duncan, 


334 


Lozvcll. 


the  Revei-end  Sereno  Howe,  the  Rev- 
erand  John  Duer,  and  the  Reverend 
John  Hubbard.  The  chun  h  was  dis- 
banded in  1 86 1. 

The  Worthen-street  Methodist  Ejms- 
copal  Church  was  organized  October  2, 
1 84 1,  and  the  edifice  was  erected  the 
following  year.  The  succession  of  pas- 
tors has  been  the  Reverend  A.  D. 
Sargent,  the  Reverend  A.  D.  Merrill, 
the  Rev.  J.  S.  Springer,  the  Reverend 
Isaac  A.  Savage,  the  Reverend  Chai  les 
Adams,  the  Reverend  I.  J.  P.  Collyer, 
the  Reverend  M.  A.  Howe,  the  Rev- 


Reverend  M.  Ronan,  assisted  by  the 
Reverends  John  D.Colbert  and  Thomas 
F.  McManus. 

In  1843,  the  Lowell  Missionary 
Society  was  established.  The  Rev- 
erend Horatio  Wood  officiated  in  the 
ministry  and  labored  in  free  evening 
schools  and  Sunday  mission  schools, 
successfully. 
The  Kirk-street  Congregational  Church 
was  organized  in  1845  ;  the  edifice  was 
built  in  1846.  The  Reverend  Amos 
Blanchard  was  installed  the  first  pastor 
and  continued  to  his  death,  January  14, 


APPLETON    BLOCK,  CENTRAL   STREET. 


erend  J.  W.  Dadmun,  the  Reverend 
William  H.  Hatch,  the  Reverend  A.  D. 
Sargent,  the  Reverend  L.  R.  Thayer, 
the  Reverend  William  H.  Hatch,  the 
Reverend  J.  O.  Peck,  the  Reverend 
George  Whittaker.  The  present  pastor 
is  the  Reverend  Nicholas  T.  Whittaker. 
The  St.  Peter's  Roman  Catholic 
Church  was  gathered  on  Christmas, 
1 84 1.  The  Reverend  James  Conway, 
the  first  pastor,  was  succeeded  in 
March,  1847,  by  the  Reverend  Peter 
Crudden.      The  present  rector  is  the 


1870.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev- 
erend C.  D.  Barrows.  The  present 
pastor  is  the  Reverend  Charles  A.  Dick- 
inson. 

The  High-street  Congregational 
Church  was  organized  in  1846.  Their 
edifice  was  built  by  the  St.  Luke's  Epis- 
copal Church,  which  was  formed  in 
1842  and  was  disbanded,  in  1844,  under 
the  ministration  of  the  Reverend  A.  D. 
McCoy.  The  Reverend  Timothy 
Atkinson  was  pastor  from  1846  to 
1847  ;  the  Reverend  Joseph  H.Towne, 


Loivell. 


*>  -7   C* 


from  184S  to  1853  ;  the  Reverend  O.  Isaac  J.  P.  Collyer,  the  Reverend  Ches- 
T.  Lanphier,  from  1855  to  1856;  the  ter  Field,  the  Reverend  Lorenzo  R. 
Reverend  Owen  Street,  from  September  Thayer,  the  Reverend  J.  H.  Mansfield, 
17,  1857.  the    Reverend    Andrew    McKeown,   in 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church 
was  originally  built  for  the  Baptists,  but 
was  purchased  in  1846  by  the  Reverend 
James  T.  McDermott,  and  consecrated 
March  7,  1847. 

The  Third  Universalist  Church  was 
organized  in  1843,  and  the  edifice 
known  as  Ban'isters'  Piall  u'as  built  for 
its  use.  It  was  disbanded  after  a  few 
years.  The  pastors  were  the  Reverend 
H.  G.  Smith,  the  Reverend  John 
Moore,  the  Reverend  H.  G.  Smith,  and 
the  Reverend  L.  J.  Fletcher.  The  Cen- 
tral Methodist  Church  occupied  the 
edifice  for  a  time,  before  they  secured 
the  building  of  the  Third  Baptist  So- 
ciety.     The   Society    was  gathered  in 


FISKE'S  BLOCK,  CENTRAL  STREET. 

1865  and  1866,  the  Reverend  William 
C.  High,  in  1867.  The  Reverend  Isaac 
H.  Packard  is  the  present  pastor. 

In  1850,  a  Unitarian  Society,  organ- 
ized in  1846,  built  the  Gothic  Chapel 
on  Lee  Street,  and  occupied  it  until 
1 86 1,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
a  society  of  Spiritualists.  The  Unitarian 
pastors  were  the  Reverend  M.  A.  H. 
Niles,  the  Reverend  William  Barry,  the 
Reverend  Augustus  Woodbury,  the 
Reverend  J.  K.  Karcher,  the  Reverend 
John  B.  Willard,  and  the  Reverend 
William  C.  Tenney.  It  became  the 
property  of  the  St.  Joseph  (French) 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

On  July  5,  1855,  the  stone  church  on 
Merrimack  Street  was  dedicated  as  a 
Methodist  Protestant  Church.  There 
preached  the  Reverend  William  Marks, 
the  Reverend  Richard  H.  Dorr,  and  the 
Reverend  Robert  Crossley.    The  build- 


SCENE  BELOW  HUNT'S  FALLS. 

1854.  The  pastors  have  been  the 
Reverend  William  S.  Studley,  the  Rev- 
erend Isaac  S.  Cushman,  the  Reverend 


y:><^ 


( /IIIJ(IIIJIIItl{[llil]III 


o 

X 

z 

I 
o 

< 


Hi 

o 


/ 


*1 


Lozvell. 


Z17 


ing  passed  into  possession  of  the  Second 
Advent  Society,  which  had  been  organ- 
ized as  early  as  1 84  2 . 

St.  John's  Episcopal  Church  was 
erected  in  1861,  and  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Eastbum,  July  16,  1863.  The 
Reverend  Charles  W.  Homer  was  the 
first  rector.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Reverend  Cornelius  B.  Smith,  in  1863, 
who,  in  1866,  was   succeeded   by  the 


The  daily  life  of  its  continually  chang- 
ing population  has  not  been  dwelt  upon. 
In  the  early  days  the  projectors  of  the 
city  cared  for  the  religion,  the  educa- 
tion, and  the  savings  of  those  whom 
they  employed.  New  England  farms 
contributed  their  fairest  children  to  the 
mills.  The  field  was  open  to  the  world, 
and  from  every  section  flocked  those 
seeking  honest  emplovment.     First  in 


ED50N   BLOCK    MERRIMACK  STREET. 


Reverend  Charles  L.  Hutchins.  The 
present  pastor  is  the  Reverend  Leander 
C.  Manchester. 

There  are  in   Lowell   thirty  edifices 
exclusively  devoted  to  public  worship. 

We  have  followed  the  course  of  events 
which  have  developed  the  city  of  Low- 
ell from  a  small,  scattering  settlement 
to  an  important  city,  with  an  area  of 
nearly  twelve  square  miles,  occupied  by 
more  than  sixty  thousand  inhabitants. 


great  numbers  came  the  people  from 
England  and  Ireland,  and,  later,  the 
thrifty  French,  Germans,  Swedes,  and 
Canadians.  All  nations  have  contribu- 
ted to  the  advancement  of  Lowell,  each 
adding  of  his  labor  or  thought  to  the 
improvement  of  the  city. 

Lowell  is  laid  out  with  a  certain  ir- 
regular regularity.  The  mills  came  first : 
the  business  came  afterward ;  and  one 
finds  canals,  business  blocks,  and  mills 


Lowell. 


built  close  together.      Only  an  intelli-  from  Lowell  to  clothe  the  world.     Of 

gent  study  of  a  map  of   the  city  will  woolen  goods,  more  than  eight  million 

give  one  an  idea  of  its  plan.     It  was  yards.     Nearly  three   million    yards    of 

not  modeled  after  the  city  of  Philadel-  carpeting  are  made   in  the   city   every 

phia.  year,  and  a  fabulous  number  of  shawls. 

Over  seventeen   millions   of   dollars  Thirteen  million  pairs  of  stockings  were 


are  invested  in  manufacturing.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  mills, 
over  eight  hundred  thousand  spindles, 
and  twenty  thousand  looms.  The  mills 
give  employment  to  thirteen  thousand 
female  operatives  and  ten  thousand 
male  operatives.  Two  hundred  million 
yards  of  cotton  goods  are  yearly  sent 


the  last  year's  product.  The  Southern 
States  contribute  yearly  thirty-four 
thousand  tons  of  cotton,  which  is  here 
made  into  the  most  delicate  fabrics. 
The  calico  and  printed  goods  made  in 
Lowell  in  the  year  1882  would  twice 
encircle  the  earth  at  the  equator  —  and 
then  all  would  not  be  used  to  do  it. 


I:na^\ 


^-hyJULmtchve.. 


THE 

RANITE  n 


NTHLY. 


A   NEW   HAMPSHIRE   AlAGAZINE. 

'Devoted  to  Literature,  'Biography,  History,  and  State  Progress. 


Vol.  IX. 


DECEMBER,   1886. 


No.  12. 


BANKS  AND  BANKEES  OF  CONCORD. 


It  is  now  more  than  eighty  years 
since  the  banking  business  was  intro- 
duced into  Concord.  June.  18,  1806, 
Timothy  Wallver,  Caleb  Stark,  John 
Bradley,  John  Mills,  Robert  Harris, 
Ebenezer  Peasley,  Richard  A3'er, 
William  Whittle,  William  A.  Kent, 
Joshua  Darling,  Thomas  W.  Thomp- 
son, Aquila  Da^-is,  John  Chandler, 
Baruch  Chase,  Joseph  Towue,  and 
Joseph  Clough  and  their  associates 
were  incorporated  b}'  the  name  of  the 
President,  Directors,  and  Company 
of  the 

CONCORD    BANK. 

There  immediately  arose  dissension 
in  the  board  of  directors  as  to  the  lo- 
cation of  the  bank,  the  party  favor- 
ing the  "north  end"  being  led  by 
Hon.  Timothy  Walker  ;  the  party  fa- 
voring the  ''south  end"  being  led  by 
Colonel  William  A.  Kent.  As  a  re- 
sult two  banks  went  into  operation 
under  the  same  charter,  each  claiming 
exclusively  to  be  the  Concord  Bank, 
one  called  the  Upper  Bank,  the  other 
the  Lower  Bank.  Mr.  Walker  was 
the  first  president  of  the  Upper  Bank, 
and  Samuel  Sparhawk  was  the  first 
cashier.     Mr.  Towue  was  president. 


and  Mr.  Kent  was  cashier,  of  the 
Lower  Bank.  The  division  led  to 
considerable  litigation,  which  after  a 
while  was  amicably  settled,  and  the 
two  banks  continued  to  do  business 
until  the  charter  expired  in  1826, 
when  the  Upper  Bank  obtained  a  new 
charter  and  took  the  name  of  the  Mer- 
rimack County  Bank.  The  Lower 
Bank  also  obtained  a  new  charter,  and 
continued  to  do  business  until  it  failed 
in  1840. 

THE    MECHANICKS    BANK 

was  incorporated  July  5,  1834.  Its 
original  incorporators  were  Peter  Ren- 
ton,  Abner  B.  Kelley,  Horatio  Hill, 
Joseph  W.  Harper,  Nathaniel  G.  Up- 
ham,  Abel  Baker,  Benjamin  Evans, 
William  Low,  Joseph  Low,  Cyrus 
Barton,  Ralph  Metcalf,  Nathaniel 
Curtis,  James  Minot,  Arnold  Carroll, 
Moody  Kent,  Ezra  Carter,  William 
Richardson,  and  Isaac  F.  Williams. 
The  original  officers  were  Nathaniel 
G.  Upham,  president ;  George  Minot, 
cashier  ;  N.  G.  Upham,  Peter  Renton, 
Horatio  Hill,  J.  M.  Harper,  N.  Curtis, 
and  A.  B.  Kelley,  directors.  The 
original  capital  was  $100,000.  The 
charter   of   the   bank    was   extended 


34° 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


June  22,  1853,  aiul  its  affairs  were 
closed  ill  1865.  The  last  otticers  were 
Josiali  Miuot,  president ;  Charles  Mi- 
not,  cashier. 

MiNOT  &  Co.,  consisting  of  Josiah 
and  Charles  Minot,  commenced  bank- 
ing business  in  January,  186G.  Their 
business  was  incorporated  January  3, 
1880,  as  the  Mechauicks  National 
Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  Jo- 
siah Miuot  was  the  first  president ;  B. 
A.  Kimball,  vice-president ;  James  Mi- 
not, cashier  ;  Josiah  Minot,  Benjamin 
A.  Kimball,  Joseph  B.  Walker,  Ed- 
ward H.  Rollins,  Charles  H.  Amsdeu, 
John  M.  Hill,  and  Sargent  C.  Whitch- 
er,  directors.  At  present  Benja- 
min A.' Kimball  is  the  president ;  Jo- 
seph B.  Walker,  vice-president ;  James 
Minot,  cashier;  and  B.  A.  Kimball, 
J.  B.  Walker,  Josiah  Minot,  C.  H. 
Amsden,  E.  II.  Rollins,  John  Kim- 
ball, and  J.  M.  Hill  are  directors. 
The  three  last  named  directors  have 
received  notice  in  former  numbers  of 
the  Granite  Monthly.  A  few  lines 
here  may  not  inappropriately  be  de- 
voted to  the  quiet  and  gentlemanly 
cashier,  with  whom  the  business  pub- 
lic in  their  dealings  with  the  bank 
come  most  in  contact. 

JAMES    MINOT, 

son  of  Jonas  and  Ann  (Bartlett)  Mi- 
not, and  grandson  of  James  Minot  of 
Bristol,  was  born  April  12,  1843,  in 
Clarkson,  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
and  received  his  education  at  the  Col- 
legiate Institute,  in  Brockport,  New 
York.  In  August,  1862,  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  the  140th  Regiment 
New  York  Volunteers,  and  went  to 
the  frout.  He  served  with  his  regi- 
ment through  many  hard  fought  bat- 
tles, including  Chancellorsville,  until 


in  the  first  day's  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness, May  5,  1864,  he  was  severely 
wounded,  and  captured  by  the  enemy. 
He  had  a  bit  of  experience  in  South- 
ern prisons  until  he  was  paroUed  the 
following  September.  He  was  ex- 
changed in  Januar}',  1865,  and  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge,  on 
account  of  wounds  received  at  the 
Wilderness,  the  following  June.  In 
November,  1865,  he  entered  a  bank- 
ing office  in  Brockport,  where  he  re- 
mained nearly  two  years,  or  until  he 
came  to  Concord,  in  April,  1867,  and 
went  into  the  employment  of  his 
uncles,  Minot  &  Company. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Me- 
chanicks  National  Bank,  in  January, 
1880,  he  was  appointed  cashier. 

He  married  May  15,  1874,  Fanny 
E.,  daughter  of  Hazen  and  Martha 
A.  (Drew)  Pickering,  of  Concord. 
He  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  a  member  of 
the  South  Congregational  church,  and 
belongs  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  of  which  organization  he  is 
a  member  of  the  National  Council  of 
Administration 

Mr.  Minot  belongs  to  a  family 
many  members  of  which  have  been 
noted  financiers,  and  he  sustains  the 
family  reputation.  One  sees  in  him 
a  representative  veteran  of  the  grand 
old  army  of  the  Potomac,  modest,  quiet, 
brave,  fearless,  patriotic,  intelligent, 
such  as  the  South  at  first  under-esti- 
mated, but  soon  learned  to  dread 
from  their  dauntless  courage  and  cool 
determination. 

THE  NATIONAL  STATE  CAPITAL  BANK 

was  organized  January  26,  1853,  as 
the  State  Capital  Bank.  The  first 
directors  were  Samuel  Butterfield, 
Abrara   Bean,    R.  N.  Corning,    Hall 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


341 


Eoberts,  Ebenezer  Symmes,  Asa  Fow- 
ler, and  Eiios  Blake.  vSamuel  But- 
terfield,  the  first  president,  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1860  by  Hall  Roberts  ;  in 
1862.  by  John  V.  Barron  ;  and  in 
1878,  by  Lewis  Downing,  Jr.  Edson 
Hill,  the  first  cashier,  was  succeeded 
in  1858  by  Jonas  D.  Sleeper  ;  in  1859, 
by  Preston  S.  Smith;  in  1872,  by 
Henry  J.  Crippen  ;  in  1882,  by  Josiah 
E.  Fern  aid. 

The  bank  was  reorganized  as  a  na- 
tional bank  January  2,  1865,  when 
John  V.  Barron,  Robert  N".  Corning, 
James  Peverly,  Jonas  D.  Sleeper,  and 
James  S.  Norris  were  directors.  The 
present  board  of  directors  are  Lewis 
Downing,  Jr.,  James  S.  Norris,  Ly- 
man D.  Stevens,  J.  Everett  Sargent, 
John  FI.  Pearson,  John  F.  Jones,  and 
Henry  J.  Crippen. 

The  capital  stock  is  -8200,000.  The 
surplus  fund  and  undivided  profits 
amount  to  over  $104,000.  The  de- 
posits amount  to  over  $300,000. 

JOSIAH    E.   FERNALD, 

the  cashier,  son  of  Josiah  and  Mary 
E.  (Austin)  Fernald,  was  born  in 
Loudon,  N.  H.,  June  16,  1856.  He 
received  his  education  at  the  Pitts- 
field  academy.  He  came  to  Concord 
March  22,  1875,  and  took  the  place 
of  messenger  and  clerk  in  the  Na- 
tional State  Capital  Bank.  He  was 
appointed  cashier  February  20,  1882. 
He  was  married  December  8,  1880,  to 
Anna,  daughter  of  Curtis  White,  of 
Concord.  Their  union  has  been 
blessed  by  two  children,  Edith  and 
Mary  Fernald.  Mr.  Fernald  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Baptist  church, 
and  is  an  active,  conscientious,  pub- 
lic-spirited, and  useful  citizen. 


THE    FIRST    NATIONAL    BANK 

was  organized  in  March,  1864.     Asa 
Fowler,  Enos  Blake,  Edward  H.  Rol- 
lins,   William    AYalker,    Benning  W. 
.Sanborn,  George  A.   Pillsbury,    and 
Moses  Humphrey  were  the  first  direc- 
tors.     Judge    Fowler    and    Messrs. 
Rollins  and  Pillsbury  have  been  pre- 
viously   mentioned    in    these    pages. 
Asa  Fowler,  the  first  president,  was 
succeeded  in  1867  by  George  A.  Pills- 
bury ;  in  1878,  by  A.  C.  Pierce  ;  in 
December,     1882,    by     William    M. 
Chase;      in     1885,    by    William    F. 
Thayer.     Woodbridge  Odlin,  the  first 
cashier,    held    his    position    but  one 
month,   resigning    to    accept  the  ap- 
pointment of  assessor  of  internal  rev- 
enue.    He  was  succeeded  by  William 
W.    Storrs,    who    in    1874    was    suc- 
ceeded by  William  F.  Thayer. 

CHARLES    G.  REMICK 

is  now  cashier.  Mr.  Remick,  son  of 
Granville  L.  and  Judith  F.  (Stevens) 
Remick,  was  born  October  6,  1848, 
in  Pittsfield,  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Pittsfield  and 
Coneord  and  one  year  at  the  Chan- 
dler Scientific  school  at  Hanover,  and 
settled  in  Concord  in  1863.  He  waa 
a  clerk  in  the  Concord  post-oflflce  one 
year,  a  clerk  in  the  adjutant-general's 
office  two  years,  was  out  West  and 
South  nearly  six  years,  and  returned 
to  Concord  in  December,  1874,  and 
took  a  position  in  the  First  National 
Bank. 

He  was  assistant  cashier  for  several 
years,  and  was  appointed  cashier  in 
.January,  1886. 

WILLIAM    F.  THAYER, 

president  of  the  First  National  Bank, 
was  born  in   Kingston,  N.  H.     His 


342 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


parents  were  Calvin  aud  Sarah  Wheeler 
(Fiske)  Thayer.  Mr.  Calvin  Thayer 
was  for  many  years  a  leading  and  in- 
fluential citizen  in  Rockingham  county, 
serving  for  a  long  time  as  county 
treasurer,  and  holding  successively 
the  principal  town  offices  of  Kingston. 
He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Elihu 
Thayer,  d.  d.,  who  for  more  than 
thirty  years  was  the  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  church  of  Kingston, 
and  who  for  many  years  was  the 
president  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Home  Missionary  Society.  Mr. 
Thayer  moved  with  his  family  to 
the  village  of  Meriden  in  1855,  where, 
at  Kimball  Union  Academy,  his  son, 
William  F.  Thayer,  received  his  edu- 
cation. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  Mr. 
Thayer  came  to  Concord,  and  for  a 
short  time  was  employed  in  the  store 
of  C.  C.  Webster,  aud  then  accepted 
a  position  as  clerk  in  the  post-office, 
Robert  N.  Corning  being  at  that  time 
post-master.  He  soon  gave  evidence 
of  his  business  ability,  and  became 
chief  clerk,  a  position  he  held  for 
four  years.  After  leaving  the  post- 
office,  he  spent  a  few  months  in  the 
West,  and  upon  his  return  to  Concord 
entered  the  counting-room  of  the  El- 
well  Furniture  Company,  where  he 
remained  about  eight  months.  He 
then  became  a  clerk  in  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Concord,  where  his 
strict  integrity,  conservatism,  and 
financial  ability  won  for  him  speedy 
promotion.  He  was  appointed  assist- 
ant cashier  in  1873,  cashier  in  1874, 
and  president  in  January,  1885. 

That  the  directors  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Concord  should  entrust 
to  Mr.  Thayer  the  presidency  and  the 
executive  management  of  the  finances 


of  the  institution  was  not  only  a  de- 
servedly high  compliment  to  the  young 
president,  but  was  an  evidence  of  the 
astuteness  and  discriminating  judg- 
ment of  the  directors,  a  body  collec- 
tively and  individually  of  high  repute 
for  financial  and  executive  ability.  The 
board  of  directors  consists  of  that 
veteran  financier,  Thomas  Stuart, 
William  M.  Chase,  a  leading  lawyer 
of  Concord,  Colonel  Solon  A.  Carter, 
state  treasurer,  Hon.  Edgar  H.  Wood- 
man, mayor  of  Concord,  William  P. 
Fiske,  treasurer  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Savings  Bank,  and  Colonel  Chas. 
H.  Roberts,  well  known  in  financial 
aud  political  circles.  The  confidence 
of  the  community  in  the  bank  is 
shown  by  a  deposit  of  over  three 
quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The 
capital  stock  of  the  bank  is  $150,000  ; 
the  surplus  fund,  $150,000;  the  un- 
divided profits,  over  $25,000.  The 
bank  has  dealt  very  largely  in  gov- 
ernment and  municipal  bonds  and 
other  safe  securities,  and  now  holds 
over  $300,000  in  United  States  bonds. 
In  fact,  in  financial  circles  it  is  con- 
ceded that  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Concord  is  the  strongest  bank  in 
the  state. 

The  exceptionally  high  financial 
condition  of  the  First  National  Bank 
is  largely  due  to  the  management  of 
its  former  cashier  and  present  presi- 
dent, William  F.  Thayer.  He  is  a 
keen  and  well  balanced  banker,  pos- 
sessing a  natural  aptitude  for  grasp- 
ing financial  questions  and  solving 
them  bv  his  foresio;ht.  He  is  at  once 
conservative  and  cautious,  yet  pro- 
gressive and  bold  in  his  plans. 
Thoroughly'  familiar  with  banking 
operations,  from  the  most  trivial  de- 
tails to  heavy  transactions,  he  com- 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


343 


prebends  the  true  management  of  a 
financial  corporation.  He  is  an  or- 
ganizer, a  man  to  plan,  to  foresee  and 
provide  for  obstacles,  and  to  execute. 
He  has  originality,  and  a  talent  for 
finances.  His  elevation  has  been 
gained  by  improving  his  natural  tal- 
ents, by  hard  and  long-continued 
work,  close  application,  and  constant 
studv,  until  by  right  to  him  belono[s  a 
command  in  the  army  of  financiers, — 
men  who,  while  increasing  their  own 
fortunes,  are  developing  the  resources 
of  the  country,  and  improving  the 
values  of  all  investments. 

Mr.  Thayer  is  clerk  and  director  in 
the  Contoocook  Valley  Paper  Com- 
pany ;  director,  clerk,  and  treasurer 
of  the  Concord  Cattle  Company  ;  di- 
rector in  the  Lombard  Investment 
Company ;  director  in  the  Johnson 
Loan  and  Trust  Company  ;  treasurer 
of  the  city  of  Concord  since  1879  ; 
treasurer  of  the  Concord  Hospital  As- 
sociation ;  and  is  interested  in  other 
corporations  and  associations.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
belonging  to  Blazing  Star  Lodge  and 
Mount  Horeb  Commandery.  He  is 
an  ardent  Republican,  and  an  active 
and  influential  member  of  the  South 
Congregational  church  of  Concord. 

Mr.  Thayer  united  in  marriage,  Oc- 
tober 20,  1874,  with  Sarah  Clarke 
Went  worth,  daughter  of  Colouel  Jo- 
seph Weutworth,  of  Concord,  and 
their  family  consists  of  two  children, 
Margaret  and  William  Wentworth 
Thayer,  A  severe  blow  to  them  was 
the  loss  of  their  daughter,  Edith  Jen- 
nison  Thayer,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three  and  a  half  years. 

Aside  from  his  industrv,  sood 
judgment,  and  financial  ability,  his 
pleasing   address    has    won    for   Mr. 


Thayer,  and  for  the  bank,  a  multitude 
of  friends.  He  is  affable,  courteous, 
polite.  Socially  he  is  a  pleasing 
companion,  not  given  to  frivolity, 
but  enjoying  the  society  of  friends. 
As  a  business  man  he  is  level-headed, 
of  sound  judgment,  of  sterling  good 
sense ;  enjoying  to  the  utmost  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  All  recog- 
nize his  eminent  fitness  for  the  re- 
sponsible places  he  fills. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Thayer's  most  promi- 
nent characteristic  is  perseverance. 
Any  object  or  scheme  he  undertakes 
to  promote  he  will  stick  to  until  it  is 
accomplished.  He  has  great  tenacity 
of  purpose ;  he  is  diligent  in  busi- 
ness, does  not  delay,  but  attends  to 
all  details  promptly.  He  is  a  hard 
worker,  and,  being  methodical,  is  en- 
abled to  accomplish  large  results, 
and  so  manages  as  to  have  no  friction 
with  the  other  oflScers  of  the  bank. 
He  is  verv  considerate  of  the  rights 
and  comfort  of  the  employes.  Withal, 
he  is  public-spirited  in  the  affairs  of 
the  church  and  of  the  state. 

THE    NEVe    HAMPSHIRE    SAVINGS    BANK 

was  organized  in  July,  1830.  The 
incorporators  were  Samuel  Green, 
Timothy  Chandler,  Joseph  Low,  Na- 
than Ballard,  Jr.,  Samuel  Morrill, 
Nathaniel  Abbott,  William  Low, 
Jonathan  Eastman,  Jr.,  Nathaniel 
Bouton,  Moses  G.  Thomas,  and  Da- 
vid L.  Morril.  The  first  trustees 
were  Timothy  Chandler,  Nathan  Bal- 
lard, Jr.,  Samuel  Fletcher,  Francis 
N.  Fiske,  Samuel  A.  Kimball,  Jona- 
than Eastman,  Jr.,  Nathaniel  G.  Up- 
ham,  Isaac  Hill,  Richard  Bradley, 
William  Low,  Robert  Ambrose,  Eze- 
kiel  Morrill,  Hall  Burgin,  William 
Gault,  Stephen  Brown,  David  George, 
William  Kent,  and  Richard  Bartlett. 


344 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


The  bauk  has  had  six  presi- 
dents,— Samuel  Green.  Joseph  Low, 
Francis  N.  Fisk,  Samuel  Coffin,  Jo- 
seph B.  Walker,  and  Samuel  S.  Kim- 
ball ;  and  four  treasurers, — Samuel 
Morrill,  James  Moulton,  Jr.,  Charles 
W.  Sargent,  and  William  P.  Fiske. 

At  present  the  trustees  are  Samuel 
S.  Kimball,  Enoch  Gerrish,  Jesse  P. 
Bancroft,  Francis  A.  Fisk,  Joseph 
B.  Walker,  John  H.  Stewart,  Oliver 
Pillsbury,  Sylvester  Dana,  M.  H. 
Bradley,  George  H.  Marston,  P.  B. 
Cogswell,  Mark  R.  Holt,  William  G. 
Carter,  Charles  T.  Page,  John  C. 
Thorne,  John  H.  George,  Samuel  C. 
Eastman,  and  Henry  McFarland. 

The  resources  of  the  bank  in  July, 
1886,  amounted  to  $3,136,681.40. 
There  were  over  six  thousand  deposi- 
tors, who  were  secured  by  a  surplus 
of  $119,048.29,  a  guaranty  fund  of 
$135,000,  and  an  increased  value  on 
stocks  and  bonds  amounting  to  $215,- 
864.00.  If  the  depositors  should 
make  a  run  on  the  bank  after  their 
savings  were  withdrawn,  there  would 
remain  a  balance  of  $469,912.29. 

The  bank  is  probably'  one  of  the 
strongest,  safest,  and  most  carefully 
and  successfully  managed  of  any 
savings  institution  in  New  England. 

WILLIAM    p.   FISKE, 

treasurer  of  the  New  Hampshire  Sav- 
ings Bank,  son  of  Francis  A.  and 
Abby  G.  (Perry)  Fisk,  was  born  in 
Concord,  December  6,  1853.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Concord,  supplemented  by 
one  year's  attendance  at  Phillips 
academy,  at  Andover,  Massachusetts. 
In  October,  1872,  he  went  into  the 
employ  of  the  New  Hampshire  Sav- 
ings Bank    as  a  clerk,  receiving  his 


appointment  as  treasurer  in  1875- 
Mr.  Fiske  is  unmarried ;  a  member 
of  the  North  Congregational  church  ; 
president  of  the  Concord  Y.  M.  C.  A.  ; 
treasurer  of  the  Concord  City  Library  ; 
treasurer  of  the  New  Hampshire  His- 
torical Society  ;  and  director  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Concord. 

Mr.  Fiske  is  a  man  of  good  ex- 
ecutive ability,  strong  intellectually, 
quiet  and  unassuming,  conscientious, 
conservative,  reliable,  and  safe.  He 
is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  finan- 
cial transactions,  and  his  character 
for  honor,  integrity,  and  uprightness 
may  be  known  from  the  imi)ortant 
trusts  reposed  in  him.  He  ranks 
very  high  as  a  business  man,  and  his 
judgment  and  advice  in  matters  of 
finance  are  highly  valued.  He  is  an 
eager  student  in  the  best  English  lit- 
erature, and  has  already  gathered  a 
choice  collection  of  the  standard  au- 
thors. He  is  a  natural  musician,  and 
for  several  years  was  the  leader  of 
his  church  •  choir.  Mr.  Fiske  is  a 
Democrat. 

THE  MERRIMACK    COUNTY  SAVINGS  BANK 

was  nicorporated  July  2,  1867,  and 
organized  May  3, 1870.  Hon.  Lvman 
D.  Stevens  was  elected  the  first  pres- 
ident, and  has  held  the  office  ever  since. 
The  present  board  of  trustees  are  Ly- 
man D.  Stevens,  William  M.  Chase, 
John  Kimball,  John  M.  Hill,  Wood- 
bridge  Odlin,  George  A.  Cummings, 
James  L.  Mason,  George  W.  Crock- 
ett, Daniel  Holden,  Isaac  A.  Hill,  Le- 
land  A.  Smith,  Lysander  H.  Carroll, 
Benjamin  A.  Kimball,  Henry  W. 
Stevens,  and  Charles  H.  Amsden. 
William  M.  Chase  is  vice-president, 
John  Kimball  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, and  Frank  P.  Andrews  is  teller. 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


345 


The  deposits  iu  September  of  the 
current  3'ear  amounted  to  §886,690.72, 
while  the  surplus,  guaranty  fund,  and 
premium  6n  stocks  and  bonds  aggre- 
gated the  resources  of  the  bank  to 
$1,010,178.38. 

Hon.  John  Kimball,  the  treasurer, 
has  received,  in  an  earlier  volume  of 
the  Granite  Monthly,  a  brief  bio- 
graphical sketch. 

THE  LOAN  AND  TRUST  SAVINGS  BANK 

was  incorporated  iu  June,  1872,  by 
J.  Everett  Sargent,  Asa  Fowler,  Geo. 
G.  Fogg,  William  Butterfield,  John 
V.  Barron,  James  Peverly,  Nathaniel 
White,  James  S.  Norris,  Calvin  Howe, 
and  others.  Hon.  J.  Everett  Sargent 
was  elected  president  at  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  bank,  and  has  held  the  of- 
fice ever  since.  John  V.  Barron,  the 
first  treasurer,  was  succeeded  in  1878 
by  George  A.  Fernald ;  in  1885,  by 
John  F.  Jones. 

The  total  resources  of  the  bank  at 
present  amount  to  $1,933,205.29,  of 
which  sum  SI, 826, 956. 47  is  due  to 
depositors,  leaving  a  surplus  of 
§111,248.82. 

The  present  trustees  are  J.  Everett 
Sargent,  James  S.  Norris,  Lewis 
Downing,  Jr.,  John  F.  Jones,  Silas 
Curtis,  Howard  A.  Dodge,  John  H. 
Barron,  Leander  W.  Cogswell,  Paul 
R.  Holdeu,  Howard  L.  Porter,  John 
M.  Mitchell,  and  William  H.  Allison. 

A  sketch  of  Hon.  J.  Everett  Sar- 
gent appeared  in  Volume  III  of  the 
Granite  Monthly. 

john  f.  jones, 

the  treasurer,  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Sarah  (Currier)  Jones,  was  born  in 
Hopkinton,  March  31,  1835  ;  was  ed- 


ucated at  the  Hopkinton  academy ; 
married  October  23,  1861,  Maria  H. 
Barnard,  and  has  two  sous.  He  went 
into  business  for  himself  in  1861  in 
the  village  of  Contoocook,  retiring  iu 
1869.  Siuce  then  he  has  carried  on 
his  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  iu 
West  Hopkinton,  and  been  much  en- 
gaged in  business  in  Hopkinton  and 
adjoining  towns.  He  was  for  several 
years  town-clerk  and  treasurer  of 
Hopkinton  ;  a  member  of  the  last  con- 
stitutioual  convention  ;  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Hillsbor- 
ough ;  a  director  of  the  National  State 
Capital  Bank  of  Concord  ;  a  trustee 
of  tiie  Loau  and  Trust  Savings  Bauk  ; 
treasurer  of  the  Antiquarian  Societ}' 
of  Contoocook  since  its  organization  ; 
treasurer  of  Merrimack  county  ;  treas- 
urer of  the  New  Hampshire  Press  As- 
sociation ;  treasurer  of  the  Woodsum 
Steamboat  Company  ;  treasurer  of  the 
Manufacturers  and  Merchants'  Mu- 
tual Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Con- 
cord . 

Mr.  Jones  is  a  Mason,  a  member 
of  Aurora  Lodge,  Woods  Chapter, 
and  Mount  Horeb  Commandery.  He 
is  also  au  Odd  Fellow,  a  Democrat, 
and  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Hopkinton. 

He  was  appointed  treasurer  of  the 
Loau  and  Trust  Savings  Bank  in  De- 
(iember,  1885. 

His  friends  say  that  he  is  a  very 
able  financier,  systematic,  of  large 
business  capacity,  successful,  widely 
known,  and  highly  respected. 

It  would  not  be  fitting  in  writing  up 
the  banks  of  Concord  to  omit  private 
banking  establishments.  The  first  to 
be  considered,  by  reason  of  seniority, 
is  the  firm  of 


34^ 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


CRIPPEN,    LAWRENCE    &    CO. 

The  active  manager  of  the  firm  in 
the  East  is  Henry  J.  Crippen,  the  son 
of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Stockwell) 
Crippen,  who  was  born  in  Canterbury, 
England,  from  which  place  the  family 
migrated  to  this  country  when  he  was 
five  years  old.  His  ancestry  on  the 
father's  side  were  of  French  descent, 
and  on  the  mother's  of  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  stock.  After  a  brief  residence 
in  Maine  the  family  removed  to  Bos- 
ton, and  remained  in  that  city  and 
vicinity  for  about  seven  years,  then 
moved  to  Grafton,  Mass.,  where  the 
parents  now  reside. 

Henry's  early  education  was  re- 
ceived at  the  public  schools  of  Bos- 
ton, which,  by  permission  of  the  com- 
mittee, he  continued  to  attend  for 
several  years  while  residing  outside 
the  limits  of  the  city.  At  the  time  of 
his  removal  to  Grafton  the  town  had 
no  high  school,  and  finding  himself 
in  advance  of  the  district  school  he 
decided  to  go  to  work. 

Grafton  was  a  shoe  manufacturing 
town,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and 
worked  on  the  bench  for  three  years. 
Having  saved  the  greater  part  of  his 
earnings  he  resolved  to  obtain  a  lib- 
eral education,  and  with  that  end  in 
view  became  a  student  iu  the  New 
London  (N.  H.)  academy.  He  grad- 
uated from  that  institution  in  1857, 
and  was  the  valedictorian  of  his  class. 
In  the  same  year  he  entered  the  fresh- 
man class  of  Dartmouth  college.  Here 
he  took  the  regular  academic  course, 
and  graduated  in  1861,  and  was  class 
poet.  He  paid  his  expenses  at  New 
London  and  in  college  by  teaching 
during  the  winters,  and  one  spring 
and  two  fall  terms  ;  but,  notwithstand- 


ing these  interruptions,  he  graduated 
among  the  first  scholars  in  his  class. 
He  taught  his  first  school  in  Hopkin- 
ton,  N.  H.,  when  sixteen  years  old. 
After  graduating  from  college  he 
taught  for  two  terms  at  Upton,  Mass., 
and  in  March,  1862,  came  to  Concord, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  law  with 
Henry  P.  Rolfe,  and  later  studied 
with  Anson  S.  Marshall.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1862,  he  entered  a  competitive 
examination  for  the  position  of  assist- 
ant teacher  in  the  high  school,  and 
was  the  successful  candidate.  At 
that  time  the  principal  of  the  high 
school  was  also  superintendent  of 
schools,  so  that  a  large  pai"t  of  the 
work  devolved  on  the  assistant.  The 
following  year  that  arrangement  was 
discontinued,  and  Mr.  Crippen  was 
elected  as  principal  of  the  Merrimack 
grammar  school,  which  place  he  re- 
signed iu  March,  1865,  to  accept  a 
position  in  the  office  of  the  state 
treasurer,  an  office  then  filled  by  Hon. 
Peter  Sanborn.  In  1869  he  received 
the  appointment  of  clerk  of  the  joint 
committee  of  the  U.  S.  house  of  rep- 
resentatives and  senate  on  retrench- 
ment, and  the  following  year  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  of  the  senate  committee 
on  the  District  of  Columbia,  which 
office  he  resigned  in  1872,  when  he 
was  chosen  cashier  of  the  National 
State  Capital  Bank,  of  Concord. 
About  this  time  he  commenced  in- 
vesting for  personal  friends  in  West- 
ern mortgages,  but  so  satisfactory 
and  successful  were  those  investments 
that  what  was  commenced  as  a  matter 
of  accommodation  soon  grew  into  a 
large  business,  and  the  firm  of  Crip- 
pen, Lawrence  &  Co.  was  formed, 
having  offices  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  and 
Salina,  Kansas. 


Banks  and  Bankers  of  Concord. 


347 


In  1881  Mr.  Geo.  E.  Lawrence, 
who  bad  charge  of  the  Concord  oflice, 
died,  and  Mr.  Crippen  resigned  his 
position  as  cashier  in  order  to  give 
his  whole  time  to  the  business  of  the 
firm.  Under  his  management  the 
business  has  grown  to  large  propor- 
tions, and  the  investments  of  the 
firm  are  held  by  nearly  all  of  the 
savings-banks  of  the  state,  and  by 
private  investors  throughout  New 
England,  and  even  as  far  off  as  Cali- 
fornia and  Florida.  The  firm  has  re- 
centlv  extended  its  business  to  Ena;- 
land,  and  has  received  some  large  or- 
ders from  that  country. 

Mr.  Crippen  is  thoroughly  reliable, 
safe,  and  conservative,  possessing 
excellent  business  qualities,  good 
judgment,  and  sound  common-sense. 
He  is  an  earnest  thinker,  and  has 
made  the  subject  of  finance  a  constant 
study.  In  business  matters  he  takes 
broad,  comprehensive  views,  while  his 
practical  acquaintance  with  banking 
and  his  thorough  kuowledo-e  of  details 
are  of  great  assistance  in  determining 
the  method  of  carr^'ing  out  his  plans. 

Mr.  Crippen  is  popular,  not  ouly 
with  business  men,  but  with  edu- 
cators also.  He  has  never  lost  his 
interest  in  educational  matters,  and 
has  served  continuously  ou  the  board 
of  education  since  1870,  and  is  now 
its  president.  He  favors  practical 
rather  than  ornamental  education. 
He  has  never  been  a  candidate  for 
political  office,  but  is  largely  interested 
in  the  business,  educational,  and  char- 
itable organizations  of  the  city.  He 
is  a  ready,  concise,  and  effective 
speaker  and  writer.  He  has  definite 
views  and  decided  opinions,  which  he 
expresses  clearly  and  forcibly.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  ;  he  is  not 


a  member  of  any  church,  but  attends 
the  Unitarian.  He  was  married  Sept. 
30,  18G8,  to  Susan  J.,  daughter  of 
Col.  Peter  Sanborn.  Their  union  has 
been  blessed  by  two  daughters. 

E.  H,  ROLLINS    &    SON, 

bankers  and  brokers,  with  branch 
houses  in  Dakota,  Colorado,  and 
Kansas,  were  establislied  as  a  firm  in 
Concord  in  1884.  The  senior  mem- 
ber, Hon.  E.  H.  Rollins,  has  repre- 
sented New  Hampshire  in  the  house 
of  representatives  and  the  senate  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  sketch  of  his 
life  appeared  in  Volume  I  of  the  Gran- 
ite Monthly.     The  son  is 

FRANK    WEST   ROLLINS, 

who  was  born  in  Concord,  February 
24,  1860.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  city  and  under 
the  tuition  of  Moses  Woolson.  He 
took  a  three  years  course  at  the  In- 
stitute of  Technology,  and  took  a 
special  course  at  Harvard  college  for 
one  year,  devoting  his  time  to  litera- 
ture and  political  economy.  For  a 
year  and  a  half  he  studied  law  at  the 
Harvard  Law  School,  and  for  another 
year  and  a  half  in  the  office  of  Hon. 
.John  Y.  Muo-ridsfe.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1882.  He  was  married 
December  6,  1882,  to  Katherine  W., 
daughter  of  Frank  H.  Pecker. 

Mr.  Rollins  is  a  young  man  of  tal- 
ent and  ability,  bright,  agreeable, 
polished  in  his  manners,  exceedingly 
industrious  and  painstaking  in  his 
business,  zealous  in  what  he  under- 
takes. He  is  active,  earnest,  studi- 
ous, genial,  kindly,  companionable, 
social.  He  is  a  natural  business  man, 
clear-headed,  reasonable,  methodical, 
intelligent,  of  great  application  and 
quick  decision.     Outside  of  finances. 


348 


A  Bit  of  Family  Brag. 


his  tastes  lean  towards  literature. 
He  is  public-spirited,  and  popular  in 
society. 

GEORGE    A.    FEKNALD, 

brother  of  J.  E.  Fernald,  is  well 
known  in  social  and  business  circles 
of  Concord.  He  was  for  a  number  of 
3'ears  treasurer  of  the  Loan  and  Trust 
Savings  Bank,  but  in  December, 
1885,  he  accepted  a  very  advan- 
tageous offer  to  form  a  partnership 
with  Thomas  S.  Krutz,  under  the 
firm  name  of  George  A.  Fernald  & 
Co.  The  firm  are  dealers  in  Eastern 
and  Western  bonds,  mortgages,  and 
other  investment  securities,  and  are 
managers  of  the  Eastern  office  of  the 
Central  Loan  and  Land  Co.,  of  Em- 
poria, Kansas,  and  have  a  well  ap- 
pointed office  at  23  Court  street,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  in  the  Adams  building. 

Well  posted  investors  in  Western 
farm  mortgages  and  debenture  bonds, 
who  have  kept  their  funds  success- 
fully invested  in  this  class  of  securi- 


ties for  many  years,  continue  to  do 
business  with  such  cora))anies  as  the 
old  and  reliable  Central  Loan  »&  Land 
Co.,  of  Emporia,  and  are  not  misled 
by  the  flaming  advertisements  of  a 
class  of  companies  that  have  recently 
sprung  up,  whose  officers  have  little 
or  no  knowledge  of  the  business,  and 
who  are  selling  a  third-rate  security 
on  the  strength  of  their  guaranty. 

Mr.  Fernald  enjoyed  to  the  utmost 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  bank  with  which  he  was 
so  long  connected,  and  wherever 
known  is  thoroughly  respected  as  a 
young  man  of  great  business  ability, 
of  good  judgment,  and  of  the  highest 
character  for  integrity  and  honor. 
His  business  now  is  largely  with  the 
banks  of  New  England,  the  managers 
of  which  consider  his  advice  safe  and 
reliable. 

Mr.  Fernald  is  connected  by  mar- 
riage with  one  of  the  most  energetic 
and  enterprising  families  of  Concord. 


A    BIT    OF    FAMILY    BRAG. 

By   B.  p.  Shillaber. 


If  one  cannot  claim  celebrity  for  he- 
roic deeds  of  his  own  to  redound  to  the 
family  credit,  there  may  be  some  an- 
cestral character  and  conduct,  or  merit 
in  othei's  of  the  blood,  to  give  a  name 
distinction,  if  it  were  only  brought  to 
light.  It  needs  the  trowel  of  the  his- 
torical delver  to  clear  away  the  rub- 
bish when  a  revolution  occurs  of  that 
which  should  not  have  been  neglected, 
but  which  has  been  allowed  to  moulder 
in  the  dust  of  time  until  complete  for- 
getfulness  has  enshrouded  it.     "The 


lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us," 
sang  the  poet,  and  incidents  in  the 
lives  of  little  men  might  serve  the 
same  purpose  were  there  any  to  pro- 
claim them.  The  great  men,  unfor- 
tunately, have  gathered  all  the  glory, 
while  heroism,  patriotism,  and  self- 
sacrifice,  as  pronounced  among  the 
humble,  have  been  left  to  decay  with 
forgotten  bones,  commemorated  by 
no  line  of  recognition  or  one  word  of 
praise,  the  virtue,  literally,  being  its 
own   reward.      There    are    hosts   of 


A  Bit  of  Family  Brag. 


349 


those  whose  praises  might  be  sounded 
without  derogating  one  whit  from  the 
just  fame  of  the  distinguished,  or  de- 
tracting from  the  gratitude  their  ser- 
vices awakened.  Embarlced  in  one 
service,  as  in  our  Revolutionary  strug- 
gle, to  which  these  remarks  apply, 
each  lent  aid  to  the  other,  and  should 
by  right  share  the  honors. 

The  present  paper  contemplates 
one  in  humble  life,  who  did  his  part 
in  those  days,  and  did  it  well,  in- 
spired by  no  motive  but  a  love  of 
country,  and  was  conspicuous  among 
his  fellows,  though  not,  perhaps,  ex- 
ceptionally meritorious  amid  so  patri- 
otic a  community  as  that  in  which  he 
lived. 

Joseph  Shillaber,  a  blacksmith  of 
the  patriotic  old  town  of  Portsmouth, 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Liberty 
party,  and  was,  no  doubt,  without 
authentic  data  to  prove  it,  active  in 
those  scenes  that  filled  Tories  with 
terror  and  were  a  constant  dread  of 
weak  uou-committalists.  Famil^^  tra- 
dition fixes  his  character  as  a  patri- 
otic partisan,  ardent  and  ready,  and 
his  name  affixed  to  documents  of  the 
day,  in  protest  or  in  pledge  of  sup- 
port for  patriotic  measures,  deter- 
mines the  quality  of  his  mind.  His 
blacksmith-shop  was  on  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Portsmouth  academy, 
and  was  the  resort  of  the  Sons  of 
Liberty,  who  gathered  about  his  an- 
vil, where  sparks  were  emitted  that 
doubtless  rivalled  those  of  the  forge, 
but  which  were  not  as  evanescent. 
When  John  Paul  Jones  was  in  Ports- 
mouth superintending  the  building  of 
the  ship  Ranger,  which  he  was  to 
command,  he  frequented  the  shop  of 
the  patriotic  blacksmith,  for  whom 
he    manifested    a    warm    friendship, 


using  strong  aiguments  to  induce  him 
to  go  in  the  Ranger  as  armorer. 
Having  his  name  enrolled  at  Concord, 
and  awaiting  a  summons,  lie  declined 
the  marine  service,  and  Jones  sailed 
without  him.  It  was  a  matter  of 
early  family  pride  to  recall  the  pict- 
ure of  the  dark-browed  chief,  in  the 
cocked  hat  and  military  cloak,  seated 
upon  the  anvil,  conversing  with  the 
man  of  the  hammer. 

But,  in  spite  of  his  resolution  not 
to  go  to  sea,  a  circumstance  happened 
which,  as  is  often  seen  in  human  life, 
served  to  try  his  determination.  The 
''  Dalton,"  privateer,  of  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  touched  at  Portsmouth  to  fill 
her  complement  of  men  and  add  to 
her  stores,  besides,  probably,  requir- 
ing something  to  be  done  to  her  iron 
works,  which  the  subject  of  this  paper 
was  called  on  to  perform  ;  and  then 
succeeded  a  dark  day  for  the  black- 
smith. By  what  inducement  it  is  not 
known,  but  he  became  enrolled  among 
the  crew  of  the  "Dalton."  He  was 
a  poor  man,  and  that  was  a  time 
when  the  hope  and  prospect  of  prize- 
money  had  a  potent  influence  in  fill- 
ing up  the  privateers,  to  which  he 
must  have  listened,  and  yielded.  It 
was  a  disastrous  step,  however,  for, 
in  twenty-five  days  from  the  time  of 
leaving  port,  the  "Dalton"  was  taken 
by  a  British  frigate,  and  her  crew 
taken  to  Hull,  Eng.,  where  they  were 
held  as  prisoners  for  three  years  and 
eight  months,  suffering  great  priva- 
tion and  indignity,  during  which  time 
communication  with  home  was  entirely 
cut  off. 

The  facts  regarding  this  imprison- 
ment are  obtained  from  a  diary  kept 
by  one  of  the  crew  of  the  "Dalton," 
published  some  years  since  in  New- 


350 


A  Bit  of  Family  Brag. 


buryport,  which  graphically  details 
the  sufferings  endured  during  their 
prison  life.  They  were  held  in  rude 
barracks  under  rigid  charge,  with 
limited  yard-room  for  occasional  ex- 
ercise, and  their  long  confinement  was 
marked  by  constant  attempts  to  tun- 
nel out  and  escape.  They  were  al- 
ways intercepted,  and,  with  every 
hope  frustrated,  punished,  and  humil- 
iated, they  had  a  painful  time  of  it. 
Their  life  was  a  long  and  dreary  va- 
cuity, with  no  relief  save  what  came 
through  the  sympathy  of  benevolent 
people  outside,  who  humanely  gave 
them  occasional  help.  What  the  nar- 
rator has  not  told  we  can  imagine  : 
the  crushed  hope,  the  cruel  restric- 
tion, the  weary  delay,  the  longing  for 
tidings  of  home,  the  failing  health, 
the  prison  fare,  the  irksome  surveil- 
lance, the  insulting  reproach  attend- 
ant on  prisoners  of  war — rebels  taken 
in  arms  against  their  king.  But  there 
were  times  when  an  old  London  paper 
was  accidentally  obtained — wrapping 
up  some  gratuity  from  the  outside — 
and  gleams  of  joy  obtained  from  I'ead- 
ing  of  successes  by  the  patriots,  which 
revived  hope  and  made  even  prison 
life  endurable.  Through  all  their 
sufferings  they  maintained  an  uncom- 
promising spirit  of  fidelity  to  the 
cause,  though  sorely  tempted,  and 
but  two  or  three  were  found  base 
enough  to  become  free  by  enlisting 
under  the  British  flag.  Thev  re- 
mained  true  to  the  last.  Through 
all,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  bore  his 
part.  His  name,  written  in  the  diary, 
though  not  orthographically  correct, 
establishes  his  identity.  It  appears 
there  as  ''Joseph  Shilaby,"  and  was 
probably  written  phonetically,  as  the 
name    was    thus    pronounced    by   his 


towns-people,  and  as  it  is  pronounced 
by  many  of  the  older  people  of  Ports- 
mouth at  the  present  day. 

The  cloud  at  last  lifted,  and  Benj. 
Franklin,  at  Paris,  secured  a  cartel 
for  exchange  of  prisoners,  by  which 
the  crews  of  the  "Dalton"  and  other 
privateers  were  taken  to  Brest,  where 
the  fleet  of  Paul  Jones  lay,  fitting  out 
for  a  cruise,  and  divided  among  the 
fleet.  The  "Bonhomme  Richard," 
Jones's  flagship,  might,  on  personal 
grounds,  one  would  think,  have  proved 
an  attraction  to  Shillaber,  but  he 
chose  the  "Alliance,"  perhaps  on  the 
ground  that  she  might  be  sooner  or- 
dered home,  or  because  she  was  a 
new  Yankee  ship,  and  therefore  safer 
than  the  flagship,  which  was  an  old 
East  ludiaraan  transformed  into  a 
man-of-war.  He  was  there  on  the 
"Alliance,"  and  took  his  chances  in 
the  battle  that  ensued,  of  which  his 
heirs  had  proof,  many  years  after- 
wards, in  the  form  of  a  share  of  the 
prize-money  proceeding  from  that  ac- 
tion. The  amount,  however,  did  not 
seem  commensurate  with  the  distin- 
guished service  rendered. 

Little  is  known  of  my  subject  after 
his  return,  save  that  he  was  a  good 
citizen,  and  lived  for  twenty  years 
enjoying  the  peace  his  valor  helped  to 
win.  A  saintW  wife  rendered  his 
home  pleasant,  and  his  fireside  was 
doubtless  made  interesting  by  narra- 
tions of  his  severe  experiences.  It 
is  heartily  wished  b}'  the  writer  that 
the  narrator  had  told  more ;  but  it 
gives  him  opportunity  to  regret  that 
more  pains  are  not  taken  by  teachers 
and  parents — especially  the  latter — 
to  impress  upon  children  the  impor- 
tance of  events  transpiring  within 
their  own  knowledge    or  experience. 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster ,  JV.  H. 


351 


of  which  the  children  may  uot  be  cog- 
nizant until  they  obtain  it  in  history. 
Scott  and  Burns  became  what  they 
were  through  inipartations  at  the 
ingleside ;  and  every  well  informed 
man  or  woman  should  have  something 
to  impart  without  being  first  asked 
for  it,  as  children  left  to  themselves 
are  not  more  likely  now  than  in  an- 
other age  to  ask  questions. 

In  "Adams'  Annals  of  Ports- 
mouth "  an  account  is  given  of  a 
great  procession  that  was  formed 
there  in  1778  to  celebrate  the  signing 
of  the  constitution  by  New  Hamp- 
shire (completing  the  number  of 
states  required  for  its  ratification) , 
in  which  all  the  trades  were  repre- 
sented, among  them  blacksmiths  at 
work  at  their  forges  ;  and  I  cannot 
help  the  belief  that  Joseph  Shillaber 
was  there,  hammering  out  his  ap- 
proval with  emphatic  blows.  It  is 
not  an  unreasonable  conjecture,  and 
who  can  dispute  it? 

When  the  "Sons  of  Portsmouth" 


returned  to  their  old  home  in  1853, 
one  of  his  descendants  singled  out  for 
a  speech  was  to  be  introduced  by  a 
sentiment  that  recognized  botli  the 
"navy  and  the  army."  This  identi- 
fied him  as  a  soldier  as  well  as  a 
sailor  ;  and  what  if  he  had  gone  to 
the  front  and  been  killed,  or  done 
anything  else  of  a  distinguishing 
character?  His  biographer  might 
have  had  a  bigger  story  to  tell,  where- 
in his  imagination  undoubtedly  would 
have  been  tempted  to  run  wild  over 
impossible  fields,  and  quite  compro- 
mised the  veracity  of  the  chronicler, 
whose  plain  story  of  the  events  that 
actually  did  occur  must  excite  the 
reader's  admiration.  As  the  Con- 
necticut philosopher  at  the  grave  of 
Adam  regretted,  with  tears,  that  his 
ancestor  had  not  lived  to  see  him, 
and  that  he  had  not  lived  to  see  his 
ancestor,  the  writer  confesses  to  a 
similar  weakness,  and  indulges  in  a 
similar  regret. 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH    OF    THE    TOWN   OF   LANCASTER,  N.  H. 

By  J.  S.   Brackett. 


Sketches  of  towns,  like  sketches  of 
the  lives  and  characters  of  individuals, 
are  liable  to  criticism,  for  one  to  "  the 
manner  born"  is  very  likely  to  say  more 
than  the  exact  truth,  that  is,  to  guild 
the  picture  and  adorn  it  with  lights 
and  shades  that  are  not  absolutely 
visible  to  the  eyes  of  those  who  see 
afar  off.  In  this  short  sketch  I  will 
endeavor  to  confine  myself  within  the 
limits  of  fact,  and  curb  the  impatient 


strivings  of  fancy,  so  that  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  rugged  char- 
acter of  our  town  and  its  surround- 
ings shall  not  say  the  picture  is  over- 
drawn, and  those  who  may  be  led  to 
gaze  for  the  first  time  on  the  beauties 
which  nature  here  reveals  shall  say 
the  truth  has  not  half  been  told. 

It  is  now  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  years  since  Lancaster  was  first 
settled,  David  Page,  Emmons  Stock- 


352  J  fis.loricaI  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  N.  H. 

well,   and  Edwards    Bucknani   being    jected.      Their   corn    was    destro_yed 

the  (irst  white  men  to  enter  upon  the    by  frost,  their  cattle  browsed   in   the 

task    of  clearing   thiw  tlien  a  wilder-    woods  for  want  of  shelter  and  fodder, 

ness,  so  that  it  might  be  tlic  abode  of    and  for  their  sustenance  the  streams 

civilized  life.  and  woods  were  resorted  to.     Fortu- 

In  the  Indian  raid.s  upon  the  settle-    nntely  moose,  the  giant  of  the  north- 

ments  in  the  lower  part  of  the   prov-    ern    forests,  regaled    himself   in    the 

ince,  some  prisoners   had  been  taken    ponds  and   partook  of  the  succulent 

and  carried  up  the  Connecticut,  and    branches  of  the   trees,    his    favorite 

notable  among  them  was  John  Stark,    grazing    grounds    being    where    the 

who,  it  is  said,  escaped  from  his  cap-    mountain    ash    of   the   hills    and  the 

tors  at  or  near  the  head  of  the  Fifteen-    lil v-pads  and  roots   of    the   shallower 

Mile  falls.     Hunters  and  trappers  had    ponds  afforded  him  food.    Grouse  and 

visited  the  forests  and  streams  of  the    pigeons   were  found,   and   the    black 

Cohos  county  for  the  moose  and  bea-    bear,  stories  of  whose  capture  would 

ver  which  abounded  in  all  this  region,     fill    a    book, — and    then    the  streams 

Some  among  them  had  noted  the  rich    abounded  with  ti'out  and  salmon  ;  and 

alluvial  soil  of  this  beautiful  valley,    Bucknam  being  a  most  expert  hunts- 

and  the  chances  it  afforded  for  easy     man  and  fisherman,  their  scanty  stores 

and   profitable   cultivation,    and    had    of  food  were  kept  beyond  the  limits 

told  the  stories,  somewhat  exaggerat-    of  starvation. 

ed,  perhaps,   to  the   dwellers  south  ;        Year   by  year    a    few   new   comers 
and  to  men  who  had  the  spirit  of  ad-    from  the  lower  part  of  the  province 
venture   born   and  bred  within  them,    and  from  Massachusetts  were  added 
this  country  seemed  a  fitting  place  for    to  their  number,  clearings  in  the  for- 
tbe  trial  of  their  nerve  and  endurance,    ests  became  more  extensive,  the  sea- 
As  hunters  and  trappers  have  gen-    sons    more    propitious,  and    the    soil 
erally  discovered  the  hidden  treasures    cultivated  yielded  of  her  fruit  gener- 
of  the  earth,  and  first  penetrated  into    ously.       There    was    "  marriage    and 
the  deep  recesses  of  the  forests,  and    giving    in    marriage,"    children    were 
with  good  judgment  formed  their  es-    born,    a    school-house    of    logs    was 
timate   of   a  country's    fertility    and    built,  and  the  rude  lessons  from  the 
adaptability  to   the  wants  of  an   in-    crude  text-books  were  taught  by  the 
creasing    and    extending    population,    aid  of  Master  Birch, 
so  in  this  case.     And  here  came  those         During  the  dark  period  of  the  Rev- 
men   whom   I  have   named,  the   pio-    olution  some  of  the  settlers  who  had 
neers  who  opened  up  to  civilization    penetrated  a  little  farther  north,  and 
and  cullure  the  most  beautiful  section    a  few   weak   souls  of   the   settleuKMit 
of  our  state.  who  dreaded  the  incursions  of  Indians 

The  first  years  were  years  of  trial  ;  and  who  shrunk  from  the  hardships 
and  it  called  out  all  the  manly  forti-  and  perils  of  their  exposed  position, 
tude  of  which  these  men  were  pos-  abandoned  the  settlement,  and  sought 
sessed  to  endure  the  rigors  of  climate  greater  security  in  the  settlements 
and  the  various  perplexities  and  em-  south.  But  the  energy  and  pluck  of 
barrassments  to  wliich  tliey  were  sul)-    Capt.  Stockwell  prevented  a  general 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster ^  N.  H.  353 

exodus,  for  he  declared  though  all  winter  of  1812  and  spring  of  1813,  a 
others  left  he  should  "  stay,"  and  stay  terrible  epidemic  prevailed  here,  and 
he  did  ;  and  others,  animated  by  his  among  the  many  victims,  including 
example,  took  heart  and  remained  the  young  and  the  old,  were  Lieuts. 
with  him.  Lancaster  owes  much  to  Brackett  and  Stanley.  Then  the  cold 
him  and  them  for  their  persistence  seasons  of  181 G  and  1817  intervened, 
and  manly  endurance.  iu   which  the  crops  were  cut  off  by 

Soon  after  the  Revolution,  when  a  drouth  and  frost,  and  some  were  so 
quiet  had  settled  over  the  land,  the  disheartened  that  they  left  for  more 
'^Cohos"  settlers  began  to  receive  genial  climates  ;  but  the  sturdy  ones 
reiuforcemeuts,formany  farmers  and  remained.  Soon  the  inhabitants  be- 
others  about  Great  Bay  and  in  the  g-^^u  to  recover  from  the  discourag- 
vicinity  of  Strawberry  Bank,  having  iog  effects  of  those  years,  and  the 
been  reduced  in  financial  circum- .  general  prosperity  of  the  town  was 
stances    by   the    events    of   the  war,    assured. 

sold  their  places  to   parties  more  for-        The  village  of  Lancaster  was  then 
tunate     than    themselves,    came    up    one  of '' magnificent  distances."     At 
into   this   region,    "taking   up"  laud    that  time     the    meeting-house    stood 
along  the  river   and  gradually  going    upon  the  hill,  part  of  which  has  since 
back   on   to   the  hills,   until   between    been  graded  down   and  become   Me- 
the  years  1790   and  1794   there  were    morial   park;  and    thence    stretching 
settlers  enough  to  build  a  '•  meeting-    northerly  the  road  ran  a  mile  to  the 
house"  and  call  a  pastor  to  look  after    house    of  Major  Wilder,   which  was 
the  moral  and  religious  welfare  of  the    said   to  have   been   "  raised  "  on  the 
community.     Among  the  most  valua-    memorable    "dark   day,"   and   which 
ble  accessions  prior  to  this  time  were    still   stands,  and  is  owned   by  H.  F. 
Lieutenant  Dennis  Stanley,  a  man  of    Holtou,  Esq.       Near  the  head  of  the 
great   vigor  of   mind   and  body,  and    street  was  the  court-house  ;  Wilson's 
who   was   noted   for  his   energy   and    tavern,    where    the    genial    host  dis- 
self-reliauce  ;  Capt.  J6hu  Weeks,  who    pensed    lodging,    supper,    breakfast, 
was  the  delegate  from  the  upper  Co-    and  New  England   I'um   for  the  price 
hos  in  the  convention  to  form  a  con-    of    fifty   cents,   all   told  ;   two  stores, 
stitutiou    for   the    state  ;    Lieutenant    where  calico,  tobacco,  tea,   salt,  and 
Joseph  Brackett ;  and  Richard  Clare    the   essential    rum    were     exchanged 
Everett,  the  first  lawyer  to  settle  in    for   wheat,   corn,   and    peltries,   very 
Lancaster.     These  men  had  all  served    little  cash   being  tlien  in  cii'culation. 
for  longer  or  shorter  periods   in   the    Going  south  from  tiie  "  head  "  of  the 
struggle  for  Independence,  and  were    street,  as  it  was   called,  towards  the 
ever  true  to  their  convictions  of  duty,     meeting-house,  was  Boardman's  resi- 
and   to   the    interests   of  the  town  of    deuce   and   store   on    the  west  side  of 
their  adoption.      Many  of   their  de-    tiic  i-oad  ;  then  a   little   farther  down 
scendants   still   live  within  the  limits    on  the  east  side  was  the  more  preten- 
of  the  town.     Gradually,  but  surely,    tious    i-esidence    of    Judge    Everett, 
from  this  period  the  town   increased    which  still  stands,  and   is  owned  and 
in  wealth  and  population,  until,  in  the    occupied    by    his    descendants;    then 


354 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  N.  H. 


still  farther,  the  Stockwell  bridge, 
built  bv  Capt.  Emmons  Stockwell — 
across  Israel's  river — named  by  Israel 
Glines,  who,  with  his  brother  John, 
was  a  famous  hunter  in  this  region. 
The  Indian  name  of  this  river  was 
Siwoogaiiock,  "Place  of  burnt  pines." 

On  its  banks  were  Stockwell's  and 
Greenleaf's  mills,  the  river  affording 
an  almost  unlimited  amount  of  power. 
On  the  southerly  side  was  the  house 
of  Titus  O.  Brown,  the  father  of  James 
B.  Brown,  whose  life  and  career  in 
Portland,  Me.,  reflected  so  much  hon- 
or upon  himself,  and  contributed  in  an 
eminent  degree  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  city  of  his  adoption  ;  the  tavern 
built  by  Sylvanus  Chesman,  one  of 
the  first  blacksmiths  of  the  town,  and 
which  stood  until  within  a  few  years, 
and  known  as  the  "American  House  ;" 
besides  which  there  were  but  two  or 
three  other  houses,  except  the  old  meet- 
ing house  upon  the  hill,  where  it  stood 
from  1794  until  1846,  when  it  was  re- 
moved from  its  original  site  to  its 
present  location,  and  is  used  as  a 
place  of  merchandise,  a  portion  being 
set  apart  as  a  public  hall.  The  house 
was  built  strong  and  square,  like  the 
theology  of  the  fathers,  with  no  elab- 
oration of  design  or  ornament,  and  in 
it  the  people  assembled  from  1794  to 
1822,  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Willard. 

Parson  Willard  was  a  man  of  com- 
manding presence,  a  noble  specimen 
of  goodness  and  religious  faith,  wise 
in  counsel,  and  full  of  true  charity  and 
grace.  His  death  occurred  here  July 
22,  1826. 

In  1841  the  present  Congregational 
church  was  built.  The  pulpit  has 
been  occupied  by  various  able  and 
good  men,  who  have  upheld  the  faith 


with  zeal  and  success  to  the  present 
time.  Rev.  S.  A.  Burnaby  now  being 
the  pastor. 

The  followers  of  Wesley  had  prior 
to  1816  held  meetings  occasionally  in 
different  parts  of  the  town  ;  but  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  society  of  Lan- 
caster was  not  formed  until  1831,  and 
the  church  edifice  was  built  in  1834. 
The  numbers  of  the  society  have 
steadily  increased,  and  now  it  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  strongest  church  or- 
ganizations in  town. 

A  Calvinist  Baptist  church  was 
formed  in  1809,  but  the  society  was 
feeble,  and  never  maintained  regular 
preaching  until  1858,  when  the  old 
Lancaster  Academy  building, — which 
was  built  in  1805  for  a  court-house, 
and  in  which  Ezekiel  Webster,  James 
Wilson,  George  Sullivan,  Joseph 
Bell,  and  many  other  eminent  men  of 
the  New  Hampshire  bar,  had  engaged 
in  forensic  combats, — was  purchased 
by  the  society,  and  remodelled  for  a 
house  of  worship.  The  society  is 
now,  as  a  distinctive  organization, 
unknown,  and  its  former  membership 
is  merged  with  the  other  religious  or- 
ganizations of  the  town.  But  the  old 
building  is  now  used  for  a  public 
library,  having  been  purchased  and 
its  use  given  to  the  town  for  that  pur- 
pose through  the  munificence  of 
George  P.  Rowell. 

In  1853  a  Unitarian  society  was 
formed,  and  in  1856  the  present 
church  edifice  was  built.  The  little 
leaven  has  transfused  itself  into  the 
lump  of  society,  and  the  church,  fee- 
ble in  numbers  at  first,  has  become 
a  great  power  for  good. 

In  1876  the  Episcopalians  erected 
a  church  building,  neat  and  commo- 
dius,  and  meantime  held  regular  ser- 


h 
c/) 

< 

o 

< 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  JV.  H. 


355 


vices,  the  parish  embracing  some  of 
the  oldest  and  most  respectable  fami- 
lies in  town. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  has  a 
ver}'  large  attendance  and  member- 
ship, their  house  of  worship,  built  in 
1877,  being  one  of  the  best  structures 
in  town,  and  the  work  of  the  church 
tendinsf  much  to  oood  order  and  mor- 
ality  in  the  large  number  brought 
within  its  influence. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  relig- 
ious element  of  our  natures  can  have 
its  preferences  gratified  by  the  differ- 
ent shades  of  belief  and  faith  here 
represented. 

Lancaster  academy  was  incorporat- 
ed in  1827,  and  has  been  the  educa- 
tional centre  for  a  large  region,  and 
many  who  here  received  the  finishing 
touches  of  their  scholastic  education 
have  been  and  are  men  of  mark  and 
influence  in  all  the  walks  of  life  in 
our  widely  extended  country. 

Before  speaking  of  the  Lancaster 
that  now  is.  I  wish  to  mention  more 
particularly  some  of  the  men  who 
have  contributed  largely  to  the  pros- 
perity and  growth  of  the  town  in 
education,  morals,  and  wealth,  who 
have  passed  away,  and  now  sleep  in 
"  God's  acre,"  but  whose  memories 
are  dear  to  all  who  reverence  sterling 
worth  and  heroic  devotion  to  duty. 
Among  the  men  whose  lives  were  not 
very  much  disturbed  by  the  ambitions 
and  turmoils  of  political  life,  but  who 
kept  on  the  "  even  tenor  of  their 
way,"  were  Major  .Jonas  Wilder,  Ed- 
wards Bucknam,  Ephraim  Stockwell, 
William  Lovejoy,  Andrew  Adams, 
PhineasHodgdon,  Bryant  Stephenson, 
Benjamin  Adams,  James  B.  Weeks, 
and  John  Mclntire.  Edward  Spauld- 
ina:  was  a  descendant  of  the  famous 


Hannah  Duston.  His  father,  Daniel 
Spauldiug,  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers of  Northumberland.  Edward 
married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Capt. 
John  Weeks,  and  cleared  the  farm  on 
the  slope  of  Mt.  Pleasant  in  this  town, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1845.  He  was  a  famous 
hunter,  his  last  exploit  being  the  kill- 
ing of  a  wolf,  which  he  had  caught  in 
a  trap,  with  a  small  club,  and  this 
when  in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  His 
wife  lived  to  be  nearly  100  years  old, 
and  was  a  woman  of  great  energy  and 
worth. 

Among  those  whose  lives  were 
spent  almost  entirely  in  town,  having 
come  with  fathers,  the  earlier  set- 
tlers, and  who  attained  prominence  in 
political  and  social  life,  were, — Maj. 
John  W.  Weeks,  whose  fame  as  a 
soldier  was  won  on  the  bloody  battle- 
fields of  Lundy's  Lane  and  Chippewa, 
and  who,  after  the  war  of  1812,  re- 
turned to  his  farm,  and  was  succes- 
sively elected  county  treasurer,  sher- 
iff, senator  from  Dist.  No.  12,  and 
member  of  cono-ress  in  1828,  servinar 
two  terms  ; — Adino  N.  Brackett,  who 
filled  all  the  town  oflSces,  and  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  legislature  a 
greater  number  of  terms  than  any  oth- 
er man  in  the  town,  who  was  clerk  of 
the  courts  for  a  long  time,  a  man  of 
good  judgment,  of  a  decidedly  literary 
and  philosophic  cast  of  mind,  and  a 
good  man  ; — Richard  Eastman,  one  of 
the  solid  men,  upon  whose  good  sense 
and  judgment  his  fellow-citizens  could 
rely  with  perfect  confidence,  and  who 
lived  a  spotless  life,  enjoying  all  the 
honors  his  town  or  county  could  con- 
fer. 

Among  others  in  their  several  pur- 
suits  and    professions    who    gained 


35^ 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  N.  H. 


prominence  were, — of  physicians,  Drs. 
Benjamin  Hawking,  Samuel  Legro, 
Eli|)halet  Lyman,  J.  E.  Stickney,  and 
J.  W.  Barney  ;  of  lawyers,  S.  A. 
Pearson,  Hon.  J.  W.  Williams,  Wm. 
Farrar,  C.  J.  Stuart,  Levi  Barnard, 
Gen.  Ira  Young,  Turner  Stephenson, 
John  S.  Wells,  H.  A.  Fletcher,  and 
William  Burns. 

The  merchants  were  represented 
by  Ths.  Carlisle,  Wm.  Cargill,  Benj. 
Boardman,  Wm.  Sampson,  Royal 
JoYslin,  and  R.  P.  Kent.  The  farm- 
ers and  mechanics  by  John  H.  White, 
David  Burnside,  Ephraim  Cross  (fa- 
ther of  the  lamented  Col.  p].  E. 
Cross),  Warren  Porter,  Josiah  Bel- 
lows, Benja.  Stephenson,  and  others, 
now  all  gone  to  the  "sleep  which 
knows  no  waking  ;"  but  the  descend- 
ants of  these  men  are  to  be  found  all 
over  our  land,  in  Old  Virginia,  among 
the  orange  groves  of  Florida,  all 
alono-  the  "  golden  coast  wiiere  reigns 
perpetual  summer,"  in  the  mines  and 
on  the  ranches  of  California,  along 
the  Pacific  slope  where  the  Oregon 
pours  its  waters,  in  Alaska's  remotest 
bounds,  on  the  broad  prairies  and  in 
the  teeming  cities  of  the  West,  in  the 
Empire  state,  and  wherever  enterprise 
and  energy  are  needed,  there  they  are 
euo-ao-ed  in  all  honorable  i)rofessions 
and  pursuits,  while  of  others  their 
sad  requiem  is  being  sung  through  the 
pines  and  groves  by  the  whispering 
winds  on  many  a  Southern  battle-field. 

The  Lancaster  that  now  is  W\\\  oc- 
cupy the  remainder  of  this  paper. 

From  every  point  of  view  the  loca- 
tion is  beautiful,  and  the  general  air 
of  neatness  which  pervades  the  town 
is  due  very  much,  perhaps,  to  its  grand 
and  beautiful  surroundings.  Its  busi- 
ness  and   its  wealth   have  very  much 


increased  since  the  completion  of  the 
White  Mountains  Railroad  in  1870. 
Business  has  been  stimulated  by  the 
advantages  it  affords,  and  traffic  of 
every  kind  has  been  very  much  in- 
creased without  marring  the  beauties 
of  nature,  or  demoralizing  the  busi- 
ness men  engaged  in  it.  To-day  the 
principal  business  firms  are  represent- 
ed by  a  class  of  men  who  stand  well 
in  all  the  moral  and  social  relations 
of  life,  who  while  endeavoring  to  add 
to  their  fortunes  and  fame,  are  also 
doing  much  to  make  the  town  better 
in  all  its  features. 

The  clergymen  are  all  men  of  cult- 
ure, men  who  have  broad  and  ad- 
vanced views  of  life  and  its  duties, 
and  who  by  precept  and  example  are 
leading  the  people  to  a  higher  plane 
of  thought  and  action.  The  Orthodox 
Congregational  society  has  for  pastor 
Rev.  Sydney  A.  Burnaby  ;  the  Meth- 
odist, Rev.  A.  C.  Coult ;  the  Unita- 
rian, Rev.  James  B.  Morrison  ;  the 
Episcopal,  Rev.  E.  P.  Little;  the 
Catholic,  Rev.  H.  A.  Lessard. 

Lancaster  academy  is  presided  over 
by  Prof.  D.  T.  Timberlake,  and  a 
o^ood  work  in  the  cause  of  education 
is   going   on    under    his    supervision. 

Our  physicians  are  Drs.  Ezra  Mitch- 
ell, E.  D.  Stockwell,  D.  L.  Jones, 
and  F.  Spooner  ;  and  two  dentists, — 
Drs.  S.  L.  Wellington  and  O.  H. 
Kimball. 

Our  lawyers  stand  as  well  before 
the  bar  of  the  state  as  any  who  make 
the  profession  their  business.  The 
oldest  memlier  of  the  fraternity  is 
Hon.  Wm.  Hey  wood,  who  has  been 
called  the,  honest  lawyer,  and  associ- 
ated with  him  is  his  son,  Henry 
Heywood.  Mr.  Heywood  is  a  native 
of  Concord,  Vt.,  a  town   sequestered 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  N.  II. 


357 


among  the  beautiful  bills  of  the  Green 
Mountain  state,  and  which  lias  given 
birth    to   many  eminent  men,  among 
whom   was  Thaddeus   Stevens,  Hon. 
Harry   Bingiiam,    and    Judge   G.  A. 
Bingham.     His  practice  has  been  ex- 
tensive, reaching  over  a  long  period 
of   years.     His    blameless    life    adds 
honor  to  our  town  and  to  the  legal  fra- 
ternit3\     Jacob  Benton,  who  has  rep- 
resented this  congressional  district  in 
tlie    national   legislature,    came    here 
from   Waterford,   Vt.,    in   1843,  and 
pursued  the  study  of  law  with  Hon. 
Ira  Young,  then  perhaps  the  leading 
lawyer  of  Coos,  and,  forming  a  part- 
nership with  Gen.  Young,  has  contin- 
ued the  successful  practice  of  law  up 
to  this  time,  besides  being  a  success- 
ful   and    able    politician.      Benjamin 
F.  Whidden  is  a  native  of  this  town, 
a    graduate    of    Dartmouth    college, 
I'epresented  the  town  in   the  general 
court   of   the    state,  and    the    United 
States  as  minister  to  Hayti.     Ossiau 
Eay,    a    native    of   Vermont,    late    a 
member  of   congress,  began   his   law 
practice  in  this  town,  having  studied 
with  S.  W.  Cooper.     Henry  O.  Kent, 
a  native  of  Lancaster,  and  son  of  the 
late  Richard   P.  Kent,  is  a  graduate 
of  Norwich   (Vt.)    military  academy, 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Ben- 
ton,  and    began    his  political   career 
quite  young  by  being  elected  assistant 
clerk  of  the  N.  H.  house  of  represen- 
tatives, since  which  time  he  has  been 
prominently  before  the  people,  and  is 
evervwhere    known    for    his    honestv 
and  marked  ability,  having  been  rep- 
resentative to  the  general  court,  and 
now  senator  from  this  district.     Will- 
iam S.  Ladd  is  a  native  of  Dalton,  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth   college,  has 
been  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme 


court  of  the  state,  and  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  and  of  the 
state  legislature.     George  A.  Cossitt 
is  a  native  of  Claremont,  commenced 
practice  here  in  1843,  was  cashier  of 
the  old  Lancaster  Bank,  and  has  also 
been  a  representative  in  the  legisla- 
ture :  he  has  now  given  up  the  active 
work   of    his    profession.      Jared    I. 
"Williams    is    a    native  of  Lancaster, 
and  second  son  of  the  late  ex-Gov. 
Jared  W.   Williams,   an    alumnus  of 
Brown   University  ;   has  also   been  in 
the  legislature,  is  a  practical  civil  en- 
gineer, and  gives  that  branch  of  busi- 
ness quite  as  much  attention  as  the 
law.     Irving  W.  Drew  is  a  native  of 
Stewartstown ;    graduated     at    Dart- 
mouth college,  and  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  with  Hon.  O.  Ray, 
was   elected  to  the  senate   from  this 
district  in  1882,  and,  declining  a   re- 
nomination,  devotes    himself    to   his 
practice,    which     is    very    extensive. 
Chester  B.  Jordan  enjoys  the  distinc- 
tion of  having  been  born  inColebrook, 
and    of    having  been   reared   upon  a 
farm.     His   early  education  was  ob- 
tained  in  the  district  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and  the  advantages  de- 
rived from  Colebrook  academy.    Was 
appointed  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Coos 
in  1868,  holding  the  office  until  1874, 
being  succeeded  by  the  present  highly 
popular  and  efficient  incumbent,  Mo- 
ses A.  Hastings.  Mr.  Jordan  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1875,  and  became 
a    member   of   the   law  tirm  of  Ray, 
Drew  &  Jordan.   P^lected  to  be  one  of 
the  representatives  of  the  town  to  the 
general   court  in    1880,  he   was  cho- 
sen   speaker  of  the  house    in    June, 
1881.     As    a    lawyer   he    is    a    hard 
worker.     Everett  Fletcher  is  a  son  of 
the  late  Hon.  H.  A.  Fletcher,  one  of 


358 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster^  JV.  H. 


the  foremost  practitioners  at  the  Coos 
bar.  lie  is  the  junior  partner  of  the 
law  lirni  of  Lack!  &  Fletcher.  After 
the  death  of  Hon.  W.  I).  Weeks, 
jndge  of  probate  of  this  county,  Gen. 
Fletcher  was  appointed  his  successor. 
Carl  Abbott  and  D.  J.  Bailey  repre- 
sent the  younger  members  of  the  pro- 
fession resident  in  town.  It  surely  is 
an  array  of  names  and  of  talent  that 
cannot  be  surpassed  in  the  state. 

Of  the  merchants,  the  leading  firms 
are  those  of  R.  P.  Kent  &  Sou,  J.  A. 
Smith,  Kent  &  Roberts,  D.  W.  Smith, 
Frank  Smith  &  Co.,  Howe  Bros., 
Bailey  &  Smith,  S.  G.  and  A.  G. 
Evans,  and  J.  R.  Parcher. 

General  merchandise — P.  J.  Noyes 
and  C.  F.  Colby. 

Druggists — Cobleigh  &  Moore,  J. 
M.  Rowell,  Morse  &  Davis. 

Hardware,  farming  tools,  etc. — T. 
P.  Underwood,  Geo.  W.  Lane. 

Merchant  tailors — C.  Deitrich. 

Manufacturing  establishments,  etc. 
— Marshall  &  Eaton,  carriages,  etc., 
Richardson  &  Folsom,  furniture,  be- 
sides which  there  are  several  shoe 
stores. 

This  article  can  speak  but  briefly  of 
these  various  firms  and  their  business. 
The  establishment  of  R.  P.  Kent  & 
Son  is  the  oldest  in  town,  Mr.  R.  P. 
Kent  coming  to  Lancaster  in  1825, 
and  soon  entering  upon  business  for 
himself.  He  built  up  an  extensive 
trade,  was  active  and  successful  in 
business,  and  was  the  leading  mer- 
chant of  the  county  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  April  last. 
The  career  of  Mr.  Kent  was  in  some 
respects  a  remarkable  one.  His  en- 
ergy, persistence,  and  integrit}'  were 
the  elements  in  his  character  that 
gave  him  a  leading  place  in  the  busi- 


ness of  this  section  of  the  state,  for 
the  sixty  years  he  was  a  resident  of 
this  town.  The  business  is  still  car- 
ried on  under  the  old  firm  name,  his 
son.  Col.  Yj.  R.  Kent,  who  was  for 
some  years  the  active  business  part- 
ner, conducting  it. 

James  A.  Smith  is  the  next  oldest 
business  merchant  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Smith  has  been  in  trade  thirty-eight 
years,  sometimes  with  a  partner,  but 
always  at  the  head  of  the  establish- 
ment himself.  He  is  a  son  of  Allen 
Smith,  long  known  in  this  community 
as  the  first  saddler,  or,  as  we  say  now, 
harness-maker,  in  town.  He  was  a 
veteran  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  a 
a  pillar  of  the  Methodist  church.  Mr. 
J.  A.  Smith  is  still  actively  engaged  in 
business. 

The  firm  of  Frank  Smith  &  Co. 
does  a  larger  and  greater  varietv  of 
business  than  any  other  firm  in  this 
section.  Mr.  Smith  was  born  in 
Lunenburg,  Vt.,  in  1833,  came  to 
Lancaster  in  185.5,  and  commenced 
with  a  small  capital  and  small  stock  in 
the  grocery  trade.  By  a  close  appli- 
cation to  his  work  he  increased  his 
capital  and  his  stock,  and  the  result 
is  his  heavy  business  transactions  of 
to-day.  His  first  partner  in  trade  was 
Ariel  M.  BuUard,  who  died  in  1881, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  W.  E. 
Bullard,  who  is  still  an  active  partner. 
The  obi  grist-mill  was  purchased  by 
the  firm,  but  it  was  soon  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  a  new  and  well  appointed 
one  immediately  built,  said  to  be 
one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  very  best, 
in  the  state.  Adjoining  they  built 
a  large  block  in  which  are  their 
offices,  the  remainder  being  devoted  to 
their  great  stock  of  flour,  grain,  and 
heavy   groceries.     On     the    opposite 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster,  ^V.  J/. 


359 


side  of  Israel's  river  are  their  large 
saw-mill  and  lumberyards.  The  firm 
employ  a  large  force  of  men  and 
teams  to  meet  the  demands  of  their 
constantly  increasing  trade.  In  so^ 
far  as  the}'  are  concerned  they  are 
public  benefactors,  and  employ  more 
labor  for  which  a  remunerative  price 
is  o;iven  to  the  working-men  of  this 
section  than  any  other  firm.  All 
honor  is  due  such  men  for  their 
energy  and  public  spirit. 

Marshall  &  Eaton's  carriage  man- 
ufactory does  an  extensive  business, 
the  excellent  quality  of  the  work  in- 
suring readv  sales  for  all  vehicles 
made  by  them.  The  business  was 
begun  in  1848  by  Anderson  J.  Mar- 
shall, father  of  the  present  senior 
member  of  the  firm.  Upon  his  retire- 
ment from  business,  his  son  associated 
with  himself  Wright  Chamberlain, 
who  soon  sold  out  his  interest  to 
George  R.  Eaton  ;  and  now,  under  Mr. 
Marshall's  personal  supervision  and. 
the  employment  of  a  large  number  of 
skilled  workmen,  no  establishment 
of  the  kind  turns  out  as  many  elegant 
and  thoroughly  constructed  carriages 
as  this,  north  of  Concord. 

The  iron  foundry  and  machine 
shop,  under  the  firm  name  of  A. 
Thompson  &  Co.,  was  established  in 
1847.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son in  1882,  the  firm,  continuing  the 
old  name,  consists  of  K.  B.  Fletcher, 
Jr.,  F.  H.  Twitchell,  C.  W.  Balch, 
and  W.  A.  Jones.  Mr.  Thompson 
was  one  of  the  finest  machinists  in 
the  country,  and  owing  to  his  genius 
and  reputation  the  works  became 
favorably  and  widely  known,  and 
under  the  present  management  is  sus- 
taining its  well  earned  reputation. 
Sixteen  or  eighteen  men  are  employed, 


and  the  character  of   the  work   gives 
excellent  satisfaction. 

The  furniture  manufactory  of  Rich- 
ardson &  Folsom  employs  ten  or 
twelve  men.  Mr.  Richardson  com- 
menced business  here  in  18G8.  In 
1870  his  factory  was  burned,  but 
more  extensive  works  were  im- 
mediately entered  upon,  and  now  it 
is  tlie  leading  furniture  factory  in 
northern  New  Hampshire. 

Erastus  V.  Cobleigh  and  John  L. 
Moore,  wholesale  and  retail  dealers  in 
hardware,  carr\'  a  very  large  stock  of 
goods,  and  in  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  their  business  have  the  respect 
and  patronage  of  an  extensive  range 
of  customers.  Mr.  Cobleigh  was 
formerly  associated  with  R.  P.  Kent 
in  the  same  business. 

J.  M.  Rowell  has  a  well  appointed 
store,  his  stock  consisting  of  me- 
chanics' tools  and  the  thousand  and 
one  things  used  hy  builders  and 
farmers. 

Morse  &  Davis,  hardware  dealers, 
is  a  comparatively  new  firm,  but  do  a 
thriving  business. 

Kent  &  Roberts,  dry  and  fancy 
goods,  formerly  Kent  &  Griswold, 
have  an  elegant  store,  where  the 
most  fastidious  may  find  that  which 
shall  meet  their  wants. 

The  prince  of  tailors  is  Thomas  S. 
Underwood,  merchant  tailor.  He  is 
a  son  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Underwood, 
the  first  settled  minister  of  New 
Haven,  Maine,  where  he  was  born  in 
1830.  Mr,  Underwood  came  to  Lan- 
caster in  1853,  and  was  in  the  employ 
of  Burnside  &  Woolsou  until  1861, 
when  he  commenced  business  for 
himself.  His  customers  are  found 
all  over  New  England,  and  his  work 
is  alwavs  satisfactorv. 


360 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster^  N.  H. 


A  comparutively  new  finii  is  that  of 
Howe  Brothers — established  in  1877 
— dealers  in  groceries,  provisions, 
crockery,  etc.  Their  business  is  large 
and  increasing. 

George  AV.  Lane  carries  a  large 
and  fully  assorted  stock  of  ready- 
made  clothing,  gentlemen's  furnisliing 
goods,  hats,  caps,  gloves,  trunks, 
overcoats,  and  all  that  pertains  to  the 
toilet  of  men  or  boys.  He  commands 
the  largest  trade  in  his  line  of  any 
dealer  in  northern  New  Hampshire. 
Mr.  Lane  is  a  native  of  Lunenburg, 
Vt.,  and  commenced  business  here  in 
1871. 

Parker  J.  Noyes  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing apothecaries  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  pharmaceutical  chemist.  He  em- 
ploys eight  or  ten  operatives,  and 
furnislies  his  goods  throughout  New 
P^ngland  and  the  Middle  and  Western 
states.  He  prepares  and  catalogues 
about  1,500  different  articles.  He  has, 
by  his  energy,  skill,  and  fair-dealing, 
built  up  his  present  prosperous  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  native  of  Columbia, 
in  this  county  of  Coos,  and  has  been 
in  Lancaster  since  1868. 

The  Lancaster  National  Bank  is  the 
only  national  bank  in  Coos  county, 
established  January  1,  1882,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $125,000.  Its  officers 
are  George  R.  Eaton,  a  native  of 
Portland,  Me.,  president,  who  has 
been  extensively  engaged  in  lumber- 
ing  operations ;  Everett  Fletcher, 
vice-president ;  Frank  D.  Hutchins, 
cashier.  The  directors  resident  in 
town  are  Chester  B.  Jordan,  Will- 
iam Clough,  and  Burleigh  Roberts. 

The  Savings  Bank  of  Coos  County 
is  located  here.  Its  depositors  num- 
ber nearly  1,000,  and  the  amount  de- 
posited about  $200,000.      Col.  H.  O. 


Kent  has  been  its   efficient   treasurer 
since  its  establishment. 

Of  tiie  other  large  number  of  busi- 
ness  firms  and  establishments  I  can- 
jiot  at  present  write,  except  to  men- 
tion those  places  provided  for  the 
travelling  public,  and  as  resorts  of 
pleasure-seekers  and  those  who  love 
the  pure  air  and  glorious  scenery  of 
our  hills  and  valleys.  The  AVilliams 
House,  John  M.  Hopkins,  proprietor  ; 
Elm  Cottage,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Hunking, 
proprietor  ;  and  the  Lancaster  House, 
N.  A.  Lindsey  &  Co.,  proprietors, 
are  the  principal  houses  kept  open 
for  the  general  accommodation  of  the 
public.  Hillside  Cottage  is  a  charm- 
ing summer  boarding-house,  W.  L. 
Rowell,  proprietor.  It  has  been  and 
still  is  a  favorite  resort  for  those  who 
love  quiet  and  repose. 

Mt.  Prospect  House,  William  H. 
Smith,  proprietor,  was  built  by  Mr. 
Smith,  in  1883,  on  the  summit  of 
Mt.  Prospect,  at  an  elevation  of  2,090 
feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  1,240 
feet  above  Lancaster  village. 

The  tliree  Martin  Meadow  hills  in 
the  southern  section  of  the  town  are 
beautiful  from  their  gentle  slopes  and 
undulating  outlines.  They  are  named, 
respectively,  Mt.  Prospect,  the  most 
easterly  and  of  the  greatest  elevation, 
Mt.  Pleasant,  in  the  centre  of  the 
group,  and  Mt.  Orne,  the  most  west- 
erly. The  rounded  summit  of  Mt. 
Prospect  is  a  feature  in  the  landscape 
from  any  point  of  view,  whether  one 
is  approaching  the  town  from  any  di- 
rection, or  is  looking  up  from  the 
valley,  its  symmetrical  form  being 
clothed  with  the  rich  verdure  of  its 
surrounding  fields  and  pastures,  and 
its  wooded  heights  are  enchanting. 
Crowning   its   top  is  the   house,  and 


Historical  Sketch  of  Lancaster^  N.  II. 


361 


from  it  a  picture  of  loveliness  is 
s|)rea(l  out  before  tlie  beholder, — a 
l)ictiire  of  quiet  beauty  that  cannot 
be  surpassed.  The  glorious  '•'•  Crystal 
hills,"  the  various  forms  and  shapes 
of  four  hundred  lesser  peaks,  mirror- 
like lakes,  and,  lovelier  far  than  any- 
thing else,  forty  miles  of  the  Con- 
necticut valley,  dotted  with  farms  and 
villages  and  clustering  woods,  while 
its  own  waters  as  they  flow  so  placid- 
ly and  silently  along,  and  other 
streams  coming  down  from  the  sur- 
rounding mountains  to  join  their 
waters  with  his  in  their  majestic 
course  to  the  sea,  seem  like  silver 
threads  in  an  embroidery  of  emerald. 
To  the  Mt.  Prospect  House  it  is  only 
one  hour's  drive  over  a  good  carriage- 
road  from  the  Lancaster  House,  and 
those  who  love  nature  in  her  quiet 
and  still  beautiful  forms  and  moods 
should  not  fail  to  see  it  from  that 
point.  Sunset  or  sunrise  viewed  from 
the  summit  of  the  mountain  is  gor- 
geous and  glorious,  or  sombre  and 
spectral,  as  the  variously  tinted  clouds 
and  mists  may  take  shapes  and  hues. 

The  Lancaster  House  is  one  of  the 
best  hotels  in  the  state,  whether 
taken  as  a  place  of  public  entertain- 
ment, or  as  a  resort  for  the  pleasure- 
seeker,  or  of  rest  and  refreshment  for 
the  weary  traveller.  It  was  built  by 
the  Messrs.  Lindsey  on  the  site  of 
the  "Old"  Lancaster  House,  which 
was  burned  in  1879.  and  opened  to 
the  public  Nov.  29,  1882. 

Mr.  John  Lindsey,  who  is  asso- 
ciated with  his  son,  Ned  A.  Lindsey, 
in  the  management  of  the  Lancaster 
House,  has  been  intimately  connected 
with  the  travelling  public  and  the  in- 
terests of  Lancaster  for  a  good  many 
years,    having    purchased    the    Coos 


Hotel,  then  the  leading  hotel  of  Coos 
county,  in  1849  ;  built  the  first  Lan- 
caster House  in  1857,  and  managed 
it  for  several  years  ;  was  proprietor 
of  the  Eagle  Hotel  in  Concord  from 
1862  to  1866;  built  the  extension  of 
the  B.  C.  &  U.  Railroad  from  White- 
field  to  Northumberland  during  the 
years  1869,  1870,  and  1871  ;  for  five 
j'ears,  from  1878  to  1878,  was  pro- 
[jrietor  of  the  famous  Fabyan  House  ; 
has  conducted  the  Ocean  House  at 
Old  Orchard  Beach,  and  the  Preble 
House,  Portland,  Maine,  and  for  a 
while  a  hotel  in  Georgia.  His  repu- 
tation as  a  landlord  is  of  the  highest. 
The  Lancaster  House  is  fitted  most 
admirably  for  the  comfort  of  guests, 
being  heated  bv  steam  and  lighted 
by  gas,  and  from  the  neatness  and 
thoroughness  of  its  furnishing,  its 
roominess  and  airiness,  is  all  that  can 
be  desired.  It  embellishes  the  village, 
everywhere  surrounded  with  objects 
of  beauty. 

Taking  Lancaster  as  the  shire  town 
of  the  county,  and  as  the  centre  of 
trade,  of  education,  of  wealth,  and 
of  population  for  a  large,  section  of 
country,  with  her  enterprise,  talent, 
and  social  advantages,  she  is  highly 
favored  ;  but  the  glory  of  the  town  is 
in  her  scenery,  encompassed  about  by 
the  mountains,  and  the  valley  is  a 
charmed  spot.  Starr  King  said, — 
"The  drives  about  Lancaster  for  in- 
terest and  beauty  cannot  be  sur- 
passed, and  "grand  combinations,  too, 
of  the  river  and  its  meadows  with  the 
Francouia  range  and  the  vast  White 
Mountain  wall  are  to  be  had  in  short 
drives."  In  whatever  direction  one 
may  go  he  is  delighted  with  some  now 
burst  of  beauty,  some  lovely  form  of 
tree  and  feature  of  landscape. 


362 


Localities  in  Ancient  Dover. 


LOCALITIES    IN   ANCIENT   DOVER —Part  I. 

r.Y   John   R.   Ham,  M.  I). 


The  town  of  Dover,  N.  H.,  origi- 
nally embraced  within  its  limits  tlie 
present  towns  of  Somersworth,  Rol- 
linsford,  Newington,  Madbury,  Dur- 
ham, and  Lee.  The  land  in  the 
town  was  voted  to  the  settlers  from 
time  to  time  in  public  town-meeting, 
held  in  the  old  meeting-house  on 
Dover  Neck.  These  grants  of  land 
were  from  ten  to  four  hundred  acres 
each,  and  were  laid  out  by  the  lot- 
layers,  chosen  in  annual  town- 
meeting.  The  record  of  the  surveys 
and  bounds  of  these  grants  made  by 
the  lot-layers,  now  a  part  of  Dover 
town  records,  furnishes  the  names 
by  which  some  of  the  localities  were 
called  in  the  infancy  of  the  settle- 
ment. The  common  lands  of  the 
town  were  divided  among  the  inhab- 
itants in  1732,  and  the  land  grants 
by  the  town  ceased. 

Ash  Swamp  (The).  There  was  an 
ash  swamp,  so  called  as  early  as 
1694,  between  Nock's  marsh  and 
Barbadoes  pond,  and  another  between 
Salmon  Falls  and  Cochecho. 

Back  Rivek.  This  name  is  found 
in  these  land  grants  as  early  as  1649, 
and  was  given  to  the  stream  whicii 
flows  into  the  Pascataqua  river  on 
the  west  side  of  Dover  Neck.  The 
settlers  gave  the  name  to  the  stream 
from  its  mouth  up  to  the  head  of  tide- 
water, where  Sawyer's  Woollen  Mills 
now  stand  ;  above  tide-water  at  the 
first  falls  it  became  Belleman's  Bank 
river,  and  now  called  Bellamy  river, 

Barbadoes  Pond.  On  the  Little- 
worth  road,  four  miles  from  the  city 
hall,  and    lying  in  the  present  town 


of  Madbury.  It  was  so  called  a^ 
early  as  1693,  and  "  commonly  so 
called  "  in  1701.  Is  it  not  the  same 
as  "  Turtle"  pond,  which  is  mentioned 
in  a  land  grant  in  1719?  The  name 
is  retained  to  this  day. 

Barbadoes  Spring.  The  spring 
lying  south  of  the  pond,  and  which 
supplies  the  south  side  of  Dover  with 
water,  was  thus  called  as  early  as  1701. 

Barbadoes  Swamp.  So  called  in 
1693,  and  also  called  the  ash  swamp. 
It  lay  south  of  the  pond  of  the  same 
name. 

Beach  Hill.  It  was  "  commonly 
so  called"  in  1652,  and  is  the  long 
hill,  partly  in  Madbury  and  partly  in 
Durham,  which  lies  near  and  to  the 
south-west  of  Hicks's  hill,  and  just 
south  of  the  road  leading  from  Hicks's 
hill  to  Lee.  At  the  west  end  was  an 
Indian  burial-ground,  and  in  1652  it 
was  spoken  of  as  "•  att  y^  Indian 
graves,  att  Beach  Hill." 

Beard's  Creek.  So  called  as  early 
as  1672.  It  is  the  brook  which  flows 
into  Oyster  river  on  the  north  side, 
next  below  the  falls  of  the  same. 

Beaver  Dam  (The  Great).  In 
1659  Capt.  Thomas  Wiggin  had  a 
grant  of  land  "•  neare  y''  Great  Beaver 
Dam,  on  y^  south  branch  of  Bellomans 
Bank  river,"  and  the  name  is  retained 
in  land  grants  down  to  1720.  The 
"  Beaver  Pond  Meaddow  "  was  men- 
tioned in  1693.  It  was  one  quarter 
of  a  mile  above  the  confluence  of  the 
Mallego  and  Belloman's  Bank  rivers. 

Where  was  the  Little  Beaver  Dam, 
whose  existence  is  implied  in  the 
above  title? 


Localities  in  Ancient  Dover. 


Bellamy.  A  locality  and  a  river. 
As  a  locality,  the  neighborhood  about 
the  falls  lately  occupied  by  William 
Hale.  As  a  river,  the  whole  river 
upon  which  are  Sawyer's  mills,  from 
its  source  down  as  far  as  tide-water  ; 
below  the  head  of  tide- water  it  be- 
comes Back  river.  For  the  origin  of 
the  name,  see  "  Bellemau's  Bank." 

Belle;«an's  Bank.  The  steep  bank 
on  the  north  side  of  the  stream  now 
known  as  Bellamy  river,  near  Dunn's 
bridge  at  Sawyer's  upper  mill.  The 
stream  is  often  mentioned  in  the  early 
land  grants  as  ''the  freshett  that 
flows  past  Bellemau's  Bank."  The 
origin  of  this  name  has  always  baf- 
fled those  who  are  curious  in  such 
matters,  and  the  correct  solution,  as 
we  think,  is  now  for  the  first  time  of- 
fered. 

A  deed  on  the  old  Norfolk  Co., 
Mass.,  records,  shows  that  "Mr." 
William  Bellew  owned  a  house  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  on  the  north 
side  of  the  stream  in  1644,  and  that  he 
sold  it  to  Christopher  Lawson.  And 
in  1G48,  when  the  "  Great  Cochecho 
marsh  "  was  divided  among  the  set- 
tlers, we  find  one  lot  set  apart  "  for 
Mr.  William  Belley  " — denoting  that 
he,  although  absent,  yet  had  interests 
here.  The  prefix  of  distinction  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  good  posi- 
tion. We  find  him  in  Oyster  River 
parish  (now  the  town  of  Durham)  in 
1G47,  as  a  witness  to  a  deed  given  by 
Darby  Field,  and  he  signed  his  name 
Will  :  Bellew. 

If  Mr.  William  Bellew,  or  "Belley," 
was  absent,  and  some  man  in  his  em- 
ploy occupied  his  premises  at  the 
Bank  above  mentioned,  then  the  oc- 
cupant would  be,  in  common  parlance, 
"Mr.   Bellev's    man,"   which     corre- 


sponds with  other  similar  cases  on  the 
Dover  records.  And  the  bank,  on 
which  these  premises  were  situated, 
would  easily  be  designated  as  "  INIr. 
Belley's  Man's  Bank."  The  ready 
contraction  of  tliese  names  into  "  Bel- 
lemau's Bank"  was  natural.  It  be- 
came "  Bellamy"  Bank  at  about  1800, 
and  afterwards  the  name,  which  had 
become  applied  to  that  entire  neigh- 
borhood, became  restricted  to  the  lo- 
cality above  the  original  bank,  where 
Mr.  William  Hale,  now  of  Dover, 
purchased,  who  at  once  dropped  the 
word  "  Bank"  from  the  name,  and 
simply  called  the  locality,  and  the 
stream,  Bellamy. 

Belleman's  Bank  River.  So 
called  as  early  as  1G46,  in  land  grants. 
It  is  the  stream  which  becomes  Back 
river  at  the  head  of  tide-water,  at 
Sawyer's  AVoolleu  Mills.  The  settlers 
always  applied  the  name  to  the  fresh 
water  part  of  the  stream  above  the 
falls  ;  Back  river  was  always  used 
by  them  to  indicate  the  stream  below 
the  falls  at  the  head  of  tide-water. 

It  is  written  in  the  land  grants, 
Belleman's  bank,  Beleman's  bank, 
Bellimau's  bank,  Bellman's  bank,  Bel- 
loman's  bank,  Bellomay  bank,  Bele- 
mye  bank,  and  Bellemie  bank.  And 
in  the  later  town  records,  from  about 
the  year  1800  to  1840,  it  is  written 
Bellamy  bank. 

When  Mr.  William  Hale,  now  of 
Dover,  purchased  the  land  and  falls 
next  above  Sawyer's  mills,  he  at  once 
dropped  the  word  "bank"  from  the 
locality  and  from  the  stream,  and  they 
are  now  known  as  "Bellamy."  For 
the  origin  of  the  name,  see  Belle- 
man's Bank. 

Black  Water.  A  locality  so  called 
as   early   as   1G93.     It  lies   north  of 


364  Localities  in  Ancient  Dover. 

Cocheclio  pond,  aud  the  brook  running  Bunkek's  Garrison.   Bunker's  gar- 

throuffh  it  is  called  Blackwater  brook,  rison,  wliicli  was  successfully  defend- 

Blind  Will's  Nkck.     Blind  Will,  ed  in  the   Indian  massacre  at  Oyster 

a    sagamore    of    the     Indians     about  river,   on  July  17,    1694,   and   which 

Cocliecho,  was  a  friendly  Indian  in  the  stands  to-day  in  an  excellent  state  of 

service  of  Major  Richard  Waldrou.  preservation,  is  on   the  east  side  of 

In  March,  1677,  Major  Waldron  sent  the   river,  on  the  road  leading  from 

out  eight  friendly  Indians   to  obtain  the  mouth  to  the  first  falls, 

information  as  to  the  presence  of  hos-  Calves  Pasture  (The)  .    The  name 

tile    Indians.     This    party    was    sur-  given  to  a  town   pasture  as  early  as 

prised   by  a   band  of  Mohawks,  and  1652,  when  it  was  laid  out.     It  was 

only  two  or   three    escaped.       Blind  on    Dover  Neck,  bordering  on  Back 

Will  was  dragged  away  by  the  hair,  river,   aud  contained  thirty-six  acres 

and,  being  wounded,  perished  on  the  in   1722,  when  it  was  divided  among 

neck  of  land  at  the  confluence  of  the  the  settlers. 

Isinglass  and  Cochecho  rivers.  This  Campin's  Rocks.  This  name  was 
neck  has  ever  since  been  called  Blind  given  as  early  as  1660  to  a  high  gran- 
Will's  Neck.  ite  ledge  on  the  western  bank  of  the 

Bloody  Point.     The  point  of  land  Cochecho  river,  about  a  mile  below  the 

in  Newington  opposite  Dover  Point,  first   falls,  and   which  by  projecting 

The    name    arose,    in    1631,    from    a  into  the  river  constitutes  the  "  Nar- 

6Zooc?Zess  dispute,  as  to  the  jurisdiction  rows."     Tradition  says  a  man  named 

of    the    spot,  between    Capt.    Walter  Campin,  being  pursued  by  Indians, 

Neal,   the   agent  of  the   Portsmouth  was  obliged  to  jump  from  the  ledge 

settlement,  and  Capt.  Thomas  Wig-  into  the  river  in  order  to  escape, 

giu,  the   agent  of  the  Dover  settle-  Camprgn  River.     This   name  was 

meut.     The   name  came  at  length  to  given,  as  early  as   1647,  to  what  was 

denote  all  of  Dover's  territory  on  the  afterwards  called  the  Lamper-eel  riv- 

south  side  of  the  Pascataqua  river,  er,  and  now  the  Lamprey  river, 

aud   is  retained  as  the  name  of  the  Cedar  Point.     So  called  in  1652. 

point  to  this  day.     Whitehouse's  map  It  is  the  point  of  land  on  the  west  of 

of   Dover,    in    18.34,    has    incorrectly  the    mouth    of   Back   river,  and    lies 

placed  Bloody  Point  on  the  north  side  north  of  Goat  island, 

of   the   Pascataqua,   viz.,    on    Dover  Charles   Point.     This    name  was 

Neck.  given,  as  early  as  1660,  to  a  point  at 

Branson's  Creek.     This  name  was  the  entrance  of  Little  bay,  in  Oyster 

given  as  early  as  1653  to  a  tributary  river  parish.     From  Charles  Adams, 

on  the  western  side  of  Oyster  river,  who  lived  near  here, 

near  its  mouth.  Clay  Point.     A  point  of  land  on 

Bristol.     On  an  old  map,  in  1634,  the  east  side  of  Dover  Neck,  and  so 

the  settlement  at   (now)  Dover  was  called  as  early  as  1656. 

called  Bristol.  Cochecho.     The   Indian    name  of 

Bunker's    Creek.       It   flows    into  the  falls  on  the  river,  where  the  city 

Oyster  river,  eastern  side,  and  is  near  of  Dover  now  stands.     It  was  spelled 

the  Bunker  garrison.  by  the  first  settlers  in  various  wavs. 


Localities  in  Ancient  Dover. 


365 


viz.,  Cntt-che-cboe,  Co-che-cha,  and 
Cochecho.  The  settlers  applied  the 
Indian  name  of  the  falls  to  the  stremn 
which  flows  over  the  falls  and  which 
is  lost  in  the  Newichawannock  at  Co- 
checho Point,  and  also  to  the  settlement 
clustered  about  the  falls.  It  is  re- 
tained as  the  name  of  the  stream  to 
this  day.  The  error  of  the  engross- 
ing clerk  of  the  N.  H.  legislature  gave 
the  manufacturing  company  that  built 
the  Dover  Cotton  Mill  the  title  Coche- 
co  M'f'g  Co.,  instead  of  Cochecho. 

CocFiECHo  Great  Hill.  So  called 
as  early  as  1659,  and  is  what  is  now 
commonly,  but  erroneously,  called 
Garrison  Hill.     See  "Great  Hill." 

Cochecho  Log  Swamp.  Thus 
named  as  early  as  1659  ;  it  was  be- 
tween Cochecho  and  Belloraan's  Bank 
rivers,  and  above  tide-water.  There 
are  good  reasons  for  thinking  it  was 
was  also  called  "  Capt.  Waldron's 
Logging  Swamp,"  which  see. 

Cochecho  Marsh.  Sometimes  called 
Cocheciio  Fresh  Marsh.  It  was  thus 
named  as  early  as  1648,  when  it  was 
surveyed  and  cut  up  into  lots,  and  di- 
vided among  the  settlers.  It  was  im- 
mediately north  of  the  "  Great  Hill  at 
Cochecho."  The  "cartway"  which 
led  to  it  was  laid  out  as  earl}'  as 
1648,  and  is  now  the  Garrison  Hill 
road.  The  "Half-way  Swamp"  was 
on  the  south  of  the  "  Great  Hill,"  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  "cartway" 
from  said  hill. 

Cochecho  Point.  So  called  as 
early  as  1655.  The  point  of  land  be- 
tween the  Cochecho  and  Newichawan- 
nock rivers,  at  their  confluence. 

Cochecho  Pond,  or  "  The  pond  att 
Cochecho."  This  pond  was  thus 
named  as  early  as  1674;  and  as 
early  as  1650  it  was  called  "the  great 


pond"  in  the  land  grants.  It  retains 
its  name  on  all  Dover  maps,  except 
the  Hitchcock  County  Atlas  of  1871. 
It  is  now  commonly  called  Willand's 
pond,  from  two  generations  of  Wil- 
lands  who  resided  at  the  head  of  it. 

Cochecho  River.  The  river  on 
which  the  city  of  Dover  stands,  and 
which  flows  in  the  Newichawannock 
at  Cochecho  Point. 

Coffin's  Garrison.  On  the  28th 
of  June,  1689,  Peter  Coffin  had  a  gar- 
rison on  what  is  now  Central  avenue, 
Dover,  and  between  Orchard  and 
Waldron  streets.  It  was  taken  in  the 
Indian  assault  on  Cochecho  on  the 
above  date. 

Peter's  son,  Tristram  Coffin,  on  the 
same  date,  had  a  garrison  on  the  high 
ground  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Belknap  grammar  school-house  on 
Silver  street,  which  he  successfully 
defended  at  the  time  of  the  massacre. 

Common  (The).  There  was  one 
on  Dover  Neck  as  early  as  1649  ;  an- 
other was  laid  out,  in  1654,  on  the 
point  between  Fresh  creek  and  the 
Cochecho  river  ;  and  another  was  laid 
out,  in  1675,  comprising  "  all  the 
land  above  Little  John's  creek,  and 
west  of  the  path  that  goes  to  Belomye 
Bank  to  be  a  common  forever."  The 
name  soon  after  1675  came  to  embrace 
all  the  ungranted  lands  in  the  town, 
which  lands  were  divided  among  the 
inhabitants  in  1732. 

Currial  Point.  So  called  as  early 
as  1720,  and  it  was  situated  between 
St.  Albon's  cove  and  Quampheagan, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Newichawan- 
nock river. 

Dame's  Point.  The  point  between 
Fresh  creek  and  Cochecho  river,  at 
their  confluence.  Dea.  John  Dame 
had  the  first  grant  there. 


2,66 


Localities  hi  Ancient  Dover. 


Dirty  Brook.  So  called  as  early 
as  1694  ;  it  flowed  into  Oyster  river, 
near  the  second  falls. 

DoMPi.iNK  Cove.  So  called  as 
earl}'  as  1652.  It  was  in  Little  bay, 
Newington  side.  Was  it  bad  spell- 
ing for  Dumpling?  and  was  it  thus 
shaped? 

Dover.  The  name  given  in  1639 
to  the  Hilton  Point  settlement.  When 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Larkham,  who  had 
resided  in  Northam,  England,  came 
to  Dover  in  1640,  the  name  of  the 
settlement  was  changed  to  Northam  ; 
but  on  his  leaving,  in  1641 ,  the  settlers 
changed  the  name  back  to  Dover. 

Dover  Neck.  The  high  ridoe  of 
land  lying  between  the  Newichawan- 
nock  and  Back  rivers. 

Dover  Point.  The  point  at  the 
extremity  of  Dover  Neck,  formerly 
Hilton's  Point. 

Drew  Garrison.  It  stands  half  a 
mile  east  of  the  Back  River  road,  and 
is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  The 
date  of  its  erection  is  unknown,  and 
it  is  on  the  farm  owned  by  the  late 
William  Plaisted  Drew. 

Eel  Weir  (The  Upper).  Situat- 
ed in  Cochecho  river,  above  Rey- 
ner's  brook,  and  so  called  as  early  as 
1700. 

Faggotty  Hill.  The  hill  on  the 
road  leading  from  Garrison  hill  to 
Cochecho  pond.  The  name  was  com- 
monly given  to  the  hill  some  forty 
years  ago  ;  but  it  is  now  known  by 
the  name  of  Gage  hill. 

Frankfort.  An  island  in  the  Pas- 
cataqua  river,  about  two  miles  below 
Dover  Point,  and  lying  near  the  east- 
ern bank  of  the  stream.  It  is  an 
elevated  gravel  knoll,  with  sides  de- 
scending precipitously  to  the  water. 
It   has  furnished  many  vessel  loads 


of  ballast,  and  will  finally  disappear 
in  this  manneT. 

Field's  Garrison.  On  Field's 
Plains  in  1694,  and  owned  by  Lieut. 
Zacharias  Field. 

Field's  Plains.  The  name  given  as 
early  as  1680  to  the  broad,  elevated, 
sandy  plain  lying  on  the  Back  Rivei> 
road,  about  one  mile  below  the  head 
of  tide-water,  viz.,  below  Sawyer's 
mills,  and  it  derived  its  name  from 
Lieut.  Zacharias  Field,  who  had  a 
garrison  there  as  early  as  1694. 

First  Church  Meeting-House.  It 
was  erected  in  1634,  on  Dover  Neck, 
a  little  below  the  second  house,  the 
location  of  which  is  well  known,  and 
which  was  one  mile  above  Hilton's 
Point,  now  Dover  Point.  A  care- 
ful examination  of  Winthrpp's  Jour- 
nal, and  of  Belknap's  History  of  New 
Hampshire,  makes  it  evident  that  the 
church  was  organized  within  a  few 
days  "  immediately  "  following  Dec. 
13,  1638. 

Fore  River.  The  uame  given  as 
early  as  1652  to  the  Newichawannock 
river  which  flowed  m  front  of  the  set- 
tlement on  Dover  Neck,  and  in  con- 
tradistinction to  the  river,  which, 
lying  behind  the  neck  on  which  was 
the  settlement,  was  called  Back  river. 

Fox  Point.  The  uame  given  as 
early  as  1652,  to  a  point  of  land  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Pascataqua, 
and  lying  south-west  of  Goat  Island. 
Little  Bay  was  on  the  south  side  of 
this  point,  and  Broad  Cove  on  the 
side  next  Bloody  Point.  It  is  the 
north-west  angle  of  the  present  town 
of  Newington,  where  Little  Bay  and 
the  Pascataqua  river  join.  It  is 
about  half  a  mile  long,  ending  in  the 
river,  and  forming  a  prominent  head- 
land on  that  side  of  the  bay.     Tradi- 


Localities  in  Ancient  Dover.  367 

tion  saN's  the  name  orignatod  from  stands,  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  mas- 
the  use  formerly  made  of  this  point  saere  on  June  28,  1089.  They  were 
to  snare  foxes.  "Reynard,  being  John  Heard's,  Richard  Otis's,  Richard 
once  driven  there,  could  not  escape  Waldron's,  Peter  Coffin's,  and  Tris- 
his  pursuers  without  swimming  the  tram  CotHn's.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
river  or  bay,  much  too  wide  for  his  Thomas  Paine's  house,  on  now  Port- 
cunning."  land  St.,  was   or    was    not    fortified. 

Frenchman's  Creek.     This    name  In  other  parts  of  the  present  city  of 

was  given  as  early  as  1656  to  a  creek  Dover  were  John  Gerrish's  at  Bello- 

runniug  into  Back  river  on  the  west-  man's  Bank  river,  as  early   as    1689  ; 

ern    side.     It   was     the    next    creek  Lieut.    Zacharias    Field's    on    Field's 

above  Rayal's  cove.  Plain,    as    early     as    169-1 ;    Clement 

Fresh  Creek.  This  name  was  given  Meserve's    at  Back    river,   now  tum- 

as  early  as  1648  to  a  tributary' of  the  bling  down;    Drew's   at   Back   river, 

Cochecho  river,  which  it  joins  on  the  which  is  in  an  excellent  state  of  pres- 

eastern    side    at    a    point   two    miles  ervation  ;   Pinkhara's  at  Dover  Neck, 

below  the  city  hall.     The  name  is  re-  which  was  said  to  have  been  fortified, 

tained  until  this  day.  and  which  was  taken  down  in  1825  ; 

Gage  Hill.    The  hill  between  Gar-  and     Lieut.     Jonathan       Haye's     at 

rison  hill  and  Cochecho  pond  on  the  Tolend,   which    was   pulled   down    in 

Garrison    hill  road,  and    some    forty  about  1810. 

years  ago  often  called  Faggotty  hill.  In    Oyster   River   parish,  in   1649, 

Gallows  Hill.  Gallows  hill,"  com-  there     were    twelve     garrisons  which 

mouly  so  called  "  in  1699,  was  a  little  Belknap    mentions,    and    afterwards 

above  the  second  falls  of  Oyster  river,  there     was    another    near    the     sec- 

The  second  falls  are  about  one  mile  ond    falls   of   Oyster    river.     In    the 

above  the  head  of  tide-water.  present  town  of  Lee  tliere  were  at  least 

Garrison    Hill.     The    name    was  two  garrisons, — one  near  the  Cartland 

first  given  to  the  hill  which  the  road  farm,   and  Randall's,   near  the  Hale 

ascends    at    the    foot,    and    west   of  farm,    which    has    been    taken    down 

the    present     Garrison     hill.      John  recently. 

Heard's  garrison  stood  on  this  small  Gerrish    Garrison.       Capt.    John 

hill  on  the  west  side  of  the  road.    The  Gerrish  had  a  garrison  at  Belloman's 

name  was    not  given    to  the  "  Great  Bank    river,    probably  near   his  mill, 

hill."    alias   the    "  Great     Cochecho  which  he  sucessfully  defended  in  the 

hill,"     a^('as  "  Varney's     hill,"    until  Indian  massacre  at  Cochecho  on  June 

after  1834.  There  was  never  agarrison  28.  1689. 

on  the  latter,  which   now  goes  by  the  Gerrish's  Mill.     Capt.  John  Ger- 

name  of  Garrison  hill.     AYhitehouse's  rish's  mill    was  on  Belloman's   Bank 

map,  in  1834,  calls  itVarnay's  hill.  river,  oue  mile  below  the  forks  of  the 

Garrison    Houses.       There     were  same,  and  north-west  of    Barbadoes 

five  garrisons  at  Cochecho,  that  is  to  pond,    where    the    road    crosses    the 

sav    where    the    city    of    Dover    now  stream. 


368  A  yail  Adventure. 

A  JAIL  ADVENTURE. 

By  William  O.  C lough. 

Tt  was  towards  the  close  of  a  beau-  number  of  minutes   they  must  spend 

tiful  day   in   the  latter  part  of  Sep-  in  waiting  for  the  train,  lighted  fresh 

teniber.      The    great     multitude     of  cigars,  and  relapsed  into  silence  and 

happy   people  who  had  tlironged  the  a  review  of  their  note-books, 

county  fair-grounds    during    the  day  At  the   end  of  half  an   hour  they 

had  quietly  dispersed  to  their  homes  began  to  get  restless.     One  member 

in  the  villages  and  upon  the  hillsides,  of  the  party  complained  of  the  poor 

The  last  loiterer  outside  the  enclosure,  accommodations;     another,     of     the 

the   itinerant  traders,  the  men  with  folly   of  elaborating    reports   of  such 

air-guns  and  lifting  machines,  the  un-  events;     still     another,    of    machine 

principled   speculators  who  trap   the    work  ;  and well,  the  ice  was  bro- 

unwary  by  methods  of  questionable  ken,  hail  fellowship  came  with  relax- 
character,  the  horse  jockey  who  ation,  their  tongues  were  loosened, 
roamed  at  large  in  search  of  a  cus-  and  mirth  prevailed, 
tomer  for  "a  perfect  animal,"  and  the  They  chatted  about  the  exhibition, 
dealer  in  gingerbread,  had  vanished  and  magnified  the  events  of  the  day  ; 
like  the  recollections  of  a  dream,  and  they  criticised  the  people  whom  they 
all  that  remained  were  the  temporary  had  met ;  they  laughed  about  the 
occupants  of  tents  and  booths,  and  belles  and  beaux,  the  sights  and 
a  party  of  newspaper  men  who  had  scenes  they  had  witnessed,  and  em- 
been  compelled  to  tarry  for  the  pur-  bellished  some  of  the  incidents  which 
pose  of  copying  premium  lists.  they  had  noted  by  quotations  grave 

The  members  of  this  party.  Knights  and  gay.  They  also  debated  at  some 
of  the  Pencil, — Thomas  McVeaigh,  length  and  earnestly  the  ins  and  outs 
John  Thomas  Bragg,  Richard  Calling-  of  farming,  and  made  wise  and  un- 
ton,  Samuel  Robinson,  and  William  wise  observations  concerning  things 
Henry  Hamilton, — were  covered  with  they  knew  nothing  about, 
dust  and  hungry  for  food,  but  for  all  Following  a  pause,  during  which 
that  they  neither  made  offensive  re-  they  were  informed  by  the  station 
marks  nor  exhibited  impatience.  In  agent  that  the  train  was  more  than 
fact,  they  sauntered  along  the  high-  an  hour  late,  the  conversation  drifted 
way  towards  the  railroad  station  in  to  the  busy  world  in  which  each  had 
the  most  indifferent  manner  possible,  an  interest  and  played  a  conspicuous 
and,  upon  reaching  the  depot,  seated  part.  They  discussed  the  latest 
themselves  upon  baggage  trucks,  novels  and  fashions ;  they  criticised 
trunks,  and  boxes.  They  then,  in  the  society  plays  and  the  actors  wiio  per- 
most  mechanical  manner,  did  just  formed  them  ;  and  they  dissected  in 
what  any  similarly  situated  party  of  an  unfavorable  light  every  prominent 
gentlemen  would  have  done  under  the  profession  but  their  own.  They  ex- 
same  circumstances,  viz.,  compared  pressed  their  disgust  of  picnics,  the 
time  by  their  watches,  computed  the  national  game,  parlor  skating  rinks, 


A  yciil  Adventure.  369 

amateur  theatricals,  and  kindred  excused  from  exposing  them  and  hu- 
anuisements.  Tliev  agreed  that  they  miliating  himself.  And,  l)esides,  he 
were  bored  bv  fashionable  wediliugs  feared  that  if  the  story  got  abroad, 
and  the  interviews  of  aspiring  states-  some  indiscreet  brother  would  event- 
men.  They  were  mildly  enthusiastic  ually  blazon  it  in  cold  type — a  dis- 
over  lectures,  operas,  concerts,  balls,  aster  which  he  devoutly  wished  to 
and  parties,  and  unanimous  in  praise  avoid. 

of  social  events  at  which  a  feast  was  The  party  nnauimouslv  decided 
spread.  They  discoursed  on  politics  that  his  point  was  not  "well  taken," 
and  religion  briefly,  and,  like  tlie  and  therefore,  after  several  urgent 
same  number  of  persons  in  any  other  appeals  and  much  coaxing,  he  finally 
calling,  tliey  disagreed.  In  a  few  consented  to '' make  a  hero  and  mar- 
words,  thev  touched  lightly  on  mauv  tvr"  of  himself  ratlier  than  have  it 
other  tliemes  of  public  moment,  fired  said  that  he  was  '-a  disobliging  fel- 
random  and  witty  shots  at  each  other,  low."  He  thereupon  lighted  a  fresh 
and  finally  took  refuge  from  ew?ii«"  in  weed  (the  gift  of  Mr.  Calliugton), 
personal  reminiscences.  crossed  liis  legs  with  mechanical  pre- 

For  a  while  the  conversation  drifted  cisiou.  pulled    his    hat  over  his  eyes 

carelessly.  with  marked  indifference,  and  began 

At   length    Thomas    McVeaigh,    a  the   story   of  ''A  Journalist's  Expe- 

Pennsylvania    Bohemian,     who     had  rieuce   in  Jail"  with   marked  solem- 

strayed   East    in    hope    of   obtaining  nity. 

fame  and  fortune,  was  urged  by  Rob-  "To  begin  with,  I  confess  myself 

inson    and  Calliugton  to  relate  inci-  a    failure  as    a   storv-teller.     I  have 

dents  in  connection  with  his  first  ex-  tried  it  orally  and  in  type,  and  I  am 

perience    among    the    New    England  as  certain   as  I  am  of  my  existence 

provincial     members     of    the    guild,  that  I  shall  never  succeed  in  making 

They  had  heard,  so  they  said,  some-  myself    interesting.      For    this,    and 

where,  that  it  was  as  entertaining  as  man}'  other  reasons  which  might  be 

romance.  given   if  necessary,  I  had   faithfully 

McVeaigh  declared  that  some  one  agreed  with  myself  never  again  to  be 

had  deceived  them.  guilty  of  the  high  crime  and  misde- 

Mr.  Bragg  boldly  proclaimed  that  meanor  of  inflicting  a  harrowing  tale 

they    had    not    been    deceived.     He  upon  unoffending  readers  or  a  party 

suggested   that  the    facts    should  be  of  innocent  people, 

given  in  detail,  and  assured  McVeaigh  "Gentlemen,  I  yield   to  your  gen- 

that  they  would  prove  interesting  to  erous  and  unanimous  invitation  with 

every    member   of  the  party,  except  many  misgivings.     Like  the posipran- 

possibly  himself.  dial   speech-maker,    who    makes    life 

McVeaigh  finally  admitted  that  he  burdensome  for  an  hour,   'I  am  un- 

liad   suffered    considerable    hardship  prepared.'     Permit  me  to  say,  how- 

"  once   on  a  time"  at  the  hands   of  ever,  that  when  I  shall  have  reached 

some  of  "the  boys,"  but  inasmuch  as  the  denouement.,  my  happiness  will  be 

they  had  long  since  made  the  amende  enhanced  by  your  assurance  that  you 

honorable,  he  thought  he  ought  to  be  have  been  highly  edifled,  and  a  vote 


370 


A  yail  Adventure. 


of  thanks.     Gentlemen,  I  be<^  of  you  upon  poor    me   as  an  intedoper  ;    as 

to   keep   in   minil  that  in  addressing  anon-resident;  a  man  who  could  not 

you  on  this  painful,  I  may  say  inau-  exhibit  a  tax-bill  with  the  receipt  of 

spicious,  occasion,   I  make  a  fool  of  the   collector   of   their  borough  upon 

myself  by  special  request.     You  are  it,  or  something  of  that  sort,  who  had 

earnestly  requested  to  bear  in  mind  no  moral  or  legal  right  on  their  terri- 

that  the   story  is   not  only   true  but  tory.     They  were  therefore  cold,  dis- 

painfully    melancholy,  and   therefore  taut,    formal,    and    reserved.      They 

I'efraiu  from  interruptions,  applause,  vvere  not  disposed  to  give  away  any 

hisses,  and  laughter."  facts    or    particulars  ;    neither    were 

To  all  of  which  the  party  agreed.  they   inclined   to  mention  the  names 

"  It     happened,"    continued     Mc-  of  any  of  the  prominent  local  person- 

Veaigh,   ''at    a    time  when    a  distin-  ages  who  figured  conspicuously  in  the 

guished  party  of  gentlemen  was  trav-  events  which  were  transpiring, 
elling  in  New  England,  and  was  'all         "Gentlemen,  I  took  in  the  situation 

the    rage'    with    the    people.     I    was  without   being    prompted,   and    made 

ordered   by    the    managing   editor   of  up  my  mind  intuitively  that  unless  I 

the  paper  on  which  1  was  then  em-  kept  my  wits  about  me  I  should  get 

ployed  to  report  at  an   inland  city  on  into    serious    trouble.     You    observe 

a  certain  day  and  at  a  certain  hour,  that  I  had  a  presentiment, 
for    the    purpose   of    wiring   specials        "  The  first  annoyance  I  experienced 

concerning  the  reception   and  enter-  came   from    an  unexpected   source — 

tainment  incidental  to  the  celebration,  the  police   department.     Everywhere 

You  may  be  sure  that  1  put  in  an  ap-  I  went  I  found  an  officious  guardian 

pearance  promptly  at  the  place  indi-  of  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  state 

cated,  and  was  anxious  to  meet  the  at    my    elbow,    and    at   every    place 

great    expectations    of    my    employ-  where   I  sought  admission   to  public 

assemblage,  hall,  or  hotel,  this  man  in 

'You  will  now    permit  me  to  re-  uniform    remarked,    'No    admission, 

mark  that  I  very  soon  discovered  that  young  man. ' 

my  knowledge  of  the  habits,  customs,         "His  attention  grew  monotonous, 

and  manners  of  the  interior  members  and    I   got  terribh'   out   of  patience 

of  the   profession   was  decidedly  lim-  with    him.     In    fact,  he    worried   me 

ited,  and  that  I  had  not  come  among  till  I  could  have  done  something  des- 

them  at  the  proper  time    to  improve  perate.     However,    I    controlled    my 

upon    it.     The    reason    was  obvious,  feelings,    and,    unless    I    am    greatly 

'The  boys'  were  engaged  in  report-  mistaken,  was  as  mild   and   polite  as 

ing   the   tour   of  greatness    for  their  a    boarding-school   Miss.     I    said    to 

own  papers,  and,  as  the  saying  goes,  him, — • 

were    turning    an    honest     penny    by         "' My  dear  sir,  your  intrusion  upon 

sending  special  despatches  to  the  met-  me  is  unwarrantable.     I  am   not,  as 

ropolitan  journals.     Under  these  cir-  you  evidently  suppose,  a  pickpocket, 

cumstances  they  very  naturally  looked  I  am  a  member  of  the  press  party.' 


ers. 


[to  be  continued.] 


f     u 


UmFl942       1