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

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THE 



GRANITE MONTHLY 



A New Hampshire Magazine 



DEVOTED TO 



HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, 
AND STATE PROGRESS 



VOLUME XXVII 



CONCORD, N. H. 

PUBLISHED BY THE GRANITE MONTHLY COMPANY 

1899 



N 
9^42 
G759 
v,2 7 

Published, 1899 

By the Granite Monthly Company 

Concord, N. H. 



Printed, I/lustratcd, ami Electrotyped by 
Rum/ord Printiug Company (Riiin/ord Press^ 
Concord, New Hampshire, U. S. A. 



The Granite Monthly. 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXVH. 



yuly — December, i8gg. 



A Blue and White Bowl (poem), Laura Garland Carr 

Admiral Dewey [poem), George Bancroft Griffith 

Admiral Dewey Welcomed to Norwich, Col. Henry O. Kent 

A Leaf from New Hampshire's Unwritten History, Carrie M. Nay 

Among the Sandwich Mountains, Rev. George L. Mason . 

A Night's Adventure, Bert P. Doe ...... 

Annett, Albert, The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the 
tlement. and Growth of the Town of Jaffrey 

A Pioneer Family, C. F. Burge 

A Sire of the Olden Time (poem), Clara B. Heath . 

Austin, Marion L.. Retrospection (poem) ..... 

A Verse (poem), Adelaide Cilley Waldron 

Baker, Alfred E., Come to the '-Old Home V^kkv.''' (poe//i) 

Ballou, Hosea, Rev. S. H. McCollester, D. D 

Boscawen's Historic Sites, The Marking of, John C. Pearson 
Boyd, Merrill. In the Year of Our Lord 1900 

Brown, H. W., M. Sc, Stoss and Lee : or, A Chapter on Glaciers 
Brush, Frederick, Storm on the New En(;land Coast (poem) . 
Burge, C. F., A Pioneer Family ...... 

Burke, Doris L., Ricketty Ann's Contribution 

Carr, C. E., New Hampshire Sends Greeting To-day (poem) . 

Note the Good (poem) ....... 

Carr, Laura Garland, A Blue and White Bowl (poem) 

On a Hillside (poem) ....... 

Carter, Rev. N. F., New Hampshire Home Week Greetin(;s (poem) 
Clark, Adelbert, Mount Washington ...... 



Set 



274 



PAOB 
I 10 
248 
3CO 
219 
267 

67 
288 

382 

46 

106 
360 

137 

26 

-» - -> 
JD- 

273 
288 

I 12 



220 



J3 



I 10 

154 
291 



{&*d^0 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



Colby, Frederick Myron, Our Banner (poem) 

To THE Sphinx ...... 

Come to the "Old Home \<I-^^\^"' (poem), Alfred K 
CoNTOOCOOK River (poem), Edna Dean Proctor . 
Comerford, Ethel F.. The Snowfall (poem) 
Corning, Hon. Charles R., Governor Rollins . 



Darling, Alice O., Going to Market (poem) 

Dewey, Ad.miral (poem), George Bancroft Griffith 

Dewev, Admiral, Welcomed to Norwich, Col. Henry O. Kent 

Doe, Bert P., A Night's Adventure . 

Dyer, Josiah B , New Hampshire Industrie.s — Ouarrvin(; and Stone-Cutting 207 



Baker 



Eastman, Hon. Samuel C, Hon. John Hav — A Summer Sojourner 
Edna Dean Proctor, Harlan C. Pearson . 
Ela, James H., The Elas in New Hampshire . 
Exeter of To-dav, The. Edwin W. Forrest 

P'irst Religious Service in Concord, Josepli B. Walker 
Forrest, Edwin W., The Exeter of To-dav 

Going to Market (poem), Alice O. Darling 
Griffith, George Bancroft, Admiral Dewey (poem) 

Home (poem) ...... 

Welcome Home (poem) .... 

Hay, Hon. John — A Summer Sojourner, Hon. Samuel C. Eastman 
Hadley, E. D., Vindication of the Army of West Virginia (or 

Corps), at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Oct. ig, 1864 
Harlan, Laura, Home Again with Cupid 

Miss Campbell's Christmas 
Heath, Clara B., A Sire of the Olden Time (poem) 
Home (poetn), George Bancroft Griffith . 
Home Again with Cupid, Laura Harlan 
HosEA Ballou, Rev. S. H. McCollester, D. D. . 

In the Home of his Ancestors with Whittier, Caroline C. Lamprey 
In the Year of Our Lord 1900, Merrill Boyd .... 



Eighth 



Shea 



287 
249 
106 
176 

345 
121 



30 
248 
300 
106 



Jaffrev. The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the Settle- 
ment and Growth of the Town of Jaffrey, Albert Annett 
Jenks, Edward A., Old Home Week — Newi'ORt, N. H. (poem) . 

Kent, Col. Henry O., Admu^al Dewey Welcomed to Norwich 

Little. A Pioneer Family, C. F. Burge .... 
Lord, C. C, Those Who Have Come Home To-ni(;ht (poem) 

Mason, Rev. George L., Among the Sandwich Mountains 
McCollester, Rev. S. H., D. D., Hosea Ballou . 
McMiller, J. Walton, On Rockingham Electrics 
Miss Campbell's Christmas, Laura Harlan 
Monadnock in October (poem), Edna Dean Proctor . 



41 
132 

303 
183 

309 
183 

30 
248 
130 

153 

41 

280 

147 
378 
382 
130 
147 
360 

141 
26 



67 
163 

300 

288 
249 

267 
360 

323 
378 

178 



CONTENTS. 



V 



Morrison', Hon. Leonard Allison, Franklin Worcester 

Mount Washington, Adelbert Clark ....... 

Mrs. Pettigrew's Venture, Willametta A. Preston .... 

Nay, Carrie M., A Leaf from New Hampshire's Unwritten History 
New Hampshire Home Week Greetings (poem) Rev. N. F. Carter . 



New Hampshire Industries — Quarrying and 
New Hampshire Necrology 

Abbott, George . 

Ashley, Walter O. . 

Barnard, George W. 

Beattie, Thomas C. . 

Berry, Rev. Augustus 

Bowman, Alonzo 

Clark, Rev. George Faber 

Clement. Dr. Allen B. 

CoLBURN, William W. 

Cutting, Freeman 

Davis, Hon. Walter S. 

DiNSMORE, Hon. Thomas 

Eaton, Rev. G. F. 

FuRBER, Rev. Daniel L., D. D. 

Gilbert, Dr. John H. 

Hatch, Albert A. 

Hill, Daniel E. 

Hobart, J. Bryon 

HoRNE, Rev. John R., Jr. 

Huntington, Hon. Newton 

Jenks, Dr. Thomas L. 

Knapp, Hon. William D. 

Langdon, Miss Fanny E. 

Mason, David 

Moore, Geo. W. 

Paige, David S. . 

Pearson, Clarence Henry 

Pearson, John H. 

Perkins, Commodore George H 

PiLLSBURY, Hon. Charles A. 

Pray, Dr. M. W. 

Rowell, Maj. Edward T. 

Sinclair, John G. 

Sherburne, George M. 

SOULE, H. D. 

Stewart, Walter H. 

Stilson, Daniel C. 

Thurston, Rev. James 

True, Bradley . 

Veazey, Hon. Harry Lawrence 

Weeks, Hon. James W. 

Whittier, Josiah H. . 



Stone-Cutting, Josiah B. Dyer 
63, 117, 179, 251, 3 



3 
291 

^i 



219 

154 
207 

6, 383 

319 

319 
320 

318 
317 
317 
179 

319 
318 
318 

385 
386 

253 
385 
117 
180 

319 
179 

318 

118 

384 
386 
320 
64 
118 

64 
253 
316 

384 

251 
118 

180 

63 

179 

117 
386 
179 

252 
^54 

251 

^53 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



New Hampshire Necrology (Contmned): 

WiGGix, Samuel Adams ........ 

Williams, Gen. Charles ........ 

Wood, Rev. John ......... 

Wright, George J. . 
New Hampshire Sends Greeting To-dav (poem), C. E. Can- . 
New Hampshire's Share in a Great Enterprise, Edward N. Pearson 
Note the (jOOD [poem), C E. Carr ....... 

Old Home Week — Newport, N. H. (poem) Edward A. Jenks 

On a Hillside (poem). Laura Garland Carr ...... 

On Rockingham Electrics, J. Walton McMiller .... 

Our Banner (poetn), Frederick Myron Colby ..... 

Pearson, Edward N., New Hampshire's Share in a Great Enterprise 
Pearson, Harlan C, Edna Dean Proctor ..... 
Pearson, John C, The Marking of Boscawen's Historic Sites 
Preston, Willametta A., Mrs. Pettigrew's Venture 
Proctor, Edna Dean, Harlan C. Pearson . 
Proctor, Edna Dean, Contoocook River (poem) . 

MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER (poevi) . 

The Hills are Home (poem) 

Quarrying and Stone-Cutting, Josiah B. Dyer 

Ouint, Katherine Mordantt, The Birthplace of Whittier's Mother 



Retrospection (poem), Marion L. Austin .... 
Ricketty Ann's Contribution, Doris L. Burke . 
Robinson, Hon. Henry, Birthplace of Governor Rollins 
Rockingham Electrics, On, J. Walton McMiller 
Rollins, Birthplace of Governor, Hon. Henry Robinson 
Rollins, Governor, Hon. Charles R. Corning 



Sanborn, Dr. Charles Henry, of Hampton Falls, F. B. Sanborn . 
Sanborn, F. B., Dr. Charles Henry Sanborn of Hampton Falls . 

The Smiths and Walkers of Peterborough, Exeter, and Springfield 
Sandwich Mountains, Among the. Rev. George L. Mason 
Shea, Caroline C. Lamprey, In the Home of his Ancestors with Whittier 
Smith, Clarence Milton, The Angler's Joys (poem) .... 
Storm on the New England Coast (poem), Frederick Brush 
Stoss and Lee : or, A Chapter on Glaciers, H. W. Brown, M. Sc. 
Swaine, C. Jennie, The E.xpected Guest (poem) .... 

The Angler's Joys (poetn), Clarence Milton Smith .... 
The Birthplace of Whittier's Mother, Katherine Mordantt Quint 
The E.xpected Guest (poem), C. Jennie Swaine ..... 
The Elas in New Hampshire, James H. Ela ..... 
The E.xeter of To-day. Edwin W. Forrest ..... 
The Food Habits of the Owls, Clarence Moores Weed . 
The Hills are Home (poem), Edna Dean Proctor .... 
The House of the First Minister, J. B. Walker .... 



74, 



ii8 

383 
64 

179 

220 
47 

351 

163 
376 

323 

287 

47 
132 

137 

31 
132 

176 

178 

131 

207 
257 

46 
1 12 

127 

323 
127 
121 

35 

223 

267 

141 
266 

352 
359 

266 

257 
359 

183 
347 

131 

166 



CONTENTS. 



VI 1 



The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the Settlement and 

Growth of the Town of Jaffrev, Albert Annett 
The Marking of Boscawen's Historic Sites, John C. Pearson 
The Old New England Hills (poem), D. H. Walker .... 

The Smiths and Walkers of Peterborough, Exeter, and Springfield 

F. B. Sanborn .......... 

The Snowfall (poetn), Ethel F. Comerford ...... 

The Warblers and Vireos in their Economic Relations, Clarence Moores 

Weed 

Those Who Have Come Home To-night (poejii), C. C. Lord 

To the Sphinx (poem), Fred Myron Colby ...... 



Waldron, Adelaide Cilley, A Verse (poem) ....... 

Walker, D. H., The Old New England Hills (poem) .... 

Walker, Joseph B., First Religious Service in Concord 

The House of the First Minister ....... 

Walker, Rev. Timothy. The House of the First Minister, J. B. Walker 
Weed, Clarence Moores, The Food Habits of the Owls .... 

The Warblers and Vireos in their Economic Relations 
Welcome Home (poem), George Bancroft Griffith ..... 

Whittier, In the Home of his Ancestors with, Caroline C. Lamprey Shea 
Whittier's Mother, The Birthplace of, Katherine Mordantt Quint 
Worcester, Franklin. Hon. Leonard Allison Morrison .... 



67 

302 

223 
345 

157 
249. 
249 



Vindication of the Army of West Virginia (or Eighth Corps), at the 

Battle of Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864, E. D. Hadley . . . 280 



139 
302 

309 
166 
166 
347 
157 

153- 
141 

^57 
3 






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Tne GraniTC Aortmm. 



Vol. XXVIL 



JULY, 1899. 



No. I. 



HON. LEONARD ALIvISON MORRISON. 

By Franklin Worcester. 




ACING 


a 


northeast snow 


storm 


in 


the inclement 


mouth 


of 


March, I jour- 


neyed 


to 


Canobie Lake, 


am, to 


call 


upon a friend. 



whose acquaintance I made in the 
New Hampshire senate of iSSy-'Sg. 
When I took him by the hand I saw 
by the twinkle of his eye, expressive 
of mirth and the finest sensibilities, 
that although the physique might be 
impaired the virility of the mind re- 
mained intact. 

The senate of 18S7 contained sev- 
eral men of distinct individuality and 
force of character. Among those 
who have gone, let us hope to a high- 
er and better life, is the staunch and 
undaunted Langdon, and the enter- 
prising and philanthropic Richards. 
Of those who survive, I shall confine 
myself to my friend, Leonard Allison 
Morrison, who was able to furnish 
me the desired data. 

On an island, romantic and wind- 
swept by every ocean breeze, lying 
upon the northwest coast of Scotland 
and separated from the mainland by 
a strip of most turbulent waters a 



few miles in width, is the earliest 
and first known home of the Morri- 
sons. In the Island of Lewis, in the 
district of Ness, near the Butt of 
Lewis, they have, from time im- 
memorial, had their home. 

Black, in his charming story of 
"Sheila; a Princess of Thule," has 
made this ibland forever famous, 
and has thrown around the heaving 
waters, which smite its rocky coasts, 
a never-dying charm. 

The late Capt. F. W. L. Thomas, 
of the royal navy and vice-president 
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- 
land, for years a resident of the local- 
ity, and perfectly familiar with all 
parts, with the language, the people 
and their traditions and history, has 
given a graphic account of the family 
in his " Traditions of the Morrisons," 
the substance of which has been in- 
corporated by the subject of this 
sketch in his " History of the Mori- 
son or Morrison Family." 

In the passing years many branches 
of the Morrisons passed over to the 
mainland of Scotland, and from there 
spread to all parts of the world. 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



John Morison, a sturdy Scotchman, 
removed from Scotland to the county 
of L^ondonderry, Ireland, previous to 
1688, and he and his family were of 
the number of Scotch Protestants, 
who, during the celebrated Siege of 
Londonderry, 1 688-' 89, were driven 
beneath the walls of the city, and 
eventually admitted within the walls, 
when, with the other defenders, they 
endured the horrors of starvation. 

In 1720, or a little later, he re- 
moved to Londonderry, N. H., with 
his last wife, Janet Steele, and their 
young children, where he died in 
1736. His sons, Charter James 
Morison (2) and Charter John Mori- 
son (2), had preceded him in 17 19. 
This John Morison ( i ) , who died in 
1736, was the ancestor of Leonard 
Allison Morrison, through Charter 
James Morison (2), and his wife 
Mary Wallace, his son Lieut. Samuel 
Morison (3), a soldier in the French 
War, and his wife, Martha Allison ; 
their son, Dea. Samuel Morison (4), 
a soldier of the Revolution, and his 
wife, Mrs. Margaret (Dinsmoor) Ar- 
mour, of Windham. Their son was 
Jeremiah Morrison (5), who mar- 
ried Eleanor Reed Kimball, the 
parents of Leonard Allison Morrison 
(6). In the veins of the latter the 
blood of Scot and Puritan flows 
equally commingled. On his father's 
side his descent is purely Scotch, he 
being related with the Arwins, Orrs, 
Cochrans, Wallaces, Steeles, Dins- 
moors, Allisons, McKeens. On his 
mother's side he is of purely English 
descent, being related to the Puritan 
families of Massachusetts, — the Kim- 
balls, Scotts, Hazeltines, Days, Ha- 
zens, Andrews, Harrimans, Reeds, 
Tafts, Parks ; the latter three fami- 
lies of Mendon or Uxbridge, Mass. 



He was reared in a conscientious 
Christian home. It was a home 
where, each morning, the family was 
gathered together, the chapter from 
Holy Writ was read, and prayer 
ascended from the family altar. 
Thrice, each day, as the family 
gathered at the social meal was the 
Divine blessing implored. Each 
Sabbath as it came around, so regu- 
larly was the family found in its ac- 
customed place in the sanctuary and 
in the Sabbath school, unless pre- 
vented by illness or some serious 
matter. It was in one of those strict, 
conscientious, religious homes, which, 
a generation or more ago so numer- 
ously abounded on these hillsides and 
in these valleys of New Hampshire, 
and which constituted the strength 
and bulwark of the Granite state, 
that lessons of love, of truth, of jus- 
tice, of right, of hatred, of wrong, and 
injustice were installed into his mind 
in his youth and became a part of 
his being. 

Those early lessons have not been 
forgotten or ignored. He admires 
courage. He is quick to applaud 
the right and resent the wrong. He 
could easily stand for what he be- 
lieved to be right, even if he stood 
alone. He has never been afraid of 
defeat or of being in the minority, 
and some of his successes have been 
what he has espoused, a forlorn hope, 
and won success from apparent de- 
feat. Firm and constant in his 
friendships and mental makeup, he 
clings to a friend or a cause to which 
he is committed with great tenacity. 
He abandons neither till absolutely 
obliged to do it by the logic of 
events. The cares of life came upon 
him early. 

Before his sixteenth year, by the 




HOME OF LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



feeble health of his father, the care 
of the farm and responsibility for its 
management fell largely upon him. 
His two elder brothers, Christopher 
Merrill Morrison and Edward Pay- 
son Morrison, those buds of promise, 
who had prepared for college, were 
taken ill with consumption and 
passed away in the brightness of 
their youthful promise. A little 
later his loved father joined them, and 
he was deprived of his wise counsel. 
His mother, sister, and himself now 
comprised the reduced family circle, 
and before his twentieth year, the 
homestead, which had been owned 
by the family for a century and a 
score of years, became his by inheri- 
tance, and which he still retains. In 
1866, his mother joined those who 
had passed over the river. His sis- 
ter, Margaret Elizabeth Morrison, 
soon after married Mr. Horace Park, 
and has always lived in Belfast, Me. 

He was educated in the public 
schools of his native town of Wind- 
ham, at the academy of Gowanda, 
Catteraugus county. New York, and 
at the seminary at Northfield, now 
Tilton. His strong desire was for a 
collegiate course and a professional 
life, but untoward circumstances pre- 
vented the fulfilment of the dreams 
and fond ambitions of his youth. 
He occupies and owns the ancestral 
acres at Windham. Always has he 
taken a deep and abiding interest in 
the public affairs and prosperity of 
his town. He believes that fair play 
is the fairest of all fair mottoes, that 
a man should follow closely and 
strictly the leadings of his conscience 
and his ideas of right in public and 
in private life. 

He was a selectman in iSyi-'ja, 
and in those years was a trustee and 



aided in the establishment of the 
Nesmith Free Public library. There 
were four trustees who labored with 
him. They were Rev. Joseph Ean- 
mon, James Cochran, Hiram S. Re}^- 
nolds, and William D. Cochran. 
The books were selected, placed in 
the library, and when ready, the 
library was formally opened by a 
dedication. Hon. John C. Park, of 
Boston, Mass., made a ver)^ able ad- 
dress. Mr. Morrison, whose heart 
was in it, evinced it by an address 
delivered on that occasion. 

A little later a library catalogue 
was prepared and distributed to the 
citizens, and he was one who aided 
in its preparation. The library now 
exceeds 3,200 volumes. 

Before the establishment of that 
library, for many years he availed 
himself of the use of books from a 
fine circulating library in lyawrence, 
Mass., and from them derived great 
profit and delight. Thus unknown 
to others or himself, he was prepar- 
ing for that important work that he 
has done. 

Up to 1877 he lived the life of a 
farmer besides being engaged in the 
wood and lumber business, but he 
had dreams of something different, 
of public life and foreign travel. 
The year mentioned was marked by 
circumstances, slight in themselves, 
which became the beginning of a 
new life. "A pebble in the stream- 
let sent, has turned the course of 
many a river." He has always been 
a lover of literature. In that year 
he was chosen to edit a local paper, 
known as TIic Windham Chiviiide, 
which he did. It was a small affair, 
but it opened up a correspondence, 
and was the commencement of the 
literary work of his after life. It 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



led also, indirectly, to his two some- 
what extended tours of European 
travel and the accompanying works 
of travel. Another slight and sin- 
gular circumstance will be here re- 
corded to show how simple an event 
may affect one's after life. 

The massive gates of circumstance 
Are turned upon the smallest hinge, 

And thus some seeming pettiest chance 
Oft gives life its after tinge. 

He has always taken a deep and 
abiding interest in political events 
and in the decision of public ques- 
tions. In the year mentioned he 
was a delegate to a political conven- 
tion, and accidentally was placed on 
the committee of credentials. He was 
an unknown man in a political circle, 
but did not long remain so. He be- 
longed to no clique, and advocated 
what he believed to be right. The 
committee had been in session but a 
short time when he found himself in 
a sharp and earnest contest. Two 
sets of delegates appeared from a 
section of the largest municipality of 
the district. Only one set were, of 
course, entitled to seats in the con- 
vention, and he espoused with ardor 
the cause of those whom he believed 
were justly entitled to their seats. 
The chairman of the committee, who 
was from that place, had the decid- 
ing vote, and decided against Mr. 
Morrison, but said to him quietly, 
" You are right, but, in order to 
smooth things over locally, I shall 
have to vote against you." 

During the progress of the conven- 
tion, the ones who had most sharply 
made the contest with him, and who 
had supposed he had belonged to a 
clique, came to him saying they had 
found out his position, commended 
his action, and hoped they would 



meet him again next year. They 
did meet the next year. These men 
were now his warm friends, and 
through their influence and of others 
whom he met, he was made presi- 
dent of the convention. Upon tak- 
ing the chair he made a speech, of 
which a copy w^as requested by the 
editor of the local paper, which ap- 
peared with proceedings of the con- 
vention, and was sent broadcast over 
that section of the state. The con- 
test of the committee in 1877 led to 
the presidency of the convention of 
1878 ; the speech and its publication, 
which brought him before the peo- 
ple, led to the train of events which 
landed him in the state senate and 
gave him whatever political promi- 
nence he has attained. 

For fifteen years he presided in the 
annual town-meetings. The duties 
of a presiding officer came easily, and 
there was a charm for him in public 
speaking. For nearly thirty years 
he has been justice of the peace ; 
was an enumerator of the Tenth 
United States census in 1880, one 
of the auditors of Rockingham 
county in i886-'87. He has al- 
ways been a Republican in politics, 
and was a member of the Republi- 
can State Central committee in 1881- 
'82. In 1884 he was elected a mem- 
ber of the house to serve from 1885- 
'87. In his legislative and other 
contests he arranges carefully his 
line of action. He studies men and 
his opponents, and looks ahead to 
see what will probably be their line 
of attack or defense, and makes his 
preparations to meet their attack or 
make his own. He is an uncomfort- 
able antagonist for he never knows 
when he is defeated, and never ac- 
knowledges a defeat. He may have 



8 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



a temporary set-back, but he is after 
his opponents again at the first 
chance. This has been repeatedly- 
shown in his public and legislative 
experience. 

During the session of the legisla- 
ture of 1885, when he was a member 
of the house, a leading opposition 
paper {Manchester Union) aptly said 
"Mr. Morrison of Windham is a 
man of positive convictions. Ample 
study, research, and travel have 
ripened his thought and sharply 
outlined his opinions. Like all men 
of his class, he is liable to run coun- 
ter to popular sentiment, but he is 
honest to the core, and he serves the 
state well in his general capacity and 
as chairman of the committee on edu- 
cation." 

He was a new member in that ses- 
sion, but he was somewhat known, 
and he was appointed chairman of 
the committee on education, an hon- 
orable position for a new member. 
In the debates he participated when 
he had views which he thought 
should be expressed, but never for 
the sake of talking. At one time, 
several bills, some of which he had 
introduced, and others in which he 
was interested, w^ere before the house. 
Gen. Oilman Marston of Exeter was 
a member. He was a blunt, brusque 
man of unquestioned honesty, but 
one who had many admirers and 
friends. One day he met the subject 
of this sketch on the street, and with 
that peculiar gesture with his index 
finger, which he often used when 
addressing the speaker, he said, 
' ' You have several bills before the 
house, haven't you?" "Yes." 
Then the general enumerated them, 
one by one, and exclaimed with an 
adjective in his expression, more 



forcible and expressive than pious or 
polite, "You'll be lucky if you get 
any one of them through ! " and off he 
went. Mr. Morrison was vejy lucky. 

A very important bill of the ses- 
sion was the bill establishing the 
"Town District of Schools." It was 
introduced by a member of the com- 
mittee on education and referred to 
that committee. The chairman was 
strongly in favor of the bill, as were 
the best educators and the most in- 
telligent and best read men in the 
state. But it was a great innovation 
on the school customs and laws of 
the state, made a most radical change 
in them and was greatly ahead of 
public sentiment. School affairs 
were in a bad condition. Radical 
measures were a necessity. This 
was w^ell known to its advocates. 
It was thoroughly discussed in pub- 
lic hearings in the state house, and 
before the committee, and a day and 
hour at length assigned for its con- 
sideration in the house. The chair- 
man of the committee was greatly 
interested in its success and carefully 
prepared a plan for its progress in 
the house. 

When the appointed hour arrived 
the galleries were packed, the judges 
of the supreme court, the senate, and 
distinguished men of the state filled 
seats by the speaker, and the ro- 
tunda in front of the speaker's chair. 
Upon the calling of the house to 
order, as chairman of the committee 
on education having the bill in 
charge, he called the bill from the 
table and opened the debate with 
a carefully prepared and forcible 
speech, pleading its merits and urg- 
ing the passage of the bill. Others 
fell into line, the leading members 
urged its passage, and those who 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



were not often participants spoke in 
its favor, and there was no lull in the 
proceedings. There was a great in- 
terest and about 6 p. m. the roll was 
called and the bill passed by about a 
two-thirds vote. 

It subsequently passed the senate, 
received the signature of the gover- 
nor and became the law of the state. 
It was probably the most important 
step for the educational interests of 
the state for half a century. 

The transition period was unpleas- 
ant, as all such periods are. It made 
something of a commotion in the 
state and his course upon this ques- 
tion and for the valued policy insur- 
ance law cost him some votes when 
he was a candidate and was elected 
senator two years later. 

In 1886 he was elected state sena- 
tor from the Londonderry district, 
No. 20, to serve from June, 1SS7, to 
June, 1889. In the senate he was 
made chairman of the committee on 
education and served on the com- 
mittee on engrossed bills, on agricul- 
ture, on state prison, and industrial 
school. In that body, as elsewhere, 
his course was direct and outspoken 
upon public questions. 

The Hazen bill (railroad bill) was 
the most important bill of the session. 
It was kept dallying along nearly 
through the session, and hearing 
after hearing took place before the 
committee. At last it passed both 
branches of the legislature by nearly 
a two-thirds vote. Then it came 
before Governor Sawj^er, who vetoed 
it. The excitement was intense. 

Mr. Morrison voted in favor of the 
bill and thought the governor had 
no valid excuse for his veto. 

The adulteration of foods is one of 
the most obnoxious evils of the day. 



The adulteration of the one article of 
lard, it was claimed, was robbing the 
people of New Hampshire of half a 
million of dollars a year beside giv- 
ing the consumer a spurious article 
when he bought a pure article. A 
bill was introduced to prevent the 
sale of the adulterated article for a 
pure article. If a person wanted 
"compound lard" let it be marked 
as "compound lard," and bought 
and sold as such, and a package 
marked as "pure" compel the seller 
to have it " pure." To this bill Mr. 
Morrison gave his earnest support by 
speech and vote. It was one of the 
most warmly contested bills of the 
session. The agents of the Chicago 
manufacturers of spurious lard were 
there in force lobbying for its defeat. 
After a stubborn contest it failed to 
pass. 

Later in the session, Mr. Morrison, 
fearless of defeat, and with character- 
istic directness, introduced substan- 
tially the same bill in the senate, but 
in a new form. 

The former conflict had been so 
sharp and stubborn that it was a 
matter of surprise to the senate that 
the bill was reintroduced in its new 
form. A senator sitting near him 
said, "Senator Morrison, I am sur- 
prised that a man who has as much 
sense as j^ou have, shouldn't have 
more sense than to reintroduce that 
bill, for you will certainly be de- 
feated." 

Morrison quietly replied, "De- 
feat doesn't frighten me. I have 
been defeated before and then came 
out ahead at last." 

This statement was prophetic of 
the issue. The bill was just, and 
after a sharp contest it passed both 
branches of the legislature. In the 




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HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



II 



senate Mr. Morrison made a speech 
in its support. It was terse, direct, 
and strong in its denunciation of the 
great commercial fraud which un- 
scrupulous manufacturers were per- 
petrating on the public. It attracted 
some attention, was published iu two 
or more publications, and some six 
thousand copies were scattered in all 
parts of the land. He had led a for- 
lorn hope and was successful. 

In a review of the session and of 
the senators, a leading paper of the 
state thus spoke of him (the Man- 
chester Mirror): "The scholar of 
the senate was Morrison of the lyon- 
donderry district, and with his schol- 
arship he had good sense and a per- 
sistency in what he believed to be 
right, which made him a valuable 
and successful senator. The rescue 
and passage of the famous lard bill 
was his work, and it was a feat few 
would have undertaken, and no one 
else could have performed, and his 
earnest defense of the school bill, 
which, as chairman of the education 
committee in the house, he piloted to 
the statute book in 1885, had much 
to do with the defeat of all attempts 
to defeat it this year." 

While he has always been strongly 
interested from early years in public 
questions, yet he has been equally 
attached to literature and history. 
He loved history and the writings of 
the world's best authors afforded 
him the keenest delight. The well 
rounded and flowing periods of 
Macaulay and the beautiful senti- 
ments of the poets have a great 
charm for him. For years he was 
more of a reader than writer. Thus, 
unknown to himself or others, he 
was preparing himself for the impor- 
tant work which he has done and is 



doing. It is a field of labor into 
which he had not long dreamed of 
entering, but was drawn into it by 
chance, or more properly by Provi- 
dence, and for twenty years his life 
has been earnestly devoted to histori- 
cal research, travel, and elucidation 
of these brilliant themes ; and has 
prepared and had published works of 
value in these lines in quantity and 
quality, perhaps second to none in 
the state. 

' ' The Morison or Morrison Fami- 
ly; " " History of Windham in New 
Hampshire ; " " Rambles in Europe : 
In Ireland, Scotland, England, Bel- 
gium, Germany and France, with 
Historical Facts Relating to Scotch- 
American Families," gathered in 
Scotland, and in the north of Ire- 
land ; "Among the Scotch- Irish ; a 
Tour in Seven Countries;" "His- 
tory and Proceedings of the Celebra- 
tion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth 
Anniversary of the Incorporation of 
the Settlement of Windham in New 
Hampshire," held June 9, 1892; 
" Supplement to the History of Wind- 
ham in New Hampshire," 1892; 
" Eineage and Biographies of the 
Norris Families," from 1640 to 1892 ; 
" The History of the AHson or Alli- 
sons in Europe and America," A. D. 
1136 to 1893; "The History of the 
Sinclair Family in F^urope and 
America," for eleven hundred years, 
to 1896; "History of the Kimball 
P'amily in America from i634-'97, 
and of its Ancestors, the Kemballs 
or Kemboldes of England," in two 
volumes, and 1,290 pages, by Leonard 
Allison Morrison and Stephen Pas- 
chall Sharpies; "Poems of Robert 
Dinsmoor," " the rustic bard," com- 
piled and edited with foot-notes ; 
"Dedication Exercises of the Arm- 




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HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



13 



strong Buildiug for Nesmith I^ibrar}', 
Windham, N. H.," January 4, 1899. 

Early in life he commenced writ- 
ing for the press, and has been a con- 
tributor since 1S61. In 187S he be- 
gan his literary life in sober earnest 
by commencing his " History of the 
Morisou or Morrison Family," pub- 
lished in December, 1880. Eleven 
hundred volumes were issued, and 
copies soon found their way into the 
college libraries and larger public 
libraries and into all parts of the 
United States, Canada, Great Brit- 
ain and Australia. It was well re- 
ceived and the edition was quickly 
exhausted. 

It takes a person of a rare com- 
bination of intellectual and other 
solid qualities to make an interest- 
ing and successful family historian, 
or a traveler, and author of books of 
travels. He must have literary 
ability, patience to search for months 
or years to find a missing link or 
prove a fact ; unbounded persistence, 
with the exactness necessary to col- 
lect and put in shape the facts that 
such a history should contain. As a 
traveler he must have a trained, 
quick eye to see, a disciplined mind 
to appreciate, a retentive memory to 
hold, a power of description and a 
grace of diction to portray, to make 
things real and interesting to his 
readers. He must take them into 
his confidence, make them his com- 
panions in his wanderings by land 
and by sea. How far our subject 
has succeeded, let his success testif3^  
as will the voice of the press. 

The Literary World, in reviewing 
it, "The Morrison History," July 2, 
1 88 1, said " It has secured a perma- 
nent place in the historical literature 
of the country. A very creditable 



volume it is, well planned, well pre- 
pared, well illustrated, and well 
printed and bound. Its early his- 
tory is unusually rich in tradition, 
and some of the stories of the heredi- 
tary judges of Lewis, given in the 
opening pages, are diverting. We 
commend them to romancers in 
search of material for out-of-the-way 
places." 

"The New England Historical 
and Genealogical Register," April i, 
1 88 1, in its review said, "It is in- 
tended to present all that the author 
could obtain by the most assiduous 
research and correspondence concern- 
ing the genealogy of the various 
branches of the Morrisons in this 
country and also concerning their 
Scotch ancestry. The larger part of 
the book is devoted to the posterity 
of the Scotch- Irish settlers of the 
name at Londonderry, of whom there 
were several. Their descendants 
have done honor to the sturdy race 
from which they descended. The 
work is a model of industry and is 
arranged in a clear and intelligible 
manner, besides having excellent in- 
dexes." 

The volume represents a vast 
amount of careful labor well be- 
stowed and judicially performed. In 
its preparation the author traveled 
more than 2,000 miles and wrote 
over 2,500 letters. No possible chan- 
nel remained unexplored. 

This was his first book, upon 
which he had spent three years of 
toil. Without taking any rest or va- 
cation he commenced the " History 
of Windham in New Hampshire," 
his native town. 

The aged people were few who 
knew the early history of the town ; 
tradition was fast dying out and he 



14 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



felt that no time was to be lost. For 
three years he gave this work his un- 
remitting attention and the work was 
published at the close of 1883, a 
book of 872 pages and 60 pages of 
illustrations. 

In a review of it Oliver Stebbins, 
in the " New England Historical and 
Genealogical Register," says, "This 
is an exceedingly interesting and 
elaborate history of another one of 
the little group of New Hampshire 
towns of which Londonderry was the 
parent settlement, and which owed 
their origin to the efforts of those 
grand and sturdy old Presbyterian 
Covenanters who emigrated from Ire- 
land and Scotland at the beginning 
of the last century ; — those brave, 
self-sacrificing patriots whom no 
sufferings could subdue, no threats 
could terrify, no bribery could tempt, 
nor persecution cause to waver in 
their devotion to their simple faith." 

The reviewer confesses that he 
never can read the account of the 
heroic defense of the town of Lon- 
donderry, in Ireland, with its little 
garrison of seven thousand men 
against the whole Catholic force of 
James II, supported by an army sent 
by lyouis XIV of France which has 
been so graphically described in the 
histories of the New Hampshire 
towns of Londonderry, Antrim, and 
Windham, without feelings of in- 
tense enthusiasm, although he him- 
self comes from Puritan stock. 

The title of Mr. Morrison's book 
indicates in some measure the labor 
bestowed upon and the interest taken 
in the subject. On nearly every 
page there is evidence of patient and 
painstaking research and unremitting 
toil. 

The Literary World in its review 



August 13, 1883, thus speaks of the 
" History of Windham," stating that 
two thirds of the book was " devoted 
to a history of Windham families, 
famil}^ b}^ family, of whom about 200 
are included, arranged in alphabeti- 
cal order. These family histories 
contain an immense store of genea- 
logical material, the collection of 
which must have required an inex- 
haustible industry and patience." 

It was reviewed by numerous 
papers in a commendatory manner, 
well received by the public, and the 
edition was quickly exhausted. 

In 1882 he wrote a condensed his- 
tory of Windham for the " History 
of Rockingham and Strafford Coun- 
ties." In recognition of his services 
to family and local history, Dart- 
mouth college, in 1882, conferred 
upon him the honorary degree of 
Master of Arts. 

Mr. Morrison has not only been a 
student and writer of history, but has 
been something of a traveler. He 
has traveled much in this countrj^ 
and Canada and has spent two sum- 
mers in Europe. 

The summer of 1884 was spent in 
Europe in travel and historical re- 
search. Some time was spent in the 
Scotch settlements in the north of 
Ireland. Those localities were vis- 
ited from which came many of the 
first settlers of Londonderry and 
other towns in New Hampshire, and 
which were made forever sacred by 
their heroism, sufferings, and sacri- 
fices. The old historic city of Lon- 
donderry, in the defense of which his 
ancestors participated, was visited 
and became familiar ground. He 
visited the noted cathedral in which 
Episcopalians and Presbyterians wor- 
shiped during the siege of 1 688-' 89, 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



15 



though at different hours in the day. 
A most interesting episode came to 
him in connection with it. The 
writings of Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander 
were familiar to him. Some of her 
poems he could repeat from memory. 
But of her as a person or of her life 
historj' he knew nothing. Her 
poem, "There is a green hill, far 
away, far away," and her "Burial 
of Moses," "By Nebo's Lonely 
Mountain," are familiar to the Eng- 
lish speaking race, and her religious 
hj^mns are sung every Sabbath in 
multitudes of American churches. 

Wishing to consult the ancient 
records of the cathedral which were 
in the charge of the lyord Bishop Al- 
exander, he called at the palace to 
obtain permission of the bishop. 
Then he learned that the gifted poet, 
Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander, was the 
wife of the distinguished bishop and 
was then in England. He ascer- 
tained the singular fact, that he had 
crossed the ocean and by accident 
had entered the house and seen 
something of the home life and sur- 
roundings of the soulful poet, one of 
the sweetest singers of the English 
tongue. 

" My Lord " was a charming man, 
a poet, too, able and eloquent, simple 
as a child. One who would readily 
lead captive the hearts of men. He 
is now the head of the Episcopal 
church in Ireland. He readily 
granted access to the records, and 
for three days Mr. Morrison was in 
the private study of the Dean of 
Derry consulting them. He was the 
guest and was much indebted for 
courtesies to Hon. Arthur Eivermore 
from New Hampshire, the American 
consul, and his attractive wife. 

He consulted libraries in different 



parts of the kingdom and made the 
acquaintance of interesting people. 
Some time was spent in Dublin in 
that vast repository of the valuable 
records of Ireland, "The Four 
Courts." 

The historic libraries of London- 
derry and Belfast gave him valuable 
information. He traveled from the 
South to the North, from the East to 
the West of that land of greenness 
and of beauty ; he visited her famous 
lakes, cities, and world - renowned 
causeway, and was delighted with it 
all, save the poverty, wretchedness, 
and misery of many of her people. 

On leaving Ireland, the temporary 
home of his ancestors, he thus speaks 
in his " Rambles in Europe," etc., 
"As we steamed out of the harbor 
(of Larne) I glanced back upon the 
retreating laud upon which Nature 
had poured out her riches and her 
charms so lavishly. Farewell sweet, 
beautiful Ireland ! Farewell your 
high mountains, your green hills, 
your lovely valleys, and sweet flow- 
ing rivers ! I bid 3'ou all adieu. 

" My desires to be in Scotland, the 
fatherland, were too strong to be 
longer repressed. I longed to gaze 
upon her historic mountains, to 
breathe her bracing air, and to press 
my feet upon her soil. As the boat 
speeded upon her way out of the sil- 
very sea rose the bold outlines of the 
Scottish coast. As the shades of 
evening fell, bolder and more dis- 
tinct came the high headlands, when 
night brooded over the silent moun- 
tains. I was in the home of my 
forefathers. Thus I passed into 
vScotland." 

Scotland has been the home of a 
great and intellectual people. It is a 
wonderful thing to have claims upon 



i6 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



a nationality whose traditions and 
memories have been glorious. Scot- 
laud had strong attractions to him. 
There was magnetism in her moun- 
tains, charms in her turbulent waters. 
Weeks were passed amid historic 
and famous scenes. The country 
was traversed in many directions 
from the English border to the wind- 
swept shores of the Island of lyCvvis, 
and the bleak shores of the North 
Sea with its chill winds and beating 



for a journey among the Western 
Islands, around which William Black, 
by his facile pen, has thrown such a 
fascination. As he passed out of the 
harbor of Oban, on the retreating 
shores, as lofty sentinels stood the 
mountain peaks of Ben Nevis and 
Glencoe. Without stopping at the 
island of Mull, skirting the island of 
Skye, he reached the far north .shore 
of the Island of lyewis and entered 
the harbor of Stornoway, the chief 




The Druidical Stones at Callernish. 



billows. The land of Burns was 
visited, and in Ayr he made the 
acquaintance of Miss Beggs, a niece 
of the poet, a lady with black hair, 
keen black eyes, and a strong, intel- 
lectual face, and very pleasing were 
her expressed memories of her fa- 
mous uncle. Mr. Morrison became 
familiar with famous places on the 
Clyde, and Glasgow, the classic city 
of Edinburgh and Sterling, and 
passing through the Highlands he 
reached Oban on the Western coast. 
He took the steamer Claymore 



cit3^ The city had wonderful at- 
tractions for our tourists. In the 
words of Whittier in the poem of 
Abram Morrison, 

" From gray Lewis over sea 
Bore his sons their family tree. 

" Of wild tales of feud and fight 
Witch and troll and second sight, 
Whispered still when Stornoway 
IvOoks across its stormy bay. 
Still the home of Morrisons." 

It has been the home of the Mor- 
risons for many centuries. 

Hardly had he reached his hotel 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



17 



before Norman Morisou, the post- 
master of the city, was announced 
and gave him the warmest welcome 
to Stornowa3^ 

This island William Black has 
made famous by his Sheila, a prin- 
cess of Thule. He visited the 
Druidical stones at Callernish, of 
much celebrity and great antiquity, 
and other places of historic interest, 
crossed the stormy Minch and from 
Inverness passed through the Cale- 
donian canal and its chain of lakes 
to Glasgow, a journey of unrivaled 
beauty. He ascended Ben lyom- 
mond, passed over the Scottish lakes, 
through the Pass of Glencoe, that 
"Vale of Weeping." After vi-siting 
Sterling, Edinburgh, Peebles, he 
passed to the "Debatable Land," 
near the English border, where lived 
the clans of Little, Johnson, Chis- 
holm. Maxwells, and others. He 
was in the old home for many cen- 
turies of the Armstrongs, or from 
1235, the home of that redoubta- 
ble border chief, " Gilnockie " Arm- 
strong, and saw in a museum his 
great and might}- sword. Some 
American branches of the name 
claim descent from him.^ He vis- 
ited the English lakes and the de- 
lightful country at Keswick, Amble- 
side, Windemere, and all the sec- 
tions made sacred forever as the 
residence of Mrs. Hemans, the sweet, 
sad poetess, of Wordsworth, Harriet 
Martineau, Coleridge, and Southej'. 
In 1887, as a result of his travels 
and investigations, were published 
his " Rambles in Europe, in Ireland, 
Scotland, England, Belgium, Ger- 
many, Switzerland, and France. 
With historical facts relating to 



' George Washington Armstrong, Esq., of Brook- 
line, Mass., claims descent from "Gilnockie." 
xxvii— 2 



Scotch-American families gathered 
in Scotland and the north of Ire- 
land." Two thousand four hundred 
copies were printed. This was an 
octavo volume of 351 pages with 
illustrations. It was well received 
and had many reviews. 

The Exeter Ncics- Letter says, 
"His style is direct and forcible 
with frequent passages showing a 
poetic appreciation of the beautiful 
in nature and the romantic in his- 
tory. The weird wilderness of the 
far Northland, the glories of the 
Castle Rhine and the ice-bound Alps, 
the artificial richness of Paris and 
Brussels, are all brought before us 
in vivid description." 

One seldom tires of foreign travel- 
ing who has a taste in that direction. 
In 1889 Mr. Morrison made his sec- 
ond visit to Europe, traveling exten- 
sively in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, 
England, France, Switzerland, and 
Ital}'. He was in Londonderry, 
Ireland, and one bright, sunny Sab- 
bath he perambulated the walls of 
the ancient part of the city. In 
writing of this he said, "It was a 
singular and thrilling coincidence for 
me to remember as I gazed on the 
streets, the cathedral, the walls, the 
River Foyle, and the hills beyond 
that at that very July day and hour, 
just two hundred years before, my 
ancestors and relations, with their 
friends and kindred, were wdthin the 
city in the direst extremity, enduring 
the horrors of starvation ; that they 
walked those streets ; looked forth 
with famished eyes upon the same 
cathedral, the same walls, the same 
river, and surrounding hills, and 
were waiting with unspeakable long- 
ing for succor to come, which came 
at last." 



i8 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



He made interesting discoveries 
relating to the Scotch in Ireland, 
which are recorded in his succeed- 
ing volume relating to his trav- 
els. 

While in Scotland, he went to the 
far Northland of Caithness to Thurso 
and Wick. The heather was in full 
bloom and covered the hillsides wnth 
a beautiful purple. For long dis- 
tances the mountains w^ere bare ex- 
cept as covered by this mantle of 
beauty. It was a treeless country. 
This city, Thurso, was the birth- 
place of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, one 
of our generals in the Revolution. 
There is the fine old castle of Neb- 
ster, built about 1660, and situated at 
the mouth of a river and amid groves 
planted by human hands. That, and 
its vast estate of sixty thousand 
acres, is owned by Sir J. L,. Toll- 
mache Sinclair. He and his fathers 
before him, for generations, have 
been members , of parliament. It 
is the country seat of the family. 
There General Grant was royally 
entertained when visiting Thurso. 

It was a pleasure to Mr. Morrison 
to meet the Sinclair family at lunch 
one day as their guest. Among 
those he met were Maj. Clarence G. 
Sinclair, Archdeacon Rev. William 
Sinclair, chaplain to the queen and 
vicar of St. Stephen's church, West- 
minster, I^ondon, and ladies of col- 
lateral lines of the family. All parts 
of the castle were shown him by Rev. 
Mr. Sinclair, Family portraits of 
members of the family for 250 years 
hung from the walls. Trophies of 
the chase were there, while old 
armor, guns and weapons of defense 
were everywhere apparent. From 
the top of the castle there was a won- 
derful view. In the distance over 



the turbulent w^aters he saw the 
mountains of the Orkney islands. 

While a guest at the hospitable 
home at Wick of George Miller 
Sutherland, F. S. A., he was shown 
by his host an autograph letter of 
the late Cardinal Newman, dated 
August 21, 1887, in which he said 
that while at sea June 16, 1833, he 
wrote the h3'nin which all the world 
admires, "Lead Kindly Light. " 

In describing the country of Caith- 
ness, Scotland, Mr. Morrison speaks 
of it in his "Among the Scotch-Irish ; 
and Through the Seven Countries : " 

" Caithness, as a whole, is treeless 
and one's eye will sweep over tracts 
bounded only by the horizon where 
hardly a tree will greet the vision. 

" I have passed in the autumn from 
the depths of Canada, through Ver- 
mont and New Hampshire, when the 
great stretches of mountains, hill, 
valley, and plain, covered with hard- 
wood growths, were ablaze with au- 
tumnal glory ; where the leaves of 
every tree presented all varieties of 
color and were tinted with every form 
of beauty, and the eyes feasted on a 
scene of rapturous loveliness beyond 
the skill of the writer to portray in 
words or painter to place upon endur- 
ing canvas. 

"In Caithness was another and dif- 
ferent scene of beauty, not the golden 
tinted leaves on millions of forest 
trees but the purple loveliness of vast 
tracts of moorlands, where plain, val- 
ley, hillside, and mountain slope was 
in the glory of a purple robe, more 
beautiful than any woven by weav- 
er's loom for monarch's apparel. It 
was the purple of the full blooming 
heather, worth a journey across the 
Atlantic to behold." 

Leaving the enjoyments of the far 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



19 



uorthlaud, he passed southwest 
through the entire length of Scot- 
land, England, to the sunny slopes of 
Normandy, France, visiting many 
places made famous by William the 
Conqueror; the Paris exposition, 
thence to the glories of the Alp-land, 
Switzerland, and to classic Italy, over 
its lovely lakes and its famous cities 
of Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, 
Naples, and the long buried city of 
Pompeii. Of that this sketch is too 
meagre to speak. 

While in London some time was 
spent in the British museum and lis- 
tening to debates in parliament. On 
his return to the United States he 
w^rote "Among the Scotch-Irish; 
and Through Seven Countries," a 
book of mingled description, and 
published in 1S91. It is a com- 
panion to "Rambles in Europe," 
etc. It was well received and called 
forth favorable reviews. One says, 
' ' The tour described extended from 
Caithness, Scotland, on the north, to 
Rome, Naples, and Pompeii on the 
south. The reader catches glimpses 
of tantalizing brevity of noble cathe- 
drals, battle memorials and world- 
famous structures, of fertile land- 
scapes, hills clothed in purple 
heather, ice-bound summits, and 
azure lakes. He is permitted to 
linger fondly at times on historic 
spots hallowed by memories of some 
of the world's greatest acts of genius 
and of courage. Everything is 
described as seen by a true Yankee's 
shrewd, independent, observant eyes, 
but seen also with a deep apprecia- 
tion of the picturesque in nature and 
of the noble in human achievement." 

After this book was issued, his pen 
did not rest. At one time he had 
portions of five different works in 



manuscript. In 1S92, he issued 
"The History and Proceedings of 
the One Hundred and Fiftieth An- 
niversary of the Incorporation of 
Windham in New Hampshire, held 
June 9, 1892," which was published 
by the committee of the town. 
Those who took part in the exer- 
cises, of which he was president and 
gave an address of welcome, were 
Rev. Augustus Berry and Rev. B. E. 
Blanchard. Between 1,500 and 1,800 
people shared in the festivities of that 
occasion. 

A very able historical address was 
given by Hon. James Dinsmoor, of 
Sterling, 111., who was a native of 
the town. Among the other ad- 
dresses were one by Gov. Hiram A, 
Tuttle, Evarts Cutler, Esq., Rev. 
Samuel Morrison, Hon. George Wil- 
son, William C. Harris, Esq., Rev. 
William E. Westervelt, William H. 
Anderson, Esq., Rev. Warren R. 
Cochrane, D. D., Hon. James W. 
Patterson, Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury„ 
Hon. Frederick T. Greenhalge, af- 
terwards governor of Massachusetts^ 
and Hon. J. G. Crawford. 

The speaking was excellent. A 
very nice poem was read from Mrs, 
M. M. P. Dinsmoor. The vocal 
music was furnished by the " Wind- 
ham Glee Club," a club which had 
retained its honored name and or- 
ganization for thirty- six years. The 
instrumental music was finely ren- 
dered by a band from Haverhill, 
Mass. It was an honored day and 
one to be remembered with pride by 
all those present. 

In the same year was issued his 
' ' Lineage and Biographies of the 
Norris Family, i640-'92." Of this 
the " New England Historical and 
Genealogical Register" of July, 1873, 



20 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



says, "It is a well compiled and 
handsomely printed book. 
The author has had much experi- 
ence in writing books on local and 
family history. He has given us in 
the book before us a very full record 
of the descendants of the Hampton 
(N. H.) emigrant. The book is well 
printed, and illustrated with numer- 
ous portraits. It is well indexed." 

In 1893 he completed and had 
printed the "History of the Alison 
or Allison Family in Europe and 
America." It is the record of a 
strong and intellectual Scotch family. 
Some of its branches came direct 
from Scotland, while others passed 
to Ireland, and came from there to 
the United States. Some of its mem- 
bers were martj-rs for the Solemn 
League and Covenant in Scotland. 
Others continued the struggle for reli- 
gious liberty in Ireland, while still 
others crossed the ocean and main- 
tained the successful famil}- struggle 
on American soil." 

A review (November 23, 1S93, the 
Statesmaii) says, "Mr. Morrison has 
done his work with abilit}- and fidel- 
it}'. He has studied diligently and 
written intelligently. Travel and 
research made the foundation of a 
strong structure, which is a credit to 
the builder, and the family in whose 
name it stands. A great deal of the 
world's most important history had 
been epitomized within the three 
hundred odd pages of the volume, 
and there is much beyond the genea- 
logical records to interest and in- 
struct. In arrangement the work is 
a model of clearness, and its infor- 
mation is available for the hasty ex- 
amination or the leisurely study. 
Twenty-five illustrated pages lend 
attractiveness to the volume, which 



is clearly printed, handsomely and 
durably bound in cloth." 

Other families claimed the atten- 
tion of Mr. Morrison's historic pen. 
The vSinclair, St. Clair, famil^^ an 
old ai:d illustrious one in Europe, 
with prominent and able offshoots in 
American soil. After long and dili- 
gent research it was w^ritten, and 
issued from the press in 1S96. It is 
a book called the " History of the 
Sinclair Family in Europe and 
America for Eleven Hundred Years," 
a book of 516 pages of printed mat- 
ter with 63 pages of illustrations. 
It includes many branches of this 
widespread patronymic. Many 
prominent personages of the name 
in Great Britain are mentioned, into 
whose libraries it has gone. It was 
reviewed by the " New England His- 
torical and Genealogical Register."^ 
A very lengthy article appeared in 
the NortJicrn Ensign, Wick, Scot- 
land, July 28, 1896, by Thomas Sin- 
clair, M. A., of Torqua}', England, 
author of "The Siuclairs of Eng- 
land." In the opening sentence he 
says, "A practised hand at historical 
genealogy for man)^ years, Mr. Mor- 
rison's latest work is a monumental 
book about the lineage which he has 
this time chosen to treat." John 
Sinkler (name spelled phonetically) 
of Hampton and Exeter, New Hamp- 
shire, in 1658, and his descendants of 
ten generations, are given for 260 
years, which includes the well-known 
representativ^es of the state of the 
past and present, and many others 
in Scotland and over the land. Gen. 
Arthur St. Clair, who was a promi- 



1 Roland William Saint-Clair, of Auklaud, New- 
Zealand, author o( " The Saint-Clairs of the Isles," 
procured this work, and by the permission of Mr. 
Morrison took and incorporated seveutj'-five pages 
of his work in " The Saint-Clairs of the Isles," his 
work being all of the surname of Sinclair. 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



21 



nent actor iu the Revolution, and 
his asceudauts and descendants, is 
another prominent branch, whose 
genealogy and history are fully given. 
"The History of the Morison or 
Morrison Family" was finished by 
Mr. Morrison in i8So, which gave the 
record of his father's family for gen- 
erations. He then determined to 
write "The History of the Kimball 
Family," in memory of his mother, 
who was Kimball before marriage. 
This was upon his mind, and he 
had been gathering information ever 
since. When in England, by search- 
ing the public records, he discovered, 
located, and visited the home parish 
of the Kimballs in the parish of Rat- 
tlesden, county of Suffolk, England, 
which his ancestor, Richard K^-m- 
ball, left in 1634. The work was a 
stupendous one. It was seventeen 
years from its commencement to its 
completion. During its progress, he 
discovered that Prof. Stephen P. 
Sharpies of Cambridge, Mass., was 
also engaged on the same historical 
subject. Thinking that better re- 
sults could be secured by working 
together, they formed a literary and 
business partnership upon it, and 
brought the work to a completion in 
1897, and issued a "Supplement" 
in 1898. The history is a large book 
of 1,290 printed pages, with 54 pages 
of illustrations, and 1,000 copies 
were printed. 

The next venture of Mr. Morrison 
was a second edition of the poems of 
Robert Dinsmoor of Windham, self 
styled the "Rustic Bard." He was 
a brother of the elder Gov. Samuel 
Dinsmoor of New Hampshire. An 
edition of his poems, many of them 
written in Lowland Scotch dialect, 
which was understood and spoken 



for more than a hundred years by 
the descendants of the early Scotch- 
blooded settlers, from Scotland and 
Ireland. Many of his poems had 
never been printed. Mr. Morrison 
carefully examined them all, rear- 
ranged, compiled, edited, and printed 
all of worth, with a large number of 
explanatory notes, and published it 
in 1898. Copies went to all parts of 
the country, and some found their 
way across the water to the old sod 
and native heath of the family. 

This literary and historical work 
has completely absolved his mind 
and he has engaged in it with great 
enthusiasm and delight. 

He was elected a life member of 
the New Hampshire Historical so- 
ciety in 1893 ; is a member of " The 
Scotch-Irish Society of America," 
and was elected vice-president for 
New Hampshire in 1894, and re- 
elected in 1895 and 1896. He is an 
attendant and a contributor to the 
support of the Presbyterian church. 
He has never assumed the hymeneal 
vows. 

The last book (a small one) was 
" Dedication Exercises of Armstrong 
Building, for Nesmith Library, 
Windham, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 4, 1S99." His connection with 
it shall be told in his own words. 

" I consider it an honor that I was 
permitted to take so active a part in 
the library's establishment, one of 
the three institutions of the town 
which will endure. 

"Life has dealt kindly with me, 
that I could help and could state the 
way the 'Armstrong Memorial Build- 
ing ' was hastened to completion ; 
and at the dedication exercise held 
January 4, 1899, that I could occupy 
the position, when the library en- 




GEORGE WASHINGTON ARMSTRONG. 
Giver of the ''Armstrong Memorial Biiiidiiig,'" of IVitui/iam, iVeiv Hamfs/iire. 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



tered its career of greater usefulness 
than ever before. Then after the 
* Dedicator}' Exercises ' a sum of 
money was put into my hands, by 
one of the good friends of the library, 
which I invested in books. All this 
was a heartfelt joy and a great de- 
light. 

"Col. Thomas Nesmith having by 
will left three thousand dollars to the 
town of Windham, N. H., for the 
establishment of a library, the town, 
having at a legal town meeting duly 
accepted that gift, took the initiatory 
steps for the establishment of the 
library in April, 1871. 

" The first instalment of books was 
purchased on May 9, 187 1. The 
books were placed in an anteroom 
prepared for the purpose in the up- 
per town hall. The library in- 
creased and another apartment had 
also to be used. Things w^ere in 
this unfortunate condition when the 
incipient steps were taken which led 
to the erection of the 'Armstrong 
Building' for the Nesmith library, 
which were in this wise : 

"Knowing that George Washing- 
ton Armstrong liked to read such 
works as the reports of the New 
Hampshire library commissioners, as 
those interesting ones gave an ac- 
count of each library in the state, of 
which an account could be given, — 
their size, their prosperity, kind of 
building possessed, and whether they 
were a gilt or otherwise, — and hav- 
ing received the third biennial re- 
port, I procured another copy and 
forwarded it to him. There were 
descriptions and illustrations of li- 
brary buildings, many of them the 
gifts of public-spirited citizens, show- 
ing how the resources of wealth had 
been consecrated to the public good ; 



and a suggestion was made that it 
would be a fitting opportunity for him 
to give a memorial library building 
for the Nesmith library in Windham, 
the old home of his ancestors. 

"The idea was new to him; it 
had not entered his mind ; and, 
when writing me soon afterwards, he 
asked me what I meant. I replied, 
June 24, 1897 : ' When I sent you 
the report, with the buildings of 
various libraries, I meant what I 
said. — that it would be a very fine 
and fitting thing for you, a descend- 
ant of some of our early settlers, to 
give it a library building in memorj- 
of your fathers ; ' and the matter was 
dropped. Nothing further was said 
on the subject till he visited me on 
the afternoon of May 2, 1898, when, 
in the course of conversation, he 
broached the subject of the erection 
of a Nesmith library building for the 
town. 

"I had supposed the subject had 
been dismissed from his mind ; but 
he had been thinking about it, and 
the more he thought the more he 
was impressed with the plan to do it, 
in very loving memory of his ances- 
tors. He said — much to my sur- 
prise and joy — that he had concluded 
to do it. 

' ' When it was announced that a 
building for the Nesmith library was 
to be built, a sense of thankfulness 
for the kindness of the donor per- 
vaded all hearts. A town meeting 
was called to meet June 25, 1898, 
and they voted to accept the gift of 
Mr. Armstrong, 

"He had wisely decided to build 
of field stone a solid, substantial 
structure, and William Weare Dins- 
moor, of Boston, Mass., was selected 
as architect." 



24 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



^iM^'^^if^mMMMWi^mM^mm^mwmm^sMsm.i. 



«l-„i, lA.i i,.UAUiU»AMJj^ 



..IPBSS'iti., 




MIZSMITH LIBKAUY- 



CnOUGl VVASlillCGlOK AnWi;lJU»»!C «i LUlOOJCLlKL. l!iAi;i;/iOl!UM 1 "J*. 

;U 1 t:! t-) V I , I 1 1 I. U; , J (i I' 




( ) (U; /. J,!' .'.i 1 1! <>(; t.:i'(;l;l!-0K. 



The Bronze Tablet. 



The building was finished. In the 
Memorial room is a bronze tablet 
bearing this inscription in burnished 
letters : 

NESMITH LIBRARY. 

This building is a gift to the town of Wind- 
ham, New Hampshire, from George Washing- 
ton Armstrong, of Brookline, Massachusetts, 
MDCCCXCVIII, in memory of his paternal 
ancestors, residents of Windham, and descend- 
ants of Gilnockie Armstrong, the famous bor- 
der chieftain of Cannobie, Scotland, some of 
whose family emigrated to the north of Ireland 
in the seventeenth, and to this country in the 
eighteenth century. Presented at the sugges- 
tion of Leonard Allison Morrison, of Windham. 

Rev. James Pethick Harper, Pastor; John 
Edwin Cochran, Town Clerk ; Augustus Leroy 
Barker, George Henry Clark, Joseph Wilson 
Dinsmoor, Selectmen; — Trustees of Nesmith 
Library. William Wear Dinsmoor, Architect, 
of Boston, Mass. 

On the walls are three large, 
well-chosen pictures, masterpieces of 
ancient architecture, pleasing and in- 
.structive ; they are the Coliseum at 



Rome, the Acropolis at Athens, and 
the Forum at Rome. 

In this same room, at one side of 
the arch, is a large, fine picture of 
George Washington Armstrong. 

PROGRAMME. 

Prayer, by Rev. James Pethick Harper. 

Speech, by President Leonard Allison Morri- 
son. 

Introduction of Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury. 

Address, by Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury. 

Introduction of William HenryAnderson, Esq. 

Speech, by William Henry Anderson, Esq. 

Remarks by Rev. Augustus Berry. 

Presentation of keys, by George Washington 
Armstrong, Esq., to Rev. James Pethick Harper. 

Reception of the keys, by Rev. James Pethick 
Harper. 

Remarks, by William Calvin Harris, Esq., 
and reading of resolutions of thanks to George 
Washington Armstrong. 

Vote on resolutions. 

Presentation of beautifully engrossed resolu- 
tions to George Washington Armstrong. 

" America," sung by the audience. 

Exercises closed with the benediction, by 
Rev. Augustus Berry. 



HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON. 



25 



SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT, LEON- 
ARD ALLISON MORRISON. 

"Fellow-citizens: We will dedi- 
cate this beautiful building to-day. 
This is the first time the town has 
ever had a public library building 
presented to it in its 180 years of 
living history. You have a house, 
from cemented cellar to painted roof, 
from stern to stern, which is dry, 
and the most thorough that can be 
built. 

' ' You have some of the best mate- 
rial in existence, that with which the 
rich erect costly mansions in our 
cities. It is so firm, so compact, so 
substantial, so durable, its strong, 
rugged wall will be as lasting as the 
solid ledge on w^hich it stands. 

"The work is done; it is well 
done, and not done too soon. One 
of the most pleasing thoughts of this 
happy moment is that it is an his- 
toric act. It is an act that has the 
immutable stamp of an earthly im- 
mortality upon it. We, with all our 
hands have wrought, and all our 
hearts have loved, must pass away; 
but this building and this library, we 
hope, will not pass away. Other 
hands will tend it ; other feet will 
press the gravelly road to reach this 
favored spot ; other persons will read 
and consult the volumes of this 
librar5^ This library complements 
the common school, and leads to 
higher education and broader cul- 
ture. 

" It will preserve, in loving re- 
membrance, him whose kindly 
thought placed it here in memory 
of his fathers. He speaks with the 
silent eloquence of deeds. 

"To his ancestors it is dedicated. 



' For them each evening hath its shining star, 
And every Sabbath day its golden sun.' 

" We think of them and all their 
rugged lives have earned for us. 

"Mr. George Washington Arm- 
strong has presented us this build- 
ing. It is tasteful ; it is strong ; it 
is beautiful. We tend our thanks 
for his munificent gift. 

"Mr. William W. Dinsmoor, the 
able architect, has watched over 
every detail from start to finish. 
Nothing has escaped his notice. It 
is all there ; and he has our most 
profound thanks. 

"The President, I^adies, and Gen- 
tlemen : We have one here to-daj^ 
not a son of old Windham, but a 
sort of grandson, whose mother, 
Elizabeth Dinsmoor, was a native, 
and before her marriage a resident, 
of this town. I have the satisfaction 
of introducing the ex-attorney-gen- 
eral of Massachusetts, Hon. Albert 
E. Pillsbury of Boston, Mass., who 
will now address you." 

It is well to say that the dedica- 
tory exercises were all that could be 
desired. 

The homes of men show somewhat 
of their tastes and desires. The resi- 
dence of Mr. Morrison at " Stornoway " 
is no exception. His home is a hospit- 
able one. The walls about the high- 
ways have been relaid, the fields 
have been freed from stone, and the 
abundant acres are rich with grass. 
In 1876 he celebrated the centennial 
by setting out one hundred shade 
trees, lining the road in three 
directions with them. Twenty-three 
years have passed away, and these 
have become large and stately, and 
furnish to all abundant shade. 



IN THE YEAR OF OUR EORD 1900. 
By Merrill Boyd. 




E appeared strangely hand- 
some as he stood there be- 
side the great oak mantel. 
His clearly cut features had a 
look of iron determination, uncom- 
mon in so young a man. Men said 
of Kenneth Stanley, presidential can- 
didate, that he had all the tenacity 
of a bulldog. They erred in their 
metaphor. His was a grasp of steel 
within a glove of silk. He never 
flinched. He never mistook. He 
resembled fate in his directness and 
inexorableness. A friend never flat- 
tered, an enemy never deceived, him. 
The day had been one of triumph, 
for he had received official informa- 
tion of his mission to lead a great 
political party to victory or defeat. 
Eater he had been closeted with the 
party leaders. The broad lines of 
part}^ polit}^ had been formed. All 
seemed of good omen for the cam- 
paign. The contest was to be sharp 
and brilliant, and upon the young 
leader, to a large degree, w^ould lie 
the burden of the assault. Yet the 
soul of Kenneth Stanley was thril- 
ling with impatience at the very 
thought of the affray, for upon it he 
had. staked his whole future. 

As the evening came on he had 
strolled alone beside the great sea, 
rejoicing in its power. The dark, 
gray cliffs of the Atlantic towered 
majestically. A night-hawk swooped 
down with its weird cry. Sternly 



and. remorselessly the great waves 
beat against the opposing rocks. 
The salt spray dashed about him. 
In the distance a bell buoy rose and 
fell, rose and fell. And in some 
strange fashion it had comforted him 
as he turned homeward. 

Now he stood alone in his diml^^ 
lighted .stud}^ leaning heavily against 
the mantel, and, for the first time 
in years, thinking of his childhood 
days. Once more he was a boy, play- 
ing gleefully near the great sea, and 
beside him was Kitty, brown-handed, 
brown-eyed little lassie, the com- 
panion of so many youthful joys and 
sorrows. Again there was the old 
home, fragrant with Eastern roses, 
and the starlit presence of a mother's 
love. 

The years glided by, happy, jo}-- 
ous years for the most part, and he 
must leave for the old college whose 
very name had to him the ring of 
sincere and noble manhood. Boy 
that he was, a shrinking terror seized 
him at the thought of the new world. 
Then his college life began, and will 
he ever forget that ? After a cursory 
inspection he judged it to be all 
jollity and good fellowship. He was 
young, you see, so he quickly fell 
into the habit himself. All traces of 
sadness in his home life were care- 
fully hidden. Even the choking 
loneliness for that home was stifled. 
Why ? Simply to meet the tradition 



IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo. 



27 



that college is a place of uninter- 
rupted pleasure. In about two 3'ears 
the boy passed through his period 
of doubt and unbelief. All the old 
moorings seemed slipping away. He 
yearned for his peaceful thoughts of 
former days, yet he concealed his 
tormenting unrest with a smiling 
face. The time drew near when he 
must leave the old college. Once, 
twice, 3'ea, thrice, the hand of 
God removed members of his class, 
and his heart was weary within him. 
But custom demanded good cheer, 
and so he obeyed. 

On a bright June night the 
Seniors, his class, gathered for the 
last time around the fence to sing 
the old songs. And, though his 
eyes were dim, and a lump icould riso. 
in his throat, he remained outwardly 
composed. A half hour later, he 
entered his room, lighted only by the 
moon, in time to hear a stifled sob- 
bing. On the window seat lay his 
room-mate, the jolliest, most reckless 
member of the class, crying as if his 
heart would break. The boy, a boy 
no longer, stole softly to his side, and 
heard, like a revelation, the story of 
another life that had been apparently 
joyous, while inwardly bearing a 
lonely sorrow. And two souls at 
least thought it no disgrace that the 
pain of 3'ears should find expression 
in burning tears of sympathy. 

His new life in the world began. 
He worked with a splendid enthu- 
siasm. He kept straight at the 
mark of his ambition. A single op- 
portunity was the crucial test of his 
success, and he met it well. In a 
great amphitheatre was gathered a 
vast audience of workmen whose 
faces were sullen with despair. Ken- 
neth Stanley rose to address them. 



At first he spoke calmly, but it was 
the quiet before a mighty storm. 
Soon his flashing eyes betokened his 
intense earnestness. Tow^ering like 
a giant, with massive form and dark- 
ening brow, he hurled forth his de- 
nunciation of their employers' con- 
duct. His words resembled, not the 
rushing river, but the thunder of a 
cataract. Then his voice sank al- 
most to a whisper. Simply, mourn- 
fully, he wailed for their shattered 
hopes. Again, in a lofty burst of 
pathos, he upheld their honor and 
integrity, but pleaded for peace. The 
faces of that audience were bathed in 
tears of sympathy. 

The victory was brilliant, instant. 
From one end of the land to the 
other accounts of the matchless elo- 
quence of the young orator were 
trumpeted. The great army of labor 
greeted him as their champion. His 
political associates recognized their 
opportunity, and, in a convention 
of tremendous excitement, gave him 
an overwhelming nomination to the 
presidency. 

So to the young leader there 
comes a procession of faces once 
dear, now lost, and an undefined 
longing for the days that are no 
more. To every brave soul once in 
life comes a consciousness of its own 
terrible solitariness. Such a moment, 
even in the hour of triumph, had 
come to Stanle}^ with a dull sense 
of pain that agonized. He realized 
dimly that something was lacking in 
his life perhaps never to be acquired, 
yet he must face his duty. 

Suddenly he was conscious of a 
presence. Some one had entered 
unannounced. He turned quickl}' 
toward the caller. Men had said of 
Stanley that he could judge a man's 



28 



IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo. 



dress and soul at one glance. Yet 
here was a sharp contradiction, for 
Stanley, as he gazed at the man's 
form before him, not for a moment 
thought of dress or soul. The eyes 
of the stranger were so familiar. 
Where had he seen them ? They 
were curiously like those of his 
mother in their gentle light. He felt 
that he would never tire of gazing 
at them. But courtesy demanded 
action. 

" Please be seated," he said. The 
stranger gave a simple motion of 
refusal. 

" I have known you before," ven- 
tured Stanley. 

" Yes," was the answer in soft but 
startlingly clear tones, "you have 
known me." 

"And my life is known to you? " 

"Yes, I know it." 

Stanley was struck by the direct- 
ness of the reply. It was plainly 
asserted that his entire history was 
known by a stranger, yet there came 
to the young leader no thought of 
contradiction. Somehow it seemed 
the most natural thing in the world 
that the stranger should know all. 

Then Stanley did, what for him 
was a remarkable thing. He asked 
a direct question concerning man's 
opinion of himself. Did it arise from 
the feeling of desolation upon him ? 
God knows. Our duty is but to 
record the fact. 

"And has my life been a success ? " 

For a moment there was silence. 
Then came the reply. 

"As men reckon success, yes. As 
God, no." 

A great wave of self pity came 
over Stanley's soul. Somewhere he 
had read, with contempt, that men 
in battle had often been known to 



confess to the hilts of their swords. 
Now he realized their feeling. He 
felt that he could pour forth his 
whole heart to this quiet visitor. In 
quick, impetuous tones he began : 

* ' Once I would have said the 
same. I have had my ideals, but 
they are changed. My dearest 
friend and I discussed for days the 
meaning and purpose of life. Con- 
fident of my position, I even dared 
to descend from the rugged heights 
of my own belief, and to stoop to 
the dark valley of my friend. With 
glowing words I painted the joy and 
nobility of life. I employed phil- 
osophy and poetr}^ and religion to 
attack his position. But I was not 
wise enough or good enough to let 
my claims rest there. My arguments 
took on something of the nature of 
the lower level. I even went further. 
I dared to confront and to attempt 
to refute the brilliant arraj^ of doubt- 
ers and agnostics. Suddenly a great 
darkness fell across my mental vision. 
I tried to force it from me. In vain. 
I, myself, no longer believed. I 
doubted." 

" I know," said the stranger, softly, 
"I know." Somehow the words 
gave comfort to Stanlej^'s wounded 
soul. He went on more quietly : 

"And so I have lived on, fighting 
and doubting. Was it wrong to 
change my ideals ? Did I not mis- 
take my duty ? Is not an ideal 
merely a lighthouse to show the 
way, but never to be reached. Many 
there are who strive toward it that 
they may weep out all memory of 
toil and agony. And yet though 
they seek for it, and strain their eyes 
for it, and sob for it, they never at- 
tain unto it. Often, in the distance, 
they see it, and, for a moment the 



IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo. 



wail dies out of their voices, but it 
eludes them with increasing pain." 
Stanley was gazing imploringly at 
the stranger now. 

The reply came in the same, 
steady tones. "There is something 
higher in life than to follow one's 
own leading, though that aim be 
high. To lower one's ideals is a 
most pitiful failure, for then some- 
thing has gone out of the life never 
to be regained." 

Stanley had moved a step toward 
the speaker, and was listening as to 
his own condemnation. He felt that 
the clear eyes before him were read- 
ing his very soul. 

" But, oh ! " he cried, "how shall 
I know the true ? ' ' 

"The true will live," was the 
answer in tones of such authority 
that Stanley believed. Others might 
suggest. This stranger knew. 

Like a vivid flash Stanley remem- 
bered his proposed campaign, how 
that he was to appeal to the lower 
passions of the poor to attack the 
more affluent classes. Yet he never 
thought of telling that to the 
stranger, feeling that it was all 
known. A straight line of care ap- 
peared across the candidate's brow. 
Leaning heavily against the mantel, 
he spoke slowl}^ as though weighing 
every word, j^et dimly conscious that 
any excuse he might give would be 
in vain. 

" The poor are oppressed and there 
is no one to comfort them. They 
pass through hunger and endless toil 
and sorrow, yet they see no hope. 
They are cheated with lying words, 
but no one says, ' Restore.' Justice 
is perverted and there is no avenger. 
Are not they justified in cursing 
their rulers and their God ? " 



Once Stanley had seen a mother, 
with dumb agonv in her streamine 
eyes, bend for the last time over her 
child upon whose white brow had 
fallen the kiss of the angel. And 
at this moment the pain exhibited 
in the stranger's face recalled the 
sight, only the pain seemed more 
terrible. 

"True," was the answer, "there 
is no one to minister to their bodies, 
but there is one who observes ; there 
is a comforter to their souls. Yet 
are you not a ruler of them, and are 
you not bringing a message of 
despair? And, although your mes- 
sage is true do you not seek your 
own profit without thought for the 
souls of the poor ? " 

Stanley was speechless. His throat 
seemed parched. Even in those few 
minutes he seemed to have aged. 

Again the clear tones went on : 
"Bear a message to the people, 
whether they will hear or refuse to 
hear. Tell them that before man's 
laws, or commands, or wishes, is the 
voice of God. If a man is just and 
has oppressed none, is a giver of 
bread to the hungry and walks in 
God's judgments, he shall surely 
live. But if he has ground down the 
needy, feeds not the poor, and fol- 
lows not God's precepts, he shall die.. 
Say that a nation may wax strong 
in wealth, and fleets, and standing 
among the peoples of the earth, but, 
if it forgets God it shall die, for as 
is a man so is a nation. Beyond the 
love of home, or kindred, or countrv 
is the love of God, and the love of 
man is the love of God." 

" The message is old ! " cried Stan- 
ley. His voice was strained and 
wearied. " It has been told to men 
for thousands of years, and they have 



30 



GOING TO MARKET. 



uot heeded it. They will not heed it 
now." 

"Truly, trul}', the message is old," 
came the reply, "but right is right 
through all ages. So is sorrow aud 
sin and death and duty. Then carry 
the message. Let God care for the 
resuk." 

Stanley buried his face in his 
hands. A minute later he looked 
up with an expression of patient en- 
durance that was pathetic. And lo ! 
his visitor departed, leaving as it 
were a terrible void. For a moment 
Stanley hesitated. Then he turned 



resolutely to his desk and wrote hur- 
riedly but with masterly power. 



A day later the letter of acceptance 
of Kenneth Stanley, presidential can- 
didate, was telegraphed into every 
nook of this great country. It con- 
tained no mention of man's greed or 
man's wrongs, but only a call like a 
trumpet note to the people to remem- 
ber duty and God. And men said 
that day throughout the nation that 
the message was like unto that of a 
prophet of old. 



GOING TO MARKET. 

By Alice O. Da)- ling. 

I hied me to the market with 

A basket full of sighs ; 
The sweetest, saddest, loveliest things, 

And cried, " Who buys ! Who buys ! " 
Only one old dyspeptic bought, 
And I went bankrupt on the lot. 

A bigger basket full of laughs 

I carried into town, 
A basket piled and rounded up 

Yet light as thistle down. 
I 'm blessed, for all the jolly rout, 
If I can tell what 'twas about. 

L,o, men of every trade and tongue. 

Of every clime and lot, 
The scholar and the ditch-digger. 

The fool and wise man bought. 
I built a palace with the gold 

For which these jolly laughs were sold. 




MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE. 

Bv Willaiiietia A. Preston. 




il |^^S»^ JUMPING gold mine! 
A two- acre frog ranch ! 
Why didn't he call it a 
frog pond and done with 
it? Millions in it ! I do n't believe 
it, there now." 

Squire Pettigrew was reading aloud 
the headlines of his weekly paper, in- 
terspersing them with remarks of his 
own. It was the only way, he main- 
tained, of getting the news in a nut- 
shell, and what did anybody want of 
more ? 

" What was all that about, Simon ? " 
inquired Mrs. Pettigrew, bringing in 
a dish of apples. The Squire prided 
himself upon having one tree of ap- 
ples that would keep their flavor until 
midsummer. 

"Why, it's nothing but a frog 
pond. Some fool thinks he is going 
to make his fortune rai.sing frogs. 
He don't know, twice. There is as 
much sense in raising a lot of hedge- 
hogs." 

" But if folks wanted them and was 
willing to pay for them ? ' ' persisted 
Mrs. Pettigrew. 

"That's all you women know," 
exclaimed the Squire, taking an ap- 
ple from the dish and stalking to the 
door. 

Mrs. Pettigrew waited until her 
husband was out of hearing, then she 
took up the paper and read the arti- 
cle in question. An idea had oc- 
curred to her. Was not this the 
golden opportunity for which she 
had looked so long and vainly ? 



Sqviire Pettigrew was what is called 
a " near man," not a miser. He be- 
lieved in living well and keeping up 
a good appearance, but the old ad- 
age of a penny saved being a penny 
earned, was the keynote of his life. 

Mrs. Pettigrew often sighed for a 
chance to do a little earning rather 
than so much saving. Jessie, her 
eldest daughter, a bright, pretty girl 
of sixteen, wanted to go to the acad- 
emy at the village, but her father 
would not consent. A district school 
was good enough for him and it must 
answer for his children. But the 
mother wanted her daughter to have 
the best that could be obtained. She 
had lain awake many a night trying 
to contrive some way of earning or 
saving the first term's tuition. For 
if Jessie could have but one term she 
might then be able to teach and so 
pay her own way. But saving had 
been carried to the point of an exact 
science in the Pettigrew household. 
The poultry clothed the family, the 
butter paid the grocery bill. Every 
dollar from the fruits and vegetables 
had its part to play in the economy of 
the home. But if the frog pond 
could only be made a source of profit 
instead of annoyance. Many and 
many a time had she wished the 
earth would open and swallow it up. 
Now it seemed to her excited fancy 
what the paper had called it, a jump- 
ing gold mine. Frogs ! There must 
be hundreds if not thousands of them, 
to judge from their unearthly croak- 



MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE. 



ing. Slie could not sleep for planning 
when and how she would put her 
scheme into effect. 

After the dinner work was done, 
next day, Mrs. Pettigrew, impatient 
of further dela}', harnessed old Doll 
and drove to Hingham and straight 
up to the front door of the new hotel, 
then filled with city boarders. Ty- 
ing her horse to a convenient post, 
she took from the back of the wagon 
a covered pail containing a dozen 
struggling frogs and marched up the 
front steps, apparently undaunted by 
the number of people staring at her. 

"I want to see the proprietor," 
she said firmly, yet wishing the earth 
would open and hide her from sight, 
as the frogs began their music. 

" He has gone to the city, Madam. 
Is there anything I can do to serve 
you ? ' ' inquired an elderly gentle- 
man perceiving her embarrassment. 

" Why, I heard that the folks out 
here was in a taking for frogs, 
though what they want of the slip- 
pery critters is beyent me, so, as 
we 've got the biggest frog pond in 
Chelton county, I brought some over. 
I thought it was a good time to rid 
the pond of the pesky things." 

The gentleman shook his head re- 
provingly at his companions, who 
were convulsed with laughter, then 
turning to Mrs. Pettigrew, whose face 
was growing painfully red, 

" Come around to the other side of 
the house," he said, taking the pail 
from her hand and leading the way 
to the side porch. " I think we will 
not be interrupted here. Now tell 
me all about it." 

Again Mrs. Pettigrew repeated her 
story of frogs to spare, and lifting 
the cover of the pail showed what 
she considered fine specimens. 



The gentleman managed with diffi- 
cult}' to conceal his amusement. 

'■ I do not suppose they could use 
them here," he remarked kindly. 
'• We like the sort of things you eat, 
berries, eggs, cream, but there are 
people who consider frog's legs a 
great treat." 

■'How can I find them?" asked 
Mrs. Pettigrew eagerly. "You see 
this is the only thing on the farm I 
can call my own. If I sell eggs or 
chickens, or fruit, the Squire is sure 
to call me to account for every penny. 
My Jessie, as good a girl as ever 
lived, wants to go to the academy. 
Then she could teach and help edu- 
cate the 3'ounger ones. The Squire 
says the district school was good 
enough for him and it must do for 
his children, and he with money at 
interest. But I mean to circumvent 
him yet if I can only make that old 
frog pond do its share." 

" But you say nobod}^ wants them ? " 
she added, as an afterthought. 

" I don't think we could use them 
here, but I am going to the city to- 
night. If you like to leave these 
with me, I will see what I can do. I 
will let you hear from me in a day or 
two. My name is L,orimer, Charles 
Ivorimer." 

"Judge lyorimer," exclaimed Mrs. 
Pettigrew, almost aghast at her au- 
dacity, as she recognized the name 
of the great man the Squire was con- 
stantly quoting. She could only ac- 
cept his offer with murmured thanks 
and get home as quickly as she could. 

On the evening of the third day, 
however, Judge Lorimer called. The 
Squire felt highly honored. He did 
not know he had his wife and the 
frog pond to thank for the interview. 
They had a pleasant social evening 



MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE. 



33 



with no thought or word of business, 
but just as he was taking his leave, 
the judge handed Mrs. Pettigrew a 
letter. 

As soon as she was at liberty she 
took it to her room and opened it. 
There was the pay for her first frogs 
and an order for all she could send 
with explicit directions for packing 
and shipping. 

Thereafter her leisure hours were 
spent in depleting the pond of its 
best inhabitants, while the even- 
ings were devoted to social life, such 
as she had never enjoyed. The 
Judge became a frequent caller, and 
with him frequently came one and 
another of the ladies from the hotel. 
The Judge gave his invitations with 
care, but his friends were not slow^ to 
recognize Mrs. Pettigrew's worth, 
and to appreciate the Squire's pecu- 
liarities. 

Judge Lorimer finally convinced 
Squire Pettigrew that times had pro- 
gressed since his youth, and that to- 
day education stood hand in hand 
with nione}^ as a power in the world. 



That it was, in fact, the surest in- 
vestment that could be made. 

It was with a very shamefaced 
manner, as if caught doing some for- 
bidden act, that the Squire handed 
Jessie enough to pay her expenses 
for a year. And his manner was not 
much more self assured next morn- 
ing when he told Bennie to harness 
Doll and carry his sister to school. 

"You might as well take your 
books and see if you can learn any- 
thing," he added gruffly, "there 
wont be time enough to amount to 
anything on the farm before its time 
to go for her." 

" But I expected to walk. Father," 
said Jessie, not knowing how to take 
this new departure. 

"Do you s'pose I want you com- 
ing home all tired out ? No, I want 
you to study as if your life depended 
on what you learn, no half way 
works, remember. And when you 
get home, there '11 be enough to do, 
there always has been," and again 
the Squire took refuge in his sanc- 
tum, the barn. 




xxvii— 3 




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Concord, N. H., 1846. 



DR. CHARIvES HENRY SANBORN OF HAMPTON FALLS. 

By F. B. Sanborn. 




EW HAMPSHIRE lias had 
its full share of eminent 
physicians and surgeons, and 
the Sanborn family, origi- 
nally of New Hampshire, but now 
dispersed throughout the United 
States and Canada, has furnished 
many of this profession. More than 
forty doctors are named among the 
2,200 Sanborns included in Victor 
Sanborn's genealogy of the family, 
lately published ; but Dr. Sanborn 
of Hampton Falls was the first of 
his immediate line to take up the 
medical profession, which he prac- 
tised, in his native region chiefly, 
for forty-three years, after graduating 
at the Harvard Medical school in 
1856. Among his thirty-two class- 
mates there, mostly younger than 
himself, were Dr. C. E. Briggs of 
St. Louis, Dr. Alfred Hosmer of 



Watertown, Mass., Dr. Ezra Par- 
menter of Cambridge, Dr. F. A. 
Sawyer, Dr. Robert Ware, and Dr. 
James C. White of Boston, with 
others who rose to distinction. More 
than half of this class are now dead, 
the latest decease being that of Dr. 
Sanborn, on the i6th of May, at his 
residence in Hampton Falls, where 
he spent the greater part of his long- 
life. He was born there, October 9, 
1 82 1, in the old house built by his 
grandfather's grandfather in 1743, 
and on the farm where all his ances- 
tors had lived for nearly two hun- 
dred and twenty years. His own 
farm of thirty acres was part of the 
original Sanborn estate, coming into 
his hands by purchase, after it had 
been in other ownership for a cen- 
tury ; but his father's farm was 
handed down by inheritance from 



DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN. 



37 



generation to generation, from its 
original settlement, about 1675. 

On this farm Dr. Sanborn was 
brought up, and became skilful in 
its labors of all kinds,— planting, 
sowing, haying, threshing with the 
ancient flail, harvesting, wood-cut- 
ting, plowing, and the care of ani- 
mals of all sorts. His father being 
an orchardist, and having originated 
a new variety of apple, the " Red 
Russet," at one time Charles be- 
came a book agent, to sell the fruit- 
book which described this among 
other apples ; but the adventure did 
not please him, and he returned to 
the farm, — working there, or for 
some other farmer, in summer, and 
teaching school in winter at Kensing- 
ton, Kittery, and elsewhere. He had 
qualified himself by private study for 
better teaching than was then usual 
in the common schools, and it was 
from him that I acquired, about 1841, 
when I was ten and Charles twenty, 
the rudiments of L,atin and of 
French, to which, half a dozen years 
later, he added German, which also 
he taught me, — for up to 1850 
neither of us had ever attended any 
but the connnon school, and that 
only for some thirty weeks in the 
year. But the farm labors were not 
severe, allowing us mucli leisure for 
shooting, fishing, swimming, chess- 
and card-playing, and most of all, for 
reading and private study, to which 
we were both addicted from child- 
hood. Charles was also a good 
mathematician and draughtsman, 
and skilful at mechanics, which I 
could never master; although, still 
under his instruction, I learned to 
make women's shoes for the lyynn 
manufacturers, and, with the pro- 
ceeds of the only box I ever com- 



pleted, paid the cost of a walking 
trip to the White Mountains in Sep- 
tember, 1850. At that time, and 
for several years before and after, 
Charles worked at that industry for 
a portion of the year ; it kept him 
near home, where he usuall)' pre- 
ferred to be, and gave him money 
for books, newspapers, and such 
political expenses as he might in- 
cur; for he was an active politician, 
on the anti-slavery side, from 1845 
for a dozen years, and had a hand in 
the check and final overthrow of the 
old-line Democracy, which ruled 
New Hampshire for thirty years, 
and in which both he and I were 
brought up. 

Charles Sanborn left the party of 
his father and grandfather (for some 
account of whom see the Granite 
MoNTHi^Y of October, 1S98) in com- 
pany with John P. Hale, then in 
congress, Amos Tuck, Porter Cram, 
and other leaders of the Democrats 
in Rockingham and Strafford, in the 
winter of 1844- '45. He was then 
but two and- twenty, but he had 
studied politics for years, and was 
an energetic ally of the older men 
who, in 1846, carried the state 
against Franklin Pierce, Moses 
Norris (our mother's first cousin), 
Charles Gordon Atherton, and the 
other sachems of the pro-slavery 
Democracy in New Hampshire. His 
friend, George Oilman Fogg, editor 
of the Independent Democrat, which 
had been started in Concord in 1845 
to aid in the political revolt, being 
chosen secretary of state in June, 
1846, Charles Sanborn was appointed 
by him assistant secretary, and com- 
bined work in the state house with 
a share of the editorial tasks at the 
Democrat office. He resided in Con- 



38 



DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN. 



cord for a good part of the year, 
and there sat for this earliest por- 
trait of him, which well represents 
him at the age of twenty-five. Al- 
though but thirteen years old when 
the party division took place, in 
1845, I followed my brother into the 
new party, and became a faithful 
reader, and afterwards a contributor, 
of the Independent Democrat, — my 
first contribution being a version of 
Buerger's "Wild Huntsman" from 
the German, which was printed there 
in 1849, before I was eighteen. 
Charles remained active in the anti- 
slavery party for more than ten 
years, and twice represented Hamp- 
ton Falls in the legislature ; he also 
acquired the then new art of pho- 
nography, and at times reported 
the legislative proceedings, speeches, 
etc., for the Concord or Boston 
dailies. He was one of the few 
members of the house who thwarted 
the Democratic plans for leaving 
Mr. Hale out of the United States 
senate, and helped re-elect him the 
next year. 

By this time, i853-'54, Charles had 
decided to study medicine and began 
to prepare himself for the medical 
lectures in Boston, where, at gradua- 
tion, in 1856, his unusual age (34), 
and his wide reading and experience 
of life gave him some advantages 
and made up for the lack of an 
earlier systematic course of instruc- 
tion. Although no college alumnus, 
he was a better scholar than most 
graduates are, and his habits of ob- 
servation, of reporting, and of writ- 
ing served him well. 

His medical knowledge, however, 
which became very extensive, was 
mainly acquired during his long 
practice in those towns where he had 



tilled the land, taught school, drilled 
the militia, — for he became a lieuten- 
ant, like his first American ancestor, 
John Samborne of Hampton, — can- 
vassed for elections, and performed 
all the functions of a young citi- 
zen. He knew every household for 
miles around, and was on familiar 
terms with all. Nor could he, after 
trying Washington, Kansas, and 
Massachusetts, feel himself so much 
at ease anywhere as where his ances- 
tors had lived for more than two cen- 
turies. He therefore settled down to 
the comparatively humble practice of 
a country doctor, combining with it 
the care of his small farm, and as 
much business in the probate court 
and elsewhere for his neighbors and 
patients as they asked him to do. 

He had already held most of the 
town ofhces successively, and when 
the Civil War came on he was able to 
render much service to the town and 
its soldiers, either professionally or 
in the management of its war busi- 
ness. His visits to the Virginia 
camps, in the heat of summer and 
the inclemency of winter, injured his 
own health permanently, so that for 
the last thirty years he had been an 
invalid, and for the years beyond 
threescore and ten, he was more ill 
than most of his patients. Yet he 
continued to care for them, and made 
his last visit, five miles away, but 
three days before his own death, of 
heart failure. 

Dr. Sanborn was that rather un- 
usual character, a man of rare talents 
and quick sensibility without ambi- 
tion. He ever reminded me of that 
saying of Oceanus to Prometheus in 
the Greek drama, — "Always thou 
wert more wise for others' sake than 
for thine own." His plan of life in- 



DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN. 



39 



volved much care aud service for 
those about him, and little for him- 
self. This, to be sure, is the charac- 
ter of the good physician, and it was 
this turn of mind, perhaps,, that drew 
him into that philanthropic profes- 
sion, after severe disappointments in 
early life had removed those personal 
objects for which the many strive. 
Those experiences gave the grave 
cast to his handsome features which 
appears in his earliest portrait, and 
is hardly deepened by age and illness 
in the latest, which shows him sitting 
in his parlor, after the death of his 
wife and his two elder children, oc- 
cupied with reading, except as he 
paused long enough to allow his 
daughter's friend to take this like- 
ness. Yet he was hardly ever mel- 
ancholy in the common scope of that 
word ; a fund of humor had been 
given him on which he drew for 
those amusing thoughts which he 



could clothe in the most mirth-pro- 
voking words, either of prose or 
verse. He wrote well and much, 
though seldom with a view to wide 
publication, and when not playfully, 
with a severe emphasis that ex- 
hibited the exacting nature of his 
ethics. His affections were deep 
and tender, — if wounded, they some- 
times made him unjust, but never 
toward those who needed his practi- 
cal aid. His way of life laid most of 
those who knew him under some ob- 
ligation to him — few more than the 
writer of this imperfect sketch. But 
he seldom made claim to any return, 
dealing in his practice and in all the 
affairs of life so that no member of 
his little community has been more 
missed at death, or more kindly re- 
membered. He married, in 1862, 
and of his three children but one. 
Miss Anne lycavitt Sanborn, survives 
him. 





<^^, 



HON. JCHN HAY. 




I 






M 



The Fells." 



HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER. 

B^y Hon. Saiiniel C. Eastman. 




EW HAMPSHIRE has had 
and deserved the reputation 
of being a good state to be 
born in. The rugged Gran- 
ite hills have not always furnished so 
alluring fields for young ambition as 
the larger cities and the more fertile 
and more populous states, so that the 
additional comment has often been 
made that it is also a good state to 
emigrate from. Whether this is true 
or not, New Hampshire is justly 
proud of her sons who have left their 
native state in early youth and made 
a name for themselves on new soil 
and amid new surroundings. 

New Hampshire has other attrac- 
tions. It is a good state to come to 



for those whose permanent homes are 
elsewhere. From St. Eouis, from 
Chicago, from Washington, from 
New York, from Boston, the tired 
toilers of the ' ' busy haunts of men ' ' 
seek recreation and comfort in their 
summer homes under the shadow of 
Monadnock, on the shores of Winni- 
pesaukee and Sunapee, in the White 
Mountains, and on the shores of the 
Atlantic, at Rye and Hampton. We 
gladly welcome all such guests and 
rejoice in their welfare and renown 
and claim them as, at least, half citi- 
zens of the Granite state. 

Among them is Col. John Hay. 
Though he has a house in Washing- 
ton, and a home in Cleveland, where 



42 



HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER. 



lie keeps his legal residence, it is on 
the shores of Lake Sunapee in New- 
bury that he lives for a part of the 
year as a matter of choice and not of 
business. He is the owner of an ex- 
tensive domain, to which he has re- 
cently made additions, on one of the 
most beautiful of the sloping shores of 
the lake. To the beauty with which 
it is endowed by Nature, he has added 
increased attractions by the roads and 
paths, which have been laid out un- 
der his supervision, until there is not 
a more attractive spot in the whole of 
New Hampshire. 

It is now several years since he 
built his commodious and elegant 
villa in the colonial style, to which 
additions have been made from time 
to time. Since then there has been 
no summer in which this home of his 
choice has not been occupied by him- 



self or his family for at least some 
portion of the time. His wife and 
daughters are as fond of the locality 
as he is. 

John Hay was born in Indiana, in 
1838. He received his early educa- 
tion in that state, but entered Brown 
university in an advanced class in 
1855, at which time one of his prede- 
cessors in the office of secretary of 
state, Hon. Richard Olney, was also 
a student in the senior class. It is 
not recorded that they then and there 
talked over the future and discussed 
their course of conduct while con- 
ducting the affairs of the nation in 
the most important office of the coun- 
try, except that of president. In 
college, John Hay was soon distin- 
guished for many of the qualities 
which have made him prominent in 
the world. Naturally the scholastic 




View of Sunapee Mountain, from the, Porch of "The Fells. 



HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER. 



43 




view from "The Fells," looking East. 



life brought his literary gifts more 
prominently to the front than those 
which have enabled him so success- 
fully to perform the public duties 
which have since fallen to his lot. 
As an essayist and speaker, he 
speedily took the first rank, while as 
a comrade and associate, he was uni- 
versally popular, in spite of the fact 
that he entered a class where ties 
were already formed. 

He was the poet on class day and 
his first verses possess the character- 
istics which made his alma mater 
call on him to commemorate the one 
hundredth anniversary of its founda- 
tion. The closing lines are, 

As we go forth, the smiling world before us 
Shouts to our youth the old inspiring tune, 

The same blue sky of God is bending o'er us, 
The green earth sparkles in the joy of June. 

Where 'er afar the beck of fate shall call us, 
'Mid winter's boreal chill or summer's blaze, 



Fond memory's chain of flowers shall still en- 
thrall us. 
Wreathed by the spirits of those vanished 
days. 
Our hearts shall bear them safe through life's 
commotion, 
Their fading gleam shall light us to our 
graves, 
As in the shell, the memories of ocean 
Murmur forever of the sounding waves. 

After graduation. Colonel Hay 
studied law in Springfield, III., and 
was admitted to the bar in 1861. He 
came to Washington at the inaugura- 
tion of President Ivincoln and was 
with him as assistant secretary until 
his death, except when, as his adju- 
tant and aide-de-camp, he was in the 
field with General Hunter and Gen- 
eral Gilmore. 

After the war was ended. Colonel 
Ha)' entered upon his career as a 
diplomatist, being secretary of lega- 
tion to France in 1865, and then, in 



44 



HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER. 



terms of about two years in each, to 
Austro-Hungary and Spain. It was 
during his term in the latter country, 
in 1869 and 1870, that he wrote his 
" Castilian Days," which at once es- 
tablished his reputation as an author 
of the first rank. 

He returned home to become an 
editorial writer on the New York 



In 1897, he was appointed ambas- 
sador extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary to Great Britain, 
from which ofhce he was recalled, in 
1898, to be appointed to his present 
ofhce of secretary of state. 

It will be seen that he has filled 
his of^cial positions for about two 
5'ears each. We may hope that this 




View from "The Fells," looking West. 



7'iibiinc, being editor-in-chief for five 
months. After five years' service in 
this capacity, he removed to Cleve- 
land and while there took an active 
part in the presidential campaign. 

In 1879, he again resumed his 
diplomatic labors as assistant secre- 
tary of state, retiring in 1881, when 
he represented the United States at 
the International Sanitary congress 
at Washington, of which he was 
president. 



sequence will now be broken and 
that no such limit will be placed 
upon his remaining in his present 
position, the duties of which he dis- 
charges with such signal ability. 

Besides fulfilling all of his public 
duties, in connection with John G. 
Nicolay, Colonel Hay found time to 
write the history of the " I^ife and 
Times of Abraham Lincoln," one of 
the most valuable contributions yet 
made to the history of the Civil War. 



HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER. 



45 



It is a most comprehensive work, re- 
quiring great labor and careful re- 
search, and also one for which the 
two authors were eminently fitted by 
their official and personal relations to 
our great president. 

Aside from this labor of love, his 
single volume of prose is matched by 
a single volume of poems. Is there 
a fatality about the number two in 
his life ? The volume of poems, pub- 
lished in 1890, contains his dialect 
poems, "Jim Bludso," " Little 
Breeches," and the others, which at 
once established his reputation at 
home and abroad, and his poems of 
travel, of incident, narrative, and 
emotion, and translations. They 
make one wonder why his muse is 
silent. Or is it that he has his 
drawer full, laid aside for nine years 
to fulfil the rule of Horace and to 
appear later ? I^et us hope that the 
cares of state will not be so great as 
to divert him from the duty which. 



as author and poet, he owes to his 
fellow-countrymen and the world. 
While Mr. Hay has essayed with 
success the lighter vein of the hum- 
orous as well as the poetry of love, 
affection, and sentiment, he has, like 
all his predecessors, also adopted the 
form of the sonnet. We cannot do 
better than to end this brief sketch 
by quoting, 

TO w. H. s. 

Esse qnani I'ideii. 

The knightly legend of thy shield betrays 
The moral of thy life ; a forecast wise, 

And that large honor that deceit defies, 

Inspired thy fathers in the elder days, 

Who decked thy scutcheon with that stnrdj* 
phrase, 
To be ratlter than seem. As eve's red skies 
Surpass the morning's rosy prophecies, 

Thy life to that proud boast its answer pays. 

Scorning thy faith and purpose to defend, 
The ever-mutable multitude at last 
Will hail the power they did not compre- 
hend, — 

Thy fame will broaden through the centuries ; 
As, storm and billowy tumult overpast, 
The moon rules calml}' o'er the conquered 
seas. 





^Memories sweet to the heart abound 



} 



In the fading life of this pale wild rose. 
Memories that speak of £k joy profound, 
More radiant and grand than the suns reposel 





I mind me yet where this pin(i rose swayed 
Laughingly nodding to you arid to me, 
Sweet rose, it knew not that|its mandates obeyed 
Determined its death in ourjruture to be. ^ 





iitter sweet, when the l^^artjij^ 
Andxiouds areiowcring and lire is too lon^, 
Thiwose,]^hose power ahi^rt was made glad. 
Gives the highlight touch to a past love song. 




^j) 



^oirittn L' Justin, 



»ISE 




By Edivard N. Pearson. 




KW HAMPSHIRE'S share 
iu many great enterprises 
has been so important that 
her history could not well be 
written without trespassing upon the 
annals of other states and other lauds, 
to whose prosperity New Hampshire 
born men and women have contri- 
buted largely. In science, letters, 
and the arts, in business, theology, 
and statesmanship, in the ordeals of 
battle, and in the pursuits of peace. 
New Hampshire has contributed 
more than her share of the leaders of 
the nation. It is not, therefore, with 
the intention of heralding some new 
achievement that this present record 
of New Hampshire prominence is 
made, because it is not new for New 
Hampshire men to have had to do 
with the greatest enterprises of their 
kind, but it is done because it is 
noteworthy that three of the most im- 
portant positions in an enterprise 
calling for executive ability of the 
very highest order, should be filled 
by three men of New Hampshire 
birth. 

The Boston Terminal Company 
has built, owns, and operates the 
largest, most costly, and most com- 
plete railroad terminal in the world, 
and the chairman of the trustees, 
Charles P. Clark, its manager, John 
C. Sanborn, and its treasurer, Charles 



F. Conn, were born in New Hamp- 
shire, two of the three were educated 
at her beloved Dartmouth, and all of 
them cherish the deepest affection 
for the state of their nativity. The 
positions are held by them by no for- 
tune of birth, and for no reason other 
than that in all the great field from 
which choice of men to plan and per- 
fect and control such a vast under- 
taking could be made, they were the 
best equipped by ability and experi- 
ence for the work to be done. 

Chairman Clark stands in the very 
front rank of the world's great rail- 
road men, and New Hampshire 
proudly claims him as a son. His 
ancestry represents much of success 
in the professional and business life 
of two centuries of New England's 
history, and it is interesting to trace 
the line from Hugh Clark, the Eng- 
lish emigrant of the first half of the 
seventeenth century, through eight 
generations, to the subject of this 
sketch. 

Hugh Clark (i) was born in 1613, 
emigrated to America, and was liv- 
ing in Watertown, Mass., in 1641 ; he 
died in Roxbury, Mass., July 20, 
1693. His son, Uriah (2), born 
Jime 5, 1644; married in October, 
1764, Joanna Holbrook of Braintree ; 
died July 26, 1721, and was buried 
in the old graveyard near Mount 




Charles P. Clark. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



49 




Waiting Room. 



Auburn. His son, Peter (3), was 
born March 12, 1693, and married 
Deborah Hobart of Braintree. Upon 
his tombstone in the old cemetery at 
Danvers, Mass., may be read the fol- 
lowing inscription : 

Here lie entombed the Remains of The Revd. 

Peter Clark 
For almost 51 years the Painful, Laborious and 

Faithful Pastor of the first Church in this 

town. 
He was a Great Divine, well established in the 

orthodox Doctrines of the Gospel. 
His writings on man}- important subjects will 

Transmit his name with Honour to Posterity. 
An accomplished Christian : well e.xperiened 

in all the Graces of the Divine L,ife. 

The most exemplary Patience, Humility, and 
Meekness were illustratively Displayed in his 
character as a Christian. 

He was born March 12, 1693. Graduated at 
Haivard College in Cambridge in 1712. Or- 
dained Pastor of the first church in this Town 
June 5, 1717. 

He lived much esteemed and respected by 
men of learning and Piety and after a long life 
spent in the service of Religion, He died 
much lamented on June 10, 176S. 
.Ft.\tis 76. 
xxvii — 1 



His son, Peter (4), was born Oc- 
tober I, 1720; graduated at Harvard 
in 1739; married October 22, 1741, 
Anna Porter of Danvers, Mass., and 
died in Braintree, November 13, 
1747. His son, Peter (5), was born 
February 4, 1743 ; married October 
20, 1763, Hannah Hpes of Braintree, 
and removed to Dyndeborough, Janu- 
ary 23, 1775. He enlisted in the 
Continental Army in 1775, and was 
commissioned captain of the Ninth 
New Hampshire regiment. At the 
Battle of Bennington he commanded 
a company of sixty men and dis- 
played great bravery, being the sec- 
ond man to scale the British breast- 
works. Captain Clark also partici- 
pated in the defeat of Burgoyne at 
Saratoga in 1777. He sat in the 
New Hampshire legislature for many 
successive terms and was deacon of 
the Congregational church from 1783 




%- 




John C. Sanborn. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



51 




Women's Waiting Roonn. 



until his death, October 14, 1826, 
aged 83 years. 

Captain Clark's son, Peter (5), was 
born September 27, 1764 ; married in 
July, 17S3, Elizabeth Punchard of 
Salem, and died in I^yndeborougli, 
February 3, 1851. His son, Peter 
(6), married Jane Aiken in 1809; 
lived in Francestovvn, Nashua, and 
Boston ; was distinguished for his 
enterprise and public spirit, especially 
in connection with the railroad in- 
terests of New England, and died 
December 25, 1853. His son, Peter 
(7), was born April 29, iSio ; gradu- 
ated from Dartmouth college in 1829, 
and studied law at Yale. He mar- 
ried. May 28, 1834, Susan, daughter 
of Nathan and Phebe (Walker) Eord 
of Kennebunkport, Me., and resided 
in Nashua until his death. May 29, 
1 84 1. He was a prominent citizen 



of Nashua, and at the time of his 
death was chairman of the board of 
selectmen of Nashua, and treasurer 
of the Concord railroad. 

His son, Charles Peter Clark (8), 
the head of the Boston Terminal 
Company, was born in Nashua, Au- 
gust II, 1836, and was educated at 
Dartmouth college, class of 1856. 
On October 21, 1S57, he married 
Caroline, daughter of Samuel and 
Elizabeth Spring Tyler. During the 
War of the Rebellion Mr. Clark 
served with distinction in the United 
States navy. He entered in Septem- 
ber, 1862, as acting ensign ; served 
in the West Indies and East Gulf 
blockading squadrons ; was twice 
promoted, and was honorably dis- 
missed in December, 1865, as acting 
volunteer lieutenant commanding, 
having commanded the ironclads. 




Charles F. Conn. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



53 



Carondclct and Bcii/on, of the Missis- 
sippi squadron. 

After the war, Mr. Clark was in 
business in St. L,ouis for a short time, 
and then became a partner in the 
Boston firm of Dana Bros., who were 
engaged in the West Indies trade in 
sugar and molasses. In 1S71, he 
began his railroad career, becoming 
a trustee of the Berdel mortgage 
of the Boston, Hartford & E^rie ; 



istration the corporation has become 
one of the largest and strongest of its 
kind in the country. A natural se- 
quence of its vastly increased busi- 
ness was the construction of the new 
Terminal, in the conception and crea- 
tion of which President Clark was 
the leading spirit. 

John C. Sanborn, manager, was 
born in Northfield, September 13, 
1842, son of Dr. Samuel Roby and 




Train Shed, looking in. 



from 1873 to 1879, he was vice- 
president and general manager of 
the New York & New England ; 
from 1 88 1 to 1883, second vice-presi- 
dent of the New York, New Haven 
& Hartford; from 1883 to 1886, again 
with the New York & New England, 
as its president, and in 1887 became 
president of the New York, New 
Haven & Hartford, a position which 
he has filled to the present time with 
brilliant success. Under his admin- 



Clarissa Thayer Sanborn. His edu- 
cational advantages were limited to 
the common schools and Hollis insti- 
tute, South Braintree, Mass. The 
foundations for a successful career 
were laid in the few years which 
were spent in the schoolroom, and no 
better example of a self-educated man 
can be pointed out than is Manager 
Sanborn. While a lad of only six- 
teen, in 1858, the first step of a rail- 
road career which has led to one of 




George B. Francis, Resident Engineer. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



55 




Tram Shed, looking out. 



the most importaut positions in the 
New England states, was taken. 
The Old Colony railroad, in whose 
employ so many men of New Hamp- 
shire birth have made their reputa- 
tions, was the avenue toward his suc- 
cess, and his service with that com- 
pany was continuous and faithful as 
station employe, brakeman, baggage- 
master, conductor, Boston station- 
master, transportation-master, and 
general train master until the lease 
of the road, in 1S93, to the New 
York, New Haven & Hartford. On 
the latter date Mr. Sanborn was 
made superintendent of the Ply- 
mouth division, a position from which 
he was taken when the greatest 
honor of his career was bestowed 
upon him, — his selection as manager 
of the Boston Terminal Company. 
In the last-named position Mr. San- 



born visited the great terminals in 
Europe in quest of information which 
might be useful in the construction 
and management of Boston's mag- 
nificent station, which was to be 
made the largest and finest in the 
world. 

Mr. Sanborn served his country 
bravely as a soldier in the Union 
army during the War of the Rebel- 
lion. In the first regiment which 
Massachusetts sent to the front, the 
Fourth, we find him enrolled as a 
corporal in Co. C, and later a lieu- 
tenant in Co. B, Forty-third Tiger 
regiment, taking part in all its num- 
erous engagements, and remaining 
with it until its term of service had 
expired. Eater on he was commis- 
sioned a captain of volunteers by 
Governor Andrew. Mr. Sanborn is 
a fine specimen of rugged manhood, 



56 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



and the honors which his own faith- 
ful efforts have won for him rest 
easily upon hira. Mr. Sanborn 
numbers warm friends by the thou- 
sands, but his success in life brings 
satisfaction to many more who know 
him only by reputation, but who ad- 
mire the qualities which have been 
conspicuous in the highly honorable 
career of this self-made man. 



prising if the contrary were true. 
Charles F. Conn was born in Con- 
cord, Nov. 1 1, 1865, and fitted for col- 
lege in that city, graduating from 
Dartmouth in the class of 1887. 
During his college course he devoted 
some of his vacations to learning 
the practical side of railroading, and 
when his education was obtained it 
was not surprising that a good posi- 




Midway, looking East. 



Charles F. Conn, treasurer of the 
company, bears a name which is 
known and respected by New Hamp- 
shire people at home and abroad. 
His father, Dr. Granville P. Conn, is 
recognized as one of the leaders of 
the medical profession, not only of 
New Hampshire but of the United 
States. Perhaps Dr. Conn's emi- 
nence as a railroad surgeon had 
nothing to do with the son's choice 
of a career, but it would not be sur- 



tion was awaiting him in a Boston 
transportation office. Promotion was 
gained rapidly, and in 1892 he was 
honored with the responsible posi- 
tion of auditor of the Old Colony 
Steamboat Company. His selection 
as treasurer of the Terminal Com- 
pany was the logical outcome of his 
success in a position which had 
brought him into association with 
the gentlemen who were to make a 
choice of the best man for the place. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



57 



Mr. Conn has amply demonstrated 
his capability for his new position, 
and the great financial interests en- 
trusted to him are managed in a 
manner which displays rare natural 
ability, aided by experience in posi- 
tions where his thorough training, 
quick perception, and sound judg- 
ment have been potent factors in 



winning success. 



west bank of Fort Point channel, is 
an admirable one for many reasons, 
and as one approaches the building 
from any direction its proportions are 
impressive. 

Opposite the end of Federal street 
is the main entrance and central 
architectural feature of the station. 
The building extends from the 
entrance south along Atlantic ave- 




Wlidway, looking West. 



THE STATION. 

It is not our purpose here to at- 
tempt a minute description of Bos- 
ton's magnificent railway terminal. 
The illustrations which accompany 
this article, show, better than words 
can tell, the magnitude, the con- 
venience, and the beauty of the great 
structure. The location, at the junc- 
tion of Summer and Federal streets 
with Atlantic avenue, and on the 



nue 792 feet, and east on Summer 
street 672 feet. The central portion 
is a large five-story building, of 
which the first story is given to sta- 
tion uses, and the upper four stories 
are used as offices. 

Of the central, curved portion, 228 
feet in length, two stories form a 
strong base, in which are three great 
entrance arches, and the upper three 
stories are treated as a colonnade. 
The columns are four and one half 



58 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 




Train Shed, showing Bumpers. 



feet in diameter, and forty-two feet 
high. Above the colonnade the en- 
tablature and parapet, broken by the 
small projecting pediment, carry the 
facade to a height of 105 feet from 
the sidewalk. Above all, and at the 
centre, is that necessity to railroad 
stations, the clock, with a dial 12 
feet in diameter. The top of the 
clock case bears an eagle wnth wings 
partly spread. Across the wings the 
eagle measures eight feet. Over 
each of the two piers which mark 
the entrance is a flagstaff, 60 feet in 
height. 

All of the curved portion is built of 
Stony Creek granite, and nearly all 
the remaining front is of this stone, 
but on each side of the colonnade the 
granite is relieved by large, dark buff 
mottled bricks. On the central por- 
tion the granite is pointed and cut. 



but the remaining ashlar is rock 
faced, laid in regular courses. 

The total length of the five-story 
front is 875 feet ; of the two-story 
building along Atlantic avenue, 356 
feet ; of the two-story building on 
Summer street, 234 feet ; on Dor- 
chester avenue, the building con- 
tinues 725 feet, two stories high. 
The total length of the front on three 
streets is 2,190 feet. 

Along Atlantic avenue, the first 
story is the outward baggage room, 
with doors all along the street, pro- 
tected by an iron and glass awn- 
ing, wide enough to shelter bag- 
gage teams as well. On the Sum- 
mer street front the waiting-room 
is marked by large arched window 
openings, and beyond is the main 
exit, a wide thoroughfare at the end 
of the waiting-room. Beyoud the 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



59 



main exit the building is but two 
stories high. At the corner of Sum- 
mer street and Dorchester avenue is 
the carriage concourse. Beyond the 
carriage way, on Dorchester avenue, 
is the long room for inward baggage. 

In front of the entrance, in the 
centre of the sidewalk island, is a 
monumental granite lamp- post, 43 
feet high, with several arc lights. 

The entrance itself is a thorough- 
fare 92 feet wide, lined with polished 
Stony Creek granite. Four great 
columns of polished Milford granite, 
three feet and four inches in diame- 
ter, support the ofhce floors above. 
The ceiling is of white enameled 
bricks, with girders incased in white 
marble. 

The end of the train house is 
termed the midway. Opening from 
the midway at the right is the par- 
cel room ; next, the entrance from 
Atlantic avenue, which is also the 



entrance to the stair and elevator 
hall to the offices above ; and along- 
side the train shed is the outward 
baggage room, 562 feet long and 26 
feet wide. At the left are lavatories, 
telegraph and telephone offices ; a 
ticket office, with 1 1 sales windows 
toward the midway and 16 openings 
on the opposite side into the waiting- 
room. 

The waiting-room is convenient to 
trains, of ample dimensions, 225 feet 
long, 65 feet wide, 28}^ feet high, 
and out of the line of traffic. The 
floor is of marble mosaic. The walls 
have a high dado of enameled bricks, 
and a polished granite base — above 
the dado the walls are of plaster. 
There are three great doorways of 
polished Milford granite, and two 
verde antique marble drinking foun- 
tains. The room has a rich modeled 
stucco coffered ceiling, with beams 
four feet deep, and carries well the 




Signal Bridges in Yard, with Power-House in the Background. 



6o 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 




Train Shed, from Yard, January 



399. 



electric light fixtures, which are in 
excellent keeping with the ceiling, 
and give to the room an adequate 
diffused and unobtrusive light. 

At one corner of the waiting-room 
is the entrance to the women's room. 
This room is 34 feet by 44 feet, most 
comfortably furnished with rocking 
chairs, easy chairs, lounges, and 
tables, and for the children, cribs 
and cradles. 

At the eastern end of the waiting- 
room is the passage to Summer street 
from the midwa}', the main exit from 
the train house. On the opposite 
side of the exit, and also facing the 
midway, is the lunch-room, 67 feet 
by 73 feet, with marble mosaic floor, 
and wainscoted with enameled bricks. 

Beyond, and at the corner of the 
lunch-room, is a stair and elevator 
hall to the dining-room, on the second 
floor. The east side of the train 
shed is flanked by the room for in- 
ward baggage, 507 feet long and 26 
feet wide. 

The building above the first story 



is used for offices and employes. 
Conductors and trainmen have rooms 
in the Dorchester avenue wing, and 
the remainder of the second story is 
occupied by the Boston Terminal 
Company. The entire third story is 
occupied by the Boston & Albany 
Railroad, and the fourth and fifth 
stories are occupied by the New 
York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
road. 

The first plans made contemplated 
only a single floor for train service, 
but after arranging as well as possi- 
ble for the various controlling fea- 
tures, making numerous studies for 
the exclusion of baggage trucks from 
the passenger platforms, and devel- 
oping several ways of expeditiously 
handling electric cars, it was found that 
such unusual features tended to use 
up space, and attention was directed 
to the possibility of divorcing the sub- 
urban, or short distance service, from 
the long distance service, and plac- 
ing the former at a different level, 
thus doubling the room for tracks. 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



6i 




7ram Shed, from Yard, July I, 1899. 



on certain areas. This was found to 
be feasible, and the great suburban 
traffic which the station must handle 
was provided for in an immense base- 
ment story, with platform room for 
25,000 people. 

lyoop tracks, two in number, con- 
nect with the main tracks at points 
about one half mile from the station, 
and enter the station at one side of 
the steam tracks, and at a grade 
about 17 feet beneath them. As 
they enter, thej^ spread, so that 
there is a large platform between the 
tracks. This central platform lies 
immediately below the midway on 
the main floor, and is connected with 
it and with the main waiting-room 
by stairs. It is designed to be the 
loading platform, and is the right 
platform for all trains. The unload- 
ing is designed to be done on the 
outside platforms. The capacity of 
the two loop tracks is sufficient to 
allow the sending out of a train a 
minute, or 2,000 trains in and out 
each day of 18 hours. 



Some conception of the details 
which have to be attended to, both 
in planning, building, and managing 
such a structure, may be gained 
from the following statistics : 

Total area of terminal land, about 
35 acres ; total area covered by build- 
ing, about 13 acres ; maximum length 
of main station, 850 feet ; maximum 
width of main station, 725 feet ; aver- 
age length of main station, 765 feet ; 
average width of main station, 662 
feet; area of main station, 506,430 
square feet ; area of awnings, outside 
of buildings, 46,000 square feet ; 
height of main station from sidewalk 
to top of eagle, 135 feet; length of 
express buildings, 712 feet; width of 
express buildings, 50 feet ; length of 
power buildings, 569 feet ; width of 
power buildings, 40 feet ; total length 
of buildings on street front, 3,300 
feet ; length of train shed proper, 
602 feet ; width of train shed proper, 
570 feet ; height of train shed over 
all, 112 feet ; area of midway, 60,000 
square feet ; area of connecting roofs, 



62 



A GREAT ENTERPRISE. 



17,500 square feet ; length of waiting 
room, 225 feet ; width of waiting 
room, 65 feet; height of waiting 
room, 28j4 feet ; total length of 
tracks, about 15 miles ; total num- 
ber of tracks entering the station, 32 ; 
of these, 28 are on main floor, and 
four in the shape of two loop tracks, 
on lower floor ; length of tracks 
under roof, four miles ; number of 
tracks through throat in yard, 8 for 
main floor, 4 for lower floor; total 



cars that can be set against platforms 
on lower floor, loop station tracks, 
60, all under roof ; seating capacity 
for these cars, 28,104 people; capaci- 
ty of express yard against platforms, 
26 express cars, and 12 mail cars; 
total capacity of mail and express 
yard, 116 cars; capacit}^ of other 
yard tracks, 93 cars; total of 613 
cars. 

In connection with the station, 
there are 235 arc lights, enclosed 



^1 












weight of rail, 2,800 tons ; number 
of double slip switches, 37 ; number 
of switches, 252 ; number of frogs, 
283 ; number of semaphore signals, 
150; number of signal lamps, 200; 
number of levers in tower No. i, 143 ; 
number of levers in tower No. 2, 11 ; 
number of signal bridges, 9 ; total 
number of trains to use new station 
when fully opened, 737 per day ; 
number of 65-foot passenger cars 
that can be set against platforms on 
main floor of station, 344, 252 under 
roof ; number of 40-foot passenger 



pattern ; 6,000 incandescent lights, 
1,200 of which are in the main wait- 
ing room ; 25 electric elevators, 209 
water closets, 138 urinals, 118 set 
bowls, 5 shower baths, 106 fire sup- 
ply outlets, 14 water metres, 29 stor- 
age vaults, 43 toilet rooms, 215 office 
rooms, 1,000 window shades, 200,000 
pounds sash weights, 120 connections 
for supplying gas to cars, 36 ticket 
windows, 95 baggage- room doors, 69 
express building doors, 10 steam 
boilers, 4 electric generators, 9 com- 
pressors, 45 electric motors, 20 heat- 



NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 



63 



iug and ventilating fans, 25 steam about 200 acres of painting, reduced 
engines, and i traveling crane. to single coat. 

The material used to complete The inscriptions cai'ved in the 
the work approximates : forty-three granite wall of the entrance give this 
thousand spruce piles, 15,100,000 information: 
common brick, 487,000 medium 
brick, 846,000 enameled brick, 74,000 
cubic 3'ards concrete, 32,000 cubic 
yards stone masonry, 30,000,000 
pounds steel, equal to about 1,200 
car-loads ; 200,000 cubic feet of cut 
stone for building, or 500 car-loads ; 
75,000 barrels Portland cement, 
20,000 barrels Rosendale cement, 
8,000 barrels coal tar pitch, 6,500 
barrels prepared asphalt, 850,000 
pounds tarred paper, 450,000 pounds 
sheet copper for roof trimmings, 
5,000,000 feet yellow pine timber, 
16,000 pounds solder, 10 acres of 
gravel roofing, 150,000 square feet 
wire glass, 40,000 pounds of putty to 
set the same. There are 56,000 
square yards water-proofing and 

Note.— The illustrations for this article are made from photographs by W. H. Weller, of Boston 



MDCCCXCVII. 

This building' erected by 

The Boston Terminal Company 

Composed of 

The Boston & Albany Kailroad Company, 

The New England Railroad Company, 
Boston & Providence Railroad Corporation, 
Old Colony Railroad Company, 
The New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
road Company. 

MDCCCXCVII. 

Josiali Ouincy, 

Mayor of Boston. 

The Boston Terminal Company. 

Samuel Hoar, Royal Chapin Taft, 

Charles Peter Clark, 

Charles I.oughead Covering, 

P'rancis Lee Higginson, 

Trustees. 

George B. Francis, 

Resident Rngineer. 

Norcross Brothers, Builders. 

Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, 

Architects. 



 ',„^M i 




JOHN G. SINCLAIR. 

John G. Sinclair, a time-honored resident of ISethlehem, died at his simmier 
home, June 27, after a brief illness. He was born in Barnstead, March 25, 1826. 
After following a country merchant's life for several years he prepared for college 
at Newbury, Vt., institution, but owing to business ambition gave up the college 
idea and soon attained an enviable business reputation. 

Mr. Sinclair represented the town in the state legislature six different terms, 
and was elected senator one term, and once was Democratic nominee for United 
States senator. In 1866, '67, and '68 he was Democratic candidate for governor, 
and was chairman of the state delegation in the National Democratic convention 
in x868. He was the father of Col. Charles A. Sinclair, who died in April. 



64 JV£IV HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 

REV. JOHN WOOD. 

Rev. John Wood, a prominent Congregational clergyman, died at Fitchburg, 
Mass., July 7, aged nearly 90 years. He was a native of Alstead, a graduate of 
Kimball Union academy, Amherst college, class of '36, and of the East Windsor 
Theological institute. He was ordained at Langdon, in 1840, where he was pas- 
tor nine years. After pastorates at Townsend, Vt., and Wolfeborough he became 
agent of the American Tract society of Boston, and later filled a similar position 
in New York city. He removed to Fitchburg in 1879, where he has since re- 
sided. He was married twice and leaves a widow and daughter. 

DAVID S. PAIGE. 

David S. Paige died at his home in New York city of a complication of 
troubles, at the age of 85 years. Mr. Paige was born in Hopkinton in June, 
1814, his mother being a daughter of Capt. William Stinson of Dunbarton. He 
had the limited opportunities for education common in those days, and at an 
early age he went to Boston, and after his father's death located in New York, 
where his habits of thrift and enterprise stood to a good purpose. He entered on 
a hotel career in West street, where later he built and managed Paige's hotel, op- 
posite where important steamship lines landed passengers and cargoes. His wife 
was an English lady of means, who well seconded his efforts. Two daughters 
and several grandchildren survive. 

Mr. Paige was a popular man, member of the New York legislature, and for 
many years a member of the school board of the city. He never forgot his native 
town and state, and his frequent visits, until hindered by failing health, were 
enjoyed by him very much. A sister, Mrs. Harriet Huntress, of Concord, is the 
only family survivor. Mr. Paige was a grand representative of that Scotch-Irish 
people, whose force of character, strong and self-reliant traits, have ever been so 
conspicuous and successful, traits that always win. 

DAVID MASON. 

David Mason, a native and life-long resident of Bristol, died at his home in 
that town on June 26. He lacked but a day of being 79 years of age. In early 
life he was pilot in the river gang engaged in rafting lumber and spars down the 
Merrimack to Lowell, making that trip annually for seventeen years. 

In 1852, in company with Capt. G. W. Dow, he began the manufacture of 
strawboard, and since 1855 he had devoted his entire attention to the wood pulp 
and white paper business, in which, in company with B. F. Perkins, of Bristol, 
under the firm name of Mason, Perkins &: Co., he was extensively engaged in that 
town. The company controlled the Newfound Lake Power company's stock of 
Bristol, which has one of the best water privileges in the state. He was also one 
of the heaviest stockholders in the Bristol Aqueduct company, and a member of 
the Bristol Savings bank, and was identified with other business enterprises. 

Mr. Mason was an uncompromising Republican, had held the office of select- 
man, and for three terms represented the town of Bristol in the legislature. He 
leaves a wife, Elvira (Gurdy) Mason, and only a short time ago buried his only 
daughter. He leaves other near relatives. 

Mr. Mason was a member of the Methodist church, and he had at all times 
been untiring in his efforts to further the interests of Bristol, and was held in high 
esteem as one of its solid and substantial business men, who have contributed so 
much to its present prosperity and success. He was a member of the Masonic 
order. 




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Vol. XXVII. 



AUGUST, 1899. 



No. 2. 



THE MAKING OF A TOWN. 

BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH OF THE TOWN 

OF JAFFREY. 

By Albert Annett. 




HE earliest recorded history 
of the region about Monad- 
nock has to do with savage 
forays upon the frontier of 
Massachusetts in the old French and 
Indian wars. For more than a cen- 
tury after this isolated peak on the 
northwestern horizon appeared to the 
view of the incoming white race, the 
wilderness upon which it looked 
down remained unbroken for miles 
around. 

It seems to have been a landmark 
to '^the migrator}^ tribes, known far 
and wide, and it served to steer their 
course from the Connecticut to the 
Merrimack and to the ponds that lay 
between. It was a mountain fast- 
ness, to which the frontier settle- 
ments in Massachusetts looked with 
apprehension and alarm. It was no 
groundless fear that retarded the 
progress of settlement, for all those 
old; frontier towns to the south of 
Monadnock have their record of In- 
dian war and alarm, of houses and 



crops destroyed and families carried 
away captive. 

In the year 1706 a company of 
rangers from the old town of Groton 
went up to Monadnock bent upon 
the gentle pastime of hunting for 
Indian scalps. When the sun was 
an hour high they made their camp 
for the night, and like experienced 
woodsmen they sent out scouts to re- 
connoitre and guard against sur- 
prise. Meanwhile those in the camp 
drummed with their hatchets on the 
trees to guide the outposts and pre- 
vent their becoming lost in the gath- 
ering darkness. 

The scouts had not proceeded far 
before they discovered signs of the 
enemy that filled them with alarm. 
Near a brook two of them found 
tracks which one declared to have 
been made by Indian dogs, the other 
said that they were the tracks of a 
she wolf and her whelps. 

The drumming on the trees be- 
came alarming, and they were sure 



68 



JAFFREY. 



that they heard it answered from an- 
other camp. They became fright- 
ened and made their way back to 
their company. Other scouts came 
in in equal alarm. They declared 
that they had seen the P'rench and 
Indians in great force, a thousand in 
number. The commander ordered 
the company to fall back from their 
position. The awfulness of their 
situation in the unbroken woods be- 



relate, not four men were found to 
risk their lives for the good fame of 
Groton that day. On his return 
home the commander was tried by 
court martial for his disorderly re- 
treat, and by that means an account 
of one of the many expeditions into 
the wilderness about Monadnock has 
been preserved.^ 

A few 5^ears later a bounty equiva- 
lent to about forty pounds sterling 




Mam Street, 



neath the shadow of the dark moun- 
tain was sufficient to fill the imagina- 
tions of even these brave men with 
dread. A panic ensued ; the officers 
made some attempt to halt the flee- 
ing men but their calls were un- 
heeded, and none were swift enough 
to overtake them in their stampede. 
A few of the bravest stuck to their 
position. Lrieutenant Tarbell was 
the hero of the occasion. He threw 
his hat on the ground and declared 
that with four men he would face the 
entire force of the foe, but, sad to 



was offered by the governments of 
New Hampshire and Massachusetts 
for Indian scalps, and under the 
stimulus of this beneficent act rang- 
ing parties were organized to scour 
the woods of New Hampshire. A 
letter written by the governor of Con- 
necticut at the time states that it was 
the purpose of the friendly Indians of 
Connecticut to look for scalps in the 
country around Monadnock. What 
luck attended them is not known. 
But another long-continued obsta- 

' Grotoii in the Indian wars. 



JAFFREY. 



69 



cle to the occupation of the lands 
about Monadnock is to be found in 
the interminable controversies over 
questions of civil jurisdiction and 
title to the land. 

The grant of the province of 
Massachusetts Bay extended "three 
miles to the northward of the Merri- 
mack river and of any and every 
part thereof." But the course of 
the river was then supposed to be 



When the northerly bend of the 
Merrimack was made known, and 
the boundaries described in the 
grants were found to be impossible 
lines, the province of New Hamp- 
shire, contending for the intent of its 
grant, claimed a westerly course, 
leaving the river at the place where 
it turns to the north, and extending 
from that point across the Connecti- 
cut to the state of New York. 




Jaffrey Centre Street. 



from west to east, and in the year 
1629, when the province of New 
Hampshire was granted to John 
Mason, a merchant of London, his 
territory was bounded by the Mer- 
rimack river for a distance of sixt}' 
miles and the course was described 
as westerly to "His Majesty's other 
possessions" (New York). Subse- 
quent grants or patents were issued, 
many of which were also based upon 
an imperfect knowledge of the ge- 
ography of the country and they 
served to make the confusion worse. 



Massachusetts on the other hand, 
holding more nearly to the letter of 
the grant, claimed all the territory 
between the Merrimack and Connecti- 
cut rivers as far north as ' ' where 
the rivers of Pemigewasset and Win- 
nipiseogee meet," and to fortify her 
claim by occupation she granted 
townships in this disputed territory 
to her volunteer soldiery who had 
participated in the expedition under 
Sir William Phipps, in 1690, against 
the French in Quebec. 

Among these Massachusetts grants 



JAFFREY. 



71 



was a township of irregular shape, 
described as "lying to the south- 
west of the Grand Monadnock." 
This township, which comprised a 
large part of what is now Rindge and 
Sharon, together with a portion of 
the southeastern part of Jaffrey, was 
granted in 1736 to the veteran sol- 
diers of Rowley, and was known as 
Rowley Canada.' 

Peterborough was granted three 
years later to a company, most of 
whom were residents of old Concord, 
Mass. They were allowed their 
choice of the vast unallotted lands to 
the north, and selected a tract six 
miles square lying " east of the great 
Monadnock hill," that for one hun- 
dred years had bounded their hori- 
zen in the northeast. This township 
also included a portion of the present 
town of Jaffrey. Other townships 
were granted in the disputed terri- 
tory by the legislative acts of Mas- 
sachusetts but they were remote 
from the locality considered in this 
sketch. 

Finally the present division line 
between New Hampshire and Massa- 
chusetts was established by a royal 
decree in 1741, and five years later, 
the Masonian patent having been re- 
vived and confirmed, all the vast 
tract granted to John Mason more 
than a century before became by 
purchase the propert}^ of a company 
of gentlemen of wealth and influ- 
ence, thereafter known as the Ma- 
sonian proprietors, most of whom 
were residents of Portsmouth, in 
New Hampshire. With a view of 
avoiding litigation and the ill will of 
the people, the new proprietors gen- 
erally quit-claimed their interest in 
the townships already settled and 

'History of Riudge. 



devoted their attention to the unim- 
proved portions of their estate. 

Col. Joseph Blanchard, one of the 
Masonian proprietors who was se- 
lected to portion out the new terri- 
tory into townships and to act as 
agent of the association in this enter- 
prise, was a masterful character and 
few men have left their mark in such 
enduring lines upon the w'orld. In 
the year 1755 he commanded the 
New Hampshire regiment in the 
campaign against Crown Point, and 
though the object of the expedition 
was not attained, yet his regiment 
did valiant service and gained last- 
ing fame in severe conflicts with the 
French and Indians at Fort Edward 
and in the vicinity of Lake George. 
In this famous regiment was a com- 
pany commanded by Capt. Peter 
Powers of Hollis, one of the pro- 
prietors of Jaffrey, and also a com- 
pany of the celebrated Roger's Rang- 
ers, having as a lieutenant young 
John Stark, destined to undying 
fame as the hero of Bunkei Hill and 
Bennington. With such rugged ele- 
ments of civilization, Joseph Blan- 
chard was a master spirit, and as a 
maker of geographical divisions he 
moved with the same elemental force. 

From the west line of the old Pet- 
erborough township he had a clear 
field, and we may imagine that it was 
while standing on some hillside near 
the Peterborough line and peering 
out over the tree-tops toward Monad- 
nock, waiting silently in the west, 
that his thought foreshadowed the 
towns that now fill the valley. What 
was the distance across to the great 
Monadnock hill ? To include that 
in the new townships would depre- 
ciate their value. How much room 
had he to the north and south ? Dis- 



JAFFREY. 




tances were estimated, and the letter 
has been preserved wherein he re- 
ported to the proprietors that he was 
about to la}' out three townships of 
like dimensions, five miles from north 
to south, and seven miles from east 
to west. 

The space proved too small for the 
towns he had in mind, but he was a 
mighty man as has been said, and 
to gain room he shouldered the old 
Massachusetts township of Peterbor- 
ough, with all its inhabitants and 
proprietors buzzing like hornets in 
his ears, three fourths of a mile to 
the east, carrying it on to the side of 
the East mountain ; the old township 
of Rowley Canada was sent where 
Tyre had gone, and the triplet towns 
of Rindge, Jaffrey, and Dublin made 
their first appearance upon the map 
of the world. It seems to have been 
his intention in transplanting the old 
township of Peterborough to gain 
space for his new towns in the more 
desirable land of the valley, but still 
there was not room and as, with all 
his mightiness, he could not budge 
the great Mouadnock hill, the town- 
ships of Jaffrey and Dublin were 
perforce laid over the top of it, with 
all its waste land, making them 
nearly two miles to the west of a 
right line with their sister town of 
Rindge. 



These new townships, with others 
afterward granted, were designated 
as the Monadnock townships, and 
Jaffrey received the name of Middle 
Monadnock, Monadnock No. 2, or 
sometimes Middletowu. F'rom this 
point we deal with the middle town- 
ship alone. Here was raw mate- 
rial for the town maker, — thirty- 
five square miles of primeval forest 
broken only by the mountain sum- 
mit and here and there by the gleam 
of a woodland lake. From a spring 
on the mountain side a stream 
trickled down and wound its way 
through the woods till it met another 
from a high basin in the hills to the 
south, and together they formed the 
Contoocook with its sites for future 
mills. But the unoccupied wilder- 
ness could yield no returns to the 
proprietors ; to make townships of 
their real estate and thereby enhance 
its value, they must have in each 
geographical division the entire out- 
fit of a town, selectmen, tythingraen, 
husbandmen, housewrights, mill- 
wrights, and many handicraftsmen 
more ; but above all, a meeting-house 
and settled minister, and to supply 
these lacking elements, in 1749, they 
granted the township to Jonathan 
Hubbard of lyunenburg, and thirty- 
nine others most of whom were resi- 




Cutter s Hotel 



JAFFREY. 



73 



dents of Dunstable (now Nashua 
and Mollis.) 

But the new proprietors had no 
notion of performing the rough work 
of pioneers. They, too, were pro- 
moters and speculators, and the 
names of many of them are found 
in connection with the development 



It had been specified in their grant 
that three shares, or rights, should 
be appropriated for public purposes, 
' ' one for the first settled minister in 
said township, one for the support of 
the ministry," and "one for the 
school there forever." And for the 
profit of the original proprietors. 




r^  '^.^ 



v/t 



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Summer Boarding-house of Mrs. Lawrence, Jaffrey Centre. 



of other towns. The first meeting of 
this syndicate, called "The Proprie- 
tors of Monadnock Township, No. 
2," was held at the house of Joseph 
French in Dunstable, early in 1750, 
At this meeting Capt. Peter Powers 
was entrusted with the work of sur- 
veying the township, and Jacob Law- 
rence and William Spaukling were 
appointed a committee to lay out a 
road from No. 2 (Wilton) through 
Peterborough Slip (Temple and 
Sharon) to the new township. In 
the following summer, in order that 
the township might be divided in 
severalty among the proprietors, it 
was divided into lots of approxi- 
mately one hundred acres each, three 
of which constituted a settler's right. 



eighteen shares drawn by lot were 
reserved to them and "Aquited from 
all duty and charge Until improved 
by the Owner." It was required of 
the new proprietors, " provided there 
be no Indian war," that within four 
years from the date of the grant forty 
of the shares " Be entered upon and 
three Acres of Dand at least Cleared 
Enclosed and fited for Mowing or 
Tillage, and that within the term 
of six Months then Next Coming, 
there be on each of said forty Shares, 
a House Built, the Room Sixteen 
feet square at the least, fitted and 
furnished for comfortable dwelling 
therein and Some Person Resident 
therein and Continue Inhabitancy 
and Residence there for three years 



74 



JAFI^REY. 



theu Next Coming, with the addi- 
tional Improvement as aforesaid of 
two Acres Each Year for each Set- 
tler." It was furthermore required 
that within the period of six years, 
" a Good Convenient Meeting House 
be Built in said Township as near 
the Center of the Town as may be 



traces of the road that they laid 
out may still be found. In the 
bottom of a mill pond at Squantum, 
that has been flowed for more than 
one hundred and twenty-five years, 
traces of an old road have been 
found, and from that place it may 
be followed along the east side of the 




East Jaffrey, Main Street. 



with Convenience and Ten Acres of 
I^and Reserved for Publick Uses." 
"All White Pine trees fit for Masting 
His Majesty's Royal Navey Growing 
on said Track of Land ' ' were also 
reserved to his majesty and his 
heirs and successors forever ; but 
there was a family quarrel in after 
years that involved this portion of 
the estate, and some of these old 
hereditaments of the king, charred 
by the fire that cleared the settler's 
farm, yet lie in long, moss-covered 
mounds in the sapling woods. 

No record of the work of the road 
builders can be found, and it is 
probable that no survey of their 
route was ever made. They proba- 
bly followed the old trail, and many 



Garfield hill, and again on the north 
side of the turnpike at the place 
formerly owned by James Newell in 
Sharon. Here the location of the 
road is made unmistakable b}^ a well 
and traces of the dwelling place of 
Joel Adams, the first settler, ten or 
fifteen rods north of the present road. 
Then after passing the ' ' old Blood 
place " the road crosses the ridge be- 
tween the mountains over bare ledge, 
a short distance south of the present 
road to Temple through Spofford 
Gap. Very few stones were removed 
from the track, and it must have re- 
quired not only endurance, but skill, 
to bring over this rough trail teams 
loaded with household goods. The 
supposition that this was the loca- 



lAFFREY. 



75 



tion of the first road is further sup- 
ported by the statement in the His- 
tory of Jaffrey that in 1752, the year 
following the laying out of the road, 
a settlement of short duration was 
made by eight persons in the south- 
eastern part of the town. 

But following the grant of the town 
came ten years of war and alarm, 
and, in spite of their best endeavors, 
it was not until the year of 1758 that 
a permanent settlement was made, 
lyasting peace was finally assured 
by the surrender of the French in 
Canada in 1760, and a mania for 
occupying new lands seemed to take 
possession of the inhabitants of the 
older towns. 

The pioneers of Jaffrey were de- 
signed for the business. lyike the 
first settlers of Peterborough, most 
of them were descendants of the 
Scotch Presbyterians who came to 
America from the north of Ireland. 
These people settled in Maine, New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsyl- 
v^ania, and North Carolina, and wdth 
their sturdy strength in clearing 
away the woods, and the fighting 
blood that they furnished for the 
Revolutionar}^ struggle, they were a 
godsend to the new world. 

One company of these emigrants 
settled in Lunenburg in Massachu- 
setts, another obtained a grant in 
New Hampshire, and founded the 





?* 



Long Pond. 



Long Pond. 

town of Londonderry, and from these 
two sources came most of the pio- 
neers of Peterborough and Jaffrey. 

Many interesting anecdotes of these 
people are told in the History of Peter- 
borough. They were shrewd and 
industrious, but according to all ac- 
counts they drank prodigious quanti- 
ties of rum, and their frequent merry- 
makings were never dull whatever 
their other shortcomings may have 
been. No hasty conclusions should, 
however, be drawn from their drink- 
ing habits and rough ways. Those 
were remnants of old heathendom 
that even their strong religious prin- 
ciples had not had time to overcome. 
They were on the upward road and it 
was admitted even by their Puritan 
neighbors of Massachusetts that " they 
held as fast to their /Z;^/ of doctrine 
as to their pint of rum." That they 
did not practice all the austerities of 
the Puritans led to a misunderstand- 
ing of their character and purpose. 
They brought with them an indom- 
itable love of freedom, hardihood and 
mental acuteness, and withal, a relig- 
ious zeal differing more in outward 
manifestations than in spirit from that 
of the Puritans. P'ollowing quickly 
upon their devotions they found a 
time to sing and a time to dance, and 
these diversions served to lighten the 



76 



JAFFREY. 



hardships of the wilderness. The 
vigor of the race has extended 
through many generations and many 
successful Americans trace with pride 
their descent from a Scotch-Irish an- 
cestry. 

The first permanent settler in town, 
according to his own statement, was 
John Grout. He came first from Lun- 
enburg but had lived for a time in 
Rindge. He settled on the town right 
drawn by Joseph Emerson on the low- 
land at the foot of the Squantum hill, 
as early as 1758. But the place did 
not suit him. It was cold and frosty 
and unsuited to cultivation ; and ac- 
cordingly with thrifty eye he looked 
about him in the forest, where he 
appeared to be monarch of all he sur- 
veyed, and found the old clearing 
that Moses Stickney had made before 
the Indians drove him away five years 
before. This was south of Gilmore 
pond, probably on the farm now 
owned by Henry Chamberlain. Here 
Grout set to work and according to 
his later report to the proprietors en- 
dured "hardships too many to be 
here set forth." 

The Grouts were a famous family, 
even before John o' Groat gave his 






»:'* 




name to the northern extremity of 
Scotland, and perhaps no more gifted 
family was ever connected with the 
history of Jaffrey. John Grout was 
a lawyer and a man of classical ed- 
ucation, such as we should hardly 
expect to find doing the rough 
work of a pioneer. He was also, 
unfortunately, a litigious character 
and was often at odds with his neigh- 
bors. He was given to writing peti- 
tions for favors to the proprietors, and 
these papers are remarkable for skill 
of composition, as well as notable ex- 
amples of correct spelling in those 
times when the phonetic method so 



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Sawyei i Elm. 



Village Elm. 

generally prevailed. There is plainly 
an unwritten chapter in the life of this 
man and something like peevishness 
discernible in his writings may indicate 
that some thwarted ambition or failure 
made him, with his education and 
undoubted abilities, a dweller in the 
woods. His abilities were inherited 
in good measure by his thirteen chil- 
dren, but it may be doubted if the old- 
er ones ever lived with him here not- 
withstanding his frequent mention of 
his large family in his petitions to the 
proprietors. He died in the year 1771, 
and tradition says that he was buried 
where the town house now stands, a 
fitting monument to the first settler 
of the town. The oldest son of the 



lAFFREY. 



77 




East Jaffrey, from the South. 



family, Major Hilkiah, settled at 
Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and a 
sketch of his life reads like romance. 
In 1755 he was attacked by the In- 
dians and his companion was killed 
while he escaped by his strength and 
fleetness of foot. His young wife, 
and three small children, were taken 
captive and sold to the French in 
Montreal. In three years she was 
ransomed but was compelled to leave 
her children behind. Hilkiah, the 
eldest, never returned and afterwards 
it appeared that he had been adopted 
by the Indians. It is said that he 
took the name of Peter Westfall and 
passed his life with the Cattaraugus 
Indians, who made him their chief, 
and that he was progenitor of the dis- 
tinguished family of Westfalls in the 
state of New York. Of the other 
.sons, John Grout, Jr., was a success- 
ful lawyer in Montreal, Elijah was a 
commissary in the Continental army, 
and a justice of the peace when that 
title was a distinguished dignity. 
Joel, also, was an officer in the Amer- 
ican army and a leader in the political 



affairs of his state, and Jonathan, the 
most widely celebrated of the family, 
was a lawyer of great ability, an 
officer in the Revolution, and a mem- 
ber of congress under the administra- 
tion of Washington. He is said to 
have been a very handsome man and 
a friend of the leading spirits of his 
time. Jehosaphat was a leading cit- 
izen of Keene and sheriff of the 
county, and Solomon, the only one 
who remained in Jaffrey, serv^ed as 
selectman and was prominent in town 
affairs. 

But the marked characteristics of 
the family were not least strikingly 
displayed in Abigail, the youngest 
daughter. She became the wife of 
Col. Nathan Hale of Rindge, who 
commanded a regiment in the patriot 
army and died a prisoner of war in- 
side the British lines on Long Island. 
On the death of her husband, the 
management of his large estate de- 
volved upon her, and she proved her- 
self a capable woman of affairs. She 
was a woman of overflowing kind- 
ness of heart, but of strong and 



78 



JAFFREY. 



assertive character and unyielding 
when her convictions of right were at 
stake. The new Declaration of Inde- 
pendence she applied unerringly to 
her individual rights, and she was 
perhaps the original woman's rights 
agitator in America. She held that 
taxation without representation was 
tyranny, and rather than pay taxes 
which she regarded as unjustly as- 
sessed she spent a winter in jail. 

For the first three years of his resi- 
dence here, according to Grout's 



by on the farm that Dana S. Jaquith 
now owns. Alexander McNeal settled 
near the centre of the town, and al- 
most before a road was built we find 
him keeping an inn. According 
to the early records he was prom- 
inent in public affairs but his rep- 
utation is clouded by a vote of the 
town in 1779, " that Alexander Mc- 
Neal should not keep tavern." His 
name does not again appear and it 
is probable that this reflection upon 
the character of his. establishment 




East Jaffrey, from the Baptist Church. 



report, he and his family w^ere the 
only inhabitants of the town, and if 
this be true then 1755 must be ac- 
cepted as the date of his arrival, for 
in 1758 John Davidson from Dondon- 
derry had come, and day after day, 
through the stillness of the woods 
Grout must have heard to the north- 
east the crash of falling trees. 

Soon after, Matthew Wright from 
the same place made a clearing where 
the farm of Charles W. Fasset now 
is, within a mile of Grout's door. 
Francis Wright, his son, settled near 



so offended him that he left town. 
William Mitchell, another Scot, 
settled on the farm now of William 
McCormack. James Nichols, John 
Swan and Thomas Walker, George 
Wallace and Robert Weir were 
among the first to arrive. William 
Turner settled on the Baldwin place, 
still owned by his descendants. 
Northeast of the centre of the town- 
ship, three more Turners, Solomon, 
Joseph, and Thomas, were among 
the first to fell the trees in those 
parts. 



JAFFREY. 



79 



Four Caldwells came to towu. It 
is supposed that they also were from 
Londonderry but they had lived for a 
time in Peterborough, where one of 
them taught school. John Borland, 
first a farmer and afterward a miller, 
made a clearing near the place that 
W. E. Nutting now ow^ns. William 
Smiley became a neighbor of Grout 
on the shore of Gilmore pond. Hugh 
Dunlap's land joined Grout's on the 
west. Near by was Joseph Hodge 
who gave to Hodge pond its name. 




Main Street, Showing Library and Banl<. 

He it was who killed a catamount 
when he came on a prospecting trip 
to the township. Where Eleazer W. 
Heath now lives, John Gilmore made 
a cabin. This was the most thickly 
settled part of the town. In the ex- 
treme southeast, near Grout's former 
settlement, Ephraim Hunt from old 
Concord built a mill, and Daniel 
Davis cleared a farm. In the south- 
west, on the farm last occupied by 
Seth D. Ballon, John Harper, who 
afterward won fame as a soldier, 
built himself a home. At the centre 
of the town, on the Eucius A. Cutter 
farm, lived Roger Gilmore, a typical 
good townsman. From morning till 
night the sound of the ax was heard 
and the smoke from the burning 
" choppings " darkened the sun. 

Matthew Wright, one of those who 
came from Londonderry to Jaffrey, 



is said to have been a man of unusual 
ability, but a preacher of infidel doc- 
trines and a corrupter of youth. It 
is related that on his death-bed he 
called his son Francis to his side and 
told him "to tak the big jug and 
gang down to New Ipswich and get 
it filled with rum, and when I am 
buried give the poor divils all the 
rum they want." It is fair to say 
that the " History of Jaffrey" tells a 
story of another sort, to the effect 
that a neighbor once stopped at 
Wright's house to escape a shower, 
and was detained for the night. 
While there the family knelt as was 
their custom for the evening prayer, 
and wdien on rising the old man 
noticed that his neighbor had not 
knelt with the rest, he was filled 
with righteous indignation. " Ye 're 




A Shady Road. 

no better than a Papist," said he, 
" an' did it not rain so hard I 'd turn 
ye out of my house this very night." . 
The first story is, however, circum- 
stantially told, and collateral evidence 
of its truth is given which makes it 
seem likely that the story from the 
Jaffrey history has straj'ed from its 
relation to some more worthy man. 
We shall, perhaps, not be far wrong 
in giving it a general application to 
the character of the first settlers of 
the town. 

In 1769, John Grout and Roger 



8o 



JAFFREY. 



Gilmore made a report to the pro- 
prietors upon the condition of the 
settlement. There appears to have 
been at this time not far from thirty 
settlers, nearly all of them the Scotch- 
Irish pioneers. They had borne the 
brunt of the battle with the wilder- 
ness, but they seem to have been 
not so well suited to the amenities of 
organized society, and, as the popu- 
lation increased, many of them sold 
their rights to new-comers from Mas- 
sachusetts and followed, the receding 



tionary fame, had also been a resi- 
dent of this town. 

With the assistance of these men 
a petition was prepared to the gov- 
ernor and council, asking for such 
corporate privileges as had been 
accorded to other towns in the prov- 
ince. They employed Enoch Hale 
as their agent, and their petition, 
which was dated 1773, recites, " That 
the Said Township is now setled with 
more than forty Families, And many 
more that have begun Settlements 





'^n;i.-^ 



^^^1., 



'*i1^"J 



East Jaffrey, from Mower's Hill. Peterborough and Temple Mountains in the Distance. 



frontier. Those that remained, the 
Gilmores, Turners, Davidsons, 
Hodges, Harpers, Smileys, and 
Wrights, became prominent in the 
affairs of the town. But with the 
growth of population, the inhabi- 
tants began to feel the need of 
some established form of govern- 
ment. Capt. Jonathan Stanley, who 
had borne a prominent part in the 
settlement of the town of Rindge, 
had lately brought to the sister town- 
ship his help as an organizing force. 
For a year or two his son-in-law, Col. 
Enoch Hale, afterward of Revolu- 



that they will shortly remove on, 
That they are destitute of the legal 
Privileges & Franchises of Corporate 
Towns, whereby they suffer many 
Inconveniences for Want of Town 
Officers, and especially at this Time, 
when they are taxed for the Support 
of the Government, but cannot le- 
gally assess or collect the same, and 
are also unable to warn out any Poor, 
idle Vagrants, That too frequently 
force themselves into New Towns, 
to the manifest Injury of such Towns 
in particular, & the province in Gen- 
eral." 



[AFFREY. 



Si 



The petition of the inhabitants was 
favorably received and on the 17th 
day of August, 1773, a charter was 
duly granted by John Went worth, 
captain-general, governor, and com- 
mander-in-chief in and over His 
Majesty's province of New Hamp- 
shire, and as it happened that George 
Jaffrey, one of the Masonian proprie- 
tors, was a member of the governor's 
council at that time, the name of the 
township was changed in his honor 
from Mouadnock No. 2, or Middle- 
town, to Jaffrey. 

The first town-meeting alter the 
incorporation was held for the elec- 
tion of town officers at the house 
of Francis Wright, innholder, on the 
farm at present owned by Dana S. 
Jaquith. At this meeting, Capt. 
Jonathan Stanley, William Smiley, 
and Phineas Spaulding were chosen 
selectmen, and Roger Gilmore, tytli- 
ing man. A second meeting was 
held during the same month "and 
Eighty Pounds was voted to be ex- 
pended on the roads and Six Pounds 
Lawful Money" to support the gos- 
pel in said town. 

If the amounts seem dispropor- 
tionate, it must be remembered that 
roads were at least a means to grace 
aud must of necessity receive first 
consideration. The close relation 







Residence of Will J. Mower. 




A Glimpse of Thorndii<e. 
xxvii— 6 



existing between the two appropria- 
tions is shown by a vote of the town 
in 1779, providing a new road "for 
Abram Bailey to get to meetting." 
It is not to be supposed in this case 
that Abram Bailey's spiritual con- 
dition was such as to be a matter of 
town concern, for he was an active 
man in the service of the church , 
but, rather, that in asking for this 
means of communication, this truly 
good man had placed above all 
material considerations the advan- 
tage of attendance on public worship. 
The town system of government 
seems to have been spontaneously 
evolved from the needs and charac- 
ter of the people of New England. 
It was a system that allowed every 
man his say ; any other would have 
been intolerable to them. The old 
Scotch-Irish pioneers delighted in 
town-meeting, with its opportunities 
for eloquence and wrangling, as they 
did in a religious disputation or a 
free fight. They were men of good 
reasoning powers and no subject was 
so weighty that they feared to tackle 



82 



lAFFREY. 








*.-»T*^ 



Mountain House. 



it. Both the .state and federal con- 
stitutions they critically dissected in 
town-meeting, and finding provisions 
ihat they feared might become op- 
]:)ressive in each of these instruments, 
they were at first rejected by vote of 
the town. In those days the people 
ruled aud a common practice in town- 
meeting was to choose a committee 
to instruct the representative to the 
general court, the instructions being 
first submitted to the town for ap- 
proval. In 1 78 1, when a conven- 
tion was called to organize a system 
of government for the state, William 
Smiley was chosen to represent the 
opinions of the town of Jaffrey, and, 
apparently reposing unlimited con- 
fidence in his powers, they "Voted 
to instruct the Man chosen not to 
have a governor." The name had 
unpleasant associations and was of- 
fensive to their ears. The man 
chosen seems to have been equal to 
the demands imposed upon him, and, 
as will be remembered, the title of 
the chief magistrate of New Hamp- 
shire was for many years, not gov- 



ernor, but president. In the years 
immediately following the incorpora- 
tion of the town came the Revolution- 
ary struggle. Those were stirring 
times and not less than five town- 
meetings were sometimes held in a 
single year. The machinery of gov- 
ernment that in times of peace had 
run with friction and clatter settled 
down smoothly to work under the 
added load of these troubled j^ears. 
On the essential questions of the day 
there was no difference of opinion. 
They took turns in the exercise of 
authority as well as in service in the 
field. 




Residence of A. A. Spofford. 



JAFFREY. 



83 



In the year 1774, they chose a com- 
mittee ' ' to draw a covenant to be 
signed by all those who stand to 
maintain the Priveleges of our char- 
ter." This action is worthy of notice 
as having been taken more than two 
years before the famous Association 
Test was generally adopted in sur- 
rounding towns. A copy of this cov- 
enant is not. on record, but there is 
no evidence that there was a single 
Tory in the town of Jaffrey during 
the Revolutionary struggle. 

At a convention held at Keene in 
1774, certain recommendations had 
been made to the towns, the exact 
nature of which is not known, but it 




Residence of Hon. Peter Upton. 

is supposed to have been in harmony 
with the advice of this convention 
that the town in 1775 voted unani- 
mously "to visit Mr. Williams of 
Keene," which action Hon. Joel 
Parker in his centennial address at 
Jaffrey styled " an extraordinary 
civility." Mr. Williams was a Tory 
and it can hardly be supposed that 
the townspeople would have gone so 
far afield in their missionary zeal if 
they had found similar duties nearer 
home. 

The forms used in warning town- 
meetings are significant of the feel- 
ing of the times. For a meeting held 




early in the year 1775 the constable 
was required in the usual form, "In 
His Majesty's Name to notify and 
Warn all the Freeholders and Inhabi- 
tants." In August of the same year, 
following Bunker Hill and lyCxing- 
tpn, but nearly a year before the 
Declaration of Independence, "His 
Majesty's Name" was conspicuous 
by its absence. In 1777 the form 
appropriately became, " In the Name 
of the Freemen of this State." In 
1778 this thrilling summons was sent 
forth, " In the Name of the Freemen 
of the United States of America, 
Greeting." In 1779 the highest 
reach of their aspirations was ex- 
pressed in their warrant, "In the 
Name of the Government and people 
of the United States of America." 

All the New England towns founded 
prior to the Revolution have an inspir- 
ing record in that strife, and Jaffrey, 
though having only three hundred 
and fifty-one inhabitants at the out- 
break of hostilities, is entitled to hon- 
orable mention with the rest. A 
stock of powder, lead, and flints was 
early provided and the town-meetings 
were much concerned with measures 
for the protection of their privileges. 
The alarm from Lexington reached 



84 



lAFFREY. 




Residence of ' Leonard F. Sawyer. 

the town too late to call out the will- 
ing volunteers, but Jaffrey with its 
small population, is credited in the 
state records with eleven men in the 
battle of Bunker Hill. Most of these 
were members of the company of Capt. 
Philip Thomas of Riudge, of which 
John Harper of Jaffrey was first lieu- 
tenant. Harper lived far back among 
the hills (the Ballou farm, near resi- 
dence of George A. Underwood) but 
when the alarm of I^exington aroused 
the people to arms,, no conscript officer 
was required to look him up. He 
seems like Job's war horse to have 
snuffed the battle afar off. He started 
at once for the scene of the conflict 
and on the twenty-third of April we 
find him with the company named 
and honored with the second position 
in command. He was with his com- 
pany at the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and history records that he lost his 
hat on that fateful day. It was a 
mishap that might suggest undue 
haste in quitting the place, but we 
are not permitted to entertain any 
unfavorable suspicions, for a military 
board of appraisal adjudged it an hon- 
orable loss and fixed his remuneration 
at twelve shillings which w^ould indi- 
cate that the hat was his best. Other 
Jaffrey soldiers who were awarded 
compensation for loss were Dudley 



Grifiin for a coat and shirt and Jacob 
Pierce for a more complete outfit, 
consisting of a " coat, a shag great 
coat, and pack." Benjamin Dole, 
the wolf hunter, is credited with the 
loss of the company's bread, from 
which it may be inferred that he was 
commissary and had paid out money 
of his own for supplies that were des- 
troyed. An explanation of most of 
these losses may be found in a letter 
of Captain Thomas which shows that 




Residence of Lewis W. Davis. 

his company before the battle was 
quarteied in some of the houses of 
Charlestown, and it is probable that 
these supplies were lost in the burn- 
ing of the town. Seventy-three sol- 
diers from the town of Jaffrey served 
in the Continental army, and though 
the term of actual service was in 
many instances short, yet the num- 
ber indicates something of the sacrifice 
and patriotic spirit of the inhabitants. 
A curious incident of the times is 
found in the action of a town-meet- 
ing called in 1775, " To see if the 
Town will Purchiss a stock of Salt for 
the prisint year. Whereas Capt. 
Coffeen has sent down his security to 
Purchis the Salt and the town may 
have it if they think Proper." For 
the further consideration of the meet- 
ing it was proposed, "To see how 
they will defray the Charges of bring- 



JAFFREY. 



85 



ing up the Salt if Purchased and 
think on a Proper way to divid it that 
each one maj' have his proper share 
of said Salt." This prudent move of 
Captain Coffeen, and others, met with 
the approval of the town and it was 
" Voted to Bye a town stock of Salt 
this year." 

But the maintenance of the army 
created an incredible drain upon the 
resources of the people, and many a 
poor family saw their dearest posses- 
sions sacrificed to satisfy the demands 
o<f the tax-gatherer. In 1781, "700 
hard Dollars or 700 bushels of Rye " 
was voted "to Purchis the town's 
quota of Beaf for the army." A large 
contribution of New England rum 
was also levied on the town and in 
answer to an inquiry from the select- 
men as to how it should be provided. 




Residence of Dr. O. H. Bradley. 

the freemen in town-meeting assem- 
bled vouchsafed the laconic reply, 
"that the selectmen should purchis 
the rum the Best way they can or Git 
a man to Do it." 

If there is an3-thing suggestive of 
modern methods in this action of the 
town, it may be said that the old vote 
has never been repealed and may 
still be construed by some as a gen- 
eral regulation upon the subject. 

Following the incorporation of the 



town the number of inhabitants was 
largely increased by immigration 
from Massachusetts. The new arri- 
vals were men of enterprise and 
possessed in an eminent degree the 
New England genius for govern- 
ment. There were among them law- 
yers and men of education in other 
professions. The records of the town 
became more regular and formal, and 
during many years they might ser^'e 
as models of neatness and accuracy. 

Among the settlers from Massachu- 
setts of honorable record was Phineas 
Spaulding. He had heard of the 
rich lands about Mouadnock, and 
with all his worldly goods loaded 
into an ox cart, he came to town 
about the year 1772 and settled in 
the old school district. No. 5. At 
the first town-meeting he was chosen 
selectman and mah}'^ honors were 
conferred upon him during the suc- 
ceeding years. His son, Levi 
Spaulding, became a celebrated mis- 
sionary to India and lived a life of 
rare devotion and usefulness. A de- 
scendant of Phineas Spaulding in the 
third generation, Hon. Oliver E- 
Spaulding, born in Jaffrej' near the 
old homestead, at present holds the 
important position of first assistant 
secretary of the treasury of the United 
States. 




Residence of Juiius E. Prescott. 



86 



fAFFREY. 




Up the River, East Jaffrey. 



At about the same date to the old 
school district, No. i (M. A. & B. G. 
Wilson farm), came Benjamin Pres- 
cott, with an ax in his hand and a 
bag of beans on his back. He was a 
born leader of men, and in his new 
field he cut a wide swath. He was a 
magistrate, legislator, deacon, colo- 
nel of militia, farmer, tavern keeper, 
turnpike director and contractor, and 
out of these varied employments he 
accumulated a large fortune for his 
time. 

During the first years of his resi- 
dence in town he lived in a log house, 
and when, in 1775, he raised his two- 
story frame house, a company of sol- 
diers from Riudge on their way to 
Boston stopped and helped with the 
work, and George Carlton, one of 
their number, was, a few days later, 
killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. 

In the year 1774, to the same part 
of the town, came John Eaton, a man 
fit to rank with the minister in solid 
worth to the community. He suc- 
ceeded Ephraim Hunt in the owner- 



ship of the first mill at Squantum, 
and, without doubt, he immediately 
became the handy man of the town. 
An old account book or journal kept by 
him during his previous residence in 
Bedford, Mass., has been preserved, 
and it gives many glimpses of the 
life of those times. It is a home- 
made book with covers of shaven 
oak held together with leathern 
thongs, and in it he set down not 
only business transactions, but rid- 
dles and matters of local interest. 
His spelling, if not to be taken as 
evidence of his accuracy as a work- 
man, ma}^ at least, be regarded as a 
proof of his marvelous versatility. 




Residence of Charles L. Rich. 



[AFFREY. 



87 



He was a man of many trades and 
his book affords evidence of his use- 
fulness and the variety of his deal- 



ings. 



The following extracts, taken at 
random, are suggestive of the simple 
neighborly life of the times: " wid. 
richerson is in dat to me for day 
work sider niill." "Jonathan Este 
is in dat to me for making a cart." 
"Samuel Flint Let me have a pach 
of mell and again I had a par of mit- 
tons of his wife, and again I help him 
part of a day pach his barn." 

He made "tuggs," and "collers," 
and sleds ; ' ' dugg ' ' graves and 
made " corfens ;" he plastered chim- 




t^, A 




Summer Residence of Joseph E. Gay 

neys ; made "casement," "leach" 
tubs, " ches prese," and " exaltrees ; " 
mended "saddels," and made plows 
and "siesnaths," besides other arti- 
cles too numerous to mention. He 
often changed work with his neigh- 
bors, and occasionally lent his 
" mear " to go a journey. But when 
we come to his purchase of a " yeard 
and a half of read cloth to make me a 
chaket," we seem to have a picture 
of the man in full feather, gay as a 
blackbird with a dash of red on its 
wing. 

During a part of his residence in 
Bedford, he managed, on shares, a 
saw- and grist-mill for two sisters, 
evidently maiden ladies of means, 




Gilm.ore Pond, from the Residence of Joseph E. Gay. 

into whose possession the property 
had come by inheritance, and, in 
spite of the proverbial formality of 
those grave old times, we find the 
amazing entry " reconed with the 
gals," when he recorded a settle- 
ment in his book. 

"November the 5 day, 1774, I 
brought my fammely into Jaffrey," 
says the book, and from other 
sources we learn that on his arrival, 
he sawed boards, ground grain, 
made flax wheels, repaired big 
wheels, and in all the lines of his 
multifarious talent, made himself a 
useful member of society. 

Peter Davis, who married John 
Eaton's daughter, was a man of kin- 
dred genius with his father-in-law. 
He took up his residence near Long 
pond, where he made clocks to regu- 
late the affairs of the community. 
Tradition says that he put eighteen 
barrels of cider in his cellar one fall, 
and, with the help of his son, drank 
it all before spring. But it must be 
remembered that those were neigh- 
borly days, and, besides, the pur- 
chase of a clock being a transaction 
of importance, would be naturally 
attended with much deliberation. 

About the year 1772, Joseph Cut- 
ter came, the first of a name that was 
destined to fill much space in the 
history of the town. He was a man 



88 



lAFFREY. 




The Ark.' 



of great undertakings, who minded 
his own affairs and prospered there- 
by. After clearing the farm at pres- 
ent owned by Solomon Garfield, he 
moved yet further into the woods 
and took up a large tract of land 
near the foot of the mountain. Here 
he felled the giant trees, built a log 
cabin, and continued adding to his 
domain until he became the largest 
landed proprietor and heaviest tax- 
payer in the township. He had a 
family of ten children, and five of his 
sons he established upon farms in 
different parts of the town. His 
mountain farm he divided between 
two of his sons, and afterwards he 
became a taverner at the center of 
the town. His tavern was kept in 
the house at the north side of the 
common, at present owned by Robert 
R. Endicott, Esq. This is all that 
remains of the former hostelry, "a 
large pile of buildings," that fur- 
nished ample accommodations for his 
many guests. 

Joseph Cutter, Jr., like his father, 
was a man of patriarchal type. He 
had a large family of children and 
a wide estate. With singular pre- 
science of future times, he built the 
commodious dwelling at present 
owned by Joel H. Poole. "Who 
hmW. the ark?" ran the question in 
the catechism of the day. "Joe. 



Cutter built the ark," was the ap- 
proved reply. And the ark it has 
been called to the present time. 
He was one who builded better than 
he knew, and the place, under the 
shadow of the Grand Monadnock, 
has become famous under the man- 
agement of Joel H. Poole and his 
son, descendants of the first settler, 
as a resort for health and rest for 
summer visitors to the town. 




Road to " The Ark." 

To the centre of the town came 
another Cutter, John the tanner, who 
at once became one of the foremost 
men of the town. Over to the north, 
near the Dublin line, lived Abel 
Parker, a patriot of Bunker Hill, and 
a commanding figure in county and 
town affairs. His sons were men of 
distinguished ability in business and 
the profession of law. Dr. Adonijah 
Howe lived on the present Shattuck 
farm, and his fame as a physician 
extended to all the towns around. 
In the southwest again, Jereme Un- 
derwood, a soldier of the Revolution, 
town officer and carpenter, hewed 
long timbers for the substantial farm 
buildings in vv'hich his grandson, 
George A. Underwood, lives to-day. 

Ebenezer Hathorn came to town 
as early as 1775, and settled where 
Will J. Mower now lives. He was a 
soldier and could tell of hair-breadth 
escapes in the old French and Indian 



JAFFREY. 



89 



wars. He made steelyards iu Jaffrey, 
in order that his fellow-townsmen 
might not cheat each other, and 
some of the useful instruments that 
he made have regulated the barter 
of many generations, and are in 
unquestioned service at the present 
day. 

Col. Jedediah Sanger settled near 
the mountain, and a road was laid 
out to his "chopping." He was a 
great man during his brief stay in 
town, but he went early with the 
march of empire westward, and fixed 
his name forever in the land by 
founding the town of Sangerfield in 
the state of New York. 

Of the rugged men who rough- 
liewed the town from the wilderness, 
there were many more deserving of 
lasting remembrance and honor, but 
space forbids even a mention of their 
names. They were the wall builders 




Sugar Lot of J. H. Poole & Son. 

and have left their sign-manual 
upon the hills that they cleared 
so that all who pass may read 
of the manner of men they 
were. 

But better than volumes of 
history to tell of the life of 
the early inhabitants is the 
sight of one of the unchanged 
houses in which they lived. 
Passing the Underwood farm, 



and going toward the steep slopes 
of Gap mountain you come at the 
end of a grass grown road to the 
house of Thomas Dunshee, one of 
the pioneers. Here is a place where 
time has been asleep through all the 
changes of a hundred years. It is 
as if some kindly spirit had held it 
under a spell, to give to the later 
times a glimpse of the lives of the 
fathers, so rugged, simple, and sin- 
cere. The old house that has never 
known clapboards or paint has been 
turned by wind and sun to a softened 
shade that art could not improve. 
Behind the house a rustic well-sweep 
swings the cool bucket from the well. 
In the kitchen is the fireplace and 
the crane ; no stove was ever brought 
inside its doors. On the great beams 
overhead hangs the old musket that 
served iu the training days, and has 
laid low many a marauder of the 
barn and field. 

Before this great fireplace the past 
seventy-five years, with all its pro- 
gress, vanishes like a dream. The 
place was for man}' j-ears the home 
of Ezra Baker, who, with his wife, 
is shown by the fireside in the illus- 
tration with this sketch. They kept 
the old house through a long and 
useful lifetime, as it came to them, 
and left it in possession of their son, 
Milton Baker, who with true appre- 




Interior of the Residence of Ezra Baker. 



90 



[AFFREY. 



■%i 



^;^^:-v';4^J fe^ 




Monadnock — Half Way Up. 



ciation of its character, carefully 
guard it from change. 

The character of the rapidly in- 
creasing population was a matter of 
great importance, and very early we 
find the town taking measures for 
the restriction of immigration. They 
did not care for numbers, but were 
very particular about the brand, and 
all who were unlikely to become self- 
supporting citizens were served with 
summary warning by the constable 
to depart forthwith. This action was 
taken under the provision of a law 
designed to prevent the indigent and 
the vicious from becoming charges 
upon the slender resources of the 
town. 

In connection with this old custom 
one instance is of interest. In 1781, 
John Fitch, an old man broken by 
the storms, had come to town to live 
with his son who had settled on the 



farm now owned by Benjamin Pierce, 
Esq. But his son's means did not 
assure his support, and so the old 
man was warned to depart, and was 
carried by the constable, as we sup- 
pose, to his former place of residence 
in Ashby, Mass. He had been a 
man of action, and had borne the 
brunt of battle in the Indian wars. 
His house had been an outpost on 
the frontier, and had been garrisoned 
by the province and partly sustained 
from the public treasury. While 
here he was attacked ' by a force of 
eighty Indians. Only two men were 
with him at the time, and after these 
were killed he was obliged to sur- 
render to save the lives of his family. 
With his wife and five small chil- 
dren, among whom was Paul Fitch, 
the settler in Jaffrey, he was carried 
captive to Canada. After many suf- 
ferings he was ransomed, and with 



^A 



UBR/i 






^';^ 

y 



JAFFREY. .... 91 

his family, except his wife who died the towns and the defence of the,* 
on the way home, he returned to the State," was one of the sights of tiraifl- 
scene of his former labors. He be- ing day for'^nialiy years-. ^ '__^^-^" 
came a man of wealth and distinction In 18 14 the famons-'J'aSrey Rifle 
iu his times. He was a large land- Company was organized and it con- 
holder, and his name was often found tinned in existence until 1851. P'or 



j»i 



in the registry of deeds. He gave his 
name to the town of Fitchburg, and 
many honors have been rendered to 
his memory by the thriving city that 
has grown from the town. He was 



many years it was the best drilled 
company iu the Twelfth regiment of 
militia, and the first on the muster 
field. 

A company of nineteen soldiers 




impoverished by the depreciation of from Jaffrey served at Portsmouth in 

the currency in the Revolutionary the War of 1812 ; two enlisted for 

period, and during his last years was the War with Mexico, and one hun- 

assisted by the town where he had dred and fifty-one for the War of the 

his home. Among the ironies of 

time it would be hard to find one 

more keen than this, that, after so 

many 3'ears, in the towai that had 

no room for him, railroad trains, 

blazoned with his name (Fitchburg 

Railroad), the symbol of a prosperity 

of which they never dreamed, daily 

pass iu sight of the place from 

which, in his old age and poverty, 

the constable warned him to depart. 

But the warning out seems after 
a few years to have become a per- 
functory affair, and many men who 
had been honored on their arrival in 
town with that first punctilious call 
from the constable, remained, not- 
withstanding, to become prosperous 
and influential citizens. 

Very early in the history of the 
town a train band was established, 
and in 1786, authority was granted 
for a company of Light Horse to be 
made up in this and adjoining towns, 
and according to the petition, with 
the consent of all interested, the chief 
command was the portion of ' ' our 
trusty friend and well-disposed Citi- 
zen, Namely Peter Jones." This or- 
ganization so "highly Necessary for 
the better regulation of the Militia in 



The Old Meeting-house. 

Rebellion, a record of which the town 
may be justly proud. 

But the choicest history of the old 
New England towns is woven about 
the meeting-house and the minister. 
"What a debt," says Emerson, "is 
ours to that old religion, which in 
the childhood of most of us still 
dwelt like a Sabbath morning in the 
country of New England, teaching 
privation, self-denial, and sorrow." 
The chief fact about a people has 
been said to be their religion, and it 
remains incontestably true that to 
the old country churches much of 
the influence of New England upon 
the character and progress of the 
nation has been due. 



92 



lAFFREY. 



It was one of the provisions of the 
charter of the town that " a good and 
convenient meeting-house should be 
built." The meeting-house was to 
the early inhabitants of New Eng- 




Fiibt Cunyregational Church and Parsonage, 
Jaffrey Centre. 

land like the Temple to the Israelites 
of old. On the year following the in- 
corporation of the town in considering 
the subject of a meeting-house, it was 
voted "to build one near the senter 
this and the ensueing year." The 
length of the house was fixed at fifty- 
five feet, the width at forty-five, and 
the height to the roof at twenty-seven 
feet. These were goodly dimensions 
when the size of the town was con- 
sidered, but at a later meeting this 
vote was reconsidered, the length 
was increased to sixty feet, and it 
was voted to have a porch at each 
end of the house. 

It was provided that the great tim- 
ber of the house should be hewed 
before winter, and that the house 
should be raised b}' the middle of 
June in the following year. It was 
to be well "under Pined with good 
stone and lime . . . the lower 
floor lead Duble and Pulpit like that 
in Rindge meeting house," and all 
to be completed within one year from 
the raising of the trame. 

There is a tradition that the meet- 
ing-house was raised on the 17th of 



June, the day of the battle of Bunker 
Hill, but Hon. Joel Parker in his 
centennial address has furnished evi- 
dence that the raising was nearer to 
the time fixed by vote of the town. 

Jeremiah Spofford was the master 
carpenter in the framing of the house, 
and it is said that on his return to 
his home in Massachusetts on the 
day following the completion of his 
work, he heard the firing at Bunker 
Hill as he rode through Townsend, 
and that evening from the Westford 
hills he saw the light of Charlestown 
burning. We are loath to part with 
the old tradition but whatever the 
date there has been no greater day in 
the history of the town. 

A supply of all provisions and 
utensils needful had been ordered by 
vote of the town, but as often hap- 
pens some most essential things were 
overlooked, and it was left to the 
forethought of Capt. Henry Coffeen 
to provide the necessary barrel of 
rum. He had been a carpenter at 
the raising of the meeting-house in 
Rindge and knew the indispensable 
requirements of such an occasion. 




Baptist Church. 

But for the sake of being authentic 
and precise, it must be said to our 
humiliation and sorrow that the barrel 
of rum lingered long in the category 
of benefits forgot, and it was more 



JAFFREY. 



93 



than five years before the public- 
spirited captain was paid for ' ' the 
Barral of Rum and two Dollars Sil- 
ver money he lycnt the town." 

It may be assumed that every able- 
bodied man in town was present and 
ready to work besides the elder ones, 
who came to see and to give counsel, 
and the boys who passed the inspirit- 
ing drink. Jeremiah Spofford was 
master workman and Captain Cof- 



sight, and had it happened in other 
times, among a people more imagina- 
tive, or fallen in the way of a histo- 
rian with less regard for truth, it 
might, perhaps, have been said that 
a spirit in flaming vestments came 
down when the day was done to bless 
the work. 

As might have been supposed from 
the character of the congregation, they 
were not readily agreed in the choice 




Congregational Parsonage. 

feen. Captain Adams, and many 
more were his competent assistants. 
John Eaton was there to help with 
his unfailing skill, and we may be- 
lieve that on such a gala occasion 
he was conspicuous in his red cloth 
"chaket." 

To raise the great timbers was a 
work that required strength and skill, 
and was not unattended with danger, 
but before night it was safely done, 
and as a crowning ceremony before 
the eyes of the workmen and the 
populace John Eaton stood on his 
head upon the high ridgepole of the 
skeleton frame. It was a marvelous 




Congregational Church. 

of a minister. Many candidates ap- 
plied, but no minister was settled for 
several years. Perhaps the town 
was too exacting, but from the 
record the cause of the delay does 
not clearly appear. In 1780 they 
were still without a minister, and 
in their extremity they talked of re- 
considering a former vote that " No 
Comittee shall imply no minister ex- 
cept those that Preach upon Proba- 
tion." Such a vote would certainly 
seem to demand revision, but let it 
not enter the thought of any one that 
any dangerous latter day doctrine is 
implied in this. The minister alone 



94 



fAFFREY. 



was a subject for probation iu those 
orthodox days. 

Mr. Caleb Jewett was at this time, 
after probation, accepted by both 
church and town. A call w^as ex- 
tended to him and for his " Incour- 
agement " it was voted to give as 
salar)^ seventy pounds, lawful money, 
"to be paid to him after the rate of 
Rye at four shillings per bushel, 




Catholic Church. 

Indian Corn at three shillings four 
pence per bushel, Beef, Poark, But- 
ter and Cheese as they were in the 
years 1 774-' 75." But with all this 
encouragement Mr. Jewett did not 
see fit to accept the call, and the 
flock was still wdthout a shepherd. 

But their disappointment was con- 
secrated to their good , for in the fol- 
lowing year the committee on ' ' Sup- 
plies of Preaching" found at the 
commencement exercises at Dart- 
mouth college a young divinity stu- 
dent by the name of Laban Ains- 
worth, who possessed a combination 
of wisdom and grace that fitted him 
for ministry and leadership among 
such a people. They engaged him 
to preach. He passed successfully 



the period of probation, and was ac- 
cepted by both church and towm. 

The management of the church ser- 
vice in those days even to the small- 
est details was a matter for debate in 
town-meeting. In 1778, in the midst 
of war's alarm, the freeholders and 
inhabitants in town-meeting assem- 
bled, took up the matter of services 
on the lyord's day, and made choice 
of " William Smiley to read the 
psalm and likewise chose Abrani 
Bailey and David Stanley to tune 
the psalm." They also voted to 
sing a " verce at a time, once iu the 
forenoon and once in the afternoon." 
Occasional lack of harmony is sug- 
gested by a vote of the town a few 
3^ears later that "Jacob Balding 
assist Dea. Spofford to tune the 
psalm in his absence or inability to 
set it." 

The meeting-house was finished 
after the fashion of the day with 
galleries on three sides, square box 
pews, and a pulpit elevated and 
dignified, under a sounding-board 
of huge dimensions suspended from 
the timbers above. The walls of 
the pews, or " sheep pens," as irrev- 
erent tradition has called them, were 
surmounted by a banister or balus- 
trade, and the only means of getting 
a view of their surroundings for the 
boys and girls was by peeping be- 
tween the spindles over the top of the 
pews. On each side of the enclosure 
were hinged seats that were raised 
when the congregation rose during 
singing or prayer, and in the middle 
a chair was often placed in which the 
head of the family or perhaps gran'sir 
or grandma sat. It was an arrange- 
ment admirably calculated to preserve 
the decorum due to the occasion, as 
from this centre the arm of authority 



JAFFREY. 



95 



could carry swift discipline to both 
points of the compass. 

The early records speak of the 
"men's side and women's side," but 
it seems that such a division was not 
long maintained. It probably refers 
to the first seats erected in the 
meeting-house before the pews as 
family comparlments had been built. 
Three of these old seats on each side 
of the broad aisle were retained as 
free seats, after the pews were built 



"Sacred to the memory of Violate, by sale 
the slave of Amos Fortune, by Marriage his 
wife, by her fidelity, his friend and solace. 
She died his widow, Sept. 13, 1802, a. 72." 

If tradition may be trusted, the 
church service of the old time was 
far fess forbidding than many have 
supposed. In the high gallery, as the 
3'ears passed, a bass viol was heard. 
" Dagon " it was called in oppro- 
brious epithet after the old god of 
the Phillistines, but nevertheless it 




Baptist Parsonage. 

and were occupied by the poor and 
aged of the parish. 

The singers occupied the centre of 
the gallery, and to the right and left 
were more free seats that were filled 
by the boys from the overflowing 
pews, under the watchful eye of the 
tything man. Under the high pulpit 
was a slip for the deacons and elders, 
and perhaps as a mark of distin- 
guished consideration, a pew for 
negroes was set apart. The indi- 
viduals thus honored were doubtless 
Amos Fortune, the tanner, and his 
wife. Violate, whose epitaphs in the 
old churchyard eloquently tell the 
story of their lives. 

"Sacred to the memory of Amos Fortune, 
Who was born free in Africa, a slave in America. 
He purchased his liberty. Professed Christian- 
ity, Lived reputably, died hopefully, Nov. 17, 
1801, a. 91." 




^m 



The Ainsworth Parsonage, now the Summer Residence 
of Rev. Frederick W. Greene. 

held its place and sometimes a conse- 
crated fiddle helped also to tune the 
sacred psalm. When the singing be- 
gan the congregation rose and faced 
the choir, and when the last note of old 
Dundee had floated upward into rest, 
an instant of pandemonium ensued, 
as, with clatter and clang, the old 
hinged seats dropped into place. 
When silence once more reigned, 
the minister arose. He was a man of 
strong frame and venerable aspect. 
And sitting near the preacher, be- 
hind the sacred desk, with his great 
ear horn raised, that no word of 
promise might be lost, was Jacob 
Pierce, the old hero of Bunker Hill. 
The sermons, though often doc- 
trinal, were never long, and they 
met with the approval of the people 
through a pastorate that for duration 



96 



JAFFREY. 



has perhaps never been equaled iu 
the church in Atntrica. For seventy- 
six and one half years Labau Ains- 
worth was minister of the church iu 
Jaffrey, and he died at the great 
age of one hundred years, leaving a 
memory that is a priceless possession 
to the town that he served. 

The Third New^ Hampshire Turn- 
pike Road, by a charter granted by 
the legislature in 1799, obtained a 
right of way through this town. 



stage, wagon, phaeton, chariot, or 
coach, all must stop and pay their 
toll before the creaking gate would 
swing to let them pass. There were 
teamsters from Vermont, often ten or 
fifteen together ; farmers with their 
loads of truck, and a little keg of 
cider stowed under the seat for their 
solace and cheer. Their horses, it 
must be said, were often sorr}- jades, 
and their harness marvelously con- 
structed from straps and bits of string. 





Summit of Monadnock, Showing Glacial Action. 



The road was in many ways greatly 
beneficial ; it diverted through traffic 
from Vermont from the neighboring 
towns, and made tavern-keeping a 
lucrative occupation. It also made 
accessible to the farmers the markets 
of Boston for the products of their 
farms. 

Processions of varied and wonder- 
ful composition were daily halted at 
the gates. On a bill-board so that 
all might read were posted the rates 
for animals of the various sorts, and 
for carts according to the number 
of wheels, — sulky chair or chaise, 



There were droves of cattle and 
razor-back hogs, flocks of turkeys 
and sheep, all moving with dull un- 
consciousness along the fatal road 
to its end iu the shambles of Brigh- 
ton. But grandest of all were the 
mail coaches of the "Old Mail 
and Despatch lyine," that passed 
daily, often with six horses on a 
gallop, between Boston and Keene. 
George and Bob Nicholas, the latter 
familiarl)' and admiringly called " Old 
Nick," were drivers of great renown 
along the turnpike in those days ; and 
it was an ambition exalted enough for 



JAFFREY. 



97 




Residence of K. N. Davis, formerly the old 
Prescott Tavern. 

any healthy boy that he might some 
day fill their honored place. In the 
busy season of travel the old road 
presented a panorama of constant in- 
terest and change, and a truthful 
man who remembered those days 
has declared that Barnum's Greatest 
Show on Earth was never a circum- 
stance to the caravans that passed 
along the turnpike in those stirring 
times. 

There were famous taverns in Jaf- 
frey in the turnpike days ; those most 
frequently mentioned in the stage reg- 
isters were Prescott's and Milliken's, 
both commodious brick houses, one in 
the east part of the town, and the other 
in the west. (Residence of K. N. 
Davis and summer residence of Mrs. 
Pratt.) It was a custom of many of 
the teamsters to carry their provi- 
sions for the journey, and it was 
not uncommon to see them sitting by 
the bar-room fire eating the Johnny 
cake and doughnuts that they had 
taken from home ; but he was a 
small-souled man who did not patron- 
ize the bar of the hostelry liberally 
for liquid refreshments during his 
stay. One frugal man from Jaffrey, 
it is said, took his little keg of 
cider with him to the fireside to save 
the expense of " flip," and some of 
the teamsters about the place slyly 
burned out the bung with the logger- 

xsvii- 7 



head that was heating in the coals, 
and his precious liquor flooded the 
bar-room floor. 

The question of allowing to cor- 
porations privileges upon the public 
streets, which at present is disturb- 
ing so many municipalities, was 
summarily disposed of in Jaffrey. 
For a large part of the distance 
through the town the turnpike had 
been laid over pre-existing roads ; 
and it was an intolerable grievance 
to the people that they should be 
compelled to halt and pay toll where 
they had a prior right to pass. A 
toll gate had been erected on the 
bridge by which now stands the cot- 
ton factory in East Jaffrey, and in 
spite of the advantages of this new 
line of travel, a vote was passed 
directing the selectmen to move the 
gate off the bridge near Deacon Spof- 
ford's mill. But nothing was done, 
and the inaction of the selectmen 
was by some ascribed to the undue 
influence of certain prominent men, 
who were stockholders and directors 
in the turnpike corporation. 

At a second town-meeting a reso- 
lution was adopted censuring the 
selectmen for their neglect of the 
duty assigned them. A new board 
of selectmen was elected and "sol- 
emnly enjoined to remove the gate 




White Brothers' Mi 



98 



JAFFREY. 



aforesaid, with everything apertain- 
ing to the same which said inhabi- 
tants view to be a public nuisance, 
within twenty-four hours from this 
time ; and again in case said pro- 
prietors shall have the temerity to 
erect another gate on or across any 
part of the public road through this 
town which was used as such before 
sd proprietors were incorporated, 
then, and in that case, the said 
selectmen are hereby enjoined to re- 



first mill on this privilege was built 
about the year 1770, by John Bor- 
land, one of the Scotch Irish pioneers. 
On May i, 177S, Borland sold his 
mill property to Dea. Eleazer Spof- 
ford of Danvers, Mass., and soon 
after removed from town. Deacon 
Spofford made many improvements, 
and at once became a prominent citi- 
zen of the town. Hon. Joel Parker 
said of him " that he was a tall gen- 
tleman of grave demeanor, pleasant 




One of Many Pretty Roads. 



move the same as often as there shall 
be any gate erected." Such em- 
phatic commands were not to be 
evaded, and that night, or soon 
after, by some persons unknown, the 
toll gate and all that ' ' apertained 
to the same ' ' was torn down and 
thrown into the river. 

Lawsuits followed but the gate 
was never again erected in the town 
of Jaffrey. It was carried across the 
border into Sharon, where it con- 
tinued to hold up the traveling pub- 
lic for many years. 

The mills at East Jaffrey have 
been a mainstay of the town. The 



smile and kind heart. His mills 
were complete for their day. In the 
grist-mill was a jack, which, if it was 
not the progenitor, was the prototype 
of the modern elevator in hotels and 
stores. It was worked by water 
power to carry the wheat as soon as 
it was ground to the bolter in the 
attic. A ride in it with his son 
Luke, then miller, but afterwards 
clergyman, was a treat to the boys 
who brought wheat to be ground." 

His sawmill, too, it is said, 
possessed improvements over any 
other then known, and it was while 
watching, one day, some marvelous 



/AFFREY. 



99 



contrivance about the mill that a 
negro, who was probably Amos For- 
tune, the tanner, asked with mingled 
astonishment and appeal, " Why, 
Massa Spofford, couldn't you get 
up a machine to hoe corn ? " 

Ainsworth R. Spofford, a son of 
Luke Spofford, the young miller, 
became the efficient librarian of con- 
gress in after 3'ears. Deacon Spof- 
ford lived in the house at present 
owned by Aaron Perkins, and his 
house and mill, with the house of 
William Hodge, now the residence 
of E. B. Crowe, appear to have made 
up the west section of the village of 
his day. Joseph Lincoln had a 
clothier's shop near the site of Web- 
ster's tack manufactory, and Abner 
Spofford was a blacksmith in this 
section of the town. 

About the beginning of the present 
century the spinning of cotton by 
machinery began to receive attention 
in this country. In 1808, the first 
cotton mill in New Hampshire was 
built at New Ipswich, and soon after 
a like enterprise was launched in 
Peterborough. Jaffrey was not to be 
outdone by her neighbors. She 
possessed citizens of enterprise and 
intelHgence, and while here as in 
many other places, the mills were 
bitterly opposed on the ground that 



''^'^'''H^ 
.4.-^* 





School-house, East Jaffrey, 



School-house, Jaffrey Centre — Old Melville Academy. 

the labor-saving machinery would 
deprive the poor people of a means 
of support, yet these fallacious argu- 
ments did not deter these more pro- 
gressive men from their purpose, and 
in the year 18 13, a company, consist- 
ing of Dr. Adonijah Howe, Samuel 
Dakin, Artemas Lawrence, Nathaniel 
Holmes, Jr., of Peterborough, Caleb 
Searle, William Hodge, John Stevens, 
and Samuel Foster, was incorporated 
under the name of "The First Cot- 
ton and Woolen Factory in Jaffrey." 

In December of the same year the 
company purchased of Deacon Spof- 
ford his mill property, together with 
some adjoining tracts of land, and on 
the premises they erected the old 
wooden mill which is still remem- 
bered by many citizens of the town. 
This mill, according to an old gazet- 
teer, had a capacity of one thousand 
spindles. 

The machinery is said to have 
been made by Nathaniel Holmes, Jr., 
of Peterborough, and Artemas Law- 



lOO 



fAFFREY. 




I 



N. W. Wluwtr s Biock. 



189S the business was largely in- 
creased by an addition to the East 
Jaffrey mills, and at the present time 
three hundred and twenty-five hands 
find constant employment in the cot- 
ton mills of White Brothers in this 
town. 

About the year 1758, Ephraim 
Hunt, a young man who hailed from 
the historic town of Concord in 
the province of Massachusetts Bay, 



rence of Jaffrey, who was a black- 
smith. Holmes had learned the 
trade by working in the lately-estab- 
lished mills in Peterborough. 

The incorporated company carried 
on the business for twenty-one years, 
and in 1834 deeded the property to 
William Ainsworth, a son of Rev. 
Laban Ainsworth, who, soon after, 
deeded the saw- and grist-mill to 
Samuel Patrick, and three years later 
the cotton mill became the property of 
Solomon Richardson, Perkins Bige- 
low, and Edwin Walton. 

In 1844, the cqtton factory came into 
the possession of Alonzo Bascom and 
others. Alonzo Bascom was born in 
Hinsdale, but came to this town from 
Palmer, Mass. He was a man of 
marked ability and enterprise. He 
found business in the new-bought 
mills at a standstill, but by his 
energy he gave it new life. He 
largely increased the capacity of the 
old Cheshire mill, and built the new 
brick mill in East Jaffrey. He died 
in the midst of a successful career in 
September, 1872. 

After one or two other changes 
both the East Jaffrey and Cheshire 
mills came into the possession of 
the White Brothers of Winchendon, 
Mass., about the year 1884, and their 
occupancy has been one of uninter- 
rupted activity and progress. In 




Residence of S. H. Mower. 

built a mill at Squantum, where he 
sawed lumber and ground grain. 
This is said to have been the first 
mill in town, and tradition tells of 
settlers with pack horses coming for 
fifteen miles by marked trees to bring 
their grist to his mill. Other mills 
have replaced the old mill of Eph- 
raim Hunt, and have continued in 
operation to the present time. On 
the Contoocook river, near the Peter- 
borough line, M. I^. Hadley has suc- 
ceeded to the ownership of one of the 
old-time mills. Here he manufac- 
tures turned-chair stock, and by 
superior workmanship has gained a 
patronage that keeps him constantly 
employed. On the site of the old 
lyincoln and Foster fulling mill is 
the manufactory of the Granite State 
Tack company, where, with improved 
machinery and the best skill, tacks 
and shoe nails are made that for 
quality challenge the best in the 



JAFFREY. 



lOI 



world. Many other mills in differ- 
ent parts of the town, in which 
a great variety of work has been 
done, have gone with the changes 
of time. 

The mills of Jaffrey are located at 
the head waters of the busiest stream 
in the world, and the water that here 
performs its first work helps drive the 
turbines of Manchester, IvOwell, and 
I^awrence on its passage to the sea. 
The Contoocook is a most exemplary 
stream, and its praises have been too 
long unsung. Association with good 
men, from the days of Deacon Spof- 
ford till now, has made it, like a 
sacred river of Judea, tamed in the 
writings of Josephus, a Sabbath- 
keeping stream, as any one may see 
who drives along its banks by the 
Peterborough road and contrasts its 




^^^^ I 1^ II 



Store of Goodnow Brothers & Co. 

Sunday quietness with its week-day 
hurry and foam. 

But a sketch of a New England 
town would be essentially lacking 
without some mention of its stores. 
From the earliest times the store- 
keepers have been men of influence. 
They have been generally the ready 
men of the communit}-, with both 
tongue and pen, and in Jaffrey as in 
other towns of old New England, it 
has been in the country store that 



public opinion has been formed and 
questions of town and national policy 
discussed. 

There is a tradition that the first 
storekeeper in Jaffrey was a man by 
the name of Breed, but the location 
of his emporium is not known. The 
storekeepers named in the first re- 
corded tax-list in 1793, are Joseph 
Thorndike and David Sherwin. 
Thorndike was a merchant at the 
centre of the town in the house now 
owned by Dr. Phelps, and Sherwin' s 
store was at Squantum, where the 
house of Thomas Anuett now stands. 
Thomas Sherwin, a son of David 
Sherwin, was master of the famous 
English High School in Boston. He 
aided in the establishment of the In- 
stitute of Technology, and was inti- 
mately connected with many associa- 
tions for the advancement of learn- 
ing. His name has been greatly 
honored in the city that he so faith- 
fully served. 

Squantum with its sawmill, grist- 
mill, fulling mill, blacksmith shop, 
tavern, and store was an earlj' centre 
of trade, and the business established 
by David Sherwin was continued for 
more than half a century. But the 
centre of the town held many advan- 
tages as a centre of trade, and for 
many years the largest stores were 




Residence of Waiter L. Goodnow. 



I02 



JAFFRE\. 



there. Among the other names long 
and honorably connected with the 
mercantile business of Jaffrey, in the 
past are Paysou, Lacy, Duncan, Up- 
ton, Foster, Bascom, and Powers. 

In the early part of the present 
century the village of East Jaffrey 




A Summer Camp. 

was a local habitation without a 
name. It possessed neither meeting- 
house nor store — not even a tavern 
to slake the thirst of the wayfaring 
man, but with the building of the 
cotton mills a village sprang up like 
the gourd in Jonah's dream, and it 
has grown to overshadow the town. 
The stores of Jaffrey are a credit to 
the town, but the bustle and enter- 
prise of these later daj's have been 
the death of philosophy and the old 
settle and whittled-bottomed chair 
have gone to the limbo of outworn 
things. 

During the greater part of the first 
half of the present century, in the lit- 
tle house at present owned by John 
F. Wheeler, lived Aunt Hannah 
Davis, one of those unique characters 
for which New England is famed. 
In her the stars conspired to produce 
a genius. She was a granddaughter 



of John Eaton, the master of many 
trades, and a daughter of Peter 
Davis, aforesaid, maker of wooden 
clocks. She never troubled her 
mind about what occupations were 
open to women, but, obedient to her 
genius, she invented and manufac- 
tured the nailed bandbox, and be- 
came, thereby, a benefactor of her sex. 
Who does not see in her work a lin- 
gering trace of the red jacket, as 
well as the product of three genera- 
tions of inventive genius and manual 
skill? The bandbox, besides being 
the sacred repository of the treasures 
of womankind, was the trunk and 
satchel of those days. 

Aunt Hannah's bandboxes were 
substantially made, the bottoms from 
boards of light, dry pine, and the 
rims from spruce, shaved from the 
log or bolt with a heavy knife. This 
work required the strength of a man, 
and the help of her neighbors was 
employed in getting out the scab- 
bards or scab-boards, as they were 
called. From this point, with con- 
trivances of her own invention, aided 
by a marvelous manual dexterity, 
she formed the box and finally fin- 
ished it with a covering of paper of 
varied and ornamental design. She 
owned as a part of her equipment a 
wagon of the prairie schooner type, 
covered with a canopy of white cloth. 
And when a shopful of her wares 
had been accumulated she loaded her 
wagon to the roof, hired a sober- 
minded horse of her neighbors and 
set out for the factory towns where 
finery did most abound. 

An old newspaper clipping in the 
possession of Mrs. S. Willard Pierce, 
who was a friend and helper of Aunt 
Hannah in her enfeebled old age, 
describes the factory girls of those 



JAFFREy. 



\ox 



daj's and their bandboxes, which, it 
is said, were made by Hannah Davis 
of Jaffrey, and within the memory of 
many now Hving the tops of the 
stage coaches that run to the factory 
towns were often covered with the 
product of her shop. In the large 
towns of Manchester and Lowell she 
was well known, and when, as was 
her custom, she halted her van at 
the mill door at the hour of noon she 
was sure of eager customers and a 
lively trade. She is remembered, 
while many of greater pretension are 
forgotten, for her unique individual- 
ity, her good works and sincere piety, 
as well as for her unusual skill, and 
her name has been honored by a me- 
morial window in the Baptist church, 
of which she was a devoted member. 
Among the later names that have 
brought honor to the town is that of 
John Conant, a farmer of Jaffrey, 
whose benefactions to public and 
religious institutions aggregrated 
more than one hundred thousand dol- 
lars, seventy thousand of which was 
a gift to the Agricultural college of 
New Hampshire. Conant Hall at 
Dartmouth, and the Conant High 
school of Jaffrey were founded upon 
his bequests and named in his honor. 





Whe-e shy Contoocook gleams." 



Shattuck Farm. 

As for the men of the present time, 
their record is best read in the well- 
kept farms, the mills and stores, and 
all those manifestations of enterprise 
and thrift that have given Jaffrey a 
good name among the towns of the 
state. A summary of progress after 
nearly one hundred and fifty years of 
history, shows a population of ap- 
proximately eighteen hundred souls, 
with all the varied elements that 
make up a complete and progres- 
sive town. There are prosperous 
farms, banks, railroad, telegraph 
and telephone, mills, where up- 
wards of four hundred hands find 
constant employment, stores that are 
hardly excelled in the smaller cities, 
a public library, good schools, five 
churches, all well supported, hotels 
and boarding houses that furnish ac- 
commodations for the transient guest 
as well as for the hundreds of sum- 
mer visitors who come to enjoy the 
unexcelled attractions of the place as 
a summer resort. 

Nature has so grouped her beauties 
here that very few towns in New 
England possess greater advantages 
and attractions as a summer resort. 
Here is a land of pictures of infinite 
variety and charm. Jaffrey abounds 
in shady drives. Her roads, if not of 
the latest build, are attractive as Na- 



I04 



fAFFREY. 



ture's ways, and many of them yet 
follow with alluring curves the ' ' trod 
way " of the bridle path or the blazed 
trees of the settlers' trail. 

The territorial limits of the town 
that have remained unchanged since 
the days of Joseph Blanchard, were 
in 1787 threatened by certain de- 
signing men of Sliptown (afterward 
Sharon), who petitioned the General 
Court for the annexation of a strip 
of land one mile in width from the 
east side of Jaffrey. In a vigorous 
remonstrance the inhabitants of Jaf- 
frey represented to the law makers 
of the state that they had no terri- 
tory to spare, and in the course of 
their weight}' argument they said : 
' ' Moreover their is a Verry great 
mountain in this town and a great 
Number of Large ponds which ren- 
ders about the fourth part thereof 
not habitable, besides a great deal of 
other wast Land which makes the 
habitable part of this town but barely 
sufficient to maintain our minister 
and support our publick priveledges." 




Residence of Charles R. Kittredge. 

But times have changed, and the 
waste land, the large ponds, and the 
very great mountain that troubled 
the thrifty hearts of the pioneers, 
have come to be the choicest pos- 
sessions of the town. As some great 
genius lends of his fame to the place 
that gave him birth, so it will be 
always the chiefest fame of Jaffrey 
that Monadnock mountain is there. 
The glory of Monadnock is its 
isolation. It stands apart from its 
brothers of the north and west as if 
in some far time it had been sep- 
arated from them by some grim, re- 
lentless feud. Many of the famous 




" Uprose Monadnock in the northern blue, a mighty minster builded to the Lord." 



JAFFREY. 



105 



peaks of the world stand shoulder 
to shoulder with dead altitudes, or 
brood in eternal hopelessness over 
some desert plain. But Mouadnock, 
with its rugged, rock-rent sides, is 
planted in a world of green hills and 
rich vallej's gemmed with a profu- 
sion of woodland lakes. From the 
rocky summit, on every side, thrifty 
farm buildings are seen clustering 
here and there into villages, with 
steeples and towers. And sometimes 
on a windless day the sound of a 
mowing machine, like a cricket in 
the grass, floats faintly to the sum- 




Residence of Russell H. Kittredge. 

mit with its suggestions of remote- 
ness and the mystery of life. Again 
the littleness of the far-off world 
comes over one as he watches a 
trailing line of smoke that marks the 
creeping progress of a tiny railroad 
train along the " town sprinkled " val- 
ley. It is a dream of New England 
realized. 

The hill would not go to Mahomet, 
and so Mahomet went to the hill. 
With each return of summer the 
prophet's miracle is repeated here. 
From far and near the people come 
to receive the largess of Monadnock, 
promised through Emerson, its priest 
and bard : 

" I will give my son to eat 
Best of Pan's immortal meat, 



Bread to eat and juice to drain ; 

So the coinage of his brain 

Shall be not forms of stars but stars, 

Not pictures pale but Jove and Mars." 

Can any part of the world promise 
better things than these ? What 
place will leave in memory a brighter 
picture than this by Edna Dean 
Proctor, of Monadnock in autumn 
with its groves and streams? 

" Up rose Monadnock in the northern blue, 
A mighty minster builded to the Lord ! 
The setting sun his crimson radiance threw 
On crest and steep and wood and valley 

sward, 
Blending their myriad hues in rich accord ; 
Till like the wall of heaven it towered to 

view. 
Along its slope where russet ferns were 

strewn, 
And purple heaths the scarlet maples flamed, 
And reddening oaks and golden birches 

shown, — 
Resplendent oriels in the black pines framed, 
The pines that climb to woo the wind alone, 
And down its cloisters blew the evening 

breeze, 
Through courts and aisles ablaze with autumn 

bloom, 
Till shrine and portal thrilled to harmonies 
Now soaring, dying now in glade and gloom. 
And with the wind was heard the voice of 

streams, — 
Constant their Aves and Te Deums be, — 
Lone Ashuelot murmuring down the lea. 
And brooks that haste where shy Contoocook 

gleams 
Through groves and meadows broadening to 

the sea. 
Then holy twilight fell on earth and air, 
While all the lesser heights kept watch and 

ward 
About Monadnock builded to the Lord." 



IP- * 







Beyond Monadnock. 



COMK TO THE "OLD HOME WEEK." 
By Alfred E. Baker. 

Come to the " Old Home Week," 

Come to your native mountains, 
Come where your heart may seek 

The waters from living fountains. 

Come where the memory 's green 

With the love that knows no parting, 

Come where the joy is seen, 

In the tears that know no smarting. 

Come where the streams are flowing, 

With the honey of love and the milk of truth, 

Come where in Concord growing. 
Is the tree of eternal youth. 

Daughter and son, husband and wife, 

Father and mother and all. 
Out of the sorrow and care and strife. 

Obeying the Father's call. 

Then will the home-coming glorious be. 

And the " Old Home Week " the new year^make. 

As we drink of the font of Love's liberty. 
And of our Father's welcome home partake. 



A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE. 
By Bert P. Doe. 




r happened one night in the troubles of the day, and soon after 

chill month of February. The the clock proclaimed the waning 

sun had long ago cast its final hours of the evening I left friends 

ray on the cold, cheerless and gay scenes, and after a short 

earth. A pearly moon from a cloud- walk in this ideal winter evening air, 

less sky, together with the flickering I was in my own room ready to 

stars, which dotted the dark arch drown life's fluctuating scenes in a 

above, lighted up the winter scene few hours of sleep, then so welcome 

without a speck of warmth. All was to my hot and restless brain. Only a 

hushed without. few quiet hours, I realized, and an- 

I was weary with the cares and other day of strife would dawn. 



A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE. 



107 



I hastily took a last glance at 
the pearly moon and the quivering 
shadows stirred by a lazy breeze from 
the south, and pulled the curtain 
aside. I had not been in my downy 
couch long before I was lost — lost in 
slumber, so dear to tired brain and 
throbbing nerves. Then I was borne 
away, as if by some unseen magic 
power, to scenes new to me. I stood 
on a high cliff at the entrance of a 
large, elegant, white mansion ; be- 
fore the door stood an old man, with 
gray locks hanging low on his fore- 
head. His frame was thin and 
wasted, and the bones in his hands 
and legs were plainly visible. At 
his feet stood an hour-glass, such as 
I have seen pictured on the pages of 
old almanacs, and hanging over the 
doorway behind him was a scythe, 
long of handle, and the blade long 
and narrow, glistening in the rays of 
the sun. 

He greeted me with a wan smile 
and extended his bony hand. Re- 
membering the pictures I had seen, 
it flashed across my mind that he 
was Father Time, and the house was 
his mansion. 

"My lad," he said, "come in, now 
is the only time as long as the earth 
continues to revolve that you will 
find me at my home. Now all is 
quiet in your land — all have ceased 
to grow old — the progress of all 
things is stagnant. Only this once ; 
never before has this happened, nor 
never shall it again. Come in and I 
will show you through my mansion, 
large and fine." 

I stood still, half in wonderment, 
half in fear. "No, I cannot stop," 
I said, "I am weary, my head is 
throbbing from hard labor and my 
nerves are tired. I am looking for a 



place to rest — to rest for an hour or 
two only, so I can gird myself for 
harder tasks." 

"Ah ! my boy, there is no rest in 
this land," he replied, and I noticed 
that a shade of sadness flickered 
across his wasted face. "But come 
with me," he continued, " and I will 
show you how the inhabitants of 
these regions obey my commands." 

I hesitated no longer and walked 
to meet him where he stood at the 
doorway. I felt a strange sensation 
creep over me as I neared his weird 
form, for he seemed to me an un- 
earthly being. As I came within 
his reach he extended his pallid and 
wasted hand to me, which I clasped. 
It was cold as ice. 

Pointing to the scythe above the 
door, he continued, " That scythe, 
my boy, has reaped a harvest that 
any reaper might well be proud of. 
It has cut away generals, statesmen, 
law^yers, and merchants, who have 
aspired fame through me — through 
Time, the greatest of all agents in 
the universe. My boy, I have lived 
for centuries," he went on, "I am 
older than those blue summits which 
rise above those dusky clouds," he 
said, pointing his skeleton-like finger 
to the west. 

' ' I have crumbled away princely 
halls and stately mansions ; I have 
instigated the people of all nations to 
bloody war, and I have soothed their 
fevered passions in sweet peace. It 
was I who built your own nation 
where you dwell ; I saw it when it 
was in its infancy and kept a vigilant 
eye on its progress. Ah ! I cannot 
begin to tell you all I have done. It 
is a long, long story." 

As he finished I thought his eyes 
were moist. His words seemed to 



io8 



A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE. 



have a sad effect on me for I, too, 
felt like crying. 

We both stood in silence for some 
time, and then he led the way into 
his mansion. "Well, come," he 
said, " and we will be soon cheered 
up." I followed him through a long 
spacious hall, the brilliancy of which 
was unprecedented to me. At the 
opposite end he pulled the latch of a 
door which swung open, and before 
me was a scene replete with wonder- 
ment and awe. 

In a wide and fertile valley was a 
large herd of beautiful horses of two 
colors — black and white. They were 
contentedl}^ grazing ; there was no 
guard or keeper. Their shiny coats 
glistened in the rays of the sun, 
which beat perpendicularly down on 
the herd. It formed a beautiful pic- 
ture. The slopes of the green moun- 
tains also glistened in the sun's 
rays ; soft, fleecy clouds floated high 
in the blue arch above, flecking the 
green landscape with lazily moving 
shadows. I stood and gazed on the 
scene in wonderment. The old man, 
too, was silent. Thus we stood for a 
short time. At last Old Time, rais- 
ing his right arm to a shelf above his 
head, clutched a long thin bugle, 
tarnished by age, and dusty from its 
long rest on the shelf. Slowly he 
raised it to his thin lips, and I stood 
eagerly waiting to hear its notes re- 
verberate over the level valley and 
up the distant green mountains. But 
before its notes broke the stillness he, 
turning to me, said, 

' ' Those horses represent the good 
and bad souls which formerly in- 
habited your land. There are men 
of all nationalities among them, some 
had become famous, and others, 
taken in their youth before they had 



become known to the world, — doc- 
tors, lawyers, clergymen, statesmen, 
merchants, and manufacturers, are all 
mingled together in the herd below. 
As they enter my palace they are 
transformed into animals and then 
left to graze in my pasture lands 
until my trumpet sounds, which is 
the signal for them to pass on to an- 
other world, — the good to the celes- 
tial region, and the bad to the shades 
below." 

As he finished speaking he again 
raised the trumpet and blew a long, 
clear blast. It was a weird sound, 
such as I have never heard before, 
and caused a strange sensation to 
creep over my frame. 

I turned my eye to the horses be- 
low ; for an instant they raised their 
heads and looked in the direction 
from which the sound came. Then 
what a thundering of hoofs followed. 
It was a wild stampede. As if by 
magic the}^ became separate, the 
black in one herd and the white in 
the other ; away to the east sped the 
black, and to the west the white, all 
the time gaining speed as they neared 
the mountains. The old man and I 
stood and watched the flight in 
silence. Dimmer they grew as the 
distance increased, and soon a gap 
in the mountains put an end to our 
view. We turned our eyes from the 
direction of the fleeing horses down 
into the fertile valley. The horses 
had gone. It seemed still and lonely. 
Old Time at last broke the silence. 

"Another host of souls gone into 
eternity," he said, and he turned and 
replaced his trumpet into its long 
resting-place. "To-morrow," he 
continued, " I shall traverse your 
regions and seek more souls for my 
valley. I shall get them from happy 



A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE. 



109 



homes, from stately mansions, from 
hospitals, prison cells, and the high- 
ways. Perhaps you yourself, at the 
next blast of my bugle will be flying 
with the horses over yonder moun- 
tains." 

I gazed steadfastly into his gray 
ej'es as he was talking, and, as he 
concluded, I thought he appeared 
nervous and uneasy. " Well, my 
boy, I must bid you adieu," he be- 
gan again, and I again clasped his 
icy hand as I had done when I 
first met him. As soon as he re- 
leased my hand he was gone. I 
knew not where he went or how he 
vanished. I delayed no longer in 
his mansion but proceeded straight 
to the door by which I had entered, 
and a feeling of fear crept over me 
for I feared that I might be en- 
trapped in his halls, but no, as I 
neared the door it swung open for 
me to pass out into the open air and 
warm sunshine. As I strolled again 
down the pathway I turned and 
looked back on the mountains to 
the westward. They were as green 
and beautiful as when the herd of 
horses passed from view behind 
them, but over their summits was 
gathering a dark and dingy cloud 
of huge proportions. It was rapidly 
moving towards the zenith, and the 
sun, which was close to it, would 
soon be obscured. I hastened my 
steps to reach my home — which 
seemed near-by — before the darkness 
could overtake me. I had traveled 
but a short distance when the dingy, 
black cloud put the earth about me 
in shadow, and all was inky black- 
ness. It was a wonderful transfor- 
mation — from day into night — black, 
silent night. 

A feeling of fear such as I had 



never felt before was creeping over 
me. I stood still ; I dared not pro- 
ceed for fear of coming in contact 
with some strange, frightful object. 
Neither did I dare to look behind for 
I knew not what I should see. I 
glanced to the west, and as I turned 
my head a vivid flash of lightning 
lighted up the landscape, followed 
almost instantly by an appalling peal 
of thunder. My knees trembled, and 
large, cold drops of perspiration 
stood on my forehead. I was grow- 
ing weak, and it seemed as if I 
should surely sink to the earth be- 
fore long. The lightning flashed 
almost incessantly, and a continual 
roll of thunder echoed over the 
mountain peaks. 

Above the din of the thunder's 
roar I could distinctly hear the shrill, 
weird notes of Old Time's bugle, but 
by the flashes of the lightning I 
could see no herds of horses fleeing 
from the level valley to the sloping 
green mountains. 

At last I proceeded ; the hailstones 
beating in my face caused a sharp 
pain, and I groped about wildly to 
see if I could clutch something for 
support. I walked on in this man- 
ner for some distance, but there was 
no lull in the raging of the storm. 
I could only see before me bj^ the 
flashes of lightning. As the light 
of one flash, brighter than the others, 
lighted up the gloom before me I 
thought I saw an object standing to 
the left. I quickly turned towards 
it, but I had gone but a few steps 
when the ground under me was 
snapped asunder and I was hurled 
headlong down a steep chasm. It 
seemed as if I fell for yards and 
yards. It was a horrible sensation. 
At last I reached the end of the 



no 



A BLUE AND WHITE BOWL. 



terrible fall, — all my senses were 
gone. For awhile I knew nothing. 
At last when my shattered senses 
crept back to me I opened my eyes. 
Before me was standing Old Time, 
with the same wasted form and wan 
countenance. Clutched in his bony 
hand was the hour-glass and over 
his shoulder was the long glistening 
scythe. The storm had lulled. The 
sun was shining among the black, 
jagged clouds which were floating 
away to the eastward. The rain- 
drops were glistening on the green 
foliage in the rays of the warm sun 
like costly jewels. " Come, my boy," 
said Old Time, extending to me his 
bony hand, '' yo\xx days in yoMX land 
are over. Come to my mansion and 
green valley." But I shrank back. 
" No ! No ! " I cried. This aroused 
the old man to ire. His kindly 
eyes now glistened with anger, and 
his feeble limbs grew knotted with 
muscles. 



He grasped his scythe and raised 
it high above the gray locks of his 
head. I knew that, with a mighty 
swing, he was about to cut me down. 
I knew not what to do. My weakly 
condition would not permit me to 
grapple with him and try to stay 
the blow. I tried to cry for mercy, 
but my tongue clove to the roof of 
my mouth and not a sound could I 
utter. Finally I gave up and fell 
back. Is was a horrible sensation, 
lying there and awaiting the stroke 
of the scythe. Just then I was 
nearly blinded by the sun flashing 
into my eyes from the hour-glass. 
His uplifted scythe never fell, for the 
glare of the sun from the hour-glass 
aroused me from my slumber. It 
was a winter sun which had just 
wheeled its broad disk over the 
eastern hills and sent its full glare 
into my eyes. 

My night's adventure only lingered 
in memory. 



A BIvUE AND WHITE BOWI.. 

By Laura Garland Carr. 

'Tis small and thin with scarce a trace 
Of beauty tint or line of grace. 
Two ugly cracks, from some mishap, 
Ivike rivers pictured on a map, — 
That no device of art can hide, — 
Run aimlessly adown the side. 
One little push, one careless pass. 
And it might lie a shattered mass. 
So frail and shell-like it appears, 
Yet it has served a hundred years. 

When great-grandmother, young and gay, 
Went housekeeping in the old way, 
No doubt this bowl, with other delf, 
Was placed in line upon a shelf 
Of that " red dresser " which we know 



A BLUE AND WHITE BOWL. 

Figured iu kitchens long ago. 
And we are sure there was no lack 
Of shining pewter at the back. 
From its high place it could o'erlook 
The big, wide kitchen's every nook. 
And much that happened there below 
We great-grandchildren wish to know. 
Ah, if this bit of pictured clay — 
By art unknown — could now portray 
The quaint, old scenes that passed in view 
While it was yet unstained and new ! 
Could show great-grandma as she worked — 
For well we know she never shirked 
A household duty, great or small — 
But kept a watchful eye on all. 
And was it true — as has been told — 
Was she a bit inclined to scold ? 

One old-time quilting we would see, 

A candy pull, an apple bee, 

An evening when the neighboring folk 

Came in to sing, gossip, and joke, 

Eat apples, popped corn and — why frown ? 

Let good, hard cider wash it down. 

And all the while the firelight's glow 

Their queer, old homespun garbs would show. 

And, dancing o'er the dingy walls 

In many fitful flares and falls — 

Dim in the darkness would reveal 

The clumsy forms of loom and wheel, 

With hanks of yarn and woolly rolls 

Hanging from wooden pegs and poles. 

From winter, summer, autumn, spring, 

How much this ancient bowl could bring 

From great-grandmother down to me 

If it could speak, could hear and see ! 

What folly this ! Pray is not all 

That constitutes this earthly ball 

Old, older far than tribe or race. 

Older than date of man can trace ? 

Some things withstand dissolving test 

A little longer than the rest. 

But in good time all, all will fill 

A place in Nature's grinding mill 

To be reshaped in other mold. 

And then again be "young " and "old." 



Ill 



RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION. 



By Doris L. Burke. 




ISS Susan Ann Tuttle was 
hastening home from 
church through the soft 
February sktsh. She was 
a Httle old lady. Her thin, sweet 
face was shaded by a scoop bonnet, 
with a skimpy black veil tied in a 
pitiful knot. Long afflicted with St. 
Vitus' dance she had come to be 
known as Ricketty Ann. 

The condition of the roads made 
cautious walking expedient, and 
Ann's overshoes leaked. Yet she 
hurried on unmindful of the fact that 
she had already gone over them 
twice in the melting snow. 

The minister had said that hun- 
dreds, possibly thousands, of people 
were dying of starvation in Cuba, 
and that a collection would be taken 
for them on the next Sunday even- 
ing. A dollar was sufficient to sup- 
port one adult or three children for 
one month. 

"The poor little children," Ann 
thought tearfully. "A dollar would 
keep three of them a month." 

If she might only give a dollar ! 
When she had reached home she sat 
down to count the contents of her 
rusty pocketbook before kindling a 
fire in the tiny cracked stove. There 
was even less money than she had 
feared. She could spare but a few 
pennies. She sighed faintly. "It 
would be so beautiful to give a dol- 
lar. Maybe I could if it had n't been 
for the rheumatics in my hip. It 
does cost so to be sick." 



She resolved to do without butter 
and tea for a while that she might 
save a few extra cents. 

Ann sighed again as she looked 
out of the window and saw the peo- 
ple going home from church. Most 
of them were able to give so easily. 
For instance, there was John Hart 
who enjoyed the distinction of being 
the rich man of Dunsettbury. A 
dollar, even twenty dollars, would be 
nothing to him she thought. 

But Mr. Hart's mind was dis- 
tracted to-day by financial anxieties. 
As he sat in his heavily furnished 
library that afternoon, he accused 
himself of having done a criminall}^ 
foolish thing during the past week. 
His severe New England ethics had 
always frowned upon speculations of 
any sort, but in a moment of fool- 
hardiness he had jnelded to the temp- 
tation to swiftly enlarge his mighty 
bank account. 

His conscience had feebly disap- 
proved all along, and now it up- 
braided him vehemently, for last 
night's paper had quoted his stock 
below par. It meant a loss of thou- 
sands of dollars if he were obliged to 
sell at that figure, and he trembled 
to think how much lower the shares 
might fall. 

Three generations of well-fed, 
penurious ancestors are not calcu- 
lated to give one much sympathy for 
the hungry, and Mr. Hart was duly 
surprised that he must needs recall 
Dr. Seelyes's solicitation for the 



RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION. 



113 



starving Cubans at that particular 
season. Nevertheless the heart rend- 
ing pictures and descriptions which 
he had seen from time to time, re- 
curred to him with redoubled force, 
and resolutely persisted in com- 
mingling themselves with his busi- 
ness apprehensions. 

The anthracite was beginning to 
glow redly in the dusk, the twilight 
shadows had lengthened until they 
enveloped the stout man in the com- 
fortable Morris chair, and the pale, 
young moon looked timidly through 
the windows. It was a propitious 
hour for fine resolves, and the good 
angel being abroad at that time, sug- 
gested to Mr. Hart a possible way 
out of his troubles. 

He would make an offering to the 
fa!es. Too skeptical to believe in the 
efficacy of such an arrangement, and 
yet superstitious enough to get com- 
fort from it, he solemnly covenanted 
with himself that he would send one 
hundred dollars to the Relief fund 
should he be able to secure a certain 
margin on his stock. Extremely 
nervous about the success, and thor- 
oughly troubled about the righteous- 
u(.ss of his hazardous investment, he 
had been led into making this muni- 
ficent and unparalleled promise. 

The succeeding Wednesday night 
Mr. Hart sat again in his library. 
He did not look like a man who had 
cleared $3,000 on Y. P. K. stock in 
less than a week. For although at 
four o'clock his broker had tele- 
graphed that the shares were sold 
and the returns safely placed, there 
yet mingled with his joy a disturbing 
memory. 

In vain he endeavored to persuade 
himself that a promise made under 
such peculiar circumstances could 



never be considered binding. Con- 
science whispered that a promise was 
a promise, and John Hart was a very 
honorable man. 

But to give away one hundred dol- 
lars at once ! One hundred dollars 
was more than he had given awa}^ in 
all his life. Moreover he had been 
put to extra expense lateh'. There 
was that lost pocketbook. which had 
contained valuable papers and the 
futile advertising for its recovery, the 
new carriage house, and some repairs 
on his business block. 

And those Cubans were nothing 
more nor less than Spaniards any- 
way. Doubtless, many of them 
richl}' deserved what they were get- 
ting. It was not at all certain that 
the persons who needed and deserved 
help would get it. Furthermore, he 
was chary of beginning benevolences 
on such a large scale. There was 
no sa3'ing what great expectations it 
might arouse. The}^ would be ask- 
ing him to found a hospital or build a 
church next. Having thus lost him- 
self in a glow of indignation at the 
grasping ways of philanthropists in 
general, and Cuban sympathizers in 
particular, Mr. Hart settled himself 
to the evening journal. 

But he could not forget that as a 
man of honor he should do as he had 
stipulated. Again and again that 
ev-ening he went over his arra}' of 
arguments, and from them he de- 
duced many others. 

He told himself that he was not 
under obligation to any person or 
power in this matter. The broker 
had received a fery liberal percent- 
age, and he had looked ver}^ closel}^ 
after the buying and selling himself. 
Some men would have held the 
stock for still further advances and 



sxvii— 8 



114 



RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION. 



then lost every dollar. It was surely 
most inexpedient for him to exhaust 
his nervous force on such an incon- 
siderate question as this. 

" I shall use my own judgment 
about what I can afford to give," he 
said, doggedly, to himself. "I'll 
settle the matter by sending Dr. 
Seelyes a check this very hour. It 
seems to me that about five dollars — 
yes, I think five dollars — would be a 
very liberal contribution." 

Mr. Hart pulled out his check 
book. His pen paused for a moment 
after writing the "5." 

" It would be easy to make it 50," 
the good angel whispered. "Five 
dollars is an exceedingly small sum 
from a man who has made three 
thousand in six days." 

But Mr. Hart signed his name and 
sealed his envelope with decision. 

' ' They may think themselves 
lucky. Ordinarily I should not have 
felt called to give more than a nickel. 
If everybody is as liberal as I have 
been I 'm thinking Dr. Seelyes would 
open his eyes pretty wide. But they 
won't be." 

Mr. Hart began to feel better while 
making this cheerful reflection. 

"They won't be," he repeated, 
with conviction. "I estimate there 
won't be three persons out of the 
whole congregation who'll give as 
much as that. If they all did as 
well as I 've done the collection 
would amount to — lyCt me see how 
much the collection ivozdd amount to. 
There must be about sixty members. 
Now if each one would do his duty 
as well as I 've done mine there 
would be three hundred dollars from 
this one church." 

Mr. Hart found this mental arith- 
metic highly agreeable, and imme- 



diately plunged into broader calcula- 
tions which involved the county and 
state. 

The next morning, however, Mr. 
Hart endeavored in vain to convince 
himself that ev^en five dollars was 
more than could be reasonably ex- 
pected of him. 

"You promised, you promised," 
the inward monitor whispered un- 
ceasingly, and Mr. Hart remembered 
uncomfortably that he had often said 
a promise made to one's self was as 
obligatory as any other. He was in 
this mood of mingled satisfaction 
and uneasiness when the trim maid 
announced a visitor. 

"There's an old lady to see you, 
sir," she said. " I told her you was 
always busy in the forenoon, but she 
says, if you please, it's important." 

" I,et her come in," said Mr. 
Hart. 

A little, bent, old figure followed 
the servant across the wide hall. 

" What can I do for you, madam? " 
asked Mr. Hart. " I have the impres- 
sion that I 've seen you before." 

" Yes, sir," assented Ricketty Ann 
eagerly, " I see you go by real often. 
I come to bring you this." 

From her limp, old-fashioned va- 
lise Ann drew a very battered mud- 
stained and water-soaked affair. But 
notwithstanding its sad condition Mr. 
Hart recognized it joyously. 

"My wallet!" he exclaimed. 
" Well, well, how did you happen to 
find that?" 

"It was yesterday when I was 
coming across the avenue. I saw it 
sticking up through the snow by the 
walk. My eyes aint what they w.is 
once, but I says to myself that aint 
a stick, nor yet a leaf. I was sur- 
prised enough when I see what 'twas. 



RICKETJY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION. 



115 



There was a sight of them doc}-- 
meuts, and some of 'em was pretty 
well soaked. But I spread 'em out, 
and they got nice'n dry by mornin'. 
Soon as I see it was your pocket- 
book I says to myself, I '11 take it 
over first thing in the mornin'. Mr. 
Hart must be real worried about all 
them papers bein' lost." 

Mr. Hart finished the inspection of 
his papers, and then his revolving 
chair wheeled toward Ricketty Ann. 

' ' You have done me an invaluable 
service, madam. The most of these 
papers were extremely important. 
I am very greatly obliged to you, 
Mrs. — . Did you tell me your 
name ? " 

"Miss Susan Ann Tuttle, sir," Ann 
answered with quavering dignity. 

Her heart was beating high with 
tremulous hope. Once she had re- 
ceived twenty-five cents for finding 
a plated brooch. And Mr. Hart had 
said the papers were valuable. If 
he would only give her a dollar ! 
Then she could send something 
worth while to the Relief Fund. 
She began to pull on her darned 
mittens slowly. 

Mr. Hart's hand was in his pocket, 
and his fingers had closed over a 
quarter irresolutely. 

" I do not like to be beholden," 
he was thinking. "Yet she seems 
to be a very worthy person, and I 
am not sure how she would take the 
offer of money. Besides that adver- 
tising is going to cost me heav}-." 

Ricketty Ann's quick ear caught 
the clink of the silver as he dropped 
the quarter back to its place. He 
had changed his mind ; he was not 
going to give her anything after all. 
Nevertheless she waited longingly. 
Mr. Hart fingered his pocketbook 



with painful indecision. At last he 
opened it hesitatingly. A vision of 
greenbacks glimmered before Ann's 
eyes. She felt that her dream of a 
dollar bill had become a reality. 
Impetuous words of thanks rose to 
her lips. 

"Oh, sir," she began gratefully. 

The next moment she stopped, 
covered with crimson confusion. 
Mr. Hart had closed his pocketbook, 
and was regarding her with grave 
interrogation. 

" I beg pardon," he said question- 
ingly. 

Ricketty Ann's poor, slow wits 
scattered right and left. 

"I was jest a goin' to say — " 
She paused again growing pinker 
every moment. Her eyes were on 
the floor in distracted perturbation, 
and Mr. Hart followed her glance. 
He could hardly help seeing that 
her overshoes must leak and that 
her shawl was only an illusion. He 
thought he understood her unspoken 
wants. 

" I do not like to be beholden," 
he reflected again, " and those papers 
were worth big money to me." 

With extreme reluctance he drew 
forth a two dollar bill. It had been 
a crisp new one and he looked at it 
tenderly, half deciding to return it to 
its fellows. But Ann's hand was al- 
ready outstretched, and her pinched 
face was radiant. 

"Get some real heavy ones," ad- 
vised Mr. Hart as he pushed back 
the portieres, "and I woirld have a 
shawl, too. That one seems hardly 
suitable for winter wear." 

"Oh, sir, I didn't mearr that,''' 
gasped Ricketty Ann, amazed at 
the magnitude of his misconception. 

But Mr. Hart had bowed her down 



ii6 



RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION. 



the imposing steps aud the heav}' 
door was closed behind her. 

She tripped through the iron gate- 
way with swift, glad steps. The snow 
seemed to glide from under her feet. 

" It's come. It's come," she whis- 
pered exultingl5^ " Nobody but the 
dear Lord k no wed Jioiv I 'd wanted to 
put a dollar into the box come next 
Sunda}' night. And here 's two dol- 
lars — two dollars — two dollars." 

She clutched the bill more tightly. 
At thought of the overshoes and 
shawl she laughed jo3'Ously. 

' 'T would n't be right for me to be 
buying rubbers when folks are starv- 
ing, and spring only six weeks off." 

Ann was naturally of a hopeful 
disposition and she as summarily dis- 
missed Mr. Hart's suggestion of a 
shawl. 

"Maybe we aiut going to have 
much more cold weather, and my 
shawl aint so very thin. It was a 
good shawl in its day. Mr. Hart 
won't care. I '11 tell him how 't was. 
It 's likely he '11 do something hand- 
some himself." 

Mr. Hart, however, was thinking 
moodily of his two dollar bill and 
hundred dollar promise. 

There were subtle distinctions in 
Dr. Seelyes's Sunday night prayer- 
meetings. Long custom had deter- 
mined which particular portion of 
the congregation should occupy the 
beginning, middle, and end of the 
service. On the evening of the 
Cuban collection the various strata 
were especially prompt, and the 
choir sang lustily during the brief 
intervals. But after a time there 
came the deplorable prayer-meeting 
lull. 

The good little girl who sat priml}^ 
beside her mother examined wnth 



interest the penu}" which had been 
prudently tied in the corner of her 
handkerchief. The nervous man 
looked at his watch, and the ner^^ous 
woman stole a glance at the clock — 
under pretence of looking for a hymn 
book — and wondered it the baby 
would wake. Mr. Hart, unaccus- 
tomed to pra3^er-meetings, sat sleepil}^ 
in his dusky corner and w^ondered for 
the eleventh time why he had come. 

" There are a few moments left, 
friends," observ^ed Dr. Seel5'es. " I 
wish we might hear from all." 

This customary remark was the 
signal for certain elements of the 
assemblage to fasten wraps and pull 
on overshoes. 

Suddenly there was a little stir of 
interest down by the door. Rickettj- 
Ann had risen and was talking in an 
animated treble. Two dollars was a 
small fortune to her — poor soul — and 
she tried to tell how glad she was 
at being able to give so much. In 
her simple way she said, " The Lord 
meant for the Cubyans to have it 
but he let me send it to 'em because 
he knew I wanted to so." 

A little hush of reverence aud 
shame stole over the congregation as 
she sat down. Some of the people 
had the grace to realize how much 
of the spirit "for value received" 
was accustomed to permeate their 
prayers and praises. John Hart 
watched with feelings that defied 
description while Ricketty Ann 
poured the contents of her pocket- 
book into the box. He was thor- 
oughly, wondrousl}' ashamed of him- 
self. He hastily pnlled out his long 
pocketbook. There was a hundred 
dollar bill inside, and he put it into 
the box as the collector passed up 
the aisle. 




H. D. SOULE. 

Henry Dexter Soule died suddenly at his home in Manchester, July i6. Mr. 
Soule was born in Manchester, June i, 1857, attended the public schools and was 
graduated from the High school in 1875. He was connected with the advertis- 
ing department of the Alirror for many years. With the business men he made 
friends from the start, and he had the faculty of holding their friendships. His 
genial manner and warm-heartedness made him popular in all circles. He was 
one of the most affable men in the city, and his judgment and discretion made 
him a leader at all times. 

As a Mason Mr. Soule's career was the most noteworthy. In May 6, 1885, 
he took his entered apprentice degree in Lafayette lodge, No. 41, of that city, 
June 3, the fellow craft, and September 25, of the same year, was made a Master 
Mason. The chapter degrees were taken in Mt. Horeb Royal Arch chapter, 
Mark, May 25, 1886, Past, June 9, M. E., October 13, and R. A., November 8 of 
the same year. The council degrees were taken in Adoniram council. Royal, 
January 23, 1887 : Select, January 28 and Sup. Ex., February 25 of the same 
year. The orders of Knighthood were conferred in Trinity commandery, March 
8, 1887, March 23, and June 14 of the same year. The Scottish Rite degrees, 
Lodge of Perfection, March g, 1893, Council, April 6, Chapter, April 6, he receiv- 
ing the 32d degree May 25 of the same year. Mr. Soule was twice elected emi- 
nent commander of Trinity commandery, his reelection being on June 28. He 
was also Past T. I. M. of Adoniram council, being in the chair in 1895. 

Mr. Soule made one of the most successful eminent commanders Trinity ever 
had. Particularly able was his management of the pilgrimage to the triennial 
conclave to Pittsburg. Had a less active man been at the head of the command- 
ery at the time the affair would have failed. He was also an active member of 
the Ancient Essenic order, being the first excellent senator of Manchester senate. 

In politics he was a Republican, and was serving the city for the second term 
on the school board. He was chairman of the important committee on fuel and 
heating, of the sub-committee on evening schools, and a member of the committees 
on the Lincoln and Lowell-street schools. He took a deep interest in all school 
matters, and was one of the most agreeable and pleasant members of the board. 
He, at one time, was a letter carrier connected with the Manchester post-ofiice. 
He was also a member of the Cadet Veteran association, and of the Sons of Vet- 
erans camp. He leaves a widow and one brother. 



DR. JOHN H. GIIvBERT. 

Dr. John H. Gilbert, one of the best known physicians and one of the oldest 
medical examiners in Massachusetts, died at his home in Quincy, August 3, after 



ii8 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 

a long illness. Dr. Gilbert was born in Atkinson 66 years ago, and was a gradu- 
ate from Dartmouth and Tremont medical colleges. He began practice in Wey- 
mouth, where he remained ten years, when he removed to Quincy. He was 
prominently connected with organizing the Quincy City hospital and the board of 
health. In 1882 he was appointed medical examiner for the Quincy district, a 
position he held up to his death. He leaves a widow and one son. 

DR. M. W. PRAY. 

The recent death of Dr. M. W. Pray removes a familiar face from the ranks of 
Boston's dentists. Dr. Pray was born in Lebanon some 70 years ago and re- 
moved to Boston when a young man. He is survived by a widow, one son and 
two daughters, a sister and two brothers, one of the latter being Dr. J. E. S. 

Pray of Exeter. 

GEO. W. MOORE. 

George W. Moore, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, pioneers of Lenawee 
county, Michigan, a man of sterling worth and integrity, a staunch and life-long 
Democrat, and a man universally loved and respected, passed away at his home 
in Medina, Mich., July 21, at the age of 85 years. He was born in Peter- 
borough, April 13, 18 14. His old home never lost its attractions for him, for he 
came alone at 84 years of age to see it once more. 

HON. NEWTON S. HUNTINGTON. 

N. S. Huntington died at his home in Hanover, August 2, at the age of 77 
years. He was cashier of the Dartmouth National bank, which he founded, and 
at the same time was treasurer of the Dartmouth Savings bank. During many 
)ears, and until his death, he had been president of both institutions, represented 
the town in the legislature in i858-'59 in the house, and was in the legistature con- 
tinuously from i885-'97, being always prominent on committees, and during 
many years chairman of the banking committee. 

He was a quiet, persistent, forceful man, who, by diligent and conscientious 
effort, made a large place for himself not only in the community where he made 
his home, but in the wider field of public life. As a legislator he was valued for 
the safety and prudence of his judgment, and his long service in both branches of 
the general court made many friends who will learn of his death with regret. 

SAMUEL ADAMS WIGGIN. 

Samuel A. Wiggin, a native of Portsmouth, died at the Georgetown University 
hospital. District of Columbia, recently, aged 67 years, from injuries received in 
falling down a flight of stairs at "Fernwood," his home in the suburbs of Wash- 
ington. The unfortunate man did not recover consciousness after his injury. 
Mr. Wiggin was for many years a clerk in the departments at Washington, and 
last served as a clerk in the pension office. During the time Andrew Johnson 
occupied the White House Mr, Wiggin was his private secretary. He had con- 
siderable literary talent, contributed articles for various magazines and news- 
papers, and was the author of a number of poems, some of which may be found in 
" The Poets of Portsmouth," and in the files of the C/iroiiic/c, for which paper he 
was a frequent contributor in the sixties. 




GOVERNOR ROLLINS 



Tnn CiRARITE AORTMOT. 



Vol. XXVII. 



SEPTEMBER, 1899. 



No. 



GOVERNOR ROLIvINS. 

By Hon. Cliarles R. Corning. 




His 



RANK WEST ROLLINS, 
forty-fifth governor of the 
state, was born in Concord, 
the 24th of Febriiar}^ 1S60. 

father was Edward H. Rol- 



lins, late a congressman and a sena- 
tor of the United States, and widely 
known as a Republican leader. His 
mother was Miss Ellen West, a na- 
tive of Concord, and a daughter of 
an old-time merchant of the town. 
Heredity to public office while un- 
recognized in our republic is never- 
theless not uncommon to our prac- 
tices. We naturally turn to the 
Adams family as an illustration of 
this fact where both father and son 
held the highest office in the repub- 
lic, and following closely is the Har- 
rison stock which gave to the LTnited 
States a Revolutionary leader whose 
son and great-grandson became chief 
magistrates of the country. Here in 
our own state we have had the Bell 
family furnishing three governors 
and as many United States senators 
to add dignity and lustre to public 
councils. We see this fittingly illus- 



trated in the career of the present 
chief magistrate. Nothing, there- 
fore, would seem more natural to a 
son of the late senator than political 
aptitude and ambition. 

In the days of the governor's boy- 
hood there was no place in the state, 
the Eagle and the Phenix hotels in 
Concord excepted, where politicians 
were so accustomed to meet to talk 
over affairs of moment as in the 
quaint, old-fashioned house on North 
Main street beneath whose roof Gov- 
ernor Rollins first saw the light of 
day. This ancient dwelling is no 
longer standing, but within its apart- 
ments political leaders made political 
history in the three decades from 
1855 to 1885, as it had never been 
made before. No wonder then that 
with surroundings like these politics 
became a subject of early interest 
and accomplishment to the young ob- 
server. 

Those that knew Senator Rollins 
recognize more than one of his 
characteristics in his son. Among 
the senator's strongest traits was his 



122 



GOl'ERNOR ROLLINS. 



deep and abiding love of his native 
state, his constant attention to its 
interests, and his persistent and life- 
long striving in its behalf. His last 
senatorial duties were directed to the 
erection of a pubHc building in Con- 
cord, and a lasting memorial to his 
industry and fidelity may be seen in 
the stately court-house and post-office 
ornamenting the city of his residence 
and sepulchre. 

In the public schools of his native 
town young Rollins began his educa- 
tion, supplementing it by private tutor- 
ing wnth Mr. Moses Woolson, who in 
his day ranked among the most thor- 
ough and masterful teachers in New 
England. 

Under the stimulating discipline of 
this teacher Mr. Rollins was fitted 
for the Institute of Technology at 
Boston, and entered the class of '8i. 
After leaving that institution he en- 
tered the Harvard L,aw school, fin- 
ishing his studies in the office of the 
late John Y. Mugridge in Concord. 
In August, 1882, he was admitted to 
the bar at the general law term. 
Law, in the concrete as well as in 
the abstract, did not prove wholly to 
his tastes, and the young attorney 
was not long in finding out his dis- 
inclination for the serious pursuit of 
his profession. In those days of pro- 
fessional probation I saw a good deal 
of him, for we began law at the same 
time, and it was easy to predict that 
jurisprudence was not to be his life's 
work. Even then his mind was in- 
clined to business affairs, while his 
tastes went out strongly toward lit- 
erature. In a year or two the un- 
equal struggle ceased ; the freshly- 
lettered sign of attorney- at-law came 
down, his literary predilections were 
made secondary, and with firm reso- 



lution he devoted himself to that 
most sensitive and insistent of call- 
ings — banking. The well-known 
house of E. H. Rollins & Son 
had already been established with its 
principal office in Concord, but in- 
creasing business demanded exten- 
sions, and as vice-president of the 
company, Frank W. Rollins became 
the manager of the branch in Boston. 

To-day this banking house is one 
of the widest known in the United 
States, with offices east and west 
employing scores of clerks and 
agents, enjoying the best of reputa- 
sions, and reflecting the highest 
credit on its managers. Those that 
know^ the secrets of banking know 
how much of this prosperity and 
standing is directly due to the con- 
stancy and skill of the banker-gov- 
ernor. Again, those that are know- 
ing to the conditions of successful 
banking understand the demands it 
makes on its managers, the inexor- 
able attention and devotion to in- 
cessant detail, the watchful eye and 
resporisive courage, in short, the 
incompatibility of that calling with 
another wdiolly dissimilar. 

Yet in the face of these com- 
mon obstacles, Mr. Rollins, true to 
those early tastes in literature, has 
not been dumb to the promptings 
of the siren of fiction. His activity 
in writing stories and novels and 
in well-turned translation from the 
French, has been one of the notable 
incidents of his career. We recog- 
nize the expression of literary talent 
in his writings, and with it we detect 
the ingenuity of plot and situation 
and the smooth current of his style. 
Among his published writings are 
" Ring in the CHff," " Break o' Day 
Tales," "The Twin Hussars," and 




MRS. ROLLINS 



124 GOVERNOR ROLLINS. 

" The Lady of the Violets," the last ecessors he served no apprenticeship, 

named coming out in 1897, ^^d meet- he underwent no novitiate, for his 

ing with an appreciative reception, first public office secured to him a 

Besides banking and story writing position second only in title and rank 

the governor's catholicity of occupa- to the one he now occupies. In 

tion is curiously shown in his fond- November, 1894, Mr. Rollins was 

ness for military life and the prac- chosen a state senator from the 

tical experience it affords. In the Concord district, and on the assem- 

days of his studentship, at the Insti- bling of the senate in January, he 

tute of Technology, he took an active became its president. Four years 

part in the military exercises of the later, as is well remembered, the 

school, serving for some time as first Republican state convention nomi- 

lieutenant of cadets. As early as nated him for governor, and in 

1880 he enlisted in Company C, of November, 1898, he was duly elected 

the Third regiment, N. H. N. G., by the people. His inauguration to 

and continued as a member of the office took place in January of this 

organization for several years. In year. 

1890 he was appointed on the staff As governor of New Hampshire 
of General Patterson commanding his views on public affairs have been 
the brigade, and served successively expressed without hesitation, and the 
as judge advocate and as assistant more original they are, the wider 
adjutant-general with the rank of they have spread, until his name is 
lieutenant-colonel. His affection and known from shore to shore, 
interest toward the State National As his Fast Day proclamation 
Guard is no wise lessened by his made of the state a battle-ground 
present station, and that this is fully of varying opinions so his "Old 
understood by the guardsmen was Home Week" will make of the old 
abundantly proved by their warm state a delightful festival of fra- 
welcome as the governor and staff ternity and love. This conception 
rode upon the camp ground at the on the part of the governor is the 
last encampment. Governor Rollins white mark of his administration, 
is the first one among our recent To call attention to the charms of 
chief magistrates who knows the the state is no new thought of Gov- 
strength and defects of our citizen eruor Rollins. He long ago recog- 
soldiery by actual service and expert nized the probabilities of New Hamp- 
observation, and it is no secret that shire's future, as we all do, but he 
had circumstances been favorable, he went further and called attention to 
would have urged on the last legis- certain accessories calculated to in- 
lature some radical changes respect- crease and to hasten the coming of 
ing our state militia and have done pleasure seekers. Good roads are as 
his utmost to carry them to a sue- essential as good order if we mean to 
cessful conclusion. make the most of Nature's dowry, so 
In the game of politics his career good roads has long been his favor- 
has been distinctively unusual. I ite theme. Ahead of the time he 
believe it is unparalleled in the an- surely is, yet he points the certain 
nals of our state. Unlike his pred- way. He possesses in full measure 







o 

I 



O 

z 

DC 
UJ 

> 

O 

UJ 

I 



126 



GOVERNOR ROLLINS. 



the courage of his enthusiasm ; he 
believes in object lessons near at 
home, and he enforces his ideas by 
unwearying activity. It was, in- 
deed, a happy moment when the pic- 
ture of returning sons and daughters 
became a reality in his mind, and he 
moulded into form the idea of this 
beautiful festival of the Granite 
state. The sentimental and the prac- 
ticable in one is the meaning of Old 
Home Week. "I would have," 
said the governor, "every town and 
city in the state make up lists of 
all its native born sons and daugh- 
ters living in other states and send 
them an urgent invitation to be pres- 
ent through the week." 

We, who are part of the soil of our 
native state, welcome this sugges- 
tion, but scarcely one among us all 
feels what it means. Fortunately, 
the success of the plan depends on 
sentiment, and sentiment of this sort 
is largely measured by the memories 
of youth and the years of separation. 
Therefore, the words uttered by 
Governor Rollins falling like seed on 
rich soil have produced abundant 
harvest. Among the thousands 
dwelling beyond the state borders, 
particularly those living on the far- 
ther banks of the Mississippi and the 
Missouri, the invitation to Old Home 
Week touched as never before the 
chords of sentiment and affection 
and quickened in their breasts the 
loves of their childhood. The profit 
and generous action throughout the 
state attests the sensible popularity 



of the governor's views, while the 
unvarying response of our sons and 
daughters beyond the gates proves 
what Old Home Week means to 
them. 

In public and in private he has 
urged on the people the necessity of 
taking hold and carrying out all 
measures looking to the benefit of 
the state. No son of the Granite 
state looks with forebodings on its 
future, and least of all the present 
chief magistrate. He says officially 
what he has long been saying as a 
private citizen, and if his utterances 
now have wider scope and bring 
speedier results, the gain and pleas- 
ure to New Hampshire and its peo- 
ple are his complete rewards. 

In social life Governor Rollins finds 
the fullest enjo^aiient. He was a 
leader in the organization of the 
Wonolancet Club of Concord and its 
first president, and is a member of 
the Derryfield and the Calumet in 
Manchester, the Puritan and the 
University in Boston, besides other 
societies in this and other states. 
In Masonry he holds the 3 2d de- 
gree. 

On December 6, 1882, he married 
Miss Katherine W. Pecker of Con- 
cord. The son of this marriage, a 
young man of some twelve years, 
attends the public schools of his 
native city. In religious associa- 
tion, the governor is a member of 
the Episcopal church, and is at the 
present time a vestryman in S. Paul's, 
Concord. 




BIRTHPIvACK OF GOVERNOR ROLIvINS. 

By Hon. Henry Robinson. 




ENEATH the spreading 
branches of grand old 
guardian ehns, opposite the 
New Hampshire Historical 
Society building, on North Main 
street, in the city of Concord, and an 
appropriate companion to that inter- 
esting depositar}' of curiosities, stood 
an ancient house, around whose his- 
tory cluster many fond memories. 

It was the birthplace of Hon. 
Frank W. Rollins, the present popu- 
lar chief executive of the Granite 
state. 

It was a part of the property of the 
estate of the late United States sena- 
tor, Hon. Edward H. Rollins, and 
for fourteen years after her marriage 
was occupied by his only daughter, 
wife of Hon. Henry Robinson, pres- 
ent postmaster of Concord, and their 
family. 

The sacred old home subsequently 



was deemed unsuitable for further 
occupancy, and, a few years ago, 
was reluctantly abandoned and left 
to be torn down and removed from 
its splendid site, where it had stood a 
landmark for almost a century. 

No record remains of its origin ; 
nobody can furnish any definite in- 
formation of its erection. It belonged 
to prehistoric Concord. It was one 
of the very oldest and most remini- 
scent structures in this community, 
the pennant at the masthead of a 
submerged generation. 

In 1817, it was remodeled from a 
public building to a private resi- 
dence. To trace its history, even 
since then, would fill a volume, but 
there are man}^ still alive who have 
pleasant recollections of the lovel)', 
late Mrs. Nancy West, the mother 
of Mrs. Edward H. Rollins, one of 
the most estimable women that ever 



128 



BIRTHPLACE OF GOVERNOR ROLLINS. 



lived. For mau}^ 3'ears she was the 
cultured and noble-hearted hostess 
of that old-fashioned mansion, and 
was the accomplished leader of town 
society and generous charities. 

There her daughter, the late Mrs. 
Edward H. Rollins, formerly Miss 
Ellen West, was born, with her twin 
brother, the late Capt. John M. West, 
during many years of his life con- 
nected with the management of the 
Old Dominion Steamship company, 
of Petersburg, Va. Their sister, the 
late Clarissa Anne, who was after- 
ward Mrs. William P. Hill, of Con- 
cord, was born there, as were their 
brothers, George Montgomery West, 
Francis Sparhawk West, Charles 
Haynes West, and Montgomery 
West. Isaac William Hill, son of 
the late Mrs. William P. Hill, who 
has been for many years clerk at the 
Concord Gas &. Electric Eight com- 
pany, was born there, as were the 
five children (one deceased) of Mrs. 
Rollins. Her four surviving children 
are Edward W. Rollins, of Denver, 
Col., Frank W. Rollins, of Concord, 
the present governor, Montgomery 
Rollins, of Boston, Mass., and Miss 
Helen M. Rollins (Mrs. Henry 
Robinson), three of whose children, 
Ethel Rollins Robinson, Marjorie 
Sawyer Robinson, and Rupert West 
Robinson, were born there. A 
complete genealogical narration of 
the numerous births, marriages, and 
deaths in the old place would make a 
considerable record. 

It was to this memorable residence 
that Senator Rollins came, a poor 
boy, from the town of Rollinsford, to 
engage in business. It was here 
that he was married, and here was 
his beloved home throughout all the 
events of his honorable and success- 



ful public career. From the old front 
steps, the stones of which still remain 
in place, he made his famous speech 
to his friends and fellow-townsmen, 
when serenaded and complimented 
upon his election to the national sen- 
ate, the highest tribute of honor, re- 
spect, and confidence that the en- 
thusiastic people of his native state 
could give him. 

As is well known, Mr. Rollins was 
one of the very first and most zealous 
organizers of the Republican party 
of New Hampshire, and the early 
meetings of the local leaders in the 
important movement were many of 
them held in the library of the an- 
cient house, and there, too, through 
later years were held some of the 
most significant and consequential 
conferences within the history of the 
state. 

President Franklin Pierce made 
his home for a time there. He was 
then a law partner of the late Judge 
Asa Fowler, and they had their office 
in the bank building, now that of the 
New Hampshire Historical Society, 
across the way. Three hundred feet 
down the street stood the old court- 
house in which Ezekiel Webster fell 
dead. This was then the business 
square of the place, and the Rollins 
house was used for an office by 
Samuel Sparhawk, secretary of state, 
and by other state officials, at some 
time prior to th^ erection of the state- 
house, which was begun in 18 16. 

The original John West, who re- 
modeled the house, was town clerk 
for years, and held his office in it. 
The post- office was also held in a 
store in it for a time, under Gen. 
Joseph Eow, as postmaster. He was 
the first mayor of Concord. Indeed, 
the old house was the central busi- 



BIRTHPLACE OF GOVERNOR ROLLINS. 



129 



ness block of the picturesque village, 
and therein various public gather- 
ings were held, and all the important 
town and county affairs conducted. 

After the death of Mr. West, his 
estimable widow entertained a few 
disitnguished boarders, generally 
lawyers, attendant upon court or 
legislature. It was the headquar- 
ters of the venerable Judge Nesmith, 
of Franklin, Judge Greene, of Hopkin- 
ton, grandfather of Hon. Herman W. 
Greene, and Chief Justice Richardson, 
Hon. George Y. Sawyer, of Nashua, 
and others of eminence. The first 
time that Att.-Gen. Mason W. Tap- 
pan came to Concord, his father, 
grand old Ware Tappan, led him, a 
little boy, to that house, to leave him 
in tender care while he attended to 
law business. Mr. Tappan was a 
frequent visitor there afterward, es- 
pecially after Mr. Rollins became 
prominent in politics, and during the 
anti-slavery agitation, but he never 
forgot or tired of telling of his first 
visit. Nearly all the court judges in 
those days stayed there at some time 
or another. The great fires of hos- 
pitality roared up those big chim- 
neys, and they burned on as brightly 
throughout the long proprietorship 
of Senator Rollins, and how well 
they were subsequently kept alive by 
those near and dear to him, others 
may tell. Hon. Ichabod Bartlett, 
Judge Joel Parker, late of Cam- 
bridge, and Benjamin French, of 
Washington, formerly boarded there, 
and Bishop Alexander Griswold was 
entertained there. Speaker Colfax 
and United States Senator John P. 
Hale were guests there, and Gov. 
Nat. Baker was a frequent visitor. 

There was the original constitu- 
tion and signatures in the Know- 



Nothing movement. There many 
a political caucus and convention 
was anticipated, and many a candi- 
dacy conceived. During the con- 
gressional and senatorial experiences 
of Mr. Rollins, it was the resort of 
the prominent men of all parties. 
He was the chairman of the Repub- 
lican State committee, and afterward 
a member of congress during the 
most important epoch of our national 
existence, and the old house became 
historic, reminiscent, and sacred, 
from the old Gass's tavern clock at 
the head of the front stairs, way 
through to the circular mill-stone 
cover to the well in the back yard. 
It contained the finest and most valu- 
able political library in New F^ng- 
land. 

General Lafayette was entertained 
in that very house. There was the 
chair in which he sat. Speaker Col- 
fax once sat in it, and so did Henry 
Ward Beecher, and Theodore Tilton, 
and Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and 
General Sheridan, and other promi- 
nent characters whose names are 
familiar. 

The big brass knocker on the front 
door, now at the residence of Post- 
master Robinson on South Spring 
street, many times announced such 
prominent men as Gen. Gilman 
Marston, Col. John H. George, Hon. 
Jeremiah Smith, Col. Daniel Hall, 
Hon. George G. Fogg, Hon. N. G. 
Ordway, Gen. Walter Harriman, 
ex-Gov. Person C. Cheney, and 
many others whose names figure 
conspicuously in public history and 
affairs. 

The grand old house in which the 
present governor first saw the light 
was a big feature in the narration 
of public events during the last half 



I30 



HOME. 



century. Its story fully told would 
be a romance worthy of general read- 
ing. Scattered almost everywhere 
are good men and women who can 
date there some experience in their 
lives. United States Senator Wil- 
liam E. Chandler came hither an 
awkward j'outh, and his son, William 
D. Chandler, boarded there. Hon. 
James O. Lj'ford, present naval offi- 
cer at Boston, courted his wife and 
got political inspiration there. Mr. 



Rollins had a thousand-and-one 
friends and acquaintances and call- 
ers, and Mrs. Rollins, who inherited 
from her mother a fascinating faculty 
of graceful and generous hospitality, 
was always the centre of an admiring 
circle of lady friends. 

" 'T was a home of welcome no one could doubt, 
Whose latch-string hung invitingly out, 
And many a stranger supped at its board 
While blazing logs in the chimney roared." 



HOME. 

By Geo7-ge BaHcroft Griffith. 

Camillus, whom Rome exiled, often sighed 

P'or the loved haunts that fate to him denied ; 

Demosthenes, on lone cliff by the sea, 

With eyes turned homeward, wished that he was free ; 

And great Confucius looked back on Eoo 

With breaking heart, and penned his sad adieu. 

Immortal Dante pictured in his dreams 

When old and homeless his dear native streams. 

All men, in ev'ry age, have loved their home, 

Whate'er their lot, where'er they chanced to roam ; 

Have wept to see, though many years have flown. 

The roofs and towers they fondly called their own. 

Ah ! while the brain with varied thoughts can deal, 
The throbbing heart has warmth or power to feel. 
The love of home is by all lips confest. 
And burns, a sacred flame, in every breast ! 




J^^r^'^ 






■^ 



THE HILLS ARE HOME. 

[Written for New Hampshire's " Old Home Week," August, 1899.] 
By Edna Dean Proctor. 

Forget New Hampshire? By her cliffs, her meads, her brooks afoam, 

With love and pride where 'er we bide, the Hills, the Hills are Home ! 

On Mississippi or by Nile, Ohio, Volga, Rhine, 

We see our cloud-born Merrimack adown its valley shine ; 

And Contoocook — Singing Water — Monadnock's drifts have fed. 

With lilt and rhj^me and fall and chime flash o'er its pebbly bed ; 

And by Como's wave, yet fairer still, our Winnipesaukee spread. 

Alp nor Sierra, nor the chains of India or Peru, 

Can dwarf for us the white-robed heights our wondering childhood knew — 

The awful Notch, and the Great Stone Face, and the Eake where the echoes fly, 

And the sovereign dome of Washington throned in the eastern sky ; — 

For from Colorado's Snowy Range to the crest of the Pyrenees 

New Hampshire's mountains grandest lift their peaks in the airy seas, 

And the winds of half the world are theirs across the main and the leas. 

Yet far be^'ond her hills and streams New Hampshire dear we hold : 

A thousand tender memories our glowing hearts enfold ; 

For in dreams we see the early home by the elms or the maples tall, 

The orchard-trees where the robins built, and the well by the garden wall ; 

The lilacs and the apple-blooms make paradise of May, 

And up from the clover-meadows floats the breath of the new-mown hay ; 

And the Sabbath bells, as the light breeze swells, ring clear and die away. 

And Oh, the Lost Ones live again in love's immortal year ! 

We are children still by the hearth-fire's blaze while night steals cold and drear ; 

Our mother's fond caress we win, our father's smile of pride, 

And, " Now I lay me down to sleep," say, reverent, at their side. 

Alas ! alas ! their graves are green or white with a pall of snow, 

But we see them yet by the evening hearth as in the long ago, 

And the quiet churchyard where they rest is the holiest spot we know. 

Forget New Hampshire ? Let Kearsarge forget to greet the sun ; 
Connecticut forsake the sea ; the Shoals their breakers shun ; 
But fervently, while life shall last, though wide our ways decline. 
Back to the Mountain- Land our hearts will turn as to a shrine ! 
Forget New Hampshire ? By her cliffs, her meads, her brooks afoam, 
By all her hallowed memories — our lode-star while we roam — 
Whatever skies above us rise, the Hills, the Hills are Home ! 



"■■^ 


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\ 



EDNA DEAN PROCTOR. 

By Harlan C. Pearson. 




HE successful poem of oc- 
casion is oue of the most dif- 
ficult of literary products. 
England's laureates have less 
often added to, than detracted from, 
their fame by the manufacture of 
verse required from them by their 
position. From the hundreds of 
such poems vi'ritten every year in 
our English language those that sur- 
vive can be counted on the fingers of 
one hand. 

But to this rule of inadequacy there 
are brilliant exceptions. lyowell's 
wonderful ' ' Commemoration Ode ' ' 
is one that will come instantly to the 
mind of the reader. It seems to me 
beyond doubt that another will be 



found in the poem written for New 
Hampshire's first " Old Home Week " 
by Miss Edna Dean Proctor, and 
published, by permission, in this 
number of the Granite Monthly. 
Governor Rollins is to be congratu- 
lated on his wisdom in choosing Miss 
Proctor, from the many who might 
claim the honor, as the informal poet 
laureate of the state on this signifi- 
cant and inspiring occasion. To 
Miss Proctor herself are due the 
thanks of all sons and daughters of 
New Hampshire, all past and pres- 
ent residents of the Granite State, 
for her cheerful compliance with the 
wishes of the chief executive and for 
the beautiful poem in which she has 



EDNA DEAN PROCTOR. 



133 



placed a new laurel crown of song 
upon the brow of the commonwealth. 

No other living poet of New 
Hampshire birth, with the possible 
exception of Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 
possesses in any such degree as does 
Miss Proctor the genius and the tech- 
nique for vital verse. And in the ap- 
preciation of that for which New 
Hampshire stands in the world's ac- 
counting ; in admiration for the past, 
in love for the present, and in hope 
for the future of the state, she is pre- 
eminent. 

Celia Thaxter sang of the sea at 
the Shoals ; Whittier painted for us 
the marshes at Hampton, the lakes 
at Squam, and the mountains at 
Franconia ; Richard Hovey has 
paid tribute to the great hills ; but 
Miss Proctor voices in verse the 
spirit of the whole state from the 
forests of the north to the spindles of 
the south, from the meadows of the 
east to the shore cliffs of the west. 

This loyal and talented daughter 
of New Hampshire was born at Hen- 
niker. The Proctor family removed 
to that town from Manchester, Mass., 
near the close of the last century, 
and settled upon a high hill over- 
looking " Contoocook's bright and 
brimming river." Her mother, Lu- 
cinda Gould, was a descendant of the 
Hiltons and Prescotts of Portsmouth 
and Hampton. 

Edna Dean Proctor was educated 
at South Hadley, Mass., where she 
distinguished herself as a brilliant 
scholar. She taught drawing and 
music at Woodstock, Ct., for several 
years, and was afterwards governess 
in the family of Henry C. Bowen in 
Brooklyn. In 1856 she published a 
collection of the most striking and 
valuable thoughts from the sermons 



of Henry Ward Beecher. She took 
notes at first for the sake of friends 
in the west, who were rejoiced to 
receive these choice extracts. Soon 
she was besought to publish them. 
She made her selections with great 
judgment and good taste, and "Life 
Thoughts" sold marvelously, not 
only in this country but in England. 

Two 3^ears of her life were spent 
abroad, traveling with a Brooklyn 
family. She was well prepared by 
previous reading and study for this 
delightful experience, and no one 
ever enjoyed such a trip more keenly 
or made better use of it. Although 
fascinated by eastern scenes she pre- 
ferred to write only of Russia, and 
her "Russian Journey" has always 
been much admired. Eongfellow . 
was especially charmed with it, and 
showed appreciation of its author's 
descriptive pieces by including sev- 
eral of them in his ' ' Poems of 
Places." 

When the Civil War came, arous- 
ing her patriotism to a white heat, 
her national poems, such as "The 
Stars and Stripes," "Compromise," 
" Who's Ready," and others, stirred 
the hearts of the boys who wore the 
blue to deeds of valor in the great 
struggle for country and freedom. 
Her "Mississippi" brought her let- 
ters of congratulation from Lincoln, 
Chase, and others. 

Two of her later poems, "Colum- 
bia's Banner " and " Columbia's Em- 
blem," are exceedingly popular. 
The latter is a ringing, spirited ap- 
peal for maize as our national floral 
emblem, and has received the en- 
dorsement of multitudes throughout 
the country. Her " Song of the An- 
cient People " is universally con- 
ceded to be the grandest poem ever 



134 



EDNA DEAN PROCTOR. 



written of the aboriginal Americans. 
The late Mary Henienway was so 
inspired with its depth, pathos, and 
historical significance, that she gave 
$2,500 to have it illustrated. 

Twenty years ago the late Hon. 
James W. Patterson said of Miss 
Proctor, " It was my good fortune to 
be her friend and schoolmate in our 
academic years, and to be associated 
with her later as a teacher in Con- 
necticut. I think I know Edna 
Dean Proctor thoroughly, and I 
believe her one of the purest and 
noblest of her sex. Hers was a fore- 
most famil}^ of our native town, and 
her mother a woman of great refine- 
ment and rare qualities of mind and 
heart. Edna resembled her mother 
in personal appearance and mental 
characteristics. She had the same 
grace of form, the same classic fea- 
tures, and the same large, dark, 
thoughtful eyes. In the galaxy of 
school-girls in which she moved she 
shone with special lustre. She was 
one of the sweetest, most stainless, 
and brilliant of them all. The intel- 
lectual products of the woman are 
legitimate fruits of the genius of the 
girl. The beauty of her character 
is as worth)'- of admiration as the 
music-spirit of her poems, and that 
should satisfy the aspirations of any 
woman." 

In a biographical sketch by Miss 
Kate Sanborn, written about the 



same time, and published in No. i, 
Vol. 3, of the Granite Monthly, 
from which other liberal extracts 
have here been taken, one brilliant 
daughter of New Hampshire paj's this 
tribute to another: "As a poet she 
[Miss Proctor] is remarkable for her 
earnestness and enthusiasm, and the 
elaborate finish of each verse. She 
is a careful writer, often changing a 
line many ways, until the perfect 
rhythm and most desirable word is 
'attained. It would be impossible for 
her to feign anything. What she 
writes comes straight from her heart 
and must be expressed. For her 
intimate friends she will recite her 
own poems at times, and it is a great 
pleasure to listen to her deep, rich 
voice, and watch the changing ex- 
pressions of her beautiful face, lit up 
with such rare dark eyes as are sel- 
dom seen out of Italy. She has a 
wonderful memory, never seeming to 
forget dates, or names of persons and 
places, or what she has read. She 
is self-sacrificing, sympathetic, re- 
sponsive, and loyal to the core. She 
is a woman of whom New Hampshire 
may well be proud." 

Miss Proctor now resides in Fram- 
inghani, Mass., but spends much 
time in Boston and Washington in 
winter. She has traveled widely 
and never fails to visit her native 
town and state when opportunity 
offers. 





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»-SF««-w *•**— 'v'<cy*^»'^''''w<g'^ap r «M M ff 



-^ TT TRt TOTm OF aosOAWKN 4^, 



THE MARKING OF BOSCAWKN'S HISTORIC SITES. 

Z>y yc;//« C. Pea f son. 




T its aunual meeting in March, 
1899, the town of Boscawen 
appropriated a sum of monej^ 
to mark historic sites within 
the limits of the town. The idea, so 
far as this town is concerned, origi- 
nated with the late Judge George W. 
Nesniith of Franklin. He suggested 
to the late Charles Carleton Collin, 
historian of the town, the propriety 
and educational usefulness of preserv- 
ing in some outward form the rich as- 
sociations that cluster about so many 
spots in Boscawen 's comparatively lim- 
ited area. 

Neither Judge Nesmith nor Mr. 
Coffin had the happiness of seeing 
their hopes in this direction realized 
during their lifetimes, but if they 
could, in spirit, revisit Boscawen on 



its Old Home Day, Friday, September 
I, they w^ould find handsome bronze 
tablets telling the significance of eight 
different localities in the town. 

One marks the birthplace of Gen- 
eral John A. Dix, senator, governor, 
cabinet member, minister to France, 
who contributed to American patri- 
otism that famous sentence, "If any 
one attempts to haul down the Ameri- 
can flag, shoot him on the spot." 
The house on Boscawen Plain in 
which he was born is now the sum- 
mer residence of Rev. A. A. Berle, 
D. D., of Boston, Mass. 

Just north of this residence is the 
site of the first office in which Daniel 
Webster, greatest of the sons of New 
Hampshire, practised law, coming 
down from his uativ^e place, the ad- 



UMIT"? 57ATt3 SENATOR-^^ 

r?,0^ ^1 \ iMi -r?! THIRTEEN "VeA^S, 
Si:Dr!i7\?,T Of U. 3. TREASURY " 
i.Sc!4- 13 33. '■(, 




"3 IT TIE TOW!» Of aOSCAWCN " 



EIRTHPLiLG£ CL- 

•HON. MOODY G&Rlriiffi. 

BORN APKlL.6.^.t. LiiC*. 
„;: EDITOR. BAKk'ER. 

'■'■■>OfT,LEqii§^AJOR AK13 SC^c:^^. 
 V0VE|N0R OF NEW KAkciSikaiZ 
1885 - lS©7»v 



^ 



138 



BOSCAWEN'S HISTORIC SITES. 



joining town of Salisbury', with the 
ink still fresh upon his Dartmouth 
diploma. 

The house where William Pitt 
Fessenden was born, also on the 
Plain, was destroyed by fire several 
years ago. George H. Carter has a 
new house on the old site, and in 
front of this will be placed the mem- 
orial to the distinguished member of 
congress, senator, and secretary of the 
treasury. 

The birthplace of Moodj^ Carrier, 
governor of New Hampshire, was the 
house on the Plain now owned and 
occupied by Mrs. Benjamin Dow. In 
the old stage-coach days it was the 
famous West tavern. 

About a mile and a half north of 
Boscawen Plain was the home of Rev. 
Dr. Wood, the town's first minister 
and a notable figure in its earl}^ his- 
tory. The place is now owned by 
Royal Choate. 

Charles Carleton Coffin, journalist 
and traveler, novelist and historian, 
was born on Water street, on the 
road leading to Corser Hill, Webster. 
The buildings are gone, the house by 
fire and the barn by a tornado the 
present summer. The memorial will 
be placed in front of the site of the 
house. The propert}^ is now owned 
by Mr. Marden of Waltham, Mass. 

The site of the old fort, built 



b}^ the early settlers for protection 
against the Indians, was near the 
residence of Henry H, Gill, over- 
looking the broad intervals along the 
Merrimack river, east of Boscawen 
Plain. A pile of loose stones has 
marked the spot and near it will be 
placed the bronze tablet. 

The remaining site to be commem- 
orated, that of the first Congregational 
meeting-house in the fo7V)i of Bos- 
cawen, is just west of the cemetery 
on the road from Boscawen Plain to 
Water street. 

The formal placing in position and 
dedicating of these markers is ex- 
pected, at this writing, to take place 



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^gl^ADUATE OF DARTluabVLa Cot-uZ^ 


.£ l::s. 


^pjhlB. MINISTER IK ECSC.^VvE.^ i:S 


L, ISSc. 


JPJ|C^, - A VEAClrlER;.  




■P^^eIj^KD PU.£lLlC- l^lvQ'AC 


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on Boscawen's Old Home Day, Fri- 
day ,^ September i. At that time the 
work of the committee, appointed by 
the voters of the town to take the 
matter in charge will be ready for 
the public approval or censure. The 
committee is composed of John C. 
Pearson, E. E. Graves, M. D., John 
E. Rines, Frank E. Gerrish, and 
George E- Pillsbury. 

In the matter of the manufacture 
of these tablets the committee cor- 
responded with parties in Boston and 
New York doing such work, and in 
the end found it t® be much to the 
advantage of the town to give the 
contract to the Whitney Electrical 



A VERSE. 



139 




,>;liH7i?^G House 



tllRNES A.DVr7S8. 



M^MiiiMil 



•CgccTta Vi TW TCWH or 






SS?M»^" • * 



n,IIW»ll»L!i 



Instrument company of Penacook, by 
whom they were made and at whose 
works the photographs for this article 
were taken. It is a matter for pride 
that New Hampshire has within her 
borders a manufacturing plant that 
can turn out such work, so excellently 
done, at very reasonable prices. In 



this, as in all the company's different 
lines of work, their motto is, "The best." 

The tablets will be set on stone, 
either boulders or split granite, and 
so placed as to be easily read from 
the highway. 

While Boscawen claims no partic- 
ular merit for its action in this re- 
gard, or novelty for the idea, it is, 
nevertheless, the first town in New 
Hampshire to preserve the memory 
of so mau}^ of its historic sites in 
such enduring form. If its example 
should be widely followed by the 
cities and towns of the state the re- 
sult would inure greatly to the en- 
hancement of patriotism, the educa- 
tion of youth, and the pleasurable 
profit of tourist and visitor. 



^1 rORT. .^ 






% 



A,T). 173S. ^^t 

•nnMD'^.«:o feet square? 

■'li'lLT OF HEWN LOGS. 



QMa 



A VERSE 

TO vSING TO "AMERICA" IN OLD HOME WEEK. 
By Adelaide Cilley IValdroii. 

All hail to thee, we sing, 
And homage true we bring, 

O native land. 
Thy well-won fame we share. 
Thy noble name we bear. 
And ever proudly wear 

Our birthright grand. 




TH£ NOTMAK PHOT; -■--•- 



IN THK HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 



By Caroline C. Lamprey Sliea. 



There is Whittier whose swelling and vehe- 
ment heart, 

Strains the strait-breasted drab of the Quaker 
apart, 

And reveals the live man, still supreme and 
erect. 

Underneath the bemummying wrappers of 
sect ; 

There was nice a man born who had more of 
the swing 

Of the true lyric bard and all that kind of 
thing." 




AID Lowell iu his brilliant 
" Fable for Critics," and 
while he points out the 
faults and foibles of others, 
he has only words of love and praise 
for the gentle bard of New England, 
who has done so much to immor- 
talize its character and scener}'. 

He has left many pen pictures and 
told several stories of the home of 
his ancestors, having felt, no doubt, 
a kinship with its inhabitants past 
and present. 

" When heats as of a tropic clime 
Burned all our inland valleys through." 

The poet loved to escape awhile 

" From the cares that wear the life away 
To eat the lotus of the Nile, 
And drink the poppies of Cathay." 

And no better place could he find 
than wnth the life-giving winds of the 
Atlantic, which, while they lure to 
repose, impart vigor anew to tired 
man. So beyond the river, where 
he might look back on the beauti- 
ful and many-shaded marshes, with 
numberless ponds, and across the 
sand hills to Great Boar's Head he 



pitched his tent on the beach, that 
he might hear 

". . . the bells of morn and night 
Swing miles away their silver speech," 

within the steeples of old Newbury- 
port, and there look upon the scenes 
described in "The Wreck of River- 
mouth." In the same tent was read 
that tale of the early Colonial days, 
with its beautiful pictures of sea and 
shore, and description of the old 
superstitions. 

No more charming spot may be 
found than that where 

" Rivermouth rocks are fair to see 
By dawn or sunset shone across. 
When the ebb of the sea has left them free 
To dry their fringes of gold-green moss, 
For there the river comes winding down 
From salt-sea-meadows and uplands brown. 

* ^:- * * ^ *- * * 3»^ 

" And fair are the sunny isles in view 
East of the grisly Head of the Boar, 
And Agamenticus lifts its blue 
Disk of a cloud the woodlands o'er. 
And southerly when the tide is down, 
'Twixt white sea waves and sand hills brown, 
The beach birds dance, and the gray gulls 

wheel 
Over a floor of burnished steel." 

The ever-shifting clouds as they 
hurr\- through the sky send color 
after color chasing over the wave, 
until the sea becomes one vast opal, 
fringed by the white-crested billow, 
as it sings on the shore. 

Man}' a story is told of Hampton 
river. Many a young man has gone 
forth in health and vigor, to be 
caught b}' the deceitful winds, and 



142 IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 



wrecked on the treacherous ledge, 
and the south wind which follows 
the storm, bears on its wings the 
moan of the buoy, on Newburyport 
bar, a requiem for the dead. 

A wreck of the olden time was 
the poet's theme, with its picture of 
beauty — its tale of storm, death, and 
witchcraft 

". . . in the old Colonial days, 
Two hundred years ago and more, 
A boat sailing out on the summer sea 
Veering to catch the land breeze light, 
With the Boar to left and the Rock to right," 

bore a goodly company on its way to 
Boston, in the fall of 1657. The 
persons were Robert Reed, sergeant; 
William Swaine, Emanuel Hilliard, 
John Philbrick, his wife Ann, and 
daughter Sarah ; Alice Cox, and 
John, her son. And the records 
speak of what happened in the fol- 
lowing quaint language : 

" The sad hand of God upon eight 
psons going in a vessell by sea 
from Hampton to boston, who were 
all swallowed up in the ocean soon 
after they were out of the Harbour." 

Tradition on which Whittier 
founded his verse has it, that one 
Goody Cole, witch-wife, caused the 
wreck. 

She, poor old woman sitting in 
her little cot alone by the marsh, 
looked across to the "landing" and 
saw the sailing of the vessel, and the 
black cloud in the sky portending 
the storm. 

Turning to her fire, she stirred 
up the embers, and in the kettle of 
water hanging on the crane she 
placed a wooden piggin. As the fire 
blazed bright, and the water boiled, 
she said, "the water is the angry 
sea, the piggin is the boat, if it sinks 
they are lost ; ' ' and with one eye on 



the fire, and the other on the squall 
as it struck the white sail, she saw 
her own madly-tossing vessel sink 
out of sight in the seething cauldron, 
and muttered, " the rogues are gone." 

" The skipper hauled at the heavy sail ; 
God be our help,' he only cried, 
As the roaring gale like the stroke of a flail. 
Smote the boat on its starboard side. 
********* 

" Goody Cole looked out from her door ; 
The Isles of Shoals were drowned and gone, 
Scarcely she saw the Head of the Boar 
Toss the foam from tusks of stone. 
She clasped her hands with a grip of pain, 
The tear on her cheek was not of rain : 
' The J' are lost,' she muttered, ' boat and crew ; 
Lord forgive me ! mj' words were true ! ' " 

Goody Cole was hated and feared. 
It w^as said that she was in league 
with the devil, and the young people, 
peering through the latch-string hole, 
after dark, declared that she held con- 
verse with him, in the shape of a lit- 
tle black imp who wore a red cap. 

It was testified in court several 
years before the Rivermouth wreck 
that she " bewitched good-wife Mars- 
ton's child," and that a person " was 
changed from a man to an ape, as 
Goody Marston's child was." She 
was charged with saying of calves 
that ate her grass, that " she wished 
it might poysen them or choke them," 
and of the calves, " not one was ever 
seen afterwards." 

Abraham Drake deposed in court 
to the loss of " two cattell," and the 
" latter end of somer I lost one cowe 
more." For all of which and other 
deeds she was sentenced to be 
whipped and imprisoned during her 
natural life. 

Her trial began in 1656, and fol- 
lowing the third trial, she was im- 
prisoned in Boston until 1671. After 
her release the inhabitants of the 
town were ordered to support her. 



IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 143 



each taking a week in turn to pro- 
vide her with food and fuel. 

She was again arraigned for ap- 
pearing as a dog, an eagle, and a 
cat, and the Salisbury court ordered 
her to Boston to await trial. After a 
few months the following decision 
ended her case : 

" In y'' case of Unie Cole now pris- 
oner att y'' Bar not Legally guilty 
Acording to Inditemeut butt just 
ground of vehement susprisyon of 
her havering had famillyarryty with 
the devill Jonas Clarke 

in the name of the rest." 

She passed the remainder of her 
days in Hampton, it is hoped, in 
peace. When she was buried crossed 
stakes were driven down over her 
cofhn, and rocks were heaped upon 
it, that she might be held fast at 
last. 

" O Rivennouth Rock, how sad a sight 
Ye saw in the light of breaking day ! 
Dead faces looking up cold and white 

From sand and sea-weed where they laj' ; 
The mad old witch-wife wailed and wept, 
And cursed the tide as it backward crept : 
' Crawl back, crawl back, blue water-snake, 
L,eave your dead for the hearts that break ! ' 

" Solemn it was in that old day. 
In Hampton town and its log-built church. 

********* 

" And Father Dalton, grave and stern, 
Sobbed through his prayer and wept in turn." 

And the old witch standing by 

"... let the staff from her clasped hands fall. 
' Lord forgive us ! we 're sinners all ; ' 
And the voice of the old man answered her ; 
'Amen ! ' said Father Bachiler." 

Father Bachiler was one of Whit- 
tier's earliest American ancestors. 
The settlers of Hampton were Puri- 
tans of the same spirit with the May- 
flozcer pilgrims, and they brought 
with them their pastor. Rev. Stephen 
Bachiler, who was a man of gentle 



blood. He went first to Holland, 
and was preceded in this country 
by his daughter Theodate, and her 
husband Christopher Hussey, from 
whom the poet was descended. 

He began his ministry in Lynn. 
Being a "liberal Puritan," he dis- 
pleased many of his people ; petty 
quarrels arising, he went to Ipswich, 
from whence he traveled on foot at 
the age of seventy-six years, a dis- 
tance of nearly one hundred miles to 
Cape Cod, but being unsuccessful 
here on account of the poverty of the 
people he returned, and finally set- 
tled in Winnecunnet, " which shall 
be called Hampton," in 1638, with 
his followers. 

The "log-built" church was 
erected on the green, where succes- 
sive churches stood for two hundred 
years, and the people assembled to 
worship at the call of a bell, which 
was the gift of their pastor. 

"Father" Dalton was summoned 
to assist the ancient minister, but so 
different were their temperaments, 
that they could not agree, and many 
of the people siding with the new- 
comer, charge after charge was pre- 
ferred against Mr. Bachiler. 

At length the people of Exeter pro- 
posed to gather a church, and invited 
Mr. Bachiler, then over eighty years 
old, to take charge of it, but the gen- 
eral court interfered, and the "in- 
habitants of Excetter " gave up their 
church . 

Mr. Bachiler's buildings being- 
destroyed by fire about this time, 
he went to Strawberry Bank (Ports- 
mouth), where he sued the town of 
Hampton for "wages," obtaining a 
verdict in his favor. 

In 1655 he returned to England 
with his grandson, Stephen Sam- 



144 ^^ THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHIT TIER. 



borne, and he died at Hackney, two 
miles from London, in his one hun- 
dredth year. 

It will be seen by the above date 
of his return to his mother country, 
that he could not have been present 
at the funeral of the victims of the 
Riverniouth wreck. 

It is said that " Father" Bachiler 
had prominent dark eyes which were 
transmitted to many of his posterity, 
Daniel Webster's being mentioned 
among others. 

A careful historian summing up 
the Rev. Stephen Bachiler's charac- 
ter concludes thus, " He was a good 
and useful man," being of an inde- 
pendent and liberal mind, "he re- 
fused to bow to unreasonable man- 
dates," making himself "enemies in 
high places." 

" Father Dalton continued his min- 
istry until his death, at the age of 
eighty-five years, ' a faithful and 
painful laborer in God's vineyard.' " 

Of the names of those recorded as 
lost or being wounded in the wreck, 
only those of Philbrick and Batchel- 
der remain in the town of to-day, 
though they are common enough 
elsewhere. 

The Hon. Tristram Dalton, United 
States senator from Massachusetts, 
was of the third generation, from a 
brother of " Father" Dalton. 

Christopher Hussey's son, Stephen, 
grandson and namesake of " Father" 
Bachiler, settled in Nantucket, as 
did Richard Swayne, father of Wil- 
liam, being one of the proprietors of 
the island. He left Hampton soon 
after his son's death. 

A son of John Philbrick settled in 
Groton, Mass. 

So as I sat on Appledore, 

In the caltn of a closing summer day, 



And the broken lines of Hampton shore 

In purple mist of cloudland lay, 
The Riverniouth Rocks their storj- told ; 
And waves aglow with sunset gold, 
Rising and breaking with steady chime. 
Beat the rhj-thm and kept the time. 

" The beacon glimmered from Portsmouth bar. 
The White Isle kindled its great red star," 

which preludes the stars of heaven 
as it trembles on the eastern horizon, 
the first star to come after the setting 
sun, and "signal twilight's hour." 

In the same tent on the beach the 
poet heard of the "ghosts on Haley's 
Isle," who begged a " passage to old 
Spain." 

"For," said an ancient dame of 
the town, who had once been a 
" Shoaler," as she related the legends 
of the isles, "the spirits of the dead 
guard the graves and the treasures 
buried there. My own father found 
coin in the rocks. He used to go out 
and dig for the heft of it, and when his 
spade struck the chest, there would 
come a low mumble and roar in the 
earth, and down out o' sight would 
go the chest. Though he dug many 
times he never outwitted the ghosts." 

Once more in the "The Chang- 
ling," we see the superstition of 
those old days, and again is Goody 
Cole charged with evil work, though 
the prayer of Goodman Dalton re- 
stores to her right mind his young 
wife, and she begs that the old 
woman bear not the burden of her 
charge : 

" Then he said to the great All-Father, 
' Thy daughter is weak and blind, 
Let her sight come back and clothe her 
Once more in her right mind.' 



'Now mount and ride, my goodman, 
As thou lovest thy own soul ; 

Woe 's me if my wicked famine 
Be the death of Goody Cole ! ' " 



IN THE HOME OE HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 145 



Sometimes the poet came to the 
home of his ancestors another way 
than from Salisbury to the sands, for 
he said, 

" On, on, we tread with loose-flung rein our 

seaward waj-, 
Through dark green fields and blossoming 

grain, 
Where the wild brier- rose skirts the lane, 
And bends above our heads the flowering 

locust spray." 

On his road thither he passed the 
little Quaker meeting-house, one of 
the oldest, built in 1701, in what is 
now Seabrook. Prior to this it was 
recorded of the Quakers that thirteen 
persons, all of Hampton, " were con- 
victed before this court for y*' breach 
of y'' law called Quakers meeting," 
in 1674. 

The sum of sixty-six pounds and 
four shillings was raised for the meet- 
ing-house, and here the Quakers 
from Hampton, Salisbury, and Ames- 
bur}' held their meetings, until the 
Friends meeting-house was built four 
years later in Amesbury, the quar- 
terly meeting still continuing in 
Hampton. 

L,ess than iox\y years before this 
was executed the cruel order of Capt. 
Richard Waldron in the town. 

" At last a meeting-house came in view, 
A blast on his horn the constable blew ; 
And the boys of Hampton cried up and 

down, 
' The Quakers have come ! ' to the wonder- 
ing town." 

Three helpless women, "Vaga- 
bond Quakers," Ann Coleman, Mary 
Tomkins, and Alice Ambrose, tied 
fast to the tail of a cart, received 
there ten lashes each on the bare 
back. 

Let us hope the fear of authority 
compelled the deed in Hampton, and 
that pity made the blows light, but 



"The tale is one of an evil time 
When souls were fettered and thought was 

crime, 
And heresy's whisper above its breath 
Meant shameful scourging, and bonds and 

death." 

The Society of Friends, afterwards 
established in Hampton, grew and 
spread out, and we find them, in 1728, 
contributing five pounds, ten shillings 
towards repairing a Boston meeting- 
house. 

At a monthly meeting in Hamp- 
ton in regard to a communication 
received from a quarterly meeting, 
the following decision was reached 



as to the wearing of wigs. 



"}'• y'- 



Wearing of Extravegent Superflues 
Wigges Is all to Gather Contreary to 
truth." 

As the poet drove on he passed the 
" Moulton House," not far from 
where dwelt Witch Cole. Stately 
and grand, though shorn of its 
former ornamentation both within 
and without, it has stood for more 
than a hundred years, and by its 
doors Washington halted on his jour- 
ney to Portsmouth to pay his re- 
pects to General Moulton. 

In the dim vista between now and 
its past is many a picture of stately 
dame and haughty squire, while 
there walks unseen the troubled 
spirit which seeks again its earthly 
abode when night has hushed the 
world to slumber. 

From the numerous legends, the 
memory of which haunts the old man- 
sion, Whittier has selected the tale 
of two wives. For mau}^ a time, no 
doubt, he heard the oft-repeated 
story of the first wife with stately 
mein and ghostl}^ step, who rustled 
in stiff brocade over the broad stair- 
way, where but a short time before 
she held full swaj^ in the flesh. 



146 IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHIT TIER. 



" Dark the hall and cold the feast, 
Gone the bridesmaids, gone the priest ; 

********* 

" All is dark and all is still. 
Save the starlight, save the breeze 
Moaning through the gravej-ard trees ; 
And the great sea waves below. 
Pulse of midnight beating slow. 

" From the brief dream of a bride 
She hath wakened at his side. 

******* ** 

" Ha ! that start of honor ! why 
That wild stare and wilder cry ! 
********* 
" Spare me, spare me, let me go ! 

" But she hears a murmur low. 
Full of sweetness, full of woe. 
Half a sigh and half a moan, — 
' Fear not, give the dead her own ! ' 

Ah ! the dead wife's voice she knows ! 
That cold hand whose pressure froze, 
Once in warmest life hath borne 
Gem and band her own hath worn. 

********* 

" Ah, the dead, the unforgot! 
From the solemn homes of thought. 
Where the Cyprus shadows blend 
Darkly over foe or friend. 
Or in love or sad rebuke. 
Back upon the living look." 

The poet has taken more license 
with this story than in any other of 
his Hampton pictures. 

The first wife was the mother of 
eleven children, and the second, no 
longer a girl when she married the 
stern old man, but a woman of 
thirty-five. 

The story of the rings taken from 
the bride's fingers by the ghostly 
hands of the first wife, is well 
known in the old town. And years 
ago, when some gossip bolder than 
the rest ventured to ask the second 
Mrs. Moulton if the rumor which 
had come to her ears was true, she 
could win from her lips no denial. 

Those less prone to believe in the 
power of spirit or ghost, declared it 
was the "general" himself, whose 



conscience rebuked him for haying 
bestowed on his new spouse the 
gems which his own fair daughter 
should have worn after her mother. 
However, it is a pretty tale, and 
lends a charm to the old mansion 
to this day known as the "haunted 
house," though it is only one of 
many a strange story told of the 
place. 

Good-by to pain and care ! I take 
Mine ease to-day ; 

Here where these sunny waters break. 
And ripples this keen breeze, I shake 
All burdens from the heart, all weary thoughts 
away." 

He lov^ed to sit by the mighty 
deep, and dream of the past — of the 
future — and no doubt he gave many 
a backward glance to his forefathers, 
who came to the little town so many 
years before — charging the very sin 
with the might}^ purpose which 
brought them thither, and leaving 
posterity, who should go forth into 
all parts of this broad land, carrying 
the grand principles which have 
made it the best spot on earth for 
man to dwell. 

Not many j^ears before his death 
Whittier spent a few days in a hotel 
at the foot of the bluff close by 
the sea, and with his usual modesty 
and retirement kept his room except 
wdien he chose to wander on the 
"floor of burnished steel" bej^ond. 

It was probably his last visit to 
Hampton beach. 

" So then beach, bluff, and wave, farewell ! 
I bear with me 

No token stone or glittering shell. 
But long and oft shall memory tell 
Of this brief, thoughtful hour of musing by 
the sea." 

With loving hand he held the pen, 
when he told the legends of old 
Hampton, and pictured the beauty 



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



147 



of sea and shore, and with loving 
heart he turned to the home of his 
ancestors to die. 

Within a stone's throw of the man- 
sion, where Meshech Weare lived, 
and Washington once lodged, at 
Hampton Falls Hill, is the Gove 
mansion, where the poet spent his 



last days, and may it stand for 
future generations to say, " here died 
our own New England bard." 

". . . when times's veil shall fall asunder 
The soul may know 
No fearful change, nor sudden wonder, 
Nor sink with weight of mystery under, 
But with the upward rise, and with the vast- 
ness grow." 



Note. — All historic quotations are taken from Dow's " History of Hampton.'' All quotations 
from Whittier are from the following poems : " The Tent on the Beach," " The Wreck of River- 
mouth," "The Changeling," " How the Women Went From Dover," "Hampton Beach," "The 
New Wife and the Old." 




HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 

By Lama Harlayt. 




ERGUSON came into the 
oi^ce two hours late with an 
unpleasant taste in his mouth 
and the hint of a headache 
lurking about his eyes. It was all 
very fine winning a great case, with 
the handsome fee that accompanied 
it, but the after celebration had 
proved more of a bore than other- 
wise, and Ferguson had been unable 
to extract as much enjoyment as his 
guests seemed to from the wine and 
the supper for which he had paid in 
honor of his good fortune. 

This morning, unrefreshed by his 
sleep, jaded and nervous, he began 
to wonder what there was in the 
world worth living for, and just what 
was his excuse for existence anyway. 
Involuntarily he looked in the glass 



to see if he were growing old, and 
felt of his arm to find if his muscles 
had become soft. 

The senior partner looked up with 
an unwonted smile as Ferguson en- 
tered the private office. It was the 
first time in the history of the firm of 
Furnel & Ferguson that the junior 
partner had not preceded the senior 
in appearing at the office in the 
morning. But this senior, like all 
others, had been a junior once him- 
self and remembered j^et the winning 
of his first great case. 

So Furnel would not have been 
surprised had Ferguson not appeared 
at all this day, and wdien Ferguson 
did come in Furnel noticed with hid- 
den amusement the air of ' ' morning 
after" repentance worn by his junior. 



148 



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



"Congratulations, my boy," said 
the older man cordially. "I had no 
chance last night to tell you how well 
3'ou managed the case, but you did 
excellently. It was a brilliant piece 
of work. I — we were all proud of 
you." 

"Thank you, sir," replied Fergu- 
son, standing a bit straighter in 
spite of himself. He was still young 
enough so that a word of praise went 
a long ways with him, and he had 
never heard his cool, self-repressed 
senior speak quite so enthusiastically 
of anj^thing before. " We were on 
the right side and we had good luck." 

" Law is not as potent a factor in 
law as in some other professions," re- 
marked Furnel dryly. " I am afraid it 
would never have won your case if it 
had not been supported by some good 
authorities." 

" That is true, sir," assented Fur- 
nel, with a smile. 

There was silence for a minute 
while the older man regarded the 
younger keenly. Then he said ab- 
ruptly, " You must take a good long 
rest, now, Ferguson. You have 
well earned it and you need it. You 
are not at all in good shape this 



morning. 



"Well, you see, sir," explained 
Ferguson, rather shamefacedly, 
" some of the boys insisted last night 
on celebrating our victor}-, and as I 
don't usually travel at so fast a pace 
I suppose I show the effects of it to- 
day. I '11 be all right to-morrow." 

"Pshaw! That isn't it," said the 
senior partner impatiently. "You 
will never celebrate enough to hurt 
you any. You have been working 
too hard and too steady for too long 
a time. You are getting stale. 
Why, you haven't had a good vaca- 



tion since you came into the firm. 
Now I want you to go somewhere — 
— it makes no especial difference 
where — and drop all thoughts of law 
books and law business for at least a 
month, three months if you will. I 
insist on you're doing this as a per- 
sonal favor for me." 

"You are very kind, Mr. Furnel," 
replied Ferguson, promptly, "but I 
really don't think I need a vacation, 
and if I did I can't imagine where 
I would go to enjoy one. I do n't 
seem to have any interests outside of 
Chicago." 

"Go out to the Rockies and kill 
some big game. Go down to my 
ranch in Texas and mix in a round- 
up. Go East and see the real swells 
at Newport. Go back to the old 
town where you were born and look 
up the girls you used to beau home 
from prayer-meeting. Probably some 
of them have named their babies after 
you." 

The old gentleman turned to his 
desk, signifying that the discussion 
was over, and Ferguson, with a 
laugh that was half a sigh, picked up 
a pile of letters awaiting his atten- 
tion. The top one bore a peculiar 
red and blue stamp that caught his 
eye at once. He had never seen one 
like it before, and he prided himself 
on being something of a philatelist 
at that. "What exposition has got 
to the stamp issuing stage, now, I 
wonder?" said he to himself, and 
let the other letters lie unopened 
while he devoted himself to decipher- 
ing the inscription on this one. 

"Old Home Week! What the 
deuce is Old Home Week?" was 
his final mental query. Opening the 
envelope and unfolding its contents 
he read as follows  



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



149 



The Winniepauket Old Home Week Associa- 
tion cordially invites you to participate in its 
observance of 

OLD HOME DAY 

by a basket picnic at Great Pond (if stormy in 
Grange Hall) Tuesday, August 29, 1S99, at 10 
o'clock. Public exercises at 1:30, including 
music and speaking. 

Very respectfully, 

E. B. Weston, President. 
C. I,. Flint, Secretary. 

" E. B. Weston, president," he 
mused. "That must be old Deacon 
Weston, And C. ly. Flint, secre- 
tary? Why, that is Carroll Flint, 
who cut me out with Marion Gray. 
I wonder if she married him finall3^ 
I never got cards." 

Ferguson shook himself out of his 
fast-approaching day-dream and asked 
his senior, " Have you heard any- 
thing about this New Hampshire Old 
Home Week, Mr. Furnel ? " 

"Yes, indeed," was the reply. 
' ' The papers have referred to it fre- 
quentl}'. Is that an invitation you 
have there ? ' ' 

Ferguson handed over the docu- 
ment and the other read it carefull3^ 
"That does sound good," he said, 
as he handed it back. "A basket 
picnic on the shores of the pond ! 
I can shut my eyes and see the good 
things they '11 have to eat. Bless me, 
I wish I had been born in New Hamp- 
shire instead of Pennsylvania. But 
of course j'ou will go, Ferguson. 
It's quite providential. Just as you 
needed some definite place to visit up 
comes this invitation. Why, man, 
they '11 ask you to speak in the ' pub- 
lic exercises at i : 30.' " 

"The Jackson will case is hardly 
of such national celebrity as that," 
said Ferguson, "but I believe I will 
make a flying trip back for that day, 
just to see what the old town looks 
like and to find out how Deacon 



Weston has managed to keep alive 
so long." 

So the next day but one found 
Henry H. Ferguson, Esq., ensconced 
in the smoking compartment of a 
Wagner car, with his back to the 
setting sun, and a determination on 
his mind not to think of the ofhce 
again until he once more set foot in 
Chicago. 

Through the Indiana prairies as the 
daylight waned ; watching the lights 
of Ohio cities pierce the black even- 
ing ; wakened at night in Buffalo, 
where the engines changed ; gazing 
at the rich lands of central New 
York from the window of his berth ; 
down the Hudson in the glory of a 
perfect da3% and then — New York. 

Two days later Ferguson escaped 
from the colony of old college chums 
he had discovered in the Metropolis, 
and with the comfortable sense of 
putting temptation behind him was 
whirled away towards Boston. His 
friends in New York had laughed at 
the Old Home Week idea, and his 
determination to take part in it, and 
he himself was inclined to believe 
that a week in New York with such 
competent guides would be more 
entertaining than a trip to Winnie- 
pauket. Nevertheless, having once 
made up his mind to go back for Old 
Home Day he was determined not to 
be kept away by all the allurements 
of Gotham. 

So he was settling himself content- 
edly to read " David Harum," when, 
glancing over the top of the book, 
the rich brown hair of a girl half way 
down the car caught and held his 
eye. The poise of the head, the 
heavy coils of the hair, the stray 
curls above the dainty collar, all 
pleased his cesthetic sense, and fully 



I50 



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



as often as once in each chapter he 
caught himself looking up to see if 
his presumabl}^ fair fellow-passenger 
was still in her seat. 

Jolting across Boston from the 
south terminal to the north, and just 
catching the White Mountain ex- 
press, he had almost a shock of 
pleased surprise when he looked 
down the parlor car and saw the 
same brown hair and regal head. If 
Ferguson had been like most men 
he would promptly have sauntered 
through the car and secured a front 
as well as rear view of this fellow- 
passenger who had engaged his at- 
tention. He, however, preferred 
not to run the risk of dispelling the 
illusions of beauty and grace which 
he had half unconsciously formed. 

Presently, too, as the brakeman be- 
gan to call out well-remembered New 
Hampshire names, Nashua, Man- 
chester, Concord, his thoughts cen- 
tered upon the town that had been 
his old New Hampshire home, and 
in the throng of memories, bitter and 
sweet, the minutes sped swiftly. 

Winniepauket next, sir," said the 
porter, and Ferguson came to him- 
self with a start. As he descended 
from the stuffy car and stood on the 
little station platform, unchanged in 
a dozen years, the cool night air 
fanned his face wnth what seemed to 
him his first welcome home. 

The one hack, of which the village 
boasted, was filled, inside and box 
seats alike, before he reached it. So, 
nothing loath, he set out on the well- 
remembered half-mile walk to the 
Webster Inn, now so called because 
there in his salad days the Jove-like 
Daniel had passed many hours of 
relaxation from the duties of his bud- 
ding law practice. 



As Ferguson strode along, beneath 
the great elms that arched the road- 
way, over the bridge and up the hill, 
the soft moonlight illumined with ap- 
propriate indistinctness long forgot- 
ten scenes of his boyhood and earl)' 
manhood. 

There was the brick schoolhouse 
whither he had been led in fear and 
trembling at the tender age of five, 
not to leave it until the classic portals 
of Dartmouth opened before him. 
There was the white church with the 
tall spire, where, on every Sunday 
he had attended morning service, 
Sunda3'-school, and prayer-meeting. 
There was the little store, with the 
stone hitching posts in front, over 
whose counter he had passed many a 
penny in exchange for peanuts and 
cand^^ There was Squire Graj^'s 
mansion looming up among its senti- 
nel maples, square and bluff and 
stern, like the old squire himself. 

The Squire never liked Ferguson, 
and Ferguson, in turn, hated as well 
as feared the Squire, even before the 
latter opened his front door one even- 
ing quite unexpectedly and found his 
daughter and Ferguson sitting very 
close together on the steps. To- 
night, after a dozen years, Ferguson 
could feel almost as intensely as at 
the very moment the impotent rage 
and resentful shame which filled him 
when the old Squire said : ' ' Clear 
out, you bo}', and don't come 'round 
here botherin' me and mine no more." 

Carroll Flint was the squire's fav- 
orite, Ferguson remembered, and 
probably he had finally succeeded in 
winning Marion for himself. 

Just as Ferguson reached this point 
in his mental autobiography and just 
as he stood across the street from the 
old Squire's house, the hack stopped 



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



151 



at its entrance, and once again the 
big front door swung open. This 
time it was not Squire Gray who was 
framed in the square of light but Car- 
roll Flint, portly and bearded, but 
still Carroll FHnt. 

Ferguson quickened his pace at 
the sight, and when, ten minutes 
later, he blew out the kerosene lamp 
in his room at the inn a vague sense 
of disappointment overlaid his first 
impressions of Old Home Week. 

Rising bright and early next morn- 
ing, he faced, with a dismay that 
turned to delight, the heavily-laden 
breakfast table. Blackberries and 
cream, "raised biscuit," fried chicken, 
and baked potatoes disappeared in a 
way that would have made urbane 
Francois, best of waiters at a certain 
Chicago club, stare in astonishment. 
Breakfast over he paid tribute to vil- 
lage tradition by leaving his cigarette 
case in his rooms and buying instead 
a half dozen of the landlord's cigars. 
Then he struck out, away from the 
village main street and up a hilly 
side road that skirted the base of 
"The Mountain." 

Over a stone v/all and through a 
pasture where Mayflowers used to 
grow ; in among sweet fern bushes 
and blackberry vines ; by the bould- 
ers on which chestnut burrs used to 
be hammered open with rocks ; up a 
short, steep ascent — and Ferguson 
looked once more upon a scene that 
had held him rapt more than one 
hour of even his busy, boyhood days. 
A drop of a thousand feet and below 
him pastures and fields stretched 
away, dotted here and there with 
grazing cows and horses. The high- 
way, in stagecoach days a turnpike, 
wound a white ribbon between field 
and field. In the distance the sand- 



banks that marked the slow curving 
course of the river stood out on the 
blue horizon like blotches of yellow 
paint thrown on by a careless artist. 
A mile to the south the blue smoke 
from the factory chimneys curled 
lazily up and the white spire of the 
church pierced a mass of green tree- 
tops. Through the clear air came 
the sound of whistle and bell as the 
mountain express paused a moment 
at the station, then dashed away to 
the north. 

Ferguson stood like a statue for 
minutes, drinking in the peaceful 
beauty of the wide prospect. For 
the moment he was a boy again, 
wondering what lay beyond the 
sandbanks and the hilltops. Deter- 
mined to retain the mood of the 
moment as long as possible he de- 
scended a little way to a well-remem- 
bered nook, where, years ago, Marion 
Gray had heard him say good-by, the 
day after his abrupt dismissal by her 
father. 

As he turned a corner of the ledge 
he saw that someone had been before 
him. A marvelous, flower-covered 
hat had been thrown carelessly on 
the ground and its owner leaned 
against a boulder, her back to Fer- 
guson. Once more he saw the brown 
hair and the regal neck he had ad- 
mired on his journey. He stepped 
on a dry twig and the noise made the 
woman turn so that he could see her 
face. It was Marion Gray. 

She started as she saw who it was, 
then extended her hand with a smile. 
"Welcome back to the mountain, 
Mr. Ferguson," she said. 

"Thank you, Mrs. FHnt," repHed 
Ferguson, who was far from being as 
composed as his companion. 

She lifted her eyebrows in surprise 



xxvii — 11 



152 



HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID. 



as he spoke, and opened her mouth 
to answer. Evidently changing her 
mind she bit her hps and was silent. 

" Is Winniepauket's Old Home 
Week a success?" he asked pres- 
ently. 

"Indeed, it is," she said. "The 
Griffiths have come clear on from 
San Francisco, and the Dodges from 
Minneapolis. Minnie Quimby has 
brought her husband up from New 
Orleans, and Frank Miller, with all 
his millions, is on from New York. 
But the star of the occasion is that 
red-headed, freckle-faced little Mar- 
tin boy that was always under foot. 
Don't you remember? " 

Ferguson remembered very well. 

' ' He was appointed to the naval 
academy the year after you gradu- 
ated from college, and the little 
scamp got through there just in time 
to be ordered on duty with the ships 
at Santiago. He did something 
there to make himself more or less 
famous, and then was sent to Ma- 
nila. Now he 's home for the first 
time since the war, and Winnie- 
pauket's Old Home Week has re- 
solved itself into a Martin glorifica- 
tion. Not even the winner of the 
great Jackson will case can divide 
with him the public attention." 

" How did you hear about that? " 
asked Ferguson, quickly. 

"Perhaps I keep better track of 
my old friends than they do of me," 
she said demurely. "When I was 
last in Chicago and heard of the ris- 
ing young barrister, Henry H. Fer- 
guson, Esq., I quite expected the 
honor of a call from him, but I was 
disappointed." 

"You in Chicago?" exclaimed 
Ferguson in surprise. " But when ? 
And how should I — " 



' ' Do you go to the theatre often ? ' ' 
interrupted the girl. 

"No, not often. Occasionally. 
Why ? ' ' 

" Do you remember a play, ' The 
Sorrows of Susan,' two season ago ? " 

"Yes, I think so. One of Froh- 
man's companies, was it not? Why, 
5'es, that was the play that new 
actress, Anita Arnold, was in. I 
remember how sorry I was to miss 
it." 

"Then you didn't see it ? " 

" No. Why?" 

" Because I w^as Anita Arnold." 

Ferguson stared in blank amaze- 
ment. "You on the stage? You 
Anita Arnold ? What do you 
mean ? " 

The girl laughed a little at his sur- 
prise. "It is quite a long story," 
she said. " When father died his af- 
fairs w^ere in such shape that their 
settlement left little for mother and 
us girls but the old place. As the 
oldest I w^ent out to make my own 
living. I tried teaching school, I 
tried shorthand, I tried demonstrat- 
ing a new 'food,' I tried church choir 
singing, and finally I got a start on 
the stage. That was in the fall of 
'95. I was an understudy that sea- 
son, played a small and not particu- 
larly pleasant part the next year, and 
in '97 I got my chance. That was 
the year I expected to see you when 
I came right to your doors." 

"You surely would if I had 
known," returned Ferguson with sin- 
cere regret in his voice. " But 3'ou 
have left the stage ? " 

" Yes, I have got a little start in a 
new line of late. Did you happen to 
read ' Captives of Chance ' in the 
Pacific last year? " 

" You do n't mean to say you wrote 



WELCOME HOME. 



153 



that!" F'erguson's doubt was too 
plainly mauifested in his tone for 
real politeness, but his companion 
did not mind. She was thoroughly 
enjoj'ing her little triumph over her 
old mate. "And I'm writing them 
another for next year under con- 
tract," she added. 

Ferguson was fairly overcome by 
this avalanche of surprises. "But 
your marriage. Where does that 
come in?" he blurted out. 

The girl turned very red. "To 
whom do 3'ou think I am married, 
Mr. Ferguson? " she said. 

"Why, to Carroll FHnt. I cer- 
tainly saw him standing in the door- 
way of your old home last night." 

"You did, and he lives there, but 
through his marriage to ni}^ sister 
Anna, not to me. He was very kind 
to us all after father died, and it was 
a genuine love match between him 
and Anna." 

Ferguson's spirits sailed aloft like 
hot air balloons. " Is it true ? " he 
cried eagerly. "And your are really 
still—" 



" Marion Gray," said the girl look- 
ing down. 

Ferguson was at her side in a step. 
"Marion, do you remember what I 
asked you here twelve years ago ? " 

"Yes," said the girl. 

" You would do nothing that would 
cause your father sorrow, you told 
me." 

" Yes," said the girl. 

"Marion, I was a poor boy then 
and you were a rich man's daughter. 
To-day I am a struggling young law- 
yer and you are already a famous 
woman. But, Marion, I want to ask 
you again the question I asked you 
here twelve years ago. May I ? " 

" Yes," said the girl. 

"Marion, I gave you then the 
whole of a boy's heart. It has al- 
waj's been yours. It is to-day. And 
now it is a man's heart, full of love 
for you. Marion, will you marry me ? " 

"Yes," said the girl. 

And after all Ensign Martin, 
U. S. N., was far from monopoliz- 
ing the interest at Winuiepauket's 
Old Home Day basket picnic. 




WELCOME HOME. 
By George Bancroft GrijffitJi. 

I 've seen the countless sparkling threads 

Of waters rich with rainbow hues. 
And stood where Shoshone's bosom sheds 

Its changing, matchless diamond dews, 
But never beauteous arc of light. 

Or glittering, bead-like, tossing foam, 
Shone like her tear of pure delight 

When mother hailed her wand'rer home ! 



NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME WEEK GREETINGS. 

By Rev. N. F. Carter. 

New Hampshire, noble mother of us all, 

Whose name is sweet as Eove's triumphal psalms, 
 Arrayed in all her wealth of summer charms. 
Is stretching out her open, wide-spread arms 

To bless her children gathered at her call ! 

Her sons and daughters coming from afar, 
Forgetting for the time life's fretting cares, 
Are back to breathe once more her wholesome airs, 
Revive fond memories, and learn how fares 

Her household, what the signs of promise are. 

Ten thousand voices, ringing cheer on cheer. 
Give royal welcome now to every guest, 
Come from the north, or south, or east, or west, 
Back to the homeland, longest loved and best, 

Most glad, yea, more than glad to see all here ! 

Our cordial greetings leap from honest lips, 
Bespeaking fires of love in kindred souls 
Glowing to speed the way to worthy goals. 
Over which Time its wave of glory rolls. 

Like that of suns that never know eclipse ! 

Here stand, as high and rugged as of yore, 
Our mountains first to greet the morning sun. 
East kissed by sunsets when the day is done, 
Our grand old mountains, sacred every one, 

The guardians of our homes forevermore ! 

From their bold summits out on every hand 
Run landscapes beautiful as eye has seen. 
Inlaid with crystal lakes in silver sheen. 
And streams like silver ribbons fringed with green, — 

A view to rival any fairy land ! 

A land of royal homes for raising men 

To match her mountains, peers of any race, 

Eike Webster, Greeley, Sullivan, Stark, and Chase; 

And fairest daughters fitted well to grace 

Such homes in city, or in mountain glen ! 



NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME WEEK GREETINGS. 155 

No honored place in liigh or lowly life 

They have not filled with credit to the state, 

In priceless blessings made her rich and great. 

Her growing fame has reached the Golden Gate, — 
No heroes braver in the battle's strife ! 

What teeming land in all the circling earth 

New Hampshire has not in her children blest ? 

What tidal wave of glory, east or west, 

Has not her symbols blazoned on her crest. 
Recounting to the world her sterling worth ? 

God bless the dear old state, her children bless, 
As hand clasps hand, and e^^e meets eye to-day, 
And hearts with tuneful raptures have their way 
With joj'S of fellowship, whose sovereign swa}^ 

Shall fill with courage when new burdens press ! 

God bless her homes, her schools and churches all, 

True sources of her greatness and her lame, 

Nursers of hope, like torches all aflame, 

To banish darkness, save from sin and shame, 
Speed heavenward ere the evening shadows fall ! 

The need is still of men to smite the wrong. 
As one in word and deed, not once nor twice. 
But always ; with heroic sacrifice 
Wage long and holy war to free from vice ; — 
Strong for the right, for ever}^ virtue strong ; 

Of noble women, who, with patient will 

Shall train the young to wisdom's pleasant ways, 

Illumine with their graces coming days. 

With good deeds win them highest meed of praise 

As they with glory every household fill ! 

For all the blessings of the honored past. 

For all our wealth of homes whose silent power 
Has wrought the glory of this favored hour, — 
Pledge we to-day our meed of holy dower 

To bless the world as long as time shall last ! 

Majestic as her rock-ribbed mountains stand, 

Fair as her summer fields and forests are ; 

So ever may her children, near or far. 

In storm and shadow, under sun or star. 
Stand forth the pride and joy of ever}' land ! 




THE BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER. 
Copyright, /SgS, hy C. M. Wi'cii. 



THE WARBLERS AND VIREOS IN THEIR ECONOMIC 

RELATIONS. 

By Clarence Moores Weed. 



THE AMERICAN WARBLERS. 




HE beautiful plumaged and 
sweet-voiced American war- 
blers {Sylvicolidac) form next 
to the largest family of our 
native birds. Nearly all of them are 
small — the great majority being less 
than five inches long — and as a 
group they are abundant and widely 
distributed, migratory and iusect- 
iv^orous. In manj^ species the plum- 
age varies greatly with the age and 
sex of the individual. There are 
about sixty North American repre- 
sentatives of the family. " With tire- 
less industry do the warblers be- 
friend the human race," writes Dr. 
Elliot Coues, " their unconscious 
zeal plays due part in the nice ad- 
justment of nature's forces, helping 
to bring about that balance of vege- 
table and insect life without which 
agriculture would be in vain. They 
visit the orchard when the apple and 
pear, the peach, plum, and cherry 
are in bloom, seeming to revel care- 
lessly amid the sweet-scented and 
delicately tinted blossoms, but never 
faltering in their good work. They 
peer into the crevices of the bark, 
scrutinize each leaf, and explore the 
very heart of the buds to detect, 
drag forth, and destroy these tiny 
creatures, singly insignificant, col- 
lectively a scourge, which prey upon 
the hopes of the fruit grower, and 



which if undisturbed would bring his 
care to naught. Some warblers flit 
incessantly in the terminal foliage 
of the tallest trees ; others hug close 
to the scored trunks and gnarled 
boughs of the forest kings ; some 
peep from the thicket, the coppice, 
the impenetrable mantle of shrub- 
ber}' that decks tiny water courses, 
playing at hide-and-seek with all 
comers ; others more humble still 
descend to the ground where they 
glide with pretty mincing steps and 
affected turning of the head this 
way and that, their delicate flesh- 
tinted feet just stirring the layer of 
withered leaves with which a past 
season carpeted the ground." 

The black and white creeping 
warbler, sometimes called the black 
and white creeper, is abundant in 
most wooded region portions of 
eastern America, extending west- 
ward to Dakota and Nebraska. It 
resembles the creepers and nut- 
hatches in its manner of taking 
food, searching every cranny and 
crevice of the bark of trees for the 
insects sheltered there, occasionally 
chasing for short distances moths 
or other creatures frightened from 
their hiding places ; and sometimes 
scrutinizing the foliage like other 
warblers. The nest is placed on or 
near the ground, very often on a 
rocky ledge. Four or five young 
are reared. The insects eaten by 



158 



WARBLERS AND VIREOS. 



the bird belong mostly to species of 
small size. 

Seventeen Wisconsin specimens 
had eaten 5 ants, 20 small measur- 
ing worms, and i other caterpillar, 
4 moths, 5 two-winged flies, i cur- 
culio, and 15 other beetles, 7 bugs, 
a caddis-fly, and a small snail, be- 
sides more than a hundred insect 
eggs. One Nebraska bird had swal- 
lowed 41 locusts and 12 other insects, 
together with a few seeds. 

The blue yellow-backed warbler is 
a beautiful little bird which spends 
much of its feeding time among 
the topmost twigs of the tallest trees. 
It is common in eastern America, 
and is fonnd as far west as the 
Rocky mountains. In New England 
it has been observed feeding on may- 
flies, measuring worms, and spiders ; 
in Wisconsin 6 small insects were 
taken from a single stomach, and in 
Nebraska it has frequently been seen 
picking up locusts and other insects. 

The Nashville Warbler is found, 
occasionally at least, throughout al- 
most the whole of North America, 
specimens of it having been taken 
as far north as Greenland, as far 
west as Utah, Nevada, and Cali- 
fornia, and as far south as Mexico. 
Its chief distribution, however, is in 
the region east of the Mississippi 
river, where it is a regular migrant, 
breeding as far south as the northern 
counties of Illinois and the central 
portion of New England. The nest 
is placed on the ground. The only 
food records we have show that two 
Wisconsin specimens had eaten 4 
small, green caterpillars and some 
other insects not identifiable ; and 
that one Nebraska fledgling had de- 
voured 21 locusts and several other 
insects, while the adult birds have 



frequently been seen feeding on 
locusts. 

The Tennessee warbler is an ex- 
tremely migratory species that passes 
regularly and abundantly through 
the Mississippi Valley states during 
its spring and autumn migrations. 
It also occurs sparingly west to the 
Rocky mountains and east to the 
Atlantic ocean. It breeds in the far 
north and winters, in part at least, 
in South America. It searches dili- 
gently for the insect mites that in- 
fest the foliage of trees, seeming to 
have a special fondness for aphides, 
42 of which have been taken from 
the stomach of three of these birds. 
Among the other food elements of 
thirty-two specimens there were 
found 2 small hymenoptera, 13 cat- 
erpillars, 15 two- winged flies, 13 
beetles, 35 small bugs, and 1 1 in- 
sect eggs. Four fifths of the food 
of one bird shot in an orchard in- 
fested by canker worms consisted 
of these pests. Tennessee warblers 
have also been seen feeding on small 
grasshoppers. 

This, however, is one of the very 
few warblers against which a charge 
has been brought by the fruit- 
growers. In some sections it is 
known as the "grape-sucker" be- 
cause it probes ripe grapes with its 
little beak, presumably to get at the 
juice. Testimony on this point ap- 
pears to be conclusive, and consid- 
erable injury occasionally results. 
There can be no doubt, however, 
that in the aggregate the bird does 
vastly more good than harm. 

The yellow-rumped warbler or 
Myrtle bird is an exceedingly^ hardy 
little creature, often enduring the 
rigors of a New England winter 
when its congeners are basking in 



WARBLERS AND VIREOS. 



159 



the sunshine of the South. It is 
distributed over a large North Amer- 
ican range, and is abundant in all 
sorts of situations, especially during 
the spring and autumn migrations. 
It breeds regularly in the far north, 
sometimes nesting, however, in the 
northern tier of states and in lower 
Canada. According to Ridgway it 
is a common winter resident in 



fectly at home throughout the whole 
of North America from the tropical 
regions of the south to the arctic 
lands of the north. It is a famil- 
iar and confiding bird, associating 
freely with civilized man, and. build- 
ing its neat nest of vegetable fiber 
in the trees of the orchard, park, 
family residence, and public thor- 
oughfare. Four or five eggs are 




The Yellow-rumped Warbler. 



southern Illinois. Of twenty-one 
specimens studied by King, "one 
had eaten a moth ; two, 21 caterpil- 
lars — mostly measuring worms ; five, 
14 two-winged flies, among which 
were three crane-flies; fifteen, 48 
beetles ; one, 4 ichneumon flies ; one, 
a caddis-fly ; and one, a spider." 

The yellow warbler or summer 
yellow-bird is probably the most 
abundant and widely distributed 
member of its famil^^ It seems per- 



usually deposited in the nest, and 
when an additional one is left by a 
skulking cowbird, the warblers, with 
a wisdom beyond, their size, add 
another story to the nest and begin 
again their domestic duties, leaving 
the stranger eg^ and if necessary 
some of their own to go unhatched. 
The food habits of the yellow 
warbler are all that could be de- 
sired. It freely visits farm premises 
and feeds on minute insects of many 



i6o 



WARBLERS AND VIREOS. 



kinds. Two thirds of the food of 
five Illinois specimens consisted of 
canker worms, and most of the re- 
mainder was an injurious beetle. 
An equal number of Wisconsin birds 
contained small caterpillars and bee- 
tles ; and from various other speci- 
mens, spiders, myriapods, moths, 
bugs, flies, grasshoppers, and other 
insects have been taken. 

The black-throated green warbler, 
which is especially characterized by 
having a jet black chin, throat, and 
breast, is abundant in New Eng- 
land, and extends westward to Ne- 
braska, breeding in pine trees 
throughout the northern portion of 
its range. Its food is obtained 
among the branches of tall trees, 
largely upon the wing, and consists 
of a great variety of small insects, 
including caterpillars and larvae of 
man}' kinds, curculios and other 
beetles, small bugs, and various hy- 
menoptera. An idea of the number 
of insects they consume may be ob- 



tained from the statement that the 
stomachs of five birds taken in Ne- 
braska during June contained ii6 
small locusts and 104 other insects — 
an average of 44 to each bird. Sev- 
enty per cent, of the food of one 
Illinois specimen consisted of canker 
worms. 

The beautiful American redstart 
is a much commoner species in most 
of the northern states than would be 
supposed by those who have paid 
no special attention to the study of 
birds. Living amidst the foliage of 
the tallest trees, it is seldom seen, 
except by those looking for the war- 
blers found in such situations. The 
redstart is the flycatcher of the inner 
tree-tops, capturing on the wing the 
numerous insects that flit about 
among the branches and occasionally 
taking a caterpillar hanging by a 
thread or crawling on a twig. The 
food of the few specimens that have 
been critically examined consisted of 
small two-winged flies, a few para- 




The Yellow Warbler. 
Cot>vright, fSgS, hy C. M. Weed. 



WARBLERS AND VI R EOS. 



i6i 



sitic hymenoptera, an oc- 
casional small bug and 
some minute larvae. Seven 
Nebraska specimens had 
eaten i6i small locusts and 
117 other insects. 

The handsome little Ma- 
ryland yellow-throat is 
found throughout the 
United States from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific 
oceans, and in many local- 
ities is one of the most 
abundant of the warblers. 
It especially affects the 
shrubbery about standing 
or running water, where it 
can be found throughout 
the summer busily search- 
ing for insect food. It 
often visits orchards, where 
canker worms and other 
caterpillars are greedily devoured, 
forming in three cases on record 
four fifths of the food. The little 
case bearing caterpillars of the gen- 
us Coleophora and its allies are 
often eaten, while moths, two- winged 
flies, beetles, grasshoppers, leaf-hop- 
pers, bugs, dragon-flies, hymenoptera, 
and insect eggs are all included on 
the bill of fare. The young are 
sometimes fed with small grasshop- 
pers. 

lyike the yellow warbler this species 
sometimes outwits the cow bird by its 
intelligence. Mr. A. W. Butler thus 
describes the three-storied nest of a 
yellow- throat in his possession : "In 
the original nest had been deposited 
the &%% of a cow bird, then within 
that nest and rising above it the yel- 
low-throat had built another nest, 
which also became the depository of 
the hope of offspring of this un- 
natural bird ; again the little war- 




The Blackburnian Warbier. 

bier constructed a third nest upon 
the other two, burying the cow bird's 
^ZZ, and in this nest laid her comple- 
ment of eggs." 

These examples will suffice to make 
manifest the fact that the warbler 
family is one of extraordinary econo- 
mic value, the members of which are 
immensely useful in checking noxious 
insects, and with very few excep- 
tions have no injurious habits. It 
is particularly gratifying that these 
charming birds, whose song and 
plumage draw to them the good-will 
of all intelligent people, should show 
so well that utility and beauty are 
not alwavs dissociated. 



THE VIREOS OR GREENI.ETS. 

The vireos or greenlets are univer- 
sally recognized as among the sweet- 
est of feathered songsters. They are 
small birds, modest in manners and 



l62 



WARBLERS AND JIREOS. 



dress, very different from the shrikes 
to which the ornithologists claim 
they are closely related. This is 
exclusively a new world family com- 
posed of half a dozen genera and a 
little over half a hundred species ; 
only one of the former, the genus Vi- 
reo, and thirteen of the latter occur in 
the United States. Of these thir- 
teen species about half are common 
over a considerable area. In color 
our forms are mostly greenish-olive 
or gray above and white or yellow 
below. They build slightly pendent 
nests in trees, migrate southward in 
autumn, and are almost exclusively 
insectivorous. They are more often 
heard than seen. "Clad in simple 
tints that harmonize with the ver- 
dure," writes Dr. Coues, "these gen- 
tle songsters warble their lays un- 
seen, while the foliage itself seems 
stirred to music. In the quaint and 
curious ditty of the white- eye in the 
earnest, voluble strains of the red- 
eye, in the tender secret that the 
warbling vireo confides in whispers 
to the passing breeze, he is insensi- 
ble who does not hear the echo of 
thoughts he never clothes in words." 
The red-eyed vireo seems to be the 
most abundant, widely distributed 
species of the genus. It is found in 
all the states except those of the ex- 
treme west, and in summer some- 
times migrates as far north as Green- 
land. It prefers woodlands to the 
cultivated fields, but occasionall}^ 
finds its way to parks and orchards. 
It commonly seeks its food among 
the foliage and branches of trees and 
shrubs, sometimes chasing moths and 
other flying insects for short dis- 
tances on the wing. It is universally 
recognized as a great insect eater ; an 
excellent idea of its food may be ob- 



tained from Professor King's studies 
of fiftj'-four Wisconsin specimens : 
' ' From the stomachs of eighteen of 
this species were taken 15 caterpil- 
lars, 5 other larvae, 8 beetles, among 
them 5 weevils and i long-horn ; 70 
heteropterous insects, among them 
67 chinch bugs; 16 winged ants, i 
ichneumon, 5 dragonflies, 2 dip- 
terous insects, one of them a large 
horsefly ( Tabanus ai rains) ; 3 small 
moths, 2 grasshoppers, i aphis, i 
chrysalid, 2 spiders, and 7 dogwood 
berries. Of 36 other specimens ex- 
amined, 15 had eaten caterpillars; 2, 
other larvae ; nine, beetles, among 
them 2 ladybird beetles ; 3, grass- 
hoppers ; 2, ants; 2, moths; 4, uni- 
dentified insects ; and 7, fruits or 
seeds, among which were raspber- 
ries, dogwood berries, berries of 
prickly ash, and sheep berries." 
During locust outbreaks in Ne- 
braska four fifths of the food of this 
vireo has been found to consist of 
these insects. 

The warbling vireo frequents culti- 
vated fields, orchards, and the vicin- 
ity of houses much more than the 
shyer red-eye. It is an abundant 
species in most states, and is highly 
insectivorous. Its food consists 
chiefly of caterpillars, including 
such destructive species as the can- 
ker worm, beetles of various kinds, 
among them the twelve-spotted cu- 
cumber beetle, and occasionally a 
lady bird, crane-flies and other two- 
winged flies, grasshoppers, bugs, 
and sometimes dogwood berries. 
The young are known sometimes to 
be fed with grasshoppers. Canker 
worms formed forty-four per cent, of 
the food of three specimens shot in 
an orchard infested by these pests. 

The vellow-throated vireo is a 



OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H. 163 

laro-er bird than either of those found as far west as the base of the 

above mentioned. It is common in Rocky mountains. It usually haunts 

the eastern region of North America, clearings where there is much under- 

and feeds on caterpillars including brush. Dr. Brewer reports that it 

measuring worms, moths, weevils, feeds on canker worms, and DeKay 

and other beetles, grasshoppers, leaf- says it eats insects and berries. No 

hoppers, and various flies. It evi- precise records of the examination of 

dently is a highly beneficial bird. the stomach contents appear to have 

The white-eyed vireo is abundant been published, but its diet is prob- 

in the eastern states as far north as ably similar to that of the other 

Massachusetts, and is occasionally species of the genus. 



OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H. 

[Poem read August 29, iSgg.] 
By Edivard A. Jenlcs. 

A radiant morning of the Long Ago, and June 

Was at its best. The bluest of o'erarching skies, 

Flecked with soft boats upon a tideless, waveless sea, 

And wind-swept with the breath of Power invisible. 

Bent wistfully above the unconscious world, and seemed 

To take, in her capacious arms of mother-love, 

The whole round world. The birds were organized in one 

O'ervvhelming orchestra, that made the forests ring 

With yet unpublished symphonies ; and all the fields 

And meadows, full of flashing wings, and violins 

And drums and flutes, wiled the rapt soul away — away — 

Beyond the beck'ning mountain-tops, a prisoner 

In rippling chains of untaught songs and melodies. 

A farmhouse, comfortable, hospitable, calm— 

Of paint and ornament serenely innocent — 

Was hidden 'mong the peaceful hills. Gigantic elms. 

Contented maples, guardians for a century, 

Stood watchful at the open door ; and softest winds 

Played hide-and-seek with birds and humming bees among 

The leaves and twigs, while the long fingers of the Sun 

Just touched the finger-tips of all the living things 

Secluded there, and waltzed to the swinging music. 

The voices of the farmer's boys in far-off fields, 

In tones familiar to the lumbering ox-team, 

Came lilting o'er the shining grass ; and nearer still 



1 64 OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H. 

The homely conversation from the poultry-yard — 
Full of unconscious happiness and deep content — 
Mingled in perfect harmony with cadences 
From spinning-wheel and spinner, as deft fingers turned 
The flying wheel, and guided the soft thread upon 
The willing spindle, just inside the open door. 

Alas ! — sad was the day ! — there came a time when one 

By one those splendid boys and girls, full-fledged and strong, 

Climbed over all the loving barriers of that 

Old nest, and flew away into the wide, wild world, — 

Where softest winds forever blow from Carib seas, 

And oranges and pineapples and figs and dates 

Smile in your thirsty face, and say in loving tones 

" Kiss me, and eat ! " and some to wild Pacific shores 

And mountains, where the streams run golden sands, and where 

From hill and topmost peak you see the ponderous Sun 

Disrobe himself and sink into I^ethean depths 

For night's most calm repose ; and some to wheat-fields fair 

And broad — great seas of billowy grain, of promise full 

For hungry worlds in waiting ; and some to where 

The city's ceaseless din drives out the memory 

Of home and mother-love and father-care, and all 

The dear entanglements of youth, and love, and heaven. 

Alas ! — sad was the day ! — there came a time, after 

The cruel lapse of half a hundred hurrying years, 

When one by one that band had crossed The Great Divide 

In search of homes not made with faltering human hands — 

Yes, all save one — and he a white-haired man whose brow 

Showed many a well-turned furrow from Time's sharp plowshare ; 

Who could not drive the great ox-team again afield, 

Nor send the giants of the forest thundering 

Groundward ; who could no longer break the untamed colt 

To harness or to saddle, nor pitch the fragrant hay 

From load to mow. Oh ! where were now the glory and 

The strength of his once lusty manhood ! 

'T was June again : the old man sat beneath the vine 

His own strong hands had reared. He leaned his tired head 

Upon his staff, — and all the years passed languidly 

Before his vision ; — saw the dear old home beneath 

The trees ; saw the same birds, and heard the very songs 

His ears had reveled in a thousand times in boyhood ; 

The fragrance of the lilacs overwhelmed him, and 

The tears dropped sadly on his wrinkled hands ; he heard 

The bleating of the lambs beyond the pasture bars ; 



OLD HOME WEEK— NEW PORT, N. H. 165 

He saw the cows come winding down the rocky slope, 

And heard the foamy milk zip-zipping in the pail ; 

He saw his sisters and his brothers — every one — 

Just as thej^ used to gather round the sunset door, 

And chased them o'er the lawn in most hilarious mood ; 

He pla3^ed " Hi Spy " with them when all the chores were done ; 

He heard his father's kindly voice in prayer, and then, 

Across the silence, " Rock of Ages, cleft for me," — 

It was his mother's voice — O God ! to hear it once 

Again ! He knew the wish was vain — except — perhaps — 

Above 

Just then a voice came ricochetting o'er the hills 

From far New Hampshire's open doors — a bugle call — 

Come home ! — and see the dear old valleys once again ! 

Come home ! — and climb the old familiar hills once more, 

And see how grandly beautiful the Old Home is ! 

Come home ! — and wander through the fields of tasseled corn. 

And roast the luscious ears as in your boyhood's prime ! 

Come home ! — see how the red and yellow apples taste 

That hang upon the trees you loved to climb so well ! 

Come home ! — wade all the pebbly brooks where once you fished, 

And then recount the triumphs of your fishing-rod, 

And all the wonders of the pool wherein you swam ! 

Come home ! — and see the zig-zag lightnings flash across 

The clouds, and list the thunders crack the mountain's crest ! 

Come home ! — and see 3'et once again the country church 

Where your bare feet, tanned brown, perchance, have often trod, 

And the old schoolhouse where your jackknife carved your nanit ! 

Come home ! — and see old friends — perhaps some still abide — 

And make the welkin ring with songs of other days ! 

Come home ! — and see how Progress marks the dear old town, — 

How all the beauty — all the good — have riper grown ! 

Come home ! — and be for one brief week a boy again. 

And drink the bubbling laughter from the cooling spring ! 

Come home ! — and wander through the drowsy Cave of Dreams 

To the muffled patter of the rain-drops on the roof ! 

Come home ! — and visit that dear spot where calmly sleep 

The father, mother, that you fondlj^ loved in days 

Gone by, and ne'er shall see again, and lay your head 

Upon the soft green turf that kindly covers them ! 

Come home ! — Come Iwjjic ! — Come home ! 

And when the old man roused himself from that sweet dream. 
His eyes were full of love-light ; tears were on his lashes ; 
And brokenly he said, — " I— will — go — home ! " 







THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 

Ly y. B. Walker. 




HIS house, mentioned by Mr. 
David Watson, in his Con- 
cord Directory of 1S44, as 
' ' the oldest two story house 
between Haverhill, Mass., and Cana- 
da,"^ was erected by the Reverend 
Timothy Walker, the First Minister 
of Concord, when New Hampshire 
was a British Province, and its peo- 
ple were subjects of King George the 
Second. To aid in its erection, his 
fellow-citizens, on the i6th of Janu- 
ary, 1733/4, made him a grant 
from their common treasury of fifty 
pounds.' 



Its life spans the several periods of 
King George's and the last French 
and Indian wars ; of the Revolution- 
ary War and the establishment of the 
government of the United States ; of 
the War of 1S12 and of that with 
Mexico ; of our Civil War and of our 
war witli Spain. It has witnessed 
the relinquishment, by France and 
Spain, of substantially all of their 



1 The correctness of this statement is neither 
affirmed nor denied. 



2 At a meeting of the Inhabitants and Freehold- 
ers of Pennj' Cook, holden on the i6th day of Janu- 
ary 1733/4 it was 

"Voted that there .should be Fifty Pounds given 
to Mr. Timothy Walker for building of him a 
Dwelling House in Penny Cook provided that he 
gives the Inhabitants and F'reeholders a Receipt 
that he has received in full for his Salary in times 
past until this Day for the Decay of Money it not 
being equal to Silver at Seventeen Shillings the 
Ounce." 

Ruiii/ord Town Records, printed vol., p. 13. 



THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 



167 



immense colonial areas on this hemi- 
sphere. 

During the first of the wars above 
mentioned, the people of Rumford 
lived more or less of the time in gar- 
risons. Within the one whose walls 
enclose this house dwelt eight fami- 
lies, besides that of the First Minis- 
ter. Watch and ward was main- 
tained day and night, and the dis- 
charge of a musket from its sentry 
box indicated to all who heard it the 
approach of the Indian enemy. ^ 

From these garrisons, the men 
went out armed to their work, on 



'Garrisons in 1746. 
" Province of \ 
New Hanipe. \ 

We, the subscribers, being ap- 
pointed a Committee of Militia for settling: the 
Garrisons in the frontier Towns and Plantations 
in the Sixth Regiment of Militia in this Province, 
by his Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., 
Governor, &c, having viewed the situation and 
enquired into the circumstances of the District of 
Rumford, do hereby appoint and state the follow- 
ing Garrisons, viz. : 

The Garrison round the house of the Reverend 
Timothy Walker, to be one of the Garrisons in sd 
Rumford, and thafthfe following inhabitants, with 
their family's, viz: 




Capt. John Chandler, 
Abraham Bradley, 
Samuel Bradley, 
John Webster, 



Nathaniel Rolfe, 
Joseph Pudney, 
Isaac Walker, Jr., 
Obadiah Foster, 



be and hereby are, ordered and .stated at that 
Garrison." 

Extract from Report of Committee, May 75, IJ46. 




First Meeting-house in 
xxvii— 12 



Families quartered at the Garrison of the First Minister, 
1745. 

week days, and with their families to 
their block house, to worship, on 
Sundays. The First Minister prayed 
and preached with his gun beside 
him.- Gospel and gun were near 
companions in those days. Indeed, 
even yet, the gunpowder age has not 
fully passed. 

The frame of this 
house is mainly of 
pitch pine and white 
oak. Its boarding 
and inside woodwork 
aie of white pine. It 
originally consisted of 
a two story front, forty 
feet long and twenty 
feet wide ; and of a 
one story ell, about 
twenty feet square. 
Each was covered 
with a gambrel roof, 

2 " 1746, June 24, Wm. Stick- 
ney brought up my new gun, 
and my mare from Andover." 
Diaries of Rev . T. Walker, p. ij 



i68 



THE HOUSE OE THE FIRST MINISTER. 




House of the First Minister, I 734. 



battened with birch bark, and shin- 
gled. It had three chimneys, two 
of brick, and one of stone laid in clay 
mortar and plastered within and with- 
out with clay and chopped straw. In 
these were six fireplaces of ample di- 
mensions; that in the kitchen having 
before it a hearth of granite ten feet 
long, still in use, and polished by the 
feet of the family generations of the 
last one hundred and sixty-five years. 



A quaint correspondence, in 1757, 
between the First Minister and his 
son, then teaching school at Brad- 
ford, Mass., relative to painting "ye 
outside" of it has been preserved.^ 



1 "Am now to inform you yt we have hitherto got 
along with good success with ye House & find we 
shall have a comfortable and handsome one, if we 
can get thro with it, but finding several species of 
materials to fall short, have determined upon a 
journey to Boston. * * * One article we have at 
present under consideration is, whether or no to 
paint ye outside. Am advised to it by ye best 
Judges & particularly Col. Rolfe." 

Walker Papers, vol. i,p.5. 




Building in which the New Hampshire Legislature held its Fi'st Session in Concord, 1782. 



THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 



169 



,0. 



? 



0% cr7^A^fr€^/s^i,./y (^A , 








^?'?. 




^-3^ 




2 






Ut- iie^^ c^^/Y'Cm^^' ^>^ 



-V 










.4^. ^ 



4fc-/rr 



^/^^ 





Bill of Sale of Slave Girl Rose, 

The conclusion then reached is not 
known. Seventy years ago it wore a 
coat of light drab paint upon its 
walls, and of white upon its cornices, 
corner-boards, and casings. These 
remained unchanged until 1848. 

The interior was not completel}^ 
finished until 1764, when the title to 
the township had been confirmed to 
its occupants by a second decision of 
the King in Council, and a legal con- 
test of forty years was substantially 
ended. Then, tradition says. Dea- 
con Webster, of Bradford, Mass., 
came to Rumford and spent the sum- 
mer in constructing the front stair- 
way, with its ornamental rail and 
balusters, and the paneled dadoes of 
the upper and lower halls. 

The room partitions were largely 
wainscoting, the window sashes were 
heavy and glazed with small panes of 
seven by nine glass, those of the first 
story being protected by inside shut- 
ters of wood. 



The Legislature met in Concord 
for the first time on the 13th day 
of March, 1782, at the old North 
Church. As there was no means of 
warming it, an adjournment was im- 
mediately taken to a room prepared 
for it, in a building still standing on 
the west side of North Main street 
and numbered 225 and 227.^ 



1 This house then stood upon the east side of Main 
street, about four rods south of the house of the First 
Minister. 




Count Rumford. 
From the original in the Royal Iiistitutioii, Loniiott. 



I JO THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 

During its session, the First Minis- the first floor and eight on the sec- 
ter placed at the use of the state offi- ond, with a Hberal interposition of 
cials in attendance such portions of closets, hall ways and entries. One 
his house as they required. The portion of the attic was devoted to 
president, Meshech Weare, with the bins for the storage of grain, and 
Honorable Council, occupied the another to a small sleeping room, 
north front chamber ; the secretary In the remainder was kept a miscel- 
of state, Ebenezer Thompson, the laneous collection of farm and house- 
sitting-room ; and the state treasurer, hold utensils not in active use — 
Nicholas Oilman, the south front weaving machinery, spinning-wheels, 
chamber. swifts, flax-combs, etc. It was the 

The First Minister lived to occupy most attractive place in all the house 

/■f- -v-jf '--,•- ■;■ ^ {^/ .•*»*.. o. •-«>««. x' ^ . • . ' - . ) 

'^^T /2 //-ef ■^i^^^^^y'T-r^^nt^ ^^^e^*^- ^i<5^^.^.<5^ r'tyA^e>^i. ^y-T-t^i^x^ ^y^'^i't^-^^ ^ -^r-z^ /a. = 
-ruc/"^/ />*/ ^^^<a^^«^' ^.^fixY^/^ .~ z*'*^ £^ /^*^ ^ J/.f^i/:f^ ^'Tt^Z. tJtycCt ^^ac^ z-»t^ 









(Ar^^l ^rr.f-n:://^i^. 



Extract from Letter of Benjamin Thompson to his Father-in- Law, the First Mmister. 

his house until September i, 1782, for the children, with the exception 

when he died, having completed a of the pantry. 

pastorate of nearly fifty-two years. Beneath the first floor were two 

Upon his decease, its ownership cellars, one for the storage of meats, 

passed to his son. Judge Timothy vegetables, etc. ; another, for uses of 

Walker, who, with his wife, occu- which recollection speaks charily, 

pied it the remainder of their lives, mildly hinting that, had the Maine 

To them were born fourteen children, liquor law then been in force, it 

It can be no surj^rise, therefore, that might have furnished a fit repository 

its enlargement became imperative, for its archives. 

This was secured by doubling the The wainscoting and other wood- 
length and height of its ell. work of the several rooms bore differ- 
As first remembered by its present ent colors ; that of the parlor and sit- 
owner, it contained seven rooms on ting-room chamber being green ; of 



THE HOUSE OE THE EIRST MINISTER.. 



the sitting-room, light bkie ; of the 
front hall, parlor chamber, and old 
people's bedroom, white ; and of the 
kitchen, red. 

Around this kitchen, as a centre, 
revolved the general econoni}^ of the 
household. Its red color gave it a 
cheerful tone ; its wooden window 
shutters, a sense of secnrity ; its am- 
ple display on open shelves of crock- 
ery, pewter and wooden ware, a com- 
fortable intimation of good cheer, while 
its huge fireplace, brick oven, and 
swinging crane, loaded with a graded 
line of pots and kettles, asserted 
the famil3^'s dependence upon its 
cook. 

The six doors of this room, like 
the gates of ancient Rome, opened in 
all directions ; one to the back room, 
a second to the deep closet, another 
to the old people's bedroom, still an- 
other to the pantry, another still to 
the vegetable and meat cellar, and a 
sixth to a side entry and thence out 
doors ; while, through the capacious 
flue of its chimne}', the sailing clouds 
might be observ^ed in the daytime, 
and the sparkling stars at night. 

Here, in old colonial times, when a 
mild slavery existed in New Hamp- 





Sarah, Couritec.i of Rumfoid. 
From n Painting by Kcllcrlioffm-, 17Q7- 

shire, Rose^ and Violet domineered 
over their gentle mistress within, 
just as Prince lorded it over his mas- 
ter, the first minister, on his farm 
without. Here Eph. Colby, the town 
bully, rehearsed his exploits, boast- 
ing that he feared no man on earth 
save Parson Walker. Occasionally, 
at nighfall, a strolling Indian, melan- 
cholly representative of a vanishing 
race, found welcome in this plain 
kitchen. Here he loosened his belt, 
fed to his fill, rolled himself in his 
blanket, and upon its floor slept 
soundly before the fire which never 
went fully out. 

At the decease of the second pro- 
prietor, Judge Timothy Walker, the 
house descended to his youngest 
son. Captain Joseph Walker, and 
still later, to the present proprietor. 
With the exception of a slight en- 
largement and modifications, easily 
recognized, it remains as above de- 
scribed. It has sheltered six genera- 
tions of the First Minister's family, 



Rolfe and Rumford Asylum. 
Once the Residence of Count Ritm/ord. 



' How many slaves the First Minister owned in 
the course of his life does not appear. Three bills 
of sale of such property have been preserved, of 
one of which the illustration, p.. 169, is-ta facsimile. 



172 



THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 




Prof. Samuei F. B. Morse. 



and, by God's blessing, the oil in the 
cruse and the meal in the barrel, has 
never failed. During the first forty 
years of its existence, its occupants 
were loyal to the cross of St. George. 
Since 1776, they have gloried in the 
stars and stripes. 

The first two owners of this house 
were much engaged in public affairs. 

The First Minister was not only 
the spiritual leader of his people, 
but quite often a temporal advisor 
in their business matters as well. 
Many of the legal documents relat- 
ing to these, which have been pre- 
served, are in his handwriting. He 
was their agent in the celebrated 
Bow Controvers3^ before mentioned, 
which involved the title to their en- 
tire township, and lasted forty years. 
During its continuance, he made 
three journeys to I^ondon in prose- 




iMuf I II wtjb I »^ur 



I ij 1 li I y 



House of the First Minibtet. 



THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER. 



173 




Mrs. S. F. B. Morse. 



the 



cution of their claims before 
king in council. 

For more than sixty years, the 
judicial and multifarious other duties 
of Judge Walker kept him in close 
touch with all the affairs of his town, 
and with many of the state, which 
he had aided in creating. 

These varied relations of its occu- 
pants brought to this house, during 
the first one hundred years of its 
existence, visitors almost numberless, 
raanj' of whose names receive fre- 
quent mention in their diaries. 
Here, for half a century, the First 
Minister entertained his clerical 
brethren. Here, as visitors, re- 
peatedly came General John Stark, 
sometimes accompanied by his wife 
{nee Elizabeth Page), to whom the 
first minister had united him in mar- 
riage. Here, also, were welcomed 
Major Robert Rogers, the ranger, 
Capt. Peter Powers of Coos, Col. 



Joseph Blauchard, Col. John Goffe, 
Capt. Calel) Page, Capt. Phineas 
Stevens, and many others, much of 
whose talk was of French and Indian 
wars in which they had been or 
were then engaged. Under the same 
roof, a little later, with his neigh- 
bors. Col. Thomas Stickney, Col. 
Benjamin Rolfe, Capt. Joshua Ab- 
bott, and Capt. Benjamin Emery, his 
only son, Timothy, his sons-in-law, 
Capt. Abiel Chandler, and Dr. Eben- 
ezer Harnden Goss, all, subsequently, 
participants in the Revolutionary 
struggle, near at hand, the First 
Minister discussed the varying pros- 
pects of that inevitable contest. 
Here, too, the old patriot strove, but 
in vain, to detach from his entau- 




Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria.' 
From a Painting by Keller lioffer, Munich, lyqy. 



' It was under the patronage of Charles Theodore, 
the E.ector of Bavaria ( 17S4-1799), that Count Rnin- 
ford made many of the scientific researches and in- 
stituted many of the social and civil reforms which 
secured to hi'iu high position and lasting fame. 



174 



THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST AHNISTEK. 



glement with the royal cause the 
husband of his eldest daughter, Beu- 
janiin Thompson, now known to the 
world as Count Rumford. 

In later years, his son and suc- 
cessor. Judge Walker, welcomed 
to the hospitalities of his paternal 
home, friends of his own generation. 
Anions these were President Meshech 
Weare, Secretary Ebenezer Thomp- 
son, Treasurer Nicholas Oilman, 




Countess Nogarola.^ 
Front n Painting hy Kellerhoffcr, TilutiicJi, I7Q~. 

Governor John Langdon, Col. Eben- 
ezer Webster, the father of Daniel, 
while later still, its doors swung 



' The Countess of Nogarola became the chaperon 
of the Countess of Rumford when at the age of 
about twenty-one having left America, where she 
had been born and educated, she joined her father, 
then a widower, at the Bavarian court, in Munich. 
They ijecame fast friends, and wlien the latter was 
about to return to her native land in 1799, the Count- 
ess of Nogarola presented to her, then in London, 
an oil portrait of herself of which this is a copy. 
Of this portrait she thus speaks in a letter dated 
February 12, 1799: " Je suppose qu' a '1 heure qu' il 
est vous aurez re<;u mon Portrait, une vue de la 
mer que j' y ai fait ajouter (qoique je ne la trove 
pas parfaitement execut^e) vous rappellera que 
mes penses sont bien souvient, tourn6es vers cet 
element qui nous sepere." The Countess of Noga- 
rola and the Countess of Baumgarteu were sisters. 



open to Countess Rumford, to Prof. 
Samuel F. B. Morse," of telegraphic 
fame, and husband of his grand- 
daughter, to Governors William 
Plumer, Benjamin Pierce, and Isaac 
Hill, besides numberless others, 
whose names it would not be eas}- 
to number. 

Its third proprietor, Capt. Joseph 
Walker, had military tastes, and, in 
the early part of the century, com- 
manded a company of horse, com- 
posed of persons living in Concord 
and several of the adjoining towns. 
Tradition says, that meetings of the 
company were warned by verbal 
notices given the Sunday before, to 
such members as were present for 
worship at the Old North meeting- 
house, which by them were com- 
municated to the others not there 
present. It also says that more or 
less of the members who lived at a 
distance came mounted to the resi- 
dence of their captain the night be- 
forehand, and that to such, the hos- 
pitality of his house was freely 
extended, and to their steeds, the 
horsepitality of his barns. It further- 
more asserts that, when the supply 
of beds proved insufficient, as it 
sometimes did, the less fortunate, 
unbuttoning their waistbaud.s, laid 
down upon the floors and "endured 
hardness as good soldiers." 

At the death of its second mistress, 
in 1828, the house contained a re- 
spectable library, the result of the 
gradual accretions of nearl}' a cen- 
tury. The division of her estate 
among her heirs-at-law caused a dis- 
persion of its volumes, as complete 



2 Professor Samuel F. B. Morse was married, Sep- 
tember 29, 1S18, to Lucretia Pickering Walker, a 
daughter of Charles Walker, Esq.,— for many years 
in the practice of law in Concord, — and a grand- 
daughter of Hon. Timothy Walker. 



THE HOUSE OE THE FIRST MINISTER. 



175 



as did the deportation of the mem- 
bers of the ten tribes of Israel by 
Shahnaneser. 

lyittle knowledge of its contents 
has survived, other than that of in- 
ference, from the character of a 
few volumes which a long effort has 
reclaimed from their exile. These 
indicate that it may have been 
largely theological and miscellaneous. 
Among these may be found the 
Westminster Catechism, An Exami- 
nation of Edwards on the Will, four 
volumes of Caryl's Job, Coleman's 
Sermons, Religio Medici, Baxter's 
Saint's Rest, a first edition copy of 
Belknap's History of New Hamp- 
shire, a volume of the Tattler, to- 
gether with enough others to bring 
the number to a score or thereabouts. 

As these stand together, in their 
dark, leather covers, in a corner of 
the present library, their expression 
appears one of sadness. While glad, 
apparently, to get back to their old 
home, they seem to mourn more the 
absence of their former companions, 
than to rejoice in the welcome ac- 
corded them by the larger company 
now about them. 

The few pictures, which formerly 
hung upon the walls of the house, 
shared the fortune of the books just 
mentioned. Those now scattered 
through its different rooms have 
been gradually gathered from differ- 
ent sources by its present occupants ; 
mostly from the collections of the 
Countess of Rumford and of Judge 
Nathaniel G. Upham, the father of 
its present mistress. The large one 
of the woman and child, over the 
front hall stairway, was painted in 
Paris, about twenty years ago, by 
Charles Walker Eind, a grandson of 
Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, and 



the little encaustic painting on cop- 
per, in the poet's corner of the li- 
brary, is a copy of Prof. Morse's 
portrait of his wife ; painted when 
she was about twenty years of age. 
Nearly all the portraits and some of 
the other subjects in oil are the 
works of German and English artists. 
The few water colors and prints are 
of various ages and from different 
sources. Of the former, the two 




Countess Baumgarten. 
From a Painting by Kcllerhoffer, Munich, ijq'. 

Bavarian landscapes, above the man- 
tel of the sitting-room, were pre- 
sented to Count Rumford by the 
ladies of Munich, in recognition of 
his .services in causing the neutrality 
of Bavaria to be recognized by the 
contending armies of the French and 
Austrians, in 1796. The three early 
prints of Trumbull's paintings of the 
Death of Gen. Montgomery, of the 
Battle of Bunker Hill, and of the 
Declaration of Independence were 
purchased of the artist's executor. 



CONTOOCOOK RIVER. 



176 



soon after his decease. They are 
largely interesting as specimens of 
American art, at the close of the 
last and the beginning of the present 
centur}'. 

And the furniture which was in 
the house in 1828, encountered the 
same dispersion which came to the 
books and pictures. 

The small stone in front of the 
house records the names of the 
families assigned to the garrison 
built around it in 1746. The large, 
round stone beside the driveway, is 
the horse-block formerly attached 
to the Old North meeting-house in 



which the first minister preached 
from 1 75 1 to 1782. In that period, 
many of the good wives of the parish 
rode to meeting on horseback, seated 
upon pillions behind their husbands. 
Tradition has it that its purchase 
was effected by their joint contribu- 
tions of a pound of butter apiece. 

The elms in front of the house 
were planted by the First Minister 
on the second day of May, 1764. 
On this seventeenth day of June, 
1899, they are in a fair state of 
health, growing old, indeed, but 
gracefully and with a tenacious vigor 
which makes slow their decline. 




Horse-block of Old North Meeting-house 



CONTOOCOOK RIVER. 

By Edna Dean Proctor. 

Of all the streams that seek the sea 
By mountain pass, or sunny lea, 
Now where is one that dares to vie 
With clear Contoocook, swift and shy ? 
Monadnock's child, of snow-drifts born. 
The snows of many a winter morn 
And many a midnight dark and still. 
Heaped higher, whiter, day by day, 
To melt, at last, with suns of May, 
And steal, in tiny fall and rill, 
Down the long slopes of granite gray; 
Or filter slow through seam and cleft 



CONTOOCOOK RIVER. 177 

When frost and storm the rock have reft, 

To bubble cool in sheltered springs 

Where the lone red-bird dips his wings, 

And the tired fox that gains their brink 

Stoops, safe from hound and horn, to drink. 

And rills and springs, grown broad and detp, 

Unite through gorge and glen to sweep 

In roaring brooks that turn and take 

The over-floods of pool and lake. 

Till, to the fields, the hills dehver 

Contoocook's bright and brimming river ! 

O have you seen, from Hillsboro' town 

How fast its tide goes hurrying down. 

With rapids now, and now a leap 

Past giant boulders, black and steep, 

Plunged in mid water, fain to keep 

Its current from the meadows green ? 

But, flecked with foam, it speeds along ; 

And not the birch-tree's silvery sheen, 

Nor the soft lull of murmuring pines, 

Nor hermit thrushes, fluting low, 

Nor ferns, nor cardinal flowers that glow 

Where clematis, the fairy, twines, 

Nor bowery islands where the breeze 

Forever whispers to the trees. 

Can stay its course, or still its song ; 

Ceaseless it flows till, round its bed. 

The vales of Henniker are spread. 

Their banks all set with golden grain, 

Or stately trees whose vistas gleam — 

A double forest — in the stream ; 

And, winding 'neath the pine-crowned hill 

That overhangs the village plain. 

By sunny reaches, broad and still. 

It nears the bridge that spans its tide — 

The bridge whose arches low and wide 

It ripples through — and should you lean 

A moment there, no lovelier scene 

On England's Wye, or Scotland's Tay, 

Would charm your gaze, a summer's day. 

O of what beauty 'tis the giver — 

Contoocook's bright and brimming river ! 

And on it glides, by grove and glen. 
Dark woodlands, and the homes of men, 
With calm and meadow, fall and mill ; 



ijS MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER. 

Till, deep and clear, its waters fill 
The channels round that gem of isles 
Sacred to captives' woes and wiles, 
And eager half, half eddying back, 
Blend with the lordly Merrimack ; 
And Merrimack whose tide is strong 
Rolls gently, with its waves along, 
Monadnock's stream that, coy and fair, 
Has come, its larger life to share. 
And to the sea doth safe deliver 
Contoocook's bright and brimming river 



MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER. 

By Edna Dean Proctor. 

Uprose Monadnock in the northern blue, 

A mighty minster builded to the lyord ! 

The setting sun his crimson radiance threw 

On crest, and steep, and wood, and valley sward. 

Blending their myriad hues in rich accord. 

Till like the wall of heaven it towered to view. 

Along its slope, where russet ferns were strewn 

And purple heaths, the scarlet maples flamed. 

And reddening oaks and golden birches shone, — 

Resplendent oriels in the black pines framed, 

The pines that climb to woo the winds alone. 

And down its cloisters blew the evening breeze. 

Through courts and aisles ablaze with autumn bloom, 

Till shrine and portal thrilled to harmonies 

Now soaring, dying now in glade and gloom. 

And with the wind was heard the voice of streams, — 

Constant their Aves and Te Deums be, — 

Lone Ashuelot murmuring down the lea. 

And brooks that haste where shy Contoocook gleams 

Through groves and meadows, broadening to the sea. 

Then holy twilight fell on earth and air, 

Above the dome the stars hung faint and fair. 

And the vast minster hushed its shrines in prayer ; 

While all the lesser heights kept watch and ward 

About Monadnock builded to the Lord ! 




rt:':ii''"r""."""fr"t 




GEORGE M. SHERBURNE. 



George 



M. Sherburne, a veteran of the Rebellion, died Friday, August 4, at 
his home in Pittsfield. He was born in Gilmanton 57 years ago, and enlisted in 
Co. I, Sixth regiment, N. H. Vols., November 28, 186 1. He was one of eleven 
children, eight of whom are now living, 

DANIEL C. vSTlLSON. 

On August 21, at Somerville, Mass., was ended the life of Daniel C. Stilson, 
the inventor of the "Stilson" wrench. He was born in Durham, March 25, 
1830, and was a highly skilled mechanic. 

REV. GEORGE FABER CLARK. 

A life of long and faithful service in the temperance cause, a life devoted to 
all that was pure and manly, filled up with large service to his parish and his 
townspeople, was that of Rev. George Faber Clark, who died in his eighty-third 
year, at West Acton, Mass., on July 30. 

A native of Dublin, he was graduated at Harvard Divinity school in 1847, 
after a preparatory course at Exeter. He was ordained at the Unitarian church 
of Charlemont and preached for some time in that and neighboring towns ; sub- 
sequently he was settled over the church in Stow, then in Mendon, and in Hub- 
bardston. He was deeply interested in local history and biography, writing a 
valuable history of Stow. 

J. BYRON HOBART. 

J. Byron Hobart, one of Somersworth's highly esteemed and most respected 
citizens, passed away at his home on High street, August 12, after a lingering ill- 
ness from paralysis. He was born in Groton, October 28, 1840, and received an 
education in the public schools of his native town. While yet a young man he 
removed to Manchester, where he remained a few years, coming from that place 
in 187 1 to this city, where he was employed by the Great Falls Manufacturing 
Company, and for many years held the position of second hand over the weaving 
room in No. 3 mill. In politics he was a Republican, although he never became 
actively engaged in them. He was a member of Libanus Lodge of Masons of 
Somersworth, and of Mechanics' Lodge of Odd Fellows of Manchester. He is 
survived by a widow and a son, Paul. 

GEORGE J. WRIGHT. 

George J. Wright, the veteran locomotive engineer, died at his home in Brad- 
ford, August 28, after a long illness. Mr. Wright was born in Melvin's in War- 
ner, and soon after the Northern railroad was opened he secured employment 
thereon as a section hand. Later he was taken on an engine, and was promoted 
to the position of engineer after serving his time as a fireman. He ran for a time 
on the Northern, and was then transferred to the Claremont branch, where he 
continued until about eight years ago, when he retired. He is survived by a wife, 
one son, George B., two brothers, Eben and Robert, and a sister living in Minneap- 
olis, Mr, Wright was well known in this city and vicinity, and was highly esteemed. 



i8o NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 

ALBERT A. HATCH. 

Albert Alanson Hatch died at his home in Somersworth August 23, after an 
illness of several months. He was born at Gilford, September 10, 1823, his 
parents being Eben and Mary (Hatch) Hatch. His parents early removed to 
North Berwick, where he attended the public schools. He began work with the 
Great Falls Manufacturing Company in April, 1844, and was overseer in the 
weaving room for years, later having charge of the reeds. September 15, 1S53, 
he was married to Sarah E. Lord, daughter of Oliver Lord, of South Berwick, who 
died two years ago. They had four children, all of whom are now living, — 
Charles E., Mrs. Helen Legro, Etta W., and Emma C, of Somersworth. One sis- 
ter, Mrs. Thomas Weymouth of North Berwick, also survives him. 

Mr. Hatch was a constant attendant at the Congregational church in this city. 
He was a prominent member of Washington Lodge, I. O. O. F., and was a past 
grand. He also held the office of warden of Granite State Commandery, 
U. O. G. C. Years ago he belonged to the Banner Guards, a company of militia 
which was well known in its time. In politics he was a Republican, and a sturdy 
one, too, though he never sought to hold public office. 

MAJ. EDWARD T. ROWELL. 

Maj. Edward T. Rowell, president of the Lowell, Mass., Courier-Citizen Pub- 
lishing Company, died August 4, on a train en route from Boston to Swam- 
scott, where he and his family had been spending the summer. Death was sup- 
posed to have been due to heart failure. He was born in Concord, August 14, 
1836. After passing his boyhood on a farm, he fitted for and entered Dartmouth 
college, graduating in 1861. His business partner, the Hon. George A. Marden, 
was a college mate when he graduated. 

The Fifth New Hampshire regiment was being recruited and he enlisted. He 
was given a second lieutenant's commission in Co. F, Second regiment, Berdan's 
Sharpshooters, and received rapid promotion, being made first lieutenant, captain, 
major, and finally lieutenant-colonel, although he did not muster in with the lat- 
ter. He was wounded at Gettysburg and again at Petersburg. 

After the war Major Rowell was for some time engaged in the iron business 
at Portland, but in September of 1867, with Mr. Marden, who was in his regi- 
ment, he purchased the Lowell Courier and Weekly younial. Together they ran 
those papers until a few years ago, when a company was formed and the Lowell 
Citizen absorbed. Major Rowell being the business manager, and Mr. Marden the 
editor. Both have retained similar positions in the stock company. 

The papers they conducted reflected their political sentiments. President 
Grant, in his second term, appointed Major Rowell postmaster at Lowell, and he 
was successively reappointed by Presidents Hayes and Arthur. Governor Robin- 
son made him state gas commissioner, and he held the place for five years. In 
1897 he was elected representative to the legislature, and again in 1898. 

In 1890, Major Rowell was elected president of the Railroad National bank 
of Lowell, and since served in that capacity for three years. He was commander 
of Post 42, G. A. R., and served as delegate to state and national conventions of 
the order. He was one of the committee sent to Washington at the time of Gen- 
eral Butler's death, to escort the body to Lowell, General Butler having been a 
member of that post. 

He was president of the Ayer Home for Women and Children and the Lowell 
General hospital, and was an officer in the Kirk Street Congregational church. 

Major Rowell, in September, 1870, married Miss Clara, daughter of George 
Webster of Lowell, who survives him. Three children have been born to them, 
one of whom, a daughter, is living. 




^4^^'^^'^^ 



Tme CiRARirn 




"^1 1 



ITMOT. 



Vol. XXVII. 



OCTOBER, 1899. 



No. 4. 




Mary E. Crosby. C1iji>. iJuuittr. 

Anderson's Coal Schooners. 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 

By Edwin It'. For 7' est. 



u 



T was Oliver Goldsmith who 
sang of " Sweet Auburn, love- 
liest village of the plain," but 
Goldsmith had never seen 
Exeter, and he was partial to Eng- 
lish, or, shall we say, Irish scenery 
anyway. The American Goldsmith, 
who shall make this beautiful New 
Hampshire town thus immortal, is 
still hidden 'neath the veil of ob- 
scurity, but sooner or later he will 
appear, for the inspiration of the 



beautiful old town is such that no 
poet could long resist its spell, and 
the Tennyson, the Eongfellow, or the 
Arnold of to-morrow will recognize 
its beauty and sing its praises even if 
the Tennyson, the Eongfellow, and 
the Arnold of to-day have been sin- 
gularly silent upon that subject. 

The average article upon Exeter 
begins with Wheelwright and ends 
with Phillips Exeter Academy. A 
score more or less of histories of 



1 84 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



Exeter have I perused, and in them those sturdy, God-fearing, Indian- 



all, without a variation of a hair, 
have I found this order traversed. 

I hate ruts, and hence I shall not 
travel in this one. My interest and 
the great public's interest in Exeter 
is in Modern Exeter not Ancient 



hating, Bible-loving, money-making, 
Yank-producing pioneers than my- 
self. There were giants in those 
days, and in New Hampshire, as 
in Massachusetts, they laid broad 
and deep the foundations for a 




Andersen Snapshots. 



Exeter — in the Exeter of to-day, in 
its schools, in its highways, in its 
business men, and in its tax rate, 
and not in the Exeter of 1638, and 
in the Rev. John Wheelwright, es- 
timable man as he may have been. 
Far be it from me to appear dis- 
respectful to the fathers. No man 
yields a larger meed of praise to 



church without a bishop, and a state 
without a king. But, after all, the 
greatest study of mankind is man, 
and it is the men who made the 
Exeter of to-day rather than those 
who made it yesterday or the day 
before with which we have to do. 

New England, out of all of the 
different sections of the United 



THE EXETER OF '1 0-DAY. 



185 





Coi. R, N. Elwel 



Gen. Wiliiam P. Chadwick. 



States of America, has a distinctive 
personality. Her founders left their 
impress upon her, and although we 
have been overrun since by the Gaul 
and the Hun, by the bond and the 
free, the Yankee stamp, the Puritan 
hall-mark, is still there. 

And in New England certain 
towns stand out conspicuously. Of 
such are Newport, R. I., once a 
great seaport, thought to be a possi- 
ble rival to New York, now deterio- 
rated into a watering-place, the 



home of millionairedom and boasting 
" cottages," whose splendor makes a 
European potentate's mouth water 
with envy. Salem, Mass., once the 
greatest shipping port on the Atlan- 
tic coast, whose Crowninshields and 
Brookhouses had bottoms in every 
dock and sails on every sea, now 
a center for tanning hides and dress- 
ing morocco, content to vegetate 
on vanished glory. Newbury port, 
which has stood still since 1820, 
when she was one of the most 




J! T. liif-'gs. Mary K. lr.isl>.v. 

Anderson's Coal Schooners. 



"^m^ 







I 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



187 



famous cities on our coast, is now 
only known by the superior quality 
of her famous rum. Half a dozen 
others might be mentioned, but the 
list does not include Exeter. Honor- 
able and ancient in its history as any 
of the others, progress and improve- 
ment has ever been its motto, and 
to-day while it has the fine old flavor 
that always attaches to a community 
boasting a continuous history of 260 
years, it has, too, enough of the mod- 
ern commercial spirit to bring it up 
to date, and to make it a worthy 
associate of its more modernly-settled 
neighbors. 

And chiefly among the influences 
that have tended to keep the town 
modern in spirit, while preserving 
the best of its hallowed memories of 
the great men who were nurtured 
here, and who, growing to greatness, 
passed away without their fellow- 
townsmen really recognizing the pre- 
eminence to which thev had reached. 



'/ 



m 



I 





Hon. Thomas Leavitt 



Hon. John D. Lyman. 

— we say chief among these influ- 
ences is Phillips Exeter Academy, 
one of the greatest, if not the greatest 
fitting school in the country. For 
years Phillips Andover and Phillips 
Exeter vied, but the theological 
trend of the former, and the cosmo- 
politan character of the latter have 
tended of late to emphasize to a 
marked degree the differences be- 
tween the two institutions. The 
academy dates back to 1781, when 
it was incorporated, and on January 
7, 1782, tollowiug, Dr. John Phillips 
conveyed to the trustees a large 
amount of land in different parts of 
the state, the whole amounting to 
about $60,000, an independent for- 
tune for those days, and fully as 
much as a grant of a million dollars 
would be to the school to-day. The 
regulations which he made were lib- 
eral and progressive, and thanks to 
this spirit the school has prospered 




HARLAN P. AMEN, A. M. 
I'rn/a'pa! of PInUips Excicr Acadrviy. 



THE EXETER OE TO-DAY. 



189 



and grown marvelously. The school 
grounds comprise as beautiful a spot 
as America can boast, and the build- 
ings, all of which have been erected 
since 1872, and which comprise be- 
side the main adminis- 
tration building, Soule 
hall, Lawrence house, 
Peabody hall, Abbott 
hall, the principal's res- 
idence, gymnasium, 
physical laboratory, 
chemical laboratory, 
etc., etc., form as com- 
plete a school home as 
can be found in either 
Europe or America. Be- 
side the main grounds, 
the academy owns sev- 
en acres of level, sandy 
land used for athletic 
sports. Phillips Exeter puts no pre- 
mium on weaklings. It believes in 
educating brawn as well as brain. 
Its boys are a hardy and a self-reliant 
lot. In its season the chrysanthe- 
mum hair of the football player is 




Hon. Charles Marseilles 



as popular here as it is at Harvard 
or Yale or Pennsylvania. 

The boys are taught to be manly, 
to take as well as to give, and to 
always remember that while the 
world listens with one 
ear to the man who 
has something to say, 
it listens perforce with 
both ears to the man 
who is strong enough 
to compel its attention 
while he says it. I do 
not mean to say by this 
that brutality or plug- 
uglyism is encouraged. 
No school is freer from 
these un-American 
qualities. A premium 
is simply put upon a 
virile race, upon a race 
that shall be able in the twentieth 
century, as it has been in the nine- 
teenth, to hold its own with all the 
world, a race that shall produce its 
Grants, and its Shermans, and its 
Sheridans, and its Deweys, its Samp- 








County Solicitor L. G. H.iyt. 



Sheriff John Pendtr. 



I go 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



sons, and its Schlej's, as well as its 
Websters and its Hales, its Beecliers 
and its Talmages. 

For this reason the gymnasium at 
Phillips Exeter is not neglected any 
more than the chemical laboratory, 
and neither is elevated above the 
other. A sound mind in a sound 
body is Principal Amen's motto. 

The school has an endowment of 
over half a million, and among the 
graduates are no less than forty gov- 



tlie Robinson Female Seminary, 
founded by William Robinson, a 
native of Exeter, who went south 
during the Civil War, settled at 
Augusta, Ga., became rich, and 
dying, left the town of Exeter 
$250,000 for the establishment of a 
school for girls. 

This institution, founded at the 
time that the higher education of 
women commenced to become popu- 
lar, has done a great work in prepar- 




Robinson Female Seminary. 



ernors of states and members of con- 
gress, including the immortal Web- 
ster, twelve cabinet and foreign 
ministers, twenty- five judges of the 
higher courts of the nation, sixty-one 
college professors, including nine 
presidents, thirty- six authors, and 
over 1,200 members of the learned 
professions— truly a magnificent 
record. There are no less than 
thirty-six endowed scholarships, and 
the trustees add the price of tuition. 

Ranking alongside Phillips P^xeter 
in its great educational work, stands 



ing the girls of the present genera- 
tion for their life duties. Cooking 
and home sanitation cut as important 
a figure as music, mathematics, or 
rhetoric. The graduates of the 
school are fitted for the duties of the 
wife and mother as well as for those of 
the teacher and the librarian. The 
arts and sciences of the household 
are not neglected as they are in some 
fitting schools to make a fine lady, 
who with her knowledge of French 
and music and embroidery is almost 
as useless as she is fine. 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



191 



lu addition to the seminary and 
the academy the town has a complete 
system of schools of the highest order, 
including an excellent high school. 
It is not strange that Exeter should 
be intellectual. 

Religion and education go hand in 
hand always, and it is not strange to 
find the town amply provided with 
sanctuaries, in which able and bril- 
liant clergymen expound from week 
to week the word of God. There are 



came as near being the Established 
Church of the New World as it could 
and miss it. But that it did miss it, 
Methodism and Baptistism and Uni- 
tarianism and Universalism and all 
the other isms can eloquently testify. 
Its members, however, were among 
the rich and the influential and the 
important men in almost every com- 
munity, and Exeter was no excep- 
tion. The First Congregational 
church, indeed, as an organization, 



w. 




Squamscott Hotel. 



no less than eight such structures in 
town, representing in alphabetical 
order the Advent, Baptist, Congrega- 
tional, Catholic, Episcopal, Metho- 
dist, and Unitarian denominations. 
The Baptists have an elegant house 
of worship, and the First Congrega- 
tional have one hallowed b}^ many 
years of memories, the present edi- 
fice having stood more than one 
hundred years, its first century expir- 
ing in 1898. The Orthodox church 
in New England, as the Congrega- 
tional church was formerly known, 



dates back to the very settling of the 
town, and for man}^ years the town 
clock and the town bell were kept in 
the church tower, and thus its singu- 
larly close relations to the commu- 
nity were emphasized. 

The Second Congregational church 
is a direct outgrowth of the visit to 
this country of Whitefield, the cele- 
brated evangelist, fifty members of 
the First church who supported him 
withdrawing to found the second 
place of worship. In 1813 the church 
was formally organized, and in 1823 



192 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 




John A. Brown. 

erected its first meeting-house. It is 
now known as the Phillips Congrega- 
tional church and its new sanctuary 
is one of the finest in southern New 
Hampshire. The Baptists date back 
to 1800, the Methodists to 1830, the 
Catholics to 1842, the Advents to 
1852, the time of the Millerite excite- 
ment, the Unitarians to 1854, and the 
Episcopalians to 1865. All seem to 
be planted in fruitful soil and to be 
exercising a marked influence for 
good upon the community. 

The town in addition to these two 
moralizing and spiritualizing influ- 
ences boasts a third humanizing in- 
fluence in the shape of a handsome 
free public library. 

This institution starting in 1853 
with $300, has now over 10,000 books 
on its shelves and is housed in one of 
the finest buildings in town. This 
structure also serves the purpose of a 
soldiers' memorial hall, there being 
inscribed on marble tablets in its ves- 
tibule, the names of the gallant sons 



of Exeter who won deathless fame 
and imperishable renown upon the 
battle-fields of the Southland that our 
Union might continue to exist one 
and indissoluble through all coming 
time. 

Dr. Charles A. Merrill and Mrs. 
Harriet M. Merrill gave the institu- 




O. H. Sleeper's Jewelry Store. 

tion $10,000, the interest to be used 
in buying books, and there have 
been other gifts not as extensive, but 
still very acceptable. 

Besides the churches, schools, and 
library, the town has some ver}^ hand- 
some, modern, and up-to-date public 
buildings. One of the handsomest is 
the county records building. This is 
built of brick in the old Colonial style, 
and its handsome front and inviting 
entrance form a picture not easily 
erased from the mind. The town 
hall is a substantial two-story brick 
structure with a tower and with a 
handsome portico in front. The 
Rockingham county court-house is 
the most ambitious structure in the 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



193 



town. It is built of brick with a 
magnificent tower and a large bow 
window on the front. It is hand- 
somely located on Front street and its 
commanding appearance attracts the 
attention and admiration of all vis- 
itors. 

The residential streets are lined 
with trees and are faced by some of 
the most commodious mansions in 
southeastern New Hampshire. The 
large number of old colonial houses 
that Exeter boasts make it unique 
among early New Hampshire settle- 
ments. The pioneers of this section 
were many of them well-to-do and the 




C. E. Burchstead, M . D. V. 

result is seen in the old family home- 
steads which line Exeter's beautiful 
thoroughfares. Among the number 
are the Peavey house, the Oilman 
mansion occupied by Mr. John T. Per- 
ry, "the oldest house in town," now 
occupied by Miss Harvey, and the 
Judge Smith mansion. The Oilman 
mansion is one of the historic houses 



of Exeter just as the Oilman family 
is one of the historic families of New 
Hampshire. The house was erected 
by Nathaniel Eadd in 1 722-' 23. In 
1743 it wac5 purchased by the great- 
great-grandfather of Mr. Daniel Oil- 
man and in the due course of time it 
became the property of that cele- 
brated governor, John Taylor Oilman, 
who held ofhce eleven consecutive 
years, and then after an interim was 
elevated to that most important posi- 
tion for three years longer. 

The business blocks, like the pub- 
lic buildings, are handsome, commo- 
dious and up-to-date structures, are 
built largely of brick and reflect 
credit upon this conservative and yet 
progressive old town. 

The valuation of Exeter at the 
close of the last fiscal year was 
$3,247,482. Its tax rate was $20 on 
the $1,000, and its net indebtedness, 
$69,768.64. 

The town is strong naturally on 
the social side. Its society is diver- 
sified of course, as is that of everj^ 



^^^ 




Batchelder's Stationery Store. 



194 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 




Fellows's Box Factory. 



New England town with 250 years of Benjamin Pierce, governor, Matthew 



history behind it, but nowhere is it 
stronger than in its secret fraternities. 
There are a large number of these 
and their members vie with each 
other in extending the bonds of fel- 
lowship, assistance and enjoyment, 
for which purpose the several organi- 
zations sprung into being. 

The chief manufacturing industries 
of the town are the Exeter Manufac- 
turing Company's cotton mills, the 
Gale shoe shops, the Exeter Machine 
Company, the Exeter Brass Works, 
and Fellows's box factory. These 
cover a large territory which is a 
veritable hive of industry abounding 
during six days of the week, with 
men and women actively employed 
at remunerative w^ages. 

The Exeter Manufacturing Compa- 
ny, manufacturers of cotton sheetings 
and fine cambrics, was chartered in 
1827, the charter bearing the names of 



Harvey, president of senate, Henry 
Hubbard, speaker, and Richard Bart- 
lett, secretary of state. The mill 
was started in 1830 with 5,000 spin- 




John H. Fellows. 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



195 



dies and 175 looms, which was grad- 
ually increased to 25,000 spindles and 
600 looms. The main building is 
three stories in height, 350 feet long, 
and one half 92 feet wide, and the 
other 72 feet. A side extension for 
repair shop and cloth room 100 feet 
by 36 on ground, same height as 
main building. A high basement 
under all the buildings adds greatly 
to the floor space, where are located 
finishing departments and water 







Exeter News- Letter Building. 

wheels. In addition to the buildings 
enumerated there are large, brick 
storehouses, engine and boiler and 
picker buildings adjoining. Power 
is secured by four 36-inch water 
wheels, and a fine compound Allis 
engine of Soo horse power steam, 
is supplied by three large vertical 




«fc*-..- 



?f- 



McKey's Clothing Slore. 

boilers communicating with a huge 
octagon brick chimney. The officers 
of the Exeter Manufacturing Com- 
pany are president from i827-'29, 
John Houston ; i829-'38, John Har- 
vey; i838-'50, Samuel T. Arm- 
strong ; i85o-'55, James Johnson ; 
i855-'72, Samuel Batchelder ; 1872- 
'76, Albert T. B. Ames; i876-'89, 
Eben Dole; i8S9-'92. William J. 
Dole, Jr.: i892-'93, John J. Beh ; 
i893-'96, Wilham J. Dole, Jr ; 1896, 
Hervey Kent, the present incumbent. 
From 1830 to 1S95 there have been 
but three agents of the concern, John 
Eowe, Jr., served twenty-nine years, 
James Nims for nearly three 3'ears, 
and Hervey Kent for thirty-three 
years. 

The capacity of the mills was 
doubled in i873-'74, and it was even 




The Newfields Bottling Works, Newfields, N. H. 



196 



THE EXETER OE TO-DAY. 



further gradually increased up to its 
present size. The failure of Dale 
Brothers & Company, who had a 
controlling interest in the stock, 
caused embarrassment, and there 
were disastrous fires in 1887 and 
1893, which may have been blessings 
in disguise, as it gave the company 
the opportunity to thoroughly refit 
the mills with the most highly effec- 
tive modern machinery, so as to get 
results as to quality and cheapness 
not possible with the machinery of 
the old mill. 

In 1895 George E. Kent pur- 
chased a large interest, and he has 
since been prominent in the manage- 
ment, being elected general manager 
in 1895, and treasurer and agent in 
1898. In 1897 the Exeter Manu- 
facturing Company leased the Pitts- 
field mills of Pittsfield, owned by 
George E. Kent, and the two plants 
are run as one concern with nearly 
40,000 spindles and 1,000 looms. 
The capital stock of the company is 




•A 



$325,000, divided into 6,250 shares 
of $50 par value. 

The goods are sold by the commis- 
sion house of Converse Stanton & 
Company, New York, Boston, and 
Philadelphia. The present officers 
of the company are Hervey Kent, 
president ; George E. Kent, treas- 
urer and agent ; George B. Goodale, 
clerk ; directors, Herve}^ Kent, George 
E. Kent, Charles A, Appleton, 
Walter M. Brewster, and John E. 
Gordon, the last named having died 
since last election. 

The mills annually consume over 
5,000 bales of cotton, and turn out 
about 7,500,000 yards of fine cottons. 






I 







i 






A. M. Trefethen. 



Dewhirst's Barber Shop. 



A recent writer in endeavoring to 
show up the muddy character of the 
Chicago river, from which the Windy 
city draws its water supply, albeit far 
out in the lake, says of it that in 
order to be kept pure the water 
should be sprinkled, at least, once a 
day. The water of Exeter has not 



IHE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



197 



reached that stage as yet, but to tell 
the truth it is not as pure as Ccesar's 
wife, neither is it as far above sus- 
picion. It compares favorably with 
the water supply of the average New 
England town, but Exeter is indeed 
fortunate in possessing in its midst 
a water supply that is absolutely 






Shoe Store of H. Jelna. 

pure and can be utilized, if desired, 
by everybody. We refer to the ar- 
tesian well of the Exeter Machine 
Works. The output of this well has 
already been put into commercial 
use in the town, and its employment 
is gradually extending among all 
classes. Its purity and sparkling 
qualities have indeed attracted atten- 
tion outside of Exeter, and it is now 
in general use throughout the state. 
The well, at the instigation of Mr. 
W. Burlingame, the treasurer, was 
sunk in order to supply the works 
with pure drinking water, but the 
well proved such a gusher that a 
supply far greater than was needed 
by him was forthcoming from the 

xxvii— 14 



H. F. Dunn. 

start. Knowledge of Mr. Burlin- 
game's lucky strike spread rapidly, 
and as a result another new industry 
was accidentally added to the town, 
viz., the supplying of water for 
commercial purposes. The well was 
drilled through 100 feet of solid rock, 
and water, colorless, odorless, and 
sparkling, was encountered 150 feet 
from the earth's surface. The water 
has been analyzed by eminent analy- 
tical chemists of Boston, and Dr. 
Edmund R. Angell of the state 
board of health of New Hampshire. 
Professor Angell says that the car- 
bonates of magnesia and soda and 
sulphates of magnesia in it impart 
some medicinal properties to it. 
Prof. Henry Carmichael declares 
that it is not only soft and sparkling 
but suitable for all uses. Mr. Bur- 
lingame contemplates extending the 
use of the water to some convenient 
and easily accessible points through 
pure block-tin pipes. Among those 
who highly recommended it are Dr. 



198 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 




A. S. Langley. 

Nute, chairman of the Exeter board 
of health, Mr. Joseph Manning of 
the Squamscott, who uses it exclu- 
sively on his table, and several 
prominent physicians in Concord and 
elsewhere. 

Exeter is fortun- 
ate not only in her 
educational, histor- -' . 

ical, and naturally 
picturesque attrac- 
tions, but also in 
her mercantile in- 
dustries, and in her 
strong virile men in 
every walk in life. 
In the educational 
line no man in Exe- 
ter exceeds in pop- 
ularity and worth 
the scholarly head 
of Phillips Exeter 



academy, Prof. Harlan P. 
Amen, and ranking along- 
side of him is that notable 
educator, Prof. George A. 
Went worth, the celebrated 
mathematician and compiler 
of mathematical works. 
Among the leading physi- 
cians of the town are Dr. 
W. G. Perry, Dr. W. H. 
Nute, and Dr. E. L. Saw- 
yer. No sketch of Exeter 
would be complete without 
reference to Hon. E. G. 
Eastman, the efficient and 
scholarly attorney-general of 
the state. Judge John E. 
Young of the supreme court, 
the venerable and highly 
esteemed Hon. John D. Ly- 
man, Hon. Thomas Leavitt, 
Gen. William P. Chadwick, 
Hon. Charles Marseilles, the 
nestor of New Hampshire 
journalists. Gen. S. H. Gale, the head 
of the Gale Bros, shoe factory, is, of 
course, one of the town's leading citi- 
zens, and another, known all over the 
state, is Col. R. N. Elwell, the popu- 




i'l i mm 



Hotel Whittier, Hampton, N. H. 



THE EXETER OE TO-DAY. 



199 




in If I PI ii 



W^lPi'-* "■'^ 





Chase's Hotel, Rockingham Junction, N. H. 



lar and efficient collector of the port. 
Hon. W. H, C. Follansby, the coun- 
ty treasurer, is another strong man of 
whom it can be said that no pent- 
up Exeter contracts his powers. 
Eben Folsom, the treasurer of 
the Exeter Brass Works, is an 
old-time resident of the town, 
and with John H. Fellows, the 
proprietor of Fellows' box facto- 
ry, has done his share towards 
building up the communit5^ An- 
other progressive manufacturer 
is Daniel Oilman, the proprietor 
of the Exeter Rubber Step Mfg. 
Co. Another gentleman who is 
actively engaged in developing 
Exeter is Mr. A. E. McReel, the 
popular and highly efficient gen- 
eral manager of the Exeter, 
Hampton & Amesbury Street 
Railway. 

Hon. A. S. Wetherell, the 
druggist, and one of the best 
known citizens of Exeter, is a 
son of the old town by adop- 
tion, having been born in Nor- 



ridgewock, Me., 
October 5, 1851. 
Mr. Wetherell was 
a representative in 
the state legisla- 
ture from Exeter 
in 1893 and 1895, 
and in the latter 
year was chair- 
man of the rail- 
road committee. 
He was in busi- 
ness in one store 
for twenty - three 
years, but in 1896 
established him- 
self at his present 
location, building 
a new store. He 
is deservedly popular among his 
townsmen, and it is believed higher 
honors yet await him. 

J. E. Knight, the druggist, is an- 





R. D. Bjro?e. 



200 



THE EXETER OE TO-DA\ . 




Hervey E. Kent. 

other well-known citizen who be- 
lieves New Hampshire is a good 
state to emigrate into, coming here 
in 1870 and entering Phillips Exeter. 
He has been in business in the town 
since 1884. Mr. Knight occupies 



the exalted position of thrice 
illustrious master of Olivet 
Council, Royal and Select 
Masters. He is also a mem- 
ber of DeWitt Clinton Com- 
mandery of Portsmouth, and 
district deputy grand master 
of the grand lodge for this 
section of the New Hamp- 
shire jurisdiction. He is a 
32° Mason, and a member of 
Edward A. Raymond Consis- 
tory of Nashua. 

John A. Brown, the secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Exe- 
ter Cooperative bank, is a na- 
tive of Exeter, having been 
born here in 1857, graduating 
at Phillips Exeter in 1875, 
and receiving the degree of 
A. B. at Harvard in 1879. 
He has been a member of 
the school board since 1886, 
and a member of the board of 
trustees of the Robinson Female 
seminary since 1889. He is also a 
member of the public library com- 
mittee. 

Albert S. Eangley, the well-known 



"■Jr^' 




Exeter Manufacturing Company. 



IHE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



20I 




J. E. Knight's Drug Store. 



merchaut, is only twenty-eight years 
of age, but his rapid strides forward 
have placed him among the leading 
young business men of Rockingham 
county. He was born in Newmar- 
ket just twenty-eight years ago, and 
was educated at Epping and Exeter. 
He was in business in Epping with 
his father for a number of years, 
after which he went to Boston and 
New York to acquire metropolitan 
methods. He was married in 1893 
to Miss Alice E. Norris, only daugh- 
ter of Haven Norris, the well-known 
Epping shoe manufacturer. He is 
prominent in the councils of the 
Democratic party of the state, and 
was its candidate for register of pro- 
bate at the last election, polling a 
handsome vote. He is prominent in 
Pythian circles, and is also identified 
with other secret societies. 

O. H. Sleeper is the leading jew- 
eler of the town. He is a Weare boy 
and came to Exeter fifteen years ago. 
He has a thriving trade. 

H. F. Dunn, one of the prominent 
grocers, was born in Weston, Mass., 
in 1850, and came to Exeter in 1876. 
He has been in the same store in bus- 
iness since. He has three stores and 
does a flourishing business. He has 
been identified with the Exeter Park 



Eand Company for ten years and in 
that position has had much to do with 
developing the town. 

Edward V. McKey, the popular 
clothier, was born in Salem in 1853, 
and came to Exeter in 1892 and built 
the McKey block, the first modern 
block in town. He can claim the 
credit of having started the boom for 
modern business blocks in Exeter. 

R. D. Burpee is the leading baker 
of this section, starting in business in 




E. H. Fuller. 
I'i'iotogra/>/ier. 



202 



THE EXETER OE TO-DAY. 




Town Hall. 



Exeter in 1892, and making a success 
from the start. He has a large es- 
tablishment and numbers Exeter's 
representative citizens among his cus- 
tomers. 

H. Jelna, the boot and shoe dealer, 
was born in 1855 in Three Rivers, 
Canada, and came to Exeter in 1886. 
He has been in his present store thir- 
teen years. He is a member of the 
Board of Trade and is actively inter- 
ested in town affairs. 

Dr. C. E. Burchstead, M. D. V., is 
a graduate of Harvard Veterinary 
school and practised in Boston five 
years prior to coming to Exeter. He 
has made a study of surgery and his 
contributions to veterinary and medi- 
cal journals have received special 
comment. He is a member of the 
Veterinary Society of Massachusetts. 

Charles H. Dewhirst, the collegiate 
barber, is a Lawrence boy, where he 
was born in 1864. He came to Exe- 
ter in 1892 and since his location here 
he has practically gained a monopoly 
of the business men of the town. 

Other prominent and progressive 
merchants and business men who 



have done much to build up 
Exeter include James H. Batch- 
elder, stationer; H. W. Ander- 
son, coal and wood dealer ; 
A. M. Trefethen, stable and 
liveryman, and J. E. Manning, 
the new manager of the Squam- 
scott. 

The town has always been 
fortunate in its near-by shore 
resorts and since the construc- 
tion of the electric street rail- 
way the patronage of one of 
these, the Hotel Whittier, has 
largely increased. This is one 
of the old-time hostelries of this 
section, and its cuisine as well 
as its hospitality has long been not- 
ed. Its surroundings as well as its 
location render it an ideal stopping 
place. Another popular hostelry is 
that at Rockingham Junction, con- 
ducted by E. E. Chase. It is well 
patronized not only by Exeter people 
but also by travelers in this section. 




I. A. Herrxk. 
Fiihlishcr of the Exeter Gazette. 



77^5" EXETER OF TO-DAY. 



203 



Among the industries of the ad- 
joining towns whose business rela- 
tions are closely connected with Exe- 
ter is the Newfields Bottling Works, 
managed by John Torrey. Mr. Tor- 
rey not only has a complete up-to-date 
plant in every particular including a 
patent bottle washing machine with a 
capacity of 1,800 revolutions a min- 
ute, but also owns his own water- 
works. He has a four-story building 
with elevator and makes twenty-four 



papers in the United States. Its in- 
fluence and friendship is sought on all 
sides and its character has made a 
powerful impression on the affairs of 
the county and of the state. 

Thus stands Exeter — a model New 
Hampshire town filled with bright, 
brainy, progressive men. Eooking 
back on three centuries of growth , it 
looks forward also to the next one 
hundred years, determined to keep its 
record as honorable, as inspiring, and 




High Street. 



different flavored extracts. He em- 
ploys seventeen people and has a ca- 
pacity of 400 dozen bottles a day. 

No town in the state is more fortu- 
nately situated with reference to its 
newspapers. These are two in num- 
ber, the Exeter Gazette, managed by 
Israel A. Herrick, and the Exeter 
News-Letter, owned by John Temple- 
ton. The Nezvs-Letter deservedly 
stands at the head of the weekly 
journals of jNew Hampshire and is in 
fact one of the ablest edited news- 



as spotless during that period as it 
has during all the generations that 
are now numbered with the past. 

George E. Kent was born in Som- 
ersworth, December 31, 1857, being 
the son of Hervey Kent, at that time 
superintendent of the Great Falls 
Manufacturing Company. When Mr. 
Kent was four years old, in 1862, the 
famil}' moved to Exeter, where they 
have since resided. Mr. Kent attend- 
ed the public schools in the town, 
graduating from the High school in 




GEORGE E. KENT. 



THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 205 

1S57, and from the Worcester Poly- 200 hands. Beside the plant at Pitts- 

technic Institution of Worcester, Ms., field, there are valuable water-povv- 

in 1878, with the degrees of B. S., C. ers in the towns of Alton, Gilman- 

E., having taken the full civil engi- ton, and Barnstead, which serve as 

neering course. In the fall of 1878, reservoirs in times of drouth. In May, 

Mr. Kent entered the employ of the 1895, Mr. Kent, having purchased a 

Exeter Manufacturing Company, at controlling interest in the Exeter 

the daily wage of 80 cents per day, Manufacturing Company, became its 

which was doubled under contract general manager, dividing his time 

with his father, who was treasurer and between Pittsfield and Exeter, and on 

agent of the mills, to pay the son an October i, 189S, was elected treasurer 

equal amount to the regular wage and agent, a position filled by his 

schedule. After spending time in father so acceptably for thirty- three 

various departments of the concern in years. Mr. Kent leased his Pittsfield 

which he as a boy had been familiar, mill to the Exeter company, and the 

in May, 1879, an opportunity arose in two plants are run as one concern, 

an unexpected quarter. The owner with about 40,000 spindles and 1,000 

of the Pittsfield mills, of Pittsfield, looms, giving employment to five hun- 

wrote to Mr. Kent, senior, asking him dred hands. 

to recommend a man to take charge In addition to his manufacturing 
of his concern, as his agent was on his interests, Mr. Kent, on the death of 
death-bed. As a result of an inter- Hon. John J. Bell, was appointed ad- 
view with Mr. Hovey, who naturally miuistrator of his estate, which con- 
was looking for an older man with sisted of a large personal and real 
more experience, it was decided to estate in Exeter, Manchester, and 
give the young man a trial, with the North Woodstock, in the latter place 
understanding that the father would taking in the well-known Deer Park 
come to the rescue in case of an emer- hotel. Mr. Kent has been identified 
gency. On May 6, 1879, Mr. Kent with many financial and business en- 
took charge of the Pittsfield mills as terprises, being one of the few who 
agent, filling the position acceptably successfully emerged from several 
for nearl}^ twenty years. During this Southern booms. Mr. Kent is a 
period the mills were doubled in size, director in the following companies : 
and six dams were built, the largest Suncook Valley Railroad, Pittsfield 
over three hundred feet long, with a Aqueduct Company, Pittsfield Gas 
fall of twenty-two feet. In the fall of Company, Pittsfield Savings Bank, 
1896 Mr. Hovey decided to retire from Exeter Banking Company, and the 
active business, and accepted an offer Exeter Manufacturing Company. He 
from Mr. Kent for the entire property, was state auditor during the gov- 
and it was turned over to him on Jan- ernorship of Hon. H. A. Tuttle. In 
uary i, 1897. The Pittsfield mills is 1884 Mr. Kent married Addie C. Gale 
a cotton factory of 12,000 spindles of Pittsfield, and they have a family 
and 322 looms, making a fine shirt- consisting of one daughter and three 
ing, and giving employment to some sons. 



xxvii — 15 




CO 
UJ 

_l 
O 

X 

_l 
_J 
< 



Q 



< 



NEW HAMPSHIRE INDUSTRIES. 



SECOND PAPER. 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 

By Josiah B. Dyer. 



INTRODUCTORY. 




HE purpose of this article is 
not to teacli practical men 
the rudiments or the higher 
branches of their trade, but, 
as plainly and concisely as possible, 
explain to those unacquainted with 
it, the methods used by practical men 
in quarrying and cutting stone; so 
we avoid anything which might con- 
fuse the reader, but in as plain lan- 
guage as possible tell the story so 
that anyone may understand. We 
might use very different language, as 
used in the trade technically, but our 
readers might not understand it and 
become confused, and our object be 
lost. That the subject of quarrying 
and stone-cutting is not understood, 
we very often find in conversation 
with parties outside the stone trade, 
even in stone districts. Some seem 
to entertain the idea that it is very 
simple and requires no skill, but we 
think after reading this article that 
those who have such an idea will find 
that to excavate a cutting through a 
rock is ver)^ different from quarrying 
out a stone for a stone-cutter or 
sculptor. 

Some years ago in the city of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., during a debate 
on matters connected with stone, one 
of the speakers said that it required 



no skill to quarry stone, anybody 
could blast it out. On being asked 
if he ever saw a quarry, and whether 
he knew the difference between ran- 
dom and dimension stones, he ac- 
knowledged his ignorance, and that 
all he knew of quarrying was what 
he had seen done in blasting out 
cellars, and clearing away rock in 
grading the new streets of the city. 
The extent of his knowledge of quar- 
rying tools was a large drill, striking 
hammer, pick, shovel, and dump 
cart, and his idea of a quarryman 
was that he knew enough to drop 
his pick and shovel when the whistle 
was blown to quit work. He was 
surprised to learn that there is a. dif- 
ference between excavating and quar- 
rying, and that it required skill of 
no mean order to be a good quarry- 
man. There are others who have 
similar ideas of quarrying and quar- 
ry men, which those who have lived 
in quarry sections wonder at when 
they hear them expressed. 

QUARRYING. 

The story of a stone in its progress 
from its natural bed in a mountain 
to a paving block in a street, a part 
of a building, or a statue, is a story 
of skill and patient endurance, dan- 
ger and anxiety, from the time the 
first blow is struck on a drill to re- 



208 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



move it from the mountain until it 
is placed in the position designed 
for it. 

Quarrying is a lotter3\ The blanks 
are more numerous than the prizes. 
What has appeared to be a sure 
thing has turned out to the con- 
trary, and an abandoned quarry 
shows plainly to experienced men 
the blasted hopes and lost capital 



study. He understands the use of 
explosives and is familiar with pow- 
der and dynamite, but an enumera- 
tion of all the knowledge required 
to be an expert quarrj^man would 
probably be doubted by those who 
only see him, as they consider, 
mechanically striking the head of a 
drill with a hammer, or hoisting on 
a derrick ; so we refrain from enlarg- 




Sheet yuarty, with Modern Steam Drills, 



of those who have tried and failed 
to develop what they fondly hoped 
would prove a bonanza. 

A good quarryman has a knowl- 
edge of geology and often gives 
pointers to professors of geology in 
their investigations. He is a fear- 
less man, facing danger every day 
from explosions or falling rocks. 
He has a knowledge of the stratum 
and cleavage of rocks from daily 



ing on the skill necessary to become 
an expert quarryman. 

Prospecting for quarries is carried 
out with as much enthusiasm as pros- 
pecting for gold mines. Frequently 
the owner of a piece of land finds 
rock on it and gets the idea that he 
has valuable stone on his property, 
and brings a small piece to a quarry- 
man for his opinion of it. If the 
quarryman is not satisfied with its 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



209 




Hoisting Machine. 

appearance, he wastes no time about 
it ; but if he is satisfied that it is 
worth investigating further, he visits 
the place where the rock is, taking 
with him a few necessary tools and 
makes his tests, either by blasting or 
splitting off some larger pieces. If 
the rock is a boulder, it is easy to 
quarry ; but if beneath the surface 
and in sheets, then the skill of the 
quarryman is shown, and he pro- 
ceeds to act in a scientific manner. 
The earth over the rock, if any, is 
cleared away, a hole drilled, and a 
blast made after it has been deter- 
mined on the best place to make 
such blast. A derrick is erected 
and the waste rock dumped where 
it will not interfere with future opera- 
tions. Derricks are worked by hand 
or steam, a hoister where steam is 
used being constructed so as to 
operate several derricks. Seams are 
traced and headings located for fu- 
ture guidance. 

The mode of quarrying depends on 
the stone to be quarried, whether 
granite, marble, freestone, or lime- 
stone, each requiring peculiar meth- 
ods. Our space being limited, we 
confine this article to granite alone. 

The rock is, in general, first started 



by holes being drilled and explosives 
used to dislodge it from its natural 
bed. There are various methods of 
blasting and the quarryman decides 
on which method will best answer 
his purpose. Where particular care 
is not necessary, a large hole is 
drilled by hand or steam power, and 
when the hole is drilled to the re- 
quired depth, it is thoroughly dried 
of the water used in drilling it, the 
fuse inserted, and powder poured 
into it, the strength of the charge 
necessary to accomplish the purpose 
designed being determined by the 
good judgment of the quarryman. 
After sufficient powder has been 
placed in the hole, the remaining 
portion of it is filled with sand or 
loam, allowing for air space, and 
tamped down tight with the tamping- 
bar, the fuse is lighted, and the quar- 
rymen retire to a safe place to await 
the result of the explosion. Dyna- 
mite cartridges are also used for 
blasting. Frequently the charge 
fails to explode, and again the skill 
of the quarryman is shown in re- 




?t> 



} 



f.\ 



Quarrymen Drilling Holes for Blasting. 



2IO 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 















■■V'  ■: - i- 







^'^-:-:. 




Boulder Quarrying, 



moving the old charge so as to insert 
a new one. This operation is one 
of the most dangerous parts of quar- 
rying, as a spark of fire caused by 
friction often explodes the charge, 
and the quarrymen engaged in the 
work, having no time to escape, are 
killed or maimed for life by such 
explosions. Where there is steam 
power in a quarry, the holes have 
been blown out by steam, thus avoid- 
ing danger of explosion. 

Much depends upon how the blast 
is made. In the first place the direc- 
tions in which a blast will break any 
kind of rock from the drill hole are 
but three, and sometimes four, unless 
the explosive be too quick and forci- 
ble in its action. The limited num- 
ber of directions in which the rock 
is most liable to break is determined 



by the structure of the rock and the 
shape of the drill hole. Quick-acting 
explosives like dynamite have a ten- 
dency to shatter the stone. Coarse 
gunpowder is preferred by many, but 
this is seldom used further than to 
detach large masses, which are split 
into smaller pieces by means of 
wedges and half-rounds. Sometimes 
a number of holes are drilled on a 
line and fired by means of electricity. 
Some large operations in blasting 
have been done with tunnels, as at 
Graniteville, Mo., and lyong Cove, 
Me. In every locality the structure 
of the rock must be studied to take 
advantage of the cleavage and nat- 
ural joints. There must be at least 
one free end and a front to allow the 
block to move outwards, and the ends 
are often cut off by end joints. Hori- 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



211 



zontal joints called beds occur in 
most cases. When the cleavage is 
not very marked it is called the 
grain, and when it is more decided 
it is called the rift ; there is, also, 
the end grain, which is the toughest 
part of the rock. 

There are different forms of holes 
used in blasting. An elliptical hole 
ensures a straight break. A lewis 
hole is most commonly used ; it is a 
three-cornered hole, two of the cor- 
ners being on the line of the desired 
fracture. The Knox system of blast- 
ing, which has been the cause of con- 
siderable litigation at law for in- 
fringement on patent, is the boring 
of a hole, and then with a reamer 
making two V grooves directly oppo- 
site each other on the line of the frac- 
ture desired, the hole being shaped 
thus < >. 

After a blast has been made it 



sometimes becomes necessary to 
move a large block without break- 
ing, which it is impossible to move 
with a derrick. A seam blast is 
made for this purpose, which is done 
by charging the crack made by the 
hole blast with powder and explod- 
ing the charge which moves the 
block without shattering it, owing to 
the charge not being tamped tight as 
in a hole. In the invention of the 
steam drill, where large blocks are 
needed, they are often channeled out 
to avoid the risk of spoiling by blast- 
ing. In this process holes are drilled 
with the steam drill on the three 
sides of the stone to the required 
depth, as closely together as possible, 
and the core remaining between the 
holes afterwards cut away, thus re- 
leasing the block at the desired size 
without shattering it. 

After the large block has been de- 





^^ 



if » If 





IJSbb 




Quarry, showing Modern Method of Railroad Track Into Quarry. 



212 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



tached from its bed and it is desired 
to reduce it to smaller sizes in the 
most economical manner without 
wasting more than possible, wedges 
and half-rounds, sometimes called 
plugs and feathers, are used. The 
architect who plans a building of 
any description to be of stone shows 
in his plans each stone. The sizes 
of these stones are given to the quar- 
ryman, who enters them in his book, 
and as he quarries each one checks 



his chalk line or marked desired 
curves, he, or his assistants, with 
hand hammers and small drills, drill 
a series of holes the length of the 
line about three inches deep and 
from two to three inches apart, and 
where the stone is a very thick one, 
larger deep holes are drilled between 
the small holes about three or four 
holes apart or more according to the 
quarryman's judgment, to lead the 
fracture of the smaller ones through 




One of the Largest Stones Quarried in this Country. 
// ivas b4 fret long, nearly S feet square, and iveigkcti 310 tons. 



it off so as not to duplicate it. Hav- 
ing the required sizes he measures 
the large block, and, comparing with 
the sizes on his book, calculates how 
to split it to the bCvSt advantage, and 
then with chalk, line, rule and 
square, lays out the different sizes he 
can see in the block, for an expert 
quarryman can see every stone he 
desires to get out of the block before 
he marks his lines on it, unless in 
splitting some should be spoiled 
through the split going contrary to 
his expectations. Having snapped 



the stone and prevent it from running 
out and spoiling the stone. The 
holes being drilled the wedges and 
half-rounds are inserted into the 
holes, the half-rounds are shaped so 
that one side fits the semi-circle of 
the hole, the other side being fiat for 
the wedge. The half-rounds are 
thicker at the bottom than at the top. 
The wedges are made flat on each 
side and thicker at the top than at 
the bottom. The wedges and half- 
rounds being inserted in the hole, 
the wedges being in line with the 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



213 



chalk line on their straight sides, the 
heads of the wedges are driven down 
by a large striking hammer, the 
force of the blow is regulated by the 
quarry man, and the thick part of the 
wedge being forced down into the 
thick parts of the half-rounds causes 
the stone to split open. In splitting 
stones a line of holes are sometimes 
drilled down the side also, a line hav- 
ing been marked for the desired frac- 
ture. The wedges in the side are 
driven from the top downwards so as 
to lead the fracture from the top 
holes down through the stone on the 
line marked on the side. 

In splitting dimension stone allow- 
ance is made for any deviation from 
the chalk line, and to allow for the 
stone-cutter to finish it to the re- 
quired design. Generally about 
two inches is allowed in quarrying, 
but it depends on the nature of the 
stone, and the quality of the work 
required on the dressed stone, — if 
for rough work sometimes no allow- 
ance is made, but the judgment of 
the quarryman decides on what he 
considers a necessary allowance in all 
cases. To split dimension stone 
there is often considerable waste, and 
the skill of the quarryman is often 
taxed to get out a stone at the re- 
quired dimension and have it clear of 
defects of knots, seams, and stripes. 
The waste is either thrown over the 
dump, or where the quarry is near 
a city the waste stone, technically 
called "grout," is often utilized for 
foundations for buildings, bridges, 
worked up into paving blocks or 
crushed for macadamizing purposes. 
In splitting random stock the same 
process is gone through, only the 
quarryman, not being limited to 
special .sizes, splits the stone to the 



best advantage with the least possi- 
ble waste. A poor quarryman often 
wastes more stone than he is worth, 
so it can be readily seen how much 
depends on a thorough knowledge of 
quarrying to become an expert quar- 
ryman. 

PAVING CUTTING. 

Where paving blocks are made the 
paving cutter splits the stone by the 
same process as the quarryman does, 
and then with hammers breaks it 
to the desired sizes, finishing the 
small blocks with a reeling hammer, 
sometimes called a reel, giving the 
desired lines and removing the lumps 
so that they may be laid more closely 
together in the street. , Where he 
quarries the stone himself the place 
he works in is called a motion. 

STONK-CUTTING. 

After the dimension stones are re- 
moved from the quarry they are taken 
to the stone-cutter's shed, where they 
are raised on blocks, known as banker 
blocks, to a suitable height for the 
stone-cutter to get round it and work 
to the best possible advantage. A 
diagram is given the stone-cutter with 
the required finished sizes and sketch 
of design, with name of cutter, time 
of hankering, numbers or letters of 
stone, and of " courses" on plan, and 
blank spaces for time of finishing and 
cost of cutting marked on it, by which 
he is guided in his work and a record 
kept for future reference. He then 
proceeds to lay out his stone so as to 
get the desired design out of it with 
the least amount of labor, which is 
often a difficult matter from various 
causes, and requires study through a 
stone being small or having some de- 
fect. This reminds us that we heard 



214 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 




of a Concord school teacher who told 
her pupils that it required no skill to 
cut a stone, but it did require skill to 
build a house. If she had studied a 
little more, she would have learned 
that it required considerable skill to 
cut a stone so that a mason could lay 
it in a building, and she would not 
have been considered as an inferior 
teacher by the parents of the children 
to whom she claimed to be teaching 
object lessons. Accuracy of dressing 
is essential for first-class work so that 
the pressure may be equalized and 
cracking avoided. After the cutter 
has laid "out his stone, he finds out 
the three lowest spots in the surface, 
and cuts in with his hammer and 
chisel three plumb spots on the three 
lowest corners, and then takes it out 
of wind by lowering the fourth or 
highest corner to a perfect level with 
the other three by the use of winding 
blocks and straight edges placed on 
top of them, and by sighting them 
bringing both straight edges on a 
perfect line with each other. Having 
got his plumb spots he then snaps 
chalk lines between the plumb spots 
and breaks the stone to the line with 
a hand hammer and pitching tool, or 
if there is a large amount of waste to 
be taken off it is broken to the lines 
with a large striking hammer and 
bull set, one man holding the bull set 
to the line and guiding the break, and 
another man striking its head with 
the hammer. After the line has been 
broken as straight as possible he then, 
with hand hammer and chisel, cuts 
draft lines connecting the four corner 
plumb spots, thus forming the out- 
lines of the plane surface, after which, 
with hammer and point, he roughs off 
the surface, making due allowance 
for the work required. If it is a bed 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



215 



he points it down level with his draft 
lines, and is not so particular as if it 
is for face work, and where there is 
much rough to take off, he plugs it 
off where necessar)^ by drilling plug 
holes with a drill and using wedges 
and half-rounds as used in quarrying. 
Where it is face work more care is 
necessary : it must be pointed free 
from holes, and allowance made for 



pieces and screwed firmly together, 
the stock having holes for the handle 
and for the screws to hold the blades 
in position. The blades are of thin 
sheet steel of different thicknesses, 
and the name given to the hammer 
shows how many blades are in a given 
space, as four or twelve blades to an 
inch. The first surface being com- 
pleted the other parts are worked from 




A Typical Stone-Yard. 



finishing to the required finish. After 
the surface is pointed it is then pean 
hammered down, and then hammered 
according to the finish desired with 
bush hammers. The coarsest ham- 
mers being used first after the pean 
hammer, and the other grades in suc- 
cession. The different bush ham- 
mers are known as four-cut, six-cut, 
eight-cut, ten-cut, and twelve-cut. 
The bush hammer is a tool made in 



it, and an edge chiseled after being 
chipped straight with a chipper and 
straight edge where it is a square side. 
The stone being turned with the sec- 
ond surface to be worked on top, the 
cutter then from the chiseled line at 
the edge cuts plumb spots on the 
opposite corners, using square and 
winding blocks, and proceeds in a 
similar manner as on first surface to 
get it perfectly level, or with a square 



2l6 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



for a guide draws a square line from 
the edge and chisels a draft line with- 
out cutting in plumb spots and using 
his winding blocks. For marking 
lines where the chalk and line cannot 
be used, camwood is generally used. 
After he has his lines chiseled around 
the side he proceeds to finish it in the 
same manner as the other surface. 
Very often two men cutting the same 
kind of a stone will not take up the 
stones in the same manner, but the 
same result is accomplished in the 
end. Great care is necessary to avoid 
knocking off the corners and break- 
ing out pieces of the edges. If the 
stone is molded or beveled, patterns 
are used. The "members" of the 
mold are cut in at each end by the 
use of a profile or template which is a 
reverse of the mold. The profile, tem- 
plate or pattern, is made by a pattern- 
maker, on large jobs, of wood or zinc. 
After the profile is cut in at each end, 
the superfluous stone is worked off and 
finished with points, chisels, pean, 
and bush hammers, as in straight 
work, and in addition to these other 
tools are required on molded work, 
such as Scotia hammers, bush chisel, 
and various shaped chisels, and pean 
hammers, to facilitate cutting difficult 
parts of the molding. Great care is 
necessary in cutting in the template 
or bevel at the ends so that the stones 
will come together without trimming 
in the building, but often with the 
greatest care on the part of the cutter 
trimming is necessary so as to have 
the joints show the mold continuously, 
through the fault of the mason in set- 
ting. It may seem to an onlooker 
that it is a simple thing to chisel a 
line or bush hammer a stone, but 
care and skill are necessary from the 
time the stone is placed on the banker 



until it has passed inspection, has 
been ' ' tried up, ' ' and the paint mark, 
with the letter or figures of its position 
in the building, as shown on the plan, 
is placed on it by the person in charge. 

Stones for polishing are hammered 
to the desired shape and then sent to 
the polishing mill, and after being 
polished are returned to the cutting 
shed, if more work is to be done on 
them, but if no further work is re- 
quired, they are boxed up ready for 
shipment. 

In lettering, the letters are traced 
on the stone and the cutter, with his 
lettering tools, which are smaller 
chisels and points than ordinarily 
used, either chips away the superflu- 
ous stone for raised letters, or sinks 
them with the corners of his chisel 
into the surface of the stone, if for 
sunk letters. In carving, it depends 
on the nature of such carving, whether 
a model is first made, or the carver 
works from his drawing ; but gener- 
ally, a model is first made in plaster of 
Paris and the carver takes his points 
from the model ; much also depends 
on his eyes and skill. Too much 
space would be required to enter into 
fuller details of lettering, carving, and 
sculpture. 

Of recent years pneumatic tools, 
worked by compressed air, are used 
to a considerable extent for carving, 
lettering, and skimmed work, in large 
establishments. Surfacing machines 
are also used for cutting a plain sur- 
face, which finish and bush hammer 
it. Saws are also used for plain work 
by which square, oblong, or beveled 
blocks are sawn to the required dimen- 
sions, and either polished or bushed 
by steam power. While in freestone 
and marble, moldings are cut by 
machinery, entirely supplanting hand 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



217 



work, np to the present no machine 
has been invented to cut moldings on 
granite, except certain forms on col- 
umns and circular work. Columns, 
urns, vases, and circular work are to 
a considerable extent turned out on 
specially constructed turning lathes. 
In some large establishments, where 
it can be done to advantage, the 
■work is divided into different de- 




te?' 



Pneumatic Cutting. 

partments, some men cutting plain 
work, others molding, others letter- 
ing, and others carving ; the stone in 
some cases being taken from the man 
who squares it up and transferred to 
the letterer or carver to finish. While 
in general a carver can take a stone 
in its rough and complete it, there are 
those who cannot cut a decent plain 
stone, their inclination being against 
plain work, and there are cutters who 
cannot carve but can cut a first-class 
plain or molded stone. 

TOOI< SHARPENING. 

Tool making and tool sharpening 
is a necessary part of the stone trade. 
An ordinary blacksmith, while he 
may be able to make the tools required 
in quarrying and stone-cutting, in 



general is unable to sharpen and tem- 
per them so as to stand the cutting of 
granite. Tool sharpening is practi- 
cally a trade by itself, as it requires 
considerable experience to gain a 
thorough knowledge of the temper 
required for the tools to cut the differ- 
ent grades of granite, and to sharpen 
the different varieties of tools, as for 
instance, the thin blades of a twelve- 
cut hammer require considerable skill 
to sharpen and temper exactly so as 
to prevent their warping, to have them 
straight, temper neither too hard nor 
too soft, and to avoid flaws. Nothing 
tries a cutter's or quarryman's temper 
more than to have poor tempered 
tools ; his temper requires considera- 
ble previous tempering to prevent his 
exploding into language more forcible 
than polite wdien his tools break or 
are too soft. An expert tool sharpener 
saves considerable expense to his em- 
ployer b}^ his knowledge of steel and 
tempering it. 

POLISHING. 

Where polishing is required the 
stone, after being hammered roughly, 
is taken to the polishing mill. Where 
there are several stones to polish a 
bed is made by the different upper 
surfaces being laid exactly level with 
each other, and all joints or openings 
filled with plaster of Paris, and firmly 
bound together so that no shifting 
may occur while it is being rubbed 
down. This requires considerable 
nicety of adjustment as the rubbing 
must be equal on each stone, for if any 
of the stones shift the rubbing will be 
unequal, and such inequality might 
spoil a stone. Where a stone is large 
enough to be polished by itself, the 
adjustment can be more easily accom- 
plished. After the bed is prepared it 



2l8 



QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING. 



is first rubbed down to bring the sur- 
face free from tool-marks and holes, 
either with sand or chilled iron, and 
water being placed on the bed ; then 
either a revolving iron wheel or a 
large iron bar with a rubbing plate of 
iron attached, is placed on the chilled 
iron or sand and worked by steam 
power. Sand was formerly used en- 
tirely, but of late years very little of it 
is used, having given place to chilled 
iron or shot. The wheel is guided 
around the bed by the man in attend- 
ance so as to ensure equal distribution 
of the necessary pressure to grind 
down the surface. After the neces- 
sary rubbing has been accomplished 
the sand or chilled iron is washed off 
and emery of different grades put 
under the wheel to smooth the surface 
before the final polish. After being 
sufficiently rubbed with emery the 
surface is cleaned, and either the same 
wheel bound with thick felt, or a 
wheel exclusively used for the pur- 
pose bound in felt, is placed on the 
surface and putty powder placed 
under it and wetted with water to the 
consistency of a paste. The wheel is 
used the same as before, and as the 



friction produces heat so the polish is 
brought out, and when in the judg- 
ment of the polisher no more can be 
done, the stone is removed from the 
bed. As in other stages skill and 
good judgment are necessary to deter- 
mine when the stone has been suffi- 
cientl}^ rubbed down and all ' ' starts ' ' 
removed, otherwise they will show 
through the final polish ; and to know- 
when the stone is sufficiently rubbed 
and polished before washing off the 
chilled iron and putty powder, requires 
considerable experience to avoid wast- 
ing the materials. Some parts of a 
stone which machinery cannot reach 
are polished by hand, and also some 
small work, such as bands, etc. The 
principle of hand polishing is the same 
as steam polishing. Some men make 
a specialty of hand polishing. 

BOXING. 

After a stone is finished and ready 
for shipment it is boxed up in lumber, 
strips being placed around the edges 
and firmly bound with hoop iron 
nailed to the lumber, so as to protect 
the corners and edges from 
damaged in transit. 



being 




Polishing by Machinery. 



A I.EAF FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE'S UNWRITTEN HISTORY. 



By Carrie A/. Nay. 




HE fact is deplored hy the 
historian that a fund of in- 
teresting and valuable leg- 
endary lore is being lost past 
recovery by the impossibility of dis- 
covering just how and where to seek 
the hidden treasures which would so 
enrich the archives of history. 

Men and women, famous in litera- 
ture, come out from the disturbing 
elements of city life, living weeks and 
months in country homes, seeking 
and hearing quaint incidents which 
they weave into charming stories, 
yet they rarely strike the keynote 
inducing the loquacity of a New 
Englander to give away the family 
legends of the valor and courage of 
his ancestors, — an inheritance of 
which he is justly proud — to any 
stranger within his gates. Hence it 
is an indisputable fact that ere an- 
other half century has passed but 
slight trace will be left of the charm- 
ing romance of our nation's history. 

That a story, easily verified, yet 
dating back to the Colonial times of 
one hundred and fifty years ago, has 
come to my knowledge, also that I 
can have the privilege of recording 
so noble an illustration of the potent 
power of courageous fidelity to im- 
press itself so that centuries cannot 
erase it, I consider my great good 
fortune. 

As we look abroad over the sunny 
hillsides of New England it taxes 
our imagination to realize that our 



ancestors, who once lived where we 
now dwell in plenteous comfort, were 
surrounded by dangers dire, from 
savage beasts, and yet more savage 
men. Not in vain was the discip- 
line. Their environment gave them 
nerves of iron and muscles of steel, 
with a knowledge of woodcraft which 
made them well-nigh invincible. 

Although the inhabitants of the 
little township of Peterborough had 
enjo5'ed singular immunity from the 
hardships and cruelty from Indian 
warfare which had harassed their 
neighboring townships, yet they 
dwelt in the midst of alarms and 
were keenly alive to the sufferings 
which beset their less fortunate neigh- 
bors ; hence when a call came to or- 
ganize a company to proceed against 
the Indians nine young men, the 
very flower of the youth of Peterbor- 
ough, enlisted with the unfortunate 
company known as "Rogers' Rang- 
ers." 

Among the company was one Rob- 
ert McNee, the eldest son of a num- 
erous family. He was remarkable 
for his massive frame and great 
strength, as well as for his affection- 
ate devotion to his friends and home. 
Shall we picture the anguish of his 
mother's heart or his father's grief 
as their eldest child 

"Their staff on which their years should lean," 

was hurried away to meet an un- 
known peril ? 



220 



NEW HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY. 



Among his comrades was one 
whom he loved and trusted, — not a 
Hercules as was McNee, but lithe 
and nimble, and their friendship was 
as that of David and Jonathan. 
Hence the hours were not altogether 
unpleasant as the}^ struggled for- 
ward through forest and morass on 
their dangerous mission. But the 
time came when their love was to be 
tested, even as gold cast in the fur- 
nace, for, caught in deadly ambus- 
cade by their foes, naught but flight 
could save their lives. 

Robert McNee could easily have 
saved himself, but his friend faltered 
and weariness overcame him ; with- 
out assistance he could go no farther. 
Would McNee leave him ? Never ! 
Possibly he could save both ; just a 
little help, then both might escape. 
Thus he reasoned, and, with here 
and there the double burden of bear- 
ing him forward with compelling 
arms, McNee pushed onward. But, 
alas, exhaustion had seized even his 



powerful frame, and their vindictive 
foes were close upon them ! But his 
friend was restored only to realize 
with breaking heart the sacrifice 
which had been made for him on the 
altar of Love, and could he accept 
the offering ? No, they would perish 
together ! He was now in advance, 
and as he reached a hilltop he turned. 
McNee seeing the act, with ringing 
voice, called " Go forward ! " just as 
the tomahawk of a pursuing savage 
was buried in his brain. With a sad 
heart the lonely man plodded on his 
dangerous homeward way. With 
one other he lived to reach Peter- 
borough, and to the friends so anx- 
iously awaiting them told of the no- 
bility of heart and mind of Robert 
McNee, gone forever from their for- 
est home, but with the noble record 
that he feared death less than dis- 
loyalty. Was not the commendation 
justly his, of One who said, " Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a 
man lay down his life for his friend ? " 



NEW HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY 

[Andover Old Home Week Celebration, August 30, 1899.] 
By C. E. Carr. 

From her forests and meadows supernal. 

From her shores where the wild waves play, 

From her hills and mountains eternal, 
New Hampshire sends greeting to-day ! 

Restless with myriad fingers 

Her streams clap their hands in glee, 

And her hills where sweet memory lingers 
Re-echo her greeting to thee. 

The winds through her valleys are calling. 
They are singing in maple and pine, 

And voices of sweet waters falling, 
Are summoning thee and thine. 



NEPV HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY. 221 

Silent and hushed are her spindles, 

Her factories, looms, and wheels, 
But her breast with the old love kindles. 

And swells with the pride she feels. 

To her children all she sends greeting, 

Where 'er through the world they may roam, 

For them is her loving heart beating 
While to-day she w'elcomes them home. 

" Nursed at her bosom of granite," 

With a hand of love and steel 
Their duty she 's marked on the planet, — 

To work for their country's weal. 

She stands for the Spirit of Progress, 

She stands for the Spirit of Right, — 
Her journey lies forward not backward, 

Her march, toward the clearer light. 

About her she gathers her children. 

But leaves each his own work to do : — 
Some will make laws for the nation. 

Some " carry water and hew," 

Some will be heard in the forum, 

Some found on the tireless sea, 
Some in the turmoil of battle. 

And some ever silent will be ; 

But whatever in life be their calling. 

With her they have only one test, — 
'Tis not the world's rising or falling. 

But, " Son, are you doing your best? " 

Is Liberty's spirit found with her? 

Try her children wherever you will, 
Hear the voice of her Daniel forever, 

Count her dead at Bunker Hill. 

Her breezes forever are blowing, 

Her mountains forever shall stand. 
Forever, her children's hearts glowing 

For freedom, for God, and for land. 

Then come back to her mountains and waters, 

Come back to hamlet and glen. 
Come back, oh, ye sons and ye daughters, 

And greet your mother again ! 

xxvii— 16 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS OF PETERBOROUGH, EXETER, 

AND SPRINGFIEED. 

By F. B. Sanborn. 




lEElAM SMITH, of Mon- 
eymar, in northern Ire- 
land, on his father's side 
Scotch, and English by 
his mother, emigrated to New Hamp- 
shire with the Scotch-Irish who set- 
tled Derry and Londonderry, Nnt- 
field (now Manchester), and the 
Monadnoc townships, round the 
mountain of that name. He was 
in Peterborough (named for the gal- 
lant earl of that century) before 
1750, and there married, December 
31, 1 75 1, Elizabeth Morison, grand- 
daughter of Samuel Morison and 
Margaret Wallace (of Sir William 
Wallace's race), who had suffered in 
the famous siege of Derry. Eliza- 
beth herself was born in London- 
derry, N. H. She inherited and 
transmitted from her mother, accord- 
ing to family tradition, "all the wit 
and smartness of the Morisons and 
Smiths." Her most illustrious son, 
Jeremiah Smith, son of William, was 
born in a log house, near the present 
Smith homestead (which was built 
in 1770), Nov. 29, 1759; he was one 
of a large family, very few of whose 
descendants now remain in Peter- 
borough, which they almost founded, 
and long controlled, or shared its 
control. His elder brother, James 
Smith, of Cavendish, Vt., was the 
father of Sarah, who married James 
Walker, Esq., of Rindge, and was 
the favorite niece of Judge Smith ; 



a younger brother, Samuel vSmith, 
built the first factory in Peter- 
borough, and drew down the scat- 
tered village from the hilltops to the 
lovely valley where it now nestles, 
around the windings of its two 
rivers. 

Jeremiah, who lived to be called 
"the handsomest old man and the 
wittiest wise man" in New Hamp- 
shire, was early designated for a stu- 
dious and distinguished career. 
Without neglecting the rude labors 
of his father's great farm, he read 
and remembered everything that 
came in his way. At twelve, when 
he ' ' could reap as much rye in a 
day as a man," he began to study 
Latin with an Irish hedge-school- 
master ; at seventeen he entered 
Harvard college, but was drawn 
away for two months to fight under 
Stark at Bennington. His captain, 
Stephen Parker of New Ipswich, the 
next hilltown, on the morning of the 
fight ordered the lad upon some duty 
that appeared to be safe, not wishing 
to have his neighbor's boy killed in 
his first campaign. But when the 
battle was hot, and Stark was charg- 
ing the Hessian intrenchments. Cap- 
tain Parker saw Jerry Smith by his 
side. "What are you here for?" 
" Oh, sir, I thought I ought to follow 
my captain." His gun was disabled 
by a British bullet; he caught 
another from a dying comrade, and 



224 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



fought on till night; and then helped 
guard the Hessian prisoners in the 
Bennington church. Remaining at 
Cambridge two years, he was so 
little pleased with his instruction 
under Dr. Langdon (a wise scholar, 
but with no gift for managing a 
college), that he migrated to Rutgers 
college in New Jersey, and there 



brilliant young Hamilton, to whose 
party in Congress he finally attached 
himself, when sent from the Hills- 
borough district in 1790 to represent 
New Hampshire at Philadelphia, 
where Washington was then carry- 
ing on the government. In the inter- 
val between 17S1 and his congres- 
sional life he had studied law at 




The Smith Homestead, Peterborougn. 



graduated in 1780, about the time 
(August 30), that Dr. lyangdon with- 
drew from his thankless labors to the 
little parish of Hampton Falls, where 
he spent the last seventeen years of 
his worthy life. 

IvCaving college in debt, Smith 
remained at home for two years, and 
in that time, while driving cattle for 
Washington's army to Peekskill, he 
there met for the first time, the 



Barnstable and Salem, had private 
pvipils, taught in a young ladies' 
school, and in Andover had among 
his pupils Dr. Abbot, afterwards of 
Exeter, and Josiah Quincy ; been 
admitted to the bar at Amherst, 
N. H., in 1786, against the wish of 
Joshua Atherton, grandfather of the 
democratic senator, and for three 
years, i788-'90, represented his na- 
tive town in the state legislature 



at Concord. Such rapid promotion 
for so young a man — he was not 
quite thirty-one when chosen to 
Congress — would have been remark- 
able, had he not been well known 
and won the confidence of his towns- 
men and constituents by his integ- 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 225 

At the age of thirty, then (June 



17, 1790), Smith was a member of 
the legislature for the third time, 
and was to conduct an impeachment 
against Hon. Woodbur}^ Langdon, 
one of the handsomest and ablest 
men of the time in New Hampshire, 




Judge Woodbury Langdon. 



rity, wit, eloquence, and good looks ; 
the last a thing never to be despised 
in the contention for popular honors. 
It w-as this confidence which caused 
him to be chosen for the prosecution 
of his old college president's cousin, 
the elegant and influential brother of 
Gov. John lyangdon of Portsmouth. 



and then a justice of the highest 
court. Of Judge Langdon's char- 
acter, William Plunier, afterwards 
United States senator and governor, 
has given a varying opinion, but at 
the impeachment, he favored the 
accused, and voted against it. Four 
years earlier, Plumer made this con- 



226 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



tribution to Judge Langdon's biogra- 
phy, which, in its main facts, was 
probably correct : 

" In the commencement of the Revolution, 
Woodbury L,angdon, Esq., was a Tory; one of 
the five who signed a protest against the war. 
In 1775 he embarked for England, and was 
often closeted by the British minister. On his 
return to New York he was well accommodated 
in a British frigate. At New York the British 
imprisoned him ; but it is now understood that 
it was done to produce an opinion here that he 
was friendly to our Revolution. His princi- 
ples are formed by his interest, and his con- 
duct has changed with the times. He has 
been both Whig and Tory ; when he became a 
Whig, he inveighed with bitterness against the 
Tories. He is certainly a man of strong men- 
tal powers, of a clear, discriminating mind. 
He is naturally arbitrary, and has strong preju- 
dices. His sense of what is right, and his 
pride, form a greater security for his good be- 
havior, than his love of virtue." 

In 1790, Mr. Pkimer, perhaps from 
a closer knowledge of Langdon, 
thought better of him, and disliked 
the impeachment, which he thus 
characterized : 

" Articles of impeachment were exhibited 
against Woodbury Langdon for his not attend- 
ing the superior court in three counties, par- 
ticularizing Cheshire. Previous to this, long 
and fruitless, though virulent, attempts had 
been made to remove him from office, un- 
heard, and without notice, by an address of 
both houses to the President and council. The 
resolve to impeach passed the house by a 
small majority. The articles, after much 
debate, were molded into form, and carried 
to the senate who had resolved themselves 
into a court of impeachment, to meet July 28, 
1790, at Exeter, for trial. ... I have lately 
paid Mr. Langdon a visit. His intuitive 
genius enabled him to give a more accurate 
account of the proceedings of the legislature at 
their last session, than nine tenths of the mem- 
bers present are able to do. He appeared to 
have a perfect knowledge of the part each 
member acted respecting the address and im- 
peachment; the cunning and duplicity of 
Sherburne was insufiScient to veil his conduct 
from the discerning eye of the judge. The 
more I see and know of Langdon, the more I 
admire his wit, penetration, judgment, and 
decision ; few men exceed him. If he con- 
siders an object worthy of his attention, he 



pursues it with such unremitted attention as 
seldom fails of success. Those who have the 
best means of information, and are accustomed 
to think for themselves, are not satisfied with 
the impeachment ; they consider it as flowing 
from motives not honorable." 

The associates of Smith in the 
conduct of this impeachment were 
Edward St. Loe Livermore and Will- 
iam Page ; they went before the 
New Hampshire senate, January 28, 
1 79 1, prepared to prosecute the of- 
fender, who was not present, and 
therefore was not arraigned. The 
elaborate speech of Smith was proba- 
bly not delivered ; it contained the 
substance of the charges, expressed 
with some wit, and is worth citing, 
in part : 

" A judge must disengage himself from all 
other business and employment, and devote 
himself to the duties of his office. There is a 
dictum in one of the books of reports, which, I 
suppose, will pass for very good law in this 
court, 'Ye cannot serve God and Mammon,' 
you cannot be a judge and a merchant. 'T is 
easy to guess, in this contest, which will get 
the mastery ; if we look into the book of 
human nature, we shall find it written in 
very legible characters (Page i) that interest 
will prevail; and that our judge will be more 
solicitous about fitting out his brig, than about 
settling a knotty point of law. He will be too 
apt to be disposing of a cargo, when he should 
be dispensing justice. One end of legal deci- 
sion is to satisfy the parties ; but the parties 
never will be satisfied unless their cause has 
been coolly, deliberately, and fully heard. 
This a judge will never do, if he is entangled 
with private affairs; the parties think, and 
have been heard to say, that when the Hon- 
orable Judge Langdon's brig goes to sea, he 
will be more at leisure. ... If the brig 
sails, or arrives, in term-time, the inhabitants 
of Cheshire and Grafton need not expect to see 
the honorable judge. These are facts I do not 
mean to exaggerate." 

The truth was that Woodbury 
Langdon, like his brother, the illus- 
trious patriot, John lyangdon, who 
was so many times governor of New 
Hampshire, was a prosperous mer- 
chant, owning and sailing vessels 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



227 



from Portsmouth, and had more re- 
gard to his own ventures, at limes, 
than to the public convenience. But 
he was a fair judge, notwithstanding, 
and was not to be discredited by a 
conviction and dismissal from office. 
He had just been appointed by 
Washington as federal commissioner 
of accounts, at Philadelphia, by 
reason of his acquaintance with 
financial affairs, and he sent in his 




Judge Jeremiah Smith. 

resignation as judge in New Hamp- 
shire before his opponents could \ry 
him. Accordingly, late in Januarj'-, 
1 79 1, Mr. Livermore, one of the 
managers of impeachment, offered, 
in the House at Concord, of which 
he and Smith were members, this 
vote, which passed : 

" Resolz'ed, That the Managers appointed by 
and in behalf of the House of Representatives 
to manage the impeachment exhibited by this 
House against Woodbury L,angdon, Esq., be 
instructed to enter a nolle prosequi to said 
itnpeachnient." 

The Senate, meanwhile, which was 



to try the impeachment, had been 
thinking better of it, and on the 
17th of February, 1791, informed the 
house that " Ebenezer Smith, senior 
senator in the chair, and Nathaniel 
Peabody, Ebenezer Webster" (father 
of Daniel), "John Bell, Amos Shep- 
pard, Peter Green, Nathaniel Rogers, 
Sandford Kingsbury, and Joseph Cil- 
ley, Esqs., being present" (nine sen- 
ators out of twelve), "when the 
Senate for a moment reflect that the 
full force of a resolve or address, if 
carried into execution, can operate 
no further than to effect a removal 
from office ; and that Mr. Eangdon 
hath accepted of an important ap- 
pointment under the authority of the 
United States, which renders it in- 
convenient for him to execute, and 
highly improper that he should any 
longer hold said office as a justice 
of the superior court ; and that Mr. 
Langdon, impressed with these senti- 
ments, or some otJier motives, hath, 
by a letter of the 17th of January, 
actually resigned said office, — the 
Senate, taking all circumstances into 
consideration, unanimousl}' voted, 
That it is not their duty to concur 
with the honorable House in their 
resolve or address asking for Mr. 
Langdon 's removal." 

Commenting upon this whole af- 
fair, Plumer, in a letter to Judge 
Langdon, said (March 26, 1791), 
"Thus ended this mighty fuss, — 
disgraceful to the state, and vexa- 
tious to you. John Sam Sherburne, 
who last summer considered the 
prosecution as a popular measure, 
has lately been more cautious ; in 
the house he has voted with your 
friends, though he has manifested 
too much indifference to be con- 
sidered as one of them. George 



228 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



Gains has beeu friendl}-, and did 
everything a man of his feeble in- 
tellect was able to do. George 
Wentworth, your other Portsmouth 
representative, always voted with us, 
and that was as much as he was 
capable of doing. Col. William 
Page and James McGregor were the 
most bitter and persecuting'; they 
dealt in slander and calumny, both 
in public and private. The Presi- 
dent (Josiah Bartlett) was in favor 
of the impeachment, but opposed to 
the address of removal. Nathaniel 
Rogers was zealous for j'ou. Had 
the trial proceeded, some of the 
senators would have voted against 
you. Christopher Toppan (of Hamp- 
ton), Nathan Hoit, and Bradbury 
Cilley were active in your favor. 
Timoth}^ Farrar is appointed your 
successor. I do not know him, but 
from his character he will be judi- 
cious and useful." 

Judge Smith long outlived Judge 
L,angdon, who was more than twen- 
ty years older, and who died in 
1805. After three congressional 
terms of two years each, and one 
session of a fourth, Smith, who 
had married in Maryland Miss 
Eliza Ross, daughter of Mrs. Ariana 
(Brice) Ross, of Bladensburg, at the 
end of his third term, and visited 
Washington at Mt. Vernon, removed 
with his bride to Exeter, N. H., 
where much correspondence was had 
as to what house he should occupy. 
Writing to his friend Smith, Jan- 
uary 12, 1797, William Plumer of 
Epping said : 

"Yesterday I was at Exeter, and conversed 
with Parker, Peabody, Conner, etc., upon pro- 
curing a house for you. The mansion-house 
of the late General Folsom, with eight or ten 
acres of land, may be rented for $135 per 
annum. The house in which Dudley Odlin 



lived may be had cheaper ; 'tis about 80 rods 
west of Lamson's tavern, a pleasant, healthy 
situation. It needs considerable repairs, but 
maj' be purchased cheap ; the governor (Gil- 
man) has the care of it. The houses in which 
Conner and young Odiorne lived may be had 
on reasonable terms ; they are west of Emery's 
office, but I think they would not suit you." 

In a letter to Miss Ross, a month 
before the wedding, Smith said, " My 
correspondent at Exeter has just 
written me that we can have a house, 
which he thinks will answer our pur- 
pose, for $40 a year. From the price 
I conclude it must be a very ordinary 
house ; but perhaps it will serve our 
purpose for a year or two, till we can 
accommodate ourselves better, either 
in buying or hiring." 

He failed to get the Folsom " man- 
sion," and yet did not content him- 
self for a dozen years with so cheap 
a house as he thus mentioned. 
Finally, in 1809, after holding the 
important offices of district attorney. 
United States circuit judge, judge of 
probate for Rockingham, and chief 
justice of New Hampshire (1802 to 
1809), he purchased the fine estate, 
a little west of the village, on the 
road from Exeter to Epping and 
Nottingham, which is associated with 
him in the recollections of his 
friends. 

The house, a large and substantial 
one, built by a Captain Giddings 
and represented in the next view, 
was much improved by the judge, 
and beautified by trees and gardens, 
while a magnificent wood of primi- 
tiv^e pines, oaks, and maples covered 
the rear of his farm of 150 acres. 
He first occupied this during his 
single year as governor, when he 
defeated the brother of his prede- 
cessor on the bench, the impeached 
Judge Eangdon, by the small ma- 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



229 




Exeter House of Judge Smith. 



jority of 369 ; but in the following 
years he was defeated by Governor 
Langdon with majorities of 1,157 in 
1 8 10, and 3,045 in 181 1. These in- 
creasing negatives were hints to 
Judge Smith that he should with- 
draw from politics, and he devoted 
himself afterwards to the law, to lit- 
erature, and to the social and family 
affections, by which he is now best 
remembered. 

His eldest child, Ariana Smith, 
was the charm of his Exeter home, 
and the unqualified delight of her 
father and friends. Born December 
28, 1797, and dying of consumption, 
June 20, 1829; she was of a gentle 
and accomplished nature, as unusual 
as her name then was in New Eng- 
land. She had inherited that from 
a Bohemian branch of her grand- 
mother's family, the Brices of Mary- 
land ; and her cousin, Mrs. James 
Walker of Peterborough, who was 
with Ariana Smith in her last ill- 
ness, gave this cherished name to her 
own daughter born in the following 



November. Something of the same 
character must have gone with the 
name from the description which Dr. 
Morison, the cousin and biographer 
of Judge Smith, gives of this ever- 
lamented daughter : 

" Existence was to Ariana Smith a continual 
romance. Her personal appearance was pecul- 
iar to herself, — a clear, white complexion, con- 
trasting with her long black hair and eyelashes, 
— large, blue eyes, looking out with animation 
from a countenance always calm, indicating 
both excitement and repose, — all were such as 
belonged to no one else. She laughed, wept, 
studied, went through the routine of house- 
hold cares, — was not without some portion of 
feminine vanity, — loved attention, and was not 
indifferent to dress, — and yet she was like no 
one else. Her voice, subdued and passionless, 
contrasted singularly with the fervor of her 
words. Her enthusiasm might have betrayed 
her into indiscretion, but for her prudent self- 
control ; and her rare good sense might have 
made her seem commonplace but for her en- 
thusiasm. She had a feminine high-minded- 
ness. She was equally at home among differ- 
ent classes of people ; with the most eminent 
she betrayed no consciousness of self-distrust, 
and with the humblest no pride or condescen- 
sion. Her cook she regarded not merely as a 
faithful servant, but as a sister ; the poor stu- 
dent, unformed, bashful, and desponding, soon 
felt at ease with her, looked with more respect 
on himself, and began to feel new powers and 
hopes. The charity which thinketh no evil 
was not in her so much a cherished principle, 
as an original endowment ; disturbed some- 
times by momentary jealousies and rivalries, 
by wrongs received or witnessed, but quickly 
recovering itself, and going cheerfully along its 
pleasant path." 



230 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 




An American Portia. 



In the absence of any adequate 
portrait of this lady, or of her elder 
cousin, Mrs. Sarah Walker, I have 
found, among the types of English 
beauty and grace, a face and pres- 
ence which recalls both to my fancy, 
— the lady of whom Charles Howard 
wrote these verses : 

Here is there more than merely common spell 

Of rosy lips and tresses darkly streaming ; 
O thou, by fairy Nature gifted well, 

What is it in thy picture sets me dreaming? 
Thee, fair as Portia in her beauty's prime. 

And true, or Beauty's smile hath lost its 
meaning, 
Thee may Regret, that sullen child of Time, 

Pass, as she goes her sad tear-harvest gleaning ! 



Surviving his wife and all the chil- 
dren of his first marriage, Judge Smith 
married again at the age of seventy- 
two ; and this second Mrs. Smith, 
mother of Judge Jeremiah Smith, now 
a law professor in Harvard University 
(born in 1837), kept up the hospi- 
tality of the Exeter home, and, after 
her husband's death in September, 
1842, of the still larger estate in Eee, 
N. H., where many friends will 
remember visiting her. During her 
residence in Exeter, which the 
Smiths left in the spring of 1842, the 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



231 



Walkers of Peterborough, to be near 
their kinsman. Judge Smith, and the 
youths, James and George Walker, 
there fitting for college, took a house 
not far from the Judge's, where they 
lived two years. Mrs. Sarah Wal- 
ker, born at Cavendish, Vt., in 1795, 
and married to James Walker in 
1819, was, as Dr. Morison says, "A 
woman greatly beloved by all who 
knew her. There was no one out of 
his immediate family to whom Judge 
Smith was more tenderly attached. 
They died of the same disease, and 
within a few weeks of each other." 
Writing to her from Virginia in 1836, 
he said, "You were always dear, and 
now, in the midst of the Alleghanies, 
are dearer than ever. The higher 
we ascend, the better we love one 
another. So be it, for this is the 
greatest earthly good." Writing to 
another niece, Ellen Smith, in 1839, 
he said, " Have you heard that your 
friend, Miss A., is going to instruct 
in an academy at W.? and it is said 
the situation was procured for her by 
Mrs. Walker. Is there to be no end 
to the good deeds of that woman ? " 
She was indeed one who lived for the 



good of others, and whom those who 
knew her could not praise enough ; 
as her husband said, " Everybody in 
Peterborough loved her, and most 
of them were under some obligation 
to her." Few of her letters have 
been preserved ; but her daughter 
cherished the last she received, on 
her birthdaj' in 1841 : 

" My Dear Ariana : Twelve years ago this 
very evening I first pressed you to my bosom, 
fervently thanking that Good Being who, in 
answer to my prayers, had given me a daugh- 
ter. O, I shall never forget the joy which 
filled my heart when your happy brothers first 
greeted their little sister, how their eyes glis- 
tened with joy and love when they were per- 
mitted to take you in their arras ! Your father, 
too, looked with delight upon his infant 
daughter; I believe he nursed you more than 
both your brothers. I was feeble during your 
first year, and very often went to bed too weary 
to sleep, but your smiles paid for all ; and I 
looked forward to the time when you would be 
my companion, friend, and helper. 

"The world was bright to me then, but sor- 
row came. My poor mother died ; then my 
dear brother John, and to fill my cup of bit- 
terness, my darling James was taken from 
me.' Can you wonder that I am changed ? 
Oh, no ! But though our kind Father in 
Heaven has seen fit to afflict me. He has not 
left me comfortless. Though he has taken one 
dear child from me, two others, equally dear, 
are yet spared to bless and comfort me. 



' In August, 1S40. 




Exeter Street in I 838. 




JAMES WALKER. ESQUIRE. 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



233 



" O, my dear Ariana, if 3^011 knew how very 
anxious I am to see you grow up a good and 
useful woman, you would, from this time for- 
ward, try to amend every fault, and, by a care- 
ful attention to the happiness of others, secure 
your own. 

" [Peterborough] Nov. 8th [1S41J, 11 o'clock, 
Eve." 

Mrs. Walker died the next year ; 
Ariana being then at school in 



father (born in 1784, died Dec. 31, 
1854), was a native of Rindge, and a 
first cousin of Dr. James Walker, 
president of Harvard university, and 
of Dr. W. J. Walker of Charlestown, 
Mass., a distinguished physician, 
whose bequests have enriched Am- 
herst college. The father, grand- 
father, and uncles of Mr. Walker 







Birthplace of Geo'ge and Anna Walker. 



Keene. She was of the warm- 
hearted, musical, sympathetic Scotch- 
Irish race, akin to the Smiths, Mori- 
sons, Wilsons, Moores, etc., of that 
stock. Her brother, William Smith, 
I knew in later years, the kindest, 
most amiable of men, born atid living 
in Cavendish. 

James Smith Walker, oldest child 
of James Walker, died while in Yale 
college, at the age of nineteen. His 



were soldiers or officers in the Revo- 
lution ; he was a student in Dart- 
mouth college along with Daniel 
Webster, graduating in 1804, two 
years after Webster. He chose law 
for his profession, and settled in 
Peterborough about 18 14. 

A brother. Rev. Charles Walker, 
was for years a Congregationalist 
minister in New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts, dying in Groton, 



234 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



Mass., in 1847. 'Squire Walker, 
as he was generally termed, soon 
acquired the confidence of the peo- 
ple of his native region, as Judge 
Smith had done, though a very dif- 
ferent man, with few popular quali- 
ties. His innate justice, sterling 
integrity, and firm opinions won re- 
spect, and his management of causes 
and of property entrusted to him 
made him successful in his pro- 
fession. His marriage with Sarah 



this house his two younger children, 
George and Anna, were born, and 
from it they tripped, hand in hand, 
to the foot of the hill, near the man- 
sion of Samuel Smith, the Judge's 
manufacturing brother, to attend the 
private school of Miss Abby Abbot 
(now Mrs. H. Wood). She was a 
niece of the village pastor, Dr. Abiel 
Abbot (born 1765, died 1S59), whose 
lovely garden and orchard, by the 
riverside, overseen by the belfry of 




Dr. Abbot's Orchard. 



Smith, whose uncles and cousins 
were the leading men in Peterbor- 
ough, gave him social standing, and 
his simple wa}^ of life suited the hab- 
its of that town of " plain living and 
high thinking." In his early mar- 
ried life he occupied one of the older 
houses of the present village, — the 
Carter house, on the steep hillside 
overlooking the Contoocook from the 
northeast, and commanding that no- 
ble prospect of Monadnoc which (with 
a slight variation for the point of 
view), appears in our engraving. In 



the church where he ministered so 
long, appears in our engraving. This 
was the noontime playground of 
Anna and her cousin. Abbot Smith, 
who lived with his grandfather Abbot, 
and from this hill town went to Exe- 
ter, Harvard, and the Divinity School 
before taking pastoral charge of a 
church at Arlington, where he died. 
The two cousins studied and read 
French and German together in later 
years, but in the decade from 1832 
to 1842 were learning the E)nglish 
branches, under the direction of that 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



235 



famous Abbot famil3^ who all seem 
to have been destined for the educa- 
tion of the young. Dr. A. Abbot 
was a first cousin of Dr. B. Abbot, 
for fifty years the head of Exeter 
academy, where, among his later pu- 
pils, were James and George Walker,^ 
as among his earlier were Webster 
and General Cass. It was Dr. Abbot 
of Peterborough, then preaching at 
Coventry in Connecticut, who per- 
suaded Jared Sparks, the future his- 
torian, but then a carpenter in Mr. Ab- 
bot's parish, to go to the school at Exe- 
ter; and he carried the young man's 
box, slung under his parson's chaise, 
to the academy, while Sparks went 
on foot the whole way. This was in 
1809, and Abiel Abbot was on his 
v/ay then to visit his brother. Rev. 
Jacob Abbot (also a good teacher), 
who had succeeded President Lang- 
don in the parsonage of Hampton 
Falls in 1798. Miss Abbot, the 
teacher of the Walker, Smith, and 
Abbot children at Peterborough, was 
the daughter of Jacob Abbot, and the 
elder sister of Miss Mary Anne Top- 
pan Abbot, who became the second 
wife of James Walker. 

It was thisnuitermarriage between 
the Abbot and Walker families that 
gave me the privilege of my first 
acquaintance with Ariana Walker. 
Her stepmother had a sister, Mrs. 
Porter Cram, married in her father's 
old parish of Hampton Falls, and the 
eldest daughters of that family be- 
came the dear friends of Ariana, who 
often visited them, as well as her 
friends at Exeter and Eee, sometimes 
spending weeks in the quiet rural 
scenery of the Hamptons, which she 
had loved when a child at Exeter. 



1 James entered at Exeter in 1S33, and George in 
1S36, both at the age of 12. 



In the winter of 1 849-' 50, Miss Cram 
(now Mrs. S. H. Folsom of Winches- 
ter, Mass.) had visited Peterborough, 
and told her friend, always interested 
in poetry and romance, about a boy- 
poet at Hampton Falls — a school- 
mate of hers, — giving some samples 
of his verses at the age of seventeen. 
Miss Walker, then just twenty, took 
a deep interest in this youth from his 
verse and prose, and in the following 
summer, returning her friend's visit, 
she expressed a wish to see him. 
The two sat and looked at each other 
across the little church (July 22, 
1850), and Miss Walker wrote on 
her fan the favorable comment she 
wished to make for the friend beside 
her. The youth of eighteen was no 
less affected at this lovely vision, and 
the next evening called on Miss 
Walker at the ancient farmhouse 
where she lived. 

As it happens, I know exactly, 
from Anna's own pen, what was her 
attire when I first saw her, at church 
in Hampton Falls, in her white bon- 
net, and the same evening in her 
"pink barege." Writing to her step- 
mother from Springfield in June (1850) 
she said, — 

' ' I have two new dresses, — a morn- 
ing dress and a pink barege ! The 
latter is very pretty ; I am doubtful 
if it will be becoming, — but no )nat- 
ter. My bonnet is a French lace, 
trimmed with a white watered rib- 
bon ; in the inside a ' ruche ' of white 
lace, dotted with blue, and with blue 
strings. So you have me, — dress, 
bonnet, and all." 

(Eater.) " Do you care about the 
vanities f and would you like to know 
of my dress at Mrs. Day's party, where 
I had a pleasant evening? I wore 
my pink dress, made low in the neck, 



236 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 








"O^-^-^^^^ 



with a lace jacket coming close up to 
the throat, — short sleeves, with short 
undersleeves of lace, made like a 
baby's, — white gloves and my ' wed- 
ding ' shoes." (That is, the shoes 
she had worn at her brother's wed- 
ding, the previous November.) " I 
had white and scarlet flowers in my 
hair, and a beautiful bouquet on my 
arm. They say I looked my veiy 
prettiest, — which isn't saying much; 
and even I agree that the pink dress 
is decidedly becoming, — which Sarah 
Walker considers a 'little triumph' 
for her. So much. Mother dear, for 
the outward, which Father may pass 
over if he pleases." 



I saw her in the pink, without the 
flowers and the white slippers, and 
soon after in blue, which she more 
commonly wore, and with which she 
is most associated in my memory. 

The date was July, 1850. The 
impression on both our hearts was 
instantaneous, and never effaced ; it 
led to memorable conversations in 
the summer evenings, and two weeks 
later to the remarkable analysis of a 
nature not easy to read, and which 
only time could unfold to the general 
comprehension, or even to the youth 
himself ; but which was strangely 
open to the sibylline insight of this 
fascinating person, 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



237 





F. B. Sanborn at Twenty-one. 



THE CHARACTER OF F. B. 
EIGHTEEN. 



AT 



Mind analytic, the intellect predominating 
and governing the heart ; feelings do not often 
obtain the mastery. Intellect calm and search- 
ing, with a keen insight, equally open to mer- 
its and demerits. Much practical ability and 
coolness of judgment. He is unsparingly just 
to his own thought, and is not easily moved 
therefrom. With great imagination he is not 
at all a dreamer, or if he is ever so, his dreams 
are not enervatirig and he has power to make 
them realities. He is vigorous, healthy, strong. 
Cal unless of feeling as well as of thought, is a 
large element in his nature ; but there is fire 
under the ice, which, if it should be reached, 
would flame forth with great power and inten- 
sity. Imagination rich and vivid, yet he is 
somewhat cold ; wants hope, is too apt to look 
on the dark side of things. 

Has great pride. It is one of the strongest 
elements of his character. Values highly inde- 
xxvii— 17 



pendence, and thinks himself capable of stand- 
ing alone, and as it were apart from all others ; 
yet in his inmost soul he would be glad of 
some autlwrity upon which to lean, and is in- 
fluenced more than he is aware by those whose 
opinions he respects. There is much religion 
in him. He despises empty forms without the 
spirit, but has large reverence for things truly 
leveienceable. 

He is severe, but not more so with others 
than with himself : yet he likes many, endures 
most, and is at war with few. His feelings are 
not easily moved, loz'es few — perhaps )io7ie 
with. e>//l/!(siasin. He is too proud to be vain, 
yet will have much to stimulate vanity. He 
fancies himself indifferent to praise or blame, 
but is much less so than he imagines. He is open, 
and yet reserved ; in showing his treasures he 
knows where to stop, and with all his frank- 
ness there is still much which he reveals to 
none. 

Has much intellectual enthusiasm. Loves 
wit, and is often witty ; has much humor too. 



238 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



sees quickl}- the ludicrous side of things, and 
though he wants hope is seldom sad or despond- 
ing. Has many noble aspirations yet unsatis- 
fied. Still seeking, seeking, groping in the 
dark. He wants a definite end for which to 
strive heartily ; then his success would be sure. 
Much executive power, executes better than he 
plans. 

I,oves the beautiful in all things. He has 
much originality ; his thoughts and tastes are 
peculiarly his own. Is impatient of wrong, 
and almost equally so of inability. Is gentle 
in spite of a certain coldness about him ; has 
strong passions in spite of his general calm- 
ness of intellect and affection. A nature not 
likely to find rest, struggle is its native ele- 
ment ; wants a steady aim, must work, standing 
still is impossible ; but he must have a great 
motive for which to strive. 

Aug. ^tli, jSio. 

Many contradictions in this analj-sis, but not 
vwrc than there are in the character itself. 

This forecast of character was made 
after several long conversations, of 
which Anna (we soon got beyond the 
formality of titles) preserved a record 
in her journal, for she had formed the 
journalizing habit in childhood, and 
had it confirmed by the fashion of the 
day, among her Boston friends. Of 
our first evening (July 23), she 
wrote: 

" F. stayed until eleven, and j'et I was 
neither weary nor sleepy, but rather refreshed 
and invigorated. He excused himself for stay- 
ing so late, but said the time had passed rap- 
idly. Cate seemed very much surprised that 
he had spoken so freely to a stranger ; I think 
he himself will wonder at it. The conversation 
covered so many subjects that I could not help 
laughing on looking back upon it ; he might 
have discovered the great fault of my mind, a 
want of method in my thoughts, as clearly as I 
saw his to be a want of hope. But talking with 
a new person is to nie like going for the first 
time into a gallery of pictures. We wander 
from one painting to another, wishing to see 
all, lest something irnest should escape us, and 
in truth seeing no one perfectly and appreci- 
atingly. Only after many visits and long fa- 
miliarity can we learn which are really the 
best, most suggestive and most full of mean- 
ing ; and then it is before two or three that one 
passes the hours. So we wander at first from 
one topic of conversation to another, until we 
find which are those reaching farthest and 



deepest, and then it is these of which we talk 
most. My interest in Frank S. is peculiar ; it 
is his intellectual and spiritual nature, and not 
himself \.ha.t I feel so much drawn to. I can't 
say it rightly in words, but I never was so 
strongly interested in one where the feeling 
was so little perso>ial." 

It is not only at locksmiths that lyove 
laughs ; he has an especial and inti- 
mate smile for the disguises which 
affection assumes in the minds of the 
j^oung. From those happy evenings 
the future of the new friend occupied 
that gentle heart more than all other 
interests. She thought and planned 
for him wisely, and with the tact and 
generosity of which she alone had 
the secret ; while his affection for her 
easily persuaded him to adopt the 
course of study and of life which she 
suggested. Their correspondence 
continued when she went onward to 
her friend, Miss Ednah Littlehale 
(Mrs. E. D. Cheney), at Gloucester 
and Boston, and it was at Ednah's 
convalescence from a severe illness, 
that the declaration of 3^outhftil love 
found her, in her friend's apartment. 

So early and so bold an avowal fixed 
the fate of both ; they could never 
afterward be other than lovers, how- 
ever much the wisdom of the world 
pleaded against a relation closer than 
friendship. But the world must not 
know the footing upon which they 
stood ; even the father and brother 
must imagine it a close friendship, 
such as her expansive nature was 
so apt to form, and so faithful to 
maintain. One family in Hampton 
Falls and one friend in Boston were 
to be cognizant of the truth ; and it 
was not clear, for years, to the self- 
sacrificing good sense of the maiden, 
what her ultimate answer to the 
world might be. Hence misunder- 
standings and remonstrances from 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



239 







^1 Mil Eli 




Peterborough in 1854. 



those naturally dear to her, but not 
the dearest ; and on her part the 
most complete and unselfish devo- 
tion to the lover who would not re- 
nounce her, when she set before him 
illness, and the sacrifice of worldly 
success as the dower she must bring 
him. She had been suddenly at- 
tacked, in March, 1846, with a pain- 
ful and ill-understood lameness, which 
kept her for years from walking 
freely, and was accompanied by ner- 
vous attacks which often seemed to 
threaten her life. This affliction had 
interrupted her education, and made 
her more dependent on the service of 
others than her high spirit could al- 
ways endure ; it also drew forth from 
her brother George, five years older 
than herself, a tender regard and con- 
stant care which, since the death of 
her mother, before she was thirteen. 



had inspired the most ardent sisterly 
affection. Her need of love was en- 
hanced by her limitations of health, 
and these also tended to develop in 
her character that patient sweetness 
which her portrait so well presents. 
Yet all this made it more difficult for 
her to decide the issue of betrothal 
and marriage. 

After nearly four years of this pleas- 
ing pain of thC' heart, — this striving 
to satisfy every claim of love and 
duty, — when betrothal had been pub- 
licly declared, and marriage was only 
waiting upon time, she thus gave her 
allegory of the past and the future of 
our relation to each other : 

THE STORY OF THE BOY AND HIS 
PIPE. 

" In a lonely valley among the hills, where 
there were but few people, lived a beautiful 
boy ; he tended his father's sheep among the 



240 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 




The " Little Lake Near By. 



hills, and labored for him in the fields. These 
people led very simple lives, and the boy had 
only one treasure, which he loved above all 
other things, — a sort of pipe, curiously carved 
with beautiful figures, and furnished with 
many silver keys. When he was a babe at his 
mother's breast, an angel had one day come 
and laid this pipe in his cradle, and from that 
time he had kept it constantly near him. 
While he was a child he loved it because of 
its silver keys, which shone so bright in the 
sunshine, and seemed to light up all the room, 
and for the many curious figures carved upon 
it, among which he was always finding some- 
thing new and wonderful. But, as he grew 
older, he discovered that by breathing into this 
pipe he could produce strange and sweet 
sounds, — sweeter and more beautiful than any 
he had ever heard, even from the birds who 
sang in the forests among the hills. When he 
had made this discovery, he said nothing of it 
to any one, but took his pipe up into the most 
distant hills, where he kept his father's sheep, 
or out into the far-off fields, and there played 
over and over again these notes which had so 
much delighted him, adding new ones thereto, 
until at last he could play many most sweet 
strains of music, which he now perceived lay 
hidden in the pipe the angel had brought him. 
At first, and for a long time, he did this only 
when among the distant hills, or far off from 
all neighborhood of men, but gradually, as he 
became more confident in his own skill, and 
more accustomed to the music which he made, 
he used to play more openly, wherever he 



might chance to be, and especialh' at even- 
ing, sitting before his father's cottage, or, still 
oftener, by the shores of a little lake near by, 
on whose banks grew many flowering shrubs 
and waving trees, and which bore white water- 
lilies upon its bosom. 

" Here he would often sit and play until late 
in the night, and all who heard his music loved 
it, and praised him much for the skill which 
brought it forth out of this little wooden pipe. 
To them it was neither beautiful nor wonder- 
ful, and not different from any common shep- 
herd's pipe, except for its silver keys. But one 
day as he sat playing among the hills a bird 
stopped to hear him, and when he had ended 
she said : ' Who gave thee thy pipe and taught 
thee how to play upon it?' 'When I was a 
child,' he answered, 'an angel brought it and 
laid it in my cradle, and I have taught myself 
to play on it.' Then the bird said, shaking its 
head wisely, ' What thou playest is indeed very 
sweet and pleasant to hear, but there is far 
nobler music hidden in thy pipe, and thou 
canst not find it until thou hast learnt the use 
of all the keys.' So saying, the little bird flew 
away. The boy looked at his pipe and was 
sorrowful, for there were many keys which he 
knew not how to use, nor could he discover, 
though he tried often and often and played 
more than ever before in his life. And at times 
all the sweet strains he had prized so much be- 
fore became as nothing to him, so much did he 
long for the nobler music concealed in his pipe, 
which he could not draw forth. 

"Filled with these thoughts, he went one 



THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 



241 



evening down to the shores of the small lake, 
and sat there dejectedly, leaning his head on 
his hand, with his pipe lying silent by his side. 
When the flowers saw him so sad, they were 
grieved in heart, and said to him, ' Why art 
thou sad ; and why dost thou no longer play as 
thou hast been used to do, coming down to 
us?' But he said, ' I do not care to-night to 
play upon mj' pipe, for I know there is far 
sweeter and nobler music hidden in it, and I 
cannot find it because I know not the use of 
all the keys. Why should I dishonor it by 
playing so imperfectly on it? ' 

"Then the flowers all spoke to him, com- 
forting him, and some praised the music he 
had made, and ' did not believe there could be 
any so much sweeter hidden in the pipe ; ' and 
they spoke so flatteringly of what he had done, 
and so lauded his skill, that he might well 
have been in some danger of forgetting (for a 
time, at least) all that the little bird had told 
him of the nobler music he had yet to learn. 
But when there was a silence, a little reed that 
grew close down to the waterside, and bore 
pale white flowers, some of whose leaves were 
torn or broken by the wind, began to speak. 
' Yes,' she said, ' it is true that thou playest 
very sweetly, and we have all loved to hear 
thee, and have kept the tones in our hearts ; 
but it is also true that far nobler and sweeter 
music is hidden in thy pipe. And since the 
angel of God has entrusted it to thee, thou 
canst not find rest in thy soul until thou hast 
learned the use of all the silver keys, and can 
call forth all the hidden power of melody which 
is shut up within it.' This she said in a quiet, 
calm voice ; and when she had ended the boy 
raised his head from his hands. ' Thou art 
right,' he said, ' I believe that thou art right ; 
but how shall I find a way to do this ? ' 'To 
him whose will is fixed,' answered the flower, 
' there is always a way ; but listen, and I will 
tell thee. I am only a little reed, but I know 
some things which are hidden from thee, and 
that which I know I will tell thee. Bid fare- 
well to thy father and thy mother, take thy 
pipe in hand and follow the little path which 
leads southward out of the valley, over a high 
mountain. Beyond that mountain is a country 
very different from this, where many people 
dwell together, and among them thou wilt find 
some who will teach thee the use of the 
silver keys ; but the hidden music thou must 
find thyself, for this pipe is thine own, and 
thou only canst play upon it. Be faithful and 
brave, and all shall be well with thee ! ' 

" Then the boy's face flushed with feeling, 
and his eyes gleamed. ' All that thou hast said 
tome I will do,' he said, and rising, walked with 
firm steps to his home. When morning had 
come, he bade farewell to his father and 



mother, and, taking his pipe in his hand, pre- 
pared to set out on his journey. But first he 
went down again to the shores of the little lak