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RAMBLES  IN  COLONIAL  BYWAYS 


Wlu.iV,  LINOUW  HuBi»N, 


Rambles  in 
Colonial  Byways 

BY 

RUFUS   ROCKWELL  WILSON 


Illustrated  from  draivings 

By  William  Lincoln  Hudson 

and  front  photographs 


Vol.  II. 


Philadelphia   C®T  London 

J.  B.  Lippincott  Company 

1901 


Copyright,  1900 
By  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company 


Electrotyped  and  Printed  by 
/.  B.  Lippincott  Company ,  Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 


Contents 
* 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.     ALONG  THE  EASTERN  SHORE       ...  9 

IX.     THE  CITY  OF  THE  FRIENDS     ...  42 

X.     PENNS  MANOR  AND  BEYOND  75 

XL     GOD'S  PECULIAR  PEOPLE          ...  107 

XII.     BETHLEHEM  AND  AROUND  THERE       .  .     139 

XIII.  THREE  GROUPS  OF  GERMAN  MYSTICS      .  173 

XIV.  THROUGH  WASHINGTON'S  COUNTRY     .  .     206 

XV.       YORKTOWN    AND    HER    NEIGHBORS     .            .  239 


M123160 


Illustrations 

PAGE 

OLD  CHURCH,  ECONOMY,  PENNSYLVANIA  Frontispiece 

MOUNT  CUSTIS,  AN  EASTERN  SHORE  HOMESTEAD   .  18 

OLD  SWEDES'  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA       .         .  44 

OLD  ST.  DAVID'S,  RADNOR,  PENNSYLVANIA    .        .  86 

SAAL  AND  SARON,  EPHRATA,  PENNSYLVANIA      .  122 

SISTERS'  HOUSE,  BETHLEHEM,  PENNSYLVANIA          .  144 

MOUNT  VERNON,  HOME  OF  WASHINGTON   .        .  222 

RUINED  TOWER  OF  JAMESTOWN  CHURCH        .         .  252 


RAMBLES  IN  COLONIAL  BYWAYS 

9¥ 
CHAPTER   VIII 

ALONG    THE    EASTERN    SHORE 

IT  was  a  wise  friend  who  counselled  us 
to  begin  our  tour  of  the  Eastern  Shore  at 
Eastville.  By  the  Eastern  Shore  is  meant 
the  peninsula  bounded  on  the  north  and  east 
by  Delaware  Bay,  on  the  south  and  east  by 
the  Atlantic,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Chesa 
peake,  a  quaint  and  venerable  region  con 
taining  about  one-third  of  Maryland  and 
two  counties  of  Virginia.  Bountifully  en 
dowed  by  nature,  it  is  also,  for  the  man 
who  loves  the  past,  a  land  of  delight.  When 
New  York  was  yet  a  wilderness  and  Plym 
outh  a  virgin  forest,  men  of  English  birth 
were  growing  tobacco,  dredging  oysters,  and 
shooting  wild  fowl  on  the  Eastern  Shore. 
The  descendants  of  these  first  settlers  still 
follow  the  same  pursuits.  Moreover,  locked 
away  for  the  better  part  of  three  hundred 
9 


RAMBLES   IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 


years  in  this  neglected  nook,  they  cling  with 
affectionate  tenacity  to  the  manners  and  cus 
toms,  the  traditions  and  modes  of  life,  of 
their  forefathers,  so  that  one  finds  on  the 
peninsula  the  indolent  old-time  existence  and 
the  broad  hospitality  of  an  earlier  age,  along 
with  the  careless  air  of  ancient  gentility, 
tempered  and  made  piquant  by  an  aristo 
cratic  exclusiveness. 

And  sleepy  Eastville,  near  its  southern 
end,  is  the  Eastern  Shore  in  miniature. 
Only  during  the  last  dozen  years  has  it  had 
easy  connection  with  the  outer  world,  and 
even  now  it  feels  but  dubiously  the  intestine 
stir  of  modern  ideas.  Rows  of  white,  low- 
roofed  houses  line  its  single  dusty  street, 
with  two  or  three  country  stores  and  a  couple 
of  roomy  taverns  dropped  in  between,  while 
a  court-house  and  clerk's  office  bear  witness 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  shire  town  of  the 
ancient  county  of  Northampton.  Eastville 
is  the  centre  of  a  land  overflowing  with 
milk  and  honey,  and  above  it  and  below  it 
are  the  homes  of  people  who  in  the  golden 
days  before  the  Civil  War  counted  their 
slaves  by  hundreds  and  their  acres  by  thou- 
10 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

sands, — old  families  whose  ancestors  date 
far  back  into  the  seventeenth  century  as 
men  of  importance  and  power. 

Beside  the  inlets  and  rivers  that  deeply 
indent  the  shores  of  the  peninsula  stand  the 
roomy  dwellings  of  these  old  families  out- 
looking  over  the  bay,  with  lawns  in  front 
smooth  as  green  velvet,  dipping  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  Such  is  the  old  Parker  man 
sion,  standing  at  the  junction  of  two  creeks, 
a  fine  old  house  surrounded  by  a  thick  clus 
ter  of  trees,  with  large  porches  front  and 
back,  paved  with  marble  slabs,  and  a  long 
colonnade  running  from  the  kitchen  to  the 
main  building.  In  these  old  dwellings  the 
kitchen  is  almost  always  separated  from  the 
house,  connected  with  it  only  by  this  cov 
ered  way,  thus  securing  coolness  to  the 
house,  at  the  same  time  providing  shelter 
from  the  rain  for  the  dainty  dishes,  delicate 
yet  simple,  such  as  only  the  negro  cook  of 
the  South  can  compound.  Erstwhile  the 
cook  held  absolute  sway  in  her  quarters, 
with  a  parcel  of  jolly,  grinning  little  negro 
boys  as  pages.  The  mistress  might  rule  the 
household  and  the  master  the  fields,  but  in 
ii 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

her  own  dominions,  portly  Dinah,  with  white 
teeth  showing  beneath  her  red  turban,  reigned 
supreme. 

The  name  of  Parker  is  repeated  on  every 
page  of  the  early  history  of  the  lower  East 
ern  Shore ;  and  so  is  that  of  the  well-known 
Custis  family,  high  in  social  position  and 
pride  of  birth,  one  of  the  later  descendants 
of  which  was  the  first  husband  of  Martha 
Washington.  Arlington,  the  whilom  seat  of 
the  Custises,  faces  the  Chesapeake  a  dozen 
miles  below  Eastville,  and  is  reached  by  a 
drive  along  a  grass-grown  road  that  never 
carries  one  out  of  sight  of  the  placid  waters 
of  the  bay.  No  vestige  of  the  mansion  re 
mains  ;  but  near  its  former  site  are  a  couple 
of  crumbling  and  weather-beaten  tombstones 
that  once  stood,  as  is  customary  throughout 
Virginia,  close  to  the  old  homestead.  The 
inscription  on  the  most  elaborate  of  the  two 
tells  the  visitor  that  beneath  it  lies  the  body 
of  John  Custis,  who  died  "  aged  seventy- 
one  years  and  yet  lived  but  seven  years  which 
was  the  space  of  time  he  kept  a  bachelor's 
house  at  Arlington  on  the  Eastern  shore 
of  Virginia."  On  another  side  of  the  tomb 

12 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

is  the  statement,  duly  chiselled  in  the  mar 
ble,  that  "  the  foregoing  inscription  was 
placed  on  this  stone  by  the  direction  of  the 
deceased."  The  father-in-law  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  if  not  an  unhappy  husband, 
was  surely  one  of  the  most  eccentric  of  men. 

John  Custis's  tomb  and  its  companion 
grave  are  the  only  visible  reminders  of  the 
glory  of  Arlington,  but  it  is  an  easy  and 
pleasant  task  to  recreate  the  vanished  era 
in  which  it  had  its  place.  A  hard-swearing, 
hard-drinking,  hard-driving, — ay,  and  a 
hard-working  lot,  when  the  humor  was  on 
them, — were  these  men  of  the  Eastern  Shore, 
of  a  period  when  "  the  planter  who  had  the 
most  hoes  at  work  was  the  best  man/' — to 
every  hoe  a  slave  or  a  convict;  when  to 
bacco  stood  for  all  that  was  notable  and 
characteristic  in  life  and  manners;  when 
every  large  proprietor  was  in  direct  com 
munication  with  England;  when  the  ships 
of  Bristol  and  London  brought  supplies  di 
rectly  to  the  planter's  own  wharf,  and  his 
eldest  son,  as  well  as  his  tobacco,  was  often 
shipped  across  in  return. 

The  wives,  sisters,  and  sweethearts  of 
13 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

these  dead  and  gone  worthies  were  their 
comrades  and  competitors  in  the  saddle  or 
the  dugout.  Though  they  delighted  to  gos 
sip  of  Chinese  silks,  brocades,  lutestring, 
taffeta,  sarsenet,  ginghams,  and  camlets, — 
not  forgetting  pyramids  and  turbans,  jew 
elled  stomachers,  breast-knots,  and  high- 
heeled  shoes  for  the  minuet, — they  were  also 
at  home  on  the  bridle-path  and  comfortable 
on  the  pillion;  they  rode  to  hounds,  and 
were  clever  in  the  handling  of  a  tiller  or  the 
trimming  of  a  sail.  Irving  describes  them 
as  going  to  balls  on  their  side-saddles,  with 
the  scarlet  riding-habit  drawn  over  the  white 
satin  gown.  "  In  the  flashing  canoe,  tick 
lish  and  fascinating,  they  maintained,"  we 
are  told,  "  the  equilibrium  of  their  bodies 
and  their  tempers  with  an  expertness  that 
was  not  ungraceful,  and  with  a  graciousness 
in  which  long  training  had  made  them  ex 
pert.  The  dugout,  dancing  in  the  creek, 
waited  upon  their  freaks  and  caprices  with 
uses  as  frequent  and  familiar  as  those  which 
pertained  to  the  wagon  or  the  gig, — to  race 
in  a  ladies'  regatta,  or  to  run  out  to  the  old- 
country  ship  in  the  offing,  with  its  pulse- 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

stirring  news  of  fashions  and  revolutions, 
battles  and  brocades,  cloaks,  cardinals,  and 
convicts,  sultana  plumes,  French  falls,  and 
the  fate  of  nations." 

The  spirit  of  the  age  was  knightly,  and 
the  sword,  not  the  purse,  the  symbol  of  dis 
tinction.  When  the  Revolution  came,  the 
Maryland  section  of  the  Eastern  Shore  was 
warmly  attached  to  the  patriot  cause;  but 
in  the  Virginia  counties  of  Northampton  and 
Accomac  the  Loyalists  were  numerous ;  and 
one  of  the  earlier  episodes  of  the  seven  years' 
struggle  was  a  small  civil  war  on  the  penin 
sula.  Dunmore,  expelled  from  the  main 
land  of  Virginia,  took  refuge  in  Accomac, 
and  soon  had  some  hundreds  of  Tories  under 
arms.  The  situation  looked  grave;  but 
Matthew  Ward  Tilghman,  chairman  of  the 
Maryland  Committee  of  Safety,  and  his 
seven  Eastern  Shore  colleagues  proved  equal 
to  it.  They  promptly  called  out  two  com 
panies  of  militia  and  suppressed  the  rising 
before  the  worst  came  of  it.  Afterwards  the 
two  victorious  companies,  with  a  third  from 
the  Eastern  Shore,  were  embodied  in  Small- 
wood's  regiment,  the  famous  First  of  the 
15 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Maryland  line.  Perhaps  the  most  brilliant 
exploit  of  the  Revolution  was  the  stand 
made  by  four  hundred  of  this  regiment,  un 
der  Lord  Stirling,  on  the  fatal  day  of  Long 
Island.  In  six  successive  charges  they  beat 
back  the  greatly  superior  pursuing  force  of 
Cornwallis,  and  were  on  the  point  of  dis 
lodging  him  entirely  when  Grant,  with  nine 
fresh  regiments,  overwhelmed  them  by  a  rear 
attack. 

The  Second  Maryland  Regiment  was 
wholly  recruited  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  while 
Pulaski's  legion  and  Baylor's  cavalry,  be 
sides  several  other  organizations,  also  drew 
largely  from  the  peninsula.  It  sent,  more 
over,  seven  hundred  militiamen,  under  Gist, 
to  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  German- 
town  ;  furnished  Washington  with  one  of  his 
most  valued  staff  officers,  Lieutenant-Col 
onel  Tench  Tilghman,  and  at  the  same  time 
gave  to  the  councils  of  the  State  and  nation 
Caesar  Rodney,  Matthew  Ward,  and  his  kins 
man  Edward  Tilghman,  William  Paca, 
Thomas  Ringgold,  and  other  men  of  high 
character  and  unusual  ability. 

Though  the  War  of  1812  revived  the  old 
16 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

military  traditions,  the  golden  age  of  the 
Eastern  Shore  went  out  with  the  Revolution. 
Slipshod  and  sluttish  husbandry,  that  counted 
it  cheaper  to  take  up  new  land  than  to  foster 
and  restore  the  old,  bore  speedy  fruit  in 
mortgaged  crops  and  acres,  while  the  grad 
ual  substitution  of  wheat  and  corn  for  to 
bacco  marked  the  increasing  poverty  of  a 
soil  worn  out  in  its  youth,  and  which  sank 
from  good  to  bad  and  from  bad  to  worse. 
So  things  went  on  till  sixty  years  ago. 
Since  then  they  have  changed  for  the  better, 
and,  though  checked  for  a  time  by  the  loss 
of  slaves  and  the  turmoil  of  civil  war,  the 
upward  movement  is  still  in  progress.  Fer 
tilizers  have  been  introduced  and  improved 
breeds  of  stock.  Machinery  has  taken  the 
place  of  hand-labor  in  farm-work;  and 
worthless  fields  have  been  limed  and  drained 
into  fertility. 

In  other  respects,  however,  the  Eastern 
Shore  remains  unchanged, — a  severed  frag 
ment  of  colonial  America.  The  new-comer 
from  over  the  seas  has  gone  on  to  the 
cheaper  and  freer  lands  of  the  West,  and  the 
busy  Northern  man,  as  he  hurries  by,  barely 
II.— 2  17 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

pauses  to  knock  at  its  doors.  And  so  the 
years,  as  they  wax  and  wane,  find  the  same 
population  on  the  same  soil, — a  population 
composed,  now  as  of  old,  of  three  classes, — 
the  "gentleman  born,"  the  "plain  people," 
and  the  negroes.  Each  class,  save  in  ex 
ceptional  cases,  marries  strictly  within  its 
own  limits ;  and  half  a  dozen  surnames  will 
frequently  include  nearly  the  whole  gentry 
of  a  county,  the  appellations  of  present-day 
bride  and  bridegroom  tallying  exactly  with 
those  on  the  century-old  tombstones  of  their 
common  ancestors.  Again,  for  the  upper 
classes  there  is  still  but  one  church,  the  An 
glican.  They  have  listened  in  the  same  seats 
to  the  same  service  for  generations,  and, 
more  often  than  not,  they  take  the  commun 
ion  service  from  a  chalice  that  was  new  in 
the  days  of  the  Restoration.  Some  of  them 
can  show  ancestral  souvenirs  of  the  Martyr 
King.  Easter  and  Whitsuntide  remain  uni 
versally  recognized  holidays,  and  antique  ob 
servances  still  cluster  around  the  minor  fes 
tivals.  Thus,  freedom  from  change  has 
made  the  Eastern  Shore  a  land  of  serenity 
and  dignity;  but  its  confines  are  too  nar- 
18 


RAMBLES   IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

row  for  youthful  enterprises.  It  has  no  im 
perial  possibilities,  and  must  ever  be  a  nook. 

Proof  of  many  of  these  things  was  before 
us  as  we  drove  to  and  from  Arlington,  and  a 
little  later  set  out  from  Eastville  for  a  fur 
ther  exploration  of  the  Eastern  Shore.  Our 
destination  was  the  island  of  Chincoteague, 
on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  peninsula,  and 
the  road  led  through  the  hamlet  of  Anan- 
cock  and  the  sound  of  the  same  name,  the 
latter  a  loop  or  skein  of  salt  coves  widening 
up  between  green  mounds  and  golden  bluffs, 
and  terminating  at  an  exquisite  landing, 
where  several  creeks  pour  into  the  cove  from 
the  estates  of  well-to-do  planters.  Drum- 
mondtown,  the  county-seat  of  Accomac,  was 
also  passed  on  the  way.  Three  miles  be 
yond  we  halted  for  a  half-hour's  rest  at 
Mount  Custis,  a  roomy,  rambling  old  house 
standing  close  to  the  shores  of  a  creek,  which, 
as  its  name  indicates,  once  belonged  to  the 
masters  of  Arlington,  and  in  the  late  after 
noon  found  ourselves  on  board  the  tiny 
steamer  "  Widgeon"  with  Chincoteague  in 
the  eastern  offing. 

Outlying  along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  ex- 
19 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

tending  southward  for  more  than  fifty  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  Delaware  Bay  is  a 
narrow  strip  of  sandy  beach,  its  western  side 
washed  by  the  waters  of  a  landlocked  sound 
and  its  eastern  beat  upon  by  the  surges  of 
the  ocean.  Its  southern  end,  called  Assa- 
teague,  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by 
Chincoteague  Sound,  and  lying  within  this 
sound  is  the  island  of  the  same  name,  only 
its  southern  extremity  being  thrust  out  from 
its  snug  hiding-place  behind  Assateague  and 
exposed  to  the  Atlantic.  Yet  at  every  turn 
the  visitor  to  Chincoteague,  with  its  gray- 
green  waters  and  its  far  horizons,  feels  the 
majesty  and  pervasive  presence  of  the  sea. 
The  air  has  a  salty,  pungent  quality;  all 
along  the  shore  lie  craft  of  one  sort  or 
another,  and  every  grown  man  carries  in 
his  face  the  mellow  marks  of  sun  and  wind, 
for  the  people  of  Chincoteague  get  their 
living  from  the  sea,  which  affords  them, 
directly  or  indirectly,  not  only  food  and 
drink,  but  clothing  and  shelter.  Nobody 
asks  alms,  and  want  and  theft  are  unknown. 
At  the  island's  feet  lie  oyster-beds  of  won 
drous  richness,  and  any  skilled  worker  can 

20 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

earn  a  living  wage  during  nine  months  of 
the  year.  Winter,  however,  is  the  season 
of  greatest  activity,  and  then  Chincoteague's 
fleet  of  oyster-boats  is  busy  from  sunrise  to 
sunset.  Early  morning  finds  the  oystermen 
hoisting  sail;  all  day  long  they  can  be  seen 
on  the  western  horizon  groping  for  the  hid 
den  treasure ;  and  when  twilight  falls,  scores 
of  their  little  craft,  beating  homeward,  make 
the  harbor,  facing  the  mainland,  a  snow 
storm  of  canvas. 

Truth  is  that  Chincoteague  is  merely  a 
standing-place  and  lodging-house  for  its  in 
habitants.  The  visitor  discovers,  to  his  sur 
prise  and  delight,  that  it  is  also  the  breed 
ing-place  of  a  race  of  ponies  unlike  any  other 
in  the  world.  Some  are  watched  and  tended 
on  private  lands,  but  most  of  them,  to  the 
number  of  half  a  thousand,  inhabit  the  com 
mon  pastures  at  the  south  end  of  the  island, 
whence,  when  the  weather  is  bad  and  the 
waves  high,  scores  of  the  little  fellows  are 
sometimes  swept  away  and  lost.  Skirting 
the  coast  in  a  boat,  one  sees  them  feeding 
together  on  the  pastures  or  standing  knee- 
deep  in  the  salt  water,  the  breeze  scattering 

21 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

their  tangled  manes.  They  are  about  thir 
teen  hands  high,  nearly  all  sorrels  or  bays, 
and  are  fine-bodied  and  neatly  limbed.  The 
yearlings,  which  are  never  gelded,  come 
through  the  winter  with  shaggy  coats  that 
are  in  rags  and  shreds  before  the  summer 
is  old,  and  still  show  tattered  remnants  at 
the  yearly  penning  and  branding  in  August. 
No  one  knows  whence  they  came  or  how  long 
they  have  inhabited  the  island,  but  as  they 
have  the  head  and  eyes  of  the  Arabian,  the 
supposition  is  that  the  ancestors  of  the  pres 
ent  generation  came  ashore  from  a  wreck  in 
colony  times. 

When  we  left  Chincoteague  and  its  con 
tented  fisher  folk  it  was  to  journey,  by  way 
of  Berlin  and  Snow  Hill,  to  Crisfield  on  the 
hither  side  of  the  peninsula.  That  intrepid 
sailor,  Stephen  Decatur,  was  born  near  Ber 
lin,  and  Snow  Hill  has  a  peaceful  history 
dating  back  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
while  Crisfield,  facing  the  beautiful  waters 
of  Tangier  Sound,  has  been  aptly  described 
as  a  town  of  oysters  reared  on  oyster-shells. 
A  man  on  building  bent  buys  a  lot  at  the 
bottom  of  the  harbor,  encloses  it  with  piles, 

22 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

and  then  purchases  enough  oyster-shells  to 
raise  it  above  high-water  mark.  The  pro 
duct  of  this  singular  practice  is  a  village 
which  stands,  as  it  were,  up  to  its  knees  in 
the  water  of  a  little  harbor  that  cuts  jaw- 
like  into  the  end  of  a  small  peninsula  thickly 
flecked  with  the  homes  of  fishermen  and 
oystermen.  Moreover,  the  railroad  that 
runs  through  the  length  of  the  town,  ter 
minating  at  the  water's  edge,  rests  on  a  road 
bed  of  oyster-shells  as  firm  and  solid  as 
broken  granite.  Along  the  harbor  front, 
and  all  built  upon  shells,  are  the  huge,  barn- 
like  packing-houses  in  which  centres  the 
chief  interest  of  Crisfield, — the  shucking  and 
packing  of  oysters  for  the  Northern  market. 
These  come  mainly  from  the  beds  of  Tan 
gier  Sound,  perhaps  the  finest  in  the  world; 
dredging  for  them  gives  constant  employ 
ment  to  a  fleet  of  several  hundred  sloops  and 
schooners,  and  the  annual  returns  from  the 
trade  mount  into  the  millions.  In  winter 
thousands  of  bushels  of  oysters  are  sent  off 
from  Crisfield  simply  shelled,  drained,  and 
pressed  into  kegs  or  cans ;  but  later  in  the 
season  they  are  canned  in  hermetically  sealed 
23 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

tins,  in  which  condition  they  will  keep  for 
years. 

Crisfield  and  its  oyster  trade  belong  to  the 
present.  Tangier  Island,  across  the  Sound, 
is  part  and  parcel  of  the  past.  Much  homely 
matter  anent  this  sequestered  nook  is  to 
be  found  in  "The  Parson  of  the  Islands,"  a 
book  dealing  with  the  life  story  of  a  humble 
fisherman  evangelist  who  labored  with  such 
effect  in  an  unpromising  field  that  to  this 
day,  when  a  flag  is  raised  on  the  little  island 
chapels,  signifying  "  Preacher  amongst  us 
from  the  mainland,"  the  waters  fill  with 
canoes  scudding  down  from  every  point  of 
the  compass.  The  island  parson  kept  a 
canoe,  called  "The  Methodist,"  to  haul  the 
preachers  to  and  fro,  and  in  the  second  war 
with  England,  when  the  whole  British  army 
established  a  permanent  camp  on  Tangier 
Island,  and  thence  ravaged  the  shores  of 
the  Chesapeake,  burnt  Washington,  and 
sought  to  capture  Baltimore,  this  unpretend 
ing  gospeller  preached  to  them,  and  prevailed 
upon  them  to  respect  the  immemorial  camp- 
meeting  groves. 

Tangier,  like  Chincoteague,  is  a  land  of 
24 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

far  horizons,  of  restless  gray-green  water, 
of  vivid  marsh  grass,  and  of  sweet  salt  air. 
Like  Chincoteague,  it  is  the  home  of  a  hardy, 
primitive  people,  who  fear  God  and  find 
no  fault  with  their  lot.  The  benevolent  bay 
yields  a  living  to  all  who  are  able  and  willing 
to  work,  and  it  is  the  boast  of  the  islanders 
that  there  are  neither  drunkards,  paupers, 
nor  criminals  among  them.  Less  could  be 
said  of  a  more  favored  community. 

From  Crisfield  a  railroad — its  route  a 
giant  interrogation  point — runs  by  way  of 
Westover,  the  centre  of  the  berry  culture  of 
the  Eastern  Shore,  to  Cambridge  on  the 
Choptank.  This  stream  is  the  noblest  water 
course  of  the  peninsula, — at  its  mouth,  a 
superb  sound,  curtained  with  islands,  several 
miles  wide;  farther  inland  a  net-work  of 
coves  and  deep  creeks,  to  whose  beachy  mar 
gins  slope  the  lawns  and  orchards  of  many 
fine  old  homesteads;  and  Cambridge  is  a 
gem  worthy  of  so  exquisite  a  setting.  A 
salt  creek,  bordered  with  snug  old  mansions 
of  wood  and  brick,  creeps  up  behind  the 
tree-embowered  town;  and  a  clear  spring 
rises  under  an  open  dome  in  the  village 
25 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

square,  which  faces  an  ivy-covered  court 
house,  while  a  little  way  removed  from  the 
business  centre  stands  an  old  Episcopal 
church,  garbed  in  living  green  and  sur 
rounded  with  mouldering  gravestones  carved 
with  crests,  shields,  and  ciphers. 

There  are  a  score  of  other  objects  in  Cam 
bridge  to  please  an  artist's  eye,  and  another 
quaint  and  beautiful  hamlet  is  Oxford,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Choptank,  where 
Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  boyhood. 
Threadhaven  Creek — a  perfect  fiord,  unex 
celled  by  any  low-lying  Danish  or  Swedish 
marine  landscapes — enters  the  Choptank  at 
Oxford,  and  a  few  miles  away,  at  the  head 
of  the  same  stream,  nestles  the  quiet  town  of 
Easton.  The  road  from  Oxford  to  Easton 
leads  past  Whitemarsh  Church,  a  dilapidated 
but  picturesque  structure  dating  back  to  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  in  an  oak-shaded 
dell  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  latter 
place  stands  another  house  of  worship  which 
was  already  old  when  the  republic  was  born. 
This  is  a  Quaker  meeting-house  of  antique 
design,  which,  according  to  tradition,  once 
26 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

numbered  William  Penn  among  its  wor 
shippers.  His  followers  still  meet  within 
its  walls  on  First  and  Fifth  Days. 

Easton  suggests  in  more  ways  than  one 
the  stately  affectations  of  a  bygone  time; 
and  nearby  St.  Michael's,  at  the  mouth  of 
Miles  River,  though  now  the  chief  depot  of 
the  oyster  trade  of  the  Middle  Chesapeake, 
boasts  intimate  association  with  the  great 
men  and  stirring  events  of  the  Revolution 
ary  period.  The  ship-builders  of  St.  Mich 
ael's  have  plied  their  craft  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  and  when  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury  was  still  young,  vessels  launched  from 
their  yards  controlled  the  coastwise  com 
merce  from  New  England  to  the  West  In 
dies.  The  country  bottoms  of  the  Chesa 
peake  traded  with  Liverpool  and  Bristol; 
smuggled  for  Holland  and  France,  and  when 
the  Revolution  came,  turned  to  privateering 
and  became  as  hornets  and  wasps  in  the  face 
of  the  foe.  The  records  show  that  in  less 
than  six  years  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
vessels  sailed  out  of  the  bay — "  and  this  with 
a  British  fleet  at  Hampton  Roads  and  inside 
the  capes  all  the  time" — to  fight  and  capture 
27 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ships  and  small  craft  at  the  very  gates  of 
the  enemy's  ports,  in  the  British  and  Irish 
Channels,  off  the  North  Cape,  on  the  coasts 
of  Spain  and  Portugal,  in  the  East  and  West 
Indies,  and  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This 
record  was  repeated  in  1812,  when  at  least 
one  Chesapeake  privateer,  the  "  Chasseur,'* 
made  a  true  viking's  record.  Armed  with 
twelve  guns,  manned  by  men  from  the  East 
ern  Shore,  and  commanded  by  Captain 
Thomas  Boyle,  she  captured  eighty  vessels, 
thirty-two  of  equal  force  and  eighteen  her 
superior  in  guns  and  men.  Boyle  was  born 
at  Marblehead  in  1 776,  married  in  Baltimore 
in  1794,  and  died  at  sea  in  1825.  He  com 
manded  a  ship  at  sixteen,  was  a  husband 
two  years  later,  and  made  a  dramatic  end 
of  a  romantic  and  glorious  career  at  forty- 
nine. 

From  either  Easton  or  St.  Michael's  it  is 
an  easy  and  inviting  detour  to  Wye  House 
and  Wye  Island, — two  storied  shrines  of  the 
Eastern  Shore.  Called  after  the  little  river 
which  rises  in  the  Cambrian  Hills,  and 
mingling  its  waters  with  those  of  the  Severn, 
flows  out  through  Bristol  Channel  to  the  At- 
28 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lantic,  there  are  few  American  water-ways 
more  lovely  than  the  Wye.  Its  banks  are 
free  from  the  sombre  borders  of  marsh  which 
fringes  most  of  its  sister  streams,  and  its 
channel,  from  head  to  mouth,  sweeps  be 
tween  bold  bluffs  of  woodland  and  smiling 
fields,  dotted  by  the  manor-houses  of  men 
and  women  whose  ancestors  dispensed  stately 
hospitalities  in  these  same  homes  more  than 
a  century  ago.  And  nowhere,  in  those  days 
of  pleasantness  and  peace,  had  the  stranger 
more  generous  welcome  than  was  sure 
to  be  given  him  by  the  master  of  Wye 
House. 

This  sturdy  domicile,  built  of  bricks 
brought  over  from  England,  was  burned  in 
1781,  when  a  British  marauding  party  looted 
the  plantation  and  the  mansion;  but  near 
its  site  stands  another  spacious  structure, 
which  invites  the  present-day  wayfarer  in 
the  name  of  all  the  generations  of  gentle, 
kindly  folk  who  have  dwelt  there  since  Ed 
ward  Lloyd,  in  1668,  set  up  his  son  Phile 
mon  to  be  lord  of  the  manor  of  Wye  and 
master  of  Wye  House.  The  main  building 
of  two  lofty  stories  is  connected  by  corridors 
29 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

with  one-storied  wings,  presenting  a  fagade 
of  two  hundred  feet,  looking  out  upon  a 
noble,  tree-strewn  lawn,  and  over  engirdling 
woods  to  Wye  River  and  the  island  beyond. 
Behind  the  mansion  is  a  flower-garden,  and 
in  the  rear  of  that  the  family  burial-ground, 
where  is  gathered  the  dust  of  many  worthies 
and  dames  of  the  blood  of  the  Lloyds.  Here 
beneath  a  battered  shield  supported  by  mor 
tuary  emblems  sleeps  that  Henrietta  Maria 
Lloyd  who  had  the  hapless  wife  of  Charles 
I.  for  her  godmother;  and  here,  without  a 
stone  or  a  stake  to  mark  the  spot,  rests  all 
that  was  mortal  of  William  Paca,  thrice 
member  of  Congress,  twice  governor  of 
Maryland,  and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

Moving  memories  also  color  the  later  his 
tory  of  Wye  House,  whose  present  gracious 
mistress   is   the   granddaughter   of   Colonel 
John     Eager     Howard     of     Revolutionary 
fame  and  of  Francis  Scott  Key,  author  of 
'  The  Star-Spangled  Banner."     Eighty-odd 
years  ago  the  steward  or  bailiff  of  the  Lloyd 
estate  was  a  certain  Captain  Anthony,   of 
St.  Michael's.     This  man  was  the  owner  of 
30 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

a  negro  boy  who  escaped  from  bondage,  and 
became  before  middle  age  the  foremost  fig 
ure  of  his  race.  In  1881,  Frederick  Doug 
lass,  white-haired  and  honored  of  men,  was 
moved  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  his  childhood 
and  his  thrall,  and  one  day  found  himself  at 
the  door  of  Wye  House.  The  son  of  its 
master  gave  him  welcome,  and  when  he  had 
made  known  the  motive  of  his  visit,  he  was 
conducted  over  the  estate.  Each  spot  he 
remembered  and  described  with  all  its  child 
ish  associations, — here  a  spring,  there  a 
hedge,  a  lane,  a  field,  a  tree, — and  the  whole 
heart  of  the  man  seemed  to  go  out  to  the 
place  as  he  passed  from  ghost  to  ghost  as 
in  a  dream. 

Then  befell  a  strange  thing.  Standing 
mute  and  musing  for  a  while,  he  said  softly 
and  low,  as  one  who  communes  with  him 
self,  "  Over  in  them  woods  was  whar  me 
and  Marse  Dan  uster  trap  rabbits/'  Marse 
Dan  was  the  son  of  the  whilom  master  of 
Wye  House  and  Douglass's  playmate  in 
childhood.  Thus,  humor  blending  with 
pathos,  was  the  ennobling  lesson  of  an  un 
usual  life  compacted  into  the  homely  re- 
31 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

flection  and  phrase  of  a  barefoot  slave  boy. 
Afterwards  Douglass  plucked  flowers  from 
the  graves  of  the  dead  Lloyds  he  had  known, 
and  at  the  table  drank  to  the  health  of  the 
master  of  the  old  house  and  his  children, 
"  that  they  and  their  descendants  may 
worthily  maintain  the  character  and  the  fame 
of  their  ancestors." 

Philemon  Lloyd,  first  master  of  Wye 
House,  at  his  death  left  to  his  only  daughter 
thousands  of  fertile  acres  on  the  Wye.  This 
daughter,  by  her  marriage  to  Samuel  Chew, 
a  planter  of  ancient  lineage  and  great  wealth, 
who  early  left  her  a  widow,  added  to  her 
already  large  possessions;  and  one  of  her 
bequests  to  her  son  Philemon,  when  her  time 
came  to  die,  was  the  island  of  three  thousand 
acres  which  faces  both  Wye  House  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Wye,  and  which  he  passed  on 
to  his  two  sisters. 

Mary  Chew  became  the  wife  of  William 
Paca,  and  Margaret  was  wooed  and  won  by 
John  Beale  Bordley,  the  descendant  of  an  old 
Yorkshire  family,  the  last  of  the  admiralty 
judges  of  Maryland  under  the  provincial 
government,  and  an  earnest  supporter  of  the 
32 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

patriot  cause  in  the  Revolution.  No  trace 
remains  of  the  many-roomed  house  at  the 
lower  end  of  Wye  Island,  built  by  Samuel 
Chew  of  material  brought  from  England, 
and  long  occupied  by  Judge  Bordley  and  his 
family;  but  the  mansion  which  Paca's  son 
erected  is  still  standing  at  the  island's  upper 
end,  and  promises  to  outlast  another  cen 
tury.  The  Paca  homestead  crowns  a  com 
manding  eminence,  whence  it  looks  down 
upon  the  narrows  separating  it  from  Wye 
House,  .and  controls  a  view  of  long  reaches 
of  rich  acres  once  the  inheritance  of  the 
Lloyds  and  Chews,  and  still  owned,  to  a 
great  extent,  by  their  descendants.  The  land 
naturally  slopes  downward  from  the  river- 
bluff,  but  has  been  terraced  up  until  it  forms 
a  broad  plateau,  sufficient  to  accommodate 
not  only  the  house,  but  the  garden  which 
surrounded  it,  and  which,  with  its  extensive 
conservatories,  was  once  a  gayer  paradise  of 
shrubs  and  flowers. 

Wye  Hall,  though  fallen  from  its  former 
state,  gives  ample  evidence  of  its  early  gran 
deur.  The  building  is  in  the  Doric  style, 
the  central  portion  square,  with  spacious, 

H.-3  33 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lofty  columned  porticoes,  and  stretching 
away  on  either  side  are  covered  arcades, 
terminating,  the  one  in  the  kitchen  and 
offices,  the  other  in  the  grand  parlor  or 
ball-room.  This  grand  parlor  is  a  beautiful 
and  stately  room,  the  high  ceiling  orna 
mented  with  handsome  stucco-work  and  the 
walls  hung  with  family  portraits  by  the 
fathers  of  our  native  art.  Among  them  is 
a  full-length  picture  of  Governor  Paca. 
Painted  by  the  elder  Peale,  and  in  his  best 
manner,  it  shows  a  man  of  commanding 
presence  and  strikingly  handsome  features. 
The  rich  dress  and  easy  carriage  betoken 
high  birth  and  breeding,  the  dark  eye  and 
well-chiselled  mouth  character  and  firmness. 
The  entrance-hall  and  corridors  of  Wye 
House  are,  likewise,  noble  apartments,  and 
here,  also,  one  wanders  in  the  past.  The 
Signer's  solid  and  substantial  bookcase,  on 
the  shelves  of  which  yet  stand  the  volumes 
of  his  law  library,  and  the  tables  where  he 
played  short  whist  with  his  Revolutionary 
associates  are  still  used  by  his  descendants. 
Here,  too,  are  the  antique  chairs  which 
graced  the  executive  mansion  at  Annapolis 

34 


RAMBLES   IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

when  Paca  was  governor,  and  which  were 
loaned  for  use  when  Washington  resigned 
his  commission.  The  career  of  William 
Paca  has  been  briefly  sketched  in  another 
place.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  delightful 
retirement  on  Wye  Island,  than  which  there 
can  be  imagined  no  more  charming  retreat 
for  a  man  of  wealth  and  culture  wearied  with 
the  burdens  of  public  life  in  trying  times, 
and  there  he  died  in  October,  1799.  During 
his  last  illness  "  he  conversed  with  perfect 
resignation  on  his  approaching  dissolution, 
and  cheerfully  submitted  to  sickness  and 
death  under  a  deep  conviction  of  the  unerring 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  his  heavenly  Father, 
and  of  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  To  the 
faith  and  charity  of  a  Christian  he  added  the 
civil  virtues  of  a  gentleman, — fond  as  a  hus 
band,  indulgent  as  a  father,  constant  as  a 
friend,  and  kind  as  a  master."  Such  is  the 
testimony  of  some  appreciative  friend,  whose 
manuscript,  without  date  or  name  to  lead  to 
the  identification  of  its  author,  is  preserved 
among  the  family  archives  at  Wye  Hall. 
When  we  left  Wye  Island  it  was  to  board 
35 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

one  of  the  steamboats  trading  to  Baltimore, 
which,  weekly  visit  the  bays  and  creeks  of 
the  Eastern  Shore,  and  which  carried  us, 
during  the  early  hours  of  a  sunny  afternoon, 
down  the  Wye  and  west  across  Eastern  Bay 
to  the  lower  end  of  Kent  Island,  where  was 
established  the  first  colony  of  white  men  on 
the  Maryland  shores  of  the  Chesapeake. 
Kent  Island  belies  its  name,  for  it  is,  in 
fact,  a  peninsula  connected  with  the  mainland 
by  a  short  and  narrow  isthmus,  and  in  shape 
very  like  the  hammer  of  an  old-fashioned 
musket;  and  it  has  no  ruins  and  no  town; 
yet  at  every  stage  of  the  northward  drive, 
past  pleasant  farms  and  fishing  beaches  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Chester,  one  is  made  to  feel 
that  he  is  riding  over  historic  ground. 

About  a  year  after  the  landing  at  Plym 
outh  Rock  William  Claiborne  established  a 
trading  post  at  the  southern  end  of  Kent 
Island.  This  Claiborne,  a  man  of  enterprise 
and  daring,  was  secretary  to  Sir  John  Har 
vey,  then  governor  of  Virginia.  Obtaining  a 
grant  from  Harvey,  he  claimed  Kent  Island 
and  the  bay  for  the  colony  of  Virginia,  and 
when  theCalverts  founded  the  Catholic  settle- 
36 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ment  of  St.  Mary's,  he  disputed  their  jurisdic 
tion  over  the  Eastern  Shore,  and  carried  the 
question  through  the  colonial  and  English 
courts.  Defeated  at  every  point,  Claiborne 
resolutely  maintained  his  ground,  and  when 
Sir  Leonard  Calvert  came  with  an  armed 
force,  met  him  in  the  bay  and  completely 
routed  him  off  Kent  Point  in  what  was  prob 
ably  the  first  naval  battle  fought  in  American 
waters.  Then,  taking  the  offensive  in  his 
turn,  Claiborne  marched  into  Western  Mary 
land  and  swept  Calvert  across  the  Potomac 
into  Virginia.  In  the  seesaw  of  factions 
neither  could  long  keep  uppermost,  for  in 
1646  Lord  Baltimore's  authority  was  rees 
tablished  on  the  Western  Shore,  the  Eastern 
submitting  to  him  at  the  end  of  another  year. 
Still,  Claiborne's  defeat  was  not  final,  for 
in  1653  he  returned  from  England  with  a 
commission  from  the  Puritan  government 
then  in  power  to  reduce  the  royalist  provinces 
about  the  Chesapeake.  Lord  Baltimore's 
rule  was  overturned,  Kent  Island  restored 
to  Claiborne,  and  a  government  selected  by 
him  established  on  the  Western  Shore.  It 
retained  control  until  Charles  II.,  on  his  ac- 
37 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

cession,  reinstated  the  Calverts,  with  full 
power  over  the  whole  colony.  Then  Clai- 
borne,  deeming  the  contest  hopeless,  with 
drew  to  Virginia.  There  he  founded  the 
county  of  New  Kent,  in  memory  of  the  isle 
he  had  struggled  for  half  a  lifetime  to  re 
tain;  represented  his  new  home  in  the  colo 
nial  Legislature,  and  ended  by  a  gallant 
death  at  the  Indian  battle  of  Moncock  a 
career  that  reads  like  a  romance  in  even  the 
barest  statement. 

In  one  respect,  however,  Claiborne's  in 
fluence  still  abides  on  the  Eastern  Shore. 
When  he  first  colonized  Kent  Island  he 
brought  with  him  from  Jamestown  the  Rev. 
Richard  James,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  became  the  founder  of  the 
first  Christian  church  on  the  soil  of  Mary 
land.  This  episode  of  Claiborne's  Virginia 
chaplain  gave  the  Anglican  Church  a  per 
manent  foothold  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  for 
as  the  colony  of  the  Isle  of  Kent  spread 
gradually  to  the  mainland,  wherever  it  fixed 
itself  the  parish  was  organized,  the  church 
was  built,  and  the  magistrate's  duties  de 
volved  upon  the  vestrymen  and  church- 
38 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

wardens.  All  traces  of  the  structure  in 
which  James  officiated  have  been  long  since 
lost,  but  more  than  one  of  the  ancient 
churches  that  issued  therefrom  lie  within 
the  reach  of  a  drive  from  Kent,  by  way  of 
Queenstown  and  Centreville,  to  Chestertown, 
near  the  head  of  the  beautiful  river  from 
which  it  takes  its  name. 

The  first  churches  built  upon  the  mainland 
of  the  Eastern  Shore  were  those  of  Chester 
and  Wye.  The  ruins  of  the  former,  which 
was  of  extraordinary  size,  may  still  be  seen 
near  Centreville,  while  the  latter,  more 
gently  dealt  with  by  the  years  and  the  ele 
ments,  occupies  its  original  site  on  the  Wye, 
its  black-glazed  bricks  continually  telling  the 
story  of  its  age  to  the  worshippers  who  yet 
gather  within  its  walls.  Both  churches  were 
built  between  the  years  1640  and  1650. 
Most  of  the  old  parish  churches  of  the  East 
ern  Shore,  however,  were  erected  between 
1693  and  1700.  The  oldest  of  these  later 
edifices  which  preserves  its  original  shape 
and  construction  is  that  of  St.  Luke's,  which 
tops  a  low  hill,  a  few  miles  south  of  Chester- 
town,  a  square  edifice,  with  apsidal  chancel, 
39 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

heavy  galleries,  and  spireless  roof.  The 
vestry-room  is  a  detached  building,  with  brick 
floor  and  huge  fireplace  at  either  end,  sug 
gestive  of  the  dignified,  ease-loving  lords  of 
the  manor,  who  of  old  time  administered  the 
discipline  of  church  and  state. 

Our  zigzag  tour  of  the  Eastern  Shore 
ended  at  Chestertown,  an  old  place  with  a 
decayed  college  overlooking  it,  a  loamy  coun 
try  round,  and  a  broad  and  placid  river 
laving  its  feet,  but  not  before  we  had  made 
visits  to  The  Hermitage,  a  historic  home 
stead  facing  one  of  the  loveliest  reaches  of 
the  Chester,  which  from  the  year  1660  to 
that  of  1 88 1  never  passed  out  of  the  hands 
of  a  Richard  Tilghman,  and  to  the  old  church 
of  St.  Paul's,  in  the  county  of  Kent.  This 
noble  relic  of  bygone  days  flanks  the  ancient 
thoroughfare  which  was,  in  Revolutionary 
days,  the  main  line  of  travel  between  An 
napolis  and  Philadelphia,  and  has  counted 
seven  generations  among  its  worshippers. 

A  bold  and  curving  stream  sweeps  close 

up  under   the   shadows   of  the  giant   oaks 

which   shade  the  church,   and  which  must 

have  been  sturdy  trees  when  it  was  built  in 

40 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

1693.  The  church  itself  is  of  the  type  be 
fore  described,  and  around  it  lies  a  quiet 
God's  Acre,  kept  bright  with  flowers  and 
fresh  with  verdure  by  loving  hands.  The 
ground  is  sacred  with  forgotten  graves,  and 
the  sexton's  spade,  when  hollowing  a  bed 
for  some  new  sleeper,  seldom  fails  to  turn 
out  relics  of  the  unknown  dead.  In  such  a 
church-yard  might  Gray  have  wandered  as 
he  framed  the  stanzas  of  his  "  Elegy,"  and 
sight  of  this  lovely  resting-place,  where,  as 
the  sun  sweeps  around  his  daily  course,  the 
shadows  of  the  old  church  falls  successively 
on  every  sodded  bed,  remains  one  of  the 
lasting  mellow  memories  of  ten  days  of  de 
lightful  strolling  along  the  Eastern  Shore. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE    CITY    OF    THE    FRIENDS 

TIME  and  change  have  touched  Philadel 
phia  with  gentle  hand.  The  Friends  are,  in 
the  great  essentials,  still  its  dominant  class, 
and  this  fact  appears  not  only  in  its  asylums, 
its  hospitals,  and  its  practical .  methods  of 
helping  men  to  help  themselves,  but  in  a 
prudence  of  thought  and  action  that  is  ever 
reluctant  to  prefer  the  new  to  the  old.  Thus 
it  is  that  no  New  World  city  harbors  more 
numerous  or  more  eloquent  reminders  of 
the  past,  or  in  ancient  buildings  and  land 
marks  bound  up  with  great  names  and  great 
events  offers  to  the  wayfarer  a  richer  or 
more  varied  store  of  historic  associations. 

Not  to  the  coming  of  Penn,  but  to  the 
issue  of  a  dream  cherished  by  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  attaches  the  oldest  authentic  le 
gend  of  Philadelphia.  A  score  of  years 
before  the  Quaker  leader  was  born  the 
heroic  and  generous  Swede,  moved  thereto 
42 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

by  the  bigotry  and  poverty  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lived,  conceived  the  idea  of 
founding  in  America  a  city  "  where  every 
man  should  have  enough  to  eat  and  tolera 
tion  to  worship  God  as  he  chose."  Gus- 
tavus's  life  ended  before  his  dream  could  be 
fulfilled,  but  eleven  years  later  the  girl  Queen 
Christina  and  her  chancellor  despatched  an 
expedition  in  the  dead  king's  name.  This 
colony  of  "  New  Sweden,"  as  it  was  called, 
effected  a  lodging-place  along  the  banks  of 
the  Schuylkill  and  Delaware,  in  that  part  of 
Philadelphia  now  known  as  Southwark. 

The  narrow  strip  of  ground  on  which  the 
Swedes  made  their  homes  is  given  over  in 
these  latter  days  to  ship  stores,  junk-shops, 
and  salty,  tarry  smells,  while  a  long  line  of 
ships,  come  and  to  go,  walls  in  the  view  of 
the  river ;  but  if  one  might  be  frisked  by  the 
mere  magic  of  a  wish  back  to  the  middle  years 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  he  would  find  in 
stead  the  low  huts  of  the  Norseland  pioneers 
dotting  green  banks  on  the  edge  of  a  gloomy, 
unbroken  forest,  with  hemlocks  and  nut  trees 
nodding  atop.  Here  dwelt,  in  peace  and 
plenty,  and  "  great  idleness/'  if  an  old  chron- 
43 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

icle  is  to  be  believed,  the  long  forgotten 
Swansons,  Keens,  Bensons,  Kocks,  and 
Rambos,  some  of  them  mighty  hunters  when 
the  deer  came  close  up  to  the  little  settle 
ment  and  nightly  could  be  heard  the  cry  of 
panthers  or  bark  of  wolves.  At  Passajungh 
was  the  humble  white-nut  dwelling  of  Com 
mander  Sven  Schute,  whom  Christina  called 
her  "brave  and  fearless  lieutenant,"  and  at 
"  Manajungh  on  the  Skorkihl"  there  was  a 
stout  fort  of  logs  filled  in  with  sand  and 
stones. 

Descendants  on  the  female  side  of  these 
first  settlers  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  city, 
but  Philadelphia's  only  relic  in  stone  and 
mortar  of  the  men  who  were  once  lords  of 
all  the  land  on  which  it  was  built  is  Gloria 
Dei,  better  known  as  Old  Swedes'  Church. 
Each  successive  sovereign  of  Sweden,  loyal 
to  the  favorite  idea  of  Gustavus,  kept  af 
fectionate  watch  over  the  tiny  settlement  on 
the  Delaware,  and  when  the  colonists  begged 
"that  godly  men  might  be  sent  to  them  to 
instruct  their  children,  and  help  themselves 
to  lead  lives  well  pleasing  to  God,"  two 
clergymen,  Rudmari  and  Bjork,  were  de- 

44 


OLD    SWRDKS'    CHURCH,    PHILADKLPH1A. 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

spatched  by  Charles  XII.  in  answer  to  their 
prayer.  These  missionaries  reached  the  col 
ony  in  June,  1697,  and  were  received,  as 
the  ancient  record  states,  "  with  astonish 
ment  and  tears  of  joy."  Soon  after  their 
arrival  Gloria  Dei  was  built  in  a  fervor  of 
pious  zeal,  carpenters  and  masons  giving 
their  work,  and  the  good  pastor  daily  carry 
ing  the  hod.  When  it  was  finished  Swedes, 
Quakers,  and  Indians  came  to  wonder  at  its 
grandeur,  and  it  long  remained  the  most  im 
portant  structure  in  the  little  hamlet. 

Old  Swedes'  holds  its  original  site  in 
Southwark,  banked  in  by  the  sunken  graves 
of  its  early  worshippers.  The  main  body  of 
the  building  is  unaltered  to  the  present  day. 
The  carvings  inside,  the  bell,  and  the  com 
munion  service  were  sent  out  from  the 
motherland,  given  by  the  king  "  to  his  faith 
ful  subjects  in  the  far  western  wilderness;" 
and  from  Sweden  came  also  the  chubby  gilt 
cherubs  in  the  choir  which  still  sustain  the 
open  Bible,  with  the  speaking  inscription, 
"  The  people  who  sat  in  darkness  have  seen 
a  great  light."  Tablets  in  the  chancel  record 
the  sacrifices  and  sufferings  of  the  early 
45 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

pastors  of  the  church  who  sleep  within  its 
walls.  The  last  of  these  was  Nicholas  Col- 
lin,  whose  period  of  zealous  service  covered 
the  better  part  of  fifty  years,  and  who  with 
his  devoted  wife  Hannah  is  buried  just  be 
low  the  little  altar.  Another  familiar  face 
in  Gloria  Dei  in  the  opening  years  of  the  cen 
tury  was  that  of  Collin's  friend,  Alexander 
Wilson,  then  the  half-starved,  ill-paid  master 
of  a  little  school  at  nearby  Kingsessing.  The 
great  ornithologist  is  buried  in  the  grave 
yard  of  the  church  in  which  he  asked  that 
he  should  be  laid  to  rest,  as  it  was  "  a  silent, 
shady  place,  where  the  birds  would  be  apt  to 
come  and  sing  over  his  grave." 

When  Old  Swedes'  was  built  the  only 
house  nearby  was  that  of  Swan  Swanson, 
from  whose  three  sons  Penn,  when  he  came, 
bought  the  land  to  lay  out  his  town  of 
Philadelphia.  That  was  in  1682.  A  small 
band  of  pioneers  had  preceded  the  Pro 
prietor,  and  he  was  followed  by  three-and- 
twenty  ships,  filled  with  Quakers  of  all 
classes.  The  city,  speedily  laid  out  by 
Thomas  Holme,  extended  from  river  to 
river,  and  appeared  magnificent — on  paper; 
46 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

but,  truth  to  tell,  most  of  the  new-comers 
following  the  example  of  the  Swedes,  who 
gave  them  kindly  welcome,  built  their  homes 
in  the  corner  by  the  Delaware;  and  for 
nearly  a  hundred  years  the  town  consisted 
of  but  three  or  four  streets,  running  paral 
lel  with  that  stream.  Back  of  these  streets 
lay  a  gloomy  forest,  drained  by  creeks,  which 
cut  the  town  into  three  or  four  parts  before 
emptying  into  the  Delaware.  As  late  as 
the  opening  year  of  the  Revolution  Phila 
delphia  extended  only  from  Christian  to  Cal- 
lowhill  Streets,  north  and  south,  and  until 
well  on  in  the  present  century  Frankford, 
Roxborough,  and  Germantown  were  reck 
oned  distant  hamlets,  being  seldom  visited 
by  the  people  of  the  town. 

On  a  "  pleasant  hill"  overlooking  the  river, 
and  with  a  noble  sweep  of  forest  land  be 
tween,  the  Proprietor  reserved  a  lot  for 
himself,  on  which  he  had  built  the  house, 
which  he  gave  to  his  daughter  Lsetitia.  The 
brick  and  other  material  for  this  house  were 
brought  from  England,  and  within  its  walls 
Penn  passed  most  of  the  busy  and  fruitful 
days  of  his  first  visit,  preferring  it  to  the 
47 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

costly  and  imposing  pile  he  had  reared  at 
Pennsbury.  The  searcher  after  the  site  of 
the  Laetitia  House  finds  it  in  Laetitia  Court, 
between  Chestnut  and  Market,  Second  and 
Front  Streets, — a  narrow,  dirty  alley,  cut 
off  from  the  sunlight  by  the  backs  of  the 
great  importing  houses  which  now  cover 
the  wooded  glades  where,  in  the  Proprietor's 
time,  deer  ranged  at  will.  Elsewhere  in 
Philadelphia  there  are  few  traces  of  the 
reign  of  the  Penns.  One  of  the  few  is  what 
is  known  as  Lansdowne,  now  included  in 
Fairmount  Park,  which  was  once  owned 
and  occupied  by  John  Penn,  governor  of  the 
colony  in  its  last  days  of  submission  to  the 
British  crown. 

The  Laetitia  House  was  the  first  brick 
building  erected  in  Philadelphia.  Most  of 
the  dwellings  built  during  the  earlier  years 
of  the  Quaker  occupancy,  some  of  which  are 
still  standing  within  the  precincts  of  the 
"  old  town,"  were  of  black  and  red  English 
brick,  or  of  mortar  mixed  with  broken  stone 
and  mica.  They  were,  as  a  rule,  small, 
hipped-roofed,  two-storied  structures,  infe 
rior  in  every  way  to  those  now  occupied  by 
48 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

people  of  moderate  incomes.  Gradually, 
however,  as  time  went  on,  the  more  shrewd 
or  fortunate  among  the  Quakers  acquired 
large  means,  while  the  steady  growth  of  the 
town  attracted  to  it  a  number  of  men,  not 
followers  of  Penn,  who  brought  with  them 
or  soon  became  possessed  of  much  solid 
wealth.  From  these  changed  conditions  re 
sulted  a  division  into  two  classes  of  the 
social  life  of  the  town,  and  the  building  of 
many  splendid  houses,  the  grandeur  of 
which  is  reflected  in  more  than  one  diary 
and  chronicle  of  the  period.  Among  these 
were  the  Wharton  House,  in  Southwark; 
Wilton,  the  estate  of  Joseph  Turner,  in  the 
Neck;  Woodlands,  Governor  Hamilton's 
great  house  at  Blockley  Hill ;  the  Carpenter 
mansion,  which  stood  at  Seventh  and  Chest 
nut  Streets,  surrounded  by  magnificent 
grounds ;  the  spacious  home  of  Isaac  Norris 
on  Third  Street;  the  Pemberton  country- 
seat,  on  the  present  site  of  the  Naval  Asy 
lum;  and,  chief  of  all,  Stenton,  on  the  city 
ward  site  of  Germantown. 

Stenton,  "  a  palace  in  its  day,"  according 
to  old  Watson,  was  built  in  1731  by  James 
II.— 4  49 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Logan,  a  keen-witted  Scotchman  turned 
Quaker,  who,  as  agent  of  the  Proprietor, 
stood  between  Penn  and  his  debts  on  one 
hand  and  an  impatient,  grasping  colonial 
Assembly  on  the  other,  serving  both  with 
fidelity  and  to  good  purpose.  He  was  gen 
erous  as  well  as  shrewd,  and  at  his  death 
left  the  residue  of  a  large  estate  to  the  public, 
including  the  splendid  bequest  of  the  Logan- 
ian  Library,  a  literary  treasure-house  at  any 
time,  but  invaluable  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  when  books  were  luxuries  only  for  the 
wealthy.  Logan  was  also  the  trusted  friend 
of  the  Indians,  who  came  in  large  deputa 
tions  to  visit  him,  and  pitched  their  wig 
wams  on  the  great  lawn  at  Stenton.  Logan, 
the  famous  Mingo  chief,  was  the  namesake 
of  the  good  Quaker,  and,  in  youth,  was  often 
numbered  among  the  latter's  savage  guests. 
Stenton,  in  its  builder's  time,  was  the  seat 
of  a  sober  but  large  hospitality,  and  the  cen 
tre  of  the  social  life  of  the  Quakers.  Here 
gathered  the  grave,  mild-mannered  men  and 
the  quiet,  sweet-faced  women,  who  look  down 
upon  us  from  old  family  portraits,  and  whose 
rare  and  admirable  traits  included  a  perfect 
50 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

simplicity  and  that  repose  which  can  belong 
only  to  people  who  have  never  doubted  their 
own  social  position.  "  The  men  and  women 
who  met  at  Stenton,"  writes  one  of  Logan's 
descendants,  "  talked  no  scandal  and  spoke 
not  of  money."  Logan's  home  was  the  re 
sort  of  the  colonial  governors,  not  only  of 
Pennsylvania  but  other  of  the  provinces; 
and  among  his  frequent  guests  were  William 
Allen,  Isaac  Norris,  the  three  Pembertons, 
and  that  Nicholas  Wain  who,  educated  for 
the  bar,  after  long  practice  in  the  courts,  so 
took  to  heart  the  moral  short-comings  of  his 
fellow-lawyers  that  he  fell  into  a  dangerous 
illness.  He  rose  from  his  bed  a  changed 
man,  went  into  the  meeting  and  became  a 
weighty  and  powerful  preacher. 

However,  not  all  of  the  guests  at  Stenton 
were  as  serious-minded  as  Wain.  The  men 
could  laugh  and  jest  on  occasion;  and  their 
wives  and  daughters  were  pretty  sure  to 
display  a  woman's  love  of  finery,  setting  off 
their  beauty  by  white  satin  petticoats,  worked 
in  flowers,  pearl  satin  gowns,  gold  chains, 
and  seals  engraven  with  their  arms.  Nor 
are  lacking  stray  hints  of  love  and  courtship 
51 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

which  lend  a  winsome  interest  to  the  old 
house,  for  pretty  Hannah  Logan's  lover,  re 
turning  with  her  from  a  summer  day's  fish 
ing  in  the  Wissahickon,  writes  in  his  diary 
that  when  they  "  came  home  there  was  so 
large  a  company  for  tea,  that  Hannah  and 
I  were  set  at  a  side  table,  and  there  we 
supped — on  nectar  and  ambrosia."  Another 
of  Stenton's  daughters  was  Deborah  Logan, 
a  fair  and  gracious  woman  in  youth  and  old 
age,  who  in  the  "  Penn  and  Logan  Corre 
spondence,"  compiled  by  her  and  by  her 
given  to  the  world,  has  given  us  a  faithful 
and  winning  picture  of  the  age  in  which 
she  lived,  an  age  marked  by  a  lack  of  self- 
assertion  and  an  inborn  hatred  of  brag, 
whose  influence  abides  in  the  Philadelphia 
of  to-day. 

Different  in  religion,  tastes,  and  habits 
from  the  Friends  were  the  men  of  wealth 
and  their  families  who  constituted  a  not  in 
considerable  portion  of  Philadelphia's  polite 
society  during  its  first  century  of  existence. 
These  were  the  merchants  and  ship-owners, 
who,  though  not  followers  of  Penn,  had  been 
attracted  to  his  town  by  its  successful 
52 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

growth,  and  who,  opening  a  trade  to  the 
West  Indies  and  England,  from  small  ven 
tures  quickly  amassed  colossal  fortunes. 
The  wives  and  daughters  of  these  merchant 
princes,  most  of  whom  could  show  ancestral 
bearings,  followed  afar  off  the  reports  of 
English  fashions.  They  rode  on  horseback 
or  went  in  sedan-chairs  to  pay  visits;  their 
kitchens  swarmed  with  slaves  and  white  re- 
demptionists ;  they  dined  and  danced,  and 
—gambled ;  and  they  worshipped  of  a  Sun 
day  in  a  church  dedicated  to  the  Anglican 
creed. 

The  parish  of  Christ  Church  was  thirty- 
two  years  old  when  the  present  building  was 
commenced  in  1727.  William  of  Orange 
was  an  active  promoter  of  the  parish,  and  the 
service  of  plate  now  in  use  in  the  church 
was  a  gift  from  Anne.  Designed  by  the 
architect  of  Independence  Hall,  Christ 
Church  presents  many  points  of  similarity 
to  that  historic  structure,  and  is  likewise 
closely  identified  with  the  struggle  for  in 
dependence.  Here  worshipped  General  and 
Lady  Washington,  Samuel  and  John  Adams, 
Patrick  Henry,  James  Madison,  John  Han- 

53 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

cock,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee.  Under  its 
roof  the  Episcopal  Church  in  America  was 
organized,  in  1785,  and  within  its  walls  is 
now  housed  a  rare  and  interesting  collection 
of  ancient  volumes,  furniture,  pictures,  and 
tablets,  each  of  interest  to  the  student  and 
lover  of  the  past. 

One  of  the  first  rectors  of  Christ  Church 
was  a  Rev.  Mr.  Coombe.  He  was  a  Loyal 
ist,  and  during  the  early  days  of  the  Revo 
lution  returned  to  England,  where  he  finally 
became  chaplain  to  George  III.  It  is  prob 
ably  from  him  or  one  of  his  family  that  an 
alley,  a  short  distance  above  Christ  Church, 
and  running  eastward,  takes  its  name.  Here 
it  was  that  the  namesake  and  heir  of  Wil 
liam  Penn,  when  he  came  over  to  play  the 
prince  in  the  colony,  once  got  into  a  brawl. 
He  was  spending  an  evening  in  Enoch 
Story's  inn,  when  he  fell  to  quarrelling  with 
some  of  his  fellow-citizens  who  were  act 
ing  as  the  watch.  The  sober  Friends,  who 
had  little  patience  with  princely  debauchees, 
arrested  the  young  fellow  for  this  affray, 
.whereupon  he  incontinently  forsook  the  So 
ciety  for  the  Church  of  England,  in  which 

54 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

faith  the  descendants  of  Penn  have  ever  since 
remained. 

Coombe's  Alley,  in  the  younger  Penn's 
time,  was  a  prosperous  quarter,  and  it  still 
bears  traces  of  better  days.  In  1795  it  had 
a  very  large  population  for  such  narrow 
limits, — boasting  its  half-dozen  boarding- 
houses,  its  merchants  and  laborers,  its  sol 
diers  and  mariners,  its  bakers  and  hucksters. 
Nor  was  it  without  its  cares  and  troubles; 
for  during  the  famous  epidemic  of  1793 
thirty-two  people  died  in  the  course  of  a 
year  in  this  one  small  street.  The  old  houses 
still  standing  in  it  are  built  of  the  red  and 
black  bricks  so  plentiful  in  the  city's  youth. 
In  most  cases  curious  wooden  projections, 
like  unfinished  roofs,  divide  the  first  story 
from  the  second,  making  the  latter  look  as 
though  they  had  been  an  after-thought. 

The  chimes  of  Christ  Church,  which  on 
July  4,  1776,  proclaimed  the  tidings  of  in 
dependence,  were  paid  for  by  the  proceeds 
of  a  lottery  conducted  by  Benjamin  Franklin. 
The  printer-patriot  takes  his  rest  under  a 
flat  marble  slab  in  the  crowded  burial-ground 
at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Arch  Streets,  but 
55 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

his  life  and  works  are  still  vital  influences  in 
the  city  of  his  adoption.  In  truth,  his  ad 
vent  into  the  town  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
marks  the  date  of  the  birth  of  the  intellectual 
life  of  Philadelphia.  Blending  shrewd  com 
mon  sense  with  keen,  fine  humor,  and  a  ca 
pacity  for  winning  and  holding  friends,  the 
young  printer,  in  a  space  of  time  signally 
brief,  gained  recognition  as  a  leader  in  the 
town.  Its  old  respectabilities  eyed  him 
askance,  but  following  where  he  led,  made 
him  clerk  of  Assembly,  postmaster,  and  agent 
to  England,  or  looked  on  with  grudging  as 
sent  as,  out  of  the  unlikely  material  of  his 
fellow-workmen,  he  established  his  Junto, 
or  philosophic  club,  and  founded  the  first  sub 
scription  library  in  the  country,  the  first  fire 
and  military  companies  in  the  colony,  and 
the  first  academy  in  the  town,  just  as,  in 
after-years,  they  held  aloof  while  he,  with 
two  or  three  other  Philadelphia  radicals, 
united  with  Southerners  and  New  Eng- 
landers  in  signing  the  papers  which  gave  free 
dom  to  the  country  and  immortality  to  its 
makers. 

Though  every  effort  for  the  improvement 
56 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  colonial  Philadelphia  can  be  traced  to 
Franklin,  one  comes  closest  to  him,  perhaps, 
in  the  old  library  which  grew  out  of  his 
Junto  club,  and  which,  guarded  by  an  effigy 
of  its  founder,  long  stood  close  beside  the 
State-House,  just  out  of  Chestnut  Street, 
but  has  now  been  removed  to  Park  Avenue 
and  Locust  Street.  Inside  are  dusky  re 
cesses  filled  with  dusty  time-worn  folios,  and 
from  one  of  the  galleries  the  great  Minerva 
which  presided  over  the  deliberations  of 
the  Continental  Congress  looks  down  upon 
a  desk  and  clock  once  owned  and  used  by 
William  Penn.  The  noise  and  hurry  of  the 
modern  world  never  reach  this  cloistered 
recess,  crowded  with  the  shades  of  scholars 
dead  generations  ago,  and  an  hour  spent 
therein  is  a  page  from  the  past  that  will 
linger  long  in  the  memory. 

A  quaint  hipped-roofed  house  standing  on 
Front  Street,  a  few  doors  above  Dock,  re 
calls  another  significant  incident  in  the  life 
of  Franklin.  To  this  house,  erstwhile  oc 
cupied  by  one  generation  after  another  of 
Quakers,  he  was  conducted  upon  his  return 
from  England,  just  before  the  opening  of 
57 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  Revolution.  Philadelphia  had  for  some 
time  presented  the  spectacle  of  an  exception 
ally  temperate  and  prudent  community  slowly 
rousing  to  temperate,  prudent  resistance  to 
injustice.  The  Friends,  prompted  by  mo 
tives  for  which  we  can  scarcely  blame 
them,  were  opposed  to  armed  rebellion; 
so  were  the  great  merchants,  to  whom  a 
war  with  England  threatened  financial  ruin. 
Facing  the  other  way  were  a  numerous 
body  of  citizens  eager  for  the  moment  of 
conflict.  Loyalist  and  patriot  alike  waited 
anxiously  for  Franklin  and  his  first  words 
of  counsel.  The  Friends  in  a  body  met 
him  as  he  landed,  and  without  a  word,  in 
solemn  procession,  escorted  him  to  the  Front 
Street  house.  Entering,  they  all  seated 
themselves,  still  silent,  waiting  for  the  Spirit 
of  God  first  to  speak  through  some  of 
them,  when,  as  we  are  told,  Franklin  stood 
up  and  cried  out  with  power,  "  To  arms, 
my  friends,  to  arms !"  That  his  warning 
fell  on  reluctant  if  unheeding  ears  is  known 
to  all.  The  sudden  influx  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Revolution,  in  the  stormy  days  that  fol 
lowed,  pushed  the  Quaker  class  and  the 
58 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Tory  families  for  the  moment  to  the  wall; 
and  during  the  most  glorious  period  of  the 
city's  history  her  old  rulers,  with  few  ex 
ceptions,  yielded  their  places  to  strangers. 

Still  another  reminder  of  the  Philadelphia 
that  Franklin  knew  is  the  house  of  his  long 
time  friend,  John  Bartram,  which  yet  stands 
near  the  Schuylkill,  on  the  Gray's  Ferry 
Road.  The  former  home  of  the  Quaker 
botanist  is  of  graystone,  hewn  from  the  solid 
rock  and  put  in  place  in  1734  by  Bartram's 
own  hands;  for  among  his  other  accom 
plishments  he  reckoned  that  of  practical 
stonemason.  A  dense  mat  of  ivy,  out  of 
which  peep  two  windows,  cover  its  northern 
end.  The  south  end,  nearly  free  from  vines, 
is  also  pierced  with  two  large  windows,  the 
sills  thereof  curiously  carved  in  stone-work. 
Between  these  two  windows,  upper  and 
lower,  a  smooth,  square  block  of  stone  has 
been  carved  with  this  inscription : 

'Tis  God  alone,  Almighty  Lord, 
The  Holy  One  by  me  adored. 

John  Bartram,  1770. 

Dormer-windows  jut  out  from  the  roof 
of  the  old  house,  and  between  its  two  pro- 
59 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

jecting  wings  runs  a  wooden  porch,  sup 
ported  by  a  massive  stone  pillar,  the  front 
covered  by  an  aged  but  still  lusty  Virginia 
creeper.  Time  has  worked  small  change  in 
the  ancient  structure.  The  great  fireplace 
in  its  central  room  has  been  filled  up,  and 
the  old  Franklin  stove,  a  present,  mayhap, 
from  Benjamin  himself,  has  been  removed 
from  the  sitting-room,  but  beyond  this  every 
thing  stands  as  it  did  in  its  first  owner's 
time.  Back  of  the  sitting-room,  in  the  wing 
looking  towards  the  south,  is  an  airy  apart 
ment  that  once  did  duty  as  a  conservatory. 
Beside  this  room  is  the  botanist's  study,  with 
windows  facing  the  south  and  east.  It  was 
here  in  later  years  that  Alexander  Wilson 
wrote  the  opening  pages  of  his  great  work 
on  ornithology,  under  the  patronage  and 
aided  by  the  suggestions  of  William  Bar- 
tram,  the  successor  of  his  father  John,  and 
himself  a  naturalist  of  learning  and  repute. 
Against  the  front  of  the  house  grows  a 
Jerusalem  "  Christ's-thorn,"  and  on  one  side 
of  it  a  gnarled  and  tangled  yew-tree,  both 
planted  by  the  elder  Bartram's  hands. 
Thence  the  famous  botanic  garden,  the  first 
60 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

one  on  this  continent,  which  the  good  Quaker 
constructed  untaught,  planting  it  with  trees 
and  shrubs  gathered  by  himself  in  count 
less  journeys  through  the  wilderness,  slopes 
gently  downward  to  the  banks  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill.  When  Charles  Kingsley  visited  Phila 
delphia,  some  years  ago,  his  first  request  was 
to  be  taken  to  this  old  garden,  which  has 
now  become  a  grove  of  trees,  rare  and 
various,  of  native  and  foreign  growth, — 
deciduous  trees  and  evergreens  of  many 
varieties,  blossoming  shrubs,  white  and  red 
cedars,  spruce,  pines,  and  firs,  thick  with 
shade  and  spicy  with  odor.  At  the  gar 
den's  lower  edge  and  close  to  the  river  once 
stood  a  cider-mill,  of  which  all  that  remains 
is  a  great  embedded  rock,  hewn  flat,  with  a 
circular  groove  in  it,  in  which  a  stone 
dragged  by  horses  revolved,  crushing  the 
apples  to  pulp.  A  channel  cut  through  the 
rock  leading  from  the  groove  served  to  con 
vey  the  juice  from  the  mill.  It  was  a  piece  of 
Bartram's  own  handiwork,  another  example 
of  the  combining  of  the  practical  and  ideal 
in  his  sturdy  nature.  Not  far  from  this  old 
cider-mill  stands  a  stone  marking  the  grave 
61 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  one  of  Bartram's  servants,  an  aged  black, 
one  time  a  slave,  for  even  the  Quakers  held 
slaves  in  colony  times.  At  the  time  of  the 
old  negro's  death,  however,  he  was  a  free 
man,  and  had  been  for  years,  for  Bartram 
was  one  of  the  earliest  emancipators  of 
slaves  in  America. 

All  that  Bartram,  whom  Linnaeus  pro 
nounced  "  the  greatest  of  living  botanists," 
was  enabled  to  achieve  he  owed,  in  the  main, 
to  his  own  efforts.  His  life  was  of  the  sim 
plest  character;  and  to  the  last  he  retained 
the  habits  and  customs  of  the  plain  farmer 
folk,  of  whom  he  accounted  himself  one. 
Touching  also  in  its  modesty  and  simplicity 
is  his  own  account  of  how  he  became  a 
botanist.  "  One  day,"  he  wrote  in  his  later 
years,  "  I  was  busy  in  holding  my  plough, 
and  being  aweary  I  sat  me  beneath  the  shade 
of  a  tree  to  rest  myself.  I  cast  mine  eyes 
upon  a  daisy.  I  plucked  the  pretty  flower, 
and  viewing  it  with  more  closeness  than 
common  farmers  are  wont  to  bestow  upon  a 
weed,  I  observed  therein  many  curious  and 
distinct  parts,  each  perfect  in  itself,  and  each 
in  its  way  tending  to  enhance  the  beauty  of 
62 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  flower.  '  What  a  shame/  said  some 
thing  within  my  mind,  '  that  thou  hast  spent 
so  many  years  in  the  ruthless  destroying  of 
that  which  the  Lord  in  His  infinite  goodness 
hath  made  so  perfect  in  its  humble  place 
without  thy  trying  to  understand  one  of  the 
simplest  leaves  P  This  thought  awakened 
my  curiosity,  for  these  are  not  the  thoughts 
to  which  I  had  been  accustomed.  I  re 
turned  to  my  plough  once  more;  but  this 
new  desire  for  inquiry  into  the  perfections 
the  Lord  hath  granted  to  all  about  us  did 
not  quit  my  mind;  nor  hath  it  since." 

The  path  upon  which  he  thus  set  forth 
made  the  Quaker  farmer  the  peer  and  fellow 
of  the  greatest  naturalists  of  his  time,  and 
in  his  later  days  royal  botanist  for  the  prov 
inces.  Bartram  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty, 
hale  and  strong  to  the  last,  his  only  trouble 
being  his  dread  that  the  ravages  of  the 
Revolution  might  reach  his  peaceful  gar 
den.  His  fear  was  groundless,  for  all  alike 
reverenced  and  loved  the  gentle  old  man. 
His  death  occurred  on  the  morrow  of  the 
battle  of  Brandywine. 

Philadelphia,  in  1774,  had  grown  to  be  a 
63 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

thriving,  well-conditioned,  prosperous  city 
of  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  the  largest 
in  the  colonies,  and,  thanks  to  the  genius  of 
Franklin,  paved,  lighted,  and  ordered  in  a 
way  almost  unknown  in  any  other  town  of 
that  period.  It  was,  also,  as  nearly  as  pos 
sible,  the  central  point  of  the  colonies.  Thus 
both  its  position  and  its  condition  drew  to 
it  the  strangers  from  the  North  and  the 
South,  who  began  to  appear  in  the  streets 
and  public  places  in  the  late  summer  of  1774. 
Few  of  these  strangers  were  commonplace; 
most  of  them  gave  evidence  of  distinction, 
and  all  were  prompt  in  setting  about  the 
work  that  had  brought  them  from  their 
widely-scattered  homes. 

The  members  of  the  first  colonial  Con 
gress  having  found,  on  reaching  Philadel 
phia,  that  the  State-House  was  already  oc 
cupied  by  the  Provincial  Assembly,  deter 
mined  to  hold  their  meetings  in  the  hall,  on 
Chestnut  Street  above  Third,  built  by  the 
Honorable  Society  of  Carpenters,  and  still 
used  by  them.  Accordingly,  on  the  morn 
ing  of  September  5  they  assembled  at  the 
City  Tavern,  where  most  of  them  were  quar- 
64 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

tered,  and  went  thence  together  to  this  little 
hall.  We  are  told  that  the  Quakers  watched 
the  little  procession  gloomily,  but  it  was 
made  up  of  men  who  have  assumed  for  us 
heroic  proportions.  There  were  John  and 
Samuel  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  the  latter 
with  stern,  set  face  of  the  Puritan  type;  the 
venerable  Stephen  Hopkins,  of  Rhode  Island ; 
Roger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  tall  and 
grave;  John  Jay,  of  New  York,  with  birth 
and  breeding  written  in  his  clean-cut  feat 
ures;  Thomas  McKean,  of  Pennsylvania, 
an  Anak  among  patriots,  and  lank  Caesar 
Rodney,  of  Delaware.  There,  too,  were 
Christopher  Gadsden  and  the  two  Rutledges, 
from  South  Carolina,  while  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  full  of  years  and  honors,  headed  a 
delegation  from  Virginia  which  included 
Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and 
another  better  known  than  any  of  them, 
with  his  soldier's  fame  won  on  hard-fought 
fields, — George  Washington,  of  Mount  Ver- 
non.  What  the  grave,  silent  Virginia  col 
onel  had  done  was  known  to  every  onlooker. 
What  he  was  yet  to  do  no  one  dreamed,  but 
we  may  easily  believe  that  the  people  who 
II.-5  65 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS' 

lined  the  streets  that  sunny  September  morn 
ing  felt  dumbly  what  Henry  said  for  those 
who  met  him  in  the  Congress,  "  Washing 
ton  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  of  them 
all." 

The  work  done  in  the  assembly-room  of 
the  hall  of  the  Carpenters  in  the  autumn  days 
of  1774  cleared  the  way  for  the  call  to  arms. 
When  the  Congress  met  again,  in  May  of  the 
following  year,  it  held  its  deliberations  in 
the  State-House,  and  thenceforward  the  his 
tory  of  the  country  takes  this  long,  old- 
fashioned  structure  of  red  brick,  with  its 
white  marble  facings  and  thick  window- 
sashes,  as  its  central  point  of  interest.  In 
the  little  square  before  it  gathered  excited 
groups  of  patriots  and  Loyalists  on  the  mem 
orable  days  and  still  more  memorable  nights 
when  within  its  walls,  behind  closed  doors, 
the  delegates  of  thirteen  colonies  were  de 
bating  a  resolution  to  declare  them  inde 
pendent.  On  July  2,  1776,  the  resolution 
was  passed.  "A  greater  question,"  says 
Adams,  "  perhaps  never  was  decided  among 
men." 

The  Declaration  was  signed  by  John  Han- 
66 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

cock  and  Charles  Thomson,  president  and 
secretary  of  the  Congress,  on  the  Fourth 
of  July,  this  act  taking  place  in  the  east 
room  of  the  State-House  on  the  lower  floor, 
where  during  the  next  four  weeks  the  other 
members  of  the  Congress  also  affixed  their 
signatures.  The  Declaration  had  been 
written  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  his  lodging- 
house,  which  stood  until  recently  at  the  south_ 
west  corner  of  Market  and  Seventh  Streets. 
It  was  made  public  on  the  morrow  of  the 
Fourth,  but  was  not  officially  given  to  the 
people  until  noonday  on  the  8th  of  July, 
when  it  was  read  to  a  great  crowd  in  the 
State-House  yard.  The  stage  on  which  the 
reader  stood  was  a  rough  platform,  built 
some  years  before  by  David  Rittenhouse, 
the  astronomer,  as  an  observatory  from 
which  to  note  certain  important  movements 
of  the  planets. 

The  use  to  which  its  builder  had  put  it 
had  resulted  in  the  first  determination  of  the 
dimensions  of  the  solar  system;  and  now 
serving  a  not  less  noble  purpose,  it  heralded 
a  platform  of  human  rights  broad  enough 
for  the  whole  world  to  stand  upon.  Cheers 
67 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

rent  the  welkin  when  the  reading  of  the 
Declaration  was  finished;  bonfires  were 
lighted;  the  chimes  of  Christ  Church  rang 
until  nightfall,  and  the  old  bell  in  the  State- 
House  tower  gave  a  new  and  noisy  meaning 
to  the  words  inscribed  on  its  side  a  quarter 
of  a  century  before, — "  Proclaim  liberty 
throughout  the  land  and  to  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof." 

Thus  the  Republic  was  born.  The  story 
of  the  days  of  storm  and  stress  that  fol 
lowed  has  been  written  again  and  again,  and 
ever  finds  new  chroniclers;  but  over  one 
act  of  the  great  Congress  that  adopted  the 
Declaration  the  pen  must  always  linger  with 
affectionate  touch.  On  June  14,  1777,  it 
was  resolved  by  the  Congress  "  that  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  be  thirteen  stripes  al 
ternately  red  and  white,  and  that  the  union 
be  thirteen  white  stars,  in  a  blue  field,  rep 
resenting  a  new  constellation."  The  first 
flag  was  modelled  under  the  personal  super 
vision  of  Washington,  who  was  then  in  Phil 
adelphia,  and  a  committee  from  the  Con 
gress.  They  called  upon  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Ross,  who  conducted  an  upholstery  shop  in 
68 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  little  house  yet  standing  at  239  Arch 
Street;  and  from  a  rough  draft  which 
Washington  had  made  she  prepared  the  first 
flag.  The  general's  design  contained  stars 
of  six  points,  but  Mrs.  Ross  thought  that 
five  points  would  make  them  more  sym 
metrical.  She  completed  the  flag  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  at  Fort  Schuyler,  New  York, 
a  few  weeks  later,  it  received  its  baptism  of 
fire.  "  Betsy"  Ross  was  appointed  by  Con 
gress  to  be  the  manufacturer  of  the  govern 
ment  flags,  and  she  followed  this  occupation 
for  many  years,  being  succeeded  by  her 
children. 

In  September,  1777,  the  British  entered 
Philadelphia,  and  it  was  not  reoccupied  by 
the  patriot  army  till  1779.  Meantime  in 
its  northern  suburbs  was  fought  the  desper 
ate  and  luckless  battle  of  Germantown. 
About  many  of  the  old  houses  of  that  village 
hang  pulse-moving  legends  of  the  one  event 
ful  day  in  its  history.  Chief  among  these  is 
the  Chew  House,  built  in  1763,  about  which 
the  fight  raged  furiously  for  hours.  This 
house  was  held  by  Colonel  Musgrave  and 
six  companies  so  long  that  a  gallant  lad,  the 
69 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Chevalier  de  Manduit,  with  Colonel  Laurens, 
crept  up  to  fire  it  with  a  wisp  of  straw. 
They  escaped  under  a  shower  of  balls,  while 
a  young  man  who  had  followed  them  fell 
dead  at  the  first  shot. 

Another  old  house  at  the  corner  of  Main 
Street  and  West  Walnut  Lane  was  used  as 
a  hospital  and  amputating-room,  while  the 
Wistar  House,  built  in  1744,  was  occupied 
by  some  of  the  British  officers,  one  of  whom 
was  General  Agnew,  "  a  cheerful  and  heart- 
some  young  man,"  according  to  tradition. 
As  he  passed  out  to  join  his  command  he 
encountered  the  old  servant  Justinia  at  work 
in  the  garden,  and  bade  her  hide  in  the  cel 
lar  until  the  fighting  was  at  an  end.  But 
Justinia  refused  to  obey,  and  had  not  fin 
ished  hoeing  her  cabbages  when  Agnew  was 
carried  in  wounded  unto  death,  a  decoration 
which  he  wore  on  his  breast  having  offered 
a  mark  for  a  patriot  rifleman.  A  quaint 
room  of  the  Wistar  House,  now  filled  with 
relics  of  early  times,  is  the  one  in  which  the 
heartsome  young  officer  breathed  out  his  life. 
His  blood  still  stains  the  floor. 

Yet  another  reminder  of  the  Revolution 
70 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

is  to  be  encountered  in  a  stroll  about  Ger- 
mantown,  for  in  the  yard  of  St.  Michael's 
Lutheran  Church  sleeps  one  who  played  a 
useful  if  humble  part  in  the  struggle.  Chris. 
Ludwick  was  a  Dutch  baker  of  Germantown, 
who  had  saved  a  comfortable  fortune  before 
the  commencement  of  the  seven  years'  war. 
Half  of  this  property  he  offered  to  the  ser 
vice  of  his  country,  swearing  at  the  same 
time  never  to  shave  until  her  freedom  was 
accomplished.  Washington  gave  him  charge 
of  the  ovens  of  the  army,  and  Baker-General 
Ludwick,  with  his  great  grizzled  beard  and 
big  voice,  was  a  familiar  and  not  unheroic 
figure  in  the  camp.  He  died  an  old  man 
of  eighty,  in  1801,  leaving  his  entire  fortune 
for  the  education  of  the  poor. 

After  the  Revolution  came  the  making  of 
the  Constitution  and  the  setting  afoot  of  the 
Union,  with  Philadelphia  as  the  national 
capital.  The  city's  condition  during  the 
years  in  which  it  was  controlled  by  Wash 
ington's  simple  high-bred  court  is  known  to 
every  reader  of  history.  In  the  great  house 
once  occupied  by  Richard  Penn,  afterwards 
owned  by  Robert  Morris,  and  gone  long 
71 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

since  from  the  south  side  of  Market  Street, 
Washington  had  his  home  from  1791  to 
1797.  It  was  deemed  the  fittest  dwelling  in 
the  city  for  the  President  of  the  new  nation, 
and  must  have  well  deserved  to  be  called  a 
mansion.  There  are  many  pleasing  pictures 
of  the  life  led  there  by  Washington  and  his 
family,  but  none  half  so  winsome  and  de 
lightful  as  that  of  a  girl  friend  of  Nelly 
Custis,  who  spent  a  night  in  the  President's 
house.  "  When  ten  o'clock  came,"  she  tells 
us,  "  Mrs.  Washington  retired,  and  her 
granddaughter  accompanied  her,  and  read 
a  chapter  and  psalm  from  the  old  family 
Bible.  All  then  knelt  together  in  prayer, 
and  when  Mrs.  Washington's  maid  had  pre 
pared  her  for  bed  Nelly  sang  a  soothing 
hymn,  and,  leaning  over  her,  received  from 
her  some  words  of  counsel  and  her  kiss  and 
blessing." 

One  other  picture,  and  the  last,  of  the 
Philadelphia  of  a  century  ago.  The  time 
was  March  4,  1797,  and  a  vast  crowd  had 
assembled  in  the  State-House  to  witness  the 
inauguration  of  John  Adams  as  Washington's 
successor.  Few  in  the  throng,  however, 
72 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

gave  heed  to  the  entrance  of  the  new  chief 
executive.  Instead,  every  eye  was  bent  upon 
Washington,  for  the  people  knew  it  was  to 
be  the  last  public  appearance  of  their  idol. 
"He  wore,"  writes  an  eye-witness,  "a  full 
suit  of  black  velvet,  his  hair  powdered  and 
in  a  bag,  diamond  knee-buckles,  and  a  light 
sword  with  gray  scabbard."  Beside  him 
was  the  new  Vice-President,  Jefferson,  awk 
ward  and  ungainly;  and  nearby  was  the 
boyish  Madison  and  the  burly  Knox.  When 
Adams  had  read  his  inaugural  and  left  the 
room  the  crowd  cheered,  but  did  not  move. 
Jefferson,  after  some  courteous  parley,  took 
precedence  of  Washington,  and  went  out. 
Still  the  people  remained  motionless,  watch 
ing  the  noble  figure  in  black;  nor  did  any 
one  stir  until  Washington  descended  from 
the  platform  and  left  the  hall  to  follow  and 
pay  his  respects  to  the  new  President.  Then 
they  and  all  the  crowd  in  the  streets  moved 
after  him,  but  in  silence.  Upon  the  thresh 
old  of  the  President's  lodgings  he  turned  and 
faced  this  multitude  of  nameless  friends. 
"  No  man  ever  saw  him  so  moved."  The  tears 
rolled  unchecked  down  his  cheeks.  Then 

73 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

he  bowed  slowly  and  low  and  went  within. 
After  he  had  gone  a  smothered  sound,  not 
unlike  a  sob,  went  up  from  the  crowd,  for 
they  knew  that  their  hero  had  passed  away 
to  be  seen  of  them  no  more. 


74 


CHAPTER   X 


ONE  of  a  dozen  delightful  outings  lying 
in  the  way  of  the  sojourner  in  Philadelphia 
or  its  suburbs  takes  one  to  the  ancient  bor 
ough  of  Bristol.  Set  down  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Delaware,  midway  between 
Trenton  and  Philadelphia,  Bristol  has  seen 
more  than  two  centuries  sweep  by  since  the 
beginning  of  its  settlement,  and  all  about 
the  town  there  are  traces  remaining  of  the 
birth  years  of  the  republic,  and  even  of 
colonial  times,  in  narrow  and  irregular 
streets,  and  olden  houses  with  chimneys  at 
the  gable  ends,  and  in  family  heirlooms 
treasured  in  these  antique  dwellings  by  de 
scendants  of  the  first  settlers.  A  large  part 
of  Bristol  is  built  of  brick,  giving  the  town 
a  substantial  and  comfortable  appearance; 
Mill  Street,  the  main  thoroughfare,  has  many 
old  business  houses  on  it,  and  RadclifTe 
Street,  stretching  through  its  vista  of  shade- 
75 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

trees,  for  a  long  distance  along  the  river's 
bank,  is  lined  with  fine  mansions,  most  of 
them  set  in  spacious  grounds,  and  all  com 
manding  views  of  the  Delaware,  creeping 
seaward  between  grassy  and  wooded  banks. 
Peace  and  rest  dwell  the  twelvemonth 
through  in  Bristol,  and  it  is  fitting  that  they 
do,  for  the  town  is  the  eastern  gateway  to 
the  Perm's  Wood  of  other  days,  and  six 
miles  to  the  north  of  it,  up  the  Delaware, 
is  Pennsbury  Manor,  the  spot  where  stood 
the  mansion  erected  and  occupied  by  Wil 
liam  Penn.  The  estate  originally  consisted 
of  above  six  thousand  acres,  bounded  by 
Welcome  Creek  and  Governor's  Creek.  A 
tract  of  three  hundred  acres,  including  the 
site  of  the  homestead,  is  now  owned  as  a 
farm  by  William  Penn  Crozer.  Many  years 
ago  a  visitor  to  the  place  noted  the  fact  that 
nine  gnarled  cherry-trees  were  then  stand 
ing  as  the  remains  of  Penn's  cherry  hedge 
along  the  lane.  One  poor  stump  is  all  that 
is  now  left,  and  this  relic  is  fast  crumbling 
into  dust,  but  the  well  that  belonged  to  the 
old  mansion  still  gives  its  pure  water  to 
the  thirsty  or  curious  wayfarer. 
76 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

The  manor-house  was  of  brick,  and  might 
possibly  have  been  preserved  till  now  had 
not  a  neglected  water-tank  on  the  roof  helped 
by  its  leakage  the  process  of  decay.  The 
only  vestiges  of  the  building  remaining  are 
the  old  bricks,  which  pave  the  cellar  floor 
of  the  present  farm-house.  The  ancient 
house  was  sixty  feet  long  and  forty  feet 
deep,  with  offices  and  adjoining  buildings. 
It  was  begun  in  1682,  immediately  upon 
Penn's  arrival,  and  was  constructed  in  the 
best  style  of  the  day,  costing  some  thousands 
of  pounds  and  consuming  four  or  five  years 
in  its  erection.  With  its  stately  porch  in 
front  and  rear,  and  wide  hall  running 
through  it,  and  spacious  apartments,  it  must 
have  presented  an  appearance  of  elegance 
unusual  to  the  New  World.  There  was 
Stabling  for  twelve  horses,  and  it  was  not 
forgotten  to  provide  a  brew-house  in  which 
to  brew  ale  for  the  household. 

A  beautiful  garden  was  laid  out  between 
the  house  and  the  river,  and  a  broad  shady 
walk  added  to  the  grace  of  these  elegant 
grounds.  In  the  years  1700  and  1701  the 
founder  lived  here  in  the  style  usual  to 
77 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

men  of  his  rank  in  colonial  times,  enter 
taining  frequent  guests  with  liberal  hos 
pitality.  The  Indians  here  held  conference 
with  the  distinguished  Friend,  and  on  one 
occasion  he  gave  a  feast  under  the  poplars 
at  the  manor  to  his  Indian  visitors,  at  which 
time  one  hundred  turkeys  were  served  up, 
"  besides  venison  and  other  meats."  In  at 
tending  to  his  extensive  plantations  Penn 
was  often  away,  so  that  he  frequently  passed 
in  his  barge  from  Philadelphia,  then  be 
ginning  its  history,  to  this  manor  home  on 
the  Delaware,  which  was  then  wooded  to  its 
very  edge  with  stately  forest-trees.  But  he 
was  not  permitted  long  to  enjoy  his  rural 
tastes.  Interests  imperilled  by  political 
changes  called  him  to  England,  and  though 
he  hoped  soon  to  return  and  spend  the  even 
ing  of  his  life  in  this  chosen  home,  his  wish 
was  never  gratified. 

The  country  about  and  beyond  Pennsbury 
Manor  is  classic  ground.  Not  far  away  is 
the  site  of  the  house  in  which  Moreau,  Na 
poleon's  old  marshal  and  the  victor  of 
Hohenlinden,  led  the  life  of  an  American 
country  gentleman  until,  in  an  evil  hour, 
78 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

he  listened  to  the  proposals  of  the  Emperors 
of  Austria  and  Russia,  and  went  back  to 
Europe  to  have  his  legs  shot  off  at  Dresden ; 
a  short  distance  to  the  north  Washington 
made  his  famous  "  crossing  of  the  Dela 
ware"  on  the  Christmas  Eve  of  1776,  a  few 
miles  to  the  south  is  Trappe,  long  the  home 
of  Muhlenberg,  and  an  easy  morning's  jour 
ney  through  Bucks  and  Montgomery  into 
Chester  takes  one  to  historic  Valley  Forge, 
where  was  passed  the  gloomiest  and  saddest 
period  of  the  war  for  independence. 

Trappe,  which  lies  near  the  lower  edge  of 
Montgomery  County,  is  a  small  place  and 
modest,  but  it  has  played  its  part  in  history, 
for  it  was  here,  in  1733,  that  the  first  Lu 
theran  place  of  worship  in  America  was 
erected,  and  it  was  here  that  Muhlenberg 
began  his  great  work  of  establishing  the 
doctrine  of  his  church  in  this  country.  He 
came  from  Germany  to  the  settlement  of 
Trappe  in  1742,  and  found  a  structure  of 
logs  that  the  primitive  Lutherans  had  built 
to  worship  in.  In  1743  he  built  a  stone 
church  to  take  the  place  of  the  rude  log 
sanctuary,  and  it  stands  to-day  just  as  it 
79 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

was  finished  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  It 
has  not  been  used  for  church  service  for 
many  years,  but  is  sacredly  preserved  for  its 
historic  associations. 

The  walls  of  this  ancient  church  are  moss- 
grown  and  worn  by  wind  and  storm,  but  they 
are  firm,  and  able  to  defy  decay  and  ruin  for 
another  century.  Its  odd  and  angular  ar 
chitecture  is  striking.  There  is  no  steeple, 
and  from  the  peak  the  roof  slopes  gradually 
for  a  few  feet,  and  then  drops  at  a  sharp 
angle  to  the  eaves.  The  heavy  arched  ves 
tibule  door  is  fastened  by  a  ponderous  lock, 
the  great  key  that  unlocks  it  being  yellow 
and  eaten  with  rust. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  as  it  was 
the  day  services  were  first  held  in  it  by 
Muhlenberg,  except  that  the  high,  straight- 
backed  pewS  show  the  marks  of  occupancy 
by  generations  of  worshippers.  The  curious 
oaken  pulpit,  hanging  high  against  the  wall 
at  one  end  of  the  room,  and  reached  by  a 
long  flight  of  steps,  is  the  same  from  which 
Muhlenberg  preached.  Above  the  pulpit  is 
the  sounding-board  that  aided  in  making  the 
preacher's  words  more  distinct  to  his  hearers. 
80 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

A  gallery  of  hewn  oak  timbers,  with  quaint 
wrought-iron  braces  to  support  it,  extends 
around  three  sides  of  the  room.  Paint 
never  stained  the  interior  of  the  old  church, 
and  it  was  never  heated,  even  in  the  coldest 
weather.  Over  the  door  on  the  outside  a 
Latin  inscription  could  once  be  read,  but  the 
rude  letters  have  been  so  obliterated  by  time 
that  they  can  no  longer  be  deciphered. 

The  burial-ground  of  this  ancient  edifice 
contains  the  graves  of  the  pioneers  of  Lu- 
theranism  in  this  country,  and  here  repose 
the  remains  of  Father  Muhlenberg  himself. 
Beside  his  lie  those  of  his  distinguished  son, 
Peter,  who  was  preacher,  soldier,  and  states 
man.  It  was  this  son  who,  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  appeared  in 
the  pulpit  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  col 
onel,  and  telling  his  people  that  there  was 
a  time  to  preach  and  a  time  to  fight,  and 
the  time  had  come  to  fight,  proceeded  to 
enlist  men  for  the  patriot  army  on  the  spot. 

From  Trappe,  which  promises  to  long  re 
main  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  New 
World  nooks,  a  tree-embowered  road  winds 
southward  between  low  hills  to  the  site  of 
II.— 6  81 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Washington's  camp  at  Valley  Forge.  This 
covers  some  two  thousand  acres  of  rolling 
meadow-land,  broken  here  and  there  with 
abrupt  wooded  hills.  The  old  stone  man 
sion  occupied  as  head-quarters  by  Washing 
ton  and  his  staff  fronts  the  station  of  the 
Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad.  South 
ward,  at  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
is  the  spot  where  Washington's  original 
head-quarters  stood,  the  building,  now  re 
moved,  which  he  occupied  in  December, 
1777.  A  stone's  throw  from  there  is  the 
bubbling  spring  known  as  "  Washington's 
Spring,"  on  the  right  bank  of  Valley  Creek. 
On  the  farther  side  of  that  stream,  a  step 
below,  is  the  site  of  the  old  Valley  Forge, 
from  which  the  locality  takes  its  name,  built 
in  1757.  To  the  southeast  a  few  hundred 
yards,  extending  in  a  zigzag  line  north  and 
south  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  are  the  re 
mains  of  the  old  entrenchments  thrown  up 
by  the  patriot  troops,  and  still  easily  dis 
tinguished  by  the  irregular  and  scattered 
heaps  of  stones  and  the  uneven  elevation  of 
the  greensward.  To  the  right  of  these  re 
mains  are  the  foundation-stones  and  de- 
82 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

cayed  timbers  of  Fort  Washington,  which 
served  as  the  eastern  bulwark  of  the  camp. 
Southwest  of  this,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  far 
ther,  is  the  site  of  the  head-quarters  used 
by  Knox  and  the  officers  of  his  command, 
and  a  short  distance  below,  on  the  other 
side  of  Valley  Creek,  is  the  site  of  Lafay 
ette's  head-quarters,  a  two-and-a-half  story 
house  which  still  stands,  little  changed  by 
the  years. 

It  was  after  the  disastrous  battles  of  the 
Brandywine  and  Germantown  that  the  Con 
tinental  army  went  into  camp  at  Valley 
Forge.  The  enlisted  men  and  their  field 
and  line  officers  dwelt  in  cabins,  each  built 
to  accommodate  twelve  men.  Six  months 
of  terrible  suffering  were  spent  in  these 
dreary  huts.  The  patriot  troopers,  ragged 
and  half  starved,  without  shoes  or  blankets 
or  proper  clothing,  slept  at  night  during  the 
whole  dreadful  winter  of  1777-78  on  the 
bare  earth,  and  in  the  daytime,  in  providing 
firewood  for  their  comfortless  cabins,  left 
foot-tracks  of  blood  on  the  frozen  ground, 
hallowing  the  very  soil  by  the  severity  and 
heroism  of  their  sufferings.  Disease  added 
83 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

its  terrors  to  those  of  famine  and  cold,  and 
smallpox  wrought  fearful  havoc  in  the  camp. 
Facilities  of  transportation  were  scarce,  and 
such  supplies  as  could  be  procured  were  car 
ried  upon  the  backs  of  the  men  and  hauled 
in  improvised  hand-carts.  By  the  middle  of 
January,  1/78,  things  were  so  desperate  that 
General  Varnum  wrote  to  General  Greene, 
"  In  all  human  probability  the  army  must 
dissolve." 

The  prospect  for  American  independence 
was  dark  indeed,  but  in  the  character  of 
Washington  was  something  which  enabled 
him,  notwithstanding  the  discordant  mate 
rials  of  which  his  army  was  composed,  and 
in  spite  of  the  hardships  and  privations  his 
men  endured,  to  so  attach  both  officers  and 
soldiers  to  his  person  that  no  distress  could 
weaken  their  affections  nor  impair  the  re 
spect  and  veneration  in  which  he  was  held 
by  them.  When  that  army,  after  its  trying 
ordeal,  left  Valley  Forge,  it  started  upon  a 
career  of  victory,  and  never  again  knew  the 
sting  and  bitterness  of  defeat.  The  battle 
of  the  Brandywine  was  the  high-water  mark 
of  British  success,  and  after  June  18,  1777, 
84 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

until  the  surrender  at  Yorktown  the  army 
of  the  invader  constantly  met  with  re 
verses. 

The  passage  of  sixscore  years  has  made 
few  changes  at  Valley  Forge.  Trees  have 
been  cut  down  and  the  woods  which  shel 
tered  Washington's  soldiers  have  disap 
peared,  but  the  generals'  head-quarters,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  are  still  standing, 
and  the  Potts  mansion,  which  housed  Wash 
ington  and  his  staff  and  is  now  the  property 
of  the  Sons  of  America,  appears  inside  and 
out  almost  precisely  as  it  was  when  occupied 
by  the  patriot  captain. 

A  plain,  somewhat  contracted-looking 
house  is  this  Valley  Forge  shrine,  after  the 
usual  type  of  ancient  Pennsylvania  home 
steads,  with  a  queer  roof  over  the  door  and 
narrow,  small-paned  windows  that  end  in 
low,  deep  window-seats.  Interest  in  the 
house  centres  in  the  back  room  used  by 
Washington  as  a  private  office  and  fur 
nished  with  articles  gathered  here  and  there 
of  the  date  of  Washington's  residence,  but 
the  dwelling  as  a  whole  strikes  the  visitor 
as  a  bare-looking  and  somewhat  dreary 
85 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

place,  and  when  its  few  relics  have  been 
inspected  one  is  not  unwilling  to  leave  it 
for  the  drive  over  quiet  country  roads  to 
the  church  built  in  1715  and  known  as  "  Old 
St.  David's  at  Radnor." 

This  little  temple  in  the  wilderness,  of 
which  Longfellow  wrote  in  one  of  his  last 
poems, — 

"What  an  image  of  peace  and  rest 

Is  this  little  church  among  its  graves  ! 
All  is  so  quiet  ;  the  troubled  breast, 
The  wounded  spirit,  the  heart  oppressed, 
Here  may  find  the  repose  it  craves. 

"  See  how  the  ivy  climbs  and  expands 

Over  this  humble  hermitage, 
And  seems  to  caress  with  its  little  hands 
The  rough  gray  stones  as  a  child  that  stands 

Caressing  the  wrinkled  cheeks  of  age. 

"  You  cross  the  threshold,  and  dim  and  small 

Is  the  space  that  serves  for  the  Shepherd's  fold  ; 
The  narrow  aisle,  the  bare,  white  wall, 
The  pews  and  the  pulpit,  quaint  and  tall, 
Whisper  and  say  :   *  Alas  !  we  are  old  !'  " 

stands  in  a  secluded  spot,  among  sloping 
fields  and  wooded  hills,  and  wears  an  air  of 
antiquity  so  marked  that  one  might  almost 
imagine  himself  transported  to  another  age 
86 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

and  country.  The  ivy-clad  structure  is  of 
rough  graystone,  in  the  old  Pennsylvania 
style.  The  walls  are  thick,  the  shingled  roof 
low,  the  windows  arched,  and  the  shutters 
iron-barred.  Within  the  church  an  oaken 
table  serves  for  an  altar,  and  the  pews  are 
square  and  provided  with  doors.  A  high 
gallery  extends  across  the  end,  and  this  is 
reached  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps  from  the 
outside, — a  peculiarity  that  forms  one  of 
its  distinguishing  features. 

The  little  church  stands  in  a  forest  of 
gravestones,  and  even  its  door-step  covers 
the  dust  of  one  of  the  forefathers  of  Rad 
nor,  a  certain  William  Moore,  who,  dying 
in  1781,  was,  it  is  said,  buried  beneath  the 
step  as  a  mark  of  dishonor,  on  account  of 
his  being  a  Tory.  Another  tale  has  it  that 
this  was  a  token  of  respect.  He  requested 
that  his  remains  might  be  interred  under  the 
pulpit,  and  as  the  vestry  were  unwilling  to 
place  them  within  the  church,  it  was  decided 
that  the  suppliant's  bones  should  be  deposited 
in  the  next  best  location, — before  the  door. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  Moore's  memorial  stone 
has  been  trodden  upon  for  a  hundred  years, 
87 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

so  that  his  epitaph  has  become  a  blur, — little 
of  him  to-day  can  be  read  but  his  name. 

The  most  interesting  spot  in  this  fruitful 
God's  Acre  is  the  grave  of  that  fearless  sol 
dier  of  the  Revolution,  General  Anthony 
Wayne,  who  here  takes  his  rest  with  his 
wife  and  kindred  beside  him.  A  stately 
monument  marks  the  spot  where  his  bones 
were  interred,  in  1809,  having  been  brought, 
a  dozen  years  after  his  death,  from  their 
original  resting-place  at  Erie  to  be  deposited 
amid  the  familiar  scenes  of  his  youth  and 
manhood.  This  second  funeral  was  a  great 
event  in  the  neighborhood.  "  The  remains 
of  General  Wayne,"  says  the  historian  of 
Old  St.  David's,  "  were  removed  from  the 
fortress  at  Presqu'  Isle  to  Radnor  church 
yard  by  his  son,  Colonel  Isaac  Wayne,  and 
at  the  same  time  (July  4,  1809)  the  Penn 
sylvania  State  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  with 
due  ritual  ceremonies,  placed  over  the  grave 
of  the  illustrious  dead  the  present  monument. 
The  wonders  of  that  day  are  still  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  some  of  our  church-members; 
the  First  City  Troop,  of  Philadelphia,  under 
command  of  Mayor  Robert  Wharton,  rode 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

out  to  Radnor,  and  performed  the  honors  of 
war  over  the  grave  of  the  general,  but  so 
excessively  hot  was  the  day  that  one  of  the 
officers  is  said  to  have  fainted  while  coming 
down  the  hill  near  which  the  present  par 
sonage  stands.  The  hearse  proceeded  from 
Mr.  Wayne's  house  to  the  church,  and  an 
old  soldier  named  Samuel  Smiley  is  said 
to  have  marched  before  it  all  the  way,  re 
fusing  to  ride,  and  mourning  the  loss  of 
his  old  commander." 

There  is  another  noble  reminder  of  Wayne 
in  the  land  which  holds  his  dust.  Just  over 
the  hills  from  Old  St.  David's  is  the  house 
in  which  he  was  born,  and  where  he  spent 
most  of  his  life  when  not  engaged  in  mili 
tary  campaigns, — a  grand  old  homestead, 
still  owned  and  occupied  by  his  descendants. 
The  house  is  filled  with  relics  of  Wayne, 
and  the  parlor  is  furnished  exactly  as  it  was 
in  the  general's  time.  It  has  an  antique 
fireplace,  with  brass  andirons  and  fender, 
and  on  the  mantel  are  two  pairs  of  china 
vases  with  handles  that  have  survived  with 
out  a  crack,  and  a  pair  of  silver  candlesticks 
and  snuffers.  A  beautiful  old  mirror  fills 
89 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  space  between  the  windows,  the  stiff 
draperies  of  the  period  that  cross  it  from  the 
window  almost  concealing  its  beauty.  These 
draperies  are  looped  with  gilt  pins,  and  har 
monize  thoroughly  with  the  ancient-looking 
sofa  and  chairs  and  the  stiff  neutral-hued 
carpet.  The  chairs,  of  course,  are  high- 
backed  and  broad-seated,  after  the  fashion 
of  a  century  ago,  and  the  room  as  a  whole  is 
an  admirable  relic  of  that  olden  time. 

A  leisurely  half-hour's  stroll  from  the 
Wayne  homestead  is  Paoli,  scene  of  the 
massacre  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  American 
soldiers  on  the  night  of  September  20,  1777, 
— nine  days  after  the  battle  of  the  Brandy- 
wine.  The  Americans,  pursued  by  the  Brit 
ish,  had  fallen  back  to  Warwick  Furnace, 
in  Chester  County,  and  General  Wayne, 
whose  command  numbered  some  fifteen  hun 
dred  men,  had  been  ordered  by  Washington 
to  cut  off  the  enemy's  baggage-train  and 
halt  his  advance  towards  Schuylkill  valley, 
thus  affording  the  Continentals  time  to  cross 
the  river  and  march  down  the  other  side. 

Wayne  moved  quickly,  and  the  afternoon 
of  September  20  found  him  encamped  near 
90 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  spot  now  marked  by  the  Paoli  monu 
ment,  some  four  miles  in  the  rear  of  the 
British  army.  It  was  his  purpose  to  attack 
the  enemy's  rear  whenever  they  should  re 
sume  their  march  towards  the  Schuylkill, 
but  he  did  not  take  into  account  the  treach 
ery  of  his  old  friends  and  neighbors.  Late 
that  night,  under  cover  of  darkness  and 
guided  by  Tory  residents  of  the  country 
side,  the  British  general,  Grey,  massed  his 
troops  as  near  the  camp  of  Wayne  as  pos 
sible  without  betraying  a  knowledge  of  his 
approach  through  the  woods,  and  made  a 
deadly  charge  upon  the  American  corps. 

Although  cleverly  executed,  the  surprise 
was  not  complete.  The  assailants  were  re 
ceived  with  several  close  and  destructive  vol 
leys  which  must  have  done  great  execution; 
but  the  Americans  were  greatly  outnum 
bered,  and,  in  the  end,  were  obliged  to  re 
treat  in  haste  and  disorder.  Many  victims 
were  massacred  after  resistance  on  their  part 
had  ceased;  the  cry  for  quarter  was  un 
heeded,  and  the  British  bayonet  did  its  work 
with  unpitying  ferocity.  Of  the  American 
dead,  fifty-three  were  laid  in  one  grave.  A 
91 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

pile  of  stones  marked  their  burial-spot  until 
1817,  when  a  monument  was  placed  above 
it  by  the  people  of  Chester.  The  present 
monument,  a  handsome  granite  shaft,  with 
inscriptions  on  the  four  sides,  was  unveiled 
on  the  centennial  of  the  massacre  in  1877. 

Paoli,  which  borrows  its  name  from  the 
Corsican  general  Pasquale  di  Paoli,  leader 
of  the  revolt  against  the  Genoese,  is  an  old, 
old  place  in  the  midst  of  charming  scenery; 
and,  indeed,  full  of  legend  and  story,  as  are 
nearly  all  the  beautiful  nooks  and  hamlets 
of  Southeastern  Pennsylvania.  There  is 
Swarthmore,  with  its  memories  of  Benjamin 
West;  and  there  are  the  Quaker  villages  of 
Kennett  Square,  Oxford,  and  Calvert ;  Rob 
ert  Fulton's  birthplace  among  the  Cono- 
wingo  Hills,  and  sleepy  Manheim,  on  the 
hitherside  of  Lancaster,  with  its  stories  of 
Baron  Stiegel  and  its  yearly  "  Feast  of  the 
Roses," — all  within  compass  of  a  day's  jour 
ney  by  rail  or  wheel  from  Philadelphia. 

Swarthmore,    the    Springfield    of    other 

days,  was  founded  by  Thomas  Pierson,  the 

friend    and    comrade    of    William     Penn. 

Thomas   Pierson's   daughter   married  John 

92 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

West,  and  one  of  the  children  of  this  union 
was  Benjamin  West,  the  painter.  West  left 
America  when  he  was  twenty-two  years  old 
never  to  return,  but  the  house  in  which  he 
was  born,  a  stone  structure  with  dormer- 
windows  set  squarely  in  the  sloping  roof, 
still  stands  inside  the  college  grounds  at 
Swarthmore  very  like  it  was  in  the  painter's 
youth.  Here,  with  no  guide  save  native 
love  for  the  beautiful,  West  began  to  draw 
and  paint,  and  the  first  expression  of  his 
talent  was  in  the  picture  of  a  sleeping  child, 
drawn  in  this  old  house.  It  is  commonly 
told  that  it  was  his  sleeping  sister  who  in 
spired  him;  but  Benjamin  was  the  youngest 
of  his  father's  children.  The  mother  of  the 
baby  was  Benjamin's  sister.  She  had  come 
with  the  infant  to  spend  a  few  days  with  her 
parents.  When  the  child  was  asleep,  Mrs. 
West  invited  the  mother  to  gather  flowers 
in  the  garden,  giving  the  little  boy  a  fan 
with  which  to  flap  away  the  flies  while  he 
watched  the  baby  in  their  absence. 

The   child   smiled    in   its    sleep.     Seizing 
pen  and  paper,  and  having  fortunately  both 
red  and  black  ink  on  a  table  near  by,  he  drew 
93 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

a  picture  which  he  endeavored  to  conceal 
when  his  mother  and  sister  entered.  The 
mother,  noticing  his  confusion,  requested 
him  to  show  what  he  was  hiding.  Mrs. 
West  looked  at  the  drawing  with  pleasure, 
and  said  to  her  daughter,  "  I  declare,  he  has 
made  a  likeness  of  little  Sally,"  and  kissed 
him  with  fondness  and  satisfaction.  This 
is  chronicled  in  Gait's  "  Life  of  Benjamin 
West"  as  "  the  birth  of  fine  art  in  the  New 
World." 

The  old  house  at  Swarthmore  also  brings 
to  mind  the  piquant  romance  of  which  West 
was  the  hero.  Elizabeth  Shewell  was  an 
orphan  girl  residing  with  her  brother  in 
Philadelphia.  This  brother,  an  ambitious 
man,  urged  her  to  marry  a  wealthy  suitor, 
but  she  refused,  having  already  pledged  her 
vows  to  West.  Thereafter  a  close  watch 
was  kept  upon  the  girl,  and  orders  given 
to  the  servants  to  refuse  admittance  to  West 
if  he  ever  came  to  the  door.  For  five 
years  Elizabeth  waited;  then  assisted  by 
friends,  watching  within  and  without, — 
Benjamin  Franklin  was  one  of  them, — she 
descended  a  rope-ladder  from  the  window 
94 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  her  room,  and  was  hurried  into  a  waiting 
carriage  and  driven  rapidly  to  the  wharf, 
where  a  ship  was  ready  to  sail.  The  father 
of  West  received  her,  cared  for  her  during 
the  voyage,  and  delivered  her  to  the  eager 
lover,  who  came  aboard  the  ship  at  Liver 
pool  and  embraced  her  rapturously. 

"  Hast  thou  no  welcome  for  thy  old  father, 
Benjamin?"  asked  the  aged  Quaker,  who 
stood,  smiling,  to  behold  their  joyful  meet 
ing. 

"  That  I  have,  father !"  cried  the  son,  and 
the  father  never  after  felt  a  moment's  neg 
lect. 

The  lovers,  upon  their  arrival  in  London, 
went  at  once  to  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields,  a 
favorite  church  for  weddings  to  this  day, 
and  marriage  sealed  a  union  which  never 
knew  discord  or  sorrow.  West,  in  after- 
years,  sent  a  portrait  of  his  wife  as  a  peace- 
offering  to  her  brother,  who  never  looked  at 
it,  but  had  it  stowed  away  in  the  garret  of 
his  house.  One  of  his  grandchildren  remem 
bers  having  beaten  with  a  switch  the  portrait 
of  his  "  naughty  aunty"  who  smiled  upon 
the  children  playing  in  the  attic,  where  she 
95 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

had  gone  to  weep,  a  lovelorn  maiden, — 
smiled  upon  them  from  her  calm  estate  of 
wedded  bliss  in  England. 

Swarthmore  lies  midway  between  Paoli 
and  the  Delaware,  and  from  it  a  railroad 
runs  to  Kennett  Square,  another  quaint 
Quaker  village,  now  indissolubly  bound  up 
with  the  name  and  fame  of  Bayard  Taylor. 
This  poet  was  born  and  spent  his  early  youth 
in  or  near  Kennett  Square,  and  when  he  had 
won  fame  and  fortune  he  realized  a  dream 
that  had  haunted  him  in  his  travels  and,  in 
1859,  built  Cedarcraft,  a  dignified  mansion 
placed  in  the  midst  of  a  broad  domain  about 
a  mile  from  the  town  of  Kennett  and  facing 
the  home  of  his  youth.  Nearing  it  from  the 
village,  one  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  house 
through  the  trees  that  cluster  about  it,  but, 
as  one  drives  or  walks  on,  it  is  soon  shut  from 
view  by  a  grove  of  oaks  and  chestnuts  that 
rise  like  a  wall  on  the  hither  side  of  the  es 
tate.  A  low  hill  ascended,  one  comes  to  a 
wide  rustic  gate,  which  opens  into  a  short 
woodland  drive,  at  the  end  of  which  stands 
the  house,  kept  in  excellent  condition  by  its 
present  owner. 

96 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

A  substantial,  two-storied  structure  of  red 
brick,  with  corners  of  gray  granite,  Cedar- 
craft  has  a  spacious  and  a  cosy  look,  such  as 
a  poet's  home  ought  to  have.  Taylor  loved 
it  as  he  did  no  other  spot  on  earth,  and  within 
its  walls  he  did  the  greater  part  of  his  best 
work,  for  it  was  at  Cedarcraft  that  he  wrote 
"  The  Poet's  Journal,"  "  The  Masque  of  the 
Gods,"  "Home  Pastorals,"  and  "  Deuka- 
lion,"  his  two  novels,  "  Joseph  and  his 
Friends"  and  "  The  Story  of  Kennett,"  and 
the  major  portion  of  his  translation  of 
"  Faust," — the  crowning  literary  effort  of 
his  life. 

Taylor  left  Cedarcraft  for  the  last  time  in 
the  summer  of  1877.  He  died  a  few  months 
later  in  Berlin,  whither  he  had  gone  as 
United  States  minister.  In  March,  1879, 
his  body  was  brought  back  to  America  and 
laid  to  rest  in  Longwood  Cemetery,  a  few 
miles  from  Kennett,  where  a  modest  monu 
ment  marks  the  graves  of  the  poet  and  of  his 
first  wife,  Mary  Agnew.  But  it  is  Cedarcraft 
that  is  and  will  long  remain  Taylor's  most 
speaking  memorial.  Its  owner  should  count 
himself  a  fortunate  man,  for  in  possessing 
II.-7  97 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

it  he  possesses  more  than  his  house  and  his 
grounds, — the  home  in  which  a  famous  and 
gifted  poet  once  lived,  and  which  will  always 
be  associated  with  his  memory, — a  shrine  to 
which  reverent  pilgrimages  will  be  made  in 
the  years  to  come. 

Kennett  Square,  a  handful  of  houses  lying 
along  clean  roadways,  remains  as  in  Tay 
lor's  time  a  distinctively  Quaker  community, 
and  Oxford  and  Calvert,  to  the  west  and 
south  of  it,  are  still  given  over  in  the  main 
to  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Cal 
vert,  settled  in  1701,  and  known  until  very 
recently  as  Brick  Meeting-House,  is  the 
oldest  of  the  three,  and  most  of  its  people 
dwell  on  lands  given  to  their  forefathers  by 
William  Penn.  Thrift  rules  in  Calvert,  and 
abstinence  and  prudence  regulate  its  morals. 
The  inhabitants  under  protest  pay  tribute  to 
the  State  and  Federal  governments  and  a 
subsidy  to  support  a  national  army.  More 
over,  there  is  the  tradition  of  a  long-gone 
day,  what  time  the  whole  country  thrilled 
with  martial  music  and  the  tread  of  .soldiers 
marching  to  the  battles  of  the  Civil  War, 
that  came  freighted  with  dire  import  for 
98 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

peaceful  Calvert,  whose  simple  souls  as  yet 
realized  but  dimly  that  war  had  the  nation 
by  its  throat. 

On  the  day  noted,  however,  a  government 
tax-gatherer  invaded  the  community  in  the 
interest  of  his  duty  to  lay  a  war  tax  there, 
and  a  tranquil-minded  patriarch,  the  wealthi 
est  and  most  influential  citizen  of  the  village, 
impelled  by  his  resolute  scruples  against  war 
fare,  persistently  refused  to  pay  his  individ 
ual  assessment.  He  placidly  accompanied 
an  officer  of  the  law  to  the  shire  town  and 
was  lodged  in  the  county  jail,  where,  sus 
tained  by  his  conscience,  he  bore  imprison 
ment  with  meekness  and  fortitude.  After 
he  had  been  confined  there  a  week  or  more 
a  wealthy  citizen  of  another  faith  paid  the 
Quaker's  war  tax,  and  the  old  man  went  back 
to  his  home  and  hill-side  acres. 

Since  then  Calvert  has  been  a  hamlet  with 
out  a  history,  a  domain  given  over  to  peace, 
where  Time's  course  is  as  smooth  as  a  June 
breeze  in  the  meadows.  Peaceful  and  benig 
nant,  yet  retiring  and  self-contained,  the 
Quakers  of  Calvert  seldom,  if  ever,  seek  con 
verts  among  the  people  about  them,  but  on 
99 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

each  First  Day  they  faithfully  gather  at 
the  Old  Brick  Meeting-House,  one  of  the 
Friends'  most  widely  known  landmarks, 
within  the  walls  of  which  seven  generations 
have  worshipped  after  the  fashion  taught  by 
Fox  and  Penn,  and  attendance  at  one  of 
their  meetings  proves  an  experience  not 
likely  to  be  soon  forgotten.  When  all  the 
seats  are  filled  there  is  stillness  for  a  time, 
and  then  the  voice  of  some  Friend  "  moved 
by  the  spirit"  will  be  heard.  Beginning  in 
ordinary  tones,  the  utterance  soon  rises  to 
the  peculiar  sing-song  of  the  sect, — fasci 
nating  and  appropriate  when  used  by  some 
sweet-voiced  woman  Friend,  but  grating 
not  a  little  on  worldly  ears  when  in  the  nasal 
twang  of  some  fervent  male  exhorter.  This 
finished,  perhaps  some  one  will  offer  prayer. 
Now  and  then  a  member  whom  the  spirit  has 
never  moved  before  will  get  up,  speak  a  few 
words,  and  sit  down.  It  is  seldom  that  more 
than  two  or  three  speak.  A  clasp  of  hands 
across  the  low  partition,  which  divides  the 
meeting-room  into  two  parts,  by  the  man 
and  woman  nearest  each  other  on  the  front 
seat  ends  the  service,  and  with  the  rustle  of 

100 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  women's  dresses  and  the  noisier  footfalls 
of  the  worshippers  follows  the  quick  empty 
ing  of  the  house. 

Calvert  was  settled,  as  I  have  said,  in  1701, 
and  the  burial-ground  around  the  Old  Brick 
Meeting-House  is  now  thickly  sown  with 
the  graves  of  the  hamlet's  dead.  One  of 
these  mounds  covers  the  dust  of  a  woman 
whose  career  offers  a  tempting  theme  for 
the  story-teller.  Elizabeth  Maxwell  was  a 
comely  and  spirited  English  maiden,  born  in 
the  opening  year  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Her  mother  and  her  uncle,  Daniel  Defoe, — 
the  same  Daniel  Defoe  who  wrote  "  Rob 
inson  Crusoe"  and  "  The  Plague  in  London," 
— frowned  upon  the  attentions  paid  her  by 
a  young  man  in  London,  and  eighteen-year- 
old  Elizabeth,  angered  by  their  treatment, 
left  home  secretly  and  suddenly  and  took 
passage  on  a  vessel  for  the  New  World. 

The  wilful  girl,  having  no  money  with 
which  to  pay  her  passage,  agreed  with  the 
captain,  as  was  common  in  those  days,  to  be 
sold  for  a  term  of  years  on  reaching  Amer 
ica.  The  sale  occurred  in  Philadelphia  in 
the  fall  of  1718,  a  number  of  other  persons 
101 


RAMBLES"   TN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

who  came  across  the  sea  in  like  manner  being 
offered  at  the  same  time.  Andrew  Job,  of 
Calvert,  attended  the  sale,  purchased  Eliz 
abeth  for  a  period  of  years,  and  took 
her  to  his  home,  where  Thomas  Job,  his 
kinsman,  fell  in  love  with  and  married 
her.  After  her  marriage  she  wrote  her 
relatives  in  London  of  her  circumstances  and 
surroundings.  Her  uncle,  Daniel  Defoe,  re 
plied  that  her  mother  had  died  and  left  prop 
erty  by  will  to  her.  A  list  of  the  property 
came  with  the  letter,  and  her  uncle  was  de 
sirous  that  she  should  take  especial  care  of 
articles  he  had  used  in  his  study,  "  as  they 
had  descended  to  the  family  from  their  Flem 
ish  ancestors,  who  sought  refuge  under  the 
banner  of  Queen  Elizabeth  from  the  tyranny 
of  Philippe."  Among  the  goods  sent  over 
were  two  chairs  he  had  used  in  his  study, 
and  which  are  still  in  the  keeping  of  his 
niece's  descendants.  Mrs.  Job  dwelt  happily 
in  Calvert  until  her  death  in  1782. 

Fulton's  birthplace  is  a  few  miles  west  of 

Oxford,  in  what  was  formerly  Little  Britain 

township,  —  now     Fulton,  —  in     Lancaster 

County.     The  house  in  which  the  inventor 

1 02 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

was  born  is  of  stone,  plastered  outside,  two 
stories  high,  and  one  end  of  the  long,  low 
structure  is  higher  than  the  other.  At  the 
east  end  is  a  small  porch  set  under  the  over 
hanging  roof.  The  side  of  the  house,  which 
is,  perhaps,  fifty  feet  long,  is  near  the  foot 
of  a  sunny  hill-slope,  and  through  the  hollow 
runs  the  Conowingo  Creek,  which  empties 
into  the  Susquehanna.  A  large  white 
modest  barn  is  behind  the  dwelling,  and 
a  rusty,  narrow-gauge  railroad  runs  before 
the  side  yard,  at  the  crossing  of  a  dusty 
clay  road. 

When  Fulton  was  born  in  1765,  the  house 
was  used  as  a  tavern,  and  it  is  said  that  his 
father,  an  Irishman  from  Kilkenny,  was  the 
proprietor  of  it  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
elder  Fulton  fell  into  financial  straits,  and,  in 
1772,  his  home  passed  to  the  ownership  of 
Joseph  Swift,  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  posses 
sion  of  whose  descendants  it  has  remained 
to  this  day.  This  corner  of  Lancaster 
County  has  produced  many  eminent  men. 
David  Ramsay,  the  historian  of  South  Caro 
lina,  was  born  in  Drumore  township,  near 
Fulton  House,  and  Oliver  Evans,  who  is 
103 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

said  to  have  made  the  first  traction  engine 
for  common  roads,  came  into  life  on  the  Red 
Clay  Creek,  which  flows  only  a  few  miles 
from  Fulton's  birthplace. 

Before  he  was  twenty  Fulton  left  Lancas 
ter  County  never  to  return,  but  as  a  child 
playing  about  the  doorway  of  his  father's 
tavern  he  no  doubt  often  saw  Baron  Stiegel 
sweep  by  on  the  way  from  Philadelphia  to 
his  country-seats  at  Manheim  and  Shaeffers- 
town.  Stiegel  was  the  hero  of  an  excep 
tional  career.  Descended  from  a  wealthy  and 
titled  German  family,  he  came  to  America  in 
1750  and  became  one  of  the  pioneer  iron 
masters  and  glass  manufacturers  in  the  colo 
nies.  His  furnace  was  at  Elizabeth  and  his 
glass  factory  at  Manheim.  The  baron  re 
sided  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  married 
an  American  wife,  and  his  frequent  journeys 
to  his  iron-  and  glass-works  were  imposing 
affairs.  The  coach  in  which  he  rode  was 
drawn  by  four,  and  sometimes  eight,  horses. 
Postilions  were  ever  at  hand,  and  hounds 
ran  ahead  of  the  horses. 

The  reception  accorded  the  baron  on  these 
visits  by  his  workmen  and  retainers  was  a 
104 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lordly  one.  At  the  first  sight  of  his  ap 
proach  the  watchman  in  the  cupola  of  the 
mansion  he  had  erected  at  Manheim  fired  a 
cannon,  which  told  the  inhabitants  their 
master  was  coming.  The  citizens  and  a 
band  of  musicians  moved  to  the  residence. 
Into  town  the  baron  swept,  and  was  wel 
comed  with  cheers,  music,  and  cannon.  The 
cannon  at  Manheim  was  heard  at  Elizabeth 
Furnace,  twelve  miles  away,  and  prepara 
tions  were  made  to  receive  him.  On  leaving 
Manheim  a  salute  was  fired,  and  the  furnace 
people  knew  he  was  on  his  way.  Near  Eliza 
beth  there  was  a  high  hill,  on  which  a  cannon 
was  placed,  and  at  the  first  sight  of  the 
baron's  carriage  a  shot  was  fired.  The  work 
men  in  the  furnace  ceased  their  labors  and, 
taking  up  their  music,  prepared  to  receive 
their  master.  From  the  furnace  he  would 
drive  to  Shaefferstown,  where  he  had  erected 
a  large  tower,  on  which  was  a  cannon.  This 
tower,  since  destroyed,  was  erected  for  the 
purpose  of  entertaining  therein  his  intimate 
friends,  and  contained  several  apartments. 

For  the  better  part  of  a  generation  Stiegel 
was  the  wealthiest  resident  of  the  colony,  ex- 
105 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

cept  the  Penns.  But  his  wealth  was  not  un 
limited  nor  his  business  foresight  altogether 
perfect.  He  lived  quite  beyond  his  means 
and  failed.  He  even  was  imprisoned  for 
debt.  Before  the  Revolution  cut  off  his  re 
sources  in  Europe  a  special  act  was  passed 
for  his  relief.  But  he  never  recovered.  His 
towers  stood  as  the  castles  of  folly,  and  his 
former  luxury  mocked  him.  He  died  in  ob 
scurity  when  he  filled  no  higher  position  than 
that  of  a  village  schoolmaster. 

However,  his  memory  is  kept  alive  at 
Manheim  by  his  former  residence,  which 
now  forms  a  part  of  one  of  the  business 
houses  of  the  town,  and  by  a  yearly  function 
as  unique  as  it  is  beautiful.  When,  in  1772, 
the  baron  gave  the  Lutherans  of  Manheim 
land  on  which  to  build  a  church,  he  stipu 
lated  that  the  annual  rent  should  be  "  one  red 
rose  in  the  month  of  June  forever."  Every 
year  this  rental  rose  is  paid  to  the  oldest  of 
Stiegel's  descendants,  and  the  ceremony  at 
tending  its  payment  has  come  to  be  known  as 
the  "  Feast  of  the  Roses."  Until  its  observ 
ance  lapses  the  name  and  fame  of  the  eccen 
tric  baron  will  remain  unforgotten. 
1 06 


CHAPTER    XI 


IMAGINE  a  dingy,  straggling,  unpaved 
town,  shut  in  by  surrounding  hills  and  by  a 
low  line  of  mountains,  a  town  which  stopped 
growing  early  in  the  century,  and  whose 
weather-beaten  dwellings  and  other  build 
ings  show  that  it  has  been  many  a  day  since 
there  has  been  work  for  the  carpenter  and 
painter  to  do,  and  one  will  have  a  fair  idea 
of  the  Dunker  village  of  Ephrata,  which  lies 
twenty  miles  by  rail  from  Lancaster,  Penn 
sylvania,  and  impresses  one  with  the  singu 
lar  sense  of  being  a  place  in  which  something 
is  always  about  to  happen,  but  nothing  ever 
does  happen  in  it,  or  ever  will.  Quieter  it 
could  not  be,  unless  it  were  absolutely  dead. 
The  stranger  let  down  by  chance  in  Ephrata 
might  easily  imagine  himself  in  a  peasant 
village  of  South  Germany,  for  its  founders 
came  from  Witsgenstein,  and  although  it  is 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  since 
107 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

they  built  their  huts  of  log  and  stone  and  took 
up  the  hard,  laborious  lives  of  New  World 
pioneers,  their  descendants  are  still  faithful 
to  the  traditions  and  customs,  and  in  many 
instances  to  the  vernacular  of  the  fatherland. 
The  founders  of  the  curious  sect,  whose 
members  now  own  and  till  the  fertile  acres 
about  Ephrata,  were  first  heard  of  in  Ger 
many  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Only 
three  confessions,  the  Catholics,  the  Luther 
ans,  and  the  Calvinists,  under  the  laws  of  the 
empire,  were  then  allowed  free  exercise  of 
their  religious  worship;  all  others  being 
counted  unsound,  erratic,  and  dangerous,  yet 
in  a  few  secluded  and  scattered  nooks  the 
Separatists  found  not  only  an  asylum  but, 
through  the  sympathy  of  the  rulers,  a  cordial 
welcome.  This  was  the  case  in  the  territories 
of  the  Counts  of  Isenberg  and  Wittgenstein, 
where  in  1708  a  little  group  of  Separatists 
under  the  lead  of  Alexander  Mack,  a  miller 
of  Schriesheim,  resolved  "  to  establish  a  cove 
nant  of  conscience,  and  to  accept  the  teach 
ings  of  Christ  as  a  gentle  yoke,"  solemnizing 
their  union  by  immersion  in  the  river  Eder, 
near  Schwarzenau.  Such  was  the  origin 
108 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  the  Bunkers,  whose  founders  numbered 
less  than  half  a  score,  but  soon  received  con 
siderable  accessions  from  the  Palatinate, 
Wiirtemberg,  and  Switzerland.  Prompted 
by  this  increase  in  numbers,  a  branch  was 
established  at  Marienborn,  in  the  principal 
ity  of  Isenberg,  but  the  halcyon  days  of  the 
infant  sect  were  followed  by  scattering 
storms. 

In  1715  the  members  of  the  Marienborn 
society  removed  to  Crefeld,  and  four  years 
later  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  sought 
an  asylum  in  Pennsylvania,  settling  mainly 
at  Germantown  near  Philadelphia,  where 
they  organized  a  congregation  in  1723.  In 
1729  the  members  of  the  present  society  at 
Schwarzenau  followed  the  example  of  their 
brethren  and  emigrated  to  America.  With 
the  lapse  of  the  years  the  Bunkers  spread  into 
the  interior  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  yearly  conference,  dealing  with  the  com 
mon  concerns  of  the  sect,  was,  in  the  course 
of  time,  alternately  held  east  and  west  of  the 
Susquehanna  River.  Gradually  they  found 
their  way  into  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  the  Western  States  of  Ohio 
109 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

and  Indiana,  and  now  in  every  second  year 
the  conference  is  held  west  of  the  Ohio, 
while  Kansas,  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas,  Colo 
rado,  Idaho,  California,  Oregon,  and  Wash 
ington  have  their  Dunker  congregations.  At 
the  present  time  God's  Peculiar  People,  as 
the  Dunkers  delight  to  call  themselves,  num 
ber  in  the  United  States — for  they  also  have 
missions  in  Europe — about  two  hundred 
thousand  souls,  with  some  two  thousand 
ministers  to  attend  to  their  spiritual  wants, 
none  of  whom  receives  a  salary. 

The  creed  of  the  Dunkards  is  a  naif  and 
simple  one.  "  Be  it  known  unto  all  men," 
writes  one  of  its  exponents  and  defenders, 
"that  there  is  a  people  who,  as  little  chil 
dren,  accept  the  word  of  the  New  Testament 
as  a  message  from  heaven  and  teach  it  in 
full.  They  baptize  believers  by  triune  im 
mersion,  with  a  forward  action,  and  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  lay  hands  on  those 
baptized,  asking  upon  them  the  gift  of  God's 
spirit.  They  follow  the  command  and  ex 
ample  of  washing  one  another's  feet.  They 
take  the  Lord's  Supper  at  night  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  tarrying  one  for  another. 
no 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

They  greet  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss. 
They  teach  all  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  peace, 
love,  unity,  both  faith  and  works.  They 
labor  for  nonconformity  to  the  world  in  its 
vain  and  wicked  customs.  They  advocate 
non-swearing,  anti-secretism,  opposition  to 
war,  and  doing  good  to  all  men.  Theyi 
anoint  and  lay  hands  on  the  sick.  They  give 
the  bread  of  life,  the  message  of  the  com 
mon  salvation,  unto  all  men  without  money 
or  price.  For  the  above  we  contend  ear 
nestly,  and  all  men  are  entreated  to  hear, 
examine,  and  accept  it  as  the  word  which 
began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  and  the 
faith  that  was  delivered  to  the  saints." 

The  dress  and  customs  of  the  Bunkers 
are  as  primitive  as  their  creed.  The  men  let 
their  beards  grow  and  part  their  flowing  hair 
in  the  middle,  and  wear  slouch  hats  and  the 
plainest  of  clothes.  The  garb  of  the  women 
is  equally  plain  and  severe.  There  are  no 
milliners  among  them,  for  each  woman 
makes  her  own  hat,  a  simple  matter,  since 
no  feathers  or  other  ornamentation  is  al 
lowed,  while  the  wearing  of  jewelry  is 
strictly  forbidden.  However,  the  Dunker 
in 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

women  are  seldom  wanting  in  comeliness. 
Their  faces  are  nearly  always  sweet  and 
gentle,  while  an  air  of  almost  saintly  sim 
plicity  is  given  them  by  the  clear-starched 
cap,  the  handkerchief  crossed  on  the  breast, 
the  white  apron,  and  the  plain  gray  or  drab 
stuff  of  their  dresses.  The  Bunkers  live  in 
peace  one  with  another,  and  never  have  re 
course  to  law  to  redress  an  injury  done  to 
them.  Disputes  among  themselves  are  set 
tled  by  the  elders,  whose  decision  is  final, 
and  only  in  exceptional  cases  do  they  insti 
tute  lawsuits  against  the  people  of  the  world. 
They  are  averse  to  accepting  public  office, 
and  rarely,  if  ever,  exercise  the  right  of 
franchise.  However,  the  Dunker  ideal  of 
personal  conduct  is  a  high  one.  They  are 
temperate  to  abstemiousness,  industrious  and 
economical,  and  Carlyle's  gospel  of  work  is 
theirs.  They  allow  no  public  money  to  be 
expended  for  their  poor  or  helpless,  but  pro 
vide  for  them  among  themselves,  and  their 
two  hundred  thousand  members  do  not  in 
clude  any  one  who  suffers  from  want.  Even 
those  who  fail  in  business  are  aided  to  make 
a  new  effort,  and  such  assistance  may  be  lent 

112 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

three  times.  After  the  third  failure,  they 
accept  it  as  the  will  of  God  that  the  unfor 
tunate  brother  shall  not  succeed,  and  thence 
forth  the  aid  given  him  takes  another  form. 
Naifly  primitive  is  the  Dunker  celebration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  is  observed  in  the 
evening,  and  is  always  preceded  in  the  after 
noon  by  a  love-feast.  This  commemorates 
the  supper  which  Jesus  took  with  His  disci 
ples,  and  is  a  solemn  religious  festivity,  each 
Dunker  church  having  its  kitchen  provided 
with  great  kettles  and  plain  dishes  for  its 
proper  observance.  When  the  occasion  is 
at  hand,  after  a  day  of  preaching,  a  lamb  is 
killed  and  a  clear  soup  is  made,  into  which 
bread  is  broken,  and  then  served  in  great 
bowls  placed  on  long  and  very  narrow  tables, 
at  each  side  of  which  sit  the  participants, 
four  persons  eating  from  each  bowl.  After 
the  eating  of  the  broth  comes  the  ceremony 
known  as  the  washing  of  feet,  each  sex  per 
forming  this  duty  for  its  own.  Those  who 
are  to  engage  in  the  ordinance  presently  enter 
the  meeting,  carrying  tubs  of  lukewarm 
water,  and  each  member  on  the  front  benches 
removes  his  or  her  shoes  and  stockings.  A 
II.-8  113 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

man  on  the  men's  side  and  a  woman  on  the 
women's  side  then  wash  the  feet  one  by  one, 
taking  the  right  hand  of  each  individual  as 
they  finish  the  washing,  and  giving  the  kiss 
of  peace.  As  one  benchful  has  the  ceremony 
performed,  it  gives  place  to  another,  the  min 
ister  or  teachers  meanwhile  making  a  brief 
speech  or  reading  appropriate  portions  of 
Scripture  relating  to  the  subject. 

Following  this  ceremony  comes  the  supper 
itself.  Each  third  bench  is  so  arranged  that 
the  back  can  be  turned  upon  a  pivot  at  each 
end,  so  as  to  form  the  top  of  a  long  table. 
This  is  covered  with  a  white  cloth,  and  pres 
ently  brothers  and  sisters  enter,  bearing  large 
bowls  of  soup,  plates  of  bread  and  meat,  and 
pies  and  coffee.  Three  or  four  people  help 
themselves  out  of  the  same  dish,  and  the  cere 
mony  known  as  the  salutation  of  the  holy 
kiss  concludes  the  supper.  Each  brother  im 
parts  a  hearty  kiss  on  the  bearded  lips  of  his 
neighbor  at  table,  and  in  the  same  manner 
each  sister  kisses  her  sister  companion  sitting 
nearest  to  her.  The  communion  service 
which  follows  consists  in  the  breaking  of 
unleavened  bread  and  the  drinking  of  unfer- 
114 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

mented  wine,  the  whole  ceremony  being  con 
cluded  by  the  singing  of  hymns  and  preach 
ing.  This  the  Bunkers  contend  is  the  only 
true  method  of  administering  the  ordinance 
of  the  Last  Supper,  and  also  hold  that  it  is 
an  exact  and  faithful  copy  of  that  ceremony 
as  celebrated  in  the  earliest  Christian  Church. 
Not  less  interesting  than  the  foregoing  is 
the  Dunker  ordinance  of  anointing  the  sick 
with  oil.  The  sick  one  calls  upon  the  elders 
of  the  meeting,  and  at  a  settled  time  the  cere 
mony  is  performed.  It  consists  of  pouring 
oil  upon  the  head  of  the  sick  person,  and  of 
laying  hands  upon  and  praying  over  him. 

Dunker  or  Tunker  comes  from  the  Ger 
man  tunker,  which  means  to  dip,  and 
rigid  adherence  is  still  given  to  the  doctrine 
laid  down  by  Mack,  that  no  soul  can  hope  to 
enter  the  realms  of  the  blest  unless  the  body 
has  been  plunged  three  times  face  downward 
into  the  water.  Nor  is  the  method  ever  mod 
ified  by  stress  of  weather.  It  is  not  uncom 
mon  in  the  winter  to  see  a  party  of  stalwart 
Bunkers  chopping  through  six  or  eight 
inches  of  ice  in  order  to  clear  a  space  in  which 
to  immerse  the  faithful,  who  piously  pray 
115 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

God  to  "  write  their  names  in  the  Book  of 
Life,"  and  I  shall  long  remember  a  Dunker 
dipping  of  which  I  was  a  witness  on  a  bitter 
January  day  several  years  ago.  It  occurred 
at  a  spring  on  the  farm  of  a  Dunker  named 
Hostetter,  who  lives  not  far  from  Ephrata. 
There  was  little  delay  after  those  who  were 
expected  had  arrived,  and  soon  the  demure 
procession  left  the  farm-house  for  the  spring. 
The  three  men  who  were  about  to  make  pub 
lic  profession  of  their  faith  by  dipping  in  the 
icy  water  wore  only  their  shirts,  trousers, 
and  shoes,  and  were  closely  muffled  up  in 
buffalo-robes.  The  four  women — three  of 
them  were  buxom  maidens  and  the  other  a 
gray-haired  matron — were  clad  in  loose 
gowns  of  some  coarse  material,  and  were 
also  muffled  in  blankets,  shawls,  and  robes. 

When  the  spring  was  reached  the  Dunker 
faithful  formed  a  circle  on  the  edge  of  the 
stream  and  Preacher  Amos  Holtenstein  of 
fered  a  prayer,  invoking  the  Divine  blessing 
upon  the  water.  Then  the  preacher,  who  had 
a  long  stick  in  his  hand,  waded  into  the 
water.  He  felt  around  with  his  cane  until 
he  came  to  what  appeared  to  be  a  favorable 
116 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

spot,  when  he  indicated  that  he  was  ready 
to  receive  the  first  candidate  for  dipping. 
Preacher  Jesse  Sonan  led  a  young  man  to 
the  edge  of  the  brook.  His  bronzed  cheeks 
seemed  to  have  a  heightened  color  and  a 
bright  light  shone  in  his  eye,  but  his  evident 
determination  did  not  prevent  the  shiver  that 
passed  over  him  as  his  legs  came  in  contact 
with  the  cold  water,  and  his  teeth  chattered 
as  he  returned  his  replies  to  the  solemn  ques 
tions  of  the  preacher.  The  first  thing  the 
latter  did  was  to  throw  water  over  the  shoul 
ders,  neck,  and  that  part  of  the  young  man's 
body  not  covered  by  the  stream,  in  order  that 
no  portion  should  remain  untouched.  Then 
the  questions  were  asked  and  answered  in 
Pennsylvania  Dutch,  and  the  supreme  mo 
ment  came  when  Preacher  Holtenstein  pro 
nounced  the  solemn  formula,  "  In  namen  der 
Dreinichte,  Fader,  Sohn  und  Heilichen 
Geist."  At  each  mention  of  the  name  of  the 
Deity  the  preacher  plunged  the  head  of  the 
young  man  beneath  the  water  face  down 
ward.  Then,  while  the  man  knelt  in  the 
water,  the  preacher  prayed  that  his  name 
might  be  written  in  the  Book  of  Life,  a  kiss 
117 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

upon  the  cheek  concluding  the  ceremony. 
Exactly  the  same  form  was  observed  with 
the  six  other  candidates,  save  that  whereas 
the  preacher  kissed  the  men,  he  did  not  kiss 
the  women. 

A  singular  feature  of  the  occasion  was  the 
seeming  insensibility  to  the  cold  shown  by 
Preacher  Holtenstein,  who  though  in  the 
water  for  upward  of  an  hour  appeared  to 
suffer  no  discomfort.  In  answer  to  a  ques 
tion,  he  said  reverently  that  he  knew  the 
Lord  gave  him  strength  and  upheld  those 
who  were  thus  baptized  in  winter  weather, 
quaintly  adding,  "  I  have  baptized  more  than 
three  hundred  in  just  such  weather  as  this 
and  not  one  died."  Preacher  Holtenstein, 
it  may  be  observed  in  passing,  is  an  admi 
rable  example  of  the  Dunker  minister,  who 
is  chosen  from  the  laity  by  the  members 
of  the  church,  he  who  receives  the  largest 
number  of  votes  being  pronounced  elected. 
These  elections  are  summoned  by  the  elders 
of  the  church,  who  preside  over  them  and 
receive  the  votes  of  the  people,  either  viva 
voce,  in  whispers,  or  by  closed  ballots.  The 
successful  candidate  is  expected  to  support 
118 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

himself, — he  is  usually  a  prosperous  farmer, 
— and,  as  already  stated,  receives  nothing 
for  his  labors  as  a  shepherd  to  his  flock. 
Under  these  conditions,  as  might  be  ex 
pected,  a  man  loses  something  of  effective 
ness  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  Bunker  preacher's 
sermons  are  usually  expositions  of  the  pecu 
liar  doctrines  of  his  sect.  They  seem,  how 
ever,  to  be  a  means  of  grace  to  those  who 
listen  to  them  and  to  breed  an  enviable  fibre 
of  endurance. 

There  have  been  from  time  to  time  more 
or  less  important  secessions  from  the  Bunker 
Church,  and  of  the  strangest,  most  remark 
able  of  these  Ephrata  boasts  the  mute  yet  elo 
quent  reminders  in  a  curious  pile  of  buildings 
of  odd,  old-fashioned  architecture,  which 
were  once  the  home  and  habitat  of  Conrad 
Beissel's  singular  Order  of  the  Solitary. 
Beissel,  who  learned  the  trade  of  weaver 
under  Peter  Becker,  the  first  Bunker 
preacher  in  this  country,  was  a  man  of  intel 
ligence  and  education.  Accepting  the  idea 
of  primitive  Christianity  inculcated  by  the 
Bunkers^  he  saw  no  reason  why  they  should 
stop  short  of  complete  reformation  and  re- 
119 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

turn  to  the  principles  of  apostolic  times  in 
respect  to  observing  the  seventh  instead  of 
the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath. 
Upon  this  subject  he  wrote  a  tract,  which 
he  published  in  1728.  This  created  great 
disturbance  among  the  Dunkers  and  led  to 
numerous  withdrawals  from  the  society, 
Beissel  himself  retiring  to  a  cave  at  the 
future  site  of  Ephrata  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cocalico  and  taking  up  the  life  of  a  recluse. 
Here  he  was  joined  by  many  of  his  old 
friends,  together  with  others  who,  made  con 
verts  by  his  tracts,  settled  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  his  once  solitary  habitation. 

At  the  end  of  four  years  this  recluse  life 
was  changed  to  a  monastic  one,  and  in  1735 
the  first  cenobitic  building,  called  Kedar,  was 
put  up  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  to  which 
Beissel,  in  allusion  to  the  I32d  Psalm,  had 
given  the  name  of  Ephrata.  It  contained 
a  large  room  for  religious  exercise,  halls  for 
love-feasts  and  feet-washing,  and  several 
cells  for  solitary  brethren  and  sisters,  the 
latter  occupying  the  second  story.  Monastic 
names  were  given  to  all  who  entered  it,  the 
prior,  Israel  Echerlin,  taking  the  name  of 

120 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Onesimus,  and  Beissel,  who  steadily  refused 
to  accept  any  position  of  influence,  that  of 
Friedsam,  together  with  the  title  of  Spiritual 
Father  of  the  community.  No  vows  of  celi 
bacy  were  exacted  or  taken,  but  the  idea  was 
considerably  inculcated,  while  the  habit  of 
the  Capuchins,  or  White  Friars,  was  early 
adopted  by  the  members  of  the  new  society. 
The  brothers  wore  shirt,  trousers,  and  vests, 
with  a  long  white  gown  and  cowl,  and  the 
costume  of  the  sisters  was  the  same,  with  the 
exception  of  a  coarse  flannel  petticoat  sub 
stituted  for  the  trousers  and  the  addition  of 
a  large  veil  reaching  front  and  back  to  the 
girdle,  and  resembling  a  scapulary.  The  gar 
ments  used  in  winter  were  of  wool,  and  in 
summer  of  linen  and  cotton.  Both  sexes 
went  barefooted  during  the  warm  season. 

From  time  to  time  other  buildings,  de 
signed  to  serve  religious,  residential,  or  in 
dustrial  purposes,  were  added  to  the  Kloster. 
In  1738  a  large  house,  called  Zion,  was 
built;  another,  Peniel,  went  up  in  1741,  and 
in  1745  Saron,  one  of  the  buildings  still 
standing,  was  erected  as  a  convent  for  self- 
divorced  couples,  the  men  and  the  women 

121 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

living  in  different  parts  of  the  house.  The 
plan,  however,  would  not  work.  The  letters 
of  divorce  were  torn  up  by  mutual  consent; 
the  couples  returned  to  their  homesteads,  and 
Saron  was  assigned  to  the  sisters.  New 
quarters  being  required  for  the  monks,  Beth- 
ania  was  built  in  1746,  with  accommodations 
for  one  hundred  solitary  brethren.  The 
Kloster,  which  now  included  some  three 
hundred  persons,  had  been  from  the  first  a 
hive  of  industry.  There  were  no  idlers, 
and  work  was  found  for  all  on  the  farm, 
where  at  first  the  brethren  themselves  took 
the  place  of  horses  and  oxen  at  the  plough; 
in  the  mills,  at  a  trade,  in  the  copying-room, 
in  the  printing-office  or  the  bindery.  There 
was  no  end  of  building,  and  all  the  labor  was 
done  by  members  of  the  society,  which  thus 
made  itself  independent  of  the  outside  world. 
Its  mills  were  for  many  years  the  most  exten 
sive  in  the  colony,  embracing  flour-,  paper-, 
saw-,  and  fulling-mills,  of  which  few  traces 
now  remain,  while  at  Ephrata  was  erected  in 
1742  one  of  the  first  printing-presses  set  up 
in  Pennsylvania,  on  it  being  printed  most  of 
the  books  and  tracts  of  the  society,  which  are 

122 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

now  eagerly  sought  after  by  bibliophiles.  Its 
wealth  was  for  many  years  the  common 
stock  of  the  society,  the  income  being  de 
voted  to  the  common  support,  and  those  who 
applied  for  membership  being  compelled  to 
surrender  all  they  had,  absolutely  and  with 
out  reserve.  Thus,  more  than  a  century 
before  Proudhon  ventured  upon  the  bold 
paradox  that  property  is  theft,  his  doctrine 
had  been  taught  and  practised  by  Beissel 
and  his  followers. 

Not  the  least  singular  among  the  singular 
customs  of  the  Kloster  were  the  love-feasts 
and  the  night  services.  The  former  were 
held  now  and  then  at  the  houses  of  affiliated 
brethren,  but  most  often  in  the  halls  of  the 
convent,  sometimes  for  one  sex,  at  other 
times  for  both.  The  night  services  were 
held  whenever  Beissel,  or  Father  Friedsam, 
as  he  was  called  by  his  followers,  gave  the 
summons.  This  he  occasionally  did  without 
previous  announcement  by  pulling  at  a  bell- 
cord  that  stretched  from  his  dwelling  to  the 
male  and  female  cloisters,  whereupon,  no 
matter  what  the  hour,  all  had  to  dress  and 
hasten  to  the  meeting-place.  Like  the  Dun- 
123 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

kers  from  whom  they  had  seceded,  Beissel 
and  his  adherents  regarded  the  strict  and 
literal  interpretation  of  the  Bible  as  the  only 
rule  of  faith.  They  administered  apostolic 
baptism  with  triune  immersion,  laying  on 
hands  and  praying  while  the  recipient  still 
knelt  in  the  water,  and  they  celebrated  the 
Lord's  Supper  at  night,  greeting  one  an 
other  with  a  kiss  and  washing  each  other's 
feet. 

Conventual  life  at  Ephrata  was  of  the  se 
verest  kind.  The  cells  wrere  only  twenty 
inches  wide  and  five  feet  high,  and  a  bench, 
with  a  billet  of  wood  for  the  head,  was  the 
couch  of  each  inmate,  while  the  corridors 
were  so  narrow  that  two  persons  could  not 
pass,  and  if  a  chance  meeting  occurred,  one 
had  to  back  to  the  opening  of  a  cell  and  stand 
in  the  niche  until  the  other  had  passed.  The 
fare  of  the  inmates  was  fruit  and  vegetables, 
and  they  ate  from  wooden  plates  and  drank 
from  wooden  goblets.  Beissel,  who  was  an 
accomplished  musician,  composed  all  the 
hymns  sung  at  the  gatherings  of  the  society 
and  trained  several  female  choirs,  whose 
singing  is  described  by  those  who  heard  it  as 
124 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

being  exceptionally  sweet  and  tender.  "  The 
performers,"  writes  one  visitor  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Penn,  "  sat  with  their  heads  re 
clined,  their  countenances  solemn  and  de 
jected,  their  faces  pale  and  emaciated  from 
their  manner  of  living,  the  clothing  exceed 
ing  white  and  quite  picturesque,  and  their 
music  such  as  thrilled  the  very  soul.  I  al 
most  began  to  think  myself  in  the  world 
of  spirits."  Many  of  Beissel's  manuscript 
hymns — he  is  said  to  have  composed  upward 
of  four  hundred  airs — are  still  preserved  in 
and  about  Ephrata.  Some  of  them  are  mar 
vels  of  beauty  and  artistic  penmanship,  the 
result  of  months,  mayhap  years,  of  toil  by 
those  who  copied  them,  and  would  be  a  prize 
for  the  antiquarian,  could  access  be  gained 
to  them. 

Tradition  has  it  that  the  copyist  most  skil 
ful  in  transcribing  Beissel's  manuscripts  was 
Sister  Tabea,  a  Swiss  girl  of  beautiful  face 
and  figure,  who  before  she  joined  the  Society 
of  the  Solitary  had  been  known  to  the  world 
as  Margaret  Thome.  There  were  those  who 
said  that  she  was  of  too  lively  a  disposition 
to  end  her  days  in  nun's  garb.  At  any  rate, 
125 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

when  Daniel  Scheible  began  to  send  her  love- 
letters  she  failed  to  inform  those  in  authority 
of  this  breach  of  rule,  for  who  ever  knew  of 
a  maid  displeased  with  proofs  of  the  affection 
of  a  personable  youth  ?  The  parents  of  Sis 
ter  Tabea's  lover  had  been  Bunkers  who  had 
sought  an  asylum  in  America  by  taking  ship 
for  Philadelphia,  agreeing  to  be  sold  for  a 
term  of  years  to  pay  for  the  fare.  They 
died  on  the  passage,  and  their  son  was  sold 
for  the  rest  of  his  minority  to  cancel  their 
unpaid  debt.  As  a  promising  boy  he  had 
been  bought  by  the  Ephrata  brotherhood 
and  bred  into  the  fraternity,  where,  with  the 
audacity  of  youth,  he  conceived  a  great  pas 
sion  for  Sister  Tabea,  sending  her  any  num 
ber  of  surreptitious  notes,  in  which  he  set 
forth  the  golden  future  within  their  reach 
provided  she  would  marry  and  go  away  with 
him  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  planning, 
now  that  his  apprenticeship  was  about  to  ex 
pire,  to  seek  his  fortune. 

At  first  Sister  Tabea  paid  no  heed  to  these 
tender  missives ;   then  she  sent  an  answer  to 
one  of  them,  and  in  the  end,  after  many  fluc 
tuations  in  mind,  she  promised  Scheible  to 
126 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

forsake  the  convent  for  the  joys  of  a  home. 
The  day  of  the  wedding  was  fixed  by  means 
of  the  notes  which  she  continued  to  secretly 
exchange  with  Scheible,  and  she  prepared  to 
leave  Saron  and  Ephrata  for  good  and  all. 
But  when  she  went  to  take  leave  of  Beissel 
her  resolution  failed  her.  Deep  in  the  in 
most  recesses  of  her  heart  she  had  all  along 
loved  Brother  Friedsam  more  fondly  than 
she  did  all  other  men,  and  now  bursting  into 
tears,  she  declared  that  she  had  denied  the 
Lord,  and  begged  for  permission  to  renew 
her  vows  to  the  society.  This  was  given 
her,  and  Scheible,  after  vainly  trying  to  per 
suade  her  to  redeem  the  pledge  she  had  given 
to  him,  took  solitary  and  sorrowful  leave  of 
Ephrata,  nor  did  the  little  village  ever  see 
him  more.  The  next  Saturday,  for  the  sev 
enth  day  was  the  Ephrata  Sabbath,  Tabea 
took  a  new,  solemn,  and  irrevocable  vow; 
and  from  that  hour  until  the  day  of  her 
death  she  was  called  Sister  Anastasia, — the 
name  signifying  that  she  had  been  reestab 
lished.  What  source  of  consolation  she  had 
her  companions  never  divined,  for  how 
should  they  guess  that  alongside  her  relig- 
127 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ions  fervor  grew  a  tender  and  self -nurtured 
human  love.  And  I  doubt  if  Brother  Fried- 
sam  ever  suspected  the  truth. 

He  died  in  1768,  and  his  spiritual  leader 
ship  devolved  upon  Peter  Miller,  who  for 
many  years  had  been  prior  of  the  order,  and 
was  a  man  of  great  learning  and  saintly  life. 
He  was,  moreover,  an  ardent  patriot,  and 
during  the  Revolution  won  and  held  the 
friendship  of  many  of  the  leaders,  including 
Washington.  The  story  of  one  of  Miller's 
meetings  with  the  latter  demands  a  place  in 
this  chronicle.  One  Michael  Widman,  an 
innkeeper  of  the  countryside  and  a  stanch 
.member  of  the  Bunker  Church,  had  con 
ceived  a  spiteful  feeling  against  Miller  be 
cause  he  had  renounced  the  Dunker  creed 
to  join  the  Ephrata  brotherhood.  When 
abusive  language  failed  to  ruffle  Miller's 
temper,  Widman  went  so  far  as  to  spit  in 
his  face  without  provoking  to  anger  the 
meek  and  gentle  head  of  the  Order  of  the 
Solitary.  Time,  however,  brought  an  op 
portunity  for  revenge:  during  the  Revolu 
tion  Widman  acted  as  a  spy  for  the  British, 
an  offence  that  when  he  fell  into  the  hands 
128 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  the  Americans  brought  him  under  a  sen 
tence  of  death.  News  of  his  impending  fate 
soon  reached  Ephrata,  and  was  received  with 
unanimous  approval.  Not  quite  unanimous, 
for  there  was  one  voice  raised  on  Widman's 
behalf,  that  of  Peter  Miller,  who  not  content 
with  mere  words  set  out  at  once  for  Valley 
Forge,  where,  aided  by  General  Lee,  who  in 
more  peaceful  times  had  been  a  frequent 
visitor  at  Ephrata,  he  secured  a  prompt  au 
dience  with  Washington. 

Brother  Jabez,  as  Miller  was  known 
among  the  brethren,  begged  long  and  ear 
nestly  for  the  life  of  the  innkeeper,  but  the 
patriot  commander  refused  to  interfere, 
pleading  the  urgent  need  for  severity  in  such 
cases.  "  Otherwise,"  he  added,  "  I  would 
cheerfully  release  your  friend."  "  Friend !" 
was  Miller's  astonished  reply,  "  he  is  my 
worst  enemy,  my  unwearied  reviler.  And 
being  such,  my  creed  commands  me  to  pray 
for  those  who  despitefully  use  me,  and  as 
such,  I  pray  and  beseech  you  in  his  behalf." 
Washington  could  not  resist  this  noble 
prayer  for  a  bitter  enemy.  '  The  pardon 
is  granted,"  runs  the  chronicle,  "  and  the 
II. — 9  129 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

prior,  with  anxious  heart  lest  he  should  be 
too  late,  fares  forth  on  a  second  errand  of 
mercy.  After  a  weary  day's  journey  he 
reaches  the  block-house  where  Widman  is 
confined.  He  finds  a  hollow  square  drawn 
up  before  it,  a  gibbet  in  the  centre,  and  the 
innkeeper,  with  the  rope  around  his  neck, 
addressing  the  crowd.  Peter  Miller  pushes 
his  way  through  the  throng  and  hands  his 
papers  to  the  commanding  officer.  The  cul 
prit  sees  him  and  his  pale  face  is  covered 
with  blushes.  Once  more  he  raises  his  voice 
and  tries  to  excuse  his  conduct,  appealing 
to  Peter  Miller  to  forgive  him  now  that  he 
stands  on  the  brink  of  eternity,  but  the  officer 
curtly  interrupts  him  with,  '  Your  life  is 
spared,  and  here  is  your  deliverer.'  '  The 
colonial  records  show  that  Widman  did  not 
escape  all  punishment,  for  his  property,  con 
sisting  of  several  farms  and  houses,  was 
confiscated  and  sold  in  March,  1780. 

The  inscription  on  the  stone  above  Miller's 
grave  in  the  burial-ground  at  Ephrata,  where 
the  brethren  and  sisters  lie  in  long  rows 
under  the  soft  green  turf,  tells  the  visitor 
that  he  "  fell  asleep  September  nth,  1796." 
130 


RAMBLES    IN  COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

But  long  before  his  death  the  fortunes  of 
the  Order  of  the  Solitary  began  to  decline, 
since  with  each  passing  year  the  world's 
people  trespassed  more  boldly  on  the  wilder 
ness  refuge  of  the  brotherhood.  Thus,  time 
came  when  only  a  few  aged  monks  and  nuns 
lingered  in  the  desolate  convents,  and  in 
1814,  with  the  consent  and  at  the  request 
of  the  few  surviving  members,  the  Seventh- 
Day  Baptists  of  Ephrata  were  incorporated 
to  succeed  to  the  property  rights  of  the  dying 
fraternity,  since  which  time  the  land  and 
buildings  of  the  Solitary  have  been  held  in 
trust  for  "  religious,  charitable,  and  literary 
objects." 

In  these  latter  days  Ephrata  has  become  a 
popular  summer  resort,  but  the  follower  in 
the  footsteps  of  Beissel,  when  he  alights  in 
the  quaint  old  town,  will  travel  in  another 
direction  than  that  taken  by  the  modern 
pleasure-seeker.  A  half-mile  walk  from  the 
railroad  station  brings  one  to  an  old  wooden 
bridge,  spanning  the  Cocalico,  on  the  farther 
side  of  which  a  footpath,  winding  to  the  left 
past  an  ancient  grist-mill,  leads  to  Bethania 
and  Saron,  where  once  dwelt  the  monks  and 
131 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

nuns  of  Ephrata.  Entering  Bethania's  low 
and  narrow  door, — outside,  a  high  gable 
roof,  small  windows,  and  shingled  walls, 
blackened  by  time  and  the  elements,  give  the 
huge  structure  a  strange  and  outlandish  ap 
pearance, — one  finds  one's  self  in  a  dimly 
lighted  hallway  running  the  entire  length 
of  the  building.  No  sound  breaks  the  still 
ness  and  the  place  seems  wholly  deserted. 
Tiny  cells,  bare  of  furnishing,  flank  both 
sides  of  the  hallway  just  referred  to,  and 
the  upper  stories,  reached  by  dark  and  nar 
row  stairways,  are  arranged  in  much  the 
same  way.  Time  was,  as  I  have  shown, 
when  Bethania  housed  many  score  of  soli 
tary  brethren,  but  its  only  occupants  at  the 
present  day  are  a  few  families  of  Seventh- 
Day  Baptists. 

Saron,  or  the  Sisters'  House,  stands  at  the 
other  end  of  a  well-kept  meadow.  In  cross 
ing  to  it  two  small  buildings  are  passed,  one 
of  which  was  long  occupied  by  Beissel,  the 
founder  of  Ephrata  and  the  cloister.  Both 
of  these  are  now  fallen  into  sad  decay. 
Saron,  the  present  home  of  a  number  of 
widows  and  spinsters,  all  members  of  the 
132 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church,  in  outward 
appearance  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  its 
mate,  Bethania,  but  its  interior  has  been 
greatly  altered,  probably  to  meet  modern 
needs  and  demands.  In  one  room,  devoted 
to  the  purpose,  are  displayed  a  number  of 
rare  and  beautiful  manuscripts  and  a  goodly 
collection  of  the  books  printed  on  the  famous 
press  of  Ephrata,  the  specimens  of  orna 
mental  penmanship  shown  clearly  evidencing 
the  skill  and  adeptness  in  this  field  of  comely 
Anastasia  and  her  pious  sisters.  After 
Bethania  and  Saron  the  most  interesting 
relic  of  Beissel's  society  is  Saal,  which  from 
Ephrata's  infancy  until  the  present  time  has 
been  used  as  a  place  of  worship.  Charts 
and  allegorical  pictures,  the  latter  portraying 
the  life  and  destiny  of  the  inmates  of  the 
cloister,  cover  the  walls  of  the  main  room, 
and  above  its  entrance  hangs  a  tablet  on 
which  is  inscribed, — 

"  The  house  is  entered  through  this  door 
By  peaceful  souls  that  dwell  within. 
Those  that  have  come  will  part  no  more, 
For  God  protects  them  here  from  sin, 
Their  bliss  is  found  in  forms  of  love, 
That  springs  from  loving  God  above." 
133 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

The  Order  of  the  Solitary  had  at  least  one 
singular  offspring.  I  have  said  that  that 
which  was  most  remarkable  at  Ephrata 
was  the  music.  About  the  year  1800  it 
attracted  the  attention  and  evoked  the  admi 
ration  of  one  Peter  Lehman, — and  thus  the 
nunnery  of  Snow  Hill  had  its  origin,  for, 
when,  a  little  later,  he  became  the  pastor  of 
a  Seventh-Day  Baptist  church  near  Waynes-' 
boro,  in  the  southern  portion  of  Franklin 
County,  Pennsylvania,  then  a  comparative 
wilderness,  he  at  once  introduced  the 
Ephrata  church  music  there,  and  on  a  farm 
belonging  to  one  of  his  followers  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  religious  institution  pat 
terned  after  the  Order  of  the  Solitary.  At 
first  there  were  only  four  inmates  of  the 
Snow  Hill  nunnery,  single  men  and  women, 
who  agreed  to  become  members,  to  work  for 
their  board  and  clothing,  and  to  abide  by  the 
rules  of  the  society.  However,  others  soon 
joined  the  original  members,  and  for  many 
years  the  average  number  of  persons  living 
at  the  nunnery  was  fifty.  Any  Seventh- 
Day  Baptist  in  good  standing  was  eligible 
to  membership  in  the  "  Monastical  Society 
134 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  Snow  Hill"  provided  he  or  she  was  will 
ing  to  come  out  from  the  world  and  be  sepa 
rate;  to  give  up  all  worldly  goods  to  the 
society  and  to  lead  a  life  of  celibacy.  The 
vows  were  not  necessarily  for  life,  but  very 
few  of  those  who  entered  ever  returned  to 
the  world.  No  one  having  a  husband  or 
wife  living  was  admitted,  but  widows  and 
widowers  could  become  members.  All  new 
comers  were  obliged  to  serve  a  novitiate  of 
one  year,  after  which,  if  satisfactory,  they 
were  admitted  to  full  membership  and  re 
ceived  a  new  name.  Those  who  desired  to 
marry  or  to  see  more  of  the  world  were  free 
to  leave  and  carry  with  them  everything 
they  had  brought  in,  but  nothing  they  had 
acquired  while  members  of  the  order. 

The  brothers  at  Snow  Hill  raised  stock, 
tilled  a  large  farm,  and  operated  a  flouring- 
mill,  while  the  sisters  sowed  and  spun  flax, 
wove  and  made  linen  and  woollen  cloth,  and 
gathered  herbs  for  their  own  use.  The  sis 
ters  who  cooked  one  week  made  butter  the 
next,  and  the  millers  of  one  seven  days 
tended  sheep  the  following  half  fortnight. 
Idleness  was  not  permitted,  neither  was  over- 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

work,  and  an  abundance  of  wholesome  food 
robbed  the  life  of  the  monastics  of  severity. 
The  whole  society  ate  their  meals  in  one 
dining-room,  the  male  members  by  them 
selves  at  one  long  table  and  the  females  at 
another.  Prayers  were  attended  twice  a 
day,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  at 
sunset,  the  brothers  and  sisters  again  sit 
ting  apart  from  each  other.  The  observance 
of  the  Seventh  Day  began  with  services  on 
Friday  evening,  and  continued  all  of  Satur 
day,  but,  of  course,  on  the  First  Day,  or 
Sunday,  ordinary  vocations  were  pursued. 
Interspersed  with  the  secular  duties  at  the 
nunnery  were  classes  in  history,  music,  and 
theology,  to  the  study  of  which  all  applied 
themselves  diligently,  under  the  administra 
tion  of  Peter  Lehman,  who  acted  as  prior 
or  father.  As  was  to  be  expected,  its  music 
was  the  most  attractive  feature  of  the  Snow 
Hill  society,  and  the  singing  of  its  choir, 
after  years  of  study  and  practice,  is  described 
as  exceedingly  sweet  and  beautiful.  The 
evening  service  of  song  was  held  in  the  small, 
low-roofed  chapel,  indented  in  the  walls  of 
which  are  copies  in  ancient  German  text  of 
136 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  Lord's  Prayer  and  other  inscriptions, 
now  almost  obliterated  by  the  ravages  of  the 
years,  and  travellers  often  journeyed  many 
miles  to  listen  to  it.  Nor  did  the  brothers  fail 
to  carry  on  an  active  and  successful  propa 
ganda  among  the  people  of  the  countryside. 
Hundreds  of  converts  were  baptized  in  the 
brook  which  runs  through  the  society's  farm, 
and  the  affiliated  members  of  the  order  soon 
spread  through  the  surrounding  country,  be 
coming  prosperous  farmers  and  artisans,  and 
building  for  themselves  a  church  on  the  nun 
nery  farm.  Annual  meetings  are  still  held 
in  this  old  building,  and  to  them  come  from 
the  adjacent  country  and  from  Ohio  and 
Kentucky  the  numerous  descendants  of  the 
builders,  who  cling  with  pious,  single-minded 
zeal  to  the  faith  of  their  forbears. 

The  home  of  the  Snow  Hill  devotees  was, 
in  most  respects,  a  fitting  one,  a  group  of 
buildings  erected  at  different  periods,  low 
and  rambling  in  appearance,  with  quaint 
dormer-windows  and  a  belfry  of  antique  pat 
tern  surmounting  the  roof  of  the  main  struc 
ture,  the  interior  of  which  consists  of  a  maze 
of  rooms  through  which  it  is  almost  im- 
i37 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

possible  for  the  stranger  to  find  his  way. 
The  original  cloister  was  erected  in  1814, 
the  chapel  in  1836,  a  brothers'  house  in  1839, 
and  a  sisters'  house  four  years  later.  Shops 
were  also  erected  all  over  the  place,  each  half 
a  century  ago  a  hive  of  industry.  Now, 
however,  all  is  changed  at  Snow  Hill.  The 
causes  which  worked  for  the  decline  and 
fall  of  the  Order  of  the  Solitary  have  also 
brought  about  the  eclipse  of  its  offspring. 
The  tokens  of  ruin  and  decay  are  everywhere 
apparent  about  the  buildings  at  Snow  Hill, 
and  for  more  than  three  decades  the  waning 
of  the  fortunes  of  the  society  has  been  rapid 
and  continuous,  old  age  and  disease  fast 
filling  the  graveyard  in  the  meadow,  while 
no  new  members  came  to  take  the  places 
made  vacant  by  death.  The  last  brother  and 
sister  died  several  years  ago,  and  Snow  Hill, 
like  Ephrata,  now  belongs  to  the  past. 


138 


CHAPTER    XII 

BETHLEHEM    AND    AROUND    THERE 

TIME  has  wrought  many  changes,  but  the 
spirit  of  Zinzendorf  still  hovers  over  Beth 
lehem  and  Nazareth,  and  the  Moravians  of 
to-day  remain  faithful  to  the  beautiful  creed 
and  the  tender  and  gracious  traditions  of 
their  fathers.  Bethlehem  nestles  among  the 
hills  of  Pennsylvania's  beautiful  Lehigh  val 
ley,  and  its  ancient  buildings,  elbowed  by 
snug  modern  houses,  silently  recount  a 
peaceful  history,  dating  back  to  the  time 
when,  threescore  years  more  than  a  century 
ago,  a  small  Moravian  missionary  band  took 
shelter  by  Lehigh' s  stream,  and  founded 
there,  amid  forest  hills  and  on  land  bought 
from  William  Penn,  a  wilderness  home. 

It  was  in  the  early  winter  of  1740  that  the 

founders  of  Bethlehem  cut  down  the  first 

trees  and  built  the  log  hut  which  sheltered 

themselves  and  their  animals  until  the  re- 

139 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

turn  of  spring.  Previous  to  that  time  a 
handful  of  Moravians  had  settled  in  Georgia, 
but  when  England  began  war  against  Spain 
and  demanded  that  the  peace-loving  Mora 
vians  should  perform  military  service,  they 
concluded  to  remove  to  Pennsylvania.  Count 
Zinzendorf,  their  leader,  arrived  from  Ger 
many  before  the  second  house  in  the  new 
settlement  was  completed,  and  celebrated  the 
Christmas  Eve  of  1741  with  his  followers. 
The  latter  had  intended  to  call  their  new 
home  Beth  Leschem, — house  upon  the  Le- 
high, — but  towards  midnight  of  the  Christ 
mas  Eve  in  question  Zinzendorf,  deeply 
moved  by  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  seized 
a  blazing  torch,  and  marching  around  the 
room,  began  singing  a  German  hymn : 

"  Not  from  Jerusalem,  but  from  Bethlehem,  comes  that 
which  benefits  my  soul. ' ' 

And  thus  it  was  that  the  infant  settlement 
came  to  be  called  Bethlehem.  A  very  re 
markable  man  was  the  one  who  gave  the 
town  its  name.  The  descendants  of  the  fol 
lowers  of  the  Protestant  reformer  and  mar 
tyr  John  Huss,  the  Moravians,  driven  like 
140 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

chaff  before  the  wind,  for  three  centuries 
endured  persecutions  as  bitter  as  they  were 
unrelenting,  but  with  the  birth  of  Zinzendorf 
in  1700  the  hour  of  their  deliverance  struck. 
Descended  from  an  ancient  and  noble  Aus 
trian  family,  Zinzendorf  was  one  of  the 
truly  great  men  of  his  time,  combining  in 
signal  and  rare  degree  the  qualities  of  the 
statesman,  the  administrator,  the  poet,  the 
preacher,  and  the  missionary.  Carefully 
educated  and  with  a  brilliant  public  career 
at  his  command,  when  in  1722  a  small  band 
of  Moravians,  fleeing  from  Bohemia,  found 
refuge  on  his  estate  at  Berthelsdorf,  he  saw 
in  their  coming  the  hand  of  God,  and  there 
after  and  until  his  death  was  the  wise  leader 
and  loving  protector  of  the  persecuted  sect. 
Ordained  a  bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church 
in  1737,  Zinzendorf  proved  a  marvel  of  un 
tiring  endeavor,  travelling  constantly  and 
preaching  and  writing  almost  without  ces 
sation.  His  missionary  zeal  was  absorbing 
and  persistent,  and  he  was  never  so  happy  as 
when  making  converts  to  his  faith.  Elo 
quent,  resolute,  and  forceful,  he  builded  bet 
ter  than  he  knew,  and  before  he  died  his  fol- 
141 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lowers  had  carried  their  faith  to  the  utter 
most  parts  of  the  earth. 

Nowhere  was  it  planted  more  firmly  than 
at  Bethlehem.  The  first  settlement  in  Cen 
tral  Pennsylvania,  then  the  freest  and  most 
tolerant  country  in  the  world,  for  upward  of 
a  hundred  years  the  little  town  by  the  Lehigh 
was  an  exclusive  church  settlement,  offering 
a  unique  example  of  the  union  of  church  and 
municipal  order  and  authority.  No  one  was 
permitted  to  engage  in  business  pursuits  or 
handicrafts  within  its  corporate  limits  un 
less  he  was  a  member  of  the  Moravian 
Church;  and  its  secularities  were  adminis 
tered  by  a  board  of  overseers  appointed  by 
the  congregation  council.  Still,  the  colony 
prospered  from  the  first.  Thriving  mercan 
tile  and  manufacturing  enterprises  were 
speedily  set  on  foot;  the  settlement  soon 
contained  skilled  operatives  in  almost  every 
trade  that  could  be  mentioned,  and  during 
the  Revolutionary  period  Bethlehem  became 
one  of  the  most  important  manufacturing 
centres  on  the  continent,  its  shops  and  fac 
tories  rendering  invaluable  aid  to  the  patriot 

cause. 

142 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Moreover,  during  the  first  years  of  its  ex 
istence  the  Bethlehem  community  presented 
almost  a  counterpart  of  the  early  Christian 
community  of  Jerusalem,  who  "  had  all 
things  in  common."  In  this  missionary 
economy  the  products  of  the  labor  of  the 
entire  community  were  held  in  common,  for 
the  providing  of  a  livelihood  for  all,  the 
members  carrying  on  a  general  housekeep 
ing,  in  order  to  secure  the  necessary  support 
of  the  men  and  women  chosen  to  give  up 
all  their  time  to  missionary  labors  among 
the  scattered  settlers  along  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  especially  among  the  Indians  of  Connec 
ticut,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania.  Mar 
vellous  was  the  success  of  the  Moravian 
evangelists  among  the  aborigines.  Villages 
of  Christianized  and  civilized  Indians  sprang 
up  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  and  made 
it  to  blossom  as  the  rose  with  the  fruits  of 
industry  and  peace.  Mysterious  seems  the 
Providence  which  permitted  these  Indian 
settlements,  one  by  one,  to  be  blotted  out 
in  fire  and  blood  at  the  murderous  hands 
of  allied  white  and  red  foes;  and  the 
tragedies  of  the  two  Gnadenhuttens  (Tents 
143 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  Grace) — the  one  in  1755,  on  the  Maho- 
ning  Creek,  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania;  the 
other  in  1788,  on  the  Muskingum  River, 
in  Northern  Ohio — mark  pages  in  earlier 
American  history  as  dark  as  they  are  in 
scrutable. 

The  "  economy"  which  the  church  organi 
zation  of  the  Moravians  devised  for  the 
Bethlehem  community  lasted  only  thirty 
years, — having  served  its  purpose  it  was  dis 
continued, — but  until  1844  the  town  and  its 
environs  remained  under  the  absolute  con 
trol  of  the  Moravian  Church.  In  the  year 
named  the  exclusive  system  was  abandoned 
by  vote  of  the  church  council, — before  that 
time  only  those  who  affirmed  allegiance  to 
the  Moravian  faith  could  hold  property  in 
the  town, — and  since  then  great  changes 
have  been  wrought  in  Bethlehem.  New  ele 
ments,  business  and  social,  have  made  them 
selves  felt  in  the  town,  which  has  become 
an  active  business  community,  but  the  Mo 
ravian  Church,  strong  in  the  sustaining 
power  of  a  heroic  and  consecrated  past,  still 
dominates  Bethlehem,  and  its  schools,  edi 
fices,  and  institutions  are  the  most  conspicu- 
144 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ous  objects  to  be  seen  in  a  walk  about  the 
city. 

Such  a  walk  is  pretty  sure  to  lead  one  past 
the  old  Sun  Inn,  built  by  the  Moravians  in 
1758,  and  the  shelter  in  its  early  days  of 
Washington,  Lafayette,  and  many  other 
famous  men ;  the  Moravian  Theological  Col 
lege  and  Female  Seminary,  the  latter  the  first 
boarding-school  for  girls  established  in  the 
colonies,  and  the  several  houses  wherein 
dwelt  respectively  the  members  of  the  differ 
ent  choirs  or  divisions  of  the  congregation. 
Thus,  the  unmarried  women  lived  in  what 
is  still  known  and  used  as  the  Sisters'  House, 
— the  dwelling  of  the  Single  Sisters'  Choir. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  these 
sisters  were  nuns  and  recluses,  as  their  name 
and  mode  of  life  might  at  first  suggest.  On 
the  contrary,  like  the  members  of  the  Single 
Brethren's  Choir,  they  simply  occupied  a 
common  dwelling  apart  from  the  other 
choirs,  mingling  freely  with  the  rest  of  the 
community  in  daily  intercourse.  Even  this 
primitive  manner  of  living  has  now  been  dis 
continued,  nor  are  the  members  of  the  differ 
ent  choirs  longer  distinguished  by  the  slight 
II.— 10  145 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

differences  in  dress,  as  was  customary  in 
bygone  years,  when  the  choir  to  which  a 
woman  belonged  was  known  by  the  color 
of  the  ribbon  in  her  cap :  the  Single  Sisters 
wearing  pink,  the  Married  Sisters  blue,  and 
the  Widows  white,  while  the  young  mem 
bers  of  the  Great  Girls'  Choir  had  their  caps 
trimmed  with  red  ribbons. 

Memory  of  these  neglected  customs,  how 
ever,  serves  to  recall  the  somewhat  rigid 
regulations  in  reference  to  age  and  sex  which 
in  old  times  governed  every  Moravian  com 
munity.  There  was  no  courtship,  and  it  was 
unusual  for  the  bride  to  have  seen  her  in 
tended  husband  previous  to  the  betrothal. 
Both  ministers  and  laymen  submitted  the 
decision  of  their  connubial  choice  to  lot,  dis 
covering  in  this  now  discarded  practice 
proof  of  a  higher  order  of  Christianity, 
in  which  all  things  were  submitted  to  the 
supreme  will  and  direction.  Still,  confes 
sion  must  be  made  that,  in  cases  where  the 
affections  were  already  placed,  the  decision 
by  lot  was  often  evaded.  In  such  cases  the 
romance  of  courtship  usually  led  to  a  sus 
pension  from  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
146 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  particular  congregation  where  the  in 
fringing  parties  resided.  They  were  asked 
to  remove  without  its  pale,  and  were  no 
longer  considered  members. 

Adjoining  the  Sisters'  House  at  Bethle 
hem  and  connecting  it  with  the  Congregation 
House — the  abode  of  the  ministers  and  their 
families — is  the  old  Bell  House,  now  occu 
pied  by  members  of  the  congregation,  but 
formerly  serving  for  the  occupation  of  the 
female  seminary.  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  street  is  located  the  Widows'  House,  still 
occupied  by  members  of  the  Widows'  Choir ; 
and  close  to  this  group  of  buildings  is  a  little 
chapel,  used  even  to  this  day  for  the  holding 
of  German  services,  and  a  larger  church  edi 
fice,  with  odd  open-belfry  steeple,  which 
overlooks  an  ancient  cemetery.  This  Mo 
ravian  God's  Acre  is,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
one  of  the  most  cheerful  spots  in  Bethlehem. 
The  townspeople  find  it  pleasant  to  sit  in, 
and  in  the  summer-time  women  and  children 
spend  entire  afternoons  there.  Nearly  three 
score  of  the  Indian  converts  to  the  Moravian 
faith  are  buried  in  this  field.  One  of  them 
is  Tschoop,  believed  to  be  the  father  of 
147 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Cooper's  Uncas.  Tschoop  was  a  Mohican 
chief,  famed  for  his  bravery  and  eloquence. 
In  1741  Christian  Rauch,  a  Moravian  mis 
sionary,  went  to  Tschoop's  hut  and  asked 
him  if  he  did  not  want  to  save  his  soul. 
"  We  all  want  to  do  that,"  was  the  chiefs 
reply.  Rauch  explained  the  Christian  re 
ligion  to  him,  and  prayed  and  pleaded  with 
him  even  with  tears,  but  apparently  in  vain. 
He  remained  for  months  near  the  Indian. 
Tschoop  was  a  fierce,  gigantic  savage,  the 
terror  of  the  whites,  and  Rauch  was  small 
in  build  and  mild  of  temper.  The  chief  at 
last  professed  Christianity,  and  was  baptized 
under  the  name  of  John.  In  a  letter  which 
he  sent  to  the  Delawares  he  says,  "  I  have 
been  a  heathen.  A  preacher  came  to  preach 
to  me  that  there  is  a  God.  I  said,  '  Do  I 
not  know  that?  Go  back  whence  thou 
earnest/  Another  came  and  preached  that 
it  was  ruin  for  me  to  lie  and  get  drunk.  I 
said,  '  Do  I  not  know  that  ?  Am  I  a  fool  ?' 
Then  Christian  Rauch  came  into  my  hut  and 
sat  down  beside  me  day  after  day,  and  told 
me  of  my  sins  and  of  Jesus  who  died  to  save 
me  from  them.  I  said,  '  I  will  kill  you/ 
148 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

But  he  said,  '  I  trust  in  Jesus.'  So  one  day, 
being  weary,  he  lay  down  in  my  hut  and  fell 
asleep.  And  I  said,  '  What  kind  of  man  is 
this  little  fellow?  I  might  kill  him,  and 
throw  him  into  the  woods,  and  no  man  would 
regard  it.  Yet  there  he  sleeps,  because  Jesus 
will  take  care  of  him.  Who  is  this  Jesus? 
I,  too,  will  find  the  man.'  ' 

Succeeding  in  his  quest,  the  great  chief 
preached  the  Christian  religion  with  the 
same  fiery  eloquence  which  had  given  him 
power  among  his  people,  and  for  many  years 
went  up  and  down  among  the  tribes  in  the 
Western  wilderness.  The  inscription  on  the 
stone  above  Tschoop's  grave  says  that  he 
was  "  one  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  mission 
at  Shekomo,  and  a  remarkable  instance  of 
the  power  of  divine  grace."  Beside  the 
grave  some  one  has  planted  a  white  rose 
bush, — the  only  one  among  them  all  on 
which  a  flower  grows. 

After  Bethlehem  the  most  important  Mo 
ravian  villages  in  America  are  Nazareth  and 
Lititz.  Nazareth  is  in  Northampton  County, 
Pennsylvania,  not  far  from  Bethlehem,  and 
is  one  of  the  quaintest  of  New  World  towns. 
149 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Perched  high  among  the  mountains,  its  old- 
fashioned  houses,  well-shaded  streets,  and 
slow-moving  people  seem  to  belong  to 
another  age.  The  founding  of  Nazareth 
antedated  that  of  Bethlehem.  In  1740, 
Whitefield,  the  great  field  preacher,  bought 
the  land  upon  which  the  town  stands,  de 
signing  to  build  in  the  wilderness  of  Penn 
sylvania  an  orphanage  for  colored  children. 
In  the  erection  of  the  buildings  included 
in  his  project  Whitefield  had  recourse  to 
the  Moravian  craftsmen  who  had  lately 
fled  from  Georgia  to  Pennsylvania.  The 
preacher  and  his  workmen  soon  quarrelled 
over  religious  matters,  and  the  former's 
funds  becoming  exhausted  about  that  time, 
his  landed  holdings  were  purchased  by  Span- 
genberg,  the  Moravian  bishop  and,  after  Zin- 
zendorf,  the  most  heroic  figure  in  Moravian 
history.  Spangenberg  at  once  took  up  his 
residence  in  the  new  settlement,  which  was 
given  the  name  of  Nazareth,  and  for  many 
years  directed  its  affairs  with  vigor  and 
wisdom. 

The  "  economy"  plan  was  followed  at  the 
outset,  and  the  Nazareth  colony  prospered 
150 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

from  the  first.  The  "  economy  of  Nazareth" 
was  dissolved  in  1764,  and  seven  years  later 
the  present  town  of  Nazareth  was  laid  out. 
In  August,  1858,  it  was  incorporated  into 
a  borough,  but  it  is  still  in  every  particular 
a  Moravian  village,  with  characteristics  not 
to  be  found  in  any  other  town  of  the  United 
States.  Its  most  famous  institution  is  Naz 
areth  Hall,  a  boarding-school  for  boys. 
Erected  in  1755,  it  was  originally  designed 
as  a  home  for  Count  Zinzendorf,  who  ex 
pected  to  become  a  resident  of  Nazareth,  but 
the  Moravian  leader,  after  his  visit  in  1741, 
never  returned  to  America,  and  the  house 
was  devoted  to  other  uses.  For  some  years 
it  was  used  by  Bishop  Spangenberg  as  a 
residence,  but  in  October,  1775,  was  opened 
as  a  boarding-school  for  boys,  and  from  that 
date  to  this  it  has  been  used  for  educational 
purposes,  being  noted  far  and  wide  for  the 
sound  mental  and  moral  training  imparted 
by  its  teachers,  under  whom  many  of  the 
makers  of  Moravian  history  have  begun 
their  education. 

Pleasant  and  profitable  was  the  life  led 
by  the  Nazareth  Hall  school-boys  in  the  old 
151 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

days.  In  the  summer  season  there  were 
swimming  excursions,  eagerly  looked  for 
ward  to  and  keenly  enjoyed  by  all  the  boys. 
In  the  autumn  there  were  nutting  parties, 
and  in  the  winter  sledding  and  skating.  It 
was  the  custom  after  the  first  deep  fall  of 
snow  to  go  out  among  the  neighboring  far 
mers  and  engage  a  convoy  of  sleighs  suffi 
cient  for  the  accommodation  of  the  entire 
school.  The  departure  was  always  attended 
by  the  music  of  bells,  the  cheers  of  the 
boys,  and  the  shouts  of  the  spectators,  and 
for  a  stopping-place  some  inn  was  usually 
selected  wrhere  the  cooking  stood  in  fair  re 
pute,  and  where  due  notice  of  the  party  and 
of  the  hour  of  its  arrival  had  been  sent  the 
day  before.  Another  pleasurable  custom, 
now  fallen  into  disuse,  was  the  celebration 
with  feasting  and  social  intercourse  of  each 
teacher  and  pupil's  birthday.  Then  as  now 
life  at  Nazareth  Hall  was  a  charming  and 
happy  one,  and  "  no  boy,"  says  one  who  was 
once  a  pupil,  "  ever  passed  a  portion  of  his 
youth  there  without  being  the  wiser  and 
better  for  it." 

Lititz,  the  third  of  the  Moravian  villages 
152 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

I  have  named,  lies  in  Lancaster  County,  and 
owes  its  origin  to  a  vision  which  in  1 742  ap 
peared  to  George  Klein,  one  of  the  leaders 
of  a  Lutheran  colony  which  had  been  estab 
lished  at  Warwick,  in  Lancaster  County,  not 
far  from  the  Bunker  village  of  Ephrata.  In 
the  year  just  named  Count  Zinzendorf  vis 
ited  Warwick  and  preached  to  its  inhabitants. 
Klein  was  the  only  person  in  the  settlement 
who  refused  to  attend  the  meeting,  and  was 
loud  in  denunciation  of  all  Lutherans  who 
were  present.  That  night  a  vision  appeared 
to  Klein.  He  saw  the  Lord  face  to  face, 
and  received  evidence  of  His  displeasure  at 
the  faithful  Lutheran's  bitterness  and  de 
nunciation  of  the  Moravian  disciple  and 
missionary.  Count  Zinzendorf  proceeded  to 
Lancaster  from  Lititz,  where  he  was  to 
preach  in  the  court-house.  George  Klein 
was  so  deeply  impressed  with  the  vision 
which  had  appeared  to  him  that  he  followed 
the  missionary  to  Lancaster,  heard  him 
preach,  and  was  there  and  then  converted 
to  the  Moravian  faith.  He  became  an  ar 
dent  and  self-sacrificing  worker  in  his  new 
field.  Through  him  one  of  the  best  Mora- 
153 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

vian  preachers  and  instructors  the  Bethlehem 
colony  could  supply  was  sent  to  Warwick, 
and  in  1744  every  German  settler  there  had 
been  converted  to  the  Moravian  doctrine. 

In  that  year  George  Klein  built  the  first 
Moravian  place  of  worship  in  the  settlement, 
a  portion  of  which  still  stands  in  the  lower 
part  of  Lititz  village.  In  that  ancient  struc 
ture,  which  was  built  of  logs  and  called  St. 
James's  Church,  the  Indian  missionary, 
Christian  Rauch,  began  his  career  as  a 
preacher.  In  1754,  George  Klein  gave  to 
the  church  six  hundred  acres  of  land  and 
erected  a  stone  building  two  stories  high  for 
a  place  of  worship.  In  1787  the  present 
church  was  built,  but  as  early  as  1760  one 
of  the  buildings  that  stand  near  the  church 
was  erected  for  a  sisters'  house,  and  another 
quaint  structure  belonging  to  the  church  was 
built  in  1770.  These  are  now  included  in 
the  famous  Moravian  Female  Seminary  of 
Lititz,  known  as  Linden  Hall.  It  is  the  old 
est  young  ladies'  seminary  in  the  State,  its 
use  as  a  school  dating  from  1794.  The  sim 
ple  but  imposing  architecture  of  these  old 
buildings  stands  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
i54 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ornate  style  of  the  Memorial  Chapel  erected 
in  1883  by  George  W.  Dixon,  of  Bethlehem, 
in  memory  of  his  daughter  Mary,  who  died 
soon  after  graduation  at  Linden  Hall. 

In  1756  the  name  of  Lititz  was  given  to 
the  new  Moravian  settlement,  the  christen 
ing  being  by  Count  Zinzendorf  himself,  and 
the  name  that  of  an  ancient  town  in  Bo 
hemia,  where,  in  1456,  the  persecuted  Mo 
ravian  Church  found  refuge.  Lititz  saw 
many  stirring  events  during  the  Revolution. 
In  1778  it  was  converted  into  a  temporary 
hospital  for  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the 
patriot  army,  and  in  a  field  to  the  east  of 
the  town  sleep  more  than  a  hundred  of 
Washington's  soldiers  who  died  of  camp 
fever  at  that  time.  However,  until  1855, 
only  professors  of  the  Moravian  creed  were 
permitted  to  settle  in  Lititz,  and  even  at  the 
present  time  the  church  is  all-powerful  in 
the  conduct  of  its  affairs. 

One  object  of  peculiar  interest  which 
peaceful  Lititz  holds  for  the  visitor  is  a 
solitary  grave  in  the  corner  of  the  village 
cemetery.  A  large  slab  covers  it  entirely, 
and  the  inscription  tells  that  he  who  sleeps 
i55 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

beneath  it  was  born  in  1803  and  died  in  1880. 
Between  these  two  dates  runs  the  long  story 
of  an  eventful  life,  for  it  is  the  grave  of 
General  John  A.  Sutter,  whose  mill-race  on 
the  bank  of  the  Sacramento  was  the  source 
of  the  mighty  stream  of  gold  that  has  flowed 
from  California.  Sutter  was  always  a  wan 
derer.  Born  in  Baden  in  1803,  he  graduated 
from  the  military  school  at  Berne  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  and  enlisted  in  the  Swiss  Guard 
of  the  French  army,  the  successors  of  that 
famous  band  of  mercenaries  who  died  so 
bravely  in  the  marble  halls  of  Versailles 
thirty  years  before.  After  seven  years' 
service  he  changed  his  colors  and  entered 
the  army  of  Switzerland,  in  which  he  served 
until  1834.  Then  he  put  off  his  uniform, 
and  shortly  afterwards  came  to  this  coun 
try.  In  1838,  with  six  companions,  he 
went  across  the  plains  to  Oregon,  and  down 
the  Columbia  River  to  Vancouver,  whence 
he  sailed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  There 
he  got  an  interest  in  a  trading  vessel,  with 
which  he  sailed  to  Sitka  and  the  seal  islands 
towards  Behring  Strait.  Turning  south 
ward,  after  some  profitable  trading,  he  ar- 
156 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

rived  at  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  July  2, 
1839.  The  appearance  of  the  country 
pleased  him  and  he  decided  to  remain. 

Sutter  made  a  settlement  some  distance 
up  the  Sacramento  River,  built  a  grist-mill, 
a  tannery,  and  a  fort,  founded  a  colony,  and 
called  it  New  Helvetia.  He  took  a  commis 
sion  as  captain  in  the  Mexican  service,  and 
afterwards  served  as  a  magistrate  under  the 
same  government.  He  played  no  active  part 
in  the  war  against  this  country,  and  after  the 
annexation  he  was  alcalde,  Indian  commis 
sioner,  and  delegate  to  the  constitutional  con 
vention  of  California.  In  1848  came  the 
discovery  that  enriched  the  world  and  im 
poverished  him.  Marshall,  a  laborer,  dig 
ging  out  the  race  to  Sutter's  mill,  picked  up 
a  rough  lump  of  something  yellow,  and  Sut 
ter  said  at  once  that  it  was  gold.  The  mill- 
race  was  never  finished.  The  laborer  turned 
his  pick  in  another  direction  and  set  to  work 
to  dig  a  fortune  for  himself.  The  miller 
bought  a  shovel  and  went  to  take  toll  of  the 
yellow  sand.  The  stream  that  was  to  turn 
the  mill  became  suddenly  worth  more  than 
any  grist  that  it  could  grind.  The  sequel 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

is  well  known.  The  rushing  tide  of  emi 
grants  overwhelmed  the  little  colony  of  Hel 
vetia,  and  wiped  out  Sutter's  imperfect  title 
to  his  land. 

Sutter  made  a  brave  fight  and  a  long  one. 
He  laid  claim  to  thirty-three  square  leagues 
of  land,  including  that  on  which  the  cities 
of  Sacramento  and  Marysville  now  stand. 
After  long  delay  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
Lands  allowed  the  claim,  and  after  more 
delay  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  reversed  the  decision.  Then  General 
Sutter  carried  his  claim  before  Congress,  to 
go  through  the  tedious  experience  of  most 
people  who  take  claims  there.  He  was  still 
prosecuting  it  in  1871,  when  he  happened 
to  come  to  Lititz  to  drink  the  wholesome 
waters  of  its  spring.  The  quiet  of  the  place 
and  the  peaceful  life  of  its  people  appealed 
to  the  restless  old  man,  who  was  beginning 
to  get  tired  of  his  long  battle,  and  he  made 
his  home  there  "  until  I  get  my  claim 
through,"  he  said.  He  was  at  Washington 
still  getting  his  claim  through  when  he  died, 
in  1880,  and  was  brought  back  to  Lititz  to 
be  buried,  his  Moravian  neighbors  making 
158 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

room  for  him  in  the  corner  of  their  cemetery. 
Grass  grows  thick  about  his  resting-place, 
while  overhead,  on  sunny  summer  after 
noons,  rustle  the  leaves  of  the  lithesome  elm ; 
and  one  turns  from  the  quiet  spot  knowing 
that  here  the  time-worn  wanderer  sleeps 
more  soundly  than  ever  he  did  in  life,  and 
that  with  the  dead  all  is  well. 

The  creed  of  the  Moravians  has  ever  been 
a  brief  and  simple  one.  They  accept  the 
Holy  Scripture  as  the  Word  of  God,  the  only 
authoritative  rule  of  religious  faith  and  prac 
tice.  '''  The  great  theme  of  our  preaching," 
says  one  of  their  writers,  "  is  Jesus  Christ, 
in  whom  we  have  the  grace  of  the  Son, 
the  law  of  the  Father,  and  the  communion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  word  of  the  cross, 
which  bears  testimony  to  Christ's  voluntary 
offering  of  himself  to  suffer  and  to  die,  and 
of  the  rich  treasure  of  divine  grace  thus 
purchased  is  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end 
of  our  preaching." 

The  Moravians  eschew  dogmatizing  and 

avoid  controversy.     Quiet  earnestness  and 

cheerful  piety  mark  their  daily  life  wherever 

found,  and  even  death  itself  is  met  by  them 

J59 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

with  sweet  and  cheerful  resignation.  When 
one  of  their  number  dies,  the  fact  is  an 
nounced  by  four  trumpeters,  who  mount  to 
the  church  tower,  and,  one  standing  at  each 
corner,  facing  north,  south,  east,  and  west, 
play  a  solemn  dirge.  Immediately  after 
death  the  body  is  taken  from  the  home  and 
is  placed  in  the  dead-house,  which  is  a  small 
stone  building  in  the  rear  of  the  church. 
There  it  is  kept  three  days.  On  the  third 
day  the  body  is  brought  from  the  dead-house 
to  the  lawn  nearby,  where  the  coffin  is  cov 
ered  with  a  white  pall,  on  which  is  embroi 
dered  in  blue  silk,  "  Jesus,  my  Redeemer, 
Liveth."  The  dead  person  is  never  referred 
to  as  being  dead,  but  as  having  "  gone 
home."  After  an  ordinary  funeral  service 
over  the  coffin  the  procession  starts  for  the 
cemetery,  which  is  but  a  few  rods  in  the  rear 
of  the  church.  The  procession  moves  in  the 
following  order :  Children  lead  the  line, 
moving  two  by  two,  with  their  teachers. 
A  brass  band,  with  soft  instruments,  follows, 
playing  solemn  music,  which  is  always  that 
of  some  hymn  expressive  of  a  hope  of  eternal 
life  and  a  glorious  resurrection.  Then  come 
160 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  clergy,  the  bier,  and  the  relatives,  who 
are  followed,  if  the  dead  person  is  a  brother 
in  the  church,  by  the  brethren,  and  if  a  sister, 
by  the  sisters  of  the  church.  The  coffin  is 
lowered  in  the  grave  while  hymns  are  sung, 
and  the  procession  returns  in  the  same  order 
to  the  church.  Here  coffee  and  buns  are 
served,  and  over  this  simple  repast  the 
friends  discuss  the  good  qualities  of  the 
departed  spirit.  The  Moravian  idea  of 
death  is  an  easy  transition  from  this  to  the 
better  world,  and  they  only  allude  after  the 
services  to  the  bright  future  on  the  sunny 
side  of  the  life  which  has  ended  only  to  be 
renewed  in  a  more  beautiful  world.  There 
fore  they  wear  white  rather  than  black  at 
all  funerals. 

Music,  as  I  have  just  inferred,  plays  a 
leading  part  in  the  social  and  religious  life 
of  the  Moravians.  A  love  of  melody  is  in 
herent  in  them,  and  in  the  old  days  at  Beth 
lehem  concerts  were  regularly  given  by  an 
orchestra  of  amateur  musicians,  aided  by 
the  voices  of  the  Sisters'  Choir,  all  of  whose 
members  receive  a  careful  vocal  training. 
The  most  charming  of  them  all  was  that  on 
II.— ii  161 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  anniversary  of  Whit-Monday.  This  en 
tertainment  was  called  the  Musical  Festival, 
and  lasted  the  whole  day,  during  which,  in 
addition  to  a  well-selected  programme,  an 
oratorio  was  usually  presented.  Again,  in 
the  Moravian  village  of  Nazareth  the  citi 
zens  were  wont  in  other  years  to  assemble  in 
the  evenings  and  rehearse  many  of  the  sym 
phonies  of  Haydn  and  other  composers.  A 
favorite  at  these  gatherings  was  the  "  Fare 
well,"  signalized  by  the  successive  disap 
pearance  of  the  lights.  One  performer  after 
another,  each  as  he  closed  his  part,  blew  out 
his  taper,  the  music  meanwhile  growing 
fainter  and  falling  gradually  to  a  pensive 
andante,  until  the  last  survivor  of  the  gay 
symphony  was  left  alone,  seeming,  as  the 
notes  of  his  violin  died  away  and  he 
quenched  his  own  taper,  to  close  the  scene 
and  drop  the  curtain  on  some  fine  dramatic 
act. 

The  most  characteristic  of  all  music 
among  the  Moravians  is  that  of  the  trom 
bone,  played  mostly  in  the  open  air, — on 
the  belfry,  in  the  graveyard,  or  at  the  church 
door.  Here  the  Moravian  hymn  is  drawn 
162 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

out  with  wonderful  expression,  and  I  have 
never  heard  music  more  weirdly  beautiful 
than  is  evoked  from  these  pensive  wind  in 
struments  by  Moravian  players  on  Easter 
morning,  added  reason  for  this  being  found, 
perhaps,  in  the  statement  that  among  this 
devout  people  the  anniversary  of  Christ's 
resurrection  is  the  most  reverently  cher 
ished,  the  most  impressively  observed  of 
all  church  days. 

Let  me  describe  the  Moravian  celebration 
of  Easter  as  it  is  to  be  witnessed  each  re 
turning  spring  in  the  little  village  of  Salem, 
North  Carolina.  Throughout  the  entire 
year  this  queen  of  the  festivals  is  antici 
pated  with  sober  pleasure  by  the  elders,  and 
creates  visions  of  happiness  in  the  minds 
of  the  young  people  of  the  secluded  South 
ern  hamlet.  Even  the  observance  of  Christ 
mas  pales  before  the  splendors  of  a  Moravian 
Easter  at  old  Salem,  a  fact  which  may  in 
part  be  attributed  to  the  balmy  weather, 
which  usually  favors  the  Easter  period,  and 
helps  Moravian  maidens  to  ornament  their 
house  of  God  with  the  fresh  sweet  flowers 
and  foliage  of  the  early  spring.  These 
163 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

floral  decorations  are  artistic  in  conception 
and  arrangement,  and  so  profuse  that  the 
church  interior  becomes  a  veritable  firma 
ment  of  evergreens  and  flowers. 

In  addition  to  the  products  of  forest  and 
garden  many  rare  exotics  are  imported  for  the 
occasion  or  grown  within  the  greenhouses  of 
the  town.  Festoons  of  cedar,  ivy,  and  holly 
hang  in  ornate  curves  from  oaken  rafters, 
and  gracefully  converge  towards  the  gar 
nished  chandeliers,  whose  crystal  pendants 
sparkle  with  the  play  of  every  prismatic 
color.  The  galleries  are  embowered,  and 
the  tones  of  the  great  organ  seem  almost 
muffled  amid  so  lavish  an  orniture  of  fra 
grant  exotics.  The  pulpit -and  the  rostrum 
are  also  generously  decorated;  the  fresco 
on  the  wall  behind  is  concealed  by  elaborate 
decorations,  and  in  the  centre,  deftly  fash 
ioned  with  white  hyacinths  and  roses,  shine 
forth  in  large  letters  the  words,  "  Christ  is 
Risen." 

The  celebration  begins  on  Palm-Sunday, 
when  liturgical  services  are  held,  accom 
panied  by  a  sermon  appropriate  to  the  com 
memoration  of  Christ's  entry  into  Jerusa- 
164 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lem,  the  exercises  presenting  a  foretaste  of 
the  musical  feast  yet  to  come.  During  the 
Passion  Week  (between  Palm-Sunday  and 
Easter)  a  number  of  interesting  services  are 
held  both  morning  and  evening,  and  attract 
a  very  general  attendance.  Of  these  the 
most  solemn  and  impressive  take  place  on 
Good-Friday.  The  following  day  (Satur 
day)  is  called  "the  Great  Sabbath/'  on 
which  the  Love-Feast,  in  imitation  of  the 
apostolical  agapae,  is  celebrated.  This  ob 
servance  is  one  of  the  most  original  and 
distinctive  features  of  the  Moravian  Church, 
and  every  member  of  the  congregation  is 
present,  save  the  sick  and  infirm,  even  the 
mothers  carrying  babes  being  assigned  seats 
in  the  room  adjoining  the  main  auditorium, 
where  prattle  and  cries  may  not  disturb  the 
services.  The  specially  distinctive  feature 
of  this  day's  worship  is  the  novel  service  of 
coffee  and  sweetened  bread.  To  the  air 
already  laden  with  the  scent  of  flowers  is 
added  the  delightful  aroma  of  the  best  Java, 
distilled  in  huge  urns  in  the  basement  below. 
At  the  proper  moment  as  fixed  by  the  pro 
gramme,  the  doors  facing  each  aisle  on  either 
165 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

side  of  the  pulpit  are  thrown  open,  and 
through  them  file  two  processions,  one  of 
men  and  one  of  women,  all  bearing  huge 
wooden  trays  containing  cakes  of  sweetened 
bread.  The  women,  who  wear  dainty  white 
aprons  and  snowy  mull  caps,  pass  down  the 
right  aisle  and  serve  each  female  member 
of  the  congregation  with  cake;  while  the 
men,  dressed  in  conventional  black,  wait 
similarly  upon  their  own  sex  seated  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  church.  When  all  are 
served  with  sweetened  bread,  the  waiters 
pass  out  and  return  with  their  trays  full  of 
huge  porcelain  mugs  of  hot,  steaming  coffee ; 
these  are  likewise  served  the  congregation, 
who,  led  by  the  choir,  sing  through  the  whole 
distribution.  The  choir  pauses  when  the 
bread  and  coffee  have  been  passed  around; 
and  the  minister  arises,  makes  a  few  re 
marks,  and  finally,  after  asking  the  bless 
ing  of  God  upon  the  service,  breaks  the 
bread  and  begins  to  eat.  This  is  a  signal 
to  the  congregation  to  do  likewise,  after 
which  the  choir  continues  the  anthem,  which 
the  minister  reads  out  stanza  by  stanza.  The 
cups  and  remnants  of  bread  later  on  are 
166 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

borne  out  by  the  same  waiters,  and  after 
more  singing,  interspersed  by  words  from 
the  preacher,  the  congregation  rises  to  re 
ceive  the  benediction,  and  departs  amid  so 
norous  peals  from  the  organ. 

To  the  visitor  at  Salem  during  the  Easter 
festivities  the  early  morning  services  on  Sun 
day  in  the  graveyard  are  the  most  solemn 
and  impressive  of  the  entire  week.  Long 
before  the  faint  streaks  of  dawn  are  seen 
in  the  eastern  horizon  the  church  band  as 
cends  to  the  belfry  in  the  steeple,  high  above 
the  roofs  of  the  tallest  houses,  and  there  in 
the  deepest  darkness  that  precedes  the  dawn 
the  sweet,  solemn  music  of  a  Moravian  hymn 
floats  out  from  the  trombones  upon  the  cool, 
quiet  air  of  early  morning, — soft  and  low  at 
first,  each  succeeding  note  swelling  in  vol 
ume,  evoking  countless  echoes  that  are 
wafted  back  from  distant  vale  and  hill-side 
until  all  the  air  seems  filled  with  the  sweet, 
joyous  strains  announcing  "  Christ  is 
risen." 

Soon  lights  here  and  there  indicate  the 
awakening  of  the  households,  increasing  in 
number  until  no  dwelling  can  be  seen  with- 
167 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

out  a  gleaming  casement.  All  is  activity 
within  each  home,  and  sounds  of  merry 
voices  and  ripples  of  youthful  laughter  are 
heard  on  every  side. 

Already  people  are  on  the  streets  wending 
their  way  to  the  church,  before  whose  mas 
sive  doors  the  congregation  is  quickly  as 
sembling.  The  old  clock  in  the  steeple  peals 
forth  the  hour  of  five ;  the  pastor  comes  out 
from  the  church  and  pauses  upon  the  broad 
stone  steps  beneath  the  light  of  a  gas-jet. 
He  reads  a  litany  and  a  hymn, — which  is 
sung  by  the  multitude,  with  whose  voices 
sound  the  clear,  mellow  notes  of  the  cornets. 
A  procession  is  formed  in  twos,  and,  with 
the  band  at  its  head  playing  a  sacred  hymn, 
marches  slowly  past  the  church  into  an  ave 
nue  lined  on  either  side  with  majestic  cedars 
a  century  old,  and  then  proceeds  to  the 
burial-ground. 

Strangely  impressive,  almost  weird,  is  this 
early  morning  pilgrimage  to  the  city  of  the 
dead.  The  sombre  shadows  of  the  night 
are  beginning  to  disappear,  as  in  long  line 
delicately  defined  silhouettes  wend  their 
way.  At  regular  intervals,  on  either  side 
168 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  the  white  gravelled  walk,  sentinel-like, 
stand  venerable  mossy  cedars,  and  the  brac 
ing  air  is  sweet  with  the  perfume  of  the 
first  flowers  of  spring.  Clearly  and  slowly 
the  band  plays  its  measured  march,  while 
echoing  footfalls  keep  perfect  time  to  the 
cadence  of  the  plaintive  yet  joyous  melody. 
Arriving  at  the  cemetery  the  band  ceases 
playing,  and  with  head  bared  the  man  of 
God  reads  in  slow  and  solemn  tones  the 
Easter  morning  litany.  Silence,  solemn  and 
profound,  broods  over  the  gathered  throng, 
seeming  to  stay  the  breathing  of  the  thou 
sand  souls  whose  faith  sheds  a  radiance  of 
sanctity  and  heavenly  grandeur  upon  their 
humble  and  devout  expectancy,  as  on  this 
balmy  morning  of  the  early  spring  they  await, 
in  spiritual  communion  with  their  departed 
loved  ones,  the  Resurrection  hour.  Above 
the  hill  the  dawn  appears,  awaking  into  life 
the  sleeping  earth,  while  darkling  clouds, 
born  of  the  night,  flee  the  presence  of  coming 
day.  Then  from  the  voices  of  the  assem 
bled  host  there  bursts  a  melody  of  joyous 
song,  and,  mingling  with  the  full,  resound 
ing  strains  of  trumpets  and  trombones,  arises 
169 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

in  glad  hosannas  to  the  splendent  sky,  where 
now  shines  the  sun, — God's  symbol  of  the 
resurrected  life;  and  earth  and  heaven  peal 
forth  in  glad  accord,  "  The  Lord  is  risen ! 
Hallelujah,  praise  the  Lord !" 

After  this  the  throng  of  participants  and 
spectators  disperse,  but  later  in  the  morning, 
and  again  in  the  evening,  sermons  appro 
priate  to  the  day  are  preached,  the  one  deliv 
ered  at  night  concluding  the  formal  cere 
monies  of  the  Moravian  Easter.  The  music 
during  these  services  is  grander,  if  possible, 
than  that  which  accompanies  any  of  the  other 
exercises  of  Passion  Week,  and  partakes  of 
a  more  joyous  nature. 

Though  the  forms  are  different  the  same 
deeply  reverential  spirit  animates  and  colors 
the  Moravian  celebration  of  Christmas, 
which  at  Bethlehem  and  in  the  other  Mora 
vian  villages  of  this  country  on  Christmas 
Eve  is  solemnly  ushered  in  with  a  service  of 
song  and  praise,  held  in  the  church  appro 
priately  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and 
usually  opened  with  St.  Luke's  poetic  chron 
icle  of  the  Nativity :  "And  there  were  in  the 
same  country  shepherds  abiding  in  the  field 
170 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

keeping  watch  over  their  flocks  by  night. 
And  lo!  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round 
about  them:  and  they  were  sore  afraid. 
And  the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not; 
for,  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of 
great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For 
unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord." 
After  this  simple  recital  there  is  a  short 
discourse  and  a  service  of  song,  followed 
by  a  love-feast,  consisting  of  cakes  and 
coffee,  which  are  distributed  among  all  pres 
ent,  the  congregation  and  guests  often  num 
bering  at  Bethlehem  between  one  and  two 
thousand  souls.  During  this  collation  a 
portion  of  Beethoven's  mass  is  performed, 
and  the  German  words  are  sung.  Simul 
taneous  with  the  singing  large  trays  of 
lighted  tapers  are  brought  in  and  distributed 
among  the  children,  this  as  a  prelude  to  the 
most  moving  feature  of  and  a  dramatic  close 
to  the  services,  for  as  the  singing  proceeds 
the  tapers  are  extinguished  in  gradual  suc 
cession;  the  mugs  are  gathered  up  and  car 
ried  away;  the  music  wanes  slowly  into 
171 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

silence,  and  the  last  tones  of  the  organ  fall 
gently  upon  the  ears  of  the  hushed  and  rever 
ent  multitude  as  its  members  emerge  into 
the  starry  December  night.  Once  more  a 
king  and  Saviour  has  been  born  to  men! 


172 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THREE    GROUPS    OF    GERMAN    MYSTICS 

IT  is  a  roundabout  journey,  though  one 
well  worth  the  making,  from  Economy  by 
way  of  Zoar  to  Amana,  the  three  religio- 
communistic  societies  which  German  mysti 
cism  has  given  to  America.  Economy,  old 
est  of  the  three,  was  founded  by  George 
Rapp,  a  Wiirtemberg  vine-planter,  who, 
despite  the  depressing  surroundings  of  his 
earlier  years,  was  in  many  respects  a  remark 
able  personality.  Rapp  while  still  a  young 
man  became  an  ardent  student  of  the  history 
of  primitive  Christianity,  and  a  teacher  of 
much  the  same  doctrines  expounded  in  recent 
years  by  Count  Leo  Tolstoi,  save  that  with 
the  former  the  speedy  second  coming  of 
Christ  became  an  absorbing,  passionate  con 
viction. 

Rapp's  followers  gradually  increased  until 
they  numbered  three  hundred  families,  sim 
ple,  credulous  souls,  who,  readily  accepting 
i73 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  mysticism  of  their  leader,  were  given  the 
name  of  Pietists  and  made  objects  of  de 
risive  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  regular 
clergy.  In  fact,  so  galling  and  vexatious 
did  the  persecutions  to  which  they  were  sub 
jected  become  that  they  at  last  decided  to 
seek  in  America  the  freedom  of  conscience 
and  worship  denied  them  in  the  land  of  their 
birth,  and  to  build  there  a  home  where  they 
could  peacefully  await  the  great  change 
which  they  believed  to  be  at  hand.  Six  hun 
dred  of  them,  having  made  the  long  ocean 
voyage  in  safety,  purchased  five  thousand 
acres  of  land  and  built  a  town  at  Butler, 
Pennsylvania,  and  on  February  15,  1805, 
with  Rapp  as  their  leader,  formally  organ 
ized  the  Harmony  Society.  Its  founders 
believing  that  the  community  of  goods  prac 
tised  by  the  first  Christians  was  not  one  of 
the  temporary  phases  of  a  new  religious 
movement,  but  rather  a  fundamental  prin 
ciple  intended  to  endure  eternally,  made  it 
the  basis  of  their  organization ;  and  all,  fol 
lowing  Rapp's  example,  threw  their  posses 
sions  into  a  common  stock,  and  agreed  in  the 
future  to  share  all  things  in  common. 
174 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

The  little  colony  remained  in  Butler  ten 
years,  when,  in  1815,  it  removed  to  Posey 
County,  Indiana,  where  it  purchased  twenty- 
five  thousand  acres  of  land.  But  before  this 
fresh  migration  a  radical  change  had  taken 
place  in  the  government  of  the  society.  In 
1807,  as  the  result  of  a  great  religious  awak 
ening  and  the  growing  conviction  that  the 
marriage  state  did  not  tend  to  perfect  purity 
of  life  and  heart,  celibacy  was  made  one  of 
the  articles  of  faith  and  an  indispensable 
requisite  to  admission  to  the  society.  As  in 
the  matter  of  community  of  goods,  so  in 
the  new  departure  Rapp  and  his  son  set  an 
example  for  the  others  by  cheerfully  putting 
away  their  wives.  Husband  and  wife  were 
not  required  to  live  in  different  houses,  but 
occupied  as  before  the  same  dwelling  with 
their  family,  having  separate  sleeping  apart 
ments,  the  husband's  in  the  upper  story  and 
the  wife's  in  the  lower,  and  treating  each 
other  as  brother  and  sister  in  Christ.  Both  in 
Butler  and  Indiana  the  Harmonists,  who,  de 
spite  their  singular  creed,  were  frugal,  indus 
trious,  and  shrewd,  Rapp  himself  being  a  man 
of  signal  foresight  and  executive  ability, 
175 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

prospered  greatly,  but  the  malarial  climate 
of  Indiana  proved  fatal  to  so  many  of  them 
that  in  1825  they  returned  to  Pennsylvania, 
and,  purchasing  thirty-five  thousand  acres 
of  land,  built  the  town  of  Economy.  Here 
their  long  wanderings  ended,  and  here,  at 
the  source  of  the  Ohio,  their  scrupulous  self- 
denial  and  wise  division  of  labor  caused  their 
wealth  to  increase  like  magic.  The  silks, 
blankets,  broadcloths,  flannels,  and  whiskey 
made  at  Economy — deserted  mills  and  fac 
tories  show  what  a  hive  of  industry  the  town 
once  was — became  famous,  while  their  great 
farms,  not  a  foot  of  which  is  even  now  per 
mitted  to  lie  idle,  yielded  abundant  harvests, 
the  membership  of  the  society  increasing  in 
the  mean  time  to  over  one  thousand  souls, 
to  every  one  of  whom  the  word  of  Father 
Rapp  was  law. 

But  in  1831  dissensions  arose  which  for 
a  time  threatened  the  existence  of  the  so 
ciety;  and  the  story  of  their  origin  and 
final  settlement  forms,  perhaps,  the  strangest 
chapter  in  the  history  of  Economy.  From 
the  first  Rapp's  policy  was  one  of  exclusion, 
and  he  sought  by  every  means  at  his  com- 
176 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

mand  to  prevent  intercourse  between  his 
followers  and  the  outer  world.  Members 
of  the  society  were  not  allowed  to  learn 
English  or  to  have  communication  with  those 
who  spoke  it,  and  could  not  walk  outside  the 
lands  of  the  society  unless  their  business  re 
quired  it.  Thus  Rapp  raised  a  wall  around 
his  followers  over  which  they  might  not 
pass,  and  held  them  docile  and  content 
within  the  magic  enclosure,  and  to-day  the 
stranger  who  visits  Economy  meets  native 
Americans  of  threescore-and-ten  to  whom 
the  language  of  the  country,  wherein  their 
long  lives  have  been  spent,  is  wholly  un 
known.  Only  once  did  Rapp  depart  from 
this  policy  of  exclusion,  and  then,  as  I  have 
hinted,  the  result  was  disastrous. 

In  1820  one  Bernard  Miller  startled  the 
citizens  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main  by  claim 
ing  that  he  had  received  a  commission  from 
God  to  announce  the  speedy  reappearance 
of  His  Son;  and  in  circulars  spread  broad 
cast  over  Europe  he  called  upon  the  devout 
of  life  and  thought  to  assemble  in  one  place 
to  await  the  second  coming  of  the  Redeemer, 
soon  gathering  about  him  a  small  band  of 
II. — 12  177 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

enthusiasts,  who  looked  upon  him  as  their 
leader  and  gave  him  the  name  of  Count 
de  Leon.  In  due  time  a  letter  from  Miller 
came  to  Rapp,  in  which  the  writer  expressed 
his  conviction  that  America  had  been  selected 
as  the  future  home  of  the  chosen  of  God, 
where  they  were  to  watch  for  the  coming  of 
His  Son,  and  announced  his  desire,  with  his 
adherents,  to  join  the  Harmonists  at  Econ 
omy.  This  they  were  cordially  invited  to 
do,  and  in  the  winter  of  1831  Miller  and 
forty  of  his  followers,  all  males,  arrived  and 
were  received  with  the  highest  honors. 
Rapp,  however,  soon  discovered  that  he  and 
his  people  had  little  in  common  with  the 
new  leader,  whose  luxurious  tastes  were  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  severe  self-denial 
practised  by  the  Harmonists,  and  he  accord 
ingly  ordered  Miller  and  his  companions  to 
at  once  leave  Economy. 

Afterwards  consent  was  given  for  them  to 
remain  until  spring,  and  this  clemency  was 
ungratefully  employed  by  Miller  to  incite 
a  revolt  against  the  rule  of  Rapp  and  the 
practice  of  celibacy,  succeeding  so  well  that 
two  hundred  and  fifty  Harmonists  finally 
178 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

signed  a  declaration  proclaiming  him  the 
leader  of  the  society.  The  great  majority, 
however,  remained  faithful  to  Rapp,  and 
peace  was  in  the  end  secured  by  a  covenant 
in  which  the  malcontents  in  consideration 
of  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
agreed  to  leave  Economy  and  relinquish  all 
claim  upon  the  society.  The  seceders  with 
the  money  paid  them  purchased  eight  hun 
dred  acres  of  land,  and  under  Miller's  lead 
ership  founded  the  New  Philadelphia  So 
ciety  at  what  is  now  Phillipsburg,  Pennsyl 
vania.  The  rules  of  the  new  were  identical 
with  those  of  the  old,  save  in  the  matter  of 
marriage,  but  Miller's  prodigality  soon  ex 
hausted  its  means  and  credit,  and  the  se 
ceders,  convinced  of  the  folly  into  which  he 
had  led  them,  compelled  him  to  withdraw. 
Tired  of  his  role  of  religious  enthusiast, 
Miller,  with  his  forty  original  followers, 
embarked  for  the  Southwest,  filled  with  vis 
ions  of  conquest  even  more  daring  than  had 
animated  Aaron  Burr  a  score  of  years  be 
fore,  but  died  of  cholera  at  Alexandria, 
Louisiana. 

Rid  of  the  malcontents,  the  parent  society 
179 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

continued  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  its  way, 
with  Rapp  at  its  head  until  his  death  in 
1847  at  the  a§"e  °f  ninety.  From  first  to 
last  the  attitude  of  the  Harmonist  chief 
towards  his  followers  was  that  of  a  mild 
and  kindly  despot.  His  word  was  law,  and 
"  Father  Rapp  says  it"  sufficed  to  settle  all 
questions  of  duty,  sacred  or  secular,  and 
to  quiet  controversy.  The  official  advisers, 
provided  by  the  written  rules  of  the  society, 
were  uniformly  treated  as  figure-heads  at 
the  council-board,  and  quickly  degenerated 
into  useful  police  for  the  enforcement  of 
distasteful  measures.  Never,  however,  if 
the  enforcement  of  celibacy  is  excepted,  did 
Rapp  abuse  the  irresponsible  authority  he 
had  arrogated  to  himself.  Instead,  he  ex 
ercised  it  with  singular  fidelity  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  society,  until  the  close  of  what, 
in  the  main,  was  an  unselfish  and  saintly 
life.  Nor  did  he  ever  lose  faith  in  the  speedy 
second  coming  of  Christ.  Economy's  soli 
tary  night-watchman  was  required  to  call 
out  hourly,  as  he  patrolled  his  beat,  "A  day 
is  past,  and  a  step  made  nearer  the  end: 
our  time  runs  away,  but  the  joys  of  the 
180 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

kingdom  will  be  our  reward,"  while  for 
many  years  everything  was  kept  in  readiness 
which  the  society  would  have  needed  for  the 
journey  to  the  Holy  Land.  Even  the  wax 
ing  and  waning  of  the  prophetic  year  of 
1836,  long  singled  out  for  the  Redeemer's 
return  in  glory  to  the  world,  did  not  shake 
Rapp's  belief  in  the  chiliastic  promises,  and 
when  the  society  during  the  winter  of  1845 
was  blest  with  a  notable  religious  revival, 
its  venerable  chief,  discerning  in  the  event 
a  sure  prognostic  of  the  longed-for  era, 
buckled  himself  to  the  work  of  preparation 
for  the  saintly  march  to  Jerusalem  with  all 
the  enthusiasm  of  youth. 

Two  years  later  Rapp  was  laid  on  his 
death-bed,  and  then  last  of  all  the  Harmon 
ists  was  the  old  prophet  of  the  society  to 
recognize  his  impending  end.  Taken  by  sur 
prise,  even  the  cold  touch  of  the  angel  of 
death  did  not  break  the  beatific  spell  of  half 
a  century,  and  one  of  the  watchers  at  his 
bedside  through  the  last  night  of  his  life 
put  on  record  this  description  of  the  final 
scene :  "  Father  Rapp's  strong  faith  in  the 
literal  fulfilment  of  the  promises  concerning 
181 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  personal  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
gathering  of  the  whole  of  Israel,  remained 
unshaken  until  the  end,  as  was  shown  by  his 
last  words,  for  when  he  felt  the  grip  of  the 
strong  hand  of  approaching  death,  he  said, 
'  If  I  did  not  so  fully  believe  that  the  Lord 
has  designed  me  to  place  our  society  before 
His  presence  in  the  land  of  Canaan  I  would 
consider  this  my  last/  '  Rapp  died  on  the 
7th  of  August,  1847.  On  the  day  of  his 
funeral — burials  at  Economy  are  severe  in 
their  simplicity,  the  remains  of  the  dead 
being  wrapped  only  in  a  winding-sheet  and 
a  few  words  spoken  beside  the  open  grave — 
his  followers  went  from  the  orchard,  where 
sleep  the  Harmonist  dead,  to  the  town-hall, 
and  decided  in  the  future  to  have  two  leaders 
instead  of  one.  With  remarkable  unanimity 
R.  L.  Baker  and  Jacob  Henrici,  who  had 
long  been  Rapp's  most  trusted  lieutenants, 
were  chosen  as  his  successors.  Baker  died 
in  1868,  but  Henrici  remained  at  the  head  of 
the  society,  hale  in  body  and  active  in  mind, 
until  his  death  in  1892  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine.  The  senior  trustee  and  present  head 
of  the  Harmonists  is  John  S.  Duss,  a  young 
182 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

man  of  forty,  who  before  his  admission  to 
the  society  was  a  school-teacher  at  Econ 
omy. 

The  wealth  of  the  Harmonists  has  been 
wisely  invested  and  is  now  enormous.  With 
it  the  Pittsburg  and  Lake  Erie  Railroad  was 
built  and  controlled  by  the  society  until  its 
holdings  were  sold  some  years  ago  at  a  large 
increase  over  the  original  investment.  The 
society  also  owns  a  large  portion  of  the  town 
of  Beaver,  Pennsylvania,  and  immense  tracts 
of  land  in  the  Dakotas.  The  prohibition 
of  marriage;  the  refusal,  save  at  rare  inter 
vals,  to  admit  new  members,  and  the  gradual 
thinning  of  the  ranks  by  death,  have  de 
creased  the  membership  of  the  society,  until 
now  less  than  forty  remain.  Many  of  this 
little  band  are  over  eighty,  and  nearly  all 
of  them  are  verging  on  threescore  years  and 
ten.  Until  her  death  a  few  years  ago  the  one 
most  honored  among  them  was  Rapp's 
granddaughter,  Gertrude,  a  beautiful,  white- 
haired  old  woman,  who  in  her  girlhood  was 
a  splendid  singer,  and  who  for  more  than 
sixty  years  furnished  the  music  for  the  Sun 
day  gatherings.  Her  house  remains  as  she 
183 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

left  it,  and  is  a  cabinet  of  things  rare  and 
curious,  pictures  and  musical  instruments 
brought  from  Germany  and  quaintly  blown 
and  painted  vases  more  than  a  century  old. 

Life  at  Economy  is  puritanical  in  its  regu 
larity  and  severity.  Over  four  hundred  men 
and  women  are  employed  by  the  society  and 
compelled  to  give  strict  observance  to  its 
rules,  which  forbid  smoking,  whiskey-drink 
ing,  and  courting  within  the  limits  of  the 
town.  Males  and  females  live  apart  and 
are  never  permitted  to  mingle  even  at  work, 
but  so  considerate  is  the  treatment  they  re 
ceive  that  few  of  them  leave  except  to  marry. 
At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  every  one 
breakfasts;  at  six  o'clock  work  commences 
— the  duties  of  the  day  being  announced  by 
the  milkman  as  he  goes  his  rounds — and  con 
tinues  until  ten  o'clock,  when  lunch  is  served. 
From  twelve  to  one  o'clock  is  the  dinner 
hour.  There  is  another  luncheon  at  three 
o'clock  and  supper  at  six  o'clock.  At  nine 
o'clock  the  bell  rings  and  all  must  retire. 
Everything  is  in  common.  Grocer,  butcher, 
baker,  and  milkman  visit  each  house  daily, 
and  even  the  washing  is  done  at  the  common 
184 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

laundry.  Nothing  can  be  bought  with 
money  at  Economy,  and  only  members  of 
the  society  handle  that  article.  However, 
the  generosity  of  the  Harmonists  is  pro 
verbial,  and  they  are  kindness  itself  to  the 
poor  people  about  them.  Many  orphan  chil 
dren  have  been  reared,  educated,  and  started 
in  life  by  them,  and  no  unfortunate  is  ever 
turned  from  the  town  unfed.  There  is  a 
room  at  the  inn,  which,  with  the  store,  post- 
office,  town-hall,  and  church,  stands  in  the 
centre  of  the  village,  especially  reserved  for 
tramps,  who  are  kindly  cared  for  overnight, 
and  given  a  little  money  when  they  start 
on  their  way  in  the  morning,  while  other 
visitors,  and  curiosity  brings  many  of  them, 
are  always  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome. 

No  longer  able  to  work,  this  little  band 
of  aged  men  and  women  now  devote  them 
selves  to  good  works  and  to  those  sweet 
religious  meditations  which  have  so  long 
been  their  consolation  and  their  hope.  Twice 
on  every  Sunday  they  gather  at  the  church, 
with  its  high-backed,  uncushioned  pews,  and 
listen  to  Elder  Duss  standing  in  the  place  of 
Rapp  and  Henrici.  He  speaks  briefly  and 
185 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

without  preparation,  but  always  with  elo 
quence  and  force.  No  excuse  is  accepted 
for  absence  from  the  church,  and  should  one 
of  the  members  chance  to  nod  during  the 
services,  he  is  called  to  sit  upon  the  stool  of 
punishment,  a  solitary  bench  in  the  centre 
of  the  church,  until  the  meeting  is  dismissed. 
Many  of  the  ancient  customs  of  the  father 
land  are  still  observed  in  Economy.  Their 
Wiirtemberg  ancestors  used  to  celebrate  the 
completion  of  the  annual  harvest  with  feasts 
and  merrymaking,  and  on  the  I9th  of  Au 
gust  of  each  year  the  Harmonists  observe  in 
fitting  manner  this  beautiful  custom  of  their 
fathers.  Weeks  before  the  day  preparations 
are  making  for  the  feast.  Wine  half  a  cen 
tury  old  is  brought  from  its  cobwebbed  rest 
ing-place,  and  the  choicest  calves  and  beeves 
are  fattened,  killed,  and  roasted.  The  day's 
exercises  are  opened  by  the  playing  of  the 
band  maintained  by  the  society  among  its 
workmen,  and  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  there 
are  services  in  the  church.  When  all  the 
others  have  taken  their  places,  the  members 
of  the  society  enter  with  the  trustees  and 
elders  at  their  head.  After  they  are  seated 
186 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

there  is  singing,  in  which  the  congregation 
joins,  and  a  discourse  by  Elder  Duss,  fol 
lowed  by  more  music.  Finally,  at  eleven 
o'clock,  comes  the  feast.  Headed  by  the 
band,  the  society  and  its  employes,  with 
those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  be  guests, 
march  to  the  town-hall,  where  the  feasting, 
speech-making,  and  singing  are  continued 
for  hours.  In  the  evening  they  again  as 
semble,  and  another  sumptuous  spread,  inter 
spersed  with  music,  brings  the  day  to  a 
close. 

Besides  the  harvest-home  there  are  two 
other  great  annual  feasts  at  Economy.  One 
of  these  occurs  on  the  I5th  of  February,  and 
is  designed  to  fittingly  celebrate  the  founda 
tion  of  the  society  in  1805 ;  the  other  is  the 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  clos 
ing  days  of  October,  for  the  Harmonists 
partake  of  the  sacrament  but  once  a  year, 
holding  that  to  do  so  oftener  is  a  violation 
of  the  Saviour's  wish  and  will.  Music  plays 
an  important  part  in  their  celebration  of  the 
,sacrament,  as  in  all  their  social  and  religious 
observances.  On  the  morning  of  the  sacra 
mental  day  the  town  is  awakened  at  sunrise 
187 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

by  the  band  playing  in  the  portico  of  the 
church.  Marching  to  breakfast  still  play 
ing,  the  musicians  have  no  sooner  finished 
their  meal  than  they  are  on  the  street  again 
and  giving  brave  attention  to  their  instru 
ments.  From  house  to  house  they  go, 
arousing  the  inmates  and  summoning  them 
to  church,  where  all  are  required  to  assemble 
and  listen  to  a  sermon  from  the  head  of  the 
society.  After  the  preaching  comes  the  ob 
servance  of  the  sacrament.  This  does  not 
take  place  in  the  church,  but  in  the  town- 
hall,  only  members  of  the'  society  being 
permitted  to  communicate  or  even  to  be 
present.  There  is  an  elaborate  feast  prior 
to  receiving  the  sacred  elements,  and  in  the 
character  and  preparation  of  the  viands  for 
this  repast  effort  is  made  to  imitate  as  closely 
as  possible  those  partaken  by  Christ  and  His 
disciples  when  they  ate  the  Passover  for  the 
last  time.  Unleavened  bread  and  a  large 
dish  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  soup  are  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  used  by  the 
Harmonists  to  perform  the  singular  cere 
mony  which  they  term  "  dipping  the  sop." 
At  a  given  signal  all  dip  into  the  soup  a 
188 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

piece  of  bread,  thus  converting  it  into  a  sop ; 
this  in  memory  of  the  Saviour's  words  when 
asked  who  should  betray  Him, — "  He  that 
dippeth  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the 
same  shall  betray  me."  Dipping  the  sop  is 
performed  with  the  utmost  solemnity  by  the 
Harmonists,  who  regard  it  as  an  humble 
confession  that  they  have  betrayed  Christ 
many  times  by  their  sins  against  Him. 
After  this  ceremony  the  bread  is  broken  and 
the  cup  prepared  by  Elder  Duss,  who  blesses 
both,  and  all  partake  in  silence.  Then,  one 
by  one,  they  pass  from  the  hall,  and  the  cele 
bration  of  the  sacrament  is  finished. 

What  with  its  quiet,  grass-grown  streets, 
its  weather-beaten,  many-gabled  houses,  and 
its  carefully  tended  gardens,  Economy  has 
been  termed  by  an  acute  observer  "  a  fine 
Rhenish  village  left  behind  intact  from  the 
eighteenth  century."  One  is  tempted  to  ap 
ply  the  same  description  to  Zoar,  the  home 
of  the  Separatists,  fourscore  miles  to  the 
west  of  the  Economy ;  nor  is  the  resemblance 
an  accidental  one,  for  the  Separatists  came 
from  the  same  part  of  Germany  as  the  Har 
monists,  and  like  them  suffered  voluntary 
189 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

exile  for  their  religious  belief.  The  found 
ers  of  both  communities  belonged  to  the 
working  class,  Rapp,  the  head  of  the  Har 
monists,  being  a  vine-planter,  and  Joseph 
Baumeler,  the  leader  of  the  Separatists,  a 
weaver.  The  latter  was  endowed,  however, 
with  an  original  and  inquiring  mind  and 
exceptional  earnestness  of  purpose.  While 
still  a  young  man  he  became  an  ardent  stu 
dent  of  the  writings  of  Boehme  and  other 
mystics,  finally  extracting  from  them  a  new 
religious  creed,  not  unlike  that  framed  by 
Rapp  a  few  years  before.  Like  Rapp  also, 
Baumeler  proved  a  zealous  propagandist, 
and  those  who  shared  his  belief,  drawn 
mainly  from  the  peasant  class,  soon  num 
bered  several  hundred. 

Nor  did  they  escape  the  bitter  persecution 
which  had  formerly  been  the  lot  of  the  Har 
monists.  For  some  ten  years  they  bore  the 
burdens  of  flogging,  fines,  and  imprisonment 
in  uncomplaining  silence.  Then  their  suf 
ferings  attracted  the  attention  of  a  number 
of  wealthy  English  Quakers,  who,  in  1817, 
furnished  money  to  pay  their  passage  to  the 
United  States,  at  the  same  time  contributing 
190 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

a  handsome  additional  sum  to  assist  them 
after  their  arrival.  The  Zoarites,  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred  men,  women,  and 
children,  landed  at  Philadelphia  in  August 
of  the  year  named.  Aided  by  their  Quaker 
friends,  they  at  once  purchased  several  thou 
sand  acres  of  land  in  the  Tuscarawas  valley 
in  Ohio  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  town 
of  Zoar,  the  remaining  members  of  the  sect 
joining  them  in  the  spring  of  1818.  At  first 
an  essay  in  communism  was  not  thought  of, 
but  it  soon  became  clear  that  success  could 
only  be  achieved  by  associated  effort,  and 
two  years  after  the  arrival  at  Zoar  articles 
of  agreement  for  a  community  of  goods  were 
executed  and  signed,  each  signer  throwing 
his  belongings  into  the  common  lot,  and 
vowing  to  do  the  same  with  any  property  of 
which  he  might  thereafter  become  possessed, 
while  at  the  same  time  Baumeler  was  for 
mally  installed  as  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
head  of  the  society. 

Frugal   and   industrious,   the   Separatists 
from  the  first  prospered  under  the  communal 
system.     Nearly  every  handicraft  was  rep 
resented  among  the  original  members  of  the 
191 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

society,  and  the  various  shops  erected  at 
once  attracted  the  patronage  of  the  farmers 
of  the  countryside  and  became  a  source  of 
profit.  This,  with  their  careful  farming  and 
successful  cattle-raising,  enabled  them  in  a 
few  years  to  pay  for  their  lands  and  erect 
roomy  and  comfortable  buildings.  They 
own  at  the  present  time  seven  thousand  acres 
of  land,  covered  in  part  by  orchards  and 
vineyards,  besides  thousands  of  head  of  the 
finest  cattle  and  sheep.  Zoar  has  also  its 
tin,  tailor,  and  shoe  shops,  its  own  saddlery, 
brewery,  carpenter  and  cabinet  shops,  and 
its  own  woollen-,  flour-,  planing-,  and  saw 
mills.  One  of  the  most  interesting  places 
to  visit  is  the  cow  barn  at  milking-time.  The 
society  keeps  about  one  hundred  cows,  which 
are  driven  to  pasture  in  the  morning,  and  at 
sunset  may  be  seen  ambling  contentedly 
homeward  to  the  musical  clink  of  many- 
toned  cow-bells.  Upon  reaching  the  large 
barn  the  herd  separates,  each  division  enter 
ing  its  own  door,  and  each  cow  finding  and 
occupying  her  own  stall  and  knowing  her 
own  name.  The  young  girls  then  come  out 
in  numbers,  and  to  each  is  deputed  the  milk- 
192 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ing  of  three  or  four  cows.  The  little  chil 
dren  sometimes  bring  tin  cups,  and  each 
receives  as  much  milk  as  he  or  she  can 
drink. 

Life  at  Zoar  is  very  plain  and  simple. 
Each  dwelling-house  accommodates  several 
families,  but  each  family  lives  alone.  A 
member  is  allowed  a  certain  number  of 
gowns  or  suits  per  year,  and  groceries  and 
provisions  of  all  sorts  are  obtained  in  the 
same  way,  an  ample  allowance  for  each  fam 
ily  being  dealt  out  on  application.  Some  of 
the  girls  and  older  women  earn  a  small 
amount  of  money  by  knitting  thread  laces, 
which  they  sell  to  visitors  at  the  hotel, 
erected  some  years  ago  by  the  society  for 
the  reception  of  summer  guests,  and  thus 
secure  a  little  spending  money  of  their  own, 
but  with  this  exception  no  member  handles 
money,  all  profits  from  the  harvests  and 
workshops  being  deposited  in  the  society 
treasury.  In  the  long  days  of  summer  every 
one  arises  at  daylight  and  labors  until  six 
o'clock  at  night,  the  women  at  seed-time  and 
harvest  working  beside  the  men  in  the  field. 
In  the  winter  season  work  is  continued  in 
II.— 13  193 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  shops  and  factories  until  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  these  long  hours,  however, 
being  lightened  by  breakfast,  dinner,  and 
supper,  and  a  morning  and  afternoon  lunch. 
On  summer  nights  the  men  practise  in  the 
village  band,  or  smoke  and  quaff  their  beer 
in  a  tiny  public  garden  filled  with  masses 
of  blooming  flowers  and  clumps  of  well- 
trimmed  shrubs,  while  the  women  visit  from 
one  vine-covered  cottage  to  another,  and  the 
children  play  upon  the  common  in  front  of 
the  church.  On  Sunday  there  are  three  re 
ligious  services.  At  the  morning  service  one 
of  Baumeler's  discourses — he  died  at  a  ripe 
old  age  after  having  directed  the  affairs  of 
the  society  for  a  quarter  of  a  century — is 
read  by  one  of  the  older  members ;  the  after 
noon  meeting  is  devoted  to  the  children,  and 
the  evening  gathering  to  song  and  praise. 
No  services  are  held  during  the  week. 

The  history  of  the  Separatists,  similar  in 
other  respects,  offers  a  marked  contrast  to 
that  of  the  Harmonists  in  the  matter  of 
celibacy,  for  while  the  older  society  accepted 
it  only  as  a  second  thought,  the  Separatists 
at  first  made  it  one  of  the  conditions  of 
194 


RAMBLES   IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

membership,  only  to  give  it  up  in  after-years. 
Celibacy  was  one  of  the  fundamental  doc 
trines  of  Baumeler's  curious  creed.  He  be 
lieved  that  God  created  Adam  both  a  male 
and  female,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  "Adam 
was  a  masculine  maiden  possessing  both  the 
male  and  female  elements  of  generation." 
The  separation  of  the  female  element  from 
Adam  by  the  creation  of  Eve  he  regarded  as 
the  result  of  some  sin  on  Adam's  part,  and 
for  that  reason  he  warmly  condemned  the 
marital  state  as  impure  and  unholy.  But 
with  all  his  mysticism  Baumeler  was  re 
freshingly  practical,  and  when  in  1832 
cholera  decimated  the  ranks  of  the  Separa 
tists  and  threatened  their  society  with  ex 
tinction,  he  gave  his  followers  permission  to 
marry,  and  himself  set  the  example  by  taking 
a  wife.  Of  the  children  since  born  and 
reared  within  the  confines  of  the  society, 
about  one-half  have  remained  faithful  to  the 
creed  and  customs  of  their  fathers.  Still,  the 
Separatist  Society  now  has  but  one  hundred 
and  ten  active  members,  and  this  number 
is  said  to  be  annually  decreasing,  for  the 
railway  when  it  came  to  Zoar  a  dozen  years 
195 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

or  more  ago  brought  the  spirit  of  unrest 
in  its  train,  and  with  the  broader  vista  thus 
opened  before  them  many  of  the  villagers 
have  tired  of  the  whilom  monotony  of  their 
lives  and  sought  individual  preferment  in 
other  fields.  As  a  result  the  community  of 
the  Separatists  is  steadily  dwindling  away, 
and  in  a  few  years  at  most  their  peaceful 
haven  will  have  become  a  part  of  the  greater 
world  about  it. 

But  if  the  days  of  Economy  and  Zoar  are 
numbered,  the  Society  of  the  Inspirationists 
at  Amana,  Iowa,  appears,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  still  have  before  it  many  years  of  pros 
perity  and  growing  membership.  The 
Amana  community  owns  some  forty  thou 
sand  acres  of  rich  bottom-lands  along  the 
Iowa  River,  a  short  hour's  ride  by  rail  from 
Cedar  Rapids,  and  its  picturesque  villages — 
there  are  seven  of  them — crown  the  low 
slopes  at  two  or  three  miles'  distance  from 
each  other.  These  groups  of  houses  are  of 
wood  and  unpainted,  the  Amana  people 
claiming  that  it  is  cheaper  to  re-side  a  house 
occasionally  than  to  paint  it,  and  the  gray- 
black  walls,  with  their  display  of  vines,  set 
196 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

down  in  quaint  geometrical  gardens,  have 
a  charm  as  distinctive  and  restful  as  it  is 
difficult  to  describe. 

Each  village  of  the  Inspirationists  sug 
gests  a  bit  of  the  fatherland  transplanted  in 
bulk  to  the  Middle  West,  and  with  reason, 
for  the  sect  sprang  from  a  little  band  of 
people  who,  some  eighty-odd  years  ago,  used 
to  gather  at  the  house  of  Christian  Metz,  a 
carpenter  of  Strasburg.  Converts  to  the 
mystical  teachings  of  Boehme  and  Kock, 
they  called  themselves  Inspirationists,  and 
professed  to  hold  direct  and  personal  com 
munication  with  God,  who,  they  avowed, 
made  chosen  ones  among  their  number  His 
mouth-piece  when  He  desired  to  speak  to 
His  children.  Christian  Metz  was  one  of 
these  inspired  instruments;  another  was 
Barbara  Heinemann,  in  many  respects  the 
most  remarkable  person  ever  connected  with 
the  society,  and  it  was  due  mainly  to  their 
influence  that  the  Inspirationists  formed 
their  first  settlement  in  America  in  1843. 
Metz  and  three  other  members  of  the  society, 
sent  over  to  select  a  situation,  bought  several 
thousand  acres  of  land  near  Buffalo,  New 
197 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

York,  calling  their  first  village  Eben-Ezer, 
this  with  reference,  doubtless,  to  the  stone 
set  up  by  Samuel  as  a  memorial  of  divine 
assistance.  In  due  time  two  other  villages, 
called  Upper  and  Lower  Eben-Ezer,  were 
laid  out,  and  the  end  of  a  decade  saw  more 
than  one  thousand  Inspirationists  prosper 
ously  settled  in  their  new  abiding-place. 
Community  of  goods  was  not  thought  of  at 
first,  but  the  difficulty  the  craftsmen  among 
the  Inspirationists  experienced  in  finding  em 
ployment  in  a  newly-settled  country,  com 
bined  with  other  causes,  soon  made  it  evident 
that  only  by  associated  effort  could  the  best 
results  be  obtained,  and  so,  about  1847,  tneY 
were  "  commanded"  to  hold  all  things  in 
common  and  labor  together  for  the  common 
good.  Five  years  later  came  another  "  in 
spired  command"  for  them  to  move  west 
ward, — more  land  was  needed  by  the  com 
munity  but  could  not  be  had  at  a  reasonable 
price  near  Buffalo, — and,  in  obedience  to  the 
dictates  of  the  Spirit,  the  site  for  a  new 
home  was  purchased  in  Iowa.  That  was  in 
the  summer  of  1855,  and  before  winter  came 
the  first  village  had  been  laid  out  and  built. 
198 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

In  choosing  a  name  for  it  the  colonists  again 
went  to  the  Bible  and  selected  Amana,  the 
name  of  the  hill  described  by  Solomon ;  nor, 
as  other  villages  were  built,  did  they  depart 
from  the  original  name,  but  instead  devised 
constant  variations  of  it,  as  Old  Amana, 
High  Amana,  South,  North,  East,  West, 
and  Middle  Amana. 

The  wise  policy,  begun  at  Eben-Ezer 
and  continued  at  Amana,  of  dividing  the 
colony  into  separate  villages  has  had  much 
to  do  with  the  success  of  the  society,  which 
now  numbers  about  eighteen  hundred  mem 
bers.  It  contributes  to  the  quiet  and  sim 
plicity  sought  after  by  the  Inspirationists, 
and  at  the  same  time  lends  greater  variety 
to  the  communal  life  than  would  be  the 
case  were  there  but  a  single  large  settle 
ment.  The  distance  from  the  most  easterly 
to  the  most  westerly  village  is  six  miles, 
but  excellent  roads  and  telephone  lines  ren 
der  communication  easy.  The  young  people 
in  winter  skate  from  one  hamlet  to  another 
on  the  canal,  dug  to  carry  water  to  the  sev 
eral  villages  and  protect  them  from  the  dan 
ger  of  drought,  or  walk  across  the  fields  in 
199 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

summer.  When  there  is  harvesting  to  be 
done,  the  great  creaking  wagons  of  a  pat 
tern  peculiar  to  Amana  carry  their  loads  of 
workers,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  out  in 
the  morning  and  back  at  night,  zest  being  al 
ways  given  to  the  day's  labors  by  the  possi 
bility  of  working  in  the  next  field  to  the 
force  from  some  other  village,  and  the 
chance  of  the  mid-day  luncheon  being  taken 
under  the  trees  together. 

Farming  is,  of  course,  the  chief  industry 
of  the  Inspirationists,  but — and  herein  lies 
another  secret  of  their  success — they  also 
conduct  woollen-mills,  grist-mills,  calico 
print-mills,  hominy-mills,  soap-factories,  and 
book-binderies,  while  each  village  has  its 
own  saw-mill,  machine-shop,  and  store. 
They  own  many  thousand  head  of  sheep,  but 
as  they  make  three  thousand  or  four  thou 
sand  yards  of  woollen  goods  daily,  they  buy 
raw  wool  in  large  quantities.  They  also 
have  their  own  chemists,  doctors,  and 
schools,  the  last  named  meriting  a  passing 
paragraph. 

As  soon  as  a  child  born  in  the  community 
is  five  years  old  he  or  she  is  sent  to  school. 
200 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

In  the  summer  seven  o'clock  is  the  hour  for 
being  on  hand,  and  this  is  changed  to  eight 
o'clock  in  winter.  Until  mid-day  the  little 
folk  sit  there  on  their  hard  benches  going 
over  their  lessons,  and  now  and  then  going 
over  the  benches  instead  when  they  happen 
to  fall  asleep.  The  boys  sit  on  one  side  of 
the  room  and  the  girls  on  the  other,  the  for 
mer  round  and  rosy  and  very  tight  as  to 
their  little  German  trousers;  the  latter  also 
round  and  rosy  and  looking  exceeding  quaint 
in  the  black  crocheted  hoods  which  they  seem 
never  to  take  off.  After  dinner  they  all  go 
to  school  again,  but  this  time  to  an  industrial 
one,  where  they  are  set  to  work  knitting  the 
thumbs  of  the  great  Amana  mittens,  which 
are  famed  through  all  the  country  round. 
When  the  small  girls  reach  the  age  of  seven 
or  eight  years  they  are  advanced  to  the  main 
body,  so  to  speak,  of  the  mitten,  the  boys 
being  meanwhile  put  through  an  apprentice 
ship  at  various  trades.  German  is  the  lan 
guage  of  the  colony  and  the  one  used  in  the 
schools,  although  English  is  taught  in  the 
higher  classes.  Here  again  the  managers 
have  shown  their  sagacity  if  not  their  loy- 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

alty  to  their  native  country,  'for  the  use  of 
a  language  other  than  that  of  the  people 
about  them  is  clearly  a  strong  tie  among  the 
members. 

At  the  head  of  "  The  Community  of  True 
Inspiration,"  as  the  society  is  officially 
known,  and  exercising  supervision  over  its 
affairs  is  a  board  of  thirteen  trustees,  chosen 
once  a  year  by  ballot.  Control  of  the  spir 
itual  and  temporal  affairs  of  each  village  is 
vested  in  a  board  of  elders,  whose  members, 
selected  with  great  care  by  the  central  board 
of  trustees,  meet  every  morning  to  confer 
together,  select  the  foremen  for  the  different 
industries,  and  assign  the  tasks  of  the  indi 
vidual  members,  effort  always  being  made 
to  give  the  laborer  the  employment  that  will 
be  most  congenial  to  him.  Record  of  the 
affairs  of  each  village  is  kept  by  a  system 
of  accounting  which,  although  elaborate,  is 
a  model  of  clearness  and  accuracy,  showing 
at  a  glance  what  the  village  has  produced 
and  consumed,  what  it  has  sold  to  other  vil 
lages  or  to  outsiders,  what  it  has  bought, 
and  just  what  its  profits  or  losses  have  been. 
The  general  accounts  of  the  colony  are  bal- 

202 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

anced  once  a  year,  when  the  profits  and  losses 
of  the  whole  society  are  equalized.  It  should 
be  added,  however,  that  no  village  bears 
alone  the  losses  it  may  have  sustained,  these 
being  shared  by  the  whole  body. 

The  Inspirationists  never  handle  money 
save  in  their  dealings  with  outsiders.  Once  a 
year  the  elders  grant  each  family  or  adult 
member  of  the  society  credit  corresponding 
to  their  wants  at  the  village  store,  against 
which  they  are  permitted  to  make  purchases. 
If  a  member  does  not  spend  all  of  his  or  her 
annual  allowance,  the  balance  is  added  to 
the  next  year's  credit  or  can  be  given  away. 
Each  village  has  its  own  laundry,  bakery, 
butcher-shop,  and  butter  and  cheese  factory, 
and  wagons  from  these  places  make  their 
daily  round  as  they  do  in  cities.  Meals  are 
taken  in  what  are  called  "  the  kitchens," 
where  the  males  and  females  eat  at  separate 
tables.  There  are  sixteen  of  these  in  Amana 
proper,  with  its  five  hundred  and  fifty  in 
habitants,  and  the  food  furnished  at  the  five 
daily  meals  is  good  and  abundant.  Each 
family  has  its  own  house,  with  a  plot  of 
ground  around  it,  and  the  satisfaction  of 
203 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  members  with  their  state  of  life  is  in 
dicated  by  the  fact  that,  although  all  that 
can  be  made  from  this  ground  may  be  re 
tained  as  private  income,  it  is  devoted  in 
almost  every  instance  to  the  culture  of 
flowers.  Indeed,  the  quiet,  regular,  peace 
ful  life  of  comfort  and  plenty  led  at  Amana 
has  so  strong  an  attraction  for  the  young 
people  raised  there  that  few  leave  when  they 
reach  maturity,  and  those  who  do  so,  as  a 
rule,  return  in  a  short  time.  New  members, 
however,  are  admitted  with  the  greatest  care, 
and  only  after  a  long  and  searching  novi 
tiate,  the  managers  wisely  preferring  to  build 
slowly  but  surely  out  of  the  material  which 
they  can  themselves  mould  and  temper  and 
adjust. 

Besides  the  doctrine  of  "  direct  inspira 
tion"  already  referred  to,  the  tenets  of  the 
Inspirationist  creed  include  justification  by 
faith,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  final 
judgment.  Meetings  are  held  several  times 
a  week,  the  services  usually  consisting  of 
prayer,  singing,  readings  from  the  Bible,  and 
brief  exhortations.  Christmas,  New  Year's, 
and  Easter  are  observed  as  seasons  of  special 
204 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

solemnity,  and  once  a  year  there  is  careful 
examination  into  the  spiritual  condition  of 
all  the  members.  Such  are  the  Inspiration- 
ists  of  Amana.  In  their  daily  life  sober, 
temperate,  and  without  envy;  in  their  deal 
ings  with  their  fellows  kindly,  charitable, 
and  just;  in  their  morals  singularly  pure 
and  blameless,  and  in  intelligence  above  the 
average,  who  would  deny  them  all  the  con 
tentment  and  happiness  that  are  theirs? 


205 


CHAPTER    XIV 
THROUGH  WASHINGTON'S  COUNTRY 

IT  is  an  easy  pilgrimage,  and  one  well 
worth  the  making,  from  the  city  which  bears 
his  name  to  the  three  places  which  above  all 
others  are  associated  with  the  life  and  pres 
ence  of  Washington, — Fredericksburg,  scene 
of  his  youthful  exploits  and  burial-place  of 
his  mother ;  Mount  Vernon,  his  residence  in 
maturer  years ;  and  quiet  grass-grown  Alex 
andria,  which  knew  him  as  burgher,  citizen, 
and  neighbor. 

Fredericksburg,  which  borrowed  its  name 
from  one  of  the  sons  of  George  L,  has  now 
become  doubly  historic  from  the  great  bat 
tle  fought  there  in  December,  1862,  but  its 
charm  for  the  visitor  still  abides  in  its  cher 
ished  relics  of  Washington  and  his  mother. 
These  include  the  old  house  within  the  cor 
porate  limits  of  the  town  in  which  both  lived 
and  in  which  she  died;  the  tomb  above  her 
grave;  the  site,  on  the  farther  shore  of  the 
206 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Rappahannock,  of  the  house  in  which  he 
first  lived  after  his  removal  from  his  native 
Westmoreland,  and  the  fields  about  wherein 
were  enacted  the  boyish  exploits  recorded 
in  the  praiseful  but  not  always  veracious 
chronicles  of  Parson  Weems. 

Both  of  Washington's  grandfathers  came 
from  England  in  1657  and  made  new  homes 
in  the  same  section  of  Virginia.  Augustine, 
first  of  the  Washingtons  born  in  America, 
chose  for  his  second  wife — by  his  first  he 
had  two  sons,  Lawrence  and  Augustine — 
Mary  Ball,  a  girl  of  fortune  and  excellent 
birth,  who  became,  in  due  time,  the  mother 
of  George  Washington,  the  first  of  a  family 
of  six  children.  When  George  was  five 
years  old  his  father  removed  from  West 
moreland  to  a  plantation  which  he  owned 
on  the  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  opposite 
Fredericksburg.  The  house  in  which  Wash 
ington  lived  with  his  parents  was  torn  down 
threescore  years  ago,  and  its  site,  on  the  top 
of  a  hill,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
river,  is  now  covered  by  a  frame  cottage  of 
modest  size.  Directly  below  lies  the  ferry 
where  Washington  when  he  was  ten  years 
207 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

old,  according  to  Weems, — although  this, 
like  many  another  of  the  parson's  stories, 
must  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  allowance, — 
threw  a  stone  across  the  Rappahannock. 
Fredericksburg  folk,  it  may  be  added,  scout 
the  tale,  and  even  at  the  present  time,  with 
the  river  sadly  shrunken  from  its  former 
width  and  depth,  the  feat  described  by 
Weems  would  be  a  difficult  one  for  a  man  of 
mature  years  and  strength. 

Augustine  Washington  died  in  1743,  and 
his  widow  remained  faithful  to  his  memory 
until  her  death,  nearly  fifty  years  later. 
Moreover,  she  reared  her  children  wisely, 
and  one  by  one  saw  them  prosperously  set 
tled  in  life.  With  the  coming  of  the  Revo 
lution  and  when  he  was  about  to  set  out  for 
the  Continental  Congress  in  Philadelphia, 
Washington,  with  loving  regard  for  the  com 
fort  and  safety  of  the  aging  woman,  induced 
his  mother  to  leave  her  country  home  and 
remove  to  Fredericksburg,  nor  did  he  rest 
content  until  he  had  seen  her  settled  in  her 
new  quarters.  The  house  Mary  Washing 
ton  selected  as  her  home  still  stands  in 
Charles  Street,  but  not  in  its  original  form. 
208 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

One  end  has  been  altered  and  the  roof 
raised  to  give  a  full  second  story,  changes 
which  have  nearly  destroyed  its  former 
quaintness  of  aspect. 

Fredericksburg  saw  nothing  of  Washing 
ton  during  the  seven  critical,  troubled  years 
that  followed  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill, 
but  when,  shortly  after  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  at  Yorktown,  the  patriot  captain, 
attended  by  an  imposing  suite  of  French 
and  American  officers,  started  upon  what 
quickly  became  a  triumphal  progress  to  Phil 
adelphia,  he  stopped  on  the  way  to  visit  the 
mother  who  awaited  his  coming  with  serene 
and  quiet  joy.  The  meeting  took  place  on 
the  nth  of  November,  1781.  Washington, 
"  in  the  midst  of  his  numerous  and  brilliant 
suite,"  I  quote  from  the  quaint  account  of 
the  event  given  by  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis,  "  sent  to  apprise  his  mother 
of  his  arrival,  and  to  know  when  it  would 
be  her  pleasure  to  receive  him.  Alone  and 
on  foot  the  general-in-chief  of  the  combined 
armies  of  France  and  America,  the  deliverer 
of  his  country,  the  hero  of  the  hour,  re 
paired  to  pay  his  humble  tribute  of  duty  to 
II. — 14  209 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

her  whom  he  venerated  as  the  author  of  his 
being."  The  first  warm  embrace  of  greet 
ing  over,  she  drew  slowly  back,  and  looking 
with  loving  earnestness  into  his  face,  said, 
very  softly,  "  You  are  growing  old,  George ; 
care  and  toil  have  been  making  marks  in 
your  face  since  I  saw  you  last." 

She,  too,  had  grown  old  in  the  intervening 
years,  but  when  she  appeared  that  night  at 
the  ball  given  by  the  citizens  of  Fredericks- 
burg  in  honor  of  the  victors,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  her  son,  her  noble  bearing  and  the 
quiet  dignity  with  which  she  received  the 
addresses  of  those  who  came  to  do  her  honor 
prompted  Lafayette  to  remark  that  he  had 
seen  the  only  Roman  matron  who  was  living 
in  his  day. 

Memory  of  another  meeting  between 
Washington  and  his  mother,  last  and  ten- 
derest  of  all,  comes  to  mind  as  one  stands 
before  the  quiet  house  in  Charles  Street. 
It  was  in  April,  1789,  that  he  came  to  bid 
her  farewell  before  leaving  for  New  York 
to  enter  upon  his  duties  as  first  President  of 
the  Republic.  He  found  her  weak  and  worn 
in  body  and  already  stricken  with  the  hand 
210 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  death.  When  he  told  her  that  as  soon 
as  his  public  duties  would  permit  he  should 
return  to  her,  she  gently  interrupted  him, 
saying  that  they  should  meet  no  more,  but 
that  he  must  go  to  fill  the  high  place  destiny 
had  assigned  him.  And  so  they  parted,  the 
strong  man  sobbing  like  a  child  as  he  left 
her  presence  for  the  last  time.  Four  months 
later  she  had  ceased  to  live.  Washington 
was  at  dinner  with  Baron  Steuben  and  other 
friends  when  word  came  to  him  that  his 
mother  was  dead.  "  My  uncle,"  writes  his 
nephew,  who  was  present,  "  immediately  re 
tired  to  his  room,  and  remained  there  for 
some  time  alone." 

It  is  a  pleasant  ride  from  Fredericksburg 
to  Mount  Vernon  and  takes  one  along  wind 
ing  country  roads  often  traversed  by  Wash 
ington.  In  1741  his  half-brother  Lawrence 
served  with  Admiral  Vernon  in  the  disas 
trous  campaign  against  Carthagena  in  South 
America.  The  following  year  he  returned 
to  Virginia,  and  was  about  to  sail  for  Eng 
land  to  enter  the  regular  navy  when  beautiful 
Anne  Fairfax  captured  his  affections,  and 
the  spirit  of  war  yielded  to  the  gentler  argu- 
211 


RAMBLES   IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

ment  of  love.  They  were  married  in  the 
midsummer  of  1748.  The  death  of  the 
elder  Washington  a  few  months  before  had 
made  the  young  husband  owner  and  master 
of  an  estate  extending  for  miles  down  the 
Potomac  below  Alexandria,  and  Lawrence 
Washington  built  for  his  bride  a  plain  but 
substantial  mansion  on  the  most  command 
ing  river  outlook,  giving  it  the  name  of 
Mount  Vernon,  in  honor  of  the  admiral  with 
whom  he  had  served  in  the  West  Indies. 

A  swift  fever  made  an  end  of  Lawrence 
Washington  in  1752,  and  his  estate  passed 
to  his  daughter.  She  soon  followed  her 
father  to  the  grave,  and  by  the  terms  of  the 
original  bequest  young  George  Washington, 
who  from  the  first  had  been  a  frequent  and 
much-loved  visitor  at  the  mansion,  became 
the  master  of  Mount  Vernon  and  its  wide- 
reaching  acres.  From  his  father  he  had 
already  inherited  large  landed  holdings  on 
the  Rappahannock ;  his  new  acquisition 
made  him  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  of 
the  Old  Dominion.  Coincident  with  his 
taking  possession  of  Mount  Vernon  he  be 
gan  his  labors  in  the  service  of  the  colony, 

212 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

first  as  a  surveyor  exploring  and  laying  down 
the  bounds  of  great  estates,  and  then  in  the 
military  service  for  the  extension  of  colonial 
authority  and  British  empire  on  the  Ohio. 
In  the  five  or  six  years  which  followed  he 
rose  to  a  high  place  on  the  roll  of  sagacious 
military  commanders,  and  the  fame  of  his 
martial  exploits  reached  the  uttermost  limits 
of  the  colonies. 

Frequent  absences,  however,  did  not  pre 
vent  Washington  from  exercising  close  and 
prudent  watch  over  the  affairs  of  his  estate, 
or  from  prosecuting  those  affairs  of  the  heart 
which  lend  a  piquant  interest  to  his  career, 
for  the  young  master  of  Mount  Vernon,  like 
most  strong  men,  was  all  his  life  a  lover  of 
women,  and  before  he  was  eighteen  had 
already  suffered  the  pangs  of  unrequited 
love.  He  speaks  in  letters  written  at  this 
time  of  his  passion  for  the  "  Lowland 
Beauty,"  and  to  the  same  period  may  also 
be  assigned  two  love  poems,  one  an  acrostic 
to  "  Frances,"  no  doubt  some  fair  maid  of 
Alexandria,  and  the  other  a  sonnet,  interest 
ing  only  because  it  shows  the  depressed  state 
of  mind  into  which  its  author  was  thrown 
213 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

by  his  affairs  of  the  heart.  When  he  was 
nineteen  he  courted  and  was  refused  by 
pretty  Betsy  Fauntleroy,  and  a  little  later 
there  grew  up  in  his  heart  the  master  passion 
of  his  life, — his  love  for  Sally  Gary,  wife  of 
his  friend  George  William  Fairfax  and  sister- 
in-law  of  his  half-brother,  Lawrence  Wash 
ington.  Sally  Gary  was  already  married 
when  Washington  first  met  her,  yet  this  did 
not  prevent  him  from  cherishing  a  regard  for 
her  that  for  a  time  threatened  to  assume 
"  sovereign  control"  of  his  ardent  nature. 
His  letters  are  proof  that  the  love  he  had 
felt  for  other  amiable  women  was  as  water 
unto  wine  beside  this  hopeless  attachment 
for  his  beautiful  neighbor,  but  fortunately, 
thanks  to  time,  to  the  lady's  subsequent  ab 
sence  in  England  with  her  husband,  and, 
above  all,  because,  Washington  being  a  man 
of  honor  and  resolute  will,  the  feeling  was 
gradually  subdued  by  him,  and  his  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Custis  happily  ended  the  episode. 
It  was  in  April,  1759,  three  months  after 
her  marriage  to  Washington,  that  Martha 
Custis  became  the  mistress  of  Mount  Ver- 
non.  Daughter  of  Colonel  John  Dandridge, 
214 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

a  belle  of  the  colonial  court  at  fifteen,  wife 
of  Colonel  Daniel  Parke  Custis  at  seventeen, 
and  a  widow  with  two  children  at  twenty- 
four,  Washington  met  her  for  the  first 
time  while  on  a  military  errand  to  the  old 
Scotch  governor,  Dinwiddie,  at  the  colonial 
capital.  Their  marriage  gave  him  absolute 
control  of  one-third  of  the  Custis  patrimony, 
one  of  the  largest  fortunes  in  America.  The 
remainder  of  the  estate  came  into  his  hands 
as  guardian. 

Washington  at  this  time  was  in  the  early 
flush  of  his  magnificent  physical  manhood. 
Straight  as  an  Indian,  with  limbs  cast  almost 
in  a  giant's  mould,  his  self-contained  coun 
tenance,  agreeable  speech,  and  dignified  bear 
ing  made  his  personality  most  impressive. 
Probably  half  of  his  time  at  home  was  spent 
in  the  saddle,  and  this  active  out-of-door  life 
gave  him  a  glow  of  health  and  sense  of 
vigor.  Never  more  at  home  than  on  horse 
back,  fox-hunting  was  his  favorite  sport, 
and  in  his  diary  for  January  and  February, 
1768,  it  is  recorded  that  he  followed  the 
hounds  sixteen  days  and  shot  on  five.  Now 
and  then  his  boldness  brought  him  to  grief, 
215 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

but  these  mischances  failed  to  deter  him. 
At  fifty-five  he  wrote  that  he  was  still  fond 
of  the  chase,  which  he  occasionally  indulged 
in  until  near  his  death. 

For  fifteen  years  George  and  Martha 
Washington  enjoyed  life  at  Mount  Vernon, 
he  serving  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  and 
managing  his  vast  estates,  she  taking  com 
plete  charge  of  the  domestic  economy  of  the 
household,  and  both  joining  in  the  exercise 
of  a  hospitality  as  gracious  as  it  was  open- 
handed,  unceasing  and  lavish.  The  master 
of  Mount  Vernon  played  a  forceful  part 
in  the  events  which  led  up  to  the  Congress 
of  1774  and  finally  to  the  war  for  independ 
ence  ;  and  in  those  trying  times  his  wife  sup 
ported  him  with  words  of  approbation  and 
encouragement,  writing  to  a  relative,  "  My 
mind  is  made  up.  My  heart  is  in  the  cause. 
George  is  right.  He  is  always  right." 

The  second  Continental  Congress  met,  and 
Washington  was  a  delegate.  Lexington  and 
Concord  had  fired  the  heart  of  the  colonies, 
and  the  Continental  army  was  organized  in 
June,  1775,  with  Washington  as  its  com- 
mander-in-chief.  He  wrote  to  his  wife  at 
216 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Mount  Vernon  giving  directions  about  the 
management  of  his  estate,  enclosed  his  will, 
which  "  he  hoped  would  be  satisfactory," 
and  at  once  set  out  from  Philadelphia  to  take 
command  of  the  Continental  forces  at  Bos 
ton.  Mount  Vernon  saw  him  only  twice 
during  the  following  eight  years,  and  then 
in  the  line  of  military  duty,  but  each  winter 
Mrs.  Washington  joined  her  husband  at 
head-quarters  to  assist  in  raising  the  heavy 
spirits  of  officers  and  men  and  to  minister 
to  the  sick  and  suffering. 

It  was  in  September,  1781,  that  Washing 
ton  suddenly  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon,  his 
first  visit  since  1775,  on  his  way  to  take 
command  of  the  forces  at  Yorktown.  But 
a  single  night  was  his  stay,  and  he  moved  on 
to  close  the  war  in  the  South  and  to  put  an 
end  to  the  last  hope  of  Great  Britain's  re 
covery  of  her  lost  colonies.  Cornwallis 
having  surrendered  at  Yorktown,  Washing 
ton  spent  a  week  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  then, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  left  for  the  North 
to  resume  command  of  the  army  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York,  to  put  the  finishing 
touches  to  the  war  and  to  give  Congress  the 
217 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

benefit  of  his  counsel.  In  November,  1783, 
Mrs.  Washington  returned  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  after  an  absence  of  two  years.  The 
British  hauled  down  the  royal  standard  of 
King  George  and  evacuated  New  York. 
Washington  having  taken  leave  of  his  sor 
rowing  veterans,  repaired  to  Annapolis, 
where  Mrs.  Washington  joined  him  to  wit 
ness  the  most  heroic  act  of  his  noble  career, 
— the  return  of  his  commission  and  a  con 
quered  nationality  to  Congress.  The  same 
day,  December  23,  as  plain  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Washington,  they  left  for  Mount  Vernon, 
where  they  arrived  amid  the  greatest  joy 
of  the  neighbors  on  the  Christmas  Eve  of 

1783- 

The  world-wide  fame  of  Washington  now 
made  Mount  Vernon  the  shrine  of  the  great 
men  of  America  and  of  visiting  foreigners 
of  rank  and  renown.  The  original  mansion 
quickly  proved  too  small  to  accommodate 
the  throng  of  visitors  and  guests,  and  in  1785 
it  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  two  wings, 
composing  the  banquet-hall  and  the  library 
and  the  piazza  overlooking  the  river.  The 
detached  structures  for  the  farm  and  domes- 
218 


RAMBLES    IN   COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

tic  offices,  the  lawn,  arboretum,  conservato 
ries,  and  flower-  and  kitchen-gardens  were 
also  constructed  or  laid  out,  giving  the  man 
sion  and  immediate  surroundings  their  pres 
ent  appearance. 

Of  the  Fairfaxes,  Washington's  constant 
comrades  in  other  days,  only  Bryan  was  now 
left  in  America,  and  that  good  man  was 
getting  on  in  years  and  making  up  his  mind 
to  take  priestly  orders.  Of  Washington's 
other  neighbors,  the  most  important  one  still 
living  within  easy  reach  of  Mount  Vernon 
was  George  Mason,  of  Gunston  Hall,  a  pa 
triot  of  the  finest  type,  the  author  of  that 
noble  paper  "  The  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights," 
and  who  in  the  intervals  of  useful  labor  in 
the  Continental  Congress  returned  to  his 
home  on  the  Potomac.  To  this  old  manor- 
house  of  the  Masons,  built  in  1739  and  still 
standing,  although  no  longer  in  the  posses 
sion  of  the  descendants  of  its  first  owners, 
the  Washington  family  was  wont  at  this 
period  to  resort  for  tea-drinking  and  dinner, 
visits  certain  to  be  returned  in  kind  before 
the  month  was  out. 

Agriculture,  after  soldiering,  was  always 
219 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Washington's  chief  delight.  To  its  pursuit 
he  now  returned  with  zest  whetted  by  years 
of  absence  from  home,  and  good  reason  had 
Brissot  de  Warville,  the  French  traveller 
and  author,  who  became  chief  of  the  Giron 
dists  and  died  by  the  guillotine  in  1793,  to 
cry  out  in  astonishment  at  the  general's  suc 
cess  in  farming,  when,  during  his  visit  to 
America,  he  went  the  rounds  of  Mount  Ver- 
non  in  the  autumn  of  1788.  The  estates 
were  then  at  the  highest  pitch  of  improve 
ment  they  ever  attained,  crops  of  wheat, 
tobacco,  corn,  barley,  and  buckwheat  "  bur 
dening  the  ground."  What  excited  the 
Frenchman's  chief  surprise  was  that  every 
barn  and  cabin,  grove  and  clearing,  field 
and  orchard,  passed  daily  beneath  the  watch 
ful  eye  of  the  master.  All  the  busy  life  of 
the  negro  world  was  regulated  by  his  per 
sonal  directions  to  overseers  and  bailiff.  No 
item  was  too  insignificant  to  bring  before 
his  notice,  and  the  minutest  contract  for 
work  agreed  upon  was  put  into  writing. 
How  odd,  for  example,  the  agreement  with 
Philip  Baxter,  the  gardener,  found,  duly 
signed  and  witnessed,  among  Washington's 

220 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

papers,  wherein  Philip  binds  himself  to  keep 
sober  for  a  year,  and  to  fulfil  his  duties  on 
the  place,  if  allowed  four  dollars  at  Christ 
mas,  with  which  to  be  drunk  four  days  and 
four  nights ;  two  dollars  at  Easter,  to  effect 
the  same  purpose;  two  dollars  at  Whitsun 
tide,  to  be  drunk  for  two  days;  a  dram  in 
the  morning,  and  a  drink  of  grog  at  dinner, 
at  noon." 

In  barnyards,  kennels,  and  stables  there 
is  continual  interest  on  the  part  of  their  mas 
ter.  He  makes  experiments  in  breeding 
mules  with  the  jacks  sent  him  by  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  thanks  Gouverneur  Morris  for 
a  couple  of  Chinese  pigs,  forwarded  from 
Morrisania,  along  with  a  pair  of  Chinese 
geese.  Washington's  care  of  horses  is  too 
well  known  to  need  mention  here,  but  one 
ceremony  of  his  daily  round  of  his  farms, 
a  ceremony,  in  season,  never  omitted  by  the 
general,  deserves  to  be  recalled.  It  was  to 
lean  over  the  fence  around  the  field  wherein 
a  tall  old  sorrel  horse,  with  white  face  and 
legs,  was  grazing  luxuriously  in  the  richest 
grass  and  clover  Mount  Vernon  could  af 
ford.  At  the  sight  of  him  the  old  steed 

221 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

would  prick  up  his  ears  and  run  neighing 
to  arch  his  neck  beneath  his  master's  hand. 
This  was  Nelson,  the  war-horse  upon  whose 
back,  at  Yorktown,  Washington  had  received 
the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  The  war 
ended,  Nelson's  work  was  over.  Turned 
out  to  graze  in  summer,  in  winter  carefully 
groomed  and  stabled,  he  lived  to  a  good  old 
age,  but  by  his  master's  strict  command  was 
never  again  allowed  to  feel  the  burden  of  a 
saddle. 

Thus  three  years  passed  in  quiet  and  re 
tirement.  But  they  were  neither  years  of 
leisure  nor  of  rest.  The  cares  of  state  were 
thrust  upon  the  privacy  of  the  home  life  at 
Mount  Vernon.  Washington  held  the  lead 
ing-strings  of  the  infant  republic.  The 
weakness  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
were  apparent  to  him,  and  it  was  in  his  con 
stant  thought  to  devise  some  form  of  strong 
centralized  national  governmental  authority 
and  administration.  He  was  in  communica 
tion  with  the  patriots  in  all  parts  of  the 
States,  hanging  together  and  defaulting  in 
their  duty  and  obligations  under  the  free  and 
easy  system  of  1777,  and  it  was  on  the  ve- 

222 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

randa  or  in  the  library  of  Mount  Vernon 
that  the  preliminary  steps  were  arranged 
which  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  system  of 
the  Confederation  and  the  substitution  of  the 
national  system  in  1787. 

It  was  on  a  sunny  day  in  April,  1 789,  that 
Charles  Thomson,  secretary  of  the  Conti 
nental  Congress,  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon 
with  the  official  notification  of  Washington's 
election  to  the  Presidency.  Reluctant  to 
leave  the  congenial  pursuits  and  surround 
ings  of  Mount  Vernon,  he  nevertheless  re 
sponded  once  more  to  his  country's  call,  and 
on  April  16,  1789,  left  for  New  York,  the 
journey  being  one  constant  succession  of 
ovations.  He  inaugurated  the  new  govern 
ment,  and  soon  after  was  followed  by  Mrs. 
Washington,  who  established  the  social  in 
stitutions  decided  upon  for  the  executive 
office  and  surroundings.  During  the  years 
of  his  Presidency  Washington  occasionally 
visited  Mount  Vernon,  passing  a  short  time 
there  during  the  adjournments  of  Congress. 
He  also  took  an  active  part  in  the  establish 
ment  of  the  site  and  laying  the  foundations 
of  the  capital,  which  bears  his  name  and  lies 
223 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

almost  in  sight  of  his  beloved  Mount  Ver- 
non. 

Washington's  second  term  as  President 
closed  in  March,  1797,  and  he  at  once  re 
turned  to  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  now 
sixty-five  years  of  age,  laden  with  honors, 
surrounded  by  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  in  the  possession  of  perfect 
health.  The  care  of  his  estate  gave  him  his 
greatest  pleasure  during  his  remaining  years, 
but  his  regard  for  the  public  weal  never 
weakened,  and  here  and  there  in  the  diaries 
and  private  correspondence  of  the  period  one 
finds  proofs  of  this,  which  afford  at  the  same 
time  intimate  glimpses  of  the  personality  of 
the  masterful  man  whose  career  was  now 
near  its  close.  Let  one  of  these  find  a  place 
in  this  chronicle.  After  Adams  had  been 
chosen  President,  and  the  outcry  against  the 
Alien  and  Sedition  laws  became  so  loud  as 
to  arouse  Washington's  apprehension  that 
the  Republicans  might  carry  the  country  to 
the  other  extreme  and  the  work  of  disinte 
gration  be  commenced,  he  sent  a  message  to 
Richmond  with  a  note  to  John  Marshall, 
afterwards  chief -justice,  saying  he  wished 
224 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

him  to  come  to  Mount  Vernon  for  a  week's 
visit.  Marshall,  who  was  an  ardent  Feder 
alist,  got  ready,  and  in  a  few  days  reached 
Mount  Vernon,  where  he  was  received  with 
great  cordiality. 

After  dinner,  when  all  the  other  company 
had  retired  to  the  sitting-room,  Washington 
detained  Marshall,  and  soon  told  him  why 
he  had  sent  for  him.  "  I  am  uneasy,  Major 
Marshall/'  said  he,  "  at  the  rapid  growth  of 
these  democratic  societies  and  alarmed  at  the 
tendency  towards  the  disintegration  of  our 
present  system.  The  press  is  attacking  all 
who  wish  to  maintain  the  Federal  govern 
ment  in  its  integrity  and  strength  with  great 
violence,  and  I  fear  the  result  of  the  ap 
proaching  elections.  We  need  our  strongest 
and  most  patriotic  men  in  Congress,  and  I 
want  you  to  return  to  Richmond  and  an 
nounce  yourself  as  a  candidate." 

Marshall  made  answer  that  it  was  im 
possible  ;  that  he  was  a  poor  man,  dependent 
upon  his  practice  at  the  bar,  and  that  the 
pecuniary  sacrifice  would  be  more  than  he 
could  bear  in  his  present  straitened  circum 
stances.  Washington  argued  with  him,  and 
11—15  225 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

soon  got  wrought  into  a  violent  passion. 
No  patriot,  he  declared,  would  refuse  to 
serve  his  country  in  such  an  emergency;  he 
had  been  making  personal  sacrifices  for  the 
public  all  his  life,  and  no  one  deserving  the 
name  of  a  man  would  refuse  such  a  call. 

Marshall,  in  describing  the  occurrence, 
said  he  had  never  received  such  a  torrent 
of  abuse  in  his  life.  He  thought  at  one 
time  Washington  would  jump  on  him  from 
across  the  table.  He  retired  that  night,  but 
could  not  sleep.  The  insults  given  him 
seemed  to  blister  his  brain.  After  rolling 
and  tossing  for  a  time,  he  concluded  he 
would  get  up  early  in  the  morning,  slip  out, 
get  his  horse,  and  start  home  before  break 
fast.  Morning  at  last  came,  and  as  soon  as 
he  could  see  well  he  dressed.  Fearing  to 
awake  Washington,  he  took  his  boots  in  his 
hand  and  started  down  the  stairway  in  his 
stocking  feet;  but  to  his  horror  he  met 
Washington  in  the  hall. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Major  Marshall  ?" 
asked  the  old  general. 

"  I  was  going  out,  sir/' 

"  It  is  too  early  for  you  to  rise,  sir.     Re- 
226 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

turn  to  your  room,  and  I  will  have  you  called 
when  breakfast  is  ready." 

Marshall  returned  to  his  room,  as  he  said, 
"  to  await  further  orders." 

At  breakfast  Washington  was  very  polite 
to  him.  Afterwards  he  informed  Marshall 
that  the  horses  were  ready  and  that  they 
would  ride  over  the  plantation.  They  rode, 
returning  at  three  o'clock  to  dinner.  No  al 
lusion  was  made  to  the  row  of  the  previous 
night.  The  result  of  it  all  was  that  Mar 
shall  stayed  the  week  out,  returned  to  Rich 
mond,  ran  for  Congress,  was  elected,  and 
took  every  post  that  the  general  wanted  him 
to  take.  Yet  Washington's  biographers 
merely  tell  us  that  Marshall  was  "  per 
suaded  by  him  to  enter  Congress !" 

Once  only  did  Washington  leave  Mount 
Vernon  after  the  close  of  his  second  term 
as  President.  The  French  monarchy  had 
been  overthrown  and  the  Directory  were 
startling  the  world  with  horrors.  Because 
the  American  government  would  not  sanc 
tion  their  butcheries  and  help  shield  them 
from  the  accumulated  vengeance  of  man 
kind  they  warred  upon  our  commerce,  im- 
227 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

prisoned  our  citizens,  and  insulted  our  com 
missioners.  War  seemed  inevitable,  and 
Washington  was  again  summoned  from  his 
resting-place  to  resume  his  arms  and  defend 
his  country.  It  must  have  been  a  sight  to 
see  the  old  lion  once  more  summoning  his 
brindled  sons  to  battle.  His  old  veterans 
rallied  around  him  at  the  sound  of  his  voice, 
ready  to  follow  their  general,  to  repeat  their 
old  hardships,  and  brave  their  old  dangers. 
But  war  was  averted,  and  Washington  re 
tired  to  Mount  Vernon — to  die. 

Two  years  later  his  brave  wife  followed 
him  to  the  grave.  After  her  death  the 
Mount  Vernon  estate  passed  to  Bushrod 
Washington,  a  nephew  of  the  general.  In 
1829  it  became  the  property  of  John  Augus 
tine  Washington,  a  nephew  of  Bushrod.  In 
1832,  Mrs.  Jane  Washington,  his  widow, 
was  mistress  of  the  estate.  At  her  death  in 
1855  her  son,  John  Augustine  Washington, 
became  possessor. 

Neglect,  indifference,  and  shiftless  man 
agement  now  witnessed  this  once  baronial 
estate  going  to  decay.  But  some  forty 
years  ago  the  women  of  the  United  States 
228 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

came  to  the  rescue  of  the  home  and  tomb  of 
Washington,  and  the  Mount  Vernon  La 
dies'  Association  was  incorporated,  the  man 
sion  and  two  hundred  acres  passing  into  its 
hands  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

The  present  ownership  and  administration 
secure  the  mansion  from  unnecessary  rav 
ages  of  time  and  spoliation  and  vandalism  of 
unworthy  visitors.  Each  room  in  the  main 
building  having  been  assigned  to  a  State, 
the  lady  regent  of  the  State  intrusted  with 
its  care  supervising  its  restoration,  pres 
ervation,  and  appropriate  furnishing.  In 
this  way  the  rooms  have  been  brought  back 
in  the  style  of  the  life  of  Washington  and 
fitted  up  either  with  furniture  used  by  Wash 
ington  or  of  his  times.  The  largest  room, 
usually  called  the  banquet-hall  or  state 
dining-room,  is  now  known  as  the  New  York 
Room.  Rembrandt  Peak's  "Washington 
before  Yorktown"  hangs  on  the  west  side 
of  the  room.  It  was  given  by  the  artist's 
heirs  to  the  Mount  Vernon  Association. 
Washington  is  on  horseback,  and  with  him 
are  Lafayette,  Hamilton,  King,  Lincoln,  and 
229 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Rochambeau.  The  picture  is  framed  in  the 
wood  of  a  tree  that  grew  on  the  farm  of 
Robert  Morris.  The  military  equipments 
used  by  Washington  in  the  Braddock  cam 
paign  are  shown  in  a  glass  case.  The  only 
interesting  thing  in  the  New  York  Room, 
not  a  Washington  relic,  is  an  old  British 
flag  that  belonged  to  General  Grant.  It  is 
red  silk,  and  so  very  old  that  it  is  quite  in 
tatters,  and  to  preserve  it  the  Regents  have 
had  it  mounted  on  plush  and  framed. 

The  Washington  family  dining-room  is 
now  the  South  Carolina  Room.  The  side 
board  in  this  room  is  a  veritable  relic,  used 
by  Washington  and  his  wife  at  Mount  Ver- 
non.  It  was  presented  by  the  wife  of  Gen 
eral  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  wished  it  to  go  back 
in  its  original  place. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  relics  in  the 
house  are  those  in  the  sleeping-chambers. 
"  Lafayette's  Room"  has  still  the  original 
four-poster,  with  heavy  tester  and  hangings, 
and  the  desk  and  dressing-table,  which  served 
the  marquis  on  his  visits  to  the  Washington 
family.  The  room  of  Nellie  Custis  has  in 
it  a  quaint  and  beautiful  chair  which  came 
230 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

over  with  Lord  Baltimore,  and  the  mirror 
at  which  she  made  her  toilet  and  the  steps 
by  which  she  climbed  into  her  lofty,  cur 
tained  bed  are  still  in  their  old  places.  In 
another  room  is  a  curious  candlestick  of 
Mrs.  Washington's,  an  upright  rod  support 
ing  a  sliding  cross-beam,  in  each  end  of 
which  is  a  brass  candlestick,  the  base  of 
which,  a  tripod,  rests  upon  the  floor.  How 
ever,  the  interest  of  the  whole  house  centres 
in  the  room  where  Washington  died,  and  in 
which  the  years  have  wrought  no  change. 
The  bed  in  which  he  breathed  his  last  holds 
its  old  place,  and  beside  it  is  the  light-stand, 
on  which  are  the  rings  left  by  his  medicine- 
glasses,  unchanged  since  that  day.  The 
secretary  at  which  he  wrote,  the  hair-covered 
trunk  in  which  he  carried  his  possessions, 
the  surveyor's  tripod  he  had  used,  the  cloak 
he  threw  about  his  shoulders  when  he  went 
over  the  farm,  the  leathern  chair  in  which  he 
sat,  are  all  there ;  and  standing  in  that  room 
one  comes  closer  to  the  living  presence  of 
Washington  than  in  any  other  place  on 
earth. 

A  delightful  sail  takes  the  visitor  from 
231 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Mount  Vernon  to  Alexandria,  the  quiet 
riverside  hamlet  which  knew  Washington 
as  townsman  and  neighbor.  Man  and  town 
came  into  active  life  together,  for  it  was 
while  Washington  was  passing  from  child 
hood  into  youth  at  Mount  Vernon  that  the 
hamlet  of  Belhaven  grew  into  the  shire  town 
of  Alexandria. 

Young  George  rode  into  town  almost  daily 
when  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  when,  his  days 
as  a  surveyor  ended,  he  was  commissioned 
major  in  the  colonial  militia  and  appointed 
adjutant  of  the  frontier  district,  he  estab 
lished  his  head-quarters  at  Alexandria,  from 
this  centre  organizing  the  militia  of  the  bor 
der  counties,  selecting  drill-masters  for  the 
officers,  attending  and  regulating  musters, 
and  thus  slowly  yet  surely  developing  that 
command  of  detail  and  talent  for  organiza 
tion  which  five-and-twenty  years  later  trans 
formed  on  Boston  Heights  a  crude  militia 
into  a  Continental  army.  From  Alexandria, 
in  April,  1754,  a  little  army  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  with  Washington  at  their 
head,  marched  off  into  the  wilderness,  with 
their  faces  turned  towards  the  Ohio  River. 
232 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

In  August  the  remnant  came  back  from  the 
campaign.  They  had  been  forced  to  sur 
render  to  the  French  at  Fort  Necessity,  but 
had  marched  out  with  the  honors  of  war. 
They  went  into  camp  at  Alexandria,  await 
ing  orders,  and  it  was  at  this  time  an  in 
cident  occurred  which  in  its  sequel  proved 
that  Washington  had  already  not  only 
learned  how  to  command  men,  but  had 
become  master  of  himself  as  well. 

A  bitter  and  exciting  contest  was  in  prog 
ress  for  the  election  of  a  member  for  the 
House  of  Burgesses.  The  contestants  were 
Colonel  George  Fairfax  and  Mr.  Elzey. 
Washington  was  a  zealous  supporter  of  his 
friend  Fairfax,  and  in  a  dispute  with  a  Mr. 
Payne,  who  was  a  small  man,  but  stout 
hearted  and  brave,  he  grossly  insulted  Payne, 
who  promptly  knocked  him  down  with  a 
hickory  stick.  He  was  stunned,  and  recov 
ered  consciousness  just  in  time  to  prevent 
serious  bloodshed.  Several  of  his  subordi 
nate  officers  being  present,  they  were  about 
to  demolish  the  Payne  party,  when  he 
checked  his  angry  comrades.  Within  a 
short  time  the  regiment  received  news  in 
233 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

their  camp  that  their  colonel  had  been 
knocked  down.  On  they  came  with  a  rush 
into  the  towrn;  but  a  few  words  from  their 
commander,  assuring  them  he  was  not  hurt 
and  that  he  had  provoked  the  punishment 
he  got,  induced  them  to  return  to  their 
quarters.  The  next  day  he  sent  for  Payne, 
who  came  expecting  serious  results,  but 
Washington  offered  his  hand. 

"Mr.  Payne,"  said  he,  "I  find  I  was 
wrong  yesterday,  but  I  wish  to  be  right  to 
day.  You  have  had  some  satisfaction;  and 
if  you  think  that  sufficient,  here  is  my  hand. 
Let  us  be  friends." 

Years  after  the  same  Mr.  Payne  had  oc 
casion  to  visit  Mount  Vernon.  "  As  I  drew 
near,"  said  he,  in  narrating  the  incident, 
"  I  felt  a  rising  fear  lest  he  should  call  to 
mind  the  blow  I  had  given  him  in  former 
days,"  but  Washington  met  him  cordially  at 
the  door,  led  him  to  the  presence  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  introduced  him.  "Here, 
my  dear,"  said  he,  "  here  is  the  little  man 
you  have  so  often  heard  me  talk  of,  and 
who,  on  a  difference  between  us  one  day, 
had  the  resolution  to  knock  me  down,  big 
234 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL    BYWAYS 

as  I  am.  I  know  you  will  honor  him  as  he 
deserves,  for  I  assure  you  Mr.  Payne  has 
the  heart  of  a  true  Virginian." 

It  was  at  Alexandria  that,  in  1755,  Brad- 
dock,  with  Washington  as  aide-de-camp, 
made  ready  for  his  disastrous  Western  cam 
paign,  the  half-built  town  becoming  for  the 
time  the  centre  of  British  authority  in  Amer 
ica.  Braddock  left  Alexandria  on  April  20 ; 
on  July  9  he  fell,  and  Washington,  filling  the 
mountain  passes  with  troops,  saved  his  fel 
low-colonials  from  ravishment  by  the 
French  and  Indians.  Soon  after  this  came 
the  young  colonel's  marriage  to  the  widow 
Custis,  his  resignation  from  the  militia,  the 
French  power  in  Virginia  being  now  broken, 
and  his  election  to  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
At  the  same  time  he  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  concerns  of  the  town  growing  up  on 
the  borders  of  his  estate.  He  was  made  a 
member  of  the  town  council  in  1766,  and 
about  the  same  time  built  an  office  in  the 
village, — torn  down  only  a  few  years  be 
fore  the  Civil  War, — where  he  transacted 
his  business  and  met  his  friends.  He  was 
also  vestryman  of  the  parish  which  included 
235 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Alexandria,  helped  to  build  Christ  Church 
in  1769,  and  worshipped  there  until  his 
death. 

Following  the  opening  of  the  Revolution, 
Washington  was,  of  course,  absent  from 
Alexandria  for  many  years,  but  when  he 
returned  from  the  war  at  Christmas,  1783, 
the  mayor  met  him  with  an  address,  and 
thenceforth  he  never  left  home  on  a  public 
mission  that  kindly  official  addresses  were 
not  exchanged  with  that  functionary  and 
the  commonalty.  Nor  did  the  burden  of 
weightier  duties  prevent  him  from  at  once 
resuming  a  helpful  interest  in  the  growth 
and  welfare  of  the  town.  As  soon  as  he 
had  time  to  look  into  its  affairs,  he  found 
that  the  lack  of  avenues  of  internal  trade 
and  the  competition  of  the  low  Maryland 
tariff  at  Georgetown  were  crippling  Alexan 
dria.  Accordingly,  he  at  once  undertook 
the  removal  of  these  obstructions.  He 
helped  to  organize  the  Potomac  Company, 
— since  merged  into  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Canal  Company, — which  built  locks 
around  the  Potomac  Falls,  and  to  avoid  the 
discrimination  which  the  lower  duties  at 
236 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Georgetown  made  against  Alexandria,  he 
led  the  way  to  the  appointment  of  com 
missioners  from  the  two  States  to  settle 
inter-State  difficulties.  These  commission 
ers  met  at  Alexandria  in  March,  1785,  and 
agreed  to  a  uniform  tariff  to  be  supported 
by  a  naval  force  in  the  Chesapeake.  This 
was  thought  to  invade  the  rights  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Delaware,  whose  waters  emp 
tied  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  a  further 
conference  was  invited  at  Annapolis.  Here 
the  delegates  discovered  that  a  "  more  per 
fect  union"  was  needed,  and  they  called  the 
Constitutional  Convention  which  met  at 
Philadelphia  in  1787.  Thus  Alexandria 
claims,  and  rightfully,  to  be  the  cradle  of  the 
Constitution. 

Soon  after  this,  however,  the  town  sunk 
into  the  heavy  sleep  that  still  locks  it  in  its 
restful  embrace,  and  looking  from  the  river 
at  its  gray-black  roofs,  gabled,  hipped,  and 
gambreled,  and  covered  with  shingles  put 
on  before  the  century  was  young  and  now 
warped  and  moss-grown,  or  wandering 
through  its  ancient  streets,  cobble-paved  and 
with  grass  growing  all  about,  one  loves  to 
237 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

think  that  Alexandria  has  changed  but  little 
since  Washington  saw  it  for  the  last  time. 
That  was  on  election  day  in  the  late  Novem 
ber  of  1/99,  and  the  general,  as  was  his 
custom,  came  early  to  vote.  Access  to  the 
polls  was  by  a  flight  of  steps  outside.  These 
in  the  year  named  had  become  old  and  shaky, 
and  when  Washington  reached  them,  he 
placed  one  foot  upon  them  and  shook  the 
crazy  ascent  as  if  to  try  its  strength.  In 
stantly  twenty  stout  arms,  one  above  the 
other,  grasped  the  stairway,  and  a  dozen 
men's  shoulders  braced  it.  Nor  did  a  man 
move  until  the  venerable  chief  deposited  his 
vote  and  returned.  "  I  saw  his  last  bow," 
said  one  of  them  in  after-years,  "  and  it 
was  more  than  kingly." 

Four  weeks  later  the  cold  caught  during 
a  winter's  ride  over  his  estates  had  done  its 
work,  and  Washington  had  become  the 
noblest  memory  in  our  history. 


238 


CHAPTER    XV 

YORKTOWN    AND    HER    NEIGHBORS 

THE  James,  between  Richmond  and  the 
sea,  is  a  tawny  and  sluggish  stream,  fringed 
with  willow  and  cypress  and  shut  in  by 
low-lying  mead  and  meadow,  but  it  flows 
through  a  land  rich  in  memories  of  a  noble 
and  stirring  past, — a  land  where  English 
men  first  made  successful  lodgement  on  New 
World  soil,  where  amid  their  rich  acres 
dwelt  and  ruled  those  Cavalier  planters  who 
were  princes  in  all  save  the  name,  and  where 
in  later  years  marched  and  fought  the  armies 
of  three  great  wars.  Shirley  and  Westover, 
Berkeley  and  Brandon, — what  a  quaint  and 
pleasant  sound  all  these  names  have ! — break 
the  storied  way  to  the  site  of  vanished  James 
town,  and  thence  with  historic  Williams- 
burg  lying  between,  it  is  but  little  more 
than  a  score  of  miles  to  Yorktown,  scene 
of  Cornwallis's  surrender  and  birthplace  of 
a  nation. 

239 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

It  was  on  a  clear,  balmy  morning  of  the 
early  spring  that  we  left  Richmond  and 
drifted  slowly  down  the  James  on  the  pleas 
urable  pilgrimage  that  was  to  end  three 
days  later  at  Yorktown.  Soon  the  spires 
and  roofs  of  the  sloping  seven-hilled  city 
fading  into  the  fleecy  western  sky  were  lost 
to  view,  and  the  steamer  at  the  end  of  an1 
hour  came  about  abreast  of  Drewry's  Bluff, 
or  Fort  Darling,  its  crest  flanked  with  earth 
works,  now  silent,  grass-grown,  and  dis 
mantled,  but  thirty-five  years  ago  the  chal 
lenge  and  menace  of  the  Federal  gunboats 
lying  below. 

Then  Drewry's  Bluff  also  drifted  astern, 
and  the  boat  pushing  leisurely  ahead  passed 
another  reminder  of  the  Civil  War, — Dutch 
Gap,  a  canal  several  hundred  feet  in  length, 
cut  by  Butler  when  ascending  the  river  with 
his  gunboats  in  order  to  avoid  a  horseshoe 
of  seven  miles.  Other  interesting  memo 
ries  cling  to  the  narrow  peninsula  thus  con 
verted  into  an  island,  for  it  was  here  that, 
in  1612,  Sir  Thomas  Dale  laid  out  a  town, 
defended  by  palisades  and  watch-towers, 
which  in  honor  of  the  then  Prince  of  Wales 
240 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

he  called  the  City  of  Henricus.  However, 
no  vestige  remains  of  the  city  or  of  the 
"  university"  established  there  in  the  days 
when  Henricus  still  gave  promise  of  pros 
perity  and  greatness. 

A  little  way  below  the  site  of  hopeful 
Sir  Thomas's  lost  village  is  Varina, — the 
Aiken's  Landing  of  the  Civil  War, — where 
Pocahontas  passed  a  part  of  her  brief  mar 
ried  life,  and  then  a  halt  is  made  at  Shirley, 
a  typical  manor-house  of  the  middle  colonial 
period,  long  the  lordly  home  of  the  Carter 
family,  whose  members,  intermarrying  with 
the  Byrds,  the  Wickhams,  and  the  Ran 
dolphs,  played  their  part,  and  a  worthy  one, 
in  the  life  and  history  of  their  time.  The 
olden  James  River  planters  built  for  the 
future  as  well  as  for  the  present,  and  Shir 
ley,  although  erected  before  the  eighteenth 
century  was  born,  bears  well  its  weight  of 
years.  At  once  massive  and  simple  in  de 
sign,  with  foundation-walls  from  three  to 
four  feet  in  thickness,  it  is  a  square,  three- 
storied  structure,  built  of  alternating  glazed 
and  dull  brick,  and  with  sharp-sloping  roof 
cut  by  dormer-windows.  Broad  stone  steps 
II. — 16  241 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

lead  up  to  the  doorways,  and  spacious  por 
ticoes,  one  of  them  rising  to  the  second 
story,  flank  the  eastern  and  western  sides  of 
the  house.  Brick  was  also  used  in  the  con 
struction  of  the  several  outbuildings,  ar 
ranged  in  a  hollow  square,  perhaps  for  pur 
poses  of  defence  in  case  of  attack,  and  even 
the  dovecote,  a  peak-roofed  turret  set  upon 
the  ground,  is  of  the  same  durable  material. 
The  founder  of  Shirley — he  sleeps  be 
neath  a  massive  tomb  in  the  family  burial- 
ground  not  far  from  the  mansion — was  Ed 
ward  Hill,  "  Collonel  and  Commander  in 
Chiefe  of  the  Countys  of  Charles  City  and 
Surrey,  Judge  of  his  Majestye's  high  Court 
of  Admiralty,  and  Sometime  Treasurer  of 
Virginia."  His  portrait,  preserved  at  Shir 
ley,  shows  us  a  handsome,  masterful  man 
clad  in  crimson  velvet,  lace,  and  a  flowing 
peruke,  and,  if  the  limner  painted  true,  the 
charm  of  physical  beauty  was  also  the  por 
tion  of  his  granddaughter,  who  gave  her 
heart  and  hand  to  a  member  of  the  Carter 
family,  in  whose  possession  Shirley  and  its 
broad  acres  have  ever  since  remained.  The 
mansion's  interior  corresponds  with  its  ex- 
242 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

terior,  and  its  wainscoted  walls  boast  other 
portraits  than  those  just  mentioned.  Car 
ters,  Byrds,  and  Randolphs  give  silent  greet 
ing  to  the  visitor,  nor  should  mention  be 
omitted  of  a  fine  replica  of  Peale's  full-length 
portrait  of  Washington  standing  out  against 
the  smoke  and  tumult  of  a  battle  scene.  The 
owners  of  Shirley  take  pardonable  pride  in 
its  history  and  careful  preservation,  and  with 
its  wide-spreading  lawn,  its  curious  box- 
hedged  garden,  and  its  pleasing  Old  World 
air,  it  promises  to  long  remain  a  rare  and 
eloquent  survival  of  the  colonial  era. 

Across  the  James  from  Shirley  is  City 
Point,  the  port  of  Petersburg,  and  destined 
to  remain  forever  celebrated  for  its  part  in 
the  Civil  War.  Here  was  enacted  the  clos 
ing  act  of  the  great  drama,  and  there  stands 
on  the  summit  of  the  steep  bluff,  at  the  base 
of  which  the  Appomattox  joins  the  James, 
the  low,  rambling,  bullet-riddled  house  used 
as  head-quarters  by  General  Grant  at  that 
time.  Near  City  Point  once  stood  the 
manor-house  of  Cawsons,  the  birthplace  of 
brilliant  and  hapless  John  Randolph,  whose 
home  in  later  years  we  shall  come  upon  at 
243 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

another  stage  of  our  pilgrimage.  Caw- 
sons  was  destroyed  early  in  the  century,  but 
the  Randolphs  were  at  one  time  the  owners 
of  vast  estates  along  the  James  and  the 
Appomattox,  and  the  whole  region  about 
City  Point  is  indissolubly  bound  up  with 
their  name. 

Westover  House,  another  splendid  re 
minder  of  colonial  Virginia,  comes  into 
view  soon  after  passing  City  Point.  The 
patent  of  Westover  was  originally  granted 
to  the  Pawlet  family,  and  sold  by  Sir  John 
Pawlet,  in  1665,  "to  Theodore  Bland,  whose 
tomb  and  armorial  bearings  may  still  be  seen 
on  the  estate.  From  Eland's  descendants 
it  passed  by  purchase  to  the  Byrds,  and  with 
the  name  of  Colonel  William  Byrd,  second 
of  that  line  in  America,  it  is  now  invariably 
associated.  The  first  William  Byrd  was  a 
shrewd  young  Cheshireman,  who  secured 
from  the  crown  a  grant  of  land  covering 
nearly  the  whole  sight  of  modern  Richmond 
and  of  Manchester  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  James.  There  he  built  for  himself  a 
fortified  dwelling,  which  he  called  Belvidere, 
and  throve  so  well  in  his  new  home  that 
244 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

when  he  died,  in  1704,  he  left  his  son  and 
namesake  one  of  the  richest  men  in  the 
colonies. 

To  this  second  William  Byrd,  educated  in 
England  and  there  called  to  the  bar  of  the 
Middle  Temple,  was  reserved  a  brilliant  and 
exceptional  career,  as  courtier,  author,  trav 
eller,  and  patron  of  the  arts,  fairly  entitling 
him  to  high  rank  among  the  leaders  of  his 
time,  and  eloquently  epitomized  in  the  stately 
periods  of  the  inscription  upon  the  shaft 
above  his  grave  in  the  rear  of  Westover 
House.  "  Eminently  fitted,"  this  inscrip 
tion  tells  us,  "  for  the  service  and  ornament 
of  his  country,  he  was  made  Receiver  gen 
eral  of  his  Majesty's  revenues  here," — an 
office  his  father  had  held  before  him, — "  was 
thrice  appointed  publick  agent  to  the  Court 
and  ministry  of  England,  and  being  thirty- 
seven  years  a  member  at  last  became  Presi 
dent  of  the  Council  of  this  Colony.  To  all 
this  were  added  a  great  elegancy  of  taste 
and  life,  the  well-bred  gentleman  and  polite 
companion,  the  splendid  Oeconomist  and 
prudent  father  of  a  family,  with  the  con 
stant  enemy  of  all  exhorbitant  power  and 
245 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

hearty  friend  to  the  liberties  of  his  coun- 
try." 

Truly  a  remarkable  man  to  merit  an  eulo- 
gium  of  this  sort,  but  contemporary  records 
prove  that  Colonel  Byrd  deserved  it.  He 
was  thirty  years  of  age  when  he  became 
master  of  Westover,  where  his  father  had 
builded  and  dwelt  during  the  closing  years 
of  his  life,  and,  save  for  occasional  absences 
in  England,  he  resided  there  until  his  death 
in  1744,  dispensing  a  royal  hospitality  and 
playing  an  active  and  sagacious  part  in  pub 
lic  affairs,  ever  ready  with  pen,  purse,  and 
brain  to  serve  his  king  and  his  province. 
He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who,  in 
1728,  fixed  the  boundary-line  between  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  five  years  later 
he  laid  out  near  his  father's  little  fortress  of 
Belvidere  a  town  "  to  be  called  Richmond," 
thus  giving  a  site  and  name  to  Virginia's 
present  capital. 

The  sprightly  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  vis- 
iting  Westover  in  1782,  wrote  of  it  as  "  sur 
passing  all  other  estates  on  the  river  in  the 
magnificence  of  its  buildings,  the  beauty  of 
its  situation,  and  the  pleasures  of  its  society," 
246 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

and  the  latter-day  visitor  finds  no  cause  to 
quarrel  with  this  description.  The  present 
mansion,  restored  in  1749  by  the  son  and 
namesake  of  the  second  William  Byrd,  is 
a  substantial  three-story  structure,  situated, 
perhaps,  a  hundred  yards  from  the  river's 
bank ;  fronted  by  a  broad,  closely-kept  lawn, 
and  with  a  line  of  noble  trees  caressing  the 
dormer-windows  of  its  roof.  At  each  end 
of  the  grounds  are  elaborate  gates  of  ham 
mered  iron,  with  the  arms  of  the  Byrd  fam 
ily  curiously  inwrought,  and  there  is  yet  a 
third  gate,  above  which  perch  leaden  eagles 
with  outstretched  wings,  larger  and  more 
elaborate  in  decoration,  and  capable  of  giv 
ing  entrance  to  the  most  ponderous  chariot. 
Everything  else  is  on  the  same  lordly  scale. 
Moreover,  by  its  present  proprietor,  one  of 
the  most  successful  planters  in  the  State, 
Westover  has  been  restored  to  much  of  its 
pristine  dignity.  And  what  stirring  days 
the  old  house  has  seen !  Bacon  and  his  men, 
bivouacking  here  on  their  daring  forays 
against  the  Indians,  ate,  drank,  slept  upon 
their  arms,  and  rode  away;  Benedict  Ar 
nold,  on  his  way  to  capture  Richmond,  in 
247 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

1781,  landed  and  slept  at  Westover,  and  in 
the  old  nursery  on  the  ground-floor  Corn- 
wallis  quartered  the  horses  of  his  troopers, 
while,  during  the  Civil  War,  several  gen 
erals  of  the  Union  army,  notably  McClellan, 
made  their  head-quarters  at  the  mansion  so 
popular  with  the  soldiers  of  earlier  revolu 
tions. 

As  Westover  recalls  the  Byrds,  so  Ber 
keley  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  and 
Brandon  and  Upper  Brandon  on  the  south, 
stand  as  monuments  to  the  American  Har 
risons.  Upper  Brandon  is  still  occupied  by 
a  representative  of  the  original  family,  but 
has  never  fully  recovered  from  the  shocks 
and  ravages  of  the  Civil  War.  Brandon, 
erected  in  1725,  and  the  birthplace  of  the 
first  President  Harrison,  also  suffered  heav 
ily  in  war-time,  but  is  still  one  of  the  most 
delectable  nooks  in  the  Old  Dominion.  It 
has  remained  in  the  Harrison  family  since 
its  foundation.  Fronting  a  sweep  of  the 
James  two  miles  wide,  a  broad  avenue,  with 
an  old-fashioned  border  of  box,  leads  from 
the  house  to  Brandon  wharf.  On  either 
side  of  this  avenue  is  an  extensive  lawn, 
248 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

dotted  with  flowers,  shrubs,  and  trees.  In 
the  middle  of  the  irregular  brick  structure 
is  the  oldest  part  of  Brandon  House,  built 
of  English  brick  by  the  father  of  Colonel 
Benjamin  Harrison,  signer  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  and  friend  of  Wash 
ington.  This  part  is  two  stories  and  a  half 
high.  Antique  dormer-windows  are  on 
the  top  of  the  slanting  roof,  and  four  round 
brick  columns  support  the  roof  of  the 
porches,  which  are  of  the  same  height  as  the 
two  stories,  and  which  ornament  both  the 
river  and  landward  entrances  to  the  house. 
Brandon  House  took  its  name  from  the 
Duchess  of  Brandon,  friend  and  kinswoman 
of  the  first  Harrison  of  Brandon.  Addi 
tions  have  been  made  to  the  house  from  time 
to  time.  Two  wings  connected  with  the 
main  building  by  long  halls,  one  used  as  a 
billiard-room  and  the  other  as  a  tenpin-alley, 
now  constitute  the  entire  house,  which  con 
tains  fifteen  large  rooms,  and  is  partly  en 
veloped  in  a  luxuriant  growth  of  ivy. 

On  entering  the  house  one  finds  himself 
in  a  large  square  hall  hung  with  stag-horns, 
rusty  old  swords,  ancient-looking  guns,  and 
249 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

other  implements  of  hunting  and  warfare. 
This  opens  on  one  side  to  a  drawing-room 
of  magnificent  proportions;  on  the  other 
to  an  equally  large  dining-room,  both  filled 
with  handsome  old  furniture,  some  of  which 
antedates  the  Revolution,  the  sideboard  in 
the  dining-room  being  weighted  down  with 
silver  of  a  unique  and  ancient  pattern. 
Hung  in  these  two  rooms  are  Brandon's 
rarest  treasures, — its  family  portraits.  Some 
of  these  are  of  unusual  interest,  and  several 
were  painted  from  life  by  Sir  Peter  Lely. 
The  collection  includes  the  portraits  gath 
ered  by  Colonel  William  Byrd,  whose  son 
married  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Harrison, 
which  when  Westover  was  sold  were  con 
veyed  to  Brandon.  Among  these  portraits 
is  one  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  painted  by 
Sir  Peter  Lely;  one  of  Colonel  William 
Byrd,  and  another  of  the  beautiful  Evelyn 
Byrd,  one  of  Virginia's  old-time  belles. 
She  was  beloved  by  the  Earl  of  Peter 
borough,  but  her  father  opposed  the  mar 
riage,  and  she  died  young.  Tradition  says 
that  her  heart  was  broken.  Between  her 
portrait  and  that  of  Lady  Betty  Claypole, 
250 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

daughter  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  hangs  a  fine 
portrait  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Harrison, 
taken  when  he  was  a  delicate,  slender-look 
ing  young  man. 

On  the  opposite  wall  is  a  portrait  of  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Harrison,  who  was  Miss  Anne 
Randolph,  painted  by  Sir  Thomas  Law 
rence.  In  the  dining-room  are  portraits  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  Sir  Robert  Southwell,  Sir 
Robert  Walpole,  the  Duke  of  Orrery,  and  the 
Duchess  of  Brandon.  The  walls  of  both 
rooms  are  literally  covered  with  pictures, 
including  besides  those  mentioned  interest 
ing  portraits  of  many  of  the  Harrisons  and 
Randolphs  of  past  generations.  The  library 
is  in  one  wing  of  the  house,  and  contains 
a  large  collection  of  rare  books.  The  Byrd 
Memoirs  in  manuscript,  beautifully  bound, 
give  almost  a  complete  history  of  early  Vir 
ginia,  and  a  turning  of  their  quaintly- worded 
pages  is  one  of  the  many  pleasures  that  falls 
to  the  lot  of  the  pilgrim  so  fortunate  as  to 
become  the  guest  of  the  present  gracious 
mistress  of  Brandon  House. 

Our  river  journey  had  fit  ending  at  the 
site  of  ancient  Jamestown,  on  what  was  once 
251 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

a  peninsula,  but  is  now  an  island  in  the 
James.  At  the  present  time  all  that  remains 
of  the  first  successful  English  colony  in 
America  are  a  neglected  graveyard  and  the 
crumbling  walls  of  a  ruined  church,  but 
the  charm  Jamestown  still  holds  for  the  vis 
itor  is  unique  and  lasting.  The  little  church 
now  in  ruins  was  built  in  1609.  Here  often 
came  to  worship  Captain  John  Smith,  Ad 
miral  of  New  England  and  doughty  slayer 
of  Turks,  and  those  hopeful  yet  unruly  fol 
lowers  whom  he  taught  to  earn  their  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  and  within  its 
walls  pious  Robert  Hunt,  the  first  English- 
speaking  missionary  to  preach  the  gospel 
of  Christ  in  America, — let  his  name  be  ever 
honored ! — joined  the  "  good  and  blessed" 
Pocahontas  in  wedlock  to  the  young  and 
handsome  planter,  John  Rolfe.  Privations 
overcame  Hunt,  and  he  died  three  years 
after  he  landed  with  Smith  at  Jamestown, 
but  the  church  of  which  he  was  the  first 
pastor  continued  to  be  used  as  a  house  of 
worship  until  the  civil  war  which  ended  in 
the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  during  which, 
together  with  Jamestown,  it  fell  into  the 
252 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

hands  of  Bacon  and  his  rebel  followers,  and 
was  fired,  though  not  totally  destroyed. 

All  about  the  site  of  vanished  Jamestown 
Nature  for  two  centuries  has  been  slowly 
yet  steadily  reclaiming  her  own.  Not  far 
from  the  ruined  church  we  came  upon  a  few 
old  slabs  which  mark  the  resting-place  of 
some  of  the  Jamestown  pioneers,  most  of 
whom  died  during  the  first  twenty  years  of 
the  colony's  history.  These  stones,  moss- 
grown  and  black  with  age,  have  been  cracked 
and  riven  by  the  roots  of  the  trees  spreading 
under  them,  and  with  the  inscriptions,  save 
in  one  or  two  instances,  no  longer  legible, 
serve  only  to  add  to  the  romance  of  the 
place. 

A  little  way  from  this  burial-ground  is 
the  only  other  remaining  relic  of  Jamestown, 
— the  great  house  built  by  Sir  William  Ber 
keley,  and  now  the  home  of  the  owner  and 
postmistress,  as  she  is  also  the  sole  white 
inhabitant  of  Jamestown  Island.  In  this 
house  Berkeley  lived  for  thirty  years  as  royal 
governor,  and  here,  like  the  narrow-minded 
and  self-satisfied  bigot  that  he  was,  he  sat 
down,  and  thanking  God  that  there  were 
253 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

no  printing-presses  in  America,  beseeched 
Him  that  none  might  be  suffered  to  enter 
for  centuries  to  come.  Berkeley  was  driven 
from  his  home  by  Bacon  and  his  men,  and 
came  near  falling  a  victim  to  the  progressive 
spirit  against  which  he  had  fought  and 
prayed,  but  in  the  end  he  reestablished  his 
government  at  Williamsburg,  and  Charles 
II.,  in  staying  all  too  tardily  the  bloody 
hands  of  the  old  man's  blind  revenge,  cyni 
cally  declared  that  the  governor  had  hanged 
more  men  in  the  Virginia  wilderness  for 
abetting  Bacon  than  he  himself  had  put  to 
death  for  the  murder  of  his  father,  Charles  I. 
Other  shades  than  those  of  Smith  and 
Berkeley  haunt  this  island  of  Jamestown. 
"  There  were  brave  men  before  Agamem 
non,"  and  it  is  now  known  that  eighty  years 
before  the  arrival  of  the  English  it  was  the 
site  of  an  attempted  settlement  by  the  Span 
iards.  Recent  researches  in  the  royal  li 
brary  at  Simancas  in  Spain  have  disclosed 
that  in  the  summer  of  1526  one  Lucas  Vas- 
quez  de  Ayllon,  a  Spanish  captain  who  "  as 
pired  to  the  glory  of  discovering  some  new 
land  and  making  it  the  seat  of  a  prosperous 
254 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

colony,"  sailed  from  San  Domingo  with 
three  large  ships  and  six  hundred  persons 
of  both  sexes,  and,  after  touching  on  what 
is  now  the  South  Carolina  shore,  entered 
and  proceeded  up  the  James.  Fifty  miles 
from  its  mouth  he  landed,  and  on  the  future 
site  of  Jamestown  founded  a  settlement 
which  he  christened  San  Miguel  de  Guan- 
dope.  But  ill-luck  from  the  first  attended 
the  venture.  De  Ayllon  died  in  October, 
1626;  his  followers  mutinied  against  their 
new  commander,  and  the  colony  was  speed 
ily  abandoned.  Less  than  a  quarter  of  the 
colonists  in  the  end  regained  the  island  of 
San  Domingo.  The  rest  had  died  of  fever, 
cold,  and  privation.  The  tender  carrying 
De  Ayllon's  body  foundered  at  sea,  and  the 
ocean  rolls  above  the  resting-place  of  the 
adventurer  whose  keel  had  tracked  its  waters 
in  profitless  quest  of  wealth,  fame,  and 
honors. 

Leaving  Jamestown  Island,  where  our 
stay  had  been  made  doubly  pleasant  by  the 
generous  welcome  of  its  owner,  we  crossed 
to  the  north  shore,  and  took  carriage  for  the 
drive  over  a  cool  forest  road  to  Williams- 
255 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

burg, — long  the  colonial  capital  of  Virginia 
and  the  site  of  old  William  and  Mary  Col 
lege.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  of  it  that 
it  is  the  most  charmingly  antique  town  in 
America, — certainly  it  is  the  most  charming 
in  the  Old  Dominion.  Duke  of  Gloucester 
is  the  name  of  the  main  street  of  the  village, 
which  broadens  at  its  centre  into  an  open 
square  called  Court-House  Green,  where 
stands  an  ancient  temple  of  justice,  modelled 
by  the  graceful  hand  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  and  surrounded  by  fine  colonial  resi 
dences,  among  them  those  of  John  Randolph 
and  Beverly  Tucker,  and  Chancellor  Wythe's 
old  house,  where  his  wicked  nephew  poi 
soned  him.  Farther  up  Duke  of  Glouces 
ter  Street  is  another  square — Palace  Green 
— faced  by  other  historic  mansions,  includ 
ing  the  old  palace  of  the  royal  governors 
and  the  house  used  by  Washington  as  his 
head-quarters  just  before  the  siege  of  York- 
town. 

Nearly  opposite  to   Palace  Green  is  the 
powder-magazine  of   colonial   days,   in  ap 
pearance  very  like  the  Martello  towers  at 
Quebec,  save  that  it  is  octagonal  instead  of 
256 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

round.  It  is  called  the  "  Powder-Horn," 
and  was  built  by  Sir  Alexander  Spotswood, 
the  deputy  or  lieutenant  of  George  Hamilton, 
Earl  of  Orkney,  governor  and  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  colony.  There  had  been 
great  rejoicing  in  the  colony  when  Governor 
Spotswood  arrived,  because  he  brought  with 
him  the  habeas  corpus  act.  This  act  had 
been  refused  by  the  governors  at  times  when 
their  deputies  had  taken  it  on  themselves  to 
exercise  it  on  their  own  authority.  So  it 
was  a  matter  of  rejoicing  when  a  deputy 
came  bringing  it  in  his  own  name.  How 
ever,  it  was  not  long  before  there  was  an 
open  quarrel  between  Spotswood  and  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  because  they  would  not 
grant  certain  money  that  he  asked  for  neces 
sary  defence.  Two  years  later,  having 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  people  by  his 
wise  measures,  the  Assembly  granted  him 
all  he  asked,  and  in  1714  the  statute  was 
passed  ordering  the  erection  of  the  maga 
zine. 

Sixty  years  later  the  "  Powder-Horn"  be 
came  the  scene  of  the  first  overt  act  of  the 
Revolution.     In  the  winter  of  1775,  when 
II.— 17  257 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

the  clouds  of  war  were  gathering  thick  and 
fast,  a  plan  was  formed  by  the  royal  author 
ities  to  disarm  all  the  colonies.  In  pursuit 
of  this  plan,  on  the  night  of  April  20,  1775, 
a  number  of  marines,  who  had  been  con 
cealed  in  the  palace  at  Williamsburg,  moved 
the  powder  from  the  magazine  to  the  "  Mag 
dalen,"  a  man-of-war  on  the  James  River. 
The  removal  of  the  powder  was  discovered 
by  the  citizens  early  in  the  morning.  Duke 
of  Gloucester  Street  was  crowded  at  once, 
and  threats  were  made.  A  deputation  was 
sent  to  the  palace  demanding  the  return  of 
the  powder.  They  found  the  place  in  a 
state  of  defence,  many  arms  lying  around. 
Lord  Dunmore,  the  governor,  gave  some 
untruthful  excuse,  and  pledged  his  honor 
that  if  the  powder  was  needed  in  Williams- 
burg  it  should  be  returned  in  half  an  hour. 
The  news  of  the  removal  of  the  powder 
spread  like  wildfire.  Patrick  Henry  raised 
three  hundred  men,  "  Hanover  Volunteers," 
and  marched  towards  Williamsburg,  their 
numbers  increasing  as  they  went.  Dun- 
more  was  obliged  to  go  to  meet  them  and 


258 


RAMBLES   IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

to  compromise  the  matter  by  paying  for  the 
powder. 

The  House  of  Burgesses  assembled  on 
June  i,  1775.  Lord  Dunmore  made  a  polite 
address  and  presented  Lord  North's  "  Con 
ciliatory  Plan."  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  report  upon  it,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
selected  to  write  the  report.  Suddenly,  from 
a  most  unexpected  quarter,  on  June  5,  came 
a  sound  that  ended  all  discussion.  On  that 
night  some  young  men  went  to  the  maga 
zine  to  procure  arms.  Lord  Dunmore  had 
before  this  delivered  up  the  keys  of  the 
magazine.  They  unlocked  the  door,  and 
as  they  pushed  it  open  it  pulled  a  concealed 
cord  that  discharged  a  spring-gun.  Three 
of  the  young  men  were  wounded.  The  As 
sembly  was  aroused  to  intense  excitement. 
Persons  were  officially  appointed  to  examine 
the  magazine.  It  was  done  cautiously,  and 
under  the  floor  several  barrels  of  powder 
were  found  buried.  Duke  of  Gloucester 
Street  was  again  crowded  by  excited  citi 
zens,  and  again  threats  were  made.  Before 
the  day  dawned  Lord  Dunmore  and  family 
had  fled  to  the  man-of-war  "  Fowey"  at 
259 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Yorktown,  never  to  return  to  Williamsburg, 
and  the  disputed  powder,  seized  without  de 
lay  by  the  colonists,  was  put  to  use  in  the 
war  that  followed,  while  Patrick  Henry  was 
speedily  installed  in  Dunmore's  place  as  the 
first  governor  of  the  State  of  Virginia. 

Turning  from  the  "  Powder-Horn,"  now 
owned  and  kept  in  repair  by  the  women 
of  Williamsburg,  the  next  place  of  interest 
reached  in  our  leisurely  ramble  down  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street  was  the  ancient,  ivy-hidden 
church  of  Bruton  parish, — the  oldest  Prot 
estant  house  of  worship  in  use  in  America. 
It  is  built  in  shape  of  a  cross,  and  was  planned 
by  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  It  stands  in  the 
midst  of  a  beautiful  grove  of  elms,  sur 
rounded  by  tombs  and  monuments  of  the 
dead,  as  if  dreaming  of  the  faded  glories  of 
the  past.  Williamsburg  people  tell  you  that 
Queen  Anne  went  to  see  the  bell  for  its 
tower  cast  and  threw  her  silver  ornaments 
in  the  molten  bronze.  Many  curious  things 
are  seen  in  and  near  this  old  church.  In  a 
house  across  the  Green  are  kept  the  com 
munion  services  given  by  Queen  Anne  and 
George  III.,  and  in  the  church  itself  is 
260 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

placed  the  font  which  held  the  water  into 
which  the  minister  dipped  his  fingers  when 
he  baptized  Pocahontas.  In  its  floor  are 
tablets  over  graves  showing  that  lords, 
dukes,  knights,  and  chancellors  are  resting 
there,  among  them  a  modern  slab  to  the 
memory  of  the  Confederates  who  were  killed 
in  the  battle  of  Williamsburg.  "  They  died 
for  us"  it  is  here  declared.  Theodore  Win- 
throp,  of  Massachusetts,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  fell  in  that  battle,  and  his  body  rested 
for  several  years  in  Bruton  church-yard, 
among  the  graves  of  colonial  worthies  whom 
Virginians  still  delight  to  honor. 

At  the  end  of  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street 
stands  the  restored  and  lately  reopened  Wil 
liam  and  Mary  College.  The  second  college 
in  America,  Harvard  having  been  the  first, 
it  was  chartered  in  1691,  Queen  Mary  per 
suading  her  husband  to  endow  it  with  two 
thousand  pounds  per  year  in  money,  twenty 
thousand  acres  of  land,  and  one  penny  per 
pound  upon  all  the  tobacco  exported  from 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  together  with  all 
the  fees  and  profits  arising  from  the  office 
of  surveyor-general,  which  was  to  be  con- 
261 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

trolled  by  the  president  and  faculty.  In 
1698  the  college  building,  planned  by  Wren, 
was  finished  and  the  new  seat  of  learning 
named  William  and  Mary,  in  honor  of  the 
generous  king  and  queen.  For  many  years 
thereafter  it  was  the  centre  of  intellectual  life 
in  the  Old  Dominion.  Three  Presidents 
were  graduated  within  its  walls  and  one 
chief-justice,  and  many  other  distinguished 
men  can  claim  it  as  their  alma  mater. 

The  college  buildings  were  burned  in 
1705.  They  were  rebuilt  at  once,  but  were 
burned  again  and  again,  the  last  time  in 
1862.  However,  the  fires  that  have  afflicted 
the  college  buildings  have  spared  the  famous 
college  statue,  and  it  stands  serenely  in  the 
middle  of  the  college  green.  Norborne 
Berkeley,  Baron  de  Botetourt,  governor- 
general  of  Virginia,  arrived  at  Hampton 
Roads,  eight  weeks  out  from  Portsmouth, 
in  October,  1768,  and  so  pleased  the  peo 
ple  of  the  colony  that  they  soon  after 
wards  erected  a  marble  statue  to  him  in 
front  of  the  college.  It  represents  him  in 
court  dress  with  a  short  sword  by  his  side, 
and,  although  it  has  suffered  some  degree 
262 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

of  mutilation,  it  still  is  a  fine  specimen  of 
the  sculptor's  art.  William  and  Mary  dur 
ing  the  last  half -century  has  had  a  checkered 
history.  Some  years  ago  it  had  dwindled 
to  proportions  that  threatened  its  speedy 
death,  but  more  recently  has  taken  new  lease 
of  life,  and  now  promises  a  long  future  of 
usefulness. 

At  the  other  end  of  Duke  of  Gloucester 
Street,  one  mile  distant  from  the  college,  is 
the  site  of  the  old  House  of  Burgesses. 
Nothing  is  left  of  it  save  the  foundation  of 
bricks  and  masses  of  broken  plaster  from  its 
walls.  It  was  here  that  Henry's  eloquence 
competed  with  Otis' s  at  Boston  for  the  rank 
of  first  orator  of  the  Revolution,  and  it  was 
here  occurred  a  most  interesting  episode  in 
the  life  of  Washington.  For  faithful  per 
formance  of  public  duties  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  voted  him  a  splendid  sword  and  belt, 
and  they  were  presented  by  Edmund  Ran 
dolph,  then  president  of  the  House,  in  an 
eloquent  and  impressive  speech,  which  so 
overcame  young  Washington  that  in  his 
effort  to  reply  he  could  not  utter  a  word. 
Randolph  came  to  his  rescue.  "  Sit  down, 
263 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Mr.  Washington,"  said  he,  "  your  modesty 
is  only  equalled  by  your  bravery,  and  that 
very  far  surpasses  any  words  I  have  to  ex 
press  it." 

Close  to  the  site  of  the  old  Capitol  is  the 
famous  Red  Lion  Hotel,  a  long  building 
with  hip-roof  and  dormer-windows,  now  far 
gone  in  the  process  of  decay.  Near  by  is 
the  site  of  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  which  Wil- 
liamsburg  people  say  was  a  grand  place. 
Nothing  can  now  be  seen  of  this  famous  old 
tavern  except  the  foundation  of  the  massive 
pillars  which  supported  its  piazza,  it  having 
been  pulled  down  years  ago  and  a  large  brick 
store  built  upon  the  site.  It  was  in  the  ball 
room  of  this  Raleigh  Tavern  that  Patrick 
Henry  made  his  great  speech  denouncing 
British  wrongs  placed  upon  her  colonies, 
and  in  its  delivery  won  for  himself  a  place 
among  the  master  orators  of  all  time. 

Those  were  Williamsburg's  palmiest  days, 
but  when  the  capital  was  moved  to  Rich 
mond  in  1779  the  town's  glory  was  taken 
from  it.  Yet  it  has  not  suffered  decay. 
Indeed,  it  has  accomplished  one  of  the  most 
difficult  things  in  the  life  of  man  or  town, 
264 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

for  it  has  fallen  gracefully  into  mossy  age. 
Beauty  and  quiet  now  brood  over  it,  and 
we  found  a  single  afternoon  of  spring  all 
too  short  a  time  to  idle  among  its  ancient 
houses  or  linger  under  the  stately  elms  that 
give  graceful  shade  to  Court  and  Palace 
Greens,  but  time  pressed,  and  under  the 
mellow  glow  of  a  westering  sun  we  left 
Williamsburg  behind  us  and  took  to  the 
winding  road,  which  ere  night  came  on  led 
us  to  the  broad  estuary  of  the  York  River 
and  to  Yorktown,  another  sleepy  old  village 
that  seems  by  some  miracle  to  have  escaped 
the  influence  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Little  York,  now  nearing  the  end  of 
its  second  century  of  existence,  was  never 
a  populous  place  even  when  it  thrived  the 
most,  but  it  was  the  political  and  trading 
centre  of  one  of  the  eight  boroughs  into 
which  Virginia  was  originally  divided,  and 
during  the  sixty  years  immediately  preceding 
the  Revolution  an  influential  factor  in  the 
direction  of  affairs.  The  town's  first  settler 
was  Thomas  Nelson,  a  canny  Scotch  trader, 
who  established  there  a  store  which  for  two 
generations  yielded  to  those  called  by  his 
265 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

name  a  never-ending  harvest  of  golden 
guineas.  This  store  was  destroyed  during 
the  war  of  1812,  but  the  custom-house 
where  the  Nelsons'  goods  were  entered — 
it  was,  it  is  said,  the  first  of  its  kind  erected 
in  America — still  stands  near  the  water 
front,  with  moss-covered  roof,  thick  walls, 
and  massive  oaken  doors  and  shutters. 

Less  than  a  stone's  throw  away  stands  the 
dwelling,  with  its  lofty  chimneys  and  solid 
walls,  builded  by  Scotch  Tom  when  riches 
had  come  to  him  with  age,  after  which  he 
died  and  was  buried, — his  tomb  remains 
one  of  the  notable  relics  of  the  village, — but 
not  until  he  had  founded  a  family  from 
which  issued  in  the  third  generation  General 
Thomas  Nelson,  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
of  that  body  of  great  men  who  stand  a  splen 
did  cluster  of  stars  against  the  early  dawn 
of  the  country's  history.  This  Thomas  Nel 
son,  third  of  the  name,  though  educated 
at  Eton  and  Cambridge,  when  the  Revolu 
tion  came  joined  the  side  of  the  ultra  pa 
triots,  was  a  conspicuous  member  of  all  the 
decisive  conventions,  and  as  a  delegate  to 
that  of  1776  signed  the  great  Declaration. 
266 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

Finally,  in  1780,  he  succeeded  Henry  as 
governor  of  his  State,  with  almost  dicta 
torial  power  to  manage  both  her  military 
and  civil  policy.  "  His  popularity  was  un 
bounded,"  says  the  historian,  and,  he  might 
have  added,  so  were  the  general's  patriotism 
and  generosity,  for  when,  Virginia's  credit 
being  low,  money  was  wanted  to  pay  the 
troops  and  run  the  government,  Nelson  bor 
rowed  millions  on  his  personal  security  and 
went  on;  and  again,  when  regiments  mu 
tinied  and  refused  to  march,  he  raised  money 
and  paid  them,  although  in  so  doing  he 
wrecked  his  own  and  his  children's  fortunes. 
Recalling  the  career  of  this  uncommon 
man,  one  rejoices  that  the  triumphant  close 
of  the  seven  years'  struggle  in  which  he 
bore  so  fine  a  part  was  pitched  at  the  place 
most  closely  associated  with  his  name  and 
fame.  The  story  of  what  happened  at  York- 
town  in  the  fall  of  1781  grows  more  lus 
trous  with  the  years.  Only  a  few  months 
before  the  patriot  cause  had  seemed  a  doubt 
ful  if  not  a  hopeless  one.  The  army  of  the 
South  had  been  defeated  and  driven  back 
into  Virginia,  only  by  forced  marches  es- 
267 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

caping  complete  destruction;  Virginia,  the 
backbone  of  the  Revolution,  had  been  swept 
by  two  invasions;  and  Cornwallis  with  his 
army  was  marching  triumphantly  through 
her  borders,  trying  by  every  means  he  could 
devise  to  bring  his  only  opponent,  the  youth 
ful  Lafayette,  to  an  engagement.  Had  the 
French  officer  proved  as  reckless  as  the  Brit 
ish  commander  believed  him,  the  end  would 
have  come  before  De  Grasse  with  his  fleet 
anchored  in  the  Chesapeake.  He  was  no 
novice  in  the  art  of  war,  however,  and  at 
length  Cornwallis,  wearied  of  trying  to  catch 
him,  retired  to  Yorktown,  and  intrenching 
himself,  awaited  reinforcements  from  the 
North. 

It  was  at  this  critical  moment  that  kindly 
Providence  directed  the  French  admiral  to 
the  Virginia  coast,  and  Washington,  find 
ing  himself  possessed  of  a  force  such  as 
he  had  never  hoped  for  in  his  wildest  dreams, 
and  knowing  that  he  could  count  on  the  new 
reinforcements  for  only  a  few  weeks,  re 
solved  to  put  his  fate  to  the  touch  and  win 
if  possible  by  a  single  bold  cast  of  the  die. 
Accordingly,  he  withdrew  from  New  York 
268 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

and  came  down  to  Jersey  as  if  to  get  near 
his  ovens,  a  move  which  so  misled  the  Brit 
ish  commander  that  he  did  not  suspect  its 
ulterior  object  until  he  learned  that  the  pa 
triot  army  was  well  on  its  way  to  Virginia. 
In  the  last  days  of  September  the  American 
commander  arrived  before  Yorktown  and 
began  a  siege  memorable  for  the  bravery 
and  determination  with  which  it  was  prose 
cuted. 

The  expected  relief  did  not  come  to  Corn- 
wallis,  and  ere  the  end  of  the  third  week 
his  troops  marched  out  with  cased  colors, 
prisoners  of  war.  A  monument,  unveiled 
with  imposing  ceremonies  some  years  ago, 
now  marks  the  spot  where  this  event  took 
place,  and  a  short  way  from  the  town  still 
stands  the  old  weather-beaten  mansion 
known  as  the  Moore  House,  in  the  sitting- 
room  of  which  were  drawn  up  the  arti 
cles  of  capitulation  of  the  British  army. 
This  house,  now  tenantless  and  falling  into 
decay,  was  historical  even  then,  for  it  had 
been  the  country  residence  of  Governor 
Spotswood,  who,  as  the  great  Marlborough's 
aide-de-camp,  had  carried  the  news  of  Blen- 
269 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

heim  to  England,  and  who  later  had  come 
to  the  Old  Dominion  to  rule  it  for  a  time 
with  a  soldier's  courage  and  decision  and 
the  foresight  of  a  statesman  able  to  see  be 
yond  the  fret  of  small  minds  over  little 
things. 

The  Nelson  House,  used  by  Cornwallis 
as  his  head-quarters  during  the  last  days  of 
the  siege,  after  his  first  had  been  shelled 
to  pieces,  still  bears  the  iron  scars  made  by 
the  American  cannon,  pointed  at  it  by  order 
of  General  Nelson,  who  when  told  that  the 
British  general  was  lodged  there,  offered 
five  guineas  to  the  gunners  for  every  shot 
which  should  strike  it.  Otherwise  it  is  well 
preserved ;  and  what  a  glorious  company  of 
shades  haunt  its  high  wainscoted  rooms! 
Washington  and  Mason  and  Jefferson  re 
ceived  cordial  welcome  from  its  master, 
while  Lafayette,  returning  in  his  old  age, 
the  honored  and  revered  guest  of  the  mighty 
nation  he  had  helped  to  create,  slept  here  and 
added  another  to  the  many  associations 
which  already  surrounded  the  mansion. 

Growth  and  activity  went  out  from  York- 
town  along  with  the  patriot  troopers,  and 
270 


RAMBLES    IN    COLONIAL   BYWAYS 

to-day,  with  its  few  old  brick  houses  scat 
tered  among  modern  shanties,  it  is  the  sleep 
iest  of  sleepy  villages, — a  place  where  modest 
poverty  dwells  content  and  strife  and  hurry 
are  alien  things.  Peaceful  be  its  slumbers 
amid  green  and  quiet  fields,  for  it  has  well 
earned  the  rest  that  is  the  right  of  honored 
age. 


271 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  General,  head 
quarters  of,  i.  117,  120 

Accomac,  county  of,  ii.  15 
county  seat  of,  ii.  19 

Acker,  Woolfert,  i.  147 

Adams,  John,  ii.  53,  65 

inauguration  of,  ii.  72,  73 

Adams,  Samuel,  ii.  53,  65 

Agnew,  General,  ii.  70 

Aiken's  Landing,  ii.  141 

Albany,  a  journey  to,  i.  220 
a  rendezvous,  i.  120 
Broadway  in,  i.  116 
from  New  York  to,  i.  142 
settlement  of,  i.  111-113 

Albemarle,  Duke  of,  ii.  250 

Alexandria,  ii.  179,  206 
centre  of  British  authority, 

ii-  235 

growth  of,  ii.  236,  237 
head-quarters  at,  ii.  232 
incident  in  camp  at,  ii,  233 
Washington    votes   in,    ii. 
238 

Algonquins,  i.  174 
dwelling-place  of,  i.  209 

Allen,  William,  ii.  51 

Alps,  i.  131 

Alston,  Washington,   i.  '217, 
218 

Alva,  i.  212 

Amana,  ii.  173 

community  of,  ii.  196-205 

Amsterdam,  Golden's  yard 


in,  i. 

Anastasia,        Sister. 
Tabea,  Sister. 

II—lS 


See 


Andr6,   Major,  tragedy  of,  i. 

153,  154,  237-239 
Annapolis,  i.  83 
and    Philadelphia,    travel 

between,  ii.  40 
conference  at,  ii.  237 
Anne,  Queen,  i.  134,  176  ;  ii. 

53,  260 

Anthony,  Captain,  ii.  30 
Anthony's  Nose,  i.  158,  223 
Anti-rent  war,  i.  113-115 
Appomattox,  ii.  243 
Arlington,  ii.  12,  13,  19 
Armstrong,  John,  i.  125 

old  home  of,  i.  132 
Arnold,  Benedict,  i.  80,  153 

army  of,  i.  197,  237 ;  ii.  24 
Arthur,     Chester     A.,     last 

home  of,  i.  95 
Asbury,  i.  136 
Assateague,  ii.  20 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  i.  89 
last  home  of,  i.  97 
Audubon,  i.  106,  107 
Audubon  mansion,  changes 

in,  i.  108 
first  telegraph  used  in, 

i.  107 

Audubon  Park,  i.  106,  107 
Auriesville,  i.  176 
history  of,  i.  178 


Babylon,  i.  66 

"Bachelor,"  the* barque,  i. 

Bacon,  ii.  247,  254 
Baden,  ii.  156 


273 


INDEX 


Baerren  Island,  i.  112 
Baker,  R.  L.,  182 
Ball,  Nicholas,  i.  32,  33 
Baltimore,  ii.  24 
Baltimore,  Lord,  ii.  37 
Bancroft,  George,  i.  28,  132 
Bard,  Samuel,  Dr.,  i.  170 
Bartram,  John,  a  botanist,  ii. 
62,63 

garden  of,  ii.  60,  61 
ouse  of,  ii.  59 
Bartram,  William,  ii.  60 
Battery,  the,  i.  77 

northern  boundary  of,  i. 

81 

promenade,  i.  79 
visitors  to,  i.  80 
Baumeler,    Joseph,    ii.    190, 

191,  194 

marries,  ii.  195 
Baxter,    Philip,   odd   agree 
ment  Of,  ii.  220,  221 

Baylor's  Cavalry,  ii.  16 
Beecher,  Lyman,  i.  57 
Beekman,  Gerard  D.,  Gen 
eral,  i.  154 

Behring  Strait,  ii.  156. 
Beissel,      Conrad      (Father 
Friedsam),  confession 
to,  ii.  127 

death  of,  ii.  128,  131,  135 
doctrine  of,  ii.  123 
founds  Order,  ii.  119-121 
hymns  of,  ii.  124,  125 
Belhaven,  ii.  232 
Bell  House,  the  old,  ii.  147 
Bellomont,  ,  Lord,   i.   25,  26, 

27 

Belvidere,  fortress  of,  ii.  246 
Bensons,  ii.  44 
Berkeley,  ii.  239,  248 
Berkeley,       William,       Sir, 

house  of,  ii.  253 
revenge  of,  ii.  254 
Berkeley,   Norborne,    Baron 

de  Botetourt,  ii.  262 
Berlin,  ii.  22 
Bethania,  ii.  122 
at  the  present,  ii.  131,  133 


Bethlehem,  ii.  155 
Christmas  celebration  at, 

ii.  170-172 

community,  ii.  143,  144 
Moravian  buildings  in,  ii. 

H5-I47 
settlement  of,  ii.  139,  140, 

142 

Bjork,  ii.  44 
Black  Horse  Tavern,  i.  156, 

157 

Bland,  Theodore,  ii.  244 
Block,  Adrian,  i.  32 
Block  Island,  centre,  i.  37-39 

description  of,  i.  30,  31 

double-ender,  i.  34-36 

heading  for,  i.  29 

history  of,  i.  32-34 

legends,  i.  42-44 

wrecks,  i.  41 
Block  Islanders,  i.  44 
Blockley  Hill,  ii.  49 
Bloomingdale  Road,  i.  143 
Boehme,  ii.  190,  197 
Bohemia,  i.  137 
Bonaparte,  Jerome,  i.  80 
Bordley,  John  Beale,   ii.  32, 

33 
Bordley,  Margaret  Chew,  ii. 

32 
Boston,  i.  21,  140 

heights,  ii.  232 

turnpike,  i.  172 
Botta,  Vincenza,  Madame,  i. 

65 

Bowery,  i.  78 
Bowling  Green,  i.  77-79 
Bowne,  John,  i.  73 
house  of,  i.  74 
Braddock,  i.  86 

campaign  of,  ii.  235 
Brandon,  ii.  248 
Brandon,  Duchess  of,  ii.  249, 

251 
Brandon  House,  iii.  249 

family    portraits    of,    ii. 

250,  251 
Brant,  Joseph,  picture  of,  i. 
134,  192 


274 


INDEX 


Brandywine,  battle  of,  ii.  16, 

63,  83,  84,  90 
Breakneck  Hill,  i.  143 
Brick    Meeting-House,  Old, 

ii.  98,  100,  101 
Bridgehampton,  i.  56 
Bridgewater,     Duke     of,    i. 

Brinley,  Grissell.  See  Syl 
vester,  Grissell  (Brinley), 
Mrs. 

Bristol,  ii.  75,  76 
Bristol  Channel,  ii.  28 
British   officer,  disinterment 

of  a,  i.  144 
Broad  Street,  i.  79 
Broadway,  i.  78,  81,  143 
post    road    called,    i.   144, 

145  t 
Bronx,  the,  i.  137 

Brooklyn,  i.  67 

Bruton  Church,  ii.  260,  261 

Bryant,  Fanny,  grave  of,  i. 

72,  73 
Bryant,    William    Cullen,   i. 

65       *   • 
grave  of,  i.  72,  73 

home  of,  i.  71,  72 
Buffalo,  ii.  197 
Bunker  Hill,  ii.  209 
Burgoyne,  i.  120,  121 
descends  on  New  York,  i. 

192 

Burns,  heroine  of,  i.  150 
Burr,  Aaron,  170 

a  protege  of,  i.  217 
marriage  of,  i.  90-92,  121 
Burr,  Theodosia,  i.  91 
Burton,    William   E.,   house  : 

once  owned  by,  i.  99 
Butler,  Pennsylvania,  ii.  174, 

175 

Byrd,  Evelyn,  ii.  250 
Byrd  family,  ii.  241,  244,  247, 

248 

Byrd,  William,  ii.  244 
Byrd,      William      (second), 

Colonel,  ii.  244-246 
son  of,  ii.  247 


Caesar,  story  of  the  slave,  i. 

California,    gold   in,   ii.   156, 

157 

Calvert,  Leonard,  Sir,  ii.  37 
Calvert,   Quaker  village  of, 

ii.  92,  98-102 
Calverts,  the,  ii.  36,  38 
Calvinists,  ii.  108 
Cambrjan  Hills,  ii.  28 
Cambridge,  ii.  25,  26 
Campbell,  Major,  i.  161 
Canada,  i.  175 

missionaries  from,  i.  179 
Canajoharie,  i.  188,  189,  190 
Carey  sisters,  i.  65 
Carolina,  North,  i.  66 
Carpenter  Mansion,  ii.  49 
Carter  family,  the,  ii.  241 
Carthagena,  ii.  211 
Gary,  Sally,  ii.  214 
Castle  Garden,  i.  79,  80 
Catholics,  ii.  108 
Catskill,  town  of,  i.  209 

soldiers  of,    i.    212,   214, 

217 

Catskills,  i.  173,  207 
Cawsons'    manor-house,    ii. 

243 

Cayugas,  i.  175 
Cazenovia,    i.   176,   198,  200, 

201 

Cedarcraft,   ii.  96,  97 
Cedarmere,  i.  71,  72 
Cemetery,  East  Hampton,  i. 

18 

Centreville,  ii.  39 

Charles  I.,  ii.  254 

wife  of,  ii.  30 

Charles  XII.,  ii.  45,  49,  254 
"  Chasseur,"  the  privateer, 

ii.  28 

Chatham  Square,  i.  78 
Chatham  Street,  i.  78 
Chenango  County,  i.  200 
Chesapeake,  ii.  9,  12,  24 

naval  force  in  the,  ii.  237 


275 


INDEX 


Chester,  i.  140,  ii.  39 
Chester  County,  ii.  90 
Chester,  Quaker  village,  ii. 

79,  92 

Chester,  the,  ii.  36 
Chestertown,  ii.  39,  40,  41 
Chew  House,  fight  in,  ii.  69, 

70 

Chew,  Philemon,  ii.  32 
Chew,  Samuel,  ii.  32,  33 
Chews,  the,  ii.  33 
Chincoteague,    island   of,  ii. 

19,  20 

ponies  of,  n.  21,  22,  24 
Chincoteague      Sound,      ii. 

20 
Choir,  Great  Girls',  ii.  146 

Single  Brethren's,  ii.  145 

Single     Sisters',     ii.     145, 

H7 

Widows',  ii.  147 
Choptank,  the,  ii.  25,  26 
Christ     Church     (Philadel 
phia),  ii.  53,  54 
chimes  of.  ii.  55 
Christian  Street,  ii.  47 
Christina,         Queen,        de 
spatches  expedition,  ii.  43, 

44 
Christmas     Eve,     Moravian 

celebration  of,  ii.  140 
Church,  Colonel,  i.  115 
City  Point,  ii.  243,  244 
Claiborne,    William,    claims 

Kent  Island,  ii.  36 
defeat  of,  ii.  37 
influence  of,  ii.  38 
Claverack,  i.  172 
Clay  Head,  i.  43 
Claypole,    Betty,    Lady,    ii. 

250 
Clermont,  i.  123,  129,  130 

house  at,  i.  132 
"  Clermont,"    steamboat,    i. 

124,  142 
Clinton,  i.  80 
Clinton,  Cornelia,  i.  173 
Clinton,    Fort,    i.    221,   232, 

233 


Clinton,      Governor,     gives 

dinner,  i.  83,  158 
signs  documents,  i.  169, 

173,  2J3 
Clinton,  Henry,  Sir,    attack 

led  by,  i.  157,  158,  233 
Clinton,  James,  i.  158,  233 
Cocalico,  ii.  120,  131 
Cole,  Thomas,    death   of,    i. 

217 

house  of,  i.  216 
Collin,  Hannah,  ii.  46 
Collin,  Nicholas,  ii.  46 
Colonial  Assembly,  ii.  50 

Congress,    First,   meeting 

of  the,  ii.  64-68 
Columbia      and      Dutchess 

Counties,  i.  122 
Columbia  County,  i.  149,  159, 

234 

Columbia  River,  ii.  156 
Columbia   University.      See 

King's  College 
Committee  of  Five,  i.  123 

of  One  Hundred,  i.  123 

of  Safety,  i.  164,  211 

patriot,  i.  21 

Community  of  True  Inspira 
tion,  ii.  202 

Congregation  House,  ii.  147 
Congress,  ii.  158 

Continental,  i.  123 ;  ii.  57, 
208,  219,  223 

Provincial,  first,  i.  123 

Stamp  Act,  ii.  123 
Conkling,  Jeremiah,  i.  28 
Conkling,  Roscoe,  i.  28 
Connecticut,  new  plantation 

of,  i.  15 
Connecticut   River,  attempt 

to  swim  across  the,  i.  47 
Connecticut  shore,  i.  66,  67 
Connecticut,  view  of,  i.  106 
Conowingo  Hills,  ii.  92 
Constitutional     Convention, 

ii.  237 

Continental  Army,  ii.  83,  84 
Continental  Village,  the,  i. 

161,  162 


276 


INDEX 


Coombe,  Mr.,  Rev.,  ii.  54 
Ccoper     Grounds,     the,     i. 

203 
Cooper,  James  Fennimore,  i. 

58 
Cooper,    Peter,   house   of,  i. 

98 

praises  view,  i.  205 
Cooperstown,  i.  204 
Copley,  the  artist,  i.  28 
Cornwall,  i.  222,  229-231 
Cornwallis,  i.  80 ;  ii.  16 

at  Westover,  ii.  248 

surrender  of,   ii.  209,  239, 

268,  269 

Cortlandt  Street,  i.  143 
Counts    of     Isenburg     and 

Wittgenstein,  ii.  108 
Courland,  ducal  house  of,  i. 

133 
Courland  in  Russia,  Dukes 

of,  i.  134 

Court-House  Green,  ii.  256 
Cowboys,  i.  136,  144,  148,  152, 

154 

Cowingo  Creek,  ii.  103 
Crisfield,  oyster  town  of,  ii. 
22-24 

railroad  from,  ii.  25 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  ii.  251 
Crosby,  Enoch,  career  of,  i. 

162-166 
Croton  River,  i.  133,  1.7,7,  144, 

157 

Croton,  the  Sachem,  i.  135 

Crozier,   William    Penn,    ii. 
76 

Cumniington,  i.  71 

Custis,  Daniel  Parke,  Colo 
nel,  ii.  215 

Custis  family,  ii.  12 

Custis,  George  Washington 
Parke,  ii.  209 

Custis,  John,  tomb  of,  ii.  12, 
13 

Custis,    Martha,    Mrs.      See 
Washington,  Martha,  Mrs. 

Custis,  Nelly,  ii.  72 
room  of,  ii.  230 


Dale,    Thomas,  Sir,  ii.  240, 
Danube,  i.  131,  190 
Darling,  Fort,  ii.  239 
De  Ayllon,  Lucas  Vasques, 

ii.  254,  255 

Decatur,  Stephen,  ii.  22 
De  Chastellux,  Marquis,  ii. 

246 

Declaration      of      Indepen 
dence,  i.  123,  124 
Defoe,  Daniel,  ii.  101,  102 
De  Grasse,  ii.  268 
De  Lancey  family,  i.  82 
De  Lancey,  Oliver,  i.  82 
De  Lanceys,  the,  204 
De  Lauzun,  Duke,  i.  135 
Delaware  and  Pennsylvania, 

rights  of,  ii.  237 
Delaware  Bay,  ii.  9,  20 
Delaware  County,  insurrec 
tion  in,  i.  115 

Delaware,  on  the,  ii.  75,  76 
De  Leon,  Count.      See  Mil 
ler,  Bernard 
De   Manduit,    Chevalier,    ii. 

70 

Depau  Row,  i.  97 
De  Rochambeau,  i.  135 
De  Warville,  Brissot,  ii.  220 
Dies,  John,  Major,  i.  215 
Dies,  Madam,  i.  215 
Dies's  Folly,  i.  215,  216 
Dinsmore,  William  B.,  i.  169 
Di  Paoli,  Pasquale,  General, 

ii.  92 

Dixon,  George  W.,  ii.  155 
Dixon  Memorial  Hall,  ii.  154, 

155 

Dobb's  Ferry,  i.  145,  146,  153 
Dongan,  Governor,  i.  20,  122, 

133  . 
Downing,  Jack,  Major.    See 

Smith,  Seba 
Drewry's  Bluff,  ii.  240 
Drummondtown,  ii.  19 
Drumore  township,  ii.  103 
Duane  Street,  i.  81 


277 


INDEX 


Duke  of  Gloucester  Street, 

ii.  256,  258-261 
Duke's  Hotel,  or  "  old  stone 

house,"  i.  168 

Dunkers,    baptism,    ii.    115- 
118 

celebration    of    the    Last 
Supper,  ii.  113,  114 

creed  of,  ii.  no 

dress  and  customs  of,  ii. 
in 

elections,  ii.  118 

founding  of  the,  ii.  108,  109 

ideal,  ii.  112 

secessions  from  the,  ii.  119 
Dunmore,  Lord,  ii.  15,  258 

flight  of,  ii.  259 
Duss,  John  S.,  Elder,  ii.  182, 

185,  187,  189 

Dutch  and  Huguenots,  set 
tlement  of,  i.  207 
Dutch  Gap,  ii.  239,  240 
Dutch  settlements,  i.  in 
Dutch  West  India  Company, 

i.  78,  79,  112 


East  and  West  Indies,  ii.  28 
Easter,  ii.  18 
Eastern  Bay,  ii.  36 
Eastern  Shore,  ii.  9,  10,  12 
berry  culture,  ii.  25,  36, 

bygone  era  of  the,  ii.  13, 

H 

churches,  ii.  38-40,  41 
exploration,  ii.  19 
Maryland  section  of,  ii. 

15 
present  condition  of,  ii. 

17,  18 

regiment,  ii.  16 
East  Green  bush,  i.  173 
Easthampton,  i.  18,  57-60 
Easton,  ii.  26 

vessels  of,  ii.  27,  28 
East  River,  i.  81,  103 
Eastville,  ii.  9,  10,  12,  19 


Eben-Ezer,  ii.  198 

Echerlin,  Israel,  ii.  120 

Economy,  burials  at,  ii.  182 
customs  of,  Ii.  184-186 
dissensions,  ii.  176-179 
founded,  ii.  173,  176 
sacrament  at,  ii.  187-189 
watchman  of,  ii.  180 

Elizabeth,    Queen,    ii.     102, 
104,  105 

Elsa,"    master    of    the,    i. 
45 

Elzey,  Mr.,  ii.  233 

Emmet,  Robert,  i.  169 

Emmett,  William,  i.  169 

Endicott,  John,  i.  32 

Ephrata,  ii.  107,  108 
brotherhood,  ii.  120,  123 
buildings  in,  ii.  120,  121 
conventual  life,  ii.  124-127 
latter  days  of,  ii.  131,  132, 

138 

monastic  life,  ii.  120-123 
music  of,  ii.  134,  153 
printing-press  of,    ii.    122, 
133 

Episcopal     Church     organ 
ized,  ii.  54 

Ericsson,  John,  house  of,  i. 
98,  99 

Erie,  ii.  88 

Erskine,  Lord,  i.  51 

Esopus,  i.  219 

Evans,  Oliver,  ii.  103 


Fairfax,  Anne,  ii.  211 
Fairfax,  Bryan,  ii.  219 
Fairfax,  George  William,  ii. 

214,  233 

Fairfax,  Lord,  i.  48,  251 
Fairmount  Park,  ii.  48 
Fanning,  Lord,  i.  63,  135 
Fanning,  Lydia,  Lady,  i.  63, 

64 
Farragut,  Admiral,  house  of, 

i.  197 
Fauntleroy,  Betsy,  ii.  214 

278 


INDEX 


"  Feast  of  the  Roses,"  ii.  92, 

106 
Fifth  and  Arch  Streets,  bury- 

ing-ground  at,  ii.  55 
Fillmore,  Mrs.,  i.  121 
Fireplace,  i.  22 
First   City   Troop   of  Phila 
delphia,  ii.  88 

settler,  the  ideal,  i.  19 
Fisher's  Island,  i.  49 

history  of,  i.  45,  46 
Fishkill,  i.  162 

churches  in,  i.  165,  229 

Mountains,  i.  162 
Fleet,  English,  capture  of,  i. 

78 

Fleury,  Colonel,  i.  236 
Floyd,  Betsy,  Miss,  courtesy 

of,  i.  63,  64 
courting  of,  i.  63,  64 
Floyd  family,  inheritance  of 

the,  i.  63 

Floyd,  Mrs.,  i.  63,  64 
Flushing,  i.  49,  73-75 
Fontainebleau,  chairs  from, 

i.  101 

Fordham,  i.  104 
Forest,      Edwin,     and      his 

house,  i.  99-103 
Forest,  Mrs.,  i.  101,  102 
Fort  Amsterdam,  i.  77 

Clinton,  i.  158,  161,  233 

Dayton,  rendezvous  at,  i. 

192 
road  leading  to,  i.  193 

George,  i.  212 

Hill,  i.  15 

Johnson,  i.  184 

Lee,  i.  88,  107 

Montgomery,    i.    158,    161, 
233 

Necessity,  11.  233 

Orange,  i.  in,  112,  132 

Schuyler,  ii.  69 

Schuyler  (Stanwix),  siege 

of,  i.  191-194,  197 
trail  to,  i.  198 

Ticonderoga,  i.  117 

Van  Renssalaer,  i.  188 


Fort  Washington,  i.  87,  89; 
ii.  83 

Forts  Clinton  and  Mont 
gomery,  conflict  at,  i.  233, 

234,  235 

Founders,  Dutch  and  Puri 
tan,  i.  73 

Fox,  George,  in  Flushing,  i. 

73,  74 
preaches   to  Indians,  i. 

48 
France,  mission  to,  i.  124;  ii. 

27 

Frankford,  ii.  47 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,       ii. 

177 
Franklin,   Benjamin,    i.  40, 

135 

grave  of,  11.  55 
incidents  in  the  life  of, 

ii.  57,  58,  60 
institutions  of,  ii.  56 
Franklin  County,  ii.  134 
Franklin,  Mrs.,  i.  40 
Fraunces,  Samuel,  i.  82-84 
Fraunces  Tavern,  i.  82 

building  and  repairs  of, 

i.  84,  85 

Long  Room  of,  i.  83,  85 
Fredericksburg,  ride   from, 

ii.  211 
Washington  houses  in,  ii. 

206-210 
Fremont,  John  C.,  General, 

i-  154 
Freys,  manor-house  of  the, 

i.  187-189 

Freys,  the,  i.  187,  189 
Friedsam,  Father.    See  Con 
rad  Beissel 
Friesland,  i.  137 
Front  Street,  New  York,  i. 

81 
Front  Street,   Philadelphia, 

ii.  48 

house  on,  ii.  57,  58 
Fulton,   Robert,  i.  124,   129, 

142  ;  ii.  92 
birthplace  of,  ii.  102-104 


279 


INDEX 


Fulton,  Robert,   death  of,  i. 

130,  131 

marriage  of,  i.  130 
Fulton,  the  elder,  ii.  103 


Gage,  General,  i.  21 
Gallows  Hill,  story  of,  i.  159, 

1 60 
Gansevoort,  Peter,  Colonel, 

i.  191,  193,  194 
Gardiner,  David,  i.  17,  19 
receives  patent,  i.  20 
Gardiner  Greens,  i.  28 
Gardiner,  John  I.,  annoyed 

by  pirates,  i.  20,  21 
daughter  of,  i.  28,  29 
relations  with  Captain 

Kidd,  i.  25-27 
Gardiner,  John  Lyon,  i.  21 
Gardiner,  Juliana,  i.  28 
Gardiner,  Lion,  i.  14 
death  of,  i.  18,  19,  22 
friendship   with    Wyan- 

dance,  i.  17 
in  Connecticut,  i.  15 
purchases  island,  i.  16 
residence  at  East  Hamp 
ton,  i.  18 
system  of,  i.  23 
Gardiner,  Mary,  i.  28 
Gardiner,     Mrs.,     keeps     a 

diamond,  i.  27 
receives    presents    from 

Kidd,  i.  25,  26 
Gardiner's    Bay,    i.    22,    24, 

29 
Gardiner's  Island,  i.  13,  16, 


t  th( 


at  the  present  time,  i.  22, 

23 
disturbed     by     Captain 

Kidd,  i.  24 

in  the  Revolution,  i.  21 
manor  of,  i.  14 
title  to,  i.  20 

Gardiners,  the,  connections 
of,  i.  28 


Garretson,  Freeborn,  i.  125 

at  Rhinebeck,  i.  171 
Garretson  House,  i.  75 
Garretsons,  residence  of  the, 

i.  132 

Gates  conspiracy,  i.  226,  228 
Gates,  General,  i.  227 
Genesee  country,  the,  i.  200 
Genet,     Edmond      Charles, 

citizen,  i.  173 
Genet,  homestead,  i.  173 
George  I.,  King,  i.  122 
George  III.,  King,  i.  152,  213, 

239 ;  ii.  206,  260 
Georgetown,  ii.  236,  237 
Germantown,  ii.  47 

battle  of,  ii.  16,  69,  83 

St.   Michael's   Church,    ii. 

7i 

Girondists,  ii.  220 

Gist,  militiamen  under,  ii.  16 

Glenwood,  i.  145,  146 

Gloria  Dei.  See  Old  Swedes' 
Church 

Goelet,  Jane,  Miss.  See 
Dies,  Madam 

Golden  Horn,  i.  79 

Goodwin,  Parke,  i.  99 

Gould,  Jay,  i.  145 

Goupil,  Rene,  Brother,  mar 
tyrdom  of,  i.  179-181,  182 

Gouverneur,  Samuel  L.,  i.  95 

Governor's  Creek,  ii.  76 

Grant,  General,  home  of,  i. 
96;  ii.  16,  243 

Grant,  Mrs.,  i.  96 

Grassmere,  i.  32 

Gravesend,  i.  15 

Gray's  Ferry  Road,  ii.  59 

Great  Plains  road,  i,  51 

Great  Queen  Street.  See 
Pearl  Street 

Great  South  Bay,  i.  61 

Greeley,  Horace,  house  of,  i. 

97 
Green   Thomas,  chaplain,  i. 

27 

Greenbush,  house  in,  i.  116, 
' 


280 


INDEX 


Harrison,  President   (first), 

ii.  248 

Hartford  colony,  i.  49 
Harvard  College,  ii.  261 
Harvey,  John,  Sir,  ii.  36 
Hasbrouck,   Colonel,   house 

built  by,  i.  222 
Hasbrouck  family,  i.  225 
Hastings,  i.  145,  146 
Haunted  Lake,  i.  204,  206 
Havana,  voyage  of  a  double- 

ender  to,  i.  35,  36 
Haverstraw  Bay,  i.  157,  237 
Haydn,    symphonies   of,   ii. 

167 
Heere    Graft.       See    Broad 

Street 
Heinemann,      Barbara,      ii. 

197 

Helderbergs,  i.  173 
Henrici,  Jacob,  ii.  182,  185 

170  Henricus,  City  of,  ii.  241 

trees  planted  by,   i.  94,    Henry,    Patrkk,    ii.   53,   65, 

95  258,  260,  263 

visits  Andre,  i.  238  great  speech  of,  ii.  264 

Hamilton,    George,    Earl   of  I  Herkimer,    Nicholas,    Gen- 


Greene,  General  Nathaniel, 

i.  40,  88  ;  ii.  84 
Greenport,  i.  13,  45,  49 
Greenwich  Street,  i.  79 
Greenwich  village,  i.  94 
Grey,  General,  ii.  91 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  i.  174 
Gunston  Hall,  ii.  219 
Gustayus  Adolphus,  dream 

of,  ii.  42,  43,  44 

H 

Hale,  Nathan,  Captain,  cap 
ture  of,  i.  67,  68 
"  Half  Moon,"  the,  i.  in 
Half-Way   Hollow    Hills,    i. 

66 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  i.  93 
death  of,  i.  94 
marriage  of,  i.   121,  125, 


Orkney,  ii.  257 
Hamilton,  Governor,  ii.  49 
Hamilton  Grange,  i.  93-95 
Hamilton,  Mrs.,  i.  94 
Hampton  Roads,  ii.  27,  262 
Hamptons,  isolated,  i.  60 

transfer  of  the,  i.  49,  50 
Hancock,  John,  ii.  53,  66 
Hanover  Square,  i.  81.  82 
Hanover  Volunteers,  ii.  258 
Hapsburg,     Rudolph    of,    i. 

Harmonists,  ii.  175 
generosity  of,  ii.  185 
leave    Economy,     ii.    178, 

179 

present  head,  ii.  182 
wealth  of,  ii.  183 

Harmony  Society,  ii.  174 

Harrison,     Benjamin,    Colo 
nel,  ii.  249,  251 

Harrison,     Benjamin,    Mrs., 


eral,  i.  190,  191 
death  of,  i.  197 
marches  to  Fort  Schuy- 

ler,  i.  192-194 
monument  to,  i.  198 
wounded  at  Oriskany,  i. 

195,  196 

Herkimer,  town  of,  i.  192 
Hermitage,  the,  ii.  40 
Hessian  occupation,  i.  75 
Highlands,  i.  158 
trail,  i.   159,   162,   165,   166, 

233 

Hill,  Edward,  ii.  241 

Hohenlinden,  ii.  78 

Holland  and  France,  smug 
gling  for,  ii.  27 
colonists  from,  i.  in 
windmills  from,  i.  51 

Holland  Land  Company,  i. 
200 

Hollanders,  i.  210 


11.  251 


I  Hollywood  Cemetery,  i.  96 
281 


INDEX 


Holme,  Thomas,  ii.  46  j  Hyde,  Edward,  Lord  Corn- 

Holtenstein,  Amos,  preacher,  |      bury,  i.  169 

baptizes,  ii.  116-118  ,  Hyde  Park,  i.  169 

Honorable   Society   of  Car-  j 

penters,  hall  built  bv,  ii.  |  T 

64,66 
Hopkins,  Stephen,  ii.  65          |  Idele,  i.  132 


Horsford,    Eben    Norton,    i 

48 

Hospital,  New  York,  i.  81 
Hostetter,  a  Dunker,  ii.  116 
House  of  Burgesses,  ii.  235, 

257,  259 
site  of,  ii.  263 
the   Beverly   Robinson,    i. 

233 

Howard,  John  Eager,  Colo 
nel,  granddaughter  of,  ii. 
30 

Howe,  i.  120 
Hudson,    Hendrick,    i.    in, 

172 

Hudson  Highlands,  i.  28 
Hudson  River,   domains,  i. 

132 
first   steamer    launched 

on,  i.  124 
literary  landmarks  of,  i. 

231 

military  works,  i.  232 
patroon     system     intro 
duced   on  the,    i.    in, 
112 


poor  man's  side  of  the,  j      Peter 


Idlewild,  i.  230 
Indian  Brook,  i.  156 
Indians,  organizations 

masked  as,  i.  115 
Paumanoc,  i.  16 
Inn,  Enoch  Story's,  ii.  54 
Inspirationists,  customs  and 

creed  of,  ii.  200-205 
villages  of  the,  ii.  197-199 
Irish  channel,  ii.  28 
Iroquois,   League  of  the,  i. 

174,  175 
meeting-place  of  the,  i. 

205,  212 

mementos  of  the,  i.  189 
Irvington,  i.  145,  146 
Irving,  Washington,  i.  65 
at  Sunnyside,  i.  146,  147, 

149,  150 

city  house  of,  i.  103,  104 
grave  of,  i.  147 
rambles  of,  i.   151,  169; 
ii.  14 


Jabey,  Brother.     See  Miller, 


steamboat,  i.  218 
Valley,  i.  158,  233 
view,  i.  120 
villa  regions,  i.  145 
Washington's        retreat 
across  the,  i.  87 
Hudson   River   Railroad,   i. 
142 
Huguenots,  i.  73-75 
Hunt,  Robert,  ii.  252 
Huntingdon   Harbor,  i.   49, 
66-68 
town,  i.  66 
Huss,  John,  i.  137 

2i 

James,  Richard,  Rev.,  ii.  38, 
39 
James  River,   down  the,  ii. 
239-241 
Jamestown,  ii.  38,  239 
site  of,  ii.  251,  253 
Jamestown    Island,   ii.    253, 

254,  255 
Jamestown  pioneers,  n.  251 
Jay,  John,  i.  125,  164  ;  ii.  65 
Jefferson,   Thomas,  lodging 
house  of,  ii.  67,  73,  259,  270 
Jenny  Lind,  i.  80 
Jericho,  i.  49-71 

\2. 

INDEX 


Jersey  City,  i.  131 
Jesuit     Fathers,    first    mis 
sionary  efforts   of,  i.    179- 
181 

Job,  Andrew,  ii.  102 
Job,  Thomas,  ii.  102 
Jocelyn,  i.  15 
Jogues,  Father,  martyrdom 

of,  i.  179,  180,  182 
Johnson  family,  i.  187 
Johnson  Hall,  i.  185-187,  191 
Johnson,  John,  Sir,  i.  177 
driven     from     Johnson 

Hall,  i.  186,  187 
plans  Mohawk  invasion, 

i.  191,  192 

Johnson,  William,  Sir, 
among  the  Indians,  i. 
183 

comes  to  America,  i.  182 
death  of,  i.  185 
grave  of,  i.  186 
knighted,  i.  184 
Johnstown,  i.  176,  182 
Jumel,  Madame,  i.  89-92 
Jumel     mansion,    (formerly 
Morris  mansion),  i.  85, 
140 
present   condition  of,   i. 

92,  93,  HO 
scenes  in,  i.  89-91 
Jumel,  Stephen,  i.  89,  90 
Junto  Club,  ii.  56,  57 

K 

Kaaterskill,  i.  212 

Kedar,  ii.  120 

Keens,  ii.  44 

Kennett  Square,   ii.  92,  96- 

98 
Kent  County,  St.  Paul's  in, 

ii.  40,  41 
Kent  Island,  ii.  36 

Anglican  Church  in,  ii. 
38,39 


Key,  Francis  Scott,  ii.  30 
Kidd,  Captain,  i.  20,  24,  25 
in  the  wake  of,  i.  45,  48 
last  voyage  of,  i.  28,  29 
treasure  of,  i.  26,  27 
Kinderhook,  i.  172 
King  William,  i.  61 
King's  Bridge   Road,  i.  143, 

144 

King's  College,  i.  123 
Kingsessing,  ii.  46 
King's  Road,  i.  94 
Kingston   destroyed,  i.  167, 

168 

head-quarters,  i.  223-225 
old   Dutch  church,  i.  219, 

220 

Senate  House,  i.  221,  222 
I  Kiskatom,  i.  212 
I  Kitchewan  Bay,  i.  135 
Kitchewan  River,  i.  135 
Klein,  George,  church  built 

by,  ii.  154 
vision  of,  ii.  153 
Knickerbocker  literary  pe 
riod,  i.  65 
Knox,  ii.  73 

head-quarters  of,  ii.  83 
Kock,  ii.  197 
Kosciusko,  i.  232 
Kossuth,  i.  80 


Laetitia  Court,  ii.  48 
Laetitia  House,  ii.  47,  48 
Lafayette,  i.  80,  121,  135 

at     Washington's      head 
quarters,  i.  223,  224,  226 

head-quarters  of,  ii.  83, 145 
Lake  Agawam,  i.  51 
Lake  Cazenovia,  i.  200 
Lake  Suinipink,  i.  234 
Lancaster,  ii.  92,  107 
Lancaster    County,   ii.    102- 
I-,  153 


restored    to    Claiborne,  j  Landing,  the.     See  Catskill 

ii-  37  i  Lansdowne,  ii.  48 

Kent  Point,  ii.  37  i  Laurens,  Colonel,  ii.  70 

283 


INDEX 


Leatherstocking  Cave,  i.  205 
Leatherstocking  Falls,  i.  205 
Lee,  Richard  Henry,  ii.  54, 

65 

Leeds,  i.  209,  211,  214 
Lehman,  Peter,  administra 
tion  of,  ii.  136 
founds  Order,  ii.  134 
Lely,  Peter,  Sir,  ii.  250 
Lewis, Anna  Estelle  (Stella), 

i.  65 

Lewis,  Morgan,  i.  125,  170 
Lexington,  battle  of,  i.  229 ; 

ii.  209 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  i.  64 
Lind,  Jenny,  i.  80 
Linden  Ha'll,  Moravian  Fe 
male  Seminary,  ii.  154,  155 
Lindenwald,  i.  172 
Lititz,  ii.  149,  152,  155,  158 
Little    Britain   township,    ii. 

102 

Littlefield,  Catherine,  i.  40 
Liverpool  and  Bristol,  trade 

with,  ii.  27 

Livingston,  Charlotte,  i.  125 
Livingston,  Colonel,  i.  153 
Livingston,  Edward,  i.  124 
Livingston,  Gertrude,  i.  125 
Livingston,  Harriet,  i.  130 


Livingston,  Henry,  i.  167,  168       worth,  i  65 


Livingston,  Janet,  i.  125-128, 

169 

Livingston,  Kate,  i.  125,  171 
Ljvingston,  Lewis  H.,  i.  171 
Livingston  manor,  i.  122, 129, 

.131,  159,  234 
Livingston  mansion,  i.   167, 

168 

Livingston,  Peter,  i.  123 
Livingston,    Philip,    second 

lord  of  the  manor,  i.  122, 

123 
Livingston,  Philip,  signer  of 

the    Declaration   of   Inde 
pendence,  i.  123 
Livingston,      Robert,      first 

lord  of  the  manor,  i.  122, 


Livingston,  Robert  R.,  i.  123 

Livingston,       Robert       R  , 

Chancellor,  i.  123,124 

friendship  of,  i.  129 

mansion    built    by,   i. 

132 

sisters  of,  i.  125 
Livingston,  Robert  R.  (sec 
ond),  i.  123,  124 
Livingston,       Sarah       Van 

Brugh,  i.  125 
Livingstons,   the    ablest    of 

all,  i.  123 
daughters  of,  i.  124-127, 

132 

Livingston,  William,  i.  123 
Lloyd,  Edward,  ii.  29 
Lloyd,   Henrietta  Maria,  ii. 

30 

Lloyds,  the,  ii.  30,  32,  33 
Locusts,  The,  i.  169 
Logan,  Deborah,  ii.  52 
Logan,  Hannah,  ii.  52 
Logan,  James,  ii.  49-51 
Logan,  the  Mingo  chief,  ii. 

50 

London,  i.  129 
Long     Cove     Mountain,     i. 

J53 

Longfellow,    Henry    Wads- 


123 


284 


Longfellow's  poem,  ii.  86 

Long  Island,  i.  13 

battle  of,  i.  67 ;  ii.  16 
colonial  reminders,  i.  49, 

60 

end  of  journey  in,  i.  73 
hills,  view  of,  i.  106 
shore,  i.  17,  18,  79 

Long  Islanders,  i.  73 

Long  Island  Sound,  i.  41,  43, 
45,  68,  103 

Longwood  Cemetery,  ii.  97 

Lord  Vere,  i.  14 

Loudon,  Lord,  i.  159 

Louis  Philippe,  i.  80 
dinner  set  of,  i.  101 

Louisiana,  cession  of,  i.  124 
senator  from,  i.  124 


INDEX 


Love    Feast,    Moravian,    ii. 

165-167 
Lower  Manor,  the.  See  Cler- 

mont 

Loyalists,  i.  144 
Ludwick,  Baker-General,  ii. 

7i 

Lutherans,  ii.  108 
Lyndhurst,  Baron,  i.  28 
Lynn,  men  from,  i.  49 


Mack,  Alexander,  ii.  108 
Madison  County,  i.  200 
Madison,  James,  ii.  53,  73 
"Magdalen,"    man  of  war, 

ii.  258 
"  Manajungh   on  the   Skor- 

kihl,"  ii.  44 
Manchonake,  i.  16 
Manhattan,  i.  143 
Manhattan  Club,  i.  98 
Manhattan  Island,  i.  107 
Manheim,  ii.  92,  104-106 
Manisees.     See  Block  Island 
Manors     of     colonial     New 

York,  i.  13 

Marble  Cemetery,  i.  96 
Marblehead,  ii.  28 
Marie  Antoinette,  furniture 

of,  190 

Marienborn,  ii.  109 
Marshall,   John,   encounters 

Washington,  ii.  224-227 
Maryland       Committee      of 

Safety,  ii.  15 

Maryland,  judges  of,  ii.  32 
Maryland,  tariff  of,  ii.  236 
Mary,  Queen,  ii.  261 
Marysville,  ii.  158 
Mason,  ii.  270 
Mason,  George,  ii.  219 
Massachusetts,  colony  of,  i. 

32 

Matteawan  Indians,  i.  166 
Maxwell,  Elizabeth,  story  of, 


11.  101,  102 


McClellan,  ii.  248 
Mclntosh,  widow.    See  Fill- 
more,  Mrs. 

McKean,  Thomas,  ii.  65 
Melrose  Abbey,  ivy  from,  i. 

149 

Mercer,  General,  i.  88 
Mesier    homestead,    i.    166, 

167 

Mesier  Park,  i.  167 
Mesier,  Peter,  i.  166 
"  Methodist,  The,"  canoe,  ii. 

24 

Metz,  Christian,  ii.  197 
Meyer,   Harmanus,  journey 

of,  i.  220 

Middle  Chesapeake,  ii.  27 
Miles  River,  ii.  27,  28 
Miller,  Bernard,  ii.  177-179 
Miller,    Peter,   story    of,    ii. 

128-130 

Mill  Street,  ii.  75 
Mohawks,  i.  175,  211 
Mohawks  and  Tories,  horde 

of,  i.  191 
Mohawk,  the,  i.  187,  188,  212 

Valley  of,  i.  174,  179 
Mohegan  Bluff,  i.  30 
Mohegans,  i.  32 
Mohicans,  fur  trade  with,  i. 

in 

Moncock,  battle  of,  ii.  38 
Monroe,  Elbert,  C.,  i.  155 

Mrs.,  country-place  of, 

i-  154,  155 

Monroe,    James,    last    resi 
dence  of,  i.  95,  96 
rival  of,  i.  125 
Montauk,  gateway  of,  i.  41 
Montauks,  i.  17 
Montcalm,  i.  120,  184 
Montgomery  County,  ii.  79 
Montgomery,  Fort,  i.  233 
Montgomery    House.      See 

Grassmere 
Montgomery,  mansion  built 

by,  i.  132 

Montgomery,  Mrs.,  i.  171 
letter  of,  128 


285 


INDEX 


Montgomery  Place,  i.  132 
Montgomery,     Richard,     at 

Rhinebeck,  i.  170 
marriage  of,  i.  126,  127 
reburial  of,  i.  128,  129 
Montreal,  i.  192,  197 
Moore  House,  ii.  269 
Moore,    William,    memorial 

stone  of,  ii.  87 
Moravian  Church,  ii.  144 
Christmas  celebration,  ii. 

167-172 
Easter  celebration,  ii,  163, 

167 
faith,  converts  to,   ii.  147- 

149 

Female  Seminary,  ii.  145 
God's  Acre,  ii.  147 
Theological  College,  ii.  145 
Moravians,  the,   coming  of, 

ii.  139-142 

converts  to,  ii.  147-149 
customs  of,  ii.  146,  147 
economy  of,  ii.  143,  144 
Moreau,  Marshall,  house  of, 

ii.  78 
Moriches     and     Patchogue, 

land  between,  i.  61 
Morris  family,  i.  140 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  Chinese 

gifts  of,  ii.  221 
Morris  mansion,  i.  86 

in  Washington's  career, 

i.  87-89 
Morris,      Mary     (Philipse), 

Mrs.,  death  of,  i.  141 
marriage  of,  i.  86,  140 
meets  Washington,  i. 

.139 
Morris,  Robert,  ii.  26 

house  of,  ii.  71 
Morris,  Roger,  Colonel,  i.  86, 

89 
dies  in  England,  i.  140, 

141 
Morse,    Samuel   F.    B.,  city 

home  of,  i.  98 
triumph  of,  i.  107,  129 
Mount  Custis,  ii.  19 


Mount  Independence,  i.  232 
Mount  McGregor,  i.  96 
Mount     Vernon,     cares     of 

state  at,  ii.  222-224 
estate  of,  ii.  219-221 
historic  rooms,   ii.   229- 

231,  232 

mansion  of,  ii.  218 
ownership  of,  ii.  228,  229 
sudden  arrivals  at,  ii.  217 
visitors    to,    ii.    225-227, 

234 
Washington's  early  days 

at,  ii.  212-216 

Mount  Vernon  Ladies  Asso 
ciation,  ii.  229 
Mount  Vision,  i.  204 
Mowatt,  Anna  Cora,  i.  65 
Muhlenberg,  Father,  ii.  79- 

81 
Musgrave,  Colonel,  ii.  69 

N 

Naples,  Bay  of,  i.  79 
Napoleon,  i.  122  ;  ii.  78 
Narragansetts,  i.  17,  32 
Nassau  Street,  i.  82 
Nazareth,    founding    of,    ii. 

149,  150 

present  town  of,  ii.  151 
Nazareth  Hall,  ii.  151,  152 
Neck,  the,  ii.  49 
Nelson  House,  ii.  270 
Nelson,      Thomas      (third), 

General,  ii.  266,  270 
Nelson,     Thomas     (Scotch 

Tom),  ii.  265 
Nelson,  war  horse,  ii.   221, 

222 

Netherlands,  Prince  of  the, 

i.  in 

Neutral  ground,  the,  i.  144 
New  Amsterdam,  i.  49,  77, 

78,  148 
Newburgh,  i.  222 

proclamation    read    at,   i. 
228,  229 

relics  at,  i.  225,  226 


286 


INDEX 


New  Helvetia,  ii.  157 

New  Jersey,  terminus  at,  i. 

107 

New  Kent,  county  of,  ii.  38 
New  London,  harbor  of,  i. 

36 
New   Philadelphia    Society, 

ii.  179 
Newport  Harbor,  drowning 

in,  i.  44 

New  Sweden,  ii.  43 
New  Windsor,  i.  229 
New  York,  Bay  of,  i.  79 
canal,  i.  79 
first   colonial  manor  of, 

i-  13 
first  English  settlers  in, 

i.  14 
literary  reminders  of,  i. 

103-108 

old  houses  of,  i.  82-85 
Presidents      who     have 

di-d  in,  i.  95 
streets  of,  i.  77-79,  81 
tracing  early  days  of,  i. 

76,77 
New  York,  State  of,  freedom 

to  slaves  in  the,  i.  70 
vote  of,  i.  169 
Nicholls,  Governor,  i.  co 
Nicoll,  Edward,  i.  64 
Norris,    Isaac,   home   of,    ii. 

49,5i 
Northampton,  county  of,  11. 

10,  15 

North  Cape,  ii.  28 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia, 

boundary  of,  ii.  246 
North,  Lord,  ii.  261 
Nullification    Proclamation, 

the,  i.  124 


O'Conor,  Charles,  i.  99 
Odell,  Captain,  i.  151,  152 
Odell  House,  i.  151-153 
Ohio  River,  ii.  232 
Oldham,  Captain  John,  i.  32 


Old  Swedes'  Church,  ii.  44- 

46 

Oneidas,  i.  175 
Onesimus.     See  Israel  Ech- 

erlin,  ii.  120 

Orange,  William  of,  ii.  53 
Order  of  the  Solitary,  ii.  119, 

128 

decline  of,  129 
offspring  of,  134 
Oriskany,    battle   of,  i.   175, 

195-198 

Oriskany  Falls,  i.  176,  192 
Orrery,  Duke  of,  ii.  251 
Oserneuon,  i.  178 
Oswego,  i.  192 
Otis,  ii.  263 
Otsego  Rock,  i.  205 
Otsego,  the,  i.  176 
Our  Lady  of  Martyrs,  Shrine 

of,  i.  182 

Oxford,  ii.  26,  102 
Ox  Pasture  Road,  i.  51 
Oyster  Bay,  i.  49,  68,  69 


Paca  homestead,  ii.  33 
Paca,  Mary  (Chew),  ii.  32  ^ 
Paca,  William,  Governor,  ii. 

1 6,  30,  32 

last  days  of,  ii.  35 
picture  of,  ii.  34 
Palace  Green,  ii.  265 
Palatinate   of  the   Rhine,  i. 

1 88 
Palatine  Bridge,  i.  176,  187 

named,  i.  188,  190 
"  Palatine,"    the     phantom 

ship,  i.  43,  44 
Palisades,  i.  88 
Palmer,  Edward,  spy,  i.  160, 

161 

Paoli,  massacre  at,  ii.  90-92 
Paris,  i.  124 
Parker  mansion,  ii.  ii 
Parker,  name  of,  ii.  12 
Park  Row,  i.  78 
Parton,  authority  of,  i.  91 


287 


INDEX 


Passajungh,  ii.  44 
Patchogue,  i.  49,  64-66 
"  Patroon's"  mansion,  i.  116 
Patroon  system,  i.  no,  in 
Patroons,  the,  i.  110-113 
Patterson,  Betty,  i.  90 
Paulding,  James  Kirk,  i.  169 
Pawlet  family,  ii.  244 
Pawlet,  John,  Sir,  ii.  244 
Payne,  John  Howard,  i.  57 
Payne,  Mr.,  contests  Wash 
ington,  ii.  233,  234 
Peale,    Rembrandt,    picture 

of,  ii.  229 

Pearl  Street,  i.  78,  81,  82 
Peck  Slip,  i.  78 
Peconic  Bay,  murder  in,   i. 

52-55 

Peekskill,  i.  142,  159 

Pelletreau  House,  i.  51 

Pemberton  country-seat,  ii. 
49 

Pembertons,  the  three,  ii.  51 

Pendleton,  i.  170 

Peniel,  ii.  121 

"  Penn  and  Logan  Corres 
pondence,"  ii.  52 

Penn,  descendants  of,  ii.  55 

Penn,  John,  ii.  48 

Penn,  Lsetitia,  ii.  47 

Penn,  Richard,  house  of,  ii. 

Pennsbury,  ii.  48 
Pennsbury  Manor,  ii.  76-78 
Penns,  the,  ii.  48 
Penn's  WTood,  ii.  76 
Pennsylvania,  ii.  51 
Pennsylvania  State  Society 

of  the  Cincinnati,  ii.  88 
Penn,  William,  i.  73 ;  ii.  27, 

42 
founds   Philadelphia,  ii. 

46-48,  50,  57 
manor-house    of,   ii.  76- 

78,  125,  139 
Penn,   William,    second,    ii. 

Perm,  William,  the  younger, 


54,  55 


Pequots,  i.  16 

Perry,    Commodore,    bomb 
shells  given  by,  i.  155 
Petersborough,    Earl    of,    ii. 

250 

Petersboro,  i.  176,  198 
Petersburg,  ii.  243 
Philadelphia,  i.  107  ;  ii.  208 
a  last  picture  of,  ii.  72 
city  laid  out,  ii.  46 
City  Tavern,  ii.  64 
council  in,  ii.  58 
day's  journey  from,  ii.  92 
first  colonial  Congress  in, 

ii.  64-68 

girl  sold  in,  ii.  101 
in  1774,  ii.  63 
intellectual  life  of,  ii.  56 
old  library  in,  ii.  57 
outings,  ii.  75 
polite  society  of,  ii.  52,  53 
State  House,  ii.  57,  64 

Declaration  signed  in, 

ii.  66-68 

inauguration  in,  ii.  72 
Swedes'  settlement  in,  ii. 
,  43-46. 

the  national  capital,  n.  71 
Philemon,  Lloyd,  ii.  29,  32 

daughter  of,  ii.  32 
Philipsburg,  house  of,  i.  138- 

140 

manor  of,  i.  no,  132,  137 
warlike  scenes  in,  i.  144 
Philipse  Castle,  i.  138,  146 
Philipse  family,  i.  137,  140 
Philipse,  Frederick,  i.  86 
buildings  erected  by,  i. 

137,  138 
Philipse,  Frederick  (third), 

Colonel,  i.  140 
property      of,     confis 
cated,  i.  141,  154 
Philipse,  Mary.    See  Morris, 

Mary  (Philipse),  Mrs. 
Phillipsburg,    Pennsylvania, 

ii.  179 

Pierpont,      Samuel,      Rev., 
grave  of,  i.  46,  47 


288 


INDEX 


Pierson,  Thomas,  ii.  92 
Platt,  Mary,  i.  64 
Plymouth,  ii.  9 
Plymouth  Rock,  i.  32  ;  ii.  36 
Pocahontas,  ii.  241,  261 
Pocantico  Creek,  i.  138,  146 
Poe,  Edgar  A.,  i.  65 

at   Fordham   Cottage, 

i.  104,  106 
Portugal,  ii.  28 
Posey  County,  ii.  174 
Posey,  Major,  i.  237 
Post  Road,  beginning  of  the, 

i-  159 
New  York  end  of  the,  i. 

143 

Potomac,  ii.  37 
Potomac  Company,  ii.  236 
Potomac  Falls,  ii.  236 
Potts  mansion,  ii.  85 
Poughkeepsie,    i.    162,    167, 

169 

Powder  Horn,  ii.  257,  260 
Presqu'  Isle,  ii.  88 
Prince    Edward     Island,    i. 

64 

Prince  of  Orange,  i.  15 
Prospect   Hill.      See   Genet 

homestead 
Prospect  Rock,  i.  205 
Provincial  Assembly,  i.  122 
Provincials,  i.  196 
Pulaski's  legion,  ii.  16 
Putnam  County,  i.  162,  163, 

166 

Putnam,  Fort,  i.  232 
Putnam,  Israel,   General,  i. 

28 

camp  of,  i.  61,  88 
disposes  of  a  spy,  i.  60 


Quaker  meeting-house,  old 
est,  i.  74  ;  ii.  26 

Quakers  seek  refuge,  i.  47 ; 
ii.  46,  49,  50,  57 

Quebec,  expedition  against, 
i.  127,  128,  171,  184 


Queen's  Head.     See  Fraun- 
ces  Tavern 

eueen's  Rangers,  i.  68 
ueenstown,  ii.  39 


Radcliffe  Street,  ii.  75 
Raleigh  Tavern,  ii.  264 
Rambos,  ii.  44 
Ramsay,  David,  ii.  103 
Randolph,  Anne,  ii.  251 
Randolph,  Edmund,  ii.  263 
Randolph,  John,  ii.  243 

house  of,  ii.  256 
Randolph,  Peyton,  ii.  65 
Randolphs,  the,  ii.  241    244 

estates  of,  ii.  243 
Rappahannock,  anecdote  of 

the,  ii.  208 

Rapp,  George,  death  of  the, 
ii.  181 

doctrines  of,  ii.  173 

organizes  Harmony  So 
ciety,  ii.  174,  175 

rule  of,  ii.  176-180 
Rapp,  Gertrude,  ii.  183 
Rauch,    Christian,   mission 
ary,  ii.  148,  149 

begins  career,  ii.  154 
Ray,  Catherine,  i.  40 
Red  Hook,  i.  132 
Red  Lion  Hotel,  ii.  264 
Reef  Tavern,  143 
Regents,  the,  ii.  230 
Reidesel,  Baron,  i.  120 
Rensselaer,  daughter  of  the 

house  of,  i.  117 
Rensselaers,  the,  i.  114 
Rensselaerwyck,  i.  112,  117 
Renwick,  Mrs.,  i.  150 
Reservoir  the,  i.  143 
Revolutionary     era,     struc 
tures  belonging  to,  i.  77 
Revolution,  brilliant  exploit 

of  the,  ii.  16 
church  in  the,  i.  161 
first    overt  act  of  the,  ii. 

257 


11—19 


289 


INDEX 


Revolution,  privateering  in 

the,  ii.  27,  28 
soldier  of  the,  i.  125 

Rhinebeck,  church  at,  i.  125, 

127    136 
founding  of,  i.  170,  171 

Rhine  Palatinates,  i.  190 

Rhode   Island,  General  As 
sembly  of,  i.  33 

Richmond,  ii.  239,  240 
city  laid  out,  ii.  246 

Ringgold,  Thomas,  ii.  16 

Ripley,  George,  i.  65 

Rittenhouse,    David,  obser 
vatory  built  by,  ii.  67 

River    Eder,    immersion   in 
the,  ii.  108 

Rodney,  Caesar,  ii.  16,  65 

Roe,  Edward  Payson,  i.  230, 
231 

Rogers,   John,    first   public- 
house  built  by,  i.  159 

Rokeby,  i.  132 

Rolfe,  John,  ii.  252 

Romans  of  the  New  World, 
i.  174 

Rome,  i.  191 

Roost,  the,  i.  148 

Roslyn,  i.  49,  71 

Ross,  Betsy,  Mrs.,  flag  made 
by,  ii.  68,  69 

Roxborough,  ii.  47 

Rudman,  ii.  44 

Rutledges,  the,  ii.  65 


S 

Saal,  ii.  133 
Sacramento,  ii.  158 
Sacramento    River,    ii.    156, 

157 

Sag  Harbor,  i.  56,  57 

Salem,  North  Carolina,  Eas 
ter  celebration  at,  ii.  163- 
170 

Salisbury,    Francis,    i.    210, 

212 

Salisbury  House,  romance 
of,  i.  213,  214 


Salisbury,  Sylvester,  i.  209 
Saltonstall,   Richard,  Sir,  i. 

28 

San  Domingo,  ii,  255 
Sandwich  Islands,  ii.  156 
Sandy  Point,  i.  42,  43 
San  Francisco,  Bay  of,  ii.  157 
San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  Castle  of, 

i-  155 
San  Miguel  de  Guandope,  ii. 

255 

Saratoga,  i.  120 
Saron,  ii.  121,  131-133 
Say  and  Seal,  Lord,  i.  15 
Saybrook,    Fort,    i.    15,    16, 

22 

Sayre  House,  i.  51 
Scarborough,  i.  145,  155 
Scheible,  Daniel,  ii.  126,  127 
Schoharie,  settlement  of,  i. 

176-178 
Schuckburgh,   composer   of 

"Yankee  Doodle,"  i.  117 
Schuneman,  Johannes,  Dom 
inie,  i.  210 
parsonage  of,  i.  211 
Schute,  Sven,  Commander, 

ii.  44 

Schuyler,  Alida,  i.  122 
Schuyler,  Elizabeth,  i.  121 
Schuyler  family,  i.  117 
Schuyler  House,  i.  117,  118 
panorama  from,  i.  120 
visitors  to,  i.  121 
Schuyler,   Johannes,    Domi 
nie,  i.  176 

Bible  used  by,  i.  177 
Schuyler     manor-house,     i. 

117,  118 
panorama  from,  i.  120 

Schuyler,  Peter,  i.  117,  121 
Schuyler,  Philip,  General,  i. 

94,  H7 
attempted  capture  of, 

118,  119 
entertains    Burgoyne, 

i.    120,   121 

Schuylers,  the,  i.  132 
Schuyler  Street,  i.  117 


290 


INDEX 


Schuylerville,  i.  121 

mansion  at,  i.  117 
Schuylkill,  ii.  43,  59 
Schuylkill  Valley,  ii.  90 
Scott,  General,  i.  155 
old  home  of,  i.  97 
Second  Maryland  Regiment, 

ii.  16 

Second  Street,  ii.  48 
Separatists,  celibacy  of  the, 
ii.  194-196 

settlement  of  the,  ii.  108, 

189,  193 

Settlers,  first  English,  i.  14 
Seventh  Street,  ii.  49 
Severn,  the,  ii.  28 
Seward,  William  A.,  i.  114 
Shaefferstown,  ii.  105 
Shekomo,  mission  of,  ii.  149 
Shelter  Island,  i.  22,  45,  49 
name  of,  i.  48 
occupation  of,  i.  47 
Sherman,  Roger,  ii.  65 
Shewell,  Elizabeth,  ii.  94-96 
Shinnecock  Hills,  i.  52 
Shinnecock  Indians,  i.  52,  53 
Shinnecock  Neck,  i.  52 
Shirley,  ii.  239 

manor-house  of,  ii.  241-243 
Shoharius,  i.  154 
Sigourney,  Lydia,  Mrs.,  i.  65 
Simancas,  ii.  254 
Simcoe,  Colonel,  i.  68 
Sinclair,  Catherine,  i.  99 
Sing  Sing,  i.  155,  156 
Sisters'  House,  ii.  145 
Sitka,  ii.  156 
Six  Nations,  i.  174 

land  of  the,  i.   174,   176, 

178,  187,  201,  206 
Skinners,  i.  136,  144,  148 
Sleepy  Hollow,  church  at,  i. 

146,  147 
Smallwood's     regiment     ii. 

15,  16 

Smiley,  Samuel,  ii.  89 
Smith,    Eliza    Oakes,    i.   65, 

66 
Smith,  Gerrit,  i.  198 


Smith,  John,  Captain,  ii.  252, 

254 
Smith,  John,  marriages  of,  i. 

63,64 
Smith,  Seba,  i.  64,  65 

Smith,  Tangier.    See  Smith, 

Colonel  William 
Smith,   Tangier,    family,    i. 

62 
Smith,  William,  born  1777, 

i.  64 
Smith,  William,   Colonel,  i. 

61 

Smith,  William,  Judge,  i.  63 
Snow  Hill,  ii.  22 

monastical  Society  of,  ii. 

134-138 

nunnery  of,  n.  134 
Society  of    Friends,    ii.   98, 

100 
Southampton,  i.  56 

modern  prosperity  of,  i.  51 

whale-fishery"  of,  i.  50 
Southeastern  Pennsylvania, 

hamlets  of,  ii.  92 
South  Street,  i.  81 
Southwark,  ii.  43,  45,  49 
Spangenburg,      Bishop,     ii. 

J51 
Southwell,    Robert,    Sir,   ii. 

251 
Spotswood,  Alexander,  Sir, 

ii.  257 

house  of,  ii.  269 
Spuyten    Duyvil    Creek,    i. 

137,  M3 

Stage  route,  old,  i.  142,  143 
Stanton,  i.  125 

State  of  New  York,  first  con 
stitution  of,  i.  124 
States-General,  i.  112 
State  Street,  No.  7,  i.  79,  81 
"St.    David's    at     Radnor, 

Old,"  ii.  86-89 
Stenton,  ii.  49 

social  life  at,  ii.  50-52 
Sterling,  Earl  of,  i.  19 
Steuben,  Baron,  i.  135  ;  ii.  211 
grave  of,  i.  198,  199 


291 


INDEX 


Stewart,  Alexander  T.,  old 

house  of,  i.  97 
St.  George's  Church,  i.  75 
St.    George's    Manor,   i.   49, 

60-64 

Stiegel,  Baron,  ii.  92 
reception  of,  ii.  104 
rent  paid  to,  ii.  105 
Stillwater,  i.  212 
Stirling,  Lord,  ii.  16 
St.  James  Church,  ii.  154 
St.  John's  church-yard,  i.  186 
St.  Leger,  Colonel,  i.  194 
St.  Luke's  Protestant  Epis 
copal  Church,  i.  93 
St.  Mary's,  ii.  37 
St.  Michael's,  vessels  of,  ii. 

27,  28,  30 

Stone  Street,  i.  78 
Stony  Point,  i.  157 

capture  of,  i.  235-237 
Strand,  the.     See  Catskill 
Stuyvesant,  Governor,  i.  147 
Sun  Inn,  the,  ii.  145 
Sunnyside,  cottage  of,  i.  146 

history  of,  i.  147,  148 

life  in,  i.  150 

restoration  of,  i.  149 
Susquehanna,  i.  204,  205  ;  ii. 
103 

depicted  by  Cooper,  5.  206 
Sutter,    John    A.,    General, 

claim  of,  ii.  158 
discovers  gold,  ii.  157 
grave  of,   ii.   155,    156, 

'59 

Swan  son,  n.  44 
Swanson,  Swan,  ii.  46 
Swarthmore,  ii.  92-94,  96 
Swedes,  ii.  47 
Swift,  Joseph,  ii.  103 
Swiss  Guard,  ii.  156 
Sylvester,  Brinley,  of  New 
port,  i.  48 
Sylvester,  Grissell  Brinley, 

i.  47,  48 
Mrs.,  i.  47,  48 

Sylvester  Island.     See  Shel 
ter  Island 


Sylvester  Manor,  i.  48,  49 
Sylvester,  Nathaniel,  i.  47 
Quaker  guests  of,  i.  47, 

48 

Sylvester,  Nathaniel  and 
Grissell,  lineal  descend 
ants  of,  i.  48 


Tabea,    Sister,  story  of,    ii. 

125-128 

Talleyrand,  i.  80,  200 
Tangier  Island,  ii.  24,  25 
Tangier  Sound,  ii.  22,  23 
Tappan  Sea,  Flying  Dutch 
man  of  the,  i.  150,  151 
Tappan,    village   of,    i.    153, 

237,  238 
Tarrytown,   i.   138,   145,  153- 

155 

Taylor,  Bayard,  ii.  96-98 
Taylor,  Mary  Agnew,  ii.  97 
Tekagwita,  Catherine,  i.  179, 

181,  182 

Teller's  Point,  i.  153 
Third  Street,  ii.  49 
Thomas  Boyle,  Captain,  ii. 

28 

Thome,  Margaret.     See  Sis 
ter  Tabea 

Thomson,  Charles,  ii.67,  223 
Threadhaven  Creek,  ii.  26 
Tilghman,  Edward,  ii.  16 
Tilghman,    Matthew   Ward, 

ii.  15 

Tilghman,  Richard,  ii.  40 
Tilghman,      Tench,      Lieu 
tenant-Colonel,  ii.  16 
Tivoli,  i.  131,  132 
Tolstoi,  Leo,  Count,  ii.  173 
Tories,  Johnson's,  i.  196 
prison  for,  i.  168,  169 
under  arms,  ii.  15 
Town     Pond.       See     Lake 

Agawan 

Townsend,  Captain,  i.  65 
Townsend  homestead,  i.  68, 
69 


2Q2 


INDEX 


Trappe,  church  at,  ii.  79-81 

Trenton,  i.  131 

Tribes,  Long  Island,  i.  18 

Trinity  church-yard,  i.  131 

Tryon   General,  attempt  of, 

i.  135,  161 
rendezvous  of,  i.  66 

Tryon  County,  militia  of,  i. 
192 

Tschoop,  conversion  of,  ii. 
147-149 

Turnbull,  Jim,  i.  54-56 

Turner,  Edith,  i.  55-56 

Turner  Joseph,  ii.  49 

Tweed,  William  M.,  dwell 
ings  of,  i.  98 

Tyler,  President,  i.  28 

U 

Ulster  County,  founders  of, 
i.  209 

United  Netherlands  Com 
pany,  i.  in 

United  States  Supreme 
Court,  ii.  158 

Upper  Brandon,  ii.  248 

Upper  Hudson,  i.  160 

Utica,  i.  176,  193 


Valley  Creek,  ii.  82,  83 
Valley  Forge,  i.  198 
camp  at,  ii.  63,  79 
site  of,  ii.  81-83 
Washington's          head 
quarters  at,  ii.  82,  85 
Van  Bergen,  Marten,  i.  209, 

210 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  i.  172 
Van  Cortlandt,  James    Ste 
venson,  i.  136 

Van  Cortlandt,  John,  i.  134 
Van    Cortlandt     manor,    i. 

132-136 

manor-house,  i.  157 
Van  Cortlandt,  Pierre,  i.  135 
Van  Cortlandts,   descent  of 
the,  i.  134 


Van  Cortlandt,   Stephanus, 

i.  133,  157  .. 
Vancouver,  n.  156 
Van  Dam,  Rambout,  i.  151 
Vanderbilt,        Commodore, 

house  of,  i.  97 

Vanderlyn,  John,  i.  217-219 
Van   Rensselaer,   Johannes, 

i.  112 
Van   Rensselaer,   Killian,  i. 

112,  132 
Van     Rensselaer,    Stephen, 

General,  i.  112 
leases  farms,  i.  113 
Van     Rensselaer,    Stephen, 
sixth  of  the  line,  i. 
112, 113 
wife  of,  i.  119 
Van  Rensselaer,  William,  i. 

113 
Van  Rensselaers,  the,  i.  115, 

116,  132 
Van  Tassel,  Jacob,  i.  148 

wife  of,  i.  148 
Van  Tassel,  Laney,  i.  148 
Van  Vost,  family  of,  i.  186 
Van  Wart,  i.  154 
Varina,  ii.  241 
Varnum,  General,  ii.  84 
Vaughan,  General,  i.  235 
Vera  Cruz,  i.  155 
Vernon,  Admiral,  ii.  211 
Verplanck's    Point,    i.    158, 

235 

Verrazani,  i.  32 
Versailles,  ii.  156 
Viking  boat,  i.  36,  37 
Virginia,   capital  of,  ii.  256, 
267-269 

State  of,  request  of  the,  i. 

96 

Von  Linklaen,  Jan,  i.  200 
"Vulture,"  the,  i.  153 

w 

Waerden,  i.  14 

Wales,  Prince  of,  ii.  240 

Wallace,  James,  Sir,  i.  167 


293 


INDEX 


Wallace,  John,  story  of,   i. 

58-60 
Wallack,  Lester  and  James 

W.,  early  homes  of,  i.  99 
Wall  Street,  i.  76,  78 
Wain,  Nicholas,  ii.  51 
Walpole,  Robert,  Sir,  ii.  251 
Wappinger's    Falls,    i.    162, 

1 66 

Wappingi  Indians,  i.  166 
Ward,  Matthew,  ii.  16 
Warner,  Anna,  i.  232 
Warner,  Susan,  i.  231,  232 
War  of  1812,  ii.  16 
"Warrior,"  wreck  of  the,  i. 

42 

Warwick,  ii.  153 
Warwick  Furnace,  ii.  90 
Washington,  Augustine 

(first),  ii.  207,  208 
(second),  ii.  207 
Washington,  Bushrod,  ii.  228 
Washington,    George,   i.  49, 
67,  86,  121, 126, 173, 184, 
226 ;  ii.  16,  53 
adventure  of,  i.  87-89 
appearance  of,  ii.  215 
appoints  a  baker,  ii.  71 
as    commander-in-chief, 

ii.  216,  217 
at  Valley  Forge,  ii.  82, 

84,  85,  90,  145 
soldiers  of,  n.  155 
at  West  Point,  i.  235 
council  chamber,  i.  92 
crosses  the  Delaware,  ii. 

designs  flag,  ii.  68,  69 
dies  at  Mount  Vernon,  ii. 

228 
encounter   with    Payne, 

ii.  233,  234 

head-quarters  of,  i.  87 
house  occupied  by,  i.  75 
in    Alexandria,    ii.    232, 

235-237,  267 
inauguration  of,  i.  124 
in  Congress,  ii.  65,  66 
in  the  South,  i.  120 


Washington,     George,    last 
public  appearance  of, 

ii-  73,  74 

last  vote  of,  ii.  238,  270 

lays  foundations  of  cap 
ital,  ii.  223 

love-affairs  of,  ii.  213 

manages  estate,  ii.  219- 
221 

marriage  of,  ii.  214 

persuades  Marshall  to 
enter  Congress,  ii.  224, 
227 

Philadelphia  dwelling 
of,  ii.  72 

physician  of,  i.  170 

questions  Wayne,  i.  235, 
236 

reply  of  Gates,  i.  227, 
228 

returns  to  Mount  Ver 
non,  ii.  218,  224 

returns  to  New  York,  i. 
84 

summoned  to  resume  his 
arms,  ii.  228 

takes  farewell  in 
Fraunces's  tavern,  i. 

83 
takes       possession       of 

Mount  Vernon,  ii.  212 
with  his  mother,  ii.  206- 

211 

Washington  Heights,  i.  86, 

140 
Washington,  Jane,  Mrs.,  ii. 

228 

Washington,    John    Augus 
tine,  ii.  228 
(second),  ii.  228 
Washington,    Lawrence,    ii. 

207,  211-213 

Washington,   Martha,   Mrs., 
i.  40,  223-226 ;  ii.  12, 

13,  53 
as   Martha   Custis,    ii. 

214,  215 

brave  words  of,  ii.  216 
dies,  ii.  228 


294 


INDEX 


Washington,   Martha,  Mrs., 
joins   her    husband, 
ii.  217,  218 
marries  General 

Washington,  ii.  214 
Washington,    Mary     (Ball), 

Mrs.,  ii.  207-211 
Washington's  army,  i.  136 
Water  Serpent,  story  told  by 

the,  i.  54-56 
Water  Street,  i.  81 
Watson,  ii.  49 
Wayne,   Anthony,    General, 

i.  235-237 
at  Paoh,  11.  90,  91 
grave  of,  ii.  88 
homestead  of,  ii.  89 
Wayne,  Isaac,  Colonel,  ii.  88 
Waynesboro,  ii.  134 
Webb,  James  Watson,  i.  154 

present  to,  i.  155 
Webber,  Wolfert,  i.  78 
Weehauken,  i.  94 
Weems,  Parson,  ii.  207,  208 
Welcome  Creek,  ii.  76 
Wells  family,  i.  187 
West,   Beniamin,   i.   129;    ii. 

92 

paints  first  picture,  ii.  93 
romance  of,  ii.  94,  95 
Westchester  County,  i.  160, 

163 
Westchester,   passage  from 

the  history  of,  i.  109 
Western  Maryland,  ii.  37 
Western  Shore,  ii.  37 
West  Indies,  ii.  27,  28,  53 
West,  John,  ii.  93 
Westmoreland,  ii.  207 
Westover,  ii.  55,  239,  248 
magnificence  of,  ii.  246,  247 
patent  of,  ii.  244 
Westover  House,  ii.  244-247 
West  Point,  i.  229,  231,  232 
West  Walnut  Lane,  hospital 

at,  ii.  70 

Wharton  House,  ii.  49 
Wharton,  Robert,  Mayor,  ii. 


Whigs,  houses  of,  fired  at,  i. 

167 
Whitefield,  i.  136 

buys  land,  ii.  150 

in  Pennsylvania,  ii.  150 
Whitemarsh  Church,  ii.  26 
White  Plains,  i.  164 
Whitesboro,  i.  193 
Whitsuntide,  ii.  18 
Wickhams,  the,  ii.  241 
"  Widgeon,"  the  steamer,  ii. 

19 
Widman,    Michael,   spy,   ii. 

128-130 

Widow's  House,  ii.  147 
William  and  Mary  College, 

ii.  256,  262,  263 
Williamsburg,    ii.    239,   255, 

256,  260-264 
Williams,  David,  i.  154 

grave  of,  i.  178 
Wildercroft,  i.  132 
Willemson,  Mary,  wife  of 

Lion  Gardiner,  i.  14 
Willis,    Nathaniel   P.,  i.  65, 

closing  years  of,  i.  229, 

230 

Wilson,  Alexander,  ii.  46,  6p 
Wilson,  Marinus,  Colonel,  i. 

101 

Wilton,  ii.  49 

Wiltwyck    burying-ground, 

i.  217,  219 
Winthrop,  John,  i.  15,  45 

the  younger,  i.  45 
Winthrop,  Theodore,  ii.  261 
Winthrop,  Wait  Still,  i.  46 
Winthrops,  the,  of  Fisher's 

Island,  i.  45,  47 
manor  house  of,  i.  46 
Wistar  House,  ii.  70 
Wittgenstein,  ii.  107 
Wolfe,  i.  184 
Woodlands,  ii.  49 
World's  Fair,  i.  36 
Wren,    Christopher,    Sir,   ii. 

260 
Wright,  Silas,  i.  115 


295 


INDEX 


Wyandance,    chief    of    the 

Montauks,  i.  17 
Wye  House,  ii.  28-30 

first  master  of,  ii.  29,  32 
grandeur  of,  ii.  33,  35 
visit  of  Frederick  Doug 
las  to,  ii.  31,  32 
Wye  Island,  ii.  18,  33,  35 
Wye  River,  ii.  29,  30,  36 


Yonkers,  city  hall  of,  i.  138, 

145 

York,  Duke  of,  i.  78,  238 
York  River,  ii.  265 


Yorktown,  ii.  209,  239 
a  trading   centre,   ii.   260, 

265 
struggle    in,    ii.    267,   269, 

270 

Young,  John,  i.  115 
Young,  Mr.,  i.  164 


Zinzendorf.  Count,  Mora 
vian  leader,  ii.  139-141, 
150,  151 

christens  Lititz,  ii.  155 
visits  Warwick,  ii.  153 
Zion,  ii.  121 


THE    END 


296 


YB  20572 


M1231GQ 


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