diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:51:45 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:51:45 -0700 |
| commit | 9f077a4adafd2c15799d56e2e519232d23bd4d16 (patch) | |
| tree | 11715799c863d6049c592fb2917aaaf22d917255 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-8.txt | 4737 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 98004 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 402474 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h/17721-h.htm | 5564 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h/images/008.jpg | bin | 0 -> 79692 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h/images/018.jpg | bin | 0 -> 72165 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h/images/ill-008.jpg | bin | 0 -> 79692 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721-h/images/ill-018.jpg | bin | 0 -> 72165 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721.txt | 4737 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 17721.zip | bin | 0 -> 97881 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
13 files changed, 15054 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17721-8.txt b/17721-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3dec8e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4737 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 9, 2006 [EBook #17721] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + + + + + + + + +THE BAY STATE MONTHLY + +A New England Magazine + +OF + +HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE + +AND + +STATE PROGRESS + + * * * * * + +VOLUME III + + * * * * * + +BOSTON + +BAY STATE MONTHLY COMPANY + +No. 43 MILK STREET + +1885 + + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by the BAY STATE +MONTHLY COMPANY, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at +Washington. All rights reserved. + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. + + + Adams, Samuel, The Patriot, Edward P. Guild 401 + (4 Illustrations) + Amesbury, The Home of Whittier, Frances C. Sparhawk 418 + (3 Illustrations) + Andrew, John Albion, 141 + (2 Illustrations) + Among the Books 136, 218, 306, + 388, 469 + Assessment Insurance G.A. Litchfield 317 + Assessment Life Insurance Sheppard Homans 411 + Authoritative Literature of George Lowell Austin 313, 408 + the Civil War + Boston Latin School, The 74 + Christopher Gault.--A Story Edward P. Guild 278 + City of Worcester, The Fanny Bullock Workman 147 + (18 Illustrations) + Clarke, Colonel John B., 9 + Sketch of the Life of + Civil War, Authoritative 313, 408 + Literature of the + Clayton-Bulwer Treaty _vs._ George W. Hobbs 17 + Monroe Doctrine + Coffin, Charles Carleton, 1 + Sketch of the life of + Concord Men and Memories, Geo. B. Bartlett 224 + (6 Illustrations) + Concord, N.H., Impression Prof. Emile Pingault 16 + D'un Français + Conspiracy of 1860-61, The Geo. Lowell Austin 233 + Crapo, Hon. William Wallace, Edward P. Guild 309 + Biographical sketch + David, Barnabas Brodt Rev. J.G. Davis D.D. 69 + Divorce Legislation of Chester F. Sanger 27 + Massachusetts + Drowne, Shem, and his Handiwork Elbridge H. Goss 33 + Early English Poetry Prof. Edwin H. Sanborn LL.D. 125 + Editor's Table 139, 215, 300, + 384, 463 + Elizabeth, A Romance of Frances C. Sparhawk 48, 107, 202, + Colonial Days 289, 384, 447 + First New England Witch Willard H. Morse M.D. 270 + Fort Shirley Prof. A.L. Perry 341 + Grimke Sisters, The George Lowell Austin 183 + Hero of Lake Erie, The Hon. William P. Sheffield 321 + (1 Illustration) + Hingham, (3 Illustrations) Francis H. Lincoln 258 + Historical Record 303, 386, 465 + Hollis Street Church 47 + Home of Whittier, Amesbury The Frances C. Sparhawk 418 + (3 Illustrations) + House of Ticknor, The Barry Lyndon 266 + (4 Illustrations) + Insurance, Assessment G.A. Litchfield 317 + Insurance, Assessment Life Sheppard Homans 411 + Jackson, Helen Hunt 256 + Kate Field's New Departure Edward Increase Mather 429 + (1 Illustration) + Lake Erie, The Hero of Hon. William P. Sheffield 321 + (1 Illustration) + Lincoln, Abraham George Lowell Austin 165 + Long, John D., A Brief Biography 221 + Marblehead in 1861, The Response of Samuel Roads Jr. 378 + March of the 6th Regiment, The Rev. Charles Babbidge 374 + Marsh, Sylvester, Sketch of Chas. Carleton Coffin 65 + the life of + Massachusetts, The Present H.K.M. 439 + Resources of + Massachusetts, Divorce Legislation Chester F. Sanger 27 + Massachusetts Hills, Rambles Among Atherton P. Mason M.D. 101 + Memoranda for the Month 220 + Model Industrial City, A Fanny M. Johnson 328 + (11 Illustrations) + Mormon Church, The Victoria Reed 348 + Nantasket Beach Edward P. Guild 179 + Nantucket, Ten days in Elizabeth Porter Gould 190 + (2 Illustrations) + National Banks--Surplus Funds George H. Wood 14 + and Net Profits + Nurse, Rebecca, Homestead of Elizabeth Porter Gould 436 + O'Brien Hugh Col. Chas. H. Taylor 253 + Old Dorchester, Historical Charles M. Barrows 39 + Paine, Hon. Henry W. Prof. William Mathews, LL.D. 391 + Past and Future of Silver, The David M. Balfour 97 + Patriot, Samuel Adams, Edward P. Guild 401 + The (4 Illustrations) + Pickett's Charge, Portrait and Charles A. Patch 397 + diagram + Precious Metals, The David M. Balfour 415 + Publisher's Department 64, 308, 390, 472 + Phillips, John, with Portrait 249 + Rambles Among Massachusetts Hills Atherton P. Mason M.D. 101 + Resources of Massachusetts, H.K.M. 439 + The Present + Response of Marblehead in 1861, Samuel Roads, Jr. 378 + The + Silver, Past and Future of David M. Balfour 97 + Sixth Regiment, The March of The Rev. Charles Babbidge 374 + Ten Days In Nantucket Elizabeth Porter Gould 190 + (2 Illustrations) + Thompson, Denman, Sketch of the Life of 12 + Ticknor, The House of Barry Lyndon 266 + (4 Illustrations) + Tommy Taft, A Story of Boston Town A.L.G. 244 + Two Days with The A.M.C. Helen M. Winslow 367 + Two Reform Mayors of Boston 249 + Webster, Col. Fletcher, A reminiscence of 38 + Webster, Daniel, The Last Portrait of 340 + Wedding in Ye Days Lang Syne Rev. Anson Titus 36 + White and Franconia Mountains, + The (24 Illustrations) Fred Myron Colby 76 + Witch, The first New England Willard H. Morse M.D. 270 + Worcester, The City of Fanny Bullock Workman 147 + (18 Illustrations) + + + +POEMS. + + By The Sea Teresa Herrick 377 + Equinoctial Sidney Maxwell 383 + Growing Old 299 + In Ember Days Adelaide G. Waldron 277 + Memory's Pictures Charles Carleton Coffin (1846) 124 + The Muse of History Elizabeth Porter Gould 248 + Room At The Top 366 + The Old State House Sidney Maxwell 414 + Idleness Sidney Harrison 183 + A Birthday Sonnet George W. Bungay 201 + + + +STEEL ENGRAVINGS. + + Charles Carleton Coffin Facing 1 + John B. Clarke 9 + Sylvester Marsh 65 + John Albion Andrew 141 + John D. Long 221 + Hugh O'Brien 253 + William Wallace Crapo 309 + Henry W. Paine 391 + + + + +[Illustration: Charles Carleton Coffin] + + + + +THE BAY STATE MONTHLY. + +_A Massachusetts Magazine_ + +VOL. III. APRIL, 1885. NO. I. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. + + +Among the emigrants from England to the western world in the great +Puritan exodus was Joanna Thember Coffin, widow, and her son Tristram, +and her two daughters, Mary and Eunice. Their home was in Brixton, two +miles from Plymouth, in Devonshire. Tristram was entering manhood's +prime--thirty-three years of age. He had a family of five children. +Quite likely the political troubles between the King and Parliament, the +rising war cloud, was the impelling motive that induced the family to +leave country, home, friends, and all dear old things, and become +emigrants to the New World. Quite likely Tristram, when a youth, in +1620, may have seen the Mayflower spread her white sails to the breeze +and fade away in the western horizon, for the departure of that company +of pilgrims must have been the theme of conversation in and around +Plymouth. Without doubt it set the young man to thinking of the +unexplored continent beyond the stormy Atlantic. In 1632 his neighbors +and friends began to leave, and in 1642 he, too, bade farewell to dear +old England, to become a citizen of Massachusetts Bay. + +He landed at Newbury, settled first in Salisbury, and ferried people +across the Merrimack between Salisbury and Newbury. His wife, Dionis, +brewed beer for thirsty travellers. The Sheriff had her up before the +courts for charging more per mug than the price fixed by law, but she +went scot free on proving that she put in an extra amount of malt. We +may think of the grave and reverend Justices ordering the beer into +court and settling the question by personal examination of the foaming +mugs,--smacking their lips satisfactorily, quite likely testing it a +second time. + +Tristram Coffin became a citizen of Newbury and built a house, which is +still standing. In 1660 he removed with a portion of his family to +Nantucket, dying there in 1681, leaving two sons, from whom have +descended all the Coffins of the country--a numerous and widespread +family. + +One of Tristram's decendants, Peter, moved from Newbury to Boscawen, New +Hampshire, in 1766, building a large two-storied house. He became a +prominent citizen of the town--a Captain of the militia company, was +quick and prompt in all his actions. The news of the affair at Lexington +and Concord April 19,1775, reached Boscawen on the afternoon of the next +day. On the twenty-first Peter Coffin was in Exeter answering the roll +call in the Provincial assembly--to take measures for the public safety. + +His wife, Rebecca Hazelton Coffin, was as energetic and patriotic +as he. In August, 1777, everybody, old and young, turned out to defeat +Burgoyne. One soldier could not go, because he had no shirt. It was this +energetic woman, with a babe but three weeks old, who cut a web from the +loom and sat up all night to make a shirt for the soldier. August came, +the wheat was ripe for the sickle. Her husband was gone, the neighbors +also. Six miles away was a family where she thought it possible she +might obtain a harvest hand. Mounting the mare, taking the babe in her +arms, she rode through the forest only to find that all the able-bodied +young men had gone to the war. The only help to be had was a barefoot, +hatless, coatless boy of fourteen. + +"He can go but he has no coat," said the mother of the boy. + +"I can make him a coat," was the reply. + +The boy leaped upon the pillion, rode home with the woman--went out with +his sickle to reap the bearded grain, while the house wife, taking a +meal bag for want of other material, cutting a hole in the bottom, two +holes in the sides, sewing a pair of her own stockings on for sleeves, +fulfilled her promise of providing a coat, then laid her babe beneath +the shade of a tree and bound the sheaves. + +It is a picture of the trials, hardships and patriotism of the people in +the most trying hour of the revolutionary struggle. + +The babe was Thomas Coffin--father of the subject of this sketch, +Charles Carleton Coffin, who was born on the old homestead in Boscawen, +July 26, 1823,--the youngest of nine children, three of whom died in +infancy. + +The boyhood of the future journalist, correspondent and author was one +of toil rather than recreation. The maxims of Benjamin Franklin in +regard to idleness, thrift and prosperity were household words. + +"He who would thrive must rise at five." + +In most farm-houses the fire was kindled on the old stone hearth before +that hour. The cows were to be milked and driven to the pasture to crop +the green grass before the sun dispatched the beaded drops of dew. They +must be brought home at night. + +In the planting season, corn and potatoes must be put in the hill. The +youngest boy must ride the horse in furrowing, spread the new-mown +grass, stow away the hay high up under the roof of the barn, gather +stones in heaps after the wheat was reaped, or pick the apples in the +orchard. Each member of the family must commit to memory the verses of +Dr. Watts: + + "Then what my hands shall find to do + Let me with all my might pursue, + For no device nor work is found + Beneath the surface of the ground." + + +The great end of life was to do something. There was a gospel of work, +thrift and economy continually preached. To be idle was to serve the +devil. + +"The devil finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." + +Such teaching had its legitimate effect, and the subject of this sketch +in common with the boys and girls of his generation made work a duty. +What was accepted as duty became pleasure. + +Aside from the district school he attended Boscawen Academy a few terms. +The teaching could not be called first-class instruction. The +instructors were students just out of college, who taught for the +stipend received rather than with any high ideal of teaching as a +profession. A term at Pembroke Academy in 1843 completed his acquisition +of knowledge, so far as obtained in the schools. + +The future journalist was an omnivorous reader. Everything was fish that +came to the dragnet of this New Hampshire boy--from "Sinbad" to +"Milton's Paradise Lost," which was read before he was eleven years old. + +The household to which he belonged had ever a goodly supply of weekly +papers, the _New Hampshire Statesman_, the _Herald of Freedom_, the _New +Hampshire Observer_, all published at Concord; the first political, the +second devoted to anti-slavery, the third a religious weekly. In the +westerly part of the town was a circulating library of some one hundred +and fifty volumes, gathered about 1816--the books were dog-eared, soiled +and torn. Among them was the "History of the Expedition of Lewis and +Clark up the Missouri and down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean," which +was read and re-read by the future correspondent, till every scene and +incident was impressed upon his memory as distinctly as that of the die +upon the coin. Another volume was a historical novel entitled "A Peep at +the Pilgrims," which awakened a love for historical literature. Books of +the Indian Wars, Stories of the Revolution, were read and re-read with +increasing delight. Even the _Federalist_, that series of papers +elucidating the principles of Republican government, was read before he +was fourteen. There was no pleasure to be compared with that of visiting +Concord, and looking at the books in the store of Marsh, Capen and Lyon, +who kept a bookstore in that, then, town of four thousand +inhabitants--the only one in central New Hampshire. + +Without doubt the love for historical literature was quickened by the +kind patronage of John Farmer, the genial historian, who was a visitor +at the Boscawen farm-house, and who had delightful stories to tell of +the exploits of Robert Rogers and John Stark during the French and +Indian wars. + +Soldiers of the Revolution were living in 1830. Eliphalet Kilburn, the +grandfather of Charles Carleton Coffin on the maternal side, was in the +thick of battle at Saratoga and Rhode Island, and there was no greater +pleasure to the old blind pensioner than to narrate the stories of the +Revolution to his listening grandchild. Near neighbors to the Coffin +homestead were Eliakim Walker, Nathaniel Atkinson and David Flanders, +all of whom were at Bunker Hill--Walker in the redoubt under Prescott; +Atkinson and Flanders in Captain Abbott's company, under Stark, by the +rail fence, confronting the Welch fusileers. + +The vivid description of that battle which Mr. Coffin has given in the +"Boys of '76," is doubtless due in a great measure to the stories of +these pensioners, who often sat by the old fire-place in that farm-house +and fought their battles over again to the intense delight of their +white-haired auditor. + +Ill health, inability for prolonged mental application, shut out the +future correspondent, to his great grief, from all thoughts of +attempting a collegiate course. While incapacitated from mental or +physical labor he obtained a surveyor's compass, and more for pastime +than any thought of becoming a surveyor, he studied the elements of +surveying. + +There were fewer civil engineers in the country in 1845 than now. It was +a period when engineers were wanted--when the demand was greater than +the supply, and anyone who had a smattering of engineering could find +employment. Mr. Coffin accepted a position in the engineering corps of +the Northern Railroad, and was subsequently employed on the Concord and +Portsmouth, and Concord and Claremont Railroad. + +In 1846 he was married to Sallie R. Farmer of Boscawen. Not wishing to +make civil engineering a profession for life he purchased a farm in his +native town; but health gave way and he was forced to seek other +pursuits. + +He early began to write articles for the Concord newspapers, and some of +his fugitive political contributions were re-published in _Littell's +Living Age_. + +Mr. Coffin's studies in engineering led him towards scientific culture. +In 1849 he constructed the telegraph line between Harvard Observatory +and Boston, by which uniform time was first given to the railroads +leading from Boston. He had charge of the construction of the +Telegraphic Fire Alarm in Boston, under the direction of Professor Moses +G. Farmer, his brother-in-law, and gave the first alarm ever given by +that system April 29, 1852. + +Mr. Coffin's tastes led him toward journalism. From 1850 to 1854 he was +a constant contributor to the press, sending articles to the +_Transcript_, the Boston _Journal, Congregationalist_, and New +York _Tribune_. He was also a contributor to the _Student and +Schoolmate_, a small magazine then conducted by Mr. Adams (Oliver +Optic). + +He was for a short time assistant editor of the _Practical Farmer_, +an agricultural and literary weekly newspaper. In 1854 he was employed +on the Boston _Journal_. Many of the editorials upon the +Kansas-Nebraska struggle were from his pen. His style of composition was +developed during these years when great events were agitating the public +mind. It was a period which demanded clear, comprehensive, concise, +statements, and words that meant something. His articles upon the +questions of the hour were able and trenchant. One of the leading +newspapers of Boston down to 1856 was the _Atlas_--the organ of the +anti-slavery wing of the Whig party, of the men who laid the foundation +of the Republican party. Its chief editorial writer was the brilliant +Charles T. Congdon, with whom Mr. Coffin was associated as assistant +editor till the paper was merged into the _Atlas and Bee_. + +During the year 1858 he became again assistant on the _Journal_. He +wrote a series of letters from Canada in connection with the visit of +the Prince of Wales. He was deputed, as correspondent, to attend the +opening of several of the great western railroads, which were attended +by many men in public life. He was present at the Baltimore Convention +which nominated Bell and Everett as candidates for the Presidency and +Vice Presidency in 1860. He travelled west through Pennsylvania, Ohio, +and Indiana, before the assembling of the Republican Convention at +Chicago, conversing with public men, and in a private letter predicted +the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, who, up to the assembling of the +convention, had hardly been regarded as a possible candidate. + +He accompanied the committee appointed to apprise Mr. Lincoln of his +nomination to Springfield, spent several weeks in the vicinity--making +Mr. Lincoln's acquaintance, and obtaining information in regard to him, +which was turned to proper advantage during the campaign. + +In the winter of 1860-61, Mr. Coffin held the position of night editor +of the _Journal_. The Southern States were then seceding. It was +the most exciting period in the history of the republic. There was +turmoil in Congress. Public affairs were drifting with no arm at the +helm. There was no leadership in Congress or out of it. The position +occupied by Mr. Coffin was one requiring discrimination and judgment. +The Peace Congress was in session. During the long nights while waiting +for despatches, which often did not arrive till well toward morning, he +had time to study the situation of public affairs, and saw, what all men +did not see, that a conflict of arms was approaching. He was at that +time residing in Maiden, and on the morning after the surrender of +Sumter took measures for the calling of a public meeting of the citizens +of that town to sustain the government. It was one of the first--if not +the first of the many, held throughout the country. + +Upon the breaking out of the war in 1861 Mr. Coffin left the editorial +department of the _Journal_ and became a correspondent in the field, +writing his first letter from Baltimore, June 15, over the signature of +"_Carleton_"--selecting his middle name for a _nom de plume_. + +He accompanied the right wing under General Tyler, which had the advance +in the movement to Bull Run, and witnessed the first encounter at +Blackburn's Ford, July 18. He returned to Washington the next morning +with the account, and was back again on the succeeding morning in season +to witness the battle of Bull Run, narrowly escaping capture when the +Confederate cavalry dashed upon the panic-stricken Union troops. He +reached Washington during the night, and sent a full account of the +action the following morning. + +During the autumn he made frequent trips from the army around Washington +to Eastern Maryland, and the upper Potomac, making long rides upon the +least sign of action. Becoming convinced, in December, that the Army of +the Potomac was doomed to inaction during the winter, the correspondent, +furnished with letters of introduction to Generals Grant and Buell from +the Secretary of War, proceeded west. Arriving at Louisville he found +that General Buell had expelled all correspondents from the army. The +letter from the Secretary of War vouching for the loyalty and integrity +of the correspondent was read and tossed aside with the remark that +correspondents could not be permitted in an army which he had the honor +to command. + +Mr. Coffin proceeded to St. Louis, took a look at the army then at +Rolla, in Central Missouri, but discovering no signs of action in that +direction made his way to Cairo where General Grant was in command. +General Grant's headquarters were in the second story of a tumble-down +building. + +No sentinel paced before the door. Ascending the stairs and knocking, +Mr. Coffin heard the answer, "Come in." Entering, he saw a man in a blue +blouse sitting upon a nail-keg at a rude desk smoking a cigar. + +"Is General Grant in?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir." + +Supposing the man on the nail keg with no straps upon his shoulder to be +only a clerk or orderly, he presented his letter from the Secretary of +War, with the remark, "Will you please present this to General Grant?" +whereupon the supposed clerk glanced over the lines, rose, extended his +hand and said, "I am right glad to see you. Please take a nail keg!" + +There were several empty nail kegs in the apartment, but not a chair. +The contrast to what he had experienced with General Buell was so great +that the correspondent could hardly realize that he was in the presence +of General Grant, who at once gave him the needed facilities for +attaining information. + +The rapidity of the correspondent's movements--the quickness with which +he took in the military situation, may be inferred from the dates of his +letters. On January 6, 1862, he wrote a letter detailing affairs at St. +Louis. On the eighth, he described affairs at Rolla in Central Missouri. +On the eleventh, he was writing from Cairo. The gunboats under Commodore +Foot were at Cairo, and the correspondent was received with the utmost +hospitality, not only by the Commodore, but by all the officers. + +Upon the movement of General Zolicoffer into Kentucky, Mr. Coffin +hastened to Louisville, Lexington, and Central Kentucky, but finding +affairs had settled down, hastened down the Ohio River on a steamboat, +reaching the mouth of the Tennessee just as the fleet under Commodore +Foot was entering the Ohio after capturing Fort Henry. Commodore Foot +narrated the events of the engagement, and Mr. Coffin, learning that no +correspondent had returned from Fort Henry, stimulated by the thought of +giving the Boston _Journal_ the first information, jumped on board +the cars, wrote his account on the train, and had the satisfaction of +knowing that it was the first one published. + +Returning to Cairo by the next train, he proceeded to Fort Donelson and +was present in the cabin of the steamer "Uncle Sam" when General Buckner +turned over the Fort, the Artillery, and 15,000 prisoners to General +Grant. He hastened to Cairo, wrote his account on the cars, riding +eastward, till it was complete, then returning, and arriving in season +to jump on board the gunboat Boston for a reconnoissanceof Columbus. + +Mr. Coffin continued with the fleet during the operation at Island No. +10. His knowledge of civil engineering enabled him to assist Captain +Maynadier of the engineers in directing the mortar firing. On one +occasion while mounted on a corn crib near a farm-house to note the +direction of the bombs, the Confederate artillerists sent a shell which +demolished a pig-pen but a few feet distant. + +While at Island No. 10, the battle of Pittsburg Landing was fought. +Leaving the fleet he hastened thither, accompanied the army in its slow +advance upon Corinth, was present at the battle of Farmington and the +occupation of Corinth. + +General Halleck, smarting under the criticism of the press, ordered all +correspondents to leave, and Mr. Coffin once more joined the fleet, +descending the Mississippi. During the engagement with the Confederate +fleet at Memphis, he stood upon the deck of the Admiral's despatch boat +with note-book and watch in hand--noting every movement. He was fully +exposed, aided in hauling down the flag of the Confederate ship, "Little +Rebel," and assisted in rescuing some of the wounded Confederates from +the sinking vessels. + +He accepted an invitation from Captain Phelps of the Benton to accompany +him on shore when the city was surrendered, and saw the stars and strips +go up upon the flag-staff in the public square and over the Court House. + +The Army of the Potamac was in front of Richmond, and he returned east +in season to chronicle the seven day's engagement on the Peninsular. The +constant exposure to malaria brought on sickness, which prevented his +being with the army in the engagement at the second Bull Run, but he was +on the field of Antietam throughout the entire contest, and wrote an +account which was published in the Baltimore _American_, of which +an enormous edition was disposed of in the army--and was commended for +its accuracy. + +In October Mr. Coffin was once more in Kentucky, but did not reach the +army in season to see the battle of Perrysville. Comprehending the +situation of affairs there, that there could be no movement until the +entire army was re-organized under a new commander, he returned to +Virginia, accompanying the army in its march from the Potomac to +Fredericksburg, and witnessed that disastrous battle. A month later he +was with the fleet off Charleston and saw the attack on Sumter by the +Monitor, and the bombardment of Fort McAllister. + +In April he was once more with the Army of the Potomac, arriving just as +the troops were getting back to their quarters after Chancellorsville to +hear the stories and collect an account of that battle. + +When the Confederate army began the Gettysburg Campaign Mr. Coffin +watched every movement. He was with the cavalry during the first day's +struggle on that field, but was an eyewitness of the second and third +days' engagement. His account was re-published in nearly every one of +the large cities, was translated and re-published in France and Germany. +While the armies east and west were preparing for the campaign of 1864 +Mr. Coffin made an extended tour through the border states--Maryland, +West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, +to ascertain what changes had taken place in public opinion. In May he +was once more with the Army of the Potomac under its great leader, +Lieutenant General Grant, and saw all the conflicts of the Wilderness, +Spottsylvania, North Anna, around Hanover, Cold Harbor, the struggles in +front of Petersburg through '64. Upon the occupation of Savannah by +General Sherman he hastened south, having an ardent desire to enter +Charleston, whenever it should be occupied by Union troops. He was +successful in carrying out his desires, and with James Redpath of the +New York _Tribune_ leaped on shore from the deck of General +Gilmore's steamer when he steamed up to take possession of the city. + +Mr. Coffin's despatch announcing the evacuation and occupation of +Sumter, owing to his indefatigable energy, was published in Boston, +telegraphed to Washington, and read in the House of Representatives +before any other account appeared, causing a great sensation. + +Thus read the opening sentence: + +"Off Charleston, February 18, 2 P.M. The old flag waves over Sumter and +Moultrie, and the city of Charleston. I can see its crimson stripes and +fadeless stars waving in the warm sunlight of this glorious day. Thanks +be to God who giveth us the victory." + +In March the correspondent was again with the Army of the Potomac, +witnessing the last battles--Fort Steadman--Hatcher's Run--and the last +grand sweep at Five Forks. He entered Petersburg in the morning--rode +alone at a breakneck pace to Richmond, entering it while the city was a +sea of flame, entered the Spottsville hotel while the fire was raging on +three sides--wrote his name large on the register--the first to succeed +a long line of Confederate Generals and Colonels. When President Lincoln +arrived to enter the city, he had the good fortune to be down by the +river bank, and to him was accorded the honor of escorting the party to +General Weitzel's headquarters in the mansion from which Jefferson Davis +had fled without standing upon the order of departure. + +With the fall of Richmond, and the surrender of Appomattox, Mr. Coffin's +occupation as an army correspondent ended. During these long years he +found time to write three volumes for juveniles--"Days and Nights on the +Battle Field," "Following the Flag," and "Winning his Way." + +On July 25, 1866, Mr. Coffin sailed from New York for Europe, +accompanied by Mrs. Coffin, as correspondent of the Boston _Journal_. +War had broken out between Austria on the one side and Italy and +Germany on the other. It was of short duration; there was the battle +of Custozza in Italy and Konnigratz in Germany, followed by the +retirement of Austria from Italy, and the ascendency of Bismarck over +Baron Von Beust in the diplomacy of Europe. It was a favorable period +for a correspondent and Mr. Coffin's letters were regularly looked for +by the public. The agitation for the extension of the franchise was +beginning in England. Bearing personal letters from Senator Sumner, +Chief Justice Chase, General Grant, and other public men, the +correspondent had no difficulty in making the accquaintance of the men +prominent in the management of affairs on the other side of the water. +Through the courtesy of John Bright, who at once extended to Mr. Coffin +every hospitality, he occupied a chair in the speaker's gallery of the +House of Commons on the grand field night when Disraelli, then Prime +Minister, brought in the suffrage bill. While in Great Britain Mr. +Coffin made the acquaintance not only of men in public life, but many of +the scientists,--Huxley, Tyndal, Lyell, Sir William Thompson. At the +social Science Congress held in Belfast, Ireland, presided over by Lord +Dufferin, he gave an address upon American Common Schools which was +warmly commended by the London _Times_. + +An introduction to the literary clubs of London gave him an opportunity +to make the acquaintance of the literary guild. He was present at the +dinner given to Charles Dickens before the departure of that author to +the United States, at which nearly every notable author was a guest. + +Hastening to Italy, he had the good fortune to see the Austrians take +their departure from Verona and Venice and the Italians assume +possession of those cities. Upon the entrance of Victor Emanuel to +Venice he enjoyed exceptional facilities for witnessing the festivities. + +He was present at the coronation of the Emperor and Empress of Austria, +as King and Queen of Hungary. Through the courtesy of Mr. Motley, then +Minister to Austria, he received from the Prime Minister of the empire +every facility for witnessing the ceremonies. + +At Pesth he made the acquaintance of Francis Deak, the celebrated +statesman--the John Bright of Hungary; also, of Arminius Vambrey, the +celebrated Oriental traveller. + +At Berlin he had the good fortune to see the Emperor William, the Crown +Prince, Bismarck, Van Moltke, the former and the present Czar of Russia, +and Gortschakoff, the great diplomatist of Russia, in one group. The +letters written from Europe were upon the great events of the hour, +together with graphic descriptions of the life of the common people. + +After spending a year and a half in Europe, Mr. Coffin visited Greece, +Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, sailing thence down the Red sea to +Bombay, travelled across India to the valley of the Ganges, before the +completion of the railroad, visiting Allahabad, Benares, Calcutta, +sailing thence to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai. Ascending the +Yang-tse six hundred miles to Wuchang; the governor of the province +invited him to a dinner. From Shanghai he sailed to Japan, experiencing +a fearful typhoon upon the passage. Civil war in Japan prevented his +travelling in that country, and he sailed for San Francisco, visiting +points of interest in California, and in November made his way across +the country seven hundred miles--riding five consecutive days and nights +between the terminus of the Central Pacific road at Wadsworth and Salt +Lake, arriving in Boston, January, 1869, after an absence of two and a +half years. During that period the Boston _Journal_ contained every +week a letter from his pen. + +For one who had seen so much there was an opening in the lecture field +and for several years he was one of the popular lecturers before +lyceums. In 1869 he published _Our New Way Round the World_, followed by +the _Seat of Empire_, _Caleb Crinkle_ (a story) _Boys of 76_, _Story of +Liberty_, _Old Times in the Colonies_, _Building the Nation_, _Life of +Garfield_, besides a history of his native town. His volumes have been +received with marked favor. No less than fifty copies of the _Boys of +'76_ are in the Boston Public Library and all in constant use. + +Mr. Coffin has given many addresses before teacher's associations, and a +course of lectures before the Lowell Institute. During the winter of +1878-9 a movement was made by the Western grangers to bring about a +radical change in the patent laws. Mr. Coffin appeared before the +Committee of Congress and presented an address so convincing, that the +Committee ordered its publication. It has been frequently quoted upon +the floor of Congress and highly commended by the present Secretary of +the Interior, Mr. Lamar. Mr. Coffin also appeared before the Committee +on Labor, and made an argument on the "Forces of Nature as Affecting +Society," which won high encomiums from the committee, and which was +ordered to be printed. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon +Mr. Coffin in 1870, by Amherst College. He is a member of the New +England Historical and Genealogical Society, and he gave the address +upon the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of his +native town. He is a resident of Boston, and was a member of the +Legislature for 1884, member of the Committee on Education, and reported +the bill for free textbooks. He was also member of the Committee on +Civil Service, and was active in his efforts to secure the passage of +the bill. He is a member of the present Legislature, Chairman of the +Committee on the Liquor Law, and of the special committee for a +Metropolitan Police for the city of Boston. Mr. Coffin's pen is never +idle. He is giving his present time to a study of the late war, and is +preparing a history of that mighty struggle for the preservation of the +government of the people. + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: John B. Clarke] + + + + +COLONEL JOHN B. CLARKE. + +Editor and Proprietor of the Manchester [N.H.] Mirror. + + +Among the business enterprises in which the men of to-day seek fortune +and reputation, there is scarcely another which, when firmly established +upon a sound basis, sends its roots so deep and wide, and is so certain +to endure and prosper, bearing testimony to the ability of its creators, +as the family newspaper. Indeed, a daily or weekly paper which has +gained by legitimate methods an immense circulation and a profitable +advertising patronage is immortal. It may change owners and names, and +character even, but it never dies, and if, as is usually the case, it +owes its early reputation and success to one man, it not only reflects +him while he is associated with it, but pays a constant tribute to his +memory after he has passed away. + +But, while the rewards of eminent success in the newspaper profession +are great and substantial, the road to them is one which only the +strong, sagacious, and active can travel, and this is especially true +when he who strives for them assumes the duties of both publisher and +editor. It requires great ability to make a great paper every day, and +even greater to sell it extensively and profitably, and to do both is +not a possible task for the weak. To do both in an inland city, where +the competition of metropolitan journals must be met and discounted, +without any of their advantages, requires a man of grip, grit and +genius. + +In 1852 the Manchester MIRROR was one of the smallest and weakest papers +in the country. Its weekly edition had a circulation of about six +hundred, that of its daily was less than five hundred, and its +advertising receipts were extremely small. Altogether, it was a load +which its owner could not carry, and the whole establishment, including +subscription lists, good will, press, type and material, was sold at +auction for less than a thousand dollars. + +In 1885 the WEEKLY MIRROR AND FARMER has a circulation of more than +twenty-three thousand and every subscriber on its books has paid for it +in advance. The DAILY MIRROR AND AMERICAN has a correspondingly large +and reliable constituency, and neither paper lacks advertising +patronage. The office in which they are printed is one of the most +extensive and best equipped in the Eastern States out of Boston. In +every sense of the word the MIRROR is successful, strong and solid. + +The building up of this great and substantial enterprise from so small a +beginning has been the work of John B. Clarke, who bought the papers, as +stated above, in 1852, has ever since been their owner, manager, and +controlling spirit, and, in spite of sharp rivalry at home and from +abroad and the lack of opportunieies which such an undertaking must +contend with in a small city, has kept the MIRROR, in hard times as in +good times, steadily growing, enlarging its scope and influence, and +gaining strength with which to make and maintain new advances; and at +the same time has made it yield every year a handsome income. Only a man +of pluck, push and perseverance, of courage, sagacity and industry, +could have done this; and he who has accomplished it need point to no +other achievement to establish his title to a place among the strong men +of his time. + +Mr. Clarke is a native of Atkinson, where he was born January 30, 1820. +His parents were intelligent and successful farmers, and from them he +inherited the robust constitution, the genial disposition, and the +capacity for brain-work, which have carried him to the head of his +profession in New Hampshire. They also furnished him with the small +amount of money necessary to give a boy an education in those days, and +in due course he graduated with high honors at Dartmouth College in the +class of 1843. Then he became principal of the Meredith Bridge Academy, +which position he held three years, reading law meanwhile in an office +near by. In 1848 he was admitted to the Hillsborough county bar from the +office of his brother, at Manchester, the late Honorable William C. +Clarke, Attorney General of New Hampshire, and the next year went to +California. From 1849 until 1851 he was practicing his profession, +roughing it in the mines, and prospecting for a permanent business and +location in California, Central America, and Mexico. + +In 1851 he returned to Manchester and established himself as a lawyer, +gaining in a few months a practice which gave him a living; but in +October of the next year the sale of the MIRROR afforded an opening more +suited to his talents and ambition, and having bought the property he +thenceforth devoted himself to its development. + +He had no experience, no capital, but he had confidence in himself, +energy, good judgment, and a willingness to work for the success he was +determined to gain. For months and years he was editor, reporter, +business manager, accountant, and collector. In these capacities he did +an amount of work that would have killed an ordinary man, and did it in +a way that told; for everymonth added to the number of his patrons; and +slowly but steadily his business increased in volume and his papers in +influence. + +He early made it a rule to condense everything that appeared in the +columns of the MIRROR into the smallest possible space, to make what he +printed readable as well as reliable, to make the paper better every +year than it was the preceding year, and to furnish the weekly edition +at a price which would give it an immense circulation without the help +of travelling agents or the credit system: and to this policy he has +adhered. Besides this, he spared no expense which he judged would add to +the value of his publications, and his judgment has always set the +bounds far off on the very verge of extravagance. Whatever machine +promised to keep his office abreast of the times, and increase the +capacity for good work, he has dared buy. Whatever man he has thought +would brighten and strengthen his staff of assistants, he has gone for, +and if possible got, and whatever new departure has seemed to him likely +to win new friends for the MIRROR he has made. + +In this way he has gone from the bottom of the ladder to the top. From +time to time rival sheets have sprung up beside him, but only to +maintain an existence for a brief period, or to be consolidated with the +MIRROR. All the time there has been sharp competition from publishers +elsewhere, but this has only stimulated him to make a better paper and +push it succesfully in fields which they have regarded as their own. + +In connection with the MIRROR a great job printing establishment has +grown up, which turns out a large amount of work in all departments, and +where the state printing has been done six years. Mr. Clarke has also +published several books, including "Sanborn's History of New Hampshire," +"Clarke's History of Manchester," "Successful New Hampshire Men," +"Manchester Directory," and other works. Within a few years a book +bindery has been added to the establishment. + +Mr. Clarke still devotes himself closely to his business six hours each +day, but limits himself to this period, having been warned by an +enforced rest and voyage to Europe in 1872 to recover from the strain of +overwork, that even his magnificent physique could not sustain too great +a burden, and he now maintains robust and vigorous health by a +systematic and regular mode of life, by long rides of fifteen to +twenty-five miles daily, and an annual summer vacation. + +In making the MIRROR its owner has made a great deal of money. If he had +saved it as some others have done, he would have more to-day than any +other in Manchester who has done business the same length of time on the +same capital. But if he has gathered like a man born to be a +millionaire, he has scattered like one who would spend a millionaire's +fortune. He has been a good liver and a free giver. All his tastes +incline him to large expenditures. His home abounds in all the comforts +that money will buy. His farm is a place where costly experiments are +tried. He is passionately fond of fine horses, and his stables are +always full of those that are highly bred, fleet, and valuable. He loves +an intelligent dog, and a good gun, and is known far and near as an +enthusiastic sportsman. + +He believes in being good to himself and generous to others; values +money only for what it will buy, and every day illustrates the fact that +it is easier for him to earn ten dollars than to save one by being +"close." + +A business that will enable a man of such tastes and impulses to gratify +all his wants and still accumulate a competency for his children is a +good one, and that is what the business of the MIRROR counting-room has +done. + +Nor is this all, nor the most, for the MIRROR has made the name of John +B. Clarke a household word in nearly every school district in Northern +New England and in thousands of families in other sections. It has given +him a great influence in the politics, the agriculture, and the social +life of his time, has made him a power in shaping the policy of his city +and state, and one of the forces that have kept the wheels of progress +moving in both for more than thirty years. + +In a word, what one man can do for and with a newspaper in New Hampshire +John B. Clarke has done for and with the MIRROR, and what a great +newspaper can do for a man the MIRROR has done for John B. Clarke. + + * * * * * + + + + +DENMAN THOMPSON. + + +Throughout the United States where-ever the name of New England is held +in respect there is the name of Denman Thompson a household word. His +genius has embodied in a drama the finer yet homlier characteristics of +New England life, its simplicity, its rugged honesty, its simple piety, +its benevolence, partially hid beneath a rough and uncouth exterior. His +drama is an epic--a prose poem--arousing a loyal and patriotic love for +the land of the Pilgrims in the hearts of her sons, whether at home, on +the rolling prairies of the West, in the sunny South, amid the grand +scenes of the Sierras, or on the Pacific slope. + +That Denman Thompson was not a native of New Hampshire was rather the +result of chance. His parents were natives of Swanzey, where they are +still living at a ripe old age, and where they have always lived, save +for a few years preceeding and following the birth of their children. In +1831 the parents moved to Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania, when, +October 15, 1833, was born their gifted son. The boy was blessed with +one brother and two sisters, and death has yet to strike its first blow +in the family. + +At the age of thirteen years Denman accompanied his family to the old +home in Swanzey, where for several years he received the advantages of +the education afforded by the district school. For his higher education +he was indebted to the excellent scholastic opportunities afforded by +the Mount Cæsar Seminary in Swanzey. + +At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of his uncle in Lowell, +Massachusetts, serving as book-keeper in a wholesale store, and in that +city he made his _debut_ as Orasman in the military drama of the FRENCH +SPY. + +In 1854, at the age of twenty-one years, he was engaged by John +Nickerson, the veteran actor and manager, as a member of the stock +company of the Royal Lyceum, Toronto. From the first his success was +assured, for aside from his natural adaptation to his profession he +possesses indomitable perseverance, a quality as necessary to the rise +of an artist as genius. On the provincial boards of Toronto he studied +and acted for the next few years, perfecting himself in his calling and +preparing for wider fields. Then he acted the rollicking Irishman to +perfection; the real live Yankee, with his genuine mannerisms and +dialect, with proper spirit and without ridiculous exaggeration, and the +Negro, so open to burlesque. The special charm of his acting in those +characters was his artistic execution. He never stooped to vulgarities, +his humor was quaint and spontaneous, and the entire absence of apparent +effort in his performance gave his audience a most favorable impression +of power in reserve. His favorite characters were Salem Scudder in THE +OCTOROON, and Myles Na Coppaleen in COLLEEN BAWN. + +In April, 1862, Mr. Thompson started for the mother country, and there +his reception was worthy a returning son who had achieved a well-earned +reputation. His opening night in London was a perfect ovation, and +during his engagement the theatre was crowded in every part. He met with +flattering success during his brief tour, performing at Edinburg and +Glasgow before his return to Toronto the following fall. + +From that time must be dated the career of Mr. Thompson as a _star_ +or leading actor and manager, at first in low comedy, so called, or +eccentric drama, and later, in what he has made a classic New England +drama. + +Mr. Thompson is the author of several very pleasing and successful +comedies, but the play JOSHUA WHITCOMB is the best known and most +popular. The leading character is said to have been drawn from Captain +Otis Whitcomb, who died in Swanzey in 1882, at the age of eighty-six. Cy +Prime, who "could have proved it had Bill Jones been alive," died in +that town, a few years since, while Len Holbrook still lives there. +General James Wilson, the veteran, who passed away a short time since, +was well known to the older generation of today. The last scene of the +drama is laid in Swanzey and the scenery is drawn from nature very +artistically. Mr. Thompson is the actor as well as creator of the +leading character in the play. The good old man is drawn from the quiet +and comforts of his rural home to the perplexities of city life in +Boston. There his strong character and good sense offset his simplicity +and ignorance. He acts as a kind of Providence in guiding the lives of +others. To say that the play is pure is not enough--it is ennobling. + +The success of the play has been wonderful. Year after year it draws +crowded houses--and it will, long after the genius of Mr. Thompson's +acting becomes a tradition. + +Mr. Thompson is a gentleman of wide culture and extensive reading and +information. Not only with the public but with his professional brethren +he is very popular on account of his amiable character. Naturally he is +of a quiet and benevolent disposition, and has the good word of everyone +to whom he is known. + +As one of a stock company he never disappointed the manager--as a +manager he never disappointed the public. + +In private life he has been very happy in his marital relations, having +married Miss Maria Bolton in July, 1860. Three children--two daughters +and one son, have blessed their union. + +A book could well be written on the adventures and incidents that have +attended the presentation of the great play since its inception. Nowhere +is it more popular than in the neighborhood of Mr. Thompsons's summer +home. When a performance is had in Keene the good people of Swanzey +demand a special matinee for their benefit, from which the citizens of +Keene are supposed to be excluded. + +In Colorado a Methodist camp-meeting was adjourned and its members +attended the play _en masse_. Such is the charm of the play that it +never loses its attraction. + +Mr. Thompson is in the prime of life, about fifty years old. His home is +in New Hampshire; his birthplace was in Pennsylvania. He made his +_debut_ in Massachusetts, and received his professional training in +Canada; he is a citizen of the United States, and is always honored +where genius is recognized. + +Like the favorite character, Joshua Whitcomb, in his favorite play, Mr. +Thompson is personally sensitive, kind-hearted, self-sacrificing; he +never speaks ill of any one, delights in doing good, and enjoys hearing +and telling a good story; he is quiet, yet full of fun; generous to a +fault. His company has become much attached to him. + +In the village of Swansey is Mr. Thompson's summer home; a beautiful +mansion, surrounded by grounds where art and nature combine to please. +The hospitality of the house is proverbial, but its chief attraction is +its well-stocked library. + + * * * * * + + + + +NATIONAL BANKS. + +THE SURPLUS FUND AND NET PROFITS. + + +By George H. Wood. + + +In the elimination of an unusually large amount of dead assets under the +requirements of the National Bank law, previous to extension of the +corporate existence of a bank, the very interesting question is brought +to notice, of what is the proper construction of the law in regard to +reducing and restoring the surplus fund. + +Does the law forbid the payment of a dividend by a National Bank when +the effect of such payment will be to reduce the surplus fund of the +bank below an amount equal to one-tenth of its net profits since its +organization as a National Bank; and if so, upon what ground? It does, +and for the following reasons. The power to declare dividends is granted +by section 5199 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in the +following language: "The Directors of any association (National Bank) +may semi-annually declare a dividend of so much of the _net +profits_ of the association as they shall judge expedient; but each +association shall, before the declaration of a dividend, carry one-tenth +of its net profits of the preceding half year to its surplus fund until +the same shall amount to twenty per cent, of its capital stock." + +The question at once arises, what are the net profits from which +dividends may be declared, and do they include the surplus fund? It is +held that the net profits are the earnings left on hand after charging +off expenses, taxes and losses, if any, and carrying to surplus fund the +amount required by the law, and that the surplus fund is not to be +considered as net profits available for dividends, for, if it were, the +Directors of a bank could at any time divide the surplus among the +shareholders. It would only be necessary to go through the form of +carrying one-tenth of the net profits to surplus, whereupon, if the +surplus be net profits available for the purpose of a dividend, the +amount so carried can be withdrawn and paid away at once, thereby +defeating the obvious purpose of the law in requiring a portion of each +six month's earnings to be carried to the surplus fund, that purpose +being to provide that a surplus fund equal to twenty per cent, of the +bank's capital shall be accumulated. + +The law is to be so construed as to give effect to all its parts, and +any construction that does not do so is manifestly unsound. Therefore a +construction which would render inoperative the requirement for the +accumulation of a surplus fund cannot be correct, and the net profits +available for dividends must be determined by the amount of earnings on +hand other than the surplus fund when that fund does not exceed a sum +equal to one-tenth of the earnings of the bank since its organization. + +Having shown what the net profits available for dividends are, the only +other question that can arise is: Can losses and bad debts be charged to +the surplus fund and the other earnings used for paying dividends, or +must all losses and bad debts be first charged against earnings other +than the surplus fund, so far as such earnings will admit of it, and the +surplus, or a portion of it, used only when other earnings shall be +exhausted? + +This question is virtually answered above, for if the object of the law +in requiring the creation of a surplus fund may not be defeated by one +means it may not by another; if it may not be defeated by paying away +the amounts carried to surplus in dividends, neither may it be by +charging losses to the surplus and at the same time using the other +earnings for dividends. + +Moreover, section 5204 of the Revised Statutes of the United States +provides as follows: "If losses have at any time been sustained by any +such association, equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on +hand, no dividend shall be made; and no dividend shall ever be made by +any association, while it continues its banking operations, to an amount +greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its +losses and bad debts." + +This language fixes the extent to which dividends may be made at the +amount of the "net profits" on hand after deducting therefrom losses and +bad debts, and as it has been shown above that the surplus fund cannot +be considered "net profits," available for dividends within the meaning +of the law, it follows that in order to determine the amount of net +earnings available for dividends the losses must first be deducted from +the earnings other than surplus. + +It is to be observed also that section 5204 specifies that if losses +have at any time been sustained by a bank equal to or exceeding its +"_undivided_ profits" on hand no dividends shall be made. + +Now the surplus fund is not undivided profits, except in so far as it is +earnings not divided among the shareholders. It is made upon a division +of the profits--so much to the stockholders and so much to the surplus +fund. If the law had intended that losses might be charged to surplus +fund in order to leave the other earnings available for dividends it is +to be presumed that care would not have been taken to use the words +"undivided profits," in the connection in which they are used, as stated +above. + +Furthermore, if losses may be charged to surplus when at the same time +the other earnings are used for dividends to shareholders, a bank may go +on declaring dividends, and never accumulate any surplus fund whatever +if losses be sustained, as they are in the history of nearly every bank. +A construction of the law which would render inoperative the requirement +for the creation of a surplus cannot be sound; and as the only way to +insure that a surplus shall be accumulated and maintained is to charge +losses against other earnings as far as may be before trenching upon the +surplus; it must be that the law intended that the "undivided profits" +which are not in the surplus fund shall first be used to meet losses. + +To a full understanding of the subject it is proper to say that after +using all other earnings on hand at the usual time for declaring a +dividend to meet losses the whole or any part of the surplus may be used +if the losses exceed the amount of the earnings other than surplus, and +then at the end of another six months a dividend may be made if the +earnings will admit of it, one-tenth of the earnings being first carried +to surplus and the re-accumulation of the fund thus begun. + +This is because the law has been complied with by charging the losses +against the "undivided profits," as far as they will go, and it is +impossible to do more, or require more to be done, for the +re-establishment of the state of things that existed prior to losses +having been sustained than to do what the law requires shall be done to +originally establish that state of things. + + * * * * * + + + + +CONCORD, N.H. + + * * * * * + +IMPRESSIONS D'UN FRANÇAIS. + + * * * * * + +Par le Professeur Emile Pingault. + + +Quand les Français, les Français de France, comme disent leurs cousins +canadiens, parlent de l'Amérique ou pensent à cette reine des +républiques, ils n'ont en vue que les grandes villes. New-York, Boston, +Philadelphie, Chicago, la Nouvelle Orléans etc. ... forment seuls, pour +eux, l'immense continent découvert par Christophe Colomb. + +Je voudrais essayer de réagir contre l'idée générale qu'on a, que la +lumiére, l'intelligence, la prospérité ne se trouvent que dans les +grands centres. + +La Providence a voulu que je vinsse établir ma tente dans une ville qui, +bien qu'étant la capitale du New-Hampshire, paraît comme un point +microscopique auprès des villes que j'ai citées plus haut. Eh bien, sans +flatterie aucune, si l'on a pu appeler Boston l'Athène de l'Améríque, je +ne vois pas pourquoi on n'appellerait pas Concord un petit +_Rambouillet_, toute proportion gardée. + +Je ne vous dirái pas que Concord est une petite ville située sur la +Merrimac, de 14,000 à 15,000 habitants, mais ce que je puis vous dire +c'est qu'il faudrait aller bien loin pour trouver une ville plus +intelligente et plus éclairée, je dirais même plus patriarcale. Tout le +monde s'y connaît et s'estime l'un l'autre. Il y a dans cette ville une +émulation pour le bien et pour l'instruction qui ne peut être surpassée. + +Outre les écoles publiques telles que la Haute École (High School), les +écoles de grammaire, les écoles particulières, on y voit encore des +professeurs de langues modernes, des professeurs de dessin et de +peinture, et parmi ces derniers un jeune artiste qui fera vraiment la +gloire de l'Etat de Granit si la rlasse éclairée sait l'attacher +permanemment à la capitale. La musique a une place privilégiée dans +cette ville, les concerts de l'orchestre Blaisdelle sont suivis comme le +seraient les premières de Booth et d'Irving. Il y a la plus que du +sentiment, il y a véritablement de l'art, et un enfant de Concord, mort +il y a deux ans, âge de vingt ans à peine, était une preuve manifeste +que l'art est compris ici à un degré supérieure. + +La littérature est cultivée avec le plus grand soin. Outre trois clubs, +composés chacun d'une quinzaine de membres, qui étudient et admirent +Shakspeare; une dame qui manie la parole comme le grand dramatiste +maniait la pensée donne des conférences sur l'auteur d'_Hamlet_ +devant un auditoire aussi intelligent que nombreux. + +Cet amour de s'instruire et d'étudier perce jusque dans les enfants les +plus jeunes. Deux _Kindergarten_ sont établis en cette ville; là, +outre les choses aimables et utiles qu'on enseigne aux petits garçons et +petites filles de cinq à six ans, on leur apprend aussi le français. +Qu'il est beau de voir ces jeunes intelligences se développer an son de +la belle langue de Bossuet, de Fénelon, de Lamartine et de Victor Hugo. +Vous verrez à Concord un spectacle peut-être unique dans les Etats-Unis: +une douzaine de petits Américains et Américaines chantant la +_Marsellaise_ et dansant des rondes de Bretagne et de Vendée avec +une voix aussi douce et un accent aussi pur que s'ils étaient nés sur +les bords de la Seine. + +Ajoutez à ce tableau bien court et nullement exagéré que l'union et la +paix régne entre tous les habitants de la ville, que la police y est +heureuse et fort peu occupée, et vous aurez l'idée de la tranquillité +dont on jouit dans cet endroit privilégié. + +J'avouerai franchement, pour finir, que si toutes les villes et villages +ressemblaient à Concord, l'Amérique serait le premier de tous les mondes +connus. + + * * * * * + + + + +CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY VS. MONROE DOCTRINE. + + +By George W. Hobbs. + + +In every conflict of European with American interests on the two +continents, comprising North and South America, our countrymen always +make their appeal to the "Monroe Doctrine" as the supreme, indisputable, +and irrevocable judgment of our national Union. It is said to indicate +the only established idea of foreign policy which has a permanent +influence upon our national administration, whether it be Republican or +Democratic, politically. A President of the United States, justly +appealing to this doctrine, in emergency arouses the heart and courage +of the patriotic citizen, even in the presence of impending war. + +In view of this powerful sentiment swaying a great people, as well as +their government, it is not surprising that Congress is often called +upon to apply its principles; and it therefore becomes more and more +important that it should be well understood by _people_, as well as +Congress, in respect to its origin and purpose. + +In the message of President Monroe to Congress, at the commencement of +the session of 1823-24, the following passages occur: + +"In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, +we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do +so. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced, that +we resent injuries, or make preparations for defence. With the movements +in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and +by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial +observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially +different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds +from that which exists in their respective governments; and to the +defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood +and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened +citizens, and under which we have enjoyed such unexampled felicity, this +whole nation is devoted. + +"We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing +between the United States and those powers to declare--_that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the +existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have not +interfered and shall not interfere; but with the governments who have +declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we +have on great consideration, and on just principles acknowledged, we +could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, in any other light, than +as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United +States_." + +"It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political +sytem to any portion of either continent, without endangering our peace +and happiness. + +"It is equally impossible, that we should behold such interposition in +any form with indifference." + +Lest there may be some misapprehension, as to the political +circumstances, which called for the promulgation of this "Monroe +Doctrine," let us for a moment review the events which gave color and +importance to the political environments of that date which elicited +from President Monroe this now famous declaration. + +In the year 1822 the allied sovereigns held their Congress at Verona. +The great subject of consideration was the condition of Spain; that +country being then under the Cortes or representatives of the +Revolutionists. The question was, whether or not Ferdinand should be +re-instated in all his authority by the intervention of foreign powers. + +Russia, Prussia, France, and Austria, were inclined to that measure; +England dissented and protested, but the course was agreed upon; and +France, with the consent of these other continental powers, took the +conduct of the operation into her own hands. In the spring of 1823, a +French army was sent into Spain. Its success was complete; the popular +government was overthrown, and Ferdinand was re-instated and +re-established in all his power. This invasion was determined on and +undertaken precisely on the doctrines which the allied monarchs had +proclaimed the year before at Laybach; that is, that they had the right +to interfere in the concerns of another State, and reform its +government, "in order to prevent the effect of its bad example" (this +bad example, be it remembered, always being the example of free +government by the people). Now having put down the example of the +Cortes, in Spain, it was natural to inquire, with what eyes they should +look on the Colonies of Spain, that were following still worse examples. +Would King Ferdinand and his allies be content with what had been done +in Spain itself, or would he solicit their aid and would they grant it, +to subdue his rebellious American colonies? + +Having "reformed" Spain herself to the true standard of a proud +monarchy, it was more than probable that they might see fit to attempt +the "reformation" and re-organization of the Central and South American +Colonies, which were following the "pernicious example of the United +States," and declaring themselves "free and independent," it being an +historical fact, that as soon as the Spanish King was completely +reestablished he invited the co-operation of his allies in regard to his +provinces in South America, to "assist him to readjust the affairs in +such manner as should retain the sovereignty of Spain over them." The +proposed meeting of the allies for that purpose, however, did not take +place. England had already taken a decided course, and stated +distinctly, and expressly, that "she should consider any foreign +interference by force or by menace, in the dispute between Spain and the +Colonies, as a motive for recognizing the latter without delay." + +The sentiment of the liberty-loving people of the American Union was +strongly in favor of the independence of the Colonies, which our +government had already recognized; and it was at this crisis, just as +the attitude of England was made known, that President Monroe's noble +and patriotic declaration was made. Its effect was grand; it disarmed +all organized attempts on the part of Spain and her allies to +re-organize her "rebellious colonies"--now our sister republics in the +western hemisphere--and shook the political systems of the world to +their centres. + +"The force of President Monroe's declaration," said Daniel Webster, +"was felt everywhere by all those who could understand its object, and +foresee its effect." Lord Brougham said in Parliament that "no event +had ever created greater joy, exaltation, and gratitude, among all the +freemen in Europe;" that he felt "proud in being connected by blood +and language with the people of the United States;" that "the policy +disclosed by the message became a great, a free, an independent nation." + +Daniel Webster again said of it, "I look on the message of December, +1823, as forming a bright page in our history. I will neither help to +erase it nor tear it out; nor shall it be by any act of mine blurred or +blotted. It did honor to the sagacity of the government, and I will not +diminish that honor. It elevated the hopes and gratified the patriotism +of the people over these hopes. I will not bring a mildew, nor will I +put that gratified patriotism to shame." + +The effect of this declaration in Europe was all that could have been +desired by the patriotic statesmen who contributed their counsel to its +adoption. The message arrived in England on December 24, +1823--twenty-two days after Mr. Monroe delivered it to Congress. On the +second of January. Mr. Camming, the British Minister of foreign affairs, +told the American Minister that the principles declared in the message, +that the American continents were not to be considered as subject to +future colonization by any of the powers of Europe, greatly embarassed +the instructions he was about to send to the British Ambassador at St. +Petersburg, touching the Northwestern boundary; and that he believed +Great Britain would combat this declaration of the President with +animation. + +Its effect upon the then pending negotiations with Russia was so +favorable, that the convention of 1824 was concluded in the Spring of +that year, by the withdrawal on the part of the Emperor of his +pretentious to exclusive trade on the Northwest coast, and by fixing the +parallel of 54" 40' as the line between the permissible establishments +of the respective countries. + +This in brief is the history of the celebrated "Monroe Doctrine." It has +never been affirmatively adopted by Congress, by any recorded vote, as +the fixed and unalterable policy of this Republic; but its patriotic +sentiment is so deeply bedded in the hearts of the American people of +every political opinion, that Congress ought not and dare not ignore it. + +But did not the United States Senate, when it ratified the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850, practically ignore the "Monroe Doctrine" +and open the door for future trouble? Let us examine this treaty, which, +in the light of present Congressional action, has become an important +element in American politics, and see if it is not antagonistic to the +American policy, and more than the _bete noir_ of partizan dreams. +In order for a complete understanding of the terms, and bearing of this +treaty, I deem it important to give a full synopsis, rather than a brief +reference to its salient points: + + +THE CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY. + +"A convention between the United States of America and her Britannic +Majesty. + + +PREAMBLE. + + +"The United States and her Britannic Majesty, being desirous of +consolidating the relations of amity, which so happily subsist between +them, by setting forth and fixing in a convention their views and +intentions with reference to any means of communication by ship canal, +which may be constructed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, by way +of the river San Juan de Nicaragua and either or both the lakes of +Nicaragua or Manaqua, to any port or place on the Pacific ocean, the +President of the United States has conferred full powers on John M. +Clayton, Secretary of State of the United States, and her Britannic +Majesty on the Right Honorable Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, a member of her +Majesty's most honorable Privy Council, Knight Commander of the most +honorable order of Bath, and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister +Plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty to the United States for the +aforesaid purpose; and the said plenipotentiaries, having exchanged +their full powers, which were found to be in proper form, have agreed to +the following articles, _viz_: + +Article 1. The governments of the United States and Great Britain hereby +declare that neither the one nor the other will ever obtain, or maintain +for itself, any exclusive control over the said ship canal; agreeing +that neither will ever erect or maintain, any fortifications commanding +the same, or in the vicinity thereof: or occupy, or fortify, or +colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America. Nor will either make +use of any protection which either affords, or may afford, or any +alliance which either has or may have, to or with, any state or people +for the purpose of erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or +of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming, or +exercising dominion over the same; nor will the United States or Great +Britain take advantage of any intimacy, or use any alliance, connection, +or influence, that either may possess, with any state or government, +through whose territory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of +acquiring or holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or +subjects of the one, any rights or advantages in regard to commerce, or +navigation through the said canal, which shall not be offered on the +same terms to the citizens or subjects of the other. + +Art. 2. Vessels of the United States or Great Britain traversing the +said canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be +exempted from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the +beligerents, and this provision shall extend to such a distance from the +two ends of the said canal, as may hereafter be found expedient to +establish. + +Art. 3. The persons and property engaged in building the said canal +shall be protected by the contracting parties from all unjust detention, +confiscation and violence. + +Art. 4. Both governments will facilitate the construction of said canal +and establish two free ports, one at each end of said canal. + +Art 5. Both governments will guaranty and protect the neutrality of said +canal; provided, however, that said protection and guaranty may be +withdrawn by both, or either governments, if both or either should deem +that the persons building or managing the same adopt or establish +regulations concerning traffic therein, as are contrary to the spirit +and intention of this convention, either by unfair discrimination, in +favor of the commerce of one contracting party over the other, or by +imposing oppressive exactions or unreasonable tolls upon passengers, +vessels, goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles,--neither party to +withdraw such protection and guaranty without first giving six months +notice to the other. + +Art 6. Treaty stipulations maybe made with the Central American States, +and states with which either or both parties have friendly intercourse; +and settle all differences arising as to the rights of property in the +canal, etc. + +Art. 7. Contract to be entered into without delay, and the party first +commencing labor, etc., in the construction of said canal, is to have +priority of claim to construct the same, and will be protected therein +by the parties to this treaty. + +Art. 8. Both governments agree that protection shall be extended by +treaty stipulations, hereafter to be made and entered into, to other +communications or ways across said isthmus. + +Art. 9. Treaty to be ratified by both governments and ratifications +exchanged at Washington within six months." + +This treaty bears date April 19, 1850, and is still in force in all its +provisions. + +Is there anything in the terms, conditions, or effect of this treaty, +which in any way tends to militate or conflict with the declarations of +the "Monroe Doctrine?" + +To answer this question satisfactorily, and give a careful analysis of +the treaty, in all its details, would take more time and space than I am +at liberty to use; but I may be pardoned if I trespass a little and give +a few reasons why I am come to the conclusion that the effect of the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is to abrogate and annul to a great extent the +cardinal principle of the "Monroe Doctrine." + +In the first place the "Monroe Doctrine" was the accepted policy of this +government as to all foreign intervention from 1823 to 1850, and with +some of the leading minds of the country it has never ceased to be the +paramount creed in the national catechism. During these twenty-seven +years the project of building an inter-oceanic canal had been +considerably agitated, in Congress and out, and had enlisted to some +extent the sympathies of foreign powers who desired a shorter passage to +the Pacific Ocean, the East Indies, and the markets of Cathay, than the +stormy ones around the southern capes of either hemisphere. + +This agitation finally culminated in diplomatic correspondence between +the representatives of Great Britain and the United States relative to +the construction of such a means of communication and the rights of the +two nations to the same, resulting in the treaty. In April, 1850, the +Senate of the United States, by a very large vote, ratified and +confirmed this treaty, notwithstanding it was vigorously opposed by such +men as Stephen A. Douglas and Lewis Cass, then in the zenith of their +fame. + +It appears in the Congressional record of 1850, and subsequently, that +the treaty was ratified without a very clear understanding of its +meaning; and it was even hinted, in rather plain language, that the +representative of Great Britain had been too sharp, too diplomatic for +his American brother, and had overreached him. It further appeared that +the honorable Senate was sadly deficient in knowledge of geography, and +national boundaries; for it is matter of record, that many Senators +voted for the ratification under the impression that British Honduras +was included in the territory of Guatamala, and that the British +settlements were in that republic; while, as a fact, Balize or British +Honduras was on the easterly side of the Isthmus, never had been a part +of that republic, and the British settlements were, and always had been, +in Yucatan. They further understood the treaty to say, that neither +government should occupy, fortify, or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America; but it is a fact, +that at the very date of the treaty, at the date of the ratification, +and since, Great Britain occupied and colonized the Mosquito coast, or +that part which joins British Honduras on the northerly side of South +Honduras; and Mr. Douglas, in 1857, in a debate in Congress upon a +"resolution of inquiry as to the present status of the treaty," said: +"I voted against the treaty, Mr. President, for the reason that I am +unwilling to enter into any stipulations with any European power, that +we would not do on this continent whatever we might think it our duty to +do, whenever a case should arise. I voted against it because by clause +1 of that treaty we are debarred from doing what it might be our duty to +do; but as it has been entered into, I desire to see it enforced. I am +not yet aware that that clause of the treaty has been carried into +effect. I have yet to learn that the British Government have withdrawn +their protectorate from the Mosquito Coast; I have yet to learn that +they have abandoned the possession of that territory which they held +under the Mosquito King." + +From the day that treaty was ratified to the present, it has been a +fertile source of discord and misunderstanding between the two +governments; and from 1850 to 1858 its provisions were thrice made the +basis of a proposal to arbitrate as to their meaning: their modification +and abrogation have been alike contingently considered, and their +imperfect and vexatious character have been repeatedly recognized on +both sides. Even the present administration is laboring with the +difficulty, and seeking some honorable way to free the treaty from its +embarrassing features, or entirely abrogate it. President Buchanan, in +1858, characterized and denounced the treaty as "one which had been +fraught with misunderstanding and mischief from the beginning;" and the +leading statesmen of the country have felt that it was entirely +inadequate to reconcile the opposite views of Great Britain and the +United States towards Central America. + +The Honorable James G. Blaine, late Secretary of State under the +lamented Garfield, in his diplomatic correspondence with Lord Granville, +in 1881, in summing up his review of the negotiations concerning this +treaty, says: "It was frankly admitted on both sides that the +engagements of the treaty were misunderstandingly entered into, +improperly comprehended, contradictorily interpreted, and mutually +vexatious." + +An examination of the diplomatic correspondence and the Congressional +Records of the years 1852-3-4 reveals what may perhaps be unknown +history to many of my readers; that Great Britain within one year after +she signed and ratified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and agreed therein +NOT "to colonize, fortify, or exercise control over, any part of Central +America," did seize upon, colonize and partially fortify and exercise +control over the five islands in the Bay of Honduras, called the Bay +Islands; and that she did this in derogation of the declarations of the +"Monroe Doctrine," and in direct violation and contempt of the Treaty, +which she had so recently entered into; that this same national +cormorant immediately surveyed and made a new geographical plan of +Central America, in which she extended her province of Balize from the +river Hondo, on the north, to the river Sarstoon on the south, and from +the coast of the bay westward to the falls of Garbutts on the river +Balize; or five times its original size; and then modestly claimed that +her possessions were not in Central America, and therefore not within +the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty; that she has to this day +continued her protectorate, as she calls it, of the Mosquito Coast, and +that within six days after the Treaty of California, which secured to us +that "pearl of the occident," she seized San Juan and occasioned a brief +naval excitement at Greytown, the port of the San Juan river. This last +kick by Great Britain at the treaty she had so solemnly promised to +abide by was the most barefaced and impudent of all; for it was at that +time supposed by every body who had considered the question of an +inter-oceanic canal, that if built at all it would be by way of the San +Juan river, Lake Nicaragua, and across Nicaragua to the Pacific; thus +making Greytown the important port of said canal, and the key to the +control of the entire commerce thereon. + +The diplomatic correspondence which followed this high-handed outrage, +like all the diplomatic (?) correspondence concerning Central America, +while firm and bold on the part of this government, yet lacked that +moral force, national importance, and perfect fearlessness, which the +fetters imposed by the treaty prevented us from using or exhibiting. + +With the treaty out of the way, and the principles of the "Monroe +Doctrine" imprinted as a legend upon our banners, we should have stood +on unassailable ground; have exhibited a national importance and +vitality--an uncompromising firmness, courage and dignity that would +have carried conviction, achieved immediate and honorable success, and +commanded the respect of the civilized world. But fettered, tantalized, +and weakened, by the ambiguities and inconsistencies of this +co-partnership treaty, the United States government was compelled to +temporize, argue, and explain, and finally compromise with her +co-partner, and graciously allow the disgraceful fetters to remain. + +Did Great Britain withdraw her protectorate? No. Did she withdraw her +colonies from the Bay Islands? No. Did she give up her new geography of +Central America, and restore Balize to its original territory? No. Did +she yield a single point in the controversy, except to give up and +repudiate as unauthorized the seizure of San Juan? No. Not in a single +instance when the territory of Central America was at stake, and the +provisions of the treaty were concerned, did she yield a single point; +but she has even claimed and argued, that under the proper +interpretation of the terms of that treaty she may hold all that she +then enjoyed, and all that she can seize or buy, which is more than five +statute miles from the coast line of any part of Central America; +because, as she says, the treaty means the political, not the +geographical Central America, and the political Central America is that +part only of the continent which is contained within the limits of the +five Central American republics; while the geographical Central America +comprises all the territory and adjacent waters which lie between the +republic of Mexico and South America; and that as Balize, Yucatan, and +the Bay Islands, were not within the limits of the five Central American +republics, they are no part of the Central America designated and +intended in the treaty, and are not included in the term "other +territory" used in said treaty. + +The United States on the other hand claimed that the express language of +the treaty, to wit: "that neither will occupy, or fortify, or colonize, +or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America," means the geographical +Central America, including all that is not specifically enumerated from +Mexico on the north, to New Grenada or the United States of Columbia on +the south; that the claim of Great Britain was not a tenable or +reasonable one, and that the understanding was, that neither government +should thereafterwards acquire, or assume any control over, any part of +the territory lying between Mexico and South America. + +In the year 1853, during the discussion in the Senate upon the +resolution of inquiry presented by Mr. Douglas, Mr. Clayton, then +Senator from Delaware, admitted that the ambiguity of the treaty is so +great, that on some future occasion a conventional article, clearly +stating what are the limits of the Central America named in the treaty, +might become advisable. + +This admission, from the lips of the very man who so diplomatically (?) +represented the United States in the making of this vexatious treaty, is +rather significant, and aids us of this generation in coming to the +conclusion that the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is a disgrace to this +republic, and ought to be at once abrogated. + +Another historical fact, with which few are familiar, and which shows +the animus of this treaty, is this: In 1849 Mr. Hise, our minister at +Nicaragua, reported to the Honorable Secretary of State that Nicaragua +had offered to the United States, through him, "the exclusive right to +build, maintain, and forever control an inter-oceanic canal across that +republic; and offered to enter into treaty stipulations to that effect." +Mr. Hise strongly urged the acceptance of this offer, and prepared and +forwarded to the State Department a treaty, accepted by the government +of Nicargagua, which confirmed in specified terms the offer of full and +complete control and government of said canal. For reasons best known to +the Department of State, this treaty, called the Hise treaty, was never +accepted or presented to the Senate for ratification and adoption, but +was somehow quietly smothered, and the Clayton-Bulwer co-partnership +treaty reported and adopted in its stead. + +It will be seen at a glance, by even the most careless political tyro, +that the Hise treaty was directly in line and accord with the express +principles of the "Munroe Doctrine;" and that it would have given to +this country the exclusive rights, which under the treaty adopted it +must share with its co-partner, Great Britain. Had the United States +accepted the offer made by Nicaragua, and thus obtained the exclusive +privilege of opening and controlling the canal, we could have opened it +to the commerce of the world, on such terms and conditions as we should +deem wise, just, and politic; and it would have been more creditable to +us as a nation to have acquired it ourselves, and opened it freely to +the use of all nations, rather than to have entered into a +co-partnership by which we not only have no control in prescribing the +terms upon which it shall be opened, but lose the right of future +acquisition and control of Central American territory. Had we accepted +it (or should we accept the recent offer of Nicaragua to the same +general effect) we should have held in our possession a right, and a +might, which would have been ample security for every nation under +heaven to have kept the peace with the United States. + +Honorable Stephen A. Douglas, in commenting upon the conduct of the +State Department of 1849 and 1850, said: "When we surrendered this +exclusive right we surrendered a great element of power, which in our +hands would have been wielded in the cause of justice for the benefit of +all mankind." + +"But suppose," said Senator Clayton in reply, "that Great Britain and +other European powers would not have consented to our exclusive control +of a canal, in which they, as commercial nations, had as much, and more +interest, that we had?" + +"Well, then," in the language of Senator Douglas, "if Nicaragua desired +to confer the privilege, as it appears she did, and we were willing to +accept, it was purely an American question with which England or any +other foreign power had no right to interfere, or claim to be consulted, +no more than we could claim to be consulted when the Holy Alliance +sought to establish the equilibrium of Europe. We were not consulted +then, and in matters purely continental we have no occasion to consult +them; and if England, or any other foreign power, should attempt to +interfere, the sympathies of the rest of the civilized world would be +with us." + +The policy of England has always been an aggressive one. While for +nearly seventy years she has professed a friendship and national harmony +with the United States, she has not ceased to plant her colonies and +establish sentry boxes on every sea-girt island, that she could control, +within a short voyage of our coast; while she has Gibraltar to command +the entrance to the Mediterranean, a garrison at the Cape of Good Hope +to control the passage to the Indies, she also maintains on the Bahamas +and the Bermudas, in her well-equipped garrisons, vigilant sentinels +whose eyes are ever watching the western continent in obedience to the +royal behest; and in the magnificent island of Jamaica she has +established, and maintained at enormous expense, a fortified and +well-garrisoned naval station, which practically controls the Caribbean +sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and even the contemplated +canal itself; and yet not content with all this readiness and armament +for aggressive war, she creeps still nearer the coveted prize and on the +Bay Islands, almost in sight of the proposed canal, she plants her royal +banner, and holds the key as the mistress of the situation; so that in +case of war between the two countries she is well prepared for a quick +and vigorous blow at the life of this republic. + +She may have no occasion for many years to strike such a blow, but she +will wait in readiness; and woe be to that national simplicity which +puts its faith in princes, and takes no heed for the future. + +What, then, is the duty of this republic in regard to the Central +American problem? Shall we abrogate the patriotic principles contained +in the declarations of the Monroe doctrine, and confess that we have no +definite American policy? Shall we withdraw from the honorable and +patriotic position of defender and upholder of republicanism on this +continent, and permit the royal wolves of devastation to run wild over +our sister republics, because, forsooth, in an evil hour, we were led +into an alliance which, under the name of a treaty, has embarrassed our +action, clouded our judgment, and involved our self-respect? Shall the +great American Nation, with its untold resources, its magnificent +capabilities, and its sublime faith in the manifest destiny of this +republic, calmly submit to the errors, mistakes, aye, blunders of its +aforetime rulers, and under a mistaken sense of honor continue to be +bound hand and foot by the terms of that pernicious treaty which might +well be called the covenant of national disgrace? + +I maintain that it is an utter impossibility for a treaty-making power +to impose a permanent disability on the government for all coming time, +which, in the very nature and necessity of the case, may not be outgrown +and set aside by the laws of national progression, which all unaided +will render nugatory and vain all the plans and intentions of men. In +the language of Honorable Edward Everett, in his famous diplomatic +correspondence with the Compte De Sartiges in relation to the Island of +Cuba, in 1852, when asked to join England and France in a tripartite +treaty, in which a clause was embodied forbidding the United States from +ever acquiring or annexing that Island to this republic, "It may well be +doubted, whether the Constitution of the United States would allow the +treaty making power to impose a permanent disability on the American +government for all coming time, and prevent it under any future change +of circumstances from doing what has so often been done in the past. In +1803 the United States purchased Louisiana of France, and in 1819 they +purchased Florida of Spain. It is not within the competence of the +treaty-making power in 1852 effectually to bind the government in all +its branches, and for all coming time, not to make a similar purchase of +Cuba. There is an irresistible tide of affairs in a new country which +makes such a disposition of its future rights nugatory and vain. +America, but lately a waste, is filling up with intense rapidity, and is +adjusting on natural principles those territorial relations which, on +the first discovery of the continent, were, in a good degree, +fortuitous. It is impossible to mistake the law of American progress and +growth, or think it can be ultimately arrested by a treaty, which shall +attempt to prevent by agreement the future growth of this great +republic." + +The good faith of this nation demands that we should live up to all our +treaties and agreements, so far as it is possible to do so; but when in +the course of events, and by reason of the fixed decrees of growth, we +are not able to do so, then it becomes us, in honor and fairness to +others, as well as to ourselves, to take immediate measures to modify, +and if necessary entirely rescind them, let the consequences be what +they may. + +The genius of America is progressive, and the pluck and activity of the +average American is unsurpassed. Who shall say, then, that Central +America shall never become part of this Republic, which now increases +its population over a million each year? What statesman shall now in the +light of experience seek to bind this nation within the limits of a +treaty, that these United States will not annex, occupy, or colonize any +new territory? If the Nicaragua Canal shall ever be constructed, will +not American citizens settle along its line, and Yankee enterprise +colonize, and build Yankee towns, and convert that whole section into an +American state? Will not American principles and American institutions +be firmly planted there? And how long will it be before the laws of +progress shall require us to extend our jurisdiction and laws over our +citizens in Central America--even as we were obliged to do in Texas? +Perhaps not in our day and generation, but in the words of the lamented +Douglas, "So certain as this republic exists, so certain as we remain a +united people, so certain as the laws of progress, which have raised us +from a mere handful to a mighty nation, shall continue to govern our +action, just so certain are these events to be worked out, and you will +be compelled to extend your protection-in that direction. You may make +as many treaties as you please, to fetter the limits of this great +republic, and she will burst them all from her, and her course will be +onward to a limit which I will not venture to prescribe. Having met with +the barrier of the ocean in our western course, we may yet be compelled +to turn to the North and to the South for an outlet." + +With a distinctly American policy, such as the Father of his Country +foreshadowed and advised, when in his farewell address he warned us +against "entangling alliances with foreign powers;" such as President +Monroe bequeathed to us in the declarations of the "Monroe Doctrine," we +shall be more likely to achieve honor and renown; national prosperity +and universal respect, than can ever be ours, while fettered and bound, +by the galling chains of an entangling, unwise, and unfair treaty. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE DIVORCE LEGISLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. + + +By Chester F. Sanger. + + +There evidently exists just at the present time a great and increasing +interest in the old and much debated subjects of divorce, and divorce +legislation; an interest which is intensified as the population of our +younger states with their widely varying laws governing this matter +increases and the dangers and opportunities for fraud grow more +apparent. Naturally enough, therefore, public attention is invited to +these different laws of the several states of our Union, some allowing +divorce for one cause, others refusing it upon the same ground, and one +state, at least, refusing to grant a divorce for any cause whatever. The +remedy for this seems to many to be a national divorce law, establishing +in all the states a uniform mode of procedure and a uniform basis upon +which all petitions for divorce must be grounded; it must also fix the +status of the parties in every state and prescribe the several property +rights of each after the entry of the judicial decree which separates +them from a union, not of God, as some would try to teach, but often +from fetters, the weight and horror of which are known to the parties +alone, or to those, who, unlike our theoretical reformers, have had some +practical experience in the actual operation of our divorce courts. + +While it is a fact, overlooked by the enthusiasts on this subject, that +no such national law can be passed without an amendment to the +constitution, since the passage of such an act would be an invasion of +the rights reserved to the several states; yet in view of this +widespread interest in the question, the development and present +condition of the laws regulating divorce in our own Commonwealth becomes +an interesting matter of inquiry. While such a discussion has little or +nothing to do directly with the moral aspects of the subject, it is well +to note in passing that the doctrine of the indissolubility of the +marriage relation was not made a tenet of the church until as late as +1653. The Mosaic Law made the husband the sole judge of the cause for +which the woman might lawfully be "put away," and many Bibical scholars +of great attainments have maintained that when rightly interpreted the +words of Christ do not restrict divorce to the single cause of actual +adultery, while elsewhere in the New Testament divorce for desertion is +expressly sanctioned. + +The Roman Catholic Church, while it pronounced the marriage tie +indissoluble, at the same time reserved to the Pope the right to grant +absolute divorce, a right which was often exercised for reward, while +her Ecclesiastical Courts in the meantime declared many marriages null +and void upon so-called impediments established solely upon the +confession of one or the other of the parties seeking divorce. This +course is hard to explain satisfactorily if we admit a sincere belief in +the justice of her own dogma. It was from this practice of the Church +that came the custom of granting partial divorce, or, as it was termed, +divorce from bed and board--a divorce which was one only in name, and +made a bad matter worse, surrounding both parties with temptations, and +being, as it has been said, an insult to any man of ordinary feelings +and understanding. It was, to be sure, an attempt to comply with the +established doctrine of the Church, but it was a compromise with +common-sense. To this same source may be traced the curious procedure in +England, known as a suit for the restoration of conjugal rights, wherein +a husband or wife, who, being unable to obtain a a genuine divorce, had +separated from his or her partner for cause, might be compelled by the +power of the law to return to the "bliss too lightly-esteemed." + +There is one state in our Union in which, as one of her Judges puts it, +"to her unfading honor," not a single divorce has been granted for any +cause since the Revolution. But the fact remains, not so much to her +unfading honor, perhaps, that she has found it necessary to regulate by +statute the proportion of his property which a married man may bestow +upon his concubine, while at the same time adultery is not an indictable +offence. Another of her Judges has said from the bench, "We often see +men of excellent characters unfortunate in their marriages, and virtuous +women abandoned or driven away houseless by their husbands, who would be +doomed to celibacy and solitude if they did not form connections which +the law does not allow, and who make excellent husbands and wives +still." + +This judicial utterance makes an excellent basis for the statement that +it is better to adapt the law to facts as we find them, than to proceed +on the principle that as there is no redress called for save where there +is a wrong, if we do not allow the redress, there will, of course, be no +wrong. There is no escape from the conclusion that divorce or irregular +connections will prevail in every community; why not agree with Milton +that honest liberty is the greatest foe to dishonest license? + +When the founders of the new Commonwealth came to these shores they +brought with them of necessity the laws of the mother country, and so we +shall find that the divorce laws of England, as they existed at that +time, were the early laws of the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts +Bay. The Ecclesiastical courts of England were invested with full +jurisdiction of all matters of divorce, but from about the year 1601 +they had steadily refused to grant an absolute divorce for any cause +whatever, although they as constantly granted divorce from bed and +board, allusion to which has already been made; that is, they decreed a +judicial separation of man and wife, which freed the parties from the +society of each other, but at the same time left upon them all the +obligations of the marriage vow as to third parties. Finally, when +divorce was sought for cause of adultery, resort was had to parliament, +and in 1669 an absolute divorce for that cause was granted by that body +for the first time. This mode of procedure was, of course, a most +expensive one, and during the seventeenth century but three decrees +absolute were granted, the parties in each belonging to the peerage and +the cause being the same. + +In cases arising in the early history of the colonies we should +therefore expect to find the law as I have briefly sketched it as +existing in England, and as there were then no courts exercising the +functions of the Ecclesiastical Courts we might safely look for the +exercise of these powers by the Court of Deputies, or General Court, +which was at that time not simply a deliberative body, but also a court +of most extensive and varied jurisdiction, in matters both civil and +criminal. This was precisely the fact; the records show that in 1652 +Mrs. Dorothy Pester presented to the General Court her petition for +leave to marry again, giving as her reason the fact that her husband had +sailed for England some ten years before, and had not been heard from +since. The court decreed that liberty be granted her to marry, "when God +in his providence shall afford her the opportunity." In 1667 the same +court refused to grant a like petition, for the reason that they were +not satisfied by the evidence that the husband had not been heard from +for three years. + +One year prior to this appears the first record of a divorce in the +Plymouth colony, which, taken in connection with the two cases just +referred to, throws a bright light on the unwritten laws then regulating +this matter. Elizabeth, wife of John Williams, appeared with a petition +asking for a divorce, and complaining of her husband because of his +great abuse of, and "unaturall carryages towards her, in that by word +and deed he had defamed her character and had refused to perform his +duty towards her according to what the laws of God and man requireth." +Her husband appeared and demanded trial of the issue by jury, who found +the complaint to be just and true. Thereupon the deputies "proseeded to +pase centance" against him as follows: "that it is not safe or +convenient for her to live with him and we doe give her liberty att +present to depart from him unto her friends untill the court shall +otherwise order or he shall behave himself in such a way that she may be +better satisfyed to returne to him againe." He must also "apparell her +suitably at present and provide her with a bed and bedding and allow her +ten pounds yearly to maintaine her while she shall bee thus absent from +him," and to ensure the faithful performance of the decree of the court +he must "put in cecurities" or one third of his estate must be secured +to her comfort. As he has also defamed his wife and otherwise abused +her, it is further decreed that he must stand in the market place near +the post, with an inscription in large letters over his head which shall +declare to all the world his unworthy behavior towards his wife. And as +though the poor man was not yet sufficiently punished they go on to say +that "Inasmuch as these his wicked carriages have been contrary to the +lawes of God and man, and very disturbing and expensive to this +government, we doe amerce him to pay a fine of twenty pounds to the use +of the Colonie." One is inclined to think upon reading this rather +severe "centance" that if the law of our day was somewhat similar the +divorce docket would not be so long as at present. + +I have cited this case at considerable length for the reason that it +shows that the divorces then granted, even in aggravated cases, were +from bed and board, and that the right of the wife to a certain portion +of the property of her husband was recognized and enforced. The other +cases show that cruel and abusive treatment and absence unexplained for +the term of three years were then as now considered good grounds on +which to seek separation. + +The first legislation in our state bearing directly on our subject +appears to have been in 1692, when it it was provided that all +controversies concerning marriage and divorce should be heard and +determined by the Governor and Council, thus changing simply the +tribunal without affecting the existing laws. Curiously enough, although +the tribunal which should determine the controversies was thus fixed, +there was no provision made for enforcing its decrees, and it was thus +left practically powerless for sixty-two years, or until 1754, when this +defect in the law was remedied by a provision that refusal or neglect to +obey the decrees of the Governor and Council might be punished like +contempt of courts of law and equity by imprisonment. + +In 1693 were passed the first statutes regulating the subject of +marriage in the colony, the preamble to which was as follows: "Although +this court doth not take in hand to determine what is the whole bredth +of the divine commandment respecting marriage, yet, for preventing the +abominable dishonesty and confusion which might otherwise happen," +certain marriages are declared to be unlawful and the issue thereof +illegitimate, and severe and degrading punishments are provided for all +offenders, even although innocent of any wrong intent. + +As the population of the colony increased and spread over the country at +a distance from Boston, the fact that the only court having jurisdiction +of matters of divorce and marriage was held only in that town was the +cause of ever-increasing inconvenience, and accordingly it was enacted +in 1786 that "whereas, it is a great expense to the people of this state +to be obliged to attend at Boston upon all questions of divorce, when +the same might be done within the counties where the parties live, and +where the truth might be better discovered by having the parties in +court," jurisdiction in all matters of divorce should be vested in the +Supreme Judicial Court, where it has ever since remained in spite of +efforts made at various times to give to other courts concurrent or even +exclusive jurisdiction. As the Supreme Judicial Court is now overworked, +and as it is not deemed advisable, for various reasons, to increase its +numbers, it is more than probable, in view of the increase in the number +of libels annually filed, that some modification of our laws will soon +be made which shall give the entire jurisdiction of this matter either +to the Superior Court or to the Judges of Probate in the several +counties. Governor Robinson called the attention of the Legislature to +the importance of some change in this direction in his last message, and +urged speedy action. + +The act of 1786, above alluded to, fixed the causes of divorce at +two--adultery or impotency of either of the parties, but allowed a +divorce from bed and board for extreme cruelty. To this was added in +1810 the further cause of desertion, or refusal to furnish proper +support to the wife. To the two causes above named the Legislature of +1836 added a third, namely, the imprisonment of either party for the +term of seven years or more at hard labor. + +In 1698 it had been provided that in case of three years' absence at +sea, when the voyage set out upon was not usually of more than three +months' duration, the man or woman whose relation was in this way parted +from him might be considered single and unmarried. In 1838 wilful +desertion for five years was added to the then existing causes for +absolute divorce, in favor of the innocent party, and in 1850 yet +another cause was added by providing that if either party separated from +the other and for three years remained united with any religious sect or +society believing or professing to believe that the relation of husband +and wife is void and unlawful, a full divorce might be granted to the +other. + +The law remained thus for ten years, or until the adoption of the +General Statutes in 1860, when desertion for five years was made ground +for granting a divorce to the deserting party also, provided it could be +shown that such desertion was due to the cruelty of the other, or in +case of the wife, to the failure of the husband to properly provide for +her. Divorce from bed and board was also authorized for extreme cruelty, +complete desertion, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, if +contracted after the marriage, and neglect of the husband to provide for +his wife. Such limited divorces might be made absolute after five years' +separation, on petition of the party to whom the divorce was granted, +and after ten years on that of the guilty party. There was no change in +these laws until 1870, when limited divorce, a relic of churchly +superstition, was done away with entirely in this State, the grounds +upon which it had been granted being at the same time made cause for +absolute divorce, with the condition, however, that all such divorces +should be in the first instance _nisi_, that is, conditional, to be +made absolute after three years in the discretion of the court, and +after five years as of right. Prior to this time, in 1867, it had been +enacted that all decrees of divorce should be first entered _nisi_, +to be made absolute in six months in the discretion of the court, and +this act of 1870 therefore left nine causes for absolute divorce; but in +all cases for cruelty, desertion, intoxication, or neglect or refusal to +support, the decree must remain conditional for at least three years. +Since that date there have been many changes in the statutes, but all in +the direction of regulating the entry of the decree, without affecting +the causes therefor, except that in 1873, habits of intoxication, even +if contracted before marriage, were made good grounds for a decree. + +The law of 1841, which remained in force until 1853, forbad the marriage +of the party for whose fault divorce was granted during the lifetime of +the innocent partner; but in the latter year the court was authorized to +allow the guilty party, except in cases of adultery, to remarry; and in +1864 it was provided that even in such cases the guilty one might marry +after three years, unless actually tried and convicted of the crime. In +1873 even this restriction of three years was removed, and the law +remained so until 1881, when it was enacted that the guilty party in all +cases might marry after two years without the formality of applying to +the court for leave so to do. + +From this brief review of the history of our law there is but one +conclusion to be drawn, that slowly but surely the doors to divorce have +been opened until it has become a comparatively easy matter to obtain +that relief which for so many years was absolutely refused. A few +statistics will illustrate this: In the year 1863 there were in the +state 10,873 marriages and 207 divorces; in 1882 there were 17,684 +marriages and 515 divorces, or an increase in the former of 62.6 per +cent., and of the latter of 147.6 per cent., while the population of the +state increased in the same time 53.4 per cent. Since the legislation of +1870, which, as we have seen above, made divorce obtainable on nine +grounds, the increase in the number of decrees granted has been 36 per +cent., while in the same period marriages have increased but 20 per +cent. + +During this twenty years 79 per cent. of all divorces granted were for +adultery and desertion, and of those granted for the first-mentioned +cause only a trifle over one-half were for the fault of the man; while, +contrary to a widely-prevalent belief, the record shows that of the +decrees entered for that cause the proportion is greater in the country +districts than in our cities. In the same period the highest ratio of +divorce to marriage has been one to twenty-three, and the lowest one to +thirty-three, the average for the whole time being one to thirty-one; +but in Suffolk County, comprising the cities of Boston and Chelsea and +the towns of Winthrop and Revere, the average has been only one to +forty-one and nine-tenths. These statistics are indeed startling, and +may be easily used as a foundation for an argument that our laws +governing the matter are far too lenient, since the number of divorces +is so apparently excessive. + +But on the other hand is it not as fair an inference from all the facts, +that beyond and deeper than any provisions of the law there is something +wrong in society itself; that we must look for the real root of the +trouble in the influences which are operating upon our social life as a +people? Our Judges who administer the law are learned, of great +experience in the matter of weighing evidence, careful and +conscientious. The laws are carefully framed to prevent collusion +between the parties, and especially to render it difficult to obtain a +divorce for the groundless desertion of the party seeking the +separation; in fact they are far in advance of the laws of many of our +sister states, and it has been truly said that the divorce laws of this +Commonwealth have kept pace with the improved understanding of the +condition of the people, and have been wisely framed to meet the many +causes which exist in modern life to break up the domestic relations. + +There is not one of our statutory causes for divorce which could be +stricken out without a certainty of inflicting legal cruelty in the +future. Of all our divorces nearly seventy per cent, are upon petition +of the wife; and it can be safely said that nearly all will agree that +to compel a woman to submit to the cruelty and brutalities of a drunken +or profligate husband, is not only inflicting upon her legal cruelty, +but has an influence which extends beyond the individual and is powerful +for evil upon those who are to come after us. + +Strangely enough as our educational advantages have increased, as more +avenues of self support have been opened to women, so has the ratio of +divorce to marriage also grown larger, thus apparently furnishing +conclusive proof that it is not legislative reform that is now needed. +It is not necessary to argue that no legislation can operate in any way +to strengthen those family ties which have their foundation in the +social and domestic affections. On the other hand, any thing in the +direction of education of the young tending to strengthen love of home +and domestic life, and to do away with the prevalent tendency to what +has been termed individualism, will be a step in the right path and will +aid in lessening the evils which so many wrongly ascribe to faulty +legislation. If any further proof of this fact is needed it is found in +the knowledge that by far the larger part of the seekers for relief come +from our native population, while none but those who have some practical +experience in the realities of the divorce court room can know how +intolerable are the burdens from which this relief is sought. + + * * * * * + + + + +SHEM DROWNE AND HIS HANDIWORK. + + +By Elbridge H. Goss. + + +The weird imaginings and romantic theories of our great story-teller, +Hawthorne, must not be taken as veritable and indisputable history. +Some of the Boston newspapers have recently run riot in this respect. +Hawthorne, in his "Drowne's Wooden Image," in "Mosses from an Old +Manse," says the figure of "Admiral Vernon," which has stood on the +corner of State and Broad streets, Boston, for over a century, was the +handiwork of one Shem Browne, "a cunning carver of wood." Upon this +statement of the romancer, for there is no authentic history to warrant +it, one paper, in an article entitled "A Funny Old Man," says: "Deacon +Shem Drowne, the Carver. Concerning the origin of the carved figure of +Admiral Vernon there can be no doubt. History, ancient records, and +fiction all record the presence in Boston of one Deacon Shem Drowne, +whose business it was to supply the tradesmen and tavern-keepers of the +day with similar carved images to indicate their calling, or by which to +identify their places of business."[1] + +Another, discoursing of this same image, as "Our Oldest Inhabitant," +after attributing it to the same man's workmanship, states: "Deacon Shem +Drowne, whose name suggests pious and patriarchal, if not nautical +associations, carved the grasshopper which still holds its place over +Faneuil Hall, and also the gilded Indian,[2] who, with his bow bent and +arrow on the string, so long kept watch and ward over the Province +House, the stately residence of the royal Governors of Massachusetts."[3] +This writer repeatedly spells the name wrong. His name was Drowne, not +Droune.[4] In "Drowne's Wooden Image," Hawthorne makes his Shem Drowne a +wood-carver, plain and simple: "He became noted for carving ornamental +pump heads, and wooden urns for gate posts, and decorations, more +grotesque than fanciful, for mantle pieces." "He followed his business +industriously for many years, acquired a competence, and in the latter +part of his life attained to a dignified station in the church, being +remembered in records and traditions as Deacon Drowne, the carver," and +he connects him with the real Shem Drowne of history, only by speaking +of him this once as "Deacon Drowne," and saying: "One of his +productions, an Indian Chief, gilded all over, stood during the better +part of a century on the cupola of the Province House, bedazzling the +eyes of those who looked upward, like an angel of the sun;" plainly +indicating that he thought the Indian was carved from wood, instead of +being made, as it was, of hammered copper. + +The real Shem Drowne was not a wood-carver; no authority for such a +statement can be found. His trade is given as that of a "tin plate +worker,"[5] and a "cunning artificer" in metal;[6] nowhere as a +wood-carver. He was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1683. His father was +Leonard Drowne, who came from the west of England to Kittery, where he +carried on the ship building business until 1692, when, on account of +the French and Indian wars, he removed his family to Boston, where he +died, a few years after, and his grave is in the old Copp's Hill Burying +Ground.[7] At Boston Shem Browne established himself in his trade. He +was elected a deacon of the First Baptist Church, in 1721. He was "often +employed in Town affairs, especially in the management of +Fortifications."[8] + +He married Catherine Clark, one of the heirs of Nicholas Bavison, of +Charlestown, who was a purchaser in the "Pemaquid Patent," or grant of +the Plymouth Company, of some twelve thousand acres, to Messrs. +Aldsworth and Elbridge of Bristol, England, made in 1631. Becoming +interested in the claim of his wife, as one of the heirs, in 1735, he +was appointed agent and attorney of the "Pemaquid Proprietors," in which +capacity he acted for many years. It was sometimes called the "Drowne +Claim." In 1747 he had the whole tract of land surveyed, and was +instrumental in causing forty or more families to settle in that region. +That he became blind, or nearly so, as early as 1762, is attested by a +deed of land at Broad Cove (Bristol, Maine), made in that year to Thomas +Johnston; a note in the margin of which states that it was "distinctly +read to him on account of his sight;"[9] but the signature is written in +a large, plain hand. He died January 13, 1774, aged ninety-one years. He +had a daughter, Sarah, who, in 1757, was married to Rev. Jeremiah Condy, +who, from 1739 to 1764, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, of which +church Mr. Drowne was a deacon. As a metal worker he made the +grasshopper, Indian, and other vanes; but that he ever carved a pump +head, urn, gate-post, "Admiral Vernon," or any other wooden image, there +is not a scintilla of evidence; nothing but the figment of a romancer's +brain. + +The following letter to his nephew, Honorable Solomon Drowne of +Providence, Rhode Island, is here printed by the kindness of Henry T. +Drowne, Esq., of New York, who has many of the old papers of the Drowne +families. It was written soon after his nephew's marriage, and is an +interesting document; full of a sympathetic and kindly spirit; showing +that the customs of his church, the Baptist, of that day, were very +similar to those of the Evangelical churches of to-day; and gives an +instance of "Catholic Christian Spirit" worthy of note. The use of the +colon instead of the period is also noticeable: + + + BOSTON [Massachusetts], + + August y'e 18, 1732. + + LOVING KINSMAN: + + Yours I received and have considered the Contents, and pray that your + spouse may be directed and assisted by the grace and holy spirit of + God to live in all good conscience before Him and this being the + indispensable Duty of everyone when come to the use of Reason, with + all seriousness to search the Scriptures, from thence to learn our + Duty; and, then with Humility to devote ourselves to God, which is our + reasonable Service; and, this being the awfulest solemnity that poor + mortal man ever transacts in, whilst in this world: being to enter into + Covenant with the Most High God. In the Concernment of a precious soul + for a vast Eternity, ought to be entered upon with earnest prayer to + God for his grace, that it may be sufficient for us, and that His + strength might be made perfect in weakness: As for the order in which + our Church admits Members into Communion: the Person who desires to + joyn to the Church stands propounded a fortnight, in which time inquiry + is made concerning their Life and Conversation: then they appear before + the Church, make _Confession_, with their mouth, of their Repentance + toward God, and their faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ: and, if + nothing appears by information contrary to their _Confession_, then + they are approved of by a vote of the Church, with all readiness; and + so partake of the Holy ordinances--Baptism and the Lord's Supper. + + Our breaking-bread day is always on the first Sabbath in every month, + and, always on the Friday before it, we have a Church Meeting, which is + carried on by prayer, in order to prepare for our approach to the Lord's + table: at which Meetings _those_ are sometimes heard and sometimes + on the Sabbath, as circumstances best serve--so that any Person at a + Distance may send to our minister to propound them to the Church timely, + and order their coming, so as to partake of both ordinances on the same + day: The Reverend Mr. Cotton of Newton, on occasion of a man of his + Parish desiring to join in Communion with our Church, gave him a Letter + of Recommendation, not as a member with him, but as of one in Judgment + of Charity qualified by the grace of God to be received amongst us: + which the Church received as a mark of his Catholic Christian Spirit. + + That you and your spouse may be directed to do what may be most for + the glory of God: and for your own Peace and Comfort, both for time + and Eternity: that you may both walk in all the commands and ordinances + of the Lord blameless is the Prayer and Desire of your loving uncle. + + SHEM DROWNE. + + +Two of the three best known weather vanes made by Drowne, are still on +duty; and one, the Indian chief, which for so many years decked the +Province House, is now the property of the Massachusetts Historical +Society, in one of the rooms of which it is to be seen, still swinging +on its original pivot. From the sole of his foot to the top of his +plume, it is four feet, six inches; and from his elbow to tip of arrow, +four feet; weight forty-eight pounds. + +The old grasshopper on Fanueil Hall[10] was made in 1742, and has veered +with the winds and been beaten by the storms of one hundred and forty +odd years. It was last repaired in 1852, when there was found within it +a much-defaced paper, only a part of which could be read: + + + SHEM DROWNE MADE ITT + + May 25, 1742 + + To my Brethren and Fellow Grasshoppers + + Fell in y'e year 1755 Nov 15th day from y'e Market by a great Earthquake + ... sing ... sett a ... by my old Master above. + + Again Like to have Met with my Utter Ruin by Fire, but hopping Timely + from my Publick Situation came of with Broken bones, and much Bruised, + Cured and again fixed.... + + Old Master's Son Thomas Drowne June 28th, 1763. And Although I now + promise to Play ... Discharge my Office, yet I shall vary as ye + wind.[11] + + +The other one still in use is the old "Cockerel" of Hanover Street +Church fame. This was made for the New Brick Church in 1721, and is the +oldest of the three. It held its position on this church and its +successors, one of which was long known as the "Cockerel Church," for +one hundred and forty-eight years, when it was raised on the Shepard +Memorial Church of Cambridge, where it now is. "It measures five feet +four inches from bill to tip of tail, and stands five feet five inches +from the foot of the socket to the top of comb, and weighs one hundred +and seventy-two pounds."[12] + +Possibly some other specimens of the handiwork of this good Deacon Shem +Drowne are still in existence. Who knows? + +[Footnote 1: Boston Globe, October 18, 1884.] + +[Footnote 2: Neither of these were carved; they were both of metal.] + +[Footnote 3: Boston Evening Record, January 10, 1885.] + +[Footnote 4: Fac-similes of his signature are given in "Memorial History +of Boston," vol. II, p. 110, written in 1733, and in John Johnston's +"History of Bristol, Bremen and the Pemaquid Plantation," p. 466, +written in 1762.] + +[Footnote 5: Johnston's "Bristol and Bremen."] + +[Footnote 6: Samuel Adams Drake's "Old Landmarks of Boston," p. 135.] + +[Footnote 7: Mss. letter of Henry T. Drowne, Esq., of New York.] + +[Footnote 8: Samuel G. Drake's "History of Boston."] + +[Footnote 9: History of "Bristol and Bremen."] + +[Footnote 10: Drake in "Old Landmarks," says: "the grasshopper was long +thought to be the crest of the Faneuils."] + +[Footnote 11: Boston Daily Advertiser, December 3, 1852.] + +[Footnote 12: Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. XXVII, p. 422.] + + * * * * * + + + + +THE WEDDING IN YE DAYS LANG SYNE. + + +By Rev. Anson Titus. + + +The story of courtship and marriage is ever fascinating. It is new and +fresh to the hearts of the youthful and aged. A few words upon the +marriage day in the early New England will not be without interest. +September 9, 1639, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony passed +a law ordering intentions of marriage to be published fourteen days at +the public lecture, or in towns where there was no lecture the +"intention" was to be posted "vpon some poast standinge in publique +viewe." On this same day it was ordered that the clerks of the several +towns record all marriages, births and deaths. This was a wise +provision. It at once taught the people of the beginning and of the +designed stability of the new-founded government. + +The course of true love did not run smooth in these early days any more +than to-day. Parents were desirous of having sons and daughters +intermarry with families of like social standing and respectability. But +the youth and maid often desired to exercise their own freedom and +choice. On May 7, 1651, the General Court ordered a fine and punishment +against those who "seeke to draw away y'e affections of yong maydens." In +the time of Louis XV, of France, the following decree was made: "Whoever +by means of red or white paint, perfumes, essences, artificial teeth, +false hair, cotton, wool, iron corsets, hoops, shoes, with high heels, +or false tips, shall seek to entice into the bonds of marriage any male +subject of his majesty, shall be prosecuted for witchcraft, and declared +incapable of matrimony." The fathers of New England may have made +foolish laws, but this one in France at a later time goes beyond them. +The seductive charms of the sexes they deemed could not be trusted. +Wonderment often comes to us of the thoughts and manners of the sage +law-makers when their youthful hearts were reaching out after another's +love. + +The marriage day was celebrated with decorum. The entire community were +conversant of the proposed marriage, for the same had been read in +meeting and posted in "publique viewe." The earliest lawmakers of the +Colony were pillars in the church, and though they did not regard +marriage an ordinance over which the church had chief to say, yet they +desired an attending solemnity. In 1651 it was ordered that "there shall +be no dancinge vpon such occasions," meaning the festivities, which +usually followed the marriage, at the "ordinary" or village inn. + +The marriage of widows made special laws needful. Property was held in +the name of the husband. The wife owned nothing, though it came from the +meagre dowry of her own father. When the husband died the widow had +certain rights as long as she "remained his widow." These rights were +small at best, though the estate may have been accumulated through years +of their mutual toil and hardships. We have notes of a number of cases, +but give only a few. We omit the names of the contracting parties. +"T---- C---- of A---- and H---- B---- of S----, widow were married +together, September y'e 28th, 1748, before O---- B---- J.P. And at ye +same time y'e s'd H---- solemnly declared as in y'e presence of Almighty +God & before many witnesses, that she was in no way in possession of her +former husband's estate of whatever kind soever neither possession or +reversion." An excellent Deacon married an elderly matron, Dorothea +----, and before the Justice of Peace "Y'e s'd Dorothea declared she +was free from using any of her former husband's estate, and so y'e +s'd Nathaniel [the Deacon] received her." The following declarations +are not without interest. "Y'e s'd John B---- declared before marriage +that he took y'e s'd Hannah naked and had clothed her & that he took +her then in his own clothes separate from any interest of her former +husbands." Again a groom declares: "And he takes her as naked and +destitute, not having nor in no ways holding any part of her former +husband's estate whatever." We have also the declaration of a widower on +marrying a widow in 1702, who had property in her own name, probably +gained by will, "that he did renounce meddling with her estate." These +declarations evidence that the widow relinquished, and that the groom +received her without the least design upon the estate. It has been +intimated that in a few instances these declarations became a "sign," +but we can hardly credit it. The "rich" widow was taken out of the +matrimonial problem. + +The following affidavit is spread on the town records of Amesbury: + + + "Whereas Thomas Challis of Amesbury in y'e County of Essex in y'e + Province of y'e Massachsetts Bay in New England, and Sarah Weed, + daughter of George Weed in y'e same Town, County and Province, have + declared their intention of taking each other in marriage before + several public meetings of y'e people called Quakers in Hampton and + Amesbury, and according to y't good order used amongst them whose + proceeding therein after a deliberate consideration thereof with + regard to y'e righteous law of God and example of his people recorded + in y'e holy Scriptures of truth in that case, and by enquiry they + appeared clear of all others relating to marriage and having consent + of parties and relations concerned were approved by said meeting. + + Now these certify whom it may concern y't for y'e full accomplishment + of their intention, this twenty-second day of September being y'e year + according to our account 1727, then they the s'd Thom's Challis and + Sarah Weed appeared in a public assembly of y'e afores'd people and + others met together for that purpose at their public meeting-house + in Amesbury afores'd and then and there he y'e s'd Thom's Challis + standing up in y'e s'd assembly taking y'e s'd Sarah Weed by y'e hand + did solemnly declare as followeth: + + Friends in y'e fear of God and in y'e presence of this assembly whom I + declare to bear witness, that I take this my Friend Sarah Weed to be my + wife promising by y'e Lord's assistance to be unto her a kind and loving + husband till death, or to this effect; and then and there in y'e s'd + assembly she y'e said Sarah Weed did in like manner declare as follweth: + Friends in y'e fear of God and presence of this assembly whom I declare + to bear witness that I take this my Friend Thom's Challis to be my + husband promising to be unto him a faithful and loving wife till death + separate us, or words of y'e same effect. And y'e s'd Thom's Challis + and Sarah Weed, as a further confirmation thereof did then and there to + these presents set their hands, she assuming y'e name of her husband. And + we whose names are hereto subscribed being present amongst others at + their solemnizing Subscription in manner afores'd have hereto set our + names as witness." + + +Then follow the names of groom and bride, relatives on either side, and +then the names of members in the assembly, first the "menfolks," then +the "womenfolks." The names all told are forty-one. Among them is that +of Joseph Whittier, which name with those of Challis and Weed have long +been honored names in Amesbury. + +The marriage gift to the husband on the part of his parents was usually +a farm, a part of the homestead; the dowry to the young bride from her +parents was a cow, a year's supply of wool, or something needful in +setting up house-keeping. If the homestead farm was not large the young +couple were brave enough to encounter the labors and toils of frontier +life, and begin for themselves on virgin soil and amid new scenes. It +required bravery on the part of the young bride. But there were noble +maidens in those days. The cares and duties of motherhood soon followed, +but the house-cares and the maternal obligations were performed to the +admiration of later generations. The fathers and mothers of New England +were strong and hardy. Their praises come down to us. Witnesses new and +ancient testify of their worth and royalty of character. + + * * * * * + + + + +A REMINISCENCE OF COL. FLETCHER WEBSTER. + + +In a private conversation with the writer not long since General +Marston, of New Hampshire, related the following story: + +"On the morning of the thirtieth of August, 1862, before sunrise, I was +lying under a fence rolled up in a blanket on the Bull Run battle-field. +It was the second day of the Bull Run battle. My own regiment, the +Second New Hampshire Volunteers, had been in the fight the day before +and had lost one-third of the entire regiment in killed and wounded. + +"While so lying by the fence some one shook me and said, 'Get up here.' +In answer I said, without throwing the blanket from over my head, 'Who +in thunder are you?' The answer was made, 'Get up here and see the +Colonel of the Massachusetts Twelfth.' + +"The speaker then partly pulled the blanket off my head and I saw that +it was Colonel Fletcher Webster; whereupon I arose, and we sat down +together and I sent my orderly for coffee. + +"We sat there drinking the coffee and talking about his father, Daniel +Webster, and he told me about his father going up to Franklin every year +and always using the same expression about going. He would say +'Fletcher, my son, let us go up to Franklin to-morrow; let us have a +good time and leave the old lady at home. Let us have a good old New +Hampshire dinner--fried apples and onions and pork.' At about that time +the Adjutant of Colonel Webster's regiment came along and told him that +the General commanding his brigade wanted to see him. Colonel Webster +replied that he would be there shortly. + +"As he sat there on the blanket with me he took hold of his left leg +just below the knee with both hands and said: 'There, I will agree to +have my leg taken off right there for my share of the casualties of this +day.' I replied: 'I would as soon be killed as lose a leg; and the +chances are a hundred to one that you won't be hit at all.' 'Well,' said +he as he gave me his hand, 'I hope to see you again; goodbye.' I never +saw him again. He was killed that day. His extreme sadness, his +depression, was perhaps indicative of a conviction or presentiment of +some impending misfortune." + + * * * * * + + + + +OLD DORCHESTER. + + +By Charles M. Barrows. + + +The quaint old Puritan annalist, James Blake, wrote as a preface to his +book of records: + + + "When many most Godly and Religious People that Dissented from y'e way + of worship then Established by Law in y'e Realm of England, in y'e Reign + of King Charles y'e first, being denied y'e free exercise of Religion + after y'e manner they professed according to y'e light of God's Word and + their own consciences, did under y'e Incouragment of a Charter Granted + by y'e S'd King, Charles, in y'e Fourth Year of his Reign, A.D. 1628, + Remoue themselues & their Families into y'e Colony of y'e Massachusetts + Bay in New England, that they might Worship God according to y'e light + of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was + y'e very motive & cause of their coming; Then it was, that the First + Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, and were y'e first Company or + Church Society that arriued here, next y'e Town of Salem who was one + year before them." + + +Nonconformity, then, was the "very motive and cause" which settled +Dorchester, the oldest town but one in Puritan New England, and planted +there a sturdy yeomanry to whom freedom of conscience was more than home +and dearer than life. Nor was this "vast extent of wilderness" to which +they succeeded by right of purchase from the heirs of Chickatabat any +such narrow area as that of the same name, recently annexed to the city +of Boston. It extended from what is now the northern limit of South +Boston to within a hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line, thus +giving the township a length of about thirty-five miles "as y'e road +goethe." The late Ellis Ames, of Canton, a competent authority, says the +town "was formerly bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, +Taunton, Bridgewater and Braintree," so that its history is the history +of a large part of the towns in Norfolk county and a portion of Bristol. +The manner in which the original territory has been gradually reduced is +thus told by Mr. Ames: "Milton was set off in 1662; part of Wrentham, in +1724: Stoughton, in 1726; Sharon, in 1765; Foxborough, in 1778; Canton, +in 1797; strips were also set off to Dedham, probably, in 1739; and +before the whole was annexed, portions of the northern part of the town +were set off to Boston, at two several times: in 1804 and in 1855." +Since that date another portion has been severed to make the northern +quarter of Hyde Park. Honorable John Daggett, the historian of +Attleborough, which was then a part of the Rehoboth North Purchase, says +there was a dispute concerning the boundary between Dorchester and that +town, which was finally settled by a conference of delegates, held at +the house of one of his ancestors. + +Why those "most Godly and Religious People" chose to settle where they +did rather than on the Charles river, as at first intended, Mr. Blake +proceeds to tell us in his annals. He says they made the voyage from +England to New England in a vessel of four hundred tons, commanded by +Captain Squeb, and that they had "preaching or expounding of the +Scriptures every day of their passage, performed by Ministers." Contrary +to their desires, the ship discharged them and their goods at Nantasket, +but they procured a boat in which part of the company rowed into Boston +harbor and up the Charles river, "until it became narrow and shallow," +when they went ashore at a point in the present village of Watertown. +But after exploring the open lands about Boston, they finally made +choice of a neck of land "joyning to a place called by y'e Indians +Mattapan," because it formed a natural inclosure for the cattle they had +brought with them, and which, if turned into the open land, would be +liable to stray and be lost. This little circumstance fixed the original +settlement on the marsh now known as Dorchester Neck. + +The honor of the name Dorchester appears to belong to Rev. John White, +minister of a town of the same name in the mother country, who planned +and encouraged the exodus to America. But the hardy little band of +exiles who received the title from old Cutshumaquin, the successor of +Chickatabat, little knew what their wild territory was destined to +become in the course of a hundred years. They were loyal subjects of the +English throne, building their log cabins and rude meeting-house on +Allen's Plain under protection of a charter from King Charles; there +they hoped to found a permanent town, where the worship of God should be +maintained in accordance with the dictates of the Puritan conscience, +without interference of churchman, Roman Catholic, Baptist, or Quaker. +There was room in the unexplored forests to the south for pasturage and +for the overflow, whenever, as Cotton Mather said when the whole state +contained less than six thousand white inhabitants, "Massachusetts +should be like a hive overstocked with bees." + +The first meeting-house in Dorchester, a very unpretentious structure of +logs and thatch, was completed in 1631, and no free-holder was allowed +to plant his domicile farther than the distance of half a mile from it, +without special permission of the fathers of the town. It stood near the +intersection of the present Pleasant and Cottage streets, and that +portion of the former highway between Cottage and Stoughton streets is +supposed to have been the first road laid out in the early settlement. +Shortly after, this road was extended to Five Corners in one direction, +and to the marsh, then called the Calf Pasture, in the other. The +present names of these extensions are Pond street and Crescent avenue. +From Five Corners a road was subsequently laid out running, north-east +to a point a little below the Captain William Clapp place, where there +was a gate which closed the entrance to Dorchester Neck, where the +cattle were pastured. It was on this street that Rev. Richard Mather, +the first minister of the town, Roger Williams, of Rhode Island fame, +and other distinguished citizens resided. The next undertaking in the +way of public improvements was the building of two important roads, one +leading to Penny Ferry, thus opening a highway of communication with the +sister Colony at Plymouth; the other leading to Roxbury, Brookline and +Cambridge. + +In Josselyn's description of the town soon after its settlement may be +read: + + + "Six myles from Braintree lyeth Dorchester, a frontire Town, pleasantly + situated and of large extent into the maine land, well watered with two + small rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick with houses, ... + accounted the greatest town heretofore in New England, but now giving + way to Boston." + + +Through what hardships and privations this infant freehold was +maintained can be understood by those only, who have read the records of +the colonial struggle against a sterile soil, a rigorous climate, grim +famine, hostile Indians, and a total lack of all the appliances and +comforts of civilization. The years 1631 and 1632 were a period of great +distress to the Dorchester farmers, on account of the failure of their +crops and supplies of provision, and Captain Clapp wrote concerning it: +"Oh! y'e Hunger that many suffered and saw no hope in an Eye of Reason +to be Supplied, only by Clams & Muscles, and Fish; and _Bread_ was +very Scarce, that sometimes y'e very Crusts of my Fathers Table would +have been very sweete vnto me; And when I could have _Meal & Water & +Salt_, boyled together, it was so good, who could wish better. And it +was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to Drink Water, and to +eat _Samp_ or _Homine_ without Butter or Milk. Indeed it would +have been a very strange thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton, or +Veal, tho' it was not long before there was Roast _Goat_." + +In 1740, the same year that Whitefield visited New England, on his +evangelistic mission, the crops were again cut off by untimely frosts, +and Mr. Blake wrote in his annual entry-book: "There was this year an +early frost that much Damnified y'e Indian Corn in y'e Field, and after +it was Gathered a long Series of wett weather & a very hard frost vpon +it, that damnified a great deal more." + +It is not unfair to suppose that the habits of rigid economy learned in +this school of adversity influenced the passage of the celebrated law +against wearing superfluities, quite as much as their austere prejudice +against display. Be that as it may, the attention of the court was +called to the dangerous increase of lace and other ornaments in female +attire, and, after mature deliberation, it seemed wise to them to pass +the following wholesome law: + + + "Whereas there is much complaint of the wearing of lace and other + superflueties tending to little use, or benefit, but to the nourishing + of pride, and exhausting men's estates, and also of evil example to + others; it is therefore ordered that henceforth no person whatsoever + shall prsume to buy or sell within this jurisdiction any manner of lace + to bee worne ore used within o'r limits. + + "And no taylor or any other person, whatsoever shall hereafter set any + lace or points vpon any garments, either linnen, woolen, or any other + wearing cloathes whatsoever, and that no p'son hereafter shall be + imployed in making any manner of lace, but such as they shall sell to + such persons but such as shall and will transport the same out of this + jurisdiction, who in such a case shall have liberty to buy and sell; and + that hereafter no garment shall be made w'th short sleeves, whereby the + nakedness of the arm may be discovered in the bareing thereof, and such + as have garments already made w'th short sleeves shall not hereafter + wear the same, unless they cover their armes with linnen or otherwise; + and that hereafter no person whatsoever shall make any garment for + women, or any of their sex, w'th sleeves more than halfe an elle wide in + y'e widest place thereof, and so proportionable for bigger or smaller + persons; and for the p'r sent alleviation of immoderate great sleeves + and some other superfluities, w'ch may easily bee redressed w'th out + much pr udice, or y'e spoile of garments, as immoderate great briches, + knots of ribban, broad shoulder bands and rayles, silk lases, double + ruffes and caffes, &c." + + +But the court did not confine itself to prescribing the size of a lady's +sleeves, or the trimming she might wear on her dress: it passed other +timely laws to restrain the idle and vicious and preserve good order +throughout the community. It was ordered in 1632 "that y'e remainder +of Mr. (John) Allen's strong water, being estimated about two gallandes, +shall be deliuered into y'e hands of y'e Deacons of Dorchester for +the benefit of y'e poore there, for his selling of it dyvers tymes to +such as were drunke by it, knowing thereof." + +In 1638 the court passed a curious law regulating the use of tobacco, +which runs as follows: + + + "The Court finding since y'e repealing of y'e former laws against + tobacco y'e law is more abused than before, it hath therefore ordered + that no man shall take any tobacco in y'e field except in his iourney, + or meale times, vpon pain of 12'd for every offence, nor shall take any + tobacco in (or near) any dwelling house, barne, Corn or Haye, as may be + likely to endanger y'e fireing thereof, vpon paine of 2's for every + offence, nor shall take any tobacco in any Inne or common victualling + house; except in a private room there; so as neither the master of the + same house nor any other gueste there shall take offence thereat; w'ch + if they doo, then such p son is forth w'th to forebeare, vpon paine of + 2's 6'd for every offence." + + +One office created by the court of that early period it might not be a +bad idea for the authorities of the present day to revive. Wardens were +appointed annually to "take care of and manage y'e affairs of y'e +School; they shall see that both y'e Master & Schollar, perform, their +duty, and Judge of and End any difference that may arrise between Master +& Schollar, or their Parents, according to Sundry Rules & Directions," +set down for their guidance. + +In all matters coming within the province and jurisdiction of the +colonial church the law was even more exacting than in merely civil +affairs; and singularly enough, the town authorities took it upon +themselves to seat all persons who attended divine service in the +meeting-house where it seemed to them most proper. With the full +approbation of the selectmen, responsible persons were sometimes allowed +to construct pews or seats for themselves and their families in the +meeting-house; but it appears on one occasion that three citizens +undertook to "make a seat in y'e meeting-house," without first getting +the full permission and consent of the town fathers, an act deemed +exceedingly sinful, and for which they were arraigned before the town at +a special meeting and publicly censured. After duly considering the case +it was decided to allow the seat to remain, provided it should not be +disposed of to any person but such as the town should approve of, and +that the offending parties acknowledge their "too much forwardness," in +writing, which they did in the following manner: + + + "We whose names are underwritten, do acknowledge that it was our + weakness that we were so inconsiderate as to make a small seat in the + meeting-house without more clear and full approbation of the town and + selectmen thereof, though we thought upon the conference we had with + some of the selectmen apart, and elders, we had satisfying ground for + our proceeding therein; w'ch we now see was not sufficent; therefore we + do desire that our failing therein may be passed by; and if the town + will grant our seat that we have been at so much cost in setting up, we + thankfully acknowledge your love unto us therein, and we do hereupon + further engage ourselves that we will not give up nor sell any of our + places in that seat to any person or persons but whom the elders shall + approve of, or such as shall have power to place men in seats in the + assembly. + + [Signed]. INCREASE ATHERTON, + SAMUEL PROCTOR, + THOMAS BIRD. + + +At another time one Joseph Leeds, a member of the church, was accused of +maltreating his wife; the charge was sustained, and after the case had +been considered at several special meetings, it was settled by his +confessing and promising "to carry it more lovingly to her for time to +come." But Jonathan Blackman, another erring brother, was charged with +misdemeanors that could not be so easily overlooked; he was accused of +lying and also of stealing. He had been whipped for these offences, but +refused to come before the church for wholesome discipline, and ran away +out of the jurisdiction. Accordingly he was "disowned from his church +relation and excommunicated, though not deliuered up to Satan, as those +in full communion, but yet to be looked at as a Heathen and a Publican +unto his relations natural and civil, that he might be ashamed." + +Another class of statutes--laws that have a queer sound in +nineteenth-century Massachusetts--were designed for the encouragement of +special public service. Here are examples of some of them: + + + "1638. For the better encouragement of any that shall destroy wolves, + it is ordered that for every wolf any man shall take in Dorchester + plantation, he shall have 20's by the town, for the first wolf, 15's + for the second, and for every wolf afterwards, 10's besides the + Country's pay." + + "1736. Voted, that whosoever shall kill brown rats, so much grown as + to have their hair on them, within y'e town of Dochester, y'e year + ensuing, until our meeting in May next, and bring in their scalps + with y'e ears on unto y'e town treasurer, shall be paid by y'e town + treasurer Fourpence for every rat's scalp." + + +The same year the town offered a bounty for the destroying of striped +squirrels. + +Now that the recent death of Wendell Phillips brings freshly to mind the +bitter opposition with which the early champions of abolution were +treated in Boston and vicinity, it is pleasant to find in the musty +records of the Dochester Plantation emphatic evidence that they not only +recognized slavery as an evil, and the slave-trade as a heinous crime, +but that they set their faces like a flint against it. The traffic in +slaves began among the colonists in the winter of 1645-6, and in the +following November the court placed on record this outspoken +denunciation of the practice: + + + "The Gen'all Co'te conceiving themselves bound by y'e first opertunity + to bear Witness against y'e haynos & crying sin of man stealing, as also + to prscribe such timely redresse for what is past, and such a law for + y'e future as may sufficiently deter all others belonging to us to have + to do in such vile and odious courses, iustly abhored of all good and + iust men, do order y't y'e negro interpreter w'th others unlawfully + taken, be y'e first opertunity (at y'e charge of y'e country for psent), + sent to his native country in Ginny, & a letter w'th him of y'e + indignation of y'e Corte thereabout, and iustice hereof, desiring o'r + hono'red Gov'rnr would please put this order in execution." + + +How men so clear in their convictions of the rights of Africans could be +guilty of the most heartless injustice to Quakers and their friends, it +is not easy to explain; and yet they mercilessly persecuted one of their +own fellow-citizens, Nicholas Upsall, and made him an exile from his +home, for no greater crime than that of countenancing and befriending +members of the Society of Friends. He kept the Dorchester hostelry, and +was wont to entertain Quakers as he did any other decent people; but for +this he was apprehended and tried by the court, and sentenced to pay a +fine of £20 and be thrown into prison. Finally, finding it impossible to +entirely prevent his friends from holding intercourse with him, he was +banished from the settlement for the remainder of his life. That curious +book, "Persecutors Maul'd with their own Weapons," contains the +following account of the case: + + + "Nicholas Upsall, an old man full of years, seeing their (the + authorities) cruelty to the harmless Quakers that they had condemned + some of them to die, both he and elder Wisewell, or otherwise Deacon + Wisewell, members of the church in Boston, bore their testimonies in + public against their brethren's horrid cruelty to the said Quakers. And + the said Upsall declared that he did look at it as a sad forerunner of + some heavy judgment to follow upon the country; which they took so ill + at his hands, that they fined him twenty pounds and three pounds more at + another meeting of the court, for not coming to their meeting, and would + not abate him one grote, but imprisoned him and then banished him on + pain of death, which was done in a time of such extreme bitter weather + for frost, snow and cold, that had not the heathen Indians in the + wilderness woods taken compassion on his misery, for the winter season, + he in all likelihood had perished, though he had then a good estate in + houses and lands, goods and money, also a wife and children." + + +One of the officials who for a time had charge of poor Upsall during the +period of his imprisonment was John Capen, of whom the old chroniclers +have left a pleasanter record, namely, a transcript of several of his +youthful love-letters. The following will serve as sample: + + + "SWEETE-HARTE, + + "My kind loue and affection to you remembered; hauinge not a convenient + opertunety to see and speake w'th you soe oft as I could desier, I + therefore make bold to take opertunety as occassione offers it selfe to + vissit you w'th my letter, desiering y't it may find acceptance w'th + you, as a token of my loue to you; as I can assuer you y't yours have + found from me; for as I came home from you y'e other day, by y'e way I + reseaued your letter from your faithfull messenger w'ch was welcom + vnto me, and for w'ch I kindly thanke you, and do desier y't as it is + y'e first: so y't may not be y'e last, but y't it may be as a seed + w'ch will bring forth more frute: and for your good counsell and + aduise in your letter specified, I doe accept, and do desier y't we may + still command y'e casse to god for direction and cleering vp of your way + as I hope wee haue hitherto done; and y't our long considerations may at + y'e next time bring forth firme concessions, I meane verbally though not + formally. Sweete-harte I have given you a large ensample of patience, I + hope you will learn this instruction from y'e same, namely, to show y'e + like toward me if euer occassion be offered for futuer time, and for + y'e present condesendency vnto my request; thus w'ch my kind loue + remembered to yo'r father and mother and Brothers and sisters w'th + thanks for all their kindness w'ch haue been vndeseruing in me I rest, + leauing both them and vs vnto y'e protection and wise direction of y'e + almighty. + + "My mother remembers her love vnto y'or father and mother; as also + vnto your selfe though as it vnknown. + + "Yo'rs to command in anything I pleas. + + "JOHN CAPEN." + + +In this connection may very properly be given another letter written at +about the same date. Punkapoag, the summer residence of Thomas Bailey +Aldrich, the poet editor of the Atlantic, was a part of colonial +Dorchester and one of the points where the famous John Eliot began his +missionary labors among the Indians. In the interest of the natives at +that station he wrote the following letter to his friend, Major +Atherton, in 1657: + + + "Much Honored and Beloved in the Lord: + + "Though our poore Indians are molested in most places in their meetings + in way of civilities, yet the Lord hath put it into your hearts to + suffer us to meet quietly at Ponkipog, for w'ch I thank God, and + am thankful to yourselfe and all the good people of Dorchester. And + now that our meetings may be the more comfortable and p varable, my + request is, y't you would further these two motions: first, y't you + would please to make an order in your towne and record it in your towne + record, that you approve and allow y'e Indians of Ponkipog there to sit + downe and make a towne, and to inioy such accommodations as may be + competent to maintain God's ordinances among them another day. My second + request is, y't you would appoint fitting men, who may in a fitt season + bound and lay out the same, and record y't alsoe. And thus commending + you to the Lord, I rest, + + "Yours to serve in the service of Jesus Christ, + + "JOHN ELIOT." + + +Following this missive a letter on quite a different subject, dictated +by the redoubtable Indian chief, King Philip, may be interesting. It +bears date of 1672, and is addressed to Captain Hopestill Foster of +Dorchester: + + + "S'r you may please to remember that when I last saw You att Walling + river You promised me six pounds in goods; now my request is that you + would send me by this Indian five yards of White light collered serge to + make me a coat and a good Holland shirt redy made; and a p'r of good + Indian briches all of which I have present need of, therefoer I pray S'r + faile not to send them by my Indian and with them the severall prices of + them; and silke & buttens & 7 yards Gallownes for trimming; not else att + present to trouble you w'th onley the subscription of + + "KING PHILIP, + + "his Majesty P.P." + + +One of the best commentaries on the lives and characters of the chief +actors in the history of the Dorchester Plantation may be read on the +tombstones that mark the places where their precious dust was deposited. +From Rev. Richard Mather, the most noted pastor of the church of that +period, to the humblest contemporary of his who enjoyed the rights and +priveleges of a free-holder, none was so mean or obscure that a +characteristic, if not fitting, epitaph did not mark the place of his +sepulture. From the many well worth perusing, the following are singled +and transcribed for the readers of this sketch. + +Epitaph of James Humfrey, "one of y'e ruling elders of Dorchester," in +the form of an acrostic: + + + "I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust. + A nd only waits ye rising of ye just. + M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station, + E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation. + + H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder be + U nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three. + M ather he first did by him help Receiue; + F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue; + R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill: + E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill, + Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill." + + +When Elder Hopestill Clapp died his pastor, Rev. John Danforth, composed +the following verses for his grave stone: + + + "His Dust waits till ye Jubile, + Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie; + Shall meet and join to part no more, + His soul that Glorify'd before. + Pastors and Churches happy be, + With Ruling Elders such as he; + Present useful, Absent Wanted, + Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented." + + +William Pole, an eccentric citizen of the village, before his demise, +composed an epitaph to be chiseled on his monument, "Y't so being dead +he might warn posterity; or, a resemblance of a dead man bespeaking y'e +reader;" so under a death's head and cross-bones it stands thus: + + + "Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay + & take a dead man's lesson by ye way. + I was what now thou art & thou shall be + What I am now what odds twixt me and thee + Now go thy way but stay take one word more + Thy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye door + Death is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hell + Be warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell." + + +The virtues of one who was "downright for business, one of cheerful +spirit and entire for the country" are recorded in this fashion: + + + "Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall: + A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall, + Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave; + Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave. + Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don. + With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton." + + +The following was written on the death of John Foster, who is mentioned +in the old annals as a "mathematician and printer": + + + "Thy body which no activeness did lack, + Now's laid aside like an old Almanack; + But for the present only's out of date, + 'Twill have at length a far more active state. + Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be. + Yet at the resurrection we shall see + A fair EDITION, and of matchless worth. + Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth. + 'Tis but a word from God the great Creator, + It shall be done when he saith Imprimator." + + +The clerk of the old Dorchester Church seems also to have been a maker +of elegiac verse; for after the decease of Rev. Richard Mather, the +pastor, and one of the ablest divines of colonial New England, the +church records contain the two complimentary stanzas quoted below, the +first being an evident attempt at anagram: + + + "Third in New England's Dorchester, + Was this ordained minister. + Second to none for faithfulness, + Abilities and usefulness. + Divine his charms, years seven times seven, + Wise to win souls from earth to heaven. + Prophet's reward his gains above, + But great's our loss by his remove." + + Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather, + Sons like him, good and great, did call him father. + Hard to discern a difference in degree, + 'Twixt his bright learning and his piety. + Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down, + So can't his soul or his deserved renown. + From 's birth six lustres and a jubilee + To his repose: but labored hard in thee, + O, Dorchester! four more than thirty years + His sacred dust with thee thine honour rears." + + +This couplet to three brothers named Clarke must suffice for epitaphs: + + + "Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even, + Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven." + + +Before taking leave of these fascinating old records, so rich in facts +and the stuff that fiction is made of, it will be interesting to have an +estimate of the growth of the Dorchester Plantation; for this purpose +the valuation of the town is given, a century from the date of its +settlement: + + + Houses, 117 + Mills, 6 + Acres of orchard, 250 1-2 + Acres of mowing, 1834 1-4 + Acres of pasture, 2873 1-2 + Acres of tillage, 518 1-2 + Male slaves, 10 + Female slaves, 1 + Oxen, 157 + Cows, 661 + Horses, 207 + Sheep and goats, 661 + Swine, 251 + + Value of feeding stock, etc., £431 + + Decked vessels, tons, 64 + Open vessels, tons 68 + ==== + 132 + + Ratable polls, 252 + Not ratable, 24 + ==== + 276 + + +The tax for that year, assessed on real estate, was £72 16s 6d; on +personal estate, £9 14s 11d. + +When all who took up the original claims on Allen's Plain had passed +through the vicissitudes of their troubled lives and been numbered with +the silent majority in the field of epitaphs, already alluded to, and +their descendents were on the eve of the great struggle which was +destined to sever them from the mother country, and the hearts of +patriotic men began to feel the premonitory throbs of that spirit of +independence soon to fire the first shot at Lexington, the Union and +Association of Sons of Liberty in the province held a grand celebration +in Boston, on the fourteenth of August, 1769. From John Adams's famous +diary we learn that this jovial company, including the leading spirits +of the time, first assembled at Liberty Tree, in Boston, where they +drank fourteen toasts, and then adjourned to Liberty Tree Tavern, which +was none other than Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester. There under a +mammoth tent in an adjacent field long tables were spread, and over +three hundred persons sat down to a sumptuous dinner. "Three large pigs +were barbecued," and "forty-five toasts were given on the occasion," the +last of which was, "Strong halters, firm blocks and sharp axes to all +such as deserve them." The toasts were varied with songs of liberty and +patriotism by a noted colonial mimic named Balch, and another song +composed and sung by Dr. Church. "At five o'clock," says Mr. Adams, +"the Boston people started home, led by Mr. Hancock in his chariot, and +to the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person intoxicated." + + * * * * * + + + + +HOLLIS STREET CHURCH. + + +The demolition of Hollis Street Church in this city destroys another old +historic land-mark, which, like King's Chapel, the old State House, and +other venerable structures, have a record that endears them to the +popular heart. A brief sketch of the three buildings which have +successively occupied the site, which is so soon to be left vacant, is +worthy of preservation. + +The name of the church and the street on which it stood was bestowed in +honor of Thomas Hollis, of London, noted for his liberal benefactions; +and his nephew of the same name devoted a bell for the edifice, in 1734. + +The land on which the original structure was erected, was presented for +that purpose by Governor Belcher, in 1731; and in April of the same +year, by permission of the selectmen of Tri-Mountain, or Boston, a +wooden building, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, was began, which +was finished and dedicated in midsummer of the following year. + +In the great South End fire, on the twentieth of April, 1787, and in +response to an imperative demand, a second, and larger wooden house, was +erected on the site of the first, and made ready for occupancy in the +course of the following year. This building was planned by Charles +Bulfinch, and in its architecture resembled St. Paul's Church, now +standing on Tremont street. + +Within a year the Hollis Street Society has removed to an elegant new +edifice on the Back Bay, and the brick building they left behind must +now disappear in the march of improvement. It was erected in 1811, in +order to accommodate the prosperous and rapidly-growing society for whom +it stood as a place of worship. To make room for it, the wooden +meeting-house already referred to was taken down in sections and removed +to the town of Braintree. + +The several clergymen who have been the honored pastors of Hollis Street +Church are worthy of mention in this connection. The first was Rev. +Mather Byles, a lineal descendant of John Cotton and Richard Mather, who +was ordained pastor, December 20, 1732. He was dismissed August 14, +1776, on account of his strong Tory proclivities. His immediate +successor was Rev. Ebenezer Wright, a young divine from Dedham and a +graduate of Harvard, who remained the pastor until the new meeting-house +was finished, in 1788, when he was dismissed at his own request, on +account of ill-health. + +The next pastor was a man in middle life, who made himself an +acknowledged power among the Boston clergy, Rev. Samuel West, of +Needham. He died in 1808, and was succeeded by Rev. Horace Holley, from +Connecticut, who was installed in March, 1809, and remained till 1818. +Rev. John Pierpont, who resigned in 1845, made way for Rev. David +Fosdick, who preached there two years, when Rev. Starr King was settled +in 1845, and remained till 1861, Rev. George L. Chaney then took the +place till 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. H. Bernard Carpenter, the +present pastor. + + * * * * * + + + + +ELIZABETH.[13] + +A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS. + + +By Frances C. Sparhawk, Author of "A Lazy Man's Work." + + +CHAPTER XIII.--_Continued_. + + +Half an hour later Edmonson marched into his friend's room. His face was +flushed, and his eyes had a triumphant glitter. It was an expression +that heightened most the kind of beauty he had. + +"You are booked for a visit, Bulchester," he began, seating himself in +the chair opposite the other. "I have accepted for you; knew you would +be glad to go with me." + +"That is cool!" And Bulchester's light blue eyes glowed with anger for a +moment. His moods of resentment against his companion's domination, +though few and far between, were very real. + +"Not at all. In fact it is a delightful place, and I don't know to what +good fortune we are indebted for an invitation. Neither of us has much +acquaintance with Archdale." + +"Archdale? Stephen Archdale?" + +"Yes. You look amazed, man. We are asked to meet Sir Temple and Lady +Dacre. I don't exactly see how it came about, but I do see that it is +the very thing I want in order to go on with the search. Another city, +other families." + +"But--." Bulchester stopped. + +"But what?" + +"Why, the possible Mistress Archdale,--Elizabeth. Of course I am happy +to go, if you enjoy the situation." + +A dangerous look rayed out from Edmonson's eyes. + +"I can stand it, if Archdale can," he answered. "How fate works to bring +us together," he mused. + +"I don't understand," cried the other. "What has fate to do with this +invitation?" Edmonson, who had spoken, forgetting that he was not alone, +looked at his companion with sudden suspicion. But Bulchester went on in +the same tone. "If it is to carry out your purpose though, little you +will care for having been a suitor of Mistress Archdale." + +"On the contrary, it will add piquancy to the visit." Then he added, +"Don't you see, Bulchester, that I dare not throw away an opportunity? +Ship 'Number One' has foundered. 'Number Two' must come to land. That is +the amount of it." + +"Yes," returned Bulchester with so much assurance that the other's +scrutiny relaxed. + +"I suppose it is settled," said his lordship after a pause. + +"Certainly," answered Edmonson; and he smiled. + +Lady Dacre and train, having fairly started on their two day's journey, +she settled herself luxuriously and again began her observations. But as +they were not especially striking, no chronicle of them can be found, +except that she called Brattle Street an alley, begged pardon for it +with a mixture of contrition and amusement, and generally patronized the +country a little. Sir Temple enjoyed it greatly, and Archdale was glad +of any diversion. When they had stopped for the night, as they sat by +the open windows of the inn and looked out into the garden which was too +much a tangle for anything but moonlight and June to give it beauty, +Lady Dacre sprang up, interrupting her husband in one of his remarks, +and declaring it a shame to stay indoors such a night. + +"Give me your arm," she said to Archdale, "and let us take a turn out +here. We don't want you, Temple; we want to talk." + +Sir Temple, serenely sure of hearing, before he slept, the purport of +any conversation that his wife might have had, took up a book which he +had brought with him. He was an excellent traveler in regard to one kind +of luggage; the same book lasted him a good while. + +Lady Dacre moved off with Stephen. They went out of the house and down +the walk. She commented on the neglected appearance of things until +Stephen asked her if weeds were peculiar to the American soil. In answer +she struck him lightly with her fan and walked on laughing. But when +they reached the end of the garden, she turned upon him suddenly. + +"Now tell me," she said. + +"Tell you what?" + +"Tell me what, indeed! What a speech for a lover, a young husband. Has +the light of your honeymoon faded so quickly? Mine has not yet. Tell me +about her, of course, your charming bride." + +Stephen came to a dead halt, and stood looking into the smiling eyes +gazing up into his. + +"Lady Dacre," he said, "the Mistress Archdale you will find at Seascape +is my mother." Then he gave the history of his intended marriage, and of +that other marriage which might prove real. His listener was more moved +than she liked to show. + +"It will all be right," she said tearfully. "But it is dreadful for you, +and for the young ladies, both of them." + +"Yes," he answered, "for both of them." + +"You know," she began eagerly, "that I am the----?" then she stopped. + +Stephen waited courteously for the end of the sentence that was never to +be finished. He felt no curiosity at her sudden breaking off; it seemed +to him that curiosity and interest, except on one subject, were over for +him forever. + +When Lady Dacre repeated this story to her husband she finished by +saying: "Why do you suppose it is, Temple, that my heart goes out to the +married one?" + +"Natural perversity, my dear." + +"Then you think she _is_ married?" + +"Don't know; it is very probable." + +"Poor Archdale!" + +Sir Temple burst into a laugh. "Is he poor, Archdale, because you think +he has made the best bargain?" + +"No, you heartless man, but because he does not see it. Besides, I +cannot even tell if it is so. I believe I pity everybody." + +"That's a good way," responded her husband. "Then you will be sure to +hit right somewhere." + +"I will remember that," returned Lady Dacre between vexation and +laughing, "and lay it up against you, too. But, poor fellow, he is so in +love with his pretty cousin, and she with him." + +"Poor cousin! Is she like a certain lady I know who chose to be married +in a dowdy dress and a poke bonnet for fear of losing her husband +altogether?" + +But Lady Dacre did not hear a word. She was listening to a mouse behind +the wainscotting, and spying out a nail-hole which she was sure was big +enough for it to come out of, and she insisted that her husband should +ring and have the place stopped up. + +When the party reached Seascape the summer clouds that floated over the +ocean were beginning to glow with the warmth of coming sunset. The sea +lay so tranquil that the flash of the waves on the pebbly shore sounded +like the rythmic accompaniment to the beautiful vision of earth and sky, +and the boom of the water against the cliffs beyond came now and then, +accentuating this like the beat of a heavy drum muffled or distant. The +mansion at Seascape with its forty rooms, although new, was so +substantial and stately that as they drove up the avenue Lady Dacre, +accustomed to grandeur, ran her quick eye over its ample dimensions, its +gambrel roof, its immense chimneys, its generous hall door, and turning +to Archdale, without her condescension, she asked him how he had +contrived to combine newness and dignity. + +"One sees it in nature sometimes," he answered. "Dignity and youth are a +fascinating combination." + +In the hall stood a lady whom Archdale looked at with pride. He was fond +of his mother without recognizing a certain likeness between them. She +was dressed elegantly, although without ostentation, and she came +towards her guests with an ease as delightful as their own. Stephen +going to meet her, led her forward and introduced her. Lady Dacre looked +at her scrutinizingly, and gave a little nod of satisfaction. + +"I am pleased to come to see you Madam Archdale," she said in answer to +the other's greeting. There was a touch of sadness in her face and the +clasp of her hand had a silent sympathy in it. It was as if the two +women already made moan over the desolation of the man in whom they both +were interested, though in so different degrees. But the tact of both +saved awkwardness in their meeting. + +Archdale stood a little apart, silent for a moment, struggling against +the overwhelming suggestions of the situation. Even his mother did not +belong here; she had her own home. Perhaps it would be found that no +woman for whom he cared could ever have a right in this lovely house. +When these guests had gone he would shut up the place forever, +unless----. But possibilities of delight seemed very vague to Stephen as +he stood there in his home unlighted by Katie's presence. All at once he +felt a long keen ray from Sir Temple's eyes upon his face. That +gentleman had a fondness for making out his own narratives of people and +things; he preferred Mss. to print, that is, the Mss. of the histories +he found written on the faces of those about him, which, although +sometimes difficult to decipher, had the charm of novelty, and often +that of not being decipherable by the multitude. Stephen immediately +turned his glance upon Sir Temple. + +"You are tired," he said with decision, "and Lady Dacre must be quite +exhausted, animated as she looks. But I see that my mother is already +leading her away. Let me show you your rooms." + +Sir Temple's eyes had fallen, and with a bow and a half smile upon his +lips, he walked beside his host in silence. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE HOSTESS. + + +The second morning of the visit was delightful. Madam Archdale had taken +Lady Dacre to the cupola, and the view that met their eyes would have +more admiration from people more travelled than these. On the east was +the sea, looking in the early sunshine like a great flashing crescent of +silver laid with both its arcs upon the earth. Down to it wandered the +creek winding by the grounds beneath the watchers, turned out of its +straight course, now to lave the foot of some large tree that in return +spread a circle of shade to cool its waters before they passed out under +the hot sun again; now to creep through some field, perhaps of daises, +to send its freshness through all their roots and renew their courage in +the contest with the farmers, so that the more they were cut down, the +more they flourished, for the sun, and the stream, the summer air, and +the soil, all were upon their side. Shadows fell upon the water from the +bridge across the road over which the lumbering carts went sometimes, +and the heavy carriages still more seldom. On the other hand, looking up +the stream, were the hills from among which this little river slipped +out rippling along with its musical undertone, as if they had sent it as +a messenger to express their delight in summer. In the distance the +Piscataqua broadened out to the sea, and beyond the river the city was +outlined against the sky. To the left of this, and in great sweeps along +the horizon stretched the forests. As one looked at these forests, the +fields of com, the scattered houses, the pastures dotted with cattle, +the city, all signs of civilization, seemed like a forlorn hope sent +against these dense barriers of nature; yet it was that forlorn hope +that is destined always to win. + +"Do you know, I like it?" said Lady Dacre turning to her hostess. "I +think it all very nice. So does Sir Temple. Yet I don't see how you can +get along without a bit of London, sometimes. London is the spice, you +know, the flavor of the cake, the bouquet of the wine." + +"Only, it differs from these, since one cannot get too much of it," +answered Madam Archdale smiling, thinking as her eyes swept over the +landscape that there were charms in her own land which it would be hard +to lose. + +Lady Dacre settled herself comfortably in one of the chairs of the +cupola, and turning to her companion, said abruptly: + +"Dear Madam Archdale, what is going to be done about that poor son of +yours; he is in a terrible situation?" + +"Indeed, he is." + +"When is he going to get out? Have you done anything about it?" + +"Done anything? Everything, rather. To say nothing of Stephen and my +poor little niece. Elizabeth Royal is not a woman to sit down calmly +under the imputation of having married a man against his will. And, +besides, I have heard that she would like to marry one of her suitors." + +"Do you know him?" + +"Not even who it is. I imagine that Stephen does, but he does not tell +all he knows." + +"I have found that out," laughed Lady Dacre. "Indeed, I don't feel like +laughing," she added quickly, "but it seems to me only an awkward +predicament, you see, and I am thinking of the time when the young +people will be free to tie themselves according to their fancies. + +"I don't take it so lightly," answered the lady, "and my husband, when +Stephen is out of the way, shakes his head dolefully over it. He +believes Harwin's story, and in that case he argues badly. My husband +has a conscience, and he does not intend that his son shall commit +bigamy. Neither does Stephen, of course, intend to; but then, Stephen is +in love with Katie, and he and Elizabeth Royal are disposed to carry +matters with a high hand. But Katie has scruples, too, and she must, of +course, be satisfied." + +"Of course. What kind of person is this Elizabeth Royal?" asked Lady +Dacre after a pause. "Is she pretty, or plain?" + +"Not plain, certainly. She has a kind of beauty at times, a beauty of +expression quite remarkable, Katie tells me. But I have not seen +anything especial about her." + +"You don't like her?" questioned Lady Dacre. + +"Oh, yes, only that I think her rather cool in her manners. She is the +soul of honor. She comes of good stock, some of the best in the country. +Her mother was a connection of Madam Pepperell. I believe she is about +to visit there with her father. We shall meet them both." And the +speaker explained that the Colonel knew Mr. Royal well, and would be +anxious to pay them some attention. "I suppose I am no judge of the +young lady," she added. "I have not seen her since the wedding, and only +a few times before that when she was visiting Katie. She is an heiress; +I understand that she is very wealthy, much richer than my little niece +will ever be." + +"Ah!" said Lady Dacre. It seemed to her that she understood how +troublesome Colonel Archdale's conscience must be to him in this matter. +But the Colonel was a stranger to her, and at times Lady Dacre was +severe in her judgments. Sir Temple declared that she never had any +scruples over that second line of the famous poem of aversion, + + "I do not like you. Dr. Fell." + + +"There is something I want to tell you," she said after a pause, +"something about Sir Temple and myself." And her listener received the +confidence that had been withheld from Stephen a few evenings before in +the garden. + +Lady Dacre had scarcely finished when there came the sound of feet on +the stairs, a blonde head appeared in the narrow opening, another head +of dull brown hair came close behind, and Gerald Edmonson, followed by +Lord Bulchester, stepped into the cupola. Lady Dacre remembered at the +moment what Archdale had said on the journey, that most peoples' shadows +changed about,--now before, now on one side or the other, but Edmonson's +always went straight behind him. + +"May we come?" asked the foremost young man, bowing to each of the +ladies. + +"It is rather late to ask that," returned Madam Archdale, "but as you +are here, we will try to make you welcome." + +And they sat there talking until the sun grew too hot for them. + +Meanwhile, Elizabeth Royal, the subject of Lady Dacre's curiosity, was +thinking of the visit she was on her way to make which would bring her +within a few miles of Seascape. She dreaded it, yet she knew that her +father was right when he told her that the more she could appear to +treat the question of this marriage as a jest,--a thing which meant +nothing to her,--the wiser she would be. This was the course that by her +father's advice she had marked out for herself. Elizabeth Royal had her +faults; she sometimes tried her friends a good deal by them; but if she +had been Lot's wife, and had gone out of Sodom with him, she would never +have been left on the plain as a bitter warning against vacillation. +Only, it seemed to her a very long time since her restful days had gone +by, and she realized that the one course she hated was to do things +because it was good policy to do them. Before Archdale she was brave; +not only from pride, but out of pity to him; before others, all but her +father, pride restrained her from complaint, even from admission of the +possibility of the disaster she feared. But alone her courage often +ebbed. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE GUESTS. + + +The fourth morning from this as Madam Archdale and her guest were on +their way to the garden they met Archdale in the hall. + +"Come with us," cried Lady Dacre to him, pointing through the open door. +But Archdale had letters to write and the ladies went on without him. A +few rods away they saw Edmonson seated under an elm near the door. "He +has lost his shadow," whispered Lady Dacre to her companion as they drew +near, and she repeated Stephen's speech. Her listener smiled. Edmonson +rose as he saw them and sauntered beside them through the shaded walks. +But for all his brilliant conversation he did not keep Lady Dacre from +remembering the gloomy look she had surprised upon his face. As they +were walking Bulchester joined them. He explained that he had been +paying a visit to Madam Pepperell, whom he had met in Boston during the +spring. Lady Dacre noticed that he and his friend exchanged significant +glances, but neither spoke to the other. Edmonson devoted himself to +her, while Bulchester walked on with his hostess. + +At last they all sat down to rest where the sea-breeze beginning to blow +brought a refreshing coolness. Sir Temple Dacre came out looking for +them, and on being questioned by his wife as to where Archdale was, +professed his ignorance. "He must have a larger correspondence than +you," she returned, "if he is still at work; he told me that he had +letters to write." + +"I think he has gone to ask a friend of his to dine with us," said his +mother. "I saw him gallop off half an hour ago. We are going to be very +quiet to-day that you may have a chance to rest; tomorrow guests have +been invited to meet you. Stephen thought that this evening you might +like a sail,--unless you have had too much of the water?" And she turned +inquiringly to Lady Dacre. + +"Oh, no," cried her ladyship. "I should be delighted. The moon fulls +to-night Am I right, Temple?" + +A few minutes later Edmonson and Bulchester having strolled down to the +beach confronted one another there in silence, until the sound of a wave +breaking seemed to rouse their surprise into speech. + +"Edmonson," exclaimed the smaller man, "for once you are at fault. You +did not describe her at all." + +"The--!" cried Edmonson with a black look. "I was never so amazed in my +life. What has got into the girl? She is a different creature. That +present air of hers would take in London; better even than in this +out-of-the-world hole, it would be more appreciated. And what thousands +she has to carry it off well, or I ought to say, to carry it on well. +That good-for-nothing," he added, "does not even understand his luck." +There was an undertone in his voice which gave the bitter laugh with +which he tried to hide it an intensity that made Bulchester look at him +anxiously. + +"You don't mean that you admire her so much as that?" he asked. Edmonson +laughed again. + +"My admiration of any woman will not injure my digestion. I believe you +know my ideas on that subject. But such a figure for the head of one's +table, and such golden accompaniments to her presentablity--all mine, +you know, or to be mine, and here this young lordship steps in between. +Lordship; indeed! he thinks himself no less than a duke by his airs. But +I--." He stopped, and ground his teeth to swallow his rage, and his face +was so lowering that the other cried in trepidation: + +"What are you going to do, Edmonson? Nothing,--nothing--uncomfortable, +you know, I hope?" + +Edmonson turned slowly upon him with the blackness of his look +lightening into a smile as different from mirth as the brassy gleam +behind a thundercloud is from sunshine. "What concerns your lordship?" +he asked contemptuously. "Do you imagine that I shall forget my +station?" + +"Or your position as guest?" + +"Or my 'position as guest?' No, indeed," sneered his listener. "What has +come over you, Bulchester?" he added. "For how long are you engaged for +this role of dictator? I shall leave until it is over, you do it so +badly." And he turned on his heel, grinding the pebbles under it hard as +he did so. + +"Nonsense, stay where you are, I beg," cried Bulchester with an +assumption of indifference in his manner, and a tone of humility so +incongruous that Edmonson glancing over his shoulder smiled in scorn, +and having remained in that position a moment, came back to his little +squire, and said impressively: + +"Bulchester, we are beginning to burn; something will turn up here. I +can't tell you why, but I feel it." + +"You mean that you have a clue? That the name amounts to anything?" +cried the other excitedly. "That you have found--?" + +"Hush!" interrupted Edmonson. "Lady Dacre! Yes, I have found the air +here delightful. My tedious headache is wearing away already. And here +comes her ladyship to make us appreciate our blessings still more. Say, +Bul," he added in a quick undertone as he was about moving forward to +meet the new-comer, "how good does one have to be among this set? Have +you any idea?" + +"No, but I assure you your best will not pall." + +Edrnonson's smile of welcome to the lady broadened. "The fellow has +quickness sometimes," he thought, "he has caught that from me." + +"They are all following," said Lady Dacre. "But our kind host joined us +just now, and he and his mother are arranging the hour for the sail, +that is, if the wind will favor us." + +"I should not think Archdale would be over fond of sailing," remarked +Edmonson dryly. + +"Why not?" asked Lady Dacre, then recollecting the story, added +suddenly, "Do you think that is a real marriage, Mr. Edmonson?" + +"I am sure I don't know," responded that gentleman nonchalently. + +"You see," explained Bulchester, "if that man is really a parson, they +have not much of a set of witnesses to prove that the ceremony was a +joke. Harwin minus, though he has left his confession; Waldo interested +in proving it a real marriage; Mistress Katie interested the other way, +and the Eveleigh,--you have not seen the Eveleigh?" + +Lady Dacre replied that she had not had that pleasure. As she spoke she +intercepted a flashing glance from Edmonson to Bulchester. But she did +not overhear the conversation between the two that took place later. + +"Bulchester," Edmonson hissed out when they were alone, "what's the +reason you always retail my opinions?" + +Bulchester opened his mild eyes. + +"Did I say any harm?" he asked. "I am sure I didn't mean it; what +objection can you have to my giving your opinion on that matter, and I +did not even say it was yours." + +"Because--I do object," returned the other moodily. Then he said nothing +more, rather to conceal the strength of his objections, than because his +anger was over. + +This happened a few hours later. At the same time Lady Dacre was +speaking to her husband about Elizabeth. "I think that Archdale must +feel the situation most on account of the young betrothed," Sir Temple +said. + +"That is all you know of a woman," she retorted indignantly. "Suppose I +were tied to you and knew you did not care for me, I need not have come +three thousand miles to find water enough." + +"To drink?" + +"No, you wretch; to drown myself in." + +"You take too much for granted, dont you?" drawled Sir Temple with an +amused look. "And I am afraid you are aping Ophelia. Now, you are not in +her line at all; for one thing, you are too handsome." + +Lady Dacre looked at him keenly, smiled with a moisture in her eyes, and +came up to him. + +"How much too much do I take for granted?" she asked softly. Sir Temple +burst into a laugh, and kissed her. + +"We will borrow poor Archdale's scales, and weigh it, and find out," he +answered. + +There was over a week of the beautiful weather that midsummer brings, +and the days passed full of gayety. Both Archdale and his mother did +everything for the enjoyment of their guests. They showed them the most +beautiful views on shore, and by sailing took them to places of interest +not to be reached by land, while dinner-parties and garden-parties made +them acquainted with the best society of the city. From morning until +night the house was full of talk, and jest, and laughter. Among the +guests one day had been Mr. Royal and Mrs. Eveleigh. They had come with +Colonel and Madam Pepperell, at whose house they were then visiting, in +accordance with a promise made the autumn before when the Colonel and +his wife had been guests of Mr. Royal. More than once, Elizabeth had met +the party from Seascape, but she could not come here, she was not sure +enough in her heart of not being Stephen Archdale's wife. She +compromised with her father by promising to go to Colonel Archdale's, +for that gentleman had told them that they were to be asked there. + +"Elizabeth was right not to come," Madam Pepperell had said to her guest +on the way to Seascape. "There are people small enough to have said that +she was making an inventory." + +"Not any of the Archdale family?" inquired Mr. Royal. + +"Not mother or son, certainly. As to the Colonel, it is easy to see that +he admires Elizabeth." + +"Um!" commented Elizabeth's father. + +Colonel Archdale at this time was away a good deal upon business. When +he was at home he usually rode over to his son's house to dine. But he +resolved to give a dinner party himself, and it was to this that +Elizabeth Royal had promised to come. Madam Archdale being thus obliged +to preside over two houses at once was full of secret uneasiness as to +how matters would turn out, and for three mornings before the event +excused herself to her guests from breakfast until dinner, and drove +home to superintend arrangements. Dinner parties were frequent at that +house, and there was not much danger that anything would go wrong. +Still, the Colonel was unusually critical, and his wife had her +anxieties. On the whole, Sir Temple Dacre enjoyed himself most of anyone +at that time, he gave himself up to observation and a proper amount of +attention to his dinners, which he remarked to his wife were for +provincial affairs uncommonly good. Lord Bulchester, trying to follow +Edmonson's meanings, had a feeling of uncertainty which, as it did not +rest upon a foundation of faith, such as used to underlie all his +considerations of his friend's actions, ended by making him somewhat +uncomfortable. Edmonson kept to himself whatever clue he had gained, or +whatever ground for suspicion he had that one object of his visit to the +Colonies was nearing its accomplishment. He kept to himself also as much +as possible the fact that his eyes were constantly following Elizabeth +whenever they had opportunity, for the new position in which she was +placed had called forth unexpected resources in her which made her +well-poised in bearing and manner. "She is great in reserve forces," +he said to himself, swearing under his breath that she was growing +more fascinating every time that he saw her, and for this he made +opportunities as well as found them. Stephen Archdale with his +alternations of gloom and gayety and the ubiquitousness necessary to a +host, had begun to find this direction of Edmonson's eyes a matter that +roused some slight speculation. His glances followed the arrowy glances +of his guest to see what marks they made. But he saw nothing, except +that Miss Royal avoided Edmonson as much as she could in courtesy, and +that she seldom met his eyes fully. From these things both young men +drew their conclusions, which were somewhat alike, and should both have +been subject to correction. More than once they measured one another +covertly, and from the heart of him who feared that he had lost her +there stretched out toward the other a terrible shadow which in the +wavering of his changing thoughts grew, and lessened, and grew again, +and sometimes reached forward and clutched with its hideous hands, and +then drew back, and crouched, and waited. + +It was a perfect summer night when Elizabeth leaned out of her window +into the stillness. The roar of the surf was as distinct as if it came +from the pebbled beach below; yet, modulated by distance, it formed the +base, sustained and rythmic, into which there fell harmoniously that +legato treble of murmur which makes us seem to hear the stillness, and +that staccato note of some accidental sound softened to accord with the +mood of the night. She needed the peace that she felt in the air, for +her cheeks were wet with passionate tears and her lips still trembled. +She could give utterance to her trouble now, she was free for hours from +every ear, from every eye, hidden away from all but the sight and +hearing of the God she sought in the dark and the silence. + +Brought up in the creed of the Puritans, believing it entirely, as she +supposed, there was yet in her heart when she sent it Heavenward a joy +which sprang from a more loving faith. Perhaps it was because of her own +beautiful human associations with the name that at the words "Our +Father," her heart swelled with confidence that God listened to her +voice, and that his loving kindness wrapped her about. If her prayers +were not always granted as she wished, she perceived that the hands she +stretched out in pleading were never drawn back empty, for when they did +not hold her requests, they were filled with what was to be given her +tonight,--courage to meet the trials that she dreaded. The next day's +trial was to be the worst of all, for it was then that they were to dine +at the Colonel's, and Katie was to be there,--Katie, whom she loved +dearly, whom she had robbed so unintentionally, and who would not +forgive her. It would be hard for Archdale; but Elizabeth dismissed him +from her thoughts, for her heart was-full to overflowing of her own +grief, and of Katie. Kneeling there, sobs shook her with an abandonment +to her sorrow that was in itself a relief after her restraint. But at +last the calmness and the strength of a life greater than its trials +fell upon her. And when in the hush of these she went to her bed and +fell asleep, it was a face like a child's that the stars shining in at +her window looked down upon, a face fallen into lines of peace while the +tears were yet undried upon the pale cheeks. But only in its simplicity +was it a child's heart that met the next day's sunshine, for the courage +of a strong woman looked from Elizabeth Royal's eyes. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE DINNER PARTY. + + +Colonel Archdale with his hands behind him walked up and down his +drawing-room in pleasant anticipation, with, it may be, a touch of the +feeling which once animated an Eastern monarch over the great city that +he had builded for the honor of his name. The Colonel had been like the +monarch in one thing, that he had been born in wealth, not obliged to +start at the very beginning of the race; he was like him in this also +that he had made the very best of material opportunities; he had builded +about himself, if not a great city, at least a great and profitable +business, so that he had a reasonable expectation of leaving his son and +his two surviving daughters--the latter still children--wealthier than +his father had left him. The only drawback, and he had not yet found it +a serious one, was that it was difficult to take as much money out of +his profits as he would have liked to live upon, for his increasing +business demanded always increasing capital. Also, he had done a great +deal for Stephen, so that it required all his efforts to maintain the +splendor in which he lived, outdoing his associates. All things +considered, therefore, it was not so very strange that he should have +resembled Nebuchadnezzar in the other respect of satisfaction in his own +achievements. That day the cream of the society of Portsmouth and its +neighborhood were to be at his house; most of them, without doubt, +pleased to be invited. Peace and plenty were here. The war three +thousand miles away, in which the brave young queen Maria Theresa was +struggling for her inheritance, had just rolled a tidal wave across the +Atlantic, and the news of the garrison taken from the English fort of +Canso and carried prisoners to Louisburg had just reached Boston. This +capture had been made before the Colonies had learned that war had been +declared by France against Great Britain. Already there were signs of +hostility among the Indians, and a movement of whole tribes toward +Canada to join the French, whose old allies they were. + +Still, so far, no heavy blow had been dealt, and this part of the coast +had not even felt the shock of the wave. On the banks of the Piscataqua +mirth and feasting might go on, at least for a time. The Colonel looked +about him again at the fine pictures on the walls, at the rich furniture +fantastically carved, at his pretty youngest daughter, a girl of twelve, +as she sat at the spinnet going over some music that somebody might ask +her to play; perhaps it would be Lady Dacre herself whom she had seen +once and greatly admired. When a moment later Madam Archdale came into +the room he looked at her face and figure, still handsome and graceful. +Her flowing brocade was of a becoming color, and nothing richer, that he +knew of, had been worn in the Colonies. He felt a faint anxiety, which +Sir Temple would have set down as provincial, to see the attitude of the +English guests, for he flattered himself that he could do the honors of +a mansion better than Stephen whose perfect simplicity annoyed his +father when it let slip opportunities to make a fine impression. With +Stephen and Madam Archdale, who certainly did very well, the Colonel had +no doubt that Sir Temple and Lady Dacre had taken everything they found +as a matter of course, and had not looked for quite the sort of thing +that they were accustomed to at home. But here he thought that they +would be a little surprised, that it would be to them England over +again, and for a few hours they would fancy themselves in some old +mansion there. He felt that to hear them say this would make his cup of +satisfaction brim over, and this in some unintentional way he expected +to draw from them. + +"It's very warm," said his wife panting a little, "and, after all, I +need not have hurried; nobody has come yet, or will come this half-hour, +I dare say." + +"Stephen is always prompt," suggested the Colonel, pausing in his +measured walk to glance down the road. + +"Yes, but then there are the English people. To be sure, they fall into +our ways as if they had been born here, and Lady Dacre is as easy as an +old shoe." + +"My dear," said her husband, "I hope that is not the phraseology you are +going to indulge in before our guests." Madam Archdale laughed. + +"It would not shock them half as much as it does you," she answered. "I +heard Sir Temple say the very thing the other day, and you would think +of it yourself if you had on a pair of new slippers, as I have." The +Colonel waived discussion, and took up another part of her answer. + +"You say they fall into our ways as if they had been born here," he +began. "Doesn't it occur to you that they may find them perfectly +natural?" + +"No, it does not at all. Think of it. Struggling against the savageness +of man and nature must have roughened our manners a little, just as +working on the ground roughens one's hands. It is healthy exercise; but, +then, it tells, and we must expect that." She looked at her husband with +such serenity as she spoke that he had no difficulty in remembering that +she was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl and that he had been proud +to give his children a lady for their mother. It seemed odd to him that +both she and Stephen should have such an air of high birth, and yet be +so indifferent to its prerogatives, so unambitious. "It is their good +breeding;" she went on, "if you put them out into the wigwams they would +make the Indians feel that eating with one's fingers was quite a thing +to be enjoyed." + +It was cruel; perhaps the speaker did not realize how cruel. But, then, +she knew that the Colonel was thoroughly padded with vanity and that it +must be a very skilful thrust, and a very vigorous one, that could wound +him fatally. + +"Faith," he began after a pause, "you have never been abroad, you have +not observed as I have done, you--." He was gaining importance and +impressiveness of tone as he went on; it was a pity that the sound of +wheels and of horses' hoofs in the avenue interrupted what would have +been one of his best presentations of the subject and have put him into +an impregnable position. As it was, he had but to imagine himself there +and forget his wife's opinion, which he did not find any difficulty in +doing. The wheels were those of Colonel Pepperell's carriage; put +together with English thoroughness, it had all the weight and +unwieldiness of vehicles of that time. Lady Dacre, Elizabeth, and Mrs. +Eveleigh descended from it; they had been spending the morning together. +Sir Temple, Edmonson, Bulchester, and their host, on horseback, came +galloping up as the carriage stopped. They had taken a longer and +pleasanter road and had arrived on the moment. Sir Temple alighted with +his face beaming with pleasure, for he had enjoyed the exercise. Lady +Dacre had never looked better, and she had seen something more of +provincial life and ways. He meant to travel over the world sometime; he +liked to see new things. After dinner, when the guests were in the +garden, he joined his wife for a moment, and told her what had amused +him by the way. "We went by one of those little houses so numerous about +here," he said, "and an old man was mending his fence. It needed it +badly enough. Archdale, as he went by, nodded to him pleasantly and +called out an encouragement of his improvements. The old man looked up +hammer in hand, and I expected to see something like what I should have +had, you know, from the tenants at Alderly. But, Flo, he was so +occupied, staring at Edmonson, whom he looked at first, that I had no +chance at all with him, and poor Archdale didn't get even a nod. He just +dropped his hammer and stood there agape. I think Archdale was annoyed +at the exhibition of ill manners, for he talked very little the rest of +the way here. Edmonson was so amused he could scarcely help chuckling +over it. He asked our host if the old man was one of his tenants, and if +he had been long on the place, and Archdale said 'yes.' Then Edmonson +chuckled all the more." + +As Sir Temple said, Stephen Archdale had been moody during the remainder +of the ride. The old butler's behavior, so at variance with his usual +deference, disturbed him. It was evident that Edmonson had come upon the +man like an apparition. But why? Stephen intuitively connected this in +some way with the conversation between the father and the son which he +had overheard that winter's day in the woods. Glancing at his companion, +he saw that Edmonson was aware of the startling effect he had produced, +and that the answer was in his face, which was jubilant. Indeed, he +could hardly restrain himself. Wheeling about in his saddle as they +rode, he broke out into a few notes of some rollicking song, asking Sir +Temple if he remembered it. To him this effect that he had produced +meant that the first stroke of the hour, his hour, had sounded; to +Archdale it meant that some mystery was here, some catastrophe +impending. He could readily connect calamity with Edmonson. + +At the door he dismounted like one lost in thought, and with difficulty +threw off his moodiness; while Edmonson sprang to the ground and ran +lightly up the steps into the house, his eyes sparkling and his face +aglow with a beauty that Elizabeth was beginning to analyze. Before half +an hour his wit was being quoted over the room. Other arrivals followed +this first. There was reason enough why Elizabeth should have dreaded +this dinner, for the guests in the drawing-room now had nearly all of +them been present at that wedding scene seven months before. She knew +when Katie Archdale came in. It was almost at the last. She was leaning +on her father's arm, her mother on his other. Both friends felt that +every eye in the room would watch their meeting. There was an +involuntary pause in the conversation; then it was taken up again here +and there, languidly, to cover the attention that must not be marked. +Katie had been into company very little since her attempted wedding; her +presence was almost a new sensation. As usual, she behaved admirably. +After greeting her aunt she slipped away from her father, and walked +slowly forward, on the way speaking to those she passed. Her tones were +mellowed a little by her suffering, but sweet and clear as ever, At last +she came to Elizabeth. They had not been face to face since that +December day in Mr. Archdale's library when Katie had turned away her +head from Elizabeth's pleading. She did nothing of the kind now, she +came forward with a chastened tenderness and said, "Elizabeth," and +kissed her. It was Elizabeth, who the night before had been sobbing over +Katie's hard lot and praying that happiness might come to her, and who +was looking at her now with a heart full of contrition and admiration, +who seemed to those watching to greet the girl coldly, to be indifferent +to her beauty and her disappointment. Strangely enough, however, Stephen +did not think so; he remembered the scene in the library, and it was +possible that in the few times that he had met Elizabeth he had learned +to understand her a little. He was quick of apprehension where his +prejudices were not concerned, and he certainly had had no opportunity +to be prejudiced against Elizabeth as one wanting to lay claim to him. +And he knew better than any one else did how she hated the very thought +of the yoke that might be laid upon her. His thoughts did not dwell upon +her, however, for he saw that Katie was like her old affectionate self, +that her unjust resentment had been only momentary; it would have been +unnatural not to have felt so on that day, he reasoned. Now she was +lovelier than ever, softened; by her suffering, the suffering he was +sharing. He sighed, turned away, looking out of the window doggedly, +turned back, and walked quickly up to her. + +"How do you do?" he said, holding out his hand. + +"How do you do, Stephen," she answered him, and laying her hand in his, +looked into his face a moment, dropped her eyes and stood before him +gravely, her color rising a little. A few trivial questions, a few +remarks, a few answers simply given, and he bowed and moved away as her +mother brought Edmonson up to her. He did not see her often now-a-days; +there was suffering to them both in meeting, and although he was still +her lover in name as well as in heart, it was always with a dread lest +the wall should be built up between them, and love be stifled in duty. +He was ashamed of himself for his jealous fears when he saw other men +paying her attentions; he never used to have these, but then he was +strong to woo her; he could defy his rivals in fair field, and, as it +had proved, could win the day. But now he was maimed in purpose, perhaps +his hope was lost, his conscience was not clear in the matter as before, +and he felt that in some way he had lost influence. The strong will that +had won Katie was not at present matched by the srong hand that had made +her admiring. The sense of being obliged to wait upon other's movements +galled him; he was impatient, restless, a man who could not find in +himself the comfort he sought, but who watched for news from a source +that he felt was as ready to bring him death as life. + +Elizabeth heard his greeting of Katie, though she was speaking to some +one else when he came forward. She could not tell how it was that in +some way she felt through it to its meaning. + +"Sir Temple," she said a moment afterward, "allow me to introduce Major +Vaughan; he has been a friend of Colonel Pepperell's a long time, and +though I cannot claim such an acquaintance, I do claim a share in the +regard in which all his friends hold him." + +"And he holds it one of the white days of his life on which he first met +this fair lady," gallantly responded Vaughan sweeping around the bow +which acknowledged the introduction so that it included the presenter. +Elizabeth smiled her thanks. She knew that the speech was not meant in +sarcasm, although that any one should call it a white day on which he +first met her seemed so; it had been a very black day to Stephen +Archdale, she remembered. + +"Major Vaughan can tell you more about the political state of the +country, and its prospects, than any one else," she went on, "except, +perhaps, Colonel Pepperell. How is it, Major, does he keep peace with +you?" + +"No, Mistress Royal, he distances me as far as a race-horse does an old +cob. The cob has its uses, though," he added with a feint of resignation +to circumstances that he waited to hear denied. A flash of amusement +shot over Elizabeth's face. + +"When danger is scented from afar, when battles are to be fought, or hot +work to be done, when spirit and daring are needed," she answered, "this +'old cob' that has been spoken of so disrespectfully will turn out a +war-horse clothed with thunder, and swallowing the ground with +fierceness and rage, if everybody else is not equally brave." + +"You have hit the nail on the head," said Colonel Pepperell's voice +behind her; "a good telling hit, too; that is Vaughan to the life. When +this war that has just begun here grows hot we we shall hear from him." + +"And from you, too," volunteered Sir Temple, who a few minutes before +had been talking with the speaker. + +"I hope I shall not be backward in the service of my king and my +country," said Pepperell. "And all these men that are thinking merely of +pleasure to-day I have no doubt will soon be deep in deadly work; for +the war is coming upon us, we shall have to meet it." + +As Elizabeth listened, she looked from one to another of the men about +her, and her eyes fell at last upon Archdale. War was coming, and he +would be sure to go to meet it; perhaps this would solve his +difficulties for him and take him from the burden he hated, since +perhaps it could, not be taken from him. Yet, it would be a hard way for +a man so young,--with so much of life in him. The feeling that some one +was watching her made her turn her eyes suddenly to the left whence the +disturbing force had come. They met those of Edmonson, brighter than +ever, and fixed upon her, as if he were reading her thoughts. Perhaps he +had been, for he stood quite near and Colonel Pepperell's words had been +loud enough to be heard by several. She moved her head, resenting the +surveillance. What right had he to say to her in any manner, "I know +what your trouble is." His further thought she did not arrive at. +Stephen crossed the room and came up to the speaker. Edmonson resumed +his conversation with Katie. + +"Yes," said Stephen, "war has come. When are we to pay back the Canso +affairs, and how? Our forts are not to be taken like that while we sit +tamely down and bear it; the sooner we act the better. Where shall we +strike? Who is to tell us? We must have a General. There are soldiers +enough." + +Major Vaughan's eyes flashed, and he turned his feet one way and the +other in a restlessness that would not find vent for itself in speech. +Elizabeth looked at him with a smile at finding her prediction so +instantly verified. But she, too, was silent. + +"Mistress Royal," said a voice at her side, and in the unevenness of the +tones more marked than usual she recognized Bulchester before she +turned. "Will you introduce me to Mistress Katie Archdale?" he went on +in a breathless undertone that only she could catch. + +"She is the most beautiful creature I ever dreamed of--I mean--yes, I do +mean that. I mean, too, that she shall be Lady Bulchester." He ended +with a resolution which made Elizabeth turn pale. + +"Oh, no!" she gasped; then silently drew him a little apart. "You must +not dream of such a thing for a moment," she said. "Don't you know she +is the same as married to her cousin?" + +"No, I do not," he answered--"nor do you; you are possibly Mistress +Archdale, yourself. Is the young man to be dog in the manger? Let him +take care of himself. Do you forget that all is fair in love and war?" + +An inimitable scorn swept over her face. + +"No, I do not know any such thing when your opponent has his hands +tied--for the time. But I am insulting Katie by pleading with you. She +is true." + +"You will introduce me?" he urged. + +"No," answered Elizabeth, and moved away from him. Bulchester turning +about also, found Lady Dacre almost at his elbow. He brought himself +face to face with her and informed her of Elizabeth's refusal. Lady +Dacre looked at him attentively; he had never appeared to her so manly +as when he was boldly declaring his predilection. + +"Of course she would not introduce you if you said all this to her. How +could she? As for me, I am hands off; it is none of my business anyway," +she said. "But, if you will pardon a word of warning at the outset from +an unprejudiced observer--what makes you expect to win, over Stephen +Archdale's head? He is a strong rival and first in the field." + +"That's not everything to some women, the being first in the field, I +mean," he answered, this time suppressing his repetition of his friend's +belief that Archdale was no longer in the field. + +"True." + +"And do you think," he went on in a passionate undertone, "that I am +fit for nothing but Edmonson's fag? I tell you Edmonson--" he stopped +abruptly. + +"What about him?" she asked, fixing her eyes upon him. But already +Bulchester had drawn back. + +"I have nothing to say about him," he answered, "only that there is no +need of my walking always so close to him as to be thrown into the +shade." + +"No, there is not," she said, and glanced at the subject of their +conversation, who stood talking to Katie in the most absorbed way. Lady +Dacre comprehended the reason of Bulchester's present bitterness. But +neither imagined that it was the conversation, and not the talker, that +was interesting Edmonson. The girl was telling him bits of family +history which he professed with truth to find fascinating. He was +watching her, listening, smiling with his brightest look, speaking a +word or two occasionally to draw forth more information, and Katie, sure +that she was telling nothing too personal, went on, growing more +animated by her subject in seeing the absorption of her companion, which +in her heart she did not doubt came irom his desire to keep her talking +to him. Bulchester stopped a moment and drew nearer to his companion. + +"When he looks like that," he said in her ear, "he is--he +is,--dangerous." He straightened himself directly and walked on. Sir +Temple spoke to Lady Dacre, and again Bulchester was left. But it might +have been Madam Archdale who took pity upon him, for at last he obtained +his introduction. + +Why did Katie turn so readily from Edmonson to welcome the new-comer? +Was it coquetry? Did she know intuitively that the eyes of the latter +held more true worship for her than the other's tones? Edmonson's eyes +gleamed for a moment, and his face darkened. He looked at Bulchester +from head to foot, reading him with contempt. Then with a bow that had a +spice of mockery in it, as if he were amused at the rival whom he +appeared not to dare to compete with, he resigned his place, and going +up to Elizabeth, offered her his arm and moved away with her. + +"Fate will be very kind to Stephen Archdale," he said as soon as they +were out of hearing, "should it substitute you for that young lady, +kinder to him than to you, since he was man enough to want her." + +"You don't like Katie?" cried Elizabeth, ignoring the subject she shrank +from. "You are the first person I ever heard of who did not." + +"Pardon me. I did not say that I did not like her. I was making a +comparison. She is an exceedingly pretty little puppet, and she goes +through all her little tricks, if I may call them so without +disparagement, with a delightful docility. After the clockwork is wound +up, it doesn't hitch, or stop, until it runs down. But there is nothing +unexpected about her; in five minutes you get to know her like a book." + +"A book you have not read," cried Elizabeth with spirit. + +Edmonson laughed. "Nobody would venture to predict your next acts or +words," he said; "he would be a bold man that tried." + +"No," she answered with sadness in her gravity. "I never know them +myself. I have none of that poise which it is worth such a struggle to +gain. That is the reason why--." She stopped, perhaps through +consciousness that the conversation was getting toward egotism; perhaps +because she did not want to give confidence where it was better that she +should not. + +"That is why you are so irresistible," Edmonson longed to finish; he +even framed his lips for the words, but a glance at Elizabeth checked +them. He wondered why, as he felt that a few months ago he would have +spoken them unhesitatingly. It could not be because she was possibly +Archdale's wife, for to believe her not that would please her better +than anything else. Therefore, though he feared it, and had referred to +it, he would have been glad to have denied it at the next moment. He +would even have been glad to believe that he was restrained wholly +by a question of how she would view this speech in the light of the +possibility. But he knew it was something more. He had seen the change +in Elizabeth, and in smothered wrath had perceived that this growth +which made her every day more interesting seemed to be in some way +withdrawing her from him. He struggled against allowing this dim feeling +to become a perception. For she might be free; then she should become +his wife: she might be already bound; in that case,--again the terrible +shadow darkened his face for an instant. Then he recollected himself, +and his eyes, seeking a visible object, rested on her face a little sad +with its dwelling upon her unfinished sentence which would have spoken +of her mistakes. A flash of perception revealed the truth to him; he saw +the gulf that yawned between his nature and hers, and, almost cursing +her for being so above him, there came to him a strange longing to feel +some touch upon him which would give his face the calmness that under +its pathos he read upon hers. It was no determination to struggle to a +higher plane, no desire for it, but only the old cry for some one to be +sent to cool the tip of his tongue because the flame tormented him. It +was not, however, an appreciable lapse of time before he again felt his +feet upon the floor and thrilled under the light touch upon his arm. The +insight was over, the whirl was over; he was one of the guests talking +to his host's probable daughter-in-law. He went on with his subject. "At +least you have not changed your nature," he said with courteous freedom. +"You are royal still in defence of your friends. I shall not attack them +again." + +"You would better not," she answered more than half in earnest. + +"And Katie is--." + +"Yes, I know," he said. And she felt so keenly that he did know all +about it that she readily drew away from him when Archdale came up with +some one to speak to her. Stephen saw the movement; Edmonson felt it. +"Proud as Lucifer," thought the latter, "will not own where it galls +her. She is the kind to hate him if she is bound to him in this way." + +[Footnote 13: Copyright, 1884, by Frances C. Sparhawk.] + + * * * * * + + + + +PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT. + +NOTES. + + +The welcome accorded to the BAY STATE MONTHLY by the reading public of +New England during the past year has demonstrated the fact that the +magazine has entered a field in which there is room for it to thrive. To +many the idea of a local magazine is novel; so in its inception was the +idea of a local newspaper, now generously supported by nearly every +hamlet in the Union. + +The GRANITE MONTHLY for New Hampshire and the BAY STATE MONTHLY for +Masachusetts are pioneers: their claim for existence is shown by their +existence. The growth of each depends upon the patronage afforded by the +public. The indications now are that the BAY STATE MONTHLY is fairly +launched on a long and prosperous voyage. + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + +***** This file should be named 17721-8.txt or 17721-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/7/2/17721/ + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/17721-8.zip b/17721-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..870a5da --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-8.zip diff --git a/17721-h.zip b/17721-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..554255d --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h.zip diff --git a/17721-h/17721-h.htm b/17721-h/17721-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..082aa9c --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h/17721-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5564 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> +<meta content="pg2html (binary v0.18c)" name="generator" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of + The Bay State Monthly, Volume III, No. I, April, 1885, + by Various. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + a,img { border: none; } + p { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { text-align: center; } + hr { width: 50%; } + hr.full { width: 100%; } + .foot { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 85%; } + .poem { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left; } + .poem .stanza { margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; } + .poem p { margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em; } + .poem p.i2 { margin-left: 1.5em; } + .quote { margin-left: 6%; margin-right: 6%; text-indent: 0em; font-size: 90%; } + .figure { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; font-size: 90%; font-variant: small-caps; } + .toc { margin-left: 15%; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0em;} + center { padding: 0.8em;} + span.pagenum { position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt; display: none;} + .sc { font-variant: small-caps; } + sup { font-size: 75%; line-height: .5em;} + td { vertical-align: top; } +/*]]>*/ + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 9, 2006 [EBook #17721] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div style="height: 6em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pagei" name="pagei"></a>[i]</span> + +<h3> + THE +</h3> +<h1> +Bay State Monthly +</h1> +<h2> +<i>A Massachusetts Magazine</i> +</h2> +<h3> +OF +</h3> +<h4> +LITERATURE, HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, AND STATE PROGRESS +</h4> +<div style="height: 3em;"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<hr /> +<h3> +VOLUME III +</h3> +<hr /> +<div style="height: 3em;"><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> +BOSTON <br /> +JOHN N. McCLINTOCK AND COMPANY <br /> +PUBLISHERS <br /> +No. 31 MILK STREET <br /> +1885 +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pageii" name="pageii"></a>[ii]</span> +</p> +<div style="height: 6em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<p class="quote"> +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by John N. +McClintock and Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress +at Washington. All rights reserved. +</p> + + +<hr /> +<h3>Contents</h3> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_TOC">CONTENTS OF VOLUME III.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0002">CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0003">COLONEL JOHN B. CLARKE.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0004">DENMAN THOMPSON.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0005">NATIONAL BANKS.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0006">CONCORD, N.H.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0007">CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY VS. MONROE DOCTRINE.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0008">THE DIVORCE LEGISLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0009">SHEM DROWNE AND HIS HANDIWORK.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0010">THE WEDDING IN YE DAYS LANG SYNE.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0011">A REMINISCENCE OF COL. FLETCHER WEBSTER.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0012">OLD DORCHESTER.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0013">HOLLIS STREET CHURCH.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0014">ELIZABETH.</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#h2H_4_0019">PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT.</a></p> +<hr /> + + + +<a name="h2H_TOC" id="h2H_TOC"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. +</h2> + +<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" summary="Contents of Volume III"> +<tr><td> Adams, Samuel, The Patriot, (4 Illustrations) </td><td> Edward P. Guild </td><td align="right"> 401 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Amesbury, The Home of Whittier, (3 Illustrations) </td><td> Frances C. Sparhawk </td><td align="right"> 418 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Andrew, John Albion, (2 Illustrations) </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 141 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Among the Books </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 136, 218, 306, 388, 469 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Assessment Insurance </td><td> G.A. Litchfield </td><td align="right"> 317 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Assessment Life Insurance </td><td> Sheppard Homans </td><td align="right"> 411 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Authoritative Literature of the Civil War </td><td> George Lowell Austin </td><td align="right"> 313, 408 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Boston Latin School, The </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 74 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Christopher Gault.—A Story </td><td> Edward P. Guild </td><td align="right"> 278 </td></tr> +<tr><td> City of Worcester, The (18 Illustrations) </td><td> Fanny Bullock Workman </td><td align="right"> 147 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Clarke, Colonel John B., Sketch of the Life of </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0003">9</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Civil War, Authoritative Literature of the </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 313, 408 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Clayton-Bulwer Treaty <i>vs.</i> Monroe Doctrine </td><td> George W. Hobbs </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0007">17</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Coffin, Charles Carleton, Sketch of the life of </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0002">1</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Concord Men and Memories, (6 Illustrations) </td><td> Geo. B. Bartlett </td><td align="right"> 224 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Concord, N.H., Impression D'un Français </td><td> Prof. Emile Pingault </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0006">16</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Conspiracy of 1860-61, The </td><td> Geo. Lowell Austin </td><td align="right"> 233 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Crapo, Hon. William Wallace, Biographical sketch </td><td> Edward P. Guild </td><td align="right"> 309 </td></tr> +<tr><td> David, Barnabas Brodt </td><td> Rev. J.G. Davis D.D. </td><td align="right"> 69 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Divorce Legislation of Massachusetts </td><td> Chester F. Sanger </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0008">27</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Drowne, Shem, and his Handiwork </td><td> Elbridge H. Goss </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0009">33</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Early English Poetry </td><td> Prof. Edwin H. Sanborn LL.D. </td><td align="right"> 125 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Editor's Table </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 139, 215, 300, 384, 463 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Elizabeth, A Romance of Colonial Days </td><td> Frances C. Sparhawk </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0014">48</a>, 107, 202, 289, 384, 447 </td></tr> +<tr><td> First New England Witch </td><td> Willard H. Morse M.D. </td><td align="right"> 270 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Fort Shirley </td><td> Prof. A.L. Perry </td><td align="right"> 341 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Grimke Sisters, The </td><td> George Lowell Austin </td><td align="right"> 183 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Hero of Lake Erie, The (1 Illustration) </td><td> Hon. William P. Sheffield </td><td align="right"> 321 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Hingham, (3 Illustrations) </td><td> Francis H. Lincoln </td><td align="right"> 258 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Historical Record </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 303, 386, 465 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Hollis Street Church </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0013">47</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Home of Whittier, Amesbury The (3 Illustrations) </td><td> Frances C. Sparhawk </td><td align="right"> 418 </td></tr> +<tr><td> House of Ticknor, The (4 Illustrations) </td><td> Barry Lyndon </td><td align="right"> 266 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Insurance, Assessment </td><td> G.A. Litchfield </td><td align="right"> 317 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Insurance, Assessment Life </td><td> Sheppard Homans </td><td align="right"> 411 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Jackson, Helen Hunt </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 256 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Kate Field's New Departure (1 Illustration) </td><td> Edward Increase Mather </td><td align="right"> 429 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Lake Erie, The Hero of (1 Illustration) </td><td> Hon. William P. Sheffield </td><td align="right"> 321 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Lincoln, Abraham </td><td> George Lowell Austin </td><td align="right"> 165 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Long, John D., A Brief Biography </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 221 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Marblehead in 1861, The Response of </td><td> Samuel Roads Jr. </td><td align="right"> 378 </td></tr> +<tr><td> March of the 6th Regiment, The </td><td> Rev. Charles Babbidge </td><td align="right"> 374 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Marsh, Sylvester, Sketch of the life of </td><td> Chas. Carleton Coffin </td><td align="right"> 65 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Massachusetts, The Present Resources of </td><td> H.K.M. </td><td align="right"> 439 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Massachusetts, Divorce Legislation </td><td> Chester F. Sanger </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0008">27</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Massachusetts Hills, Rambles Among </td><td> Atherton P. Mason M.D.</td><td align="right"> 101 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Memoranda for the Month </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 220 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Model Industrial City, A (11 Illustrations) </td><td> Fanny M. Johnson </td><td align="right"> 328 </td></tr> + +<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a id="pageiv" name="pageiv"></a>[iv]</span></td></tr> + +<tr><td> Mormon Church, The </td><td> Victoria Reed </td><td align="right"> 348 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Nantasket Beach </td><td> Edward P. Guild </td><td align="right"> 179 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Nantucket, Ten days in (2 Illustrations) </td><td> Elizabeth Porter Gould</td><td align="right"> 190 </td></tr> +<tr><td> National Banks—Surplus Funds and Net Profits </td><td> George H. Wood </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0005">14</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Nurse, Rebecca, Homestead of </td><td> Elizabeth Porter Gould</td><td align="right"> 436 </td></tr> +<tr><td> O'Brien Hugh </td><td> Col. Chas. H. Taylor </td><td align="right"> 253 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Old Dorchester, Historical </td><td> Charles M. Barrows </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0012">39</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Paine, Hon. Henry W. </td><td> Prof. William Mathews, LL.D. </td><td align="right"> 391 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Past and Future of Silver, The </td><td> David M. Balfour </td><td align="right"> 97 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Patriot, Samuel Adams, The (4 Illustrations) </td><td> Edward P. Guild </td><td align="right"> 401 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Pickett's Charge, Portrait and diagram </td><td> Charles A. Patch </td><td align="right"> 397 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Precious Metals, The </td><td> David M. Balfour </td><td align="right"> 415 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Publisher's Department </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0019">64</a>, 308, 390, 472 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Phillips, John, with Portrait </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 249 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Rambles Among Massachusetts Hills </td><td> Atherton P. Mason M.D.</td><td align="right"> 101 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Resources of Massachusetts, The Present </td><td> H.K.M. </td><td align="right"> 439 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Response of Marblehead in 1861, The </td><td> Samuel Roads, Jr. </td><td align="right"> 378 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Silver, Past and Future of </td><td> David M. Balfour </td><td align="right"> 97 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Sixth Regiment, The March of The </td><td> Rev. Charles Babbidge </td><td align="right"> 374 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Ten Days In Nantucket (2 Illustrations) </td><td> Elizabeth Porter Gould</td><td align="right"> 190 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Thompson, Denman, Sketch of the Life of </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0004">12</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Ticknor, The House of (4 Illustrations) </td><td> Barry Lyndon </td><td align="right"> 266 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Tommy Taft, A Story of Boston Town </td><td> A.L.G. </td><td align="right"> 244 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Two Days with The A.M.C. </td><td> Helen M. Winslow </td><td align="right"> 367 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Two Reform Mayors of Boston </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 249 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Webster, Col. Fletcher, A reminiscence of </td><td> </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0011">38</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Webster, Daniel, The Last Portrait of </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 340 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Wedding in Ye Days Lang Syne </td><td> Rev. Anson Titus </td><td align="right"> <a href="#h2H_4_0010">36</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> White and Franconia Mountains, The (24 Illustrations) </td><td> Fred Myron Colby </td><td align="right"> 76 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Witch, The first New England </td><td> Willard H. Morse M.D. </td><td align="right"> 270 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Worcester, The City of (18 Illustrations) </td><td> Fanny Bullock Workman </td><td align="right"> 147 </td></tr> +</table> + +<h3> +POEMS. +</h3> + +<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" summary="Poems"> +<tr><td> By The Sea </td><td> Teresa Herrick </td><td align="right"> 377 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Equinoctial </td><td> Sidney Maxwell </td><td align="right"> 383 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Growing Old </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 299 </td></tr> +<tr><td> In Ember Days </td><td> Adelaide G. Waldron </td><td align="right"> 277 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Memory's Pictures </td><td> Charles Carleton Coffin (1846) </td><td align="right"> 124 </td></tr> +<tr><td> The Muse of History </td><td> Elizabeth Porter Gould </td><td align="right"> 248 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Room At The Top </td><td> </td><td align="right"> 366 </td></tr> +<tr><td> The Old State House </td><td> Sidney Maxwell </td><td align="right"> 414 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Idleness </td><td> Sidney Harrison </td><td align="right"> 183 </td></tr> +<tr><td> A Birthday Sonnet </td><td> George W. Bungay </td><td align="right"> 201 </td></tr> +</table> + +<h3> +STEEL ENGRAVINGS. +</h3> + +<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" summary="Steel Engravings"> +<tr><td> Charles Carleton Coffin </td><td align="right"> <a href="#image-0001">Facing 1</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> John B. Clarke </td><td align="right"> <a href="#image-0002">9</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Sylvester Marsh </td><td align="right"> 65 </td></tr> +<tr><td> John Albion Andrew </td><td align="right"> 141 </td></tr> +<tr><td> John D. Long </td><td align="right"> 221 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Hugh O'Brien </td><td align="right"> 253 </td></tr> +<tr><td> William Wallace Crapo </td><td align="right"> 309 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Henry W. Paine </td><td align="right"> 391 </td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pagev" name="pagev"></a>[v]</span> +</p> +<!-- <p>[Blank Page]</p> --> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pagevi" name="pagevi"></a>[vi]</span> +</p> +<a name="image-0001"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-008.jpg"><img src="images/ill-008.jpg" style="width:500px;" +alt="Charles Carleton Coffin" /></a> +<br /> +Charles Carleton Coffin +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1" name="page1"></a>[1]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0001" id="h2H_4_0001"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h1> + THE BAY STATE MONTHLY. +</h1> +<h2> + <i>A Massachusetts Magazine</i> +</h2> +<h3> +VOL. III. APRIL, 1885. NO. I. +</h3> +<hr /> + +<a name="h2H_4_0002" id="h2H_4_0002"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. +</h2> +<p> +Among the emigrants from England to the western world in the great +Puritan exodus was Joanna Thember Coffin, widow, and her son Tristram, +and her two daughters, Mary and Eunice. Their home was in Brixton, two +miles from Plymouth, in Devonshire. Tristram was entering manhood's +prime—thirty-three years of age. He had a family of five children. +Quite likely the political troubles between the King and Parliament, the +rising war cloud, was the impelling motive that induced the family to +leave country, home, friends, and all dear old things, and become +emigrants to the New World. Quite likely Tristram, when a youth, in +1620, may have seen the Mayflower spread her white sails to the breeze +and fade away in the western horizon, for the departure of that company +of pilgrims must have been the theme of conversation in and around +Plymouth. Without doubt it set the young man to thinking of the +unexplored continent beyond the stormy Atlantic. In 1632 his neighbors +and friends began to leave, and in 1642 he, too, bade farewell to dear +old England, to become a citizen of Massachusetts Bay. +</p> +<p> +He landed at Newbury, settled first in Salisbury, and ferried people +across the Merrimack between Salisbury and Newbury. His wife, Dionis, +brewed beer for thirsty travellers. The Sheriff had her up before the +courts for charging more per mug than the price fixed by law, but she +went scot free on proving that she put in an extra amount of malt. We +may think of the grave and reverend Justices ordering the beer into +court and settling the question by personal examination of the foaming +mugs,—smacking their lips satisfactorily, quite likely testing it a +second time. +</p> +<p> +Tristram Coffin became a citizen of Newbury and built a house, which is +still standing. In 1660 he removed with a portion of his family to +Nantucket, dying there in 1681, leaving two sons, from whom have +descended all the Coffins of the country—a numerous and widespread +family. +</p> +<p> +One of Tristram's decendants, Peter, moved from Newbury to Boscawen, New +Hampshire, in 1766, building a large two-storied house. He became a +prominent citizen of the town—a Captain of the militia company, was +quick and prompt in all his actions. The news of the affair at Lexington +and Concord April 19,1775, reached Boscawen on the afternoon of the next +day. On the twenty-first Peter Coffin was in Exeter answering the roll +call in the Provincial assembly—to take measures for the public safety. +</p> +<p> +His wife, Rebecca Hazelton Coffin, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page2" name="page2"></a>[2]</span> + + was as energetic and patriotic as he. In August, 1777, everybody, old +and young, turned out to defeat Burgoyne. One soldier could not go, +because he had no shirt. It was this energetic woman, with a babe but +three weeks old, who cut a web from the loom and sat up all night to +make a shirt for the soldier. August came, the wheat was ripe for the +sickle. Her husband was gone, the neighbors also. Six miles away was a +family where she thought it possible she might obtain a harvest hand. +Mounting the mare, taking the babe in her arms, she rode through the +forest only to find that all the able-bodied young men had gone to the +war. The only help to be had was a barefoot, hatless, coatless boy of +fourteen. +</p> +<p> +"He can go but he has no coat," said the mother of the boy. +</p> +<p> +"I can make him a coat," was the reply. +</p> +<p> +The boy leaped upon the pillion, rode home with the woman—went out with +his sickle to reap the bearded grain, while the house wife, taking a +meal bag for want of other material, cutting a hole in the bottom, two +holes in the sides, sewing a pair of her own stockings on for sleeves, +fulfilled her promise of providing a coat, then laid her babe beneath +the shade of a tree and bound the sheaves. +</p> +<p> +It is a picture of the trials, hardships and patriotism of the people in +the most trying hour of the revolutionary struggle. +</p> +<p> +The babe was Thomas Coffin—father of the subject of this sketch, +Charles Carleton Coffin, who was born on the old homestead in Boscawen, +July 26, 1823,—the youngest of nine children, three of whom died in +infancy. +</p> +<p> +The boyhood of the future journalist, correspondent and author was one +of toil rather than recreation. The maxims of Benjamin Franklin in +regard to idleness, thrift and prosperity were household words. +</p> +<p> +"He who would thrive must rise at five." +</p> +<p> +In most farm-houses the fire was kindled on the old stone hearth before +that hour. The cows were to be milked and driven to the pasture to crop +the green grass before the sun dispatched the beaded drops of dew. They +must be brought home at night. +</p> +<p> +In the planting season, corn and potatoes must be put in the hill. The +youngest boy must ride the horse in furrowing, spread the new-mown +grass, stow away the hay high up under the roof of the barn, gather +stones in heaps after the wheat was reaped, or pick the apples in the +orchard. Each member of the family must commit to memory the verses of +Dr. Watts: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Then what my hands shall find to do </p> +<p class="i2"> Let me with all my might pursue, </p> +<p class="i2"> For no device nor work is found </p> +<p class="i2"> Beneath the surface of the ground." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +The great end of life was to do something. There was a gospel of work, +thrift and economy continually preached. To be idle was to serve the +devil. +</p> +<p> +"The devil finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." +</p> +<p> +Such teaching had its legitimate effect, and the subject of this sketch +in common with the boys and girls of his generation made work a duty. +What was accepted as duty became pleasure. +</p> +<p> +Aside from the district school he attended Boscawen Academy a few terms. +The teaching could not be called first-class instruction. The +instructors were students just out of college, who taught for the +stipend received rather than with any high ideal of teaching as a +profession. A term at Pembroke Academy in 1843 completed his acquisition +of knowledge, so far as obtained in the schools. +</p> +<p> +The future journalist was an omnivorous reader. Everything was fish that +came to the dragnet of this New Hampshire boy—from "Sinbad" to + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page3" name="page3"></a>[3]</span> + + "Milton's Paradise Lost," which was read before he was eleven years old. +</p> +<p> +The household to which he belonged had ever a goodly supply of weekly +papers, the <i>New Hampshire Statesman</i>, the <i>Herald of +Freedom</i>, the <i>New Hampshire Observer</i>, all published at +Concord; the first political, the second devoted to anti-slavery, the +third a religious weekly. In the westerly part of the town was a +circulating library of some one hundred and fifty volumes, gathered +about 1816—the books were dog-eared, soiled and torn. Among them was +the "History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark up the Missouri and +down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean," which was read and re-read by +the future correspondent, till every scene and incident was impressed +upon his memory as distinctly as that of the die upon the coin. Another +volume was a historical novel entitled "A Peep at the Pilgrims," which +awakened a love for historical literature. Books of the Indian Wars, +Stories of the Revolution, were read and re-read with increasing +delight. Even the <i>Federalist</i>, that series of papers elucidating +the principles of Republican government, was read before he was +fourteen. There was no pleasure to be compared with that of visiting +Concord, and looking at the books in the store of Marsh, Capen and Lyon, +who kept a bookstore in that, then, town of four thousand +inhabitants—the only one in central New Hampshire. +</p> +<p> +Without doubt the love for historical literature was quickened by the +kind patronage of John Farmer, the genial historian, who was a visitor +at the Boscawen farm-house, and who had delightful stories to tell of +the exploits of Robert Rogers and John Stark during the French and +Indian wars. +</p> +<p> +Soldiers of the Revolution were living in 1830. Eliphalet Kilburn, the +grandfather of Charles Carleton Coffin on the maternal side, was in the +thick of battle at Saratoga and Rhode Island, and there was no greater +pleasure to the old blind pensioner than to narrate the stories of the +Revolution to his listening grandchild. Near neighbors to the Coffin +homestead were Eliakim Walker, Nathaniel Atkinson and David Flanders, +all of whom were at Bunker Hill—Walker in the redoubt under Prescott; +Atkinson and Flanders in Captain Abbott's company, under Stark, by the +rail fence, confronting the Welch fusileers. +</p> +<p> +The vivid description of that battle which Mr. Coffin has given in the +"Boys of '76," is doubtless due in a great measure to the stories of +these pensioners, who often sat by the old fire-place in that farm-house +and fought their battles over again to the intense delight of their +white-haired auditor. +</p> +<p> +Ill health, inability for prolonged mental application, shut out the +future correspondent, to his great grief, from all thoughts of +attempting a collegiate course. While incapacitated from mental or +physical labor he obtained a surveyor's compass, and more for pastime +than any thought of becoming a surveyor, he studied the elements of +surveying. +</p> +<p> +There were fewer civil engineers in the country in 1845 than now. It was +a period when engineers were wanted—when the demand was greater than +the supply, and anyone who had a smattering of engineering could find +employment. Mr. Coffin accepted a position in the engineering corps of +the Northern Railroad, and was subsequently employed on the Concord and +Portsmouth, and Concord and Claremont Railroad. +</p> +<p> +In 1846 he was married to Sallie R. Farmer of Boscawen. Not wishing to +make civil engineering a profession for life he purchased a farm in his +native town; but health gave way and he was forced to seek other +pursuits. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page4" name="page4"></a>[4]</span> +</p> +<p> +He early began to write articles for the Concord newspapers, and some of +his fugitive political contributions were re-published in <i>Littell's +Living Age</i>. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin's studies in engineering led him towards scientific culture. +In 1849 he constructed the telegraph line between Harvard Observatory +and Boston, by which uniform time was first given to the railroads +leading from Boston. He had charge of the construction of the +Telegraphic Fire Alarm in Boston, under the direction of Professor Moses +G. Farmer, his brother-in-law, and gave the first alarm ever given by +that system April 29, 1852. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin's tastes led him toward journalism. From 1850 to 1854 he was +a constant contributor to the press, sending articles to the +<i>Transcript</i>, the Boston <i>Journal, Congregationalist</i>, and New +York <i>Tribune</i>. He was also a contributor to the <i>Student and +Schoolmate</i>, a small magazine then conducted by Mr. Adams (Oliver +Optic). +</p> +<p> +He was for a short time assistant editor of the <i>Practical Farmer</i>, +an agricultural and literary weekly newspaper. In 1854 he was employed +on the Boston <i>Journal</i>. Many of the editorials upon the +Kansas-Nebraska struggle were from his pen. His style of composition was +developed during these years when great events were agitating the public +mind. It was a period which demanded clear, comprehensive, concise, +statements, and words that meant something. His articles upon the +questions of the hour were able and trenchant. One of the leading +newspapers of Boston down to 1856 was the <i>Atlas</i>—the organ of the +anti-slavery wing of the Whig party, of the men who laid the foundation +of the Republican party. Its chief editorial writer was the brilliant +Charles T. Congdon, with whom Mr. Coffin was associated as assistant +editor till the paper was merged into the <i>Atlas and Bee</i>. +</p> +<p> +During the year 1858 he became again assistant on the <i>Journal</i>. He +wrote a series of letters from Canada in connection with the visit of +the Prince of Wales. He was deputed, as correspondent, to attend the +opening of several of the great western railroads, which were attended +by many men in public life. He was present at the Baltimore Convention +which nominated Bell and Everett as candidates for the Presidency and +Vice Presidency in 1860. He travelled west through Pennsylvania, Ohio, +and Indiana, before the assembling of the Republican Convention at +Chicago, conversing with public men, and in a private letter predicted +the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, who, up to the assembling of the +convention, had hardly been regarded as a possible candidate. +</p> +<p> +He accompanied the committee appointed to apprise Mr. Lincoln of his +nomination to Springfield, spent several weeks in the vicinity—making +Mr. Lincoln's acquaintance, and obtaining information in regard to him, +which was turned to proper advantage during the campaign. +</p> +<p> +In the winter of 1860-61, Mr. Coffin held the position of night editor +of the <i>Journal</i>. The Southern States were then seceding. It was +the most exciting period in the history of the republic. There was +turmoil in Congress. Public affairs were drifting with no arm at the +helm. There was no leadership in Congress or out of it. The position +occupied by Mr. Coffin was one requiring discrimination and judgment. +The Peace Congress was in session. During the long nights while waiting +for despatches, which often did not arrive till well toward morning, he +had time to study the situation of public affairs, and saw, what all men +did not see, that a conflict of arms was approaching. He was at that +time residing in Maiden, and on the morning after the surrender of +Sumter took measures for the calling of + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page5" name="page5"></a>[5]</span> + + a public meeting of the citizens of that town to sustain the government. +It was one of the first—if not the first of the many, held throughout +the country. +</p> +<p> +Upon the breaking out of the war in 1861 Mr. Coffin left the editorial +department of the <i>Journal</i> and became a correspondent in the +field, writing his first letter from Baltimore, June 15, over the +signature of "<i>Carleton</i>"—selecting his middle name for a <i>nom de +plume</i>. +</p> +<p> +He accompanied the right wing under General Tyler, which had the advance +in the movement to Bull Run, and witnessed the first encounter at +Blackburn's Ford, July 18. He returned to Washington the next morning +with the account, and was back again on the succeeding morning in season +to witness the battle of Bull Run, narrowly escaping capture when the +Confederate cavalry dashed upon the panic-stricken Union troops. He +reached Washington during the night, and sent a full account of the +action the following morning. +</p> +<p> +During the autumn he made frequent trips from the army around Washington +to Eastern Maryland, and the upper Potomac, making long rides upon the +least sign of action. Becoming convinced, in December, that the Army of +the Potomac was doomed to inaction during the winter, the correspondent, +furnished with letters of introduction to Generals Grant and Buell from +the Secretary of War, proceeded west. Arriving at Louisville he found +that General Buell had expelled all correspondents from the army. The +letter from the Secretary of War vouching for the loyalty and integrity +of the correspondent was read and tossed aside with the remark that +correspondents could not be permitted in an army which he had the honor +to command. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin proceeded to St. Louis, took a look at the army then at +Rolla, in Central Missouri, but discovering no signs of action in that +direction made his way to Cairo where General Grant was in command. +General Grant's headquarters were in the second story of a tumble-down +building. +</p> +<p> +No sentinel paced before the door. Ascending the stairs and knocking, +Mr. Coffin heard the answer, "Come in." Entering, he saw a man in a blue +blouse sitting upon a nail-keg at a rude desk smoking a cigar. +</p> +<p> +"Is General Grant in?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, sir." +</p> +<p> +Supposing the man on the nail keg with no straps upon his shoulder to be +only a clerk or orderly, he presented his letter from the Secretary of +War, with the remark, "Will you please present this to General Grant?" +whereupon the supposed clerk glanced over the lines, rose, extended his +hand and said, "I am right glad to see you. Please take a nail keg!" +</p> +<p> +There were several empty nail kegs in the apartment, but not a chair. +The contrast to what he had experienced with General Buell was so great +that the correspondent could hardly realize that he was in the presence +of General Grant, who at once gave him the needed facilities for +attaining information. +</p> +<p> +The rapidity of the correspondent's movements—the quickness with which +he took in the military situation, may be inferred from the dates of his +letters. On January 6, 1862, he wrote a letter detailing affairs at St. +Louis. On the eighth, he described affairs at Rolla in Central Missouri. +On the eleventh, he was writing from Cairo. The gunboats under Commodore +Foot were at Cairo, and the correspondent was received with the utmost +hospitality, not only by the Commodore, but by all the officers. +</p> +<p> +Upon the movement of General Zolicoffer into Kentucky, Mr. Coffin +hastened to Louisville, Lexington, and Central Kentucky, but finding +affairs had settled down, hastened down the Ohio River on a steamboat, +reaching the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page6" name="page6"></a>[6]</span> + + mouth of the Tennessee just as the fleet under Commodore Foot was +entering the Ohio after capturing Fort Henry. Commodore Foot narrated +the events of the engagement, and Mr. Coffin, learning that no +correspondent had returned from Fort Henry, stimulated by the thought of +giving the Boston <i>Journal</i> the first information, jumped on board +the cars, wrote his account on the train, and had the satisfaction of +knowing that it was the first one published. +</p> +<p> +Returning to Cairo by the next train, he proceeded to Fort Donelson and +was present in the cabin of the steamer "Uncle Sam" when General Buckner +turned over the Fort, the Artillery, and 15,000 prisoners to General +Grant. He hastened to Cairo, wrote his account on the cars, riding +eastward, till it was complete, then returning, and arriving in season +to jump on board the gunboat Boston for a reconnoissanceof Columbus. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin continued with the fleet during the operation at Island No. +10. His knowledge of civil engineering enabled him to assist Captain +Maynadier of the engineers in directing the mortar firing. On one +occasion while mounted on a corn crib near a farm-house to note the +direction of the bombs, the Confederate artillerists sent a shell which +demolished a pig-pen but a few feet distant. +</p> +<p> +While at Island No. 10, the battle of Pittsburg Landing was fought. +Leaving the fleet he hastened thither, accompanied the army in its slow +advance upon Corinth, was present at the battle of Farmington and the +occupation of Corinth. +</p> +<p> +General Halleck, smarting under the criticism of the press, ordered all +correspondents to leave, and Mr. Coffin once more joined the fleet, +descending the Mississippi. During the engagement with the Confederate +fleet at Memphis, he stood upon the deck of the Admiral's despatch boat +with note-book and watch in hand—noting every movement. He was fully +exposed, aided in hauling down the flag of the Confederate ship, "Little +Rebel," and assisted in rescuing some of the wounded Confederates from +the sinking vessels. +</p> +<p> +He accepted an invitation from Captain Phelps of the Benton to accompany +him on shore when the city was surrendered, and saw the stars and strips +go up upon the flag-staff in the public square and over the Court House. +</p> +<p> +The Army of the Potamac was in front of Richmond, and he returned east +in season to chronicle the seven day's engagement on the Peninsular. The +constant exposure to malaria brought on sickness, which prevented his +being with the army in the engagement at the second Bull Run, but he was +on the field of Antietam throughout the entire contest, and wrote an +account which was published in the Baltimore <i>American</i>, of which +an enormous edition was disposed of in the army—and was commended for +its accuracy. +</p> +<p> +In October Mr. Coffin was once more in Kentucky, but did not reach the +army in season to see the battle of Perrysville. Comprehending the +situation of affairs there, that there could be no movement until the +entire army was re-organized under a new commander, he returned to +Virginia, accompanying the army in its march from the Potomac to +Fredericksburg, and witnessed that disastrous battle. A month later he +was with the fleet off Charleston and saw the attack on Sumter by the +Monitor, and the bombardment of Fort McAllister. +</p> +<p> +In April he was once more with the Army of the Potomac, arriving just as +the troops were getting back to their quarters after Chancellorsville to +hear the stories and collect an account of that battle. +</p> +<p> +When the Confederate army began the Gettysburg Campaign Mr. Coffin +watched every movement. He was with the cavalry during the first day's +struggle on that field, but was an eyewitness of the second and third +days' engagement. His account was re-published in nearly every one of +the large cities, was translated and re-published in France and Germany. +While the armies east and west were preparing for the campaign of 1864 +Mr. Coffin made an extended tour through the border states—Maryland, +West Virginia, Kentucky, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page7" name="page7"></a>[7]</span> + + Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, to ascertain what changes +had taken place in public opinion. In May he was once more with the Army +of the Potomac under its great leader, Lieutenant General Grant, and saw +all the conflicts of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, around +Hanover, Cold Harbor, the struggles in front of Petersburg through '64. +Upon the occupation of Savannah by General Sherman he hastened south, +having an ardent desire to enter Charleston, whenever it should be +occupied by Union troops. He was successful in carrying out his desires, +and with James Redpath of the New York <i>Tribune</i> leaped on shore +from the deck of General Gilmore's steamer when he steamed up to take +possession of the city. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin's despatch announcing the evacuation and occupation of +Sumter, owing to his indefatigable energy, was published in Boston, +telegraphed to Washington, and read in the House of Representatives +before any other account appeared, causing a great sensation. +</p> +<p> +Thus read the opening sentence: +</p> +<p> +"Off Charleston, February 18, 2 P.M. The old flag waves over Sumter and +Moultrie, and the city of Charleston. I can see its crimson stripes and +fadeless stars waving in the warm sunlight of this glorious day. Thanks +be to God who giveth us the victory." +</p> +<p> +In March the correspondent was again with the Army of the Potomac, +witnessing the last battles—Fort Steadman—Hatcher's Run—and the last +grand sweep at Five Forks. He entered Petersburg in the morning—rode +alone at a breakneck pace to Richmond, entering it while the city was a +sea of flame, entered the Spottsville hotel while the fire was raging on +three sides—wrote his name large on the register—the first to succeed +a long line of Confederate Generals and Colonels. When President Lincoln +arrived to enter the city, he had the good fortune to be down by the +river bank, and to him was accorded the honor of escorting the party to +General Weitzel's headquarters in the mansion from which Jefferson Davis +had fled without standing upon the order of departure. +</p> +<p> +With the fall of Richmond, and the surrender of Appomattox, Mr. Coffin's +occupation as an army correspondent ended. During these long years he +found time to write three volumes for juveniles—"Days and Nights on the +Battle Field," "Following the Flag," and "Winning his Way." +</p> +<p> +On July 25, 1866, Mr. Coffin sailed from New York for Europe, +accompanied by Mrs. Coffin, as correspondent of the Boston +<i>Journal</i>. War had broken out between Austria on the one side and +Italy and Germany on the other. It was of short duration; there was the +battle of Custozza in Italy and Konnigratz in Germany, followed by the +retirement of Austria from Italy, and the ascendency of Bismarck over +Baron Von Beust in the diplomacy of Europe. It was a favorable period +for a correspondent and Mr. Coffin's letters were regularly looked for +by the public. The agitation for the extension of the franchise was +beginning in England. Bearing personal letters from Senator Sumner, +Chief Justice Chase, General Grant, and other public men, the +correspondent had no difficulty in making the accquaintance of the men +prominent in the management of affairs on the other side of +the water. Through the courtesy of John Bright, who at once extended to +Mr. Coffin every hospitality, he occupied a chair in the speaker's +gallery of the House of Commons on the grand field night when Disraelli, +then Prime Minister, brought in the suffrage bill. While in Great +Britain Mr. Coffin made the acquaintance not only of men in public life, +but many of the scientists,—Huxley, Tyndal, Lyell, Sir William +Thompson. At the social Science Congress held in Belfast, Ireland, +presided over by Lord Dufferin, he gave an address upon American Common +Schools which was warmly commended by the London <i>Times</i>. +</p> +<p> +An introduction to the literary clubs of London gave him an opportunity +to make the acquaintance of the literary guild. He was present at the +dinner given to Charles Dickens before the departure of that author to +the United States, at which nearly every notable author was a guest. +</p> +<p> +Hastening to Italy, he had the good fortune to see the Austrians take +their + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page8" name="page8"></a>[8]</span> + + departure from Verona and Venice and the Italians assume possession of +those cities. Upon the entrance of Victor Emanuel to Venice he enjoyed +exceptional facilities for witnessing the festivities. +</p> +<p> +He was present at the coronation of the Emperor and Empress of Austria, +as King and Queen of Hungary. Through the courtesy of Mr. Motley, then +Minister to Austria, he received from the Prime Minister of the empire +every facility for witnessing the ceremonies. +</p> +<p> +At Pesth he made the acquaintance of Francis Deak, the celebrated +statesman—the John Bright of Hungary; also, of Arminius Vambrey, the +celebrated Oriental traveller. +</p> +<p> +At Berlin he had the good fortune to see the Emperor William, the Crown +Prince, Bismarck, Van Moltke, the former and the present Czar of Russia, +and Gortschakoff, the great diplomatist of Russia, in one group. The +letters written from Europe were upon the great events of the hour, +together with graphic descriptions of the life of the common people. +</p> +<p> +After spending a year and a half in Europe, Mr. Coffin visited Greece, +Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, sailing thence down the Red sea to +Bombay, travelled across India to the valley of the Ganges, before the +completion of the railroad, visiting Allahabad, Benares, Calcutta, +sailing thence to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai. Ascending the +Yang-tse six hundred miles to Wuchang; the governor of the province +invited him to a dinner. From Shanghai he sailed to Japan, experiencing +a fearful typhoon upon the passage. Civil war in Japan prevented his +travelling in that country, and he sailed for San Francisco, visiting +points of interest in California, and in November made his way across +the country seven hundred miles—riding five consecutive days and nights +between the terminus of the Central Pacific road at Wadsworth and Salt +Lake, arriving in Boston, January, 1869, after an absence of two and a +half years. During that period the Boston <i>Journal</i> contained every +week a letter from his pen. +</p> +<p> +For one who had seen so much there was an opening in the lecture field +and for several years he was one of the popular lecturers before +lyceums. In 1869 he published <i>Our New Way Round the World</i>, +followed by the <i>Seat of Empire</i>, <i>Caleb Crinkle</i> (a story) <i>Boys +of 76</i>, <i>Story of Liberty</i>, <i>Old Times in the Colonies</i>, <i>Building the Nation</i>, +<i>Life of Garfield</i>, besides a history of his native town. His volumes +have been received with marked favor. No less than fifty copies of the +<i>Boys of '76</i> are in the Boston Public Library and all in constant +use. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Coffin has given many addresses before teacher's associations, and a +course of lectures before the Lowell Institute. During the winter of +1878-9 a movement was made by the Western grangers to bring about a +radical change in the patent laws. Mr. Coffin appeared before the +Committee of Congress and presented an address so convincing, that the +Committee ordered its publication. It has been frequently quoted upon +the floor of Congress and highly commended by the present Secretary of +the Interior, Mr. Lamar. Mr. Coffin also appeared before the Committee +on Labor, and made an argument on the "Forces of Nature as Affecting +Society," which won high encomiums from the committee, and which was +ordered to be printed. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon +Mr. Coffin in 1870, by Amherst College. He is a member of the New +England Historical and Genealogical Society, and he gave the address +upon the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of his +native town. He is a resident of Boston, and was a member of the +Legislature for 1884, member of the Committee on Education, and reported +the bill for free textbooks. He was also member of the Committee on +Civil Service, and was active in his efforts to secure the passage of +the bill. He is a member of the present Legislature, Chairman of the +Committee on the Liquor Law, and of the special committee for a +Metropolitan Police for the city of Boston. Mr. Coffin's pen is never +idle. He is giving his present time to a study of the late war, and is +preparing a history of that mighty struggle for the preservation of the +government of the people. +</p> +<hr /> +<a name="image-0002"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-018.jpg"><img src="images/ill-018.jpg" style="width:500px;" +alt="John B. Clarke" /></a> +<br /> +John B. Clarke +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page9" name="page9"></a>[9]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0003" id="h2H_4_0003"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + COLONEL JOHN B. CLARKE. +</h2> +<h3> + <span class="sc">Editor and Proprietor of the Manchester [N.H.] Mirror.</span> +</h3> +<p> +Among the business enterprises in which the men of to-day seek fortune +and reputation, there is scarcely another which, when firmly established +upon a sound basis, sends its roots so deep and wide, and is so certain +to endure and prosper, bearing testimony to the ability of its creators, +as the family newspaper. Indeed, a daily or weekly paper which has +gained by legitimate methods an immense circulation and a profitable +advertising patronage is immortal. It may change owners and names, and +character even, but it never dies, and if, as is usually the case, it +owes its early reputation and success to one man, it not only reflects +him while he is associated with it, but pays a constant tribute to his +memory after he has passed away. +</p> +<p> +But, while the rewards of eminent success in the newspaper profession +are great and substantial, the road to them is one which only the +strong, sagacious, and active can travel, and this is especially true +when he who strives for them assumes the duties of both publisher and +editor. It requires great ability to make a great paper every day, and +even greater to sell it extensively and profitably, and to do both is +not a possible task for the weak. To do both in an inland city, where +the competition of metropolitan journals must be met and discounted, +without any of their advantages, requires a man of grip, grit and +genius. +</p> +<p> +In 1852 the Manchester <span class="sc">Mirror</span> was one of the smallest and weakest papers +in the country. Its weekly edition had a circulation of about six +hundred, that of its daily was less than five hundred, and its +advertising receipts were extremely small. Altogether, it was a load +which its owner could not carry, and the whole establishment, including +subscription lists, good will, press, type and material, was sold at +auction for less than a thousand dollars. +</p> +<p> +In 1885 the <span class="sc">Weekly Mirror and Farmer</span> has a circulation of more than +twenty-three thousand and every subscriber on its books has paid for it +in advance. The <span class="sc">Daily Mirror and American</span> has a correspondingly large +and reliable constituency, and neither paper lacks advertising +patronage. The office in which they are printed is one of the most +extensive and best equipped in the Eastern States out of Boston. In +every sense of the word the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> is successful, strong and solid. +</p> +<p> +The building up of this great and substantial enterprise from so small a +beginning has been the work of John B. Clarke, who bought the papers, as +stated above, in 1852, has ever since been their owner, manager, and +controlling spirit, and, in spite of sharp rivalry at home and from +abroad and the lack of opportunieies which such an undertaking must +contend with in a small city, has kept the <span class="sc">Mirror</span>, in hard times as in +good times, steadily growing, enlarging its scope and influence, and +gaining strength with which to make and maintain new advances; and at +the same time has made it yield every year a handsome income. Only a man +of pluck, push and perseverance, of courage, sagacity and industry, +could have done this; and he who has accomplished it need point to no +other achievement to establish his title to a place among the strong men +of his time. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Clarke is a native of Atkinson, where he was born January 30, 1820. + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page10" name="page10"></a>[10]</span> + + His parents were intelligent and successful farmers, and from them he +inherited the robust constitution, the genial disposition, and the +capacity for brain-work, which have carried him to the head of his +profession in New Hampshire. They also furnished him with the small +amount of money necessary to give a boy an education in those days, and +in due course he graduated with high honors at Dartmouth College in the +class of 1843. Then he became principal of the Meredith Bridge Academy, +which position he held three years, reading law meanwhile in an office +near by. In 1848 he was admitted to the Hillsborough county bar from the +office of his brother, at Manchester, the late Honorable William C. +Clarke, Attorney General of New Hampshire, and the next year went to +California. From 1849 until 1851 he was practicing his profession, +roughing it in the mines, and prospecting for a permanent business and +location in California, Central America, and Mexico. +</p> +<p> +In 1851 he returned to Manchester and established himself as a lawyer, +gaining in a few months a practice which gave him a living; but in +October of the next year the sale of the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> afforded an opening more +suited to his talents and ambition, and having bought the property he +thenceforth devoted himself to its development. +</p> +<p> +He had no experience, no capital, but he had confidence in himself, +energy, good judgment, and a willingness to work for the success he was +determined to gain. For months and years he was editor, reporter, +business manager, accountant, and collector. In these capacities he did +an amount of work that would have killed an ordinary man, and did it in +a way that told; for everymonth added to the number of his patrons; and +slowly but steadily his business increased in volume and his papers in +influence. +</p> +<p> +He early made it a rule to condense everything that appeared in the +columns of the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> into the smallest possible space, to make what he +printed readable as well as reliable, to make the paper better every +year than it was the preceding year, and to furnish the weekly edition +at a price which would give it an immense circulation without the help +of travelling agents or the credit system: and to this policy he has +adhered. Besides this, he spared no expense which he judged would add to +the value of his publications, and his judgment has always set the +bounds far off on the very verge of extravagance. Whatever machine +promised to keep his office abreast of the times, and increase the +capacity for good work, he has dared buy. Whatever man he has thought +would brighten and strengthen his staff of assistants, he has gone for, +and if possible got, and whatever new departure has seemed to him likely +to win new friends for the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> he has made. +</p> +<p> +In this way he has gone from the bottom of the ladder to the top. From +time to time rival sheets have sprung up beside him, but only to +maintain an existence for a brief period, or to be consolidated with the +<span class="sc">Mirror</span>. All the time there has been sharp competition from publishers +elsewhere, but this has only stimulated him to make a better paper and +push it succesfully in fields which they have regarded as their own. +</p> +<p> +In connection with the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> a great job printing establishment has +grown up, which turns out a large amount of work in all departments, and +where the state printing has been done six years. Mr. Clarke has also +published several books, including "Sanborn's History of New Hampshire," +"Clarke's History of Manchester," + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page11" name="page11"></a>[11]</span> + + "Successful New Hampshire Men," "Manchester Directory," and other works. +Within a few years a book bindery has been added to the establishment. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Clarke still devotes himself closely to his business six hours each +day, but limits himself to this period, having been warned by an +enforced rest and voyage to Europe in 1872 to recover from the strain of +overwork, that even his magnificent physique could not sustain too great +a burden, and he now maintains robust and vigorous health by a +systematic and regular mode of life, by long rides of fifteen to +twenty-five miles daily, and an annual summer vacation. +</p> +<p> +In making the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> its owner has made a great deal of money. If he had +saved it as some others have done, he would have more to-day than any +other in Manchester who has done business the same length of time on the +same capital. But if he has gathered like a man born to be a +millionaire, he has scattered like one who would spend a millionaire's +fortune. He has been a good liver and a free giver. All his tastes +incline him to large expenditures. His home abounds in all the comforts +that money will buy. His farm is a place where costly experiments are +tried. He is passionately fond of fine horses, and his stables are +always full of those that are highly bred, fleet, and valuable. He loves +an intelligent dog, and a good gun, and is known far and near as an +enthusiastic sportsman. +</p> +<p> +He believes in being good to himself and generous to others; values +money only for what it will buy, and every day illustrates the fact that +it is easier for him to earn ten dollars than to save one by being +"close." +</p> +<p> +A business that will enable a man of such tastes and impulses to gratify +all his wants and still accumulate a competency for his children is a +good one, and that is what the business of the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> counting-room has +done. +</p> +<p> +Nor is this all, nor the most, for the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> has made the name of John +B. Clarke a household word in nearly every school district in Northern +New England and in thousands of families in other sections. It has given +him a great influence in the politics, the agriculture, and the social +life of his time, has made him a power in shaping the policy of his city +and state, and one of the forces that have kept the wheels of progress +moving in both for more than thirty years. +</p> +<p> +In a word, what one man can do for and with a newspaper in New Hampshire +John B. Clarke has done for and with the <span class="sc">Mirror</span>, and what a great +newspaper can do for a man the <span class="sc">Mirror</span> has done for John B. Clarke. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page12" name="page12"></a>[12]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0004" id="h2H_4_0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + DENMAN THOMPSON. +</h2> +<p> +Throughout the United States where-ever the name of New England is held +in respect there is the name of Denman Thompson a household word. His +genius has embodied in a drama the finer yet homlier characteristics of +New England life, its simplicity, its rugged honesty, its simple piety, +its benevolence, partially hid beneath a rough and uncouth exterior. His +drama is an epic—a prose poem—arousing a loyal and patriotic love for +the land of the Pilgrims in the hearts of her sons, whether at home, on +the rolling prairies of the West, in the sunny South, amid the grand +scenes of the Sierras, or on the Pacific slope. +</p> +<p> +That Denman Thompson was not a native of New Hampshire was rather the +result of chance. His parents were natives of Swanzey, where they are +still living at a ripe old age, and where they have always lived, save +for a few years preceeding and following the birth of their children. In +1831 the parents moved to Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania, when, +October 15, 1833, was born their gifted son. The boy was blessed with +one brother and two sisters, and death has yet to strike its first blow +in the family. +</p> +<p> +At the age of thirteen years Denman accompanied his family to the old +home in Swanzey, where for several years he received the advantages of +the education afforded by the district school. For his higher education +he was indebted to the excellent scholastic opportunities afforded by +the Mount Cæsar Seminary in Swanzey. +</p> +<p> +At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of his uncle in Lowell, +Massachusetts, serving as book-keeper in a wholesale store, and in that +city he made his <i>debut</i> as Orasman in the military drama of the +<span class="sc">French Spy</span>. +</p> +<p> +In 1854, at the age of twenty-one years, he was engaged by John +Nickerson, the veteran actor and manager, as a member of the stock +company of the Royal Lyceum, Toronto. From the first his success was +assured, for aside from his natural adaptation to his profession he +possesses indomitable perseverance, a quality as necessary to the rise +of an artist as genius. On the provincial boards of Toronto he studied +and acted for the next few years, perfecting himself in his calling and +preparing for wider fields. Then he acted the rollicking Irishman to +perfection; the real live Yankee, with his genuine mannerisms and +dialect, with proper spirit and without ridiculous exaggeration, and the +Negro, so open to burlesque. The special charm of his acting in those +characters was his artistic execution. He never stooped to vulgarities, +his humor was quaint and spontaneous, and the entire absence of apparent +effort in his performance gave his audience a most favorable impression +of power in reserve. His favorite characters were Salem Scudder in <span class="sc">The +Octoroon</span>, and Myles Na Coppaleen in <span class="sc">Colleen Bawn</span>. +</p> +<p> +In April, 1862, Mr. Thompson started for the mother country, and there +his reception was worthy a returning son who had achieved a well-earned +reputation. His opening night in London was a perfect ovation, and +during his engagement the theatre was crowded in every part. He met with +flattering success during his brief tour, performing at Edinburg and +Glasgow before his return to Toronto the following fall. +</p> +<p> +From that time must be dated the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page13" name="page13"></a>[13]</span> + + career of Mr. Thompson as a <i>star</i> or leading actor and manager, at +first in low comedy, so called, or eccentric drama, and later, in what +he has made a classic New England drama. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Thompson is the author of several very pleasing and successful +comedies, but the play <span class="sc">Joshua Whitcomb</span> is the best known and most +popular. The leading character is said to have been drawn from Captain +Otis Whitcomb, who died in Swanzey in 1882, at the age of eighty-six. Cy +Prime, who "could have proved it had Bill Jones been alive," died in +that town, a few years since, while Len Holbrook still lives there. +General James Wilson, the veteran, who passed away a short time since, +was well known to the older generation of today. The last scene of the +drama is laid in Swanzey and the scenery is drawn from nature very +artistically. Mr. Thompson is the actor as well as creator of the +leading character in the play. The good old man is drawn from the quiet +and comforts of his rural home to the perplexities of city life in +Boston. There his strong character and good sense offset his simplicity +and ignorance. He acts as a kind of Providence in guiding the lives of +others. To say that the play is pure is not enough—it is ennobling. +</p> +<p> +The success of the play has been wonderful. Year after year it draws +crowded houses—and it will, long after the genius of Mr. Thompson's +acting becomes a tradition. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Thompson is a gentleman of wide culture and extensive reading and +information. Not only with the public but with his professional brethren +he is very popular on account of his amiable character. Naturally he is +of a quiet and benevolent disposition, and has the good word of everyone +to whom he is known. +</p> +<p> +As one of a stock company he never disappointed the manager—as a +manager he never disappointed the public. +</p> +<p> +In private life he has been very happy in his marital relations, having +married Miss Maria Bolton in July, 1860. Three children—two daughters +and one son, have blessed their union. +</p> +<p> +A book could well be written on the adventures and incidents that have +attended the presentation of the great play since its inception. Nowhere +is it more popular than in the neighborhood of Mr. Thompsons's summer +home. When a performance is had in Keene the good people of Swanzey +demand a special matinee for their benefit, from which the citizens of +Keene are supposed to be excluded. +</p> +<p> +In Colorado a Methodist camp-meeting was adjourned and its members +attended the play <i>en masse</i>. Such is the charm of the play that it +never loses its attraction. +</p> +<p> +Mr. Thompson is in the prime of life, about fifty years old. His home is +in New Hampshire; his birthplace was in Pennsylvania. He made his +<i>debut</i> in Massachusetts, and received his professional training in +Canada; he is a citizen of the United States, and is always honored +where genius is recognized. +</p> +<p> +Like the favorite character, Joshua Whitcomb, in his favorite play, Mr. +Thompson is personally sensitive, kind-hearted, self-sacrificing; he +never speaks ill of any one, delights in doing good, and enjoys hearing +and telling a good story; he is quiet, yet full of fun; generous to a +fault. His company has become much attached to him. +</p> +<p> +In the village of Swansey is Mr. Thompson's summer home; a beautiful +mansion, surrounded by grounds where art and nature combine to please. +The hospitality of the house is proverbial, but its chief attraction is +its well-stocked library. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page14" name="page14"></a>[14]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0005" id="h2H_4_0005"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + NATIONAL BANKS. +</h2> +<h4> + THE SURPLUS FUND AND NET PROFITS. +</h4> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By George H. Wood.</span> +</h3> +<p> +In the elimination of an unusually large amount of dead assets under the +requirements of the National Bank law, previous to extension of the +corporate existence of a bank, the very interesting question is brought +to notice, of what is the proper construction of the law in regard to +reducing and restoring the surplus fund. +</p> +<p> +Does the law forbid the payment of a dividend by a National Bank when +the effect of such payment will be to reduce the surplus fund of the +bank below an amount equal to one-tenth of its net profits since its +organization as a National Bank; and if so, upon what ground? It does, +and for the following reasons. The power to declare dividends is granted +by section 5199 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in the +following language: "The Directors of any association (National Bank) +may semi-annually declare a dividend of so much of the <i>net +profits</i> of the association as they shall judge expedient; but each +association shall, before the declaration of a dividend, carry one-tenth +of its net profits of the preceding half year to its surplus fund until +the same shall amount to twenty per cent, of its capital stock." +</p> +<p> +The question at once arises, what are the net profits from which +dividends may be declared, and do they include the surplus fund? It is +held that the net profits are the earnings left on hand after charging +off expenses, taxes and losses, if any, and carrying to surplus fund the +amount required by the law, and that the surplus fund is not to be +considered as net profits available for dividends, for, if it were, the +Directors of a bank could at any time divide the surplus among the +shareholders. It would only be necessary to go through the form of +carrying one-tenth of the net profits to surplus, whereupon, if the +surplus be net profits available for the purpose of a dividend, the +amount so carried can be withdrawn and paid away at once, thereby +defeating the obvious purpose of the law in requiring a portion of each +six month's earnings to be carried to the surplus fund, that purpose +being to provide that a surplus fund equal to twenty per cent, of the +bank's capital shall be accumulated. +</p> +<p> +The law is to be so construed as to give effect to all its parts, and +any construction that does not do so is manifestly unsound. Therefore a +construction which would render inoperative the requirement for the +accumulation of a surplus fund cannot be correct, and the net profits +available for dividends must be determined by the amount of earnings on +hand other than the surplus fund when that fund does not exceed a sum +equal to one-tenth of the earnings of the bank since its organization. +</p> +<p> +Having shown what the net profits available for dividends are, the only +other question that can arise is: Can losses and bad debts be charged to +the surplus fund and the other earnings used for paying dividends, or +must all losses and bad debts be first charged against earnings other +than the surplus fund, so far as such earnings will admit of it, and the +surplus, or a portion of it, used only when other earnings shall be +exhausted? +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page15" name="page15"></a>[15]</span> +</p> +<p> +This question is virtually answered above, for if the object of the law +in requiring the creation of a surplus fund may not be defeated by one +means it may not by another; if it may not be defeated by paying away +the amounts carried to surplus in dividends, neither may it be by +charging losses to the surplus and at the same time using the other +earnings for dividends. +</p> +<p> +Moreover, section 5204 of the Revised Statutes of the United States +provides as follows: "If losses have at any time been sustained by any +such association, equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on +hand, no dividend shall be made; and no dividend shall ever be made by +any association, while it continues its banking operations, to an amount +greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its +losses and bad debts." +</p> +<p> +This language fixes the extent to which dividends may be made at the +amount of the "net profits" on hand after deducting therefrom losses and +bad debts, and as it has been shown above that the surplus fund cannot +be considered "net profits," available for dividends within the meaning +of the law, it follows that in order to determine the amount of net +earnings available for dividends the losses must first be deducted from +the earnings other than surplus. +</p> +<p> +It is to be observed also that section 5204 specifies that if losses +have at any time been sustained by a bank equal to or exceeding its +"<i>undivided</i> profits" on hand no dividends shall be made. +</p> +<p> +Now the surplus fund is not undivided profits, except in so far as it is +earnings not divided among the shareholders. It is made upon a division +of the profits—so much to the stockholders and so much to the surplus +fund. If the law had intended that losses might be charged to surplus +fund in order to leave the other earnings available for dividends it is +to be presumed that care would not have been taken to use the words +"undivided profits," in the connection in which they are used, as stated +above. +</p> +<p> +Furthermore, if losses may be charged to surplus when at the same time +the other earnings are used for dividends to shareholders, a bank may go +on declaring dividends, and never accumulate any surplus fund whatever +if losses be sustained, as they are in the history of nearly every bank. +A construction of the law which would render inoperative the requirement +for the creation of a surplus cannot be sound; and as the only way to +insure that a surplus shall be accumulated and maintained is to charge +losses against other earnings as far as may be before trenching upon the +surplus; it must be that the law intended that the "undivided profits" +which are not in the surplus fund shall first be used to meet losses. +</p> +<p> +To a full understanding of the subject it is proper to say that after +using all other earnings on hand at the usual time for declaring a +dividend to meet losses the whole or any part of the surplus may be used +if the losses exceed the amount of the earnings other than surplus, and +then at the end of another six months a dividend may be made if the +earnings will admit of it, one-tenth of the earnings being first carried +to surplus and the re-accumulation of the fund thus begun. +</p> +<p> +This is because the law has been complied with by charging the losses +against the "undivided profits," as far as they will go, and it is +impossible to do more, or require more to be done, for the +re-establishment of the state of things that existed prior to losses +having been sustained than to do what the law requires shall be done to +originally establish that state of things. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page16" name="page16"></a>[16]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0006" id="h2H_4_0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CONCORD, N.H. +</h2> +<hr /> +<h4> +IMPRESSIONS D'UN FRANÇAIS. +</h4> +<hr /> +<h3> +<span class="sc">Par le Professeur Emile Pingault.</span> +</h3> +<p> +Quand les Français, les Français de France, comme disent leurs cousins +canadiens, parlent de l'Amérique ou pensent à cette reine des +républiques, ils n'ont en vue que les grandes villes. New-York, Boston, +Philadelphie, Chicago, la Nouvelle Orléans etc. ... forment seuls, pour +eux, l'immense continent découvert par Christophe Colomb. +</p> +<p> +Je voudrais essayer de réagir contre l'idée générale qu'on a, que la +lumiére, l'intelligence, la prospérité ne se trouvent que dans les +grands centres. +</p> +<p> +La Providence a voulu que je vinsse établir ma tente dans une ville qui, +bien qu'étant la capitale du New-Hampshire, paraît comme un point +microscopique auprès des villes que j'ai citées plus haut. Eh bien, sans +flatterie aucune, si l'on a pu appeler Boston l'Athène de l'Améríque, je +ne vois pas pourquoi on n'appellerait pas Concord un petit +<i>Rambouillet</i>, toute proportion gardée. +</p> +<p> +Je ne vous dirái pas que Concord est une petite ville située sur la +Merrimac, de 14,000 à 15,000 habitants, mais ce que je puis vous dire +c'est qu'il faudrait aller bien loin pour trouver une ville plus +intelligente et plus éclairée, je dirais même plus patriarcale. Tout le +monde s'y connaît et s'estime l'un l'autre. Il y a dans cette ville une +émulation pour le bien et pour l'instruction qui ne peut être surpassée. +</p> +<p> +Outre les écoles publiques telles que la Haute École (High School), les +écoles de grammaire, les écoles particulières, on y voit encore des +professeurs de langues modernes, des professeurs de dessin et de +peinture, et parmi ces derniers un jeune artiste qui fera vraiment la +gloire de l'Etat de Granit si la rlasse éclairée sait l'attacher +permanemment à la capitale. La musique a une place privilégiée dans +cette ville, les concerts de l'orchestre Blaisdelle sont suivis comme le +seraient les premières de Booth et d'Irving. Il y a la plus que du +sentiment, il y a véritablement de l'art, et un enfant de Concord, mort +il y a deux ans, âge de vingt ans à peine, était une preuve manifeste +que l'art est compris ici à un degré supérieure. +</p> +<p> +La littérature est cultivée avec le plus grand soin. Outre trois clubs, +composés chacun d'une quinzaine de membres, qui étudient et admirent +Shakspeare; une dame qui manie la parole comme le grand dramatiste +maniait la pensée donne des conférences sur l'auteur d'<i>Hamlet</i> +devant un auditoire aussi intelligent que nombreux. +</p> +<p> +Cet amour de s'instruire et d'étudier perce jusque dans les enfants les +plus jeunes. Deux <i>Kindergarten</i> sont établis en cette ville; là, +outre les choses aimables et utiles qu'on enseigne aux petits garçons et +petites filles de cinq à six ans, on leur apprend aussi le français. +Qu'il est beau de voir ces jeunes intelligences se développer an son de +la belle langue de Bossuet, de Fénelon, de Lamartine et de Victor Hugo. +Vous verrez à Concord un spectacle peut-être unique dans les Etats-Unis: +une douzaine de petits Américains et Américaines chantant la +<i>Marsellaise</i> et dansant des rondes de Bretagne et de Vendée avec +une voix aussi douce et un accent aussi pur que s'ils étaient nés sur +les bords de la Seine. +</p> +<p> +Ajoutez à ce tableau bien court et nullement exagéré que l'union et la +paix régne entre tous les habitants de la ville, que la police y est +heureuse et fort peu occupée, et vous aurez l'idée de la tranquillité +dont on jouit dans cet endroit privilégié. +</p> +<p> +J'avouerai franchement, pour finir, que si toutes les villes et villages +ressemblaient à Concord, l'Amérique serait le premier de tous les mondes +connus. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page17" name="page17"></a>[17]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0007" id="h2H_4_0007"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY VS. MONROE DOCTRINE. +</h2> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By George W. Hobbs.</span> +</h3> +<p> +In every conflict of European with American interests on the two +continents, comprising North and South America, our countrymen always +make their appeal to the "Monroe Doctrine" as the supreme, indisputable, +and irrevocable judgment of our national Union. It is said to indicate +the only established idea of foreign policy which has a permanent +influence upon our national administration, whether it be Republican or +Democratic, politically. A President of the United States, justly +appealing to this doctrine, in emergency arouses the heart and courage +of the patriotic citizen, even in the presence of impending war. +</p> +<p> +In view of this powerful sentiment swaying a great people, as well as +their government, it is not surprising that Congress is often called +upon to apply its principles; and it therefore becomes more and more +important that it should be well understood by <i>people</i>, as well as +Congress, in respect to its origin and purpose. +</p> +<p> +In the message of President Monroe to Congress, at the commencement of +the session of 1823-24, the following passages occur: +</p> +<p> +"In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, +we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do +so. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced, that +we resent injuries, or make preparations for defence. With the movements +in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and +by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial +observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially +different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds +from that which exists in their respective governments; and to the +defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood +and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened +citizens, and under which we have enjoyed such unexampled felicity, this +whole nation is devoted. +</p> +<p> +"We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing +between the United States and those powers to declare—<i>that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the +existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have not +interfered and shall not interfere; but with the governments who have +declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we +have on great consideration, and on just principles acknowledged, we +could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, in any other light, than +as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United +States</i>." +</p> +<p> +"It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political +sytem to any portion of either continent, without endangering our peace +and happiness. +</p> +<p> +"It is equally impossible, that we should behold such interposition in +any form with indifference." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page18" name="page18"></a>[18]</span> +</p> +<p> +Lest there may be some misapprehension, as to the political +circumstances, which called for the promulgation of this "Monroe +Doctrine," let us for a moment review the events which gave color and +importance to the political environments of that date which elicited +from President Monroe this now famous declaration. +</p> +<p> +In the year 1822 the allied sovereigns held their Congress at Verona. +The great subject of consideration was the condition of Spain; that +country being then under the Cortes or representatives of the +Revolutionists. The question was, whether or not Ferdinand should be +re-instated in all his authority by the intervention of foreign powers. +</p> +<p> +Russia, Prussia, France, and Austria, were inclined to that measure; +England dissented and protested, but the course was agreed upon; and +France, with the consent of these other continental powers, took the +conduct of the operation into her own hands. In the spring of 1823, a +French army was sent into Spain. Its success was complete; the popular +government was overthrown, and Ferdinand was re-instated and +re-established in all his power. This invasion was determined on and +undertaken precisely on the doctrines which the allied monarchs had +proclaimed the year before at Laybach; that is, that they had the right +to interfere in the concerns of another State, and reform its +government, "in order to prevent the effect of its bad example" (this +bad example, be it remembered, always being the example of free +government by the people). Now having put down the example of the +Cortes, in Spain, it was natural to inquire, with what eyes they should +look on the Colonies of Spain, that were following still worse examples. +Would King Ferdinand and his allies be content with what had been done +in Spain itself, or would he solicit their aid and would they grant it, +to subdue his rebellious American colonies? +</p> +<p> +Having "reformed" Spain herself to the true standard of a proud +monarchy, it was more than probable that they might see fit to attempt +the "reformation" and re-organization of the Central and South American +Colonies, which were following the "pernicious example of the United +States," and declaring themselves "free and independent," it being an +historical fact, that as soon as the Spanish King was completely +reestablished he invited the co-operation of his allies in regard to his +provinces in South America, to "assist him to readjust the affairs in +such manner as should retain the sovereignty of Spain over them." The +proposed meeting of the allies for that purpose, however, did not take +place. England had already taken a decided course, and stated +distinctly, and expressly, that "she should consider any foreign +interference by force or by menace, in the dispute between Spain and the +Colonies, as a motive for recognizing the latter without delay." +</p> +<p> +The sentiment of the liberty-loving people of the American Union was +strongly in favor of the independence of the Colonies, which our +government had already recognized; and it was at this crisis, just as +the attitude of England was made known, that President Monroe's noble +and patriotic declaration was made. Its effect was grand; it disarmed +all organized attempts on the part of Spain and her allies to +re-organize her "rebellious colonies"—now our sister republics in the +western hemisphere—and shook the political systems of the world to +their centres. +</p> +<p> +"The force of President Monroe's declaration," said Daniel Webster, "was +felt everywhere by all those who could + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page19" name="page19"></a>[19]</span> + + understand its object, and foresee its effect." Lord Brougham said in +Parliament that "no event had ever created greater joy, exaltation, and +gratitude, among all the freemen in Europe;" that he felt "proud in +being connected by blood and language with the people of the United +States;" that "the policy disclosed by the message became a great, a +free, an independent nation." +</p> +<p> +Daniel Webster again said of it, "I look on the message of December, +1823, as forming a bright page in our history. I will neither help to +erase it nor tear it out; nor shall it be by any act of mine blurred or +blotted. It did honor to the sagacity of the government, and I will not +diminish that honor. It elevated the hopes and gratified the patriotism +of the people over these hopes. I will not bring a mildew, nor will I +put that gratified patriotism to shame." +</p> +<p> +The effect of this declaration in Europe was all that could have been +desired by the patriotic statesmen who contributed their counsel to its +adoption. The message arrived in England on December 24, +1823—twenty-two days after Mr. Monroe delivered it to Congress. On the +second of January. Mr. Camming, the British Minister of foreign affairs, +told the American Minister that the principles declared in the message, +that the American continents were not to be considered as subject to +future colonization by any of the powers of Europe, greatly embarassed +the instructions he was about to send to the British Ambassador at St. +Petersburg, touching the Northwestern boundary; and that he believed +Great Britain would combat this declaration of the President with +animation. +</p> +<p> +Its effect upon the then pending negotiations with Russia was so +favorable, that the convention of 1824 was concluded in the Spring of +that year, by the withdrawal on the part of the Emperor of his +pretentious to exclusive trade on the Northwest coast, and by fixing the +parallel of 54" 40' as the line between the permissible establishments +of the respective countries. +</p> +<p> +This in brief is the history of the celebrated "Monroe Doctrine." It has +never been affirmatively adopted by Congress, by any recorded vote, as +the fixed and unalterable policy of this Republic; but its patriotic +sentiment is so deeply bedded in the hearts of the American people of +every political opinion, that Congress ought not and dare not ignore it. +</p> +<p> +But did not the United States Senate, when it ratified the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850, practically ignore the "Monroe Doctrine" +and open the door for future trouble? Let us examine this treaty, which, +in the light of present Congressional action, has become an important +element in American politics, and see if it is not antagonistic to the +American policy, and more than the <i>bete noir</i> of partizan dreams. +In order for a complete understanding of the terms, and bearing of this +treaty, I deem it important to give a full synopsis, rather than a brief +reference to its salient points: +</p> +<h4> +THE CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY. +</h4> +<p> +"A convention between the United States of America and her Britannic +Majesty. +</p> +<h5> +PREAMBLE. +</h5> +<p> +"The United States and her Britannic Majesty, being desirous of +consolidating the relations of amity, which so happily subsist between +them, by setting forth and fixing in a convention their views and +intentions with reference to any means of communication by ship canal, +which may be constructed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, by way +of the river San Juan de Nicaragua + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page20" name="page20"></a>[20]</span> + + and either or both the lakes of Nicaragua or Manaqua, to any port or +place on the Pacific ocean, the President of the United States has +conferred full powers on John M. Clayton, Secretary of State of the +United States, and her Britannic Majesty on the Right Honorable Sir +Henry Lytton Bulwer, a member of her Majesty's most honorable Privy +Council, Knight Commander of the most honorable order of Bath, and Envoy +Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty to +the United States for the aforesaid purpose; and the said +plenipotentiaries, having exchanged their full powers, which were found +to be in proper form, have agreed to the following articles, <i>viz</i>: +</p> +<p> +Article 1. The governments of the United States and Great Britain hereby +declare that neither the one nor the other will ever obtain, or maintain +for itself, any exclusive control over the said ship canal; agreeing +that neither will ever erect or maintain, any fortifications commanding +the same, or in the vicinity thereof: or occupy, or fortify, or +colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America. Nor will either make +use of any protection which either affords, or may afford, or any +alliance which either has or may have, to or with, any state or people +for the purpose of erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or +of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming, or +exercising dominion over the same; nor will the United States or Great +Britain take advantage of any intimacy, or use any alliance, connection, +or influence, that either may possess, with any state or government, +through whose territory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of +acquiring or holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or +subjects of the one, any rights or advantages in regard to commerce, or +navigation through the said canal, which shall not be offered on the +same terms to the citizens or subjects of the other. +</p> +<p> +Art. 2. Vessels of the United States or Great Britain traversing the +said canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be +exempted from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the +beligerents, and this provision shall extend to such a distance from the +two ends of the said canal, as may hereafter be found expedient to +establish. +</p> +<p> +Art. 3. The persons and property engaged in building the said canal +shall be protected by the contracting parties from all unjust detention, +confiscation and violence. +</p> +<p> +Art. 4. Both governments will facilitate the construction of said canal +and establish two free ports, one at each end of said canal. +</p> +<p> +Art 5. Both governments will guaranty and protect the neutrality of said +canal; provided, however, that said protection and guaranty may be +withdrawn by both, or either governments, if both or either should deem +that the persons building or managing the same adopt or establish +regulations concerning traffic therein, as are contrary to the spirit +and intention of this convention, either by unfair discrimination, in +favor of the commerce of one contracting party over the other, or by +imposing oppressive exactions or unreasonable tolls upon passengers, +vessels, goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles,—neither party to +withdraw such protection and guaranty without first giving six months +notice to the other. +</p> +<p> +Art 6. Treaty stipulations maybe made with the Central American States, +and states with which either or both parties have friendly intercourse; +and settle all differences arising as to the rights of property in the +canal, etc. +</p> +<p> +Art. 7. Contract to be entered into without delay, and the party first +commencing labor, etc., in the construction of said canal, is to have +priority of claim to construct the same, and will be protected therein +by the parties to this treaty. +</p> +<p> +Art. 8. Both governments agree that protection shall be extended by +treaty stipulations, hereafter to be made and entered into, to other +communications or ways across said isthmus. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page21" name="page21"></a>[21]</span> +</p> +<p> +Art. 9. Treaty to be ratified by both governments and ratifications +exchanged at Washington within six months." +</p> +<p> +This treaty bears date April 19, 1850, and is still in force in all its +provisions. +</p> +<p> +Is there anything in the terms, conditions, or effect of this treaty, +which in any way tends to militate or conflict with the declarations of +the "Monroe Doctrine?" +</p> +<p> +To answer this question satisfactorily, and give a careful analysis of +the treaty, in all its details, would take more time and space than I am +at liberty to use; but I may be pardoned if I trespass a little and give +a few reasons why I am come to the conclusion that the effect of the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is to abrogate and annul to a great extent the +cardinal principle of the "Monroe Doctrine." +</p> +<p> +In the first place the "Monroe Doctrine" was the accepted policy of this +government as to all foreign intervention from 1823 to 1850, and with +some of the leading minds of the country it has never ceased to be the +paramount creed in the national catechism. During these twenty-seven +years the project of building an inter-oceanic canal had been +considerably agitated, in Congress and out, and had enlisted to some +extent the sympathies of foreign powers who desired a shorter passage to +the Pacific Ocean, the East Indies, and the markets of Cathay, than the +stormy ones around the southern capes of either hemisphere. +</p> +<p> +This agitation finally culminated in diplomatic correspondence between +the representatives of Great Britain and the United States relative to +the construction of such a means of communication and the rights of the +two nations to the same, resulting in the treaty. In April, 1850, the +Senate of the United States, by a very large vote, ratified and +confirmed this treaty, notwithstanding it was vigorously opposed by such +men as Stephen A. Douglas and Lewis Cass, then in the zenith of their +fame. +</p> +<p> +It appears in the Congressional record of 1850, and subsequently, that +the treaty was ratified without a very clear understanding of its +meaning; and it was even hinted, in rather plain language, that the +representative of Great Britain had been too sharp, too diplomatic for +his American brother, and had overreached him. It further appeared that +the honorable Senate was sadly deficient in knowledge of geography, and +national boundaries; for it is matter of record, that many Senators +voted for the ratification under the impression that British Honduras +was included in the territory of Guatamala, and that the British +settlements were in that republic; while, as a fact, Balize or British +Honduras was on the easterly side of the Isthmus, never had been a part +of that republic, and the British settlements were, and always had been, +in Yucatan. They further understood the treaty to say, that neither +government should occupy, fortify, or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America; but it is a fact, +that at the very date of the treaty, at the date of the ratification, +and since, Great Britain occupied and colonized the Mosquito coast, or +that part which joins British Honduras on the northerly side of South +Honduras; and Mr. Douglas, in 1857, in a debate in Congress upon a +"resolution of inquiry as to the present status of the treaty," said: "I +voted against the treaty, Mr. President, for the reason that I am +unwilling to enter into any stipulations with any European power, that +we would not do on this continent whatever we might think it our duty to +do, whenever + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page22" name="page22"></a>[22]</span> + + a case should arise. I voted against it because by clause 1 of that +treaty we are debarred from doing what it might be our duty to do; but +as it has been entered into, I desire to see it enforced. I am not yet +aware that that clause of the treaty has been carried into effect. I +have yet to learn that the British Government have withdrawn their +protectorate from the Mosquito Coast; I have yet to learn that they have +abandoned the possession of that territory which they held under the +Mosquito King." +</p> +<p> +From the day that treaty was ratified to the present, it has been a +fertile source of discord and misunderstanding between the two +governments; and from 1850 to 1858 its provisions were thrice made the +basis of a proposal to arbitrate as to their meaning: their modification +and abrogation have been alike contingently considered, and their +imperfect and vexatious character have been repeatedly recognized on +both sides. Even the present administration is laboring with the +difficulty, and seeking some honorable way to free the treaty from its +embarrassing features, or entirely abrogate it. President Buchanan, in +1858, characterized and denounced the treaty as "one which had been +fraught with misunderstanding and mischief from the beginning;" and the +leading statesmen of the country have felt that it was entirely +inadequate to reconcile the opposite views of Great Britain and the +United States towards Central America. +</p> +<p> +The Honorable James G. Blaine, late Secretary of State under the +lamented Garfield, in his diplomatic correspondence with Lord Granville, +in 1881, in summing up his review of the negotiations concerning this +treaty, says: "It was frankly admitted on both sides that the +engagements of the treaty were misunderstandingly entered into, +improperly comprehended, contradictorily interpreted, and mutually +vexatious." +</p> +<p> +An examination of the diplomatic correspondence and the Congressional +Records of the years 1852-3-4 reveals what may perhaps be unknown +history to many of my readers; that Great Britain within one year after +she signed and ratified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and agreed therein +NOT "to colonize, fortify, or exercise control over, any part of Central +America," did seize upon, colonize and partially fortify and exercise +control over the five islands in the Bay of Honduras, called the Bay +Islands; and that she did this in derogation of the declarations of the +"Monroe Doctrine," and in direct violation and contempt of the Treaty, +which she had so recently entered into; that this same national +cormorant immediately surveyed and made a new geographical plan of +Central America, in which she extended her province of Balize from the +river Hondo, on the north, to the river Sarstoon on the south, and from +the coast of the bay westward to the falls of Garbutts on the river +Balize; or five times its original size; and then modestly claimed that +her possessions were not in Central America, and therefore not within +the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty; that she has to this day +continued her protectorate, as she calls it, of the Mosquito Coast, and +that within six days after the Treaty of California, which secured to us +that "pearl of the occident," she seized San Juan and occasioned a brief +naval excitement at Greytown, the port of the San Juan river. This last +kick by Great Britain at the treaty she had so solemnly promised to +abide by was the most barefaced and impudent of all; for it was at that +time supposed by every body who had considered the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page23" name="page23"></a>[23]</span> + + question of an inter-oceanic canal, that if built at all it would be by +way of the San Juan river, Lake Nicaragua, and across Nicaragua to the +Pacific; thus making Greytown the important port of said canal, and the +key to the control of the entire commerce thereon. +</p> +<p> +The diplomatic correspondence which followed this high-handed outrage, +like all the diplomatic (?) correspondence concerning Central America, +while firm and bold on the part of this government, yet lacked that +moral force, national importance, and perfect fearlessness, which the +fetters imposed by the treaty prevented us from using or exhibiting. +</p> +<p> +With the treaty out of the way, and the principles of the "Monroe +Doctrine" imprinted as a legend upon our banners, we should have stood +on unassailable ground; have exhibited a national importance and +vitality—an uncompromising firmness, courage and dignity that would +have carried conviction, achieved immediate and honorable success, and +commanded the respect of the civilized world. But fettered, tantalized, +and weakened, by the ambiguities and inconsistencies of this +co-partnership treaty, the United States government was compelled to +temporize, argue, and explain, and finally compromise with her +co-partner, and graciously allow the disgraceful fetters to remain. +</p> +<p> +Did Great Britain withdraw her protectorate? No. Did she withdraw her +colonies from the Bay Islands? No. Did she give up her new geography of +Central America, and restore Balize to its original territory? No. Did +she yield a single point in the controversy, except to give up and +repudiate as unauthorized the seizure of San Juan? No. Not in a single +instance when the territory of Central America was at stake, and the +provisions of the treaty were concerned, did she yield a single point; +but she has even claimed and argued, that under the proper +interpretation of the terms of that treaty she may hold all that she +then enjoyed, and all that she can seize or buy, which is more than five +statute miles from the coast line of any part of Central America; +because, as she says, the treaty means the political, not the +geographical Central America, and the political Central America is that +part only of the continent which is contained within the limits of the +five Central American republics; while the geographical Central America +comprises all the territory and adjacent waters which lie between the +republic of Mexico and South America; and that as Balize, Yucatan, and +the Bay Islands, were not within the limits of the five Central American +republics, they are no part of the Central America designated and +intended in the treaty, and are not included in the term "other +territory" used in said treaty. +</p> +<p> +The United States on the other hand claimed that the express language of +the treaty, to wit: "that neither will occupy, or fortify, or colonize, +or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America," means the geographical +Central America, including all that is not specifically enumerated from +Mexico on the north, to New Grenada or the United States of Columbia on +the south; that the claim of Great Britain was not a tenable or +reasonable one, and that the understanding was, that neither government +should thereafterwards acquire, or assume any control over, any part of +the territory lying between Mexico and South America. +</p> +<p> +In the year 1853, during the discussion in the Senate upon the +resolution of inquiry presented by Mr. Douglas, Mr. Clayton, then +Senator from Delaware, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page24" name="page24"></a>[24]</span> + + admitted that the ambiguity of the treaty is so great, that on some +future occasion a conventional article, clearly stating what are the +limits of the Central America named in the treaty, might become +advisable. +</p> +<p> +This admission, from the lips of the very man who so diplomatically (?) +represented the United States in the making of this vexatious treaty, is +rather significant, and aids us of this generation in coming to the +conclusion that the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is a disgrace to this +republic, and ought to be at once abrogated. +</p> +<p> +Another historical fact, with which few are familiar, and which shows +the animus of this treaty, is this: In 1849 Mr. Hise, our minister at +Nicaragua, reported to the Honorable Secretary of State that Nicaragua +had offered to the United States, through him, "the exclusive right to +build, maintain, and forever control an inter-oceanic canal across that +republic; and offered to enter into treaty stipulations to that effect." +Mr. Hise strongly urged the acceptance of this offer, and prepared and +forwarded to the State Department a treaty, accepted by the government +of Nicargagua, which confirmed in specified terms the offer of full and +complete control and government of said canal. For reasons best known to +the Department of State, this treaty, called the Hise treaty, was never +accepted or presented to the Senate for ratification and adoption, but +was somehow quietly smothered, and the Clayton-Bulwer co-partnership +treaty reported and adopted in its stead. +</p> +<p> +It will be seen at a glance, by even the most careless political tyro, +that the Hise treaty was directly in line and accord with the express +principles of the "Munroe Doctrine;" and that it would have given to +this country the exclusive rights, which under the treaty adopted it +must share with its co-partner, Great Britain. Had the United States +accepted the offer made by Nicaragua, and thus obtained the exclusive +privilege of opening and controlling the canal, we could have opened it +to the commerce of the world, on such terms and conditions as we should +deem wise, just, and politic; and it would have been more creditable to +us as a nation to have acquired it ourselves, and opened it freely to +the use of all nations, rather than to have entered into a +co-partnership by which we not only have no control in prescribing the +terms upon which it shall be opened, but lose the right of future +acquisition and control of Central American territory. Had we accepted +it (or should we accept the recent offer of Nicaragua to the same +general effect) we should have held in our possession a right, and a +might, which would have been ample security for every nation under +heaven to have kept the peace with the United States. +</p> +<p> +Honorable Stephen A. Douglas, in commenting upon the conduct of the +State Department of 1849 and 1850, said: "When we surrendered this +exclusive right we surrendered a great element of power, which in our +hands would have been wielded in the cause of justice for the benefit of +all mankind." +</p> +<p> +"But suppose," said Senator Clayton in reply, "that Great Britain and +other European powers would not have consented to our exclusive control +of a canal, in which they, as commercial nations, had as much, and more +interest, that we had?" +</p> +<p> +"Well, then," in the language of Senator Douglas, "if Nicaragua desired +to confer the privilege, as it appears she did, and we were willing to +accept, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page25" name="page25"></a>[25]</span> + + it was purely an American question with which England or any other +foreign power had no right to interfere, or claim to be consulted, no +more than we could claim to be consulted when the Holy Alliance sought +to establish the equilibrium of Europe. We were not consulted then, and +in matters purely continental we have no occasion to consult them; and +if England, or any other foreign power, should attempt to interfere, the +sympathies of the rest of the civilized world would be with us." +</p> +<p> +The policy of England has always been an aggressive one. While for +nearly seventy years she has professed a friendship and national harmony +with the United States, she has not ceased to plant her colonies and +establish sentry boxes on every sea-girt island, that she could control, +within a short voyage of our coast; while she has Gibraltar to command +the entrance to the Mediterranean, a garrison at the Cape of Good Hope +to control the passage to the Indies, she also maintains on the Bahamas +and the Bermudas, in her well-equipped garrisons, vigilant sentinels +whose eyes are ever watching the western continent in obedience to the +royal behest; and in the magnificent island of Jamaica she has +established, and maintained at enormous expense, a fortified and +well-garrisoned naval station, which practically controls the Caribbean +sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and even the contemplated +canal itself; and yet not content with all this readiness and armament +for aggressive war, she creeps still nearer the coveted prize and on the +Bay Islands, almost in sight of the proposed canal, she plants her royal +banner, and holds the key as the mistress of the situation; so that in +case of war between the two countries she is well prepared for a quick +and vigorous blow at the life of this republic. +</p> +<p> +She may have no occasion for many years to strike such a blow, but she +will wait in readiness; and woe be to that national simplicity which +puts its faith in princes, and takes no heed for the future. +</p> +<p> +What, then, is the duty of this republic in regard to the Central +American problem? Shall we abrogate the patriotic principles contained +in the declarations of the Monroe doctrine, and confess that we have no +definite American policy? Shall we withdraw from the honorable and +patriotic position of defender and upholder of republicanism on this +continent, and permit the royal wolves of devastation to run wild over +our sister republics, because, forsooth, in an evil hour, we were led +into an alliance which, under the name of a treaty, has embarrassed our +action, clouded our judgment, and involved our self-respect? Shall the +great American Nation, with its untold resources, its magnificent +capabilities, and its sublime faith in the manifest destiny of this +republic, calmly submit to the errors, mistakes, aye, blunders of its +aforetime rulers, and under a mistaken sense of honor continue to be +bound hand and foot by the terms of that pernicious treaty which might +well be called the covenant of national disgrace? +</p> +<p> +I maintain that it is an utter impossibility for a treaty-making power +to impose a permanent disability on the government for all coming time, +which, in the very nature and necessity of the case, may not be outgrown +and set aside by the laws of national progression, which all unaided +will render nugatory and vain all the plans and intentions of men. In +the language of Honorable Edward Everett, in his famous diplomatic +correspondence with + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page26" name="page26"></a>[26]</span> + + the Compte De Sartiges in relation to the Island of Cuba, in 1852, when +asked to join England and France in a tripartite treaty, in which a +clause was embodied forbidding the United States from ever acquiring or +annexing that Island to this republic, "It may well be doubted, whether +the Constitution of the United States would allow the treaty making +power to impose a permanent disability on the American government for +all coming time, and prevent it under any future change of circumstances +from doing what has so often been done in the past. In 1803 the United +States purchased Louisiana of France, and in 1819 they purchased Florida +of Spain. It is not within the competence of the treaty-making power in +1852 effectually to bind the government in all its branches, and for all +coming time, not to make a similar purchase of Cuba. There is an +irresistible tide of affairs in a new country which makes such a +disposition of its future rights nugatory and vain. America, but lately +a waste, is filling up with intense rapidity, and is adjusting on +natural principles those territorial relations which, on the first +discovery of the continent, were, in a good degree, fortuitous. It is +impossible to mistake the law of American progress and growth, or think +it can be ultimately arrested by a treaty, which shall attempt to +prevent by agreement the future growth of this great republic." +</p> +<p> +The good faith of this nation demands that we should live up to all our +treaties and agreements, so far as it is possible to do so; but when in +the course of events, and by reason of the fixed decrees of growth, we +are not able to do so, then it becomes us, in honor and fairness to +others, as well as to ourselves, to take immediate measures to modify, +and if necessary entirely rescind them, let the consequences be what +they may. +</p> +<p> +The genius of America is progressive, and the pluck and activity of the +average American is unsurpassed. Who shall say, then, that Central +America shall never become part of this Republic, which now increases +its population over a million each year? What statesman shall now in the +light of experience seek to bind this nation within the limits of a +treaty, that these United States will not annex, occupy, or colonize any +new territory? If the Nicaragua Canal shall ever be constructed, will +not American citizens settle along its line, and Yankee enterprise +colonize, and build Yankee towns, and convert that whole section into an +American state? Will not American principles and American institutions +be firmly planted there? And how long will it be before the laws of +progress shall require us to extend our jurisdiction and laws over our +citizens in Central America—even as we were obliged to do in Texas? +Perhaps not in our day and generation, but in the words of the lamented +Douglas, "So certain as this republic exists, so certain as we remain a +united people, so certain as the laws of progress, which have raised us +from a mere handful to a mighty nation, shall continue to govern our +action, just so certain are these events to be worked out, and you will +be compelled to extend your protection-in that direction. You may make +as many treaties as you please, to fetter the limits of this great +republic, and she will burst them all from her, and her course will be +onward to a limit which I will not venture to prescribe. Having met with +the barrier of the ocean in our western course, we may yet be compelled +to turn to the North and to the South for an outlet." +</p> +<p> +With a distinctly American policy, such as the Father of his Country +foreshadowed and advised, when in his farewell address he warned us +against "entangling alliances with foreign powers;" such as President +Monroe bequeathed to us in the declarations of the "Monroe Doctrine," we +shall be more likely to achieve honor and renown; national prosperity +and universal respect, than can ever be ours, while fettered and bound, +by the galling chains of an entangling, unwise, and unfair treaty. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page27" name="page27"></a>[27]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0008" id="h2H_4_0008"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + THE DIVORCE LEGISLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. +</h2> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By Chester F. Sanger.</span> +</h3> +<p> +There evidently exists just at the present time a great and increasing +interest in the old and much debated subjects of divorce, and divorce +legislation; an interest which is intensified as the population of our +younger states with their widely varying laws governing this matter +increases and the dangers and opportunities for fraud grow more +apparent. Naturally enough, therefore, public attention is invited to +these different laws of the several states of our Union, some allowing +divorce for one cause, others refusing it upon the same ground, and one +state, at least, refusing to grant a divorce for any cause whatever. The +remedy for this seems to many to be a national divorce law, establishing +in all the states a uniform mode of procedure and a uniform basis upon +which all petitions for divorce must be grounded; it must also fix the +status of the parties in every state and prescribe the several property +rights of each after the entry of the judicial decree which separates +them from a union, not of God, as some would try to teach, but often +from fetters, the weight and horror of which are known to the parties +alone, or to those, who, unlike our theoretical reformers, have had some +practical experience in the actual operation of our divorce courts. +</p> +<p> +While it is a fact, overlooked by the enthusiasts on this subject, that +no such national law can be passed without an amendment to the +constitution, since the passage of such an act would be an invasion of +the rights reserved to the several states; yet in view of this +widespread interest in the question, the development and present +condition of the laws regulating divorce in our own Commonwealth becomes +an interesting matter of inquiry. While such a discussion has little or +nothing to do directly with the moral aspects of the subject, it is well +to note in passing that the doctrine of the indissolubility of the +marriage relation was not made a tenet of the church until as late as +1653. The Mosaic Law made the husband the sole judge of the cause for +which the woman might lawfully be "put away," and many Bibical scholars +of great attainments have maintained that when rightly interpreted the +words of Christ do not restrict divorce to the single cause of actual +adultery, while elsewhere in the New Testament divorce for desertion is +expressly sanctioned. +</p> +<p> +The Roman Catholic Church, while it pronounced the marriage tie +indissoluble, at the same time reserved to the Pope the right to grant +absolute divorce, a right which was often exercised for reward, while +her Ecclesiastical Courts in the meantime declared many marriages null +and void upon so-called impediments established solely upon the +confession of one or the other of the parties seeking divorce. This +course is hard to explain satisfactorily if we admit a sincere belief in +the justice of her own dogma. It was from this practice of the Church +that came the custom of granting partial divorce, or, as it was termed, +divorce from bed and board—a divorce which was one only in name, and +made a bad matter worse, surrounding both parties with temptations, and +being, as it has been said, an insult to any man of ordinary feelings +and understanding. It was, to be sure, an attempt to comply with + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page28" name="page28"></a>[28]</span> + + the established doctrine of the Church, but it was a compromise with +common-sense. To this same source may be traced the curious procedure in +England, known as a suit for the restoration of conjugal rights, wherein +a husband or wife, who, being unable to obtain a a genuine divorce, had +separated from his or her partner for cause, might be compelled by the +power of the law to return to the "bliss too lightly-esteemed." +</p> +<p> +There is one state in our Union in which, as one of her Judges puts it, +"to her unfading honor," not a single divorce has been granted for any +cause since the Revolution. But the fact remains, not so much to her +unfading honor, perhaps, that she has found it necessary to regulate by +statute the proportion of his property which a married man may bestow +upon his concubine, while at the same time adultery is not an indictable +offence. Another of her Judges has said from the bench, "We often see +men of excellent characters unfortunate in their marriages, and virtuous +women abandoned or driven away houseless by their husbands, who would be +doomed to celibacy and solitude if they did not form connections which +the law does not allow, and who make excellent husbands and wives +still." +</p> +<p> +This judicial utterance makes an excellent basis for the statement that +it is better to adapt the law to facts as we find them, than to proceed +on the principle that as there is no redress called for save where there +is a wrong, if we do not allow the redress, there will, of course, be no +wrong. There is no escape from the conclusion that divorce or irregular +connections will prevail in every community; why not agree with Milton +that honest liberty is the greatest foe to dishonest license? +</p> +<p> +When the founders of the new Commonwealth came to these shores they +brought with them of necessity the laws of the mother country, and so we +shall find that the divorce laws of England, as they existed at that +time, were the early laws of the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts +Bay. The Ecclesiastical courts of England were invested with full +jurisdiction of all matters of divorce, but from about the year 1601 +they had steadily refused to grant an absolute divorce for any cause +whatever, although they as constantly granted divorce from bed and +board, allusion to which has already been made; that is, they decreed a +judicial separation of man and wife, which freed the parties from the +society of each other, but at the same time left upon them all the +obligations of the marriage vow as to third parties. Finally, when +divorce was sought for cause of adultery, resort was had to parliament, +and in 1669 an absolute divorce for that cause was granted by that body +for the first time. This mode of procedure was, of course, a most +expensive one, and during the seventeenth century but three decrees +absolute were granted, the parties in each belonging to the peerage and +the cause being the same. +</p> +<p> +In cases arising in the early history of the colonies we should +therefore expect to find the law as I have briefly sketched it as +existing in England, and as there were then no courts exercising the +functions of the Ecclesiastical Courts we might safely look for the +exercise of these powers by the Court of Deputies, or General Court, +which was at that time not simply a deliberative body, but also a court +of most extensive and varied jurisdiction, in matters both civil and +criminal. This was precisely the fact; the records show that in 1652 +Mrs. Dorothy Pester presented to the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page29" name="page29"></a>[29]</span> + + General Court her petition for leave to marry again, giving as her +reason the fact that her husband had sailed for England some ten years +before, and had not been heard from since. The court decreed that +liberty be granted her to marry, "when God in his providence shall +afford her the opportunity." In 1667 the same court refused to grant a +like petition, for the reason that they were not satisfied by the +evidence that the husband had not been heard from for three years. +</p> +<p> +One year prior to this appears the first record of a divorce in the +Plymouth colony, which, taken in connection with the two cases just +referred to, throws a bright light on the unwritten laws then regulating +this matter. Elizabeth, wife of John Williams, appeared with a petition +asking for a divorce, and complaining of her husband because of his +great abuse of, and "unaturall carryages towards her, in that by word +and deed he had defamed her character and had refused to perform his +duty towards her according to what the laws of God and man requireth." +Her husband appeared and demanded trial of the issue by jury, who found +the complaint to be just and true. Thereupon the deputies "proseeded to +pase centance" against him as follows: "that it is not safe or +convenient for her to live with him and we doe give her liberty att +present to depart from him unto her friends untill the court shall +otherwise order or he shall behave himself in such a way that she may be +better satisfyed to returne to him againe." He must also "apparell her +suitably at present and provide her with a bed and bedding and allow her +ten pounds yearly to maintaine her while she shall bee thus absent from +him," and to ensure the faithful performance of the decree of the court +he must "put in cecurities" or one third of his estate must be secured +to her comfort. As he has also defamed his wife and otherwise abused +her, it is further decreed that he must stand in the market place near +the post, with an inscription in large letters over his head which shall +declare to all the world his unworthy behavior towards his wife. And as +though the poor man was not yet sufficiently punished they go on to say +that "Inasmuch as these his wicked carriages have been contrary to the +lawes of God and man, and very disturbing and expensive to this +government, we doe amerce him to pay a fine of twenty pounds to the use +of the Colonie." One is inclined to think upon reading this rather +severe "centance" that if the law of our day was somewhat similar the +divorce docket would not be so long as at present. +</p> +<p> +I have cited this case at considerable length for the reason that it +shows that the divorces then granted, even in aggravated cases, were +from bed and board, and that the right of the wife to a certain portion +of the property of her husband was recognized and enforced. The other +cases show that cruel and abusive treatment and absence unexplained for +the term of three years were then as now considered good grounds on +which to seek separation. +</p> +<p> +The first legislation in our state bearing directly on our subject +appears to have been in 1692, when it it was provided that all +controversies concerning marriage and divorce should be heard and +determined by the Governor and Council, thus changing simply the +tribunal without affecting the existing laws. Curiously enough, although +the tribunal which should determine the controversies was thus fixed, +there was no provision made for enforcing its decrees, and it was thus +left practically powerless for sixty-two years, or until 1754, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page30" name="page30"></a>[30]</span> + + when this defect in the law was remedied by a provision that refusal or +neglect to obey the decrees of the Governor and Council might be +punished like contempt of courts of law and equity by imprisonment. +</p> +<p> +In 1693 were passed the first statutes regulating the subject of +marriage in the colony, the preamble to which was as follows: "Although +this court doth not take in hand to determine what is the whole bredth +of the divine commandment respecting marriage, yet, for preventing the +abominable dishonesty and confusion which might otherwise happen," +certain marriages are declared to be unlawful and the issue thereof +illegitimate, and severe and degrading punishments are provided for all +offenders, even although innocent of any wrong intent. +</p> +<p> +As the population of the colony increased and spread over the country at +a distance from Boston, the fact that the only court having jurisdiction +of matters of divorce and marriage was held only in that town was the +cause of ever-increasing inconvenience, and accordingly it was enacted +in 1786 that "whereas, it is a great expense to the people of this state +to be obliged to attend at Boston upon all questions of divorce, when +the same might be done within the counties where the parties live, and +where the truth might be better discovered by having the parties in +court," jurisdiction in all matters of divorce should be vested in the +Supreme Judicial Court, where it has ever since remained in spite of +efforts made at various times to give to other courts concurrent or even +exclusive jurisdiction. As the Supreme Judicial Court is now overworked, +and as it is not deemed advisable, for various reasons, to increase its +numbers, it is more than probable, in view of the increase in the number +of libels annually filed, that some modification of our laws will soon +be made which shall give the entire jurisdiction of this matter either +to the Superior Court or to the Judges of Probate in the several +counties. Governor Robinson called the attention of the Legislature to +the importance of some change in this direction in his last message, and +urged speedy action. +</p> +<p> +The act of 1786, above alluded to, fixed the causes of divorce at +two—adultery or impotency of either of the parties, but allowed a +divorce from bed and board for extreme cruelty. To this was added in +1810 the further cause of desertion, or refusal to furnish proper +support to the wife. To the two causes above named the Legislature of +1836 added a third, namely, the imprisonment of either party for the +term of seven years or more at hard labor. +</p> +<p> +In 1698 it had been provided that in case of three years' absence at +sea, when the voyage set out upon was not usually of more than three +months' duration, the man or woman whose relation was in this way parted +from him might be considered single and unmarried. In 1838 wilful +desertion for five years was added to the then existing causes for +absolute divorce, in favor of the innocent party, and in 1850 yet +another cause was added by providing that if either party separated from +the other and for three years remained united with any religious sect or +society believing or professing to believe that the relation of husband +and wife is void and unlawful, a full divorce might be granted to the +other. +</p> +<p> +The law remained thus for ten years, or until the adoption of the +General Statutes in 1860, when desertion for five years was made ground +for granting a divorce to the deserting party also, provided it could be +shown that such desertion + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page31" name="page31"></a>[31]</span> + + was due to the cruelty of the other, or in case of the wife, to the +failure of the husband to properly provide for her. Divorce from bed and +board was also authorized for extreme cruelty, complete desertion, gross +and confirmed habits of intoxication, if contracted after the marriage, +and neglect of the husband to provide for his wife. Such limited +divorces might be made absolute after five years' separation, on +petition of the party to whom the divorce was granted, and after ten +years on that of the guilty party. There was no change in these laws +until 1870, when limited divorce, a relic of churchly superstition, was +done away with entirely in this State, the grounds upon which it had +been granted being at the same time made cause for absolute divorce, +with the condition, however, that all such divorces should be in the +first instance <i>nisi</i>, that is, conditional, to be made absolute +after three years in the discretion of the court, and after five years +as of right. Prior to this time, in 1867, it had been enacted that all +decrees of divorce should be first entered <i>nisi</i>, to be made +absolute in six months in the discretion of the court, and this act of +1870 therefore left nine causes for absolute divorce; but in all cases +for cruelty, desertion, intoxication, or neglect or refusal to support, +the decree must remain conditional for at least three years. Since that +date there have been many changes in the statutes, but all in the +direction of regulating the entry of the decree, without affecting the +causes therefor, except that in 1873, habits of intoxication, even if +contracted before marriage, were made good grounds for a decree. +</p> +<p> +The law of 1841, which remained in force until 1853, forbad the marriage +of the party for whose fault divorce was granted during the lifetime of +the innocent partner; but in the latter year the court was authorized to +allow the guilty party, except in cases of adultery, to remarry; and in +1864 it was provided that even in such cases the guilty one might marry +after three years, unless actually tried and convicted of the crime. In +1873 even this restriction of three years was removed, and the law +remained so until 1881, when it was enacted that the guilty party in all +cases might marry after two years without the formality of applying to +the court for leave so to do. +</p> +<p> +From this brief review of the history of our law there is but one +conclusion to be drawn, that slowly but surely the doors to divorce have +been opened until it has become a comparatively easy matter to obtain +that relief which for so many years was absolutely refused. A few +statistics will illustrate this: In the year 1863 there were in the +state 10,873 marriages and 207 divorces; in 1882 there were 17,684 +marriages and 515 divorces, or an increase in the former of 62.6 per +cent., and of the latter of 147.6 per cent., while the population of the +state increased in the same time 53.4 per cent. Since the legislation of +1870, which, as we have seen above, made divorce obtainable on nine +grounds, the increase in the number of decrees granted has been 36 per +cent., while in the same period marriages have increased but 20 per +cent. +</p> +<p> +During this twenty years 79 per cent. of all divorces granted were for +adultery and desertion, and of those granted for the first-mentioned +cause only a trifle over one-half were for the fault of the man; while, +contrary to a widely-prevalent belief, the record shows that of the +decrees entered for that cause the proportion is greater in the country +districts than in our cities. In the same period the highest ratio of +divorce to marriage + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page32" name="page32"></a>[32]</span> + + has been one to twenty-three, and the lowest one to thirty-three, the +average for the whole time being one to thirty-one; but in Suffolk +County, comprising the cities of Boston and Chelsea and the towns of +Winthrop and Revere, the average has been only one to forty-one and +nine-tenths. These statistics are indeed startling, and may be easily +used as a foundation for an argument that our laws governing the matter +are far too lenient, since the number of divorces is so apparently +excessive. +</p> +<p> +But on the other hand is it not as fair an inference from all the facts, +that beyond and deeper than any provisions of the law there is something +wrong in society itself; that we must look for the real root of the +trouble in the influences which are operating upon our social life as a +people? Our Judges who administer the law are learned, of great +experience in the matter of weighing evidence, careful and +conscientious. The laws are carefully framed to prevent collusion +between the parties, and especially to render it difficult to obtain a +divorce for the groundless desertion of the party seeking the +separation; in fact they are far in advance of the laws of many of our +sister states, and it has been truly said that the divorce laws of this +Commonwealth have kept pace with the improved understanding of the +condition of the people, and have been wisely framed to meet the many +causes which exist in modern life to break up the domestic relations. +</p> +<p> +There is not one of our statutory causes for divorce which could be +stricken out without a certainty of inflicting legal cruelty in the +future. Of all our divorces nearly seventy per cent, are upon petition +of the wife; and it can be safely said that nearly all will agree that +to compel a woman to submit to the cruelty and brutalities of a drunken +or profligate husband, is not only inflicting upon her legal cruelty, +but has an influence which extends beyond the individual and is powerful +for evil upon those who are to come after us. +</p> +<p> +Strangely enough as our educational advantages have increased, as more +avenues of self support have been opened to women, so has the ratio of +divorce to marriage also grown larger, thus apparently furnishing +conclusive proof that it is not legislative reform that is now needed. +It is not necessary to argue that no legislation can operate in any way +to strengthen those family ties which have their foundation in the +social and domestic affections. On the other hand, any thing in the +direction of education of the young tending to strengthen love of home +and domestic life, and to do away with the prevalent tendency to what +has been termed individualism, will be a step in the right path and will +aid in lessening the evils which so many wrongly ascribe to faulty +legislation. If any further proof of this fact is needed it is found in +the knowledge that by far the larger part of the seekers for relief come +from our native population, while none but those who have some practical +experience in the realities of the divorce court room can know how +intolerable are the burdens from which this relief is sought. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page33" name="page33"></a>[33]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0009" id="h2H_4_0009"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + SHEM DROWNE AND HIS HANDIWORK. +</h2> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By Elbridge H. Goss.</span> +</h3> +<p> +The weird imaginings and romantic theories of our great story-teller, +Hawthorne, must not be taken as veritable and indisputable history. Some +of the Boston newspapers have recently run riot in this respect. +Hawthorne, in his "Drowne's Wooden Image," in "Mosses from an Old +Manse," says the figure of "Admiral Vernon," which has stood on the +corner of State and Broad streets, Boston, for over a century, was the +handiwork of one Shem Browne, "a cunning carver of wood." Upon this +statement of the romancer, for there is no authentic history to warrant +it, one paper, in an article entitled "A Funny Old Man," says: "Deacon +Shem Drowne, the Carver. Concerning the origin of the carved figure of +Admiral Vernon there can be no doubt. History, ancient records, and +fiction all record the presence in Boston of one Deacon Shem Drowne, +whose business it was to supply the tradesmen and tavern-keepers of the +day with similar carved images to indicate their calling, or by which to +identify their places of business."<a href="#note-1" name="noteref-1"><small>1</small></a> +</p> +<p> +Another, discoursing of this same image, as "Our Oldest Inhabitant," +after attributing it to the same man's workmanship, states: "Deacon Shem +Drowne, whose name suggests pious and patriarchal, if not nautical +associations, carved the grasshopper which still holds its place over +Faneuil Hall, and also the gilded Indian,<a href="#note-2" name="noteref-2"><small>2</small></a> who, with his bow bent and +arrow on the string, so long kept watch and ward over the Province +House, the stately residence of the royal Governors of +Massachusetts."<a href="#note-3" name="noteref-3"><small>3</small></a> This writer repeatedly spells the name wrong. His +name was Drowne, not Droune.<a href="#note-4" name="noteref-4"><small>4</small></a> In "Drowne's Wooden Image," Hawthorne +makes his Shem Drowne a wood-carver, plain and simple: "He became noted +for carving ornamental pump heads, and wooden urns for gate posts, and +decorations, more grotesque than fanciful, for mantle pieces." "He +followed his business industriously for many years, acquired a +competence, and in the latter part of his life attained to a dignified +station in the church, being remembered in records and traditions as +Deacon Drowne, the carver," and he connects him with the real Shem +Drowne of history, only by speaking of him this once as "Deacon Drowne," +and saying: "One of his productions, an Indian Chief, gilded all over, +stood during the better part of a century on the cupola of the Province +House, bedazzling the eyes of those who looked upward, like an angel of +the sun;" plainly indicating that he thought the Indian was carved from +wood, instead of being made, as it was, of hammered copper. +</p> +<p> +The real Shem Drowne was not a wood-carver; no authority for such a +statement can be found. His trade is given as that of a "tin plate +worker,"<a href="#note-5" name="noteref-5"><small>5</small></a> and a "cunning artificer" in metal;<a href="#note-6" name="noteref-6"><small>6</small></a> nowhere as a +wood-carver. He was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1683. His + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page34" name="page34"></a>[34]</span> + + father was Leonard Drowne, who came from the west of England to Kittery, +where he carried on the ship building business until 1692, when, on +account of the French and Indian wars, he removed his family to Boston, +where he died, a few years after, and his grave is in the old Copp's +Hill Burying Ground.<a href="#note-7" name="noteref-7"><small>7</small></a> At Boston Shem Browne established himself in his +trade. He was elected a deacon of the First Baptist Church, in 1721. He +was "often employed in Town affairs, especially in the management of +Fortifications."<a href="#note-8" name="noteref-8"><small>8</small></a> +</p> +<p> +He married Catherine Clark, one of the heirs of Nicholas Bavison, of +Charlestown, who was a purchaser in the "Pemaquid Patent," or grant of +the Plymouth Company, of some twelve thousand acres, to Messrs. +Aldsworth and Elbridge of Bristol, England, made in 1631. Becoming +interested in the claim of his wife, as one of the heirs, in 1735, he +was appointed agent and attorney of the "Pemaquid Proprietors," in which +capacity he acted for many years. It was sometimes called the "Drowne +Claim." In 1747 he had the whole tract of land surveyed, and was +instrumental in causing forty or more families to settle in that region. +That he became blind, or nearly so, as early as 1762, is attested by a +deed of land at Broad Cove (Bristol, Maine), made in that year to Thomas +Johnston; a note in the margin of which states that it was "distinctly +read to him on account of his sight;"<a href="#note-9" name="noteref-9"><small>9</small></a> but the signature is written in +a large, plain hand. He died January 13, 1774, aged ninety-one years. He +had a daughter, Sarah, who, in 1757, was married to Rev. Jeremiah Condy, +who, from 1739 to 1764, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, of which +church Mr. Drowne was a deacon. As a metal worker he made the +grasshopper, Indian, and other vanes; but that he ever carved a pump +head, urn, gate-post, "Admiral Vernon," or any other wooden image, there +is not a scintilla of evidence; nothing but the figment of a romancer's +brain. +</p> +<p> +The following letter to his nephew, Honorable Solomon Drowne of +Providence, Rhode Island, is here printed by the kindness of Henry T. +Drowne, Esq., of New York, who has many of the old papers of the Drowne +families. It was written soon after his nephew's marriage, and is an +interesting document; full of a sympathetic and kindly spirit; showing +that the customs of his church, the Baptist, of that day, were very +similar to those of the Evangelical churches of to-day; and gives an +instance of "Catholic Christian Spirit" worthy of note. The use of the +colon instead of the period is also noticeable: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + BOSTON [Massachusetts], +</p> +<p class="quote"> + August y<sup>e</sup> 18, 1732. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + <span class="sc">Loving Kinsman:</span> +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Yours I received and have considered the Contents, and pray that your + spouse may be directed and assisted by the grace and holy spirit of + God to live in all good conscience before Him and this being the + indispensable Duty of everyone when come to the use of Reason, with + all seriousness to search the Scriptures, from thence to learn our + Duty; and, then with Humility to devote ourselves to God, which is our + reasonable Service; and, this being the awfulest solemnity that poor + mortal man ever transacts in, whilst in this world: being to enter into + Covenant with the Most High God. In the Concernment of a precious soul + for a vast Eternity, ought to be entered upon with earnest prayer to + God for his grace, that it may be sufficient for us, and that His + strength might be made perfect in weakness: As for the order in which + our Church admits Members into Communion: the Person who desires to + joyn to the Church stands propounded a fortnight, in which time inquiry + is made concerning their Life and Conversation: + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page35" name="page35"></a>[35]</span> + + then they appear before the Church, make <i>Confession</i>, with their + mouth, of their Repentance toward God, and their faith toward our Lord + Jesus Christ: and, if nothing appears by information contrary to their + <i>Confession</i>, then they are approved of by a vote of the Church, + with all readiness; and so partake of the Holy ordinances—Baptism and + the Lord's Supper. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Our breaking-bread day is always on the first Sabbath in every month, + and, always on the Friday before it, we have a Church Meeting, which is + carried on by prayer, in order to prepare for our approach to the Lord's + table: at which Meetings <i>those</i> are sometimes heard and sometimes + on the Sabbath, as circumstances best serve—so that any Person at a + Distance may send to our minister to propound them to the Church timely, + and order their coming, so as to partake of both ordinances on the same + day: The Reverend Mr. Cotton of Newton, on occasion of a man of his + Parish desiring to join in Communion with our Church, gave him a Letter + of Recommendation, not as a member with him, but as of one in Judgment + of Charity qualified by the grace of God to be received amongst us: + which the Church received as a mark of his Catholic Christian Spirit. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + That you and your spouse may be directed to do what may be most for + the glory of God: and for your own Peace and Comfort, both for time + and Eternity: that you may both walk in all the commands and ordinances + of the Lord blameless is the Prayer and Desire of your loving uncle. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + SHEM DROWNE. +</p> +<p> +Two of the three best known weather vanes made by Drowne, are still on +duty; and one, the Indian chief, which for so many years decked the +Province House, is now the property of the Massachusetts Historical +Society, in one of the rooms of which it is to be seen, still swinging +on its original pivot. From the sole of his foot to the top of his +plume, it is four feet, six inches; and from his elbow to tip of arrow, +four feet; weight forty-eight pounds. +</p> +<p> +The old grasshopper on Fanueil Hall<a href="#note-10" name="noteref-10"><small>10</small></a> was made in 1742, and has veered +with the winds and been beaten by the storms of one hundred and forty +odd years. It was last repaired in 1852, when there was found within it +a much-defaced paper, only a part of which could be read: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + SHEM DROWNE MADE ITT +</p> +<p class="quote"> + May 25, 1742 +</p> +<p class="quote"> + To my Brethren and Fellow Grasshoppers +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Fell in y<sup>e</sup> year 1755 Nov 15th day from y<sup>e</sup> Market by a great Earthquake + ... sing ... sett a ... by my old Master above. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Again Like to have Met with my Utter Ruin by Fire, but hopping Timely + from my Publick Situation came of with Broken bones, and much Bruised, + Cured and again fixed.... +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Old Master's Son Thomas Drowne June 28th, 1763. And Although I now + promise to Play ... Discharge my Office, yet I shall vary as ye + wind.<a href="#note-11" name="noteref-11"><small>11</small></a> +</p> +<p> +The other one still in use is the old "Cockerel" of Hanover Street +Church fame. This was made for the New Brick Church in 1721, and is the +oldest of the three. It held its position on this church and its +successors, one of which was long known as the "Cockerel Church," for +one hundred and forty-eight years, when it was raised on the Shepard +Memorial Church of Cambridge, where it now is. "It measures five feet +four inches from bill to tip of tail, and stands five feet five inches +from the foot of the socket to the top of comb, and weighs one hundred +and seventy-two pounds."<a href="#note-12" name="noteref-12"><small>12</small></a> +</p> +<p> +Possibly some other specimens of the handiwork of this good Deacon Shem +Drowne are still in existence. Who knows? +</p> +<a name="note-1"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>1</u> (<a href="#noteref-1">return</a>)<br /> +Boston Globe, October 18, 1884. +</p> +<a name="note-2"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>2</u> (<a href="#noteref-2">return</a>)<br /> +Neither of these were carved; they were both of metal. +</p> +<a name="note-3"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>3</u> (<a href="#noteref-3">return</a>)<br /> +Boston Evening Record, January 10, 1885. +</p> +<a name="note-4"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>4</u> (<a href="#noteref-4">return</a>)<br /> +Fac-similes of his signature are given in "Memorial History +of Boston," vol. II, p. 110, written in 1733, and in John Johnston's +"History of Bristol, Bremen and the Pemaquid Plantation," p. 466, +written in 1762. +</p> +<a name="note-5"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>5</u> (<a href="#noteref-5">return</a>)<br /> +Johnston's "Bristol and Bremen." +</p> +<a name="note-6"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>6</u> (<a href="#noteref-6">return</a>)<br /> +Samuel Adams Drake's "Old Landmarks of Boston," p. 135. +</p> +<a name="note-7"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>7</u> (<a href="#noteref-7">return</a>)<br /> +Mss. letter of Henry T. Drowne, Esq., of New York. +</p> +<a name="note-8"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>8</u> (<a href="#noteref-8">return</a>)<br /> +Samuel G. Drake's "History of Boston." +</p> +<a name="note-9"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>9</u> (<a href="#noteref-9">return</a>)<br /> +History of "Bristol and Bremen." +</p> +<a name="note-10"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>10</u> (<a href="#noteref-10">return</a>)<br /> +Drake in "Old Landmarks," says: "the grasshopper was long +thought to be the crest of the Faneuils." +</p> +<a name="note-11"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>11</u> (<a href="#noteref-11">return</a>)<br /> +Boston Daily Advertiser, December 3, 1852. +</p> +<a name="note-12"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>12</u> (<a href="#noteref-12">return</a>)<br /> +Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. XXVII, p. 422. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page36" name="page36"></a>[36]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0010" id="h2H_4_0010"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + THE WEDDING IN YE DAYS LANG SYNE. +</h2> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By Rev. Anson Titus.</span> +</h3> +<p> +The story of courtship and marriage is ever fascinating. It is new and +fresh to the hearts of the youthful and aged. A few words upon the +marriage day in the early New England will not be without interest. +September 9, 1639, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony passed +a law ordering intentions of marriage to be published fourteen days at +the public lecture, or in towns where there was no lecture the +"intention" was to be posted "vpon some poast standinge in publique +viewe." On this same day it was ordered that the clerks of the several +towns record all marriages, births and deaths. This was a wise +provision. It at once taught the people of the beginning and of the +designed stability of the new-founded government. +</p> +<p> +The course of true love did not run smooth in these early days any more +than to-day. Parents were desirous of having sons and daughters +intermarry with families of like social standing and respectability. But +the youth and maid often desired to exercise their own freedom and +choice. On May 7, 1651, the General Court ordered a fine and punishment +against those who "seeke to draw away y<sup>e</sup> affections of yong maydens." In +the time of Louis XV, of France, the following decree was made: "Whoever +by means of red or white paint, perfumes, essences, artificial teeth, +false hair, cotton, wool, iron corsets, hoops, shoes, with high heels, +or false tips, shall seek to entice into the bonds of marriage any male +subject of his majesty, shall be prosecuted for witchcraft, and declared +incapable of matrimony." The fathers of New England may have made +foolish laws, but this one in France at a later time goes beyond them. +The seductive charms of the sexes they deemed could not be trusted. +Wonderment often comes to us of the thoughts and manners of the sage +law-makers when their youthful hearts were reaching out after another's +love. +</p> +<p> +The marriage day was celebrated with decorum. The entire community were +conversant of the proposed marriage, for the same had been read in +meeting and posted in "publique viewe." The earliest lawmakers of the +Colony were pillars in the church, and though they did not regard +marriage an ordinance over which the church had chief to say, yet they +desired an attending solemnity. In 1651 it was ordered that "there shall +be no dancinge vpon such occasions," meaning the festivities, which +usually followed the marriage, at the "ordinary" or village inn. +</p> +<p> +The marriage of widows made special laws needful. Property was held in +the name of the husband. The wife owned nothing, though it came from the +meagre dowry of her own father. When the husband died the widow had +certain rights as long as she "remained his widow." These rights were +small at best, though the estate may have been accumulated through years +of their mutual toil and hardships. We have notes of a number of cases, +but give only a few. We omit the names of the contracting parties. +"T—— C—— of A—— and H—— B—— of S——, widow were married +together, September y<sup>e</sup> 28th, 1748, before O—— B—— J.P. And at ye +same time y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> H—— solemnly declared as in y<sup>e</sup> presence of Almighty +God & + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page37" name="page37"></a>[37]</span> + + before many witnesses, that she was in no way in possession of her +former husband's estate of whatever kind soever neither possession or +reversion." An excellent Deacon married an elderly matron, Dorothea +——, and before the Justice of Peace "Y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> Dorothea declared she +was free from using any of her former husband's estate, and so y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> +Nathaniel [the Deacon] received her." The following declarations are not +without interest. "Y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> John B—— declared before marriage that he +took y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> Hannah naked and had clothed her & that he took her then in +his own clothes separate from any interest of her former husbands." +Again a groom declares: "And he takes her as naked and destitute, not +having nor in no ways holding any part of her former husband's estate +whatever." We have also the declaration of a widower on marrying a widow +in 1702, who had property in her own name, probably gained by will, +"that he did renounce meddling with her estate." These declarations +evidence that the widow relinquished, and that the groom received her +without the least design upon the estate. It has been intimated that in +a few instances these declarations became a "sign," but we can hardly +credit it. The "rich" widow was taken out of the matrimonial problem. +</p> +<p> +The following affidavit is spread on the town records of Amesbury: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Whereas Thomas Challis of Amesbury in y<sup>e</sup> County of Essex in y<sup>e</sup> Province + of y<sup>e</sup> Massachsetts Bay in New England, and Sarah Weed, daughter of + George Weed in y<sup>e</sup> same Town, County and Province, have declared their + intention of taking each other in marriage before several public + meetings of y<sup>e</sup> people called Quakers in Hampton and Amesbury, and + according to y<sup>t</sup> good order used amongst them whose proceeding therein + after a deliberate consideration thereof with regard to y<sup>e</sup> righteous law + of God and example of his people recorded in y<sup>e</sup> holy Scriptures of truth + in that case, and by enquiry they appeared clear of all others relating + to marriage and having consent of parties and relations concerned were + approved by said meeting. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Now these certify whom it may concern y<sup>t</sup> for y<sup>e</sup> full accomplishment of + their intention, this twenty-second day of September being y<sup>e</sup> year + according to our account 1727, then they the s<sup>d</sup> Thom<sup>s</sup> Challis and + Sarah Weed appeared in a public assembly of y<sup>e</sup> afores<sup>d</sup> people and + others met together for that purpose at their public meeting-house in + Amesbury afores<sup>d</sup> and then and there he y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> Thom<sup>s</sup> Challis + standing up in y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> assembly taking y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> Sarah Weed by y<sup>e</sup> hand + did solemnly declare as followeth: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Friends in y<sup>e</sup> fear of God and in y<sup>e</sup> presence of this assembly whom I + declare to bear witness, that I take this my Friend Sarah Weed to be my + wife promising by y<sup>e</sup> Lord's assistance to be unto her a kind and loving + husband till death, or to this effect; and then and there in y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> + assembly she y<sup>e</sup> said Sarah Weed did in like manner declare as follweth: + Friends in y<sup>e</sup> fear of God and presence of this assembly whom I declare + to bear witness that I take this my Friend Thom<sup>s</sup> Challis to be my + husband promising to be unto him a faithful and loving wife till death + separate us, or words of y<sup>e</sup> same effect. And y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> Thom<sup>s</sup> Challis + and Sarah Weed, as a further confirmation thereof did then and there to + these presents set their hands, she assuming y<sup>e</sup> name of her husband. And + we whose names are hereto subscribed being present amongst others at + their solemnizing Subscription in manner afores<sup>d</sup> have hereto set our + names as witness." +</p> +<p> +Then follow the names of groom and bride, relatives on either side, and +then the names of members in the assembly, first the "menfolks," then +the "womenfolks." The names all told are forty-one. Among them is that +of Joseph + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page38" name="page38"></a>[38]</span> + + Whittier, which name with those of Challis and Weed have long been +honored names in Amesbury. +</p> +<p> +The marriage gift to the husband on the part of his parents was usually +a farm, a part of the homestead; the dowry to the young bride from her +parents was a cow, a year's supply of wool, or something needful in +setting up house-keeping. If the homestead farm was not large the young +couple were brave enough to encounter the labors and toils of frontier +life, and begin for themselves on virgin soil and amid new scenes. It +required bravery on the part of the young bride. But there were noble +maidens in those days. The cares and duties of motherhood soon followed, +but the house-cares and the maternal obligations were performed to the +admiration of later generations. The fathers and mothers of New England +were strong and hardy. Their praises come down to us. Witnesses new and +ancient testify of their worth and royalty of character. +</p> +<hr /> +<a name="h2H_4_0011" id="h2H_4_0011"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + A REMINISCENCE OF COL. FLETCHER WEBSTER. +</h2> +<p> +In a private conversation with the writer not long since General +Marston, of New Hampshire, related the following story: +</p> +<p> +"On the morning of the thirtieth of August, 1862, before sunrise, I was +lying under a fence rolled up in a blanket on the Bull Run battle-field. +It was the second day of the Bull Run battle. My own regiment, the +Second New Hampshire Volunteers, had been in the fight the day before +and had lost one-third of the entire regiment in killed and wounded. +</p> +<p> +"While so lying by the fence some one shook me and said, 'Get up here.' +In answer I said, without throwing the blanket from over my head, 'Who +in thunder are you?' The answer was made, 'Get up here and see the +Colonel of the Massachusetts Twelfth.' +</p> +<p> +"The speaker then partly pulled the blanket off my head and I saw that +it was Colonel Fletcher Webster; whereupon I arose, and we sat down +together and I sent my orderly for coffee. +</p> +<p> +"We sat there drinking the coffee and talking about his father, Daniel +Webster, and he told me about his father going up to Franklin every year +and always using the same expression about going. He would say +'Fletcher, my son, let us go up to Franklin to-morrow; let us have a +good time and leave the old lady at home. Let us have a good old New +Hampshire dinner—fried apples and onions and pork.' At about that time +the Adjutant of Colonel Webster's regiment came along and told him that +the General commanding his brigade wanted to see him. Colonel Webster +replied that he would be there shortly. +</p> +<p> +"As he sat there on the blanket with me he took hold of his left leg +just below the knee with both hands and said: 'There, I will agree to +have my leg taken off right there for my share of the casualties of this +day.' I replied: 'I would as soon be killed as lose a leg; and the +chances are a hundred to one that you won't be hit at all.' 'Well,' said +he as he gave me his hand, 'I hope to see you again; goodbye.' I never +saw him again. He was killed that day. His extreme sadness, his +depression, was perhaps indicative of a conviction or presentiment of +some impending misfortune." +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page39" name="page39"></a>[39]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0012" id="h2H_4_0012"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + OLD DORCHESTER. +</h2> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By Charles M. Barrows.</span> +</h3> +<p> +The quaint old Puritan annalist, James Blake, wrote as a preface to his +book of records: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "When many most Godly and Religious People that Dissented from y<sup>e</sup> way + of worship then Established by Law in y<sup>e</sup> Realm of England, in y<sup>e</sup> Reign + of King Charles y<sup>e</sup> first, being denied y<sup>e</sup> free exercise of Religion + after y<sup>e</sup> manner they professed according to y<sup>e</sup> light of God's Word and + their own consciences, did under y<sup>e</sup> Incouragment of a Charter Granted + by y<sup>e</sup> S<sup>d</sup> King, Charles, in y<sup>e</sup> Fourth Year of his Reign, A.D. 1628, + Remoue themselues & their Families into y<sup>e</sup> Colony of y<sup>e</sup> Massachusetts + Bay in New England, that they might Worship God according to y<sup>e</sup> light + of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was + y<sup>e</sup> very motive & cause of their coming; Then it was, that the First + Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, and were y<sup>e</sup> first Company or + Church Society that arriued here, next y<sup>e</sup> Town of Salem who was one + year before them." +</p> +<p> +Nonconformity, then, was the "very motive and cause" which settled +Dorchester, the oldest town but one in Puritan New England, and planted +there a sturdy yeomanry to whom freedom of conscience was more than home +and dearer than life. Nor was this "vast extent of wilderness" to which +they succeeded by right of purchase from the heirs of Chickatabat any +such narrow area as that of the same name, recently annexed to the city +of Boston. It extended from what is now the northern limit of South +Boston to within a hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line, thus +giving the township a length of about thirty-five miles "as y<sup>e</sup> road +goethe." The late Ellis Ames, of Canton, a competent authority, says the +town "was formerly bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, +Taunton, Bridgewater and Braintree," so that its history is the history +of a large part of the towns in Norfolk county and a portion of Bristol. +The manner in which the original territory has been gradually reduced is +thus told by Mr. Ames: "Milton was set off in 1662; part of Wrentham, in +1724: Stoughton, in 1726; Sharon, in 1765; Foxborough, in 1778; Canton, +in 1797; strips were also set off to Dedham, probably, in 1739; and +before the whole was annexed, portions of the northern part of the town +were set off to Boston, at two several times: in 1804 and in 1855." +Since that date another portion has been severed to make the northern +quarter of Hyde Park. Honorable John Daggett, the historian of +Attleborough, which was then a part of the Rehoboth North Purchase, says +there was a dispute concerning the boundary between Dorchester and that +town, which was finally settled by a conference of delegates, held at +the house of one of his ancestors. +</p> +<p> +Why those "most Godly and Religious People" chose to settle where they +did rather than on the Charles river, as at first intended, Mr. Blake +proceeds to tell us in his annals. He says they made the voyage from +England to New England in a vessel of four hundred tons, commanded by +Captain Squeb, and that they had "preaching or expounding of the +Scriptures every day of their passage, performed by Ministers." Contrary +to their desires, the ship discharged them and their goods at Nantasket, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page40" name="page40"></a>[40]</span> + + but they procured a boat in which part of the company rowed into Boston +harbor and up the Charles river, "until it became narrow and shallow," +when they went ashore at a point in the present village of Watertown. +But after exploring the open lands about Boston, they finally made +choice of a neck of land "joyning to a place called by y<sup>e</sup> Indians +Mattapan," because it formed a natural inclosure for the cattle they had +brought with them, and which, if turned into the open land, would be +liable to stray and be lost. This little circumstance fixed the original +settlement on the marsh now known as Dorchester Neck. +</p> +<p> +The honor of the name Dorchester appears to belong to Rev. John White, +minister of a town of the same name in the mother country, who planned +and encouraged the exodus to America. But the hardy little band of +exiles who received the title from old Cutshumaquin, the successor of +Chickatabat, little knew what their wild territory was destined to +become in the course of a hundred years. They were loyal subjects of the +English throne, building their log cabins and rude meeting-house on +Allen's Plain under protection of a charter from King Charles; there +they hoped to found a permanent town, where the worship of God should be +maintained in accordance with the dictates of the Puritan conscience, +without interference of churchman, Roman Catholic, Baptist, or Quaker. +There was room in the unexplored forests to the south for pasturage and +for the overflow, whenever, as Cotton Mather said when the whole state +contained less than six thousand white inhabitants, "Massachusetts +should be like a hive overstocked with bees." +</p> +<p> +The first meeting-house in Dorchester, a very unpretentious structure of +logs and thatch, was completed in 1631, and no free-holder was allowed +to plant his domicile farther than the distance of half a mile from it, +without special permission of the fathers of the town. It stood near the +intersection of the present Pleasant and Cottage streets, and that +portion of the former highway between Cottage and Stoughton streets is +supposed to have been the first road laid out in the early settlement. +Shortly after, this road was extended to Five Corners in one direction, +and to the marsh, then called the Calf Pasture, in the other. The +present names of these extensions are Pond street and Crescent avenue. +From Five Corners a road was subsequently laid out running, north-east +to a point a little below the Captain William Clapp place, where there +was a gate which closed the entrance to Dorchester Neck, where the +cattle were pastured. It was on this street that Rev. Richard Mather, +the first minister of the town, Roger Williams, of Rhode Island fame, +and other distinguished citizens resided. The next undertaking in the +way of public improvements was the building of two important roads, one +leading to Penny Ferry, thus opening a highway of communication with the +sister Colony at Plymouth; the other leading to Roxbury, Brookline and +Cambridge. +</p> +<p> +In Josselyn's description of the town soon after its settlement may be +read: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Six myles from Braintree lyeth Dorchester, a frontire Town, pleasantly + situated and of large extent into the maine land, well watered with two + small rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick with houses, ... + accounted the greatest town heretofore in New England, but now giving + way to Boston." +</p> +<p> +Through what hardships and privations this infant freehold was +maintained can be understood by those only, who + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page41" name="page41"></a>[41]</span> + + have read the records of the colonial struggle against a sterile soil, a +rigorous climate, grim famine, hostile Indians, and a total lack of all +the appliances and comforts of civilization. The years 1631 and 1632 +were a period of great distress to the Dorchester farmers, on account of +the failure of their crops and supplies of provision, and Captain Clapp +wrote concerning it: "Oh! y<sup>e</sup> Hunger that many suffered and saw no hope +in an Eye of Reason to be Supplied, only by Clams & Muscles, and Fish; +and <i>Bread</i> was very Scarce, that sometimes y<sup>e</sup> very Crusts of my +Fathers Table would have been very sweete vnto me; And when I could have +<i>Meal & Water & Salt</i>, boyled together, it was so good, who could +wish better. And it was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to +Drink Water, and to eat <i>Samp</i> or <i>Homine</i> without Butter or +Milk. Indeed it would have been a very strange thing to see a piece of +Roast Beef, Mutton, or Veal, tho' it was not long before there was Roast +<i>Goat</i>." +</p> +<p> +In 1740, the same year that Whitefield visited New England, on his +evangelistic mission, the crops were again cut off by untimely frosts, +and Mr. Blake wrote in his annual entry-book: "There was this year an +early frost that much Damnified y<sup>e</sup> Indian Corn in y<sup>e</sup> Field, and after +it was Gathered a long Series of wett weather & a very hard frost vpon +it, that damnified a great deal more." +</p> +<p> +It is not unfair to suppose that the habits of rigid economy learned in +this school of adversity influenced the passage of the celebrated law +against wearing superfluities, quite as much as their austere prejudice +against display. Be that as it may, the attention of the court was +called to the dangerous increase of lace and other ornaments in female +attire, and, after mature deliberation, it seemed wise to them to pass +the following wholesome law: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Whereas there is much complaint of the wearing of lace and other + superflueties tending to little use, or benefit, but to the nourishing + of pride, and exhausting men's estates, and also of evil example to + others; it is therefore ordered that henceforth no person whatsoever + shall prsume to buy or sell within this jurisdiction any manner of lace + to bee worne ore used within o<sup>r</sup> limits. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "And no taylor or any other person, whatsoever shall hereafter set any + lace or points vpon any garments, either linnen, woolen, or any other + wearing cloathes whatsoever, and that no p'son hereafter shall be + imployed in making any manner of lace, but such as they shall sell to + such persons but such as shall and will transport the same out of this + jurisdiction, who in such a case shall have liberty to buy and sell; and + that hereafter no garment shall be made w<sup>th</sup> short sleeves, whereby the + nakedness of the arm may be discovered in the bareing thereof, and such + as have garments already made w<sup>th</sup> short sleeves shall not hereafter + wear the same, unless they cover their armes with linnen or otherwise; + and that hereafter no person whatsoever shall make any garment for + women, or any of their sex, w<sup>th</sup> sleeves more than halfe an elle wide in + y<sup>e</sup> widest place thereof, and so proportionable for bigger or smaller + persons; and for the p<sup>r</sup> sent alleviation of immoderate great sleeves + and some other superfluities, w<sup>ch</sup> may easily bee redressed w<sup>th</sup> out + much pr udice, or y<sup>e</sup> spoile of garments, as immoderate great briches, + knots of ribban, broad shoulder bands and rayles, silk lases, double + ruffes and caffes, &c." +</p> +<p> +But the court did not confine itself to prescribing the size of a lady's +sleeves, or the trimming she might wear on her dress: it passed other +timely laws to restrain the idle and vicious and preserve good order +throughout the community. It was ordered in 1632 "that y<sup>e</sup> remainder of +Mr. (John) Allen's strong + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page42" name="page42"></a>[42]</span> + + water, being estimated about two gallandes, shall be deliuered into y<sup>e</sup> +hands of y<sup>e</sup> Deacons of Dorchester for the benefit of y<sup>e</sup> poore there, for +his selling of it dyvers tymes to such as were drunke by it, knowing +thereof." +</p> +<p> +In 1638 the court passed a curious law regulating the use of tobacco, +which runs as follows: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "The Court finding since y<sup>e</sup> repealing of y<sup>e</sup> former laws against + tobacco y<sup>e</sup> law is more abused than before, it hath therefore ordered + that no man shall take any tobacco in y<sup>e</sup> field except in his iourney, + or meale times, vpon pain of 12<sup>d</sup> for every offence, nor shall take any + tobacco in (or near) any dwelling house, barne, Corn or Haye, as may be + likely to endanger y<sup>e</sup> fireing thereof, vpon paine of 2<sup>s</sup> for every + offence, nor shall take any tobacco in any Inne or common victualling + house; except in a private room there; so as neither the master of the + same house nor any other gueste there shall take offence thereat; w<sup>ch</sup> + if they doo, then such p son is forth w<sup>th</sup> to forebeare, vpon paine of + 2<sup>s</sup> 6<sup>d</sup> for every offence." +</p> +<p> +One office created by the court of that early period it might not be a +bad idea for the authorities of the present day to revive. Wardens were +appointed annually to "take care of and manage y<sup>e</sup> affairs of y<sup>e</sup> +School; they shall see that both y<sup>e</sup> Master & Schollar, perform, their +duty, and Judge of and End any difference that may arrise between Master +& Schollar, or their Parents, according to Sundry Rules & Directions," +set down for their guidance. +</p> +<p> +In all matters coming within the province and jurisdiction of the +colonial church the law was even more exacting than in merely civil +affairs; and singularly enough, the town authorities took it upon +themselves to seat all persons who attended divine service in the +meeting-house where it seemed to them most proper. With the full +approbation of the selectmen, responsible persons were sometimes allowed +to construct pews or seats for themselves and their families in the +meeting-house; but it appears on one occasion that three citizens +undertook to "make a seat in y<sup>e</sup> meeting-house," without first getting +the full permission and consent of the town fathers, an act deemed +exceedingly sinful, and for which they were arraigned before the town at +a special meeting and publicly censured. After duly considering the case +it was decided to allow the seat to remain, provided it should not be +disposed of to any person but such as the town should approve of, and +that the offending parties acknowledge their "too much forwardness," in +writing, which they did in the following manner: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "We whose names are underwritten, do acknowledge that it was our + weakness that we were so inconsiderate as to make a small seat in the + meeting-house without more clear and full approbation of the town and + selectmen thereof, though we thought upon the conference we had with + some of the selectmen apart, and elders, we had satisfying ground for + our proceeding therein; w<sup>ch</sup> we now see was not sufficent; therefore we + do desire that our failing therein may be passed by; and if the town + will grant our seat that we have been at so much cost in setting up, we + thankfully acknowledge your love unto us therein, and we do hereupon + further engage ourselves that we will not give up nor sell any of our + places in that seat to any person or persons but whom the elders shall + approve of, or such as shall have power to place men in seats in the + assembly. +</p> +<p class="quote"><br /> + [Signed]. INCREASE ATHERTON,<br /> + SAMUEL PROCTOR,<br /> + THOMAS BIRD. +</p> +<p> +At another time one Joseph Leeds, a member of the church, was accused of +maltreating his wife; the charge was sustained, and after the case had +been considered at several special meetings, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page43" name="page43"></a>[43]</span> + + it was settled by his confessing and promising "to carry it more +lovingly to her for time to come." But Jonathan Blackman, another erring +brother, was charged with misdemeanors that could not be so easily +overlooked; he was accused of lying and also of stealing. He had been +whipped for these offences, but refused to come before the church for +wholesome discipline, and ran away out of the jurisdiction. Accordingly +he was "disowned from his church relation and excommunicated, though not +deliuered up to Satan, as those in full communion, but yet to be looked +at as a Heathen and a Publican unto his relations natural and civil, +that he might be ashamed." +</p> +<p> +Another class of statutes—laws that have a queer sound in +nineteenth-century Massachusetts—were designed for the encouragement of +special public service. Here are examples of some of them: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "1638. For the better encouragement of any that shall destroy wolves, + it is ordered that for every wolf any man shall take in Dorchester + plantation, he shall have 20<sup>s</sup> by the town, for the first wolf, 15<sup>s</sup> + for the second, and for every wolf afterwards, 10<sup>s</sup> besides the + Country's pay." +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "1736. Voted, that whosoever shall kill brown rats, so much grown as + to have their hair on them, within y<sup>e</sup> town of Dochester, y<sup>e</sup> year + ensuing, until our meeting in May next, and bring in their scalps + with y<sup>e</sup> ears on unto y<sup>e</sup> town treasurer, shall be paid by y<sup>e</sup> town + treasurer Fourpence for every rat's scalp." +</p> +<p> +The same year the town offered a bounty for the destroying of striped +squirrels. +</p> +<p> +Now that the recent death of Wendell Phillips brings freshly to mind the +bitter opposition with which the early champions of abolution were +treated in Boston and vicinity, it is pleasant to find in the musty +records of the Dochester Plantation emphatic evidence that they not only +recognized slavery as an evil, and the slave-trade as a heinous crime, +but that they set their faces like a flint against it. The traffic in +slaves began among the colonists in the winter of 1645-6, and in the +following November the court placed on record this outspoken +denunciation of the practice: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "The Gen'all Co'te conceiving themselves bound by y<sup>e</sup> first opertunity + to bear Witness against y<sup>e</sup> haynos & crying sin of man stealing, as also + to prscribe such timely redresse for what is past, and such a law for + y<sup>e</sup> future as may sufficiently deter all others belonging to us to have + to do in such vile and odious courses, iustly abhored of all good and + iust men, do order y<sup>t</sup> y<sup>e</sup> negro interpreter w<sup>th</sup> others unlawfully + taken, be y<sup>e</sup> first opertunity (at y<sup>e</sup> charge of y<sup>e</sup> country for psent), + sent to his native country in Ginny, & a letter w<sup>th</sup> him of y<sup>e</sup> + indignation of y<sup>e</sup> Corte thereabout, and iustice hereof, desiring o<sup>r</sup> + hono<sup>red</sup> Gov<sup>rnr</sup> would please put this order in execution." +</p> +<p> +How men so clear in their convictions of the rights of Africans could be +guilty of the most heartless injustice to Quakers and their friends, it +is not easy to explain; and yet they mercilessly persecuted one of their +own fellow-citizens, Nicholas Upsall, and made him an exile from his +home, for no greater crime than that of countenancing and befriending +members of the Society of Friends. He kept the Dorchester hostelry, and +was wont to entertain Quakers as he did any other decent people; but for +this he was apprehended and tried by the court, and sentenced to pay a +fine of £20 and be thrown into prison. Finally, finding it impossible to +entirely prevent his friends from holding intercourse with him, he was +banished from the settlement for the remainder of his life. That curious +book, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page44" name="page44"></a>[44]</span> + + "Persecutors Maul'd with their own Weapons," contains the following +account of the case: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Nicholas Upsall, an old man full of years, seeing their (the + authorities) cruelty to the harmless Quakers that they had condemned + some of them to die, both he and elder Wisewell, or otherwise Deacon + Wisewell, members of the church in Boston, bore their testimonies in + public against their brethren's horrid cruelty to the said Quakers. And + the said Upsall declared that he did look at it as a sad forerunner of + some heavy judgment to follow upon the country; which they took so ill + at his hands, that they fined him twenty pounds and three pounds more at + another meeting of the court, for not coming to their meeting, and would + not abate him one grote, but imprisoned him and then banished him on + pain of death, which was done in a time of such extreme bitter weather + for frost, snow and cold, that had not the heathen Indians in the + wilderness woods taken compassion on his misery, for the winter season, + he in all likelihood had perished, though he had then a good estate in + houses and lands, goods and money, also a wife and children." +</p> +<p> +One of the officials who for a time had charge of poor Upsall during the +period of his imprisonment was John Capen, of whom the old chroniclers +have left a pleasanter record, namely, a transcript of several of his +youthful love-letters. The following will serve as sample: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "SWEETE-HARTE, +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "My kind loue and affection to you remembered; hauinge not a convenient + opertunety to see and speake w<sup>th</sup> you soe oft as I could desier, I + therefore make bold to take opertunety as occassione offers it selfe to + vissit you w<sup>th</sup> my letter, desiering y<sup>t</sup> it may find acceptance w<sup>th</sup> + you, as a token of my loue to you; as I can assuer you y<sup>t</sup> yours have + found from me; for as I came home from you y<sup>e</sup> other day, by y<sup>e</sup> way I + reseaued your letter from your faithfull messenger w<sup>ch</sup> was welcom + vnto me, and for w<sup>ch</sup> I kindly thanke you, and do desier y<sup>t</sup> as it is + y<sup>e</sup> first: so y<sup>t</sup> may not be y<sup>e</sup> last, but y<sup>t</sup> it may be as a seed + w<sup>ch</sup> will bring forth more frute: and for your good counsell and + aduise in your letter specified, I doe accept, and do desier y<sup>t</sup> we may + still command y<sup>e</sup> casse to god for direction and cleering vp of your way + as I hope wee haue hitherto done; and y<sup>t</sup> our long considerations may at + y<sup>e</sup> next time bring forth firme concessions, I meane verbally though not + formally. Sweete-harte I have given you a large ensample of patience, I + hope you will learn this instruction from y'e same, namely, to show y<sup>e</sup> + like toward me if euer occassion be offered for futuer time, and for + y<sup>e</sup> present condesendency vnto my request; thus w<sup>ch</sup> my kind loue + remembered to yo<sup>r</sup> father and mother and Brothers and sisters w<sup>th</sup> + thanks for all their kindness w<sup>ch</sup> haue been vndeseruing in me I rest, + leauing both them and vs vnto y<sup>e</sup> protection and wise direction of y<sup>e</sup> + almighty. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "My mother remembers her love vnto y<sup>or</sup> father and mother; as also + vnto your selfe though as it vnknown. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Yo<sup>rs</sup> to command in anything I pleas. +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "JOHN CAPEN." +</p> +<p> +In this connection may very properly be given another letter written at +about the same date. Punkapoag, the summer residence of Thomas Bailey +Aldrich, the poet editor of the Atlantic, was a part of colonial +Dorchester and one of the points where the famous John Eliot began his +missionary labors among the Indians. In the interest of the natives at +that station he wrote the following letter to his friend, Major +Atherton, in 1657: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Much Honored and Beloved in the Lord: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Though our poore Indians are molested in most places in their meetings + in way of civilities, yet the Lord hath put it into your hearts to + suffer us to meet quietly at Ponkipog, for w<sup>ch</sup> I thank God, and + am thankful to yourselfe and all the good people of Dorchester. And + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page45" name="page45"></a>[45]</span> + + now that our meetings may be the more comfortable and p varable, my + request is, y<sup>t</sup> you would further these two motions: first, y<sup>t</sup> you + would please to make an order in your towne and record it in your towne + record, that you approve and allow y<sup>e</sup> Indians of Ponkipog there to sit + downe and make a towne, and to inioy such accommodations as may be + competent to maintain God's ordinances among them another day. My second + request is, y<sup>t</sup> you would appoint fitting men, who may in a fitt season + bound and lay out the same, and record y<sup>t</sup> alsoe. And thus commending + you to the Lord, I rest, +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "Yours to serve in the service of Jesus Christ, +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "JOHN ELIOT." +</p> +<p> +Following this missive a letter on quite a different subject, dictated +by the redoubtable Indian chief, King Philip, may be interesting. It +bears date of 1672, and is addressed to Captain Hopestill Foster of +Dorchester: +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "S<sup>r</sup> you may please to remember that when I last saw You att Walling + river You promised me six pounds in goods; now my request is that you + would send me by this Indian five yards of White light collered serge to + make me a coat and a good Holland shirt redy made; and a p<sup>r</sup> of good + Indian briches all of which I have present need of, therefoer I pray S<sup>r</sup> + faile not to send them by my Indian and with them the severall prices of + them; and silke & buttens & 7 yards Gallownes for trimming; not else att + present to trouble you w<sup>th</sup> onley the subscription of +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "KING PHILIP, +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "his Majesty P.P." +</p> +<p> +One of the best commentaries on the lives and characters of the chief +actors in the history of the Dorchester Plantation may be read on the +tombstones that mark the places where their precious dust was deposited. +From Rev. Richard Mather, the most noted pastor of the church of that +period, to the humblest contemporary of his who enjoyed the rights and +priveleges of a free-holder, none was so mean or obscure that a +characteristic, if not fitting, epitaph did not mark the place of his +sepulture. From the many well worth perusing, the following are singled +and transcribed for the readers of this sketch. +</p> +<p> +Epitaph of James Humfrey, "one of y<sup>e</sup> ruling elders of Dorchester," in +the form of an acrostic: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust. </p> +<p class="i2"> A nd only waits ye rising of ye just. </p> +<p class="i2"> M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station, </p> +<p class="i2"> E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation. </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder be </p> +<p class="i2"> U nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three. </p> +<p class="i2"> M ather he first did by him help Receiue; </p> +<p class="i2"> F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue; </p> +<p class="i2"> R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill: </p> +<p class="i2"> E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill, </p> +<p class="i2"> Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +When Elder Hopestill Clapp died his pastor, Rev. John Danforth, composed +the following verses for his grave stone: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "His Dust waits till ye Jubile, </p> +<p class="i2"> Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie; </p> +<p class="i2"> Shall meet and join to part no more, </p> +<p class="i2"> His soul that Glorify'd before. </p> +<p class="i2"> Pastors and Churches happy be, </p> +<p class="i2"> With Ruling Elders such as he; </p> +<p class="i2"> Present useful, Absent Wanted, </p> +<p class="i2"> Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +William Pole, an eccentric citizen of the village, before his demise, +composed an epitaph to be chiseled on his monument, "Y<sup>t</sup> so being dead +he might warn posterity; or, a resemblance of a dead man bespeaking y<sup>e</sup> +reader;" so under a death's head and cross-bones it stands thus: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay </p> +<p class="i2"> & take a dead man's lesson by ye way. </p> +<p class="i2"> I was what now thou art & thou shall be </p> +<p class="i2"> What I am now what odds twixt me and thee </p> +<p class="i2"> Now go thy way but stay take one word more </p> +<p class="i2"> Thy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye door </p> +<p class="i2"> Death is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hell </p> +<p class="i2"> Be warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +The virtues of one who was "downright for business, one of cheerful +spirit and entire for the country" are recorded in this fashion: +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page46" name="page46"></a>[46]</span> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall: </p> +<p class="i2"> A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall, </p> +<p class="i2"> Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave; </p> +<p class="i2"> Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave. </p> +<p class="i2"> Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don. </p> +<p class="i2"> With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +The following was written on the death of John Foster, who is mentioned +in the old annals as a "mathematician and printer": +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Thy body which no activeness did lack, </p> +<p class="i2"> Now's laid aside like an old Almanack; </p> +<p class="i2"> But for the present only's out of date, </p> +<p class="i2"> 'Twill have at length a far more active state. </p> +<p class="i2"> Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be. </p> +<p class="i2"> Yet at the resurrection we shall see </p> +<p class="i2"> A fair EDITION, and of matchless worth. </p> +<p class="i2"> Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth. </p> +<p class="i2"> 'Tis but a word from God the great Creator, </p> +<p class="i2"> It shall be done when he saith Imprimator." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +The clerk of the old Dorchester Church seems also to have been a maker +of elegiac verse; for after the decease of Rev. Richard Mather, the +pastor, and one of the ablest divines of colonial New England, the +church records contain the two complimentary stanzas quoted below, the +first being an evident attempt at anagram: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Third in New England's Dorchester, </p> +<p class="i2"> Was this ordained minister. </p> +<p class="i2"> Second to none for faithfulness, </p> +<p class="i2"> Abilities and usefulness. </p> +<p class="i2"> Divine his charms, years seven times seven, </p> +<p class="i2"> Wise to win souls from earth to heaven. </p> +<p class="i2"> Prophet's reward his gains above, </p> +<p class="i2"> But great's our loss by his remove." </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather, </p> +<p class="i2"> Sons like him, good and great, did call him father. </p> +<p class="i2"> Hard to discern a difference in degree, </p> +<p class="i2"> 'Twixt his bright learning and his piety. </p> +<p class="i2"> Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down, </p> +<p class="i2"> So can't his soul or his deserved renown. </p> +<p class="i2"> From 's birth six lustres and a jubilee </p> +<p class="i2"> To his repose: but labored hard in thee, </p> +<p class="i2"> O, Dorchester! four more than thirty years </p> +<p class="i2"> His sacred dust with thee thine honour rears." </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +This couplet to three brothers named Clarke must suffice for epitaphs: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even,</p> +<p class="i2"> Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven."</p> +</div> +</div> +<p> +Before taking leave of these fascinating old records, so rich in facts +and the stuff that fiction is made of, it will be interesting to have an +estimate of the growth of the Dorchester Plantation; for this purpose +the valuation of the town is given, a century from the date of its +settlement: +</p> + +<table border="0" align="center" summary="Valuation of Dorchester, one century from the date of its settlement."> +<tr><td> Houses, </td><td align="right"> 117 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Mills, </td><td align="right"> 6 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Acres of orchard, </td><td align="right"> 250 </td><td>1-2 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Acres of mowing, </td><td align="right">1834 </td><td>1-4 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Acres of pasture, </td><td align="right">2873 </td><td>1-2 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Acres of tillage, </td><td align="right"> 518 </td><td>1-2 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Male slaves, </td><td align="right"> 10 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Female slaves, </td><td align="right"> 1 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Oxen, </td><td align="right"> 157 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Cows, </td><td align="right"> 661 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Horses, </td><td align="right"> 207 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Sheep and goats, </td><td align="right"> 661 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Swine, </td><td align="right"> 251 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Value of feeding stock, etc., </td><td align="right">£ 431 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Decked vessels, tons, </td><td align="right"> 64 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Open vessels, tons </td><td align="right"> 68 </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right">——</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right"> 132</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> Ratable polls, </td><td align="right"> 252 </td></tr> +<tr><td> Not ratable, </td><td align="right"> 24 </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right">——</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align="right"> 276</td></tr> +</table> + +<p> +The tax for that year, assessed on real estate, was £72 16s 6d; on +personal estate, £9 14s 11d. +</p> +<p> +When all who took up the original claims on Allen's Plain had passed +through the vicissitudes of their troubled lives and been numbered with +the silent majority in the field of epitaphs, already alluded to, and +their descendents were on the eve of the great struggle which was +destined to sever them from the mother country, and the hearts of +patriotic men began to feel the premonitory throbs of that spirit of +independence soon to fire the first shot at Lexington, the Union and +Association of Sons of Liberty in the province held + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page47" name="page47"></a>[47]</span> + + a grand celebration in Boston, on the fourteenth of August, 1769. From +John Adams's famous diary we learn that this jovial company, including +the leading spirits of the time, first assembled at Liberty Tree, in +Boston, where they drank fourteen toasts, and then adjourned to Liberty +Tree Tavern, which was none other than Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester. +There under a mammoth tent in an adjacent field long tables were spread, +and over three hundred persons sat down to a sumptuous dinner. "Three +large pigs were barbecued," and "forty-five toasts were given on the +occasion," the last of which was, "Strong halters, firm blocks and sharp +axes to all such as deserve them." The toasts were varied with songs of +liberty and patriotism by a noted colonial mimic named Balch, and +another song composed and sung by Dr. Church. "At five o'clock," says +Mr. Adams, "the Boston people started home, led by Mr. Hancock in his +chariot, and to the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person +intoxicated." +</p> +<hr /> +<a name="h2H_4_0013" id="h2H_4_0013"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + HOLLIS STREET CHURCH. +</h2> +<p> +The demolition of Hollis Street Church in this city destroys another old +historic land-mark, which, like King's Chapel, the old State House, and +other venerable structures, have a record that endears them to the +popular heart. A brief sketch of the three buildings which have +successively occupied the site, which is so soon to be left vacant, is +worthy of preservation. +</p> +<p> +The name of the church and the street on which it stood was bestowed in +honor of Thomas Hollis, of London, noted for his liberal benefactions; +and his nephew of the same name devoted a bell for the edifice, in 1734. +</p> +<p> +The land on which the original structure was erected, was presented for +that purpose by Governor Belcher, in 1731; and in April of the same +year, by permission of the selectmen of Tri-Mountain, or Boston, a +wooden building, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, was began, which +was finished and dedicated in midsummer of the following year. +</p> +<p> +In the great South End fire, on the twentieth of April, 1787, and in +response to an imperative demand, a second, and larger wooden house, was +erected on the site of the first, and made ready for occupancy in the +course of the following year. This building was planned by Charles +Bulfinch, and in its architecture resembled St. Paul's Church, now +standing on Tremont street. +</p> +<p> +Within a year the Hollis Street Society has removed to an elegant new +edifice on the Back Bay, and the brick building they left behind must +now disappear in the march of improvement. It was erected in 1811, in +order to accommodate the prosperous and rapidly-growing society for whom +it stood as a place of worship. To make room for it, the wooden +meeting-house already referred to was taken down in sections and removed +to the town of Braintree. +</p> +<p> +The several clergymen who have been the honored pastors of Hollis Street +Church are worthy of mention in this connection. The first was Rev. +Mather Byles, a lineal descendant of John Cotton and Richard Mather, who +was ordained pastor, December 20, 1732. He was dismissed August 14, +1776, on account of his strong Tory proclivities. His immediate +successor was Rev. Ebenezer Wright, a young divine from Dedham and a +graduate of Harvard, who remained the pastor until the new meeting-house +was finished, in 1788, when he was dismissed at his own request, on +account of ill-health. +</p> +<p> +The next pastor was a man in middle life, who made himself an +acknowledged power among the Boston clergy, Rev. Samuel West, of +Needham. He died in 1808, and was succeeded by Rev. Horace Holley, from +Connecticut, who was installed in March, 1809, and remained till 1818. +Rev. John Pierpont, who resigned in 1845, made way for Rev. David +Fosdick, who preached there two years, when Rev. Starr King was settled +in 1845, and remained till 1861, Rev. George L. Chaney then took the +place till 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. H. Bernard Carpenter, the +present pastor. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page48" name="page48"></a>[48]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2H_4_0014" id="h2H_4_0014"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + ELIZABETH.<a href="#note-13" name="noteref-13"><small>13</small></a> +</h2> +<h3> + A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS. +</h3> +<h3> +<span class="sc">By Frances C. Sparhawk</span>, Author of "A Lazy Man's Work." +</h3> +<a name="h2HCH0001" id="h2HCH0001"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XIII.—<i>Continued</i>. +</h2> +<p> +Half an hour later Edmonson marched into his friend's room. His face was +flushed, and his eyes had a triumphant glitter. It was an expression +that heightened most the kind of beauty he had. +</p> +<p> +"You are booked for a visit, Bulchester," he began, seating himself in +the chair opposite the other. "I have accepted for you; knew you would +be glad to go with me." +</p> +<p> +"That is cool!" And Bulchester's light blue eyes glowed with anger for a +moment. His moods of resentment against his companion's domination, +though few and far between, were very real. +</p> +<p> +"Not at all. In fact it is a delightful place, and I don't know to what +good fortune we are indebted for an invitation. Neither of us has much +acquaintance with Archdale." +</p> +<p> +"Archdale? Stephen Archdale?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes. You look amazed, man. We are asked to meet Sir Temple and Lady +Dacre. I don't exactly see how it came about, but I do see that it is +the very thing I want in order to go on with the search. Another city, +other families." +</p> +<p> +"But—." Bulchester stopped. +</p> +<p> +"But what?" +</p> +<p> +"Why, the possible Mistress Archdale,—Elizabeth. Of course I am happy +to go, if you enjoy the situation." +</p> +<p> +A dangerous look rayed out from Edmonson's eyes. +</p> +<p> +"I can stand it, if Archdale can," he answered. "How fate works to bring +us together," he mused. +</p> +<p> +"I don't understand," cried the other. "What has fate to do with this +invitation?" Edmonson, who had spoken, forgetting that he was not alone, +looked at his companion with sudden suspicion. But Bulchester went on in +the same tone. "If it is to carry out your purpose though, little you +will care for having been a suitor of Mistress Archdale." +</p> +<p> +"On the contrary, it will add piquancy to the visit." Then he added, +"Don't you see, Bulchester, that I dare not throw away an opportunity? +Ship 'Number One' has foundered. 'Number Two' must come to land. That is +the amount of it." +</p> +<p> +"Yes," returned Bulchester with so much assurance that the other's +scrutiny relaxed. +</p> +<p> +"I suppose it is settled," said his lordship after a pause. +</p> +<p> +"Certainly," answered Edmonson; and he smiled. +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre and train, having fairly started on their two day's journey, +she settled herself luxuriously and again began her observations. But as +they were not especially striking, no chronicle of them can be found, +except that she called Brattle Street an alley, begged pardon for it +with a mixture of contrition and amusement, and generally patronized the +country a little. Sir Temple enjoyed it greatly, and Archdale was glad +of any diversion. When they had stopped for the night, as they sat by +the open windows of the inn and looked out into the garden which was too +much a tangle for anything but moonlight and June to give it beauty, +Lady Dacre + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page49" name="page49"></a>[49]</span> + + sprang up, interrupting her husband in one of his remarks, and declaring +it a shame to stay indoors such a night. +</p> +<p> +"Give me your arm," she said to Archdale, "and let us take a turn out +here. We don't want you, Temple; we want to talk." +</p> +<p> +Sir Temple, serenely sure of hearing, before he slept, the purport of +any conversation that his wife might have had, took up a book which he +had brought with him. He was an excellent traveler in regard to one kind +of luggage; the same book lasted him a good while. +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre moved off with Stephen. They went out of the house and down +the walk. She commented on the neglected appearance of things until +Stephen asked her if weeds were peculiar to the American soil. In answer +she struck him lightly with her fan and walked on laughing. But when +they reached the end of the garden, she turned upon him suddenly. +</p> +<p> +"Now tell me," she said. +</p> +<p> +"Tell you what?" +</p> +<p> +"Tell me what, indeed! What a speech for a lover, a young husband. Has +the light of your honeymoon faded so quickly? Mine has not yet. Tell me +about her, of course, your charming bride." +</p> +<p> +Stephen came to a dead halt, and stood looking into the smiling eyes +gazing up into his. +</p> +<p> +"Lady Dacre," he said, "the Mistress Archdale you will find at Seascape +is my mother." Then he gave the history of his intended marriage, and of +that other marriage which might prove real. His listener was more moved +than she liked to show. +</p> +<p> +"It will all be right," she said tearfully. "But it is dreadful for you, +and for the young ladies, both of them." +</p> +<p> +"Yes," he answered, "for both of them." +</p> +<p> +"You know," she began eagerly, "that I am the——?" then she stopped. +</p> +<p> +Stephen waited courteously for the end of the sentence that was never to +be finished. He felt no curiosity at her sudden breaking off; it seemed +to him that curiosity and interest, except on one subject, were over for +him forever. +</p> +<p> +When Lady Dacre repeated this story to her husband she finished by +saying: "Why do you suppose it is, Temple, that my heart goes out to the +married one?" +</p> +<p> +"Natural perversity, my dear." +</p> +<p> +"Then you think she <i>is</i> married?" +</p> +<p> +"Don't know; it is very probable." +</p> +<p> +"Poor Archdale!" +</p> +<p> +Sir Temple burst into a laugh. "Is he poor, Archdale, because you think +he has made the best bargain?" +</p> +<p> +"No, you heartless man, but because he does not see it. Besides, I +cannot even tell if it is so. I believe I pity everybody." +</p> +<p> +"That's a good way," responded her husband. "Then you will be sure to +hit right somewhere." +</p> +<p> +"I will remember that," returned Lady Dacre between vexation and +laughing, "and lay it up against you, too. But, poor fellow, he is so in +love with his pretty cousin, and she with him." +</p> +<p> +"Poor cousin! Is she like a certain lady I know who chose to be married +in a dowdy dress and a poke bonnet for fear of losing her husband +altogether?" +</p> +<p> +But Lady Dacre did not hear a word. She was listening to a mouse behind +the wainscotting, and spying out a nail-hole which she was sure was big +enough for it to come out of, and she insisted that her husband should +ring and have the place stopped up. +</p> +<p> +When the party reached Seascape the summer clouds that floated over the +ocean were beginning to glow with the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page50" name="page50"></a>[50]</span> + + warmth of coming sunset. The sea lay so tranquil that the flash of the +waves on the pebbly shore sounded like the rythmic accompaniment to the +beautiful vision of earth and sky, and the boom of the water against the +cliffs beyond came now and then, accentuating this like the beat of a +heavy drum muffled or distant. The mansion at Seascape with its forty +rooms, although new, was so substantial and stately that as they drove +up the avenue Lady Dacre, accustomed to grandeur, ran her quick eye over +its ample dimensions, its gambrel roof, its immense chimneys, its +generous hall door, and turning to Archdale, without her condescension, +she asked him how he had contrived to combine newness and dignity. +</p> +<p> +"One sees it in nature sometimes," he answered. "Dignity and youth are a +fascinating combination." +</p> +<p> +In the hall stood a lady whom Archdale looked at with pride. He was fond +of his mother without recognizing a certain likeness between them. She +was dressed elegantly, although without ostentation, and she came +towards her guests with an ease as delightful as their own. Stephen +going to meet her, led her forward and introduced her. Lady Dacre looked +at her scrutinizingly, and gave a little nod of satisfaction. +</p> +<p> +"I am pleased to come to see you Madam Archdale," she said in answer to +the other's greeting. There was a touch of sadness in her face and the +clasp of her hand had a silent sympathy in it. It was as if the two +women already made moan over the desolation of the man in whom they both +were interested, though in so different degrees. But the tact of both +saved awkwardness in their meeting. +</p> +<p> +Archdale stood a little apart, silent for a moment, struggling against +the overwhelming suggestions of the situation. Even his mother did not +belong here; she had her own home. Perhaps it would be found that no +woman for whom he cared could ever have a right in this lovely house. +When these guests had gone he would shut up the place forever, +unless——. But possibilities of delight seemed very vague to Stephen as +he stood there in his home unlighted by Katie's presence. All at once he +felt a long keen ray from Sir Temple's eyes upon his face. That +gentleman had a fondness for making out his own narratives of people and +things; he preferred Mss. to print, that is, the Mss. of the histories +he found written on the faces of those about him, which, although +sometimes difficult to decipher, had the charm of novelty, and often +that of not being decipherable by the multitude. Stephen immediately +turned his glance upon Sir Temple. +</p> +<p> +"You are tired," he said with decision, "and Lady Dacre must be quite +exhausted, animated as she looks. But I see that my mother is already +leading her away. Let me show you your rooms." +</p> +<p> +Sir Temple's eyes had fallen, and with a bow and a half smile upon his +lips, he walked beside his host in silence. +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0002" id="h2HCH0002"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XIV. +</h2> +<h3> + THE HOSTESS. +</h3> +<p> +The second morning of the visit was delightful. Madam Archdale had taken +Lady Dacre to the cupola, and the view that met their eyes would have +more admiration from people more travelled than these. On the east was +the sea, looking in the early sunshine like a great flashing crescent of +silver laid with both its arcs upon the earth. Down to it wandered the +creek winding by the grounds beneath the watchers, turned out of its +straight course, now to lave the foot of some large tree that in return + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page51" name="page51"></a>[51]</span> + + spread a circle of shade to cool its waters before they passed out under +the hot sun again; now to creep through some field, perhaps of daises, +to send its freshness through all their roots and renew their courage in +the contest with the farmers, so that the more they were cut down, the +more they flourished, for the sun, and the stream, the summer air, and +the soil, all were upon their side. Shadows fell upon the water from the +bridge across the road over which the lumbering carts went sometimes, +and the heavy carriages still more seldom. On the other hand, looking up +the stream, were the hills from among which this little river slipped +out rippling along with its musical undertone, as if they had sent it as +a messenger to express their delight in summer. In the distance the +Piscataqua broadened out to the sea, and beyond the river the city was +outlined against the sky. To the left of this, and in great sweeps along +the horizon stretched the forests. As one looked at these forests, the +fields of com, the scattered houses, the pastures dotted with cattle, +the city, all signs of civilization, seemed like a forlorn hope sent +against these dense barriers of nature; yet it was that forlorn hope +that is destined always to win. +</p> +<p> +"Do you know, I like it?" said Lady Dacre turning to her hostess. "I +think it all very nice. So does Sir Temple. Yet I don't see how you can +get along without a bit of London, sometimes. London is the spice, you +know, the flavor of the cake, the bouquet of the wine." +</p> +<p> +"Only, it differs from these, since one cannot get too much of it," +answered Madam Archdale smiling, thinking as her eyes swept over the +landscape that there were charms in her own land which it would be hard +to lose. +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre settled herself comfortably in one of the chairs of the +cupola, and turning to her companion, said abruptly: +</p> +<p> +"Dear Madam Archdale, what is going to be done about that poor son of +yours; he is in a terrible situation?" +</p> +<p> +"Indeed, he is." +</p> +<p> +"When is he going to get out? Have you done anything about it?" +</p> +<p> +"Done anything? Everything, rather. To say nothing of Stephen and my +poor little niece. Elizabeth Royal is not a woman to sit down calmly +under the imputation of having married a man against his will. And, +besides, I have heard that she would like to marry one of her suitors." +</p> +<p> +"Do you know him?" +</p> +<p> +"Not even who it is. I imagine that Stephen does, but he does not tell +all he knows." +</p> +<p> +"I have found that out," laughed Lady Dacre. "Indeed, I don't feel like +laughing," she added quickly, "but it seems to me only an awkward +predicament, you see, and I am thinking of the time when the young +people will be free to tie themselves according to their fancies. +</p> +<p> +"I don't take it so lightly," answered the lady, "and my husband, when +Stephen is out of the way, shakes his head dolefully over it. He +believes Harwin's story, and in that case he argues badly. My husband +has a conscience, and he does not intend that his son shall commit +bigamy. Neither does Stephen, of course, intend to; but then, Stephen is +in love with Katie, and he and Elizabeth Royal are disposed to carry +matters with a high hand. But Katie has scruples, too, and she must, of +course, be satisfied." +</p> +<p> +"Of course. What kind of person is this Elizabeth Royal?" asked Lady +Dacre after a pause. "Is she pretty, or plain?" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page52" name="page52"></a>[52]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Not plain, certainly. She has a kind of beauty at times, a beauty of +expression quite remarkable, Katie tells me. But I have not seen +anything especial about her." +</p> +<p> +"You don't like her?" questioned Lady Dacre. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes, only that I think her rather cool in her manners. She is the +soul of honor. She comes of good stock, some of the best in the country. +Her mother was a connection of Madam Pepperell. I believe she is about +to visit there with her father. We shall meet them both." And the +speaker explained that the Colonel knew Mr. Royal well, and would be +anxious to pay them some attention. "I suppose I am no judge of the +young lady," she added. "I have not seen her since the wedding, and only +a few times before that when she was visiting Katie. She is an heiress; +I understand that she is very wealthy, much richer than my little niece +will ever be." +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" said Lady Dacre. It seemed to her that she understood how +troublesome Colonel Archdale's conscience must be to him in this matter. +But the Colonel was a stranger to her, and at times Lady Dacre was +severe in her judgments. Sir Temple declared that she never had any +scruples over that second line of the famous poem of aversion, +</p> +<p class="quote"> + "I do not like you. Dr. Fell." +</p> +<p> +"There is something I want to tell you," she said after a pause, +"something about Sir Temple and myself." And her listener received the +confidence that had been withheld from Stephen a few evenings before in +the garden. +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre had scarcely finished when there came the sound of feet on +the stairs, a blonde head appeared in the narrow opening, another head +of dull brown hair came close behind, and Gerald Edmonson, followed by +Lord Bulchester, stepped into the cupola. Lady Dacre remembered at the +moment what Archdale had said on the journey, that most peoples' shadows +changed about,—now before, now on one side or the other, but Edmonson's +always went straight behind him. +</p> +<p> +"May we come?" asked the foremost young man, bowing to each of the +ladies. +</p> +<p> +"It is rather late to ask that," returned Madam Archdale, "but as you +are here, we will try to make you welcome." +</p> +<p> +And they sat there talking until the sun grew too hot for them. +</p> +<p> +Meanwhile, Elizabeth Royal, the subject of Lady Dacre's curiosity, was +thinking of the visit she was on her way to make which would bring her +within a few miles of Seascape. She dreaded it, yet she knew that her +father was right when he told her that the more she could appear to +treat the question of this marriage as a jest,—a thing which meant +nothing to her,—the wiser she would be. This was the course that by her +father's advice she had marked out for herself. Elizabeth Royal had her +faults; she sometimes tried her friends a good deal by them; but if she +had been Lot's wife, and had gone out of Sodom with him, she would never +have been left on the plain as a bitter warning against vacillation. +Only, it seemed to her a very long time since her restful days had gone +by, and she realized that the one course she hated was to do things +because it was good policy to do them. Before Archdale she was brave; +not only from pride, but out of pity to him; before others, all but her +father, pride restrained her from complaint, even from admission of the +possibility of the disaster she feared. But alone her courage often +ebbed. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page53" name="page53"></a>[53]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0003" id="h2HCH0003"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XV. +</h2> +<h3> + THE GUESTS. +</h3> +<p> +The fourth morning from this as Madam Archdale and her guest were on +their way to the garden they met Archdale in the hall. +</p> +<p> +"Come with us," cried Lady Dacre to him, pointing through the open door. +But Archdale had letters to write and the ladies went on without him. A +few rods away they saw Edmonson seated under an elm near the door. "He +has lost his shadow," whispered Lady Dacre to her companion as they drew +near, and she repeated Stephen's speech. Her listener smiled. Edmonson +rose as he saw them and sauntered beside them through the shaded walks. +But for all his brilliant conversation he did not keep Lady Dacre from +remembering the gloomy look she had surprised upon his face. As they +were walking Bulchester joined them. He explained that he had been +paying a visit to Madam Pepperell, whom he had met in Boston during the +spring. Lady Dacre noticed that he and his friend exchanged significant +glances, but neither spoke to the other. Edmonson devoted himself to +her, while Bulchester walked on with his hostess. +</p> +<p> +At last they all sat down to rest where the sea-breeze beginning to blow +brought a refreshing coolness. Sir Temple Dacre came out looking for +them, and on being questioned by his wife as to where Archdale was, +professed his ignorance. "He must have a larger correspondence than +you," she returned, "if he is still at work; he told me that he had +letters to write." +</p> +<p> +"I think he has gone to ask a friend of his to dine with us," said his +mother. "I saw him gallop off half an hour ago. We are going to be very +quiet to-day that you may have a chance to rest; tomorrow guests have +been invited to meet you. Stephen thought that this evening you might +like a sail,—unless you have had too much of the water?" And she turned +inquiringly to Lady Dacre. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no," cried her ladyship. "I should be delighted. The moon fulls +to-night Am I right, Temple?" +</p> +<p> +A few minutes later Edmonson and Bulchester having strolled down to the +beach confronted one another there in silence, until the sound of a wave +breaking seemed to rouse their surprise into speech. +</p> +<p> +"Edmonson," exclaimed the smaller man, "for once you are at fault. You +did not describe her at all." +</p> +<p> +"The—!" cried Edmonson with a black look. "I was never so amazed in my +life. What has got into the girl? She is a different creature. That +present air of hers would take in London; better even than in this +out-of-the-world hole, it would be more appreciated. And what thousands +she has to carry it off well, or I ought to say, to carry it on well. +That good-for-nothing," he added, "does not even understand his luck." +There was an undertone in his voice which gave the bitter laugh with +which he tried to hide it an intensity that made Bulchester look at him +anxiously. +</p> +<p> +"You don't mean that you admire her so much as that?" he asked. Edmonson +laughed again. +</p> +<p> +"My admiration of any woman will not injure my digestion. I believe you +know my ideas on that subject. But such a figure for the head of one's +table, and such golden accompaniments to her presentablity—all mine, +you know, or to be mine, and here this young lordship steps in between. +Lordship; indeed! he thinks himself no less than a duke by his airs. But +I—." He stopped, and ground his teeth to swallow + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page54" name="page54"></a>[54]</span> + + his rage, and his face was so lowering that the other cried in +trepidation: +</p> +<p> +"What are you going to do, Edmonson? Nothing,—nothing—uncomfortable, +you know, I hope?" +</p> +<p> +Edmonson turned slowly upon him with the blackness of his look +lightening into a smile as different from mirth as the brassy gleam +behind a thundercloud is from sunshine. "What concerns your lordship?" +he asked contemptuously. "Do you imagine that I shall forget my +station?" +</p> +<p> +"Or your position as guest?" +</p> +<p> +"Or my 'position as guest?' No, indeed," sneered his listener. "What has +come over you, Bulchester?" he added. "For how long are you engaged for +this role of dictator? I shall leave until it is over, you do it so +badly." And he turned on his heel, grinding the pebbles under it hard as +he did so. +</p> +<p> +"Nonsense, stay where you are, I beg," cried Bulchester with an +assumption of indifference in his manner, and a tone of humility so +incongruous that Edmonson glancing over his shoulder smiled in scorn, +and having remained in that position a moment, came back to his little +squire, and said impressively: +</p> +<p> +"Bulchester, we are beginning to burn; something will turn up here. I +can't tell you why, but I feel it." +</p> +<p> +"You mean that you have a clue? That the name amounts to anything?" +cried the other excitedly. "That you have found—?" +</p> +<p> +"Hush!" interrupted Edmonson. "Lady Dacre! Yes, I have found the air +here delightful. My tedious headache is wearing away already. And here +comes her ladyship to make us appreciate our blessings still more. Say, +Bul," he added in a quick undertone as he was about moving forward to +meet the new-comer, "how good does one have to be among this set? Have +you any idea?" +</p> +<p> +"No, but I assure you your best will not pall." +</p> +<p> +Edrnonson's smile of welcome to the lady broadened. "The fellow has +quickness sometimes," he thought, "he has caught that from me." +</p> +<p> +"They are all following," said Lady Dacre. "But our kind host joined us +just now, and he and his mother are arranging the hour for the sail, +that is, if the wind will favor us." +</p> +<p> +"I should not think Archdale would be over fond of sailing," remarked +Edmonson dryly. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Lady Dacre, then recollecting the story, added +suddenly, "Do you think that is a real marriage, Mr. Edmonson?" +</p> +<p> +"I am sure I don't know," responded that gentleman nonchalently. +</p> +<p> +"You see," explained Bulchester, "if that man is really a parson, they +have not much of a set of witnesses to prove that the ceremony was a +joke. Harwin minus, though he has left his confession; Waldo interested +in proving it a real marriage; Mistress Katie interested the other way, +and the Eveleigh,—you have not seen the Eveleigh?" +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre replied that she had not had that pleasure. As she spoke she +intercepted a flashing glance from Edmonson to Bulchester. But she did +not overhear the conversation between the two that took place later. +</p> +<p> +"Bulchester," Edmonson hissed out when they were alone, "what's the +reason you always retail my opinions?" +</p> +<p> +Bulchester opened his mild eyes. +</p> +<p> +"Did I say any harm?" he asked. "I am sure I didn't mean it; what +objection can you have to my giving your opinion on that matter, and I +did not even say it was yours." +</p> +<p> +"Because—I do object," returned + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page55" name="page55"></a>[55]</span> + + the other moodily. Then he said nothing more, rather to conceal the +strength of his objections, than because his anger was over. +</p> +<p> +This happened a few hours later. At the same time Lady Dacre was +speaking to her husband about Elizabeth. "I think that Archdale must +feel the situation most on account of the young betrothed," Sir Temple +said. +</p> +<p> +"That is all you know of a woman," she retorted indignantly. "Suppose I +were tied to you and knew you did not care for me, I need not have come +three thousand miles to find water enough." +</p> +<p> +"To drink?" +</p> +<p> +"No, you wretch; to drown myself in." +</p> +<p> +"You take too much for granted, dont you?" drawled Sir Temple with an +amused look. "And I am afraid you are aping Ophelia. Now, you are not in +her line at all; for one thing, you are too handsome." +</p> +<p> +Lady Dacre looked at him keenly, smiled with a moisture in her eyes, and +came up to him. +</p> +<p> +"How much too much do I take for granted?" she asked softly. Sir Temple +burst into a laugh, and kissed her. +</p> +<p> +"We will borrow poor Archdale's scales, and weigh it, and find out," he +answered. +</p> +<p> +There was over a week of the beautiful weather that midsummer brings, +and the days passed full of gayety. Both Archdale and his mother did +everything for the enjoyment of their guests. They showed them the most +beautiful views on shore, and by sailing took them to places of interest +not to be reached by land, while dinner-parties and garden-parties made +them acquainted with the best society of the city. From morning until +night the house was full of talk, and jest, and laughter. Among the +guests one day had been Mr. Royal and Mrs. Eveleigh. They had come with +Colonel and Madam Pepperell, at whose house they were then visiting, in +accordance with a promise made the autumn before when the Colonel and +his wife had been guests of Mr. Royal. More than once, Elizabeth had met +the party from Seascape, but she could not come here, she was not sure +enough in her heart of not being Stephen Archdale's wife. She +compromised with her father by promising to go to Colonel Archdale's, +for that gentleman had told them that they were to be asked there. +</p> +<p> +"Elizabeth was right not to come," Madam Pepperell had said to her guest +on the way to Seascape. "There are people small enough to have said that +she was making an inventory." +</p> +<p> +"Not any of the Archdale family?" inquired Mr. Royal. +</p> +<p> +"Not mother or son, certainly. As to the Colonel, it is easy to see that +he admires Elizabeth." +</p> +<p> +"Um!" commented Elizabeth's father. +</p> +<p> +Colonel Archdale at this time was away a good deal upon business. When +he was at home he usually rode over to his son's house to dine. But he +resolved to give a dinner party himself, and it was to this that +Elizabeth Royal had promised to come. Madam Archdale being thus obliged +to preside over two houses at once was full of secret uneasiness as to +how matters would turn out, and for three mornings before the event +excused herself to her guests from breakfast until dinner, and drove +home to superintend arrangements. Dinner parties were frequent at that +house, and there was not much danger that anything would go wrong. +Still, the Colonel was unusually critical, and his wife had her +anxieties. On the whole, Sir Temple Dacre enjoyed himself most of anyone +at that time, he gave himself up + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page56" name="page56"></a>[56]</span> + + to observation and a proper amount of attention to his dinners, which he +remarked to his wife were for provincial affairs uncommonly good. Lord +Bulchester, trying to follow Edmonson's meanings, had a feeling of +uncertainty which, as it did not rest upon a foundation of faith, such +as used to underlie all his considerations of his friend's actions, +ended by making him somewhat uncomfortable. Edmonson kept to himself +whatever clue he had gained, or whatever ground for suspicion he had +that one object of his visit to the Colonies was nearing its +accomplishment. He kept to himself also as much as possible the fact +that his eyes were constantly following Elizabeth whenever they had +opportunity, for the new position in which she was placed had called +forth unexpected resources in her which made her well-poised in bearing +and manner. "She is great in reserve forces," he said to himself, +swearing under his breath that she was growing more fascinating every +time that he saw her, and for this he made opportunities as well as +found them. Stephen Archdale with his alternations of gloom and gayety +and the ubiquitousness necessary to a host, had begun to find this +direction of Edmonson's eyes a matter that roused some slight +speculation. His glances followed the arrowy glances of his guest to see +what marks they made. But he saw nothing, except that Miss Royal avoided +Edmonson as much as she could in courtesy, and that she seldom met his +eyes fully. From these things both young men drew their conclusions, +which were somewhat alike, and should both have been subject to +correction. More than once they measured one another covertly, and from +the heart of him who feared that he had lost her there stretched out +toward the other a terrible shadow which in the wavering of his changing +thoughts grew, and lessened, and grew again, and sometimes reached +forward and clutched with its hideous hands, and then drew back, and +crouched, and waited. +</p> +<p> +It was a perfect summer night when Elizabeth leaned out of her window +into the stillness. The roar of the surf was as distinct as if it came +from the pebbled beach below; yet, modulated by distance, it formed the +base, sustained and rythmic, into which there fell harmoniously that +legato treble of murmur which makes us seem to hear the stillness, and +that staccato note of some accidental sound softened to accord with the +mood of the night. She needed the peace that she felt in the air, for +her cheeks were wet with passionate tears and her lips still trembled. +She could give utterance to her trouble now, she was free for hours from +every ear, from every eye, hidden away from all but the sight and +hearing of the God she sought in the dark and the silence. +</p> +<p> +Brought up in the creed of the Puritans, believing it entirely, as she +supposed, there was yet in her heart when she sent it Heavenward a joy +which sprang from a more loving faith. Perhaps it was because of her own +beautiful human associations with the name that at the words "Our +Father," her heart swelled with confidence that God listened to her +voice, and that his loving kindness wrapped her about. If her prayers +were not always granted as she wished, she perceived that the hands she +stretched out in pleading were never drawn back empty, for when they did +not hold her requests, they were filled with what was to be given her +tonight,—courage to meet the trials that she dreaded. The next day's +trial was to be the worst of all, for it was then that they were to dine +at the Colonel's, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page57" name="page57"></a>[57]</span> + + and Katie was to be there,—Katie, whom she loved dearly, whom she had +robbed so unintentionally, and who would not forgive her. It would be +hard for Archdale; but Elizabeth dismissed him from her thoughts, for +her heart was-full to overflowing of her own grief, and of Katie. +Kneeling there, sobs shook her with an abandonment to her sorrow that +was in itself a relief after her restraint. But at last the calmness and +the strength of a life greater than its trials fell upon her. And when +in the hush of these she went to her bed and fell asleep, it was a face +like a child's that the stars shining in at her window looked down upon, +a face fallen into lines of peace while the tears were yet undried upon +the pale cheeks. But only in its simplicity was it a child's heart that +met the next day's sunshine, for the courage of a strong woman looked +from Elizabeth Royal's eyes. +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0004" id="h2HCH0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XVI +</h2> +<h3> + THE DINNER PARTY. +</h3> +<p> +Colonel Archdale with his hands behind him walked up and down his +drawing-room in pleasant anticipation, with, it may be, a touch of the +feeling which once animated an Eastern monarch over the great city that +he had builded for the honor of his name. The Colonel had been like the +monarch in one thing, that he had been born in wealth, not obliged to +start at the very beginning of the race; he was like him in this also +that he had made the very best of material opportunities; he had builded +about himself, if not a great city, at least a great and profitable +business, so that he had a reasonable expectation of leaving his son and +his two surviving daughters—the latter still children—wealthier than +his father had left him. The only drawback, and he had not yet found it +a serious one, was that it was difficult to take as much money out of +his profits as he would have liked to live upon, for his increasing +business demanded always increasing capital. Also, he had done a great +deal for Stephen, so that it required all his efforts to maintain the +splendor in which he lived, outdoing his associates. All things +considered, therefore, it was not so very strange that he should have +resembled Nebuchadnezzar in the other respect of satisfaction in his own +achievements. That day the cream of the society of Portsmouth and its +neighborhood were to be at his house; most of them, without doubt, +pleased to be invited. Peace and plenty were here. The war three +thousand miles away, in which the brave young queen Maria Theresa was +struggling for her inheritance, had just rolled a tidal wave across the +Atlantic, and the news of the garrison taken from the English fort of +Canso and carried prisoners to Louisburg had just reached Boston. This +capture had been made before the Colonies had learned that war had been +declared by France against Great Britain. Already there were signs of +hostility among the Indians, and a movement of whole tribes toward +Canada to join the French, whose old allies they were. +</p> +<p> +Still, so far, no heavy blow had been dealt, and this part of the coast +had not even felt the shock of the wave. On the banks of the Piscataqua +mirth and feasting might go on, at least for a time. The Colonel looked +about him again at the fine pictures on the walls, at the rich furniture +fantastically carved, at his pretty youngest daughter, a girl of twelve, +as she sat at the spinnet going over some music that somebody might ask +her to play; perhaps it would be Lady Dacre herself whom she had seen +once and greatly admired. When a moment later Madam Archdale came + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page58" name="page58"></a>[58]</span> + + into the room he looked at her face and figure, still handsome and +graceful. Her flowing brocade was of a becoming color, and nothing +richer, that he knew of, had been worn in the Colonies. He felt a faint +anxiety, which Sir Temple would have set down as provincial, to see the +attitude of the English guests, for he flattered himself that he could +do the honors of a mansion better than Stephen whose perfect simplicity +annoyed his father when it let slip opportunities to make a fine +impression. With Stephen and Madam Archdale, who certainly did very +well, the Colonel had no doubt that Sir Temple and Lady Dacre had taken +everything they found as a matter of course, and had not looked for +quite the sort of thing that they were accustomed to at home. But here +he thought that they would be a little surprised, that it would be to +them England over again, and for a few hours they would fancy themselves +in some old mansion there. He felt that to hear them say this would make +his cup of satisfaction brim over, and this in some unintentional way he +expected to draw from them. +</p> +<p> +"It's very warm," said his wife panting a little, "and, after all, I +need not have hurried; nobody has come yet, or will come this half-hour, +I dare say." +</p> +<p> +"Stephen is always prompt," suggested the Colonel, pausing in his +measured walk to glance down the road. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, but then there are the English people. To be sure, they fall into +our ways as if they had been born here, and Lady Dacre is as easy as an +old shoe." +</p> +<p> +"My dear," said her husband, "I hope that is not the phraseology you are +going to indulge in before our guests." Madam Archdale laughed. +</p> +<p> +"It would not shock them half as much as it does you," she answered. "I +heard Sir Temple say the very thing the other day, and you would think +of it yourself if you had on a pair of new slippers, as I have." The +Colonel waived discussion, and took up another part of her answer. +</p> +<p> +"You say they fall into our ways as if they had been born here," he +began. "Doesn't it occur to you that they may find them perfectly +natural?" +</p> +<p> +"No, it does not at all. Think of it. Struggling against the savageness +of man and nature must have roughened our manners a little, just as +working on the ground roughens one's hands. It is healthy exercise; but, +then, it tells, and we must expect that." She looked at her husband with +such serenity as she spoke that he had no difficulty in remembering that +she was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl and that he had been proud +to give his children a lady for their mother. It seemed odd to him that +both she and Stephen should have such an air of high birth, and yet be +so indifferent to its prerogatives, so unambitious. "It is their good +breeding;" she went on, "if you put them out into the wigwams they would +make the Indians feel that eating with one's fingers was quite a thing +to be enjoyed." +</p> +<p> +It was cruel; perhaps the speaker did not realize how cruel. But, then, +she knew that the Colonel was thoroughly padded with vanity and that it +must be a very skilful thrust, and a very vigorous one, that could wound +him fatally. +</p> +<p> +"Faith," he began after a pause, "you have never been abroad, you have +not observed as I have done, you—." He was gaining importance and +impressiveness of tone as he went on; it was a pity that the sound of +wheels and of horses' hoofs in the avenue interrupted what would have +been one of his best presentations of the subject and have put him into +an + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page59" name="page59"></a>[59]</span> + + impregnable position. As it was, he had but to imagine himself there and +forget his wife's opinion, which he did not find any difficulty in +doing. The wheels were those of Colonel Pepperell's carriage; put +together with English thoroughness, it had all the weight and +unwieldiness of vehicles of that time. Lady Dacre, Elizabeth, and Mrs. +Eveleigh descended from it; they had been spending the morning together. +Sir Temple, Edmonson, Bulchester, and their host, on horseback, came +galloping up as the carriage stopped. They had taken a longer and +pleasanter road and had arrived on the moment. Sir Temple alighted with +his face beaming with pleasure, for he had enjoyed the exercise. Lady +Dacre had never looked better, and she had seen something more of +provincial life and ways. He meant to travel over the world sometime; he +liked to see new things. After dinner, when the guests were in the +garden, he joined his wife for a moment, and told her what had amused +him by the way. "We went by one of those little houses so numerous about +here," he said, "and an old man was mending his fence. It needed it +badly enough. Archdale, as he went by, nodded to him pleasantly and +called out an encouragement of his improvements. The old man looked up +hammer in hand, and I expected to see something like what I should have +had, you know, from the tenants at Alderly. But, Flo, he was so +occupied, staring at Edmonson, whom he looked at first, that I had no +chance at all with him, and poor Archdale didn't get even a nod. He just +dropped his hammer and stood there agape. I think Archdale was annoyed +at the exhibition of ill manners, for he talked very little the rest of +the way here. Edmonson was so amused he could scarcely help chuckling +over it. He asked our host if the old man was one of his tenants, and if +he had been long on the place, and Archdale said 'yes.' Then Edmonson +chuckled all the more." +</p> +<p> +As Sir Temple said, Stephen Archdale had been moody during the remainder +of the ride. The old butler's behavior, so at variance with his usual +deference, disturbed him. It was evident that Edmonson had come upon the +man like an apparition. But why? Stephen intuitively connected this in +some way with the conversation between the father and the son which he +had overheard that winter's day in the woods. Glancing at his companion, +he saw that Edmonson was aware of the startling effect he had produced, +and that the answer was in his face, which was jubilant. Indeed, he +could hardly restrain himself. Wheeling about in his saddle as they +rode, he broke out into a few notes of some rollicking song, asking Sir +Temple if he remembered it. To him this effect that he had produced +meant that the first stroke of the hour, his hour, had sounded; to +Archdale it meant that some mystery was here, some catastrophe +impending. He could readily connect calamity with Edmonson. +</p> +<p> +At the door he dismounted like one lost in thought, and with difficulty +threw off his moodiness; while Edmonson sprang to the ground and ran +lightly up the steps into the house, his eyes sparkling and his face +aglow with a beauty that Elizabeth was beginning to analyze. Before half +an hour his wit was being quoted over the room. Other arrivals followed +this first. There was reason enough why Elizabeth should have dreaded +this dinner, for the guests in the drawing-room now had nearly all of +them been present at that wedding scene seven months before. She knew +when Katie Archdale came in. It was almost at the last. She was leaning +on + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page60" name="page60"></a>[60]</span> + + her father's arm, her mother on his other. Both friends felt that every +eye in the room would watch their meeting. There was an involuntary +pause in the conversation; then it was taken up again here and there, +languidly, to cover the attention that must not be marked. Katie had +been into company very little since her attempted wedding; her presence +was almost a new sensation. As usual, she behaved admirably. After +greeting her aunt she slipped away from her father, and walked slowly +forward, on the way speaking to those she passed. Her tones were +mellowed a little by her suffering, but sweet and clear as ever, At last +she came to Elizabeth. They had not been face to face since that +December day in Mr. Archdale's library when Katie had turned away her +head from Elizabeth's pleading. She did nothing of the kind now, she +came forward with a chastened tenderness and said, "Elizabeth," and +kissed her. It was Elizabeth, who the night before had been sobbing over +Katie's hard lot and praying that happiness might come to her, and who +was looking at her now with a heart full of contrition and admiration, +who seemed to those watching to greet the girl coldly, to be indifferent +to her beauty and her disappointment. Strangely enough, however, Stephen +did not think so; he remembered the scene in the library, and it was +possible that in the few times that he had met Elizabeth he had learned +to understand her a little. He was quick of apprehension where his +prejudices were not concerned, and he certainly had had no opportunity +to be prejudiced against Elizabeth as one wanting to lay claim to him. +And he knew better than any one else did how she hated the very thought +of the yoke that might be laid upon her. His thoughts did not dwell upon +her, however, for he saw that Katie was like her old affectionate self, +that her unjust resentment had been only momentary; it would have been +unnatural not to have felt so on that day, he reasoned. Now she was +lovelier than ever, softened; by her suffering, the suffering he was +sharing. He sighed, turned away, looking out of the window doggedly, +turned back, and walked quickly up to her. +</p> +<p> +"How do you do?" he said, holding out his hand. +</p> +<p> +"How do you do, Stephen," she answered him, and laying her hand in his, +looked into his face a moment, dropped her eyes and stood before him +gravely, her color rising a little. A few trivial questions, a few +remarks, a few answers simply given, and he bowed and moved away as her +mother brought Edmonson up to her. He did not see her often now-a-days; +there was suffering to them both in meeting, and although he was still +her lover in name as well as in heart, it was always with a dread lest +the wall should be built up between them, and love be stifled in duty. +He was ashamed of himself for his jealous fears when he saw other men +paying her attentions; he never used to have these, but then he was +strong to woo her; he could defy his rivals in fair field, and, as it +had proved, could win the day. But now he was maimed in purpose, perhaps +his hope was lost, his conscience was not clear in the matter as before, +and he felt that in some way he had lost influence. The strong will that +had won Katie was not at present matched by the srong hand that had made +her admiring. The sense of being obliged to wait upon other's movements +galled him; he was impatient, restless, a man who could not find in +himself the comfort he sought, but who watched for news from a source +that he felt was as ready to bring him death as life. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page61" name="page61"></a>[61]</span> +</p> +<p> +Elizabeth heard his greeting of Katie, though she was speaking to some +one else when he came forward. She could not tell how it was that in +some way she felt through it to its meaning. +</p> +<p> +"Sir Temple," she said a moment afterward, "allow me to introduce Major +Vaughan; he has been a friend of Colonel Pepperell's a long time, and +though I cannot claim such an acquaintance, I do claim a share in the +regard in which all his friends hold him." +</p> +<p> +"And he holds it one of the white days of his life on which he first met +this fair lady," gallantly responded Vaughan sweeping around the bow +which acknowledged the introduction so that it included the presenter. +Elizabeth smiled her thanks. She knew that the speech was not meant in +sarcasm, although that any one should call it a white day on which he +first met her seemed so; it had been a very black day to Stephen +Archdale, she remembered. +</p> +<p> +"Major Vaughan can tell you more about the political state of the +country, and its prospects, than any one else," she went on, "except, +perhaps, Colonel Pepperell. How is it, Major, does he keep peace with +you?" +</p> +<p> +"No, Mistress Royal, he distances me as far as a race-horse does an old +cob. The cob has its uses, though," he added with a feint of resignation +to circumstances that he waited to hear denied. A flash of amusement +shot over Elizabeth's face. +</p> +<p> +"When danger is scented from afar, when battles are to be fought, or hot +work to be done, when spirit and daring are needed," she answered, "this +'old cob' that has been spoken of so disrespectfully will turn out a +war-horse clothed with thunder, and swallowing the ground with +fierceness and rage, if everybody else is not equally brave." +</p> +<p> +"You have hit the nail on the head," said Colonel Pepperell's voice +behind her; "a good telling hit, too; that is Vaughan to the life. When +this war that has just begun here grows hot we we shall hear from him." +</p> +<p> +"And from you, too," volunteered Sir Temple, who a few minutes before +had been talking with the speaker. +</p> +<p> +"I hope I shall not be backward in the service of my king and my +country," said Pepperell. "And all these men that are thinking merely of +pleasure to-day I have no doubt will soon be deep in deadly work; for +the war is coming upon us, we shall have to meet it." +</p> +<p> +As Elizabeth listened, she looked from one to another of the men about +her, and her eyes fell at last upon Archdale. War was coming, and he +would be sure to go to meet it; perhaps this would solve his +difficulties for him and take him from the burden he hated, since +perhaps it could, not be taken from him. Yet, it would be a hard way for +a man so young,—with so much of life in him. The feeling that some one +was watching her made her turn her eyes suddenly to the left whence the +disturbing force had come. They met those of Edmonson, brighter than +ever, and fixed upon her, as if he were reading her thoughts. Perhaps he +had been, for he stood quite near and Colonel Pepperell's words had been +loud enough to be heard by several. She moved her head, resenting the +surveillance. What right had he to say to her in any manner, "I know +what your trouble is." His further thought she did not arrive at. +Stephen crossed the room and came up to the speaker. Edmonson resumed +his conversation with Katie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said Stephen, "war has come. When are we to pay back the Canso +affairs, and how? Our forts are not to be taken like that while we sit +tamely + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page62" name="page62"></a>[62]</span> + + down and bear it; the sooner we act the better. Where shall we strike? +Who is to tell us? We must have a General. There are soldiers enough." +</p> +<p> +Major Vaughan's eyes flashed, and he turned his feet one way and the +other in a restlessness that would not find vent for itself in speech. +Elizabeth looked at him with a smile at finding her prediction so +instantly verified. But she, too, was silent. +</p> +<p> +"Mistress Royal," said a voice at her side, and in the unevenness of the +tones more marked than usual she recognized Bulchester before she +turned. "Will you introduce me to Mistress Katie Archdale?" he went on +in a breathless undertone that only she could catch. +</p> +<p> +"She is the most beautiful creature I ever dreamed of—I mean—yes, I do +mean that. I mean, too, that she shall be Lady Bulchester." He ended +with a resolution which made Elizabeth turn pale. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no!" she gasped; then silently drew him a little apart. "You must +not dream of such a thing for a moment," she said. "Don't you know she +is the same as married to her cousin?" +</p> +<p> +"No, I do not," he answered—"nor do you; you are possibly Mistress +Archdale, yourself. Is the young man to be dog in the manger? Let him +take care of himself. Do you forget that all is fair in love and war?" +</p> +<p> +An inimitable scorn swept over her face. +</p> +<p> +"No, I do not know any such thing when your opponent has his hands +tied—for the time. But I am insulting Katie by pleading with you. She +is true." +</p> +<p> +"You will introduce me?" he urged. +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Elizabeth, and moved away from him. Bulchester turning +about also, found Lady Dacre almost at his elbow. He brought himself +face to face with her and informed her of Elizabeth's refusal. Lady +Dacre looked at him attentively; he had never appeared to her so manly +as when he was boldly declaring his predilection. +</p> +<p> +"Of course she would not introduce you if you said all this to her. How +could she? As for me, I am hands off; it is none of my business anyway," +she said. "But, if you will pardon a word of warning at the outset from +an unprejudiced observer—what makes you expect to win, over Stephen +Archdale's head? He is a strong rival and first in the field." +</p> +<p> +"That's not everything to some women, the being first in the field, I +mean," he answered, this time suppressing his repetition of his friend's +belief that Archdale was no longer in the field. +</p> +<p> +"True." +</p> +<p> +"And do you think," he went on in a passionate undertone, "that I am +fit for nothing but Edmonson's fag? I tell you Edmonson—" he stopped +abruptly. +</p> +<p> +"What about him?" she asked, fixing her eyes upon him. But already +Bulchester had drawn back. +</p> +<p> +"I have nothing to say about him," he answered, "only that there is no +need of my walking always so close to him as to be thrown into the +shade." +</p> +<p> +"No, there is not," she said, and glanced at the subject of their +conversation, who stood talking to Katie in the most absorbed way. Lady +Dacre comprehended the reason of Bulchester's present bitterness. But +neither imagined that it was the conversation, and not the talker, that +was interesting Edmonson. The girl was telling him bits of family +history which he professed with truth to find fascinating. He was +watching her, listening, smiling with his + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page63" name="page63"></a>[63]</span> + + brightest look, speaking a word or two occasionally to draw forth more +information, and Katie, sure that she was telling nothing too personal, +went on, growing more animated by her subject in seeing the absorption +of her companion, which in her heart she did not doubt came irom his +desire to keep her talking to him. Bulchester stopped a moment and drew +nearer to his companion. +</p> +<p> +"When he looks like that," he said in her ear, "he is—he +is,—dangerous." He straightened himself directly and walked on. Sir +Temple spoke to Lady Dacre, and again Bulchester was left. But it might +have been Madam Archdale who took pity upon him, for at last he obtained +his introduction. +</p> +<p> +Why did Katie turn so readily from Edmonson to welcome the new-comer? +Was it coquetry? Did she know intuitively that the eyes of the latter +held more true worship for her than the other's tones? Edmonson's eyes +gleamed for a moment, and his face darkened. He looked at Bulchester +from head to foot, reading him with contempt. Then with a bow that had a +spice of mockery in it, as if he were amused at the rival whom he +appeared not to dare to compete with, he resigned his place, and going +up to Elizabeth, offered her his arm and moved away with her. +</p> +<p> +"Fate will be very kind to Stephen Archdale," he said as soon as they +were out of hearing, "should it substitute you for that young lady, +kinder to him than to you, since he was man enough to want her." +</p> +<p> +"You don't like Katie?" cried Elizabeth, ignoring the subject she shrank +from. "You are the first person I ever heard of who did not." +</p> +<p> +"Pardon me. I did not say that I did not like her. I was making a +comparison. She is an exceedingly pretty little puppet, and she goes +through all her little tricks, if I may call them so without +disparagement, with a delightful docility. After the clockwork is wound +up, it doesn't hitch, or stop, until it runs down. But there is nothing +unexpected about her; in five minutes you get to know her like a book." +</p> +<p> +"A book you have not read," cried Elizabeth with spirit. +</p> +<p> +Edmonson laughed. "Nobody would venture to predict your next acts or +words," he said; "he would be a bold man that tried." +</p> +<p> +"No," she answered with sadness in her gravity. "I never know them +myself. I have none of that poise which it is worth such a struggle to +gain. That is the reason why—." She stopped, perhaps through +consciousness that the conversation was getting toward egotism; perhaps +because she did not want to give confidence where it was better that she +should not. +</p> +<p> +"That is why you are so irresistible," Edmonson longed to finish; he +even framed his lips for the words, but a glance at Elizabeth checked +them. He wondered why, as he felt that a few months ago he would have +spoken them unhesitatingly. It could not be because she was possibly +Archdale's wife, for to believe her not that would please her better +than anything else. Therefore, though he feared it, and had referred to +it, he would have been glad to have denied it at the next moment. He +would even have been glad to believe that he was restrained wholly by a +question of how she would view this speech in the light of the +possibility. But he knew it was something more. He had seen the change +in Elizabeth, and in smothered wrath had perceived that this growth +which made her every day more interesting seemed to be in some way +withdrawing her from him. He + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page64" name="page64"></a>[64]</span> + + struggled against allowing this dim feeling to become a perception. For +she might be free; then she should become his wife: she might be already +bound; in that case,—again the terrible shadow darkened his face for an +instant. Then he recollected himself, and his eyes, seeking a visible +object, rested on her face a little sad with its dwelling upon her +unfinished sentence which would have spoken of her mistakes. A flash of +perception revealed the truth to him; he saw the gulf that yawned +between his nature and hers, and, almost cursing her for being so above +him, there came to him a strange longing to feel some touch upon him +which would give his face the calmness that under its pathos he read +upon hers. It was no determination to struggle to a higher plane, no +desire for it, but only the old cry for some one to be sent to cool the +tip of his tongue because the flame tormented him. It was not, however, +an appreciable lapse of time before he again felt his feet upon the +floor and thrilled under the light touch upon his arm. The insight was +over, the whirl was over; he was one of the guests talking to his host's +probable daughter-in-law. He went on with his subject. "At least you +have not changed your nature," he said with courteous freedom. "You are +royal still in defence of your friends. I shall not attack them again." +</p> +<p> +"You would better not," she answered more than half in earnest. +</p> +<p> +"And Katie is—." +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I know," he said. And she felt so keenly that he did know all +about it that she readily drew away from him when Archdale came up with +some one to speak to her. Stephen saw the movement; Edmonson felt it. +"Proud as Lucifer," thought the latter, "will not own where it galls +her. She is the kind to hate him if she is bound to him in this way." +</p> +<a name="note-13"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<u>13</u> (<a href="#noteref-13">return</a>)<br /> +Copyright, 1884, by Frances C. Sparhawk. +</p> +<hr /> +<a name="h2H_4_0019" id="h2H_4_0019"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT. +</h2> +<h3> + NOTES. +</h3> +<p> +The welcome accorded to the <span class="sc">Bay State Monthly</span> by the reading public of +New England during the past year has demonstrated the fact that the +magazine has entered a field in which there is room for it to thrive. To +many the idea of a local magazine is novel; so in its inception was the +idea of a local newspaper, now generously supported by nearly every +hamlet in the Union. +</p> +<p> +The <span class="sc">Granite Monthly</span> for New Hampshire and the <span class="sc">Bay State Monthly</span> for +Masachusetts are pioneers: their claim for existence is shown by their +existence. The growth of each depends upon the patronage afforded by the +public. The indications now are that the <span class="sc">Bay State Monthly</span> is fairly +launched on a long and prosperous voyage. +</p> +<hr /> + + +<div style="height: 6em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + +***** This file should be named 17721-h.htm or 17721-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/7/2/17721/ + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/17721-h/images/008.jpg b/17721-h/images/008.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ff13236 --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h/images/008.jpg diff --git a/17721-h/images/018.jpg b/17721-h/images/018.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fd37cd --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h/images/018.jpg diff --git a/17721-h/images/ill-008.jpg b/17721-h/images/ill-008.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ff13236 --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h/images/ill-008.jpg diff --git a/17721-h/images/ill-018.jpg b/17721-h/images/ill-018.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fd37cd --- /dev/null +++ b/17721-h/images/ill-018.jpg diff --git a/17721.txt b/17721.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ad7478 --- /dev/null +++ b/17721.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4737 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 9, 2006 [EBook #17721] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + + + + + + + + +THE BAY STATE MONTHLY + +A New England Magazine + +OF + +HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE + +AND + +STATE PROGRESS + + * * * * * + +VOLUME III + + * * * * * + +BOSTON + +BAY STATE MONTHLY COMPANY + +No. 43 MILK STREET + +1885 + + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by the BAY STATE +MONTHLY COMPANY, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at +Washington. All rights reserved. + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. + + + Adams, Samuel, The Patriot, Edward P. Guild 401 + (4 Illustrations) + Amesbury, The Home of Whittier, Frances C. Sparhawk 418 + (3 Illustrations) + Andrew, John Albion, 141 + (2 Illustrations) + Among the Books 136, 218, 306, + 388, 469 + Assessment Insurance G.A. Litchfield 317 + Assessment Life Insurance Sheppard Homans 411 + Authoritative Literature of George Lowell Austin 313, 408 + the Civil War + Boston Latin School, The 74 + Christopher Gault.--A Story Edward P. Guild 278 + City of Worcester, The Fanny Bullock Workman 147 + (18 Illustrations) + Clarke, Colonel John B., 9 + Sketch of the Life of + Civil War, Authoritative 313, 408 + Literature of the + Clayton-Bulwer Treaty _vs._ George W. Hobbs 17 + Monroe Doctrine + Coffin, Charles Carleton, 1 + Sketch of the life of + Concord Men and Memories, Geo. B. Bartlett 224 + (6 Illustrations) + Concord, N.H., Impression Prof. Emile Pingault 16 + D'un Francais + Conspiracy of 1860-61, The Geo. Lowell Austin 233 + Crapo, Hon. William Wallace, Edward P. Guild 309 + Biographical sketch + David, Barnabas Brodt Rev. J.G. Davis D.D. 69 + Divorce Legislation of Chester F. Sanger 27 + Massachusetts + Drowne, Shem, and his Handiwork Elbridge H. Goss 33 + Early English Poetry Prof. Edwin H. Sanborn LL.D. 125 + Editor's Table 139, 215, 300, + 384, 463 + Elizabeth, A Romance of Frances C. Sparhawk 48, 107, 202, + Colonial Days 289, 384, 447 + First New England Witch Willard H. Morse M.D. 270 + Fort Shirley Prof. A.L. Perry 341 + Grimke Sisters, The George Lowell Austin 183 + Hero of Lake Erie, The Hon. William P. Sheffield 321 + (1 Illustration) + Hingham, (3 Illustrations) Francis H. Lincoln 258 + Historical Record 303, 386, 465 + Hollis Street Church 47 + Home of Whittier, Amesbury The Frances C. Sparhawk 418 + (3 Illustrations) + House of Ticknor, The Barry Lyndon 266 + (4 Illustrations) + Insurance, Assessment G.A. Litchfield 317 + Insurance, Assessment Life Sheppard Homans 411 + Jackson, Helen Hunt 256 + Kate Field's New Departure Edward Increase Mather 429 + (1 Illustration) + Lake Erie, The Hero of Hon. William P. Sheffield 321 + (1 Illustration) + Lincoln, Abraham George Lowell Austin 165 + Long, John D., A Brief Biography 221 + Marblehead in 1861, The Response of Samuel Roads Jr. 378 + March of the 6th Regiment, The Rev. Charles Babbidge 374 + Marsh, Sylvester, Sketch of Chas. Carleton Coffin 65 + the life of + Massachusetts, The Present H.K.M. 439 + Resources of + Massachusetts, Divorce Legislation Chester F. Sanger 27 + Massachusetts Hills, Rambles Among Atherton P. Mason M.D. 101 + Memoranda for the Month 220 + Model Industrial City, A Fanny M. Johnson 328 + (11 Illustrations) + Mormon Church, The Victoria Reed 348 + Nantasket Beach Edward P. Guild 179 + Nantucket, Ten days in Elizabeth Porter Gould 190 + (2 Illustrations) + National Banks--Surplus Funds George H. Wood 14 + and Net Profits + Nurse, Rebecca, Homestead of Elizabeth Porter Gould 436 + O'Brien Hugh Col. Chas. H. Taylor 253 + Old Dorchester, Historical Charles M. Barrows 39 + Paine, Hon. Henry W. Prof. William Mathews, LL.D. 391 + Past and Future of Silver, The David M. Balfour 97 + Patriot, Samuel Adams, Edward P. Guild 401 + The (4 Illustrations) + Pickett's Charge, Portrait and Charles A. Patch 397 + diagram + Precious Metals, The David M. Balfour 415 + Publisher's Department 64, 308, 390, 472 + Phillips, John, with Portrait 249 + Rambles Among Massachusetts Hills Atherton P. Mason M.D. 101 + Resources of Massachusetts, H.K.M. 439 + The Present + Response of Marblehead in 1861, Samuel Roads, Jr. 378 + The + Silver, Past and Future of David M. Balfour 97 + Sixth Regiment, The March of The Rev. Charles Babbidge 374 + Ten Days In Nantucket Elizabeth Porter Gould 190 + (2 Illustrations) + Thompson, Denman, Sketch of the Life of 12 + Ticknor, The House of Barry Lyndon 266 + (4 Illustrations) + Tommy Taft, A Story of Boston Town A.L.G. 244 + Two Days with The A.M.C. Helen M. Winslow 367 + Two Reform Mayors of Boston 249 + Webster, Col. Fletcher, A reminiscence of 38 + Webster, Daniel, The Last Portrait of 340 + Wedding in Ye Days Lang Syne Rev. Anson Titus 36 + White and Franconia Mountains, + The (24 Illustrations) Fred Myron Colby 76 + Witch, The first New England Willard H. Morse M.D. 270 + Worcester, The City of Fanny Bullock Workman 147 + (18 Illustrations) + + + +POEMS. + + By The Sea Teresa Herrick 377 + Equinoctial Sidney Maxwell 383 + Growing Old 299 + In Ember Days Adelaide G. Waldron 277 + Memory's Pictures Charles Carleton Coffin (1846) 124 + The Muse of History Elizabeth Porter Gould 248 + Room At The Top 366 + The Old State House Sidney Maxwell 414 + Idleness Sidney Harrison 183 + A Birthday Sonnet George W. Bungay 201 + + + +STEEL ENGRAVINGS. + + Charles Carleton Coffin Facing 1 + John B. Clarke 9 + Sylvester Marsh 65 + John Albion Andrew 141 + John D. Long 221 + Hugh O'Brien 253 + William Wallace Crapo 309 + Henry W. Paine 391 + + + + +[Illustration: Charles Carleton Coffin] + + + + +THE BAY STATE MONTHLY. + +_A Massachusetts Magazine_ + +VOL. III. APRIL, 1885. NO. I. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. + + +Among the emigrants from England to the western world in the great +Puritan exodus was Joanna Thember Coffin, widow, and her son Tristram, +and her two daughters, Mary and Eunice. Their home was in Brixton, two +miles from Plymouth, in Devonshire. Tristram was entering manhood's +prime--thirty-three years of age. He had a family of five children. +Quite likely the political troubles between the King and Parliament, the +rising war cloud, was the impelling motive that induced the family to +leave country, home, friends, and all dear old things, and become +emigrants to the New World. Quite likely Tristram, when a youth, in +1620, may have seen the Mayflower spread her white sails to the breeze +and fade away in the western horizon, for the departure of that company +of pilgrims must have been the theme of conversation in and around +Plymouth. Without doubt it set the young man to thinking of the +unexplored continent beyond the stormy Atlantic. In 1632 his neighbors +and friends began to leave, and in 1642 he, too, bade farewell to dear +old England, to become a citizen of Massachusetts Bay. + +He landed at Newbury, settled first in Salisbury, and ferried people +across the Merrimack between Salisbury and Newbury. His wife, Dionis, +brewed beer for thirsty travellers. The Sheriff had her up before the +courts for charging more per mug than the price fixed by law, but she +went scot free on proving that she put in an extra amount of malt. We +may think of the grave and reverend Justices ordering the beer into +court and settling the question by personal examination of the foaming +mugs,--smacking their lips satisfactorily, quite likely testing it a +second time. + +Tristram Coffin became a citizen of Newbury and built a house, which is +still standing. In 1660 he removed with a portion of his family to +Nantucket, dying there in 1681, leaving two sons, from whom have +descended all the Coffins of the country--a numerous and widespread +family. + +One of Tristram's decendants, Peter, moved from Newbury to Boscawen, New +Hampshire, in 1766, building a large two-storied house. He became a +prominent citizen of the town--a Captain of the militia company, was +quick and prompt in all his actions. The news of the affair at Lexington +and Concord April 19,1775, reached Boscawen on the afternoon of the next +day. On the twenty-first Peter Coffin was in Exeter answering the roll +call in the Provincial assembly--to take measures for the public safety. + +His wife, Rebecca Hazelton Coffin, was as energetic and patriotic +as he. In August, 1777, everybody, old and young, turned out to defeat +Burgoyne. One soldier could not go, because he had no shirt. It was this +energetic woman, with a babe but three weeks old, who cut a web from the +loom and sat up all night to make a shirt for the soldier. August came, +the wheat was ripe for the sickle. Her husband was gone, the neighbors +also. Six miles away was a family where she thought it possible she +might obtain a harvest hand. Mounting the mare, taking the babe in her +arms, she rode through the forest only to find that all the able-bodied +young men had gone to the war. The only help to be had was a barefoot, +hatless, coatless boy of fourteen. + +"He can go but he has no coat," said the mother of the boy. + +"I can make him a coat," was the reply. + +The boy leaped upon the pillion, rode home with the woman--went out with +his sickle to reap the bearded grain, while the house wife, taking a +meal bag for want of other material, cutting a hole in the bottom, two +holes in the sides, sewing a pair of her own stockings on for sleeves, +fulfilled her promise of providing a coat, then laid her babe beneath +the shade of a tree and bound the sheaves. + +It is a picture of the trials, hardships and patriotism of the people in +the most trying hour of the revolutionary struggle. + +The babe was Thomas Coffin--father of the subject of this sketch, +Charles Carleton Coffin, who was born on the old homestead in Boscawen, +July 26, 1823,--the youngest of nine children, three of whom died in +infancy. + +The boyhood of the future journalist, correspondent and author was one +of toil rather than recreation. The maxims of Benjamin Franklin in +regard to idleness, thrift and prosperity were household words. + +"He who would thrive must rise at five." + +In most farm-houses the fire was kindled on the old stone hearth before +that hour. The cows were to be milked and driven to the pasture to crop +the green grass before the sun dispatched the beaded drops of dew. They +must be brought home at night. + +In the planting season, corn and potatoes must be put in the hill. The +youngest boy must ride the horse in furrowing, spread the new-mown +grass, stow away the hay high up under the roof of the barn, gather +stones in heaps after the wheat was reaped, or pick the apples in the +orchard. Each member of the family must commit to memory the verses of +Dr. Watts: + + "Then what my hands shall find to do + Let me with all my might pursue, + For no device nor work is found + Beneath the surface of the ground." + + +The great end of life was to do something. There was a gospel of work, +thrift and economy continually preached. To be idle was to serve the +devil. + +"The devil finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." + +Such teaching had its legitimate effect, and the subject of this sketch +in common with the boys and girls of his generation made work a duty. +What was accepted as duty became pleasure. + +Aside from the district school he attended Boscawen Academy a few terms. +The teaching could not be called first-class instruction. The +instructors were students just out of college, who taught for the +stipend received rather than with any high ideal of teaching as a +profession. A term at Pembroke Academy in 1843 completed his acquisition +of knowledge, so far as obtained in the schools. + +The future journalist was an omnivorous reader. Everything was fish that +came to the dragnet of this New Hampshire boy--from "Sinbad" to +"Milton's Paradise Lost," which was read before he was eleven years old. + +The household to which he belonged had ever a goodly supply of weekly +papers, the _New Hampshire Statesman_, the _Herald of Freedom_, the _New +Hampshire Observer_, all published at Concord; the first political, the +second devoted to anti-slavery, the third a religious weekly. In the +westerly part of the town was a circulating library of some one hundred +and fifty volumes, gathered about 1816--the books were dog-eared, soiled +and torn. Among them was the "History of the Expedition of Lewis and +Clark up the Missouri and down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean," which +was read and re-read by the future correspondent, till every scene and +incident was impressed upon his memory as distinctly as that of the die +upon the coin. Another volume was a historical novel entitled "A Peep at +the Pilgrims," which awakened a love for historical literature. Books of +the Indian Wars, Stories of the Revolution, were read and re-read with +increasing delight. Even the _Federalist_, that series of papers +elucidating the principles of Republican government, was read before he +was fourteen. There was no pleasure to be compared with that of visiting +Concord, and looking at the books in the store of Marsh, Capen and Lyon, +who kept a bookstore in that, then, town of four thousand +inhabitants--the only one in central New Hampshire. + +Without doubt the love for historical literature was quickened by the +kind patronage of John Farmer, the genial historian, who was a visitor +at the Boscawen farm-house, and who had delightful stories to tell of +the exploits of Robert Rogers and John Stark during the French and +Indian wars. + +Soldiers of the Revolution were living in 1830. Eliphalet Kilburn, the +grandfather of Charles Carleton Coffin on the maternal side, was in the +thick of battle at Saratoga and Rhode Island, and there was no greater +pleasure to the old blind pensioner than to narrate the stories of the +Revolution to his listening grandchild. Near neighbors to the Coffin +homestead were Eliakim Walker, Nathaniel Atkinson and David Flanders, +all of whom were at Bunker Hill--Walker in the redoubt under Prescott; +Atkinson and Flanders in Captain Abbott's company, under Stark, by the +rail fence, confronting the Welch fusileers. + +The vivid description of that battle which Mr. Coffin has given in the +"Boys of '76," is doubtless due in a great measure to the stories of +these pensioners, who often sat by the old fire-place in that farm-house +and fought their battles over again to the intense delight of their +white-haired auditor. + +Ill health, inability for prolonged mental application, shut out the +future correspondent, to his great grief, from all thoughts of +attempting a collegiate course. While incapacitated from mental or +physical labor he obtained a surveyor's compass, and more for pastime +than any thought of becoming a surveyor, he studied the elements of +surveying. + +There were fewer civil engineers in the country in 1845 than now. It was +a period when engineers were wanted--when the demand was greater than +the supply, and anyone who had a smattering of engineering could find +employment. Mr. Coffin accepted a position in the engineering corps of +the Northern Railroad, and was subsequently employed on the Concord and +Portsmouth, and Concord and Claremont Railroad. + +In 1846 he was married to Sallie R. Farmer of Boscawen. Not wishing to +make civil engineering a profession for life he purchased a farm in his +native town; but health gave way and he was forced to seek other +pursuits. + +He early began to write articles for the Concord newspapers, and some of +his fugitive political contributions were re-published in _Littell's +Living Age_. + +Mr. Coffin's studies in engineering led him towards scientific culture. +In 1849 he constructed the telegraph line between Harvard Observatory +and Boston, by which uniform time was first given to the railroads +leading from Boston. He had charge of the construction of the +Telegraphic Fire Alarm in Boston, under the direction of Professor Moses +G. Farmer, his brother-in-law, and gave the first alarm ever given by +that system April 29, 1852. + +Mr. Coffin's tastes led him toward journalism. From 1850 to 1854 he was +a constant contributor to the press, sending articles to the +_Transcript_, the Boston _Journal, Congregationalist_, and New +York _Tribune_. He was also a contributor to the _Student and +Schoolmate_, a small magazine then conducted by Mr. Adams (Oliver +Optic). + +He was for a short time assistant editor of the _Practical Farmer_, +an agricultural and literary weekly newspaper. In 1854 he was employed +on the Boston _Journal_. Many of the editorials upon the +Kansas-Nebraska struggle were from his pen. His style of composition was +developed during these years when great events were agitating the public +mind. It was a period which demanded clear, comprehensive, concise, +statements, and words that meant something. His articles upon the +questions of the hour were able and trenchant. One of the leading +newspapers of Boston down to 1856 was the _Atlas_--the organ of the +anti-slavery wing of the Whig party, of the men who laid the foundation +of the Republican party. Its chief editorial writer was the brilliant +Charles T. Congdon, with whom Mr. Coffin was associated as assistant +editor till the paper was merged into the _Atlas and Bee_. + +During the year 1858 he became again assistant on the _Journal_. He +wrote a series of letters from Canada in connection with the visit of +the Prince of Wales. He was deputed, as correspondent, to attend the +opening of several of the great western railroads, which were attended +by many men in public life. He was present at the Baltimore Convention +which nominated Bell and Everett as candidates for the Presidency and +Vice Presidency in 1860. He travelled west through Pennsylvania, Ohio, +and Indiana, before the assembling of the Republican Convention at +Chicago, conversing with public men, and in a private letter predicted +the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, who, up to the assembling of the +convention, had hardly been regarded as a possible candidate. + +He accompanied the committee appointed to apprise Mr. Lincoln of his +nomination to Springfield, spent several weeks in the vicinity--making +Mr. Lincoln's acquaintance, and obtaining information in regard to him, +which was turned to proper advantage during the campaign. + +In the winter of 1860-61, Mr. Coffin held the position of night editor +of the _Journal_. The Southern States were then seceding. It was +the most exciting period in the history of the republic. There was +turmoil in Congress. Public affairs were drifting with no arm at the +helm. There was no leadership in Congress or out of it. The position +occupied by Mr. Coffin was one requiring discrimination and judgment. +The Peace Congress was in session. During the long nights while waiting +for despatches, which often did not arrive till well toward morning, he +had time to study the situation of public affairs, and saw, what all men +did not see, that a conflict of arms was approaching. He was at that +time residing in Maiden, and on the morning after the surrender of +Sumter took measures for the calling of a public meeting of the citizens +of that town to sustain the government. It was one of the first--if not +the first of the many, held throughout the country. + +Upon the breaking out of the war in 1861 Mr. Coffin left the editorial +department of the _Journal_ and became a correspondent in the field, +writing his first letter from Baltimore, June 15, over the signature of +"_Carleton_"--selecting his middle name for a _nom de plume_. + +He accompanied the right wing under General Tyler, which had the advance +in the movement to Bull Run, and witnessed the first encounter at +Blackburn's Ford, July 18. He returned to Washington the next morning +with the account, and was back again on the succeeding morning in season +to witness the battle of Bull Run, narrowly escaping capture when the +Confederate cavalry dashed upon the panic-stricken Union troops. He +reached Washington during the night, and sent a full account of the +action the following morning. + +During the autumn he made frequent trips from the army around Washington +to Eastern Maryland, and the upper Potomac, making long rides upon the +least sign of action. Becoming convinced, in December, that the Army of +the Potomac was doomed to inaction during the winter, the correspondent, +furnished with letters of introduction to Generals Grant and Buell from +the Secretary of War, proceeded west. Arriving at Louisville he found +that General Buell had expelled all correspondents from the army. The +letter from the Secretary of War vouching for the loyalty and integrity +of the correspondent was read and tossed aside with the remark that +correspondents could not be permitted in an army which he had the honor +to command. + +Mr. Coffin proceeded to St. Louis, took a look at the army then at +Rolla, in Central Missouri, but discovering no signs of action in that +direction made his way to Cairo where General Grant was in command. +General Grant's headquarters were in the second story of a tumble-down +building. + +No sentinel paced before the door. Ascending the stairs and knocking, +Mr. Coffin heard the answer, "Come in." Entering, he saw a man in a blue +blouse sitting upon a nail-keg at a rude desk smoking a cigar. + +"Is General Grant in?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir." + +Supposing the man on the nail keg with no straps upon his shoulder to be +only a clerk or orderly, he presented his letter from the Secretary of +War, with the remark, "Will you please present this to General Grant?" +whereupon the supposed clerk glanced over the lines, rose, extended his +hand and said, "I am right glad to see you. Please take a nail keg!" + +There were several empty nail kegs in the apartment, but not a chair. +The contrast to what he had experienced with General Buell was so great +that the correspondent could hardly realize that he was in the presence +of General Grant, who at once gave him the needed facilities for +attaining information. + +The rapidity of the correspondent's movements--the quickness with which +he took in the military situation, may be inferred from the dates of his +letters. On January 6, 1862, he wrote a letter detailing affairs at St. +Louis. On the eighth, he described affairs at Rolla in Central Missouri. +On the eleventh, he was writing from Cairo. The gunboats under Commodore +Foot were at Cairo, and the correspondent was received with the utmost +hospitality, not only by the Commodore, but by all the officers. + +Upon the movement of General Zolicoffer into Kentucky, Mr. Coffin +hastened to Louisville, Lexington, and Central Kentucky, but finding +affairs had settled down, hastened down the Ohio River on a steamboat, +reaching the mouth of the Tennessee just as the fleet under Commodore +Foot was entering the Ohio after capturing Fort Henry. Commodore Foot +narrated the events of the engagement, and Mr. Coffin, learning that no +correspondent had returned from Fort Henry, stimulated by the thought of +giving the Boston _Journal_ the first information, jumped on board +the cars, wrote his account on the train, and had the satisfaction of +knowing that it was the first one published. + +Returning to Cairo by the next train, he proceeded to Fort Donelson and +was present in the cabin of the steamer "Uncle Sam" when General Buckner +turned over the Fort, the Artillery, and 15,000 prisoners to General +Grant. He hastened to Cairo, wrote his account on the cars, riding +eastward, till it was complete, then returning, and arriving in season +to jump on board the gunboat Boston for a reconnoissanceof Columbus. + +Mr. Coffin continued with the fleet during the operation at Island No. +10. His knowledge of civil engineering enabled him to assist Captain +Maynadier of the engineers in directing the mortar firing. On one +occasion while mounted on a corn crib near a farm-house to note the +direction of the bombs, the Confederate artillerists sent a shell which +demolished a pig-pen but a few feet distant. + +While at Island No. 10, the battle of Pittsburg Landing was fought. +Leaving the fleet he hastened thither, accompanied the army in its slow +advance upon Corinth, was present at the battle of Farmington and the +occupation of Corinth. + +General Halleck, smarting under the criticism of the press, ordered all +correspondents to leave, and Mr. Coffin once more joined the fleet, +descending the Mississippi. During the engagement with the Confederate +fleet at Memphis, he stood upon the deck of the Admiral's despatch boat +with note-book and watch in hand--noting every movement. He was fully +exposed, aided in hauling down the flag of the Confederate ship, "Little +Rebel," and assisted in rescuing some of the wounded Confederates from +the sinking vessels. + +He accepted an invitation from Captain Phelps of the Benton to accompany +him on shore when the city was surrendered, and saw the stars and strips +go up upon the flag-staff in the public square and over the Court House. + +The Army of the Potamac was in front of Richmond, and he returned east +in season to chronicle the seven day's engagement on the Peninsular. The +constant exposure to malaria brought on sickness, which prevented his +being with the army in the engagement at the second Bull Run, but he was +on the field of Antietam throughout the entire contest, and wrote an +account which was published in the Baltimore _American_, of which +an enormous edition was disposed of in the army--and was commended for +its accuracy. + +In October Mr. Coffin was once more in Kentucky, but did not reach the +army in season to see the battle of Perrysville. Comprehending the +situation of affairs there, that there could be no movement until the +entire army was re-organized under a new commander, he returned to +Virginia, accompanying the army in its march from the Potomac to +Fredericksburg, and witnessed that disastrous battle. A month later he +was with the fleet off Charleston and saw the attack on Sumter by the +Monitor, and the bombardment of Fort McAllister. + +In April he was once more with the Army of the Potomac, arriving just as +the troops were getting back to their quarters after Chancellorsville to +hear the stories and collect an account of that battle. + +When the Confederate army began the Gettysburg Campaign Mr. Coffin +watched every movement. He was with the cavalry during the first day's +struggle on that field, but was an eyewitness of the second and third +days' engagement. His account was re-published in nearly every one of +the large cities, was translated and re-published in France and Germany. +While the armies east and west were preparing for the campaign of 1864 +Mr. Coffin made an extended tour through the border states--Maryland, +West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, +to ascertain what changes had taken place in public opinion. In May he +was once more with the Army of the Potomac under its great leader, +Lieutenant General Grant, and saw all the conflicts of the Wilderness, +Spottsylvania, North Anna, around Hanover, Cold Harbor, the struggles in +front of Petersburg through '64. Upon the occupation of Savannah by +General Sherman he hastened south, having an ardent desire to enter +Charleston, whenever it should be occupied by Union troops. He was +successful in carrying out his desires, and with James Redpath of the +New York _Tribune_ leaped on shore from the deck of General +Gilmore's steamer when he steamed up to take possession of the city. + +Mr. Coffin's despatch announcing the evacuation and occupation of +Sumter, owing to his indefatigable energy, was published in Boston, +telegraphed to Washington, and read in the House of Representatives +before any other account appeared, causing a great sensation. + +Thus read the opening sentence: + +"Off Charleston, February 18, 2 P.M. The old flag waves over Sumter and +Moultrie, and the city of Charleston. I can see its crimson stripes and +fadeless stars waving in the warm sunlight of this glorious day. Thanks +be to God who giveth us the victory." + +In March the correspondent was again with the Army of the Potomac, +witnessing the last battles--Fort Steadman--Hatcher's Run--and the last +grand sweep at Five Forks. He entered Petersburg in the morning--rode +alone at a breakneck pace to Richmond, entering it while the city was a +sea of flame, entered the Spottsville hotel while the fire was raging on +three sides--wrote his name large on the register--the first to succeed +a long line of Confederate Generals and Colonels. When President Lincoln +arrived to enter the city, he had the good fortune to be down by the +river bank, and to him was accorded the honor of escorting the party to +General Weitzel's headquarters in the mansion from which Jefferson Davis +had fled without standing upon the order of departure. + +With the fall of Richmond, and the surrender of Appomattox, Mr. Coffin's +occupation as an army correspondent ended. During these long years he +found time to write three volumes for juveniles--"Days and Nights on the +Battle Field," "Following the Flag," and "Winning his Way." + +On July 25, 1866, Mr. Coffin sailed from New York for Europe, +accompanied by Mrs. Coffin, as correspondent of the Boston _Journal_. +War had broken out between Austria on the one side and Italy and +Germany on the other. It was of short duration; there was the battle +of Custozza in Italy and Konnigratz in Germany, followed by the +retirement of Austria from Italy, and the ascendency of Bismarck over +Baron Von Beust in the diplomacy of Europe. It was a favorable period +for a correspondent and Mr. Coffin's letters were regularly looked for +by the public. The agitation for the extension of the franchise was +beginning in England. Bearing personal letters from Senator Sumner, +Chief Justice Chase, General Grant, and other public men, the +correspondent had no difficulty in making the accquaintance of the men +prominent in the management of affairs on the other side of the water. +Through the courtesy of John Bright, who at once extended to Mr. Coffin +every hospitality, he occupied a chair in the speaker's gallery of the +House of Commons on the grand field night when Disraelli, then Prime +Minister, brought in the suffrage bill. While in Great Britain Mr. +Coffin made the acquaintance not only of men in public life, but many of +the scientists,--Huxley, Tyndal, Lyell, Sir William Thompson. At the +social Science Congress held in Belfast, Ireland, presided over by Lord +Dufferin, he gave an address upon American Common Schools which was +warmly commended by the London _Times_. + +An introduction to the literary clubs of London gave him an opportunity +to make the acquaintance of the literary guild. He was present at the +dinner given to Charles Dickens before the departure of that author to +the United States, at which nearly every notable author was a guest. + +Hastening to Italy, he had the good fortune to see the Austrians take +their departure from Verona and Venice and the Italians assume +possession of those cities. Upon the entrance of Victor Emanuel to +Venice he enjoyed exceptional facilities for witnessing the festivities. + +He was present at the coronation of the Emperor and Empress of Austria, +as King and Queen of Hungary. Through the courtesy of Mr. Motley, then +Minister to Austria, he received from the Prime Minister of the empire +every facility for witnessing the ceremonies. + +At Pesth he made the acquaintance of Francis Deak, the celebrated +statesman--the John Bright of Hungary; also, of Arminius Vambrey, the +celebrated Oriental traveller. + +At Berlin he had the good fortune to see the Emperor William, the Crown +Prince, Bismarck, Van Moltke, the former and the present Czar of Russia, +and Gortschakoff, the great diplomatist of Russia, in one group. The +letters written from Europe were upon the great events of the hour, +together with graphic descriptions of the life of the common people. + +After spending a year and a half in Europe, Mr. Coffin visited Greece, +Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, sailing thence down the Red sea to +Bombay, travelled across India to the valley of the Ganges, before the +completion of the railroad, visiting Allahabad, Benares, Calcutta, +sailing thence to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai. Ascending the +Yang-tse six hundred miles to Wuchang; the governor of the province +invited him to a dinner. From Shanghai he sailed to Japan, experiencing +a fearful typhoon upon the passage. Civil war in Japan prevented his +travelling in that country, and he sailed for San Francisco, visiting +points of interest in California, and in November made his way across +the country seven hundred miles--riding five consecutive days and nights +between the terminus of the Central Pacific road at Wadsworth and Salt +Lake, arriving in Boston, January, 1869, after an absence of two and a +half years. During that period the Boston _Journal_ contained every +week a letter from his pen. + +For one who had seen so much there was an opening in the lecture field +and for several years he was one of the popular lecturers before +lyceums. In 1869 he published _Our New Way Round the World_, followed by +the _Seat of Empire_, _Caleb Crinkle_ (a story) _Boys of 76_, _Story of +Liberty_, _Old Times in the Colonies_, _Building the Nation_, _Life of +Garfield_, besides a history of his native town. His volumes have been +received with marked favor. No less than fifty copies of the _Boys of +'76_ are in the Boston Public Library and all in constant use. + +Mr. Coffin has given many addresses before teacher's associations, and a +course of lectures before the Lowell Institute. During the winter of +1878-9 a movement was made by the Western grangers to bring about a +radical change in the patent laws. Mr. Coffin appeared before the +Committee of Congress and presented an address so convincing, that the +Committee ordered its publication. It has been frequently quoted upon +the floor of Congress and highly commended by the present Secretary of +the Interior, Mr. Lamar. Mr. Coffin also appeared before the Committee +on Labor, and made an argument on the "Forces of Nature as Affecting +Society," which won high encomiums from the committee, and which was +ordered to be printed. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon +Mr. Coffin in 1870, by Amherst College. He is a member of the New +England Historical and Genealogical Society, and he gave the address +upon the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of his +native town. He is a resident of Boston, and was a member of the +Legislature for 1884, member of the Committee on Education, and reported +the bill for free textbooks. He was also member of the Committee on +Civil Service, and was active in his efforts to secure the passage of +the bill. He is a member of the present Legislature, Chairman of the +Committee on the Liquor Law, and of the special committee for a +Metropolitan Police for the city of Boston. Mr. Coffin's pen is never +idle. He is giving his present time to a study of the late war, and is +preparing a history of that mighty struggle for the preservation of the +government of the people. + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: John B. Clarke] + + + + +COLONEL JOHN B. CLARKE. + +Editor and Proprietor of the Manchester [N.H.] Mirror. + + +Among the business enterprises in which the men of to-day seek fortune +and reputation, there is scarcely another which, when firmly established +upon a sound basis, sends its roots so deep and wide, and is so certain +to endure and prosper, bearing testimony to the ability of its creators, +as the family newspaper. Indeed, a daily or weekly paper which has +gained by legitimate methods an immense circulation and a profitable +advertising patronage is immortal. It may change owners and names, and +character even, but it never dies, and if, as is usually the case, it +owes its early reputation and success to one man, it not only reflects +him while he is associated with it, but pays a constant tribute to his +memory after he has passed away. + +But, while the rewards of eminent success in the newspaper profession +are great and substantial, the road to them is one which only the +strong, sagacious, and active can travel, and this is especially true +when he who strives for them assumes the duties of both publisher and +editor. It requires great ability to make a great paper every day, and +even greater to sell it extensively and profitably, and to do both is +not a possible task for the weak. To do both in an inland city, where +the competition of metropolitan journals must be met and discounted, +without any of their advantages, requires a man of grip, grit and +genius. + +In 1852 the Manchester MIRROR was one of the smallest and weakest papers +in the country. Its weekly edition had a circulation of about six +hundred, that of its daily was less than five hundred, and its +advertising receipts were extremely small. Altogether, it was a load +which its owner could not carry, and the whole establishment, including +subscription lists, good will, press, type and material, was sold at +auction for less than a thousand dollars. + +In 1885 the WEEKLY MIRROR AND FARMER has a circulation of more than +twenty-three thousand and every subscriber on its books has paid for it +in advance. The DAILY MIRROR AND AMERICAN has a correspondingly large +and reliable constituency, and neither paper lacks advertising +patronage. The office in which they are printed is one of the most +extensive and best equipped in the Eastern States out of Boston. In +every sense of the word the MIRROR is successful, strong and solid. + +The building up of this great and substantial enterprise from so small a +beginning has been the work of John B. Clarke, who bought the papers, as +stated above, in 1852, has ever since been their owner, manager, and +controlling spirit, and, in spite of sharp rivalry at home and from +abroad and the lack of opportunieies which such an undertaking must +contend with in a small city, has kept the MIRROR, in hard times as in +good times, steadily growing, enlarging its scope and influence, and +gaining strength with which to make and maintain new advances; and at +the same time has made it yield every year a handsome income. Only a man +of pluck, push and perseverance, of courage, sagacity and industry, +could have done this; and he who has accomplished it need point to no +other achievement to establish his title to a place among the strong men +of his time. + +Mr. Clarke is a native of Atkinson, where he was born January 30, 1820. +His parents were intelligent and successful farmers, and from them he +inherited the robust constitution, the genial disposition, and the +capacity for brain-work, which have carried him to the head of his +profession in New Hampshire. They also furnished him with the small +amount of money necessary to give a boy an education in those days, and +in due course he graduated with high honors at Dartmouth College in the +class of 1843. Then he became principal of the Meredith Bridge Academy, +which position he held three years, reading law meanwhile in an office +near by. In 1848 he was admitted to the Hillsborough county bar from the +office of his brother, at Manchester, the late Honorable William C. +Clarke, Attorney General of New Hampshire, and the next year went to +California. From 1849 until 1851 he was practicing his profession, +roughing it in the mines, and prospecting for a permanent business and +location in California, Central America, and Mexico. + +In 1851 he returned to Manchester and established himself as a lawyer, +gaining in a few months a practice which gave him a living; but in +October of the next year the sale of the MIRROR afforded an opening more +suited to his talents and ambition, and having bought the property he +thenceforth devoted himself to its development. + +He had no experience, no capital, but he had confidence in himself, +energy, good judgment, and a willingness to work for the success he was +determined to gain. For months and years he was editor, reporter, +business manager, accountant, and collector. In these capacities he did +an amount of work that would have killed an ordinary man, and did it in +a way that told; for everymonth added to the number of his patrons; and +slowly but steadily his business increased in volume and his papers in +influence. + +He early made it a rule to condense everything that appeared in the +columns of the MIRROR into the smallest possible space, to make what he +printed readable as well as reliable, to make the paper better every +year than it was the preceding year, and to furnish the weekly edition +at a price which would give it an immense circulation without the help +of travelling agents or the credit system: and to this policy he has +adhered. Besides this, he spared no expense which he judged would add to +the value of his publications, and his judgment has always set the +bounds far off on the very verge of extravagance. Whatever machine +promised to keep his office abreast of the times, and increase the +capacity for good work, he has dared buy. Whatever man he has thought +would brighten and strengthen his staff of assistants, he has gone for, +and if possible got, and whatever new departure has seemed to him likely +to win new friends for the MIRROR he has made. + +In this way he has gone from the bottom of the ladder to the top. From +time to time rival sheets have sprung up beside him, but only to +maintain an existence for a brief period, or to be consolidated with the +MIRROR. All the time there has been sharp competition from publishers +elsewhere, but this has only stimulated him to make a better paper and +push it succesfully in fields which they have regarded as their own. + +In connection with the MIRROR a great job printing establishment has +grown up, which turns out a large amount of work in all departments, and +where the state printing has been done six years. Mr. Clarke has also +published several books, including "Sanborn's History of New Hampshire," +"Clarke's History of Manchester," "Successful New Hampshire Men," +"Manchester Directory," and other works. Within a few years a book +bindery has been added to the establishment. + +Mr. Clarke still devotes himself closely to his business six hours each +day, but limits himself to this period, having been warned by an +enforced rest and voyage to Europe in 1872 to recover from the strain of +overwork, that even his magnificent physique could not sustain too great +a burden, and he now maintains robust and vigorous health by a +systematic and regular mode of life, by long rides of fifteen to +twenty-five miles daily, and an annual summer vacation. + +In making the MIRROR its owner has made a great deal of money. If he had +saved it as some others have done, he would have more to-day than any +other in Manchester who has done business the same length of time on the +same capital. But if he has gathered like a man born to be a +millionaire, he has scattered like one who would spend a millionaire's +fortune. He has been a good liver and a free giver. All his tastes +incline him to large expenditures. His home abounds in all the comforts +that money will buy. His farm is a place where costly experiments are +tried. He is passionately fond of fine horses, and his stables are +always full of those that are highly bred, fleet, and valuable. He loves +an intelligent dog, and a good gun, and is known far and near as an +enthusiastic sportsman. + +He believes in being good to himself and generous to others; values +money only for what it will buy, and every day illustrates the fact that +it is easier for him to earn ten dollars than to save one by being +"close." + +A business that will enable a man of such tastes and impulses to gratify +all his wants and still accumulate a competency for his children is a +good one, and that is what the business of the MIRROR counting-room has +done. + +Nor is this all, nor the most, for the MIRROR has made the name of John +B. Clarke a household word in nearly every school district in Northern +New England and in thousands of families in other sections. It has given +him a great influence in the politics, the agriculture, and the social +life of his time, has made him a power in shaping the policy of his city +and state, and one of the forces that have kept the wheels of progress +moving in both for more than thirty years. + +In a word, what one man can do for and with a newspaper in New Hampshire +John B. Clarke has done for and with the MIRROR, and what a great +newspaper can do for a man the MIRROR has done for John B. Clarke. + + * * * * * + + + + +DENMAN THOMPSON. + + +Throughout the United States where-ever the name of New England is held +in respect there is the name of Denman Thompson a household word. His +genius has embodied in a drama the finer yet homlier characteristics of +New England life, its simplicity, its rugged honesty, its simple piety, +its benevolence, partially hid beneath a rough and uncouth exterior. His +drama is an epic--a prose poem--arousing a loyal and patriotic love for +the land of the Pilgrims in the hearts of her sons, whether at home, on +the rolling prairies of the West, in the sunny South, amid the grand +scenes of the Sierras, or on the Pacific slope. + +That Denman Thompson was not a native of New Hampshire was rather the +result of chance. His parents were natives of Swanzey, where they are +still living at a ripe old age, and where they have always lived, save +for a few years preceeding and following the birth of their children. In +1831 the parents moved to Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania, when, +October 15, 1833, was born their gifted son. The boy was blessed with +one brother and two sisters, and death has yet to strike its first blow +in the family. + +At the age of thirteen years Denman accompanied his family to the old +home in Swanzey, where for several years he received the advantages of +the education afforded by the district school. For his higher education +he was indebted to the excellent scholastic opportunities afforded by +the Mount Caesar Seminary in Swanzey. + +At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of his uncle in Lowell, +Massachusetts, serving as book-keeper in a wholesale store, and in that +city he made his _debut_ as Orasman in the military drama of the FRENCH +SPY. + +In 1854, at the age of twenty-one years, he was engaged by John +Nickerson, the veteran actor and manager, as a member of the stock +company of the Royal Lyceum, Toronto. From the first his success was +assured, for aside from his natural adaptation to his profession he +possesses indomitable perseverance, a quality as necessary to the rise +of an artist as genius. On the provincial boards of Toronto he studied +and acted for the next few years, perfecting himself in his calling and +preparing for wider fields. Then he acted the rollicking Irishman to +perfection; the real live Yankee, with his genuine mannerisms and +dialect, with proper spirit and without ridiculous exaggeration, and the +Negro, so open to burlesque. The special charm of his acting in those +characters was his artistic execution. He never stooped to vulgarities, +his humor was quaint and spontaneous, and the entire absence of apparent +effort in his performance gave his audience a most favorable impression +of power in reserve. His favorite characters were Salem Scudder in THE +OCTOROON, and Myles Na Coppaleen in COLLEEN BAWN. + +In April, 1862, Mr. Thompson started for the mother country, and there +his reception was worthy a returning son who had achieved a well-earned +reputation. His opening night in London was a perfect ovation, and +during his engagement the theatre was crowded in every part. He met with +flattering success during his brief tour, performing at Edinburg and +Glasgow before his return to Toronto the following fall. + +From that time must be dated the career of Mr. Thompson as a _star_ +or leading actor and manager, at first in low comedy, so called, or +eccentric drama, and later, in what he has made a classic New England +drama. + +Mr. Thompson is the author of several very pleasing and successful +comedies, but the play JOSHUA WHITCOMB is the best known and most +popular. The leading character is said to have been drawn from Captain +Otis Whitcomb, who died in Swanzey in 1882, at the age of eighty-six. Cy +Prime, who "could have proved it had Bill Jones been alive," died in +that town, a few years since, while Len Holbrook still lives there. +General James Wilson, the veteran, who passed away a short time since, +was well known to the older generation of today. The last scene of the +drama is laid in Swanzey and the scenery is drawn from nature very +artistically. Mr. Thompson is the actor as well as creator of the +leading character in the play. The good old man is drawn from the quiet +and comforts of his rural home to the perplexities of city life in +Boston. There his strong character and good sense offset his simplicity +and ignorance. He acts as a kind of Providence in guiding the lives of +others. To say that the play is pure is not enough--it is ennobling. + +The success of the play has been wonderful. Year after year it draws +crowded houses--and it will, long after the genius of Mr. Thompson's +acting becomes a tradition. + +Mr. Thompson is a gentleman of wide culture and extensive reading and +information. Not only with the public but with his professional brethren +he is very popular on account of his amiable character. Naturally he is +of a quiet and benevolent disposition, and has the good word of everyone +to whom he is known. + +As one of a stock company he never disappointed the manager--as a +manager he never disappointed the public. + +In private life he has been very happy in his marital relations, having +married Miss Maria Bolton in July, 1860. Three children--two daughters +and one son, have blessed their union. + +A book could well be written on the adventures and incidents that have +attended the presentation of the great play since its inception. Nowhere +is it more popular than in the neighborhood of Mr. Thompsons's summer +home. When a performance is had in Keene the good people of Swanzey +demand a special matinee for their benefit, from which the citizens of +Keene are supposed to be excluded. + +In Colorado a Methodist camp-meeting was adjourned and its members +attended the play _en masse_. Such is the charm of the play that it +never loses its attraction. + +Mr. Thompson is in the prime of life, about fifty years old. His home is +in New Hampshire; his birthplace was in Pennsylvania. He made his +_debut_ in Massachusetts, and received his professional training in +Canada; he is a citizen of the United States, and is always honored +where genius is recognized. + +Like the favorite character, Joshua Whitcomb, in his favorite play, Mr. +Thompson is personally sensitive, kind-hearted, self-sacrificing; he +never speaks ill of any one, delights in doing good, and enjoys hearing +and telling a good story; he is quiet, yet full of fun; generous to a +fault. His company has become much attached to him. + +In the village of Swansey is Mr. Thompson's summer home; a beautiful +mansion, surrounded by grounds where art and nature combine to please. +The hospitality of the house is proverbial, but its chief attraction is +its well-stocked library. + + * * * * * + + + + +NATIONAL BANKS. + +THE SURPLUS FUND AND NET PROFITS. + + +By George H. Wood. + + +In the elimination of an unusually large amount of dead assets under the +requirements of the National Bank law, previous to extension of the +corporate existence of a bank, the very interesting question is brought +to notice, of what is the proper construction of the law in regard to +reducing and restoring the surplus fund. + +Does the law forbid the payment of a dividend by a National Bank when +the effect of such payment will be to reduce the surplus fund of the +bank below an amount equal to one-tenth of its net profits since its +organization as a National Bank; and if so, upon what ground? It does, +and for the following reasons. The power to declare dividends is granted +by section 5199 of the Revised Statutes of the United States in the +following language: "The Directors of any association (National Bank) +may semi-annually declare a dividend of so much of the _net +profits_ of the association as they shall judge expedient; but each +association shall, before the declaration of a dividend, carry one-tenth +of its net profits of the preceding half year to its surplus fund until +the same shall amount to twenty per cent, of its capital stock." + +The question at once arises, what are the net profits from which +dividends may be declared, and do they include the surplus fund? It is +held that the net profits are the earnings left on hand after charging +off expenses, taxes and losses, if any, and carrying to surplus fund the +amount required by the law, and that the surplus fund is not to be +considered as net profits available for dividends, for, if it were, the +Directors of a bank could at any time divide the surplus among the +shareholders. It would only be necessary to go through the form of +carrying one-tenth of the net profits to surplus, whereupon, if the +surplus be net profits available for the purpose of a dividend, the +amount so carried can be withdrawn and paid away at once, thereby +defeating the obvious purpose of the law in requiring a portion of each +six month's earnings to be carried to the surplus fund, that purpose +being to provide that a surplus fund equal to twenty per cent, of the +bank's capital shall be accumulated. + +The law is to be so construed as to give effect to all its parts, and +any construction that does not do so is manifestly unsound. Therefore a +construction which would render inoperative the requirement for the +accumulation of a surplus fund cannot be correct, and the net profits +available for dividends must be determined by the amount of earnings on +hand other than the surplus fund when that fund does not exceed a sum +equal to one-tenth of the earnings of the bank since its organization. + +Having shown what the net profits available for dividends are, the only +other question that can arise is: Can losses and bad debts be charged to +the surplus fund and the other earnings used for paying dividends, or +must all losses and bad debts be first charged against earnings other +than the surplus fund, so far as such earnings will admit of it, and the +surplus, or a portion of it, used only when other earnings shall be +exhausted? + +This question is virtually answered above, for if the object of the law +in requiring the creation of a surplus fund may not be defeated by one +means it may not by another; if it may not be defeated by paying away +the amounts carried to surplus in dividends, neither may it be by +charging losses to the surplus and at the same time using the other +earnings for dividends. + +Moreover, section 5204 of the Revised Statutes of the United States +provides as follows: "If losses have at any time been sustained by any +such association, equal to or exceeding its undivided profits then on +hand, no dividend shall be made; and no dividend shall ever be made by +any association, while it continues its banking operations, to an amount +greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its +losses and bad debts." + +This language fixes the extent to which dividends may be made at the +amount of the "net profits" on hand after deducting therefrom losses and +bad debts, and as it has been shown above that the surplus fund cannot +be considered "net profits," available for dividends within the meaning +of the law, it follows that in order to determine the amount of net +earnings available for dividends the losses must first be deducted from +the earnings other than surplus. + +It is to be observed also that section 5204 specifies that if losses +have at any time been sustained by a bank equal to or exceeding its +"_undivided_ profits" on hand no dividends shall be made. + +Now the surplus fund is not undivided profits, except in so far as it is +earnings not divided among the shareholders. It is made upon a division +of the profits--so much to the stockholders and so much to the surplus +fund. If the law had intended that losses might be charged to surplus +fund in order to leave the other earnings available for dividends it is +to be presumed that care would not have been taken to use the words +"undivided profits," in the connection in which they are used, as stated +above. + +Furthermore, if losses may be charged to surplus when at the same time +the other earnings are used for dividends to shareholders, a bank may go +on declaring dividends, and never accumulate any surplus fund whatever +if losses be sustained, as they are in the history of nearly every bank. +A construction of the law which would render inoperative the requirement +for the creation of a surplus cannot be sound; and as the only way to +insure that a surplus shall be accumulated and maintained is to charge +losses against other earnings as far as may be before trenching upon the +surplus; it must be that the law intended that the "undivided profits" +which are not in the surplus fund shall first be used to meet losses. + +To a full understanding of the subject it is proper to say that after +using all other earnings on hand at the usual time for declaring a +dividend to meet losses the whole or any part of the surplus may be used +if the losses exceed the amount of the earnings other than surplus, and +then at the end of another six months a dividend may be made if the +earnings will admit of it, one-tenth of the earnings being first carried +to surplus and the re-accumulation of the fund thus begun. + +This is because the law has been complied with by charging the losses +against the "undivided profits," as far as they will go, and it is +impossible to do more, or require more to be done, for the +re-establishment of the state of things that existed prior to losses +having been sustained than to do what the law requires shall be done to +originally establish that state of things. + + * * * * * + + + + +CONCORD, N.H. + + * * * * * + +IMPRESSIONS D'UN FRANCAIS. + + * * * * * + +Par le Professeur Emile Pingault. + + +Quand les Francais, les Francais de France, comme disent leurs cousins +canadiens, parlent de l'Amerique ou pensent a cette reine des +republiques, ils n'ont en vue que les grandes villes. New-York, Boston, +Philadelphie, Chicago, la Nouvelle Orleans etc. ... forment seuls, pour +eux, l'immense continent decouvert par Christophe Colomb. + +Je voudrais essayer de reagir contre l'idee generale qu'on a, que la +lumiere, l'intelligence, la prosperite ne se trouvent que dans les +grands centres. + +La Providence a voulu que je vinsse etablir ma tente dans une ville qui, +bien qu'etant la capitale du New-Hampshire, parait comme un point +microscopique aupres des villes que j'ai citees plus haut. Eh bien, sans +flatterie aucune, si l'on a pu appeler Boston l'Athene de l'Amerique, je +ne vois pas pourquoi on n'appellerait pas Concord un petit +_Rambouillet_, toute proportion gardee. + +Je ne vous dirai pas que Concord est une petite ville situee sur la +Merrimac, de 14,000 a 15,000 habitants, mais ce que je puis vous dire +c'est qu'il faudrait aller bien loin pour trouver une ville plus +intelligente et plus eclairee, je dirais meme plus patriarcale. Tout le +monde s'y connait et s'estime l'un l'autre. Il y a dans cette ville une +emulation pour le bien et pour l'instruction qui ne peut etre surpassee. + +Outre les ecoles publiques telles que la Haute Ecole (High School), les +ecoles de grammaire, les ecoles particulieres, on y voit encore des +professeurs de langues modernes, des professeurs de dessin et de +peinture, et parmi ces derniers un jeune artiste qui fera vraiment la +gloire de l'Etat de Granit si la rlasse eclairee sait l'attacher +permanemment a la capitale. La musique a une place privilegiee dans +cette ville, les concerts de l'orchestre Blaisdelle sont suivis comme le +seraient les premieres de Booth et d'Irving. Il y a la plus que du +sentiment, il y a veritablement de l'art, et un enfant de Concord, mort +il y a deux ans, age de vingt ans a peine, etait une preuve manifeste +que l'art est compris ici a un degre superieure. + +La litterature est cultivee avec le plus grand soin. Outre trois clubs, +composes chacun d'une quinzaine de membres, qui etudient et admirent +Shakspeare; une dame qui manie la parole comme le grand dramatiste +maniait la pensee donne des conferences sur l'auteur d'_Hamlet_ +devant un auditoire aussi intelligent que nombreux. + +Cet amour de s'instruire et d'etudier perce jusque dans les enfants les +plus jeunes. Deux _Kindergarten_ sont etablis en cette ville; la, +outre les choses aimables et utiles qu'on enseigne aux petits garcons et +petites filles de cinq a six ans, on leur apprend aussi le francais. +Qu'il est beau de voir ces jeunes intelligences se developper an son de +la belle langue de Bossuet, de Fenelon, de Lamartine et de Victor Hugo. +Vous verrez a Concord un spectacle peut-etre unique dans les Etats-Unis: +une douzaine de petits Americains et Americaines chantant la +_Marsellaise_ et dansant des rondes de Bretagne et de Vendee avec +une voix aussi douce et un accent aussi pur que s'ils etaient nes sur +les bords de la Seine. + +Ajoutez a ce tableau bien court et nullement exagere que l'union et la +paix regne entre tous les habitants de la ville, que la police y est +heureuse et fort peu occupee, et vous aurez l'idee de la tranquillite +dont on jouit dans cet endroit privilegie. + +J'avouerai franchement, pour finir, que si toutes les villes et villages +ressemblaient a Concord, l'Amerique serait le premier de tous les mondes +connus. + + * * * * * + + + + +CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY VS. MONROE DOCTRINE. + + +By George W. Hobbs. + + +In every conflict of European with American interests on the two +continents, comprising North and South America, our countrymen always +make their appeal to the "Monroe Doctrine" as the supreme, indisputable, +and irrevocable judgment of our national Union. It is said to indicate +the only established idea of foreign policy which has a permanent +influence upon our national administration, whether it be Republican or +Democratic, politically. A President of the United States, justly +appealing to this doctrine, in emergency arouses the heart and courage +of the patriotic citizen, even in the presence of impending war. + +In view of this powerful sentiment swaying a great people, as well as +their government, it is not surprising that Congress is often called +upon to apply its principles; and it therefore becomes more and more +important that it should be well understood by _people_, as well as +Congress, in respect to its origin and purpose. + +In the message of President Monroe to Congress, at the commencement of +the session of 1823-24, the following passages occur: + +"In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, +we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do +so. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced, that +we resent injuries, or make preparations for defence. With the movements +in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and +by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial +observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially +different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds +from that which exists in their respective governments; and to the +defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood +and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened +citizens, and under which we have enjoyed such unexampled felicity, this +whole nation is devoted. + +"We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing +between the United States and those powers to declare--_that we should +consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion +of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the +existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have not +interfered and shall not interfere; but with the governments who have +declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we +have on great consideration, and on just principles acknowledged, we +could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, in any other light, than +as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United +States_." + +"It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political +sytem to any portion of either continent, without endangering our peace +and happiness. + +"It is equally impossible, that we should behold such interposition in +any form with indifference." + +Lest there may be some misapprehension, as to the political +circumstances, which called for the promulgation of this "Monroe +Doctrine," let us for a moment review the events which gave color and +importance to the political environments of that date which elicited +from President Monroe this now famous declaration. + +In the year 1822 the allied sovereigns held their Congress at Verona. +The great subject of consideration was the condition of Spain; that +country being then under the Cortes or representatives of the +Revolutionists. The question was, whether or not Ferdinand should be +re-instated in all his authority by the intervention of foreign powers. + +Russia, Prussia, France, and Austria, were inclined to that measure; +England dissented and protested, but the course was agreed upon; and +France, with the consent of these other continental powers, took the +conduct of the operation into her own hands. In the spring of 1823, a +French army was sent into Spain. Its success was complete; the popular +government was overthrown, and Ferdinand was re-instated and +re-established in all his power. This invasion was determined on and +undertaken precisely on the doctrines which the allied monarchs had +proclaimed the year before at Laybach; that is, that they had the right +to interfere in the concerns of another State, and reform its +government, "in order to prevent the effect of its bad example" (this +bad example, be it remembered, always being the example of free +government by the people). Now having put down the example of the +Cortes, in Spain, it was natural to inquire, with what eyes they should +look on the Colonies of Spain, that were following still worse examples. +Would King Ferdinand and his allies be content with what had been done +in Spain itself, or would he solicit their aid and would they grant it, +to subdue his rebellious American colonies? + +Having "reformed" Spain herself to the true standard of a proud +monarchy, it was more than probable that they might see fit to attempt +the "reformation" and re-organization of the Central and South American +Colonies, which were following the "pernicious example of the United +States," and declaring themselves "free and independent," it being an +historical fact, that as soon as the Spanish King was completely +reestablished he invited the co-operation of his allies in regard to his +provinces in South America, to "assist him to readjust the affairs in +such manner as should retain the sovereignty of Spain over them." The +proposed meeting of the allies for that purpose, however, did not take +place. England had already taken a decided course, and stated +distinctly, and expressly, that "she should consider any foreign +interference by force or by menace, in the dispute between Spain and the +Colonies, as a motive for recognizing the latter without delay." + +The sentiment of the liberty-loving people of the American Union was +strongly in favor of the independence of the Colonies, which our +government had already recognized; and it was at this crisis, just as +the attitude of England was made known, that President Monroe's noble +and patriotic declaration was made. Its effect was grand; it disarmed +all organized attempts on the part of Spain and her allies to +re-organize her "rebellious colonies"--now our sister republics in the +western hemisphere--and shook the political systems of the world to +their centres. + +"The force of President Monroe's declaration," said Daniel Webster, +"was felt everywhere by all those who could understand its object, and +foresee its effect." Lord Brougham said in Parliament that "no event +had ever created greater joy, exaltation, and gratitude, among all the +freemen in Europe;" that he felt "proud in being connected by blood +and language with the people of the United States;" that "the policy +disclosed by the message became a great, a free, an independent nation." + +Daniel Webster again said of it, "I look on the message of December, +1823, as forming a bright page in our history. I will neither help to +erase it nor tear it out; nor shall it be by any act of mine blurred or +blotted. It did honor to the sagacity of the government, and I will not +diminish that honor. It elevated the hopes and gratified the patriotism +of the people over these hopes. I will not bring a mildew, nor will I +put that gratified patriotism to shame." + +The effect of this declaration in Europe was all that could have been +desired by the patriotic statesmen who contributed their counsel to its +adoption. The message arrived in England on December 24, +1823--twenty-two days after Mr. Monroe delivered it to Congress. On the +second of January. Mr. Camming, the British Minister of foreign affairs, +told the American Minister that the principles declared in the message, +that the American continents were not to be considered as subject to +future colonization by any of the powers of Europe, greatly embarassed +the instructions he was about to send to the British Ambassador at St. +Petersburg, touching the Northwestern boundary; and that he believed +Great Britain would combat this declaration of the President with +animation. + +Its effect upon the then pending negotiations with Russia was so +favorable, that the convention of 1824 was concluded in the Spring of +that year, by the withdrawal on the part of the Emperor of his +pretentious to exclusive trade on the Northwest coast, and by fixing the +parallel of 54" 40' as the line between the permissible establishments +of the respective countries. + +This in brief is the history of the celebrated "Monroe Doctrine." It has +never been affirmatively adopted by Congress, by any recorded vote, as +the fixed and unalterable policy of this Republic; but its patriotic +sentiment is so deeply bedded in the hearts of the American people of +every political opinion, that Congress ought not and dare not ignore it. + +But did not the United States Senate, when it ratified the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850, practically ignore the "Monroe Doctrine" +and open the door for future trouble? Let us examine this treaty, which, +in the light of present Congressional action, has become an important +element in American politics, and see if it is not antagonistic to the +American policy, and more than the _bete noir_ of partizan dreams. +In order for a complete understanding of the terms, and bearing of this +treaty, I deem it important to give a full synopsis, rather than a brief +reference to its salient points: + + +THE CLAYTON-BULWER TREATY. + +"A convention between the United States of America and her Britannic +Majesty. + + +PREAMBLE. + + +"The United States and her Britannic Majesty, being desirous of +consolidating the relations of amity, which so happily subsist between +them, by setting forth and fixing in a convention their views and +intentions with reference to any means of communication by ship canal, +which may be constructed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, by way +of the river San Juan de Nicaragua and either or both the lakes of +Nicaragua or Manaqua, to any port or place on the Pacific ocean, the +President of the United States has conferred full powers on John M. +Clayton, Secretary of State of the United States, and her Britannic +Majesty on the Right Honorable Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, a member of her +Majesty's most honorable Privy Council, Knight Commander of the most +honorable order of Bath, and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister +Plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty to the United States for the +aforesaid purpose; and the said plenipotentiaries, having exchanged +their full powers, which were found to be in proper form, have agreed to +the following articles, _viz_: + +Article 1. The governments of the United States and Great Britain hereby +declare that neither the one nor the other will ever obtain, or maintain +for itself, any exclusive control over the said ship canal; agreeing +that neither will ever erect or maintain, any fortifications commanding +the same, or in the vicinity thereof: or occupy, or fortify, or +colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America. Nor will either make +use of any protection which either affords, or may afford, or any +alliance which either has or may have, to or with, any state or people +for the purpose of erecting or maintaining any such fortifications, or +of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America, or of assuming, or +exercising dominion over the same; nor will the United States or Great +Britain take advantage of any intimacy, or use any alliance, connection, +or influence, that either may possess, with any state or government, +through whose territory the said canal may pass, for the purpose of +acquiring or holding, directly or indirectly, for the citizens or +subjects of the one, any rights or advantages in regard to commerce, or +navigation through the said canal, which shall not be offered on the +same terms to the citizens or subjects of the other. + +Art. 2. Vessels of the United States or Great Britain traversing the +said canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be +exempted from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the +beligerents, and this provision shall extend to such a distance from the +two ends of the said canal, as may hereafter be found expedient to +establish. + +Art. 3. The persons and property engaged in building the said canal +shall be protected by the contracting parties from all unjust detention, +confiscation and violence. + +Art. 4. Both governments will facilitate the construction of said canal +and establish two free ports, one at each end of said canal. + +Art 5. Both governments will guaranty and protect the neutrality of said +canal; provided, however, that said protection and guaranty may be +withdrawn by both, or either governments, if both or either should deem +that the persons building or managing the same adopt or establish +regulations concerning traffic therein, as are contrary to the spirit +and intention of this convention, either by unfair discrimination, in +favor of the commerce of one contracting party over the other, or by +imposing oppressive exactions or unreasonable tolls upon passengers, +vessels, goods, wares, merchandise, or other articles,--neither party to +withdraw such protection and guaranty without first giving six months +notice to the other. + +Art 6. Treaty stipulations maybe made with the Central American States, +and states with which either or both parties have friendly intercourse; +and settle all differences arising as to the rights of property in the +canal, etc. + +Art. 7. Contract to be entered into without delay, and the party first +commencing labor, etc., in the construction of said canal, is to have +priority of claim to construct the same, and will be protected therein +by the parties to this treaty. + +Art. 8. Both governments agree that protection shall be extended by +treaty stipulations, hereafter to be made and entered into, to other +communications or ways across said isthmus. + +Art. 9. Treaty to be ratified by both governments and ratifications +exchanged at Washington within six months." + +This treaty bears date April 19, 1850, and is still in force in all its +provisions. + +Is there anything in the terms, conditions, or effect of this treaty, +which in any way tends to militate or conflict with the declarations of +the "Monroe Doctrine?" + +To answer this question satisfactorily, and give a careful analysis of +the treaty, in all its details, would take more time and space than I am +at liberty to use; but I may be pardoned if I trespass a little and give +a few reasons why I am come to the conclusion that the effect of the +Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is to abrogate and annul to a great extent the +cardinal principle of the "Monroe Doctrine." + +In the first place the "Monroe Doctrine" was the accepted policy of this +government as to all foreign intervention from 1823 to 1850, and with +some of the leading minds of the country it has never ceased to be the +paramount creed in the national catechism. During these twenty-seven +years the project of building an inter-oceanic canal had been +considerably agitated, in Congress and out, and had enlisted to some +extent the sympathies of foreign powers who desired a shorter passage to +the Pacific Ocean, the East Indies, and the markets of Cathay, than the +stormy ones around the southern capes of either hemisphere. + +This agitation finally culminated in diplomatic correspondence between +the representatives of Great Britain and the United States relative to +the construction of such a means of communication and the rights of the +two nations to the same, resulting in the treaty. In April, 1850, the +Senate of the United States, by a very large vote, ratified and +confirmed this treaty, notwithstanding it was vigorously opposed by such +men as Stephen A. Douglas and Lewis Cass, then in the zenith of their +fame. + +It appears in the Congressional record of 1850, and subsequently, that +the treaty was ratified without a very clear understanding of its +meaning; and it was even hinted, in rather plain language, that the +representative of Great Britain had been too sharp, too diplomatic for +his American brother, and had overreached him. It further appeared that +the honorable Senate was sadly deficient in knowledge of geography, and +national boundaries; for it is matter of record, that many Senators +voted for the ratification under the impression that British Honduras +was included in the territory of Guatamala, and that the British +settlements were in that republic; while, as a fact, Balize or British +Honduras was on the easterly side of the Isthmus, never had been a part +of that republic, and the British settlements were, and always had been, +in Yucatan. They further understood the treaty to say, that neither +government should occupy, fortify, or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Rica, +the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America; but it is a fact, +that at the very date of the treaty, at the date of the ratification, +and since, Great Britain occupied and colonized the Mosquito coast, or +that part which joins British Honduras on the northerly side of South +Honduras; and Mr. Douglas, in 1857, in a debate in Congress upon a +"resolution of inquiry as to the present status of the treaty," said: +"I voted against the treaty, Mr. President, for the reason that I am +unwilling to enter into any stipulations with any European power, that +we would not do on this continent whatever we might think it our duty to +do, whenever a case should arise. I voted against it because by clause +1 of that treaty we are debarred from doing what it might be our duty to +do; but as it has been entered into, I desire to see it enforced. I am +not yet aware that that clause of the treaty has been carried into +effect. I have yet to learn that the British Government have withdrawn +their protectorate from the Mosquito Coast; I have yet to learn that +they have abandoned the possession of that territory which they held +under the Mosquito King." + +From the day that treaty was ratified to the present, it has been a +fertile source of discord and misunderstanding between the two +governments; and from 1850 to 1858 its provisions were thrice made the +basis of a proposal to arbitrate as to their meaning: their modification +and abrogation have been alike contingently considered, and their +imperfect and vexatious character have been repeatedly recognized on +both sides. Even the present administration is laboring with the +difficulty, and seeking some honorable way to free the treaty from its +embarrassing features, or entirely abrogate it. President Buchanan, in +1858, characterized and denounced the treaty as "one which had been +fraught with misunderstanding and mischief from the beginning;" and the +leading statesmen of the country have felt that it was entirely +inadequate to reconcile the opposite views of Great Britain and the +United States towards Central America. + +The Honorable James G. Blaine, late Secretary of State under the +lamented Garfield, in his diplomatic correspondence with Lord Granville, +in 1881, in summing up his review of the negotiations concerning this +treaty, says: "It was frankly admitted on both sides that the +engagements of the treaty were misunderstandingly entered into, +improperly comprehended, contradictorily interpreted, and mutually +vexatious." + +An examination of the diplomatic correspondence and the Congressional +Records of the years 1852-3-4 reveals what may perhaps be unknown +history to many of my readers; that Great Britain within one year after +she signed and ratified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and agreed therein +NOT "to colonize, fortify, or exercise control over, any part of Central +America," did seize upon, colonize and partially fortify and exercise +control over the five islands in the Bay of Honduras, called the Bay +Islands; and that she did this in derogation of the declarations of the +"Monroe Doctrine," and in direct violation and contempt of the Treaty, +which she had so recently entered into; that this same national +cormorant immediately surveyed and made a new geographical plan of +Central America, in which she extended her province of Balize from the +river Hondo, on the north, to the river Sarstoon on the south, and from +the coast of the bay westward to the falls of Garbutts on the river +Balize; or five times its original size; and then modestly claimed that +her possessions were not in Central America, and therefore not within +the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty; that she has to this day +continued her protectorate, as she calls it, of the Mosquito Coast, and +that within six days after the Treaty of California, which secured to us +that "pearl of the occident," she seized San Juan and occasioned a brief +naval excitement at Greytown, the port of the San Juan river. This last +kick by Great Britain at the treaty she had so solemnly promised to +abide by was the most barefaced and impudent of all; for it was at that +time supposed by every body who had considered the question of an +inter-oceanic canal, that if built at all it would be by way of the San +Juan river, Lake Nicaragua, and across Nicaragua to the Pacific; thus +making Greytown the important port of said canal, and the key to the +control of the entire commerce thereon. + +The diplomatic correspondence which followed this high-handed outrage, +like all the diplomatic (?) correspondence concerning Central America, +while firm and bold on the part of this government, yet lacked that +moral force, national importance, and perfect fearlessness, which the +fetters imposed by the treaty prevented us from using or exhibiting. + +With the treaty out of the way, and the principles of the "Monroe +Doctrine" imprinted as a legend upon our banners, we should have stood +on unassailable ground; have exhibited a national importance and +vitality--an uncompromising firmness, courage and dignity that would +have carried conviction, achieved immediate and honorable success, and +commanded the respect of the civilized world. But fettered, tantalized, +and weakened, by the ambiguities and inconsistencies of this +co-partnership treaty, the United States government was compelled to +temporize, argue, and explain, and finally compromise with her +co-partner, and graciously allow the disgraceful fetters to remain. + +Did Great Britain withdraw her protectorate? No. Did she withdraw her +colonies from the Bay Islands? No. Did she give up her new geography of +Central America, and restore Balize to its original territory? No. Did +she yield a single point in the controversy, except to give up and +repudiate as unauthorized the seizure of San Juan? No. Not in a single +instance when the territory of Central America was at stake, and the +provisions of the treaty were concerned, did she yield a single point; +but she has even claimed and argued, that under the proper +interpretation of the terms of that treaty she may hold all that she +then enjoyed, and all that she can seize or buy, which is more than five +statute miles from the coast line of any part of Central America; +because, as she says, the treaty means the political, not the +geographical Central America, and the political Central America is that +part only of the continent which is contained within the limits of the +five Central American republics; while the geographical Central America +comprises all the territory and adjacent waters which lie between the +republic of Mexico and South America; and that as Balize, Yucatan, and +the Bay Islands, were not within the limits of the five Central American +republics, they are no part of the Central America designated and +intended in the treaty, and are not included in the term "other +territory" used in said treaty. + +The United States on the other hand claimed that the express language of +the treaty, to wit: "that neither will occupy, or fortify, or colonize, +or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the +Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America," means the geographical +Central America, including all that is not specifically enumerated from +Mexico on the north, to New Grenada or the United States of Columbia on +the south; that the claim of Great Britain was not a tenable or +reasonable one, and that the understanding was, that neither government +should thereafterwards acquire, or assume any control over, any part of +the territory lying between Mexico and South America. + +In the year 1853, during the discussion in the Senate upon the +resolution of inquiry presented by Mr. Douglas, Mr. Clayton, then +Senator from Delaware, admitted that the ambiguity of the treaty is so +great, that on some future occasion a conventional article, clearly +stating what are the limits of the Central America named in the treaty, +might become advisable. + +This admission, from the lips of the very man who so diplomatically (?) +represented the United States in the making of this vexatious treaty, is +rather significant, and aids us of this generation in coming to the +conclusion that the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty is a disgrace to this +republic, and ought to be at once abrogated. + +Another historical fact, with which few are familiar, and which shows +the animus of this treaty, is this: In 1849 Mr. Hise, our minister at +Nicaragua, reported to the Honorable Secretary of State that Nicaragua +had offered to the United States, through him, "the exclusive right to +build, maintain, and forever control an inter-oceanic canal across that +republic; and offered to enter into treaty stipulations to that effect." +Mr. Hise strongly urged the acceptance of this offer, and prepared and +forwarded to the State Department a treaty, accepted by the government +of Nicargagua, which confirmed in specified terms the offer of full and +complete control and government of said canal. For reasons best known to +the Department of State, this treaty, called the Hise treaty, was never +accepted or presented to the Senate for ratification and adoption, but +was somehow quietly smothered, and the Clayton-Bulwer co-partnership +treaty reported and adopted in its stead. + +It will be seen at a glance, by even the most careless political tyro, +that the Hise treaty was directly in line and accord with the express +principles of the "Munroe Doctrine;" and that it would have given to +this country the exclusive rights, which under the treaty adopted it +must share with its co-partner, Great Britain. Had the United States +accepted the offer made by Nicaragua, and thus obtained the exclusive +privilege of opening and controlling the canal, we could have opened it +to the commerce of the world, on such terms and conditions as we should +deem wise, just, and politic; and it would have been more creditable to +us as a nation to have acquired it ourselves, and opened it freely to +the use of all nations, rather than to have entered into a +co-partnership by which we not only have no control in prescribing the +terms upon which it shall be opened, but lose the right of future +acquisition and control of Central American territory. Had we accepted +it (or should we accept the recent offer of Nicaragua to the same +general effect) we should have held in our possession a right, and a +might, which would have been ample security for every nation under +heaven to have kept the peace with the United States. + +Honorable Stephen A. Douglas, in commenting upon the conduct of the +State Department of 1849 and 1850, said: "When we surrendered this +exclusive right we surrendered a great element of power, which in our +hands would have been wielded in the cause of justice for the benefit of +all mankind." + +"But suppose," said Senator Clayton in reply, "that Great Britain and +other European powers would not have consented to our exclusive control +of a canal, in which they, as commercial nations, had as much, and more +interest, that we had?" + +"Well, then," in the language of Senator Douglas, "if Nicaragua desired +to confer the privilege, as it appears she did, and we were willing to +accept, it was purely an American question with which England or any +other foreign power had no right to interfere, or claim to be consulted, +no more than we could claim to be consulted when the Holy Alliance +sought to establish the equilibrium of Europe. We were not consulted +then, and in matters purely continental we have no occasion to consult +them; and if England, or any other foreign power, should attempt to +interfere, the sympathies of the rest of the civilized world would be +with us." + +The policy of England has always been an aggressive one. While for +nearly seventy years she has professed a friendship and national harmony +with the United States, she has not ceased to plant her colonies and +establish sentry boxes on every sea-girt island, that she could control, +within a short voyage of our coast; while she has Gibraltar to command +the entrance to the Mediterranean, a garrison at the Cape of Good Hope +to control the passage to the Indies, she also maintains on the Bahamas +and the Bermudas, in her well-equipped garrisons, vigilant sentinels +whose eyes are ever watching the western continent in obedience to the +royal behest; and in the magnificent island of Jamaica she has +established, and maintained at enormous expense, a fortified and +well-garrisoned naval station, which practically controls the Caribbean +sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and even the contemplated +canal itself; and yet not content with all this readiness and armament +for aggressive war, she creeps still nearer the coveted prize and on the +Bay Islands, almost in sight of the proposed canal, she plants her royal +banner, and holds the key as the mistress of the situation; so that in +case of war between the two countries she is well prepared for a quick +and vigorous blow at the life of this republic. + +She may have no occasion for many years to strike such a blow, but she +will wait in readiness; and woe be to that national simplicity which +puts its faith in princes, and takes no heed for the future. + +What, then, is the duty of this republic in regard to the Central +American problem? Shall we abrogate the patriotic principles contained +in the declarations of the Monroe doctrine, and confess that we have no +definite American policy? Shall we withdraw from the honorable and +patriotic position of defender and upholder of republicanism on this +continent, and permit the royal wolves of devastation to run wild over +our sister republics, because, forsooth, in an evil hour, we were led +into an alliance which, under the name of a treaty, has embarrassed our +action, clouded our judgment, and involved our self-respect? Shall the +great American Nation, with its untold resources, its magnificent +capabilities, and its sublime faith in the manifest destiny of this +republic, calmly submit to the errors, mistakes, aye, blunders of its +aforetime rulers, and under a mistaken sense of honor continue to be +bound hand and foot by the terms of that pernicious treaty which might +well be called the covenant of national disgrace? + +I maintain that it is an utter impossibility for a treaty-making power +to impose a permanent disability on the government for all coming time, +which, in the very nature and necessity of the case, may not be outgrown +and set aside by the laws of national progression, which all unaided +will render nugatory and vain all the plans and intentions of men. In +the language of Honorable Edward Everett, in his famous diplomatic +correspondence with the Compte De Sartiges in relation to the Island of +Cuba, in 1852, when asked to join England and France in a tripartite +treaty, in which a clause was embodied forbidding the United States from +ever acquiring or annexing that Island to this republic, "It may well be +doubted, whether the Constitution of the United States would allow the +treaty making power to impose a permanent disability on the American +government for all coming time, and prevent it under any future change +of circumstances from doing what has so often been done in the past. In +1803 the United States purchased Louisiana of France, and in 1819 they +purchased Florida of Spain. It is not within the competence of the +treaty-making power in 1852 effectually to bind the government in all +its branches, and for all coming time, not to make a similar purchase of +Cuba. There is an irresistible tide of affairs in a new country which +makes such a disposition of its future rights nugatory and vain. +America, but lately a waste, is filling up with intense rapidity, and is +adjusting on natural principles those territorial relations which, on +the first discovery of the continent, were, in a good degree, +fortuitous. It is impossible to mistake the law of American progress and +growth, or think it can be ultimately arrested by a treaty, which shall +attempt to prevent by agreement the future growth of this great +republic." + +The good faith of this nation demands that we should live up to all our +treaties and agreements, so far as it is possible to do so; but when in +the course of events, and by reason of the fixed decrees of growth, we +are not able to do so, then it becomes us, in honor and fairness to +others, as well as to ourselves, to take immediate measures to modify, +and if necessary entirely rescind them, let the consequences be what +they may. + +The genius of America is progressive, and the pluck and activity of the +average American is unsurpassed. Who shall say, then, that Central +America shall never become part of this Republic, which now increases +its population over a million each year? What statesman shall now in the +light of experience seek to bind this nation within the limits of a +treaty, that these United States will not annex, occupy, or colonize any +new territory? If the Nicaragua Canal shall ever be constructed, will +not American citizens settle along its line, and Yankee enterprise +colonize, and build Yankee towns, and convert that whole section into an +American state? Will not American principles and American institutions +be firmly planted there? And how long will it be before the laws of +progress shall require us to extend our jurisdiction and laws over our +citizens in Central America--even as we were obliged to do in Texas? +Perhaps not in our day and generation, but in the words of the lamented +Douglas, "So certain as this republic exists, so certain as we remain a +united people, so certain as the laws of progress, which have raised us +from a mere handful to a mighty nation, shall continue to govern our +action, just so certain are these events to be worked out, and you will +be compelled to extend your protection-in that direction. You may make +as many treaties as you please, to fetter the limits of this great +republic, and she will burst them all from her, and her course will be +onward to a limit which I will not venture to prescribe. Having met with +the barrier of the ocean in our western course, we may yet be compelled +to turn to the North and to the South for an outlet." + +With a distinctly American policy, such as the Father of his Country +foreshadowed and advised, when in his farewell address he warned us +against "entangling alliances with foreign powers;" such as President +Monroe bequeathed to us in the declarations of the "Monroe Doctrine," we +shall be more likely to achieve honor and renown; national prosperity +and universal respect, than can ever be ours, while fettered and bound, +by the galling chains of an entangling, unwise, and unfair treaty. + + * * * * * + + + + +THE DIVORCE LEGISLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. + + +By Chester F. Sanger. + + +There evidently exists just at the present time a great and increasing +interest in the old and much debated subjects of divorce, and divorce +legislation; an interest which is intensified as the population of our +younger states with their widely varying laws governing this matter +increases and the dangers and opportunities for fraud grow more +apparent. Naturally enough, therefore, public attention is invited to +these different laws of the several states of our Union, some allowing +divorce for one cause, others refusing it upon the same ground, and one +state, at least, refusing to grant a divorce for any cause whatever. The +remedy for this seems to many to be a national divorce law, establishing +in all the states a uniform mode of procedure and a uniform basis upon +which all petitions for divorce must be grounded; it must also fix the +status of the parties in every state and prescribe the several property +rights of each after the entry of the judicial decree which separates +them from a union, not of God, as some would try to teach, but often +from fetters, the weight and horror of which are known to the parties +alone, or to those, who, unlike our theoretical reformers, have had some +practical experience in the actual operation of our divorce courts. + +While it is a fact, overlooked by the enthusiasts on this subject, that +no such national law can be passed without an amendment to the +constitution, since the passage of such an act would be an invasion of +the rights reserved to the several states; yet in view of this +widespread interest in the question, the development and present +condition of the laws regulating divorce in our own Commonwealth becomes +an interesting matter of inquiry. While such a discussion has little or +nothing to do directly with the moral aspects of the subject, it is well +to note in passing that the doctrine of the indissolubility of the +marriage relation was not made a tenet of the church until as late as +1653. The Mosaic Law made the husband the sole judge of the cause for +which the woman might lawfully be "put away," and many Bibical scholars +of great attainments have maintained that when rightly interpreted the +words of Christ do not restrict divorce to the single cause of actual +adultery, while elsewhere in the New Testament divorce for desertion is +expressly sanctioned. + +The Roman Catholic Church, while it pronounced the marriage tie +indissoluble, at the same time reserved to the Pope the right to grant +absolute divorce, a right which was often exercised for reward, while +her Ecclesiastical Courts in the meantime declared many marriages null +and void upon so-called impediments established solely upon the +confession of one or the other of the parties seeking divorce. This +course is hard to explain satisfactorily if we admit a sincere belief in +the justice of her own dogma. It was from this practice of the Church +that came the custom of granting partial divorce, or, as it was termed, +divorce from bed and board--a divorce which was one only in name, and +made a bad matter worse, surrounding both parties with temptations, and +being, as it has been said, an insult to any man of ordinary feelings +and understanding. It was, to be sure, an attempt to comply with the +established doctrine of the Church, but it was a compromise with +common-sense. To this same source may be traced the curious procedure in +England, known as a suit for the restoration of conjugal rights, wherein +a husband or wife, who, being unable to obtain a a genuine divorce, had +separated from his or her partner for cause, might be compelled by the +power of the law to return to the "bliss too lightly-esteemed." + +There is one state in our Union in which, as one of her Judges puts it, +"to her unfading honor," not a single divorce has been granted for any +cause since the Revolution. But the fact remains, not so much to her +unfading honor, perhaps, that she has found it necessary to regulate by +statute the proportion of his property which a married man may bestow +upon his concubine, while at the same time adultery is not an indictable +offence. Another of her Judges has said from the bench, "We often see +men of excellent characters unfortunate in their marriages, and virtuous +women abandoned or driven away houseless by their husbands, who would be +doomed to celibacy and solitude if they did not form connections which +the law does not allow, and who make excellent husbands and wives +still." + +This judicial utterance makes an excellent basis for the statement that +it is better to adapt the law to facts as we find them, than to proceed +on the principle that as there is no redress called for save where there +is a wrong, if we do not allow the redress, there will, of course, be no +wrong. There is no escape from the conclusion that divorce or irregular +connections will prevail in every community; why not agree with Milton +that honest liberty is the greatest foe to dishonest license? + +When the founders of the new Commonwealth came to these shores they +brought with them of necessity the laws of the mother country, and so we +shall find that the divorce laws of England, as they existed at that +time, were the early laws of the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts +Bay. The Ecclesiastical courts of England were invested with full +jurisdiction of all matters of divorce, but from about the year 1601 +they had steadily refused to grant an absolute divorce for any cause +whatever, although they as constantly granted divorce from bed and +board, allusion to which has already been made; that is, they decreed a +judicial separation of man and wife, which freed the parties from the +society of each other, but at the same time left upon them all the +obligations of the marriage vow as to third parties. Finally, when +divorce was sought for cause of adultery, resort was had to parliament, +and in 1669 an absolute divorce for that cause was granted by that body +for the first time. This mode of procedure was, of course, a most +expensive one, and during the seventeenth century but three decrees +absolute were granted, the parties in each belonging to the peerage and +the cause being the same. + +In cases arising in the early history of the colonies we should +therefore expect to find the law as I have briefly sketched it as +existing in England, and as there were then no courts exercising the +functions of the Ecclesiastical Courts we might safely look for the +exercise of these powers by the Court of Deputies, or General Court, +which was at that time not simply a deliberative body, but also a court +of most extensive and varied jurisdiction, in matters both civil and +criminal. This was precisely the fact; the records show that in 1652 +Mrs. Dorothy Pester presented to the General Court her petition for +leave to marry again, giving as her reason the fact that her husband had +sailed for England some ten years before, and had not been heard from +since. The court decreed that liberty be granted her to marry, "when God +in his providence shall afford her the opportunity." In 1667 the same +court refused to grant a like petition, for the reason that they were +not satisfied by the evidence that the husband had not been heard from +for three years. + +One year prior to this appears the first record of a divorce in the +Plymouth colony, which, taken in connection with the two cases just +referred to, throws a bright light on the unwritten laws then regulating +this matter. Elizabeth, wife of John Williams, appeared with a petition +asking for a divorce, and complaining of her husband because of his +great abuse of, and "unaturall carryages towards her, in that by word +and deed he had defamed her character and had refused to perform his +duty towards her according to what the laws of God and man requireth." +Her husband appeared and demanded trial of the issue by jury, who found +the complaint to be just and true. Thereupon the deputies "proseeded to +pase centance" against him as follows: "that it is not safe or +convenient for her to live with him and we doe give her liberty att +present to depart from him unto her friends untill the court shall +otherwise order or he shall behave himself in such a way that she may be +better satisfyed to returne to him againe." He must also "apparell her +suitably at present and provide her with a bed and bedding and allow her +ten pounds yearly to maintaine her while she shall bee thus absent from +him," and to ensure the faithful performance of the decree of the court +he must "put in cecurities" or one third of his estate must be secured +to her comfort. As he has also defamed his wife and otherwise abused +her, it is further decreed that he must stand in the market place near +the post, with an inscription in large letters over his head which shall +declare to all the world his unworthy behavior towards his wife. And as +though the poor man was not yet sufficiently punished they go on to say +that "Inasmuch as these his wicked carriages have been contrary to the +lawes of God and man, and very disturbing and expensive to this +government, we doe amerce him to pay a fine of twenty pounds to the use +of the Colonie." One is inclined to think upon reading this rather +severe "centance" that if the law of our day was somewhat similar the +divorce docket would not be so long as at present. + +I have cited this case at considerable length for the reason that it +shows that the divorces then granted, even in aggravated cases, were +from bed and board, and that the right of the wife to a certain portion +of the property of her husband was recognized and enforced. The other +cases show that cruel and abusive treatment and absence unexplained for +the term of three years were then as now considered good grounds on +which to seek separation. + +The first legislation in our state bearing directly on our subject +appears to have been in 1692, when it it was provided that all +controversies concerning marriage and divorce should be heard and +determined by the Governor and Council, thus changing simply the +tribunal without affecting the existing laws. Curiously enough, although +the tribunal which should determine the controversies was thus fixed, +there was no provision made for enforcing its decrees, and it was thus +left practically powerless for sixty-two years, or until 1754, when this +defect in the law was remedied by a provision that refusal or neglect to +obey the decrees of the Governor and Council might be punished like +contempt of courts of law and equity by imprisonment. + +In 1693 were passed the first statutes regulating the subject of +marriage in the colony, the preamble to which was as follows: "Although +this court doth not take in hand to determine what is the whole bredth +of the divine commandment respecting marriage, yet, for preventing the +abominable dishonesty and confusion which might otherwise happen," +certain marriages are declared to be unlawful and the issue thereof +illegitimate, and severe and degrading punishments are provided for all +offenders, even although innocent of any wrong intent. + +As the population of the colony increased and spread over the country at +a distance from Boston, the fact that the only court having jurisdiction +of matters of divorce and marriage was held only in that town was the +cause of ever-increasing inconvenience, and accordingly it was enacted +in 1786 that "whereas, it is a great expense to the people of this state +to be obliged to attend at Boston upon all questions of divorce, when +the same might be done within the counties where the parties live, and +where the truth might be better discovered by having the parties in +court," jurisdiction in all matters of divorce should be vested in the +Supreme Judicial Court, where it has ever since remained in spite of +efforts made at various times to give to other courts concurrent or even +exclusive jurisdiction. As the Supreme Judicial Court is now overworked, +and as it is not deemed advisable, for various reasons, to increase its +numbers, it is more than probable, in view of the increase in the number +of libels annually filed, that some modification of our laws will soon +be made which shall give the entire jurisdiction of this matter either +to the Superior Court or to the Judges of Probate in the several +counties. Governor Robinson called the attention of the Legislature to +the importance of some change in this direction in his last message, and +urged speedy action. + +The act of 1786, above alluded to, fixed the causes of divorce at +two--adultery or impotency of either of the parties, but allowed a +divorce from bed and board for extreme cruelty. To this was added in +1810 the further cause of desertion, or refusal to furnish proper +support to the wife. To the two causes above named the Legislature of +1836 added a third, namely, the imprisonment of either party for the +term of seven years or more at hard labor. + +In 1698 it had been provided that in case of three years' absence at +sea, when the voyage set out upon was not usually of more than three +months' duration, the man or woman whose relation was in this way parted +from him might be considered single and unmarried. In 1838 wilful +desertion for five years was added to the then existing causes for +absolute divorce, in favor of the innocent party, and in 1850 yet +another cause was added by providing that if either party separated from +the other and for three years remained united with any religious sect or +society believing or professing to believe that the relation of husband +and wife is void and unlawful, a full divorce might be granted to the +other. + +The law remained thus for ten years, or until the adoption of the +General Statutes in 1860, when desertion for five years was made ground +for granting a divorce to the deserting party also, provided it could be +shown that such desertion was due to the cruelty of the other, or in +case of the wife, to the failure of the husband to properly provide for +her. Divorce from bed and board was also authorized for extreme cruelty, +complete desertion, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, if +contracted after the marriage, and neglect of the husband to provide for +his wife. Such limited divorces might be made absolute after five years' +separation, on petition of the party to whom the divorce was granted, +and after ten years on that of the guilty party. There was no change in +these laws until 1870, when limited divorce, a relic of churchly +superstition, was done away with entirely in this State, the grounds +upon which it had been granted being at the same time made cause for +absolute divorce, with the condition, however, that all such divorces +should be in the first instance _nisi_, that is, conditional, to be +made absolute after three years in the discretion of the court, and +after five years as of right. Prior to this time, in 1867, it had been +enacted that all decrees of divorce should be first entered _nisi_, +to be made absolute in six months in the discretion of the court, and +this act of 1870 therefore left nine causes for absolute divorce; but in +all cases for cruelty, desertion, intoxication, or neglect or refusal to +support, the decree must remain conditional for at least three years. +Since that date there have been many changes in the statutes, but all in +the direction of regulating the entry of the decree, without affecting +the causes therefor, except that in 1873, habits of intoxication, even +if contracted before marriage, were made good grounds for a decree. + +The law of 1841, which remained in force until 1853, forbad the marriage +of the party for whose fault divorce was granted during the lifetime of +the innocent partner; but in the latter year the court was authorized to +allow the guilty party, except in cases of adultery, to remarry; and in +1864 it was provided that even in such cases the guilty one might marry +after three years, unless actually tried and convicted of the crime. In +1873 even this restriction of three years was removed, and the law +remained so until 1881, when it was enacted that the guilty party in all +cases might marry after two years without the formality of applying to +the court for leave so to do. + +From this brief review of the history of our law there is but one +conclusion to be drawn, that slowly but surely the doors to divorce have +been opened until it has become a comparatively easy matter to obtain +that relief which for so many years was absolutely refused. A few +statistics will illustrate this: In the year 1863 there were in the +state 10,873 marriages and 207 divorces; in 1882 there were 17,684 +marriages and 515 divorces, or an increase in the former of 62.6 per +cent., and of the latter of 147.6 per cent., while the population of the +state increased in the same time 53.4 per cent. Since the legislation of +1870, which, as we have seen above, made divorce obtainable on nine +grounds, the increase in the number of decrees granted has been 36 per +cent., while in the same period marriages have increased but 20 per +cent. + +During this twenty years 79 per cent. of all divorces granted were for +adultery and desertion, and of those granted for the first-mentioned +cause only a trifle over one-half were for the fault of the man; while, +contrary to a widely-prevalent belief, the record shows that of the +decrees entered for that cause the proportion is greater in the country +districts than in our cities. In the same period the highest ratio of +divorce to marriage has been one to twenty-three, and the lowest one to +thirty-three, the average for the whole time being one to thirty-one; +but in Suffolk County, comprising the cities of Boston and Chelsea and +the towns of Winthrop and Revere, the average has been only one to +forty-one and nine-tenths. These statistics are indeed startling, and +may be easily used as a foundation for an argument that our laws +governing the matter are far too lenient, since the number of divorces +is so apparently excessive. + +But on the other hand is it not as fair an inference from all the facts, +that beyond and deeper than any provisions of the law there is something +wrong in society itself; that we must look for the real root of the +trouble in the influences which are operating upon our social life as a +people? Our Judges who administer the law are learned, of great +experience in the matter of weighing evidence, careful and +conscientious. The laws are carefully framed to prevent collusion +between the parties, and especially to render it difficult to obtain a +divorce for the groundless desertion of the party seeking the +separation; in fact they are far in advance of the laws of many of our +sister states, and it has been truly said that the divorce laws of this +Commonwealth have kept pace with the improved understanding of the +condition of the people, and have been wisely framed to meet the many +causes which exist in modern life to break up the domestic relations. + +There is not one of our statutory causes for divorce which could be +stricken out without a certainty of inflicting legal cruelty in the +future. Of all our divorces nearly seventy per cent, are upon petition +of the wife; and it can be safely said that nearly all will agree that +to compel a woman to submit to the cruelty and brutalities of a drunken +or profligate husband, is not only inflicting upon her legal cruelty, +but has an influence which extends beyond the individual and is powerful +for evil upon those who are to come after us. + +Strangely enough as our educational advantages have increased, as more +avenues of self support have been opened to women, so has the ratio of +divorce to marriage also grown larger, thus apparently furnishing +conclusive proof that it is not legislative reform that is now needed. +It is not necessary to argue that no legislation can operate in any way +to strengthen those family ties which have their foundation in the +social and domestic affections. On the other hand, any thing in the +direction of education of the young tending to strengthen love of home +and domestic life, and to do away with the prevalent tendency to what +has been termed individualism, will be a step in the right path and will +aid in lessening the evils which so many wrongly ascribe to faulty +legislation. If any further proof of this fact is needed it is found in +the knowledge that by far the larger part of the seekers for relief come +from our native population, while none but those who have some practical +experience in the realities of the divorce court room can know how +intolerable are the burdens from which this relief is sought. + + * * * * * + + + + +SHEM DROWNE AND HIS HANDIWORK. + + +By Elbridge H. Goss. + + +The weird imaginings and romantic theories of our great story-teller, +Hawthorne, must not be taken as veritable and indisputable history. +Some of the Boston newspapers have recently run riot in this respect. +Hawthorne, in his "Drowne's Wooden Image," in "Mosses from an Old +Manse," says the figure of "Admiral Vernon," which has stood on the +corner of State and Broad streets, Boston, for over a century, was the +handiwork of one Shem Browne, "a cunning carver of wood." Upon this +statement of the romancer, for there is no authentic history to warrant +it, one paper, in an article entitled "A Funny Old Man," says: "Deacon +Shem Drowne, the Carver. Concerning the origin of the carved figure of +Admiral Vernon there can be no doubt. History, ancient records, and +fiction all record the presence in Boston of one Deacon Shem Drowne, +whose business it was to supply the tradesmen and tavern-keepers of the +day with similar carved images to indicate their calling, or by which to +identify their places of business."[1] + +Another, discoursing of this same image, as "Our Oldest Inhabitant," +after attributing it to the same man's workmanship, states: "Deacon Shem +Drowne, whose name suggests pious and patriarchal, if not nautical +associations, carved the grasshopper which still holds its place over +Faneuil Hall, and also the gilded Indian,[2] who, with his bow bent and +arrow on the string, so long kept watch and ward over the Province +House, the stately residence of the royal Governors of Massachusetts."[3] +This writer repeatedly spells the name wrong. His name was Drowne, not +Droune.[4] In "Drowne's Wooden Image," Hawthorne makes his Shem Drowne a +wood-carver, plain and simple: "He became noted for carving ornamental +pump heads, and wooden urns for gate posts, and decorations, more +grotesque than fanciful, for mantle pieces." "He followed his business +industriously for many years, acquired a competence, and in the latter +part of his life attained to a dignified station in the church, being +remembered in records and traditions as Deacon Drowne, the carver," and +he connects him with the real Shem Drowne of history, only by speaking +of him this once as "Deacon Drowne," and saying: "One of his +productions, an Indian Chief, gilded all over, stood during the better +part of a century on the cupola of the Province House, bedazzling the +eyes of those who looked upward, like an angel of the sun;" plainly +indicating that he thought the Indian was carved from wood, instead of +being made, as it was, of hammered copper. + +The real Shem Drowne was not a wood-carver; no authority for such a +statement can be found. His trade is given as that of a "tin plate +worker,"[5] and a "cunning artificer" in metal;[6] nowhere as a +wood-carver. He was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1683. His father was +Leonard Drowne, who came from the west of England to Kittery, where he +carried on the ship building business until 1692, when, on account of +the French and Indian wars, he removed his family to Boston, where he +died, a few years after, and his grave is in the old Copp's Hill Burying +Ground.[7] At Boston Shem Browne established himself in his trade. He +was elected a deacon of the First Baptist Church, in 1721. He was "often +employed in Town affairs, especially in the management of +Fortifications."[8] + +He married Catherine Clark, one of the heirs of Nicholas Bavison, of +Charlestown, who was a purchaser in the "Pemaquid Patent," or grant of +the Plymouth Company, of some twelve thousand acres, to Messrs. +Aldsworth and Elbridge of Bristol, England, made in 1631. Becoming +interested in the claim of his wife, as one of the heirs, in 1735, he +was appointed agent and attorney of the "Pemaquid Proprietors," in which +capacity he acted for many years. It was sometimes called the "Drowne +Claim." In 1747 he had the whole tract of land surveyed, and was +instrumental in causing forty or more families to settle in that region. +That he became blind, or nearly so, as early as 1762, is attested by a +deed of land at Broad Cove (Bristol, Maine), made in that year to Thomas +Johnston; a note in the margin of which states that it was "distinctly +read to him on account of his sight;"[9] but the signature is written in +a large, plain hand. He died January 13, 1774, aged ninety-one years. He +had a daughter, Sarah, who, in 1757, was married to Rev. Jeremiah Condy, +who, from 1739 to 1764, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, of which +church Mr. Drowne was a deacon. As a metal worker he made the +grasshopper, Indian, and other vanes; but that he ever carved a pump +head, urn, gate-post, "Admiral Vernon," or any other wooden image, there +is not a scintilla of evidence; nothing but the figment of a romancer's +brain. + +The following letter to his nephew, Honorable Solomon Drowne of +Providence, Rhode Island, is here printed by the kindness of Henry T. +Drowne, Esq., of New York, who has many of the old papers of the Drowne +families. It was written soon after his nephew's marriage, and is an +interesting document; full of a sympathetic and kindly spirit; showing +that the customs of his church, the Baptist, of that day, were very +similar to those of the Evangelical churches of to-day; and gives an +instance of "Catholic Christian Spirit" worthy of note. The use of the +colon instead of the period is also noticeable: + + + BOSTON [Massachusetts], + + August y'e 18, 1732. + + LOVING KINSMAN: + + Yours I received and have considered the Contents, and pray that your + spouse may be directed and assisted by the grace and holy spirit of + God to live in all good conscience before Him and this being the + indispensable Duty of everyone when come to the use of Reason, with + all seriousness to search the Scriptures, from thence to learn our + Duty; and, then with Humility to devote ourselves to God, which is our + reasonable Service; and, this being the awfulest solemnity that poor + mortal man ever transacts in, whilst in this world: being to enter into + Covenant with the Most High God. In the Concernment of a precious soul + for a vast Eternity, ought to be entered upon with earnest prayer to + God for his grace, that it may be sufficient for us, and that His + strength might be made perfect in weakness: As for the order in which + our Church admits Members into Communion: the Person who desires to + joyn to the Church stands propounded a fortnight, in which time inquiry + is made concerning their Life and Conversation: then they appear before + the Church, make _Confession_, with their mouth, of their Repentance + toward God, and their faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ: and, if + nothing appears by information contrary to their _Confession_, then + they are approved of by a vote of the Church, with all readiness; and + so partake of the Holy ordinances--Baptism and the Lord's Supper. + + Our breaking-bread day is always on the first Sabbath in every month, + and, always on the Friday before it, we have a Church Meeting, which is + carried on by prayer, in order to prepare for our approach to the Lord's + table: at which Meetings _those_ are sometimes heard and sometimes + on the Sabbath, as circumstances best serve--so that any Person at a + Distance may send to our minister to propound them to the Church timely, + and order their coming, so as to partake of both ordinances on the same + day: The Reverend Mr. Cotton of Newton, on occasion of a man of his + Parish desiring to join in Communion with our Church, gave him a Letter + of Recommendation, not as a member with him, but as of one in Judgment + of Charity qualified by the grace of God to be received amongst us: + which the Church received as a mark of his Catholic Christian Spirit. + + That you and your spouse may be directed to do what may be most for + the glory of God: and for your own Peace and Comfort, both for time + and Eternity: that you may both walk in all the commands and ordinances + of the Lord blameless is the Prayer and Desire of your loving uncle. + + SHEM DROWNE. + + +Two of the three best known weather vanes made by Drowne, are still on +duty; and one, the Indian chief, which for so many years decked the +Province House, is now the property of the Massachusetts Historical +Society, in one of the rooms of which it is to be seen, still swinging +on its original pivot. From the sole of his foot to the top of his +plume, it is four feet, six inches; and from his elbow to tip of arrow, +four feet; weight forty-eight pounds. + +The old grasshopper on Fanueil Hall[10] was made in 1742, and has veered +with the winds and been beaten by the storms of one hundred and forty +odd years. It was last repaired in 1852, when there was found within it +a much-defaced paper, only a part of which could be read: + + + SHEM DROWNE MADE ITT + + May 25, 1742 + + To my Brethren and Fellow Grasshoppers + + Fell in y'e year 1755 Nov 15th day from y'e Market by a great Earthquake + ... sing ... sett a ... by my old Master above. + + Again Like to have Met with my Utter Ruin by Fire, but hopping Timely + from my Publick Situation came of with Broken bones, and much Bruised, + Cured and again fixed.... + + Old Master's Son Thomas Drowne June 28th, 1763. And Although I now + promise to Play ... Discharge my Office, yet I shall vary as ye + wind.[11] + + +The other one still in use is the old "Cockerel" of Hanover Street +Church fame. This was made for the New Brick Church in 1721, and is the +oldest of the three. It held its position on this church and its +successors, one of which was long known as the "Cockerel Church," for +one hundred and forty-eight years, when it was raised on the Shepard +Memorial Church of Cambridge, where it now is. "It measures five feet +four inches from bill to tip of tail, and stands five feet five inches +from the foot of the socket to the top of comb, and weighs one hundred +and seventy-two pounds."[12] + +Possibly some other specimens of the handiwork of this good Deacon Shem +Drowne are still in existence. Who knows? + +[Footnote 1: Boston Globe, October 18, 1884.] + +[Footnote 2: Neither of these were carved; they were both of metal.] + +[Footnote 3: Boston Evening Record, January 10, 1885.] + +[Footnote 4: Fac-similes of his signature are given in "Memorial History +of Boston," vol. II, p. 110, written in 1733, and in John Johnston's +"History of Bristol, Bremen and the Pemaquid Plantation," p. 466, +written in 1762.] + +[Footnote 5: Johnston's "Bristol and Bremen."] + +[Footnote 6: Samuel Adams Drake's "Old Landmarks of Boston," p. 135.] + +[Footnote 7: Mss. letter of Henry T. Drowne, Esq., of New York.] + +[Footnote 8: Samuel G. Drake's "History of Boston."] + +[Footnote 9: History of "Bristol and Bremen."] + +[Footnote 10: Drake in "Old Landmarks," says: "the grasshopper was long +thought to be the crest of the Faneuils."] + +[Footnote 11: Boston Daily Advertiser, December 3, 1852.] + +[Footnote 12: Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. XXVII, p. 422.] + + * * * * * + + + + +THE WEDDING IN YE DAYS LANG SYNE. + + +By Rev. Anson Titus. + + +The story of courtship and marriage is ever fascinating. It is new and +fresh to the hearts of the youthful and aged. A few words upon the +marriage day in the early New England will not be without interest. +September 9, 1639, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony passed +a law ordering intentions of marriage to be published fourteen days at +the public lecture, or in towns where there was no lecture the +"intention" was to be posted "vpon some poast standinge in publique +viewe." On this same day it was ordered that the clerks of the several +towns record all marriages, births and deaths. This was a wise +provision. It at once taught the people of the beginning and of the +designed stability of the new-founded government. + +The course of true love did not run smooth in these early days any more +than to-day. Parents were desirous of having sons and daughters +intermarry with families of like social standing and respectability. But +the youth and maid often desired to exercise their own freedom and +choice. On May 7, 1651, the General Court ordered a fine and punishment +against those who "seeke to draw away y'e affections of yong maydens." In +the time of Louis XV, of France, the following decree was made: "Whoever +by means of red or white paint, perfumes, essences, artificial teeth, +false hair, cotton, wool, iron corsets, hoops, shoes, with high heels, +or false tips, shall seek to entice into the bonds of marriage any male +subject of his majesty, shall be prosecuted for witchcraft, and declared +incapable of matrimony." The fathers of New England may have made +foolish laws, but this one in France at a later time goes beyond them. +The seductive charms of the sexes they deemed could not be trusted. +Wonderment often comes to us of the thoughts and manners of the sage +law-makers when their youthful hearts were reaching out after another's +love. + +The marriage day was celebrated with decorum. The entire community were +conversant of the proposed marriage, for the same had been read in +meeting and posted in "publique viewe." The earliest lawmakers of the +Colony were pillars in the church, and though they did not regard +marriage an ordinance over which the church had chief to say, yet they +desired an attending solemnity. In 1651 it was ordered that "there shall +be no dancinge vpon such occasions," meaning the festivities, which +usually followed the marriage, at the "ordinary" or village inn. + +The marriage of widows made special laws needful. Property was held in +the name of the husband. The wife owned nothing, though it came from the +meagre dowry of her own father. When the husband died the widow had +certain rights as long as she "remained his widow." These rights were +small at best, though the estate may have been accumulated through years +of their mutual toil and hardships. We have notes of a number of cases, +but give only a few. We omit the names of the contracting parties. +"T---- C---- of A---- and H---- B---- of S----, widow were married +together, September y'e 28th, 1748, before O---- B---- J.P. And at ye +same time y'e s'd H---- solemnly declared as in y'e presence of Almighty +God & before many witnesses, that she was in no way in possession of her +former husband's estate of whatever kind soever neither possession or +reversion." An excellent Deacon married an elderly matron, Dorothea +----, and before the Justice of Peace "Y'e s'd Dorothea declared she +was free from using any of her former husband's estate, and so y'e +s'd Nathaniel [the Deacon] received her." The following declarations +are not without interest. "Y'e s'd John B---- declared before marriage +that he took y'e s'd Hannah naked and had clothed her & that he took +her then in his own clothes separate from any interest of her former +husbands." Again a groom declares: "And he takes her as naked and +destitute, not having nor in no ways holding any part of her former +husband's estate whatever." We have also the declaration of a widower on +marrying a widow in 1702, who had property in her own name, probably +gained by will, "that he did renounce meddling with her estate." These +declarations evidence that the widow relinquished, and that the groom +received her without the least design upon the estate. It has been +intimated that in a few instances these declarations became a "sign," +but we can hardly credit it. The "rich" widow was taken out of the +matrimonial problem. + +The following affidavit is spread on the town records of Amesbury: + + + "Whereas Thomas Challis of Amesbury in y'e County of Essex in y'e + Province of y'e Massachsetts Bay in New England, and Sarah Weed, + daughter of George Weed in y'e same Town, County and Province, have + declared their intention of taking each other in marriage before + several public meetings of y'e people called Quakers in Hampton and + Amesbury, and according to y't good order used amongst them whose + proceeding therein after a deliberate consideration thereof with + regard to y'e righteous law of God and example of his people recorded + in y'e holy Scriptures of truth in that case, and by enquiry they + appeared clear of all others relating to marriage and having consent + of parties and relations concerned were approved by said meeting. + + Now these certify whom it may concern y't for y'e full accomplishment + of their intention, this twenty-second day of September being y'e year + according to our account 1727, then they the s'd Thom's Challis and + Sarah Weed appeared in a public assembly of y'e afores'd people and + others met together for that purpose at their public meeting-house + in Amesbury afores'd and then and there he y'e s'd Thom's Challis + standing up in y'e s'd assembly taking y'e s'd Sarah Weed by y'e hand + did solemnly declare as followeth: + + Friends in y'e fear of God and in y'e presence of this assembly whom I + declare to bear witness, that I take this my Friend Sarah Weed to be my + wife promising by y'e Lord's assistance to be unto her a kind and loving + husband till death, or to this effect; and then and there in y'e s'd + assembly she y'e said Sarah Weed did in like manner declare as follweth: + Friends in y'e fear of God and presence of this assembly whom I declare + to bear witness that I take this my Friend Thom's Challis to be my + husband promising to be unto him a faithful and loving wife till death + separate us, or words of y'e same effect. And y'e s'd Thom's Challis + and Sarah Weed, as a further confirmation thereof did then and there to + these presents set their hands, she assuming y'e name of her husband. And + we whose names are hereto subscribed being present amongst others at + their solemnizing Subscription in manner afores'd have hereto set our + names as witness." + + +Then follow the names of groom and bride, relatives on either side, and +then the names of members in the assembly, first the "menfolks," then +the "womenfolks." The names all told are forty-one. Among them is that +of Joseph Whittier, which name with those of Challis and Weed have long +been honored names in Amesbury. + +The marriage gift to the husband on the part of his parents was usually +a farm, a part of the homestead; the dowry to the young bride from her +parents was a cow, a year's supply of wool, or something needful in +setting up house-keeping. If the homestead farm was not large the young +couple were brave enough to encounter the labors and toils of frontier +life, and begin for themselves on virgin soil and amid new scenes. It +required bravery on the part of the young bride. But there were noble +maidens in those days. The cares and duties of motherhood soon followed, +but the house-cares and the maternal obligations were performed to the +admiration of later generations. The fathers and mothers of New England +were strong and hardy. Their praises come down to us. Witnesses new and +ancient testify of their worth and royalty of character. + + * * * * * + + + + +A REMINISCENCE OF COL. FLETCHER WEBSTER. + + +In a private conversation with the writer not long since General +Marston, of New Hampshire, related the following story: + +"On the morning of the thirtieth of August, 1862, before sunrise, I was +lying under a fence rolled up in a blanket on the Bull Run battle-field. +It was the second day of the Bull Run battle. My own regiment, the +Second New Hampshire Volunteers, had been in the fight the day before +and had lost one-third of the entire regiment in killed and wounded. + +"While so lying by the fence some one shook me and said, 'Get up here.' +In answer I said, without throwing the blanket from over my head, 'Who +in thunder are you?' The answer was made, 'Get up here and see the +Colonel of the Massachusetts Twelfth.' + +"The speaker then partly pulled the blanket off my head and I saw that +it was Colonel Fletcher Webster; whereupon I arose, and we sat down +together and I sent my orderly for coffee. + +"We sat there drinking the coffee and talking about his father, Daniel +Webster, and he told me about his father going up to Franklin every year +and always using the same expression about going. He would say +'Fletcher, my son, let us go up to Franklin to-morrow; let us have a +good time and leave the old lady at home. Let us have a good old New +Hampshire dinner--fried apples and onions and pork.' At about that time +the Adjutant of Colonel Webster's regiment came along and told him that +the General commanding his brigade wanted to see him. Colonel Webster +replied that he would be there shortly. + +"As he sat there on the blanket with me he took hold of his left leg +just below the knee with both hands and said: 'There, I will agree to +have my leg taken off right there for my share of the casualties of this +day.' I replied: 'I would as soon be killed as lose a leg; and the +chances are a hundred to one that you won't be hit at all.' 'Well,' said +he as he gave me his hand, 'I hope to see you again; goodbye.' I never +saw him again. He was killed that day. His extreme sadness, his +depression, was perhaps indicative of a conviction or presentiment of +some impending misfortune." + + * * * * * + + + + +OLD DORCHESTER. + + +By Charles M. Barrows. + + +The quaint old Puritan annalist, James Blake, wrote as a preface to his +book of records: + + + "When many most Godly and Religious People that Dissented from y'e way + of worship then Established by Law in y'e Realm of England, in y'e Reign + of King Charles y'e first, being denied y'e free exercise of Religion + after y'e manner they professed according to y'e light of God's Word and + their own consciences, did under y'e Incouragment of a Charter Granted + by y'e S'd King, Charles, in y'e Fourth Year of his Reign, A.D. 1628, + Remoue themselues & their Families into y'e Colony of y'e Massachusetts + Bay in New England, that they might Worship God according to y'e light + of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was + y'e very motive & cause of their coming; Then it was, that the First + Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, and were y'e first Company or + Church Society that arriued here, next y'e Town of Salem who was one + year before them." + + +Nonconformity, then, was the "very motive and cause" which settled +Dorchester, the oldest town but one in Puritan New England, and planted +there a sturdy yeomanry to whom freedom of conscience was more than home +and dearer than life. Nor was this "vast extent of wilderness" to which +they succeeded by right of purchase from the heirs of Chickatabat any +such narrow area as that of the same name, recently annexed to the city +of Boston. It extended from what is now the northern limit of South +Boston to within a hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line, thus +giving the township a length of about thirty-five miles "as y'e road +goethe." The late Ellis Ames, of Canton, a competent authority, says the +town "was formerly bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, +Taunton, Bridgewater and Braintree," so that its history is the history +of a large part of the towns in Norfolk county and a portion of Bristol. +The manner in which the original territory has been gradually reduced is +thus told by Mr. Ames: "Milton was set off in 1662; part of Wrentham, in +1724: Stoughton, in 1726; Sharon, in 1765; Foxborough, in 1778; Canton, +in 1797; strips were also set off to Dedham, probably, in 1739; and +before the whole was annexed, portions of the northern part of the town +were set off to Boston, at two several times: in 1804 and in 1855." +Since that date another portion has been severed to make the northern +quarter of Hyde Park. Honorable John Daggett, the historian of +Attleborough, which was then a part of the Rehoboth North Purchase, says +there was a dispute concerning the boundary between Dorchester and that +town, which was finally settled by a conference of delegates, held at +the house of one of his ancestors. + +Why those "most Godly and Religious People" chose to settle where they +did rather than on the Charles river, as at first intended, Mr. Blake +proceeds to tell us in his annals. He says they made the voyage from +England to New England in a vessel of four hundred tons, commanded by +Captain Squeb, and that they had "preaching or expounding of the +Scriptures every day of their passage, performed by Ministers." Contrary +to their desires, the ship discharged them and their goods at Nantasket, +but they procured a boat in which part of the company rowed into Boston +harbor and up the Charles river, "until it became narrow and shallow," +when they went ashore at a point in the present village of Watertown. +But after exploring the open lands about Boston, they finally made +choice of a neck of land "joyning to a place called by y'e Indians +Mattapan," because it formed a natural inclosure for the cattle they had +brought with them, and which, if turned into the open land, would be +liable to stray and be lost. This little circumstance fixed the original +settlement on the marsh now known as Dorchester Neck. + +The honor of the name Dorchester appears to belong to Rev. John White, +minister of a town of the same name in the mother country, who planned +and encouraged the exodus to America. But the hardy little band of +exiles who received the title from old Cutshumaquin, the successor of +Chickatabat, little knew what their wild territory was destined to +become in the course of a hundred years. They were loyal subjects of the +English throne, building their log cabins and rude meeting-house on +Allen's Plain under protection of a charter from King Charles; there +they hoped to found a permanent town, where the worship of God should be +maintained in accordance with the dictates of the Puritan conscience, +without interference of churchman, Roman Catholic, Baptist, or Quaker. +There was room in the unexplored forests to the south for pasturage and +for the overflow, whenever, as Cotton Mather said when the whole state +contained less than six thousand white inhabitants, "Massachusetts +should be like a hive overstocked with bees." + +The first meeting-house in Dorchester, a very unpretentious structure of +logs and thatch, was completed in 1631, and no free-holder was allowed +to plant his domicile farther than the distance of half a mile from it, +without special permission of the fathers of the town. It stood near the +intersection of the present Pleasant and Cottage streets, and that +portion of the former highway between Cottage and Stoughton streets is +supposed to have been the first road laid out in the early settlement. +Shortly after, this road was extended to Five Corners in one direction, +and to the marsh, then called the Calf Pasture, in the other. The +present names of these extensions are Pond street and Crescent avenue. +From Five Corners a road was subsequently laid out running, north-east +to a point a little below the Captain William Clapp place, where there +was a gate which closed the entrance to Dorchester Neck, where the +cattle were pastured. It was on this street that Rev. Richard Mather, +the first minister of the town, Roger Williams, of Rhode Island fame, +and other distinguished citizens resided. The next undertaking in the +way of public improvements was the building of two important roads, one +leading to Penny Ferry, thus opening a highway of communication with the +sister Colony at Plymouth; the other leading to Roxbury, Brookline and +Cambridge. + +In Josselyn's description of the town soon after its settlement may be +read: + + + "Six myles from Braintree lyeth Dorchester, a frontire Town, pleasantly + situated and of large extent into the maine land, well watered with two + small rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick with houses, ... + accounted the greatest town heretofore in New England, but now giving + way to Boston." + + +Through what hardships and privations this infant freehold was +maintained can be understood by those only, who have read the records of +the colonial struggle against a sterile soil, a rigorous climate, grim +famine, hostile Indians, and a total lack of all the appliances and +comforts of civilization. The years 1631 and 1632 were a period of great +distress to the Dorchester farmers, on account of the failure of their +crops and supplies of provision, and Captain Clapp wrote concerning it: +"Oh! y'e Hunger that many suffered and saw no hope in an Eye of Reason +to be Supplied, only by Clams & Muscles, and Fish; and _Bread_ was +very Scarce, that sometimes y'e very Crusts of my Fathers Table would +have been very sweete vnto me; And when I could have _Meal & Water & +Salt_, boyled together, it was so good, who could wish better. And it +was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to Drink Water, and to +eat _Samp_ or _Homine_ without Butter or Milk. Indeed it would +have been a very strange thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton, or +Veal, tho' it was not long before there was Roast _Goat_." + +In 1740, the same year that Whitefield visited New England, on his +evangelistic mission, the crops were again cut off by untimely frosts, +and Mr. Blake wrote in his annual entry-book: "There was this year an +early frost that much Damnified y'e Indian Corn in y'e Field, and after +it was Gathered a long Series of wett weather & a very hard frost vpon +it, that damnified a great deal more." + +It is not unfair to suppose that the habits of rigid economy learned in +this school of adversity influenced the passage of the celebrated law +against wearing superfluities, quite as much as their austere prejudice +against display. Be that as it may, the attention of the court was +called to the dangerous increase of lace and other ornaments in female +attire, and, after mature deliberation, it seemed wise to them to pass +the following wholesome law: + + + "Whereas there is much complaint of the wearing of lace and other + superflueties tending to little use, or benefit, but to the nourishing + of pride, and exhausting men's estates, and also of evil example to + others; it is therefore ordered that henceforth no person whatsoever + shall prsume to buy or sell within this jurisdiction any manner of lace + to bee worne ore used within o'r limits. + + "And no taylor or any other person, whatsoever shall hereafter set any + lace or points vpon any garments, either linnen, woolen, or any other + wearing cloathes whatsoever, and that no p'son hereafter shall be + imployed in making any manner of lace, but such as they shall sell to + such persons but such as shall and will transport the same out of this + jurisdiction, who in such a case shall have liberty to buy and sell; and + that hereafter no garment shall be made w'th short sleeves, whereby the + nakedness of the arm may be discovered in the bareing thereof, and such + as have garments already made w'th short sleeves shall not hereafter + wear the same, unless they cover their armes with linnen or otherwise; + and that hereafter no person whatsoever shall make any garment for + women, or any of their sex, w'th sleeves more than halfe an elle wide in + y'e widest place thereof, and so proportionable for bigger or smaller + persons; and for the p'r sent alleviation of immoderate great sleeves + and some other superfluities, w'ch may easily bee redressed w'th out + much pr udice, or y'e spoile of garments, as immoderate great briches, + knots of ribban, broad shoulder bands and rayles, silk lases, double + ruffes and caffes, &c." + + +But the court did not confine itself to prescribing the size of a lady's +sleeves, or the trimming she might wear on her dress: it passed other +timely laws to restrain the idle and vicious and preserve good order +throughout the community. It was ordered in 1632 "that y'e remainder +of Mr. (John) Allen's strong water, being estimated about two gallandes, +shall be deliuered into y'e hands of y'e Deacons of Dorchester for +the benefit of y'e poore there, for his selling of it dyvers tymes to +such as were drunke by it, knowing thereof." + +In 1638 the court passed a curious law regulating the use of tobacco, +which runs as follows: + + + "The Court finding since y'e repealing of y'e former laws against + tobacco y'e law is more abused than before, it hath therefore ordered + that no man shall take any tobacco in y'e field except in his iourney, + or meale times, vpon pain of 12'd for every offence, nor shall take any + tobacco in (or near) any dwelling house, barne, Corn or Haye, as may be + likely to endanger y'e fireing thereof, vpon paine of 2's for every + offence, nor shall take any tobacco in any Inne or common victualling + house; except in a private room there; so as neither the master of the + same house nor any other gueste there shall take offence thereat; w'ch + if they doo, then such p son is forth w'th to forebeare, vpon paine of + 2's 6'd for every offence." + + +One office created by the court of that early period it might not be a +bad idea for the authorities of the present day to revive. Wardens were +appointed annually to "take care of and manage y'e affairs of y'e +School; they shall see that both y'e Master & Schollar, perform, their +duty, and Judge of and End any difference that may arrise between Master +& Schollar, or their Parents, according to Sundry Rules & Directions," +set down for their guidance. + +In all matters coming within the province and jurisdiction of the +colonial church the law was even more exacting than in merely civil +affairs; and singularly enough, the town authorities took it upon +themselves to seat all persons who attended divine service in the +meeting-house where it seemed to them most proper. With the full +approbation of the selectmen, responsible persons were sometimes allowed +to construct pews or seats for themselves and their families in the +meeting-house; but it appears on one occasion that three citizens +undertook to "make a seat in y'e meeting-house," without first getting +the full permission and consent of the town fathers, an act deemed +exceedingly sinful, and for which they were arraigned before the town at +a special meeting and publicly censured. After duly considering the case +it was decided to allow the seat to remain, provided it should not be +disposed of to any person but such as the town should approve of, and +that the offending parties acknowledge their "too much forwardness," in +writing, which they did in the following manner: + + + "We whose names are underwritten, do acknowledge that it was our + weakness that we were so inconsiderate as to make a small seat in the + meeting-house without more clear and full approbation of the town and + selectmen thereof, though we thought upon the conference we had with + some of the selectmen apart, and elders, we had satisfying ground for + our proceeding therein; w'ch we now see was not sufficent; therefore we + do desire that our failing therein may be passed by; and if the town + will grant our seat that we have been at so much cost in setting up, we + thankfully acknowledge your love unto us therein, and we do hereupon + further engage ourselves that we will not give up nor sell any of our + places in that seat to any person or persons but whom the elders shall + approve of, or such as shall have power to place men in seats in the + assembly. + + [Signed]. INCREASE ATHERTON, + SAMUEL PROCTOR, + THOMAS BIRD. + + +At another time one Joseph Leeds, a member of the church, was accused of +maltreating his wife; the charge was sustained, and after the case had +been considered at several special meetings, it was settled by his +confessing and promising "to carry it more lovingly to her for time to +come." But Jonathan Blackman, another erring brother, was charged with +misdemeanors that could not be so easily overlooked; he was accused of +lying and also of stealing. He had been whipped for these offences, but +refused to come before the church for wholesome discipline, and ran away +out of the jurisdiction. Accordingly he was "disowned from his church +relation and excommunicated, though not deliuered up to Satan, as those +in full communion, but yet to be looked at as a Heathen and a Publican +unto his relations natural and civil, that he might be ashamed." + +Another class of statutes--laws that have a queer sound in +nineteenth-century Massachusetts--were designed for the encouragement of +special public service. Here are examples of some of them: + + + "1638. For the better encouragement of any that shall destroy wolves, + it is ordered that for every wolf any man shall take in Dorchester + plantation, he shall have 20's by the town, for the first wolf, 15's + for the second, and for every wolf afterwards, 10's besides the + Country's pay." + + "1736. Voted, that whosoever shall kill brown rats, so much grown as + to have their hair on them, within y'e town of Dochester, y'e year + ensuing, until our meeting in May next, and bring in their scalps + with y'e ears on unto y'e town treasurer, shall be paid by y'e town + treasurer Fourpence for every rat's scalp." + + +The same year the town offered a bounty for the destroying of striped +squirrels. + +Now that the recent death of Wendell Phillips brings freshly to mind the +bitter opposition with which the early champions of abolution were +treated in Boston and vicinity, it is pleasant to find in the musty +records of the Dochester Plantation emphatic evidence that they not only +recognized slavery as an evil, and the slave-trade as a heinous crime, +but that they set their faces like a flint against it. The traffic in +slaves began among the colonists in the winter of 1645-6, and in the +following November the court placed on record this outspoken +denunciation of the practice: + + + "The Gen'all Co'te conceiving themselves bound by y'e first opertunity + to bear Witness against y'e haynos & crying sin of man stealing, as also + to prscribe such timely redresse for what is past, and such a law for + y'e future as may sufficiently deter all others belonging to us to have + to do in such vile and odious courses, iustly abhored of all good and + iust men, do order y't y'e negro interpreter w'th others unlawfully + taken, be y'e first opertunity (at y'e charge of y'e country for psent), + sent to his native country in Ginny, & a letter w'th him of y'e + indignation of y'e Corte thereabout, and iustice hereof, desiring o'r + hono'red Gov'rnr would please put this order in execution." + + +How men so clear in their convictions of the rights of Africans could be +guilty of the most heartless injustice to Quakers and their friends, it +is not easy to explain; and yet they mercilessly persecuted one of their +own fellow-citizens, Nicholas Upsall, and made him an exile from his +home, for no greater crime than that of countenancing and befriending +members of the Society of Friends. He kept the Dorchester hostelry, and +was wont to entertain Quakers as he did any other decent people; but for +this he was apprehended and tried by the court, and sentenced to pay a +fine of L20 and be thrown into prison. Finally, finding it impossible to +entirely prevent his friends from holding intercourse with him, he was +banished from the settlement for the remainder of his life. That curious +book, "Persecutors Maul'd with their own Weapons," contains the +following account of the case: + + + "Nicholas Upsall, an old man full of years, seeing their (the + authorities) cruelty to the harmless Quakers that they had condemned + some of them to die, both he and elder Wisewell, or otherwise Deacon + Wisewell, members of the church in Boston, bore their testimonies in + public against their brethren's horrid cruelty to the said Quakers. And + the said Upsall declared that he did look at it as a sad forerunner of + some heavy judgment to follow upon the country; which they took so ill + at his hands, that they fined him twenty pounds and three pounds more at + another meeting of the court, for not coming to their meeting, and would + not abate him one grote, but imprisoned him and then banished him on + pain of death, which was done in a time of such extreme bitter weather + for frost, snow and cold, that had not the heathen Indians in the + wilderness woods taken compassion on his misery, for the winter season, + he in all likelihood had perished, though he had then a good estate in + houses and lands, goods and money, also a wife and children." + + +One of the officials who for a time had charge of poor Upsall during the +period of his imprisonment was John Capen, of whom the old chroniclers +have left a pleasanter record, namely, a transcript of several of his +youthful love-letters. The following will serve as sample: + + + "SWEETE-HARTE, + + "My kind loue and affection to you remembered; hauinge not a convenient + opertunety to see and speake w'th you soe oft as I could desier, I + therefore make bold to take opertunety as occassione offers it selfe to + vissit you w'th my letter, desiering y't it may find acceptance w'th + you, as a token of my loue to you; as I can assuer you y't yours have + found from me; for as I came home from you y'e other day, by y'e way I + reseaued your letter from your faithfull messenger w'ch was welcom + vnto me, and for w'ch I kindly thanke you, and do desier y't as it is + y'e first: so y't may not be y'e last, but y't it may be as a seed + w'ch will bring forth more frute: and for your good counsell and + aduise in your letter specified, I doe accept, and do desier y't we may + still command y'e casse to god for direction and cleering vp of your way + as I hope wee haue hitherto done; and y't our long considerations may at + y'e next time bring forth firme concessions, I meane verbally though not + formally. Sweete-harte I have given you a large ensample of patience, I + hope you will learn this instruction from y'e same, namely, to show y'e + like toward me if euer occassion be offered for futuer time, and for + y'e present condesendency vnto my request; thus w'ch my kind loue + remembered to yo'r father and mother and Brothers and sisters w'th + thanks for all their kindness w'ch haue been vndeseruing in me I rest, + leauing both them and vs vnto y'e protection and wise direction of y'e + almighty. + + "My mother remembers her love vnto y'or father and mother; as also + vnto your selfe though as it vnknown. + + "Yo'rs to command in anything I pleas. + + "JOHN CAPEN." + + +In this connection may very properly be given another letter written at +about the same date. Punkapoag, the summer residence of Thomas Bailey +Aldrich, the poet editor of the Atlantic, was a part of colonial +Dorchester and one of the points where the famous John Eliot began his +missionary labors among the Indians. In the interest of the natives at +that station he wrote the following letter to his friend, Major +Atherton, in 1657: + + + "Much Honored and Beloved in the Lord: + + "Though our poore Indians are molested in most places in their meetings + in way of civilities, yet the Lord hath put it into your hearts to + suffer us to meet quietly at Ponkipog, for w'ch I thank God, and + am thankful to yourselfe and all the good people of Dorchester. And + now that our meetings may be the more comfortable and p varable, my + request is, y't you would further these two motions: first, y't you + would please to make an order in your towne and record it in your towne + record, that you approve and allow y'e Indians of Ponkipog there to sit + downe and make a towne, and to inioy such accommodations as may be + competent to maintain God's ordinances among them another day. My second + request is, y't you would appoint fitting men, who may in a fitt season + bound and lay out the same, and record y't alsoe. And thus commending + you to the Lord, I rest, + + "Yours to serve in the service of Jesus Christ, + + "JOHN ELIOT." + + +Following this missive a letter on quite a different subject, dictated +by the redoubtable Indian chief, King Philip, may be interesting. It +bears date of 1672, and is addressed to Captain Hopestill Foster of +Dorchester: + + + "S'r you may please to remember that when I last saw You att Walling + river You promised me six pounds in goods; now my request is that you + would send me by this Indian five yards of White light collered serge to + make me a coat and a good Holland shirt redy made; and a p'r of good + Indian briches all of which I have present need of, therefoer I pray S'r + faile not to send them by my Indian and with them the severall prices of + them; and silke & buttens & 7 yards Gallownes for trimming; not else att + present to trouble you w'th onley the subscription of + + "KING PHILIP, + + "his Majesty P.P." + + +One of the best commentaries on the lives and characters of the chief +actors in the history of the Dorchester Plantation may be read on the +tombstones that mark the places where their precious dust was deposited. +From Rev. Richard Mather, the most noted pastor of the church of that +period, to the humblest contemporary of his who enjoyed the rights and +priveleges of a free-holder, none was so mean or obscure that a +characteristic, if not fitting, epitaph did not mark the place of his +sepulture. From the many well worth perusing, the following are singled +and transcribed for the readers of this sketch. + +Epitaph of James Humfrey, "one of y'e ruling elders of Dorchester," in +the form of an acrostic: + + + "I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust. + A nd only waits ye rising of ye just. + M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station, + E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation. + + H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder be + U nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three. + M ather he first did by him help Receiue; + F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue; + R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill: + E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill, + Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill." + + +When Elder Hopestill Clapp died his pastor, Rev. John Danforth, composed +the following verses for his grave stone: + + + "His Dust waits till ye Jubile, + Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie; + Shall meet and join to part no more, + His soul that Glorify'd before. + Pastors and Churches happy be, + With Ruling Elders such as he; + Present useful, Absent Wanted, + Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented." + + +William Pole, an eccentric citizen of the village, before his demise, +composed an epitaph to be chiseled on his monument, "Y't so being dead +he might warn posterity; or, a resemblance of a dead man bespeaking y'e +reader;" so under a death's head and cross-bones it stands thus: + + + "Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay + & take a dead man's lesson by ye way. + I was what now thou art & thou shall be + What I am now what odds twixt me and thee + Now go thy way but stay take one word more + Thy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye door + Death is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hell + Be warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell." + + +The virtues of one who was "downright for business, one of cheerful +spirit and entire for the country" are recorded in this fashion: + + + "Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall: + A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall, + Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave; + Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave. + Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don. + With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton." + + +The following was written on the death of John Foster, who is mentioned +in the old annals as a "mathematician and printer": + + + "Thy body which no activeness did lack, + Now's laid aside like an old Almanack; + But for the present only's out of date, + 'Twill have at length a far more active state. + Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be. + Yet at the resurrection we shall see + A fair EDITION, and of matchless worth. + Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth. + 'Tis but a word from God the great Creator, + It shall be done when he saith Imprimator." + + +The clerk of the old Dorchester Church seems also to have been a maker +of elegiac verse; for after the decease of Rev. Richard Mather, the +pastor, and one of the ablest divines of colonial New England, the +church records contain the two complimentary stanzas quoted below, the +first being an evident attempt at anagram: + + + "Third in New England's Dorchester, + Was this ordained minister. + Second to none for faithfulness, + Abilities and usefulness. + Divine his charms, years seven times seven, + Wise to win souls from earth to heaven. + Prophet's reward his gains above, + But great's our loss by his remove." + + Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather, + Sons like him, good and great, did call him father. + Hard to discern a difference in degree, + 'Twixt his bright learning and his piety. + Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down, + So can't his soul or his deserved renown. + From 's birth six lustres and a jubilee + To his repose: but labored hard in thee, + O, Dorchester! four more than thirty years + His sacred dust with thee thine honour rears." + + +This couplet to three brothers named Clarke must suffice for epitaphs: + + + "Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even, + Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven." + + +Before taking leave of these fascinating old records, so rich in facts +and the stuff that fiction is made of, it will be interesting to have an +estimate of the growth of the Dorchester Plantation; for this purpose +the valuation of the town is given, a century from the date of its +settlement: + + + Houses, 117 + Mills, 6 + Acres of orchard, 250 1-2 + Acres of mowing, 1834 1-4 + Acres of pasture, 2873 1-2 + Acres of tillage, 518 1-2 + Male slaves, 10 + Female slaves, 1 + Oxen, 157 + Cows, 661 + Horses, 207 + Sheep and goats, 661 + Swine, 251 + + Value of feeding stock, etc., L431 + + Decked vessels, tons, 64 + Open vessels, tons 68 + ==== + 132 + + Ratable polls, 252 + Not ratable, 24 + ==== + 276 + + +The tax for that year, assessed on real estate, was L72 16s 6d; on +personal estate, L9 14s 11d. + +When all who took up the original claims on Allen's Plain had passed +through the vicissitudes of their troubled lives and been numbered with +the silent majority in the field of epitaphs, already alluded to, and +their descendents were on the eve of the great struggle which was +destined to sever them from the mother country, and the hearts of +patriotic men began to feel the premonitory throbs of that spirit of +independence soon to fire the first shot at Lexington, the Union and +Association of Sons of Liberty in the province held a grand celebration +in Boston, on the fourteenth of August, 1769. From John Adams's famous +diary we learn that this jovial company, including the leading spirits +of the time, first assembled at Liberty Tree, in Boston, where they +drank fourteen toasts, and then adjourned to Liberty Tree Tavern, which +was none other than Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester. There under a +mammoth tent in an adjacent field long tables were spread, and over +three hundred persons sat down to a sumptuous dinner. "Three large pigs +were barbecued," and "forty-five toasts were given on the occasion," the +last of which was, "Strong halters, firm blocks and sharp axes to all +such as deserve them." The toasts were varied with songs of liberty and +patriotism by a noted colonial mimic named Balch, and another song +composed and sung by Dr. Church. "At five o'clock," says Mr. Adams, +"the Boston people started home, led by Mr. Hancock in his chariot, and +to the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person intoxicated." + + * * * * * + + + + +HOLLIS STREET CHURCH. + + +The demolition of Hollis Street Church in this city destroys another old +historic land-mark, which, like King's Chapel, the old State House, and +other venerable structures, have a record that endears them to the +popular heart. A brief sketch of the three buildings which have +successively occupied the site, which is so soon to be left vacant, is +worthy of preservation. + +The name of the church and the street on which it stood was bestowed in +honor of Thomas Hollis, of London, noted for his liberal benefactions; +and his nephew of the same name devoted a bell for the edifice, in 1734. + +The land on which the original structure was erected, was presented for +that purpose by Governor Belcher, in 1731; and in April of the same +year, by permission of the selectmen of Tri-Mountain, or Boston, a +wooden building, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, was began, which +was finished and dedicated in midsummer of the following year. + +In the great South End fire, on the twentieth of April, 1787, and in +response to an imperative demand, a second, and larger wooden house, was +erected on the site of the first, and made ready for occupancy in the +course of the following year. This building was planned by Charles +Bulfinch, and in its architecture resembled St. Paul's Church, now +standing on Tremont street. + +Within a year the Hollis Street Society has removed to an elegant new +edifice on the Back Bay, and the brick building they left behind must +now disappear in the march of improvement. It was erected in 1811, in +order to accommodate the prosperous and rapidly-growing society for whom +it stood as a place of worship. To make room for it, the wooden +meeting-house already referred to was taken down in sections and removed +to the town of Braintree. + +The several clergymen who have been the honored pastors of Hollis Street +Church are worthy of mention in this connection. The first was Rev. +Mather Byles, a lineal descendant of John Cotton and Richard Mather, who +was ordained pastor, December 20, 1732. He was dismissed August 14, +1776, on account of his strong Tory proclivities. His immediate +successor was Rev. Ebenezer Wright, a young divine from Dedham and a +graduate of Harvard, who remained the pastor until the new meeting-house +was finished, in 1788, when he was dismissed at his own request, on +account of ill-health. + +The next pastor was a man in middle life, who made himself an +acknowledged power among the Boston clergy, Rev. Samuel West, of +Needham. He died in 1808, and was succeeded by Rev. Horace Holley, from +Connecticut, who was installed in March, 1809, and remained till 1818. +Rev. John Pierpont, who resigned in 1845, made way for Rev. David +Fosdick, who preached there two years, when Rev. Starr King was settled +in 1845, and remained till 1861, Rev. George L. Chaney then took the +place till 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. H. Bernard Carpenter, the +present pastor. + + * * * * * + + + + +ELIZABETH.[13] + +A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS. + + +By Frances C. Sparhawk, Author of "A Lazy Man's Work." + + +CHAPTER XIII.--_Continued_. + + +Half an hour later Edmonson marched into his friend's room. His face was +flushed, and his eyes had a triumphant glitter. It was an expression +that heightened most the kind of beauty he had. + +"You are booked for a visit, Bulchester," he began, seating himself in +the chair opposite the other. "I have accepted for you; knew you would +be glad to go with me." + +"That is cool!" And Bulchester's light blue eyes glowed with anger for a +moment. His moods of resentment against his companion's domination, +though few and far between, were very real. + +"Not at all. In fact it is a delightful place, and I don't know to what +good fortune we are indebted for an invitation. Neither of us has much +acquaintance with Archdale." + +"Archdale? Stephen Archdale?" + +"Yes. You look amazed, man. We are asked to meet Sir Temple and Lady +Dacre. I don't exactly see how it came about, but I do see that it is +the very thing I want in order to go on with the search. Another city, +other families." + +"But--." Bulchester stopped. + +"But what?" + +"Why, the possible Mistress Archdale,--Elizabeth. Of course I am happy +to go, if you enjoy the situation." + +A dangerous look rayed out from Edmonson's eyes. + +"I can stand it, if Archdale can," he answered. "How fate works to bring +us together," he mused. + +"I don't understand," cried the other. "What has fate to do with this +invitation?" Edmonson, who had spoken, forgetting that he was not alone, +looked at his companion with sudden suspicion. But Bulchester went on in +the same tone. "If it is to carry out your purpose though, little you +will care for having been a suitor of Mistress Archdale." + +"On the contrary, it will add piquancy to the visit." Then he added, +"Don't you see, Bulchester, that I dare not throw away an opportunity? +Ship 'Number One' has foundered. 'Number Two' must come to land. That is +the amount of it." + +"Yes," returned Bulchester with so much assurance that the other's +scrutiny relaxed. + +"I suppose it is settled," said his lordship after a pause. + +"Certainly," answered Edmonson; and he smiled. + +Lady Dacre and train, having fairly started on their two day's journey, +she settled herself luxuriously and again began her observations. But as +they were not especially striking, no chronicle of them can be found, +except that she called Brattle Street an alley, begged pardon for it +with a mixture of contrition and amusement, and generally patronized the +country a little. Sir Temple enjoyed it greatly, and Archdale was glad +of any diversion. When they had stopped for the night, as they sat by +the open windows of the inn and looked out into the garden which was too +much a tangle for anything but moonlight and June to give it beauty, +Lady Dacre sprang up, interrupting her husband in one of his remarks, +and declaring it a shame to stay indoors such a night. + +"Give me your arm," she said to Archdale, "and let us take a turn out +here. We don't want you, Temple; we want to talk." + +Sir Temple, serenely sure of hearing, before he slept, the purport of +any conversation that his wife might have had, took up a book which he +had brought with him. He was an excellent traveler in regard to one kind +of luggage; the same book lasted him a good while. + +Lady Dacre moved off with Stephen. They went out of the house and down +the walk. She commented on the neglected appearance of things until +Stephen asked her if weeds were peculiar to the American soil. In answer +she struck him lightly with her fan and walked on laughing. But when +they reached the end of the garden, she turned upon him suddenly. + +"Now tell me," she said. + +"Tell you what?" + +"Tell me what, indeed! What a speech for a lover, a young husband. Has +the light of your honeymoon faded so quickly? Mine has not yet. Tell me +about her, of course, your charming bride." + +Stephen came to a dead halt, and stood looking into the smiling eyes +gazing up into his. + +"Lady Dacre," he said, "the Mistress Archdale you will find at Seascape +is my mother." Then he gave the history of his intended marriage, and of +that other marriage which might prove real. His listener was more moved +than she liked to show. + +"It will all be right," she said tearfully. "But it is dreadful for you, +and for the young ladies, both of them." + +"Yes," he answered, "for both of them." + +"You know," she began eagerly, "that I am the----?" then she stopped. + +Stephen waited courteously for the end of the sentence that was never to +be finished. He felt no curiosity at her sudden breaking off; it seemed +to him that curiosity and interest, except on one subject, were over for +him forever. + +When Lady Dacre repeated this story to her husband she finished by +saying: "Why do you suppose it is, Temple, that my heart goes out to the +married one?" + +"Natural perversity, my dear." + +"Then you think she _is_ married?" + +"Don't know; it is very probable." + +"Poor Archdale!" + +Sir Temple burst into a laugh. "Is he poor, Archdale, because you think +he has made the best bargain?" + +"No, you heartless man, but because he does not see it. Besides, I +cannot even tell if it is so. I believe I pity everybody." + +"That's a good way," responded her husband. "Then you will be sure to +hit right somewhere." + +"I will remember that," returned Lady Dacre between vexation and +laughing, "and lay it up against you, too. But, poor fellow, he is so in +love with his pretty cousin, and she with him." + +"Poor cousin! Is she like a certain lady I know who chose to be married +in a dowdy dress and a poke bonnet for fear of losing her husband +altogether?" + +But Lady Dacre did not hear a word. She was listening to a mouse behind +the wainscotting, and spying out a nail-hole which she was sure was big +enough for it to come out of, and she insisted that her husband should +ring and have the place stopped up. + +When the party reached Seascape the summer clouds that floated over the +ocean were beginning to glow with the warmth of coming sunset. The sea +lay so tranquil that the flash of the waves on the pebbly shore sounded +like the rythmic accompaniment to the beautiful vision of earth and sky, +and the boom of the water against the cliffs beyond came now and then, +accentuating this like the beat of a heavy drum muffled or distant. The +mansion at Seascape with its forty rooms, although new, was so +substantial and stately that as they drove up the avenue Lady Dacre, +accustomed to grandeur, ran her quick eye over its ample dimensions, its +gambrel roof, its immense chimneys, its generous hall door, and turning +to Archdale, without her condescension, she asked him how he had +contrived to combine newness and dignity. + +"One sees it in nature sometimes," he answered. "Dignity and youth are a +fascinating combination." + +In the hall stood a lady whom Archdale looked at with pride. He was fond +of his mother without recognizing a certain likeness between them. She +was dressed elegantly, although without ostentation, and she came +towards her guests with an ease as delightful as their own. Stephen +going to meet her, led her forward and introduced her. Lady Dacre looked +at her scrutinizingly, and gave a little nod of satisfaction. + +"I am pleased to come to see you Madam Archdale," she said in answer to +the other's greeting. There was a touch of sadness in her face and the +clasp of her hand had a silent sympathy in it. It was as if the two +women already made moan over the desolation of the man in whom they both +were interested, though in so different degrees. But the tact of both +saved awkwardness in their meeting. + +Archdale stood a little apart, silent for a moment, struggling against +the overwhelming suggestions of the situation. Even his mother did not +belong here; she had her own home. Perhaps it would be found that no +woman for whom he cared could ever have a right in this lovely house. +When these guests had gone he would shut up the place forever, +unless----. But possibilities of delight seemed very vague to Stephen as +he stood there in his home unlighted by Katie's presence. All at once he +felt a long keen ray from Sir Temple's eyes upon his face. That +gentleman had a fondness for making out his own narratives of people and +things; he preferred Mss. to print, that is, the Mss. of the histories +he found written on the faces of those about him, which, although +sometimes difficult to decipher, had the charm of novelty, and often +that of not being decipherable by the multitude. Stephen immediately +turned his glance upon Sir Temple. + +"You are tired," he said with decision, "and Lady Dacre must be quite +exhausted, animated as she looks. But I see that my mother is already +leading her away. Let me show you your rooms." + +Sir Temple's eyes had fallen, and with a bow and a half smile upon his +lips, he walked beside his host in silence. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE HOSTESS. + + +The second morning of the visit was delightful. Madam Archdale had taken +Lady Dacre to the cupola, and the view that met their eyes would have +more admiration from people more travelled than these. On the east was +the sea, looking in the early sunshine like a great flashing crescent of +silver laid with both its arcs upon the earth. Down to it wandered the +creek winding by the grounds beneath the watchers, turned out of its +straight course, now to lave the foot of some large tree that in return +spread a circle of shade to cool its waters before they passed out under +the hot sun again; now to creep through some field, perhaps of daises, +to send its freshness through all their roots and renew their courage in +the contest with the farmers, so that the more they were cut down, the +more they flourished, for the sun, and the stream, the summer air, and +the soil, all were upon their side. Shadows fell upon the water from the +bridge across the road over which the lumbering carts went sometimes, +and the heavy carriages still more seldom. On the other hand, looking up +the stream, were the hills from among which this little river slipped +out rippling along with its musical undertone, as if they had sent it as +a messenger to express their delight in summer. In the distance the +Piscataqua broadened out to the sea, and beyond the river the city was +outlined against the sky. To the left of this, and in great sweeps along +the horizon stretched the forests. As one looked at these forests, the +fields of com, the scattered houses, the pastures dotted with cattle, +the city, all signs of civilization, seemed like a forlorn hope sent +against these dense barriers of nature; yet it was that forlorn hope +that is destined always to win. + +"Do you know, I like it?" said Lady Dacre turning to her hostess. "I +think it all very nice. So does Sir Temple. Yet I don't see how you can +get along without a bit of London, sometimes. London is the spice, you +know, the flavor of the cake, the bouquet of the wine." + +"Only, it differs from these, since one cannot get too much of it," +answered Madam Archdale smiling, thinking as her eyes swept over the +landscape that there were charms in her own land which it would be hard +to lose. + +Lady Dacre settled herself comfortably in one of the chairs of the +cupola, and turning to her companion, said abruptly: + +"Dear Madam Archdale, what is going to be done about that poor son of +yours; he is in a terrible situation?" + +"Indeed, he is." + +"When is he going to get out? Have you done anything about it?" + +"Done anything? Everything, rather. To say nothing of Stephen and my +poor little niece. Elizabeth Royal is not a woman to sit down calmly +under the imputation of having married a man against his will. And, +besides, I have heard that she would like to marry one of her suitors." + +"Do you know him?" + +"Not even who it is. I imagine that Stephen does, but he does not tell +all he knows." + +"I have found that out," laughed Lady Dacre. "Indeed, I don't feel like +laughing," she added quickly, "but it seems to me only an awkward +predicament, you see, and I am thinking of the time when the young +people will be free to tie themselves according to their fancies. + +"I don't take it so lightly," answered the lady, "and my husband, when +Stephen is out of the way, shakes his head dolefully over it. He +believes Harwin's story, and in that case he argues badly. My husband +has a conscience, and he does not intend that his son shall commit +bigamy. Neither does Stephen, of course, intend to; but then, Stephen is +in love with Katie, and he and Elizabeth Royal are disposed to carry +matters with a high hand. But Katie has scruples, too, and she must, of +course, be satisfied." + +"Of course. What kind of person is this Elizabeth Royal?" asked Lady +Dacre after a pause. "Is she pretty, or plain?" + +"Not plain, certainly. She has a kind of beauty at times, a beauty of +expression quite remarkable, Katie tells me. But I have not seen +anything especial about her." + +"You don't like her?" questioned Lady Dacre. + +"Oh, yes, only that I think her rather cool in her manners. She is the +soul of honor. She comes of good stock, some of the best in the country. +Her mother was a connection of Madam Pepperell. I believe she is about +to visit there with her father. We shall meet them both." And the +speaker explained that the Colonel knew Mr. Royal well, and would be +anxious to pay them some attention. "I suppose I am no judge of the +young lady," she added. "I have not seen her since the wedding, and only +a few times before that when she was visiting Katie. She is an heiress; +I understand that she is very wealthy, much richer than my little niece +will ever be." + +"Ah!" said Lady Dacre. It seemed to her that she understood how +troublesome Colonel Archdale's conscience must be to him in this matter. +But the Colonel was a stranger to her, and at times Lady Dacre was +severe in her judgments. Sir Temple declared that she never had any +scruples over that second line of the famous poem of aversion, + + "I do not like you. Dr. Fell." + + +"There is something I want to tell you," she said after a pause, +"something about Sir Temple and myself." And her listener received the +confidence that had been withheld from Stephen a few evenings before in +the garden. + +Lady Dacre had scarcely finished when there came the sound of feet on +the stairs, a blonde head appeared in the narrow opening, another head +of dull brown hair came close behind, and Gerald Edmonson, followed by +Lord Bulchester, stepped into the cupola. Lady Dacre remembered at the +moment what Archdale had said on the journey, that most peoples' shadows +changed about,--now before, now on one side or the other, but Edmonson's +always went straight behind him. + +"May we come?" asked the foremost young man, bowing to each of the +ladies. + +"It is rather late to ask that," returned Madam Archdale, "but as you +are here, we will try to make you welcome." + +And they sat there talking until the sun grew too hot for them. + +Meanwhile, Elizabeth Royal, the subject of Lady Dacre's curiosity, was +thinking of the visit she was on her way to make which would bring her +within a few miles of Seascape. She dreaded it, yet she knew that her +father was right when he told her that the more she could appear to +treat the question of this marriage as a jest,--a thing which meant +nothing to her,--the wiser she would be. This was the course that by her +father's advice she had marked out for herself. Elizabeth Royal had her +faults; she sometimes tried her friends a good deal by them; but if she +had been Lot's wife, and had gone out of Sodom with him, she would never +have been left on the plain as a bitter warning against vacillation. +Only, it seemed to her a very long time since her restful days had gone +by, and she realized that the one course she hated was to do things +because it was good policy to do them. Before Archdale she was brave; +not only from pride, but out of pity to him; before others, all but her +father, pride restrained her from complaint, even from admission of the +possibility of the disaster she feared. But alone her courage often +ebbed. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE GUESTS. + + +The fourth morning from this as Madam Archdale and her guest were on +their way to the garden they met Archdale in the hall. + +"Come with us," cried Lady Dacre to him, pointing through the open door. +But Archdale had letters to write and the ladies went on without him. A +few rods away they saw Edmonson seated under an elm near the door. "He +has lost his shadow," whispered Lady Dacre to her companion as they drew +near, and she repeated Stephen's speech. Her listener smiled. Edmonson +rose as he saw them and sauntered beside them through the shaded walks. +But for all his brilliant conversation he did not keep Lady Dacre from +remembering the gloomy look she had surprised upon his face. As they +were walking Bulchester joined them. He explained that he had been +paying a visit to Madam Pepperell, whom he had met in Boston during the +spring. Lady Dacre noticed that he and his friend exchanged significant +glances, but neither spoke to the other. Edmonson devoted himself to +her, while Bulchester walked on with his hostess. + +At last they all sat down to rest where the sea-breeze beginning to blow +brought a refreshing coolness. Sir Temple Dacre came out looking for +them, and on being questioned by his wife as to where Archdale was, +professed his ignorance. "He must have a larger correspondence than +you," she returned, "if he is still at work; he told me that he had +letters to write." + +"I think he has gone to ask a friend of his to dine with us," said his +mother. "I saw him gallop off half an hour ago. We are going to be very +quiet to-day that you may have a chance to rest; tomorrow guests have +been invited to meet you. Stephen thought that this evening you might +like a sail,--unless you have had too much of the water?" And she turned +inquiringly to Lady Dacre. + +"Oh, no," cried her ladyship. "I should be delighted. The moon fulls +to-night Am I right, Temple?" + +A few minutes later Edmonson and Bulchester having strolled down to the +beach confronted one another there in silence, until the sound of a wave +breaking seemed to rouse their surprise into speech. + +"Edmonson," exclaimed the smaller man, "for once you are at fault. You +did not describe her at all." + +"The--!" cried Edmonson with a black look. "I was never so amazed in my +life. What has got into the girl? She is a different creature. That +present air of hers would take in London; better even than in this +out-of-the-world hole, it would be more appreciated. And what thousands +she has to carry it off well, or I ought to say, to carry it on well. +That good-for-nothing," he added, "does not even understand his luck." +There was an undertone in his voice which gave the bitter laugh with +which he tried to hide it an intensity that made Bulchester look at him +anxiously. + +"You don't mean that you admire her so much as that?" he asked. Edmonson +laughed again. + +"My admiration of any woman will not injure my digestion. I believe you +know my ideas on that subject. But such a figure for the head of one's +table, and such golden accompaniments to her presentablity--all mine, +you know, or to be mine, and here this young lordship steps in between. +Lordship; indeed! he thinks himself no less than a duke by his airs. But +I--." He stopped, and ground his teeth to swallow his rage, and his face +was so lowering that the other cried in trepidation: + +"What are you going to do, Edmonson? Nothing,--nothing--uncomfortable, +you know, I hope?" + +Edmonson turned slowly upon him with the blackness of his look +lightening into a smile as different from mirth as the brassy gleam +behind a thundercloud is from sunshine. "What concerns your lordship?" +he asked contemptuously. "Do you imagine that I shall forget my +station?" + +"Or your position as guest?" + +"Or my 'position as guest?' No, indeed," sneered his listener. "What has +come over you, Bulchester?" he added. "For how long are you engaged for +this role of dictator? I shall leave until it is over, you do it so +badly." And he turned on his heel, grinding the pebbles under it hard as +he did so. + +"Nonsense, stay where you are, I beg," cried Bulchester with an +assumption of indifference in his manner, and a tone of humility so +incongruous that Edmonson glancing over his shoulder smiled in scorn, +and having remained in that position a moment, came back to his little +squire, and said impressively: + +"Bulchester, we are beginning to burn; something will turn up here. I +can't tell you why, but I feel it." + +"You mean that you have a clue? That the name amounts to anything?" +cried the other excitedly. "That you have found--?" + +"Hush!" interrupted Edmonson. "Lady Dacre! Yes, I have found the air +here delightful. My tedious headache is wearing away already. And here +comes her ladyship to make us appreciate our blessings still more. Say, +Bul," he added in a quick undertone as he was about moving forward to +meet the new-comer, "how good does one have to be among this set? Have +you any idea?" + +"No, but I assure you your best will not pall." + +Edrnonson's smile of welcome to the lady broadened. "The fellow has +quickness sometimes," he thought, "he has caught that from me." + +"They are all following," said Lady Dacre. "But our kind host joined us +just now, and he and his mother are arranging the hour for the sail, +that is, if the wind will favor us." + +"I should not think Archdale would be over fond of sailing," remarked +Edmonson dryly. + +"Why not?" asked Lady Dacre, then recollecting the story, added +suddenly, "Do you think that is a real marriage, Mr. Edmonson?" + +"I am sure I don't know," responded that gentleman nonchalently. + +"You see," explained Bulchester, "if that man is really a parson, they +have not much of a set of witnesses to prove that the ceremony was a +joke. Harwin minus, though he has left his confession; Waldo interested +in proving it a real marriage; Mistress Katie interested the other way, +and the Eveleigh,--you have not seen the Eveleigh?" + +Lady Dacre replied that she had not had that pleasure. As she spoke she +intercepted a flashing glance from Edmonson to Bulchester. But she did +not overhear the conversation between the two that took place later. + +"Bulchester," Edmonson hissed out when they were alone, "what's the +reason you always retail my opinions?" + +Bulchester opened his mild eyes. + +"Did I say any harm?" he asked. "I am sure I didn't mean it; what +objection can you have to my giving your opinion on that matter, and I +did not even say it was yours." + +"Because--I do object," returned the other moodily. Then he said nothing +more, rather to conceal the strength of his objections, than because his +anger was over. + +This happened a few hours later. At the same time Lady Dacre was +speaking to her husband about Elizabeth. "I think that Archdale must +feel the situation most on account of the young betrothed," Sir Temple +said. + +"That is all you know of a woman," she retorted indignantly. "Suppose I +were tied to you and knew you did not care for me, I need not have come +three thousand miles to find water enough." + +"To drink?" + +"No, you wretch; to drown myself in." + +"You take too much for granted, dont you?" drawled Sir Temple with an +amused look. "And I am afraid you are aping Ophelia. Now, you are not in +her line at all; for one thing, you are too handsome." + +Lady Dacre looked at him keenly, smiled with a moisture in her eyes, and +came up to him. + +"How much too much do I take for granted?" she asked softly. Sir Temple +burst into a laugh, and kissed her. + +"We will borrow poor Archdale's scales, and weigh it, and find out," he +answered. + +There was over a week of the beautiful weather that midsummer brings, +and the days passed full of gayety. Both Archdale and his mother did +everything for the enjoyment of their guests. They showed them the most +beautiful views on shore, and by sailing took them to places of interest +not to be reached by land, while dinner-parties and garden-parties made +them acquainted with the best society of the city. From morning until +night the house was full of talk, and jest, and laughter. Among the +guests one day had been Mr. Royal and Mrs. Eveleigh. They had come with +Colonel and Madam Pepperell, at whose house they were then visiting, in +accordance with a promise made the autumn before when the Colonel and +his wife had been guests of Mr. Royal. More than once, Elizabeth had met +the party from Seascape, but she could not come here, she was not sure +enough in her heart of not being Stephen Archdale's wife. She +compromised with her father by promising to go to Colonel Archdale's, +for that gentleman had told them that they were to be asked there. + +"Elizabeth was right not to come," Madam Pepperell had said to her guest +on the way to Seascape. "There are people small enough to have said that +she was making an inventory." + +"Not any of the Archdale family?" inquired Mr. Royal. + +"Not mother or son, certainly. As to the Colonel, it is easy to see that +he admires Elizabeth." + +"Um!" commented Elizabeth's father. + +Colonel Archdale at this time was away a good deal upon business. When +he was at home he usually rode over to his son's house to dine. But he +resolved to give a dinner party himself, and it was to this that +Elizabeth Royal had promised to come. Madam Archdale being thus obliged +to preside over two houses at once was full of secret uneasiness as to +how matters would turn out, and for three mornings before the event +excused herself to her guests from breakfast until dinner, and drove +home to superintend arrangements. Dinner parties were frequent at that +house, and there was not much danger that anything would go wrong. +Still, the Colonel was unusually critical, and his wife had her +anxieties. On the whole, Sir Temple Dacre enjoyed himself most of anyone +at that time, he gave himself up to observation and a proper amount of +attention to his dinners, which he remarked to his wife were for +provincial affairs uncommonly good. Lord Bulchester, trying to follow +Edmonson's meanings, had a feeling of uncertainty which, as it did not +rest upon a foundation of faith, such as used to underlie all his +considerations of his friend's actions, ended by making him somewhat +uncomfortable. Edmonson kept to himself whatever clue he had gained, or +whatever ground for suspicion he had that one object of his visit to the +Colonies was nearing its accomplishment. He kept to himself also as much +as possible the fact that his eyes were constantly following Elizabeth +whenever they had opportunity, for the new position in which she was +placed had called forth unexpected resources in her which made her +well-poised in bearing and manner. "She is great in reserve forces," +he said to himself, swearing under his breath that she was growing +more fascinating every time that he saw her, and for this he made +opportunities as well as found them. Stephen Archdale with his +alternations of gloom and gayety and the ubiquitousness necessary to a +host, had begun to find this direction of Edmonson's eyes a matter that +roused some slight speculation. His glances followed the arrowy glances +of his guest to see what marks they made. But he saw nothing, except +that Miss Royal avoided Edmonson as much as she could in courtesy, and +that she seldom met his eyes fully. From these things both young men +drew their conclusions, which were somewhat alike, and should both have +been subject to correction. More than once they measured one another +covertly, and from the heart of him who feared that he had lost her +there stretched out toward the other a terrible shadow which in the +wavering of his changing thoughts grew, and lessened, and grew again, +and sometimes reached forward and clutched with its hideous hands, and +then drew back, and crouched, and waited. + +It was a perfect summer night when Elizabeth leaned out of her window +into the stillness. The roar of the surf was as distinct as if it came +from the pebbled beach below; yet, modulated by distance, it formed the +base, sustained and rythmic, into which there fell harmoniously that +legato treble of murmur which makes us seem to hear the stillness, and +that staccato note of some accidental sound softened to accord with the +mood of the night. She needed the peace that she felt in the air, for +her cheeks were wet with passionate tears and her lips still trembled. +She could give utterance to her trouble now, she was free for hours from +every ear, from every eye, hidden away from all but the sight and +hearing of the God she sought in the dark and the silence. + +Brought up in the creed of the Puritans, believing it entirely, as she +supposed, there was yet in her heart when she sent it Heavenward a joy +which sprang from a more loving faith. Perhaps it was because of her own +beautiful human associations with the name that at the words "Our +Father," her heart swelled with confidence that God listened to her +voice, and that his loving kindness wrapped her about. If her prayers +were not always granted as she wished, she perceived that the hands she +stretched out in pleading were never drawn back empty, for when they did +not hold her requests, they were filled with what was to be given her +tonight,--courage to meet the trials that she dreaded. The next day's +trial was to be the worst of all, for it was then that they were to dine +at the Colonel's, and Katie was to be there,--Katie, whom she loved +dearly, whom she had robbed so unintentionally, and who would not +forgive her. It would be hard for Archdale; but Elizabeth dismissed him +from her thoughts, for her heart was-full to overflowing of her own +grief, and of Katie. Kneeling there, sobs shook her with an abandonment +to her sorrow that was in itself a relief after her restraint. But at +last the calmness and the strength of a life greater than its trials +fell upon her. And when in the hush of these she went to her bed and +fell asleep, it was a face like a child's that the stars shining in at +her window looked down upon, a face fallen into lines of peace while the +tears were yet undried upon the pale cheeks. But only in its simplicity +was it a child's heart that met the next day's sunshine, for the courage +of a strong woman looked from Elizabeth Royal's eyes. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE DINNER PARTY. + + +Colonel Archdale with his hands behind him walked up and down his +drawing-room in pleasant anticipation, with, it may be, a touch of the +feeling which once animated an Eastern monarch over the great city that +he had builded for the honor of his name. The Colonel had been like the +monarch in one thing, that he had been born in wealth, not obliged to +start at the very beginning of the race; he was like him in this also +that he had made the very best of material opportunities; he had builded +about himself, if not a great city, at least a great and profitable +business, so that he had a reasonable expectation of leaving his son and +his two surviving daughters--the latter still children--wealthier than +his father had left him. The only drawback, and he had not yet found it +a serious one, was that it was difficult to take as much money out of +his profits as he would have liked to live upon, for his increasing +business demanded always increasing capital. Also, he had done a great +deal for Stephen, so that it required all his efforts to maintain the +splendor in which he lived, outdoing his associates. All things +considered, therefore, it was not so very strange that he should have +resembled Nebuchadnezzar in the other respect of satisfaction in his own +achievements. That day the cream of the society of Portsmouth and its +neighborhood were to be at his house; most of them, without doubt, +pleased to be invited. Peace and plenty were here. The war three +thousand miles away, in which the brave young queen Maria Theresa was +struggling for her inheritance, had just rolled a tidal wave across the +Atlantic, and the news of the garrison taken from the English fort of +Canso and carried prisoners to Louisburg had just reached Boston. This +capture had been made before the Colonies had learned that war had been +declared by France against Great Britain. Already there were signs of +hostility among the Indians, and a movement of whole tribes toward +Canada to join the French, whose old allies they were. + +Still, so far, no heavy blow had been dealt, and this part of the coast +had not even felt the shock of the wave. On the banks of the Piscataqua +mirth and feasting might go on, at least for a time. The Colonel looked +about him again at the fine pictures on the walls, at the rich furniture +fantastically carved, at his pretty youngest daughter, a girl of twelve, +as she sat at the spinnet going over some music that somebody might ask +her to play; perhaps it would be Lady Dacre herself whom she had seen +once and greatly admired. When a moment later Madam Archdale came into +the room he looked at her face and figure, still handsome and graceful. +Her flowing brocade was of a becoming color, and nothing richer, that he +knew of, had been worn in the Colonies. He felt a faint anxiety, which +Sir Temple would have set down as provincial, to see the attitude of the +English guests, for he flattered himself that he could do the honors of +a mansion better than Stephen whose perfect simplicity annoyed his +father when it let slip opportunities to make a fine impression. With +Stephen and Madam Archdale, who certainly did very well, the Colonel had +no doubt that Sir Temple and Lady Dacre had taken everything they found +as a matter of course, and had not looked for quite the sort of thing +that they were accustomed to at home. But here he thought that they +would be a little surprised, that it would be to them England over +again, and for a few hours they would fancy themselves in some old +mansion there. He felt that to hear them say this would make his cup of +satisfaction brim over, and this in some unintentional way he expected +to draw from them. + +"It's very warm," said his wife panting a little, "and, after all, I +need not have hurried; nobody has come yet, or will come this half-hour, +I dare say." + +"Stephen is always prompt," suggested the Colonel, pausing in his +measured walk to glance down the road. + +"Yes, but then there are the English people. To be sure, they fall into +our ways as if they had been born here, and Lady Dacre is as easy as an +old shoe." + +"My dear," said her husband, "I hope that is not the phraseology you are +going to indulge in before our guests." Madam Archdale laughed. + +"It would not shock them half as much as it does you," she answered. "I +heard Sir Temple say the very thing the other day, and you would think +of it yourself if you had on a pair of new slippers, as I have." The +Colonel waived discussion, and took up another part of her answer. + +"You say they fall into our ways as if they had been born here," he +began. "Doesn't it occur to you that they may find them perfectly +natural?" + +"No, it does not at all. Think of it. Struggling against the savageness +of man and nature must have roughened our manners a little, just as +working on the ground roughens one's hands. It is healthy exercise; but, +then, it tells, and we must expect that." She looked at her husband with +such serenity as she spoke that he had no difficulty in remembering that +she was the granddaughter of a Scottish earl and that he had been proud +to give his children a lady for their mother. It seemed odd to him that +both she and Stephen should have such an air of high birth, and yet be +so indifferent to its prerogatives, so unambitious. "It is their good +breeding;" she went on, "if you put them out into the wigwams they would +make the Indians feel that eating with one's fingers was quite a thing +to be enjoyed." + +It was cruel; perhaps the speaker did not realize how cruel. But, then, +she knew that the Colonel was thoroughly padded with vanity and that it +must be a very skilful thrust, and a very vigorous one, that could wound +him fatally. + +"Faith," he began after a pause, "you have never been abroad, you have +not observed as I have done, you--." He was gaining importance and +impressiveness of tone as he went on; it was a pity that the sound of +wheels and of horses' hoofs in the avenue interrupted what would have +been one of his best presentations of the subject and have put him into +an impregnable position. As it was, he had but to imagine himself there +and forget his wife's opinion, which he did not find any difficulty in +doing. The wheels were those of Colonel Pepperell's carriage; put +together with English thoroughness, it had all the weight and +unwieldiness of vehicles of that time. Lady Dacre, Elizabeth, and Mrs. +Eveleigh descended from it; they had been spending the morning together. +Sir Temple, Edmonson, Bulchester, and their host, on horseback, came +galloping up as the carriage stopped. They had taken a longer and +pleasanter road and had arrived on the moment. Sir Temple alighted with +his face beaming with pleasure, for he had enjoyed the exercise. Lady +Dacre had never looked better, and she had seen something more of +provincial life and ways. He meant to travel over the world sometime; he +liked to see new things. After dinner, when the guests were in the +garden, he joined his wife for a moment, and told her what had amused +him by the way. "We went by one of those little houses so numerous about +here," he said, "and an old man was mending his fence. It needed it +badly enough. Archdale, as he went by, nodded to him pleasantly and +called out an encouragement of his improvements. The old man looked up +hammer in hand, and I expected to see something like what I should have +had, you know, from the tenants at Alderly. But, Flo, he was so +occupied, staring at Edmonson, whom he looked at first, that I had no +chance at all with him, and poor Archdale didn't get even a nod. He just +dropped his hammer and stood there agape. I think Archdale was annoyed +at the exhibition of ill manners, for he talked very little the rest of +the way here. Edmonson was so amused he could scarcely help chuckling +over it. He asked our host if the old man was one of his tenants, and if +he had been long on the place, and Archdale said 'yes.' Then Edmonson +chuckled all the more." + +As Sir Temple said, Stephen Archdale had been moody during the remainder +of the ride. The old butler's behavior, so at variance with his usual +deference, disturbed him. It was evident that Edmonson had come upon the +man like an apparition. But why? Stephen intuitively connected this in +some way with the conversation between the father and the son which he +had overheard that winter's day in the woods. Glancing at his companion, +he saw that Edmonson was aware of the startling effect he had produced, +and that the answer was in his face, which was jubilant. Indeed, he +could hardly restrain himself. Wheeling about in his saddle as they +rode, he broke out into a few notes of some rollicking song, asking Sir +Temple if he remembered it. To him this effect that he had produced +meant that the first stroke of the hour, his hour, had sounded; to +Archdale it meant that some mystery was here, some catastrophe +impending. He could readily connect calamity with Edmonson. + +At the door he dismounted like one lost in thought, and with difficulty +threw off his moodiness; while Edmonson sprang to the ground and ran +lightly up the steps into the house, his eyes sparkling and his face +aglow with a beauty that Elizabeth was beginning to analyze. Before half +an hour his wit was being quoted over the room. Other arrivals followed +this first. There was reason enough why Elizabeth should have dreaded +this dinner, for the guests in the drawing-room now had nearly all of +them been present at that wedding scene seven months before. She knew +when Katie Archdale came in. It was almost at the last. She was leaning +on her father's arm, her mother on his other. Both friends felt that +every eye in the room would watch their meeting. There was an +involuntary pause in the conversation; then it was taken up again here +and there, languidly, to cover the attention that must not be marked. +Katie had been into company very little since her attempted wedding; her +presence was almost a new sensation. As usual, she behaved admirably. +After greeting her aunt she slipped away from her father, and walked +slowly forward, on the way speaking to those she passed. Her tones were +mellowed a little by her suffering, but sweet and clear as ever, At last +she came to Elizabeth. They had not been face to face since that +December day in Mr. Archdale's library when Katie had turned away her +head from Elizabeth's pleading. She did nothing of the kind now, she +came forward with a chastened tenderness and said, "Elizabeth," and +kissed her. It was Elizabeth, who the night before had been sobbing over +Katie's hard lot and praying that happiness might come to her, and who +was looking at her now with a heart full of contrition and admiration, +who seemed to those watching to greet the girl coldly, to be indifferent +to her beauty and her disappointment. Strangely enough, however, Stephen +did not think so; he remembered the scene in the library, and it was +possible that in the few times that he had met Elizabeth he had learned +to understand her a little. He was quick of apprehension where his +prejudices were not concerned, and he certainly had had no opportunity +to be prejudiced against Elizabeth as one wanting to lay claim to him. +And he knew better than any one else did how she hated the very thought +of the yoke that might be laid upon her. His thoughts did not dwell upon +her, however, for he saw that Katie was like her old affectionate self, +that her unjust resentment had been only momentary; it would have been +unnatural not to have felt so on that day, he reasoned. Now she was +lovelier than ever, softened; by her suffering, the suffering he was +sharing. He sighed, turned away, looking out of the window doggedly, +turned back, and walked quickly up to her. + +"How do you do?" he said, holding out his hand. + +"How do you do, Stephen," she answered him, and laying her hand in his, +looked into his face a moment, dropped her eyes and stood before him +gravely, her color rising a little. A few trivial questions, a few +remarks, a few answers simply given, and he bowed and moved away as her +mother brought Edmonson up to her. He did not see her often now-a-days; +there was suffering to them both in meeting, and although he was still +her lover in name as well as in heart, it was always with a dread lest +the wall should be built up between them, and love be stifled in duty. +He was ashamed of himself for his jealous fears when he saw other men +paying her attentions; he never used to have these, but then he was +strong to woo her; he could defy his rivals in fair field, and, as it +had proved, could win the day. But now he was maimed in purpose, perhaps +his hope was lost, his conscience was not clear in the matter as before, +and he felt that in some way he had lost influence. The strong will that +had won Katie was not at present matched by the srong hand that had made +her admiring. The sense of being obliged to wait upon other's movements +galled him; he was impatient, restless, a man who could not find in +himself the comfort he sought, but who watched for news from a source +that he felt was as ready to bring him death as life. + +Elizabeth heard his greeting of Katie, though she was speaking to some +one else when he came forward. She could not tell how it was that in +some way she felt through it to its meaning. + +"Sir Temple," she said a moment afterward, "allow me to introduce Major +Vaughan; he has been a friend of Colonel Pepperell's a long time, and +though I cannot claim such an acquaintance, I do claim a share in the +regard in which all his friends hold him." + +"And he holds it one of the white days of his life on which he first met +this fair lady," gallantly responded Vaughan sweeping around the bow +which acknowledged the introduction so that it included the presenter. +Elizabeth smiled her thanks. She knew that the speech was not meant in +sarcasm, although that any one should call it a white day on which he +first met her seemed so; it had been a very black day to Stephen +Archdale, she remembered. + +"Major Vaughan can tell you more about the political state of the +country, and its prospects, than any one else," she went on, "except, +perhaps, Colonel Pepperell. How is it, Major, does he keep peace with +you?" + +"No, Mistress Royal, he distances me as far as a race-horse does an old +cob. The cob has its uses, though," he added with a feint of resignation +to circumstances that he waited to hear denied. A flash of amusement +shot over Elizabeth's face. + +"When danger is scented from afar, when battles are to be fought, or hot +work to be done, when spirit and daring are needed," she answered, "this +'old cob' that has been spoken of so disrespectfully will turn out a +war-horse clothed with thunder, and swallowing the ground with +fierceness and rage, if everybody else is not equally brave." + +"You have hit the nail on the head," said Colonel Pepperell's voice +behind her; "a good telling hit, too; that is Vaughan to the life. When +this war that has just begun here grows hot we we shall hear from him." + +"And from you, too," volunteered Sir Temple, who a few minutes before +had been talking with the speaker. + +"I hope I shall not be backward in the service of my king and my +country," said Pepperell. "And all these men that are thinking merely of +pleasure to-day I have no doubt will soon be deep in deadly work; for +the war is coming upon us, we shall have to meet it." + +As Elizabeth listened, she looked from one to another of the men about +her, and her eyes fell at last upon Archdale. War was coming, and he +would be sure to go to meet it; perhaps this would solve his +difficulties for him and take him from the burden he hated, since +perhaps it could, not be taken from him. Yet, it would be a hard way for +a man so young,--with so much of life in him. The feeling that some one +was watching her made her turn her eyes suddenly to the left whence the +disturbing force had come. They met those of Edmonson, brighter than +ever, and fixed upon her, as if he were reading her thoughts. Perhaps he +had been, for he stood quite near and Colonel Pepperell's words had been +loud enough to be heard by several. She moved her head, resenting the +surveillance. What right had he to say to her in any manner, "I know +what your trouble is." His further thought she did not arrive at. +Stephen crossed the room and came up to the speaker. Edmonson resumed +his conversation with Katie. + +"Yes," said Stephen, "war has come. When are we to pay back the Canso +affairs, and how? Our forts are not to be taken like that while we sit +tamely down and bear it; the sooner we act the better. Where shall we +strike? Who is to tell us? We must have a General. There are soldiers +enough." + +Major Vaughan's eyes flashed, and he turned his feet one way and the +other in a restlessness that would not find vent for itself in speech. +Elizabeth looked at him with a smile at finding her prediction so +instantly verified. But she, too, was silent. + +"Mistress Royal," said a voice at her side, and in the unevenness of the +tones more marked than usual she recognized Bulchester before she +turned. "Will you introduce me to Mistress Katie Archdale?" he went on +in a breathless undertone that only she could catch. + +"She is the most beautiful creature I ever dreamed of--I mean--yes, I do +mean that. I mean, too, that she shall be Lady Bulchester." He ended +with a resolution which made Elizabeth turn pale. + +"Oh, no!" she gasped; then silently drew him a little apart. "You must +not dream of such a thing for a moment," she said. "Don't you know she +is the same as married to her cousin?" + +"No, I do not," he answered--"nor do you; you are possibly Mistress +Archdale, yourself. Is the young man to be dog in the manger? Let him +take care of himself. Do you forget that all is fair in love and war?" + +An inimitable scorn swept over her face. + +"No, I do not know any such thing when your opponent has his hands +tied--for the time. But I am insulting Katie by pleading with you. She +is true." + +"You will introduce me?" he urged. + +"No," answered Elizabeth, and moved away from him. Bulchester turning +about also, found Lady Dacre almost at his elbow. He brought himself +face to face with her and informed her of Elizabeth's refusal. Lady +Dacre looked at him attentively; he had never appeared to her so manly +as when he was boldly declaring his predilection. + +"Of course she would not introduce you if you said all this to her. How +could she? As for me, I am hands off; it is none of my business anyway," +she said. "But, if you will pardon a word of warning at the outset from +an unprejudiced observer--what makes you expect to win, over Stephen +Archdale's head? He is a strong rival and first in the field." + +"That's not everything to some women, the being first in the field, I +mean," he answered, this time suppressing his repetition of his friend's +belief that Archdale was no longer in the field. + +"True." + +"And do you think," he went on in a passionate undertone, "that I am +fit for nothing but Edmonson's fag? I tell you Edmonson--" he stopped +abruptly. + +"What about him?" she asked, fixing her eyes upon him. But already +Bulchester had drawn back. + +"I have nothing to say about him," he answered, "only that there is no +need of my walking always so close to him as to be thrown into the +shade." + +"No, there is not," she said, and glanced at the subject of their +conversation, who stood talking to Katie in the most absorbed way. Lady +Dacre comprehended the reason of Bulchester's present bitterness. But +neither imagined that it was the conversation, and not the talker, that +was interesting Edmonson. The girl was telling him bits of family +history which he professed with truth to find fascinating. He was +watching her, listening, smiling with his brightest look, speaking a +word or two occasionally to draw forth more information, and Katie, sure +that she was telling nothing too personal, went on, growing more +animated by her subject in seeing the absorption of her companion, which +in her heart she did not doubt came irom his desire to keep her talking +to him. Bulchester stopped a moment and drew nearer to his companion. + +"When he looks like that," he said in her ear, "he is--he +is,--dangerous." He straightened himself directly and walked on. Sir +Temple spoke to Lady Dacre, and again Bulchester was left. But it might +have been Madam Archdale who took pity upon him, for at last he obtained +his introduction. + +Why did Katie turn so readily from Edmonson to welcome the new-comer? +Was it coquetry? Did she know intuitively that the eyes of the latter +held more true worship for her than the other's tones? Edmonson's eyes +gleamed for a moment, and his face darkened. He looked at Bulchester +from head to foot, reading him with contempt. Then with a bow that had a +spice of mockery in it, as if he were amused at the rival whom he +appeared not to dare to compete with, he resigned his place, and going +up to Elizabeth, offered her his arm and moved away with her. + +"Fate will be very kind to Stephen Archdale," he said as soon as they +were out of hearing, "should it substitute you for that young lady, +kinder to him than to you, since he was man enough to want her." + +"You don't like Katie?" cried Elizabeth, ignoring the subject she shrank +from. "You are the first person I ever heard of who did not." + +"Pardon me. I did not say that I did not like her. I was making a +comparison. She is an exceedingly pretty little puppet, and she goes +through all her little tricks, if I may call them so without +disparagement, with a delightful docility. After the clockwork is wound +up, it doesn't hitch, or stop, until it runs down. But there is nothing +unexpected about her; in five minutes you get to know her like a book." + +"A book you have not read," cried Elizabeth with spirit. + +Edmonson laughed. "Nobody would venture to predict your next acts or +words," he said; "he would be a bold man that tried." + +"No," she answered with sadness in her gravity. "I never know them +myself. I have none of that poise which it is worth such a struggle to +gain. That is the reason why--." She stopped, perhaps through +consciousness that the conversation was getting toward egotism; perhaps +because she did not want to give confidence where it was better that she +should not. + +"That is why you are so irresistible," Edmonson longed to finish; he +even framed his lips for the words, but a glance at Elizabeth checked +them. He wondered why, as he felt that a few months ago he would have +spoken them unhesitatingly. It could not be because she was possibly +Archdale's wife, for to believe her not that would please her better +than anything else. Therefore, though he feared it, and had referred to +it, he would have been glad to have denied it at the next moment. He +would even have been glad to believe that he was restrained wholly +by a question of how she would view this speech in the light of the +possibility. But he knew it was something more. He had seen the change +in Elizabeth, and in smothered wrath had perceived that this growth +which made her every day more interesting seemed to be in some way +withdrawing her from him. He struggled against allowing this dim feeling +to become a perception. For she might be free; then she should become +his wife: she might be already bound; in that case,--again the terrible +shadow darkened his face for an instant. Then he recollected himself, +and his eyes, seeking a visible object, rested on her face a little sad +with its dwelling upon her unfinished sentence which would have spoken +of her mistakes. A flash of perception revealed the truth to him; he saw +the gulf that yawned between his nature and hers, and, almost cursing +her for being so above him, there came to him a strange longing to feel +some touch upon him which would give his face the calmness that under +its pathos he read upon hers. It was no determination to struggle to a +higher plane, no desire for it, but only the old cry for some one to be +sent to cool the tip of his tongue because the flame tormented him. It +was not, however, an appreciable lapse of time before he again felt his +feet upon the floor and thrilled under the light touch upon his arm. The +insight was over, the whirl was over; he was one of the guests talking +to his host's probable daughter-in-law. He went on with his subject. "At +least you have not changed your nature," he said with courteous freedom. +"You are royal still in defence of your friends. I shall not attack them +again." + +"You would better not," she answered more than half in earnest. + +"And Katie is--." + +"Yes, I know," he said. And she felt so keenly that he did know all +about it that she readily drew away from him when Archdale came up with +some one to speak to her. Stephen saw the movement; Edmonson felt it. +"Proud as Lucifer," thought the latter, "will not own where it galls +her. She is the kind to hate him if she is bound to him in this way." + +[Footnote 13: Copyright, 1884, by Frances C. Sparhawk.] + + * * * * * + + + + +PUBLISHERS' DEPARTMENT. + +NOTES. + + +The welcome accorded to the BAY STATE MONTHLY by the reading public of +New England during the past year has demonstrated the fact that the +magazine has entered a field in which there is room for it to thrive. To +many the idea of a local magazine is novel; so in its inception was the +idea of a local newspaper, now generously supported by nearly every +hamlet in the Union. + +The GRANITE MONTHLY for New Hampshire and the BAY STATE MONTHLY for +Masachusetts are pioneers: their claim for existence is shown by their +existence. The growth of each depends upon the patronage afforded by the +public. The indications now are that the BAY STATE MONTHLY is fairly +launched on a long and prosperous voyage. + + * * * * * + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BAY STATE MONTHLY *** + +***** This file should be named 17721.txt or 17721.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/7/2/17721/ + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by Cornell University Digital Collections) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/17721.zip b/17721.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8af4f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/17721.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aafa3d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #17721 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17721) |
