wrote well and accomplished a great deal as a careful and impressive
teacher of sound doctrine and Christian morality.
"Dr. Staunton was an accomplished scholar in scientific as well as
ecclesiastical learning, was skilled as a draughtsman and designed, I
remember, the screen of old St. Peter's when the chancel stood at the South
street end; and it was wonderfully good and effective of its kind. He was
also a trained musician, and at one time instructed a class of young ladies
in thorough-bass, among them being the two Misses Wetmore, my eldest
sister, and others, and, in addition to this, he made the choir while he
was here, both in the music used and its efficiency, a vast improvement
upon what it had been. He was a tall man, fully six feet, of a severe
countenance and rather austere manner, leading him to be thought sometimes
cold and unsympathetic, though really he was most kind and considerate, and
in all respects a devoted and watchful pastor. He published, I think, a
church dictionary later in life which is still a standard book and
authority.
"These are my impressions of Dr. Staunton received principally as a very
young boy, though confirmed by an acquaintance continued till his death,
and I retain the most sincere gratitude for the abiding faith in the sound
doctrine of the Episcopal Church which he, after my mother, so trained me
in that I have accepted them ever since as impregnable; and for this I am
sure there are many others of his pupils and parishioners besides myself to
'call him blessed.'"
Rev. Arthur Mitchell, D. D.
Rev. Dr. Mitchell was the third pastor of the South Street Presbyterian
Church, which was the fifth, says our historian, "in our galaxy of
churches." The time of his ministration, during which the church was
greatly enlarged, both internally and externally, was from 1861 to 1868.
Dr. Mitchell is the son of Matthew and Susan Swain Mitchell, and was born
in Hudson, N. Y. He was graduated at Williams College in 1853, was tutor
in Lafayette College, Pa., for one year, and then traveled for a year in
Europe and the East. Returning he entered the Union Theological Seminary of
New York City and was graduated from there in 1859. In this year he
accepted the charge of the Third Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Va., and
in Oct. 1861, he became pastor of what was then called, the "Second
Presbyterian Church" in Morristown. The first Presbyterian Church of
Chicago, Ill., claimed him in 1868 and in 1880 the First Presbyterian
Church of Cleveland, Ohio. In 1884, Dr. Mitchell became Secretary of the
Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church to which position he had been
called fifteen years before, but had felt constrained to decline. This
important office, which from his intense and life-long interest in the
great cause of Christian missions to the heathen world, he was remarkably
qualified to fill, he has held to the present time. In all his
ministrations, in each individual church which he has served, he has
succeeded in imparting his own love of, and interest in, Foreign Missions
and his position as Secretary of this department of the church organization
has enabled him to stimulate the great congregations and masses of
individuals throughout the denomination.
Dr. Mitchell's eloquence in the pulpit and on the platform, is so
well-known that it seems hardly worth while to refer to it. Mastering his
subject completely as he does, he has the rare power of condensing clearly
and giving out his thoughts in language and in tones of voice which hold
and attract his audience to the end. He has published no books, only
sermons and addresses in pamphlet form and innumerable articles in
magazines and newspapers. To the great value of this sort of literary work,
several of our distinguished authors have already testified. In the _Church
at Home and Abroad_, we find the most exhaustive articles from Dr.
Mitchell's pen, on the missions and conditions of the various countries of
the earth which he has also recently visited in a trip around the world.
These are all written from so large a standpoint that they are about as
interesting to the general reader as to the specialist. In the publication,
the "Concert of Prayer" many of these valuable papers are found and a
considerable number of his addresses, articles, &c., are bound among those
of other writers, in large volumes. In the next generation we find a writer
also, in Dr. Mitchell's daughter, Alice, who does not desire mention for
the reason that her writings are so fragmentary and scattered.
Nevertheless, her literary work has been considerable and cannot be easily
measured or described. One who knows her well, says: "Not many ladies are
better read in missionary annals." In an article of hers, of great
interest, published in the _Concert of Prayer for Church Work Abroad_, and
entitled "The Martyrs of Mexico," we come upon the story of the Rev. John
L. Stephens, previously mentioned in this book among "Travels", &c., and
who, Miss Mitchell tells us, was one of the earliest missionaries of the
Congregational church to Mexico.
We have already mentioned that Mr. Matthew Mitchell, the father of our
writer, lived in Morristown for many years and married for his second wife,
Miss Margaret, the daughter of the good Doctor John Johnes, and the
granddaughter of the good Pastor Johnes.
We give a short passage from the opening of Dr. Mitchell's Memorial Sermon
on James A. Garfield, delivered in the First Presbyterian Church of
Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 1881, and published by a number of
prominent men who requested the privilege:
FROM THE "MEMORIAL SERMON" ON JAMES A. GARFIELD.
We share, my friends, to-day, the greatest grief America has ever known. It
is no exaggeration to say that no one stroke of Providence has ever spread
throughout all our land such poignant and universal pain, or has been so
widely felt as a shock and a sorrow in every portion of the earth.
I am not using words without care. I do not forget those dreadful days of
April, sixteen years ago, when the slow procession passed from State to
State, bearing the remains of the beloved Lincoln to the tomb. But there
was one whole section of our land, it will be remembered, which had never
acknowledged him as their ruler, and had never viewed him alas! except as
their foe. Innumerable noble hearts there discussed the crime that laid him
low; but although they abhorred the assassin's crime, around his victim
their sentiments of confidence and admiration and loyalty had never been
gathered.
I do not forget the horror which smote the nation when Hamilton fell, the
universal pall of sorrow of which our fathers tell us,--the metropolis of
the country draped in black, the vast and solemn cortege, which amidst
weeping throngs, followed Hamilton through its chief avenue to the grave.
And as one heart, the hearts of Americans mourned for Washington. There
were friends of liberty who wept with them in every part of the world. But
liberty itself had not then so many friends on earth as now. By one great
nation Washington was held to have drawn a rebel sword. And against
another, our earlier ally, he had unsheathed it and stood prepared for war.
And even by the countrymen of Washington it could not be forgotten that he
had nearly fulfilled the allotted years of man. His work was done. His
years of war had won for his country the full liberty she sought. His eight
glorious years of Presidential life had organized the Government,
established its relations to foreign powers and made its bulwarks strong.
At his death it was even said that he had "deliberately dispelled the
enchantment of his own great name;" with wonderful unselfishness he himself
placed the helm in other hands, looked on for a time at the prosperity
which he had taught others to supply, and "convinced his country that she
depended less on him than either her enemies or her friends believed." And
then he died in the peaceful retirement of his home. It was the death of a
venerated father whose work was done.
Rev. Charles E. Knox, D. D.
For six or eight months in the midst of the Rev. Arthur Mitchell's
pastorate, a distinguished scholar of the Presbyterian Church, the Rev.
Charles E. Knox, D. D., filled Dr. Mitchell's place as pastor of the South
Street Church, Morristown, while the latter was absent in Europe and
Palestine. This period was from September 1863 to May 1864. When Dr.
Mitchell resigned in 1868, the present pastor, Rev. Dr. Erdman, was called
at Dr. Knox's suggestion. From 1864 to 1873, Dr. Knox was pastor of the
church at Bloomfield, N. J., and since that time has been President of the
German Theological School of Newark, which is located in Bloomfield. Dr.
Knox says, in writing of his sojourn in Morristown: "I had a happy time
with the good South street people and have retained always the liveliest
interest in all that belongs to them."
"A Year with St. Paul" had just been published when the charge of this
South Street Church was undertaken. It has since been translated into
Arabic at Beirut, Syria. "It is in good part," says the author, "a
compilation and condensation of Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of
St. Paul", (then in two large and expensive volumes), with some original
matter. It has a chapter for every Sunday of the year.
Dr. Knox began in Morristown a series of "Graduated Sunday School Text
Books,"--Primary Year, Second Year, Third Year, Fourth Year and Senior
Year. This was an introduction of the secular graded system into Sunday
School Teaching. It introduced the Quarterly Review which has since been
followed.
"David the King," a life of David with section maps inserted in the page
and a location of the Psalms in his life, was published later at
Bloomfield.
Rev. Albert Erdman, D. D.
The Rev. Dr. Erdman is entitled to honorable mention among Morristown
writers. He has been the faithful pastor of the South Street Presbyterian
Church since May 1869, following the Rev. Arthur Mitchell, D. D. It was
during his ministry that in 1877, the church edifice was totally consumed
by fire, and the beautiful new building located on its site, in the late
Byzantine style. It is said by one who knows and appreciates Dr. Erdman's
work that "few men read more or digest better their reading."
For several years, he has prepared "Notes on the International Sunday
School Lessons", for a monthly periodical published in Toronto, Canada.
A number of sermons have been published by request, among them the "Sermon
on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the South Street Presbyterian Church".
Addresses on "Prophetic and other Bible Studies" have been printed in
Annual Reports of the Bible Conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario,
and, besides these, many fugitive newspaper articles of value and
importance.
Dr. Erdman has been largely interested in the general welfare, and
especially the philanthropies, of the town, outside of his immediate
church, and by this public spirit, earnestly and fearlessly manifested, in
many instances, he has no doubt greatly extended his sphere of influence.
He has been a warm supporter of, and has given much time and personal
attention to the establishment of the Morris County Charities Aid
Association and of the State Association which followed, carefully studying
the questions of pauper and criminal reform for which purpose this
organization exists.
In the Semi-Centennial Sermon we find the following remarkable record:
EXTRACT FROM THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL SERMON ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
CHURCH'S ORGANIZATION.
I must note the unique fact that the history of these fifty years of Church
life is the history of uninterrupted prosperity. Even that which seemed at
the time to be against us--the destruction by fire of the former house of
worship--proved to be, as are all the Lord's afflictions, a blessing in
disguise; for the history of the church since is that of continued and
ever-increasing prosperity, if growing numbers and enlarged usefulness be
criterion of success. A spirit of harmony and goodwill mark its whole
course, and it is, therefore, with unmingled pleasure and gratitude to God,
we may recall the past. No roots of bitterness and strife to be covered up,
no rocks of offense to be carefully avoided!
* * * * *
How the memories of the past throng around us--the saintly lives of fathers
and mothers, the godly service and earnest prayers of pastors and people,
the fervent appeals from pulpit and teacher's chair,--surely it would seem
there could be no valid reason why any should be still unsaved or unwilling
to take up the duties of Christian service.
Finally, as we here recall the story of the past and rejoice in the
prosperity of the present, and while we look forward to still larger
service and blessing in the days to come, let us, with a deep sense of our
unworthiness and dependence, say, with the Psalmist: "Not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us; but unto Thy name be all glory."
Rev. Joseph M. Flynn, R. D.
The Roman Catholic Church in Morristown erected its first building in 1847.
It was a small wooden structure, with seating capacity for about 300 people
and is now used by the parish school. It was in 1871 that the first priest
in full charge, Rev. James Sheeran, was stationed here, and at his death in
1881, the Rev. Joseph M. Flynn succeeded, who has continued in charge of
the parish to the present time. He was named "Dean of the Catholics in
Morris and Sussex Counties" about six years ago.
This author has recently published a book, (Morristown, N. J., 1892), "The
Story of a Parish" from the first chapter of which we quote. Also he has
written some magazine articles and a brochure on "Lent and How to Spend
it." He is now preparing for publication a volume of short sermons.
"The Story of a Parish" is the story of the foundation and development of
this parish of the Church of the Assumption, in Morristown.
In the opening chapter, the author says:
"We know that Raphael, Bramante, and Michel Angelo threw into St. Peter's
the very heart and soul of their inspiration, to erect to the living God
such a temple as the eye of man had never gazed upon.
"But there are other monuments which thrill no less the beholder, and the
names of their creators sleep in an impenetrable obscurity. The
cross-crowned fane, lifting to the highest heaven the sign of man's
redemption, may tell us neither of him whose genius conceived nor of the
toilers whose strong arm and cunning eye, in the burning heats of Summer,
or in the chilling blasts of Winter, unfolded to the wondering crowds who
daily watched their labors, step by step, inch by inch, the beauties whose
finished product Time has preserved to us in many a shire of Britain; by
the glistening lakes and verdant vales of Erin; in sunny Italy, in fair
France, and in the hallowed soil bathed by our own Potomac. To the humble
laborer who dug the trenches, to the artist whose chisel carved foliage or
cusp or capital, a share in our grateful memory is due."
Rev. George Harris Chadwell.
The group of people who originated the idea of forming a second Episcopal
Church in Morristown, perfected their plans in 1852. The following year
the church building was erected. The first rector, Rev. J. H. Tyng, assumed
his duties in September, 1852. The Rev. W. G. Sumner accepted a call to the
parish in 1870. As he is now Professor of Political Economy at Yale
University--he will come, with his specialty, into a later group. In 1880,
Rev. George H. Chadwell became rector of the parish, coming from Brooklyn
where he had been assistant to the Rev. Charles Hall, D. D., rector of
Trinity Church of that City.
Mr. Chadwell courageously undertook the removal of the church edifice from
the spot where it had stood since 1854, on the corner of Morris and Pine
streets, to its present site on South street, on which occasion he
delivered one of his important "Addresses" which was published and largely
distributed. He lived to see his aim accomplished and not long after gave,
in the church again, on what proved to be the last Sunday of his life, a
sermon, which was also published under the title of "A Farewell Discourse."
Mr. Chadwell also published a monthly paper during his rectorship, called
_The Rector's Assistant_, and wrote in other directions.
In the "Address on the Occasion of the Re-opening of the Edifice for Divine
service," August 22, 1886, we find a reference to the interesting history
of the land on which the building now stands, and its association with
many of the old families of Morristown, as follows:
"Originally the ground we are now occupying belonged to the first
Presbyterian Church, which at that date constituted the only religious
society in the town, and owned all the land on the east side of South
street as far down as Pine street. This plot of ours formed a part of what
was designated the parsonage lot. The first sale of it took place in
November of 1795, the same year the white church on the Green was dedicated
and opened for Divine worship. The consideration was one hundred and twenty
pounds, money worth about $300 in the currency of the United States. The
Trustees whose names appear in the deed are Silas Condict, Benjamin
Lindsley, Jonathan Ford, John Mills, Richard Johnson, Jonathan Ogden and
Benjamin Pierson--names which are still represented in our community. The
purchaser was the Rev. James Richards. This gentleman was at the time the
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, being the third in succession to
that office. His ministry covered a period of fourteen years and was
remarkably successful.
* * * * *
"On his departure from Morristown Dr. Richards sold the property we are now
describing. The price realized was $4,000. From which I infer that there
had been erected upon it the house which we propose to convert into a
rectory. Otherwise I can not account for so great an increase in the value
of the land as took place. * * * The new owner proved to be the Rev. Samuel
Fisher, the successor of Dr Richards in the pastorate of the church. Mr.
Fisher was the son of Jonathan Fisher, a native of this town. * * * In
1813, under his auspices, the Female Charitable Society of Morristown, our
most venerable eleemosynary institution, was founded, Mr. Fisher's wife
being elected to the honored position of its first President. * * * It was
somewhere about this time that Mrs. Wetmore, the widow of a British
officer, opened on this site a private school for girls." (Mrs. Wetmore was
the mother of Mrs. James Colles who long lived, in summer, upon the large
estate now opened to the city, in streets and avenues, and largely built
upon. She was also the mother of Charles Wetmore, the artist who painted
the picture of "Old Morristown," in 1815, now in possession of Hon.
Augustus W. Cutler, to whose courtesy we are indebted for the privilege of
having made from it the fine pen and ink sketch of Miss Suzy Howell, for
the frontispiece of this book.) "From 1814 to 1829, our property passed
through the hands successively of Israel Canfield, James Wood and Silas
Condict. During this period, or rather a portion of it, one of New Jersey's
most promising lawyers resided on this spot. I refer to Mr. William
Miller, an older brother of our late United States Senator, the Hon. J. W.
Miller. * * * A citizen of Morristown who was personally acquainted with
him has lately written me: 'The noble character and the brilliant career of
this young lawyer, which were cut short by his untimely death, are still
remembered with lively interest by some of our oldest inhabitants.'
"In 1829 the property again changed hands, the purchaser being Miss Mary
Louisa Mann. Her father was the editor of _The Morris County Gazette_
afterwards known as _The Genius of Liberty_, and of _The Palladium of
Liberty_, the first newspapers issued in Morristown. He also published in
1805 an edition of the Holy Scriptures, which gained considerable notoriety
as 'The Armenian Bible,' from the error occurring in Heb. vi:4, 'For it is
possible for those who have once been enlightened ... if they shall fall
away to renew them again unto repentance.' Miss Mann, now Mrs. Lippincott,
of Succasunna, together with her sister, Miss Sarah, put up the building
which is to serve us hereafter as a Sunday School room and church parlor.
It was erected to meet the wants of a female seminary established by them
in 1822, and which had grown under their efficient management so popular
that its advantages were sought by pupils from all quarters. Since the
close of the school the buildings occupied by it have been used as a
boarding house. As such their hospitality has been enjoyed by numbers
whose names are familiar to us in connection with important features of our
national existence, finance, war and art. I mention in particular the
Belmonts, the Perrys, the Rogers, the Enningers. And here in the front
parlor of this same boarding house in the summer of 1851, when it had been
determined to found a new parish, the first meeting of its originators was
held. 'In that room,' to quote the language of one present on the occasion,
'the infant Church was christened The Church of the Redeemer, and from that
day it lived; very feebly at first, not a very strong child, but tenderly
nurtured, always slowly gaining, until now, after thirty-four years, it
promises to grow in strength and to have a powerful future.' Our immediate
predecessor in the title to the land was Mr. George W. King, who acquired
it in 1854 for the sum of $8,000."
Of the character of the church, Rev. Mr. Chadwell says:
"This Church then, I may observe, has always been conservative in its
character. Those who founded it gave to it this tone. They were men opposed
in mind and temperament to that mediaeval type of theology which had begun
to prevail in their day, and which has since become popular in various
quarters. They were out of sympathy with the movement which was then
aiming, and which has since succeeded in undoing much the reforming
divines of the sixteenth century accomplished. They were averse, for
example, to everything that savors of sacerdotalism--to the doctrines which
convert the ambassador of Christ into a sacrificing priest, the communion
table into a veritable altar, and the eucharist into a sacrifice and
constant miracle. Elaborate rites and ceremonies, in which some find a
delight, and perhaps a help, were distasteful to them. They felt themselves
unable to derive edification from these sources. On the other hand, they
were in harmony with what may be denominated the protestant tendencies of
our Communion. Of the name itself of protestant they had not learned to be
ashamed. They believed in the principles of the great Reformation of three
centuries ago. They did not judge its promoters deluded men, nor pronounce
them to have 'died for a cause not worth dying for.' They honored them as
God-enlightened, and venerated them as heroes and martyrs. The changes
these effected in dogma and in ritual they regarded not as mistakes, but as
advances in the right direction--from error towards truth. They looked to
Christ as their only priest, to His cross as their only altar and to his
death thereon as the only atonement for their sin. They loved simplicity of
worship and cultivated it in their public devotions. In fine, they were
content and best satisfied with that plain system of teaching and practice
which the Prayer Book as we have it now seems most naturally to favor. At
least this is the impression of these men which I have received from
reading the record and memorials of themselves they have left behind. So
when they organized this parish it was along these lines which I have
indicated. And from its inception to the present moment it has retained,
with perhaps some unessential modifications, the stamp they gave it."
Rev. William M. Hughes, S. T. D.
The Rev. Dr. Hughes, who succeeded the Rev. George H. Chadwell, in 1887, as
rector of the Church of the Redeemer should have followed our little
group--within this group--of editors and theologians, except that he has
present charge of a parish, which they have not. He was officially on the
editorial staff and in the editorial department of _The Churchman_ during
1887 and 1888, and has written for editorial and other departments both
before and since. For _The Church Journal_ also, as well as other, and
secular papers, he has written articles and editorials on various topics,
from time to time.
Dr. Hughes was born at Little Falls, New York, and losing both parents
early in life, removed to Frankfort, Kentucky, among his mother's
relatives. From boarding-school in Ohio, he entered Kenyon College, Class
of '71. At the end of Freshman year he went to Hobart College and was
graduated there at the head of his class in 1871. During 1871-'72, he
studied in Berlin, Germany, and was graduated in 1875 from the General
Theological Seminary, New York. The same year he became rector of St.
John's Church, Buffalo, N. Y., one of the most important parishes of the
diocese of Western New York. This charge he resigned in 1883, to accept a
position of honor to which he had been unanimously elected, in Hobart
College, Geneva, N. Y.,--namely, the Chaplaincy of the College and
Professorship of "Philosophy and Christian Evidences," the latter
department having been hitherto held by the President of the College. It
was with great regret, that the people of Buffalo as well as the people of
St. John's parish, parted with both Dr. and Mrs. Hughes, if we may judge
from all that was expressed in the press on the occasion of their
departure. "Here," says one writer, "they will be missed, not only by those
with whom they were closely associated in church or neighborhood
relationship, but more especially by the sick, the humble, the troubled,
and the needy, for whose consolation and comfort they have so unselfishly
labored, in many parts of the city, during the last seven years. A thousand
blessings follow them."
In 1887, Dr. Hughes became an associate editor of _The Churchman_ and
Rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Morristown. He is a member of the
Executive Council of the Church Temperance Society and Corresponding
Secretary of the _University Board of Regents_ and originator of the
scheme.
Among Dr. Hughes' writings is an important brochure on Boys' Guilds,
published under the auspices of the Church Temperance Society, and entitled
"Hints for the Formation of Bands of Young Crusaders." In this he discusses
"one of the most practical questions before the Church, and the one which
the busy rector often asks in sheer bewilderment, if not despair: 'What
shall be done with the boys of the Church, from the ages of ten to
seventeen?'" He also offers the solution in a plan of organization for one,
among many works, which may interest and occupy them, thus training them as
the boys of the Church to become the men of the Church.
In the _Magazine of Christian Literature_ for September 1892, we find the
leading article to be from the pen of Dr. Hughes, on "The Convergence of
Darwinism and the Bible." "The conclusions here reached," the author tells
us, "have been subjected, during the past eight years, to efficient
criticism and repeated examinations." It is proposed that these articles
shall continue and finally appear in book form. Of this article, a
prominent clergyman of the Church, whose opinion weighs for much, and whose
words we have asked the privilege of giving, writes Rev. Dr. Hughes, as
follows: "I am deeply moved in recognizing the penetration, the sublimity
and sweetness of your essay in the September number of the _Magazine of
Christian Literature_. I trust No. 1. is prophetic of future numbers.
"You have made a great discovery and you disclose it with great power and
beauty. How wonderful is this converging witness of Nature and the Spirit,
Faith and Science to the approaching Day of the Son of Man. No question,
the Day is swiftly coming. Its light is on the hills. The many signs of His
approach and His appearing seem to fill the air and make the spirit tremble
with holy fear and gladness. The Lord hasten the Day. Let us prepare
ourselves with joy to greet Him. Meantime, we may greet one another in the
full assurance of faith, as I you, brother, by these presents."
* * * * *
From a Paper in _The Magazine of Christian Literature_ of September 1892,
on--
"THE CONVERGENCE OF DARWINISM AND THE BIBLE CONCERNING MAN AND THE SUPREME
BEING."
Science and religion are in reality dealing with the same phenomena.
Immense human and personal interests are involved in them. Neither can be
discussed in the absolutely "dry light" of sheer intellectuality.
Consequences of immense import to the individual character, to the social
well-being, and to eternal hopes flow directly from each.
If, by scientific methods, which are plainly sound, conclusions are reached
that are directly at variance with the religious faith of the vast
majority, both a social and an intellectual as well as an ethical
revolution is threatening.
Or if by religious methods traditions are established which deny room to
the conclusions of progressive human thought, religion inevitably invites
scepticism, the casting off of all traditions, and the unfortunate disclaim
of that which is forever true in faith.
There are not a few of us to whom our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is
dearer far than the most acute thinker in the domain of human speculation
or the profoundest student of the world as it is.
If it come to an attack or a logical denial of that which He is and
teaches, we do not hesitate to make a personal matter of it.
If Darwinism, _e. g._, as a system of ultimate postulates demands that we
yield up the Lord of Life to be crucified afresh by the powers of the
world, Darwinism, as such, will get no quarter. Getting no quarter, it will
give none, and it becomes an internecine strife that knows no truce and
admits no peace until the one or the other lies dead on the field of
contest.
But if, as a matter of fact, such a conflict is really illogical, hasty,
and essentially inimical to both modern science, and to the Christian
faith, then much is gained not only for peace, but still more for truth.
It is the direct object of this article to demonstrate, so far as
demonstration is possible, that the theory of Darwin, instead of
antagonizing, tends irresistibly to affirm the most fundamental truths of
the Bible as commonly held by the so-called orthodox Christian world. Nay,
more, not only to affirm, but to give them greater power.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS AND LAWYERS.
At this point, we must confess to a sensation of being overwhelmed with an
embarrassment of riches, for what shall we do with the distinguished men
who follow, and bring our little book within its covers? That we may have
no more continuous extracts from their works, reluctantly we find ourselves
compelled to realize.
Hon. Jacob W. Miller.
We are indebted to Edward Q. Keasbey, Esq., grandson of Mr. Miller, for the
facts and data of the following brief sketch.
The Hon. Jacob W. Miller was born in November, 1800, in German Valley,
Morris County, N. J. He studied law in Morristown with his brother, William
W. Miller from 1818 to 1823, when he was licensed to practice as attorney.
He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court as counsellor in 1826 and
in 1837 he was called to the degree of Sergeant at Law and he was one of
the last to whom the degree was given. He had a large practice in
Morristown and was one of the leading advocates at the circuit in Sussex
and Warren as well as Morris Counties. Mr. Elmer in his reminiscences says:
"He was distinguished not only as a fervent and impressive speaker, but for
patient industry, faithfulness and tact. He was distinguished also for that
sound common sense which is above all other sense, and was, by its
exhibition in public and private, a man of great personal influence."
In 1838 he was elected a member of the Council, as the State Senate was
then called, and in 1840, he was elected by the Whig party to the Senate of
the United States. He was elected again in 1846, and remained in the Senate
until 1852. He did not speak very often, but when he spoke it was after a
careful study of the subject and his words carried the greater weight. He
spoke with wisdom and eloquence. A large number of these speeches are
published in scattered pamphlets or in volumes among others. They have
never been collected. One of the earliest of these important speeches was
on the resolutions of the day in favor of a protective tariff. On May 23,
1844, Mr. Miller delivered a speech against the treaty for annexing Texas
to the United States. The objections to the treaty as stated by him, are of
considerable interest in the present day. He opposed the annexation on the
ground that it was using the National Government to give an advantage to
the Slave States. "Slavery," he said was "a matter to be regulated and
controlled by the States, and neither to be interfered with nor extended by
the National Government. New Jersey had abolished slavery herself and did
not ask any territory into which to send her slaves." On Feb'y 21, 1850, he
spoke upon the "Proposition to Compromise the Slavery Question" and in
favor of the admission of California into the Union.
Among others of his speeches, were those "On the Exploration of the
Interior of Africa and in favor of the Independence of Liberia", delivered
in the Senate of the United States, March 1853; "In Defence of the American
Doctrine of Non-Intervention", delivered in the Senate of the U. S. Feb.
26, 1852; "On the Mexican War and the Mode of Bringing it to a Speedy and
Favorable Conclusion", Feb. 2, 1847; "On the Ten Regiments Bill", Feb. 8,
1848, against the prosecution of the Mexican War. Mr. Miller worked and
spoke earnestly in favor of "Establishing and Encouraging an American Line
of Steamers". On April 22, 1852, he delivered a carefully prepared speech
in favor of sustaining the Collins line of Mail Steamers, and advocated the
policy of a subsidy for carrying the mails, which was successful then and
has now again been adopted, already resulting in the restoration of the
American flag to the transatlantic steamers.
Besides these speeches in the Senate, Mr. Miller delivered a good many
addresses and orations. Among these was an oration delivered in Morristown
on the Fourth of July, 1851. Even then he foreboded the attempt to break up
the Union and, speaking of Secession as rebellion, he maintained the power
of the Nation under the Constitution to defend the Union. Several addresses
were delivered before historical societies and some in the direction of the
agricultural interests of the country. Before the New Jersey Historical
Society in Trenton, he spoke of "The Iron State, Its Natural Position,
Power and Wealth", Jan. 19, 1854. Before the Bristol Agricultural Society
at New Bedford, Mass., Sept. 28, 1854, he spoke on "American Agriculture;
its Development and Influence at Home and Abroad".
Hon. William Burnet Kinney.
Mr. Kinney, whose wife, Elizabeth C. Kinney and whose grandson, Alexander
Nelson Easton, have already been represented among our poets, may be
claimed by Morristown, for his associations of boyhood and of many years in
later life. A man of unusual culture, no one who knew him could forget the
charm of his courtly manners and delightful conversation. He founded _The
Newark Daily Advertiser_, in 1833. It was then the only daily newspaper in
the State, and uniting with it _The Sentinel of Freedom_, a long
established weekly paper, he gave to the journal a tone so high that it was
said of him, "his literary criticisms, contained in it, had more influence
upon the opinions of literary men than those of any other journalist of the
time." He was fortunate in having an accomplished son, Thomas T. Kinney,
Esq., of Newark, N. J., to follow in his footsteps and continue the
editorial work he had begun in this leading New Jersey paper. From Mr.
Thomas T. Kinney we have a few words of reminiscence written in reply to
the question of a friend as to what his father's early associations with
Morristown might have been.
"My father," he says, "was born at Speedwell, Morris County (in the edge
of Morristown). I think it was in the house afterwards owned and occupied
by the late Judge Vail, and the same in which his son Alfred lived. He
invented the telegraph alphabet of dots and lines, which made Morse's
system practicable, and it is still used.
"Speedwell is on a stream upon which there were mill-sites, owned and
worked by my father's ancestry and there is a tradition in the family that
his uncle in trying to save a mill during a freshet lost his life and the
body was afterwards found through a dream by another member of the family.
The lake at Speedwell was a picturesque spot and Sully, the artist, painted
his great picture of the 'Lady of the Lake' there, the subject being
Lucretia Parsons, a beautiful girl whose family came from the West Indies
and settled in the neighborhood. Lucretia married a Mr. Charles King who
lived at the Park House in Newark and had the original sketch from which
Sully painted the head in the picture. My father was intimate in the family
and I think that some of his ancestry rest in the burial ground of the old
Presbyterian Church at Morristown,--from all of which we may infer that
many of his youthful days were passed there."
Mr. Kinney studied under Mr. Whelpley, author of "The Triangle", and
subsequently studied under Joseph C. Hornblower, of Newark. In 1820 he
began his editorial life in Newark, which he continued with slight
interruption until his appointment in 1851, as United States Minister to
Sardinia. "In this position of honor," it is said, "he represented his
country with rare ability." With Count Cavour and other men of eminence in
Sardinia, he discussed the movement for the unification of Italy. For
important services rendered to Great Britain, Lord Palmerston sent him a
special despatch of acknowledgment and by his own foresight, judgment and
prompt action in the case of the exiled Kossuth, he saved the United States
from enlisting in a foreign complication. During his life abroad, at the
expiration of his term of office as Minister to Sardinia, while residing in
Florence, Mr. Kinney became deeply interested in the romantic history of
the Medici family. He began a historical work on this subject, to be
entitled, "The History of Tuscany", which promised to be of great
importance, but although carried far on to completion, it was not finished
when his life ended. In Florence Mr. and Mrs. Kinney were constantly in the
society of the Brownings, the Trollopes and others of literary distinction.
Mr. Kinney, besides his editorial writing, delivered, by request, a number
of important orations which were published. The last of these, "On the
Bi-Centennial of the Settlement of Newark", and delivered on the occasion
of that celebration, we find in a volume published in 1866, entitled
"Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society".
Hon. Theodore F. Randolph
Theodore F. Randolph was born in New Brunswick June 24, 1826. His father,
James F. Randolph, for thirty-six years publisher and editor of _The
Fredonian_, was of Revolutionary stock, belonging to the Virginia family,
and for eight years represented the Whig Party in Congress. The son
received a liberal education and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He
frequently contributed articles to his father's paper when still a youth.
In 1850 he took up his residence in Hudson County, where he resided twelve
years and until he removed to Morristown. In 1852 he married a daughter of
Hon. W. B. Coleman, of Kentucky, and a granddaughter of Chief Justice
Marshall. In 1860 he with others of the American party formed a coalition
with the Democrats to whom he ever after adhered. In 1861 he was elected to
the State Senate for unexpired term and in the following year he was
re-elected and served till 1865. In 1867, he was made President of the
Morris and Essex Railroad and continued to act as such until the lease was
made to the Delaware and Lackawanna Company. In 1868, he was elected
Governor of the State and proved a most able and independent Chief
Magistrate. In January, 1875, he was elected to the United States Senate in
which he served a full term of six years. In 1873 he was one of the four
who formed and carried out the design of making the Washington Headquarters
"a historic place". His sudden death on the seventh day of November, 1883,
shocked the whole community in whose affections he filled so large a place.
Gov. Randolph was a man of most genial manner, honorable in all his
business transactions and most liberal-minded and fearless as a legislator.
Says one who knew him intimately: "He filled well all the duties to which
his fellow-citizens called him."
But it is as a writer that his name appears here. His messages to the
Legislature while Governor and his speeches in the United States Senate are
known of all and bear the impress of his character. These are scattered
through numerous public documents and have never yet been collected in book
form. His many contributions to the press were mostly political. In 1871,
he pronounced an oration at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument on our
public square, which was published in our County papers, and on July 5,
1875, at the celebration of the National holiday at Headquarters, he made
the eloquent address, which is the best specimen of his skill. This address
is given, entire, in Hon. Edmund D. Halsey's "History of the Washington
Association of New Jersey".
Hon. Edward W. Whelpley.
Chief Justice Whelpley, by the high order of his judicial qualities rose
rapidly from the Bar to the Bench. He was the only son of Dr. William A.
Whelpley, a native of New England and a practicing physician in Morristown.
Dr. Whelpley was a cousin of the Rev. Samuel Whelpley who wrote "The
Triangle". The mother of Judge Whelpley was a daughter of General John Dodd
of Bloomfield, N. J., and a sister of the distinguished Amzi Dodd,
Prosecutor of Morris County. He was graduated, at Princeton, with
distinction, at the early age of sixteen; studied law with his uncle, Amzi
Dodd and began its practice in Newark, N. J. In 1841 he removed to
Morristown and became a partner of the late Hon. J. W. Miller. He was
first appointed to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
and in a few years became Chief Justice.
The late Attorney-General Frelinghuysen said of him: "Chief Justice
Whelpley's most marked attributes of character were intellectual. The
vigorous thinking powers of his mother's family were clearly manifest in
him. No one could have known his uncle, Amzi Dodd, without being struck
with the marked resemblance between them. The Chief Justice was well read
in his profession, familiar with books, and yet he was a thinker rather
than a servile follower of precedent. He was a first class lawyer. He
sought out and founded himself on principles. He did not stick to the mere
bark of a subject. He had confidence in his conclusions and he had a right
to have it, for they logically rested upon fundamental truths. But while
his intellectual characteristics were most marked, he had admirable moral
traits. He felt the responsibilities of life and met them. He was no
trifler. He had integrity, which, at the bar and on the bench, was beyond
all suspicion".
And Courtlandt Parker, his intimate and life-long friend said of him:
"Intellectually, his qualities were rare. He was made for a Judge. Judicial
position was his great aim and desire, and when he attained it, his whole
mind was devoted to its duties; they were enjoyment to him; he felt his
strength, and was determined not merely to be a judge, but such a judge as
would honor his exaltation, and exercise eminently that high usefulness
which belongs to that office".
Chief Justice Whelpley may be justly ranked among important writers of the
legal profession. His legal opinions found in the Law Reports are
characterized by strength, independence and knowledge of the principles of
law.
Hon. Jacob Vanatta.
In a city so honored in the number of its distinguished legal minds, it
need not be a surprise to find such a man as Jacob Vanatta, but of only a
few can it be said as was truly remarked of him: "His practice grew until,
at the time of his death, it was probably the largest in the State. His
reputation advanced with his practice, and for years he stood at the head
of the New Jersey Bar, as an able, faithful, conscientious and untiring
advocate and counsel. He may be truly called one of the greatest of
corporation lawyers. He was for years the regular Counsel of the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, of the Central Railroad Company,
and more or less of many other corporations, and his engagements have
carried him frequently before the highest Courts of New York, Pennsylvania
and of the United States Supreme Court".
The Rev. Rufus S. Green, D. D., said, in his beautiful funeral discourse:
"Mr. Vanatta died at the age of fifty-four--an old man worn out by
overwork". "Be warned", he continues, "by the sad example of him whom
to-day you sincerely mourn of an exhausted brain and prematurely enfeebled
body. Take needed rest, cessation from labor, and frequent holidays".
The character of Mr. Vanatta's talent was wholly different from that of
Judge Whelpley. The one rose brilliantly and suddenly, driven out by the
force of an inborn genius, the other attained to what he was through
untiring industry and plodding labor.
"More than any man I have ever known, from his clerkship to his death",
says Mr. Theodore Little, into whose office Mr. Vanatta entered a student
in the year 1845, "he seemed to have engraved on his very heart the motto,
'_Perseverantia vincit omnia_,' and in that sign he conquered and achieved
his success".
Mr. Vanatta's published writings are mostly articles on political
questions and many speeches and addresses, which were often reprinted. One
of these in particular, made a profound impression. It was delivered at
Rahway, when our civil war was threatening, and contained a strong argument
and appeal for the Union.
Hon. George T. Werts.
Our present Governor of New Jersey, Hon. George T. Werts, was born at
Hackettstown, N. J., March 24th, 1846, and was admitted to the bar in 1867.
He was Recorder of Morristown from May 1883 to 1885, and was elected Mayor
in May 1886, again in 1888 and in 1890. During the session of the State
Senate in 1889, he served as President of the Senate, and was re-elected
Senator in the same year. During his time as Senator, he served on many of
the most important Committees and the new Ballot Reform Law and the new
License Law were both drafted by him; laws which embrace, perhaps, the most
radical change of any recently enacted.
While Mayor of Morristown some of the most important ordinances of the
city were of his drafting; indeed while Mayor, he paid particular attention
to every ordinance drafted.
Early in 1892 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey,
resigning the offices of State Senator and Mayor of Morristown to accept
this honor, and he resigned the position of Judge to accept that of
Governor, to which office he was elected in November, 1892.
Many speeches and addresses of Governor Werts have been published in the
metropolitan and State papers, and in pamphlet form. Several are scattered
through large volumes containing the speeches and addresses of others.
These are mostly political, but some are on other subjects, and have been
delivered before juries and at reunions, in the Senate, and on other
occasions. Among these published papers are also opinions and decisions
while Judge of the Supreme Court.
Joseph Fitz Randolph.
Mr. Randolph has issued a valuable work, known to us as "Jarman on Wills",
1881 and 1882, being the fifth American edition by Mr. Randolph and Mr.
William Talcott. This work adds a third volume to a famous two-volume
English book.
In 1888, was issued "Randolph on Commercial Paper", which work is of three
volumes and contains 3,300 pages on bills, notes, &c., and is considered by
the legal profession to be quite exhaustive of the subject. "These", says
the author, "are legal monsters into which lawyers dig and delve and which
settle knotty questions no doubt, but which probably will not be thoroughly
investigated by women, until Fashion or Famine shall drive them into the
legal profession".
Again we may quote the author's words, when he says in his usual happy vein
of humor, about all his important legal productions, that "they are a
necessary nuisance to the maker's friends and the unwilling buyers, that
there is no end of making many such, and that they might be written down in
line, on a heavy page with some of his brother writers on other abstruse
subjects and set in a minor key".
Edward Q. Keasbey.
In one of the large New York dailies of August 1892, we read the following:
"Mr. Keasbey, the well known New Jersey lawyer, has some hundred pages on
'Electric Wires in Streets and Highways,' a new subject of growing
importance." This refers to a law book published by Mr. Keasbey entitled
"The Law of Electric Wires in streets and Highways", Callaghan and Co.,
Chicago. Mr. Keasbey has also edited _The New Jersey Law Journal_ since
1879 and _The Hospital Review_ since 1888.
SCIENTISTS.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse, LL. D.
Nothing could be more romantic than the story of the Telegraph, the
practical application of which began in Morristown, for it is morally
certain that without the enthusiastic confidence in its success generously
manifested by Alfred Vail, the young inventor, and his father Judge Stephen
Vail, who freely contributed of his means to the experiments of Professor
Morse, this great gift to the world would have been indefinitely delayed.
[Illustration: SPEEDWELL IRON WORKS,
AS REPRESENTED ON AN ANCIENT INVOICE.]
Morse was poor. He had exhausted his means by the necessary time and
thought given to the development of his conception, when the value of this
work was realized by these two men. It was as an artist, that Morse went
first to Speedwell, on October 29, 1837, to observe the progress of his new
machinery which was being prepared there at the Speedwell Iron Works
belonging to Judge Vail, by Alfred Vail and his assistant, William Baxter.
Morse had accepted a commission, doubtless given him as a means of
relieving his pecuniary stress, to paint the portraits of several members
of Judge Vail's household. It will be remembered, that besides his great
invention, Professor Morse was an artist of considerable reputation, as
well as an author. In his youth, it is said, he was more strongly marked by
his fondness for art than for science. He was a pupil of Washington
Allston, a member of the Royal Academy, and studied with Benjamin West. He
painted the portraits of many distinguished men, among them the then
President of the United States, James Monroe, for the city of Charleston;
and, later, Fitz Greene Halleck and Chancellor Kent, now in the Astor
Library, and the full length portrait of Lafayette for the city of New
York. He was one of the founders and was first President of the National
Academy of Design, and it was on his return from the pursuit of his renewed
study of art abroad that he met with the remarkable experience which turned
his attention from art to invention and gave him his life work. In a letter
written to Alfred Vail by Professor Morse, and given in Mr. Vail's book on
"The American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph", (page 153), we find the
following account:
"In 1826, the lectures before the New York Atheneum, of Dr. J. F. Dana, who
was my particular friend, gave to me the first knowledge ever possessed of
electro magnetism, and some of the properties of the electro magnet; a
knowledge which I made available in 1832, as the basis of my own plan of an
electro telegraph. I claim to be the original suggestor and inventor of the
electric magnetic telegraph, on the 19th of October, 1832, on board the
packet ship Sully, on my voyage from France to the United States and,
consequently, the inventor of the first really _practicable telegraph on
the electric principle_. The plan then conceived and drawn out in all its
essential characteristics, is the one now in successful operation."
Professor Morse had more honors and medals than perhaps any American
living. He belonged to a distinguished literary family. His two brothers
founded _The New York Observer_ in 1823. This is now the oldest weekly in
New York and the oldest religious paper in the State. As an author, he
wielded the pen of a ready writer. He not only published controversial
pamphlets concerning the telegraph, but contributed articles and poems to
many magazines and edited the works of Lucretia Maria Davidson,
accompanying them by a personal memoir. He published in 1835, a book
entitled, "Foreign Conspiracy against the Liberties of the United States;
Imminent Dangers to the Free Institutions of the United States through
Foreign Immigration and the Present State of the Naturalization Laws, by
an American". Later were published "Confessions of a French Catholic
Priest, to which are added Warnings to the People of the United States, by
the Same Author", (edited and published with an introduction, 1837), and
"Our Liberties Defended, the Question Discussed, is the Protestant or Papal
System most favorable to Civil and Religious Liberty".
Alfred Vail.
To Alfred Vail belongs a place of honor, as the author of a valuable book
on "The American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph", and a place of honor, also,
as having been the man to perceive, at a critical moment, the importance to
the world of the great invention of Professor Morse. He was among the
spectators who witnessed the first operation of the electro-magnetic
telegraph at the New York University and saw then, for the first time, the
apparatus. Of this occasion he writes as follows: "I was struck with the
rude machine, containing, as I believed, the germ of what was destined to
produce great changes in the condition and relations of mankind." Again,
he says, "I rejoiced to carry out the plans of Professor Morse. I promised
him assistance, provided he would admit me to a share of the invention,--to
which proposition he assented. I returned to my rooms, locked my door,
threw myself upon the bed and gave myself up to the reflections upon the
mighty results which were certain to follow the introduction of this new
agent in serving the wants of the world". With this intense conviction,
young Vail communicated his enthusiasm to his father, Judge Stephen Vail,
who owned the Speedwell Iron Works and who generously supplied the means by
which the plans for the electric telegraph were put into successful
operation. It is an interesting fact that these same Speedwell Iron Works
are variously connected with the history of the country, for "here was
forged the shaft of the _Savannah_, the first steamship that crossed the
Atlantic and here were manufactured the tires, axles and cranks of the
first American locomotives."
In _The Century_ for April 1888, is a most interesting article, entitled
"The American Inventors of the Telegraph, with Special Reference to the
Services of Alfred Vail". This is exhaustive of the subject, was written by
Franklin Leonard Pope, and was supervised by Mrs. Alfred Vail, as she tells
us, and the statements fortified by documents, correspondence and designs.
To _The Century_ editors and to Mr. James Cummings Vail, of Morris Plains,
son of Alfred Vail, we are indebted for the use of the plate of the
Speedwell Iron Works, redrawn from an ancient invoice, the age of which is
not known. The illustration of the "Factory" in which the first successful
trial and, afterwards, the first public exhibition, of the electric
telegraph took place, is from a photograph of the building as it stands at
the present day, on the lot in which stands the homestead house, now
occupied by Mrs. Lidgerwood.
"I have always understood", says Mr. J. C. Vail, (Jan'y 5, 1893), "that the
room in which my father and Baxter (his young assistant) worked and called
the 'work shop', was in an old stone building within the Iron Works
enclosure, between the bridge and Morristown and is still standing, and is
the only stone building within that enclosure."
Of these buildings and associations, Mrs. John H. Lidgerwood, the
granddaughter of Judge Vail, now living on the place, at Speedwell, writes
as follows, Dec. 12, 1892:
"My grandfather makes but three entries in his diary:
"'1838, January 6th. Dr. Gale came this morning. They (Prof. Morse, Alfred
Vail, and the Dr.) have worked the Tellegraph in the Factory this evening
for the first time.'
"'10th. Mr. Morse and Alfred are working and showing the Tellegraph.'
"'11th. A hundred came to see the Tellegraph work.'
"The old house", continues Mrs. Lidgerwood, "in which my grandfather then
lived, still remains near the foot of the hill nearest the town. The
interior has been entirely changed and I never knew the room occupied by
Professor Morse.
"The shop, in which the machine was constructed, and which was called the
'work shop', has also been rebuilt. Its four walls are all that are left of
the original building. The floor of that room was taken away to make a one
story building and the windows were put in the roof. It is now entirely
vacant and stands on the side of the dam opposite the saw mill, the gable
end of the old shop facing the road. One end of the foundation was partly
torn away by the freshet that destroyed the old bridge. The experiments
were made in a building called 'The Factory', which is at the foot of our
lawn. It was built for a Cotton Factory, but only used for making buttons,
owing, I believe, to some fault in its construction.
"My grandfather has told me frequently that the machine was placed on the
first floor, and about three miles of copper wire, insulated by being wound
with cotton yarn, was wound around the walls of the second story. There are
some hooks still in the side walls but I do not know if they are the same.
I have still a small portion of the original wire used in the experiments.
I do not know the age of any of these buildings. The works were probably
here long before the Revolution. I have heard my grandfather say there was
a forge here at that time."
The machine used on the occasion to which Judge Vail refers in his diary,
and on which he himself had sent the first message of all, "a patient
waiter is no loser," is now loaned by the family to the Smithsonian
Institute, Washington, D. C.
From the time the first telegraphic message was sent by Alfred Vail from
the "Factory" at Speedwell and received by Professor Morse two miles away,
and the next experiment when Morse and Vail operated with complete success
through ten miles of space,--to the final triumph at Washington, many and
great were the perils and moments of anguish through which the inventors
passed. It was on the 24th of May, 1844, when the supreme test of the
telegraph was made at Washington and the message was sent to Mr. Vail in
Baltimore, in the words selected by Miss Annie G. Ellsworth and taken from
Numbers xxiii: 23, "What hath God wrought."
During these years Alfred Vail, it is claimed, had "not only become a full
partner in the ownership of the invention, but had supplied the entire
resources and facilities for obtaining patents and for constructing the
apparatus for exhibition at Washington; and more than this, he had
introduced essential improvements not only in the mechanism, but in the
fundamental principles of the telegraph." Vail felt that Morse had not
acknowledged, as he expected, his (Vail's) part in the invention or fully
recognized his rights of partnership. Of this, the Hon. Amos Kendall, the
friend and associate of both, has said: "If justice is done, the name of
Alfred Vail will forever stand associated with that of Samuel F. B. Morse
in the history and introduction into public use of the electro-magnetic
telegraph."
Mr. Vail's book, which has place in most of the prominent libraries of
Europe and America, was published in 1845 and is entitled "The American
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph with the Reports of Congress and a description
of all Telegraphs known, employing Electricity or Galvinism". It is
illustrated by eighty-one wood engravings.
[Illustration: FACTORY AT SPEEDWELL.
IN WHICH THE FIRST EXHIBITION OF THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH TOOK
PLACE.]
William Graham Sumner, LL. D.
Professor Sumner is a New Jersey man, born at Paterson. He inherited from
his father, Thomas Sumner, who came to this country from England in 1836,
several important qualities which those who know the son will recognize.
Thomas Sumner, we are told, was a man of the strictest integrity, of
indefatigable industry, of sturdy common sense and possessing the courage
of his convictions. Two of Professor Sumner's early teachers in Hartford,
one of them Mr. S. M. Capron, in the classical department, had also great
influence upon his character. He was graduated from Yale College in 1863.
In the summer of that year, he went abroad, studied French and Hebrew in
Geneva, after which he spent two years at the University of Goettingen, in
the study of ancient languages, history, especially church history, and
biblical science. Here, he tells us, he was "taught rigorous and pitiless
methods of investigation and deduction. Their analysis was their strong
point. Their negative attitude toward the poetic element, their
indifference to sentiment, even religious sentiment, was a fault, seeing
that they studied the Bible as a religious book and not for philology and
history only; but their method of study was nobly scientific, and was
worthy to rank, both for its results and its discipline, with the best of
the natural science methods."
Mr. Sumner went to Oxford in 1866, with the intention and desire of reading
English literature on the same subjects which he had pursued at Goettingen.
"I expected," he says, "to find it rich and independent. I found that it
consisted of second-hand adaptation of what I had just been studying."
Returning to this country, while tutor in Yale College, in 1866, Mr. Sumner
published a translation of Lange's "Commentary on Second Kings". In 1867,
he was ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and two years
later, he received full ordination in New York and became assistant to Rev.
Dr. Washburn at Calvary Church, New York, under whom he was made editor of
a broad church paper. In September, 1870, he became rector of the Church of
the Redeemer at Morristown, N. J., from which event he claims our attention
as an author.
With regard to the course of his young ministry in this parish he says;
"When I came to write sermons, I found to what a degree my interest lay in
topics of social science and political economy. There was then no public
interest in the currency and only a little in the tariff. I thought that
these were matters of the most urgent importance, which threatened all the
interests, moral, social and economic, of the nation, and I was young
enough to believe that they would all be settled in the next four or five
years. It was not possible to preach about them, but I got so near to it
that I was detected sometimes, as, for instance, when a New Jersey banker
came to me, as I came down from the pulpit, and said: 'There was a great
deal of political economy in that sermon.'"
In September, 1872, Mr. Sumner accepted the chair of Political and Social
Science at Yale College, in which he has so highly distinguished himself.
Of this he says: "I had always been very fond of teaching and knew that the
best work I could ever do in the world would be in that profession; also
that I ought to be in an academical career. I had seen two or three cases
of men who, in that career, would have achieved distinguished usefulness,
but who were wasted in the parish and pulpit".
In 1884, Prof. Sumner received the degree of LL. D. from the University of
Tennessee. A distinguished American economist well acquainted with Prof.
Sumner's work has given to a writer from whom we quote, the following
estimate of his method and of his position and influence as a public
teacher: "For exact and comprehensive knowledge Prof. Sumner is entitled to
take the first place in the ranks of American economists; and as a teacher
he has no superior. His leading mental characteristic he has himself well
stated in describing the characteristics of his former teachers at
Goettingen; namely, as 'bent on seeking a clear and comprehensive conception
of the matter "or truth" under study, without regard to any consequences
whatever,' and further, when in his own mind Prof. Sumner is fully
satisfied as to what the truth is, he has no hesitation in boldly declaring
it, on every fitting occasion, without regard to consequences. If the
theory is a 'spade', he calls it a spade, and not an implement of
husbandry."
Professor Sumner has published, besides Lange's "Commentary on the Second
Book of Kings", the "History of American Currency"; "Lectures on the
History of Protection in the United States"; "Life of Andrew Jackson", in
the American Statesmen Series; "What Social Classes Owe to Each Other";
"Economic Problems"; "Essays on Political and Social Science";
"Protectionism"; "Alexander Hamilton", in the Makers of America Series,
(1890); "The Financier (Robert Morris) and the Finances of the American
Revolution", (1891); besides a large number of magazine articles on the
same line of subjects.
Elwyn Waller, Ph. D.
Three writers now present themselves, each of whom is distinguished in his
department, one of Chemistry, one of Mining and Metallurgy, and one of
Mathematics. The Author's Club would exclude these brilliant men from
recognition, but here the clause of our title, "and Writers", saves us.
Prof. Waller amusingly expresses the position when he says, "I supposed
that reference in your book would be made to those who had achieved more or
less distinction in what has sometimes been termed 'polite literature.'
While I am not ready to admit that the literature of my profession
(chemistry) is 'impolite', it probably is too technical to come within the
scope of your work."
Like many of our residents, Dr. Waller's time is divided between New York
and Morristown, being Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Columbia School
of Mines, New York. He has written much of value; innumerable pamphlets and
articles for various magazines, for chemical periodicals and Sanitary
Reports and for journals far and wide, both technical and general in
character, among which are _The Century_ and _The Engineering and Mining
Journal_. He has written certain articles for Johnson's Encyclopaedia, and
has edited articles in other books all of which are to be reckoned as
technical, but valuable contributions to current chemical literature. He
has completed a book on "Quantitative Chemical Analysis", from the MSS. of
one of his Colleagues, which was left unfinished in 1879 and he is now
engaged in revising and practically re-writing the same work. Besides, he
has written gossipy letters for _The Evening Post_, and _The Evening
Mail_, of New York, from various far-off islands and inland points, where
he has usually made one of a scientific party. One series of letters was
written while a member of the U. S. St. Domingo Expedition.
George W. Maynard, Ph. D.
Another scientific man, ranking high in his department of Mining and
Engineering, is Professor George W. Maynard, who is just now principally
engaged in Colorado, passing back and forth between that State and his home
in Morristown. He has had extensive travels over our own country and
continent, and abroad. He is a close observer and many of us are familiar
with his graphic descriptions of the scenes which he has witnessed, notably
in Mexico, also with the illustrated lectures on these and other subjects,
which he has generously given from time to time.
Professor Maynard is a graduate of Columbia College, New York, and was
Demonstrator in Chemistry in that College for a year. He then studied
abroad at Goettingen, Clousthal and Berlin, and was for four years Professor
of Mining and Metallurgy in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, of Troy,
N. Y. His published writings, which have mostly been of a technical
character, have appeared in various technical journals and in the
"Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers", and in _The
Journal_ of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain. Of the above
mentioned societies, he is an active member and also of the New York
Academy of Sciences.
Emory McClintock, LL. D.
The third of our group of specialists is Dr. Emory McClintock, whom one of
his brother scientists warns us we should "not forget to mention as he is
one of the most eminent mathematicians in the United States". As associated
with Morristown, in his beautiful home on Kemble Hill, high overlooking the
Lowantica valley and scenes full of memories of the Revolution, we claim
him with pride, in spite of his saying that his writings have all been
records of scientific researches and not literary in any sense and that he
has never written a book, big or little, nor even a magazine article. It
remains, that his many writings are of great value as published in pamphlet
form or in periodicals of technical character, such as _The Bulletin of the
New York Mathematical Society_, which is "A Historical and Critical Review
of Mathematical Science"; or, _The American Journal of Mathematics_ from
which a large pamphlet is reprinted on _The Analysis of Quintic Equations_,
or, in the direction of his art or specialty as a life insurance actuary,
where appears, among other writings, a large pamphlet on _The Effects of
Selection_--being "An Actuarial Essay," in which we find very interesting
matter for the general reader.
Andrew F. West, LL. D.
Professor West, of Princeton College, is well remembered as a resident of
Morristown for two years, (1881-1883). He was at that time, the predecessor
of Mr. Charles D. Platt, at the Morris Academy, and mingled largely in the
literary, social and musical circles of the city. He, like Dr. McClintock,
is a Pennsylvanian, and was born at Pittsburg.
Since Mr. West accepted a professorship at Princeton College, which was the
occasion of his leaving Morristown, he has written largely on classical and
medieval subjects.
His last book, just published, by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1892,
is entitled "Alcuin and the Rise of the Christian Schools." It appears in
the Series of "The Great Educators", edited by Nicholas Murray Butler. It
is a volume of 205 pages, and contains a sketch of Alcuin at York and at
Tours, also treating of his educational writings, his character, his
pupils, and his later influence.
Various literary, philological and educational articles in reviews have
been contributed by Professor West, and two books additional to the one
mentioned, have been published by him. These are, "The Andria and Heauton
Timorumenos, of Terence," edited with introduction and notes, and published
by Harper and Brothers (1888); and "The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury,"
edited from the manuscripts, translated and annotated. The latter is in
three volumes: I., The Latin Text; II., The English Version; III.,
Introduction and Notes Printed by Theodore De Vienne for the Grolier Club
of New York, (1889).
Jose Gros.
From the shores of Spain, has come to us one of our advanced thinkers and
writers, Senor Jose Gros. He is a disciple of Henry George and, on one
occasion, introduced that distinguished man to a Morristown audience, in
our Lyceum Hall, giving, to a large number of people assembled, the
opportunity of listening to his own exposition of the views about which so
wide and warm a controversy has raged.
Senor Gros was born and educated in Spain. He has traveled extensively
through Italy, France, Germany, England, and a portion of our own country,
finally taking a position in a commercial house in New York, in 1859, in
which he remained until 1870, when he retired to Morristown. Since then, in
his own words, he has "dedicated most of his time to the study of history
and science, more especially social science," for which he has been writing
articles for western magazines and journals and also for one or more of our
local papers.
In the _Locomotive Firemen's Magazine_, of Terre Haute, Indiana, a large
number of these articles have appeared. They go with this magazine to all
the States and Territories of the Union, to parts of Canada and Mexico, and
they are connected with over 500 Labor Clubs. The subject of one series of
these papers is "Civilization With its Problems". Other subjects are, "The
Struggle for Existence"; "Confusion in Economic Thought"; "Governments by
Statics or Dynamics"; "Congested Civilizations"; "Social Skepticism", and a
series on "To-day's Problems". In all his arguments, Senor Gros considers
as vital to advance in Social Science the principles of the Christian
religion. "No system," he says, "can save us from disasters without clear
perceptions of duty on what I call 'Christian citizenship.'"
MEDICAL AUTHORS AND WRITERS.
Condict W. Cutler, M. S., M. D.
Dr. Cutler claims through his father, the Hon. Augustus W. Cutler, as
ancestor, the Hon. Silas Condict, one of the most renowned patriots of the
Revolution, and his childhood and boyhood was spent in the house which was
built, in 1799, by this great-great-grandfather and occupied by him. It has
been owned and occupied since then, and is now, by Hon. Augustus W. Cutler.
The old house, in which Silas Condict previously lived, is still standing
about a mile west of the present Cutler residence. Many historic incidents
and traditions cluster about this place.
Dr. Cutler has done credit to this ancestor's memory in his exceptionally
successful career. A member of many societies, and associate editor of _The
New York Epitome of Medicine_, he has written largely for journals and
magazines, besides publishing three books, which are entitled "Differential
Medical Diagnosis"; "Differential Diagnosis of the Diseases of the Skin",
and "Essentials of Physics and Chemistry." These, say the medical and
surgical critics, are prepared with care and thoroughness and show a wise
use of standard text-books and the exercise of critical judgment guided by
practical experience.
Many may think that the books belonging to Materia Medica, being of
technical character, do not come directly within our province, but we may
say _everything_ in the line of authorship is within our broad range, and
we are glad to say emphatically that nothing, not even theological
questions, concern mankind more deeply than just this great question upon
which Dr. Cutler has expended so much thought and labor and which too is
the result of his experience as a medical man,--namely, the Differential
Diagnosis of Disease. When we take into consideration the fact, that no
disease can be successfully treated until it is _known_ and as it cannot be
known without being properly diagnosed, and as successful diagnoses depend
upon just such principles and relations as Dr. Cutler demonstrates, we can
see the value of the work even though we may not belong to the medical
fraternity. More than all, we can see the benefit which such a work confers
upon mankind at large and not alone upon the healers of diseased and
afflicted humanity. Let any one go into the houses of the poor; the streets
and the alleys, and into the overflowing hospitals and witness the
immensity of the evil of that terrible phase of disease, "The Skin
Diseases" of which Dr. Cutler treats, and he will realize what earnest
thanks we owe to a man whose life work is to devote his time and brains to
the alleviation of this type of human suffering.
Phanet C. Barker, M. D.
Dr. Barker, of Morristown, has for twenty-five years past written more or
less, from time to time, for medical journals published in New York and
Philadelphia. The majority of these contributions have been of a practical
character and consequently rather brief. Some of them have been formal
studies of practical questions, such as "The Vaccination Question",
questions connected with Sanitary Science, &c. Of the latter, one we would
mention in particular, entitled, "The Germ Theory of Disease and its
Relations to Sanitation". In this the writer tells us: "The germ theory of
disease is destined to hold a place in literature as the romance of
medicine, and if it stands the test of time, and the scrutiny which is
certain to be bestowed upon it, the theory will mark an epoch for all time
to come. The present century has been distinguished in many and various
ways, which need not be alluded to in this connection. Among the
discoveries and improvements of the age, Sanitary Science occupies an
important, a commanding position, that can hardly be exaggerated. Indeed it
has contributed more to civilization and to the well-being of the human
race than steam, electricity or any other scientific or economic
discovery." Then the writer refers to the condition of Englishmen who lived
in the fourteenth century, and traces the ravages of the Black Death to the
people's mode of living. He sketches the epidemics that have prevailed in
the world at various periods, and asserts that even "chronology has been
changed and the fate of great and powerful peoples like those of Athens, of
Rome and of Florence, has been sealed by the direct or indirect effects of
what we now term preventible diseases."
Such contributions as Dr. Barker has made to general literature have had
relation to economic questions generally, although the preparation of a
few papers on "Popular Astronomy", "Meteorological Observations" and
"Fishing in Remote Canadian Waters" have served, as he says, "to rest and
refresh his mind, when harassed by anxieties incident to the practice of
his profession." These papers have been published,--the former in New York
City or in our local papers, and the latter in _The Forest and Stream_. One
of the pamphlet publications on popular astronomy is unusually attractive
and is entitled "The Stars and the Earth".
Horace A. Buttolph, M. D., LL. D.
Dr. Buttolph, whose professional life, as connected with the care and
treatment of the insane in three large institutions, in New York and New
Jersey, covering a period of forty-two years, although devoted so
exclusively to administrative, professional and personal details, that
little time was left to engage in writing for the press, beyond the
preparation of the usual annual Reports of such institutions, has,
nevertheless turned that little time to good account.
The State Asylum for the Insane at Morristown was under the superintendence
of Dr. Buttolph from its opening in August 1876 to the last day of the year
1884, when he tendered his resignation. Previous to this he had been in
charge of the Trenton Asylum from May 1848 to April 1876, making a period
of unbroken service in New Jersey of more than thirty-seven years, during
which time these buildings were organized on his plan, and that of Morris
Plains, with its extensive machinery, was mostly planned by him. One
specialty in the line of machinery in both institutions, in use for many
years,--that of making aerated or unfermented bread, which is most cleanly,
healthful and economical, is probably not in use in any institution in the
world, outside of New Jersey.
Dr. Buttolph was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., and was graduated from the
Berkshire Medical Institution at Pittsfield, Mass., in 1835. Having been
early attracted to the study of insanity, he made it a specialty and
accepted a position in the new State Lunatic Asylum, at Utica, N. Y., in
1843. This he retained until 1847 when he went as Medical Superintendent to
the State Lunatic Asylum near Trenton, N. J. During the previous year,
while still attached to the Utica Asylum, he went abroad to study the
architecture and management of other institutions and visited thirty or
more of the principal asylums in Great Britain, France and Germany. At this
time very few institutions for the insane had been established in this
country and all sorts of problems had to be worked out. Dr. Buttolph soon
came to be a very high authority and, in that recognized capacity, he was
chosen to direct the Asylum at Morris Plains, which is the largest in the
United States and one of the best equipped in the world. It was a matter of
very great regret to his large circle of friends in Morristown, and out of
it, when he found it impossible to remain longer in the charge he had
filled so faithfully and well.
Dr. Buttolph's writings have been on insanity or mental derangement; also
on the organization and management of hospitals for the insane; the
classification of the insane with special reference to the most natural and
satisfactory method of their treatment, etc. These writings have been
published in many magazines and journals, and a large number in pamphlet
form. Also addresses, delivered on important occasions or before societies,
have been published in pamphlet form. Of these, one is widely-known, given
before the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions
for the Insane, at Saratoga, N. Y., June 17, 1885, on "The Physiology of
the Brain and its Relations in Health and Disease to the Faculties of the
Mind."
AUTHORS AND WRITERS ON ART.
Thomas Nast.
Mr. Nast, who has for so long been identified with Morristown, may be
designated both as artist and bookmaker. In the true sense of the term,
author, he may then be fairly presented, as probably no living man has
wielded a greater influence through his power of expression. Many readers
of this sketch will remember the consternation that prevailed upon the
revelation of the Tweed Ring scandals and at the question of Tweed himself
as he defied the City of New York,--"What are you going to do about it?"
They will remember how Mr. Nast with wonderful courage and grasp of the
situation, came to the front and at great personal risk to himself and
family, threw with steady aim, the stone which killed that Goliath of Gath
and put to rout the Philistines. They will remember Tweed's exclamation: "I
can stand anything but those pictures!" Mr. Nast, then, is a hero in our
history, and the fact cannot be forgotten.
When the Washington Headquarters was first purchased from the Ford family,
the original owners, by a few gentlemen who organized the Washington
Association to preserve the historic building and grounds, for a national
possession, many will remember how Mr. Nast entered into the spirit of the
Centennial Celebration there in 1875, when so many of the prominent men and
women of Morristown took part, wearing the dress of the Revolution and
working hard to accomplish the end of fitting up the building by the
proceeds of the entertainment. All were astonished by the result in sales
of tickets, collation, and little hatchets, of between eleven and twelve
hundred dollars in one single afternoon and evening; so much, that the
amount was divided between the Headquarters and the "Library" of
Morristown, then in its beginning. Mr. Nast had much to do with this
success. He worked early and late at the decorations and filled one of the
largest rooms with his immense and humorous cartoons of scenes in the
Revolution and the stories of George Washington.
The book published by Mr. Nast is now in our library, "Miss Columbia's
Public School", and is a clever satire on the Northern and Southern boy and
the general condition of Miss Columbia's pupils in the time of our Civil
War. It was issued in 1871.
Another charming publication of Mr. Nast was brought out by the Harper
Brothers for Christmas, 1889, under the title of "Thomas Nast's Christmas
Drawings for the Human Race". Of this says one of the critics of the time:
"His Santa Claus, jolly vagabond that he is, seems to radiate a warmth more
genial than tropic airs, and a gayety that overbears the sadness of
experience. 'What a mug' does he show us on the title page; so kindly, so
roguish, so venerable, so comical, so shrewd, so pugnaciously cheerful! How
seriously he takes himself, and yet what a wink in those twinkling eyes, as
who should say, 'Confidentially, of course, we admit the fraud, but mum's
the word where the children are concerned!'"
Thomas Nast came from Bavaria, with his father, at the age of six, and at
fourteen was a pupil for a few months of Theodore Kaufmann, soon after
beginning his career, as draughtsman on an illustrated paper. In 1860, as
special artist for a New York weekly paper, he went abroad and while there,
followed Garibaldi in Italy, making sketches for London, Paris and New York
illustrated papers. His war sketches appeared in _Harper's Weekly_ on his
return in 1862. The political condition of national affairs gave him
opportunity for manifesting his peculiar gift for representing in condensed
form, a powerful thought. His first political caricature established his
reputation. It was an allegorical design which gave a powerful blow to the
peace party.
Besides the _Harper's Weekly_ sketches, Mr. Nast has contributed to other
papers and has illustrated books in addition to those mentioned, in
particular Petroleum V. Nasby's book. For many years, he brought out
"Nast's Illustrated Almanac".
In the principal cities of the United States, Mr. Nast has lectured,
illustrating his lectures with rapidly executed caricature sketches, in
black and white, and in colored crayons. It is said by a contemporary
writer that "in the particular line of pictorial satire, Thomas Nast stands
in the foremost rank."
Rev. Jared Bradley Flagg, D. D.
The Rev. Dr. Flagg, recently a resident of Morristown, has just published a
delightful and important book on the "Life and Letters of Washington
Allston", Scribner's Sons, November, 1892. It is illustrated by
reproductions from Allston's paintings. Many remember the very striking
full length portraits of Wm. H. Vanderbilt, Mr. Evarts and others, which
were shown in Dr. Flagg's gallery in Morristown, on the occasion of a
reception given at his residence here, a few years ago.
In addition to the book above mentioned, Dr. Flagg has written a great deal
as a clergyman. He belongs to an artistic family, of New Haven, Conn. His
brother, George, was considered in his youth a prodigy and his pictures and
portraits attained celebrity. His style resembles the Venetian School, like
that of his uncle, Washington Allston, with whom he studied. Dr. Flagg
studied with both his brother and his uncle, and began as an artist at an
early age, painting professionally and earning a living at sixteen. At
twenty, "his love of letters, and fear of Hell," as he says, led him to
connect himself with Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and to study for the
church. After an active ministry of ten years, during eight of which he was
rector of Grace Church, Brooklyn Heights, his health broke down, and he
devoted what strength he had left to artistic and literary pursuits, in
which he is still engaged and in which, he tells us, he finds increasing
interest with declining years.
Rev. J. Leonard Corning, D. D.
Dr. Corning has already been represented, in our group of poets. He has
passed much of his life abroad and has made a special study of art, upon
which he is an authority. He was for several years a regular contributor to
_The Independent_ and _The Christian Union_ on art subjects, and wrote for
_The Manhattan Magazine_, a series of articles, among them, on the "Luther
Monument at Worms", "William Luebke" and "Women Artists of the Olden Time".
The fruits of his art study have largely been put into the form of popular
lectures, which he has delivered in many of the large American cities.
It is remembered that some years ago, during his residence in Morristown,
Dr. Corning gave a series of art lectures with illustrations, for the
benefit of the Morristown Library. The proceeds were devoted to the
purchase of books on art and the volumes thus added were selected by Dr.
Corning. In this way, the library is indebted to him for very valuable
additions.
George Herbert McCord, A. N. A.
Mr. McCord, of the National Academy, is best known to us as an artist,
bringing before us, with his magic brush, historic scenes of England,
picturesque views of Canada, on the St. Lawrence and elsewhere, and many of
our own country, among them spots of beauty about Morristown, which other
eyes perhaps have not discovered until shown to them by him. But, he is
also an art critic and one of those writers of out of door life, who find,
like Hamerton, both rest and recreation among the scenes which he transfers
to his canvas. Often he contributes to our papers and magazines current
news from the art world to which he so essentially belongs. Sometimes, in
his contributions to _The Richfield News_, for which he writes, he gives us
a bit of word painting that is scarcely less poetic than the creations of
his canvas. More than all, Mr. McCord is not a croaker. He never comes
before us with that chronic wail of the neglect of American art. On the
contrary, he tells us cheerfully that the most prominent dealers in foreign
art productions are buying and selling works of American art. We like such
cheerful summer writers, bringing bright visions of the future to our world
of art.
Mr. McCord's beautiful picture, "The Old Mill Race", transfers to canvas a
scene on the Whippany River. It also makes a fine addition to a little
collection of "Choice Bits in Etching", published by Mr. Ritchie.
DRAMATIST
William G. Van Tassel Sutphen.
Mr. Sutphen, who is now permanently engaged in journalism, is no less a
successful dramatist and, from the first, has shown those most attractive
and rare qualities which are essentially requisite to reach dramatic
success. A list of his more important published works will show that he is
no idler, and includes several bright clever farces contributed to
_Harper's Bazar_, among them, "The Reporter"; "Hearing is Believing";
"Sharp Practice", and "A Soul Above Skittles". Not long ago appeared a
romantic opera entitled "Mary Phillipse; An Historical and Musical Picture,
in Four Scenes." This is founded on certain events in the history of the
city of Yonkers, Westchester County, New York, between the years 1760 and
1776. It was set to music by George F. Le Jeune, and produced with marked
success, June 30, 1892, at Yonkers and on succeeding dates. "Hearing is
Believing" was performed twice in Morristown in the same winter.
Mr. Sutphen has only lately published in the July number of _Scribner's
Magazine_ (1892), a poem entitled "To Trojan Helen" and containing some
fine verses. This is worthy of high place in Mr. Sutphen's intellectual
work. Another poem of merit, "Insciens", appeared also in _Scribner's
Magazine_. In addition to these, miscellaneous verses and sketches have
been contributed to _Puck_, _Life_, _Time_ and other periodicals, and in
most cases, anonymously. For the past eight years, Mr. Sutphen has had
charge of the weekly edition of _The New York World_. While at Princeton
College he was one of the editors of the _Nassau Literary Magazine_, and
one of the founders and first editor of the _Princeton Tiger_, an
illustrated weekly, modeled on the _Harvard Lampoon_. "Condensed Dramas"
and "Latterday Lyrics" should also be mentioned, a series of light sketches
and verses contributed to _Time_ during the existence of that periodical.
It is, however, by his dramatic talent, that we wish to represent Mr.
Sutphen, and for this reason we expected and would be glad to give in full,
were it possible, "The Guillotine; a Condensed Drama", which first appeared
in _The Argonaut_, a San Francisco Journal. This is an extremely clever and
witty comedy, perhaps the best of his dramatic writings, to which an
extract will hardly do justice. We are thankful to Mr. Sutphen for
contributing a little of the laughter element to the condensed mass,
included in this volume, of theology, history, philosophy, poetry, romance,
mathematics, medicine, art and science.
EXTRACT FROM "THE GUILLOTINE."
_Scene: The Public Square in a French Town. In the
centre of the square is seen a guillotine. Enter
venerable gentleman of scientific aspect reading a
newspaper._
(In the first scene the professor, finding himself alone with the
guillotine and seeing a notice of an execution to take place three hours
later, is impelled to examine the instrument. He adjusts the axe and works
the spring until he masters the mechanism, and finds the spring on the
right releases the knife, spring on the left, the head. Finally he decides
to put his own head on the block to try the sensation. Horrible! he cannot
remember which is his right hand and which his left. While in this
position, a party of tourists come along, armed with Baedekers and
accompanied by a guide.)
GUIDE (_gesticulating_)--Zare, ladies and gentlemans. Ze cathedral! Ah!
ciel! Look at him. Magnifique! (_Chorus of "ahs" from tourists and general
opening of Baedekers._)
GUIDE--Ze clock-tower ees of a colossity excessive. It elevates himself
three hundred and eighty-six feet. (_Immense enthusiasm._) At ze
terminality of ze wall statue ze great Charlemagne. Superbe! Chuck-a-block
to him, Dagobert, Clovis and Voila! (_Catching hold of elderly tourist._)
Le bon Louis. (_The tourists take notes with painful accuracy and
minuteness._)
ELDERLY TOURIST--Very interesting. Rose, my child, have you got all that
down. How old is the cathedral, guide?
GUIDE--It has seven hundred and feefty-six years.
SPINSTER AUNT (_Severely_)--Baedeker says seven hundred and fifty-five.
GUIDE (_politely_)--It ees hees one mistake. (_An exclamation from Rose.
Everybody turns._)
ROSE (_pointing to guillotine_)--Oh, do look there!
SPINSTER AUNT--It looks as though an execution were in progress. Baedeker
says--
ELDERLY TOURIST (_eagerly_)--Is it really so, guide?
GUIDE (_indifferently_)--Yes, but zare ees no fee and zarefore no objection
in seeing it. It ees modern--vat you call him--cheap-John. We will now
upon ze clock-tower upheave ourselves. Zare are two hundred and one steps.
ELDERLY TOURIST--But we want to see the execution.
GUIDE--You enjoy ze ferocity? Bah! you shall have him. For one franc zare
ees to see picture S. Sebastian--ver' fine, all shot full wiz burning
arrows.
ELDERLY TOURIST--Never mind, we will wait. Do you think, guide, I would
have time to go back and get my wife? I am sure she would enjoy it!