city. The rusty iron railing is a barrier seeming to shut out noise and
life, as though to protect the sleepers in their well-earned rest.
FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON
EDWARD G. PORTER[25]
In 1740 Peter Faneuil, a Huguenot resident of Boston, who had
recently inherited a large fortune from his uncle, offered to build
a market-house at his own expense and give it to the town, provided
they would pass a vote agreeing to accept and maintain it under proper
regulations. Accordingly a town-meeting was called to consider the
matter, and the thanks of the meeting were unanimously extended to Mr.
Faneuil, for his generous offer. But upon the question of accepting it,
there was such a division of opinion, that the vote stood 367 in favour
and 360 against it. Thus narrowly, by only seven votes in a large
meeting, did the project succeed, so slow were the people to see the
advantages of the new system.
We can hardly conceive of Boston now without its Faneuil Hall; but
the crowds who daily gather about it little imagine how much they are
indebted to the energy of its earliest friends in that critical moment
when its very existence was hanging in the balance.
The structure was completed in 1742, John Swibert, the portrait
painter, being the architect, and Samuel Ruggles the builder. Mr.
Faneuil enlarged the original plan and added a hall above the
market,--and additional proof of his munificence which was gratefully
recognized by the town in its public acceptance of the gift, on which
occasion the name “Faneuil Hall” was given to it to be retained
forever; and “as a further testimony of respect, it was voted that Mr.
Faneuil’s picture be drawn at full length and placed in the hall.” The
town also added the Faneuil arms, beautifully carved and gilt by Moses
Deshon.
The building was constructed of brick, two stories and a half high,
one hundred feet long and forty feet wide, with open arches below and
a tower above, and was in many respects the most important edifice in
the town. Its architecture was considered imposing and ornate. The
spacious hall would contain a thousand persons, and there were various
rooms besides. The town-meetings were held here after this, and the
selectmen’s offices were removed from the old Town-House in King, now
State Street, which was left chiefly to the Legislature and the courts.
Most unexpectedly, a few months after the building was completed, its
founder died; and the first oration pronounced in the hall, was his own
eulogy by John Lovell, the well-known master of the Latin School.
In January, 1761, the interior of the building caught fire, and nothing
but the bare walls remained. The records, fortunately, and some other
documents were saved. The hall was rebuilt on the old plan, and opened
again in March, 1763, when James Otis, Jr., delivered the dedicatory
address. The cause of the patriots was now making such progress in
Boston that large meetings were held in Faneuil Hall to give expression
to the popular feeling; and hence arose the name “Cradle of Liberty,”
which it has borne ever since, and which it so well deserves.
In March, 1767, the hall was illuminated by vote of the town, to
commemorate the repeal of the Stamp Act. The following year, a
convention of representatives from nearly all the towns in the Province
was in session here for a week in September, to consider what measures
could be taken in view of the expected arrival of a large force of
British troops. Governor Bernard refused to recognize the convention,
although its proceedings were throughout orderly and constitutional.
The fleet arrived immediately after; and the Fourteenth Regiment,
Colonel Dalrymple, was quartered in Faneuil Hall for a month, by order
of the Governor, though not without a vigorous protest from the people.
During the stormy period preceding the outbreak of the Revolution, many
notable town-meetings were convened here, as on the occasion of the
Boston Massacre and on the arrival of the “detestable tea.” But the
hall at that time could not hold as many people as the Old South, and
this explains why some of the large meetings adjourned to the latter
place.
During the siege of Boston the building was at first used as a
storehouse for arms and furniture, and then converted into a theatre
for the diversion of the troops. Among the performances, the tragedy
of _Zara_ and the comedy of _The Busybody_ were frequently given;
and, once, at least, a local farce written by General Burgoyne, and
entitled _The Blockade of Boston_. This would be an interesting relic
of the period if it could be found, but it does not appear ever to have
been printed. After the evacuation of Boston, the portraits of Peter
Faneuil, George II., Governor Shirley, General Conway, and Colonel
Barré, which had hung in Faneuil Hall, were missing, nor has any trace
of them ever been discovered.
In the year 1806, with the new era of prosperity, the hall was very
much enlarged by doubling the width and adding a third story. This, of
course, has greatly changed the appearance of the structure, although
its original style has been fairly well preserved.
The interior, with its lofty galleries and classic columns, has become
well known to thousands. Here the great questions of the century,
touching the commercial, political and philanthropic interests of
Boston, have been eloquently discussed by the foremost orators of the
time. Many a Bostonian can recall the occasions when he has stood
on the sanded floor for hours with a patient and patriotic crowd,
applauding the sentiments of one speaker after another as they came
forward upon the platform and emphasized the issues of the hour. Here
great public receptions have been given to distinguished guests,
together with many civic and military banquets. Here, formerly, were
held the industrial exhibitions of the Massachusetts Charitable
Mechanic Association. It is emphatically the people’s hall, and will
always remain so; for, by a provision in the city charter, neither
Faneuil Hall, nor Boston Common, can ever be sold or let for money.
The collection of portraits attracts many visitors. On the west wall is
Healy’s large painting of Webster replying to Hayne in the Senate, and
near it are Stuart’s Washington and Copley’s Hancock, Warren and Samuel
Adams. There are also portraits of Peter Faneuil, John Quincy Adams,
Edward Everett, Governor Andrew, Senator Wilson, Robert Treat Paine,
Caleb Strong, Commodore Preble, General Knox, Rufus Choate, President
Lincoln, Anson Burlingame, Admiral Winslow and Wendell Phillips.
Back of the rostrum are busts of John Adams, Samuel Adams and Daniel
Webster. The clock was presented to the city by the school children of
Boston in 1850.
The upper hall has been chiefly used as an armory by various military
corps, especially of late by the Ancient and Honourable Artillery
Company, the oldest military organization in the country. The
Massachusetts Historical Society held some of its early meetings in the
north-west corner of the upper story in the old building from 1792 to
1794.
The grasshopper vane is an interesting survivor of the former
structure. It was made by Shem Drowne, the well-known copper-smith of
the last century, who also made and repaired the cockerel vane for the
Second Church. The famous Indian vane on the Province House was also
his handiwork. He died in 1774, at the age of ninety years.
The insect is remarkably well preserved, and shows the fidelity with
which it was made; all the details being carefully worked out in
copper, as if they were to be closely inspected. The eyes are of glass
and shine in the sunlight with great brilliancy. The grasshopper is
supposed to have been suggested by the vane on the Royal Exchange of
London. It was also the device for the vane on the summer house of the
Faneuil estate on Tremont Street.
LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD
ESTHER SINGLETON
On Bedloe’s Island, a mile and a half below the Battery, on the site
formerly occupied by Fort Wood, the most famous statue in America
greets and welcomes every ship that enters the beautiful harbour of New
York.
Just as soon as you leave the lower New York Bay and note the Brooklyn
Bridge--which at this distance and in the twilight appears like a filmy
cobweb, so airily suspended above the East River that it seems as if
the lightest breeze might blow it away--the eye is fascinated by the
sparkling, bluish light from Liberty’s uplifted torch. Ever larger
and brighter it grows, as your boat speeds through the dying tints of
sunset, more brilliant than the silver stars in the sky, the red and
green lights of the river craft, and the golden beads that now begin to
outline the fairy bridge.
On entering the Harbour in the daytime, the tall, graceful figure
silhouetted against the sky soon attracts your attention; and if you
are approaching New York from the south, long before you reach the
city, long before the sharp, salt, invigorating air from the sea--sweet
to smell and sweet to taste--strikes nostril and lip, across the flat
meadows of Jersey, you see the great effulgent Star of Liberty shining
like Rigel, Sirius, or Arcturus.
[Illustration: STATUE OF LIBERTY, NEW YORK]
The island on which the colossal statue stands was called Minnisais in
the Indian language, meaning “small island.” In Colonial days it was
the summer home of Captain Kennedy, of the Royal Navy, afterwards
the Earl or Cassilis. In 1753, it is described in an advertisement as
follows: “To be Let. Bedloe’s Island, alias Love Island, together with
the dwelling-house and lighthouse being finely situated for a tavern,
where all kinds of garden stuff, poultry, etc., may be easily raised
for the shipping outward bound, and from where any quantity of pickled
oysters may be transported; it abounds with English rabbits.”
In 1758, Bedloe’s Island became a quarantine station, and during the
War of the Revolution, it was chosen as an asylum for Tory refugees;
but the buildings prepared for their reception were burned on the night
of April 2, 1776.
A strong star fort was erected here in 1814 when the defences of New
York were strengthened; and it is on the site of Fort Wood that the
great pedestal rests.
The idea of this colossal statue originated with the French
Sculptor, Bartholdi, in 1871, while on a visit to New York, and it
was first discussed in the house of M. Laboulaye at Glavigny, near
Versailles. In 1875, M. Bartholdi submitted his design to the _Union
Franco-Americaine_, which had been formed in France for the purpose
of presenting the people of the United States with a gift in honour of
the country’s celebration of its hundred years of independence. When
the design was accepted, the French society poetically expressed its
intention as follows:
“We desire to erect in the unequalled harbour of New York a gigantic
statue on the threshold of the New World, to rise from the bosom of the
waves and represent Liberty enlightening the World.”
The French people subscribed enough to pay for the cost of the
work--more than $250,000, and the wrist and hand with the torch were
sent to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 held at Philadelphia. In
1877, the citizens of New York held a meeting and appointed a committee
to raise the necessary funds and procure the necessary legislation
for the erection of this gift to the nation. Congress authorized its
acceptance and passed a resolution to provide for its erection on
Bedloe’s Island and also for its care. The public subscriptions were
devoted to the foundation and the pedestal. In 1884, the statue was
finished and presented to the United States Minister in Paris and in
the following year it was taken to pieces and shipped in the French
man-of-war, _Isère_. The statue arrived in New York Harbour on
June 17, 1885, and two days later it was taken to Bedloe’s Island. It
was dedicated on October 28, 1886, with much ceremony. The day was
unfortunately misty and foggy. President Cleveland was present and many
distinguished French guests, among whom was M. de Lesseps. The ceremony
is thus described:
“After a prayer by the Rev. Dr. Storrs, the Comte de Lesseps was
introduced and made a brief speech on the part of France, and then
Senator William M. Evarts in an extended address, delivered the statue
to the people of the United States through the President. M. Bartholdi
himself with trembling hand pulled the covering from the face of the
great statue, and when the roar of the answering cannons had in a
measure subsided, President Cleveland, in a few words, accepted the
gift. M. W. A. Lefaivre as the accredited representative of the French
nation, made a short address, and the ceremonies were brought to an end
by an eloquent oration from Mr. Chauncey M. Depew.”
The ideal significance of the statue was thus happily expressed: “We
dedicate this statue to the friendship of nations and the peace of the
world; the spirit of Liberty embraces all races in common brotherhood,
it voices in all languages the same needs and aspirations.”
Figures are rarely interesting; but as Liberty Enlightening the
World is the highest statue in the world, its dimensions are worth
noting. The figure itself is 111 feet high, and to the extremity of
the torch 151–41 feet. The head is 13½ feet high, the thumb is 12
feet in circumference, and the forefinger is 7 feet 11 inches long.
The extremity of the torch is 305 feet 11 inches above mean tide. The
statue may be ascended by means of stairways within; a stairway leads
into the head, which can accommodate forty persons at a time, and a
stairway also leads into the extended arm. The pedestal also contains
stairways and balconies near the top.
The foundation for the pedestal, which is 89 feet high and built of
cut stone, was made within the walls of the old fort. The dimensions
of the pedestal are 63 feet square at the base and 43½ at the top. The
torch and diadem are lighted by electricity. The statue is composed of
300 bronze plates and weighs 220 tons. General Charles P. Stone was the
engineer of the pedestal and Mr. Richard M. Hunt, its architect.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Author of M’Fingal. These lines are from his _Elegy on the
Times_, published while this first Congress was in session.
[2] From Samuel Adams Drake’s _Historical Mansions and Highways_
(Boston, 1899), by permission of the publishers, Messrs. Little, Brown
& Co.
[3] This is the manner in which he signed his name, and is thus
recorded by him in the Deed of Conveyance in 1785.
[4] From John Fiske’s _Old Virginia and Her Neighbours_ (Boston,
1899), by permission of and special arrangement with Messrs. Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., publishers of Mr. Fiske’s writings.
[5] _William and Mary College Quarterly_, I., 65.
[6] _William and Mary College Quarterly_, III., 263.
[7] _William and Mary College Quarterly_, II., 55–6.
[8] _Partenopeus de Blois_ 1250, ed. Crapelet, I. 45. “She acts
like a woman, and so does well, for under the heavens there is nothing
so daring as the woman who loves, when God wills to turn her that way:
God bless the ladies all!”
[9] In 1872, Mrs. Petigru Carson writes in Appleton’s Journal: “When
the British took Charleston in 1780, they stabled their horses in the
church, and, unhanging the bells, sent them off to London, where they
were dumped on the Tower Wharf. At last the vestry of St. Michael’s
received a letter bidding them expect their bells by a certain ship
sailing from London. The people went in procession to bring up from
the ship their beloved bells, which they had never hoped to listen to
again, and with prayers and thanksgivings they were replaced in the
church tower. The pious benefactor never made himself known, but he was
supposed to have been some British officer who had been at the taking
of Charleston. For seventy years did those bells regulate the social
life of the city. For, not only did they call to worship, and celebrate
all occasions of public joy and sorrow, but nightly they rang a curfew
which ruled everybody’s movements. It was intended to warn the negroes
home at nine o’clock in winter, ten in summer; after that hour they
might not go into the streets without a written pass. All visitors were
expected to take leave at bell-ring.
“Then Sherman’s army passed through leaving its track as of lightning.
A party of half-drunken soldiers, out for a lark and for plunder,
were accosted by a negro who offered to show them the bells which had
rung in secession. ‘Never,’ said the men, ‘shall they play that tune
again!’ and they smashed them into a hundred pieces.” The rector and
congregation despite their poverty consequent on the war wrote to one
Mr. C. R. Prioleau of London to inquire the cost of a new set.
“There was no record at Charleston of where the bells came from.
But Mr. Prioleau searched the directory for the oldest founders of
the city, and went from one to the other, until at Meares & Co.,
Whitechapel, London, a firm which had been in existence three hundred
years, he found, by patient examination, the record of bells cast for
St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, S. C., in 1759. The proportions of
the metal and sizes of the bells were all entered in the books; and the
present Meares engaged to turn out a new set which, when hung, should
make the Charlestonians themselves think they heard the veritable
old bells. But Mr. Prioleau was not content with this; he wrote back
to have all the fragments that could be found sent out--and this was
done. Meanwhile, Meares found still in their service an old man of
seventy-six, who had been apprentice under the very foreman who, more
than a hundred years before, had cast those bells; and he, stimulated
by Prioleau’s generosity, never rested till he brought to light the
very original moulds for the castings. Into them the new metal was
melted with careful distribution of the broken fragments, so as to
make the illusion a reality. All that was wanting to make up the cast,
Mr. Prioleau added, and the reward of his perseverance and generosity
was to send to the vestry these new bells, which are the very old ones
still. Again did the congregation with tears and thanksgiving receive
the bells from this their fifth voyage across the Atlantic, and hung
them up in St. Michael’s steeple.”--E. S.
[10] The City Tavern stood on the site of the “Coffee House,” and was a
distinguished eating restaurant.
[11] The weight of the bell was 2,030 pounds.
[12] Humboldt says that the hill of Chapultepec was chosen by the
young Viceroy Galvez as the site of a villa (Château de Plaisance) for
himself and his successors. The castle has been finished externally,
but the apartments are not yet furnished. The building cost the king
£62,000. The Court of Madrid disapproved of the expense, but, as usual,
after it was laid out. The plan of this edifice is very singular.
The common opinion at Mexico is that the house of the viceroy at
Chapultepec is a disguised fortress.
[13] The Old Manse was built in 1765, for the Rev. William Emerson, and
was owned subsequently by the Rev. Ezra Ripley, who married his widow.
Hawthorne moved here in 1842.
[14] From _Historic Homes of the South-West Mountains, Virginia_
(Philadelphia, 1899).--By permission of Messrs. J. B. Lippincott
Company.
[15] “This house his commissioners had placed for him, as he requested,
facing the river. It was on Front Street south of the present Market
Street, in the centre of a lot which ran back to Second Street, along
Market, and included about half the block. There were no houses then
between Front Street and the river-shore. The house was of brick, and
is still preserved, as we suppose, but has been removed to Fairmount
Park. It was always known as the Letitia House, because he afterwards
gave it, with its large lot, to his daughter. In it, I have no doubt,
many of the early meetings of the Provincial Council were held, and
it may be considered the first state-house of the Province.”--Sidney
George Fisher, _The True William Penn_ (Philadelphia, 1900).
[16] “On their arrival at Philadelphia, he (Logan) and Penn, with Mrs.
Penn and Penn’s daughter, Letitia, lived for a month at the house of
Edward Shippen. After that they moved to the slate-roof house, as it
was called, on the east side of Second Street, north of Walnut. Penn
rented it for two years, and used it for his town residence. His son,
John, was born there, always known as John the American, and it was
afterwards used by Logan as an office for the proprietary business. It
should have been preserved as a relic, for in later years it had many
interesting associations.”--Sidney George Fisher, _The True William
Penn_ (Philadelphia, 1900).
[17] He had had great honours shown to him two years before for the
capture of Fort Duquesne (Fort Pitt).
[18] We may say of this house trade has changed the scene; for the
recess is since filled out to the front with store windows, and the
idea of the bastions, though still there, is lost.
[19] Reprinted by permission of the Editor of the _Catholic World_.
[20] The Indian name of the Hudson.
[21] “Over a deep, black part of the stream, not far from the church,”
says Mr. Irving, in his _Legend of Sleepy Hollow_, “was formerly
thrown a wooden bridge; the road that led to it and the bridge itself
were thickly shaded by overhanging trees which cast a gloom about it
even in the daytime, but occasioned a fearful darkness at night.”
[22] The Grants, Barons de Longueuil, hold the only Colonial peerage in
the British Empire. Their barony, though created by the Bourbons, is
held in right of their domain in Canada, and as such is now recognized
by the Herald’s office.
[23] From _Rambles in Old Boston_ (Boston, 1887). By permission of
the publishers, Messrs. Cupples, Upham, and Company.
[24] From _When Old New York Was Young_ (New York, 1902). By
permission of the author.
[25] From _Rambles in Old Boston_ (Boston, 1887). By permission of
the publishers, Messrs. Cupples, Upham and Co.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.
2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
3. Superscripts are represented using the caret character, e.g. D^r. or
X^{xx}.
4. Italics are shown as _xxx_.