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THE
NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE
(_AND BAY STATE MONTHLY_)
An Illustrated Monthly
OF THE
HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, EDUCATIONAL AND GENERAL INTERESTS
OF THE
NEW ENGLAND STATES AND PEOPLE
VOLUME IV
BOSTON
BAY STATE MONTHLY COMPANY
NO. 43 MILK STREET
1886
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by the BAY STATE
MONTHLY COMPANY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at
Washington. All rights reserved.
Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston. Presswork by Berwick & Smith,
Boston.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note: Minor typos have been corrected and footnotes moved
to the end of the article. This issue has the Table of Contents for all
of Volume IV. It also seems to be a volume in transition. On the first
page of the issue, there is a note that states that it is VOL. IV.
NO. 1. of the Old Series, and VOL. I. NO. 1. of the New Series. The
full page portrait of M. R. Waite, Chief-Justice of the U. S. listed
in the table of contents as facing page 1 did not appear in the
scans.
* * * * *
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV.
Abbot Academy. Six Illust. by Frank A. Bicknell and others
Annie Sawyer Downs 136
Along the Kennebec, (Illust.) Henry S. Bicknell 197
Andover, An Illustrious Town, (Illust.) Rev. F. B. Makepeace 301
Art in Book Illustration Charles E. Hurd 37
Illustrations: The Christ Child--Forest of
Ardennes--Stamboul--Ianthe--Tower of the
Mengia--The Lady of the Lake--"How they Carried
the Good News"--Evening by the Lakeside--Maternity--"The
Swanherds where the sedges are"--The Silent Christmas.
Attleboro, Mass. An historical and descriptive sketch
C. M. Barrows 27
Barnard, Henry, The American Educator
The late Hon. John D. Philbrick 445
Bennett, Hon. Edmund Hatch 225
Boston University School of Law Benjamin R. Curtis 218
Brown University, (Illust.) Reuben A. Guild, LL.D. 1
Cape Ann, A Trip Around Elizabeth Porter Gould 268
Child, Lydia Maria Olive E. Dana 533
Daughter of the Puritans, A Anna B. Bensel 452
Dorris's Hero.--A Romance of the Olden Time Marjorie Daw 463
Editor's Table 87, 177, 279, 378, 475, 557
Magazine Literature--Georgia _versus_ New England Prohibition--
German "Housekeeping Schools"--The Historic Spirit--The _old_
NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE and its _successor_--Notes--An Historical
Parallel--Archdeacon Farrar's Eulogy on the Founders of New
England--The Presidential Message--A Note of Peace in Turbulent
Times--Society sacrificing its Ornaments--Fall of the Salisbury
Government--Bostonian Society--Webster Historical
Society--Literary Labors of Miss Cleveland--Socialism in America
and Europe--The Chinese Problem--A Short History of Napoleon the
First--The _Century_ on International Copyright--Christian
Charity and Freedom--Comparative Marriage Statistics--Neither
Caste, Class, nor Sect in the late Civil War--Free Education
System--The Convict's Family--A Representative
American--Train-Wrecking--The Institute of Civics--New England
Summer Resorts--The Value of Recreation--The Sensational Press.
Education: Progress and Prospects of Education in America 280
Education 184, 381
Elizabeth: A Romance of Colonial Days. Chapters XXIX.-XXXIII.
Frances C. Sparhawk 77, 168, 250
Forty Years of Frontier Life in the Pocomtuck Valley
Hon. George Sheldon 236
Grand Array of the Republic in Massachusetts
Past Commander-in-Chief George S. Merrill 113
Hawthorne's Last Sketch P. R. Ammidon 516
Historical Record 91, 185, 281, 382, 477, 560
Irish Home Rule Agitation: Its History and Issues
Rev. H. Hewitt 157
Judicial Falsifications of History Hon. Chas. Cowley, LL.D. 457
King Philip's War, A Romance of Fanny Bullock Workman 330, 414
Literature and Art 91, 192, 294, 482, 565
Lucy Keyes.--A Story of Mt. Wachusett. I. 551
Index to Magazine Literature 193, 278, 389, 483, 567
Maple-Sugar Making in Vermont, (Illust.) J. M. French, M.D. 208
Myth in American Coinage Isaac Bassett Choate 537
Necrology 61, 190, 285, 380, 479, 562
New Bedford, (26 Illust.) Herbert L. Aldrich 423
New England Characteristics Lizzie M. Whittlesey 374
New England Library and its Founder, The Victoria Reed 347
New England Magazine, The Original Rev. Edgar Buckingham 153
New England Manners and Customs in Time of Bryant's Early Life
Mrs. H. G. Rowe 364
Notes and Queries.--Answers 95
Objections to Level-Premium Life Insurance G. A. Litchfield 68
Olden Time, In 291
On Detached Service.--An Episode of the Civil War
Charles A. Patch, Mass. Vols. 121
Otis, James, Junior Rev. H. Hewitt 319
Port Hudson, An Incident of William J. Burge, M.D. 548
Publishers' Department 96
Social Life in Early New England Rev. Anson Titus 63
Toppan, Colonel Christopher 60
Town Meeting-House and Town Politics in the Last Century, A
Atherton P. Mason, M.D. 127
Trinity College, Hartford, (Illust.) Prof. Samuel Hart, D.D. 393
Tufts College, (6 Illust. by F. A. Bicknell)
Rev. E. H. Capen, D.D. 99
Veritable Trader, A A. T. S. 529
Wayte, Richard and Gamaliel, and some of their descendants
Arthur Thomas Lovell 48
Webster, Daniel, and Col. T. H. Perkins John Rogers 12
Webster, Editorial Note on Daniel 217
Webster, The Life and Character of Daniel
Hon. Edward S. Tobey 228
Webster's Vindication Hon. Stephen M. Allen 509
Webster Historical Society Papers.--The Webster Family, (Illust.)
Hon. Stephen M. Allen 340, 409
Williams College Rev. N. H. Egleston 485
POETRY.
To a Friend Edgar Fawcett 12
The Mendicant Clinton Scollard 112
Trust J. B. M. Wright 249
The Oriole Clinton Scollard 267
The Singer Laura Garland Carr 339
Trust Arthur Elwell Jenks 373
To Oliver Wendell Holmes Edward P. Guild 413
The Picture Mary D. Brine 421
Hunting of the Stag of Oenoe Clinton Scollard 503
On Hoosac Mountain Edward P. Guild 527
Bonnie Harebells Anna B. Bensel 536
FULL PAGE PORTRAITS.
M. R. Waite, Chief-Justice of the U. S. Facing 1
Madame Sarah Abbot " 99
Edmund H. Bennett " 197
James Otis " 301
Thomas Prince " 344
Henry Barnard " 393
Mark Hopkins " 487
THE
NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE
AND
BAY STATE MONTHLY.
Old Series January, 1886. New Series
VOL. IV. NO. 1. VOL. I. NO. 1.
Copyright, 1885, by Bay State Monthly Company. All rights reserved.
BROWN UNIVERSITY.[A]
BY REUBEN A. GUILD, LL.D.
[Illustration: Sayles Memorial]
Brown University owes its origin to a desire, on the part of members of
the Philadelphia Association, to secure for their churches an educated
ministry, without the restrictions of denominational influence and
sectarian tests. The distinguishing sentiments of the Baptists, it may
be observed, were at variance with the religious opinions that prevailed
throughout the American colonies a century ago. They advocated liberty
of conscience, the entire separation of church and state, believer's
baptism by immersion, and a converted church-membership;--principles for
which they have earnestly contended from the beginning. The student of
history will readily perceive how they thus came into collision with the
ruling powers. They were fined in Massachusetts and Connecticut for
resistance to oppressive ecclesiastical laws, they were imprisoned in
Virginia, and throughout the land were subjected to contumely and
reproach. This dislike to the Baptists as a sect, or rather to their
principles, was very naturally shared by the higher institutions of
learning then in existence.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: COLLEGE CHURCH.]
In the year 1756, the Rev. Isaac Eaton, under the auspices of the
Philadelphia and Charleston Associations, founded at Hopewell, New
Jersey, an academy "for the education of youth for the ministry." To
him, therefore, belongs the distinguished honor of being the first
American Baptist to establish a seminary for the literary and
theological training of young men. The Hopewell Academy, which was
committed to the general supervision of a board of trustees appointed by
the two associations, and supported mainly by funds which they
contributed, was continued eleven years. During this period many who
afterwards became eminent in the ministry received from Mr. Eaton the
rudiments of a good education. Among them may be mentioned the names of
James Manning, Hezekiah Smith, Samuel Stillman, Samuel Jones, John
Gano, Oliver Hart, Charles Thompson, William Williams, Isaac Skillman,
John Davis, David Jones, and John Sutton. Not a few of the academy
students distinguished themselves in the professions of medicine and of
law. Of this latter class was the Hon. Judge Howell, a name familiar to
the early students of Rhode Island College, as the University was at
first called, and to the statesmen and politicians of that day. Benjamin
Stelle, who was graduated at the College of New Jersey, and who
afterwards, in the year 1766, established a Latin school in Providence,
was also a pupil of Mr. Eaton at Hopewell. His daughter Mary, it may be
added, was the second wife of the late Hon. Nicholas Brown, the
distinguished benefactor of the University, and from whom it derives its
name.
[Illustration]
The success of the Hopewell Academy inspired the friends of learning
with renewed confidence, and incited them to establish a college. "Many
of the churches," says the Rev. Morgan Edwards, "being supplied with
able pastors from Mr. Eaton's academy, and being thus convinced from
experience of the great usefulness of human literature to more
thoroughly furnish the man of God for the most important work of the
gospel ministry, the hands of the Philadelphia Association were
strengthened, and their hearts were encouraged, to extend their designs
of promoting literature in the Society, by erecting, on some suitable
part of this continent, a college or university, which should be
principally under the direction and government of the Baptists."[B]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Mr. Edwards, to whom reference is made in the foregoing, was the pastor
of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, to which he had recently
been recommended by the Rev. Dr. Gill, and others, of London. He was a
native of Wales, and an ardent admirer of his fellow-countryman, Roger
Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Possessing superior abilities,
united with uncommon perseverance and zeal, he became a leader in
various literary and benevolent undertakings, freely devoting to them
his talents and his time, and thereby rendering essential service to the
denomination to which he was attached. He was the prime mover in the
enterprise of establishing the college, and in 1767 he went back to
England and secured the first funds for its endowment. With him were
associated the Rev. Samuel Jones, to whom in 1791 was offered the
presidency; Oliver Hart and Francis Pelot, of South Carolina; John Hart,
of Hopewell, the signer of the Declaration of Independence; John Stites,
the mayor of Elizabethtown; Hezekiah Smith, Samuel Stillman, John Gano,
and others connected with the two associations named, of kindred zeal
and spirit. The final success of the movement, however, may justly be
ascribed to the life-long labors of him who was appointed the first
President, James Manning, D.D., of New Jersey. His "Life, Times, and
Correspondence," making a large duodecimo volume of five hundred and
twenty-three pages, was published by the late Gould & Lincoln, of
Boston, in 1864.
In the summer of 1763, Mr. Manning, to whom the enterprise had been
entrusted, visited Newport for the purpose of arranging for the
establishment of the college in Rhode Island. He was accompanied by his
friend and fellow townsman, the Rev. John Sutton. They at once called on
Col. John Gardner, a man venerable in years and prominent in society,
being Deputy Governor of the Colony, and Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court. To him, Manning unfolded his plans. He heard them with attention,
and appointed a meeting of the leading Baptists in town at his own house
the day following. At this meeting Hon. Josias Lyndon and Col. Job
Bennet were appointed a committee to petition the General Assembly for
an act of incorporation. After unexpected difficulties and delays, in
consequence of the determined opposition of those who were unfriendly to
the movement, a charter was finally granted, in February, 1764, for a
"College or University in the English Colony of Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations, in New England in America."
This charter, which has long been regarded as one of the best college
charters in New England, while it secures ample privileges by its
several clear and explicit provisions, recognizes throughout the grand
Rhode Island principle of civil and religious freedom. By it the
Corporation is made to consist of two branches, namely, that of the
Trustees, and that of the Fellows, "with distinct, separate and
respective powers." The Trustees are thirty-six in number, of whom
twenty-two must be Baptists or Antipaedobaptists, five Quakers or
Friends, five Episcopalians, and four Congregationalists. Since 1874
vacancies in this Board, have been filled in accordance with nominations
made by the Alumni of the University. The number of the Fellows,
including the President, who, in the language of the charter, "must
always be a Fellow," is twelve. Of these, eight "are forever to be
elected of the denomination called Baptist or Antipaedobaptists, and the
rest indifferently of any or all denominations." "The President must
forever be of the denomination called Baptists."
But though Rhode Island had been selected for its home by the original
projectors of the institution, and a liberal and ample charter had thus
been secured, the college itself was still in embryo. Without funds,
without students, and with no present prospect of support, a beginning
must be made where the president could be the pastor of a church, and
thus obtain an adequate compensation for his services. Warren, then as
now, a delightful and flourishing inland town, situated ten miles from
Providence, seemed to meet the requisite requirements; and thither,
accordingly, Manning removed with his family in the spring of 1764. He
at once commenced a Latin school, as the first step preparatory to the
work of college instruction. Before the close of the year a church was
organized, over which he was duly installed as pastor. The following
year, at the second annual meeting of the corporation, held in Newport,
Wednesday, September 3, he was formally elected, in the language of the
records, "President of the College, Professor of Languages and other
branches of learning, with full power to act in these capacities at
Warren or elsewhere." On that same day, as appears from an original
paper, now on file in the archives of the library, the president
matriculated his first student, William Rogers,[C] a lad of fourteen,
the son of Captain William Rogers of Newport. Not only was this lad the
first student, but he was also the first freshman class. Indeed, for a
period of nine months and seventeen days, as appears from the paper
already referred to, he constituted the entire body of students. From
such feeble beginnings has the university sprung.
The first commencement of the college was held in the meeting-house at
Warren on the seventh day of September, 1769, at which seven students
took their Bachelor's degree. They were all of them young men of
promise. Some of them afterwards filled conspicuous places in the
struggle for national independence, while others became leaders in the
church, and distinguished educators of youth. Probably no class that
has gone forth from the college or university in her palmiest days of
prosperity has exerted so widely extended and so beneficial an
influence, the times and circumstances taken into account, as this first
class that graduated at Warren. The occasion drew together a large
concourse of people from all parts of the Colony, inaugurating, says
Arnold, the earliest State holiday in the history of Rhode Island. A
contemporary account preserves the interesting facts that both the
President and the candidates for degrees were dressed in clothing of
American manufacture, and that the audience, composed of many of the
first ladies and gentlemen of the Colony, "behaved with great decorum."
Up to this date, "the Seminary," says Morgan Edwards, "was, for the most
part, friendless and moneyless, and therefore forlorn, insomuch that a
college edifice was hardly thought of." But the interest manifested in
the exercises of Commencement, and the frequent remittances from
England, "led some to hope, and many to fear, that the Institution would
come to something and stand. Then a building and the place of it were
talked of, which well-nigh ruined all. Warren was at first agreed on as
a proper situation, where a small wing was to be erected, in the spring
of 1770, and about eight hundred pounds, lawful money, was raised
towards erecting it. But soon afterwards, some who were unwilling it
should be there, and some who were unwilling it should be anywhere, did
so far agree as to lay aside the said location, and propose that the
county which should raise the most money should have the college."
Subscriptions were immediately set on foot in four counties, but the
claimants for the honor were finally reduced to two, viz., Providence
and Newport. The question was finally settled, at a special meeting of
the Corporation held in Warren, February 7, 1770. "The people of Newport
had raised," says Manning, in his account of this meeting, "four
thousand pounds, lawful money, taking in their unconditional
subscription. But Providence presented four thousand, two hundred and
eighty pounds, lawful money, and advantages superior to Newport in other
respects." The dispute, he adds, lasted from ten o'clock Wednesday
morning until the same hour Thursday night, and was decided, in the
presence of a large congregation, in favor of Providence, by a vote of
twenty-one to fourteen.
Soon after this decision, the President and Professor Howell, with
their pupils, removed to Providence, occupying for a time the upper part
of the brick school-house on Meeting Street, for prayers and
recitations. On the fourteenth day of May, 1770, the foundations of the
first college building, now called University Hall, were laid; John
Brown, one of the "Four Brothers," and the famous leader in the
destruction of the _Gaspee_ two years later, placing the corner stone.
It was modelled after "Nassau Hall" in Princeton, where President
Manning and Professor Howell were graduated. The spot selected for it
was the crest of a hill, which then commanded a view of the bay, the
river, with the town on its banks, and a broad reach of country on all
sides. The land comprised about eight acres, and included a portion of
the original "home lot" of Chadd Brown, the associate and friend of
Roger Williams, and the "first Baptist Elder in Rhode Island." Now that
the buildings of the city have crept up the hill, and, gathering round
the college grounds, have stretched out far beyond them, thus shutting
out the nearer prospect, the eye can still take in from the top of the
building the same varied and beautiful landscape, which once constituted
one of the chief attractions of the site.
On Saturday, December 7, 1776, Sir Peter Parker, the British commander,
with seventy sail of men-of-war, anchored in Newport harbor, landed a
body of troops, and took possession of the place. Providence was at once
thrown into confusion and alarm. Forces, hastily collected, were massed
throughout the town, martial law was proclaimed, college studies were
interrupted, and the students were dismissed to their respective homes.
The seat of the Muses now became the habitation of Mars. From December
7, 1776, until May 27, 1782, the college edifice was occupied for
barracks, and afterwards for a hospital, by the American and French
forces.
In the spring of 1786, President Manning, whose graceful deportment,
thorough scholarship, and wise Christian character had commended him to
all his fellow-citizens, was unanimously appointed by the General
Assembly of Rhode Island to represent the state in the Congress of the
Confederation. This was during a crisis of depression and alarm, when
the whole political fabric was threatened with destruction. He, however,
returned to his college duties at the close of the year, being unwilling
to remain longer away from the scenes of his chosen labors. With the
momentous questions of the day he was thoroughly familiar, and he
afterwards, by his voice and by his pen, contributed very materially to
the adoption of the Federal Constitution by the State, in 1790. He died
very suddenly in the summer of 1791, in the fifty-fourth year of his
age. His death was regarded as a public calamity, and his funeral was
largely attended, not only by the friends of the college, of which he
may be regarded in one sense as the founder, but by a vast concourse of
people from all parts of the town and the State in which he lived.
Dr. Manning was succeeded in the presidency by the Rev. Dr. Jonathan
Maxcy, who during the previous year had held the temporary appointment
of Professor of Divinity. The career of this remarkable man indicates a
high order of genius. At the early age of fifteen he had entered the
Institution as a pupil, graduating in 1787 with the highest honors of
his class. Immediately upon graduating he was appointed tutor, which
position he held four years. During his brilliant career of ten years,
in which he was the executive head of the college, men were educated and
sent out into all the professions, who, for learning, skill, and success
in life, will not suffer in comparison with the graduates of any period
since.
Dr. Maxcy resigned the presidency in 1802, when he was succeeded by the
Rev. Dr. Asa Messer, a graduate under Manning, in the class of 1790. He
held the office until 1826, a period of twenty-four years. Under his
wise and skilful management the college prospered; its finances were
improved; its means of instruction were extended; and the number of
students was greatly augmented. It was in the beginning of his
administration that the college received the name of Brown University,
in honor of its most distinguished benefactor, Hon. Nicholas Brown. This
truly benevolent man was graduated under Manning in 1786, being then but
seventeen years of age. He commenced his benefactions in 1792, by
presenting to the Corporation the sum of five hundred dollars, to be
expended in the purchase of law books for the library. In 1804 he
presented the sum of five thousand dollars, as a foundation for a
professorship of oratory and belles-lettres; on which occasion, in
consideration of this donation, and of others that had been received
from him and his kindred, the Institution, in accordance with a
provision in its charter, received its present name. Mr. Brown died in
September 1841, at the age of seventy-two. The entire sum of his
recorded benefactions and bequests, giving the valuation which was put
upon them at the time they were made, amounts to one hundred and sixty
thousand dollars.
Dr. Messer was succeeded in the Presidency by the Rev. Dr. Francis
Wayland, who was unanimously elected to this office on the thirteenth of
December, 1826. His administration extended over a period of
twenty-eight and a half years, during which the University acquired a
great reputation for thorough analytical instruction. His treatises on
"Moral Science," and "Intellectual Philosophy," were used as text-books
in other colleges, while "The Moral Dignity of the Missionary
Enterprise" gave him a world-wide celebrity as a preacher. He resigned
in 1855, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. Barnas Sears, who
continued in office twelve years, when he resigned, having been
appointed agent of the Board of Trustees of the Peabody Educational
Fund. During his administration, which extended through the financial
crisis of 1857, and the long years of civil war, the University
prospered, the facilities for instruction were increased, a system of
scholarships was established, and large additions were made to the
college funds. Dr. Sears was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Alexis Caswell, a
graduate of the University, and for more than thirty-five years an
honored and successful professor in the Institution. He was thus
thoroughly conversant with its history, and familiar with its special
needs. The Rev. Dr. E. G. Robinson, the present active and efficient
president, entered upon his duties in the fall of 1872. He, too, is a
graduate of the Institution over which he now presides, being a member
of the class of 1838.
The buildings of the University are ten in number. Of these the oldest
is "University Hall," which has already been described. This venerable
structure, so rich in historical associations, and so dear to all the
graduates, has recently been thoroughly renovated and modernized, its
external appearance remaining the same, at an expense of nearly fifty
thousand dollars. The "Grammar School Building," now rented to private
parties, and occupied as at first for a preparatory or classical school,
was erected in 1810, the cost having been defrayed by subscription.
"Hope College" was erected in 1822, at the expense of Hon. Nicholas
Brown, who named it after his only surviving sister, Hope Ives, wife of
the late Thomas Poynton Ives. "Manning Hall" was erected in 1834, also
at the expense of Mr. Brown, who named it after his revered instructor,
the first President of the College. "Rhode Island Hall," and the
"President's Mansion," were erected in 1840, at the expense mostly of
citizens of Providence; Mr. Brown, with his wonted liberality,
contributing ten thousand dollars. The "Chemical Laboratory" was erected
in 1862, through the exertions of Professor N. P. Hill, late United
States Senator from Colorado. The new "Library Building," which has been
pronounced by competent judges to be one of the finest of its kind in
the country, was erected in 1878, at a cost, exclusive of the lot on
which it stands, of ninety-six thousand dollars. Both the building and
the grounds were a bequest of the late John Carter Brown, a son of the
distinguished benefactor. The new dormitory, "Slater Hall," was erected
in 1879, by Hon. Horatio N. Slater, a member of the Board of Fellows,
and a liberal benefactor of the University. "Sayles Memorial Hall,"
which was dedicated, with appropriate ceremonies, in June, 1881, is a
beautiful structure of granite and freestone, erected at the expense of
Hon. William F. Sayles, a member of the Board of Trustees, in memory of
his son, who died in the early part of his collegiate course. It is used
for daily recitations, while its spacious hall, adorned with portraits
of distinguished graduates and benefactors, serves for Commencement
dinners and special academic occasions.
The "Bailey Herbarium," the "Herbarium Olneyanum," and the "Bennett
Herbarium," contain altogether seventy-one thousand eight hundred
specimens, arranged in good order for consultation, and constituting an
important addition to the means of instruction in Botany. The Museum of
Natural History and Anthropology, in Rhode Island Hall, contains upwards
of fifty thousand specimens, implements, coins, medals, etc., classified
and arranged by Professor J. W. P. Jenks. The Library, which dates back
from the year 1767, when the Rev. Morgan Edwards collected books for it
in England, numbers sixty-three thousand choice and well bound volumes,
and a large number of unbound pamphlets. Among the recent additions is
the valuable and unique "Harris Collection of American Poetry,"
bequeathed by Hon. Henry B. Anthony, a graduate of the University, and
for twenty-five years a member of the United States Senate. The books of
the Library are arranged in alcoves according to subjects, and free
access is allowed to the shelves. The funds of the University, according
to the report of the Treasurer for April, 1885, amount to $812,943.
There are sixty-six scholarships for the aid of indigent students, and
also premium, prize, and aid funds, amounting to $40,000. The Library
Funds amount to $36,500.
The Faculty consists of the President, twelve Professors, two assistant
Professors, five Instructors, two assistant Instructors, one Librarian,
one assistant Librarian, a Registrar, and a Steward. The present number
of undergraduates, according to the annual catalogue for 1885-86, is
239. The number of graduates, as appears from the triennial catalogue,
is 3,191. About one fourth of this number are in italics, indicating
that they have been ordained and set apart for the work of the Christian
ministry. Of these upwards of one hundred have appended to their names
"S. T. D.," including bishops eminent for their piety and learning,
missionaries of the cross in foreign lands, presidents of theological
schools, and religious teachers whose names are conspicuous in the
republic of letters, and whose virtues and deeds are held in grateful
remembrance.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Brown University, the Charter of which was granted in 1764, is the
seventh American College in the order of date. Harvard College was
founded in 1638; William and Mary College, Virginia, in 1692; Yale
College, in 1701; College of New Jersey, in 1746; University of
Pennsylvania, in 1753; and Columbia College, in 1754.
[B] Appendix to President Sears' Centennial Discourse, page 63.
[C] Mr. Rogers was graduated in 1769. In 1772 he removed to
Philadelphia, and was ordained pastor of the first Baptist Church. He
became distinguished for his eloquence; was made a Doctor in Divinity;
and during the war rendered good service as a brigade chaplain in the
Continental army. He was an honored member of the Masonic Fraternity,
and an intimate friend of Washington. The late William Sanford Rogers,
of Boston, who died in 1872, bequeathed to the University the sum of
fifty thousand dollars to found the "Newport Rogers' Professorship of
Chemistry," in honor of his father, Robert Rogers, who was graduated in
1775, and of his uncle, William Rogers, a member of the first graduating
class.
TO A FRIEND,
_On his Departure for a Tour round the World._
BY EDGAR FAWCETT.
In losing thee, dear friend, I seem to fare
Forth from the lintel of some chamber bright,
Whose lamps in rosy sorcery lend their light
To flowery alcove or luxurious chair;
Whose burly and glowing logs, of mellow flare,
The happiest converse at their hearth invite,
With many a flash of tawny flame to smite
The Dante in vellum or the bronze Voltaire!
And yet, however stern the estrangement be,
However time with laggard lapse may fret,
That haunt of our fond friendship I shall hold
As loved this hour as when elate I see
Its draperies, dark with absence and regret,
Slide softly back on memory's rings of gold!
DANIEL WEBSTER AND COL. T. H. PERKINS.
A SUMMER-DAY OUTING IN 1817.
BY JOHN K. ROGERS.
On the morning of Thursday, the fourteenth day of August, 1817, Col.
Thomas H. Perkins, after an early breakfast, left his house on Pearl
Street in Boston, and entered his travelling carriage, having in mind a
pleasant day's excursion with his friend, Mr. Daniel Webster, for a
purpose which will hereafter appear.
Though now given up to trade, Pearl Street was then the site of some of
the finest dwellings in the city, and prominent among these was Col.
Perkins's mansion, afterwards munificently bestowed, with other gifts,
upon the Massachusetts Blind Asylum, which then became the Perkins
Institution for the Blind, and occupied the building for its charitable
purposes.
As his comfortable and substantial equipage passed down the gentle slope
towards Milk Street, it met with a general recognition, for Boston was
then a town of some thirty thousand people only, and Col. Perkins one of
its best known citizens.
Born in 1764, at five years of age he saw from his father's house in
King Street the Boston Massacre, and, after receiving a commercial
education, was for more than fifty years a leading merchant in his
native city. His military title was not one of courtesy only, but
conferred upon him as commander of the Corps of Independent Cadets, a
most respectable body of citizens, upon whom devolved the annual duty of
escorting the Governor and Legislature to hear the time-honored Election
Sermon, which marked the opening of the General Court in the month of
January.
Passing up Milk Street, then also a street of dwellings,--among them the
birthplace of Franklin,--the Old South Church, which at that time had
received only its first "desecration," was soon reached, and the
carriage turned into Washington Street, opposite the Province
House--with its two large oak trees in front, and the grotesque gilt
Indian on the roof with bended bow, just then pointing his arrow in
obedience to a gentle breeze from the south-west; then up the narrow
avenue of Bromfield Street, with the pretty view of the State House over
the combined foliage of Paddock's elms and the Granary Burial Ground,
and, turning into Tremont Street, our traveller was soon at Park-Street
Corner.
The noble church edifice which graces this sightly spot, though sadly
dealt with in its general symmetry, still lifts its lofty spire with
undiminished beauty, and justifies the stirring lines of Dr. Holmes:--
"The Giant standing by the elm-clad green;
His white lance lifted o'er the silent scene;
Whirling in air his brazen goblet round,
Swings from its brim the swollen floods of sound."
As our friend turned into Park Street on this summer morning, the
giant's lance threw its shadow far into the Common among the cows which
were quietly cropping the dewy grass within the enclosure of the old
rail fence, while his brazen goblet clanged the hour of seven.
As the substantial citizen of to-day passes up this street, where shops
are rapidly displacing the mansions of the last century, he looks with
honest pride upon Boston's crowning glory, the gilded dome which, like a
great golden egg, is nested upright upon the roof which shelters the
annually-assembled wisdom of the Old Commonwealth. Around its glowing
swell the orbit of the sun's kiss is marked by an ever-moving flame, and
even its shadows are luminous.
As he looks across the Common he catches glimpses of the "New Venice"
which has been built upon the lagoons of the Back Bay, and sees among
its towers and spires one beautiful campanile which, by its graceful
inclination to the south, recalls Pisa's wonder, and lends a special
charm to the view.
Upon the little eminence near the Frog Pond, once the site of the fort
built during the British occupation to defend the city from the American
army encamped on the opposite shore, rises the monument which
commemorates the war of the Rebellion and the gallant men of Boston who
lost their lives in defence of the Government.
On that pleasant morning in 1817, neither the beautiful new city nor the
sad monument greeted the eye of the good Colonel, for the Common formed
the western boundary of the town, and the British earthworks were still
upon the little hill.
Could he have had a prophetic vision of the one, his honest pride in his
native town would have risen almost to ecstasy. Could he have known of
the other, his patriotic soul would have sunk within him, and the
pleasure of his day's journey would have given place to grief.
Rounding the Common, by the Hancock mansion, with its lilac bushes and
curiously wrought iron balcony, Walnut Street was soon reached, and,
near its junction with Mount Vernon Street, the house of Mr. Webster.
The future "Defender of the Constitution" was no sluggard. It was his
habit to "Rise with the lark and greet the purpling east," to use one of
his favorite quotations, and the carriage had hardly stopped when he
appeared, and, exchanging kindly greetings with the Colonel, took his
place beside him.
Mr. Webster was at this time thirty-five years old, and had taken up his
residence in Boston to resume the practice of his profession, after
representing his native State of New Hampshire for two terms in
Congress.
Col. Perkins was among the first to recognize his abilities, and a
strong attachment had grown up between them. A marked element in the
Colonel's character was his constant desire to investigate for himself
remarkable developments in nature and art; and on this occasion, when he
expected an unusual gratification of his curiosity, no company could be
more congenial than that of his friend, the young advocate.
As the two companions made their way down the north side of Beacon Hill
towards Charlestown bridge, their conversation, cheerful and even gay
through the prospect of an interesting and pleasant excursion, turned
from private matters to topics of local interest, and thence to national
affairs.
Mr. Webster's experiences at Washington naturally took the lead, and
were listened to with attention by his companion. Mr. Monroe was at this
time taking an extended tour through the Northern States, having
occupied the presidential chair but a few months; the "era of good
feeling" had fairly commenced, partisan violence had for the time
abated, and the country was at peace with all the powers of the earth.
Soon our travellers pass Charlestown bridge, leaving Copp's Hill and
Christ Church, with its memories of Paul Revere, behind them, and
approach Bunker's Hill, where eight years later Mr. Webster was to
inaugurate the building of the monument with an eloquent address.
Next they cross the bridge to Chelsea, and, continuing their way through
the little village beyond, the long stretch of the Salem Turnpike over
the Lynn marshes opens to them, with the wooded heights of Saugus on the
north, the wide sands of Lynn beach on the south, and few signs of life
beside the skimming flight of wild fowl and the occasional plunge of a
seal at their approach.
And now the wide expanse of land and sea, and the cool breeze stealing
in from the water, turn their conversation to things maritime and
foreign, to the wonders of the deep, and to the danger of those who "go
down to the sea in ships," and brave its storms and hidden rocks.
The Colonel, from his youth fond of travel, had now many a story to tell
of his early voyages on business to Charleston, Saint Domingo, Batavia,
and Canton, and of his visits to Europe, one of which brought him in
contact with some of the stirring scenes of the French Revolution in
1792.
Thus beguiling the time, they pass through the village of Lynn, with a
glance at High Rock on the one side and a longer look on the beautiful
peninsula of Nahant on the other. Between Lynn and Salem lies a rocky
and sterile tract, to this day almost without an inhabitant, but not
without its picturesque and beautiful spots, like that for instance
about the little pond, which is crossed by the floating bridge, through
the cracks of whose rude floor the water spouts in miniature geysers as
the carriage rolls across.
Near by is the region where the famous witchcraft delusion took its
rise; but reminiscences of this cruel drama are cut short by the abrupt
transition to the closely-built streets of Salem, where our friends soon
find themselves moving on through Essex Street, passing the East India
Marine Hall, containing the contributions of Salem's numerous merchants
and mariners, passing also the White mansion, a few years later to be
the scene of a foul murder, in the investigation of which Mr. Webster
was to make one of his most eloquent pleas, thence by the well-known
Common and through the long avenue to Beverly bridge, over which they
pass to the ancient town of Beverly, and are launched on that most
delightful seashore road, which, continuing on through Manchester and
Gloucester and round Cape Ann, has been pronounced the loveliest in New
England.
Soon the Beverly Farms, and then Manchester, are reached,--both places
known to-day as the summer residences of some of Boston's best citizens,
whose comfortable and elegant homes are reared upon every commanding
spot.
Next, after Manchester, the environs of Gloucester,--Kettle Cove, now
rejoicing in the more pleasing name of "Magnolia," taken from the swamp
near by, where grow those fragrant flowers whose creamy petals, set off
by dark-green leaves, are popularly supposed to scent the air for miles
around,--a race of strangers whose translation from the sunny South to
this northern clime is one of the wonders of the region.
After Magnolia, they ride through the pleasant woods to Fresh Water
Cove, passing Rafe's Chasm and Norman's Woe Rock. Now the extreme end of
Eastern Point, stretching away to the right and forming the outer part
of Gloucester Harbor, appears in sight; but it is not till the top of
Sawyer's Hill is reached that our friends, gaining a full view of the
wide-spread panorama, call a halt to enjoy its varied beauties.
Right before them appears the rocky point on which Roger Conant's colony
of 1623, the first of the cape and the oldest after Plymouth and Boston,
held its brief sway; farther on, Ten-Pound Island with its light-house;
then the village of Gloucester, the old fort, the still older wind-mill,
both prominent objects; and in the distance the twin lighthouses of
Thatcher's Island, with Railcut Hill to the north-east, and, stretching
to the north, the low, marshy level through which Squam River meanders
to the sea by the sands of Coffin's Beach.
Under any circumstances this panorama would have challenged the
admiration of our friends; but seen, as they saw it, on a clear summer
day, with the wide expanse of blue water breaking under the influence of
a gentle breeze into curling waves, which with gathering force dashed
playfully upon the yellow ledges and shining beaches, with flocks of
sea-gulls sweeping in graceful circles or brooding upon the surface, no
ordinary description could do it justice.
The fair peninsula of Cape Ann, a large part of which now lay before
them, called by the Indians "Wingershaek," has since been thrice named.
By Samuel de Champlain, who visited in it in 1605, it was called Cap aux
Isles, the islands being those now known as Straitsmouth Island,
Thatcher's Island, and Milk Island. By Captain John Smith, who landed
upon its rocky shores in 1614, it was named Tragabigzanda, and the same
islands were called The Three Turks' Heads; and by Prince Charles, who,
after Smith's return to England, gave it the name of Cape Ann, in honor
of his mother, Queen Ann, consort of James the First.
The colony of Roger Conant was afterward transferred to Salem; but
within the next ten years a permanent settlement was made, which in 1642
was incorporated under the name of Gloucester, in honor of the ancient
city of that name in England.
From the first, Cape Ann has been the home of fishermen, though a
considerable foreign commerce was at one time carried on by its thrifty
mariners. Eminently patriotic, the town bore its share in the country's
struggle for independence, two companies of Gloucester men having fought
at Bunker's Hill, and its bold privateers did good service upon the
ocean, not only in the Revolution, but in the later struggle with the
mother country.
Our travellers, having satisfied their curiosity as to the general
appearance of the town, are getting under way again for a nearer
acquaintance, and becoming more and more interested in the special
object of their visit.
As they approach the village, it is evident that something unusual is
going on; they pass people moving in the same direction, with eager and
expectant faces, to one of whom Mr. Webster ventures these questions:
Can his serpentine majesty be seen to-day? and where to the best
advantage? Receiving satisfactory replies, the coachman is ordered to
drive to the old wind-mill, where they arrive in a few moments,--from
the shady side of this quaint structure, whose merrily revolving sails
were at their usual work, a large part of both the outer and inner
harbors being easily seen.
Let us now take some note of occurrences which at this time were
agitating the little town, and the fame of which had extended to Boston.
On Sunday, the tenth of August, four days before, Mr. Amos Story, rowing
in his boat near Ten-Pound Island, was greatly disturbed, not to say
alarmed, by the appearance, at some twenty rods' distance, of a sea
monster, totally unlike anything he had ever seen in his long experience
as a fisherman and mariner. Moving at the rate of a mile in two minutes,
nearly one hundred feet in length, as large as the body of a man, with a
head like a turtle, but carried high out of the water, with the body of
a snake, but with the vertical motion of a caterpillar, and of a
dark-brown color, this enormous reptile brought such fear to the honest
fisherman as induced him to make a rapid retreat to a safe distance.
His account of the monster naturally set all the people on the lookout,
and for nearly every day in the following two weeks it was seen under
different circumstances by many of the inhabitants of Gloucester and the
adjacent villages.
At the present day, on the first notice of such a wonderful appearance,
the daily papers would send their reporters from far and near, and, with
the help of the Associated Press, curious readers all over the country
would the next morning have accounts of the Sea Serpent served to them
at breakfast-time. Instantaneous photographs would be attempted, and the
illustrated weeklies would give the world picturesque, if not accurate,
representations of the monster and the localities in which he appeared.
But in 1817 the news spread slowly, and no public mention was made of
the matter till Saturday the 16th, when the _Commercial Gazette_ of
Boston, under the modest caption of "Something New," alludes to the
reports that had been in circulation for some days, and describes the
preparations making by a party who expected to capture the bold
intruder.
The subject occupied the attention of the papers in Salem and Boston
more or less for the next two months, for although the visit of the
serpent seems to have ended early in September, records of former
appearances in different parts of the world were fully discussed. It is
worthy of notice that almost from the first the authentic character of
the reports was admitted. The _Chronicle and Patriot_ of Boston says,
under date of Aug. 20, "Doubts having been expressed by some as to the
fact of an aquatic serpent of the magnitude described having been seen
in the harbor of Gloucester, we have conversed with gentlemen of that
place of undoubted veracity who have seen him since the former accounts
were published, and who declare that they have in no way been
exaggerated."
These are brief extracts from the papers during the time that they were
occupied with the subject: Aug. 18, "two serpents were seen playing
together"; Aug. 25, one was seen "feasting on ale-wives in Kettle Cove";
Aug. 28, he was "still hovering on the coast and feeding on herring";
Sept. 4, "It is hoped that the naval commander on the coast will attempt
its capture"; Sept. 10, he was seen at Salem, "after the swarms or
schools of bait," and again, near Half-way Rock, "coiled up on the
surface of the water, reposing after a hearty breakfast of herring";
Aug. 27, the "Aquatic Novelty" was "off Eastern Point"; Sept. 24, there
was a notice of "Beach's picture about to be exhibited"; Oct. 1, "the
Panorama of Gloucester with the great Sea Serpent will be ready for
exhibition on Monday next." One account states that "he is cased in
shell"; another, that "it is proposed to make a number of strong nets in
the hope of entangling and so killing him"; Oct. 8, "the panorama is on
exhibition at Merchant's Hall, Milk Street," and "Beach has in the hands
of an engraver a view on a small scale, and is painting one 26 x 14
feet, including the town and harbor of Gloucester."