In glancing over the "Portraits for Posterity," the writer notes the conspicuous absence of naval representation among the "counterfeit presentments" that adorn the walls of the Capitol at Concord and the halls of Dartmouth, and ventures to suggest to Governor Prescott, the distinguished and indefatigable collector of most of the pictures, that portraits of Thornton of the Kearsarge, and Perkins of the Cayuga and Chickasaw, might fittingly be given place among those who, in the varied walks of life, have lent distinction and added lustre to the Province and State of New Hampshire from Colonial times to this. Let not the men of the sea be forgotten!

* * * * *

FROM THE WHITE HORSE TO LITTLE RHODY.

BY CHARLES M. BARROWS.

Were other means lacking, the progress of the human race might be pretty accurately gauged by its modes of locomotion. On such a basis of classification there might be a pedestrian period, a pilgrim period, a saddle period, a road-wain period, a stage-coach period, and a railway period.

Relatively considered, each mode of travel thus indicated would be an index of the necessities and activity of the times. The nomadic peoples dwelt in a leisurely world, and were content to go a-foot; their wants were simple, their aspirations temperate; subsistence for themselves and their flocks was their great care, and only when the grass withered and the stream dried up did they set forth in quest of fresh pasturage. At length, however, the dull-thoughted tribular chieftain became curious to know what lay beyond the narrow horizon of his wilderness, and men bound on the sandal, girded up their loins, grasped staff, and beat paths up and down the valleys, trudging behind an ass or a pack-horse that carried their impedimenta. Another advance, and the man who drove his beast before him found that the creature was able to carry both his pack and himself; and training soon enabled the animal to mend his pace and transport his master rapidly across long stretches of waste country. Another period elapsed, and ambitious man discovered that, by clearing a passage for wheels, the load could be shifted from the back of the beast to a wagon drawn behind him; thus carriages came into use, and the race went bowling along the great highway of progress at a wonderful rate. Then vehicles began to be improved, and the restless brain of the inventor contrived a stage-coach for the convenience of those who had no private carriages or did not care to use them; though rude at first, it soon came to be luxurious, with thorough braces, upholstery, and glass windows. But even this noisy vehicle, that abridged distance and brought far cities near together, outgrew its usefulness and gave way to its rival, the steam-car, which could hurry men through the land as on the wings of a tornado. And now the same race, which in the morning of the world was content to wander four or five miles between sun and sun, and had no wish to go faster, can scarcely abide the slowness of a palace-car sliding over a mile of steel rail each minute, and General Meigs is importuning the Legislature for leave to construct a railway on which trains shall run at three times that speed.

It would be too much to ask this hurrying, restless, nineteenth-century world to retrace its way by rail and turnpike, saddle and sandal, back to the slow patriarch, who kept his youth a hundred years, and in all that time might not have traveled as far as a suburban gentleman of to-day does in going once from his home to his place of business in Boston. It might halt long enough, however, to enjoy a view of the stage-coach in which its grandfathers got on so rapidly, rumbling before a cloud of dust over the straight pike that used to connect the metropolis with some lesser city.

Such a highway was the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, the grand avenue of public travel between Boston and Providence, and one link of the continuous thoroughfare connecting New England with New York and Washington. It was opened during the years of intense activity that marked the infancy of the nation, and it had a distinct corporate existence and history, like the railroad that ruined it, and was owned and operated by a stock company. Though the entire road was not fifty miles in length, the original enterprise contemplated only a section thereof, which, in accordance with an act of incorporation passed by the State Legislature in 1802, was built from the court-house in Dedham, the shire town of Norfolk County, to the north precinct meeting-house in Attleborough, then a small border town of Bristol County.

The members of the original corporation that held the franchise of the road were Fisher Ames, James Richardson, and Timothy Gay, Jr., of Dedham; Timothy Whitney and John Whiting, of Roxbury; Eliphalet Slack, Samuel S. Blackinton, William Blackinton, Israel Hatch, Elijah Daggett, and Joseph Holmes, of Attleborough; Ephraim Starkweather, Oliver Wilkinson, and Ozias Wilkinson, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. They were all enterprising business men in their day, well known throughout Eastern Massachusetts, and the undertaking for which they combined seemed as vast to the rural denizens of the towns through which it passed as did the Pacific Railroad enterprise to capitalists twenty years ago. To the surprise of the honest farmers, who considered the crooked county roads good enough for them, it made almost a straight line from one terminus to the other, and was laid out four rods in width—a reckless waste of land—as a preventive against snow blockades in winter Instead of following the windings of valley and stream as other roads did, this pike mounted directly over all interposing hills, in accordance with the most approved theories of civil engineers of that day; and where sections of those old thoroughfares still remain intact, it is amusing to observe at what steep, straight grades they were made to climb the most abrupt ascent, curving neither to the right nor to the left in merciful consideration for the horses.

But it must not be supposed that public stage-coach travel on the route here indicated began with the opening of the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike. The first conveyance of the kind started on its devious way over the poor county roads from Boston to Providence in 1767; and the quaint Jedediah Morse records that twelve years later the "intercourse of the country barely required two stages and twelve horses on this line"; but the same authority states that in 1797 twenty stages and one hundred horses were employed, and that the number of different stages leaving Boston during the week was twenty.

The first stage-coach that passed over this new turnpike was driven by William Hodges, familiarly called "Bill," a famous Jehu, whose exploits with rein and whip, being really of a high order of merit, were graphically set forth to any passenger who shared the box with him, after Bill's spirits had been raised and his tongue limbered with the requisite number of "nippers"; and the increased comfort and rapidity of the journey were so clearly apparent, that the line was soon after extended to connect the capitals of the Bay State and Little Rhody.

In those days there was but one way to drive out of Boston, and that a narrow one known as the "Neck," beyond which was Roxbury. Across this isthmus all northward, westward, and southward-bound vehicles must pass, in leaving or entering the city. The narrowest place was at the present intersection of Dover Street with Washington, or, as it was then called, Orange, Street. In ante-bellum times this was the southern limit of the city, and here a gate stood, which opened on to a causeway that crossed the "salt marish," which at high tide was covered by the water. To this gateway, then, the turnpike was extended from Dedham court-house; and when the work was finished a coach, starting from the White Horse Tavern in Boston, which stood near the site of the Adams House, just opened by Messrs. Hall and Whipple, bowled along "a smooth and easy highway" to the bank of the Providence River, making the long journey within the incredibly short space of six consecutive hours, when the wheeling was good.

This great work, which was talked about years before it was undertaken, and then required years to finish, was a triumph of road-building, in which both owners and contractors took a pardonable pride; and to those familiar with the region through which it passed, the course will be sufficiently indicated by noting here and there a way-mark. On leaving Boston Neck it followed the already well-graded road through the Highlands, to a point near the present station of the Boston and Providence Railroad corporation in Roxbury, thence through West Roxbury to Dedham, and on through Norwood to East Walpole; it left the central village of Walpole a mile or so to the west, keeping near the Sharon line, struck into the westerly edge of Foxborough to a point called the Four Corners, then through Shepardville in Wrentham to North Attleborough, Attleborough "City," Pawtucket, and Providence. A large portion of the road is still kept in repair, so that one might take a carriage and trace the route through its entire length.

To support such an expensive turnpike it was necessary to levy a tax on those who made use of it, and to that end several toll-gates were established, at which passengers were compelled to halt and pay their lawful reckoning. These gates were located at Roxbury, Dedham, East Walpole, Foxborough Four Corners, North Attleborough, and Pawtucket; and so great was the patronage of the road, that the annual income derived from these sources afforded the stockholders a handsome net dividend.

With the disuse of stage-coaches has perished that public convenience, the country tavern, an institution with which the modern hotel has little in common. It was suited to the needs and tastes of a former generation, and to a time, it may be,

"When men lived in a grander way, With ampler hospitality."

But no hotel of the present day, with its showy furnishings and glitter, its gongs and bell-calls, its multitude of obsequious waiters, gauging their attention by your clothes, will bear comparison with the old-time tavern for homelike comfort and hearty good service. The guest, on his arrival, tired and hungry, was not put off with the cold recognition of a clerk who simply wrote after his name the number of his room, and then with averted face said: "Waiter, show this gentleman to number ninety-seven." On climbing out of the stage-coach, he was sure to see mine host, a fat, jolly man, who greeted him, whether friend or stranger, with a bow of genuine welcome, relieved him of his hand-luggage, ushered him in before the open fire of the bar-room, and actually asked what he would have for supper. Nor did this personal interest cease as soon as the guest had been comfortably bestowed; for the landlord was sure to have some pleasant words with him in the course of the evening, and to make him feel, ere he went to rest, that, by coming at that particular time, he had conferred on the host or some other guest a special favor, so that he retired in the best of humor with himself.

Such inns of entertainment were to be found in every considerable New England town a hundred years ago, and each bore some special reputation for general hospitality, the cordiality of its landlord, or the excellence of its table or liquors. Each one of these ancient hostelries might also be aptly described as

"A kind of old Hobgoblin Hall, Now somewhat fallen to decay, With weather-stains upon the wall, And creaking and uneven floors, And chimneys huge, and tiled and tall."

Wherever a stage line was established, a good country tavern, every few miles along the route, became a necessity. It nourished on the patronage that the coach brought to its door; its kitchen and barns afforded a ready market for the produce of the farmers, and it was a grand centre for news and the idlers of the village.

The Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike was fortunate in its taverns, which were accounted among the best in the State, from the White Horse, whence every stage-coach took its departure, to the last one met with on the very borders of the land of Roger Williams. There was the Billings Tavern in Roxbury, where it was considered quite the proper thing for outward-bound passengers to alight and get something to fortify them against the fatigues of the journey, especially if the weather were extremely cold or extremely warm.

The next tavern on the line was widely known as Bride's, and later as Gay's, in Dedham, a place where all who took the early coach out of the city delighted to stop and breakfast. Here was to be found one of the best tables on the line, and tradition has it that Bill Hodges, who, by the way, must have been a competent judge, pronounced Bride's old Medford rum the finest he had ever tasted. In the palmy days of stage-coach travel, it was no uncommon thing for a hundred persons to breakfast at this inn before resuming their journey to Providence. It was here that President John Adams usually took the coach when he set out for Washington, being first driven to that point from Quincy in his own private carriage.

There was a small public house at South Dedham, now Norwood, which was but little patronized, and the next tavern of note was Polley's, at East Walpole, which had the name of furnishing the best board to be found between Boston and New York, and there all the travel on the road stopped to dinner. It was also a convenient point for taking up passengers from many adjacent towns, whence mail-carriages converged toward the common centre, and scores of private teams were driven with small parcels or other commissions for the stage; for it must be borne in mind that the driver exercised the functions of an expressman, or common carrier, and was entrusted with a variety of messages and valuables to deliver along the route, the fees for such service being usually regarded as his rightful perquisites.

Shepard's Tavern in Foxborough was a customary stopping-place; but the next grand halt, after leaving Polley's, was made at Hatch's, in North Attleborough. Here the approach of each stage was announced by the winding of a horn, and the driver was wont to swing his long lash with a flourish around the sweaty flanks of his leaders in a way to assure them that he meant business, then give his wheel horses an encouraging cut, and dash up before the famous hostelry at a breakneck speed that said to the small boys, Get out of the way! and caused the stock loafers, who always assembled on the piazza at the first blast of the horn, to envy the skill that could thus handle a whip, and guide, with apparent ease, the most mettlesome four-in-hand.

Historically considered, no other tavern on the line possessed so much of antiquarian interest as Hatch's. It occupied the site of an old garrison built and occupied by John Woodcock, the famous Indian fighter, as a stronghold against the attacks of his red foes. He went thither from the Providence Plantation about the middle of the seventeenth century, when the town was an unbroken wilderness in the northern part of the Rehoboth North Purchase, so called, took up his abode and reared his family in lonely solitude within the close stockades he planted around his home. The first house that went by the name of Hatch's Tavern was built upon this old garrison, which, indeed, formed a part of its very walls, and not until the proprietor found it necessary to erect a new and larger house, when the turnpike was opened, did the last vestiges of the Woodcock stronghold disappear.

The landlord of this inn, Colonel Israel Hatch, was also a man of importance in his time, who enjoyed an enviable reputation for military achievements, and was very prominent in public affairs. At no point on the line was the traveler surer of a larger hospitality or a heartier welcome than was extended by Colonel Hatch, though its best room, which was reserved for visitors of note, might not have contained the veritable inscription ascribed to Major Molineaux:—

"What do you think? Here is good drink. Perhaps you may not know it; If not in haste, do stop and taste; You merry folks will show it."

On leaving North Attlebourogh, the remaining twelve miles to Providence were conveniently relieved by short halts at Bishop's and at Barrow's Taverns in Attleborough "City" and West Attleborough, and at one or two places in Pawtucket, so that no passenger was compelled to go hungry or dry for many miles.

By far the most noted passenger ever conveyed over the Norfolk and Bristol road, and there were many worthy of mention, is reputed to have been President James Monroe, who shortly after his inauguration in March, 1817, made a tour through the New England States, similar to that made by President Hayes in 1877. The occasion was a great one, for Monroe and his party left Providence in the morning, halted at Hatch's for lunch, dined at Polley's, and were met on their arrival at Dedham by a delegation from Boston who escorted them to the "Hub of the Universe." Great was the curiosity of the country-folk to behold a president, and the streets through which his barouche was to pass were thronged with an eager, expectant multitude, who greeted him with cheers, and were rewarded with a gracious bow. And one little boy, now a venerable and honored member of the Bristol County bar, was standing with his father in an open farm wagon, when the President alighted at North Attleborough, and exclaimed with evident disappointment: "Why, father, he's no bigger than any other man!"

* * * * *

DUNGEON ROCK, LYNN.

BY FRANK P. HARRIMAN.

All over the land there are localities to which, in some way or other, have become attached names that indicate something of the supernatural, or such as are intended to excite apprehension. What stout heart does not stand dismayed before a real dungeon? A prison under ground is something awful to contemplate. Whose hair does not stand on end at the thought of possible confinement in a dark, damp, cold stone prison-house, with rusty-hinged or even sealed doors, where no window opens to the light of day; where no friendly voice is ever heard; where liberation is impossible, and where, cursed with the remainder of life, one is doomed to a miserable existence till the mortal and the immortal separate? Deliver us from such terrors as these!

In visiting Dungeon Rock, however, like most places of a similar character, we find there is no especial reason for fear, notwithstanding the indicative name, and the many blood-curdling traditions connected therewith.

It was a fine autumn day, when, together with some friends, we mustered courage to pay our respects to this now famous spot. We found our way thither from the city of Lynn by horse-cars, a part of the way by a barge and on foot. The driver of the barge, like most drivers of such vehicles, displayed no small amount of scientific driving. Why it is that almost all scientific driving generally results in some mishap, we are unable to determine. But we conclude that the particular science to which we refer is usually engendered by the driver having his elbow crooked at some bar before the journey commences. On all such occasions stops are quite common; branches of trees are not avoided, and they threaten to destroy our best suits, or brush us altogether from our seats; the brakes do not work; the traces get unhitched; an immense whip is flourished and cracked; the horses become unmanageable; frightened women in a high key scream "Mercy!" and the ride becomes not only dangerous but unendurable.

After a ride up hill and down over a winding road skirted by forest trees on either hand, we were left in the woods at the foot of a steep hill. The remainder of our way was by a path of the most primitive nature, something, we should judge, like that of the native Pawtuckets, with the exception of the rapid ascent, for the natives were wiser than we in laying out their highways, for they avoided both hills and swamps. Shortly we found ourselves in the immediate vicinity of Dungeon Rock, which is situated on the summit of a granite-capped eminence overlooking the surrounding country. Quite a concourse of people had assembled on this occasion, apparently to spend the day and have a "good time" generally. We should have said before that this is considered a kind of Mecca for those who hold to the Spiritual faith. There are several buildings which seem to have been dropped down without much order, and a large platform furnished with plank seats. An entertainment had been furnished, though for what purpose or by whom we knew not. There was some fine singing, in solos, duets, and quartettes, and a slender little girl showed a good lip, large lungs, and nimble fingers on a silver cornet, out of which she fired repeated volleys of sputtering jigs at the overelated spectators.

Lynn's first historian, who dealt somewhat in tradition, among other things, says, in substance, "early in 1658, on a pleasant evening, a little after sunset, a small vessel was seen to anchor near the mouth of the Saugus River. A boat was presently lowered from her side, into which four men descended and moved up the river a considerable distance, when they landed and proceeded directly into the woods. They had been noticed by only a few individuals; but in those early times, when the people were surrounded by danger and easily susceptible of alarm, such an incident was well calculated to awaken suspicion, and in the course of the evening the intelligence was conveyed to many houses. In the morning the vessel was gone, and no trace of her or her crew could be found." He further states that on going into the foundry connected with the then existing iron-works, a quantity of shackles, handcuffs, hatchets, and other articles of iron, were ordered to be made and left at a certain place, for which a return in silver would be found. "This was done" (so says the historian), and the mysterious contractors fulfilled their part of the obligation, but were undiscovered. Some months afterward the four men returned and made their abode in what has, to this day, been called Pirates' Glen, where they built a hut and dug a well. It is supposed that they buried money in this vicinity, but our opinion is that most of the money then, as now, was kept above ground. Their retreat being discovered, one of the king's cruisers appeared on the coast, and three of them were arrested and carried to England and probably executed. The other, whose name was Thomas Veal, escaped to a rock in the woods, in which was a spacious cavern, where the pirates had previously deposited some of their plunder. There the fugitive practised the trade of shoemaking. He continued his residence here till the great earthquake of 1658, when the top of the rock was unloosed and crashed down into the mouth of the cavern, enclosing the unfortunate man in what has been called to this day Pirates' Dungeon or Dungeon Rock. We cannot vouch for the complete truthfulness of this historian's statements.

In 1852, one Hiram Marble purchased from the city of Lynn a lot of woodland in which Dungeon Rock is situated. He came, as was claimed, influenced by Spiritualistic revelations.

Directed by the spirit of the departed pirate Tom Veal, Mr. Marble commenced to excavate from this very hard porphyry rock in search of a subterranean vault, into which had been poured, as was supposed, the ill-gotten gain of all the pirates, from Captain Kidd down to the last outlaw of the ocean. Twenty-seven years the sound of the hammer and the drill and the thud of blasting-powder echoed through the leafy forests, and then all was hushed.

Hiram Marble died in his lonely residence at Dungeon Rock, November 10, 1868, aged sixty-five. He was widely known for his perseverence in the work in which he was engaged. Sixteen years he labored without a realization of his ardent hopes. He remained a Spiritualist to the last, and those of a like faith were invited to the funeral services which took place on the day following his death.

"His faith has not been without works, nor his courage barren of results, and centuries hence, if his name and identity should be lost, the strange labor may be referred to some recluse Cyclops who had strayed hither from mystic lands."

"Edwin Marble, who succeeded his father in the strange search for treasure, died January 16, 1880, aged forty-eight years. He was buried near the foot of the rock on the southwestern slope, it having been his express desire to be interred near the scene of his hopeful, though fruitless, labors."

The broken rock, which they removed solely with their own hands, makes quite a mountain of itself.

We decided to enter the place where so many years of fruitless toil had been spent. A wooden gate on rusty hinges opened and we passed in, and the gate closed behind us.

The excavation is high enough and broad enough for two tall men to walk abreast, and on its winding way, screw fashion, doubling upon itself, it leads down one hundred and fifty feet into the bowels of the earth, all the way through solid rock that had remained undisturbed for centuries on centuries, until the work of this ill-directed Marble commenced. Down, down we went, out of the warm sunlight into this cold, damp subterranean passage, winding hither and thither, till we reached an ice-cold pool of water which is constantly being supplied from some hidden fountain, and, were it not removed by pumps, would fill the place to the brim.

This rock-hewn passage is lighted with lanterns hung at the various turns, so that the descent and ascent, notwithstanding the way is rough, can be made with safety. Though the day was warm outside, we were in a very short time chilled through and glad to make our escape. How these men could have endured many long years of labor in this vast refrigerator, and retain any degree of health, is a problem. Faith and zeal doubtless kept the blood moving through their veins. It is said that a knife, or dirk, and a pair of scissors of very ancient origin, which we were shown, were found by Mr. Marble in a fissure of this solid rock. That they were left there by pirates, years on years ago, no sane man can for a moment believe. The probabilities are that some one deceived Mr. Marble.

When this misguided adventurer commenced this work, he was possessed of about fifteen hundred dollars, which he expended long before his death, after which, he depended upon the charities of those who sympathized with him in his undertaking.

In one of the buildings named above, there are several portraits of pirates and their wives, drawn, it is said, by some one under the influence of the spirits, in a marvelously short space of time. Several wives of Captain Kidd are among them.

Captain Kidd must have been a remarkable man, to want more than one such character for a companion, provided the likenesses are true to nature; at any rate we are not at all surprised that he was a pirate, under the circumstances.

To illustrate how Mr. Marble professed to have been directed, we give the following correspondence with the spirits:—

Mr. Marble wrote: "I wish Veal or Harris would tell what move to make next."

This query was covered by fifteen thicknesses of paper and then the medium was called in, and, merely feeling of the exterior of the paper, wrote what the spirit of Veal revealed through him. Captain Harris, named in the communication, is supposed to have been the leader of the piratical band.

Response of Veal: "My Dear Charge,—You solicit me or Captain Harris to advise you as to what to next do. Well, as Harris says he has always had the heft of the load on his shoulders, I will try and respond myself and let Harris rest. Ha! ha! Well, Marble, we must joke a bit; did we not, we should have the blues, as do you some of those rainy days when you see no living person at the rock, save your own dear ones. Not a sound do you hear, save the woodpecker and that little gray bird [Mr. Marble's pet canary], that sings all day long, more especially wet days, tittry, tittry, tittry. But, Marble, as Long [a deceased friend of Marble] says, 'Don't be discouraged.' We are doing as fast as we can. As to the course, you are in the right direction at present. You have one more curve to make before you take the course that leads to the cave. We have a reason for keeping you from entering the cave at once. Moses was by the Lord kept forty years in his circuitous route, ere he had sight of that land that flowed with milk and honey. God had his purpose in so doing, notwithstanding he might have led Moses into the promise, in a very few days from the start. But no; God wanted to develop a truth, and no faster than the minds of the people were prepared to receive it. Cheer up, Marble, we are with you and doing all we can.

"Your guide,

"TOM VEAL."

Another communication, from C.B. Long, contains the following: "The names of Hiram and Edwin Marble will live when millions of years shall, from this time, have passed, and when even kings and statesmen shall have been forgotten."

And so the man and, after him, his son worked on till, so far as they were concerned, death closed the scene. Whether any person in the years to come will follow these misguided laborers, and take up the work where they left it, is a question.

The legendary lore of Dungeon Rock is eclipsed by the dominant impulse of lives absorbed in an idea, based upon supernatural agency. While it is an evidence of a misguided zeal, unequaled by anything the whole world has heretofore probably known, in and of itself it is no mystery.

The mystery is that there ever lived human beings to undertake such an unpromising work, where such hardship and perseverance were required, and where the folly of any hope of success must have been apparent to an intelligent person every day, from the commencement to the close of the twenty-seven years of servile toil.

* * * * *

LANCASTER IN ACADIE AND THE ACADIENS IN LANCASTER.

BY HENRY S. NOURSE.

It is almost one hundred and thirty years

" ... since the burning of Grand-Pre, When on the falling tide the freighted vessels departed, Bearing a nation, with all its household gods, into exile; Exile without an end, and without an example in story."

Of the numerous readers of Evangeline in Lancaster, few now suspect how nearly the sad tale of wantonly-ravaged Acadie touched their own town history. From the archives of Nova Scotia all details of that deed of merciless treachery were left out, for very shame; but upon the crown officials then in authority over the Province, history and poetry have indelibly branded the stigma of an unnecessary edict of expulsion, which devastated one of the fairest regions of America, and tore seven thousand guileless and peaceful people from a scene of rural felicity rarely equaled on earth, to scatter them in the misery of abject poverty, among strangers speaking a strange tongue and hating their religion. The agents who faithfully executed the cruel decree were Massachusetts men, reluctantly obedient to "his Majesty's orders," given them specifically in writing by Charles Lawrence, Governor of Nova Scotia.

On the twentieth of May, 1755, Lieutenant-Colonel John Winslow embarked at Boston with a force of about two thousand men, organized in two battalions. They were enlisted for the term of one year, unless sooner discharged, for the special service of dislodging the French from their newly fortified positions along the north side of the Bay of Fundy, and on the isthmus connecting New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Among the vessels of the fleet was the sloop Victory, and to this was assigned a company belonging to the second, or Lieutenant-Colonel Scott's, battalion, largely composed of, and officered by, Lancaster men, a list of whose names is subjoined:—

Captain Abijah Willard. First Lieutenant "Haskal." [Henry Haskell ?] Second Lieutenant Willard. [Levi ?] Ensign Willard. [Aaron ?]

SERGEANTS.

Thomas Beman, husbandman, aged 25 James Houghton, " " 25

CORPORALS.

Jacob Willard, husbandman aged 31 Thomas Willard, " " 23

DRUMMERS.

Joseph Farnsworth, husbandman aged 20 Joseph Phelps, " " 21

PRIVATES,

Benjamin Atherton, laborer aged 20 Phineas Atherton, " " 16 Daniel Atherton, " " 21 Jonathan Brown, " " 17 Joseph Bailey, " " 30 Phineas Divoll, " " 22 Abel Farnsworth, husbandman " 22 John Farnsworth, laborer " 30 Jeremiah Field, " " 18 Ephraim Goss, " " 22 Thomas Henderson, " " 40 Daniel Harper, " " 21 Elias Haskell, cooper " 19 William Hutson, cordwainer " 22 John Johnson, laborer " 22 Samuel Kilham " " 20 Matthias Larkin," " 30 Joseph Metcalf, cooper " 21 Joseph Pratt, laborer " 30 Joseph Priest, " " 45 Daniel Sanders, " " 19 Isaac Sollendine, laborer " 21 Jacob Stiles, housewright " 19 Lemuel Turner, laborer " 18 Nathaniel Turner, " " 18 William Turner, " " 18 Aaron Wilder, " " 30 William Warner, " " 20 David Wilson, " " 18 Levi Woods, laborer aged 20 Silas Willard, " " 19 Uziah Wyman, apothecary " 21 John Warner, laborer " 20 James Willard, " " 18 John Wilson, " " 20

Besides the above forty-five, there were, in other companies, three natives of Lancaster:—

Nathaniel Johnson, yeoman aged 25 Jonas Moor, " " 32 John Rugg, husbandman " 31

What special part these men took in the investment and capture of the formidable fort of Beau Sejour, or in the assaults upon the minor forts, neither record nor tradition tell, and we are equally uninformed respecting their participation in the pitiable scenes enacted along the shores of Minas and Chignecto Bays. The Massachusetts Archives contain no pay-rolls of this expedition, and no papers of Captain Abijah Willard are known to exist throwing any light upon its history. That the service was not only inglorious in part, and ungrateful to the truly brave, but attended with much hardship, is attested by the following documents copied from Massachusetts Archives, lv, 62 and 63. They are there in the handwriting of Secretary Josiah Willard:—

"Sir: I have received your Letter giving me an acct. of the Hardships your poor Soldiers are exposed to. I sincerely Compassionate their unhappy case & I pray God to find out some Way for their Relief. The Governor is not expected here till the month of December. When he arrives I shall endeavour to mention the affair to him. In the mean time, I have written a Letter to Major General Winslow which I have left open, Leaving it with you to deliver it or not as you shall judge best, First sealing it before you deliver it The Council being informed that I had a Letter from you upon the subject of these Hardships of the Soldiers desired me to communicate it to them, which I did. What they will do upon it I know not.

"Octob'r 31, 1755.

To ABIJAH WILLARD."

"BOSTON, Oct. 31, 1755

"Sir: I have lately received a Letter from my Kinsman Cpt. Abijah Willard expressing his tender concern for his soldiers who are exposed to ly in Tents in this cold season now coming on and their cloath now worn out. I would fain use any Interest I could make that may contribute to the Relief of these and other the Provincial soldiers in Nova Scotia in the like circumstances, but I am a perfect stranger both to Governor Lawrence & Coll. Monkton. But the acquaintance I have of you & my knowledge of your compassionate spirit, especially towards the soldiers under your command in like circumstances, urges me to write to you on this occasion (not from any Distrust I have of your care in these matters, but possibly as your Distance from the Place where this Company is quartered may keep you in some Ignorance of the Difficulties these poor men labour under) to desire you would interpose your best offices for their Relief. It seems that these men can be of little service in act of Duty required of them while they are so destitute of the necessary. Comforts & Refreshments of Life. You will excuse this Freedom. With my earnest desires of the gracious Presence of God with you & particularly to prosper your enterprises for the Good of your nation & Countrey I am, Sir, Your very humble serv't,

"JOSIAH WILLARD."

This was not Captain Willard's first experience of Nova Scotia, nor was it to be his last. Ten years before he enlisted in the expedition against Louisburg, being first lieutenant of Captain Joshua Pierce's company, in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, of which his father, Samuel Willard, was colonel. He was there promoted to a captaincy, July 31, 1745, three days after his twenty-first birthday. Little more than twenty years had passed from the time when he had assisted in forcing the broken-hearted Acadien farmers into exile, and again he sailed for Nova Scotia, himself a fugitive, proscribed as a Tory, his ample estate confiscated, and his name a reproach among his life-long neighbors. As thousands of French Neutrals from Georgia to Massachusetts Bay sighed away their lives with grieving for their lost Acadie, so we know Abijah Willard, so long as he lived, looked westward with yearning heart toward that elm-shaded home so familiar to all Lancastrians. On the coast of the Bay of Fundy, not far west of St. John, is a locality yet called Lancaster. Colonel Abijah Willard gave it the name. It was his retreat in exile, and there he died in 1789.

Of the thousand Acadiens apportioned to the Province of Massachusetts, the committee appointed by General Court for the duty of distributing them among the several towns, sent three families, consisting of twenty persons, to Lancaster. These were Benoni Melanson, his wife Mary, and children, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, John, Bezaleel, "Carre," and another daughter not named; Geoffroy Benway, Abigail, his wife, and children, John, Peter, Joseph, and Mary; Theal Forre, his wife Abigail, and children, Mary, Abigail, Margaret. The Forre family were soon transferred to Harvard. They arrived in February, 1756, and the accounts of the town's selectmen for their support were regularly rendered until February, 1761. They were destitute, sickly, and apparently utterly unable to support themselves, and were billeted now here, now there, among the farmers, at a fixed price of two shillings and eight-pence each per week for their board. Sometimes a house was hired for them, and, in addition to rent paid, we find in the selectmen's charges such items as these:—

s d gr

To cash pd for an Interpreter and paper, 3 4 To what Nessecareys we found them, 1 0 8 0 To 472 weight of Befe cost, 3 3 2 1 To Corn that they have had & yoused, with Sauss, 10 8 To one Bushel of Salt & Salting the Befe, 5 6 to one washing tub, 2 earthen pots & pail, 4 0 to wood for the winter season for the year 1757, 1 6 8

Direct evidence to the helpless condition of the two families of French Neutrals in Lancaster is given in a letter from the selectmen, dated January 24, 1757, found in Massachusetts Archives, xxiii, 330:—

"and here Foloweth an account of the curcumstances, age and sexes of those people, thare Is two famles Consisting of fifteen In Number, the whole to witt. Benoni Melanso with his wife of about fourty four or five years of age, and they have seven children thre Boyes and four Girlls, the Eldest Girl about 17 years old, the boye Next about 15 years old, Sickly. Can Do Nothing. ye Next Boy 12 years old. ye Next boy 10 years old, and ye four Girles all under them Down to two years old, and the woman almost a Criple....

The Name of the others Is Jefray—& his wife, he almost an Idot and aboute 46 years old, ... they have four children 3 Boyes & one Girll. ye Eldest Boye 10 yeares old & ye Rest Down to two years old.

"WM. RICHARDSON } "JOHN CARTER } Selectmen of Lancaster." "JOSHUA FAIRBANK}

Shortly after the date of the above, these unhappy people suddenly disappeared from their habitation. Reckless with homesickness, they had stolen away, and made a bold push for the sea, in the vain hope that on it they might float back to the Basin of Minas. This was in the depth of winter, February, 1757. They came to the coast at Weymouth. There they soon encountered the questioning of local authority, and to excuse their intrusion Melanson made complaint against his Lancaster guardians, the history of which is in Massachusetts Archives, xxiii, 356.

"The Committee to whom was referred the Petition of Benoni Melanzan in behalf of himself and sundrie other French People, Having met and heard the Petition and one of the Selectmen of Lancaster, relating to the several matters therein Complained of and also have heard the Representative of Weymouth where the French People mentioned in s d Petition at present reside: Beg leave to report as follows. Viz: That it doth not appear that ye Petitioner had any Grounds to complain of the selectmen of Lancaster or either of them relating the matter complained of, and therefore Beg leave further Report that the Committee are of oppinion that the said French People be ordered forthwith to Return to Lancaster from whence they in a disorderly manner withdrew themselves, all which is Humbly submited.

"pr order of the Comitte

"SILVANUS BOURN."

"In Council, February 24, 1757.

"Read and ordered that this Report be so far accepted as relates to the Petitioners Complaint of his Treatment at Lancaster being without Grounds, but inasmuch as the Petitioner offers to undertake for the support of himself and the other French removed from Lancaster except in the article of Firing and House Room, and is likewise willing that two of his sons be placed out in Families and inasmuch as the Petitioner is by employment a Fisherman, which cannot be exercised at Lancaster, therefore, Ordered that he have liberty to reside in the Town of Weymouth until this Court shall otherwise order, and the Selectmen of said Town are impowered to place two of his sons in English families for a reasonable term and to provide House Room for the Rest, & the liberty of cutting as much Firewood as is necessary in as convenient a Lot as can be procured. The account of the Charge of House Rent and Firewood to be allowed out of the Province Treasury.

"Sent down for concurrence.

"THOS. CLARKE, Dpty. Secy.

"Feb. 25, 1757."

"In the House of Representatives. Read and unanimously non concurred, and ordered that Report of the Com'tee be accepted & ye the said French Neutrals so called be directed to return forthwith to ye Town of Lancaster accordingly.

"Sent up for Concurrence.

"T. HUBBARD, Spk'r."

"In Council, Feb. 25, 1757.

"Read & Concurred. A. OLIVER, Secy.

"Consented to S. PHIPS."

They were soon again in the quarters whence they fled. In June, 1760, the Melanson family were divided between Lunenburg, Leominister, and Hardwick, while the Benways remained. Among the petitioners for leave to go to "Old France," a little later, appear "Benoni Melanson and Marie, with family of seven," and from that date the waifs from Acadie appear no more in the annals of Lancaster.

* * * * *

GIFTS TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

BY CHARLES F. THWING.

The generosity of the American people, in the making of gifts to their institutions of learning, is munificent. The generosity is keeping pace with the increase of wealth. In 1847, Abbott Lawrence gave fifty thousand dollars to Harvard University, to found the school of science which now bears his name. This gift is declared to be "the largest amount ever given at one time, during the lifetime of the donor, to any public institution in this country." But since the year 1847, it is probable that not less than fifty millions of dollars have been donated by individuals to educational institutions. In several instances, gifts, each approaching, or even exceeding, a million of dollars, have been bestowed. The Baltimore merchant, Johns Hopkins, gave not less than three millions of dollars to a great university, which, like Harvard, bears the name of its founder. Henry W. Sage and Ezra Cornell contributed more than a million to the endowment of Cornell University. The gifts of Amasa Stone to the Adelbert University at Cleveland aggregate more than half a million. Since 1864, Ario Pardee has given to Lafayette College more than five hundred thousand dollars; and the donations of John C. Green to Princeton aggregate toward a million of dollars. Alexander Agassiz, worthy son of a worthy father, has donated more than a quarter of a million of dollars to the equipment of the Museum of Comparative Zoology and Anatomy which his father founded. Joseph E. Sheffield endowed the scientific school at New Haven which bears his name. The late Nathaniel Thayer, of Boston, contributed about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Harvard. Among various institutions in the West, South, and North, Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, of Maiden, Massachusetts, has, within the last five years, distributed more than a million of dollars. George Peabody's benevolences amount to eight millions of dollars, about one fourth of which forms the Southern Educational Fund, and about one eighth endowed the Peabody Institute at Baltimore. John F. Slater gave a million of dollars to the cause of Southern education. The amounts contributed to college and university education in the last ten years may be thus summarized:[A]

1872 $6,282,461 1873 8,238,141 1874 1,845,354 1875 2,703,650 1876 2,743,348 1877 1,273,991 1878 1,389,633 1879 3,878,648 1880 2,666,571 1881 4,601,069

[Footnote A: Compiled from various Reports of the United States Commissioner of Education.]

In the nineteen years since the close of the war, many institutions have been founded with munificent endowments, as Johns Hopkins, Smith at Northampton, Wellesley; and many more institutions have vastly increased their resources. Harvard's property has perhaps tripled in amount; Princeton's income, under the presidency of Dr. McCosh, has greatly enlarged; Yale's revenue has also received large additions. Colleges in every State have been the recipients of munificent gifts. Notwithstanding, however, these benevolences, most colleges are in a constant state of poverty. Indeed, it may be said that every college ought to be poor; that is, it ought to have needs far outrunning its immediate means of supplying them. Harvard is frequently making applications for funds, which appear to be needed quite as much in Cambridge, as in the new college of a new town of a new State. At the present time, colleges stand in peculiar need of gifts for general purposes of administration. Funds are frequently given for a special object, as the foundation of a professorship. But the amount may be inadequate. It is not expedient to decline the gift. Properly to endow the new chair, therefore, revenue must be drawn from the general funds, which thus suffer diminution. Donations are of the greatest advantage to a college, which are free from conditions relative to their use.

The demand of institutions of learning for endowment receives special emphasis at the present by the decreasing rate of interest. It is difficult, every college treasurer knows well, so to invest funds with safety as to cause them to return more than five per cent, interest. Ten years ago in the East it was as easy to secure seven, as it is now to secure five, per cent. In one year one college saw its income decrease many thousand dollars by reason of this decrease in the rate of interest. Bowdoin College is distinguished for the success with which its funds are administered. At the present these funds are said to pay about six per cent, interest, but it is a rate higher than many colleges are able to gain. By this decrease the salaries of professors, the income of scholarships, and the entire revenue, suffer.

Many reasons might be urged in behalf of benevolence to institutions of learning. Funds thus given are as a rule administered with extraordinary financial skill. Their permanence is greater than the permanence of funds in trust companies and savings banks. Harvard, the oldest college, Yale, the next to the oldest (with the exception of William and Mary), have funds still unimpaired, still applied to the designs of those who gave them in the first years of their incorporation.

Gifts to a college are, moreover, an application of the right principle of benevolence of helping those who help themselves. The trustees, the professors, are, in proportion to their income, the most generous. Not seldom do they pledge a year's salary for the benefit of the institutions which they officially serve. The first nineteen donors to Tabor College, Iowa, several of whom were its officers, gave no less than sixty per cent. of the assessed value of their property. The efficient president of Colorado College has been engaged in making money for his college in legitimate business, in preference to making his own fortune. The students, as well as the officers, of colleges endeavor to help themselves to an education in all fitting ways. The keeping of school, the doing of chores, the running of errands, the tutoring of fellow-students, suggest the various ways in which they endeavor to work their way through college.

Those who thus donate their money, in amounts either large or small, foster the highest interests of the nation. From institutions of learning flow the best forces of the national life. Literature, the fine arts, patriotism, philanthrophy, and religion, thus receive their strongest motives. The higher education in the United States is most intimately related to the master-minds of American literature. Longfellow, Hawthorne, Lowell, Holmes, were in part created by Bowdoin and Harvard. Among the most efficient officers of the late war were the graduates of the colleges. Without the college the ministry would become a "sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal" indeed, and without a learned ministry the church would languish. In the early years of the century, Mr. John Norris, of Salem, proposed to give a large sum of money to the cause of foreign missions. He was persuaded, however, to transfer the gift to the foundation of the Andover Theological Seminary, assured that thus he was really giving it to the missionary cause. So the event proved. For the first American missionaries were trained at Andover. Thus, he who gives his money to the college, gives it to the fostering of the highest and best forces in American thought and character.

* * * * *

SONG OF THE WINDS.

BY HENRY B. CARRINGTON.

I.

Thin as the viewless air, Swifter than dreams can be, Above, around, and everywhere, We speed with pinions free. No barrier bounds our path, But, ever, to and fro, Angels of mercy and of wrath. Onward, in haste we go.

II.

Our birth, mid Chaos rude, Ere Earth had formed its shell; And nursed we were, in solitude, Where hoary night did dwell. We tossed her raven hair, Ere sun began to glow, And whirled the atoms through the air, To form the moon, I trow.

III.

We heard the Eternal Voice Pronounce, "Let there be Light!" And, shrieking, fled, beneath the wings Of the escaping Night. We saw the earth arise, Childlike, from Nature's womb, And flew to it, with joyous cries,— We knew it was our home.

IV.

How brilliant, then, its dyes, O'er past we could not grieve;— We rocked the trees of Paradise, And whisked the locks of Eve. Mid things so gay and calm, With wings, as those of doves, We floated o'er those fields of balm, As lightest zephyr roves.

V.

All changed from peace to wrath When stern Archangel came And drove that pair from garden path, With sword of lambent flame. Our wings grew strong and broad, Our anger burst on high, We tore huge trees,—we dashed along, Our shadows gloomed the sky.

VI.

Our home, the boundless air Or Ocean's surging breast,— We meet the lightnings' lurid glare, Or hang on rainbow's crest; At touch, the forests bow, The lake uplifts its voice, The long grass hums its anthem low, And ocean waves rejoice.

VII.

Our flocks, the drifting clouds That sweep across the plain, Like vessels seen, with netted shrouds, At rest upon the main. We laugh to see them spread With darkened fleece, afar,— While thunders mutter, overhead, Like trumpet notes of war.

VIII.

We scorn the pride of man, With us he dare not cope, Build vessel strong as e'er he can, We shiver mast and rope. Too long we tarry now— Away,—with speed, away, More than a thousand miles we go, To sink a ship to-day.

* * * * *

BRITISH LOSSES IN THE REVOLUTION.

FROM APRIL 19, 1775, TO THE SURRENDER OF GENERAL BURGOYNE,

OCTOBER 17, 1777

[The following account of the losses of the British in the Revolution, for the first thirty months of the war, is taken from The London Magazine of February, 1778, and is interesting in that it differs from all the statements that appear in our United States Histories of that portion of the war.—ED.]

In March, 1776, the Parliament of Great Britain Voted 42,390 Men for the Service of America; These troops Landed Accordingly, And have Lost agreeable to their Returns as Followeth:—

_____ ___ ___ ___ Places Where Killed. Wounded. Prisoners. _____ ___ ___ __ At Lexington and Concord 43 70 Bunker Hill 746 1,150 Ticonderoga and Quebec 81 110 350 On the Lake, by General Arnold 93 64 Sullivan's Island 191 264 Ceder 40 70 Norfolk, in Virginia 129 175 40 Different Actions on Long 840 660 60 Island Harlem and Hell's Gate 236 773 43 New York, in time of landing 57 100 White Plains, General McDougal 450 490 270 Fort Washington 900 1,500 Fort Lee 20 30 Trenton Hessians 35 60 948 Princetown 74 100 210 Boston Road, by Admiral Hardy 52 90 750 Transports taken 390 Danbury 260 350 40 Iron Hill, near Elk 59 80 20 Brandy Wine 800 1,170 Reden Road, by General Maxwell 40 60 Staten Island, by General 94 150 278 Sullivan Bennington 200 1,100 1,100 Fort Montgomery 580 700 Fort Mifflin and Red Bank 328 53 84 General Burgoyne's Army 2,100 1,126 5,572 Deserted 1,100 _____ ___ ___ ___ 8,448 10,495 10,155

* * * * *

THE BOSTON YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

BY RUSSELL STURGIS, JR.

In the year of our Lord 1844, a young clerk, named George Williams, consulted with a few others and determined that something should be done to save the young men, who came by thousands to London, from the terrible temptations and snares to which they were exposed. The old times had passed when the young man came to the city recommended to some friend who would feel a personal interest in him, either take him into his own house or find some good home for him; who felt responsible for him and bound to know where he went and with whom he associated; who often had him at his own board, if not regularly there, and who expected to see him in his family pew on Sunday.

]

[Footnote A: NOTE.—The illustrations are furnished by the architects of the new building, Messrs. Sturgis and Brigham.]

Perhaps this state of things had, from necessity, ceased to be; perhaps the introduction of machinery and the employment of large numbers of young men in the cities made this personal relation no longer possible. Whether possible or no, the fact remains that this close relation between employer and employed ceased. There are, even now, some noble exceptions to this, as in the case of Mr. Williams himself, and the firm of Samuel Morlay and Company.

The young man to-day comes fresh from the pure air and clear lavish sunshine of his country home, where summer's flower-decked green is a continuous feast, and winter's glories a delight no less. Whether upon the snow in sleigh, or hillside coasting, or the swift skate on the frozen river, or at evening's cozy fireside before the blazing logs, all rejoice in simple pleasures, and prayer closes the day. Dear country home, where every sound is ministry; the morning cock and cackling hen, the birds' hopeful morning song, the twittering swallow, noon's rest and healthy appetite, the lowing cattle, the birds' thankful evening note, the village bell—old curfew's echo, the pattering on the pane, the wind in the treetops, the watchdog's distant bark for lullaby, and quiet restful sleep; his greatest sports—those of the evening village-green—the apple bee, the husking, and the weekly singing-school.

He stands at evening gazing at the splendors of the blacksmith's glowing forge, and in the morning says "good-by" to all, and starts upon his journey to the city.

Arrived, and having found employment, he works from a fixed hour in the morning till evening, then he goes home—where? 'T is all the home he has—all he can afford: a room, or perhaps a part of a room, on the upper floor of a tall house, in a narrow street—houses all about—the view all brick and slate,—the sunshine never penetrates to him—the air is close and heavy; not one attraction is there for him here. But on his way from work he must perforce pass many a front, where the electric light casts its brilliant beams quite across the street. Yes, this proprietor can well afford the costly allurement—it pays—a very wrecker's light to lure to destruction. Its baneful brightness makes day of that dark narrow street. Within is warmth, companionship, music, wine, play,—all that appeals to a young man's nature. What wonder that he turns in here rather than go on to his cold, dreary room.

Once in, he is welcomed; hearty good fellows they seem. True, they are very different from his old friends in appearance, manner, and language, and he at first shrinks from them, but the wine-cup soon obliterates distinctions, and he feels that he has never met such choice spirits before. Laughing at their jokes and coarse stories, he forgets all in the wild excitement of the moment. His voice is now the loudest. He sings, shouts, and, at length, losing consciousness, only wakes sick and utterly miserable. He determines it shall be the last. Never will he be seen there again. But he has entered upon a path of easy descent, and lower and lower he falls. He is hurrying to death.

His employer cares only that he is at his place in the morning and remains there at work till the evening. He cannot follow him, and should the young man's habits become such that it "no longer pays" to employ him, he is dismissed and another is quickly found to take his place. Vast numbers of young men were going down to death in the cities, when George Williams and his friend determined to do something to keep them from destruction, and thus they formed the first Young Men's Christian Association in the world, on the sixth day of June, 1844.

In the autumn of 1851, a correspondent of the Watchman and Reflector, a religious paper published in Boston, wrote an account of his visit to the London rooms. Captain Sullivan saw the article, and having himself visited the London Association, he spoke to others, and the result was a meeting in the vestry of the Central Church, on December 15, 1851, of thirty-two men, representing twenty congregations of the different denominations.

This meeting was adjourned to December 22, at the Old South Chapel, in Spring Lane. A constitution was adopted on December 29. Officers were chosen January 5 and 10, and the work began in earnest.

Mr. Francis O. Watts, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was the first president of this, the first Young Men's Christian Association of the United States. It is a strange coincidence, easily understood by the Christian, that on the twenty-fifth of November, one month previous, without any knowledge on the part of Boston, the first Young Men's Christian Association of America had been organized at Montreal, in Canada.

The constitution adopted was based upon that of the parent Association, and provided that, while any young man could be a member and enjoy all other privileges of the Association, only members of evangelical churches could hold office or vote. The reason for this was clear and right. Those who originated the parent Association, and those who formed this, believed in the doctrines of the Universal Church of Christ—in the loss of the soul and its redemption only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; nor could they be satisfied with any work for young men which did not at least aim at conversion.

The chairman of the international committee thus speaks, in February last: "When any Association sinks the religious element and the religious object which it professes to hold high beneath secular agencies and powers, it ceases to deserve the name of Young Men's Christian Association. It belongs then to a class of societies of which we have many, and in which, as Christian young men looking to the conversion of our fellows as the supreme object, we have no special or peculiar interest." The tenth annual report thus speaks upon this point: "The tie which binds us together is a common faith. We hold this faith most dearly, and believe it to be essential, and therefore worthy to be protected by every means. We cannot be expected, surely, to do so suicidal a thing as to admit to the right of equal voice in the government of our society those who are directly opposed to the very essence of our being."



The benefits of the Association are for all—its management alone is restricted.

There are now nearly twenty-five hundred Associations in the world, all upon what is called the evangelical basis, and in the United States and British Provinces only Associations upon this basis have membership or representation in the International Organization, formulated in Paris, in 1855, thus:—

"The Young Men's Christian Associations seek to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour according to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be his disciples in their doctrine and in their life, and to associate their efforts for the extension of his kingdom among young men."

It is a fact that whenever the attempt has been made, and it often has, in any Association, to give an equal right in the management to those who are not of our faith, that Association has either soon adopted our basis or ceased to exist.

The spiritual benefit of its members having thus always been its ultimate end, the London Association, during its early years, did no other work; and no sooner was the Boston Association formed than it, too, took it up. For a while, it carried on a Bible-class and a weekly prayer-meeting; but in May, 1857, a daily prayer-meeting was established, and has been continued almost without intermission to the present time. The visitation of sick members, the distribution of tracts, and the conduct of general religious meetings, have been the regular work of special committees. These last have been held when and where they seemed to be called for: on the Common, at the wharves, on board the ships in the harbor, and, especially during our Civil War, on board the receiving-ship Ohio; in the theatres, at Tremont Temple, and at the Meionaon, where, at various times, for weeks, a noon meeting has been held for business men.

The Association has also been the rallying-point and chief instrumentality in great revival movements, under the direction of the churches, and especially in that under Mr. Moody in the great Tabernacle. The Boston Association has never forgotten the chief object of its existence, nor, though not without some fluctuation, has it intermitted its religious work.

We have said that in London the work was at first wholly religious. In this country, however, the social and intellectual element in young men was immediately recognized and measures taken to satisfy them. Therefore pleasant rooms were at once secured, carpeted, furnished, hung with pictures, and supplied with papers, magazines, and books; and, as the work enlarged and additional and more commodious rooms were obtained, the literary class and the occasional lecture in the room at the Tremont Temple building, expanded, in its first own building at the corner of Tremont and Elliot Streets, into evening classes, social gatherings, readings, and concerts; and here first we were able to give to our members who wished them the advantages of the gymnasium and bathrooms. And when, through the munificence of the business men, the Association was enabled to take possession of its present building, certainly excelled by no other in the world, either in beauty of exterior or accommodation, every appliance for physical, social, intellectual and spiritual work has been made possible.



Visit the building with us. There it stands, at the corner of two broad streets, and in the midst of the finest public and private buildings in the city. Unique in architecture, simple in design, warm in color, and beautiful in its proportions, it is a building of which Boston may well be proud, while every Christian man must rejoice in the thought that it is built for His glory whose blessed emblem crowns its top-most gable. By its broad stone staircase, under the motto of Associations, "Teneo et teneor," and through its vestibule, we enter the great reception-room. Immediately on the left, a white marble fountain supplies ice-cold water to all who wish it; beyond, richly carpeted and well furnished, the walls hung with good paintings, are the two parlors. Here the members have withdrawing-rooms equal to those even in this favored neighborhood. The few whom we find here certainly appreciate their comfort. The pleasant room adjoining is that of the general secretary, where he is usually to be found, and where each member is cordially welcomed for converse or advice. Beyond, again, is the office, where three men find it no sinecure to attend to the continuous stream of comers for welcome, membership, or information. The library is a large, handsome, sunnyroom, well furnished with shelves, but not these so well with books; and yet, from twenty to fifty men are here quietly reading. The next room is for general reading. Around the walls on every side are papers from almost everywhere, and on the tables all the periodicals of this country, and many from abroad. All about the room sit or stand the readers, many, for the time, at home again as they gather the local news of their own town or village. The room beyond is called the "game-room." At each little table sit the chess or draught-players, while many interested are looking on.

Here is the lavatory, complete in all its appointments, except, perhaps, that the long towel on the roller has been already this evening used by too many hands. The smell of blacking, too, indicates the wearer's pleasure in his cleaned and polished boots. In that little hall, which seats about three hundred, a lecture is being given to young men, on the care of the body, by Dr.——. This is one of six which are given gratuitously by Boston physicians.

We mount the stairs to the next story. These two rooms are rented to a commercial college. This door opposite admits you to the hall, which has seats for nine hundred persons. It is extremely simple, but the tints of the walls and ceiling are delightful, and you have only to listen to those members of the —— Club, who have leased it for their concerts, to realize that its acoustic properties are perfect.

Still higher, we find the room of the board, where, once at least in each month, the directors sup at their own expense, and manage the affairs of the Association. Here, too, its various committees meet. In the room adjoining, a French lesson is going on; in that, German; in this, penmanship. Still higher up we find the "Tech" Glee Club practising, and this large room adjoining is filled with those who are learning vocal music. The building seems a very hive—something going on everywhere.

Let us now descend to the basement. The gymnasium is here in full blast. Men in every kind of costume and in every possible and, to many persons, impossible position, while the superintendent is intently watching each to see that he is properly developing; every kind of bath and many of them are right at hand, and dressing-rooms with boxes for eight hundred persons.

And this great building and all these appliances are the gift of the citizens of Boston to the young men from the country. Many of the donors remember the time when they came lonely to the city, and determined, if they could prevent it, that no young man, to-day, in the same position, should be without a place where all of which they so greatly felt the need is supplied.

These needs are thus supplied. Early in the history of the Association, a circular was sent to every evangelical pastor in New England, asking him to give information of each young man coming to the city, that he might be met at the station or received at the rooms.

Let us sketch a case: We have received word that John —— is to arrive from G—— by such a train. During the journey, thoughts of the dear ones he has left crowd upon him. He is already sick for home, as he looks about him and sees no familiar face. He has left harbor for the first time. All before him is uncertain: all about him strange. He reaches the city; friends are there at the station to welcome this and that one of his fellow-travelers. He knows no one. No one cares for his coming. No one? Yes, there is a young man scanning closely the faces which pass. Suddenly his eye encounters our traveler, and at once the question: "Are you John ——? 'Tis well. I am from the Association. We are expecting you." Together they go to the building, and, even before reaching it, our stranger is not quite a stranger. One man at least is interested in him. "This is the building." "What, this fine place ready to welcome me? Why, this is grand!" Here, too, is the electric light, but not baneful this, no wrecker's false gleam, but like the light upon the pier, showing safe entrance and anchorage. "This is our secretary. Mr. D., this is John ——." "Glad to see you. Had you a pleasant journey? What can we do for you? You want a boarding-place! Well, here is the book. What can you pay? Very well, Mrs. B. has a vacancy and it is just the place you want. I will send some one with you there. Your recommendation was such that we have found a situation for you, and they will be ready to see you to-morrow. We have an entertainment this evening, and I shall be glad to introduce you to several young men." Imagine, if you can, what such an introduction to city life is to a young man, and what is his coming to the city without it. He is no stranger now. He has found comfort, companionship, sympathy, occupation. His heart goes home indeed, but it is in thankfulness that he writes and describes his surroundings, and glad is he at the close of the evening to join with others in, prayer and thanksgiving to his mother's God, for the blessings of the Association; and later, in the quiet of his own room, he renews his thanks, sleeps peacefully, and, full of hope, takes hold of work in the morning. He is directed to the church of his choice and is introduced to the pastor. Thus, at the very first, he is surrounded by good influences in a city where thousands are on the watch with every allurement to tempt just such strangers to destruction of both soul and body. Should John —— be ready, in his turn, to help others, work enough can be found for him in one of the several departments of social or spiritual life.

Should he fall sick, a committee of the Association visit and care for him, and, if necessary, watch with him. There have been many cases where young men have been carefully tended during a long illness, and a few where even the funeral expenses have been borne by the Association, and even burial given to the body in the Association lot at Forest Hills Cemetery. This is no fancy sketch. Many, many actual Johns are here pictured, and many souls will, by-and-by, be found thanking God that he put it into the hearts of his servants to establish the Young Men's Christian Association.

But whence this well-appointed building? Within the first year of its life, a building fund was projected, and, as far as we know, this was absolutely the first step in this direction taken by any Association, either in this country or elsewhere. A library fund was also started at the same time.

A few subscriptions towards a building were obtained, which, in 1858, amounted to $1,200

In 1859-60 were added 1,644

In 1873 (for altering and furnishing), 5,700

In 1873-74, 4,400

In 1874-75, 7,800

In 1882, the estate of Daniel P. Stone gave 25,000

Inspired by this, a meeting of citizens was held at the Brunswick, where committees on finance were appointed, and the result was a subscription of 175,000 $220,744

By will have been bequeathed: By Charles H. Cook, 300 " Miss Nabby Joy, 5,000 " J. Sullivan Warren, 13,059 " Dr. George E. Hatton, 5,000 23,359

And by subscriptions in connection with, Fairs:

1859—Chinese Fair, 4,787 1873—Bazaar of Nations, 12,246 17,033 ———— $261,136

We have mentioned "Fairs." These have been three in number; each being held in the Music Hall, and owed their success, not only to the energy of the young men, but to the hearty sympathy and untiring exertions of the ladies of the Boston churches.

The first was held in 1858, and netted $9,650 The second was called the Chinese Fair, all the decorations being Chinese,—a pagoda reaching fifty-six feet to the very height of the hall, which netted 33,000

The third was the most elaborate—the Bazaar of the Nations; the Music Hall being made to represent a street of foreign houses, where, by persons in costume, the goods of the different nations were sold. It came in the spring and immediately after the fire, but netted 28,673 ———— $71,323

It is certainly to the credit of the Association that up to 1882, when the large subscription of $200,000 was secured, the amount raised through the exertions of the young men and the ladies exceeded by more than $10,000 all moneys subscribed.



The influence of the Boston Association has not been merely local. Through Mr. L.P. Rowland, long its general secretary, and now the veteran secretary of the United States, in his capacity of corresponding secretary of the international committee, the first State work was done and Associations formed in all parts of Massachusetts. The present Boston building is now the headquarters of the Massachusetts committee, where the State secretary may always be reached. The secretary of the Association is a member of the State committee, a present member of the board, and an ex-president is now chairman of the same. In national matters, also, the Boston Association has responded to every call. In the early days of the war a drill-club was organized by one of its board, and he, as well as a large number of his men, went into service. And at the call of Mr. Stuart, of Philadelphia, the committee of the Christian Commission was represented by an ex-president and an army committee formed in the Association, which sent the large sum in money of $333,237.49, and immense stores of all kinds to the field.

The same committee acted as almoners at the time of Chicago's great fire, and also when the Western woods fires caused such suffering.

Without boasting, for much more might have been done, the Boston Association has no cause to be ashamed of its history. Beginning with all ready to criticize, and many disapproving, the Association has worked itself into the confidence of the community; and the Reverend Joseph Cook, who was introduced as a lecturer to Boston under its auspices, thus speaks of the Association at the close of its quarter-century. He says:—

"First, That there is a vast amount of work which should be done for young men in cities, and that, as the proportion of the American population living in cities had increased since the opening of this century from one twenty-fifth to one fifth, the importance is great and growing.

"Second, That neither individual churches taken separately, nor individual denominations taken separately, can do this work easily or adequately.

"Third, That all the evangelical denominations united in a city can do this work easily by the organization of a Young Men's Christian Association as their representative."

A short time ago a committee of conference, made up of eight leading city clergymen and as many laymen, two of each denomination, unanimously passed the following resolutions:—

"Resolved, That the great and peculiar dangers to which young men are exposed in this, as in other cities, clearly calls, for the work of the Young Men's Christian Association.

"Resolved, That the Association represents the Church working through its young men for the redemption of young men, and, therefore, it is entitled to the continued confidence, support, and co-operation of the churches."

After long years of patient and steady work, the Boston Young Men's Christian Association has secured the confidence of the Christian community to the extent of more than $300,000, in the palpable form of stone and brick, which beautifies one of the finest sites in our city. It stands also as a monument of the liberality of Christian Boston and her appreciation of this great work for young men in the Master's name.

* * * * *

THE OHIO FLOODS.

BY THE HON. GEORGE E. JENKS.

Several causes are assigned for the excessive rise of water in the Ohio valley. This water-shed is accredited with an area of two hundred thousand square miles, and it lies upon the border-line of hot and cold temperatures. It is subject to heavy storms, and sometimes, in winter, to large accumulations of snow. It is presumable also, the rainfall is greater than the average of the country. When, following great deposits of snow, warm, heavy, and prolonged rains occur, excessive floods must be the result. Add to these coincidents the fact that forests, once existing, are now so nearly annihilated that little protection is offered against a rapid dissolution of the snow, and the sudden freezing of the earth in an interval of the late storm preventing absorption of rain falling thereafter. The waters thus produced fall into the main streams without hindrance, like rain from roofs of buildings. An aggregation of waters in this valley, rising from fifty to seventy-one feet, is of annual occurrence, intensified according to excesses and completeness of coincidents.

The damage arising from the Ohio flood of 1882 has been estimated at twelve millions of dollars; that of 1883 at thirty-five to forty millions of dollars. If these estimates are approximately correct, what must have been the damage from the flood of 1884!

There are other causes for the floods in the Ohio valley, and in all Southern streams, that have been but little considered, which exercise undoubted and immense influence in solving the peculiarities of the question under consideration, and afford striking contrasts in different sections of this country.

There are two water systems presented in North America. North of about the forty-first degree of latitude probably the southern limit of the once glacial region—a reservoir system prevails toward the headwaters of all the streams. It includes New England, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, and to the Rocky Mountains divide, and all of the British Provinces to the Arctic Circle. It also somewhat occurs on the western slope of the Rockies. This region is notable for the great lake system, and the immense number of smaller lakes and ponds—natural inland reservoirs, supposed to be largely of glacial formation to hold back considerable portions of the cumulative waters upon any given water-shed, and serving to restrain the outflow, even after they are filled. These basins exercise a happy and protective influence in many ways.

South of the forty-first parallel, the rivers have no reservoirs to hold any part of the flow from their water-shed. Within this vast area few lakes or ponds exist. The superabundance of water has no restraint, but at once takes to the bottom lands. To this southern system the Ohio River notably belongs, with all its tributaries. Within its two hundred thousand square miles of area, scarcely a natural reservoir is to be found. No other part of the country is so devoid of basins. Its feeders drain the western slopes of the Alleghany and Cumberland Mountains—Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, representing sixty thousand square miles, the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and most of Kentucky and Tennessee. These States are without lakes or ponds. Nothing intervenes to hold back any portion of the vast flow from these coincidents of nature before spoken of, and therefore the excessive floods of last year and this. Such results must continue to follow.

During the summer droughts the other extreme prevails. For lack of a reservoir system to withhold and control the flow of water, the river falls from flood-tide—seventy-one feet—to points so low as to seriously impede or prevent navigation. Sometimes even the smallest steamers and barges fail to pass between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and coal famines have not been unfrequent, resulting from difficult navigation. An equable flow of this stream is impossible. It will always be subject to these extremes. Nothing but an extensive method of filling or diking is likely to prevent the inundation of cities and villages that are not seventy feet above low-water mark, with attending suffering and destruction of life and property. All Southern rivers are liable to like extremes.

In contrast, it may be noted that the St. Lawrence River but slightly varies its flow, above Montreal, because of the restraining power of the Great Lakes, its feeders. The upper Mississippi rises not to excess because of the thousands of lakes and lakelets in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Dakota, its sources. The floods occur in its southern portion, chiefly below St. Louis. But for this reservoir system its navigation in the upper portion would be seriously impeded in summer seasons.

Disastrous floods can scarcely occur on the St. John's, St. Croix, Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Saco, Piscataqua, Merrimack, Connecticut, or Hudson Rivers, except from damming of the ice in winter or springtime (and that cause is of rare occurrence), such is the elaborate system of reservoirs about the headwaters of these streams. This northern country is greatly benefited by these excavations occurring from geological causes.

The Merrimack River has a water-shed of about four thousand square miles miles—one fiftieth part of that of the Ohio. It has the Winnipiseogee, Squam, and Newfound Lakes, and hundreds of ponds to fill, that store a large amount of water, before any considerable rise can take place in the river, and then they restrain the flow. No excess of water comes through the Winnipiseogee River, though it is the outlet of a water-shed nearly as great as of the Pemigewasset. The freshets of the Merrimack come chiefly from the last-named stream and minor tributaries. Without these reservoirs, the manufacturing establishments at Lawrence, Lowell, and Manchester, would cease to be operated by water-power during the summer droughts. The highest flow of water in the Merrimack known in forty-six years, as measured at the Lowell dam, was thirteen and seven-twelfths feet. This occurred in 1852. Only a few times have freshets exceeded ten feet rise over that dam.

The greatest fall of water and rise of the freshet, in this valley, known at Concord, New Hampshire, occurred in August, 1826. This storm notably caused the land-slide in the Saco valley, which buried the Willey family. The next was in early October, 1869, which caused the slide of seventy-five acres of land on the western side of Tri-Pyramid Mountain into Mad River, in Waterville.

Messrs. Rand, McNally, and Company, of Chicago, in their Atlas of the World, give data to illustrate the two river systems of the country spoken of. Names of sixty-seven lakes are given in Maine, and beside these are ponds almost innumerable. By census statistics given, her reservoir and land areas are as 1 to 13. New Hampshire is accredited with three hundred and sixty-two lakes and ponds, being as 1 acre to 41 of land. Vermont has forty-one lakes and ponds, including Lake Champlain, being as 1 acre to 24 of land. Massachusetts, forty-seven lakes and ponds; Rhode Island, forty-seven; Connecticut, eighteen; New York, two hundred and sixty, beside her great lakes; New Jersey, ten; Pennsylvania (chiefly northeastern portion), fifty-eight; Michigan, ninety-eight lakes, and ponds in great number; Wisconsin, seventy-two lakes, and a large number of ponds; Minnesota, one hundred and forty-two lakes, and ponds innumerable; Dakota, fifteen lakes, and a great number of ponds; and Iowa, forty-eight lakes.

In contrast, Virginia has only Lake Drummond—really a part of the Dismal Swamp; West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, none; Indiana, eleven lakes, and Illinois, eight,—all on northern water-shed. The Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama have no reservoirs. Lagoons exist in the States bordering the Mississippi River and the Gulf, which are filled by the overflow of the rivers.

A consultation of any good atlas of our country will confirm these statements.

The two sections are thus contrasted. The Northern States have reason to be very thankful for their more equable system, for the motive power its reservoirs furnish, and for exemption from disastrous floods, as well as from cyclones and tornadoes.

* * * * *

THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY.

[This account of the Boston Tea-Party is taken, verbatim, from "The Boston Evening Post, Monday, December 20, 1773. Thomas and John Fleet, at the Heart and Crown, in Cornhill, Messi'rs Printers." It adds another link in the chain of evidence to prove that the patriots were disguised as Indians.—ED.]

Having accidentally arrived at Boston upon a visit to a Friend the evening before the meeting of the Body of the People on the 29th of November, curiosity, and the pressing invitations of my most kind host, induced me to attend the Meeting. I must confess that I was most agreeably, and I hope that I shall be forgiven by the People if I say so unexpectedly, entertained and instructed by the regular, reasonable and sensible conduct and expression of the People there collected, that I should rather have entertained an idea of being transported to the British senate than to an adventurous and promiscuous assembly of People of a remote Colony, were I not convinced by the genuine and uncorrupted integrity and manly hardihood of the Rhetoricians of that assembly that they were not yet corrupted by venality or debauched by luxury.

The conduct of that wise and considerate body, in their several transactions, evidently tended to preserve the property of the East India Company. I must confess I was very disagreeably affected with the conduct of Mr. Hutchinson, their pensioned Governor, on the succeeding day, who very unseasonably, and, as I am informed, very arbitrarily (not having the sanction of law), framed and executed a mandate to disperse the People, which, in my oppinion, with a people less prudent and temperate would have cost him his head. The Force of that body was directed to effect the return of the Teas to Great Briton; much argument was expended. Much entreaty was made use of to effect this desirable purpose. Mr. Rotch behaved, in my estimation, very unexceptionably; his disposition was seemingly to comport with the desires of the People to convey the Teas to the original proprietors. The Consignees have behaved like Scoundrels in refusing to take the consignment, or indemnify the owner of the ship which conveyed this detestable commodity to this port. Every possible step was taken to preserve this property. The People being exasperated with the conduct of the administration in this affair, great pains were taken and much policy exerted to procure a stated watch for this purpose.[A]