LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. , Shelf -..-.Ci-Mr UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Shepard Memorial Church. , CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES CAMBRIDGE AUTHORS, EDITED BY ESTELLE M. H. Merrill, "JEAN KINCAID," Witli preface by Dr. Alexander McKenzie. (^E« S4l896i Pl'IiLISHEU 15 V THl' Camisridge YoiNG Women's Christian Association. Copyright 1896, Cambridge Young Women's Christian Association. The Pinkham P ISOSTON r74 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Some Thvnges of Yk Olden Tymk. Dr. Alexander McKenzic 3 Newtowne {sonnet) . . . Sara Ilanunond Talfrey 10 The Oldest Road in Cambridge, Rev. Theodore !•'. Wrii^ht 13 Tory Row Ideline A. Douglass 25 Waifs {verse) . . Mrs. Ma?y Thacher Higginson 40 Historic Churches and Homes of Cambridge, Cotistance Grosvenor Alexander 45 Mai'Les in Autumn {verse), Susan Louisa Higginson 62- Some Cambridge Schools of the Olden Time, Miss S. S. Jacobs 65. Recollections of My Childhood, Mrs. Joaiina HougJiion Clark jj A Guide to Harvard College . . cilice M. Jose 87 Some Cambridge Landmarks, Henrietta S. Leavitt The Peabody Museum 117 The Agassiz Museum 125 Harvard Observatory 133 The Botanic Garden 143 Clark's Observatory 149 The Cragie Y{.o\j%^ {verse) . Charlotte Fiske Bates 156 Sweet Auburn and Mount Auburn, Mrs. Caroline F. Orne 159 Idlesse {verse) Mrs. Caroline F. Or?te 164 The River Charles, Mrs. Fnima Fndicott Marean 167 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. Morning in Venice {7'erse), MORNING iiN Mrs. yane A'ewc'll Moftre 174 Six O'CLOCK in Harvard Square, Eleanor Parker tiske 177 The Fairy Coursers (wnv), . ^" Thomas ll'eniiuorth Higginsoji 180 A Chapter of Radcliffe College, ,_,-,,, „ A Lhapter^o^^^^^ ^^^.^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ofRadchffc College 183 Life at Radcliffe . . Martha Trnnble Bennett 199 Student Life at Radcliffe . • ■ Sarah Verxa 205 THE HOME OF RADCLIFFE COLLEGE, ^^^^^^^ ^^,.^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ The Public Library (7.7-.-.') . Charlotte Flske Bates 218 The Line of Light {verse) . Abnira L. Hayioard 218 TOWN AND Gown. . • • Edmund A. Whitman 221 CHOICE i.>erse^ . • Mrs. Emma Endicott Marean 226 Cambridge as a No-License City, Frank Foxeroft 229 THE CHARITIES OF CaMBRIDGE^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ THE THING MOST NEEDED ^^^^^M BRIDGE,^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ Thf Sisterhood of Women (verse), 1 HE ^ISTEK^^_^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^^^^.^^ ^j^^^^ Kincaid) 256 The Cantabrigia Club Grace S. Rice 259 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Shkpard Memorial Church Frontispiece. Cragie House (from "The Boston Picture Bool<'"), 29 Elauvood (from "The Boston Picture Book") . . 35 The First Church 44 The Old Parsonage of First Church .... 49 Rev. Dr. Holmes' House 53 The Harvard Gate (from " Souvenir of the Hub"), 86 Harvard College Views: John the Orangeman, College Buildings, Etc. (from " The Boston Picture Book " ) 90 Gore Hall (Har\ard Lihkarv) 94 Ai'PLETON Chapel 97 Memorial Hall (from "Souvenir of the Hub") . loi Interior of Memorial Half 105 Dining Room, Memorial Hall 109 The Grave of Agassiz (from the Cambridge Tribune), 124 Harvard Observatory 132 Fay Hoise, Home of Radcliffe College . . . 212 The WASHJX(iTON Elm (fr(jm "The Boston Picture Book '■ ) 215 PREFACE. This is not a guide book in tiie ordinary sense of that term. But it does take tlie reader into the life of Cambridge and makes known to him something of the past and the present of the town. Any one should feel more at home here after reading these pages, and he can readily find where his life might be joined to the common life and be enriched by it wliilc he imparts to it of his own force. The extension of the town has been steady and rapid. The hamlet which held so large a place in the colonial life has constantly advanced to the city whose influence is felt through the land. To those who have watched this growth, and shared in it, it has been of great interest to mark the appearance of new institutions, of new forms of work, of new endeavors for the general advantage. The city must have been poorer than she knew before the Library and Hospital were built, and the societies formed which are now so prominent and so efficient for good. It is right that here a prominent place should be given to the organization under whose direction this book has been prepared, and is now given to the world. The Cambridge Young Women's Christian Association deserves the place which it holds in the confidence and esteem of all who know its work, which would be more widely known and admired but for the modesty of those who are doing it. The number of workers is not very large, their rooms are not conspicu- ous, there is no parade of methods or results, there are few appeals for money, so that the Association is less before the eyes and in the minds of the people than it ought to be. It has all the quietness which marks everything that is done in Cambridge, and this is naturally enhanced by the womanly reserve which is content to abide in stillness and work with- out observation. This is admirable and no one would change it. But the Association siiould be better known, which is xii PREFACE. another way of saying it should have more honor among men, and should be enabled to enlarge and perfect its work. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the associations for young men. When these had proved their efficiency, it was certain that similar organizations for young women would be formed. The spirit and wisdom which created the earlier form of service were sure to advance to this which was equally needed and equally promising. The influ- ence of the association for young women is manifold and in every way it is helpful. The young woman who comes to the city and is a stranger here, can find one place which be- longs to her. There she will meet others who can direct her to a home and assist her in beginning her new life. She can visit the rooms which have been opened for her when she will, and find there a quiet seat, with books and papers and friends. She can learn under good teachers that which will be useful to her. She can study books if she will. She can learn to sing. She will be taught to cut a dress, to trim a hat, to make a loaf of bread. She can study the Bible and receive wise religious counsel. She can find amusement for a leisure hour. To the many these things are proffered — to those who have homes and to strangers within the gates. Younger girls can learn the simple processes of domestic life for the benefit of their households, and for their furnish- ing as they go out into the larger world. Indeed, so far as may be, the Association offers a home with its security, its refinement, its friendship, its instruction, its mutual assis- tance. With a liberal constitution, broad enough for all who call themselves Christians, the women of many churches of many names join in these labors of love and joy. I am left free to say what I will in this introduction. But I am glad to commend this Association to the active and gen- erous confidence of all who have time which they can use in its work, or money which they can give for its enlarge- ment. The Association should have a house of its own. It should be a building large enough and good enough for the admirable work which is to be done. It should have ample FnEFACE. xiii rooms and all the appliances which it can use. Happy is that person who can thus endow an institution of immediate and increasing beneficence. While the reader wanders along these waiting pages will he kindly think upon these things? Ale.x.andkr McKknzie. 8th October, 1895. The Book Committee of the Cambridge Young Women's Christian Association wishes to thank most cordially the writers who have contributed to this volume, often at great personal inconvenience to themselves; the publishers of '•The Boston Picture Book," "Souvenir of the Hub," and the Tribune for cuts loaned ; the Cambridge newspapers for notices so freely given ; the advertisers, and all others who have aided in the endeavor to make a literary and finan- cial success of " Cambridge Sketches." SOME THYNGES OF YE OLDEN TYME. ■ Some Thynges of ye Olden Tyme. By Dr. ALEXANDER McKENZlE. "THE ancient records of the First Church in Cam- bridge are very interesting but are not a com- l)lcte account of all that was done here in the early days. The church was founded in 1636 and the oldest record is very near that date. There are some items of interest which not only tell us what was done, but give us a glimpse of some of the meth- ods of that period. In 1638 Roger Harlakenden died. The record spells the name Harlakingdon— tfiey were not very particular about their spelling in those days. He left a legacy of £20 to the church. This appears to have been paid in 1640 by Herbert Pelham, who married the widow Harlakenden, in a young cow. For three summers the milk was given "to different persons— brother Towne, brother John French, sis- ter Manning; and in 1643 the cow was " yeelded to Elder Frost for his owne," but her value had shrunk to is. This is only one sign of the care which the church had for the poor, and it illustrates, also, the sim- plicity of the times. Here are a few records of disbursements : Given to our brother Hall toward the rearing of / s d his house that was blown down . . .100 For the refreshing of brother Sill in time of faynt- nes sent him 4 pints of sack . . ' . o -> a 4 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. Paid to my brother Cane for goinge to Salem with £ s. d. a message to Mr. Philips when he was about to come to us . . . . . . .500 Payd my brother Towne for paynes taken more than ordinary in making cleane the meetinge house in the time of its repayringe . . o 12 o Payd for 9 times going to call the church together at 8d. a time 060 Given to our sister Grissell in a hard time . .050 Sent our sister Manning a leg of mutton . .011 Payd Mr. Palsgrave for physic for our sister Albone 026 Payd for a goat for goody Albone to goodman Prentiss . . . . . . .0110 Payd to John Shepheard for a fower gallon bot- tell to bring sack for the sacrament . .030 Payd to Mrs. Danforth in her husband's absence, in silver, the sume of 25 shillings for wine, sugar and spice at the buriall of Mrs. Chauncy who deseaced the 24 of the 1 1 .67 . . .150 In 1668 the second minister of the church, the ''matchless Mitchel" died. He had succeeded to the church and the parsonage and had married the widow of his predecessor. He died in "an extreme hot season" and there is the record of the payment "to goodman Orton of Charlestown for making a carpakiing to wrap Mr. Mitchell and for doing some- thing to his coifing that way 4s." This wrapping- was of cloth covered with tar. When the grave was opened a few years ago some remains of the shroud were found, and a quantity of tansy which had been used as a disinfectant. Thus the work of goodman Orton again saw the light. One of the delicate matters in those days was the arranging of people and their names in the proper order. Not until 1773 were the names in the Har- vard Catalogue placed in alphabetical order. The rank of the family to which the student belonged determined his place in the list. The first class starts in this way : — "Benjamin Woodbridge, A. M. Oxford 1648; S. T. D. Oxford. SOME TiiyyaEs of ye olden tyme. 5 "George Downing, Knight 1660, Baronet 1663; Anibass. to Netherlands from Cromwell to Charles II; M. P." Here we have the honors acquired by the sons added to those which they had inherited. In tlie meeting house, when the town was estah- lished in an orderly way, a proper regard was had to the position of the families and individuals. Often the house was finished by degrees. At first benches would be put in. Then some one who wished a place of his own would procure the deed of a space on the floor, some six feet square, and on this he would erect a pit or pew. He was re- (|uired to keep this in repair and also "all the glass against it." When there was no such private arrangement a conmiittee assigned the seats after their own discre- tion and according to the rank of the fanu'ly, or their age or property. This was called "dignifying" the house. There is the record in 1658, "That the elders, deacons and selectmen for the time being sliall be a constant and settled power for regulating the sitting of persons in the meeting house from time to time as need shall require." In 1662 we come upon the \vork of the committee in such direc- tions as these:— "Bro. Ri. Jackson's wife to sit there where sister Kempster was wont to sit. "Mrs. Upham with her mother. Ester Sparhawke, in the place where Mrs. Upham is removed from. "Joanna Winship in the place where Ester Spar- hawke was wont to sit" — and so on. The people had great respect for the meeting h.ouse and its services, and gave to these their best thought. The first buildings were rude, but so were the houses of the people. Though the buildings G CAMBEIDGE SKETCHES. were rude, the preachers were scholars of (hgnity and learning. The first meeting house in Boston had mud walls and a thatched roof, but there John Cotton preached who had come from St. Botolph's in old Boston, one of the most stately churches in England and large enough to hold five thousand people. There was a difference in the two houses, but it was the same minister, only he was larger grown by coming into this wilderness. Probably the first meeting house here in New- towne — for that was the original and appropriate name, — was built of logs. There was an order that no man should build his chimney of wood nor cover his house with thatch. This was for protection against fire. Afterwards there was an order that the meeting house should be repaired "with a four square roofe, and covered with shingle." The name "meeting" house was appropriate, for the house was used for the general gathering of the people. An early writer who visited the Colony says, "The public worship is in as fair a meeting house as they can provide, wherein, in most places, they have been at great charges." If we should go into the first meeting house here we should find rather a rough room, divided by a central passage and furnished with benches. The men would be on one side and the women on the other. Perhaps we should notice that some of the men had muskets, and that they sat at the end of the bench — a custom which has been kept up though the carnal weapons have disappeared. A plain desk, a stand, within a railing, was the pulpit. After- wards, when the people were able to arrange things as they wished, the pulpit was a high, elaborate structure, with a sounding board. The ruling elders sat below the pulpit, and the soyfE rilVNGES OF YE OLDEN TYMK. 7 deacons a little lower still, facinj:;^ the coiiy,rcga- tion. The boys had a place by themselves in the gallery, with a tithing- man with a long pole to keep them in order. In 1668 Thomas h^ox was "ordered to look to the youth in time of public wor- ship." The meeting house which was built here in 1632 had a bell, but there is a town record in 1646 of "fifty shillings paid unto Thomas Langhorne for his service to the town in beating the drum these two years past.'' Perhaps the sound of the bell did not reach far enough, and the drummer was sent through the settlement to summon the people. The congregation came together as early as nine o'clock on Sunday morning, and about two in the afternoon. They came on foot or on horseback, for the most part. The town provided "a convenient horse- block at the meeting-house, and causeway to the door." The service in the church consisted of prayer, singing, reading and the expounding of the Scrip- tures. It was generally thought improper to read the Scriptures without an exposition; they called it "dumb reading." There was also a sermon by the pastor or teacher. A minister's authority did not extend beyond his own congregation, so that when one was in another man's pulpit it was common for the ruling elders to say to him, "If this present brother hath any word of exhortation for the people at this time, in the name of God let him say on." This "saying on" was called "prophesying." It was thought that an hour was the proper length for the sermon, and an hour-glass stood on the pulpit to make sure of good measure; but sometimes the preacher would turn this at the end of his hour. They facetiously called this "taking another glass.'" 8 CAM n RIDGE SKETCHES. Every Sabbath afternoon there was a contribution. One of the deacons stood in his place before the people and said, "Brethren of the congregation, now there is time left for contribution; wherefore, as God hath prospered you, so freely ofTer." Then the people passed up to the deacons' seat with their offerings. "The magistrates and chief gentlemen went first, then the elders, then all the congregation of men, and most of them that are not of the church, all single persons, widows, and women in absence of their husbands." Sometimes they brought money and sometimes other things. The singing was without accompaniment. They adhered to the words of the prophet, "I will not hear the melody of thy viols," and they rejected the idola- trous performance with cornet and dulcimer which Nebuchadnezzar delighted in. In the first century there were seldom more than five tunes, and the hymn was read line by line and sung in instalments. In 1640 the Bay Psalm Book was printed. One verse will show the character of the poetry: — " The Lord to mee a Shepheard is, Want therefore shall not I, Hee in the folds of tender-grasse. Doth cause mee down to lie ; To waters calme me gently leads Restore my soule doth hee ; He doth in paths of righteousnes For his name's sake lead mee." As we look back to those times it seems as if life must have been dull and hard. It would be so to us if we were placed in it, but if we had been born into it it would not have been so. Those who had come from England felt the difference between the old world and the new; but they did not look for much comfort in the wilderness, and whatever they lacked, thev had themselves and their books and their own SOME TJiY.\<;Es or vt: oldkx tyme. o courag-e and faith. 'J'hey had good books. Shakespeare died in 1616 and Bacon in 1626; their works were new and fresh, and there were other writers of great interest and worth. The Puritans (hd not spend nuich money on sports, but they spent money on schools, and they 1)uih a college. We conmionly see their faces in repose and they look stern; but they had their glad hours when men smiled and children played. Home, love, marriage, and the joys wdiich these terms suggest were here. 'I'he woods and streams gave the best of recreation to the boys when their tasks were finished. The girls had their own ways of amusing themselves, as ingenious as they are now. It was not a time of devotion to small things. The men and women who left the land of their birth to make a new country had a very high intent, with much wisdom and devotion. They did the work they came to do, and it has lasted. We smile some- times at their ways, as at other antiquities.. But we sliould be able to discern their bravery and patience and discretion, and to be grateful to them for their labors into which we have entered. It will be well for us and for the country if we do our work as wisely and faithfully as they did theirs. NEWTOWNE. Newtowne ! The fathers, centuries agone, Thus called our Cambridge ; and 'tis new to-day In blossoms, buds and birds, and ah, has grown To us, the aged, in another way More sadly new ! " The old familiar faces " Of poet and philosopher and saint. We see no more in their accustomed places, — But memories now, with years to wax more faint. — Yet, though they go to God, still at our side Their ways are unforsaken. Up and down. Of fresh young manhood, surges through a tide To carry on the honours of the town. To you we look, to keep it ever new In fame of noblest deeds that men can do. Sara Hammond I'alfrpzv. May 22, 1895. THE OLDEST ROAD IN CAMBRIDGE. The Oldest Road in Cambridge. By Rev. THEODORE F. WRIGHT. WHEN a visitor to the classic shades stands in front of the Hemenway Gymnasium and looks down Kirkland street, bordered with its elms, quiet, retired, homelike, he little realizes that he is looking upon the oldest street in Cambridge and upon one of warlike associations. The spacious houses with their well shaded lawns, and the extreme beauty of Divinity avenue, do not suggest this, but it is even so. The quietest street in Cambridge has longest felt the movement of busy and even of hurrying feet. The '"Path from Charlestown to Watertown" was the first name of this road, and that was in its very earliest days before Cambridge was founded. Charlestown was settled in 1628 and Watertown soon after; thus the connecting path antedates the planting of Cambridge in 1630, as the date is given on the city seal, but the first houses seem to have been built in 1631 in what was then Newetowne. This Charlestown path came over Washington street in Somerville and through Union Square, followed the line of Kirkland street to where the Common now is, crossed to the line of Brattle street, and then went on to Watertown in the course of the present Mount Auburn street. Of course this whole way was of equal age, but, as only a part of what is now Brattle street belonged to it, there is reason for calling Kirkland street the oldest way in Cambridge, because its whole length lies on the Charlestown path. 14 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. The original Cambridge lay to the south of Kirk- land street. When the little hamlet began at the river and extended northwards to the point now known as Harvard Square, the districts east, north and west were wildernesses. The tracts nearest to the river were known as "marshes" — "Windmill Marsh, Ox IMarsh, Ship Marsh, Common Marsh, and Long Marsh," as they were named in order, as we go from a point near the hospital eastward to the Brookline bridge. All the lower Port was then known as the "Great Marsh." The higher ground outside the "pales" or palisades, with which the settlement was at first surrounded, was used as pasture-ground, that to the northwest being known as the "Cow Com- mon," and that to the northeast being called the "Ox- Pasture." At first this was south of the Charles- town Path, but later a tract was added to the north of it. The "pales" ran along a little north of where Gore Hall stands, and the ground outside of them we may think of as covered with forest consisting of oaks, pines and walnuts, as Dr. Holmes says, with a narrow wood-road finding its way among them. This road was first called "The Charlestown Path," and was variously designated in deeds as "The Highway from Watertown to Charlestown," "The Road that leads from Cambridge to Charlestown," "The Charlestown Road" and "The Great County Road"; and it lacked a personal name until the selectmen, about 1830, gave it that of "Kirkland," after the president of the University from 1810 to 1828. Certainly the street was worthy of that noble name, if the good old "Charlestown Road" must be given up. It may be deemed significant that all attempts to make the old street conform to modern habits have failed, for the tracks laid down for street-cars be- THE OLDEST JiOAD IN CAMIililDGE. l^) came useless after a few years' trial and their removal has now been ordered by the city government, so that the avenue may return to its dignified quiet, reminding us of the remark of Dr. Abiel Holmes, "It is generally conceded that this town eminently combines the tranquillity of philosophic solitude with the choicest pleasures and advantages of refined society." This quotation reminds one of the valuable sketch of Cambridge by his son, Mr. John Holmes, in the History of Middlesex County. With flashes of wit which strongly remind his readers of his brother, the poet, Mr. Holmes gives his own recollections of Cambridge in the past. He says that the houses on Kirkland street were erected about 1821, and that east of the Delta, now occupied by Memorial Hall, was a swamp extending to the higher ground and there terminating in the forest. He says that he himself has seen Indian corn growing where the Scientific School now stands, and that, in his early recollections, but one house stood on Kirkland street, "a dilapidated, untenantable Foxcroft house," of which more presently. The fact must not be omitted that the troops destined to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill took their way over the Charlestown Road, which had nopart in the routeof the troops in April. One Brit- ish detachment then passed north of it by what was called Milk Row, now Beacon street, Somerville; the second detachment left Boston by way of the Neck, came over the Brighton Bridge and went on through North avenue. Returning, the harassed redcoats came down that avenue and again went by Milk Row homeward. But, before Bunker Hill, the Committee of Safety held a session in the house at the head of Kirkland street, then the headquarters 10 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. of General Ward and later the home of the Holmes family, and thence issued the order for the troops to march over that road on the night of June i6, 1775, to fortify the hill at Charlestown. It was down this road that General Warren hurried to the battle. Back over it came the troops after the battle; and by this road were brought the v/ounded to the hospitals, chief among these being Colonel Thomas Gardner of Cambridge, commanding the first Middlesex regiment, who died July 3. Thus the old road has been glorious in war. A plan of Cambridge in 1635 shows the allotments of ground extending from the river as far north as "Cow- Yard Lane" which ran east and west about in the line of Dane Hall; nothing appears north of that lane, probably because the Charlestown Path was outside of the "pallysadoes" and had no inhabi- tants. A plan of Cambridge ''about 1750" shows some extension of the settlement, and here we find "The Way to Charlestown" set down, with the "Coledge" on the south side of it and a single house on the north side marked "Mr. Foxcroft's house." Francis Foxcroft belonged to an old English family whose seat was at Leeds, in Yorkshire, near Kirkstall Abbey, whose magnificent ruins many Americans have visited. His father, Daniel, was mayor of Leeds in 1665. The son came to Boston in 1679. He, therefore, cannot be reckoned among the first settlers, but his education, abilities and wealth seem to have made him an important char- acter from the first. In 1682 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth, and so connected himself with a truly great name. Mr. Danforth during his long life (born in England 1622, died 1699) was Selectman of Cambridge THE OLDEST ROAD IN CAMBIUDaE. 17 twenty-seven years, Town Clerk twenty-four years, Assistant (or Councillor) to Governor twenty years, and Deputy Governor ten years ; he was also Treas- urer of Harvard College nineteen years; and held other important olftces, all of which he discharged with the utmost fidelity. In 1643 he had married Mary Withington of Dorchester, and in 1652 he had sold his house which had Ihxmi his father's and was on "Back Lane," and had built a house at a point on the Charlestown road a little way east of Oxford street. He had here about one hundred and twenty acres of land on both sides of Kirkland street, extending from the Somerville line to Gore Hall and including the Delta and lands east of it. Mr. Danforth had a large family, but nearly all died before him, some of them from consumption, so that his real estate in Cambridge went to his daughter, Mrs. Foxcroft. In his description of his estate we have a realistic picture of the district in 1699: "My new dwelling house in Cambridge, with all the offices and buildings belonging thereto, to- gether with my two orchards lying near to the same and all other my lands, swamps, medows, pastures, corn lands, adjoining thereto, the whole being by estimation about one hundred acres more or less, and is all fenced round about." Judge Foxcroft thus became a resident of Cam- bridge about 1700. At that time no bridges directly connected it with Boston and the place retained its colonial character. Besides the group of buildings near the river, it is said that there was only one at East Cambridge, only four in Cambridgeport, and some seven west of Harvard Square, all these being- large estates with fine mansions and the appoint- ments of wealth. The Danforth or Foxcroft estate was the onlv one 18 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. ill the vicinity of the Delta. It included the Norton estate, the site of the Museums and Divinity Hall, the grounds of the New-Church Theological School, and of course "Professor's Row." Some of the old trees at Professor Norton's and the oaks seen near the upper end of Cambridge street and Broadway no doubt belong to that day of Foxcroft grandeur. Would that we might still see the famous pear tree which apparently was the northwesterly bound of the estate and thus probably stood near the corner of Quincy and Kirkland Streets! In a deed of Nov. 27, 1764, we read of the "Warden pear tree" (a hard winter pear, called Warden because it would keep a long time) from which the line ran eastward and so around to "the forementioned pear tree." The estate was nearly equally divided by the Charlestown road. Foxcroft street was laid out in the southerly part, but its name was changed to Cambridge street, at a later day. The first Francis Foxcroft was Judge of Common Pleas from 1707 to 17 19, and Judge of Probate 1708 -1725. Tutor Flint in an obituary discourse said of him that "he was a gentleman by birth, was bred a merchant, was expert and skilful as well as just and upright. His natural powers were extraordinary, his acquired knowledge of various kinds was so too. His temper indeed was sudden, but this was his burden and lamentation. He was a person of grave and austere countenance and conversation, mixed with much of the gentleman and the Chris- tian." He died at seventy. It should be recited in his honor that he was wholly opposed to the witch- craft trials and boldly so declared himself; but in vain, as popular clamor demanded them. His two sons were Francis, born 1695, graduated at Harvard 17 12, died 1768; and Thomas, born THE OLDEST JiOAU IN CAMBEIDGE. 19 1697, graduated 17 14, died 1769. Thomas became pastor of the First Church in Boston in 17 17 and was an excellent minister. Francis, after the English plan, succeeded his father. He occupied the ancestral estate, and spent the most of his life in the public service. He was Register of Probate for Middlesex from 1709 to 1 73 1, so that for many years the father was Judge and the son Register. He was Register of Deeds forty-five years, a member of the Council twenty- six years, and a Justice for twenty-seven years, un- til his resignation from reasons of age in 1764. He died in the family mansion to which he was brought as an infant. His wife was Mehitable Coney, and, as his brother married Anna Coney, the brothers may have married sisters, perhaps the daughters of John Coney of Boston. Francis and Mehitable had fif- teen children, most of whom died young, making tlie parents' lives full of sorrow, we read. There are many mentions of the second Foxcroft in Paige's invaluable History of Cambridge. For in- stance, when the "Meeting-house" was built in 1756, the Foxcroft subscription was a handsome one. In 1744 the second Francis was named first on a committee of five appointed by the town a School Committee, "to inspect the Grammer School and inquire (at such times as they shall think meet) what proficiency the youth and children make in their learning."" As to the house first erected by Danforth and so long used by the Foxcrofts that it was known as the Foxcroft house, there is a seeming disagreement between the Rev. Lucius R. Paige and Mr. John Holmes. The former says that the house was burned in 1777, the latter that it was standing in his youth, "dilapidated and untenantable." Mr. 20 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. Holmes would mean about the year 1820. Both are probably correct. There were undoubtedly sev- eral buildings connected with so large an estate. A portion may have been burned, leaving another portion of the buildings remaining, and this is probably what Mr. Holmes remembers. Judge Foxcroft the second had strongly re- quested his heirs to retain the estate entire, and this was apparently done for a time from respect for his wishes, although they did not renew and main- tain the mansion house. It may be well to follow the family a little further. John, son of Francis second, seemed likely to fol- low the line exactly, for he became Register of Deeds and Justice of the Peace; but he lost office through his Royalist tendencies, had American troops quartered upon him, and became a man of lei- sure. He gained the whole estate by purchase of the rights of the other heirs, occupied the mansion until it was burned, and then moved to Dunster street. The present family seems to have descended from Francis, a brother of John and third of that name, who was a physician in Brookfield and had a large family. It was this removal of the family which caused the breaking up of the estate. For- tunately the preservation of the Norton Woods permits us to see a bit of it unchanged, and thetaking of that ground for a park will ensure the preserva- tion of the grove. The second Foxcroft, after giving up his public duties, seems to have revived his earlier associa- tions by compiling a catalogue of the Harvard graduates down to 1763. The kindness of Mr. h'rank Foxcroft, now residing in Cambridge, fur- nishes several details regarding this useful work, of which the compiler said, in presenting it to the THE OLDEST ROAD IN CAMBRIDGE. 21 ( herseers. — "I have taken as fair a copy of it as my ])oor state of health and hands would admit of; and the same is, with the utmost respect, presented to you for your acceptance, by your, once, for many years, brother; but now hearty well wislicr and most humble servant, I'ra: Foxcroft." This touch of his style may lead some readers to desire to see the preamble of his Will, which he sio-ned Oct. 29, 1765, two years and a half before his death: — "I, Francis Foxcroft, of Cambridge in the County of Middlesex, within the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New Eng^land, Esquire, being- mindful of my Mortallity and sensible of the frailty and weakness of my Body, however. Thanks be to God for it. of sound and disposing mind and mem- ory, do make and ordain what follows to be my last Will and Testament. I heartily wish well to all Mankind; and for that end that Christianity in the [)urity and perfection of it may be advanced and flourish among- them; that the Potentates of the earth may exhibit the brightest examples of piety to their people and glory in nothing more than be- ing the obedient subjects of the Majesty of Heaven, and in the apjilause of their j^eople for the happy fruits and et¥ects of their care and good govern- ment: and that our Sovereign and all under his I )()niinion may be mutual Blessings to each other. 1 desire the Blessing of God for all my friends, his I 'ardon for my Enemies, and an ample Reward lor all my Benefactors. I desire thankfully to ac- knowledge all God's favors, heartily to repent of all my Sins and implore His tender Merc\ in tlie for- giveness of them for Christ's sake; and humbly iiUreat that by the continued Influences of the Divine Spirit T may be wrought up to a fitness for the Societv of Heaven and fmaih Translated to it 22 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. through the Merits of my Prevalent Intercessor. I gratefully return back my Body to my Mother Earth, therein to be decently buried, but free from any pageantry or show, nothing doubting of its Resurrection at the last day, and would devoutly resign my Spirit to God who gave it. As for that worldly estate which God has been pleased to bestow upon me (whereof that I have made no better improvement, I humbly beg pardon both for myself and for such as have been employed by me), I do hereby declare my mind and intent to be," etc. After this preamble he provided for his wife and children and added, "Inasmuch as I am extremely desirous, if it be the will of God, that the estate I am in possession of should be continued in the poster- ity of that ancient and honored gentleman Thomas Danforth, Esquire, my grandfather and an excellent Patriot of this Country (of whom that there is so little said by those who have writ the history of it I am heartily sorry), from whom the bulk of it descended, I now do will and ordain that, in case either of my said sons should be inclined or neces- sitated to dispose of the whole or any part of what estate is so granted and set ofif to him. he shall tender the same to his brother or some of my family for refusal." Perhaps if the worthy man could look now upon the happy homes and useful institutions which lie upon his estate, he might say with Plautus, "I know that many good things have happened to many when least expected," and with Virgil, "Time and the varying movements of changing years have bettered many things" — Multa Dies variusque labor mutabilis aevi Retulit in melius. TORY ROW Tory Row. By ADELINE A. DOUGLASS. AT the Ijci^inniiii;- of the l-icvijlution the lari^er proportion of the inhabitants of Cambridg-e were true to liu-ir own country in its struggle for liberty; but there were a few, office holders or those belonging to the aristocratic class, who maintained their alleg;iance to the King of England. It was to tliis class that the owners of almost every estate on the present I'rattle street belonged; and because of this fact it was popularly designated as Tory Row. It was also known as Church Row, and another name was the romantic title, tlic King's Highway. There were seven in all of these manor houses, sur- rounded by their farn's and gardens. The occu- l)ants were largel\- related to one another, and they formed a very select circle. Few indeed outside of their own number were"~permitted to join in their festivities. Upon the breaking out of hostilities, the most of those with Tory proclivi- ties were obliged to leave their homes, and in some cases to flee from their country. Their estates were confiscated and leased by the Committee of Cor- respondence. 'I\d\ing the houses in the order in which they arc located, commencing at the east end of the street, we come first to the house on the left hand side of Brattle street next to the University Press, now occu])ied by the Social Union. Tt was 26 CAMBRIDGE SKETdRES. built about 1740 by Brigadier-General William Brattle of His Majesty's army. When General Brattle was obliged to leave his house, it was used by Col. Thomas Mifflin, quartermaster of the Amer- ican army. The mansion was situated about in the centre of the extensive grounds which stretched from the present Brattle scjuare to the Vassall estate. They were so beautifully laid out that they were said to be the finest in New England, with their shaded walks and lawns reaching to the banks of the Charles. Here were held a num- ber of receptions while the army was in Cambridge. One was given in honor of Mrs. John Adams, and at another Mr. Adams was present. Another interesting association for Cambridge people lies in the fact that this house was once occupied by Margaret Fuller. The parlor and the room above are practically unchanged still, the former showing some handsome panelled wainscoting and, about the fireplace, probably the first Italian marble brought to America. The next house in Tory Row was that at the corner of Hawthorn street, known as the old Batchelder or Vassall place. This is one of the oldest houses in Cambridge, as it was mentioned in the early records as being already built in 1642. In 1717 the estate came by inheritance to Jonathan Belcher, afterwards royal governor of the province, and into the possession of the \'assall family in 1736, having been purchased by Colonel John \"assall. Five years later it was sold by him to his brother. Colonel Henry Vassall. It was he, probably, who built the ancient brick wall forming the boundary line of the estate at the corner of Brattle and Ash streets (then known as Windmill Lane), which has been a landmark in Cambridge TOBY now. 27 for so many years. In 1775 it was in the hands of Penelope Vassall, widow of Colonel Henry Vassall, who fled to Antigua with her only daughter upon the breaking out of hostilities. This house was not confiscated as so many were at the time. It became, however, the headcjuarters for the medi- cal department of the army under Dr. Church, and many of the wounded from Bunker Hill were taken here. It was in this mansion that Dr. Church was confined after his arrest for treason- able correspondence with the enemy, and his name is still to be seen carved on one of the old doors. In the sitting-room over the fireplace was a panel wliich opened outwards, revealing a space sufficient to conceal a man. The kitchen chimney was eight feet square. I'or a long time there was a popular belief that there was a subterranean ])assage connecting this house with the Longfellow mansion, made in order that the two Vassall families could have ready communication with each other; but search has been made among the low arches of the cellar for some trace of its existence without success. Tradition says that the \'assalls treated their slaves with cruelty, and blood stains have been shown in one of the rooms where it is said a slave was killed by a member of this family; but there is no evidence of the truth of the legend. On the contrary it is on record that Madame Vassall paid twenty pounds to free the child of their slave Tony. After the war this es- tate was purchased by Nathaniel Tracy of New- buryport, and later, in 1792, it was bought by Andrew Cragie who also owned the Longfellow house. About fifty years afterwards it came into the possession of Samuel Ratchelder, the father of the present proprietors. 28 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. The Longfellow or Cragie house, the third of these notable places, stands nearly opposite the Batchelder estate. It was built in 1759 by Colonel John Vassall, a brother of Colonel Henry Vassall whose home we have just been considering. After he was obliged to vacate these premises, a regiment from Marblehead conmianded by Colonel Glover occupied the mansion. This is perhaps the most interesting of the houses in Tory Row, as with it are associated the names of those who are so prominent, either historically or in the world of let- ters. As the headquarters of General Washington it will always hold a foremost place among the points of interest in Cambridge. After Washington was appointed connnander-in- chief of the American army he left Philadelphia on the twenty-first of June, 1775, to join the troops whose headquarters were then at Cambridge. He accomplished the whole of the journey on horse- back, accompanied from place to place by mounted escorts. He made all possible speed, arriving the second of July at Watertown, where the Provin- cial Congress of Massachusetts was in session, by which body he was warmly greeted. He then proceeded to the quarters assigned to him in Cam- bridge. As he approached the camp of the army which occupied about the site of the present com- mon, he was greeted with shouts and the firing of artillery. Congress ordered that all the rooms but one in the house of the president of Harvard Col- lege, now standing on Massachusetts avenue be- tween Dane and Boylston Halls and known as the Wadsworth house, should be prepared for the use of General Washington and of General Lee who accompanied him. On the morning of the next day, July 3, the army being drawn up on the com- TORY BOW. 31 mon, Washington formally look command under the wide-spreading- branches of the venerable tree which will always be associated with this event. In a very short time Washington left the president's house, probably because he considered it too near Boston for safety, as a shell had burst near it shortly before. When he first entered Cambridge he was attracted by the appearance of the house on Tory Row then known as the Vassall place. Upon his indicating his preference for this estate as his residence, the Committee of Safety immediately ordered it put in readiness for his occupation; and about the middle of July — the exact date is uncer- tain — he removed to the new headquarters which became his home until he left Cambridge about nine months later. How many troubled hours Washington spent under this roof! Prominent among his causes for anxiety was the fact that the army was short of anmuinition, and it was of the greatest importance that the knowledge of this be kept from the in- vaders. ]\Irs. Washington arrived in Cambridge from her home in \''irginia, Dec. ii, 1775, accompanied by her son and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Custis. They travelled with a ''chariot and four, with black post- ilions in scarlet and white liveries," a Virginian style of that period and one well befitting the rank of the wife of the commander-in-chief. After her arrival, many were the entertainments furnished in the din- ing-room of the old Vassall house, to the most notable people of the time. The rooms most closely connected with their occupancy are the southeast room on the first floor, which General Washington used as his study; the room over this, which was the general's chamber; the northeast room, where ?>2 CAMBlilBGE SKETCHES. he held councils of war with his subordinate officers; and the room on the left as one enters (the south- west), in which Mrs. Washington received her friends. This is now called the Lady Washington room, and the wood-work is the same as in 1775. General Washington's appearance was very stately in his blue and bulT uniform, rich epaulettes, elegant small sword, and silver-mounted pistols. He left his Cambridge home April 4, 1776, for New York. Thirteen years later when on a visit to Boston he passed through Cambridge and spent about an hour at his old headquarters. In 1792 the Vassall estate was purchased by Andrew Cragie, by whose name it was known for so many years. It was said that he accumulated a fortune when apothecary-general to the Conti- nental army. The northeast room on the first floor was enlarged and the wooden columns and much of the fine wood carving was added by Cragie. He was greatly interested in the development of East Cambridge, the bridge there still being known by his name. He became involved financially through his speculations, and during the last years of his life he was virtually a prisoner in his own liouse. He was liable to arrest for debt if he was seen outside his home on week days, though on Sundays he could go out with no fear of molestation. After his death his widow continued to reside here, helping out her income by letting rooms to students; and Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, Joseph E. Worcester and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow among others occupied rooms in the venerable mansion at this time. Soon after Mrs. Cragie's death in 1843, the estate was purchased by Mr. Longfellow. Since then the interest in the house on account of its con- roHV y.'oir. :!.■! nection with Washington is overshadowed by the associations with our much loved and greatly honored poet. He first occupied the southeast chamber, and it was in this room that all of his poems from 1837 to 1845 were written. Later the room below this on the first floor was used by him as a study, and it remains to-day precisely as the poet left it in 1882. The grounds of the Cragic estate extended to the house on the right-hand side of Brattle street, formerly at the west corner of Sparks street, occu- pied by John Brewster, which was removed about 1887 or 1888 to the corner of Riedesel avenue. This was the residence of Judge Richard Lechmere, and later in 1771 the home of Judge Jonathan Sewall. He was attorney-general, and fled on the l)reaking out of hostilities in 1775. It was in this house that Baron Riedesel and his wife were ([uartered after his capture with Burgoyne's army, and from which the baroness wrote the letters which are now of so much historical interest. The house has been greatly altered and is now de- cidedly modern in appearance. We next come to the old Lee house, on the right hand side of Brattle street just above Apple- ton street, now" known as the Nichols house. By some this is considered the oldest building in Cam- bridge. The frame of this edifice was brought from iMigland, as the Reverend Daniel Waldo who built it feared there were no workmen in this country capable of erecting a house of this description. His name was written with a diamond on one of the window panes. The house was built in the most substantial manner, tlie partitions between the rooms being a foot thick, and the depth of the outer walls is shown bv tlie wide window seats. The walls 34 CAMBIUDOE .SKETCHES. of some of the rooms were covered with landscape paper. It was afterwards owned by Judge Joseph Lee. On the occupation of Cambridge by the troops he removed to Boston where he remained during the siege of that town, but after the siege was raised he returned to Cambridge and was allowed to live in his residence on condition that he would not interfere with politics, although he was obliged to give up his position as councillor. He remained here until his death, in 1802. Next in order is the Fayerweather house also on the right-hand side of the street, between the Nichols house and Fayerweather street, long the residence of William Wells who kept there a well-known school for boys. This structure, built between 1740 and 1750, was first occupied by George Ruggles, who after the trouble with the mother country began, sold the estate in 1774 to Thomas Fayerweather. This house was used as a hospital for the wounded soldiers. In one of the old records we read: "August 21, 1775, a sergeant, corporal, and nine men to mount guard to-morrow morning at Mr. Fayerweather's house lately converted into a hospital." The house is now owned by Mr. Newell and is in most excellent preservation, a fine, stately and hospitable mansion as of yore. As famous as Cragie house, and for a similar reason, is "Elmwood," the entrance to which is on Elmwood avenue, between Brattle and Mount Auburn streets. Tiiis house was built between 1763 and 1767 by Thomas Oliver, the last of the lieu- tenant-governors under the crown. He was so much disliked by the people that a large number surrounded the house and demanded his resignation. He refused until he feared for his own safety and that TORY now. 37 of his fainil)-, when lie wrote on the paper con- taining his resignation, — "My house at Cambridge being surrounded by four thousand people, in conipHance with their commands, I sign my name, Tliomas OHver." He left Cambridge immediately and never returned. He died in exile at Bristol, r.ngland, in 1815. On his departure the house was taken possession of by the Committee of Corre- spondence. It was next used as a hospital for I ho men who were wounded in the battle of Bunker Hill, and in the field opposite this and the h^ayer- weather house those who died in these mansions, temporarily converted into hospitals, were buried. I'^lmwood then became for three weeks the head- c(uarters for Benedict Arnold and his company of forty men from New Haven. In 1779 it was sold to Andrew Cabot, who eight years later resold the residence to-Elbridge Gerry of Marblehead, a well-known patri(n and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He afterwards served as governor of Massachusetts, and later still as vice-president of the L'nited States. In 181 8 the estate was ])urchased of Mr. Gerry's widow by i\tv. Cliarles Lowell, who was pastor of the West Church in Cambridge for over forty years. A year later his youngest and most distin- g-uished son. James Kussell Lowell, was born there. During the life of Rev. Mr. Lowell both sides of i'"lnu\()o(l avenue were l)or(lered l)y hedges i>f lilac and other shrubs whicli grew in great luxuriance, lie wished it to be kei)t in this state of nature, as it was a reminder to him of tlie lanes in England. All who have read the letters of James Russell Lowell, edited by Charles Eliot Norton, will recall the love which the poet felt for this mansion, his birtliplace. ancl its beautiful 38 CAMBBIDGE SKETCHES. grounds, where doubtless he received many of his poetic inspirations; and will feel, for the sake of the author whose personality will ever hallow this spot, an added interest in this, the last of the houses which constituted our historic Tory Row. WAIFS. All through the golden haze Leaves were drifting and falling. All through the mellow days Boughs were bending and calling To their little castaways. Through branches almost bare A squirrel came frisking and springing. No restless birds were there ; Yet he was bounding and swinging As if born of the sky and air. But in the winter cold Who will be loving and caring For the leaves, then withered and old ; Or the sprite with his tilting and daring. And no tender arm to enfold? All through the changeful year Nature is finding and keeping A home for her children dear ; And the waifs may go fluttering or leaping With never a shade of fear. Mary Thacher Higginson, HISTORIC CHURCHES AND HOMES OF CAMBRIDGE. Historic Churches and Homes of Cambridge. By CONSTANCE GROSVENOR ALEXANDER. IX a sketch necessarily so brief as this must be, much can be merely touched on, much must be omitted that would be of interest to all who visit our beautiful, historic town. All that the writer can hope to do is to make these brief comments of sufficient interest to serve as guides to the tourist, or as finger-posts to storehouses of knowledge from which the curious may extract the hoards to be had there for the asking. Cambridge has been called the "first capital of our infant republic, the cradle of our nascent liberties, the hearth of our kindling patriotism." Intimately associated as indeed it is with the stirring times of the Revolution, its two oldest churches, Christ Church, Episcopal, and Shepard Congregational, have their history most intimately woven with that of the patriots. First let us take Shepard Church the first church iij Cambridge, because it is the oldest society, though its present building is comparatively modern. When Cambridge was established and called Newtowne, it was designed to be the metropolis, but later this plan was given up in favor of Boston. Still, many people stayed here, reinforced in 1632 by the Braintree Company under Mr. Hooker. The latter, a graduate of Emanuel College, Cambridge. 45 46 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. England, had taught in England, having among his converts John Eliot, apostle to the Indians. Mr. Hooker's friends built a meeting-house here and sent for him to be pastor. The church then was on Water street, now Dunster, south of Spring street, now Mt. Auburn. Hooker soon removed, with most of his congregation, to Hartford. At his departure, the remaining members of his flock founded a new church. The first regular church edifice was built near Governor Dudley's house, and Mr. Thomas Shepard was ordained pastor, 1636. At about the same time was established here the colony's first school, later developed into Harvard College. The first members of Mr. Shepard's church were men prominent in the state, among them Henry Dunster, first president of the college. As there was, for nearly one hundred years, no other place of worship here, many Church-of-England men held pews in Mr. Shepard's Church, and kept them down to the time when Christ Church was founded. There are many records of this time, preserved partly in Mr. Shepard's own handwriting, in a book possessed by Dr. McKenzie. In Shepard's time came the troubles over Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and her heresies, settled by a synod held in this church. In 1636 Harvard College was established in Cam- bridge ; for two reasons was it placed here : because the town was conveniently situated and because it was here "under the orthodox and soul-flourishing ministry of Mr. Tho. Shepheard." Twelve impor- tant men of the colony were chosen to take orders for the college, and of these were Shepard, Cotton, Wilson, Harlakenden, Stoughton, Dudley and Winthrop. Thus from the first, college interests HISTORIC cnuiiCiiEs anjj homes. 47 were closely linked to those of the First Church. Church and State were one in those days; Christo ct Ecclcsiac was the college motto. In 1638 Newtowne became Cambridge, and the same year the college was called Harvard. Its first leader, Nathaniel Eaton, for maltreating his pupils was dismissed, and for a time Samuel Shepard administered the college affairs. In 1664, however, Henry Dunster became president. He wias a member of Shepard Church, as was also Elijah Corlet, master of the "Faire Grammar School," on the site of which the Washington ( irannnar School now stands. In 1642 the first college eonnnencement was held in the h'irst Church. In 1649 ^^ '^'-'^^' ^'liurch was erected on nearly tiie present site of Dane Hall at Harvard Square. In this same year, before the church was completed, Mr. Shepard died. We have the record of him as "the holy, heavenly, sweet-af¥ecting, soul-ravishing preacher." Next to Shepard came Mitchel, almost equally celebrated for piety and eloquence. Cotton Mather and Richard Baxter praise him highly, and President Increase Mather said to his stu- dents, "Say, each of you, Mitchel shall be the example whom I will imitate." During this pastor- ate, Dunster was convicted of Anabaptist views and was compelled to resign in 1654. In 167 1 I'riah Oakes came over from England to be pastor. After the enforced resignation of President Hoar of Harvard, Oakes was appointed superintendent and later president (1679). In 1 71 7 came to the church Rev. Nathaniel Ap- ])leton. interesting as one who "fell on stirringtimes." At his installation Cotton and Increase Mather 4S CAMBlilDGK SKETCHES. took part. His degree of D. D., was the second granted by Harvard, the first being that given to Increase Mather. Dr. Appleton's pastorate lasted sixty years. Under him General Washington often worshipped. In his church met the delegates from the towns of the state to frame the constitution of the commonwealth. In his church, too, on Octo- ber 17, the First Provincial Congress, presided over by John Hancock, met, and it continued to meet here until its dissolution, December 10. Here the Committee of Safety held its first meeting, November 2, and here, on February i, 1775, the Second Provincial Congress met, adjourning to Concord on the i6th. Appleton's portrait, by Copley, hangs in Memorial Hall. In 1756 the Fourth Church of the Society was built. In it, for over seventy years, were held the public commence- ments of the college, and in it, too, was given the address of welcome to Lafayette, 1824. In Apple- ton's time Christ Church was built. Then, of course, he lost his Church-of-England parishioners. In 1792 Abiel Holmes began his long pastorate. During his time, in 1814, the college first held sep- arate religious services. It was in Dr. Holmes' pastorate that the important separation came, from which sprung the First Parish (Unitarian) Church. Unitarianism had begun, practically, in King's Chapel, Boston, under the teaching of Clark. The people there had given up the Eng- lish liturgy and taken one arranged by their own minister, denying belief in the Trinity. For a time this congregation held within itself the seeds of the schism, but presently these were cast abroad on the four winds and took root far and near. As the new beliefs became manifest. Dr. Holmes showed his disapproval and was at last compelled iiisroiac (uui!( fiKS axd homes. 51 by his parish to resign. With the majority of his church he withdrew from his place and formed the "Shepard Congregational Society." This society built, in 1832, a new meeting-house on its present site, and though compelled, by decision of the Supreme Court, to yield up its funds, records, conmiunion silver, and some other valuables to its one time fellow-members, whom it had now left, it yet preserved in itself unbroken the succession from the first church of 1636. Those through whose objection the division had come, stayed behind and formed the First Parish Unitarian Church. They used the old meeting- house until 1833, when the present one, on the corner of Massachusetts avenue and Church street, was built. The remaining history of Shepard Church is briefly told. Dr. Holmes died in 1837. After him came Nehemiah Adams, and in 1835, Rev. John Albro, who remained thirty years. After his death came Dr. Alexander McKenzie, who has ably led the people and kept close the ancient con- nection between the church and the college. We turn now to Christ Church, the second oldest in the city, and one even more full of association, since its building has always remained substantially the same. On April 5, 1759, a letter was sent to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, asking aid to build an Episcopal Church in Cambridge. It was desired by live or six gentlemen, "each of whose incomes," says an authority, "was judged to be adequate to the maintainancc of a domestic chaplain." The letter, signed by Henry Vassall, John Vassall, Tho. Oliver, Robt. Temple, Joseph Lee, Ralph Inman, David Phipps and James Apthorp, was drawn up 52 (AMBEIDGE SKETCHES. by Dr. Caner, rector of King's Chapel, Boston. Theaid granted, these gentlemen proceeded, in 1761, to the erection of a church, over which Rev. East Apthorp was made rector. The architect of the church was Mr. Peter Harrison, Newport, R. I., who also designed King's Chapel (ten years earlier), and the Redwood Library and City Hall in Newport. The land was bought, the rear half from James Reed, the rest from the owners of the common. Some say the pillars were turned on the common, but certain it is that the frame was not brought ' from England. Expense was not spared in furnishing the church. A fine organ, made John Snetzler of London, a bell weighing over fifteen hundred pounds, a sil- ver christening basin from the rector's mother, a folio Bible from Mrs. Faneuil, and two folio prayer- books from Mr. Lechmere, were the chief gifts. Of these all but the organ and bell are now preserved and can be seen. The organ was broken, its pipes scattered, by vandal hands in 1778; the bell was recast in 1831, and again recast in the chime (with its old inscription) in 1859. Near the door were put two small pews for the wardens, whose wands of office stood in the corners, and these pews still remain. In 1 761 the church was opened, although, owing to the absence of any bishop, it could have no true consecration. At this service, a prayer for George HL was, of course, said. All but one or two of these first members were Tories later, and their houses, on Brattle street, were known as Tory Row or Church Row. Besides these Tory Row people, Richard Lechmere, Benjamin Faneuil (brother of Peter), James and Thomas Apthorp (brothers of East), Madame Temple and her son Robert, Brig- ' .>. HISTORIC CHURCHES AND HOMES. 55 adicr-General Isaac Royal, the Skiltons and Sweethens of Woburn, and Robert Nichells of Billerica, all went to Christ Church. At ID Linden street was the old rectory. It had hand-painted wall paper and Delft tiles, and was so grand it was called the "Bishop's Palace." In- deed, so did the Puritan people in the town dread lest Dr. Apthorp aspire to be bishop that they fairly drove him, by opposition, back to England in 1764. The next important period of the church's his- tory was the Revolution time during which Christ Church was beaten upon by the waves of a wild tide of patriotism. The rector was forced to fly and had but a troubled life of it thereafter. In the summer of 1774 the last regular services before the Revolution were held in the church. The only member left was Judge Lee, who was immolested because his principles were mild. Now for a space the church ministered to the soldiers' bodily rather than to their spiritual needs. After Lexington, the company of Captain John Chester from Wethersfield. Conn., was quartered in the church. There is still a bullet mark in the porch as a reminder of this period. The sole mem- ber who took the colonial side, John Pidgeon, was appointed connnissar\--general to the forces. The rest, Tories, fled to General Gage in Boston. General Washington, a good churchman, though for reasons of expediency he often worshipped with his men at the Congregational meeting house (then under Dr. Appleton), wlien Mrs. Washington came. Dec. 31, 1775, had Christ Church re-opened for a service which he attended. One is still shown the place where his hat was laid, near the threshold. ''General and Mrs. Washington probablv occupied !\>bfr: Te~r«>e> pew, ihirvi from the iroiw. oii v the sKp oj^>i>j4te the >;ixth pfllar >o;)~? >!' P?.*x:heMer. A qweer ; v ii^ s^owTi you, if . . - >a2d TO be the very ;r*e j^ciKr^ s^i. Thai day Cc4. Tvsd jserkSce. sr^d gsve a tarm - :. \'.c^ of the one xrere qoane^^ed here ^ , . .::c»n. Liem, R>char\i Brow-;; o-^ liic Scvcii:>-nr>>; ^Liig^Ush resin^nt w^a? sh-x r»v 5 «eT.Tr>- He ■w-?.? bnried iirsder Christ O — : mb. and ^T »i»? ■>T? : - - "'>>! .V: :h w^> a -•res^ , ^*:. \ieTy e?**:i S ^ - ~.^~' rr wa? r^^; . on this occa?:. . - nrsi cr Vi,; -^ : :aade ior the pre <-ier-; 0: the es^ i'l -I- ::. *n rerrals bt ^ T*^>od Avb ■exi Isy r .h-rrh services^ Ir :x"^- ,i_r\ j^, in^rc" v.-.l,i ?. >serv>ce rn comTK" The death of \VX5 ^ " -" versarr iras obserred, s HISTORir CHURCHES AND HOMES. 57 The interesting relics to be seen in the church are the communion service, bearing arms of William and Mary, and forming part of a larger set given (1694) to the rector of King's Chapel, J3oston, by these sovereigns. These pieces were used there up to 1772, when Thomas Hutchinson became governor. He was given the crown com- munion plate and the pulpit furniture to distribute. The new set of plate went to King's Chapel, and the old was divided between a church at Xewburyport and Christ Church here. There are three pieces here, flagon, chalice and paten. On the under side of each is written, "The gift of K William and Q Mary to ye Rev'd Sam'l Myles for ye use of their Maj'ities Chapell in N. England — 1694." Mr. TJatchelder, who gives these facts about the service, adds also that it is used only on especial occasions. There is another silver service and one of gold (the Foote memorial). The silver basin given by Mrs. Grizzel Apthorp is used as the chief alms basin. A silver service given in 1791 by Mrs. Bethune, daughter of Benjamin Faneuil, is used for com- munion-alms. The original parchment parish- register dating back to 1759 is preserved by the church. Between Christ Church and the First Parish Church lies the old peaceful graveyard, ablaze in autumn with golden-rod. The yard is fully two hundred and sixty-four years old, and had been used about one hundred and thirty years before Christ Church was built. Here lie Stephen Day. first printer of this continent north of Mexico; Elijah Corlct. first master of the Faire Grammar School ; Thomas Shepard, first pastor in Cam- bridge; also Jonathan Mitchell, Nathaniel Gookin, William Brattle, Thomas Hilliard. and Mr. Apple- 58 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. ton; and of the Harvard presidents, Dunster, Chauncy (on whose tomb is a Latin inscription), C)akes, Leverett, Wadsworth, Holyoke, Willard and Webber. Here are also Governor Belcher, Judge Remington, Mrs. Brattle; and under Christ Church is'^iie old \'assall tomb, containing ten coffins— those of the family and also one of the black servants of the family, and one probably of Lieutenant Brown, the English officer who was shot by a sentry. In the yard stands a monument erected to the mernory of Mr. Hicks, Moses Rich- ardson and William Marcy,who fell April 19, at Lex- ington. An interesting bit of the graveyard's his- tory is that here, in July, 1775. the tombs were reft of their metal coats-of-arms, from which bullets were made. It is natural to turn from Christ Church to a brief mention of the dwellings of its first parish- ioners. The old Watertown Road once ran up what are now Mason and Brattle streets. On Brattle street were the stately residences occupied by men to whose staunch loyalty to England was due the name of Tory Row bestowed on their dwellings. As these families were also, as has been said, Christ Church parishioners, the second name was given their abodes of Church Row. Between these peo- ple and those of the college and of the Congrega- tional Church little love was lost. When the Revolution broke out, the denizens of this peaceful row grew unpopular to such a degree that they fled for refuge to General Gage in Boston, and their property was, in most cases, con- fiscated. The houses of Major Henry \^assall. Lieutenant-Governor Oliver and Mrs. George Ruggles were used as hospitals for those wounded HISTORIC CHURCHES AND HOMES. 59 at Bunker Hill. Those whose houses were saved for them were chiefly those whose Toryism, like that of judg-e Lee, was of an inoffensively mild type- Never ag'ain could the old brilliant congregation be gathered in Christ Church. For years the ser- vices languished, and the places of the aristocratic first members remained obviously empty. The life of luxurious leisure, of dignified living, had been too rudely broken to be soon mended. r>eside this particular group of houses, there are others whose history is also interesting. Of these one is the old Waterhouse mansion, on Waterhouse street. It was owned and occupied before the Revolution by William Vassall. Here are pre- served relics of the famous Dr. Waterhouse, who was one of the first to introduce vaccination into America. In token of this fact, the family preserve a clock, surmounted by a golden cow. Another relic is an old clock presented in 1790 to Dr. Water- house by Peter Oliver, chief Justice of the province. It is wound at Christmas and on the fourth of July. Another interesting house is the old Hicks House, at the corner of Dunster and Winthrop streets. It is chiefly interesting as the home of the patriot, John Hicks, who aided in the Boston tea- party, December 16, 1773. He was killed in the Concord fight, and his is one of the six names on the monument in the old burying-ground. The glass door is still shown through which he rushed to his death. Washington used the northeast room of this house as a commissary of^ce. Of all the historic houses here, the most inter- esting to me, aside from Cragie House and Elm- wood, is the so-called "Bishop's Palace." It is r.O CAMBHTDGE SKETCHES. on Linden street, between Mt. Auburn and Massa- chusetts avenue, and stands well back, with its side to the street. A path leads up to it, between old borders of fragrant box. This house was built about 1 761 by the Rev. East Apthorp, first rector of Christ Church. When the Puritans feared Mr. Apthorp was aspiring to a bishopric in this coun- try, he was forced by popular feeling to return to England. The house was next occupied by John P>orland, a merchant, who lived there until the Revolution. Then General Putnam took it for the headquarters of the Connecticut troops, and it was so used until the Battle of Bunker Hill. Nexi General Burgoyne was placed there for safe keep- ing. It is now owned by the daughters of Doctor Plympton, in whose family it has been for over one hundred years. The house is exquisitely pre- served. In the stately drawing-room, to the left of the front door, there are, about the fireplace, quaint blue Dutch tiles, and a fireback representing Bri- tannia. The balusters of the staircase are beauti- fully carved by hand. In the second story chamber once occupied by General Burgoyne, the walls are panelled and covered with landscape paper. On the front door are a huge brass knocker and lock, while the iron key is sufiBciently ponderous to lock a Bastile against intruders. The house is built with exceeding care; the clapboards and shingles are split instead of planed, air-spaces are left between the middle brick wall and the two outer wooden ones, and indeed every pains has been taken to ren- der the house a complete and beautiful whole. It is hard to turn from my subject and lay down my pen, for somehow in Cambridge there lurks a subtle charm potent over the hearts of all, even of those who sojourn here but for a time. This UISTOHIC CHUIWIIES AND HOMES. til charm is. I think, most strongly exhaled, like a flower's perfume, in summer. Then, as one lin- gers at evening on the silent brown paths, looking up at the cool, shadowy green boughs, that render more infinitely vast the starry sky-depths beyond, one feels the spell most powerfully. Thoughts of which dreams are made throng the mind, and stories of the past with which the Cambridge air is filled dominate the imagination. Then the college life, with its present hopes and enthusiasms and its* joyous modernity has ebbed away for a tidal- hour, leaving bare the quiet shore of the past, seamed and lined with the traces of two centuries' tides. In some such a summer I have written this brief account and now send it forth, "with all its imperfections thick upon it," trusting it will lead someone else to seek out the history and grow to love stories of Cambridge as do I, to whom "its dust is dear." For assistance in preparing the facts containefl in this article I am indebted to the courtesy of the Rev. William B. King and Dr. McKenzie. I have also learned much from the following authorities: History of Shepard Church, Dr. McKenzie; The Cambridge of 1776, by Mr. Arthur Oilman; Har- vard and its Surroundings, Mr. Moses King; Christ Church, Cambridge, Mr. S. F. Batchelder, and from other works of a like nature. MAPLES IN AUTUMN. How fairly shows yon distant maple, shedding Its blood-red leaves upon the forest ground. Those very leaves that not long since were wedding The young spring breeze with modest rustling sound ! Its yearly tribute done, 'twill be left standing To wrestle naked with the winter breeze. And, by such change deciduous, grow commanding And flourish lofty 'mid its sister trees. Might we too shed, in patient courage hopeful Our brilliant dreams, soft falling one by one, While with God's love, like sap, our veins still flow full, We shall not need the wild wind's benison. But though most desolate our fortune seemeth Many yet bud greener than the wanderer dreameth. Susan Louisa Higginson {lived in Cambridge, 1820-1842). SOME CAMBRIDGE SCHOOLS IN THE OLDEN TIME. Some Cambridge Schools in the Olden Time. By Miss S. S. JACOBS. HTHE old town records tell us that our ancestors ^ had a school where granunar, that is, Latin, and English were taught, as well as writing and ciphering. Mr. Elijah Corlet was its master be- tween forty and fifty years, and "is praised in that he hath very well approved himself for his abilities, dexterity and painfulness in teaching." That word "painfulness" is a good one. Our present Corlett school in the Belmont district is so named in honor of this prophetic Elijah, the forerunner of the many who since his day have ap- proved themselves for their abilities, dexterity and painfulness. The old schoolhouse stood on the westerly side of Holyoke street about half way between Harvard and Mount Auburn streets, on a lot owned by President Dunster of the college. It was used for school purposes till 1796, then for a printing office. A second, later schoolhouse was on the southerly side of Garden street, about one hundred feet from Appian Way and a little west of the Episcopal church. This building was twenty feet in width by twenty-six in length, and w^as erected many years after Mr. Corlet had laid aside his g-rammar and 66 CAMBBIDGE SKETCHES. his ferule. It is noticeable that many schools now cluster not far from this spot — the Washington School, the Cambridge School, one in Mason street and one or more in Appian Way. The stated fees being quite insufificient for Mr. Corlet's support, special grants were made him. One of ten pounds was ordered in 1680. The record reads: 'Tt was agreed at a meeting of the whole town, that there should be land sold of the common for the gratifying of Mr. Corlet for his pains in keeping of a school in the town; the sum of ten pounds if it can be attained, provided it shall not prejudice the common." The "common" probably means any undivided lands held in common by the proprietors of the town. The land actually sold under authority of this order was on the south side of Charles River. As Mr. Corlet, in addition to his other duties, prepared Indians for college, this "gratifying" does not seem excessive. Cambridge is then, in 1680, provided with a school- house and a schoolmaster. Now as to pupils. In that year there were nine, perhaps a fair proportion as compared with that college class which, as we know on high poetical authority, consisted of "the nephew of the President, and the Professor's son." To complete the proper school equipment, we find an order, "to see to the educating of children as follows: it is ordered, that John Bridge shall take care of all the families of that side the highway his own house stands on; Sergeant Win- siiepe is to see to the families on the other side and all the families in the lane going from the meeting- house down to the river and so Watertown-ward ; George Cooke to take care of all the families be- !SOME OLD CAMBRIDGE SCHOOLS. (37 I ween the way appointed for Russell to see to [Russell's directions are worn off from the record and cannot be read] and the highway going from I he meeting house into the neck." All Dana Hill was part of the Neck, and the meeting house was about where Dane Hall now is. The record con- tinues — "My brother Oakes all on the other side the river." Is not this a rudimentary school com- mittee? They cannot be more truant offtcers. In after years we have regular annual appoint- ments of reverends and honorables, with bills from the Anchor Tavern or other inn for the din- ner with which their labors were invariably allevi- ated. At these dinners, liquors of different kinds were served, according to the custom of the times. Having thus established our school system on a permanent basis, before leaping over a period of a century and a half to alight upon personal reminiscences, let us pause for a moment to think of the incredulous distaste with which Madame Dunster and other ladies of her day would have regarded any true prophecy of the present age of bicyles, electric cars, and collegiate education of women. It is not quite a hundred years since it was ordered that a grammar school should be maintained all the year round, and a school for girls for four months in a year. It was near the beginning of the century that the first public school w^as established in Cam- bridge Port, on School street near Winsor. A second, dating from 1809, w^as on Franklin street about midway between Magazine and Pearl streets. There was another school, spoken of seventy years ago as the C. P. P. G., which, being inter- preted, is the Cambridge Port Private Grammar, 68 CAMBIUUGE SKETCHES. and this has no sHght claim to remembrance. James Freeman Clarke was at one time its princi- pal, and Dr. Holmes has touched it with his lum- inous pencil in one of his papers in the Atlantic. Besides the Poet-Autocrat it reckoned among its pupils Richard H. Dana, who was by and by to write his "Two Years before the Mast," and later to become eminent in many directions; and Mar- garet Fuller, the most remarkable woman that Cambridge has produced. It is doubtful if any or all of our existing grammar schools have "names to conjure with" like these of Holmes, Dana and Margaret Fuller. Yet the C. P. P. G. did not count hundreds: we were but thirty. Those of us who rank among the undistinguished w^ere of course mighty and most honorable, howbeit as is said in the Book of Samuel, w^e "attained not unto the first three." Our schoolhouse stood on the south side of Austin street, about midway between Temple and Prospect streets. Nearly opposite were the houses of Dr. Chaplin and Judge Fay with gardens on each side extending from Prospect street to Inman and back almost to Harvard street. Dr. Chaplin was a then celebrated physician. Several cottages in the garden were occupied by his insane patients whom the boys and girls in the school opposite used to see walking about the grounds, or riding forth, a melancholy troop of six or eight. They were always mounted on white horses, sometimes with the stately doctor at their head, oftener with an attendant. This man was an early and zealous abolitionist, and as for some reason now forgotten the school had taken a dislike to him, among its lessons were laid up the resolutions not " to pfo crazy " even for the sake of riding- on white S()}fh: OLD ( AMIiUIlHiE SCHOOLS. CO horses; and on no account to be abolitionists. Rut this was seventy years ago. As a specimen of this man's zeal, it is related that taking- advantage one Sunday of the absence of his minister, Dr. Stearns, who afterwards went to Amherst College as president, he attempted to introduce the abhorred doctrine into the pulpit. Now it was in those times the custom for the members of the congregation who were afflicted in mind, body or estate, to send written requests to the minister ofificiating, that prayer might be offered on their behalf. The phraseology might be "Mr. Bimelech Stone desires the prayers of the church, the same being very weak and low"; or "Mrs. Tremor desires prayers for the sudden death of her husband, that it may be sanctified to her everlasting good." On the way home, it would not be remarked by one hearer to another, that Mr. Stone was very ill, or Mrs. Tremor bereaved, but that they "had a note up." Sometimes the paper contained a suggestion to be acted upon without being read aloud. The note Dr. C. sent was meant to be of this kind. These were the words: "There is a slaveholder in my pew; please to cut him up in the last prayer." But to turn from this digression to the public school which, to use Mrs. Burnett's phrase, is "the one I knew the best of all," viz., that founded in 1809, of which I became a member somewhere in the twenties. Though the schoolhouse was a building of two stories, only the lower one was occupied by the school. The outer door opened into a little vestibule where were nails for hanging coats and hats; here too was another door to a stairway with which we had nothing to do. The schoolroom itself — there was but one (a. fine con- 70 ('AMBlilDUE SKETCHES. trast to the spacious halls and classrooms of to- day) was furnished with clumsy desks or tables having a narrow shelf beneath and long benches. It accommodated perhaps sixty children. In the middle of the room was a huge stove for burning wood; also a long crack useful for keeping a class in line. The floor above our room belonged to a lodge of Freemasons. We never soared so high, but continued groundlings, as the phrase was in Ad- dison's day. What sums we ciphered ! For it pleased the fates To bind us close to slate pencils and slates, Adams' Arithmetic before our eyes. (He made it after he left Paradise. We cannot fancy that in scenes Elysian Adam and Eve knew ever Long Division.) Oft-times we stood in rows with aspect solemn. Convulsive adding up some figured column. Sad grew one heart I knew, and ever sadder, To find on every side a swifter adder. And when sometimes a sultry south wind blew, Our Baker found too hot his oven grew, Sent out his living things by two and two, As Noah from his ark was glad to do. There sat the boys and ciphered in the shade. And the soft air about their temples played. Busy and happy ones ; all smoothly went. While with their tasks legitimate content, But from the narrow way the least deflection Is pretty sure of no remote detection. The square is drawn ; its characters you know, Nine minor squares to fill with X or O, And he says, " Tit, tat, too,'' who gets a row. " Tit, tat," says James, and marks it down, but hark ! " Too," shouts the master, and he makes his mark. And looking backward, was it yesterday. Or was it rather scores of years away. When, standing up the vowel sounds to say. SO.U/t' <>LI> ( AMIIUIDCK SCHOOLS. 71 " Long ./ in tater — gravy," one began, And smothered laughter through the circle ran. At close of day the roguish Thurston found That he could give aright one vowel sound : Long O comes natural to the quivering lips. When the long .7 in fate meets with short / in whijjs. Tile principal of the scht)ol — in white Baiinel dressing gown not free from ink-spots caused by frequent wipings of his pen, with cowhide in hand, ruiniing witli noiseless slippers along the tops of the desks to reach that boy in the far corner, tniaware of his approach and now at work on the core of an apple — would no doubt give the scholars of to-day reason to suppose that tlie master had suddenly become crazy. (3ther punishments besides the cowhide are now also obsolete. No boy, for example, is now made to stand on a bench with a bag of unbleached cotton tied over his head, and no girl has to wear a split stick shaped like a clothes-pin on her nose. We are told that cleanliness is next to godliness, but it hardly follows that wearing a sort of imitation clothes-pin on one's nose is conducive to virtue. But however new or odd or multiplied were our pains and penalties, they were looked upon as incidents in our daily life, to be avoided if possible, or to be borne with becoming fortitude. Children do accept their belongings as part of the essential structure of the universe. Much of a teacher's time was taken up with pen making and mending, for writing was well taught, and steel pens were still in the future. Heneatli the desk, ye small otTenders, quick. Where bits of quill and stings of conscience prick. But there stands solitary on the floor, One known among us as the monitor. Caught whispering he was, soon after dinner. : (Alii BRIDGE SKETCHES. And now he watches for another sinner; Shortly he has one, and the two change places. William is idle, Harriet makes faces. Peter is laughing, Anne lets fall her maps ; So it goes on — an hour or two perhaps. But seldom longer ; sharp as Andrew looks, He finds no eye raised from the proper books. In vain he sudden whirls, east, west, north, south ; Sits a wise gravity on every mouth. Back seats nor front, nor boys nor girls once vary From studious diligence most exemplary ; Each pays great heed to his peculiar labors. And no one sayeth aught unto his neighbors. A model school : why surely at this rate All soon will know enough to graduate. This lasts till five o'clock. Alas! to tell The fate of him, unhappy sentinel. Listen a tale Chinese : Where Yang-tse-kiang flows There is a sort of folk, the story goes. Who live on boats or rafts and keep a stock Of ducks, tame ducks, for profit. This, their flock Daily goes out to eat what it can catch, But home it comes to sleep and lay and hatch. The summons is the ringing of a bell ; Each drake and duck and duckling knows it well. And when they hear afar its nightly tinkling, Whate'er may tempt, obey it in a twinkling. They crowd, they push, fly o'er each other's backs. And the whole river is alive with quacks. The secret of this haste, this fluttering, skipping. Is plain to see : the last duck gets a whipping. School done, without a moment wasting. Our flock poured out glad, careless, hasting, But our last duck had a most thorough basting ! O happy days and wise ! I need not tell How hard we worked when " choosing sides" to spell. Now wins the enemy, now our ranks swell ; 'T is almost night, yet still the conflict rages. And heavy batteries fire from Walker's pages ; Now here, now there, the favorite champion crosses, Sometimes our gains are great, sometimes our losses. But say, to them who, in life's earnest fight For victory strive, brings any triumph quite The overflowing, unalloyed delight. The joy, as when our side spelled " phthisic" right? .sou/-; OLD cA.Miiinix;!-: schools. My sketch were faulty, >vitli entire omission Of our great crowning glory, Exhibition. Though scarce could you expect one of my age All that was spoke in public on the stage To recollect, yet Shylock"s knife, Lochiel. And Young Pretenders haunt the memory still ; And one named Norval of his Grampians vaunting, And grinding organs — nor the monkey wanting. One beau worth having I remember well ; Shall I confess? — the bow of William Tell. Nor is it soon forgot how once a quarter Sore trembled every mother's son and daughter. The vain, the timicl, all felt perturbation I'pon the morning of Examination. For there would come that day strange visitors. Part conscript fathers, part inquisitors. Not men susceptible of mirth or pity. Not friends and ministers — but the Committee. How truly awful was the warning hum, .'\nd the announcement, " Here they are, they come The boys look bold and saucy, and each girl Gives the last finish to her favorite curl. They enter and bestow on either hand A glance meant to be dignified and bland. Now are our lessons weighed in the just steelyard — And oft found wanting too — of Mr. Hilliard ; Now are the copies of each urchin wayward 'Neath the clear, searching eyes of Mr. Hayward. There was a class that Whelpley's Compen(^ used. Whose talk historic our small brains confused. Egyptian, Grecian, Roman facts we knew. And Carthaginian ; and we mixed them, too. Like Seidlitz-powder papers, white and blue, To the Committee then poured out the essence. Which made a very pretty eftervescence. One of this class it was my hap to be. To say the world's seven wonders came to me, That I was not the eighth, 'twas plain to see. Well I remember faltering on my tongue. The hanging gardens of old Habel hung. Failure was imminent. Just then I heard Soft whispered in my ear, the important word. No classmate breathed it, but more kind than just 'T was gentle Whipple raised me from the dust ; 74 CAMBBIT)(rK SKETCHES. My prisoned memory felt glad release, And I went bravely on and "said my piece."' Our trials o'er, " the chair " made an oration. Found some improvement in our " pronounsation " ; We heard the words " deportment," " approbation,'" Took a long breath, and a whole week's vacation. Note. — The foregoing sketch gives the names of the three gentlemen composing the School Committee, as recalled by the present writer. Could the wildest visionary dream there would come a time when a woman w()uld be appointed "school committee man"? RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDHOOD. Recollections of My Childhood. By Mrs. JOANNA HOUGHTON CLARK. HA\ iNG been re(]uestecl to write a few lines for this book, I "lend a hand'' and cheerfully jot down a few memories which may refresh those of others among my earliest friends. In all my childish recollections, from 1836 on toward the forties, nothing seems to linger more persistently than the frequent journeys down Alain street to Ma'am Rand's store. This was kept by a sunny-faced, pleasant-voiced woman, who always addressed me as "Dear life, dear soul," from whose hand in exchange for my copper cents, [ received many a sugar heart, either white or red as 1 preferred. There were jumping-jacks, too, of brilliant colors; open-work pewter baskets with covers, for fourpence ha'penny ; pewter frying-pans with a green and a blue fish in each (always the two, side by side); jews-harps of various sizes; Ht- tle churns, in which I many a time made about a teaspoonful of butter for my dolls' table, and which in imagination I can still taste, it being strongly and horribly flavored with the pine churn; molasses gibralters and tiny peppermints dropped on paper; jointed dolls with smooth black painted heads, and high yellow combs, all the way from two cents to a ninepence in price. The children of to-day would be puzzled to give the value in those old times of a fourpence and a ninepence, representing then six and a quarter and twelve and a half cents. 78 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. What would they think to be told when purchas- ing goods that the price was "two and thrippence," "three and ninepence" or "four and sixpence"? We older children remember the prices as thirty- seven and a half, sixty-two and a half and seventy- five cents. I think with actual pity of the children of the present generation who have no remembrance of such a store, with a bell which jingled merrily as the door opened, to call one of the two sisters from a back room. It is next to being without a remembrance of a grandmother's home in the coun- try, where the hollyhocks stood near the open win- dows, and the bees flew in and out, and the white floors were sanded, and the rows of shining tins full of milk looked so inviting, and the fruit cake smelt so sweet in the high cupboards, with a big wooden "button," as it w^as called, to fasten the doors instead of a lock. The two sisters who kept the store where I loved to linger, were regular attendants at the old Or- thodox Church on Norfolk street, where Rev. William A. Stearns preached faithfully for many years. My father used to assist in "taking up the collection," and always said if everyone should give as generously in proportion as these women, the results would be astonishing. Miss Abigail usually wore in the house a buff muslin turban, but for church the bonnets were something to attract attention, being made of black satin lined with yellow. Immense bows of broad gauze ribbon were placed between the crown which resembled a tin quart measure, and the front which was like a large tunnel. These bonnets were worn long after the fashion had passed away and given place to the small "cottage bonnet" or other UFJ'OLLECTIONS. OF MY CriTLDllOOn. 71) forms. What a bonanza one of them would be now! Also a fourpence ha'penny or a ninepence! School memories crowd upon me too: first a private one kept by Miss Caroline Pratt, then the public school, taught by Miss Ford; and another by Miss Almira Seymour, who one May Day, formed a procession of her scholars, and marched through several streets, preceding them as the "Queen of the May," with a long green barege veil hanging down at her back, and a wreath of flowers on her head. Perhaps that dusty march was responsible for my change of schools, as I was sent then to a pri- vate school kept by Miss Nancy Gibson in the rear part of a chapel on Austin street. In a small room adjoining was a trundle-bed where two or three of the very little children took a daily nap. Every desk had a lid, upon the inside of which was pasted this couplet: — Ca«V never yet did anything ; Try has done wonders. Then came Miss Mansfield's school, and Mr. Magoun's. Who does not look back with pleas- ure to Mr. Magoun's reign? I loved him, even though he inflicted many an indignity upon me, by causing me to follow him while he slowly moved through the seats on the boys' side, mending their quill-pens or filling their inkstands, thereby morti- fying greatly my sweet elder sister who never did anything wrong; and all — for what? Whisper- ing, Mr. Magoun called it, but in my opinion, it was "friends taking sweet counsel together." My copy of the old American First Class Book, the reader used then, is among my choicest possessions. It has my name written by Mr. ^Tagoun, on the fly-leaf, dated 1844. so C'AMB JUDGE SKETCHES. We had singing lessons once a week given by Mr. Joseph Bird from Watertown, who drove down in a covered wagon, and sometimes brought pails of brilliant gold and silver-fish, for those who had paid good attention to his teaching. There are also indistinct remembrances of the election of William Henry Harrison, when our school children wore straw-colored badges, and in a few weeks' time, those were replaced by crape, which we all wore for one month. I remember a great red, white and blue ball covered with mottoes being carried through Cam- bridge streets; and through the kindness of Mr. John Livermore I am able to state that "this ball was used in the political campaign of 1840 and was planned by J. Vincent Brown, a merchant of Boston. It was made in Salem, Mass., and was about nine feet high. It was loaned to the Cam- bridge people for a general convention held at Concord, on the Fourth of July, and was carried on a team nearly to Lexington, and from there rolled the remaining distance, with ropes held by twenty men on either side." These are some of the many memories that are constantly recurring, and perhaps they will not be considered too personal by others who lived in the thirties of the century so near its close. A GUIDE TO HARVARD COLLEGE. A Guide to Harvard College. By Miss ALICE H. JOSE. T^HE aim of the following; sketch is to present to ^ the stranger, visiting Harvard for the first time, an intelligible and may we hope a faithful guide to its chief points of interest. The location of the I'nivcrsity in Cambridge makes it easily accessible by all the electric routes from Boston which pass through Harvard Square. We have chosen to enter the beautiful grounds ni the college campus at the West gate, the gift of Mr. Samuel Johnston of Chicago. This is an ornamental structure of brick with trimmings of freestone and wrouglit-iron. A tablet on the left informs us that— Hy the General Court of Massachusetts Bay 28 October 1636 agreed to give 400 £ Towards a schoale or coUedge whereof 200 A To bee paid tlie next yeare ^K: 200 £ When the worke is tinished & the next court To appoint wheare & wt building 15 November 1637 the colledg is ordered To bee at Newetowne 2 May 1638 It is ordered that Newetowne Shall henceforward be called Cambridge 13 March 1638-9 It is ordered that the colledge Agreed upon formerly to bee built at Cambridg Shai be called Harvard Colledge i'roni the tablet on the oi)posite side we learn After (]od had carried us safe'to New England And wee had builded our houses Provided necessaries for our livelihood Reard convenient places for Gods worship And setled the civill government 88 ( AMIliniX;!-. SKKTCIIES. One of the next things we longed for And looked after was to advance learning And perpetuate it to posterity Dreading to leave an illiterate ministr\ To the churches when our present ministers Shall lie in the dust New Englands First Fruits Passing- into the college yard, two very ancient brick buildings greet our sight. Built in the early years of the last century, they have witnessed many stirring scenes. During the first year of the Revo- lution the J'rovincial Congress took possession of them as barracks for the American soldiers. That on the right is Massachusetts Hall, built in 1718, the oldest in the yard, and used for a dormi- tory with rooms for lecttires and examinations. The building- on our left is Harvard Hall. The l)rovince bore the expense of its erection in 1765. Its uses were manifold in the early days, and we find it mentioned as chapel, library and recitation hall. In the year 1775 while the American soldiers oc- cujMed the building, the students went to Concord, where sttidies were resinned. ( )n that year no public ccjnunencement was held, degrees being conferred b\ a general (li])loma. ( )ne noticeable feattire of tliis ])uil(ling is its belfr\-, where hangs the college l)ell, wliich summons the students to lectures. In former times attendance at morning l^rayers was compulsory, and this same bell also called the students to these early devotional exer- cises. Many devices were tried to prevent the bell ringing at the early morning hour, and many stories of adventures at midnight are told. ( )ne Thanksgiving the students were anxiotts to ])resent a turkey to the bell-ringer, and thoughtfull>- luuig it to the tongue of the bell, whence it was finallx taken b\' its delighted recipient. .4 GUIDE TO TTAJiVARD COLLEGE. 91 I'assing beyond these buildings we come into the quadrangle. Stately buildings form its sur- rounding walls, and within are the grand old elms which grow to such perfection in the college yard. This enclosure rises to especial importance on Class Day evening. Then hundreds of colored lanterns hang in festoons from tree to tree, the brilliant fires of different hues brighten the sombre buildings, and the whole scene becomes a fairy land, through which Fair Harvard's guests wander on their way to spreads and dancing. Music in the open air by the various organizations connected with the college is another feature of the occasion. As w^e stand in the quadrangle facing the point of entry, we see another ancient brick building next to Harvard. This is HoUis Hall, built in 1763 and named for the family of Thomas Hollis, a London merchant who left a legacy to the college. Many noted names are associated with rooms in this build- ing, among others being Ralph Waldo Emerson (5-15-20), Henry D. Thoreau (23-20-32-31) and Wendell Phillips (18-16-1 1). Back of Hollis is Holden Chapel which was built in 1744 by Benjamin Coleman and named for an- other London family who befriended Harvard. For twenty-two }ears prayers were neld here, but now for many years the building has been used for examinations and for a few recitations. The liolden coat-of-arms may still be seen on the west- ern front, and a noteworthy fact about the building is that it stands to-day almost exactly as it was built so many years ago. In the space enclosed by Holden, Hollis and Harvard stands the Class Day Tree, a fine old elm which has witnessed the scrambles of many a graduating class. At four o'clock, the loveliest 92 CAMJUUDGI-: SKET< IlES. hour of the June afternoon, daintily gowned maids and matrons, forming- a very enthusiastic and ex- pectant audience, gather about the tree, which is encircled with a wreath of flowers at a distance of about eight feet from the ground. The air resounds with the class cheers of the undergraduates and alumni who form groups on the greensward. At five o'clock the senior class assemble in the quad- rangle, presenting a very odd appearance in their motley garments, with coats reversed and costumes generally of ill-mated parts. With lusty cheers for the college builflings the strange procession marches to the tree. After everyone has cheered himself hoarse, after honor has been shown to the favorite professors, athletes, the college, the classes, the ladies, and the alunmi, the rush for the flowers begins. I*'rantic are tlie struggles to get a trophy from the garland just out of reach. Individual efforts are not a])t to be successful, for just when one is about to touch the wreath, dozens of hands are ready to drag him back. Then some concerted action is planned: a wedge, jterhaps, is formed, with some agile champion raised on the shoulders of his classmates. \ow he reaches the tree and, amidst the clivers of his supporters, tears away the llowers by handfuls. stufBng them into every available place about his clothing, and then, present- ing a very hum])y a])pearance. he is borne away to a place of safet\ where the treasured flowers may be distributed as precious souvenirs to fair admirers. Xext to Hollis is Stoughton, a brick dormitory, Iniilt in 1803. Many clul)s formerly had quarters here, and here. also, were tlie student homes of such men as lulward l\\eretl (23), ( )liver Wendell Holmes (31), Charles Sumner {12) and Edward Everett Hale. J ariDE TO llARVMil) COLLEGK. 'Jo At the northern end of the quadrangle stands Holworthy, a dormitory built in 1812, in part with money raised by a lottery. For many years this hall was devoted to the senior class, and it is along the front of Holworthy now, that, on Class Day evening, the year of the graduating class shines out in figures of light. One of the claims to dis- tinction which Holworthy enjoys is that during his American tour some years ago, the Prince of Wales visited the hall, and left his picture as a memento of his visit. On the eastern side of the quadrangle next to Holworthy is Thayer Hall, the largest dormitory in the yard, built in 1870 by Nathaniel Thayer of Boston. The most prominent of the college buildings, because of its close connection with student life, comes next. I'niversity it is called, constructed of granite and completed in 181 5, being the first stone building erected in the yard. The central portion was at one time used as a chapel, but now the building is devoted to lectures, and to the ofBces of the President, Dean, Secretary and Registrar. In the office of the President stands the ancient chair which was always used by him at commence- ment. Official notices are posted on the bulletin boards at the entrance and in the corridors. South of University is Weld Hall, a dormitory of brick with freestone trimmings, a gift of William F. Weld, in memory of his brother. The southern end of the quadrangle is formed by Gray's Hall, a dormitory built by the corporation and named for three generous friends of the Uni- versity. It is built of brick with three granite tab- lets inscribed respectively with the dates 1636 and 1863, also the college seal. !»G (A2>nHUD(iE SKETCHES. Directly back of this dormitory, facing Harvard Square, is Wadsworth House, a wooden structure built in 1726 in colonial style, and for many years the home of the college presidents. Many cele- brated persons have been entertained here, and it was at this house that General Washington had his headquarters before going to Cragie House. At present the building is used as a dormitory, while the brick addition in the rear contains the offices of the bursar and college printer. Facing Weld on the opposite side of the quad- rangle is Matthews, built in 1872 by Nathan Matthews of Boston. Southwest of Matthews and facing the square stands Dane Hall, a gift in 1832 from Nathan Dane of Beverly, Mass. Until Austin Hall was built, this was devoted to the uses of the Law School. At present it is occupied by the Cooperative Society, headquarters for books and student's supplies, and contains one lecture room. Passing from the quadrangle between Weld and Gray's we observe on the right a large granite building. This is Boylston Hall, the chemical lab- oratory, and was built in 1857. On the wall facing the street is a tablet which informs the reader that — Here was the Homestead of Thomas Hooker 1633-36 First Pastor at Newtown Thomas Shepard 1636-49 Jolm Leverett 1696-1724 Jonathan Mitchell 1650-68 Prfsident of Harvard College First & Second Ministers of Edward Wigglesworth 1726-68 the First Church of Canihridge First HoUis Professor of Divinity \' Edward Wigglesworth 1765-94 Second Hollis Professor of Divinity As we proceed on our walk Gore Hall, the Li- brary, comes into view. This imposing granite structure was completed in 1841. a gift from A GUIDE TO UAUVARD COLLEGE. 99 Christopher Gore. The original plan of the build- ing was that of a Latin cross, having octagonal lowers at the corners of the principal part. In 1876 an addition to the east was made for the book- slacks, and now further alterations are contem- l)lated. The library here numbers 323.000 volumes, with as many pamphlets. This number does not include the volumes in the special libraries belong- ing to the various departments of the college. The entrance to the hall is on the south side, where one may see a small gilt cross, a trophy brought by the Massachusetts troops from the siege of Louis- burg in 1745. In the original part of the building is the Art Room, containing many precious curiosi- ties. In a glass case one may see the only book re- maining from John Harvard's library, John Eliot's Indian Bible, Burns' "Scots wha hae" in the hand- writing of the author, the autographs of many famous men, besides a death-mask of Oliver Crom- well, and a large collection of Roman coins. The great privilege of using this library is extended to those not connected with the University, and its doors are open every week day, except legal holi- days, from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M. (2 P. M. during vaca- tions). As we leave the library, we may see the Presi- dent's house on the elevated ground to the east. This building is of brick and was a gift to the college from Mr. Peter C. Brooks of Boston. The old mansion house in the corner, next to the one just mentioned, is known as the Dana homestead. In 1823 the family of Chief Justice Dana lived there, and after the cupola was added to it, astronomical observations were made here until the present Ob- servatory was completed. The next family to oc- cupy the house was that of Dr. A. P. Peabody 100 CAMIiBIDGK SKETCHES. from which fact it is sometimes referred to as the Peabody House. At present it is the home of Pro- fessor Palmer and his charming wife, Mrs. AUce Freeman Palmer, formerly President of Wellesley College. Facing Quincy Square which lies to the south of the Dana House, stands two dormitories, outside the college yard and owned by private individuals. The more noticeable of the two is Beck Hall, named for the Latin Professor Charles Beck, and for many years considered the finest in its appointments as it surely was the most expensive of the dormitories. The broad front is rendered very attractive with Ijright window gardens, while the eastern side, overlooking the lawn, used for tennis and for Class Day spreads, is in its season richly decorated with the luxuriant Ampelopsis veitchii. The other dormitory, Quincy Hall, named for this noted Massachusetts family, has been recently built, thus embodying all the improvements which have been made in buildings of this nature. Within a short distance of Beck Hall, on Harvard street, stands Ware Hall, considered a model in its appointments for a dormitory. It is owned by private individuals. Let us now continue our walk around the eastern extension of Gore Hall. We shall first come to Sever Hall, a magnificent lecture hall of brick with ornamental work in sandstone, a gift to Harvard from Mrs. Anne E. P. Sever. This is considered one of the finest buildings of its kind in the country. Heretofore the Fine Arts department of Harvard has been in Sever, where has been kept a collection of 2,500 photographs illustrative of what is best and most instructive in art. These will doubtless be removed to the new Art Museum, upon its com- pletion. .1 CUTDE ro UAinWHD COLLEGE. \0'.] Appletoii Chapel, to the west of Sever, will be casil}- recognized by its spire. The sandstone of which it is built was brought from Nova Scotia, and the chapel was completed in 1858. Here arc held the religious services of the University, con- sisting of morning prayers, attendance not com- pulsory, vesper service on Thursday afternoons from November until iNlay, and Sunday evening services. As the University is non-sectarian, l)reachers of all denominations officiate at these ex- ercises. The chapel was formerly used for notable wedding and funeral ceremonies, the obsecjuies of Professor Louis Agassiz, the eminent geologist and teacher, having been performed here. Next to the chapel is located the "William Hayes Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University," the latest addition to the buildings in the college yard. It is of stone, facing Cambridge street, and consists of two parts, the front portion with two stories for exhibition rooms, the rear part forming a semi-circular lecture hall. The purpose which this nmseum is to fulfil, as stated by the donor, is to furnish a place for the study and advancement of what is best in art. The exhibition space is necessarily limited, but, supplemented as it is by the resources of the Boston Museum of l'"ine Arts, will amply justify the hopes of its founder. Leaving the college yard by the North gateway, a gift from Mr. George von L. ]\Ieyer of Boston, in iScji. our attention is innuediately attracted by tlic grand outlines of Memorial Hall, glimpses of which have been had many times during our previous walk. At the entrance let us ])ause a nionient and glance at the curious, old. octagonal building of brick in the triangular plot of land op- posite. This is the old gymnasium, built in 1860. 104 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. but long since outgrown for its original purpose, and now used for the engineering department of the Scientific School. Now turning our attention to the imposing struc- ture of brick and sandstone before us, with its graceful tower, one of the landmarks of Cambridge, and its beautiful windows of stained glass, we learn that it was built in 1874-6, through the generosity of the Harvard alumni. As a tablet on the right hand wall of this central or memorial portion in- forms us This hall Commemorates the patriotism Of the Graduates and Students of this University Who served in the army and navy of the United States During the war for the preservation of the Union And upon these tablets Are inscribed the names of those among tliem Who died in that service Upon the walls of this main hall are the names of the honored dead, classed according to the de- partments in the college to which they belonged. Small crossed flags placed by the G. A. R. decorate each tablet, while various Latin selections, in praise of patriotism and valor, adorn the walls. The northern portion of the building is occupied by the dining hall, with accommodations for nearly one thousand persons, modelled after the English university halls. Light is admitted and softened by eighteen rich, stained glass windows, while the end wall is pierced by a handsome window of the same beautiful material, showing the seals of the University, the State and the L'nited States. Every year the Commencement dinners take place here. In that part of the hall to the east we find Sanders' Theatre, named in honor of a college benefactor, Charles Sanders. The theatre is classical in plan, Memorial Hall. A aUTDK TO HARVARD (OLLKGE. 107 having an elevated stajj^e. a semi-circular orchestra with aisles raying out from it, cutting the tiers of seats into wedge-shaped portions. Over the stage is a Latin inscription, of which we quote the following translation: — Here 'in the wilderness Did English exiles In the year after the birth of Christ The 1636th And the 6th after the foundation of the colony Believing that wisdom Should first of all things be cultivated By public enactment, found a school And dedicate it to Christ and the Church. Increased by the munificence of John Harvard, Again and again assisted By the friends of good learning Not only here but abroad And finally entrusted To the care of its own children. Brought safely through From small beginnings to larger estate By the care, and judgment, and forethought Of i'residents. Fellows, Overseers and Faculty All liberal arts And public and private virtues It has cultivated, it cultivates still But they that be wise .Shall shine as the brightne.ss of the firmament And they that turn many to righteousness As the stars for ever and ever Several notable plays have been given here by the college men, such as the Greek tragedy "CEdipus Tyrannus" of Sophocles, the Latin comedy "Phor- mio," by Terence, and Ren Jonson's old English drama, "Epicoene; or the Silent Woman." In each case as faithful a reproduction of these ancient per- formances as modern conditions would allow, was l)resented to the audience. Every year many lec- tures of great educational value are given here, and lOS CAMBBTDGE SKETCHES. iti Sever Hall as well, by the professors of the I'niversity and other acknowledged leaders in their subjects. Concerts, too, by the various college musical clubs and by the Boston Symphony ( )rchestra, take place here. Memorial Hall is open to visitors at all times during the year. As we leave the northeastern entrance to the liall, we find ourselves on Kirkland street, or "The Road to Charlestown," as it was known in Revo- lutionary times, the oldest highway in Cambridge. Turning to the west and following this street, we will look for a moment at the bronze statue of John Harvard. Through the generosity of General Samuel J. Bridge, we have here from the hands of the sculptor D. C. Freiich, the face and figure of an F>nglish Puritan minister such as we may suppose the founder of the college to have possessed. Few- facts concerning the life of John Harvard have come down to us. We know that he was a graduate from the English Cambridge University, for which reason the name of Newtowne was changed to Cambridge. . After leaving England John Harvard settled in Charlestown, and at his death in 1638 left to the "'colledge at Newctowne" his library and £500 in money. This noble act on his part deter- mined forever the name and future of our Univer- sity. The statue was unveiled October 15. 1884. Continuing our walk and crossing Kirkland street, another group of college buildings comes into view. The first which we pass, a brick build- ing, is the Lawrence Scientific School, the gift of Abbott Lawrence of Boston in 1848. Immediately back of this stands the Jefiferson Physical Labora- tory, built in 1884. This building is completely equipped with all the apparatus necessary for mak- ing the most delicate and accurate experiments in physics. .1 aUlhE TO IIAnVAIil) COLIJ'JiK. Ill Tlie large brick structure with sandstuue trim- mings at the west of these two buildings is Hemen- vvay Gymnasium where are to be found all the equipments connected with athletic exercise. The main hall is used for dancing on Class Day evening, and during vacation is open to visitors. At the left of the gymnasium, more remote from the street, stands Austin Mall, better known as the Law School. A most impressive building it is, constructed of sandstone, with its arched entrance, sliowing the architect Richardson's work at its best, it was a most noble gift to Harvard from 1-dwiii Austin. The library is at the left of the entrance, the rest of the building being devoted to lecture rooms. Forming a frieze on the front wall of the building we find these words, "And Thou Shalt Teach Them Ordinances and Laws and Shalt Sliew Them The Way Wherein They Must Walk and The Work That They Must Do." ' Northwest of Austin Hall may be seen a portion of Hastings Hall, a very fine dormitory recently built, which commands a view of Cambridge Com- mon on the west, and at the east overlooks Holmes Field, one of Harvard's playgrounds. Here the great inter-collegiate games take place, and the stands have accommodations for 5,000 spectators. Jarvis Field, another name associated with athletic sports at the University, although now wholly used for tennis, lies not far distant to the northwest. Through the generosity of Henry L. Higginson, Esquire, a third lot of land for athle- tic uses has been added to the college. Soldiers' Field, as it is called, lying on the other side of the Charles River, is yet easily accessible from the college. Two dormitories in the vicinitv in which we 112 CAMBRIDGE SKETCHES. find ourselves, still remain for mention. Built within the past year, they embody all that is best in buildings of this sort. The first, Perkins Hall, cornering upon Oxford street and Jarvis Field, is a gift from Mrs. Catharine P. Perkins, to com- memorate three generations of Harvard graduates in her husband's family. The other, called Conant Hall, stands at the corner of Oxford and Everett streets and was given to the University by Edwin Conant. SOME CAMBRIDGE LANDMARKS. THK PKAIIODV Ml'SEUM. THE A(iASSlZ MUSEUM. HARVARD OBSERNATORV. THE BOTANIC GARDEN. CLARK'S OBSERVATORY. By Miss HENRIETTA S. LEAVITT. The Peabody Museum. I\ one of the (juietest corners of quiet ( )1(1 Cani- bridge, on shady Divinity avenue, stand the two wings of what some day will be the great Harvard University museum. The Peabody Museum, and, farther up the street the Agassiz Museum, popularly so called, have now been standing for many years. At the rear of each, additions are occasionally built on, until now any passerby can see that the ultimate design is to unite the two museums in one great building. The I'cabody Museum may be called the labora- tory of a new science. There is a sense in which all our modern science is new, yet most of the sci- ences have been pursued with some success since the Middle Ages. The study of anthropology in its different branches, however, was scarcely thought of until this century. History was a record of wars and kings and public events. We are but just beginning to realize that there is no study so interesting as that of man. especially in his social development. T'-arly in this century, some interest was mani- fested in discoveries of prehistoric human remains in Europe. Tn our own country, stone arrow heads turned up by the farmer's plough, and the pottery and other contents of the mysterious mounds in the Mississippi valleys awakened some curiosity. Collections \\ere made; vet there was so little US (AMKIlIIXiE SKET( IlES. general and intelligent interest in these remains, that in 1840 an excellent collection of articles made by the Mound-builders was sufifered to pass into English hands. Then a change took place. These relics became matter not only for curiosity-seekers, but for serious study. People began to recognize that a forgotten past might be partly restored through these fragments. We cannot know who were the kings of these people or what the results of their battles. We cannot know of their statesmen and political triumphs, — if so be that there were states- men and politics among them. In short their his- tory, in the old-fashioned sense, is sealed to us. What can we learn? For one thing, we may learn something of the antiquity of man. If the geologist tells us that the gravel from which certain stone tools are dug was deposited a certain number of thousands of years ago, the man who made them must be of similar antiquity. Of course' the geologist may be mis- taken, and so our estimates of the age of man must be open to revision. Again, we may find out something about the habits and skill of the people of these remote ages. We may watch the development of man from age to age, seeing how he gradually improves in manual skill and intellectual forethought. We may at some time be able to trace a race history through these broken relics of past ages. Again, we may preserve the skeletons that are ex- humed. These, especially the skulls, are valuable race indices. Perhaps we may be able to establish the continuity of some of these people with some modern races. ^^'ise men early in the century began to recognize THE l'K.\li<)l>y MlsKlM. 110 the valiK" of the information liidden in what were g'enerally regarded merely as curious relics. Col- lections were begun, but collectors were feeling their way, and hardly knew how to arrange or stud\ their material. In t866, just at the most fa\orabU- time for begin- ning a thorougli scientific work, ( ieorge I'eabody gave $150,000 for tlie establishment of a museum and professorship of American Archaeology and Ethnology, in connection with Harvard L'niversit\-. Harvard was thus ena])led to have a leading part in the new work. ( )f Mr. Peabody's gift. $60,000 was to be nsetl for a ))uilding fund, and the rest was to l)e divided e(|ually between a professorslii]) and a museum fund. In the early days of the Museum, articles were stored and exhibited in P>oylston Hall. The first section of the present structure was l)uilt in 1875. Generous as was Air. Peabody's gift, it was not nearly sufficient to have permitted the accom])lish- ment of all that has been done. The building alone lias cost more than twice the amount of the original building fund. Other generous gifts have been made, and volunteer assistants in the field have contributed valuable articles. Although the origi- nal building has twice been added to. great quanti- ties of material are packed away out of sight. This is available for use by special students. l:)ut there is not room for it to be permanently exhibited. One of the most interesting rooms in the Museum is the large lecture hall on the first floor, for stu- dents in archaeology. ( )n tlie walls hang many portraits in oil of Indian chiefs. In the cases around the edge is a somewhat diversified exhibi-. tion — masks from New (iuinea. wax models of dif- ferent tribes of Indians and F.s(|uiniau\, skeletons 120 CAMBUIDGK SKETCHES. of different races, implements of war and peace, articles used in religions ceremonies. These are mostly modern. There are photographs, too, of the places whence some of these came. Photo- graphs, indeed, are a feature of this Museum. On every floor, in almost every room, are photographs of the regions represented. In the lecture hall, also, is a model of the serpent mound of Hamilton County, Ohio, which belongs to the Peabody Museum. It was purchased with a special gift of .$8,000, and is kept as a park, while explorations are carried on in the vicinity. The entrance to the lecture hall is guarded by two carved and weather-beaten stone idols from Yucatan. Just inside the door is a cast of an Assyrian relief dating back to the ninth century B. C. This latter properly belongs in the room overhead, where the Semitic department of the University has a fine collection of Assyrian and other Eastern casts and remains. By courtesy, this collection is given a place in the Peabody Museum, until a place of its own can be provided. It is for the study of American archseology and Ethnology that the Peabody Museum is maintained. Especial attention is given to North American tribes, although articles from Central and South America are welcomed. For the study of the race history of our own continent, it is desirable, even necessary, to have articles for comparison from other parts of the world. Antiquities from any source are welcome if only they are properly veri- fied. Articles illustrating modern life among the uncivilized and partly civilized peoples of the East are also received. It would not be desirable here to catalogue the curious, interesting and instructive exhibitions Tin: I'FMiohY \n >!•:(■ \i. i-_'i which have been so skih'ully displayed in the differ- ent rooms. Rather let us notice here the princi- ples upon which the exhibits are arranged. Objects are placed in the cases in strict geo- graphical order and the modern is separated from the ancient. The labels give account of the date and circumstances of finding the different articles, and photographs of the regions to which they belong are near at hand. Anyone can go and study for iiiniself in these carefully arranged rooms. If the articles on exhibition are not numerous enougii, the reserve stores, also carefully arranged and labelled, may be examined by the student. The study of these relics has only begun. What we have is incompletely understood, and many gaps remain to be filled by future discoveries. Go from room to room and from floor to floor, and see for yourself the suggestions as to mode of living and religion given by the long buried arti- cles now opened to the light. Study the mound- builders and the cliff-dwellers and other early in- habitants of our land, through their handiwork now revealed. Examine their tools, their weapons, their pottery. Then look at the illustrations of modern Indian life — the clothing, tools, religious articles, domestic utensils. How do the tribes differ from one another? What points of resem- blance can be discovered between modern and ancient? Are there any indications of continuity of race? Can signs be found of their connection with any other tribes in other parts of the world? Jvxanu'ne the foreign collections, ancient and modern, and draw your own conclusions. They may be crude; in many instances, probably, they will be incorrect, for you have been making a hasty sur\ey where long and patient study is re- 1 22 < A M H I! IIX; E S K E T( HES. quired for the attainment of any sound results. But as you try to form some conclusions for youself, you will realize what an amount of interesting ma- terial is already owned and systematized by the Museum. You may despair, after a short trial, of finding correct answers for your scientific problems. At least you can enjoy standing by the broken, but bright-colored and graceful, often fantastic, shapes of Mexican and Peruvian pottery. It will recall strongly what you have read of the magnificence of those old empires. You may wonder at the perseverance and ingenuity of palaeolithic man, as you look at his stone weapons and tools, or exam- ine the millstones which ground maize perhaps thousands of years before America was "discov- ered." You will leave the Museum richer and wiser. You will have a new respect for those ancient peoples who differed from ourselves, not so much in native ability as in that endowment of knowledge and experience which has accumulated for us during thousands of generations. You will be prepared to follow with new interest the researches of the men and women who are giving their lives to this -Study. It is a difficult and compUcated subject, but the material now being gathered and preserved will inevitably lead to a great expansion of our present knowledge. The Grave of Agassiz The Agassiz Museum. ly/l ANY pilgrims t^o out to Mount Auburn, "the ^ ' * Westminster Abbey of America/' and few of them fail to stop and pay their tribute of respect before the tomb of Agassiz. There is a nobler monument to the great scientist, however, than even that noble tomb. His name and life work are perpetuated in the great museum which 1 established at Harvard University. Daily his nan is on the lips of scores of people as they speak of the "Agassiz Museum," and they can scarcel pronounce it without a sort of reverence. The legal name of the institution is "The Museum of Com- parative Zoology." In his modesty the great sci- entist did not wish to have it called by his name, but the people cannot be controlled by this wish of his, and probably they will always call it the Agassiz Museum. During Agassiz' long Cambridge life of early [)overty and tardy success, the people were watching him with ever increasing aflfection. They mar- velled at the fossils and other specimens which overran his house when he scarcely possessed the ordinary comforts of life. After these specimens had been removed to an old boat-house down by the river, they took note of the hours he spent there, arranging them. Then, too, the public heard his marvellous lectures at the Lowell Institute. He brought home the deep facts of science to their 125 12ti ( AMllinDdK SKKTi 11 h'S. untrained understandings. They recognized his enthusiasm and his genius, and loved him accord- ingly. Professor Agassiz's interest in his collection for its own sake, and especially for its educational value, was absorbing. While it was in the boat- house, and later when it filled a large old wooden building near the college, he could hardly rest for fear of fire or other accident which might so easily destroy it. Most of his time was devoted to it. Nearly all his money was expended upon it. In "Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence," his wife quotes him as exclaiming during an illness: — ■'O my Museum! my Museum! always upper- most by day and by night, in health and in sickness, always — always !" It must be remembered that by his own efforts he had gathered a great collection; with his own money he was caring for it, and such care is costly. His private life was a constant struggle with the poverty thus voluntarily incurred. But better days were to dawn. Financial bur- dens were lightened by the very successful school for girls opened by his wife. In this school he him- self took delight in giving the young women their instruction in science. At last, in 1858, he knew the relief of having his burden shared. Mr. Francis C. Gray left $50,- 000 for a "Museum of Comparative Zoology," to be established at Harvard. Land was at once given by the University, aid was granted by legis- lature and over $70,000 was subscribed by citizens. Now a suitable building could be erected and there were pecuniary resources sul^cient to care for his beloved specimens. Although Agassiz was permitted to see only the rilK AC ASS 17. MISKCM. V>~ Ijcginniii^- of the new inslilution, it has probably developed nearly as it would have done had he lived to direct it himself. He had y;athered and trained his own assistants and they were thoroughly com- petent to carry out his instructions. Most fortun- ately his son was well acquainted with his designs and interested to carry them to completion. He has been curator of the Museum since his father's death and b\ his oversight and generosity has done much to bring it to its present rank among the foremost of the great museums. The first room one enters in the Museum is the realization of a favorite plan of Agassiz. He wanted a "Synoptic Room" set apart for a general view of the field of zoology. Here is shown the transition from the earliest fossil life, through vertebrates, to man. Only a few representative forms are displayed, and so one can see almost at a glance the relations of different orders of beings. It is a brief history of the animal kingdom from its first appearance. This room is apart from all other exhibits, and is, for the popular taste perhaps, the most instructive portion of the Museum. The bulk of the vast collection is arranged in many connecting rooms, to illustrate, according to the plan of Agassiz, "succession in time and distri- bution in space" of the forms of life. In one direc- tion, several rooms contain the more primitive forms of life — the earliest known species and their hum- ble cousins of the present day. In the other direc- tion one finds the higher animals. Here are casts of extinct antediluvian forms with unpronounce- able names, spreading out their huge skeletons, l^'rom the ceiling hang the bones of whales and sharks. Elephants and rhinoceri, game oxen and bisons, aliuost startle one by their powerful, life- 128 CAMBIilUGE SKETCHES. like appearance behind their glass cages. Small animals are not forgotten, and there are rooms full of birds, reptiles and insects. Every part of the animal kingdom is richly illustrated. In one room is an interesting collection of bones of different parts of the body compared in different species. In the same room are casts of the brain and other organs of man and the higher animals. On the walls of this room, and of other rooms, are pictures, mostly photographs of regions geologi- cally interesting. In rooms closed to the public are laboratories, with abundance of specimens to be studied and if necessary destroyed. Agassiz took especial pains to have duplicates, as many as possible, in order to permit the destruction of specimens for purposes of research. After going from room to room and from gallery to gallery, and seeing the crowded cases, one begins to appreciate in a degree the labor which has been expended upon the Museum, and learns to honor the memory of Agassiz more even than by the tomb in sacred Mount Auburn. From the Agassiz Museum proper, one passes into the Botanical and Mineralogical Museums. These occupy sections of the University Museum building adjoining the Zoological Museum. The mineralogical exhibition is extensive and interest- ing. The Botanical Museum consists mainly of the Blatscha glass flowers. These are imitations of flowers so exact that in most cases it is almost impossible to believe that they are not real. The glass is made to imitate the minutest variations of texture and color in different flowers. Along with each flower, mounted on the same card, are magni- fied models of the different parts. The study of botany is thus made easy. The method of manu- '/•///•; .l^.l^.^7/ MtslH M. iL'ii facture was a secret with Riulolph and Leopold lUatscha. father and son, the makers — or artists, as they nia\ well be called. They must be scientists as well, and be accurate in the slis:htest details. The fatlier died re<'ently, but fortunately the son can carry on the work. The r.otanical Museum also contains an inter- esting- e.\hil)il of I lie industrial uses of many plants. Sugar and other food products, hemp — natural and manufactured — vegetable ivory, different kinds of woods for cabinet making and many more useful products are 'illustrated. Of course all this is only a part of what Harvard has to offer botanical stu- dents. The extensive Herbarium and Botanical (lardens have a place of their own and are de- scribed elsewhere. With the nn'neralogical collection, a little farther on. the entl of the building is reached. Probably the time is not far distant when that other wing, the Peabody ?\luseuni. will be met and joined by further building. Then one can travel under one roof over the vast space and many departments of the I'niversitv .Museum. Harvard Observatory. N(J ck'partiiK'iU ot' Ilarxanl I'nivrrsity is niorr worthy of its ])ri(k' tliaii llic AsiroiK miii-al ( )!)- servatory. ]'\jiin(lc(l oiil\ tifly-fixc xrars aiio. ii has from the beijinnino- l)c'en oik- of ihr foremost contributors to the marvellous _or,,\\ih of astronomi- cal science during- the latter half of this century. Its beginning was humble. The fine old house on the corner of Harvard and Ouincy streets, lately the home of Dr. A. P. Peabody and now occupied by Professor Palmer, was its hrsi headiiuarters. The round cujiola on top is a relic of this period, for it was built to sup])ort an astronomical dome ;o shelter the small telescope then used. The first recorded obser\ation was on the evening of Decem- ber 31, 1839. The first director, Professor \V. C. Pond, was aj)pointed the following I'lTruarw Professor I'.ond and liis assistants workdi en- thusiastically with such resor.rces as the\ could conmiand. The ( )bservatory might have struggled long with its inferior e<|uipment. for it had aroused no ])o])ular interest, such as is necessary in order to secure funds for an\- cosllx- (.nterijrise. IhU when the great comet of 1 S43 a]ii)eared and fi-iglU encfj the ignorant, it proxcd a liarbinger of good for the industrious little ol)ser\atory. l'.\eryl)ody"s curiosity was aroused. I'eople regretted tltat at Cambridge there was no instrument of sufticient power to stud\' it and other lua\-eid\ bodies to ad- 134 CAMBRIDUE Six ETCHES. vantage. Accordingly a meeting of prominent men was called in Boston, with the result that suffi- cient money was raised to purchase a telescope of the largest size. In August of that very year work was begun on the foundations of the great stone pier on which such a telescope nuist be supported; and from that day to this, the Observatory has not lacked the best of modern equipments. It was an exciting day when the completed tele- scope was mounted on Observatory Hill. It was the largest refracting telescope in the world save one. That other one was of the same aperture (fifteen inches) and had been ordered at the same time with ours for the observatory at Pulkowa. In these days telescopes of twenty-five inches and over are not unconmion. Our fifteen inch instrument would look like a pigmy by the side of the forty inch Yerkes telescope. Yet even at the present day the Harvard instrument is remarkably fine. Its clearness and defining power are unusual, and for delicate work requiring great accuracy it is un- surpassed. Let us, in imagination, make a visit to the Obser- vatory. We can go past its back door on the electric cars, for this locality, once so retired, has been invaded by the trolley, and only the thick hedge of evergreen trees prevents serious embarrassment from the electric lights. Our pleasanter way will be to leave the car at Garden street and walk up the hill under the grateful shade of magnificent old trees. We have the grounds on our left for some time before we reach the entrance. Inside, we find it like a park. Still walking up hill we ap- proach the Observatory, in front of which is the pleasant home of Professor Pickering, the director. Above and behind towers the great dome. Near 11 A /MM /.' I) (HI s i:i! VATO 7,' Y. 1 :{:. l)y is a smaller (loinc. Off to the right is a substan- tial brick building evidently belonging to the ob- servatory; and on reaching the top of the hill we see that behind, in the back yard so to speak, is a little cluster of domes, each surmounting a tiny building of its own. Of course our first desire is to see the large tele- scope, around whose pier the building was originally raised as a shelter. After climbing a few stairs, we find ourselves in a large circular room. Walls and ceiling are joined in one great curve, — in fact, they form the dome. This dome can be revolved on its "ball-bearings," spheres of bronze which run in a cir(;ular track around the edge of the room. We do not notice this at once, however, for in front of us rises the magic instrument. It is a ponderous mass, and we question whether so great a weight can be controlled conveniently ; but we find that it moves at a touch. There are certain (Jil^culties in the use of so large a telescope, even if it is thus easily handled. In a large telescope, the apparent motion of the stars is so magnified that those at any distance from the ]^ole seem fairly to rush across the field of view. Add to this the fact that the field of a large tele- scope is very small, and Professor Simon Newcomb may be understood when he says that with a tele- scope and nothing else one might spend a whole winter evening looking for Sirius, and on finding him, lose him at once and irrevocably. This dif- ficulty of finding and keeping stars is obviated by tlie "equatorial" mounting, as well as by the "finders," telescopes of low power and large field attached to the tube. When a star is found, the instrument can he clani])ed so that it can be moved onlv in one direction — that of the star's apparent l;}(i ( AMlliniXiK SKKK IIES. motion. As fast as the star leaves the field, there- fore, a touch of the instrument will l)rin_i;- it into view again. Obviously, however, if the star's apparent mo- tion were very great, it would take most of the observer's attention to keep it in the field. Any refined observation would thus be rendered impossi- ble. To remedy this difficulty, clock work is at- tached to the instrument. This is so arranged that the motion of the telescope is exactly equal and opposite to that of the earth in rotation. The ob- server is thus enabled to study and measure at his leisure, without a thought but that instrument and star are alike stationary. When ecjuipped with the 1)est of mounting and the most perfect of clock work, with stable founda- tions and adequate protection from the weather, the telescope might seem complete. But it is poised thirteen feet above the iioor. The eye piece has a sweep of ninety degrees and is far out of reach most of the time. Without some means of getting to it, the instrument would be practically useless. It was for Professor Bond to meet this difficulty, and he devised the observing chair which is still in use. In appearance it is rather a formida- ble looking piece of machinery, but it is simple in use. By its means the observer can convey himself easily and rapidly to any desired part of the dome. It may be well for us to remind ourselves that an astronomer would consider it a waste of time simply to sit and look through the tube of the telescope. Unless he wants a half hour's amusement, he will attach to it one of the little instruments which are shown us, for measuring minute distances and an- gles, or for measuring or analyzing light. The Harvard telescope is much used for measur- IIAUVAUI) (> II s KU V. I TO I! Y. 1::T u\^ tlic comparaliNc li«;iil of stars, or other hcavcnl\ l)0(lics. Photometry, as it is called, is a specialty at the Harvard Observator\. Many photometers lia\c been devised here, each ada])ted to some particular kind of work. A lar<;e variety of these is used with the lar^e telescope. If none of the photometers in use seems to be exactly what is wanted for a i)articular piece of work. I'rofesscjr i'ickcrini;- or one of the staff inxents a new one. The first one made was called A. and for a lon^;' time each new one received the succeedinjL;- letter. until the alphabet was exhausted. Xow there is no special designation. There is another instrument nuicli used with the i^reat telescope and that is tlie micrometer. This is a device for measuring' very small distances and is much used in the study of double stars. Before leaving the dome, we nnist read the list of donors printed on the walls. We ought also to step out on the balconies from which we have a fine view of Cambridge and surrounding towns by day. and b\ night an unobstructe(l \icw of the heavens. l3own stairs is another instrument of the very greatest importance,^ — the nieridian circle. This is a telescope of fair size, large we should say if we had not just ct)me from the fifteen inch e([uatorial. Its peculiarit}' is in the mounting. It turns on a rod pointing east and west, the ends of which are supi^orted on hea\y stone piers. It can there- fore revolve freely in the plane of the meridian. An\ star may be ()bser\ed just as it crosses the meri- dian, but at no other time. Attached to the instru- ment is a large circle, very delicately graduated. The exact angle at which the telescope is turned to observe any star, is shown on this circle. Thus tlie star's height above the horizon is obtained, and Jo8 CAMBBIDGE SKETCTIES. from this is obtained directly the dechnation, or (hstance from the celestial equator. The time of a star's transit is signalled, by means of an electric transmitter in the operator's hand, to a chronograph which records the beats of the astronomical clock in the basement. This chronograph was invented by Professor Bond and was very quickly adopted in other observatories. The time observed gives the star's right ascension which corresponds to terrestrial longitude, as declination does to terres- trial latitude. The meridian circle is the most accurate means of obtaining the exact position of stars. These positions are recorded in the star catalogue. It is also the most accurate means of obtaining true time. Until very recently Boston obtained its true noon from this observatory. Now, however, the time is telegraphed daily from the observatory at Washington, and the Harvard time service has l)een discontinued. A beautiful little brass instrument in the same room, not more than three feet high, is a transit in- strument made in Russia. It can be used, like the meridian circle, for obtaining the time of meridian transit of stars, but not for declinations, as there is no circle attached to it. The astronomical clock is in the basement, and is interesting to look at with its three dials, one for each of the three hands. It is regulated to sidereal time; that is, it makes its round of twenty- four hours between two successive passages of the same star over the meridian, thus gaining about four minutes a day over solar time. This clock is, perhaps, the most important instrument in the ob- servatory, for it is essential to the proper use of nearly all the other instruments. A fine new clock IIARVMU) OHSEItVATORY. VM) lias hcen i)rcseiUe(l to tlic Observatory recently which will iin(k)ubte(lly make some of the work easier, possibly even more accurate. On our way out of this buildings we must stej) into the library for a moment. Here are between seven and eig^ht thousand bound volumes and nearly ten thousand pamphlets. A considerable proportion of these books and pamphlets contain records of ob- servations made at different times all over the world. The Harvard Annals alone fill a long row of thick cjuarto volumes. Those dry lookins^ ])aq-es of statistics contain many interestin