TO MY MOTHER A DESCENDANT OF ANNEKE JANS THIS WORK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED F. M. (iii) THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS From Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time NEW YORK CITY LIFE IN ALL ITS VARIOUS PHASES BY FRANK moss, LL.D. of the Neio York Bar, Counsel to the Society for the Pi'evention of Crime, Triistee of the City Vigilance League, President of the New York Board of Police, etc. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY REV. CHARLES H. PARKHURST, D.D. AJV ^-^^^TOJ^^^^ '0/ OOPYBIGHT. 1897. 6T P. F. COLLIEa. REV. CHAS. H. PARKHURST, D.D New York. Vol. One. INTRODUCTION BY CHARLES H. PARKHURST, D.D., |.L.D. We live for the future, but our roots are hid- den in the past, and any one who has the genius to make the past more truly real and alive nour- ishes those roots and makes that future more bright and prolific. The volume herewith presented is the outcome of a revival of the civic spirit as that revival has come to its experience and ex- pression in the thoughts and activities of one par- ticular man. This civic revival is, however, something more concrete than any mere quickening along general lines: it is rather the revival of civic devotion in its detailed relations to specific locality. It is a great thing to love one's entire country; but there is such a thing as the concentration of patriotism upon one's own town or city. We are all too thoroughly American to be disposed to disparage na- INTRODUCTION tional loyalty; but what is gained in width is very apt to be sacrificed in intensity, and it is intensity always rather than diffusion that does the world's work. The thing accordingly which the residents of a city — of our own City, for instance — particularly need is to have their civic regards focused upon home ground. The better our City is, the more we can love it; but it is only by loving it more that it can become better, and before we can love it more we need to know it more. Neither a gen- erality nor an ambiguity can excite affection. Love loses its way in the dark. It augurs well for our municipal future, there- fore, that so many earnest and intelhgent efforts are being put forth to make our acquaintance with New York Citj' more thorough and appreciative. When the time comes that the general mind has been made sensible to present conditions, and the honest consciousness of our day has penetrated to the core of our municipal character and situation, the death knell will have been sounded to much of evil that still mixes with the better ingredients and confuses our prospect. INTRODUCTION But not onlj' will the objects proposed by the present volumes commend themselves to every intel- ligent friend of the City, but the scheme of recital which the Author has adopted is itself a marked feature of the work. It will arrest the attention of his adult readers, and will be particularly grate- ful to the tastes and instincts of the young peo- ple, and it is upon them, primarilj^, that we have to base our hopes for the future. Youths are not fond of disquisitions, but they like to be shown things, which is exactly what Mr. Moss does in these pages. An event taken apart from its local connections is almost as uninteresting a thing as a soul would be with no body for it to be at home in. The author of "The American Metropohs" not only describes what has occurred in the history of our Citj% but knits those events to the particular spot where they have transpired, thus clothing them with the garments of reality and putting them into local relation with the streets that we are to-day walking. His idea is a clever one, and can hardly fail of catching the attention and holding the in- terest of the reading public, younger and older. For myself, I personally anticipate the pleasure INTRODUCTION of putting myself under his guidance in the matter of acquiring a geographical appreciation of the meaning of the history of my City, and I con- gratulate him both on the scheme which he has worked out and on the positive service which I believe his series of itineraries will be able to ren- der to those who will travel with him over the past years and the present territory of our beloved City. Charles H. Parkhurst. AUTHOR'S PREFACE We are in the midst of a revival of civic pride. For many years the people of New York seemed to be without interest in the history of the Citj', in its reputation and in its prospects; New York and Tammany Hall were almost syn- onymous terms, and citizenship in this great City was nowhere esteemed to be an honor — unless it was so among the ringsters of other cities, who looked with awe at the kings of corruption that held despotic sway over the Metropolis, laughing at the laws, sneering at their critics, and rolling up thieves' fortunes. At last, indignation, tardily awakened, grew into burning patriotism, and a popular uprising, wisely directed by almost Pro- phetic Leadership, made an astonishing change in the government of our City — a change which is apparent in every civic function. There have been similar revolutions before, and conspicuous plunder- AUTHOR'S PREFACE ers of the people have been hurled from positions that seemed impregnable; but, unfortunately, the hot blast of public opinion cooled almost as quickly as it had been heated, and lasting reformation of the public service was not secured. The revolu- tions of the past lacked foundations of civic pride and patriotic devotion in the mass of the people. Those who helped to defeat Tammany Hall in 1894 tried to awaken in the hearts of all the peo- ple, even those who seemed the least approachable, a deep love for their City and a personal devotion to her interests, which would be potent in their an- tagonism to every evil political combination and to all enemies of good government. The evidences of revived patriotism among the common people are more gratifying to those who have longed and labored and sacrificed for her betterment than all the victories that have occurred in elections. Evi- dences of the new life are apparent in the in- creased interest of every class in the City's his- tory and in its achievements from day to day; in the new sympathy that has sprung up between her different sections, and even between her different races; in the quickness with which the people esti- mate the spirit and the purpose of officials; in their quickness to sustain and support clean administra- tion, and to perceive and resent official incompe- X AUTHOR'S PREFACE tence, carelessness and misconduct; and in the true ring of their voices and the quick kindling of their eyes when they converse about their City and her affairs. The makers of books are beginning to reaUze the new interest, and the publishers' announcements contain many notices of books on New York. The magazines and the weeklies teem with articles ex- ploiting events of the past or revealing relics of olden times, and discussing phases and phenomena of our present marvelous activity. A genuine and sustained revival of pride in our City and of pa- triotism applied to our own homes will make New York the richest, the best, and the most excellently administered City in the world — a Greater New York indeed. The writing of a book of any sort was far from mj- mind, and the proposition of a pub- hsher that I should venture into this field was at first rejected. He said that a book which would show a composite picture of the history of the City and of its present condition was needed, and that I ought to write it. This book is the result of the publivsher's approach. It has been written under difficulties, but the work has been so pleas- ant, and has given me so much more satisfactory an outlook on Metropolitan affairs, that I venture AUTHOR'S PREFACE to hope it may be of interest to others and a help to more vital citizenship. There are monumental histories of our City, prodigious in size, deep in research, and exhaustive on "gray matter," as well as on the contents of pocketbooks; but those treasuries of knowledge are not within the reach of the people generally, and they do not plainly trace the development of the City through the channels of her growth. The wonderful civilization in which we live is not the result of any revolution, but it is rather a growth from a germ once planted on a particular spot on Manhattan Island; and the branchings from the original stem can be definitely traced. It is one thing to be told that two hundred and fifty years ago the ''sturdy Dutch,'' as they are generally called, built a fort on Manhattan Island and were the first settlers; it is a different thing to go to Bowling Green and to look at the very spot where the fort was built; to walk through the very streets in which those first settlers moved, and to stand above their mouldered bones. When we do this, observing what is now on the spot where civilization first began, we begin instinctively to note the contrast between the olden times and the present, and intelligently to trace the stages of de- velopment thi-ough which the mighty and complex AUTHOR'S PREFACE present has been evolved out of the simple and primitive past. For the purpose of inspiring loyalty to the great principles on which have been founded the noble achievements of New York, it is not nec- essary that a ponderous and philosophic tome should be written; if that were necessary some one else would have to write it. Rather should the heart, the sympathies, the tender emotions, be touched; rather should we be brought into fellowship with those who have dwelt here before us, whose labors wc enjoy, and who sustained the burdens that have passed from their shoulders on to ours, and out of their hearts into ours. Of this we may be sure, we can in no better way devote ourselves to our Country's good and Mankind's M^elfare than by ad- vancing our own City to her highest possible posi- tion, and making her institutions means for the up- lifting and the enlightenment of all the people. Let us be students and lovers of our City. The plan of our work is simple. In its phi- losophy we trust it may be correct, but it is not a philosophy. Historically, we trust it is true, but it is not a history. It is a reminiscent, observant, reflective journey on historical lines. We have adopted the course which we should pursue were we showing the City to a friend. We start at the beginning point of its life, making that spot the AUTHOR'S PREFACE center of interest, and returning to it again and again. The first chapter is devoted to the Fort. In the second chapter we proceed from the Fort, along the favorite road of Dutch times, Pearl Street; and make our way back to the beginning point through the Swamp, Printing Hovise Square, Nassau and William Streets, stopping at the sec- ond great development point — the site of the Sub- treasury building at the corner of Nassau and Wall Streets. The Fort at Bowling Green was the cen- ter of the old Colonial life; this second point was the focus of the new national life. We return to the Fort by way of Broad Street, and then start out again along the line of English advance, Broadway, and devote a chapter to what may be remembered and observed along that highway, in- cluding Trinitj^ and St. Paul's churches and their burj'ing grounds, and ending at the City Hall Park, be^'ond which Broadway did not extend until after the Revolution. A chapter is then devoted to the City Hall Park, which was the Commons of older days, and which was the third great develop- ment point in the life of the City. At this spot popular government had its rise. It was the gath- ering place and the forum of the common people. We pass on into the districts east and northeast of the Commons, including Five Points, Cherry Hill AUTHOR'S PREFACE and New Israel, ^vhich together make a very dark background for the picture of heroism, growth and grandeur. Then we make our way to the East River, and return along its front to the Fort. From the Fort we start out again through Green- wich Street, going as far as the ancient Indian village of Sapokanikan, later Greenwich Village, now the Ninth Ward, returning to the Fort by the North River front. The territory thus traversed is small, but it is sufficient to show the rise and growth of the City, and is more than enough for the limits of this work. It has been my design, whenever possible, to locate important and interesting events at the places where they happened, so that one, considering an incident which, the historians tell us, indefinitely, occurred somewhere in New York City, can go to the very place where the actors in the drama stood and spoke, and there say: "This is the spot!" In this way our interest is fastened firmly to a local- ity or place, and through a succession of events at that place we may see the development of prin- ciples and the increase of attainments. The three development points which I have indicated are walked over daily by multitudes, to whom the heroic history of the City is a sealed book. They would become eager investigators, if they knew what AUTHOR'S PREFACE other feet had trod those walks before them, and what great events had occurred on those oft-traveled paths. It may be that some will disagree with state- ments, argmnents and deductions of the book; let that be as it may, we will be one in interest, and one in devotion to our beloved City. Frank Moss. CONTENTS VOLUME ONE CHAPTER ONE .4 SMALL BEGINNING— THE OLD FORT Tolerance, the leading Characteristic of Life in New York — It grew out of the Dutch Commercial Spirit which Capt- ured the English, and still sways New York— Dutch Trad- ing — Dutch-English Amalgamation — The old Fort: the Germ of New York's Greatness — Dutch Streets — Dutch Religion — The first Governor — The first Dominie — The tussle between Kieft and Bogardus — The Fort, the Gov- ernment House, the Dominie, the Governor, all in the Bowling Green Block together — The first Schoolmaster, his Failing and his Flogging — First sale of a Lot — First Tavern — First City Hall — Dutch Activity — Burgomasters and Schepens — Coen and Antye — The Canal Habit— The Original First Citizens— First Slave Labor— First Hanging —Indian War— White Treachery— The Twelve Men and the Eight Men — First Representatives of the People — Stuyvesant the Great— More Indian War— Treaty of Peace — First City Government— The Great Citizens — First Thoughts of Home Rule— Captured by the English — The English Flag at Bowling Green — The English and the Dutch Worship together — The Dutch again — Ousted once more— First Native Mayor — Civil War — Execution of Governor Leisler — Corruption, Pirates, Kidd — City Hall moved to Broad Street— Wedding — Fire — Suicide — xvii CONTENTS New Governor— Stamps— Dawn of Liberty— Uprising of the People — Non-importation Agreement — Tryon and _ Washington — Declaration of Independence — Americans seize the old Fort —Captured by the English — Evacuated — Peace— The old Fort torn down — Famous Residents — Battery Park — Castle Garden and its Noble Sur- roundings CHAPTER TWO COXTRASTS— THROUGH PEARL STREET TO THE SWA3IP — PRINTING HOUSE SQUARE AND PARK ROW Pearl Street— Processions — Elevated Railroad — The Nations — Humors of Travel — Italians — A backward Glance — Num- ber 19 Pearl Street: a Relic— Stuyvesant's White Hall — The Weigh House— The Royal Exchange— Old Streets- Fire of 1835— Fly Market— The United States, the first large Hotel— Hanover Square — Wingate and the Twi- light Club — Hunter— Franklin Square — Walton House and its Ghost— The Harpers and their Magazine — Fires — Wash- ington's Residence, with Reminiscences — Inauguration Parade— Cherry Street— Old Residents— The Fight at Fayal — Tlie Flag — The Swamp — Tanners and Shoemakers — The Carleton House and its Mystery — Printing House Square — The old Road — "Sun" Building — "Tribune" Building — Tammany Hall; its Ancient and Honorable Origin, its Splendid Past, its Corruption: a Contrast — St. Tammany and the Tiger — Pictures of Ancient and Modern Tammany Leaders — Park Pickpockets, formerly protected, now run out— The Stool-pigeon Plan — Newspapers — The Modern breed of Editors — Extracts from Newspapers of early and of recent Times— Exciting Times in the Square— Recol- xviii CONTENTS lections of Greeley — The Richardson Murder — A Modern Slave Hunt— Brick Church— St. George's Park Theater — St. Paul Building — Barnum's Museum . . . 128 CHAPTER THREE DEVELOPMENT: FROM THE POST-OFFICE TO THE OLD CITY HALL VIA ANN STREET, HORSE AND CART STREET, AND THE PYE WOMAN'S STREET Old Boston Road and New Broadway, and their Gibraltar — Ann Street — Horse and Cart Street — Roisterers, Church- goers, Gamblers, Pickpockets, Poolsellers and Peddlers — Fire Laddies — A Police Mystery with a flavor of Richard Croker — A few of the Results of Reform — Restaurants various and innumerable — Mouquin's — Delmonico's Rival and its odd Characters — Theater Alley — Dolan's "Sink- ers" and Hitchcock's "Beef an' " — Dennett's Busy Bees, and the Business Men's Quick Lunch, etc., etc. — Oysters — Garibaldi's— The Nassau Canyon— Memory of Mary Rog- ers, the beautiful Cigar Seller— Christ Church in Ann Street— Shoemaker's Pasture— Spring Garden— Bennett Building the first large Office Building— Jokers of other Days— Grandfather's Clock— Extracts from the first num- ber of the "Herald"— Comparison with the "Herald" of To-day — Fair Street — Partition Street — North Dutch Church— Firemen's Hall— Moravian Church— Shake- speare Tavern— Seventh Regiment— The old Theaters- First Methodist Church— Mr. Reid's Testimony— Battle of Golden Hill— First Blood of the Revolution— Papodopolo — Washington Irving's Mischievous Boyhood— Work for xix CONTENTS Women— Old Memories— More old Churches— The Middle Dutch Church— A Prison for Patriots— The Graveyard— The old Bell— Aaron Burr— The Treasury— Federal Hall— The Pillory and Stocks again— Inauguration of Washing- ton—Congress—Wall Street— De Peyster Garden— Trinity Church at one end, a Slave Market at the other— The first Bank — Immense Business Interests — Riots of 1834— The great Meeting after the Assassination of Lincoln — Gar- field's Inspiration— Centennial of Washington's Inaugu- ration 294 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUME ONE Frank Moss, LL.D.— Frontispiece Rev. Chas. H. Parkhurst, D.D Map of New York in 1673 and Sky-Line of New York from Brooklyn at the Present Day 1 Ship and AVoman 4 Picture of New York as seen from the Harbor in 1776, before the Burning of Trmity Church 5 Old Dutch Merchant and Modern Merchant 6 William H. Wood 7 Map of the Battery, showing Changes since 1783 14 The Gracht 16 Old Dutch Life 18 The Old Fort 82 Plan of Fort George 23 Whipping of the Schoolmaster 24 Dutchman Eating Clams 37 Theodore Roosevelt 40 Coen and Antye Embracing 44 Old Bridge and Dock at the Whitehall Slip 53 Wooden Statue of Governor Stuy vesant on Broadway 66 Lord Cornburj- 86 Government House on Site of Old Fort 100 Stone Lions on Stoop of No. 17 Broadway 104 The Battery in 1869 107 Burning of the Crystal Palace 109 New York, in the Beginning 116 View of the Lower End of Manhattan Island from the Brooklyn Shore.. 117 Old Doorway of No. 8 Pearl Street 18S Ruins of the Merchants' Exchange after the Destructive Fire of December 16 and 17, 1835 137 New York Cotton Exchange, Beaver and William Streets 141 United States Hotel, Fulton and Pearl Streets 160 Old Houses, 163 and 306 Pearl Street 163 Sitting-room of Walton House, in Pearl Street, 1840 164 Carriage Costume, and Coiffure 168 xxi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Sugar Boiling 169 Deplorable Ignorance 170 An American Methuselah 171 Comic 172 How to Insure against Railway Accidents 173 Comic 174 Washington's Residence, Franklin House 176 Present Usage, State, and Environment of the Coach of General Wash- ington 183 Samuel C. Reid 187 The Attack on the American Privateer "General Armstrong" in the Har- bor of Fayal, Azores, September 20, 1814 189 Engine Co. No. 25,1809, Tryon Row, City Hall Square 197 Sheridan shook the Found.ation of the Tower of Strength of the Republican Party 199 City Hall in 1822 200 First Tammany Hall 201 Second Tammany Hall 202 The Founders of Tammany 204 Present Heads of Tammany Hall 205 Tammany Kings 206 Tiger Carried on "Americus" 207 New Tammany 212 St. George's Chapel, Beekman Street 249 The St. Paul Building 253 Burning of Barnum's American Museum 257 The New York Federal Table as seen from Bunker's Hill 290 Map of New York in 1729 295 Plan of the City of New York from an Actual Survey in 1755 297 Engine No. 5, "Honey Bee" 299 Early Type of Steam Engine 301 William M.Tweed 302 An Old Time Race 303 Fire Engine Competition at Ridley's Pole 303 Old North Dutch Church 343 Shakespeare Inn, Fulton and Nassau Streets 346 First Methodist Episcopal Church, 120 WilUam Street 351 Old Houses in William Street, between Fulton and John Streets, in 1861 . . 361 French Church, Pine Street 376 First Presbyterian Church 381 First Post-Offlce, 29 William Street 383 Second Post-Office, Garden Street (Exchange Place) 3*3 Fraunces' Tavern 406 XXII ^mk The Dutch jIap Nieinv Amst< nlam oiil;in,2c Nieuw Jmck sena»it eo( (X.'W Aiiislerilain, lately calleil New York, { 1. Tlie Cajisfy -dividing tlie two rivers. Tlie ship is the " Suiri- nam," 44 kuhs, coiimianded by Capt. t'olve. D. (iev^iiiL-. II liu\ - ITison liouse in tlie fort, built by Gov. Kieft. K. (Jcril 'I. K. I. k. Reformed Duteli Cliurch, uullt iu the fort by Cov Ki. II Mj F (iin .rii. Ill ~ l^.u-.^ At the northeast bastion, which was al- most (■.\,i.il\ .11 III' .-iiic-r .'f H.n\ liii- (ireen and Whitehall Street, the ln->t [in i-ihl'i st,,ii,.,| ,,m mi li? - t- t;o oii,-e a nioiitii to lios- 1 Street, built! E ZXl T^" Hi .i:3» l6.-)8. Theprl tiont..theCl H. De W: iiih The weifjhl G. Te M< t::>7 vn. Fublle s Whitehall o 1 •oad Streets. T. leerei (Jr: rlit. Gentlei ohIU »>.: n it « tllle i.;;( l< .stadt lUV , City Hall. Stadt lier lerK- l-ity Tl u:42 K. 1. Ron lee . Redoubt, n , \ l\ i.|i r 3E ^ — " "1_^ ^ " =- ^ ^ — -'.=i=^s:;:;2^=^-= ^ SKYLINE OF NEW YORK FROl s.. by de Nederlanders op den 24 Aug:., 1673. )v the Dutch on the 24th August. 1673.) Published in Holland. :cDTsrs. and shelter was given ar Stone Street, from Broad Street. It was he Great Dyke in 1672. xeets paved. It was earl Street. Built in L. Luthersche Kerck. Lutheran Church, now Exchange Place. 7. Smet Street. Lower end of William Street. R. 2. Rondeel. Now Old Slip. M. Water-poort. The water gate. II. The Cingle. Wall Street. O. Land-poiirt. The land gate. 11. Maagde paetje. Maiden Lane. N Sniidt.s' Vly smith's Valley. Foot of Maiden Lane and site of Fly JIarket. Q. Wint molen. Windmill, near Broadway, between Liberty and Cortliiiidt streets. r. WeK na't versche water. The way to the fresh water— the way to Ciillect Pond: the site of the Toml)«. I AT THE PRESENT DAY. NEW YORK CITY LIFE IN ALL ITS VARIOUS PHASES CHAPTER ONE A SMALL BEGINNi:SG—THE OLD FORT Tolerance, the leading Characteristic of Life in New York — It grew out of the Dutch Commercial Spirit which Capt- ured the English, and still sways New York— Dutch Trad- ing—Dutch-English Amalgamation— The old Fort: the Germ of New York's Greatness— Dutch Streets— Dutch Religion— The first Governor— The first Dominie— The tussle between Kieft and Bogardus— The Fort, the Gov- ernment House, the Dominie, the Governor, all in the Bowling Green Block together— The first Schoolmaster, his Failing and his Flogging— First sale of a Lot— First Tavern— First Cit3- Hall— Dutch Activity— Burgomasters and Schepens— Coen and Antye— The Canal Habit— The Original First Citizens— First Slave Labor— First Hanging —Indian War— White Treachery— The Twelve Men and the Eight Men — First Representatives of the People — Stuyvesant the Great— More Indian War— Treaty of Peace — First City Government — The Great Citizens — First Thoughts of Home Rule— Captured by the English —The English Flag at Bowling Green— The English and the Dutch Worship together— The Dutch again— Ousted once more— First Native Mayor— Civil War— Execution of Governor Leisler — Corruption. Pirates, Kidd — City Hall moved to Broad Street— Wedding— Fire— Suicide- New Governor— Stamps— Dawn of Liberty— Uprising of the People — Non-importation Agreement — Tryon and Washington — Declaration of Independence — Americans seize the old Fort —Captured by the English— Evacuated — Peace— The old Fort torn down — Famous Residents — Battery Park— Castle Garden and its Noble Surroundings The swirling currents that lave the shores of Manhattan Island, flo^ving in every direction, are re- produced in the human currents that eddy and rush through the streets of New York. The diversities of wind and weather that bless and afflict the peo- 1 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS pie of the Metropolis are faint illustrations of the di- verse elements in the hfe of the City and of their contrary movements. There is a mj^sterious and starthng lack of harmon}' between the constituents of the City's life. The people do not know their next-door neighbors, and are not concerned with what happens on the block next to theirs; and they bustle about their business without seeing or know- ing vast sections of the City that are directly affect- ing their social affairs, and indirectly touching all of their interests. The City bounds forward under a general impulse of growth, leaping along the path- way of material progress with incredible speed; and yet its citizens, in large pai-t, are indifferent to the concerns of their neighbors, and are oblivious to the advantage of mutual civic interest and popular com- binations of civic effort. Political organizers alone powerfully use the ad- vantages of cooperation and coordination of popular forces for pubHc purposes. Those who are unself- ishly interested in the advancement of virtue and true prosperity have not yet learned to combine their large numbers and to pull together. Is there a single trait, characteristic of the entire City, continuous through its history and fundamen- tally connected with its development? There is great philanthropy— in streaks; there is corruption — in places; there is old-time Americanism — in sections; there is Continental liberality — in spots all over; there is Pu- ritanism — to match the Liberality; but the Spirit of Tolerance is New York's peculiar characteristic. This 2 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE spirit operates in all affairs — business, social, relig- ious, political — and proceeds from an unconscious but all-controlling realization of the duty of minding our own business and letting other people mind theirs. Tolerance was essential to the development of the commerce for which New York has always been pre- eminent. It was the natural outgrowth of the com- mercial spirit. Even in the strained relations arising from the "excise question," when one class of citi- zens parades tableaux of Liberty, in tears, surrounded by the Muses weeping because they cannot have free beer on Sunday, and another class demands that the hquor business shall be entirely extirpated — between these two extremes stands the conservative mass of citizens, who manage to see some claims on each side, to tolerate both sections of extremists, and to provide a middle course between them. This spirit of tolerance causes religious factions that have been making holy attempts to cut each other's throats on other continents, to live together, holding their rehg- ious services separately, but buying and selling, as- sociating in political and other ways, and crossing the bloody line with intermarriages. This spirit is at the bottom of the glory and the shame of New York; behind it the thieves, who have disgraced official po- sitions, have hidden and have escaped punishment — on the plea of party necessitj^ sometimes — and in it the great and almost unmatched benevolent enter- prises of the City have reached a magnificent growth, and are stretching their heads to heights unmeasured. This trait has distinguished the City from the begin- 3 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ning. New York was not founded by refugees from religious persecution, nor by con-s-icts or paupers de- ported from their homes, nor by great and good men intent on securing their own form of worship and pre- venting all other forms. The thrifty, trading, perti- nacious Dutchmen were the first to open up the pos- siDihties of Manhattan Island, and though they have long since disappeared, at least in any bodily sem- blance, and with them the sugar-loaf hats, the mul- tiplied petticoats and breeches, and the other para- phernalia so sweetly described by Washington Irving, yet it is true that those Dutchmen, little knowing what they did, laid the foundations of New York's prosperity, and connected themselves wdth all that is to come. They couldn't build anything w i t h - out laying sohd foundations. Each pair of breeches was doubled and re- enforced in the seat; each house had a foundation built substantial ^ ^ enougli for two Ship and Woman. houscs ; and, as a wit has said, " They built their ships on the model of their women," who were even better founded than the meu. NEW YORK CITY LIFE It was a queer trade — at least as we view trade — that these old Dutchmen had with the Indians and with each other about the old Fort at Bowling Green; but they traded on honor, they gave and they received fair values, and Yankee tricks were unknown to them. The Spirit of Commerce, who made New York the Queen of the AVest, was born right here at Bowling Green, and the ghosts of the Dutch traders are here still, and are often seen and heard by those who are subject to spiritnons influ- ences. The Produce Exchange cannot get far away from the ghostly spell, and, notwithstanding the efforts of some newspapers and real estate speculators to con- vince the people that the commercial center of the City should be at Herald Square, and that all busi- ness to be properly done must go there, we may be sure that the good Dutch ghosts which inhabited the bodies, so many of which have been received into mother earth between Bowling Green and Wall Street, will continue to exert their potent force and will hold the great commercial interests where they have ever remained and ever will remain. (This is a private pointer for investors in real estate.) We say it was a queer trade, for money was almost unknown, the unit of value being a beaver skin, and the currency being provided b}" bits of clam and periwinkle shells deftly cut and polished. Our great merchants handle gold, but their Dutch ancestors bought and paid for their produce with clam shells and beaver skins. The Dutch were not 5 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS allowed to monopolize this choicest of trading sites, for the EngHsh came and wrested it away from the control of the Dutch compa- nies, but they too fell under the commercial spell. They came not for liberty, nor for religion, but to trade — where the Dutchmen had started the market. The En- Old Dutch Merchant. glishmen of New . York were un- ^,; like the Enghsh- men of Virginia. They were here to do business, to construct a busi- Modern Merchant. neSS State, tO let each other alone and to be let alone. England and Holland fought hard enough over the seas, 6 NEW YORK CITY LIFE and here too the ■vvar had its Uttle counterpart in the taking and the retaking of the ancient Fort; but when the EngHshmen had settled down to stay, they found the Dutchmen pretty good fellows, and the Dutchmen found their old enemies genial and William H. Wood. A good example of the Dutch-English amalgamation —Father's name, Joshua Wood; mother's name, Joanna De Groot. hearty companions in trade. They realized that there was room enough for everybody. They simply sat down and tolerated each other, and the result was a Dutch-English amalgamation, which has given us some of the strongest and sturdiest characters in the world. It is hard to match the industry, the deter- 7 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS mination, the perseverance and the energy of those who have this ancestry; and there are many such in the City. It was funny enough when the Dutchmen and the Enghshmen began to amalgamate on the clothing hue. When a Dutch tailor made a suit of clothes for an Englishman, the result was very amusing; but it was much harder for the clothed victim when the English tailor made a suit for the Dutchman. Little by httle they got together on the matter of clothes, and the result was a New York style — and New York styles lead the world to this day. If you- don't believe it, take a walk through London and see the processions of ill-fitted gentlemen who look like guys. You will continue to purchase your clothing in New York. When the Englishmen and the Dutchmen swapped peltries for produce, and their children exchanged smiles and kisses at the kissing bridge — and followed the kissings with weddings, as they were bound to do — the causes for hatred, which seemed so great across the ocean, were only remembered as a tradi- tion, or a nightmare. The historians have quarreled about the location of the kissing bridge, three sej^a- rate places having their respective champions; but we common folks easily see that there were three kissing bridges. Their successors are in Central Park, as anj observant visitor may notice. "We have not forgotten, in our estimate of the commercial honor of those times, that some evil de- signing individuals undertook to' make themselves rich 8 NEW YORK CITY LIFE by debasing the currency. The clam-shell money, which was called by the Indian name of seivan, possessed some intrinsic value, because of its fine workmanship; but the aforesaid e\nl designing folks, whom the Dutchmen alleged to be degenerate En- ghshmen, made seivan by the wholesale, of very de- ficient workmanship, so that the early government had to issue an edict against this debased currency. Certain it is that some bad-looking men, who were not Dutchmen, and who had mysterious converse with certain bad Indians, waxed rich and Hved in riotous excess. Was this the beginning of "Free-coinage"? It is customary for writers, who are describing New York, to begin by carrying their readers up through the beautiful Narrows, and giving them a bird's-eye view of the City for an introduction; but we who know the way home from Coney Island, and are quite familiar with this bird's-eye view, would do better to begin our observations at the point where the commercial life of the New "World had its beginning, and the point from which New York's history, as well as New York's institutions, have been developed. This pivotal point, of which the hurrying throngs are strangely ignorant, is lo- cated in the row of houses south of Bowhng Green. Number 4 Bowling Green, now occupied by the Cu- nard Steamship Co., and bearing the tablet of the Holland Society, stands on the north wall of old Fort Amsterdam, and the alley which runs up from the rear of the block behind the fruit auction rooms of Brown & Seccomb (called "Whitney Street after THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Stephen Whitney, the niilhonahe merchant, who once Uved at Number 1 Bowhng Green) enters the heart of the old Fort. The Broadway cars run over its west rampart. On this block have hap- pened some of the most important and stirring events in American history; from it have gone the impulses of New York's greatness, and on it to-day are the offices of the Atlantic steamship companies, which unite this commercial city with the great na- tions of the old world. Om- progress has been so rapid, and the past has faded so quickly, that many well informed people who know that the beginning of our city was in and aroimd a Dutch fort, at the southern end of the island, imagine that Castle Garden stands on that site; but old New Yorkers who used to attend the concerts in that obsolete fort, when Jennie Lind sang, remember that it was out in the water, on large black rocks, and that they had to cross from the mainland on a bridge. It will surprise many to know that nearly the whole of Battery Park is on made ground. The southern water-hne was just a Uttle south of Pearl Street, where it curves into State Street, while the western water-line was at Greenwich Street, and the eastern water-hne at Pearl Street. The important districts l>ing outside of those streets have all been rescued fi'om the waters. The filling in, east and west, was done shortly after the Revolutionary War. The City owned the lands be- tween high t.nd low water marks, under the Don- gan Charter, and it sold lots all along the present 10 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Water and Front Streets at about $30 apiece, the purchasers filhng them in and building on them. Speaking of the spirit of tolerance which has dis- tinguished the inhabitants of Manhattan Island, it is noteworthy that no one has been put to death for his religious con%'ictions. A statute was passed in 1700, which prohibited Catholic priests from preach- ing in the City on pain of death. It was enacted by the governor and his council to prevent the French from working among the Indians and turn- ing them against the English and Dutch Protestants. It was never enforced. A priest named Ury was ex- ecuted on the Common, now the City Hall Park; but the real offense charged against him was com- plicity in the negro uprisings, which were believed to be so serious as to require the most rigorous meas- ures of repression, and the testimony implicated him in the plot. Ury protested his innocence in the most touching words, and those words leave no doubt that his punishment was not connected Avith his religious practices. The witchcraft heresy could get no foothold here. While New England blazed with the baleful flames of burning \vitches, the people of New York looked on with interest; and though the}" — simple folks — could not' deny what the ver}^ intelhgent philoso- phers of New England asserted about witchcraft, yet, when such accusations were made, no tribunal would convict the accused. Anne Hutchinson, an estimable woman, who was adjudged gmlty in Rhode Island and banished from that colony, found refuge 11 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS in what is now PeUiam Park; and, though accused by the frightened people of Westchester, was found harmless by the New York authorities, and received permission to remain there in peace. It was left for the Indians to kill Mrs. Hutchinson. As an example of the delusion which held our brethren in New England, we may read the follow- ing questions and answers in the examination of a httle girl who was imprisoned as a witch. "How long hast thou been a witch?" "Ever since I was six years old." "How old are you now?" "Brother Richard says I shall be eight years old next November. ' ' "You said you saw a black cat once; what did it say to you?" "It said it would tear me to pieces if I did not sign iny name to a book." "How did you afflict folks?" "I pinched them. My mother carried me to afflict them." "How could your mother carry you when you were in prison?" "She came hke a black cat." "How did you know it was your mother?" "The cat told me she was my mother." Returning to our consideration of the old Dutch Fort, we feel that we must, if possible, ascertain its exact location. There was a little hillock which ex- tended from State Street south of Bowling Green eastward across Whitehall Street, and south of Bridge 12 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Street, which was specially adapted for fortification. The surrounding ground was low, and in some places marshy and wet. A creek ran up Broad Street nearly to Wall Street, and the boats which foinid harbor in it were well protected by the Fort, which was built on the hill. The northern entrance of the Fort was a little west of Number 4 Bowling Green. The western wall, which was armed with cannon, lay mostly within the present lines of State Street, and the southern wall, which was also armed, did not quite reach to Bridge Street. No part of the Fort, excepting possibly the northeastern corner, touched Whitehall Street, It is most interesting to note that the northern line of the Fort is covered by the buildings noAv used as offices for the great steamship companies, including English, French, Ger- man and American lines, and the western line is oc- cupied by the houses on State Street devoted to the reception and the care of immigrants of various na- tionalities, and the southern line is occupied by a great auction room for tropical fruits; but the east- ern line of the block (Whitehall Street), which did not sustain any portion of the old structure, is oc- cupied by a row of httle stores of various kinds, which are entirely out of company with their neigh- bors on the other sides of the block, and are entirely out of relation with the business palaces across White- hall Street. Here are some of the signs which ap- pear on the buildings on the State Street side of the block. New York "Mercury," September 7, 1767: "Yes- 13 THE AMEIIICAX METROPOLIS terday morning the coroner's inquest set on the body of one WilHam Kieth, a soldier of the Sixteenth Regi- ment, who was found drowned near the end of BATTEKt Pearl Street, under the wall of the Battery." This poor soldier's body lay just west of the Elevated Railroad, on a line continuing Pearl Street into Bat- tery Park. 14 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The sketch, on previous page, of the Fort and of the streets will prove interesting. In this neighborhood are the oldest streets of the City. Few of them have remained exactly as they were originally laid out; but the httle section of Pearl Street south of the Fort block, rmming from State to Whitehall, is almost in the same position, of the same mdth, and on the same hnes as it existed in the earliest period. It is impossible to find a reHc of the oldest Dutch buildings; for those structures were nearly all consumed in the great fires of 1776 and 1835, and those which remained have given way to more modern buildings; but a walk through this neighborhood will carry one far into the past, and an observation of the house at Number 19 Pearl Street will almost convince the investigator that he has got back into the earliest colonial period. Broad Street was the place which delighted the hearts of the Dutchmen, because it reminded them of home. By common consent the navigable stream which ran through its middle was kept so that trading boats could run right into the center of the settlement, and the houses that were built along its banks were kept sufficiently far from it to make reasonable pas- sageway on either side. Here was a natural canal, and so Broad Street became the principal street, un- der the name of the Heere GracM, or Gentleman Canal. In course of time the walls of the canal were sided with boards, and the expense was assessed on those who lived on its banks, at the rate of forty 15 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS guilders (116) per rod. Those on the west side, from the river to Beaver Street, were: Hans Dreper, 1 rod 10 feet; Hendrick, the baker, 5 rods 4i feet (he refused to pay and was imprisoned) ; Tunis Cray, 2i rods; Oloff S. Van Cortland, 3 rods 13 feet; Ferick Lubbersen, -t rods 3i feet; Peter Merrist, 1 rod 10 feet; Gerrit Jansen Roos, 2 rods; Reinhart Rein- Thc Gracht. houtzen, 4 rods; Coenraet Ten Eyck, 2 rods 2i feet; David Wessels, 1 rod lOi feet; Peter Van Naarden, 1 rod 9i feet; Guilan Cornells, 3 rods 5i feet. On the east side, from Beaver Street to the river, they were: Jochem Beekmau, 2 rods Hi feet (he wouldn't pay and was imprisoned) ; Jacob Backer, Jan Rutger- zen, 2 rods 5 feet; Abraham, the carpenter, 3 rods IG NEW YORK CITY LIFE 1 foot; Adrian Vincent, rods 10 feet; Jacob Van Cowenhoven, 6 rods 6i feet; Cornelis Melyn, 4 rods 7 feet; Henrick Jansen Vandervin, 4 rods 7i feet. A semi-circular dock was built where the stream emptied into the riv^er, in which the little vessels an- chored securely. This basin is now solid ground. The intervening space between the Broad Street canal and the Fort was traversed b}' Beaver Street, through which a little creek (the Bever Gracht) ran into the Broad Street water, and by Marketfield Street, Stone Street, and Bridge Street, which were, of course, in those days, known by more euphonious names, suitable to the Dutch tongue. On Market- field Street the French Huguenots erected their place of worship. Its site is covered by the present Prod- uce Exchange, which is built over a portion of that street. The Huguenots were about only fom- per cent of the population, but they were an exceed- ingly valuable element. They loved liberty, they were earnest and upright, and they never engaged in race hostihties. They made a settlement at New Rochelle, and on Saturday nights the people, after working hard all week, tramped down to New York to enjoy the services in the Marketfield Church. They carried weapons, for their route led them through the regions often desolated by Indian raids. "When they arrived at the Collect Pond, Sunday mornings, they washed, ate and rested, sang the Sixtieth Psalm, and proceeded on their way rejoic- ing. They spent the sacred day in the services of the church, and in cheerful visiting with their 17 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS friends, and walked home again at night. The op- portunity of worshiping God in their own way, mth- out molestation, was greatly prized; for they had been deprived of it in their native land, and they wrote to their friends in France of the great privi- lege that they enjoyed. Bridge Street was so named because it led to a Old Dutch Life. bridge that crossed the canal in Broad Street. Near this bridge the Dutch merchants met regularly to discuss their affairs, and the first Board of Trade assembled there. The Dutch settlers brought their religion with them, and it was a choice and rugged form of the Protestant faith, which could survive the absence of ministers and vestments. Without priestly leadership, 18 NEW YORK CITY LIFE they congregated on Sundays in a horse-mill, which was situated on what is now South William Street (old Mill Street), near Pearl, and there they turned their attention statedly to the matters of their eternal welfare, and prayed for protection in a wild and strange land. Dimng this time Governor Peter Minuet bought the whole of Manhattan Island from the Indians for trinkets worth $24. The Governor has been accused of driving a sharp bargain; but he was, like the Irishman, "buying a pig in a poke." There were terrible enemies lurking in the great wilderness stretching to the north, and he knew not what rival claimants might appear. If that sum of $34 had been put out at compound interest at six per cent on May 6, 1626, when it was paid, the pres- ent accumulation would be many millions of dollars. This is certain, that it was more honorable to pur- chase the rights of the Indians for that which was valuable to them than it would have been to have dispossessed them by force of arms, as has been so generally done throughout the country. At about this time, and not- far from the spot where this pur- chase was made, was born the first white child, Jean Vigne, whose parents lived on a little farm at Wall and Pearl Streets. Justice Charles H. Truax, of the Supreme Court of New York, is his descendant. Sarah Rapelje, the first New York girl, was born near Albany in 1625. Governor Min- uet was succeeded by the elephantine Governor Wou- ter Van T wilier, who brought not only his great 10 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS round self and immense quantities of provisions (which made the people very happy), but also — what was more highly appreciated by the honest settlers— a real live dominie. Dominie Bogardus re- ceived a warm welcome, and speedily showed him- self to be much more of a man and of much more consequence in the community than the governor himself. He was not afraid to lecture his rulers and to call them to account for their sins, and this propensity led to some very rough tussles. Bogardus lived up to the law, and he did not hesitate to thunder the Divine commands at those who did not. Being himself of unimpeachable char- acter, and having the courage of his convictions, he was not only a spiritual leader, but he was also a wise adviser in public affairs. He knew well how to take care of himself; for when he was slandered by a woman with a long tongue (and those Dutch scolds must have been awful), he cited her to court to prove her allegations, and when she failed, the judgment which he sought and obtained, compelled her to parade herseK through the streets, declaring with her same long, loud and loose tongue that the dominie was a good man, and that she had lied about him. There are some things in which we might do well to follow our robust Dutch ancestors. Of course, a man of such attainments as Dominie Bogardus possessed would not long lead worship in a horse-mill. He caused a little church to be erected on the line of Pearl Street, between Whitehall and Broad Streets, fronting the East River (33 Pearl NEW YORK CITY LIFE Street), It will be noted that the Dutch preferred the East River side of the island, and that it was the English, who came afterward, that first opened up Broadway and the lands west of Broadway. The preference of the Dutch for the east side was due, undoubtedly, to the fact that their lovely canal lay east of the Fort, and that there were any number of bogs and mud-holes up along the east side of the island. If the English had not captured New York, and had not finally outnumbered the Dutch, the Broad Street canal would have been continued, and the City would have been crossed and recrossed with canals, so that communication would be easy by water and boats through all its parts. Had this been done, the danger of falling overboard from the City would have helped the Prohibitionists to elect an alderman once in a while. The little chm-ch prospered; but presently the do- minie became jealous of the better accommodations that the governor had in his snug dwelling ^vithin the Fort, and he protested that it was a shame that the governor should Hve in a nice house, while the pubhc services of God were maintained in a barn. It was no easy matter to secure the money for such an undertaking as the building of a real church, and Bogardus was as shrewd as he was pious; so watch- ing his time one day, when the governor and his associates were feasting hugely, and while their hearts were merry and their heads befuddled with the creat- ure comforts which none of them decHned to enjoy, he broached his little project and secured the sub- 21 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS scriptions which were necessary to build the chui'ch; and so it was that in due time there arose within the walls of the Fort, alongside of the governor's house, a httle church, in which the steadfast minister maintained the spiritual interests of the settlement. Here was the Fort, and in it was the governor The Old Fort. A. Tlie white house built on the "Strjiud" outside the fort by Governor Stuyve- sant, from which Whitehall Street took its name. B. The brick house built by Jacob Leislcr, afterward Governor. The first brick house built on Manhattan Island. C. The "Strand," now AVhUehall Street. D. Pearl Street. The bend where the letter D is still exists, as does the little house at present Number 19 Pearl Street. E. Part of rampart over which State Street now runs. F. Part of fort now covered by Brown & Seccomb's fruit auction rooms. G. Basin into which the Broad Street creek emptied. Now lilled in and cov- ered with buildinprs. H. The river, now completely filled in. The real' of the church looks out on Bowling Green. and the dominie, the governmental house and the church. Here was the center of the religious, poht- ical and social hfe of the whole of Manhattan Isl- and, and out of that center radiated the influences 22 NEW YORK CITY LIFE which have maintained their potency of control even down to the present. One would think that the youth of our schools would be marched round this block on regular oc- casions, and that there would be a steadj^ stream of people with plans, guide-books and compasses in their hands, dihgently spying out the hues and the angles of the old Fort and jiestering the brokers, the agents, the clerks, the missionaries, and even the immi- grants, in efforts to get into the interior of the BXPLANATIOW , l-The Chappell S-Tbe Gorernon Housa 3-Tho oriccrs Lodjinjt 4-Th9 Soldien „ „ 6-Tbe Necessuy tiouie 6-Tbe FU^lafl ti Mount 7-The Sentry Boxes e-Udde ll-Tho Sallyport l2-Tho 8«crctirj'« Offlco IS-Tbe Fort Oate l4-Ahoru-«orkbefor«lt LVTbe Fort Well i Pump li-Stone Mount i;-The Iron Mount 18-Tho 'fo»n Mount 19-Two Mortar piecel THE FORT IN tIEW YORK 81-0 1 ins to theu S2>Tbe Armory rvdditionsl bulld-J Plan of Fort George. block, and to stand on the site of the church, the governor's house, the well, the pump, the flagstaff, and all the other quaint and useful institutions that were surrounded by the rude walls. Here it was that Minuet heard the lawsuit and told the contestants that he would take three days to consider the case, but would eventually decide for the plaintiff; and here Van Twiller smoked his own tobacco, grown at Sapokanikan, in the present Ninth "Ward, and blew those prodigious clouds of smoke that enveloped himself, his counselors, and all who 23 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS sought his august presence, and perfumed their clothes with its rare staying quahties. Here Gov- ernor Kieft planned and ordered his raids on the Indians, which brought so much vexation and suf- fering to the colony; and here Peter Stuyvesant gave to the world his unique exhibition of hard sense and honesty, impetuosity and arrogance, until he was compelled to sm-render his stronghold to the con- quering British. Here, too, came the first school- master, who, although he came with Bogardus, was Whipping of the Schoolmaster. unable to maintain the honor of his calling; for he succeeded so poorly in his enterprise of teaching the Dutch youths that he was obliged to take in wash- ing to eke out his existence; and finall}' was tried before the governor upon a disgraceful charge, and was sentenced to be flogged and banished. The first instruments of punishment were upon the beach, just outside the walls of the Fort, and there the poor school-teacher received his flogging. How many lit- tle urchins danced and whooped, in the crowd that 24 NEW YORK CITY LIFE watched the school-teacher's hcking, and how they rubbed certain portions of their anatomies when the cat-o'-nine tails fell on Roelantsen's back, has not been recorded by any historian; but if the present New York boy is any sample of the boys of 1646, we cannot doubt that there was a rare time among the juveniles on that occasion. For proof that the schoolmaster took in washing, we are referred to the Court record under date of Sept. 20, 1638. "Adam Roelantsen, plaintiff, against Gilhs De Voocht, defendant, on demand, for payment for washing. "Plaintiff demands payment for washing defend- ant's hnen. "Defendant makes no objection whatever to the price of the washing; but only objects to the time at which payment is demanded, as the year is not yet elapsed. "The Coi-u-t decides that the plaintiff shall wash for defendant during the time agreed upon, and then he may demand his pay." In 1642 he hved on the north side of Stone, be- tween Whitehall and Broad Streets, close to Van Cortlandt's brewery. He made a visit to Holland and worked his passage back to New York, and said the prayers for the ship's company. His griev- ous offenses and his condign punishment occurred after his return. He sold his house, which cost him $140, to Go vert Aertsen. His successor was Arien Jansen Van Ilpendam. The regular charge B-i 25 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS for tuition was two beaver skins per annum. It was at about this period that the first recorded sale of a city lot appears. Anthony Van Fees paid $9.60 for a full lot on Bridge Street. At this time, the noted Trj'ntje Clock, skilled in the use of herb medi- cines, lived at the corner of Pearl and Hanover Streets. Dominie Bogardus, of whom we have spoken, was as pronounced a character as Governor Stuyvesant of later days; and when he and the fiery Governor Kieft came into conflict, as they often did, even the old Avomen forgot their customary gossip, and nothing was talked of throughout the communitj" but the red-hot warfare between the two great men of the city. Kieft was the civic head, and he knew it; Bogardus was the spiritual head, and he never forgot it. Each had his strong ground and kept one foot upon it, while pressing into his opponent's ter- ritor}' to administer knockout blows. The governor had the best of it in the beginning, because of his hold on the courts, into which the dominie was forced; but Bogardus soon learned the ways of the law and how to use the courts himself; and the merry w^ar did not cease until the wrestlers, having thoroughly measured each other's strength, agreed to call it a draw and to shake hands. Bogardus' natural and official force was greatly strengthened by his marriage to Annetje, the widow of Roelof Jansen — more commonly called Anneke Jans. Through that marriage he acquired wealth and greater influence. The widow's four children 2U NEW YORK CITY LIFE were: Sarah, who became the wife of Hans Kier- stede; Catrina, who married Johannes Van Bruggh; Fytje, who married Pieter Hartgers; and Jan Roe- lofsen. So, we see, the dominie's relations were ex- tended in a very high-sounding manner. Their home was near the corner of Whitehall and Bridge Streets. The cause of the enmity between Bogardus and the governor was the Indian war, which Kieft ordered against the advice of many of the people, including the dominie, and which involved the colony in great loss, suffering and bereavement. Bogardus strongly advised against the war, and when it was begun in the perfidious massacre of an Indian tribe, fortifying himself with the "Dutch courage," which was per- missible to preachers as well as the common people, he poured out from his pulpit such broadsides of de- nunciation that the governor was driven out of the church. The situation was decidedly uncomfortable for Kieft. He knew that his war was unpopular, and he reahzed that, while the people hated him for it, they required his official and personal pres- ence at the Sunday services in the church. He could not attend those services without being de- nounced to his face by the indignant minister; and when he braved the criticisms of the people, by ab- senting himself from the services, he got no more relief, for the stentorian tones of the valiant preacher penetrated even into the governor's house. Then the magistrates, assembled at the old City Hall, were inspired by the governor to issue this formidable summons to the preacher: 27 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "In the name of the Lord, Amen. In the year 1646, in New Netherland. "The Honorable Director and Council, to the Rev- erend Everardus Bogardus, Minister of the Gospel in this place: "Although ^ve were informed of your proceedings dming the administration of the former Director, Wout Van T\Wller, and though warned to be upon our guard, we did not consider it worth our notice, because we were confident that no man who preached the words of the Lord would so far for- get himself, although we possess letters, in your handwriting, among others, one of the 17th June, 1634, from, which it does not appear as if you were inspired with the spirit of the Lord, but, to the con- trary, in a manner that would be unbecoming heath- ens, much less Christians, much less a preacher of the Gospel, when you scolded the magistrate ap- pointed ov^er you by God, for a child of the devil, a consummate villain, declaring that your bucks were better than he, and vaunted j^ourself that you would give next Sunday, from the pulpit, such a shake that you and he should shudder, with more of such injurious trash, which we pass by in si- lence, out of respect to that honorable man. "Dm-ing our government, you permitted yourself the same indecorous language, sparing scarce any individual in the country, not even A^our own wife nor her sister; especially' you conducted yourself in that manner when you had been in good company, and your spirits were buoyed up, intermingling your 28 I NEW YORK CITY LIFE human passions freely in what you brought forth in the pulpit. In this manner you have continued act- ing with the greatest criminals in the country, tak- ing their part, and defending them, declining to exe- cute the order to distribute the Sacrament of the Lord, and not daring to make use of it yourself; and, therefore, that it may not be in your power to take your ignorance for a pretext, we shall select a few samples from a large list, to renew your re- membrance : "On the 25th September, 1639, when you had ad- ministered our Lord's Supper, and perceiving that, late at night, the fire was yet burning in the Di- rector's mansion, after you had been at the house of Jacob Van Curler, and you were thoroughly in- toxicated, you exclaimed vehemently at the Director and Jochem Pieters, against whom you were en- raged, because the Director requested a favor for Jacob Peters, which you refused, as appears from an affidavit in our possession. "Since that period, you have been guilty of many deeds vmbecoming a minister of the Gospel, of which we, nevertheless, took no notice, in the hope that you would behave yourself, at least in yoiu* office, as a Christian, until at length, in March, 1643, when one Marj^n Andriesen entered the Director's room with the deliberate purpose to murder him, which was prevented, and he was put in irons. Then you embraced the cause of that criminal, com- posed his writings, and took upon yourself to defend him. But, nevertheless, he was sent in chains to 29 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Holland, on which account you audaciously fulmi- nated on the subject during a fortnight, and dis- honored the pulpit by your passionate behavior. Furthermore, the manner in which, during that time, you conducted yourself every evening is known to all your neighbors. At last, you seemed for a while to be reconciled to the Director, and a short inter- val of peace was enjoyed; when, however, in 1644, one Laurens Cornehsen was here, a man of profligate character, who had violated his oath, had committed perjury and theft, he was taken under your patron- age, and you were in daily correspondence with him, for the reason, merelj', that he had slandered the Director. "In the same year, during the summer, when the minister Doughty celebrated our Lord's Supper, you ascended the pulpit while in a state of extreme in- toxication. So, too, on Friday, before Christmas, in the same j'ear, when j'ou preached the preparation sermon, you were in the same condition. And when you dined, in the beginning of the year 1645, at the Attorney-general's, you arrived there in a state of int(jxication, denouncing, among others. Deacon Oloff Stevensen for a thief, on which the Director, then present, addressed j^ou in an affectionate manner, in- timating that it was not the place to make use of such language — still you went on, and the Director said, at last, that when you were drunk you did nothing but utter slanderous language. That, on last Frida}-, you yom-self came, in a state of in- toxication, into the pulpit; that it was indecorous 30 NEW YORK CITY LIFE in a minister to lead such a life, which scandahzed the whole congregation. "Furthermore, when, a few days afterward (viz., 22d January, 1645), the Director was not at church, you denounced him in the most brutal manner, say- ing, '"What are the great men of the country? What but receptacles of wrath, fountains of pain and trouble. Nothing is aimed at but to plunder othsr people's property; to dismiss, to banish, and carry off persons to Holland.' To avoid further scandal, the Director did not longer assist in the congregation, being conscious that he never took an- other man's property, never committed any injustice in his office, never banished a person who had not thrice deserved it. If he dismissed some from offices, that was his prerogative, for which he is responsible to the Directors of the Company, but not to the minister. "Furthermore, when, on the 31st March, 1645, you were at the wedding of Adam Brower, and in a state of intoxication, you again began scolding in the presence of the Secretary and the Attorney-gen- eral, violently blaming the Director, saying that he called your wife a , when you had yourself said that you did not believe the Director had said so, and that it could not be proved. In consequence of your language, we, on the 23d March, moved by Christian compassion, and from the consideration due to your office, instead cf prosecuting you in a court of justice, sent you under seal a Christian admo- nition which you twice declined to accept, as was reported by the court messengers. 31 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "Furthermore, you ministered our Lord's Supper, at Passover and Pentecost, ^vitbout partaking of it, but conducting yourself in a very offensive manner, pretending that the Director sent a person (Lysbet, the midv^dfe) to your house, to sue for peace, but that you dechned making peace with him. "Furthermore, that you abused Anthony de Hooge, and vv^hen the peace with the Indians was about to be conchided, nothing was left undone by you to break off the negotiations, and in lieu of de- vout prayers, you pom-ed down a string of invec- tives, which might have been followed by the most pernicious consequences. "When at last peace was concluded with the sav- ages, an extract from the orders of the magistrates was sent to you, that thanks be offered up to God for it. It is true you preached, cmd a good sermon too; but you said not a single word about the peace, neither thanked our God for it, although the day had been set apart for that solemn purpose, and was duly observed by all other ministers within our lim- its, vrith a fervent zeal. "By this your affection toward the Company (by whom you are supported), and toward the welfare of this countrj', may be estimated. Your principles, also, are manifested by j'our patronage of those who have defrauded and injured the Company, and by the clandestine meetings with them, which still con- tinue. "Fm-thermore, when you preached a sermon on the 22d of December, the day of preparation for the 32 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Lord's Supper, you said in public that you often ad- ministered the Lord's Supper without partaking of it, and wished that thej^ who caused our divisions in the church could be cut off. Your bad tongue is, in our opinion, the only cause of these divisions, and your obstinacy the only reason of their continu- ance. We do not know of a single family not de- su'ous of settling our troubles, except yourself. When you visit a family, you never inquire for the cause of their absence from the church. We, however, can tell the reason of such absence. On the 24th, you informed the congregation that in Africa, which has a chmate of intense heat, different species of animals come together, by which various monsters are generated; but you know not, said you, from whence, in such a temperate clime as this, such monsters of men are produced. They are the mighty ones, who place their confidence in men, and not in the Lord! Children might have told to whom you alluded. It is these and similar sermons that have occasioned our absence from the church. "All these things being regarded by us as hav- ing a tendency toward the general ruin of the coun- try, both Church and State being endangered where the magistrate is despised, and it being considered that your duty and oath imperatively demand their proper maintenance; whereas, your conduct stirs up the people (already too much divided) to mutiny and rebelhon — that the introduction of novelties causes schisms and abuses in the church, and makes us a scorn and a laughing-stock to our neighbors, all 33 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS which cannot be tolerated in a country where jus- tice is maintained; wherefore, our sacred duty de- manded that we seek out a remedy against this evil; and this remedy we now intend to employ, in virtue of our high commission from the Company, and we design to prosecute you in a court of justice; and, to do it in due form, we made an order that a copy of these om- deliberations should be delivered to you, to answer in fourteen days, protesting that we in- tend to treat you with such Christian lenity as our conscience and the welfare of State and Church shall in any way permit. 2d January, 164G." If half of the charges specified were true, Bo- gardus should have been summarih^ expelled from his office. He was required to answer the complaint, and several answers were decided to be evasive. Or- der after order was issued, threatening him with dire punishment. This touching epistle was presented to him: The Honorable Director and Council, to the Rev. Bogardus, Minister of the Gospel in this City. "Although the proposal which we made to you to leave the decision of our dispute to impartial men, agreeably to your wishes, sufficiently justifies our proceedings, and shows our inclination for good understanding, while your refusal to assent thereto shows a contrary disposition; nevertheless, the re- spect which we owe to the sacred dignity of j-om- office, and om* cordial wishes for your welfare, in- 34 NEW YORK CITY LIFE duces us once more to bring the subject to your at- tention, inasmuch as a highly favorable opportunity presents itself from the presence here of the minis- ters, Revs. Johannes Megapolensis and Mr. Doughty, to whom may be joined such other impartial mem- bers as you may select. And we do solemnly pro- test, that, in case of your refusal, we shall be com- pelled to go on with the prosecution, and in order that we may all, in the midst of the congregation, pray to God to dispose our hearts and yours to a Christian reunion, it is our desire that the Rev. Me- gapolensis shall preach next Sunday, as has been his custom, when here, and that we may thus again have an opportunity of admiring the great gifts and talents which God has bestowed upon him. Where- fore, we are assured j'ou will not decKne to relin- quish the pulpit on that occasion, and afford us the opportunity of hearing him. We expect your answer on this last point to-daj'; and on the first point, on next Thursday, 14th of June." Meanwhile, Oloff Stevensen Van Cortlandt, one of the deacons, sued the dominie for slander in con- nection with the general trouble; and that suit, at the suggestion of the governor and his council, was referred to Dominie Johannes Megapolensis, Antony De Hooges, Laurens Van Heusden, and Adriaen Van Donck, who gave this decision, which was approved by the governor and his council on June 12, 1G46: '^June 11, 1646. — ^Whereas, we, the subscribers, have been authorized by the Director-general and 35 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Council, in New Netherland, to decide the dispute between the Rev. Bogardus and Oloff Stevensen, and to reconcile them to each other, as far as possible; and whereas, we have carefully examined all the docmnents in the case, and being convinced that no fault can be found with Oloff Stevensen, acting, as he did, under the commission with which he was honored by the commander; and inasmuch, also, as the Rev. Bogardus has declared that, if he had been informed of the existence of that commission, he should have had a different opinion of Oloff Stevensen than that expressed by him, "We therefore unanimously conclude that the dif- ference between said disputants is finally and forever aniuilled, and that all other difficulties which have arisen against the Rev, Bogardus, from this matter, are now to be considered as removed, and ought not to be revived in future against him. "Done in Manhattans, June 11, 1G-4G." Then it was that the combatants realized that they had had enough, and came to a truce. In the following year they sailed together in the ship "Prin- cess," and Avere shipwrecked and drowned on the coast of England. We will speak of the Indian wars again, when we may properly give more of their details. So many circumstances of interest in the various periods are crowded into the little space south of the City Hall that it will not be possible to present them in exact order. Let us make a short excursion from NEW YORK CITY LIFE the Fort, that we may notice some other interesting rehcs of the Dutch. While they loved the canal in Broad Street they also loved the river front. By the thmnping of their weighty pedals, as they tramped up and down the water's edge, leading their cows the same way, a well beaten track was made, fol- lowing the curves and the outhne of the Island, which in time became Pearl Street. Reasoning on the principles of heredity, there can be no doubt that Dutchman eating Clams. they dug great quantities of clams on the beach and put them to their natural uses; for the New York Dutch thrive on clams and take them for a steady diet to tliis day. It is an affecting sight to see them on the "Al Foster" and the "J. B. Schuyler," at the Fishing Banks, cutting clams for bait, lunching on clam-chowder, and then carrying home the surplus bait for supper. As vessels and traders came more and oftener to visit the port, and to attend the hog and cattle fairs 37 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS on Bowling Green, the resources of the governor's house became inadequate for the entertainment of the dignitaries who attended those functions, and accordingly Governor Kieft caused a public-house to be erected on Pearl Street, fronting Coenties Slip. There a very respectable brick building was erected, and it was the first tavern and hotel on Manhattan Island. There was nothing in its appearance or in its provisions to provoke any such wild nightmares as would spread before the dreamy visions of their snoring guests pictures of the New Netherlands, the Holland, the Waldorf, and the Astoria hotels. The brick of which it was constructed were brought across the ocean; for then there had not been dis- covered the great beds of clay upon which have been founded our immense brick industries. Some years ago antiquarians sought eagerly for the Dutch brick of which Nmnber 1 Broadway was constructed, as it was believed to be the last Dutch house; but Number 19 Pearl Street and Number 122 Wilham Street, and a few other buildings yet standing, were built of unported Dutch bricks. The tavern was eventually turned into a city hall or stacUhuys, for the public business outgrew the resources of the gov- ernor's quarters. The gallows, the whipping-post, the stocks and the pillorj- were removed from the beach and were placed in front of the City Hall, where they stood as a terror to evil doers, and where the Dutch boys had lots of fun in throwing addled eggs at the luckless criminals who were locked in the stocks or fastened on the pillory. The Dutch boj's 38 NEW YORK CITY LIFE of that period stole and hid the barnyard fruit, so that they might always have a loiid-smelhng stock with which to pelt the victims of the stocks. In front of this building, and within the present Coenties Slip, was placed the stadthuys battery, which mounted several cannon. The ducking stool for scolding women was at the water's edge. This was a busy place after the City was re- taken by the Dutch in 1673. There were present the Governor, the Mayor, the Hoofd Schout (high sheriff), and the Fiscal (State's attorney). The Burgomasters and Schepens added their share to the bustle and the enthusiasm; and the building was shaken by the rolling around of these official pon- derosities, especially when dinner time arrived, and all stomachs felt as one, and every pair of legs moved as one. They were not permitted to step in time, for fear of shaking down the building. An- tonio Colve, who had assisted in the capture from the English, was governor, and Nicholas Bayard was his geheim schryver or secretary of secrets. Bayard was also vendu meester or auctioneer, and receiver of city revenues. In those days a mayor could not get along with the gout. He was con- stantly on the go out, and had no time to brew tea. He conducted the daily parades of the war- riors, and each evening he received from the hoofd wagt (head guard) the keys of the City and person- ally locked the gates, and stationed the burger ivagt (citizen guard) in their places for the night watch. 39 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Sometimes he made night tom-s and caught faithless watchers "off post," and thej- had speedy punish- ment in the stocks. He was up again at dayhght and went the roimds with a detail of soldiers, re- he^^ng the watchmen, posting the guards, opening the gates, and delivering the keys back to the gov- ernor in the Fort. He has a worthy successor in TheodoTse Koosevelt. our present City government, who is not ashamed of his Dutch ancestry. It is believed by superstitious members of the police force that the president of the board goes down to Morris Street at regular intervals and con- sults the shadow of Mayor Van de "Water, and that he has in his service a number of Dutch shades, who keep watch for tired and "liquidated" pohce- men at night, and put the j^resident on their track. Mr. Roosevelt has never denied the truth of this 40 NEW YORK CITY LIFE belief; but whenever it is hinted to liim, he lets off his terrifying graveyard effect, which has sent the cold shivers down the backs of so many dehnquent oflScers, and more than ever convinced them of the unearthly spell that has seized the old depart- ment, di-jdng up the rich streams of buccaneering wealth, and Hmiting its energies to the earning of only one salary for each ofl&cer, instead of the nu- merous salaries that they used to work so hard for. The first burgomasters were Cornelis Steenwyck, Cornelis Van Ruyven, Johannis Van Brugh, Martin Cregier (a royal man, a good soldier and a great Indian fighter), Johannis de Peyster and Nicholas Bayard. The first schepens were Jeronimus Eb- bingh, William Beeckman, Egidus Luyck, Jacob Kip, Gelyn Verplanck, Lonraus Van de Spiegel, Balthazaer Baj^ard, Francois Rombouts, Stephen Van Cortlandt, Adolph Pietersen, Reynier Willemsen, Peter Jacobsen, Jean Vigne (the first white man born on Manhattan Island), Pieter Stouten burgh and Coenraet Ten Ej'ck. Here is a translation of the governor's orders to Mayor Van de Water : *'lst. The mayor shall take good care that in the morning the gates are opened with sunrise and locked again in the evening at sunset, for which pm-pose he shall go to the hoofcl wagt, and there address himseK to the commanding officers, and demand to conduct him thither at least a sergeant Avith six schutters (soldiers), all armed with guns (shooters, 41 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS of course): with these he shall proceed to the Fort to fetch the keys, and return these again there as soon as the gates are opened or shut. There he shall receive the watchword from the governor, or from the officer commanding in his absence; when he shall again return to the City Hall and dehver the received orders to the sergeant of the guard, to be further notified where it ought to be. "2d. The mayor shall be present at all military tribunals, and have his vote in his turn next the youngest ensign. "od. The mayor may everj" night make the round, give the watchword to the corporal, visit the guards, and if there are some absent, make the next day his report to the governor. "•4th, He shall act in the military council as sec- retary', and take care that a correct register is kept of all transactions. The record shall remain in his care, and he will deliver no copy of it except on special orders. "12 Jan. 1674. "Done at Fort WilHam Hendrick." There was great running to and fro between the Fort and the Sfadthiiys. The people were filled with the importance of their victory over the En- glish, they gloried in the fairness of their conquest, and they told again and again the story of the march of the gallant COO from the apple orchard (at the foot of Vesey Street), down to the Fort, and of its surrender to them. They desired to estab- 42 NEW YORK CITY LIFE lish a sound aud substautial goverument, and were impressed with their dangers from Indians and New Englanders — almost equallj^ dreaded. It is doubtful whether New York was ever so thoroughly and pa- ternall}^ governed as it was during the few years of the second Dutch domination. The City lay almost entirely east of the Heere Strasse (Broadway), and was all south of the Cin- gle ("Wall Street); and there must have been a con- stant procession of the public business — embodied in strangely active blunderbuss officials — through Stone {Brower) and Pearl (Perel) Street, between the two official points. We are able to locate the Stadthuys definitely at the corner now occupied by the building Number 73 Pearl Street. Don't be deceived by the old iron lamp frame projecting from the side wall. It is indeed a relic of old days, but not of Dutch days. This site illustrates the remarkable succession of nationaHties which may be seen everywhere in the lower part of the Island. The building is now oc- cupied by Boultbec &; Contoupolo, importers of Egyp- tian cigarettes, and by a German firm, which, hav- ing little patience with American antiquarians, has a sign in the window warning away all persons that have no business there — and they mean it strictly in a commercial sense too. "THIS MEANS YOU." As we look out over Jeannette Park, which com- memorates heroic deeds of American explorers, we 43 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS see the spots vv^liicli were occupied by the batteries and their guns, the stocks and other instruments of justice; but in the rush of traffic, the evidences of immense business movements, and the hm-ry of the people, who show very httle of the stohd and phleg- matic dispositions which once were so much in evi- dence, we begin to wonder whether we have read these old stories in histories or in romances. But Pearl Street is there, wind- ing, as of old, and none the worse for having been called Queen Street by Englishmen ; and Coenties ^ Slip preserves the names and memories of the quaint- est and honestest couple of the good old times, who there loved and lived, and raised their virtuous prog- eny, gave their names to the spot, and, having done what they could for New Amsterdam's virtue and fame, passed away. Coenrat Ten Eyck and his wife, "Antye Ten Eyck" — Coen and Antye's Slip — Coenties Slip. How lov- ingly the last syllable of Coen^s name embraces the first syllable of Anfye^s. What belonged to each, belonged to the other. United in life, their memo- ries are still Hnked, though mouthed by a restless, heedless multitude, few of whom give a passing thought to these exemplars of home living and home loving, which, after all, make a State great, and 44 r^-S^ Coen and Antye Embracing. NEW YORK CITY LIFE are more needed in New York to-day than any- other social force. The Dutch were as great for "good cheer" as they were for trade; and it cannot be that this old tavern site is far removed from the cheese and the ale, and the round of schnapps. No; as close as pos- sible to this old inn, usurped indeed by Boultbec and Contoupolo, is— not Delmonico's — no indeed — but a plain, popular and . populous beer saloon, where may be found toilers, adventurers, seafarers, and an oc- casional business man, who quaff the most majestic schooners of beer that can be found in the Me- *^^ropohs. It is a noble sight to see a couple of Dutch sailors irrigating themselves from a pan- of those broad-bottomed schooners in this travelers' rest and calling for more. The Dutch mania for canals is denied opportunity for expression on New York Island, except via the throat; and most consistently do the offshoots of Holland apply thamselves to the joyous task of making the most of their opportuni- ties. Certain descendants of the Dutch affect an ap- petite for champagne; but the canal instinct gener- ally lands them under the table. Beer is the drink for Dutchmen, because it floods more and better, and at less cost, and with less wear and tear than any other. It was in this neighborhood that the dis- cussion waxed high, some years ago, whether lager beer would intoxicate. A storekeeper had in his em ploy a Dutchman of phenomenal capacity (in a bibu- lous sense). He bet a customer that his man could drink a pailful of beer without getting drunk. The 45 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS man was called and was handed a pail. He looked at it dubiously, and said he would go out and think about it. He came back and said he could drink it; and he made good his word. Afterward his em- ployer asked him why he did not take the beer at once. The answer was, "Veil, Mister Schmeet, I bin sick a hddle — 1 tidn't know vat I could do. I vent out and trinked a pail, and den I knowed I could do it, and I did dood it, ain't it?" A friend of ours employs a great many men in his piano factory. Recently he gave them a picnic. In the afternoon he noticed that a giant Dutchman was pecuharly happy. He called him and asked him what kind of a time he was having. His answer was: "Mr. S., this is the first time I ever could say I had enough to drink." — "How many glasses of beer have you had?" asked Mr. S. — The answer came: "A hundi*ed; and now 1 tinks I shtop.'*' One of the first pieces of work done by the 6wr- go masters and schepens at the" Stadthuys in 1673 was the making of a list of the principal citizens and the value of their estates; and here they are, with the richest and most redolent, if not fragrant, names in America : Guilders Guilders Adolph Petersen (schepeu) 1,000 Adrian Viuceut 1,000 Andrias Jochems 300 Abel Hardenbroeck 1,000 Albert Bosch .500 Asser Leevey (he was the Abram Carmar 300 real original Levy: He- Abraliam .lansen (carpen- brew, butcher, litigant).. 2,500 ter) tm Anna Van Borssum 2,000 Abraham Verplanck 300 Barent Coersen 3,5f0 Abraham Lnbl)ersen 300 Balthasar Bayard (sche- Allard Anthony (notary pen) 1,500 public) 1,000 Balthasar de Haerts 2,(K)0 Anthony Jansen Van Sale 1,000 Boole Koeloffsen 600 AuthouyDe 1,000 Barnadtts Hasfelt 300 40 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Guilders Bay Croe Svelt 1,000 Claes Lock 600 Claes Bordingth 1,500 ,Carsten Leurseii 5,000 xjCornelis Steeuwyck (cap- tain of infantry, coun- selor of state, etc.) 50,000 Cornelis Van Hooren 18,000 Cornells Jansen Van Hoo- ren 500 Cornells Chooper 5,000 Cornelis Van Borssum 8,000 Cornelis Direksen (from westveen) 1,300, Cornelis Barentse Vander Cuyll 400 Coenraet Ten Eyck (of Co- eiities Slip) 5,000 Christopher Hooglaud (schepen) 5,000 Corel Van Brugge 1,000 David Wessels 800 David Jochems 1,000 Dirck Sniet (of Smet, Smith, or William St.).. 2,000 Dirck Van Cleef (of Van Clyfif or Cliff St.) 1,500 Dirck Wiggerse 800 Dirck Claes.se (potter) 700 Daniel Hendricks 500 Aegidius Luyk (rector of Latin school) 5,000 Egbert Wouterse 400 Evert Pieterse 2,000 Evert Wesselse Kuyper... 300 Evert Duyckingh 1,600 Ephraim Harmans (Secre- tary to the sessions of the schout burgomaster and schepens) 1,000 Elizabeth Bedloo 1,000 • Elizabeth Driseus 2,000 Ffrancois Rombouts (sche- pen, afterward Mayor).. 5,000 FfrederickArentse(turner) 400 Ff redrick Gisberts 400 Guiliane Verplauck (sche- pen) 5,000 Guiliam de Honioud (a prominent Huguenot). ... 400 Gabriel Minville (schepen) 10,000 Garret Gullevever 500 Mary Loockermans 2,000 Harmanus Burger 400 Harmanus Van Borsum . . . 600 Hendrick Kip, sen 300 Hendrick Bosch 400 Hendrick Gillesse (shoe- maker) 300 Hendrick We.ssels Smith.. 1,200 Hendrick Willemse (back- er) 3,000 Hendrick Van Dyke. Hans Kierstede Hartman Wessels... Harnien Smecmar... Henry Bresier. Guilders 300 . . 2,000 300 300 300 Isaacq Van Viecq 1,500 Isaac Van Tricht (in his brother's house) 200 /Isack de Foreest 1,500 Johannes Van Brugh (bur- gomaster) 1,400 Johannis de Peyster (bur- gomaster) 15,000 Jeronimus Ebbingh (sche- pen) 30,000 Jacob Kip (presiding sche- pen) 4,000 Jacob de Naers 5,000 Jacob Leumen 300 Jacob Abrahamse( shoe- maker) 2,500 Jacob Teuniss Key 8,000 v' Jacob Leyslaer (Leisler)... 15,000 Jacob Varravanger 8,000 Jacobus Van de Water (mayor and "auditeur"). 3,500 Jan Meynder de Karman.. 300 Jan Hendrick Van Bommel 1,500 Jan Dirckse Meyer 600 Jan Van Bree Steede 500 Jan Herberdingh 2,000 Jan Spiegelaer 500 Jan Jansen (carpenter) 300 Jan Reay (pipe-maker) 300 Jan Coely Smet 1,300 Jan Schakerley 1,400 Jan Joosten (barquier) 3,500 Jan Vigne (schepen) 1,000 Junan Blanck 1,600 Jeremias Jansen Hagenaer 400 Jonas Bartels 3,000 John Lawrence (merchant) 40,000 James Matheus 1,000 Laurens Jansen Smet 300 Laurens Van de Spiegel . . . 6,000 Laurens Hoist 300 Luycas Andries (barquier) 1,500 Lammert Huybertse Moll. 300 Luyckes Tienhoven 600 Marten Kregier (schepen). 2,000 Marten Janseu Meyer 500 Matheys de Haert 12,000 Nicholas de Meyer (chronic office holder) 50,000 Nicholas Bayard 1,000 Nicholas du Puy 600 Nicholas Jansen (backer). . 700 Olof. Stevensen Van Cort- landt 45,000 Peter Jacobs Marius 5,000 Peter Nys 500 jPeter de Riemer 800 47 THE AMEEICAN METROPOLIS Guilders Guilders Pieter Van de Water 400 Siboiat Claess 500 Paulus Richard 5,000 S'onwert Olpheresse 600 PauluR Tureq 300 Thomas Leurs 6,000 Peter Jansen Mesier 300 Thomas Louwerss (backer) 1,000 Philip Johns 600 \Vilhelm Beeckman (bur- ReynlerWillemse (backer) 5,000 gomaster) 3,000 Stephanns Vail Cortlandt Wander Wessels 600 (schepen) 5.000 William Van der Schneven 300 Simon Jantz Koraeyu 1,200 Notice the beautiful and practical alphabetical ar- rangement of these names; Just how many Cornel- ises, Dircks, Hendricks, Jans and Pieters there were, could be told in a moment. The surnames didn't count. There were some curious trials of criminal charges at the Stadthuys on this corner, and the punishments were very severe. Frequently men and women were executed for theft. Sometimes torture by the rack and chains was used to extort confessions. In May, 1661, Marten Van Weert was threatened with the rack, and confessed a long list of crimes. His pun- ishment was a scourging with rods in a closed cham- ber and ten years' banishment. Mesaack Martenzen was tortured in the same year, and finally confessed that he stole cabbages, fowls and turkeys. He was fastened to the whipping-post, severely whipped, and banished for ten years. In 1672, the hangman, Ben Johnson, was convicted of robbery, and would have been sentenced to be hung, except that he could not hang himself, and there was nobody else to do the job. His punishment was thirtj'-nine stripes, inflicted at the whipping-post, the cutting off of one ear, and banishment. This interesting case divided the keen interest of the inhabitants with another curious inci- 48 NEW YORK CITY LIFE dent, which is recited in the "Historical Magazine" in these words: "About twelve days since, a disaster befell a young man in this town, by name one Mr. Wright, a one-eyed man, & a muff -maker by trade, who drinking hard upon rum one evening, w^^ some ffriends, begann a health of a whole halfe pint at a draught, w*''^ hee had noe sooner done but downee hee fell and never rose more, w*''* prodigy may teach us aU to have a care how wee drink, in imitation of that good old lesson, Foelix quern faciunv, Sec. This young man's untimely (end) doth somewhat parallel that person in yo*" letter, who you write was killed with a sley, the w^^ in hke manner could but strike a great amazem* into all that heard it, by wch wee may see that though there is but one way of coming into the world, yet there is a thou- sand wayes of goeing out of it." Severe punishments continued for many years, and were frequently ordered by the judges who sat in the more modern and elevated court at the City Hall on the site of the Sub-treasury. The New York "Mercury," of September, 1756, reported that, "This day, between the hours of nine and eleven, Mrs. Johanna Christian Young, and another lady, her associate from Philadelphia, being found guilty of grand larceny, at the Mayor's Court, last week, are to be set on two chairs exalted on a cart, ^^^th their heads and faces uncovered, and to be carted from the City Hall, to that part of the Broadway near the new English Church (Trinity), from thence C-i 49 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS down Maiden Lane, then down the Fly to the White- hall, thence to the Church aforesaid, and then to the Whipping Post (Broad and Wall Streets), where each of them are to receive 39 lashes, to remain in gaol for one week, and then to depart the citj^" The New York "Gazette," in January, 1768, states that "John Clayton Morris was committed in the Supreme Court for sheep stealing, but inasmuch as he had granted to him the benefit of the clergy he was only burned in the hand." The "Chronicle," of September 14, 1769, recites the administering of fifteen lashes to William Smith and Daniel Martin for steahng fiddle-strings; and Richard Ely, convicted of fraud, "was exalted on a wooden horse in a tri- umphal car, with labels on his breast; after which he was conducted to the public whipping-post, where he received a proper chastisement." In the same year John Jubeart was executed for passing coun- terfeit money. According to the New York "Ga- zette," of Noverber 4, 1773, Elizabeth Donohough was convicted of picking Mr. Van Gelder's pocket in the Fly Market, and a negro named "Neptune" was convicted of burglar}', and they were sentenced to be hanged. "At a Supreme Court of Judicature held at the City Hall of the City of New York (Wall St.), the fourth of December, 1737, were presented for sen- tence David Wallace and David Willson, having at the last Court been con%'icted of a cheat, in pass- ing some bills of credit of the Pro^-ince of New Jersey, were now brought to the bar, and received 50 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the following sentence; viz., That the said David Wallace and David Willson do stand in the pillory between the hours of ten and eleven in the fore- noon of the same day (13th inst.), and after that be placed in a cart, so as to be publickl}^ seen, with halters about their necks, and carted thro' the most publick streets in this city; and then be brought to the public Whipping- Post, and there David Walhs, on his bare back, to receive thirty-nine stripes, and David Willson twenty-eight stripes. And within some convenient time after, the Sheriff shall deliver said prisoners at the Ferr}'- House in Kings County, and on the third Tuesday in January next they shall be set on the pillory, and then Walhs to receive at Flatbush thirty-nine stripes, and Willson twenty-eight. Then they shall be conveyed to Jamaica, in Queens County, and there, on the fourth Tuesday in Feb- ruar}', to stand on the pillory, and afterwards each of them to receive the same number of stripes. Then to be conveyed to Westchester, and there, on the fourth Tuesday in March, to stand on the pillory, and then at the Whipping- Post Wallace to receive twenty stripes on the bare back, and Willson ten. After which, at the end of King's Bridge, they shall be dehvered to the High Sheriff of the City of New York, and from that time, Wallace to re- main in prison six months, and Willson three months. And then each to be discharged, paying their fees!" Some very interesting resolutions of the City Coim- cil were passed at the Stadthuys. Here is one in 1677 : 51 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "Query — Whether attornej's are thought to be use- ful to plead in Courts or not. Answer — It is thought not. Whereupon, Resolved and Ordered, That plead- ing attorneys be no longer allowed to practice in the government, excepting in the pending cases." This resolution of 1U91 contains a little picture of the City below Wall Street. ''Ordered, That the poysonous and stinking weeds within this City be- fore e"\'ery one's door l)e forthwith pluckt up upon the forfeiture of three shillings for the neglect thereof." It was also *' Ordered, That Top-knot Betty and another person and her children be provided for as objects of charity and four shillings a week allowed." In 1700 it was enacted that Popish priests en- tering the colony to entice Indians from their alle- giance be executed, and in the same year it was ''Ordered, That the Mayor provide fire wood for bonfires on the fourth and fifth days of this in- stant, month of November, being the birthda}^ of our sovereign Lord King William, and gunpowder treason" (the origin of our election-night bonfires), "and that the Mayor pay to the Rev. Wilham Ve- sey the sum of five pounds for preaching a sermon before the Court on the 14th of October last." These specimens show how human were our early New Yorkers, and they illustrate their simplicity — the Dutch spirit appearing even in the preparations for the English holiday. The first regular public school was held at this building while it was the Stadt Herberg (the tav- ern). After it became the Stadthui/s the most im- 52 NEW YORK CITY LIFE portant affairs of the colony were discussed there. There, too, during the conflict between Governor Leisler, who held the Fort in the name of the peo- ple, and Bayard, who claimed to represent kingly authority, the heavy rain of artillery fell, Leisler fir- ing from the Fort upon the troops stationed there. The speed with which those iron messengers trav- eled was a revelation to the schepens and burgo- masters. In the rear of the Stadthuys was Slyk-steeg (Mire Lane), where Coenraet Ten Eyck's tannery was, and where Antye no doubt had some share in the work (later Mill Street). In the rear of Mire Lane was De Warmoes Straet (Street of Vegetables), later Garden Street and Exchange Place. Let us retrace om- steps through the road so thoroughly traveled by the Dutch officials, to the site of Fort Amsterdam, and from that spot we may see the place where the toilers were laid away after they had completed their work. The ancient grave- yard was on Broadway, at Morris Street. The old City laid much lower than our present street levels, and the graves remain under the accumulations and the filling of later days; but not so deep as to bury the influence of the worthy people that were interred there. Their bones are still there, as was well proven when the excavations were made for the present buildings. West of Broadway, running to the water's edge, at Greenwich Street, were the governor's gardens, extending to Wall Street. The 53 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS first fann of the Dutch AYest India Company ex- tended from Wall to Hudson Street, running mostly west of Broadway; and that farm was well occupied b}- Governor Van Twiller, who, while he made sorry work of governing the colony, never lost sight of his own interests. Lacking in all of the heroic qualities which distinguished Peter Stuyvesant, he managed to steer his own bark safely through the troubled political seas, and to enjoy life. On the Fort was performed the first slave labor in New York. From 1G30 to 1635 the Company's negroes were constantly- employed in improving the Fort and building windmills for the grinding of grain. In 1G41, inside of the Fort, the first hang- ing took place. There had been a fight between negroes and one of them had been killed. Six were suspected of having committed the crime, and they were put to torture, and confessed that they all had participated in it. The idea of executing six valu- able slaves horrified the governor and his advisers. They had not yet got used to wholesaling. It was decided that one should suffer for all, and the lot fell upon the biggest man of the six, who stood head and shoulders above all the people in the Fort. It is strange that they did not draw lots again and select the smallest man; but they determined to exe- cute this big fellow, and so the gallows was strength- ened and the rope was doubled, and every arrange- ment was made for a thorough hanging; but the contortions and the weight of the poor negro, with the excitement and the inexperience of the execu- 54 NEW YORK CITY LIFE tioners, were too much for the gallows, and it broke down and dropped him on the ground. Then it was decided that sufficient punishment had been inflicted for the killing of a darky, and the man was re- leased. From the Fort, in the same year, was promul- gated the first excise law, which was designed to prevent disorder during church time and during the late night; and there was as much outcry against that moderate excise system as there is in these days against the Raines Law. In this year Governor Kieft started the annual fairs for the sale of cattle and hogs upon Bowling Green, which became the great social events of the year, and which, as we have noticed, made neces- sary the building of the tavern at Coenties Shp. The Indian wars of Governor Kieft 's administra- tion caused more excitement in and around the Fort than any other event besides its capture by the En- ghsh. The people knew something of Indian depre- dations, and the}' had a wholesome dread of the savages; but Kieft was proud, fearless and vindic- tive; and, against the advice of his counselors, he insisted upon chastising the Indians generally, and wherever he could find them, for the bad acts of individuals. \Yhen the voices of his counselors would not be hushed by arguments, he silenced them by an absolute order, and took his own methods for dealing with the natives. Governor Kieft became fe- rocious as the problem pressed him harder, and in 1643 he was guilty of a dehberate act of treachery, 55 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS which cannot be palhated by any plea of necessity, and which was contrary to the earnestly expressed de- sires of nearly all who could speak to him. On the site of the present Equitable Building, then the farm of Jan Jansen Dam, while the gov- ernor and three sycophantic friends were enjoying themselves over Shrovetide pancakes and other dain- ties, Kieft resolved to massacre a whole village of Indians who had been assailed by other tribes and had fled to New Amsterdam for protection. The de- fenseless and unsuspecting Indians were encamped at two places; some were in the neighborhood of the bluff at Hoboken, where the Stevens Castle has stood these many years, and others were at Corlears Hook, on the East River. Despite the pleas of Dominie Bogardus and of the military officers, the governor ordered the soldiers to surprise the sleeping Indians; and they butchered them as though they were ani- mals. Many Indians were driven over the precipice on which the Stevens Castle now stands in its sweet and peaceful environment, and were maimed and killed by falling on the rocks below. A historian tells us that an Indian and his squaw, who were not in camp with their brethren, heard of the as- sault on the village, and supposing the assailants to be hostile savages, rushed to the gate of the Fort and begged Captain De Vries to admit them; but that he dared not let them in, and gave them di- rections for flight, rather than have them subjected to the "mercy" of Governor Kieft. Through the portals of the Fort, near Number 4 Bowhng Green, 56 NE^V YORK CITY LIFE the returning soldiers marched, bearing horrid tro- phies of their success. Then the Indians rose with one accord; and they were in the right; but hard it was upon those who had no share in Kieft's iniquity. Some of those who suffered had vainly protested against the per- fidious act. Captain De Vries had the reward of his kindness to the two fugitives, in the sparing of his place in Westchester County from destruction, through their intercession. The shrieks of women and children rang out daily and nightly, and told of the terrible work of Indian vengeance. Farms were abandoned, and the settlers fled to the Fort for salvation. They poured in through that historic gateway until the place overflowed. Many of them camped under the walls of the Fort, and, recover- ing from their panic and calamity, built new houses and helped to tangle up the streets of the infant City, so that our surveyors and street oflScials have never since succeeded in untangling them. The peo- ple were all but ready to massacre the governor, who, in a moment of fear, declared that Dam and Adriaensen and Planck, who were with him at the Shrovetide boose aforementioned, were responsible for the war. Adriaensen tried to kill Governor Kieft in his room in the Fort, but failed, and was deported to Holland. Some of the people made their way to Fort Lee, where grew up a very respectable Dutch community, which survives to the present day. In those days every Dutchman was wide awake. There was no time for sleeping or blowing nicotine clouds; 57 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS and some of the substantial New Yorkers of this day may owe their sturdiness to the conflicts with the Indians in Kieft's and Stuyvesant's times. The massacre of 1643 was contemplated in 1641, at which time the governor and his council submitted to cer- tain leading citizens the following questions: "1. If it is not just that the murder lately com- mitted by a savage upon Claes Smits be avenged; and in case the Indians will not surrender the mur- derer, if it is not just to destroy the whole village to which he belongs? "2. When and in what manner this should be executed? "3. By whom it can be effected?" And received these answers: "To the first. They deem it every way expedi- ent that the murder should be avenged, at such time as the opportunity, under God, shall offer best ad- vantages. In the meantime, preparations should be made, and the Director-general is requested to pro- vide a sufficient number of coats-of-mail for those who go out. "To the second. Trade and intercourse should be kept up with them as usual until the time comes. All men to be on their guard, but none to adopt hostile measures. "When the Indian warriors are ab- sent on their hunting expeditions, then we may di- vide ourselves in two parties, one to land at Rapela, and the other at Wechquaeskeck, and take them by 58 NEW YORK CITY LIFE surprise on both sides. The Director to employ as many negroes as he can spare, and arm them with a tomahawk and small half-pike. "To the third. That, as the people recognize no other head than the Director-general, therefore they prefer that he should lead the van, while they, on their part, offer their persons to follow his steps and to obey his commands. "They deem it further advisable that the Direc- tor should send once more, or twice, or even thrice, a shallop to demand the surrender of the murderer, and that this should be done in a manner of osten- sible good understanding, and for the furtherance of justice merely, thus luring the savages into a sense of security, without using threats." The treacherous spirit of the governor and his immediate advisers appears in the answers. They all resolved to keep the matter a secret. The order for the massacre was in these words: ^'Februanj 25, 1643. — We authorize Maryn An- driesen, at his request, with his associates, to attack a party of savages skulking behind Corlear's Hook or plantation, and act with them in such a manner as they shall deem proper, and the time and oppor tunity will permit. "Sergeant Rudolf is commanded to take a troop of soldiers, and lead them to Pavonia, there to drive away and destroj' the savages lying near Jan Evertsen's, but to spare, as much as possible, their 59 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS wives and children, and take them prisoners. Hans Stein, who is well acquainted with the haunts of the Indians, is to go with him. The exploit should be executed at night, with the greatest caution and prudence. God bless the expedition." Maryn Andriesen (or Adriaensen) was the same man who secured the governor's drunken consent to his bloodthirsty proposition. Hans Stein had pre- viously been punished for improper conduct with a squaw, by being reduced from corporal to the ranks and being compelled to ride the wooden horse. The governor made a defense of his own conduct, which was published, in this language: ^'■February 27, 1643. Whereas, the insolence of the savages roving all around us has within the last two or three years risen to such a height, not- withstanding the kindness continually bestowed by us upon them, under our wings, when they were per- secuted by their enemies, yet their malice continually increased. "They insolently destroyed many of the goats, hogs, tjows and horses belonging to our people, and finally set their hands to destroy Christian people, and at various times several innocent persons were murdered under the cloak of friendship, so that no inhabitant felt himself safe in his own house, and much less might he in security cultivate his own fields. "And whereas, we left nothmg untried to per- 60 WOODEN STATUE OF GOVERNOR STUYVESANT ON BROADWAY. New York, Vol. One, p. 66. NEW YORK CITY LIFE suade them to surrender the murderers, but all in vain, but our efforts seemed rather to increase their insolence, and therefore it was, in the course of last 5^ear, concluded to send a body of men among the savages to appease the blood of our murdered ones. But the expedition was fruitless, having been misled in the darkness of the night; however, it spread terror among them, so that they sued for peace, which was listened to provided they surrendered the murderer of Claes Rademacker. But nothing came of it; on the contrary, going on further with their wanton injuries, they killed Gerrit Van Voorst, liv- ing behind the Col (near Newark Bay), while he was roofing his house; and they also killed an En- glishman in their own village, and refused either to deliv^er up, or to punish the murderer. "Indeed, it now seems to appear as if they really had the opinion that we only landed here to become their vassals, as they have recently approached with- in half a mile of the fort in squads of fifty to a hundred men. Then crossed over the river to Pa- vonia (Jersey City), leaving behind them a suspi- cion that they were plotting to commit, as they boasted, a general massacre here, as had been act- ually committed in Virginia and other places. "We were thus roused to seek for justice and revenge for Christian blood, for God would not per- mit us to endure their indignities any longer. "In this mind, some persons, delegated by the people, petitioned us to be allowed to take revenge, while those savages were within our reach, appar- 61 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ently delivered in our hands by Divine Providence. "We entertained an aversion to bring the country into a condition of uproar, and pointed out to those persons the consequences to result from their design, particularly with regard to those whose dwellings were situated in exposed places, as our forces were too few to attempt to defend every house with a sufficient number of soldiers, and we also presented to them other considerations. They, however, per- sisted in their desire, and told us that if we refused our consent, the blood would come upon our own heads; and we finally found ourselves obhged to ac- cede to their wishes, and give them the assistance of our soldiers. And these latter killed a consider- able number, as did also the militia on their side. "A party of the savages who escaped, assaulted the exposed and distant dwellings, in every direc- tion, burned four houses with all the contents and the stock, killed ten Christians. Upon our advanc- ing, however, with our soldiers, they were compelled to retreat, and further excesses were prevented. But our soldiers wei*e too few to defend every place, and, considering the state the country was in, we thought it advisable to take as many of the farmers as of- fered themselves into our service. Indeed, they threatened that otherwise they would remove to the iSTorth, as it was in vain to attempt planting here until the heathens were curbed. This accomplished, every man might cultivate his land in peace. We engaged them therefore in our service for one or two months, and we do not at all doubt that in 02 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the meantime we shall obtain a salutary peace. Our inhabitants are separated from each other at consid- erable distances, over a space of ten miles east and west, and seven miles north and south, from which it will be seen that we cannot provide for the pro- tection of all with such scanty means as we here The awful retaliation of the Indians was felt so severely that a proclamation for prayer and fasting was made for the 4th of March, 1643. "Whereas we continue to suffer much trouble and loss from these heathen, and many of the inhabi- tants find their lives and property in jeopardy, which no doubt is the consequence of our manifold sins; Therefore, the Director and Council have deemed it proper that next Wednesday, being the fourth of March, shall be holden a general fast and prayer, for which every individual is solicited to prepare himself, that we may all, with true penitence and incessant prayer, seek God's blessed mercy, and not give occasion through our iniquities that God's holy name may be contemned by the heathens." The citizens whom Kieft called on for advice in 1641, concerning the murder of poor old Claes Smits at Deutal Bay (Turtle Bay, about 47th Street and East River), numbered twelve. They were Captain De Vries, Jacques Bentyn, Jan Dam, Hendrick Jan- sen, Jacob Stoffelsen, Maryn Adriaensen, Abram Molenaer, Frederick Lubbertsen, Jochem Pietersen, 63 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Gerrit Dircksen, George Rapelje and Abram Planck. They were the first men chosen by the people and representing them, whose deliberations entered into the governing of New Amsterdam. Their advice as a body was never given for war, although Dam, Adriaensen and Planck, as individuals, humored the governor and aided in his preparations in 1G43, and Adriaensen himself led the attacking party at Cor- lear's Hook. The governor's course, in trying to throw the blame for the Indian war upon these three men, estranged them from him, and the whole body joined in sending accounts of Kieft's misgov- ernment to Holland. They held many meetings against his orders, and were generally spoken of as the "Twelve Men," and as such became famous. They were dissolved bj' Kieft's edict; but it be- came necessary for him again to counsel with the people, and the ''Eight Men'^ who were chosen (Jochem Pietersen Kuyter, Jan Jansen Dam, Pa- rent Dircksen, Abraham Pietersen, Thomas Hall, Gerrit Wolfertsen and Cornells Melyn) were harder on the governor than were the "Twelve Men." The scourge of war in Kieft's administration was the cause of the planting of the seeds of repre- sentative government in New York. With all of his hard lessons Governor Kieft coidd not acquire a peaceful disposition, and again, in lG4i, he sent out a company of soldiers to anuihilate the Canarsie Indians. Thej' carried out their instruc- tions, and returned with prisoners, two of whom were inhumanly hacked, stabbed and beheaded, one 64 NEW YORK CITY LIFE at the Fort and the other in Beaver Street. Again, Kieft sent his soldiers to punish Indians in Connecti- cut, and they succeeded, surprising and burning the village of the savages and driving the fleeing In- dians into the flames. A third horrible procession of victory passed through the portal near Number 4 Bowling Green — the soldiers carrying the heads of Indians on their spears. All of these moves by Kieft were requited with double vengeance by the Indians. The people became more and more dis- tressed, and the little settlement trembled for exist- ence. Finally the principal citizens (the Eight Men) managed to elude the governor's suspicious eyes, and they sent to the West India Company a full state- ment of their troubles. The Company ordered the return of Kieft; but it was a long time before their official summons arrived. Struggling resolutely with the difficulties which surrounded him, the governor succeeded in patching up a peace with the Indians, and the colonists once more spread out over the country. The wars ended with a treaty of peace in Au- gust, 1645, which was signed by the governor and the members of his council, and by the Indian chiefs Orataney, of the Hackingsacks ; Sessekeninck and Willem, of Tappan and Rechgewanank; Pach- am and Pennekeck, of Majanwettenin ; Marechawick and Nyack and Aepjen, for the Wappinecks, Wech- quaesqueecks, Sintsings, and Kicktawanks. The treaty conference was held and the treaty was executed on the open ground of Bowling Green, 65 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS which was used for similar purposes on several oc- casions. 1647 brought to New Amsterdam the greatest of the Dutch governors, Peter Stuyvesant; a man as haughty, impatient of advice, self-willed and obsti- nate as Kieft was, but possessing better judgment and a truer sense of right. Stuyvesant gave to the people a paternal government, under which their safety and prosperity were the great objects of gu- bernatorial solicitude; but he had no sympathy with those who thought that the people should have some- thing to say about their government. When he ar- rived, the guns of the little fort were loaded and fired over and over again, until the walls shook with the concussion, and the tiny Citj^ was envel- oped with smoke. He hobbled through the gate, impressing the people with every thud of his wooden leg. They were proud of the brave soldier who had fought and bled in his countrj-'s service. Stuyve- sant never lost sight of the commercial side of his position; but the longer he lived in New York the more he loved it, and when he could no longer fight the battles of New Amsterdam against foreign invaders, instead of returning to his native shore he exiled himself in the wilderness of Manhattan Island, which he could not desert. The idea of popular government had taken root among the people, and, though Stuyvesant grumbled, they continued to select men to aid and advise him. Oloff S. Van Cortlandt was a prominent member of this body. He had a farm on the west side of G(J NEW YORK CITY LIFE Broadway, and his memory is perpetuated in Cort- landt Street. During Stuj^vesant's administration the iirst law3'er appeared. His name was Dirck Van ScheUuyne. He got a Hcense in Holland to practice in New York. There was no other lawyer for him to fight, and consequently there were no suits. He should have brought another lawyer with him. He performed the functions of a notary public in a store, selling groceries for his rent; and finally he lost heart and migrated up the State. The succes- sors of Yan ScheUuyne are doing better. Those who opposed Stuj'vesant were, notably, the vice-directors, Yan Dincklagen and Vander Donck (who owned the site of the City of Yonkers). A great event transpired in Stuyvesant's time; to wit, the establishment of the City government. Stuyve- sant yielded to the popular demands, and on Feb- ruary 2, 1653, he proclaimed the birth of the City and named its first officers; and the guns of the Fort boomed out a noisy approval. The City fath- ers undertook their offices with becoming diligence and rectitude, and thej- set a good example to the people bj' assembling regularly on Sundays at the City Hall (at Coenties Slip) to go to worship. Form- ing into procession, with bell-ringers preceding them, and carrying their insignia of office, they proceeded in all the pomp and sublimity of poor mortals to attend the services of the church in the Fort. One of these early officials was Captain Martin Kregier. He opened a tavern (near Number 9 Broad- way), which became a famous resort. "William Beek- 67 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS man was one of the schepens, and he was such a remarkable man that both of his names have been preserved to fame in Wilham Street and Beekman Street. He prospered and bought the beautiful estate at Corlears Hook, which, as we all know, was origi- nally held by Peter Stuyvesant's trumpeter, An- thony Van Corlear. Mr. Beekman filled his cup with joy when he married that petite damsel, Cath- erine Van Boogy. He was the original perpetual office-holder. "With all of Stuj'vesant's wisdom he had his troubles with the Indians, who had not forgotten their treatment by the Kieft administration. One day, when Stuyvesant and his soldiers were absent on their expedition against the Swedes on the Dela- ware River, an Indian woman was prowhng around in the orchard of Hendrick Van Dyke, near Rector Street, on the west side of Broadway, and she stole some fruit from the trees. With characteristic thoughtlessness and indifference to the value of In- dian life, Van Dyke shot her dead. She fell on a spot near Broadway, now covered by buildings, in the block south of Trinity Church. The news of her murder reached her people quickl}^, and, before Stuyvesant could return, the Indians swooped down upon the City in overwhelming numbers. Van Dyke met his death on almost the same spot where he had shot the woman, and his next door neighbor, who lived just above Morris Street, perished in try- ing to save him. The people succeeded in driving the savages away; but their tigerish natures were 68 NEW YORK CITY LIFE thoroughly aroused. They glutted their blood-thirst with ax, torch and gun, in all of the outljang dis- tricts. Once more the stream of fugitives appeared at the gate of the Fort, begging for protection. Governor Stuyvesaut was equal to the task of pro tectiug the people and restoring confidence, and this was the last of the great Indian massacres on or about Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant's soldiers turned out regularly on the parad" ground, and marched to the bugle notes of Albert Pietersen, the Swedish trumpeter. Whenever they broke ranks they charged on the tavern of their thrifty fellow soldier, Martin Kregier, and drank death and destruction to their enemies on sea and land, until the}^ cooled off, when they wooed Peace, with their pipes and tobacco. The affairs of the colony prospered, and the gov- ernor outgrew the accommodations of the house in the Fort, so he built himself a white mansion near the water, and Whitehall Street is a memento of the building. He enjoyed himself the most in his country residence, far out of the City of New Am- sterdam, where at times he could escape from the affairs of state. Stuj^vesant Street runs through the middle of that property. During Stuyvesant's administration the list of citi- zens was divided into great citizenship and small citizenship. These were the great citizens: Johann La Montague, Jr., Jan Gillesen Van Bruggh, Hendrickson Kip, 'Coo J tiCt J 69 ' ' ' THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS De Herre General Stuyvesant, Dominie Megapolensis, Jacob Gerritsen Strycker, Jean Vigne, Cornelis Van Tienhoven's wife, Hendrick Van Dyke, Hendrick Kip, Jr., Capt. Martin Kregier, Karl Van Bruggh, Jacob Van Couwenlioven, Laurisen Cornelisen Van Wyeek, Wilb Bogardus, Daniel Litschoe, Pieter Van Couwenhoven, Johannus Petersen. With Governor Stuyvesant in command at the Fort, and with his hand guiding the entire govern- ment, the Dutch colony reached its highest point. The people learned to love their city; and the offi- cials, though they were hampered by the govern- or's continual interference, took great pride in their offices. The ties of mother country became weaker and weaker as the opportunities and resources of the City were developed, and the people began to reap the results of their hard work. Englishmen, Germans and Frenchmen, attracted by the freedom and the commercial opportunities, came and joined themselves to the embryo City. Lutherans, Jews and Quakers came, and the European prejudices against them quickly wore away. The time was ready for the coming in of the new forces which were to add breadth and enterprise to the solid characteristics which had been established. 70 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The Dutch colonists of New York had held their own against the jealous New Englanders; but there was coming direct from old England forces suffi- cient to overcome Fort Amsterdam and its defend- ers. Justification for Richard Nicoll's expedition is hard to find; for there was no war between Holland and England, nor was there any declara- tion of war. If Governor Stuyvesant had received sufficient warning, he would have swung his ad- visers into line, aroused the people for defense, and given the invaders a hot battle; but while the hostile fleet was on its way, Stuyvesant, all unsus- picious of danger, was absent on the business of the City; and when, being warned of its ap- proach, he hastened to the Fort, he had but three days to prepare for defense. There was no thought of surrender in this old soldier. He knew that his men couldn't fight on empty stomachs, so he set the windmills to work grinding grain, that they might withstand a siege. He laid in powder, and over- hauled his guns. He bustled about, giving his or- ders for the defense and trjang to stir his people up to resist the unjustifiable assault which was surely coming. But the attack had been well planned. Not only was a hostile fleet approaching the Narrows, but a printed call to arms had been scattered among the English residents on Manhattan Island and its neighborhood, and many of them were assembling to assist the English forces from the land side, while others were spreading reports that were calculated either to frighten the Dutch inhab- 71 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS itants or to impress them with the kindly intentiong of the invading force. One morning, while the gov- ernor and some trusted officers were hard at work in their preparations for battle, the expected fleet appeared in the ba}', sailed up the harbor, and dropped anchor where its commander could rake the Fort with an overwhelming fire of the heaviest ar- tillery then known. Sixty odd English guns were in position to be trained against the twenty-two guns of Fort Amsterdam, and the watchers plainlj^ saw that there was a large force of soldiers upon the ships, ready to be landed for an attack on the northern end of the Fort (its home side), where there was no provision for defense with cannon. The summons to surrender was courteously pre- sented and was indignantly refused. Stuyvesant's attempt to argue the wrongfulness of the English- men's position was met squarely by Nicoll's state- ment that the question was not one of "right or wrong," but was simply whether the Fort would be surrendered or whether he should capture it. Nicoll knew of the work that had been going on among the people, and being desirous of preserv- ing the City from great injury if possible, because England's interest in it was entirely commercial, he withdrew and allowed time for consideration. Still, there was no thought of surrender in the govern- or's mind. The schepens and the burgomasters and all the other officers, big and little, gathered at the Stadthuys, on Perel Sti-aet, and compared their doubts and fears; but Stuyvesant thought not of 72 NEW YORK CITY LIFE them; he was busy at his post of duty. Once he was about to command a gunner to open fire, but he was restrained by Dominie Megapolensis. The clamor of the City fathers and of the populace reached Stuyvesant's ears at last, and he was forced to turn from his warlike preparations. "With mingled surprise, anger and disgust, he listened to the rab- ble of trembling, white-faced people, who impressed him only as cowards and traitors. There was a great discussion about a letter containing conditions for surrender which he had received from Nicoll, and which he had angrily torn to pieces without thinking that there were others in the City who had rights to consider the proposition. When he realized that the most of his countrymen, gathered in and around the Stadthuys, were bound to pre- vent him from defending the City, his anger was frightful. The people thought that they knew some- thing of his temper before, but on that day he re- vealed himself anew. As he shook his fist and stamped his eloquent old stump upon the floor, and swore the roundest, bluest Holland oaths, they thought they smelled burning brimstone in his rage, and they feared him more than they did the Brit- ish cannon. They fell on their knees and begged and entreated that he would save them, their fam- ilies and their possessions, from the certain destruc- tion of battle. No doubt the people and the officials were wiser than Stuyvesant at this critical time; but our hearts will always beat for the grand old soldier-governor, who would rather fight and die for D-i 73 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS his principles and his duty than to purchase peace and reAvards with cowardice and self-abasement. On that day (September 5, 1664) there was more hurry- ing of feet through Pearl Street, between the Fort and the SiadfMtys, than there had ever been be- fore. The governor, more humiliated by the conduct of his own people than by the conquest, permitted the surrender flag to be displayed, and turning his bac-k upon New Amsterdam, journej'ed to his dis- tant home (near Stuj'vesant Street), and planted a row of trees between his house and the way to the City. And then, without bloodshed, a change oc- curred which did little violence to any man who lived on Manhattan Island; but it meant very much for the future of the colon j'. On September 7th the Dutch garrison marched out through the portal of the Fort on Bowling Green, and proceeded to AVhite- hall dock, where they went on board a Dutch ves- sel, which set sail for Holland. As they marched out, Col. Nicoll marched in with his troops, and in a few moments the flag of Holland was succeeded by England's flag, and then Fort Amsterdam be- came Fort James. We are spending a long time here on this old block; but it is time well spent. We should know it better; we should think more about it. There is hardly a spot in our whole country which has had so varied, so interesting, and so momentous a history as this block. One thought that impresses us strongly at this time is the great and far-reach- ing results that follow small beginnings when men 74 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE strike out in new fields and live out what is in them. We cannot say that all that was done here was right or best, as viewed trom our position; but we know that most of those whose lives made up the history of this place lived earnestly and hon- estly, and brought to their work all of the resources that they had. Governor Nicoll spent more time at the Fort and less at the Stadthuys than his predecessors, the Dutch governors, had done; and while he brought Englishmen with him to assist in managing the col- onj, he wisely invited Dutchmen of standing in the community to join in his councils. After the excite- ment of the capture had subsided, the inhabitants realized that they had no fewer rights and privileges than before, and that they suffered nothing by divid- ing up the territory with the new-comers; but that, in fact, they had gained something, in being rid of the control of the West India Company — the origi- nal "soulless corporation." The Sunday after Gov- ernor Nicoll took possession of the Fort, there oc- curred an event which was deeply significant of the spirit that was to prevail, more completely even than before he came. The English soldiers had respect enough for the Dutch church and its service, but they were unused to it, and could not understand it, and, moreover, they had their own chaplain with them; so for the first time in the history of New York the service of the Church of England was held in St. Nicholas Church, in this very block. It was commenced immediately at the close of the THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Dutch service, which was conducted, as of old, bj- Dominie Megapoleusis, and attended by the people as freelj' as though no strangers had seized their City. It was a very curious little town that Governor Nicoll viewed when he walked through it to see what it was that he had come across the ocean to capture. The little buildings close to the Fort were huddled together as though, like their owners, they had fled from some terror; and the little lanes, which had opened themselves b,y some natural proc- ess, turned and twisted and rambled about, so that, with the outlandish names that belonged to them, it was easy for an Englishman to get lost. Stone Street was a little pathway called Winkel Straet; Bridge Street was Br ugh Straet; Exchange Place was De Wannoes Straet; South WiUiam Street was Slyk Steeg (and was afterward called Mire Lane and Mill Street) ; Marketfield Street (once known as Pet- ticoat Lane) was Markt velt Steeje; the southern part of Broadway was Breede weg ; Broad Street was Breede gi'aclif or Heeren gracht; the lower end of William Street was Sniet Straet. The City had not outgrown the wall which had been con- structed on the line of the present Wall Street, called the Cingle. There was a sweet little place a short distance out, which was called Maagde Paetje (or the Maidens' Path). The English sol- diers had less difficulty in finding and remembering that lane than with any other of the Straets, Steejes, Gracht.s or Faetjes abovementioned. It is now Maiden Lane. 7G NEW YORK CITY LIFE Many of the Dutch citizens took the oath of al- legiance to England, and, strange as it may seem, Stuyvesant himself did so. The rule of Nicoll was of the greatest consequence, not only to the people to whom he came, but to their descendants and successors; for in it were instituted courts and legal procedures and citizens' rights, which were added to under subsequent governors, till the rights of the peo- ple became established. Nicoll's great wisdom was shown in 1665, when New York was declared to be a corporation, with the name of "Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff of New York," and the offices of Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff were confided to three Englishmen and four Dutchmen. His government had its successes and its trials; but when he de- parted to give way to Governor Lovelace, he went with the respect and the good-will of the inhabitants of the new City of New York, who had become closely united under his wise sway. During Lovelace's administration war between England and Holland was carried on in earnest, and the Dutch swept the seas. The taking of New York had disturbed the government in Holland more than it had the people of New Amsterdam, and it took the first opportunity that appeared to proceed to the recapture of New York. This move had a justification that Nicoll's attack had not, and the Dutch admiral, profiting by the previous event, counted largely upon the sympathy of the Dutch inhabitants of New York, and the natural difficulties of a defense against warships. 77 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS When the Dutch fleet, commanded by Admirals Evertsen and Binckes, appeared, Captain Manning stood by his guns; but no time was spent in cere- monies or in diplomatic approaches. The Dutch gun- ners fired solid shot into the Fort, killing and wounding English soldiers, and balls passed through manj^ of the buildings which were crowded about its walls. "While the artillerj' fight was progressing brisk- ly, a battalion of Dutch soldiers was landed in the orchard near the present corner of Vesey and Greenwich Streets, and they speedily marched down to attack the Fort in the rear. Then the difficulty of a defense from the land side embarrassed the English troops. With the bombardment going on in front, and an assault impending in the rear, there was nothing left to do but to surrender. They yielded to the inevitable without any of the fuss that Stuyvesant had made. Captain Colve led his soldiers into the Fort through the old gateway, took the English garrison prisoners, and restored the Dutch flag to its old place on the flagstaff. New York then became New Orange, and the Fort was named WilHam Hendrick. Captain Colve became the new governor, and, as might be expected, he upset the English sj'stem and restored the burgomasters and schepens; and there wasn't an Englishman among them. They were: Johannes Van Brugh, Johannes De Peyster, Aegidius Luyck, 78 NEW YORK CITY LIFE William Beekman (wlio was always around when offices were given out), Jeronimus Ebbing, Jacob Kip, Lawrence Van der Spiegel, Gulian Verplanck. As we have said, this was the period when New York was thoroughly governed; but it didn't last long. England and Holland fixed things across the ocean, and Governor Colve had to march out, while the English governor, Andros, marched in, and ran up the English flag once more, and restored the name of New York. Again, on Sundays, the Dutch service in the old church in the Fort was followed by the Church of England's service, which Governor Andros attended. In Governor Andros's time, Stephanus Van Cort- landt became mayor, with the distinction of being the first man born on Manhattan Island to fill that position. His dwelling was in sight of the Fort, at the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. Here in the Fort Governor Andros held Governor Carteret of New Jersej- a prisoner. Governor Andros was suc- ceeded by Governor Dongan, whose charter is one of the most important State papers affecting the City, being to this day a fountain of authority on questions of the rights of the people and of titles to real estate. The immunities and privileges granted to New York and its citizens by the charter which was promulgated at this Fort were broader and 79 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS more liberal than those which were granted to any other of the possessions of the Duke of York. But Dongan was a Catholic, and Europe was intensely agitated by the great struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants. That struggle was reflected in New York, and as much as Dongan worked for the best interests of the City, he was regarded with suspicion. His administration at the Fort was jeal- ously watched and deeply criticised. The revolution in England took place, and William and Mary ascenled the throne. The news of this move did not reach New York quickly, and the people were in great uncertainty. Their sympathies were deeply with the Protestant cause, for as yet there were few Catholics upon Manhattan Island. The English government was looked upon as devoted to the Catholic interests, while the Dutch were considered to be the champions of Protestantism. There was a fear that the success of Catholic plans would re- sult in depriving the people of the rights which they had begun to receive, and the Dutch spirit re- vived. While there were many who deprecated haste or radical action, and while the business people were conservativ^e as usual, a large proportion of the peo- ple thought it necessary to take measures for their own defense and for the upholding of the cause of Protestantism. It seemed as though the home governments had broken loose from their moorings and the people of this distant colony knew not what to expect, nor how soon they would be put to the test. It was 80 NEW YORK CITY LIFE not long before leadci.s of the people appeared; men who had seen service in the struggles of the col- ony, and who were able and willing to lead in a defense of the principles which they espoused, and in a defense of their own City against attempts to seize it in the interests of a rival faith. The tides of opinion met and clashed at the Fort; that was the center toward which the people hastened in all times of excitement and uncertainty. The militia were Dutch and intensely Protestant; they took to them- selves the right to lead, in the defense of the City. One man leaped to the front— Jacob Leisler,- born not in Holland, but in Germany, at Frankfort. He was a typical republican, an active, powertc^l man, born to command, but constantly in danger oi be ing led to extremes b^' an impetuous nature. Ru- mors came in that the Catholics of adjoining colo- nies were preparing to march upon the City, and that there were many citizens who sympathized with Catholicism and would betray the City into their hands. It was reported even that Governor Dongan was in the plot. Finally, in a wave of terror and excitement which swept over the City, Leisler was called to the head of the militia, and, followed b}' a crowd of the excited people, he marched into the Fort, seized it and turned out the EngUsh troops who occupied it. Leisler had gone so far that it was dangerous to retreat. Several of his associated captains backed out, but he determined to stick to his position. He believed himself to be charged with the salvation of the people. 81 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Colonel Bayard was Leisler's enemy, and he jeal- ously watched every movement of the people's gov- ernor, resolved to take advantage of all his mis- takes. It was a pity that Leisler did not know that William and Mary had ascended the throne, and that the dangers which he feared were all in his imagination; but there was no cable in those days, and storms and adverse winds delayed the news which would have been welcome. Leisler met his opponents sometimes at the point of the sword, and so intent was he upon his course that he did not hesitate to throw some of his strong- est foes into prison and to concentrate the whole government into his ovrn hands. Then Captain In- goldsby, who represented Governor Sloughter, ap- peared, and his favor was won by Bayard and the aristocratic part}-, which pandered to his r.pnetites and ministered to his vanity, Leisler would not yield to him, but stubbornly maintained his posi- tion, awaiting the arrival of Sloughter himself, fear- ing the vengeance of his enemies in the absence of the real governor. Being wild with uncertainty, and keyed up to a tension that he could not maintain quietly, he caused the cannon of the Fort to be fired upon Ingoldsby's troops, who were near the Stadthuys. The fire was returned Avith sjnrit. Several of the soldiers were killed. While Leisler and Ingoldsby were confronting each other, Gov- ernor Sloughter appeared, and Leisler immediately turned the Fort over to him. Then Leisler and his associates had to stand trial for their actions. Eight 82 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE of them were pronounced guilty. Meanwhile Bayard and others of Leisler's enemies were plotting against his life. At Colonel Bayard's house the governor was plied with wine, and while incompetent he as- sented to a decree for the execution of Leisler and Milbourne, his son-in-law. No time was lost by those who were bound to secure the killing of these men. The doomed men were promptly apprehended, and the next morning they were led to the place of execution, just about where the statue of Benjamin Franklin stands, in Printing House Square, and there they were hanged and buried beneath the gallows. Their families were beggared by the confiscation of their estates. When Governor Sloughter came to himself, and realized what he had done, he nearly lost his reason; but he could not recall the act, and it brought on a melancholy that lasted to the end of his life. Four years later the finding of treason was reversed, and Leisler's estates were returned to his family, and the bodies were exhumed from their despised rest- ing palce and honorably buried; but the shame of the governor and of those aristocratic citizens who took advantage of his condition to murder their po- litical enemy, and the blot on New York's history, cannot be removed. These were the only executions for political reasons that ever occurred in New York. Leisler was executed on his own estate, Frankfort Street, which runs east from Printing House Square over his lands, was named after the city of his birth, and is his memorial. Jacob Street, near the 83 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Bridge, reminds us of Jacob Milbourne, liis compan- ion in misery. We will take occasion hereafter to make a more extended reference to this sad event. (See Chapter IV.) Our thoughts have strayed a little from the block on which we stand ; but our interest is still here, and it will be a little while before we can move away from it. Governor Sloughter did not live long to adminis- ter the affairs of the colony; but, dying very sud- denly, was buried alongside Governor Stuyvesant. Both bodies still lie together, under St. Mark's Church on Stuyvesant Street. His successor. Governor Fletcher, saw the church in the Fort superseded by a new one on Garden Street, now Exchange Place. He maintained a chapel in the Fort for the English service, and in 1697 he caused the establishment of Trinity Church on the King's Farm. Deeply concerned for the church, as Fletcher was, he was also interested in smuggling and piracy, and he entertained Captain Kidd and other pirates in the Fort. Kidd lived in Liberty Street, and that is the only spot which it is known that he touched where he did not bury treasure. This seems to be the first instance where it was charged that a person in high official position in New York City used his influence corruptly for per- sonal gain. Would that we could point to some one and say: "This is the last instance — there will be no more." Lord Bellomont was sent to investigate the 84 NEW YORK CITY LIFE charges of corruption, and to deal justice; and, amid the greatest excitement of the populace, which thronged about the Fort daily, he removed Colonel Bayard, Gabriel Minville, Thomas Willett, Richard Townley and John Lawrence from their positions in the council. Frederick Phillipse resigned. These men were rich, and it was commonly believed that their wealth was in large part the accumulations of rob- bery and murder on the high seas. Among the new members of the council were Robert Livingston, Abraham De Peyster, Johannes Kip, John Van Cortlandt and Rip Van Dam. Rip Van Dam was a fine specimen of the Dutch citizen. Bellomont charged right and left into the corrup- tionists, and played havoc with the great men who had seized the choice public lands; and he finally captured Kidd, the great pirate, who was executed in England, while his family continued to live in Lib- erty Street. He uttered a sentiment then which is as good to-day as it was then. "I would rather have an honest judge and a trustworthy prosecut- ing attorney than two warships." During Bellomont's time the tide of official travel changed from Pearl Street to Broad Street; for in 1699 a new City Hall was built at the head of Broad Street, on a portion of Colonel de Peyster's Wall Street garden, which he donated to the City. The old City Hall had been so racked by the heavy usage of many generations of Dutch officials that it had become shaky and dangerous, and it was sold to John Rodman for 9*^0 pounds. 85 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS No governor labored so zealously and so contin- uousl}', under circumstances so embarrassing, as Bellomont. He rooted the pirates out of New York, and he gave the people a great lesson of hon- esty in office. He fell a victim to his labors, and, utterly worn out, died in the Fort in 1700. There he was buried, and there his body stayed un- til it was found in a vault on the demolition of the Fort, recognized by the silver plate on the coffin, and removed to an unmarked grave in St. Paul's burying-ground, at Vesey Street and Broadway. The heirs of the finder of the coffin converted the silver plate into tablespoons. Let us still linger on this old block and recall those events of the past which are so pregnant with suggestions for the present. The next governor. Lord Cornbury, was a won- derful contrast to Bellomont. He was loose, care- less, extravagant, disreputable; and the most notable thing he did was to dress himself in women's clothes to show how much he looked like Queen Anne, which he frequently did; parading in gaudy attire on the ramparts of the Fort, where the people and the sol- diers might see and admire Lord Cornbury. him. He was the original "dude." Governor Cornburj* died, and Lovelace, his successor, held his place at the Fort but a few 86 NEW YORK CITY LIFE months, when he was stricken down by disease, and Ingoldsby's short term followed. Hunter, Burnett, Montgomery, Cosby, succeeded in turn to the gov- ernorship. "We quote these advertisements of the sale of Governor Montgomery's effects, which reveal some of the luxurious tastes in the highest circles a hun- dred and sixty years ago. "To-Morrow being the twelfth day of this In- stant, at two o'clock in the afternoon, at the Fort, will be exposed to sale by publick Vendue the fol- lowing Goods, belonging to the Estate of his late deceased Excellency Governour Montgomery, viz. : "A fine new yallow Camblet Bed, lined with Silk & laced, which came from London with Capt Down- ing, with the Bedding. One fine Field Bedstead and Curtains, some blew Cloth lately come from London, for Liveries; and some white Diap Cloth, with proper triming. Some Broad Gold Lace. A very fine Medicine Chest with great variety of valu- able Medicines. A parcel of Sweet Meat & Jelly Glasses. A Case with 13 Knives and twelve Forks with Silver Handles gailded. Some good Barbados Rum. A considerable Quantity of Cytorn Water. A Flask with fine Jesseme Oyl. A fine Jack with Chain and Pullies, &c. A large fixt Copper Boyl- ing Pot. A large Iron Fire-place. Iron Bars and Doors for a Copper. A large lined Fire Skreen. And several other things. All to be seen at the Fort. "And also at the same Time and Place there 87 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS will be Sold, One Gold Watch, of Mr. Tompkin's make, and one Silver Watch. Two Demi-Peak Sad- dles, one with blew Cloth Laced with Gold, and the other Plain Furniture. Two Hunting Saddles. One Pair of fine Pistols. A Fine Fuzee mounted witl Silver, and one long Fowling Piece." "On Tliursday, the Fifth day of August next, will be exposed to Sale by way of Publick Vendue, Four Negro Men and Four Negro Women; The Times of Two Men and cie Woman Servant. Also several sorts of Fashionable wrought Plate: most sorts of very good Household Furniture. And after the Sale of the above Goods will be Sold several fine Saddle Horses, Breeding Mares and Colts, Coach Horses, and Harness, and several other things be- longing to the Estate of his late Excellency, Gov- ernor Montgomerie. "Those Persons who incline to buy any of the above Goods may view the same at Fort George^ in Neiv York, where Attendance will be given to shew the same, and the Buj-ers may be informed of the Conditions of Sale. "The Sale will begin at two in the Afternoon, and be continued daily till Sold. "All Persons who have any Demands on the Estate of his late Excellency, are desired to bring in their Accompts."— "New England Journal," 1731. There was romance at the old Fort during Cos- by's rule in 1733. Lord Fitzroy courted Cosby's 88 NEW YORK CITY LIFE daughter, and not getting the consent of her par- ents, arranged with a minister named Campbell to climb over the Bowling Green wall on a ladder and to perform the ceremony at night. So over the wall they went, lord and minister — the guard being bribed to shut his eyes — and the two were made one. Then the governor and his wife were aroused, and their forgiveness was begged and was obtained without difficulty. It was in Governor Cosby's term of oflfice that open resistance to tyranny first appeared in New York, and indeed in America. We shall have oc- casion to refer particularly to the trial of the editor Zenger for denouncing the governor in his news- paper. This account of the arrival of the governor will prove interesting: ''New York, August 7. — On Tuesday last his Ex- cellency William Cosby, Esq., Governour of this Prov- ince, arrived at Sandy Hook in his Majesty's Ship 'Seaford,' Capt. Long, Commander, in seven Weeks from Great Britain, and landed here about 10 o'clock, in the evening, and was received at the Water side by several Gentlemen, who attended him to the Fort. The next Day between the Hours of 11 and 12 his Excellency walked to the City Hall (a Company of Halbertiers and a Troop of Horse marching before, and the Gentlemen of his Majesty's Council, the Corporation, and a great number of Gentlemen and Merchants of this City following, the streets being lin'd on each side with the Militia), where his Com- b9 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS mission was published, and then his Excellency re- turned (attended as before) back to the Fort. The Militia then drew upon the Parade and saluted him with three Vollies. "The same day his Excellenc}' was pleased to issue the following Proclamation, viz.: "By his Excellency William Cosby, Esq., Captain- General and Governour-in-Chief of the Provinces of New York, New Jersey, and Territories thereon depending in America, and Vice -Admiral of the same, and Colonel in his Majesty's Army, &c. "A Proclamation. "Whereas, His Majesty by His Commission under the Great Seal of Great Britain has been pleased to ap- point Me Captain-General & Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New York, I have thought fit to issue this Proclamation, herebj' directing and requiring all Officers, both Ci^dl and Military, within the said Pro^-ince, to con- tinue in and hold the several and respective Places, Sta- tions & Commissions, and to exercise & perform their several Offices, Duties ol Functions, according to their several Stations & Commissions until further Order. Of which all His Majesty's Subjects, and concerned are to take Notice and govern themselves accordingl}'. "Given under mj' Hand and Seal at Arms at Fort George in New York, the First Day of Au- gust, in the Sixth Year of His Majesty's Reign, Annoq; Dom. 1732. "W. COSBY. "By his Excellency's Command. "Fr. Morris, D. Sec'rij. "GOD SAVE THE KING." —"Boston Weekly News Letter," Aug. 17, 1782. 90 NEW YORK CITY LIFE That Governor Cosby believed in a liberal use of beer, where it would do good, may be seen from this account of festivities: "New York, June 17. — Tuesday the 11th Inst, being the Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Crown, the same was observed here with great Solemnitj-. At 12 at Noon, the Gentlemen of the Council, Assembly, and the City waited upon his Excellency the Governor at the Fort, where their Majesties, the Royal Family's, and the Prince and Princess of Orange's Healths were drank, un- der the Discharge of the Cannon; the regular Troops, in their new Cloathing, all the while stand- ing under Arms, who made a fine Appearance. Afterwards his Excellency, attended by the Gentle- men of the Council, &c. went into the Field, and review'd the Militia of the City drawn up there, and express'd great Satisfaction at their Order, Dis- cipline, and Appearance, and was pleased to order 12 Barrels of Beer to be distributed among them to drink their Majesties and the Royal Healths." — New York "Gazette," June 17, 1734. An exciting fire visited the Fort in 174:1. Gov- ernor Clarke's home (the governor's house), the chapel which Governor Fletcher had erected, and several other buildings were destroyed. This con- flagration, happening close to other fires in the City, was connected in the minds of the citizens with the negro plot to destroy the Citj'. "We will have occasion to refer to this deplorable matter again. 01 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS The governor's house was rebuilt; and when Ad- miral George Clinton arrived, in 1743, to take his place in the line of colonial governors, it was ready for him, and he received a cordial welcome by the people. There was a reception by the lead- ing men of the City and a parade by the soldiers, and then the new governor marched into the Fort through the Bowling Green gate, which had already been the portal of so many momentous movements. Notwithstanding the auspicious opening of Governor Clinton's term, his life in office was not a comfort- able one; for the people were becoming more and more restive under the rule of governors sent them from across the ocean. There had been a rapid suc- cession of these rulers, some of them being good and some of them verj^ bad, and all of them be- ginning their work with a lack of essential knowl edge of the v.'auts, customs and condition of the people. Gradually the citizens of New York came to look upon the interference of the governors as a hardship, and began to think of the mother country as a foreign nation. A quarrel occurred between Chief -justice De Laucey and Governor Clinton, and the people un- hesitatingly sided with their fellows-citizen, De Lancey. The chief-justice humbled the governor and secured his recall to England, and a new ruler was appointed— Governor Osborne. In 1752 Clinton and Osborne and De Lancey — who had received a commission as lieutenant-governor — met in the Fort, and Osborne was sworn in by Clinton. A proces- !)2 NEW YORK CITY LIFE sion, including a detachment of the soldiers of the Fort, was formed to escort the new governor to the City Hall, on Broad Street. "When it started, the joyful demonstrations of the people were so un- mistakable that Clinton, unable to restrain his emo- tions of disappointment and humiliation, gave way to his feelings, and rushed back to the Fort, leav- ing Osborne and De Lancey to proceed without him to the Cit}- Hall. We cannot help sympathizing with the man who was thus broken down. There was a greater cloud hanging over Osborne than there was over Clinton; throughout the day he was strangel}' agitated, and in the morning he was discovered in the Fort, dead, hanging by his handkerchief, which he had made into a noose. The poor governor, being declared insane, was allowed Christian burial at the entrance of Trinity Church. Chief-justice De Lancey, whom the people lov^ed, and who was one of them, then became the acting governor of New York, and moved into the governor's house in the Fort. Then came the French and Indian war, and the Fort became a center of activity. A new gov- ernor came in the person of Sir Charles Hardy. Like most of the other governors, he had no un- derstanding of the place he was to govern; but this time there was a strong, true and brave man in the lieutenant-governorship, who sustained the prestige of New York during the war. De Lancey died while acting as governor, and Governor Monckton succeeded him. Then came the Stamp Act of 1764, and the various oppressive meas- 93 % THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ures which resulted in the Revolutionary War. On October 2'd, 1765, a ship arrived bearing the first consignment of stamps to be used under the Stamp Act. The people were in a ferment of excitement and action, and adopted the most vigorous measures for destroying the stamps and showing their con- tempt for the authority that sought to force them upon the colony. Lieutenant-governor Golden then was in command at the Fort; and while he felt that he had behind him the power of England, and realized his duty to protect the stamps, he was afraid of the people. He double-shotted his guns and filled the Fort with troops, and supported the batteries on the Capsey rocks and at Whitehall with strong forces of soldiers. The people, who realized that a crisis had come, flocked into the City in turbulent throngs, and they surged against the walls of the Fort and the batteries. They beat against the gate on Bowling Green, defied the governor and the soldiers, and dared them to fire their ar- tillery. On the night of October 31st the merchants met at the Burns tavern, which was located where the Boreel Building now stands, at 111 Broadwaj^ and resolved that they would buy no more English goods and that they would have no more commerce with England. That was the earliest radical meas- ure taken by the people of the L'nited States to demonstrate their independence of Great Britain. The governors of other States were taking oath that they would enforce the Stamp Act, and the ques- tion was whether Colden would do the same. Royal 1)4 NEW YORK CITY LIFE soldiers, drawn from other parts, marched through the crowds and entered the Fort. Again, at night, the excitement raged, and processions were formed which marched from the Commons to the Fort, dis- playing the governor hanged in effigy. The people pelted the soldiers with bricks and stones. They made a bonfire on the Bowling Green and burned the governor's carriage on it. The Sons of Liberty arranged to attack the Fort in dead earnest, and the time for assault was fixed by anonymous circu- lars that were handed about. The excitement was so great that it seemed a matter of only a little time when a bloody battle would occur about the Fort; but at last the people achieved a momentous victory without bloodshed. Colden yielded and deliv- ered the stamps to Mayor Cruger, who took them to the City Hall, where they were safely lodged. The people then dispersed, and they were so de- lighted with their success that when the new gov- ernor, Sir Henry Moore, arrived they received him with the greatest honors. There was no mistaking the temper of the people upon the question of taxa- tion without representation, and New York's non- importation agreement, and her prompt seizure of the hated stamps, some of which were publicly burned (near the present Catharine Market), entitle her to as much credit as has been bestowed upon other colonies that were prompt in rebelling against tyran- nous acts. The news of the events created con- sternation in England, and fired William Pitt, so that he delivered his magnificent addresses under 95 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS the direct inspiration of the action of New York. Governor Moore died suddenly, and again the un- popular Golden became the representative of Eng- land, and the fire of discontent which had smol- dered flashed up again. The Sons of Liberty never slumbered, and conflicts between them and the Brit- ish soldiers were frequent. On May 1, 1775, mat- ters had reached such a crisis that a popular meet- ing was called, and a committee of one hundi-ed citizens was selected by it to take charge of public affairs. Governor Golden and his troops found them- selves practically locked up in the Fort and in the other military positions in the Gity. The governor was asked to guarantee that British troops would not be landed for the subjugation of New York; but of course he could give no such assurance. A provisional congress came together in the City Hall, while similar gatherings were being held at other points near New York. The battle of Bunker Hill happened, and the news came to the Citj". The New York Congress was in session at the Gity Hall, and troops were being recruited for the American army, when Tryon, the last English gov- ernor, arrived, and landed and took command of the Fort. The Americans had seized the battery on the Gapsey rocks, in the neighborhood of the present Battery flagstaff, and were fired upon by Trj^on's ship the "Asia," as they were removing the guns. Several Americans were injured. Meanwhile the Americans were working hard on fortifications de- signed to protect the Gity from the British forces, 96 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE which had begun their operations in Massachusetts, and which, it was expected, would appear in New York speedily. General Washington and Governor Tryon arrived in New York at the same time. The streets were thronged with people, the church bells were ringing, the militia were gathering, to wel- come Washington, and the beating of drums was heard in all the streets. Tryon 's vessel had not been boarded by any modern Sandy Hook pilot with the daily papers, and he had not heard the news; so, very naturally, he thought the bustle in- dicated the preparation of a splendid reception for himself. He turned to the English officers who wel- comed him, his face glowing with pride and grati- fication, and exclaimed, "Is this all for me!" Pain- fully they explained the situation, and then they took him into a house on Broadway, and pointed out General Washington as he passed, attended by an enthusiastic crowd of the people. The poor gov- ernor realized that things had changed. Tryon found that governing New York consisted in shutting himself in the Fort and wondering what would happen next; and fearing that there might be some very serious happenings, he changed his headquarters to his ship, which lay in the Hudson River, and tried to govern the colony from the river. He succeeded in fastening his name on the City; for Tryon Row, at the head of Printing House Square, commemorates him, and the fortification which he caused to be built at Chambers Street. E-i 97 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS This work had a gate through which the Boston Road passed, close to the ground occupied by the "Staats Zeitung" building. The governor did not succeed so well in another undertaking which has been charged to him, "Wash- ington's body servant, Patrick Hickie, was corrupted at the instance of the governor, and tried to poison his master at his headquarters. Tryon was safe on his ship, but Hickie was exposed b}' his own friend, the waitress at Washington's table, who sacrificed her lover for her duty to her master and her countrj-; and Hickie was hanged on Rutgers Street. (The governor's house in the Fort burned down during Tryou's time, and one of his servants per- ished in the flames.) After the Declaration of Independence the British troops evacuated the Fort, which was occupied at once by the Americans, and General "Washington made his headquarters at the Kennedy House, Num- ber 1 Broadway. Then there passed in and out of the old Fort, through its historic gateway, the noblest form of the Revolution. Lord Howe arrived with his fleet, and he vainh' tried by the arts of diplom- acj' to separate New York from the other colo- nies, and to make terms with General "Washington, His representative, Colonel Patterson, waited on Washington at the Kennedy House, bearing flatter- ing letters addressed to G. Washington, Esq., which were politely declined, as not bearing a correct su- perscription. Seeing that Washington could not be won NEW YORK CITY LIFE over, and that New York could not be saved to England by any diplomacy whatever, Howe settled down to the regular operations of war, and the battle of Long Island occurred. After the defeat of the Americans the old Fort was abandoned, and when the retreat of the American army had been accomplished it passed again into the posses- sion of the British, who retained it as a center of operations during the whole of the Revolutionary War. There is no chronicle of the occurrences on this old block during that time; but we know that it was the last point that the British army held. While their ships waited in the harbor, on Novem- ber, 25, 1783, the English soldiers marched out and embarked for home, and a detachment of picked veterans under command of General Knox, accom- panied by General Washington and General Clin- ton, marched down Broadway and took possession of the Fort. The flag-pole had been greased and the halyards cut away; but before the English ships were out of sight those difficulties were overcome and the new American flag was flying in the place of the red flag that had floated there so many years. With the evacuation, the final act in the strug- gle for independence, the history of the old Fort was almost at an end. A few years later it was torn down, and an elegant government house was built in its place, with the design that it should be occupied by the President of the United States; 99 Lore. THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS but the removal of the seat of government to Phila- delphia left it useless. It was occupied by Gov- ernors Clinton and Jay, and then the land was sold and the present row of fine old dwellings was erected on the spot. These houses were occupied by some of the wealthiest and the noblest of our early citi- zens, but the steady removal of residences north- ward, and the growth of the enterprises which have always been concentrated in the southern part of Grovernment House on site of old Fort. the island, long since made it necessary that the site be devoted to business. The most prominent residents in this row were Stephen Whitney, a mil- lionaire merchant, John Hone, brother of Mayor Philip Hone, and the Gihons. Now we may walk around this block and call up unending pictures of the characters that worked out there the most important periods of their lives, and of the events that occurred there, fraught with 100 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE the destinies of the nation. Here is a spot for re- flection. All around this block there lived men of renown. It was the center of the social and the political life of the times. The most interesting house in the neighborhood of the Fort was Num- ber 1 Broadway, which was torn down in 1883. It was built in 1742. Colonel Stone says that previ- ous to that date the site was occupied by a tavern kept by the wife of a Dutch soldier, Peter Kocks, who served in the Indian wars. The house was occupied by Captain Archibald Kennedy, collector of the revenue, who, while living there, became an earl. It is said that, prior to the Revolution, Sears, the intrepid leader of the Sons of Liberty, lived there, as did also Talleyrand. General Washington made it his headquarters at the outset of the Revolu- tion, and a number of the American leaders stayed there, including Generals Gates, Lee and Putnam. When the British took possession of the City it be came their headquarters, and Lord CornwaUis, Lord Howe and Lord Clinton, Generals Robertson, Carle- ton and Gage, and Major Andre, lived there. In the rear of the house was a small battery. After the Revolution it was occupied by Edward Prime. In later years it was known as the Washington Hotel. The row of houses north of Number 1 Broadway contained notable occupants. The dwellings were spacious and elegantly furnished. Benedict Arnold, John Watts and Robert Fulton lived at Number 3, and Chief -justice Livingston at Number 5. John 101 THE AMERICAX :\rETROPOLIS Stevens and his son John, who was an inventor of steamships, the builder of the Stevens battery, the owner of the Stevens Castle at Hoboken, and one of the first company that crossed the Atlantic on a steamship, lived at Number 7. There were some interesting marriages between members of these old families. Numbers 9 and 11, on the site of ]\tartin Kregier's old tavern, were occupied by members of the Van Oortlandt family, and subsequently were joined together and became a famous tavern, under the name of the King's Arms and the Atlantic Gar- den. The King''s Arms Tavern had its share of the interesting associations of this neighborhood. It was opened in 17G3 with this announcement: "Mrs. Steel takes this method to acquaint her friends and cus- tomers, that the King's Arms Tavern, which she formerly kept opposite the Exchange, she hath now removed into Broadway (the lower end opposite the fort), a more commodious house, where she will not only have it in her power to accommodate gentle- men with conveniences requisite as a tavern, but also with genteex lodging apartments, which she doubts not will gire satisfaction to every one who will be pleased to pive her that honor." In the garden of this house the party gathered which pulled down the statue of King George on the night of the announcement of the Declaration of Independ- ence. Benedict Arnold lodged there after his flight from West Point. Poor Andre had his quarters close by, at dumber 3 Broadway, and wrote his letters to Arnold from that house; but when Ar- 102 NEW YORK CITY LIFE nold made his way to the English general, whose headquarters were at Number 1 Broadwaj^, Andre was in the hands of Major Tallmadge, the friend of Nathan Hale, who had already been shot as a spy by the Enghsh. It was a poor exchange that the English general made — Arnold for Andre. Ar- nold was a lion in the field while fighting for his country, but his brilliant powers waned when he turned his sword against his companions in arms. We can hardly realize that it was the traitor Ar- nold that, while trying to besiege Quebec with five hundred men (!), said: "I have no thought of leav- ing this town until I enter it in triumph. I am in the way of my dutj' and I know no fear." As Irving said: "Happj' for him had he fallen there!" In this house Sergeant Champe made his plans to kidnap Arnold and carry him back into the Ameri- can lines. The sergeant, as brave a man as ever lived, with the knowledge of his superiors, deserted from the American army, was chased by a troop of his own comrades, was rescued from them by a boat from an English ship, enlisted in the English army, managed to be assigned to duty close to Ar- nold, conducted a precarious correspondence with his own superior officers, and had his plans apparently well made for the capture, when they were sud- denly disarranged by the sending away of Arnold. It was with great difficulty that the sergeant effected his second desertion and got back to the American army; and although his venture was not successful, 103 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS he was treated as a hero for the risk that he had run, and for the wise measures that he had adopted. The Bang's Arms Tavern has been confounded by a number of writers with the Burns Coffee House, where the merchants signed the Non -importation Agreement. The reason for this mistake probably is the fact that before the agreement was actually signed at the Burns Coffee House many of the mer- chants met at the King's Arms Tavern, discussed the proposed step, and agreed to take it. Daniel Webster hved in the house which has the stone lions on its stoop. The Stevens House, at the end of the row, was the original "Delmonico's." It is said that years ago an elderly foreigner and his son, strangers in New York, went into this place for their dinner. It looked very plain and simple from the outside, and they were unsuspicious of the bill which their appetites were piling up. When the reckoning time came it was like the day of judgment. Five dollars and seventy cents was de- manded. The strangers stormed, threatened, expostu- lated and begged; but the bill of fare, which tbej^ had not used in ordering, was the waiter's unfailing defense. They paid with heavy hearts and glower- ing brows. "Fader," said the son, when they reached the street. "Fader, will not God punish dot man for his exdortion?" — "Psh!" my son. "Sh!" was the reply. '*He has punished him al- retty. I've got his silver spoons in mine pocket I" The upper end of State Street, as we have said, 104 c > NEW YORK CITY LIFE was opened over the west wall of the Fort. The Broadway cars run over the very rampart. The lower part of State Street, whe.'e stand those re- markably interesting old residences, existed longer as a street than the upper part. At Number 6 lived James Watson, the first president of the New Eng- land Society. Number 7 was occupied by Moses Rogers. The son of Bishop Moore lived at Num- ber 8, and John Morton, the "rebel banker," as the English called him, lived at Number 9. Numbers 9, 10 and 11 State Street are now let out in floors, as tenements, and they are the sightliest and healthi- est tenement houses in New York. At 3 Bridge Street, near State Street, lived Wash- ington Irving. This was the "Hive" where much of his writing was done. (His last residence still stands at Seventeenth Street and Irving Place.) At the corner of Bridge and State Streets was the Lenox Mansion, which was occupied by Robert Len- ox and his son James, who founded the Presbyte- rian Hospital and the Lenox Library. It degener- ated into a tenement house and grog shop, and was demolished. General Jacob Morton, commander of the militia, lived at 13 State Street. The Heis- ers lived at Number 26. Mayor James K. Paulding lived at 29 Whitehall Street. During the Revolution and the War of 1812, a complete line of earthworks extended along the water front, south of the Fort, nearly on the line of the present elevated railroad structure, running from the Whitehall battery, at the foot of Whitehall Street, 105 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS to the battery in the rear of Number 1 Broadway (at Greenwich Street). It is both interesting and profitable to walk slowly through the streets adjacent to the Battery, remem- bering the old water-lines and the particular points of interest, and looking at the old buildings of the Revolutionary period, a number of which survive. Water and Front Streets and Greenwich and Wash- ington Streets were not built until after the fire of 1776, but buildings are often found on these newer streets which appear to be older than those on Pearl Street, which was swept by the fire of 1835. West Street and South Street are newer streets yet, but there are to be found some odd and weath- er-beaten structures on South Street, Among the interesting old buildings fronting the Battery, there is one at the corner of Whitehall and Front Streets, where the east side elevated railroads turn, and an- other on Whitehall Street, just north of Front Street, with curious oval windows on the face of the build- ing, and a quaint building is on the corner of West Street and the Battery; but there are few real rel- ics of the ancient history of New York. The great fires very thoroughly cleared the ground. The build- ings which succeeded the fire of 1835 are uninter- esting. They seem to have been built upon one model, and there is a tiresome sameness of detail about them. The most notable feature about them is the iron shutters, which suggest the treasures and the darkness inside. But in every direction the ground has been broken by builders. Palaces have lOG i NEW YORK CITY LIFE risen on every hand, surrounded often, as in Euro- pean cities, by uninteresting and squalid buildings. There is no direction in which the eye can be turned, in the lower part of the town, where the great stone and iron piles do not tower to the skies, or where building operations have not been com- menced. The values of land have risen to such fabulous figures that owners miss their opportunities if they do not make the ground support the choicest and tallest structures. Before we leave the neighborhood of Batterj- Park we should spend a few moments at the Castle Gar- den fort. Here is indeed an antiquated building. It was built in 1805, and was then called Fort Clinton. It has been patched and touched up recently, so that it looks quite modern; but its value as a relic has been impaired. When it was constructed out upon the rocks, the water surrounding it on all sides, its thick walls were considered to be a very efficient protection against the cannon of a hostile fleet, and the soldiers who occupied it during the War of 1812 ached for a chance to try the weight of their metal upon an English fleet. The ceasing of war, and then the advances in the art of war, left the struct- ure upon the hands of the government, a useless relic; and when the Battery was the great pleasure resort of the City, frequented not only by the com- mon people, but bj' the wealthy and the exclusive classes, it was devoted to purposes of pleasure. There occurred the great concerts and entertain- ments for several generations. Fifty years ago it 107 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS was used for the first concert of our excellent Symphony Society. Jullien conducted his famous, if less classic, concerts there, and his gift for work- ing novel attractions into his schemes has never been equaled by any leader, excepting Gilmore. His or- chestra was a wonder to New Yorkers, who have since his day become so highly educated by leaders who have followed him that they would turn with con- tempt from his programmes ; but the people went there in great numbers, and listened to the music and par- took of the refreshments which were at hand, Jenny Lind there sang herself into the peoples' hearts and made Barnum's fortune, and Steffanone and Benedetti lifted the people on the waves of song. There, too, was the fountain of real champagne, falling over the rocks of a mimic grotto, from which the people dipped the sparkling fluid in amazed bewilderment. Jullien was at his greatest in the "firemen's qua- drilles" at Crystal Palace. The music was simple, but it was rendered with power and gusto, not only by the band, but by the popular choruses that were called upon to assist. There are men of means and influence in New York to-day who spend twenty- five or fifty dollars to enjo}^ with their families an evening of Italian opera, who remember with de- light the occasions when they sang in Jullien 's choruses. The firemen always take the popular fancy, and the way they entered into those per- formances brought solid joy to the hearts of the ob- servers. Round about the outside of the building were arranged torches and piles of inflammable ma- 108 ^• |li;!|li|liiJ4iIi;il«lilIiiiilllili!aiiliiiiiiilii!' NEW YORK CITY LIFE terial, which could be touched off at a signal. Un- der the stage were the fire-engines and the ladder- carriages, with their volunteer companies. Connec- tions with the water were all ready to be made. Then showman Barnum told the audience not to be frightened. The descriptive music began and grew with dramatic force. The breathless attention of the audience was riveted upon the fire story, as told by band, soloist, choruses and agitated leader, with ba- ton waving in air. Then at the right moment the torches were applied, the fiery billows leaped sky- ward, and with the crash of cymbals, the booming of the bass drum, the rattle of the snares, the blare of the trumpets, and the shrieks and howls of the choruses, the volunteer firemen rushed upon the mimic conflagration and outdid each other in gal lant struggles with the Fire Fiend. The battle shows at Coney Island may be more elaborate, more artis- tic, and more expensive than Jullien's firemen's qua- drilles were, but they cannot match them in what the Westener graphically called the ''git thar.^'' One day the "Fire Fiend" took hold in real earnest and ended the mimic representation. When the elevated railroads grabbed their slice of the Battery Park, a good manj^ people thought it would have been well to reopen Castle Garden for a place of public amusement, but it had become a fixture in the immigration system of the port, and the suggestion did not take. The time came when the lower part of the city was full of arriving immi- grants, who knew nothing of the city or the coun- 109 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS try, and were the easy prey of boarding-house run- ners and all sorts of land sharks; so the matter was taken in hand and the system of receiving and caring for immigrants, as now practiced was begun, with Castle Garden as a center. They have made an aquarium of the old garden; but whatever they do with it, it will always be famous as the greatest immigrant depot of the United States. Out on the rocks, near Whitehall Street, years before, was established the Capsey Battery to protect the grow- ing city; and it had its tragedy too; for in the celebration of the completion of the battery by Gov- ernor Cosby in 1735 a cannon burst, killing a num- ber of the guests, including Colonel Van Cortlandt's daughter. "^Ve«' York, July 21. — On Wednesday last the first stone of the Platform of the New Battery on Whitehall Rocks was laid by his Excellency our Governour, and it was called George Augustus's RoifcU Battery. As His Excellency was returning, and the last round was firing, the last piece of the Cannon (being very much Honnj'-Comb'd and eaten almost through, as it afterwards appeared by the Pieces) burst and the Pieces flying different ways, kill'd three Persons; viz., John Symes, Esq., High Sheriff for the City and County of New York, Miss Courtlandt, only Daughter to the Hon. Col. Court- landt, a Member of His Majesty's Council in this Province, and a Son-in-Law of Alderman Romur. The next day the Coroner's Inquest sate on the 110 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Bodies, and bro't in their Verdict Accidental Death; and in the Evening they were decently inter'd." — "American Weekly Mercury," July 24, 1735. On this spot have been received hundreds of thou- sands of immigrants, who have come to try for them- selves the blessing of freedom, and to make their fortunes or the fortunes of their children. All over the land may be found people, many of them thrifty and respected, who remember Castle Garden not only as the portal of the new world, but the gate of fortune to themselves. It is but a short time since the crowds of immigrants, sunning themselves about the old fort, or strolling through the paths of the Battery Park, made an interesting picture of life at the Battery. The immigrants are now on Ellis Isl- and, where they have better accommodations, and are freer from bad influences than was possible at Castle Garden; but even now may be seen the strange people of many nations landing at the Bat- tery pier from the boats of the immigrant commis- sioners and making their way, often in procession, up through the Battery Park, Broadway and other streets, to become part of the mixed life of Man- hattan Island. The Battery Park was formerly the city parade ground, and there Gen. Morton reviewed the mi- litia. There was a small pond in the southeastern corner, in view of the general's house, where the boys skated. The famous baseball games between the "red-stockings" and the "blue-stockings" were 111 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS played there. Lafayette was received there in 1824. Daniel Webster spoke in the garden on the night of the famous election in 1834, when the Whigs were victorious after a day of rioting, which re- quired the services of the militia to restrain. In 1847 there was a memorial concert in honor of Mendelssohn, and in 1847 and 1848 Italian opera reigned there. Louis Kossuth was given a recep- tion there in 1849. Tyler and Cla}^ had receptions there. Dodworth's famous band played there in 1852. This was the first American military band that competed with the English bands that came to America to give concerts, and it blazed the way for the magnificent organizations of more modern days. The sea wall which surrounds the park was built under the direction of General McClellan in 1872. The Staten Island Ferry, at the southeastern cor- ner of the Batter}' Park, is on the spot where boats have landed from the earliest days of the commerce of Manhattan Island. The first ferry rights were sold there by the City in 1745. After the War of 1812 the original Vniiderbilt ran his market boat there from Staten Island. In the slip the boiler of the steamboat "West- field" exploded, July 30, 1871. One hundred per- sons were killed. The gallant service of the White- hall and Battery boatmen on that awful occasion is commemorated in the l:*ttle basin that has been given them for their boats. Some old newspaper reftn-ences to the neighbor- hood will be interesting. 112 NEW YORK CITY LIFE From the ''New York Gazette,'' Mov. 7, 1737. "Last Monday being the Anniversary of His Majesty's Birthday the same was observed here with the usual Solemnity (!). The honourable the gentlemen of his Majesty's Council, the gentlemen of the Assembly and those of the Corporation, with most of the principal Gentlemen of the City waited on the Hon. George Clarke, Esq., Lieut. Governor of the Province of New York, at the Council Cham- ber in the Fort, to pay him the usual compliments of the Day, where his Honour and the Gentlemen assembled drank the Royal Healths under the dis- charge of the Cannon from the Fort (his Majesty's Regular Troops being the whole Time under Arms). The Evening was concluded by the City being il- luminated and other demonstrations of Joy and Sat- isfaction more than of late, in that all distinction of Party and Faction being Removed. "Saturday last being the fifth of November it was observed here in memory of that horrid and Treasonable Popish Gunpowder Plot to blow up and destroy King, Lords and Commons; and the Gentle- men of his Majesty's Council, the Assembly and Corporation, and other the principal Gentlemen and Merchants of this City waited upon his Honour the Lieut. Governor at Fort George, where the Royal Healths were drank AS USUAL (!), under the Dis- charge of the Cannon, and at night the City was illuminated." This custom of punctuating drinks b}'^ cannon shot ought not to have died out. 113 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS From the ''Xew York Weekly Post Boy,'' Jan. 30, 17U. "Yesterday a small dead Infant was found ly- ing on a Linnen Rag among the Rocks near the new Battery in this City: It was dried up by the Sun, and is supposed to have been thrown into the water and wasli'd up. Great numbers flock'd to see it, but . we don't hear that the least conjecture has been made who its Parent is." From the same paper, July 22, 17JfO. "Last Night died in the Prime of Life, to the almost Uiiiversal Regret and Sorrow of this Citj', Mr. John Dupuy, M.D. and Man Midwife; in which last character, it may be truly said here as David did of Goliath's Sword, ' There is none like him." " ''Xew York, May •>2.— On Wednesday last (17th instant) a "Woman in this City of New York had Liberty to go into a Garden to gather a Mess of green Herbs, and in gathering them she took hold of the Top of a radish, and pulling it up found that the Stem of the Radish grew out of the Appear- ance of a Child's Hand and Fingers, which being surprizingly strange, :t was carried before a Magis- trate, who ordered it to be put in some spirits to preserve it. The Spirits became thick and muddy like Blood and Water, and did stink; whereupon they put it into fresh Spirits, and it continues in the Shape and Colour of a humane Hand and Five Fingers with Sinews and Joynts '.vhich open and shut. 114 NEW YORK CITY LIFE "It is to be seen at Serjeant Tingle^ s in this City, and Abundance of People resort daily to see it. Some are of Opinion, that an Infant has been burried in that Place, and the Seed of the Radish to have taken Root in the Wrist of the Child's hand, and the Vegetative Quality of the Radish to have preserved the Flesh from putrefying, or at least to retain the Colour and appearance of a Hand and Fingers of human flesh, it being hard and tough like flesh."— New York "Gazette," May, 1732. "Lost on Sunday the 26th of July^ on the Road betwixt Neic York and Harlem, about five Miles from New-York, a large Young Mastiff Dog, of a Yellowish brown Colour, his Head black from mouth up to the Eyes, his Ears also Black, with four white Feet; and about two Inches of the tip of his Tail is White. Whoever will bring the said Dog to the Governor's House at the Fort in New York, or give Notice of him, so that he maj^ be had again, shall have Twenty Shillings Reward." — New York "Gazette,'' 1735. From the ''Post Boy,'' April 17, 17Jf9. "It seems as if manj' of the Inhabitants of this City were minded to brave the good Laws thereof; or else imagine the Doctors want employ: why else should Fish Guts and Garbage be lodged on almost every Dock and street that a person can't walk them without being attack'd by the most nauseous smells? Strange infatuation that one Inhabitant of a City should have so much 111 will to the whole, 115 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS or Laziness ill-tim'd as to Cause such Nuisances dangerous to the public Good!" The residences of the prominent citizens that used to surround the Battery Park have long since given place to office buildings and storehouses; but the grandeur and the glory of the City have in no wise departed from the neighborhood. Such superb structures as the Produce Exchange and the "Wash- ington and Bowling Green buildings, with the great congregation of lesser business palaces about them, tell a story to the strangers who first see New New York in the Beginnirifr. York from the bay that we, who are familiar with them, are the last to heed. The opulent Kings of Commerce are here, the holders of the accumulated power of generations that are gone; and as they push out their growing enterprises, the City, the State, the Nation, the whole World, all feel, and respond to the impulse. We are sensible of many defects in our present business system, and of much that is harsh and selfish in the use of the power of wealth; and yet, when we compare our financial condition with the conditions that prevail in other nations, we are impressed with the fact that there IIG NEW YORK CITY LIFE are few of our great business systems which, when they prosper, do not lift the people with them. The substantial establishments that abound in the vicin- itj" of the old Fort are a national protection, far more potent than batteries and ships and mines of dynamite. The decimation of the business interests that surround the Bowling Green by the fierce hand of war would send a shiver of pain and a pang of distress through the whole world. Let us strive as we may to learn, to measure, and to appreciate the colossal interests that are cen- tered in this part of the City, and we will fail con- sciously; but when we have come the nearest to the truth and the reality, we will miss the impres- siveness of the calculation and the usefulness of the study, if we forget the founders of the vast com- mercial state and the history of its development from its small beginning. APPENDIX TO CHAPTER ONE FORMER NAMES OF SOME OF THE STREETS MEN- TIONED IN CHAPTER ONE Broad Street, between Beaver and Wall Streets : The Ditch, Schaape Waytie, Sheep Pasture, Smell Street Lane, Smell Ditch Street Lane, Prince Graft; between Beaver and Pearl Streets: Ditch, Great Graft, Heere Graft, Heere Gracht, Common Ditch; between Wall Street and Exchange Place : Smell Street Lane. 117 THE AilERICAX METROPOLIS Beaver Street, between Broadway and Broad Street: Old Ditcli, Beaver Ditch, Bever Graft, Com- pany's Valley, Bevers Patje; between William and Hanover Streets (and Han- over Street, between Beaver and Pearl Streets) : Slaughter-house Lane, Sloat's Lane, Slote Street ; between Broad and "William Streets: Princen Straat. Marketfield Street: Marcktveltsteegie, Oblique Road, Petticoat Lane. South William Street: Slyck Straat, Slyck Steege, Dirty Lane, Mill Street Alley, Jews' Alley. William Street, between Pearl and Wall Streets : Smeede's Straat, Smit Street, Smith Street; between Wall Street and Hanover Square : Suice Street, Burger Joursen's Path, gen- erally: Glassmaker's Street, Horse and Cart Lane. Whitehall Street : Winkel Street, Shop Street. Broadway, between Bowling Green and "Wall Streets : Sheera Street; south of Vesey Street : Great Highway, Great Public Road, Public Highway, Heere Waage, Heere Wegh. "Water Street, between Broad and Wall Streets : Low Water Street. Pearl Street, between Wall and Bridge Streets: Sheet-pile Street; between Wall Street and Franklin Square : De Smit's "Valley. Hanover Street, between Pearl and Beaver Streets : Drain Ditch. 118 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Exchange Place: Oyster-pasty Alley, Tin-pot Alley, Flattenbar- rack, Dwars Street. SOME THINC^S RELIGIOUS THAT WE HAVE SECURED BY TOLERATION. (See daily neivspapers.) RELIGIOUS NOTICES. The Salvation Army, 120 West 14th St.— Tuesday noon meeting, led by Commander Booth-Tucker; auc- tion of children. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA. ON VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY. Sundays, February 16 and 23, at 3.30 p.m., at Madi- son Square Concert Hall, Madison Ave. and 26th Street ; subject to-morrow, "The Real and the Apparent Man." Admission free; collection. SPIRITUALISM. Carnegie Hall. — Mrs. Cora Richmond speaks, morn- ing 11; evening 8; afternoon 2.45: Facts and Phenome- na. Miss Richmond answers questions at opening of meeting. THEOSOPHY. Claude Falls Wright will lecture Sunday morning, Chickering Hall, 11 o'clock, on "Esoteric Buddhism." Admission free. Organ recitals bj" Miss Alice M. Judge. "FOOLS." Lecture at Chickering Hall by Rev. Thomas Dixon. Solos, Abbie Totten; also Miss Dickinson, phenomenal whistler. Admission 50c., reserved 75c. Commence 8. MORMON REVIVAL SERVICES. Brigham Roberts, a Powerful Orator, and George Pyper, Tenor, Will Begin a Campaign To-Morrow. 119 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS TINY PLACES OF WORSHIP. The Humble Synagogues of the Poorer East Side. Some of the Congregations include not more than a dozen families. The study of the Talmud. NEW YORK'S LOURDES. MIKACLES WROUGHT BY ST. ANNE. Virtues of the Holy Oil. The Blessing of Heaven and the Curative Properties of the Oil, Produce the Won- drous Result. Conveyed in a Carriage to the Miracu- lous Bone in the Church of St. Jean Baptiste, East 76th Street. SYRIAN MIDNIGHT PASS. Elaborate Ceremony of a Downtown Church. Priest cannot speak English. Sent by the Holy Synod. Differ- ences in the Masses of Eastern and Western Churches. THE FEAST OF KANAKA. Eight daj's of Fun for Yiddische Families during the Festival of Lights. AN ITALIAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH. (307 Mulberry Street.) PASTOR SCHNEIDER. Pastor Schneider has Joined Almost Sixteen Thou- sand Couples. He has Presided at seven thousand Christ- enings, and he never Preaches. He devotes his entire time to making German citizens happy in this World, and Introducing them to the next. THIS SECT STRANGE. Expects the end of the World in September. Its Weird Form of Worship. North Pole to be the Heaven after the second coming of Christ. Meets at 413 East 75th Street. AFRICAN VOODOOS IN NEW YORK. Priestess invokes the Great One to help Love along. Solemn Nonsense of her Rites. Petition to be effective 120 NEW YORK CITY LIFE must be signed in Human Blood. Believers not all Ignorant. RIGHTEOUS DIP BEFORE FLIGHT. Stutzke's Disciples Wash Away Worldliness in Prep- aration for Transfiguration at Port Morris Beach. Do penance on Sharp Stones in their Pilgrimage to the Rain- beaten water, clad only in Night gowns. Beer and Sarsa- parilla before Baptism. Coffee after the Immersion. ARE DIVINE HEALER SCHRADER'S CURES REALLY MODERN miracles! President of the Faith Curists says Schrader works his cures as Christ did of old. Seven Cases of Allevia- tion and Cure Investigated by the "Journal." SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE MISSED. FEES OF MEDIEVAL EXECUTIONER. To boil a malefactor in oil . . . . To quarter a living person , . . . To execute a person with the sword . To lay a body on the wheel . . . To stick the head of the same on a pole To rend a man into four parts . . To hang a man or any delinquent . To bury the body To burn a man alive To wait upon a torture if so called . To place in a Spanish boot .... To place a delinquent in the rack . To put a person in the iron collar . To scourge one with rods .... To brand the gallows upon the back or upon the forehead or cheeks. . To cut off a person's nose or ears . To lead a person out of the country . F-i 121 fl. kr. 24 00 15 00 15 30 5 60 5 00 18 00 10 00 1 00 14 00 2 00 2 00 5 00 1 00 3 30 5 00 5 00 1 30 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS CHAPTER TWO CONTRASTS— THROUGH PEARL STREET TO THE SWAMP— PRINTING HOUSE SQUARE AND PARK ROW Pearl Street— Processions — Elevated Railroad — The Nations- Humors of Travel — Italians — A backward Glance — Num- ber 19 Pearl Street: a Relic— Stuyvesant's White Hall — The Weigh House— The Royal Exchange— Old Streets- Fire of 1835— Fly Market— The United States, the first large Hotel — Hanover Square — Wingate and the Twi- light Club — Hunter — Franklin Square — Walton House and its Ghost — The Harpers and their Magazine — Fires — Wash- ington's Residence, with Reminiscences — Inauguration Parade— Cherry Street— Old Residents— The Fight at Fayal — The Flag — The Swamp — Tanners and Shoemakers — The Carleton House and its Mystery — Printing House Square — The old Road— "Sun" Building — "Tribune"' Building — Tammany Hall; its Ancient and Honorable Origin, its Splendid Past, its Corruption: a Contrast — St. Tammany and the Tiger — Pictures of Ancient and Modern Tammany Leaders — Park Pickpockets, formerly protected, now run out— The Stool-pigeon Plan — Newspapers — The Modern breed of Editors— Extracts from Newspapers of early and of recent Times — Exciting Times in the Square— Recol- lections of Greelev— The Richardson Murder— A ^Modern Slave Hunt— Brick Church— St. George's Park Theater —St. Paul Building— Barnum's Museum Starting from the old Fort, at Pearl and State Streets, and following the line of Pearl Street, we will pass over the ground which was most traveled during the Dutch period, and which was the road for some of the most imposing and important pa- rades of the later periods. To-day it is one of the greatest thoroughfares of the Citj'. There were not- able processions along this old Dutch road in the early days, but the unending procession which NEW YORK CITY LIFE moves both ways at once without intermission, day and night, from one year's end to the other, is more significant of the life, the genius, the condi- tion and the prospects of New York than any which has preceded it. Straddling the street on scarecrow legs, cross-gar- tered in yellow like Malvolio's, is the ugly structure of the elevated railroad, and the trains rush over it, carrying millions of passengers each year. The narrow street is darkened by the jaundiced mon- strosity, and its brick walls re-echo the rattle of trains, the grinding of wheels, and the snorting of locomotives; but the business of the street goes on, apparently undisturbed, while the gloomy iron shut- ters tell of the precious stores of merchandise that they hide. The multitudes pass along the sidewalk, through all the hours of the day, intent upon their busi- ness, and heeding little the great procession end- lessly moving above them, except as individuals are forced to take a recess to pick cinders and chips of car wheels out of their eyes. One of the mar- velous things about this uninteresting street (for to those who care nothing about history, and the sig- nificance of passing events, Pearl Street has no charms) is the absolute unconcern of the people who pass ttirough it about the impertinent invention which overshadows them, and about the marvelous host which is transported overhead at a speed far ex- ceeding even that which was displayed by the Dutch officials at the Stadthuys, when they broke forth at 123 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS dincer time. We have not forgotten the similar stream of travel vhich runs from the Battery through Greenwich Street; but this is much more interesting, and presents more completely the re- sources and the problems of our City life. Here we find the mingling of the nations. A large pro- portion of the immigrants who remain in New York City get their first startling lesson of our City life by being jerked through the air over the heads of the people, so close to the houses that they have a free exhibition of the domestic economy prevailing in different sections of the City. The through trains of both the Second and Third Avenue lines run through this street. From 9 to 10 o'clock in the morning the downtown trains are thronged with lousiness men located in the Swamp, in the neighborhood of Fulton Street, among the warehouses and storehouses of Hanover Square, and in the financial neighborhood of Wall Street; and these classes are to be seen in large numbers on the returning trains from half-past 4 to half-past 5 o'clock in the evening. Then there are large numbers of clerks, salesmen and book-keepers, who reside in Yorkville and Harlem, west of Second Avenue, and there will be found, too, great num- bers of artisans and mechanics. There is, too, a large, noisy and onion-smelling crowd from Little Ital}', who always get their money's worth out of a ride on the elevated railroad, and many of them make the whole trip, taking ferries at the Battery for the places where tliej' work. The Polish, Rus- NEW YORK CITY LIFE sian, Roumaniau, and seventeen other distinct kinds of Hebrews, who pervade the neighborhood of Grand and Canal Streets, pass over this route; and when you have seen some of their women thatched with wigs, so that no man save their husband may see their natural hair, and wrapped in shawls of many hues, and their men with long curly beards and shiny, long, aged black coats, you will realize that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. But the Jewish women cannot com- pare for rainbow effects wnth the Italian women, who add strange and startling colors to those of the old-fashioned rainbow, and liven up the effect with flashes from fire-gilt jewelry; and, if they be not too old, with dazzling illuminations from white teeth and sparkling black eyes. A quiet and observant passenger was riding down- town on a Second Avenue train. When it left Chat- ham Square there were three Italians sitting opposite to him, talking very loudly, as they always do, and evidently enjoying life to its utmost; for an Italian in New York can luxuriate, and live in the ante -room of Paradise, on half an existence. Across the aisle was a German Jew of evident prosperity, probably hailing from Yorkville, and two or three seats from him was a recent importation of the Polish genus. The curly-bearded Pole, whose eyes twitched with na- tive cunning, appeared to be studying the meaning of the Itahan words out of the gestures and contortions of the Italian group. The German Jew was likewise studying the Italians; but it was evident that his 135 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS observation was a critical one, conducted from a standpoint of conscious superiority. Presently the leading Italian burst out in a most infectious laugh (and, if you will notice it, people laugh about the same in all languages). The German addressed him. He said: "Say I Dere vas twelve hundred of you fellows came in on von day, de oder da}'." The Italian, not doubting that he was honored by the in- terest of a direct descendant of George Washington, laughed back, waved his hands almost to the roof of the car, and said, "Alia right, alia right; me here; me stay." — "Yah," said the German, "dere vas seven hundred on von ship and five hundred on annuder, and vat I vant to know is vat is go- ing to become of us Americans?^' The cheerful re- sponse of the Italian was, "Alia right, alia right! Italiana coma. Alia gooda. Me Americano, me stay. Alia right! Alia good!" He glanced affectionately at his wife, and she returned his look with interest added. It was evident that they intended to do their best, together, for the land of their adoption, and the pro])ability is that the future will hear from them. The time came for the Italians to leave the train, and they waved a jollj' good-by to their crit- ical friend, who immediatelj' turned to his Polish compatriot and delivered himself of a tremendous invective in Jewish Jargon about the coming of the Italians to interfere with the rights of American citizens. The observer's amusement was a little dashed when he bethought himself of his own strain of foreign blood. i NEW YORK CITY LIFE A friend says that a few years ago he sat alone in a beer garden in Germany. The proprietor kept one or two waiters who spoke EngHsh. He ad- dressed an order in English to one of the waiters, when up jumped a full-bearded man, who rushed over, grabbed him by his hand, and acted as though he would devour him, saying, "Mine friend, mine countryman, I vas so glad to find a bruder Ameri- can in dis foreign land." After burying their noses in foaming steins, and drinking each her's very good health, it turned out that the thickset, black- bearded man had been an immigrant from Germany to America some thirty years before, had become a clerk in a retail business, had saved up his money, and had finally bought out his "boss" (as thousands of thrifty Germans in New York have done), had married and raised a family of children, who had gone to public school, taken a full share of the prizes and graduated well, and that he had gone back to see his native place once more. He said there was no place in the world like America, and no place in America like New York, and that he loved the country of his adoption with all his heart. A New York daily gives this picture from life: "There might have been a serious fight on board the midnight Sixth Avenue car last night; but there was not, because one of the passengers had much wit and also a gift of song. Somewhere downtown the car had taken on a dozen Frenchmen, and some- where else downtown the Frenchmen had taken a 127 THE AMFRICAN METROPOLIS load of strong drink; not a fighting load— for French- men are not built that way — but a jolly, laughing and singing load. Just as the car pulled out of Car- mine Street one of the party struck up the 'Mar- seillaise,' and by the time they reached Ninth Street they were all shouting at the top of their voices — 'Auz amies, mes citoyens. ' At Ninth Street six German musicians got aboard. They had e\4deutl3' come up from the Pavonia Ferry, and, in spite of Lent, it was a fair inference that they had been assisting at a dance in Hoboken. By the time the big German with the double bass had got his mi- wield}^ instrument stowed away, he and his com- panions began to take stock of the Frenchmen. The latter, by this time, having noted the nationality of the newcomers, were shouting De Lisle's words and music louder than ever. If the words were offen- sive to the newcomers, they were made doubly so by the pointed manner in which they were shouted at them. The German is slow to wrath, but there are some things he will not stand; and one of them is the 'Marseillaise.' Any one with half an eye would see that these particular Teutons were swell- ing with anger. They grew red in the face and fidgeted in their seats. A Franco- Prussian war was imminent. "Then the man with the double bass opened his jaws, and a great volume of sound was let loose. 'Das braucht mir nicht!' and in less than a minute the car was throbbing with 'Die Wacht am Rhein! — Fest steht und treu die wacht. Die wacht am 128 XEW YORK CITY LIFE Rhein!' Frenchmen cannot rival Germans in noise. The 'Marseillaise' was drowned. Then it was the Frenchmen's turn to be angry. In half a minute they were on their feet, shaking their fists in the Germans' faces. The latter were shedding their coats, and the conductor was preparing to stop the car and call a policeman — when, up arose the little American. He hadn't said a word while the merry war was going on; but now he braced himself and let go. His shrill voice penetrated the din, and these were the words: " 'The Star-spangled Banner, O long may it wave O'er the land of the free And the home of the brave !' "There was a lull; then all, French and Ger- mans, anger forgotten, joined in the ' Star spangled Banner. ' "The Franco-Prussian war was over." The Italians are much harder to Americanize than most of the other immigrants from Europe. The majority of them come from the worst part of Italy. They are superstitious, and there is among them a very large share of the vices of poverty and ignorance. They are positively the dirtiest peo- ple that our sun shines on, not even excepting the downtown Jews. There is not a great deal to be hoped for from the majority of the adult Italians who have come to us. They herd together in the meanest quarters, resenting all efforts to reach them. They seem to be devoid of progressive ideas. It 129 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS must be admitted that, so far as they have been brought into contact with our people, thej' have not been helped much. They have been padroned by their own scoundrelly leaders, they have been jfleeced and tyrannized by their American (or Irish) land- lords and "bosses," and they have been treated with unfeeling harshness, and at times with terrific brutality, by policemen, and occasionally by police justices. These experiences with representative Amer- icans have driven them even closer together, and have made them more thoroughly the prey of the padrones, who grind handsome commissions for ser- vices rendered or not rendered (it makes no differ- ence) out of the starvation wages which they get. The children of the Italians are very promising. They learn our language readily, and break aw^ay from the traditions of their parents. They learn quickly the American idea of personal rights, with- out which no people are fit to be free; and there are other hopeful indications which we will have opportunity to notice when we come to consider Italy and Little Italy. The reader should study the books written by Mr. Jacob A. Riis upon the lower classes in our City. He tells a little story which illuminates one aspect of the Italian condition verj- nicely. A poor man was found occupying very squalid apartments and paying a remarkably exor- bitant rent to an Irish landlord. He was asked, "Why do you not see your landlord and tell him that you will not pay such a rent?" His answer was, "I did tell him so, but he said, 'Damma man 130 NEW YORK CITY LIFE ifa you talka that way I throw your things on the street walk.' " The Chinese colony is also represented in these trains; laundrymen from the upper part of town making frequent visits to Mott Street to see their friends and to gamble. The student of New York should not neglect the studies of these inhabitants, which he may have daily by paying five cents for a ride; and when he goes through Pearl Street he may let his mind slip back to the Revolutionary period and the Dutch period, and see if he be magician enough to con- jure up pictures, not of fancied scenes, but of re- alities, as they might have been viewed from his perch, could he have got there one hundred, two hundred, or nearly three hundred years ago. If the average New Yorker could suddenly jump himself back twenty, or even fifteen years, blotting out the gradual process of growth which has made the changing pictures to merge into each other in Idnetoscopic fashion; if he could do that, and bring up before his mind a clear and vivid picture of the City as he knew it then, he would be startled at the wonderful change, the growth and the power of progression which he would then realize. The uniting of the two ends of the island by our elevated railroads has done more for New York's progress than any other public improvement of re- cent years. Even this new and mighty engine of progress has become unable to supply the demand for transportation, of which it has been largely the 131 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS creator, and before many years have passed we will have a system of rapid transit that will supplant the elevated railroads, or push them into second place. Let us start at State and Pearl Streets, and fol- low the old cow path, or shore road, as we may choose to call it. We notice a peculiar angle on that first block. That angle is about as old as any- thing in lower New York. Near Broadway we see an immigrant's hotel flying the Danish flag and sur- rounded with typical Danes, and at Number 19 Pearl Street is the queer little building that we have already noticed. The alley and the yard are the only vacant ground in the whole block. The house has nine or ten rooms of the old- fashioned type, low pitched but large; and the in- terior arrangements, though modified in accordance with modern ideas, reveal the early period of its consti-uction. There were blue Dutch tilings on the walls; but, unfortunately, they were removed during the making of repairs, about thirty years ago, and were lost. The foundations are of stone; and it would require the shock of a cannon ball or an ex- plosive, even at this date, to disturb them. Though the frontage on Pearl Street is small, the lot has a depth of 119 feet. The early occupants of the houses planted their tulips right under tlie guns of Fort Amsterdam. Mr. D. R. Jacques, its present owner, has in his possession the deed of the lot handed to his ancestors by the English governor, Francis Lovelace. The present tenant, who has been there 132 NEW YORK CITY LIFE forty-five years, still plants the yard with flowers, as his predecessors did before American independ- ence was dreamed of. We cross Whitehall Street, and turning our faces southward, we see the spot, half way be- tween Pearl and Front Streets, where the shore used to be, and where Governor Stuyvesant's white house stood, and where the Whitehall Battery was built in later days. From that point eastward and southward, where solid blocks of warehouses now stand, stretched the basin that gave shelter to ves- sels whose skippers paid the City for the privilege of harbor. On our right, as we cross Whitehall Street, is the block formerly occupied by the Prod- uce Exchange, and on it stood the ancient Weigh House. In this part of the street (Number 33 Pearl Street) was the first church, which was used before Dominie Bogardus built one in the Fort. In the En- glish days the street at this point was called Dock Street. At Broad Street was the spot where the Dutch traders used to meet, where the Royal Ex- change stood, and where the Board of Trade had its inception. For many blocks around us ground is of the utmost value, and almost every inch of it is occupied by the business interests that are crowded together. It is but a few steps to Num- ber 73 Pearl Street, the site of the Stadthuys, with which we have become somewhat familiar; and here we may stand a few minutes to look over the place where the cage and the stocks, the pillory, the duck- ing-stool, the whipping-post and the gallows stood, 133 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS and where the battery was erected, and where Coen and Antye spent their happy days. Now there is not a vpstige of any of these old things, and there is nothing to help the memory but the tablet on 73 'Pearl Street (the invitation of which is rudely checked by the warning sign in the window) and the old lamp frame on the alley. Here, forty years ago, the target companies from the Bowery often came to carouse and to compete for prizes. We have read of one where the contestants fought it out blindfolded, with augers: the prize— a pig — go- ing to the man who got his auger most squarely into the bull's-eye. Some of the contestants missed the target altogether, and were almost in the river before they were stopped. In 1820 the body of a murdered man was found in Coenties Alle}-, near the Stadthuys site. A remarkable man, Jacob Hays, was head constable. He suspected the keeper of a low place in the neighborhood of committing the murder. He caused the body of the dead man to be taken to the old Rotunda, in the City Hall Park, and covered with a sheet. Then he arrested the suspect, took him rapidly to the Rotunda, sud- denly pulled the sheet off the body, and screamed in his ear: "Do you know that man?" — "Yes, I murdered him," was the quick, half-conscious an- swer. That was the original "third degree." Since that day it has been greatly improved. Through Coenties Alley we have a glimpse of a block on Stone Street, long, narrow, and covered to the last inch by brick buildings, running through from street 134 NEW YORK CITY LIFE to street. This Stone Street, the first paved street in the City, was called by the English Duke Street, and by the Dutch Brower (or Brewers), and the street back of that, now South "William, was called by the English Mill Street, after the horse mill in which the first religious exercises were held by the Dutch. We must resist the temptation to slip off on side journeys. The only way that we will be able to understand our ground is to return to the old Fort for our various expeditions through this part of the City. We will continue then through Pearl Street, and but a few doors further, on the same side of the street, marked by a tablet, we will find the spot where Wilham Bradford, the first printer, had his press, and where he printed our first books. This is the place where our printing and publishing had its beginning, and when we go to Trinity churchyard we will see the tomb in which the printer was interred. Across the street, a little further north, is a bonded warehouse, on which is an impressive memorial tablet. It records the fact that the building is constructed from the stones of the house which previously stood there, and which was destroyed in the fire of 1835. That ter- rible conflagration swept over the business part of New York during a day and night in winter, while the thermometer registered 17 degrees below zero. The firemen were tired out with their struggle against a large fire on the preceding night, and, with their inefficient apparatus, they were absolutely powerless to check the flames. Seventeen blocks, 135 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS containing nearly seven hundred buildings, were burned over. The direct loss was over twenty mil- lion dollars. Banks were compelled to suspend, and insurance companies were unable to meet the great demands that were made upon them. The fire be- gan at Number 25 Merchant Street, and speedily traveled into Pearl Street and Exchange Place. It burned southward, nearly to Broad Street, eastward to the river, and from "Wall Street to Coenties Slip. The south side of Wall Street was demolished from William Street to the river. In this space were churclies, banks, exchanges, warehouses, stores, dwell- ings, taverns; and the excitement, confusion and ter- ror of the people, who were directly concerned in the disaster, cannot be described. The entire popu- lation of the City watched the flames from every position which could be held against the heat and the onrush of the flames. The most expensive fab- rics, the choicest foods, the rarest importations, were carried out of buildings and piled up in the streets, where it was hoped they would be out of danger; and the lawless classes took advantage of the many opportunities for pillage and plunder. The Dutch Church, on Exchange Place, and the Merchants' Exchange, on Wall Street, were filled with goods that were hastily piled up with the hope that they might be saved, but all was lost in the flames. The watchmen of the City were as powerless to re- strain the crowds as the firemen were to stay the fire. It was not until the militia were hastily gath- ered together, and sailors and marines came from 130 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the harbor forts, that even a semblance of order could be attained; but before that time hundreds of thieves had enriched themselves from the piles of goods that unfortunate owners were trying to save, and hundreds of men had become noisily intoxicated with the wines and spirits to which they found ac- cess. There was no water supply, except that which was laboriously pumped up from the river, and the firemen had to chop through thick ice to reach the water with their hose pipes. During the night it became apparent that the only way to stop the fire was to blow down the buildings which might be in its path, and so to make a gap which the flames could not cross. This work was undertaken by the marines, who brought kegs of powder from the gov- ernment stores, bravely carried them through the City on their shoulders, and placed them in the buildings which were selected for destruction. The mines were sprung, there was an awful explosion, and the doomed houses tumbled to the ground. The sacrifice was successful. At that point the fire spent itself. The Merchants' Exchange and the Dutch Cliurch, and their deposit of valuables, were ruined, together with the mass of buildings that surrounded them. While the fire was at its height, some one, inspired by the tremendous occasion, opened the great organ in the church and plaj'^ed dirge upon dirge, until he was driven out by the hot blast of the advancing holocaust. A man was caught setting fire to a building at the corner of Stone and Broad Streets, and was lynched on the 137 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS spot. There has never been seen in our City such an awful condition of desolation as was beheld by the sorrowing inhabitants on the following morning, and it was many years before the City recovered from the disaster. This terrible event gave an im- pulse to the movement for an adequate water sup- ply, and for the improvement of the fire depart- ment. This fire destroyed many buildings that were valuable for their historic associations; but it pre- pared the way for a greater City, and for a more substantial business development, by clearing the ground of hundreds of old buildings which other- wise would have remained for many years to pre- vent the coming in of large business interests, and perhaps to divert such business to other parts of the Cit}'. The fires in earh' New York were fre- quent and terrible, and they have left to us very few of the buildings which would now be venerated for their history. The fire annals of those times make thrilling reading even at this remote day. Among the hard-working firemen in 1835 was Wil- liam M. Tweed. Only a short time ago workmen, excavating for a building at Water Street and Old Slip, came upon a mass of slag formed by the melting of a store of metals in the fire of lSo5. That fire was confined to the business part of the City, lying east of Broadwaj^; but the fire of 177G crossed to the west side of Broadwa3\ It be- gan in a low saloon called the "Fighting Cock," at Whitehall Wharf, on the night of the daj^ when 138 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE the British took possession of New York. The En- glish soldiers believed that the Americans had fired the City, and in their anger they killed a number of people, and threw some of them into the flames. The fire extended to Broad Street, burned the blocks between Whitehall and Broad Streets, crossed Broad- way, between Morris and "Wall Streets, burned Trin- ity Church and the Lutheran Church, and swept everything before it from Broadway to the North River, between Morris and Murray Streets. The burned district remained desolate until the return of the Americans in 1783, though a portion of it was filled with tents that were occupied in great part by dissolute people. Another great fire occurred on December 9, 1796. It is remembered as the Coffee House Slip Fire. It started at the foot of Wall Street and East River, and extended to the Fly Market in Maiden Lane, which it damaged; all the buildings in this district east of Front Street were totall}'- destroyed. Prior to this, in 1778, sixty-four houses were burned at Cruger's Wharf. In 1804 there was another great fire, which burned forty houses on Front, Pearl and Wall Streets, including the Tontine Coffee House. The loss was two million dollars. In 1845 there" oc- curred a fire in the same district which approached the fire of 1835 in its destructiveness ; for three hundred buildings were burned, and the loss ex- ceeded ten million dollars. Thirty people lost their lives. Many of these were firemen. The fire broke 139 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS out at Number 3-i New Street, where a great quan- tity of oil was stored. Soon it reached Exchange Place and Broad Street. A building on Broad Street was full of saltpeter, and when the flames reached it, there was an explosion that shook the City and was felt for miles out of town. Men were killed, an engine was blown across the street, adjoining houses were thrown down, and the doors of build- ings on Wall Street were burst open. This terrible explosion spread the burning brands in every direc- tion, and the fire broke out in new places. All the buildings on Broad Street, from "Wall to Beaver, and on Exchange Place, from William to Broad- way, and on New Street, from Wall to Beaver, were destroyed. Besides .these great fires there were many smaller ones all through this district. These events are mentioned here as a partial explanation of the disappearance of so many landmarks of for- mer days. Some of the most interesting parts of the lower City have been burned over several times. Continuing through Pearl Street, at Hanover Square, we are in one of the choicest residence sections of the English colonial and the Revolutionary periods; and here, too, we find imposing buildings, notably the new Cotton Exchange and the Coffee Exchange, which seem fitted to succeed the grand homes which once surrounded the square. Here hved Mayor Thomas Willett in 1665, Mayor John Lawrence in 167:3, Mayor Nicholas Bayard in 1G85; and the prin- cipal men of the different epochs were largely rep- resented in the neighborhood. It was a great head- 140 NEW YORK CITY LIFE quarters for Royalists during the Revolution. Here, it is recorded, the newsboys cried the news of the American defeat at Germantown in this fashion: "Glorious news from the Southward! Washington everywhere defeated! The bloodiest battle in Amer- ica! Six thousand rebels killed, and one hundred wagonloads wounded!" New York Cotton Exchange, Beaver and William Streets. The Cotton Exchange was organized in 1870, and its beautiful building, which we now see, was com- pleted in 18!)5, and cost a million dollars. The old Cotton Exchange building across the way is occupied by the offices of WiUiam R. Grace, who has been mayor, and who mixes politics, re- ligion and business very naturally. 141 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Looking down Old Slip we see the buildings of the police station and the fire company, which have been erected by the City in the middle of the street, that being the most available location for the police and fire services, which are so important to that congested section of the City. In olden times Old Slip was the home of enterprise, as may be seen from this advertisement: "Teeth drawn and old broken Stumps taken out very safely and with much ease, by James Mills, who was instructed in that art by the late James Reading, deceased, so fam'd for drawing of teeth. He is to be spoke with at his shop in the house of the Deceased near the Old Slip Market." — "Weekly Journal," Jan. 1735. The new buildings of the Cotton Exchange and the Coffee Exchange give an appearance of dignity to one side of the square, well in keeping with the character that it once had; but some of the sur- roundings of those great buildings are rather incon- gruous. The two little houses north of the Coffee Exchange must soon give way to the onward march of towering structures; but there are some features about those two buildings that we shall sadly miss when they go. Nowhere else can be found such roof windows. The first house is occupied on the ground floor by one Hummer with a restaurant; but the name does not nearly so well describe the keeper of the restau- rant as it does the man who holds forth in the upper 142 NEW YORK CITY LIFE part of the building as a sanitary engineer. There is the oflSce of one of the most able, versatile and successful men of our business life. What he doesn't know about sanitary engineering wouldn't pay any one to find out; but it is as the organizer, secre- tarj' and principal figure of the Twilight Club that the people know him best. New York is full of odd institutions and peculiar societies, but the Twi- light Club is the only one of its kind. It is made up of negations. It has no president, no club house, no constitution, no dues, no political discussions, no religious harangues, no long-winded speakers, no plat- form. The list of things it has not might be ex- tended indefinitely. But it does contain a host of genial, witty men, whom Wingate has discovered, like Captain Codman, the martyr of the Grace Church chimes, and Professor Packard, of saintly character, who manage on stated occasions to perform im- posing gastronomic feats, and at the same time to evolve the most extraordinarj' mental gymnastics in flowing speech that can be observed on Manhattan Island. The club meets t'wace a month at the St. Denis hotel, eats a good dinner, which the mem- bers pay for on the spot, and then spends two hours in free speech upon the interesting questions of the day, with the express understanding that each orator shall speak his inmost thoughts without hesitation or reserve, and with the perfect assurance of the esteem and good-will of all his listeners. Mr. Wingate's bulletins of the meetings are brimful of humor and common sense. We consider Wingate 143 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS one of the characters of New York, and, reverently we say it, one of its curiosities. This building was the home of the famous French general, Victor Mo- reau, who was banished from France on a charge of conspiracy to assassinate Napoleon. In the rear of this house was the Bell Tavern, kept by the father-in-law of William Niblo from 1806 to 1812. t) Certificate of Membership Ye Twilight Club of New York. Founded Jan. 4, 1883, to Cultivate Good Fellowship and Enjoy Rational Recreation. To all Whom it may Concern: This Certificate Witnesseth, That We, The Undersigned, Members of The Executive Committee of Ye Twilight Club, being in session lawfully assembled, and being clothed with full authority un- der the (no) Constitution, in consideration of the warrantees and agreements made to them in the application for membership and of the sum of Two Dollars, in hand paid, Do Hereby Accept by occupation, profession or employment, a residing in the State of New York, as a full mem ber in Division A of this most Honorable, August and Dignified Body, established Anno Domini 1883, for the Maintenance and Preservation of Public Or der and Good Fellowship, and the Welfare of Man kind, and in accordance with the Laws of Nature 144 NEW YORK CITY LIFE and the Precepts of Morality, in the City and County of New York, and finding, ad hoc condi- tiones sine qua non, the said to be of the proper Voting Age, of High Intellectual Attain- ments, Fair Moral Character, Comely Carriage, a Philosopher's Digestion, uu bon esprit, and having forsworn Evil and All Formality; and understand- ing, moreover, that he is not in forma pauperis, but that he is of adequate pecimiary responsibility [up to One (1) Dollar], and furthermore is not lo- quendi non facilis de census Averni, We, there- fore, do hereby Solemnly pronounce him to be a Reasonable and not Extra Hazardous Risk, and a full member cum priviligis, including full liberty to Pay Promptly such Assessments as may be levied upon him add infinitum. Given and established under the great seal {Phoca grcenlandica) of the Commonwealth and of the Twilight Club, before the Hanover Square Sta- tion of the Elevated Railway, and within sight of the Brooklyn Bridge, this 30th day of .November, in the year of (ex-Mayor) Grace, 1890. Sic {rapid) transit gloria mundi — Eringounom- eplurihushragli. (Signed) J. C. Zachos, Andrew H, H. Dawson, S. S. Packard, E. W. Chamberlain, W. O. McDowell, Geo. W. Wingate, J. H. Suydam, C. N. Bovee, Rossiter Johnson. Attest : Executive Committee. Seal. Chas. W. Wingate, Secretary. G-i 145 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS PRI^X■IPLES. No Debts. By-Laws. President. Constitution. Salaries. No Full Dress. Mutual Admiration, Defalcations. Decamping Treasurer. Watered Stock. Parliamentary Rules. "Previous Questions,' No Lengthy Speeches. Late Hours. Profanity. "Fish Stories." "Sailors' Yarns." Dueling. Free Dinners. No Scandal. Bribery. No Personalities. Party PoHtics, Preaching, Gambling. Dynamite. "Bouncer." No Conventionality, Grand Reform, High Ideal. ' ' Papers. ' ' "Dudes," No Puns, Gush, Cant. Red Tape, Formality. Humbug, Another figure that will be sadl}' missed, when the ci foresaid march of improvements shall have cleared off these two buildings, is the zealous and enterprising Robert F. Hunter, who combines a number of worthy occupations in his office in the corner building. He is agent, custom-house broker, notarj- public, and tea dealer, all at once, and you may see the original packages of tea from the ele- vated station. His various occupations are stated on several signs, and the people are informed that they ma}' purchase at his office, "tea at retail at very low prices." Mr, Hunter combines in himself the old and new business types. This is a sample of 146 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the old style: "Gerardus Duyckinck Living near the Old Slip Market in New York continues to carry on the business of his late Father deceased, viz., Limning, Painting, Varnishing, Japanning, Gilding, Glazing and Silvering of Looking Glasses, all done in the best Manner. He also will teach any young gentleman tlie Art of Drawing, with Painting on Glass, white lead oil and Painters Colours." One of the most notable buildings on the square is an ordinary new flat tenement with the common paper signs pasted in the windows, "Flat to Let." Occasionally the round old face of some homely dame, pressed against the window-pane in the middle of the day, looks out upon the exchanges across the street, and the immense traffic of the square, regardless entirely of the memories of the grand persons who once lived there, and unconscious of being a curiosity at that spot. It will be interest- ing to watch the "flat" and see what becomes of it during the next ten years. Number 140 Pearl Street was the residence of Admiral Digby and Prince WilHam (WilHam IV. of England), and Governor CHnton lived at Num- ber 178. Proceeding a little further, we cross Wall Street. Resisting the temptation to stray over this thorough- fare, we stop only a moment to notice the Sea- men's Savings Bank and the Marine Bank, on two Wall Street corners, and the Tontine Building, at the corner of Water Street, standing on the old 147 THE AMERICAN 3IETE0P0LIS water-line of Dutch times. It is a memorial of the Tontine Coffee House, which was a great institu- tion in the early days of New York. At Pine Street was the home of Colonel Abra- ham De Peyster, built in 1G95, occupying an entire block and fronting on the riv'er. At Cedar Street were the first brick buildings after Governor Leis- ler's (which stood next to Governor Stuyvesant's White Hall, near the Fort). Colonel De Peyster's houses were three stories high, and were built in lfi96. The Dutch leaders, like De Peyster, Van Cort- landt and Van Dam, congregatiug in this section and maintaining their interest in it, Pearl Street became the Dutch Broadwa3\ At Libert}' Street was the famous King's Head Tavern. The sign, the King's Head, passed from this place to others, and finally landed in Mon- tague's, on Broadway, where it was put out of use. Continuing our walk past the places formerly oc- cupied by the residences of man}' of the most promi- nent people of early New York, we coiue in a few moments to Maiden Lane, and here, if we had ar- rived in the real old Dutch times, we would cither have been compelled to sicini across the Maagde patje gracht, or to have walked up to such a point as we could jump across it. Had we lived in those days we would have made the detour; for, if tra- dition is good for anything, there would have been plenty of enjoyable companj* on the shores; and, by the way, is it not interesting to note that along 148 NEW YORK CITY LIFE this pathway, so much frequented by the Dutch maidens, are located so many of the leading jew- elry shops of the City? Here at Maiden Lane, where we cross on dry ground, stood the famous Fly Market, not named after the flies, who were undoubtedly as populous and insistent a community there as at other markets, but so called because the Dutchmen pronounced their V's like F's, and in- stead of saying Valley, which they meant, they said Vly or Fly. Here was the valley of the maidens, and undoubtedly it was a happy thought of some thrifty merchant that where they came down to wash their clothes they might be induced to buy the family provisions and to take them home. We know that some carping critics will in- sist on applying the rule, the compass and the tape to everything; but we def}^ them to prove that the Fly Market had not its origin in the congregating of traders at that spot to sell produce and family stores to the "women folks." This old market was in full bloom during the days of the privateers, and it was a favorite spot for procuring supplies by the captains of those vessels. At this point will be seen a few interesting old buildings, and none more interesting than the tav- ern (which we will insist on calling it), at the point where Maiden Lane and Liberty Street come together. The building was erected in 1823. Plainly it was a notable house in its day, but as you stand in front of it, with similar old establishments about you, and look toward Broadway, veritable 149 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS mountains of stone, iron and brick rise up behind it, so that it presents an amusing appearance of shabby and antique gentility. The Fly Market was one of the most interesting gathering spots on Manhattan Island. It seems to have been established about the year 17(i6, for the purpose of securing regular supplies and of fixing regular charges for meat and fish. As the City grew, the market became more important, and after a while it was the great meeting place for pur- chasers and consumers. In those days the finest gentlemen of the City did their own marketing and carried their purchases home in their own hands, and they met and bargained with the humblest and the commonest marketmen who had food for sale. The butchers of the Fly Market were an enterpris- ing lot. and in time came to have considerable in- fluence in affairs of the town. Bustle and jollity were the characteristics of the market's life, but there were times of trial and distress. The scourge of yellow fever was most severe in the neighbor- hood of the market, and several times its stalls were deserted; the marketmen fleeing from the neighborhood and endeavoring to carry on their business at their temporary homes in places far dis- tant. Dutch farmers from Jersey, and English farm- ers from Long Island, brought their vegetables in rowboats or skiffs. Occasionally Indians came with game and fish, and at all times there were crowds of careless darkies, uncouthlj^ attired, ready to laugh, swear, or dance for pennies or eels. The butchers 150 NEW YORK CITY LIFE of the Fly Market were in the front in the fight for Uberty. They swelled the gatherings of the Sons of Liberty, and many of them were in the crowd of patriots at the battle of Golden Hill. Among the prominent butchers of the market were Richard Green, Isaac Varian, John Stockford, Peter Jay, Samuel Lawrence and John Pessenger. Pes- senger was a great patriot, and did substantial work in supplying meat to the Continental army. He be- came connected bj' marriage with Henry Astor, brother of John Jacob Astor (who spelled his name Ashdor). Henrj' Astor married a daughter of the estimable woman whom Mr. Pessenger married. As- tor was very proud of his wife, frequently saying to his associates, "Dolly is de pink of de Powery." Pessenger cared for Major Leitch, who was fatally wounded at the "Battle of Harlem Plains." He was so faithful in supplying General Washington's army that his ability was made known to General Howe, who endeavored to secure his services at a large price, but he patriotically refused to have anj- dealings with Howe. When General Washington be- came President, and took up his residence in New York Citj', he sought out his friend Pessenger at the Fly Market and traded with him exclusively. Henry Astor also became a butcher in the Fly Market. He made his purchases at the Bull's Head (on the site of the old Bowery Theater, now Thalia Theater), and brought them home in a wheel- barrow, and hours before daylight he was arranging his stock in a stall in the Fly Market. When his 151 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS brother, John Jacob Astor, arrived in New York, Henry gave him his first stock in trade — a basket of trinkets — with which he traded for furs and skins on the vessels %vhich brought them to New York. There were famous farmers among the business men of the Fly Market, such as Henry Brevoort, whose notable tablet memorial is in the vestibule of Grace Church on Broadway; Henry Spingler, whose farm was north of Union Square, where the Spingler house stood for so manj' 3'ears; Nicholas Romaine, Lawrence Ulshofer, Yellis Mandeville and Gilbert Coutant. Other notable merchants of the market were William Wright, John Fink, Joseph O. Bog- art, William Mooney, John Lovell, Daniel Winship, Benjamin Cornell, and Cornelius Schujier. There were huckster women as well, who, in their way, were quite remarkable characters, like Arabella Truce, Mary Appleby, Caty Buyshe, Barbary Var- vosar and Abigail Doil. Grant Thorburn started the florist business in this market. In April, 1805, he saw a man for the first time selling flower-plants in the market. He wrote: "As I carelessly passed along I took a leaf, and rub- bing it between my fingers and thumb, asked him what was the name of it? He answered, 'A rose geranium.^ 1 looked a few minutes at the plant, thought it had a pleasant smell, and thought it would look well if removed into one of my green flower-pots, to stand on my counter to draw atten- tion. Next day some one fancied, and purchased plant and pot. Next day I went when the market 152 NEW YORK CITY LIFE was nearly over, judging the man would sell cheap- er, rather than have the trouble of carrying them over the river, as he lived at Brooklyn; and in those days there was neither steam nor horse-boats. Accordingly I purchased two plants, and having sold them, I began to think that something might be done this way, and so I continued to go at the close of the market, and always bargained for the unsold plants. The man, finding me a useful cus- tomer, would assist me to carry them home, and show me how to shift the plants out of his pots and put them into green pots, if my customers wished it. So I found by his tongue that he was a Scotchman, and being countrymen, we wrought to one another's hands; thus, from having one plant, in a short time I had fifty. "The thing, being a novelty, began to draw at- tention; people carrj^ng their country friends to see the curiosities of the City would step in to see my plants. In some of these visits the strangers would express a wish to have some of the plants; but, having so far to go, could not carry them. Then they would ask for the seeds, and also those of cabbage, turnip, or radish seeds, etc.; but here lay the difficulty, as no one sold seed in New York, not one of the farmers or gardeners saving more than what they wanted for their own use — there being no market for an overplus. In this dilemma, I told my situation to George Inglis, the man from whom I had always bought the plants in the Fly Market. He said he was now raising seeds, with 153 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS the intention of selling them next spring, along with his plants in the market; but if I would take his seeds, he would quit the market, and sta}' at home and raise plants and seeds for me to sell. A bargain was immediately struck; I purchased his stock of seeds, amounting to fifteen dollars; and thus commenced a business on the l?th of Septem- ber, 1805, that became the most extensive of the sort in the United States." No man was more noted in New York than Thorburn — a wise, energetic little fellow, less than five feet tall, who became really a distinguished citi- zen. The business founded by him is still continued at Number 15 John Street, on the site of the first theater. Close by this old market, at the corner of Cliff and John Streets, lived a colored woman named Mary Simpson, who originated the observ- ance of Washington's birthday in New York City. She had been a slave in the family of General Washington, who set her free while living in New York. She opened a little store in the basement of her house, where she sold milk, butter, and eggs, with cookies, pies, and sweetmeats of her own manu- facture; and she also took in washing for several bachelor gentlemen who resided in the neighborhood. She never forgot her old master's birthday, nor did she want her friends or patrons to forget it, as that day was above all the holidays with her; and she kept it most faithfully, by preparing a very large cake, which she called "Washington Cake" (once a favorite of Washington), a large quantity 154 NEW YORK CITY LIFE of punch, then a fashionable drink, and hot coffee. These were nicely arranged upon a large table; then against the wall hung an old portrait of Washing- ton, and near it was displayed a small leather trunk, on which was marked the initials "G. W.," made of brass-head nails; both of which had been given to her by Washington himself. Every anniversary morning, some of the first men, old and young, paid a ceremonious visit to this much-respected col- ored woman, to eat her ""Washington Cake," drink her punch and coffee, praise her old master's por- trait, and his many noble and heroic deeds; and thus was passed every Washington's birthday until her death. She said she "was fearful that if she did not keep up the day by her display, Washing- ton would be soon forgotten." Mr. Thorburn, whom we have just mentioned, said, "When the yellow fever prevailed, people fled, and left their cats to starve; soon the hungry cats came howling round the dwellings of those whose doors were open. Mary Washington and her stout colored servant- girl went every morning with two large sacks to the butchers, who always cheerfully gave them as many sheep-heads as they could carry. On arriving home, they found fivescore and five starving cats waiting their return; straightway each with her hatchet split the skulls and scattered the brains, when the cats ate and were satisfied. I had full share of starving cats to provide for. The weather being hot, and the windows open, the cats came in. We were obliged to keep a woman with a stick 155 ( THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS to sit by the table, while the servant was placing the food before us; every day I placed dishes on the sidewalks, and got many gallons of milk from the kind milkmen for the poor cats. Soon the cats found their wa}' up town, and got better quarters." (Thus began New York's back fence opera. AVhen the art- ists sing, please thank Mary and the Scotchman.) The market was a favorite place for the victualing of privateers, both in the Colonial period and dur- ing the War of 1812. During that war the market- men stood firmly for the war. There were many fishing smacks which brought their catches to the market, and in July, 1813, one of these smacks, the "Yankee," was fitted up for the purpose of capturing a British sloop named the "Eagle," which was cruising around Sandy Hook and capturing American trading vessels. This is the account of the engagement, published in the "Naval Monu- ment," 1836: "The fishing smack, named the 'Yankee,' was borrowed of some fishermen at Fly Market, in the city of New York, and a calf, a sheep, and a goose pvirchased, and secured on deck. Between 30 and 40 men, well armed with muskets, were secreted in the cabin and forepeak of the smack. Thus prepared, she stood out to sea, as if going on a fishing trip to the banks, three men only being on deck, dressed in fishermen's apparel, with buff caps on. The 'Eagle,' on perceiving the smack, immedi- ately gave chase, and after coming up with her, loO V M:r -%•>.. UNITED STATES HOTEL, FULT(3N AND PEARL STREETS. Ni-« York. Vol. One, p. 160. NEW YORK CITY LIFE and finding she had live stock on deck, ordered her to go down to the commodore, then about five miles distant. The helmsman answered, Aye, aye, sir, and apparently put up the helm for the purpose, which brought him alongside of the 'Eagle,' not more than three yards distant. The watchword 'Law- rence' was then given, when the armed men rushed on deck from their hiding places, and poured into her a volley of musketry, which struck the crew with dismay, and drove them all down so precipi- tately into the hold of the vessel that they had not time to strike their colors. The 'Eagle,' with the prisoners, was carried to the city and landed at Whitehall, amidst the shouts and plaudits of thousands of spectators, assembled on the Battery, celebrating the 4th of July. "Henry Morris, commander of the 'Eagle,' was buried at Sandy Hook with military honors, and in the most respectful manner. Mr. Price, who died soon after, was buried in Trinity Churchyard, with every testimony of regard." In January, February, March and April, of 1816, there were sold in this old market 3,665 sheep, 2,275 cattle, 3,822 calves and 669 hogs. The mar- ket was closed up on the 22d December, 1821. Some of the butchers held on to the last. David Sims was selling a piece of meat to a ship captain, and while weighing it a piece of the roof, loosened by those who were tearing down the market, fell down in the midst of the party and marked the last sale 157 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS in the market, which had been a continuous mart for one hundred and twenty-three years. In a few years the space occupied by the market was built upon. The "tavern," at the intersection of Maiden Lane and Liberty Street, was erected two years after the tearing down of the market. Fulton Market is the successor of the Fly Market. Many of the Fly Market butchers moved directly to the new market, which was a great improvement upon the old one. There was one year when its stall- keepers had to flee from the yellow fever, as they had done before in the Fly Market. In 18:30 an Englishman named Fowler visited Fulton Market and said of it: "I have repeatedly visited it, and have no hesitation in saying that, for the richness and abundance of its supply, it surpasses any market I ever saw, especially in fruits and vegetables; and in fish, flesh and fowl there is every profusion and excellence. I have been frequently asked by my American friends whether I considered their beef equal to the roast beef of Old England, but I would confess myself not epicure enough to tell the difference." This part of the City was so desolated by the plague of yellow fever that vegetables grew in the streets. When the people came back they plucked beans and melons from plants which grew up out of the openings in the sidewalks in the roadways. When the privateers took their supplies from the Fly Market the papers were full of notices like these : 158 NEW YORK CITY LIFE "To all Gentlemen, Sailors and others, who have a mind to try their Fortunes on a cruizing Voy- age against the enemy; That the Brig 'Hester' and Sloop 'Polly' are now fitting out at New York in the best Manner; (under Command of Capt. Francis Rosewell and Capt. S. Bayard) the Owners of said Vessels being to find every Thing necessary for such an undertaking. The Brig is a fine new sin- gle Deck Vessell of 160 Tons, to mount 32 Guns, and to be mann'd with 120 Men; the Sloop is also new. Burthen 100 Tons, to mount 26 Guns, and be mann'd with 80 men; being both prime Sailers, and are to go in Company. Whoever inclines to go in either of said Vessels, may see the Articles at the house of Mr. Benjamin Kierstede, Tavern Keeper on the New Dock."— "Post Boy," Oct. 17, 1743. "Saturday last arrived here our two Privateers, the Brig 'Hester,' Capt. Bayard, and Sloop 'Polly,' Capt. Jefferies, with their Prize so much talk'd of, from Cape Fare; she is a beautiful Ship, almost new, of near 200 Tons, and laden chiefly with Co- coa: but we don't hear that the Pieces of Eight have been found, as was reported: After unload- ing her at Cape Fare, several of the Men took their shares and left the Vessels: It is said they share about 1,100 wt. of Cocoa per Man." — "Post Boy," June 11, 1774. Here is an advertisement from the New York "Gazette" of Oct. 3, 1737. ''Moses Slaughter, Stay Maker, from London has brought with him a Parcel of extraordinary good 159 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS and Fashionable Stays of bis own making of several sizes and Prices. "Tbe work of them be will warrant to be good, and for sbape inferior to none tbat are made. "He lodges at present at tbe bouse of William Bradford" (bere is our great printer!), "next Door but one to tbe Treasurer's near tbe Flj^ Market, wbere be is ready to suit tbose tbat want, witb extraordinary good stays. Or be is ready to wait upon any Ladys or Gentlewomen tbat please to send for him to tbeir Houses. If any desire to be informed of tbe work be bas done, let tbem enquire of Mrs. Elliston in tbe Broad Street, or of Mrs. Nicbols in tbe Broadway, wbo have bad bis work." Tbree blocks furtber we come to Fulton Street, wbere tbe elevated railroad and tbe United States Hotel bave made a sort of alliance offensive and defensive. Tbere tbe railroad must bave a station, and tbe old-fasbioned botel makes up for tbe dam- age wbicb it sustains by renting rooms for passage and for tbe sale of tickets, and by treating tbe tbrongs of passengers wbo go tbrougb its balls to tbe seductive odors of tbe kitcben and dining-room. From tbe "American Advertiser," 1851: UNITED STATES HOTEL, Cors. Fulton, Water and Pearl Sts., New- York. H. JOHNSON. Ppoprietor. This well-known and extensive Establishment bas recently undergone a complete renovation, been thor- 100 .NEW YORK CITY LIFE oughly painted throughout, and refurnished in such a manner as not to be inferior to any other Hotel in the City of New- York. Its location, being di- rectly in the center of the principal mercantile com- munity, affords to country merchants an opportunity of transacting their business whilst sojourning in the City, without being compelled to sacrifice much of their time as is the case in many instances. Thank- ful for the many favors extended to him during the past, the proprietor most respectfully asks a continu- ance of their hospitality, at the same time assuring them that every exertion on his part will be used to merit a continuance of their favors. Carriages belonging to the Hotel will be in readiness at all times to convey passengers to and from the differ- ent Hues of Steamboats and Railroads; or to any part of the City or its vicinity. — H. Johnson. At the time of this advertisement the hotel was eighteen years old. It was the pioneer of the "great" hotels of New York City and of America. It was considered a wonder, and its rates of a dol- lar and a half a day and upward were thought to be "high" and "exclusive." Its proprietor was named Holt, and the building was generally called "Holt's Folly," because the venture seemed too stu- pendous to succeed. The popular judgment was vin dicated by its failure, but the venture was renewed. Even at the time of the advertisement it was one of the sights of the City. At that time it was well supported by regular boarders, and was fre- quented by sea captains. The odd, discolored, ungainly observatory on the building was erected for the use of owners of ves- 161 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS sels. These worthy people watched from the ob- servatory for the coming in of their ships; and daily the distant bay was scanned with telescopes by anxious and expectant merchants. The watchers in the old observatorj- received the first information of the safe arrival of ocean voy- agers; for there was no telegraph in those days to announce arrivals from Fire Island, and no means of communicating news quicker than the vessels could bring it. A bulletin was rigged up on the roof, and on it was spread the announcements which filled the merchants mth joy. Then it was that- New Yorkers learned the exquisite meaning of the famous phrase, "When our ship comes in." How many plans were laid by the good folks on the hope of their ship coming in! Only fift}- or sixty years have passed, but we have forgotten entirely the watchers in the old ob- servatorj'; and still we lay our plans and wait for our ship to come in, and to bring the golden means of fortune. New York has grown away from the old hotel, and has quite forgotten it. There are some old buildings on the south side of Fulton Street, opposite the market, with high- pitched roofs and tall chimneys, fastened together with iron rods, so that one will not jield to the wind unless all go. They were storehouses on the slip that ran up to the old hotel. As we cross the street we notice that the character of the stores changes. South of Fulton Street we had the ware- 162 NEW YORK CITY LIFE houses and exchanges, the tobacco warehouses, the metal concerns — all indicating business enterprises of large size; but from Fulton Street northward there are many smaller establishments which plainly show their age. Numbers 276 and 306 Pearl Street are good ex- nmples of old-fashioned business establishments, and numbers of buildings are seen where the old-fash- ioned fancy roof windows appear, and the cornices and the lintels are of old pattern and are weather- beaten. From the "American Advertiser," 1851: CHAMBERLIN'S SALOON, 310 Pearl Street. Bill of pare. SOUPS. s. Beef Mutton Chicken .... ROAST. Beef Lamb Veal Pork Mutton Roast Pig .... 1 ROAST POULTRY. Turkey 1 Goose . .... 1 Chicken .... 1 Duck 1 16H IiXNER. BOILED. d. s. d. 6 Corned Beef . . 6 6 " Pork . . 6 6 " Ham . . 6 Ham .... 6 6 Beef Tongue . . 6 6 Mutton .... 6 6 MADE DISHES 6 Pork and Beans . 6 6 Veal Pie . . . 6 Beef Steak Pie . 6 Lamb Pie . . . 6 Mutton Pie . . 6 Clam Pie . . . 6 Oyster Pie . . . 1 Chicken Pot Pie . 1 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS This was a famous restaurant and a great bill of fare. Franklin Square, at which we have arrived, is no stranger to tenement houses, and tenement houses of the lowest character; for that former center of respectability, so far as it has not been captured by business, has developed the worst slums of the entire City. We have read in histories of the fa- mous Walton House on Franklin Square, whose lux- urious appointments and costly furniture were the talk not only of New York, but of England also. We stand in front of Harper's great publishing- house, and under the rushing trains of the railroad, and we look in vain for any sign of such magnifi- cence. There are one or two dwellings, old in ap- pearance, and showing former respectability, and there are modern buildings opposite Harper's filled up with manufacturing concerns; but the Walton House, where is it — or where was it? Years ago, the grand people who lived in the mansion forsook it. In it was organized the first bank, the Bank of New York, in which Alexander Hamilton's mas terhand was felt. Little by little it yielded to the corrupting influences of the neighborhood, and with- in the memory of many New Yorkers it was a mis- erable, dilapidated tenement, overflowing with a squalid army of dirty, ragged children, and of par- ents to match. The building stood at about Num- ber 32G Pearl Street, and was burned down in the great fire which destroyed the Harper's establish- ment in 1853. 164 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The mansion was built bj' William Walton in 1752. He was the first man called "Boss" in New York City. He died childless in 1768, and it passed to his nephew, William Walton, who joined the British cause in the Revolution. The Waltons stood in the very first ranks in business and society, and all that money and taste could accomplish were worked into this suburban residence, as it was then considered. The grounds extended to the river, and were beautifully developed. There was a strange old story connected with the house many years ago, the belief in which had something to do with its de- cadence. The house had become a boarding-house, and it was supposed that the Waltons were extinct; but there appeared a sea captain who claimed to be Guilford Walton, directly descended from the origi- nal William Walton. He professed a fondness for the old house, and hired rooms in it. He did not mix much in society, though he retained the respect of the many prominent people with whom he had become acquainted through his professed connection with the Walton family. He met a young lady who resided near the pres- ent Spring Street, Anna Barrington, and becoming greath' attached to her, began to make her regular visits. The walk between the Walton house and Kirtle Grove, Miss Barrington 's residence, was prin- cipally through Mulberry Street, then nothing but a rough path adjoining the Collect Pond. This walk at night was very lonely, and occasionally it hap- pened that Captain Walton had to return home 165 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS at a late hour. On these occasions he was dogged by a mj^'sterious stranger, who followed him per- sistently, but would never allow himself to be close- ly observed. Sometimes the captain would turn and try to catch him, but he always failed. Soon a vague terror, at this unnatural visitation, possessed the captain's mind. Then Captain "Walton began to receive strange letters, signed "The Detective," warn- ing him to keep away from Mulberry Street. He did take a circuitous route in obedience to the let- ters, striking from Miss Barrington's house into the neighborhood of the present Hudson Street, turning- east at Vesey Street, and coming into Pearl Street through Pulton (then called Partition) Street. For a while it seemed as though he had shaken off his close attendant; but one night he realized the same presence while passing St. George's Chapel on Beek- man Street, and again, as before, he was unable to get away from his pursuer, or to see him clo.i-'^^^ Deplorable Ignorance. Fast Youth— "Filthy weed, do j'ou call this! I should like to know where you have lived all your life not to know what a cigar is?"— '■Hari)er's," Vol. (5. Anecdotes of the dog, the hawk and the ser- pents are artistically and sesthetically mixed up with the antithetical characters of Napoleon and "Words- worth. Then we have the "Chapter on Bears," "Chapter on Dreams," "Chapter on Shawls," and 170 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the "Chapter on Wolves." Then we have the "Death of a Goblin," and the "Death of How- ard." What the editors lacked in general topics they made up by their magnificent articles and plates on the fashions. wlnCh were divided into ^' ^- An American Methuselah. First Young Lady— "Cicy, dear, I want to introduce that tall gen- tleman to you. You'll like him, he's so talented. He's written a book." Second Young Lady— "No— no ! Anne, don't introduce him, he looks as old as the hills. Why, he's twenty-five if he's a day. And then look at his collar and his cravat — and (whispering) such pantaloons! Did you ever! He don't belong to our set at all." — "Harper's," Vol. 6. "Fashions for December," "Fashions for Early Win- ter," "Fashions for Later Winter," "Fashions for Early Spring," "Fashions for Spring," "Fashions for May." 171 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS In the fifth volume was begun a series of picto- rial comicalities, which undoubtedly had their inspira- tion in the London "Punch." "Harper's" has im- proved, but "Punch" remains the samp. BIr. Smithers being sick sends for a lady doctress to attend upon him pro- fessionally. Being a singularly bashftil young man his pulse is greatly accelerated on being manipulated by the delicate lingers of the lady prac- titioner, whereupon she naturally imagines him to be in a high fever and incontinently physics him for the same —'•Harper's," Vol. 7. In volume six the })nblishers say that "they give the finest pictorial illustrations that a lavish expendi- 172 NEW YORK CITY LIFE ture of money can command." This volume is nota- ble for its publication of "Bleak House." The original establishment and several adjacent buildings were destroyed by a terrible fire in 1853. Almost every engine in the City was on hand, and How TO Insure against Railway Accidents, Tie a couple of directors on every engine that starts with a train. The several fire companies came from Brooklyn. Harper's firm lost $800,000. Out of the ruins rose the present building, and enterprise so completely triumphed over disaster that the firm continued to lead the publishing concerns of the country. It is only within a few years that 173 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS they have been equaled or distanced. This old ure from volume -i is not unlike some that W( in these days. This splendid printing establishment is an monument to character and worth; another tration of the great development of our City, pict- other illus- aud A "Bloomer" (in leap year)— "Say 1 Oli, say, ilearest. you will be mine?" of the opportunities it has given to young men of energy and honor. James Harper, its founder, came to New York from a Long Island farm in 1810. Though very poor, he had been carefullj' brought up m a Meth- odist home, and he came to the Cit}' enjoying the benefits of good parentage and training. He became a printer's "devil," not far from the present great 174 NEW YORK CITY LIFE house. The young "bloods" of the neighborhood made fun of his shabby clothes, but he would not go into debt to purchase better garments. When his time was up he determined to start his own business; so, getting his brother John to join him, he opened a little room in Dover Street, and their first job was the printing of two thousand copies of Seneca's Morals for Evert Duyckinck. Soon they undertook to get out a stereotyped edition of the Prayer-book for the Episcopal Church. They found that they could not get the stereotyping done for them at such a price as to allow them to make a profit, so they did it themselves, and turned out the finest work that had then been seen. That put the young firm in the front. By degrees the hum- ble establishment was enlarged, and it moved on until it reached the first place among the publish- ing houses of the world, which it has steadily main- tained under the management of the various mem- bers of the Harper family, who have not fallen below the high positions established by James and John Harper. There was a fire in 1850 in Hague Street close by, which for terror and completeness of destruction has never been exceeded in our City. To this daj^ the residents of the neighborhood talk of the Hague Street explosion with expressions of horror. It was about eight o'clock in the morning of February 4th that an explosion at the factory, Numbers 5 and 7 Hague Street, shook the adjoining buildings almost from their foundations, knocked down people who 175 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ■v^ere passing on the adjacent streets, smashed in- numerable windows, and frightened the people for many blocks. The buildings rose up from their base, and then split apart, and tumbled into ruins, while the fire darted up through the wreckage. A two-hundred horse-power boiler had exploded while over a hundred people were at work. The noise of the explosion and the falling building did not drown the screams of agony from the unfortunates who were buried in the burning ruin. For hours the firemen labored to rescue those whose moans directed them. The injured were taken into Dr. Trap- h a g e n ' s drug store, at 308 Pearl Street. Sixty-four persons were killed and forty-eight were badly in- jured. A few steps from the site of the Walton house Washingt.. . k....-,.., ...u^Un House. bring us to the land pier of the Brooklyn Bridge. Do we know how well founded that bridge is? There, near the corner of Franklin Square and Cherry Street, stood the "Walter Franklin mansion, which was the residence of George Washington when he was inaugurated as the first President. Daily lie made the journey from that corner to the Fed- eral Hall at Wall and Broad Streets. When we 17G NEW YORK CITY LIFE look down Cherry Street and see the horrible char- acters who infest its tenement houses, many of which are the former mansions of New York's best citi- zens, we can hardly believe that we are in the right place. It does not seem possible that such awful degeneration should have come to a noble neighborhood. As we notice the doors and entrances of many of those houses, and entering them perceive the noble halls and high-ceiled rooms and the sim- ple but elegant old decorations, which remain in man}' places, we begin to realize that there has been a noble past in this home of crime. What a jubilant day it was when General Washington landed at Wall Street and was met and escorted by the City officials and the soldiers up through Pearl Street to his home, then unshaded by the Brooklj'n Bridge! The procession moved through Pearl Street, between solid masses of wildly shout- ing patriots crowded into the narrow passageway. The troops lined up on Cherry Street while the general entered his home. Three days after that he was escorted down Pearl Street into Broad Street and to the Federal building, there to take the oath of office as the first President. There have been many notable parades and demonstrations in this City; but there have been none which so fuUy em- bodied the elements of national progress as did that inauguration procession. In its front was the noble figure of our country's father, carrying in himself the destinies of a whole people. It was through this commonplace, dirty, noisy and uninteresting 177 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS street, as it now is, that he went to start a new nation upon its great career. This procession had been preceded by one, onl}- a little less imposing and thrilling, wliich filled the people of New York with pride; for it commemo- rated the adoption of the Constitution, that was so largely the ^vork of her favorite son, Alexander Hamilton. This celebration occurred on July 23, 1788. The projectors of the parade seemed to real- ize the significance of the occasion, and no previous parade had even approached it in the thoroughness with which it represented the Constitution and the people. The central figure in the pageant was a miniature ship called the "Hamilton," Avhich was intended to typify the Constitution. It was full- rigged and carried a crew of men who went through the process of furling and unfurling the sails as the vessel was drawn through the street. A battery of cannon fired salutes from the ship. The car on which it was draw^n was beautifully draped. By this exhibit, the Constitution was likened to a ship which would sustain and carry the nation. All of the important professions and trades were represented in the civic part of the parade, which followed a military division. The grand-marshal w^as Colonel Richard Piatt, and among his aides were Morgan Lewis, who subsequentl}' became governor of the State, and Nicholas Fish, father of Hamilton Fish. Among the farmers were Nicholas Cruger and John "Watts, each clad in conventional costume. The So- ciety of the Cincinnati occupied a place. There were 178 NEW YORK CITY LIFE bakers, shoemakers, brewers, coopers, tailors, tan- ners, butchers, carpenters — all in the costume of their trades. The judges and lawj^ers were in a promi- nent place, and bore with them an engrossed copy of the new Constitution. Professors, students, doc tors, merchants, bank ofl&cers, and clergymen were in line. There was even a division for strangers. The procession was nearly two miles long, and it didn't stop marching until it reached the place of refreshment, on Nicholas Bayard's farm, in the re^ gion above Grand Street and west of Broadway, where provision had been made for six thousand persons. The procession formed along Broadway, but was not in full swing until it reached Great Dock Street (included within the present Pearl Street at the Battery). When the ship passed Beaver Street going down, it was boarded by a pilot, who went out to it in a row boat carried on a float. The "Hamilton's" first salute was fired at Bowling Green, and while passing Old Slip in Pearl Street she responded to the guns of a Spanish war vessel lying in the East River. The celebration was re- markable in showing the unanimity of all the peo- ple in all occupations in accepting the Constitution and in giving it their heartiest support. Ratifica- tion of the instrument had been obtained with great difficulty; but this magnificent demonstration showed the decision of the people to accept and loyally sup- port the national bond, and the enthusiasm of New York spread throughout the Union. The house in which Washington began his oflfi- IT'J THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS cial career as our first President was a small, sim- ple dwelling, and was uncomfortably crowded by his family, his attendants, and the throng of the great men of the new nation, who were constantly visiting the President. There the first levees were held (on Tuesdays), and Mrs. Washington had her "drawing-rooms" (on Friday nights). The ceilings were so low that one of the guests, Miss Mclvers, brought the feathers of her head-dress in contact with the chandelier, and they caught fire. The greedy blaze was gallantly extinguished by Major Jackson. Washington kept a diary, in which he made entries like these: "The visitors this evening to Mrs. Washington were respectable, both gentlemen and ladies." "The visitors to Mrs. Washington this afternoon were not numerous but respectable. In the evening a great number of ladies and many gentlemen visited Mrs. "Washington." During the President's residence in Cherry Street he suffered a serious and dangerous illness from a malignant carbuncle, which at one time seemed in- curable. Dr. Bard attended him, and directed a necessary operation. He sail to his assistant: "Cut away— deeper; don't be afraid. See how well the President bears it." At one time Washington asked the physician about his chances, saying: "Do not flatter me with vain hope. I am not afraid to die, and therefore can bear the worst. Whether to-night or twenty years hence makes no difference; I know that I am in the hands of a good Providence." 180 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The accommodations of the house were inade- quate to the business that had to be done, which was the reason for the President's removal to Num- ber 39 Broadway. In the Cherry Street house, three secretaries had to sleep in one room, and one of them murdered the sleep of the others by reciting poetry which he composed in the small hours of the night. Colonel Post, who lived in it for a num- ber of years while a child, prided himself upon having occupied the same rooms "in which slept Washington and his wife, as also the great De Witt Clinton." He said: "It was a handsome old house, with thick walls, richly carved staircase, deep window seats, wainscoted partitions, and open fire- places quaintly tiled with blue India china. The wall-paper in the second hall was of never failing interest to us children, with its gay pictures of men and women of full size, walking in beautiful gar- dens, sitting by fountains with parasols, or sailing on lakes with guitars or flutes in their hands." There is nothing finer than this at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue ! This advertisement appeared in the New York "Packet," May 7, 1789: "r/?e President's Household. — Whereas all ser- vants and others employed to procure provisions or necessaries for the household of the 'President' of the United States will be furnished with monies for these purposes. Notice is therefore given^ that no accounts, for the payment of which the public 181 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS might be considered as responsible, are to be opened with any of them. "Samuel Fraunces, Steivard of the Household.'''' In the month of December following there ap- peared this announcement : "A Cook is wanted for the President of the United States. No one need apply who is not per- fect in the business, and can bring indubitable testi- monials of sobriety, honesty, and attention to the duties of the station." Then, on December 19th, this was printed: "A Coachman, who can be well recommended for his skill in driving, attention to horses, and for his honest}', sobriety, and good disposition, would find employment in the famil}' of the President of the United States. ' ' The President's habits were very simple. "His dining hour was four, when he always sat down to his table, only allowing five minutes for the varia- tion of time-pieces, whether his guests were present or not. It was frequentl}' the case with new mem- bers of Congress that they did not arrive until din- ner was nearly half over; and he would remark: 'Gentlemen, we are punctual here; my cook never asks whether the company has arrived, hut ivh ether the hour has.'' " His diet was simple and plain. He seldom partook of more than one dish. Judge Wingate, who was one of his guests, described his first dinner after his inauguration. "The guests con- NEW YORK CITY LIFE sisted of the Vice-President, the foreign Ministers, the heads of Departments, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Senators from New- Hampshire and Georgia, the then two most North- ern and Southern States. It was the least showy- dinner that I ever saw at the President's table, Present usage, state and environment of the coach of General Washington. and the company was not large. The President made his whole dinner on a boiled leg of mutton. It was his usual practice to eat of but one dish. After the dinner and dessert were finished, one glass of wine was passed round the table, and no toast. The President arose, and all the company, of course, and retired to the drawing-room, from which 183 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS the guests departed, as every one chose, without ceremony," William J. Davis related this anecdote of Sam- uel Fraunces, who was always anxious to provide thf first dainties of the season for the general'r table: "It appears that Sam, ou making his pur- chases at the old Fly Market, observed a fine shad, the first of the season; he was not long in making the bargain, and it was sent home with his other purchases. Next morning it was dulj- served up in Sam's best stj'le for the general's breakfast. The general, on sitting down to the table, observed the fish, and asked Sam what it was. He replied that 'it was a fine shad.' 'It is very early in the sea- son for them,' rejoined the general. 'How much did j'ou paj' for it?' 'Two dollars,' said Sam. 'Two dollars! I can never encourage this extravagance at my table,' replied Washington. 'Take it awa.y; I will not touch it!' The shad was accordingl}' re- moved, and Sam, who had no such economical scruples, made a hearty meal on the fish at his own table." At the angle where Pearl Street runs northward from Cherry Street was Cow Foot Hill. From the foot of this hill Cherry Street ran out, parallel with the river, to and into Colonel Rutger's estate. Never has there been a more beautiful street in our City than the old Cherry Street, especiall\' that part of it which was called Cherry Hill. As the name tells us, fragrant cherry trees abounded, and the gentle slope toward the river was covered with 184 NEW YORK CITY LIFE rich vegetation. Those who loved such sweet and beautiful surroundings built comfortable homes there, many of which remain in the degraded neighbor- hood, making their silently eloquent complaint of the course of events which has transformed para- dise into hell. "Washington Irving said, "The more proudly a mansion has been tenanted in the day of its prosperity, the more humble are its inhabitants in the day of its dechne, and the palace of ihe king becomes the resting place of the beggar." So it is in Cherry Street. Through arched doorways, and between classic pillars, with simple elegant orna- mentation, the passer-bj^ sees vile and wretched peo- ple, and disgusting sights of squalor and depravity. We can hardly believe that, in these rooms, now occupied by whisky -soaked brawlers, and ringing with blood-curdling oaths, once lovely women and noble men engaged in chaste converse, and enjoyed sweet music and rhythmic poetry; that in these ken- nels of the criminal and vicious, the purest and the bravest dwelt in refined luxury; that through these doorways, now defiled with human filth, and crowded with the most worthless people of the City, women arrayed in silks, and men dressed in honored uni forms, passed in and out. Xor can we easily be- lieve that this hot - bed of violent crime was the home of the peace-loving Quakers. The decadence of Cherry Street began many years ago, when the influx of immigration gradually but surely forced the old residents to the northward. It is not easy now to find traces of the oldest occupants of Cherry 185 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS Hill and the builders of the splendid old houses that still remain. It is easier to learn of those who suc- ceeded the original inhabitants. Some interesting recollections still remain. John Hancock lived at Number 5 Cherry Street. Number 7, now demol- ished, was the first house in the City to be sup- plied with illuminating gas. Number U was the original naval rendezvous. Number 15 was a branch naval rendezvous. Number 23 was formerly known as "The Well," and was the favorite resort of the captains of privateers in the War of 1812, where they originated the "beefsteak party." From 1862 to 18(34: it was the headquarters of the supervisors of Westchester County for the providing of substi- tutes to fill up the quota of drafted men for the war. Number 24 was the birthplace of William M. Tweed, whose father's chair factorj^ was at Number 3. At Numbers 29 and 29i were quartered the staff- officers of General Washington. At Niunber 27 Cherry Street lived Captain Samuel Chester Reid, and there he designed the present plan of the Ameri- can flag. To-day the building is a great tenement, and the lower part of it is a typical Cherry Street gin-mill, kept by John McAllister, who has been there these thirty j-ears past, and knows Cherry Street through and through. McAllister has pros- pered, though his customers are poor and rough. One need not fear to enter, though he will prob- ably see men about the place that he would not like to meet alone on a dark night. The visitor will be interested in the system of peepholes and 186 NEW YORK CITY LIFE cubbies between the store and the hallway; but he need not fear panel games or trap-doors. That is simply an arrangement to facilitate the consumption of beer by the Cherrytown hosts on Sunday. Mr. McAllister says that when he took the building, thirty years ago, the first floor was laid out in noble, grand rooms, and the building had a sloping roof; but he transformed the lower rooms into a* saloon, and changed the sloped roof into the present square roof. The hallways are high, and the rooms over the store are remarkable for their size, height, trimmings, and general arrangement. There are marble mantels, which were certainly no part of any modern tene- ment house. We told Mr. McAllister the story of 187 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Captain Reid, and advised him to make a fortune by a judicious advertisement of his place; but it was very evident that he thought his visitors were Parkhurst spies, who were "filling him up with a ghost story." Do we remember who Captain Reid was that lived in this house, Number 27 Cherry Street? In 1814, when he was thirty years old, he was the commander of the privateer "General Arm- strong," which was owned by several New York merchants, She carried seven guns and ninety men. She ran the blockade of the English fleet at Sandj- Hook, and when she reached Fayal, in the Azore Islands, she put in for supplies. At that time ar- rangements were being made by the ' English forces for the capture of New Orleans, and a fleet of six ships, commanded by Admiral Lloyd on board the 74-gun ship "Plantagenet," on its way to join in the operation, stopped at Fayal for the same pur- pose that had induced Reid to anchor. Although it was a neutral port, belonging to the Portuguese gov- ernment, the British commander determined to seize the little American privateer, for use in the expedi- tion. He had the force to accomplish the capture, at least he thought he had, and he did not permit a little matt^ like the neutrality of the port to in- terfere with his project. When night came on, a fleet of small boats filled with soldiers and sailors undertook the capture of the "General Armstrong," notwithstanding the protest of the Portuguese author- ities; but Captain Reid was ready, and he repelled the attacking force, inflicting great loss of life. He 188 NEW YORK CITY LIFE knew that a strong- flotilla would be sent against him, and he prepared for it. Presently fourteen rowboats, filled with picked men, and commanded by the principal officers of the fleet, dashed out from the shelter of a cove, and an attempt was made to board the "Genei-al Armstrong" from all sides at once. The Portuguese fort could do nothing without injuring the American vessel, so it remained quiet. Captain Reid's little force was hard beset. It was all that he and his ninety men could do to beat back the hundreds of brave men who tried to clamber up on the vessel. Reid fought with the best of his men, and his personal prowess made them giants like himself. There was forty minutes of the fiercest fighting, which ended with the de- feat of the English, of whom about three hundred were killed and wounded. The rowboats were filled with the dead and dying, and some of them drifted on shore, because there was no one to row. Tiie night had been consumed in these operations, and when daylight came the English ships moved in to destroy the "Armstrong," which they could not capture intact. The "Carnation" began the battle, but soon her topmasts and yards were shot away by the "General Armstrong's" fire, and she was forced to draw ofl:. Then the other vessels closed in together, and concentrated their fire on the "Arm- strong." The American's principal cannon, "The Long Tom," became disabled, and Captain Reid saw that his vessel was doomed; so he cut away her masts, blew a hole through her bottom, sank 189 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS her, and retreated to the shore. The admiral threat- ened to bombard the city unless the American sail- ors were surrendered. Reid marched out and took possession of a convent, where he prepared to ad- minister some more annihilation to his assailants. The certainty of a hot reception appealed to the judgment of the English commander, who drew off with a badly crippled force. He had to send a large number of his men home to England because of the severity of their wounds, and his fleet was delayed nearly two weeks by the casualties among his officers and the reduction of his force. The ren- dezvous of vessels for the investment of New Or- leans was delayed, and General Jackson gained valuable time for the preparation of his thrilling defense. Captain Reid's large contribution to Jack- son's success was very plain. His glory was ac- knowledged in England, and he was lionized in America; and when he and his sailors reached New York the whole city turned out to welcome him. Number 27 Cherry Street was his residence, and, as we have said, there, he devised the plan of show- ing the number of the States by the arrangement of the stars from time to time, while the thirteen stripes remain to indicate the original States. When he died his remains were carried from his residence to a tomb in Greenwood Cemetery. He was port warden, and President of the Marine Society, and many were his services to the shipping interests of the City. But how Cherr}^ Street has fallen! On the very spot where this hero lived, and all New York de- 190 5 I c 'f- NEW YORK CITY LIFE lighted to honor him, for thirty years has lived a man who has made a competence out of the vicious appetites of the Cherry Street throngs, and he never heard of Captain Reid! We never grow tired of exploiting the growth, the progress, and the achievements of New York; but we have ver}' little to say about the backward growth, which is so plain on Cherry Street, and in many other parts of the City. In Captain Reid's time there were no such things as vicious tenement houses and the slum districts. These have come to us with our growth — our ad- vancing civilization. That they have invaded those districts which are rich in historical associations and full of patriotic memories, until they have blotted out the knowledge of the noble characters who once lived there, and the noble deeds that were once done there, is a proof of the carelessness that has distinguished our citizens concerning those things which are calculated to preserve the moral tone of the people and to lay foundations of progress by the inculcation of civic pride. These are some of the residents of Cherry Street one hundred years ago: Number 2 Melancthon Smith, merchant. 4 Drowley & Drawbridge, merchants. 11 Gilbert G. Willet, merchant. IG Francis Dominick, merchant. 17 Mrs. Chiffifala, boarding-house. 19 Nathaniel Gardener & Jonathan Thomp- son, merchants. 191 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS 20 John Patten, blacksmith. 22 Willet Taylor, physician. 23 Jotham Post. 25 John Bleecker, auctioneer. 34 John Delanoy. 35 Flamen Ball, lawyer, 37 Timothy Titus, boarding-house. 38 Archibald Kearley, judge. 41 Philip K. Lawrence, tanner. 42 James Cocks, merchant. 43 Garrick, merchant. 46 George Nichols, shipmaster. 50 Henry Mead, surgeon. 52 Joseph Laughton, shipmaster. 54 John A. Gr^-ham, physician. 55 Joseph Dickson, shipmaster. 56 Lucretia Williams. 60 Abraham Skinner, lawyer. 62 Robert Bogardus, lawyer. 65 Alexander Lamb, fruit dealer. 68 Nathaniel Clark, merchant. 70 Valentine Seaman, M.D. 74 Joseph Thomson, baker. 75 Thomas Donovan, millstones. 76 Mary Malconi, boarding-house. 87 John Griggs, ironmonger. 91 Elijah Coit, merchant. 93 Timothy F. Wetmore, physician. 101 William Bartlett, druggist and physician. 102 Walter Franklin, flour merchant. 103 John Townsend, flour merchant. 105 John Franklin, merchant. 106 Lemuel Bruce, boat-builder. 117 Thomas I. Berry, merchant. 118 Andrew Garr, ship builder. 119 Simon Skillings, carver. 192 NEW YOKK CITY LIFE 120 William Veal, boat builder. 125 James Drake, merchant. 131 Thomas Whittemore, card manufacturer. 135 Chas. Tillinghast, deputy collector of cus- toms. 137 Daniel Kingsland, ship-joiner. We will leave Cherry Hill for another visit and make our way back to the old Fort. Passing west- ward through Frankfort Street, alongside the Brook- lyn Bridge, the pier of which stands entirely on Governor Leisler's farm, we cross the various streets which run through the Swamp and are con- tinued under the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. From Jacob to Gold Street we walk through the original Swamp, covered now by great buildings filled with hides in various conditions of prepara- tion. The swamp, which was called Beekman's Cripple Bush, was leased to Rip Yan Dam at twenty shillings a year. It extended from Frank- fort Street south across Ferry Street (so called be- cause it led to the spot where the first Long Isl- and ferr}^ ran), and from Cliff Street across Gold. In 1744 it was sold to Jacobus Roosevelt for two hundred pounds. He divided it into lots and sold them to tanners. The tanners and shoemakers came to the front early in the colony days, and by de- grees were pushed out of the growing City because of the nuisance of the tanneries. They first settled in the neighborhood of John Street, where they owned a large tract of land together. John Street was named after the leading member of the trade, l-i 193 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS John Haberding. They owned the land up to the Beekman pastures, the south Une of which was a httle north of Fulton Street. The City grew up to them, and again they were pushed out, and they located out of town, about the Cripple Bush Swamp, and there they stayed, and their successors are there to-day, maintaining one of the greatest industries of our downtown life. The ground is still low, soft and wet, and the buildings rest on spiles. At the northeast corner of Frankfort and Wil- liam Streets was the Carleton House, recently torn down. This house had its good days. Dickens stayed there and Poe lived there. Those days passed away, and then it had mysteries. As time moved on its reputation grew bad, and many hor- rible tales were told about it. These tales received shocking confirmation in 1884, when workmen were cleaning out the sub-cellar, and they unearthed from the ashes and rubbish the moulderiug skeleton of a woman, around whose neck was a strangling band of calico, and over whose face was a great stone. It was surely a murder, and suspicion pointed to an Englishman named Benjamin Gray, who was found in the Trenton Prison, under a sentence for an attempt to murder another woman. The Carle- ton House case could not be proved against him. Later the house gained a humble decency b}- the patronage of broken-down newspaper men, who lived there in old-time relationship, and discussed their younger days with so much vigor and sense as to attract the attention of literary men wht) went there I'.'J: NEW YORK CITY LIFE occasionally, in disguise, to listen to the old boys. This curious old house succeeded the Lutheran Church, which was built in 1767, and about which was a graveyard in which were interred a number of the Hessian oflScers in the English army. Here is an advertisement from the "Weekly Post Boy," Dec. 10, 1744: ''''John Brown, lately married to the widow Breese, continues to carry on the Leather Dressers Trade at the Dwelling House of the late John Breese in the Smith's Fly, near Beekman's Swamp or Creple-Bush; at the South end of the house a Staff is erected with a vane on the Top of it: He sells all sorts of Leather and Leather Breeches, also AUum, Glew, raspt and chipt Logwood and Red- wood fit for dyeing, and Copperas, all at Reasonable Rates." We reach Printing House Square, and stand for a moment beneath the monstrous "AVorld" building, and close to the stream of travel that pours over the Bridge. Frankfort Street, between the "World" and the "Sun" buildings, is the place in which to see the newsboy at his best and his worst. Here in the afternoons are crowded hundreds of little fellows, of all nationalities, types and dispositions, intent upon just one thing— getting their papers as quickl}' as possible and starting off for the various places which they have pre-empted. The rivalry and competition among them is as strong as among the merchants and the eager men of Wall Street, and the same 195 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS dispositions are manifested; only without the tact, the finesse, and the politeness of more select circles. Often the weaker and smaller ones are pushed to the wall; but here and there appear those kinder and nobler ones, who dehght to lend their strength and i)rotection to those who need them. A great many of these boys are alone in the world, mak- ing their way with heroic resolution and persever- ance, and hoping for better times; others are the support in part or in whole of families whose mem- bers must unite in the work of driving the wolf from the door; others there are who have' been car- ried by the current of circumstances into the selhng of newspapers, and who go with the tide; and there are httle thieves and desperadoes, growing up with every inchnation to recruit the criminal ranks. It is a hard school and a hard hfe for these httle fellows, and those who come out of it with good characters, to advance into higher places in the world, are heroes. The helping hand is extended to these boys in very practical ways. The News- boy's Lodging House, which is close by, in Da- ane Street, funiishes clean and safe accommoda- tions and subsistence for those who will avail them- selves of its privileges, and its work is done in such a way as' to develop manliness in the boys. They pay their way, even though the prices are small. This spot is an important field for the study and the activity of those who believe that the time to make good citizens is in youth, and that the gov- ernment should look after the children. 196 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Looking across the Common, now the City Hall Park, we are impressed with the great buildings which have been reared on every hand. It has taken us but a few moments to leave the wretched haunts of poverty and vice and to find ourselves in Engine Co. No. 35, 1809, Tryon Row, City Hall Square. this very maelstrom of human currents. It is full of historic associations, no less impressive than the neighborhood which we have left. Here in front of us, where Franklin's statue stands, is the spot where Governor Leisler and his son-in-law Milbourne were hanged and buried. It was down through the Boston Road (at this point, Chatham Street or Park Row) that the courier dashed, turning into Broadway at the lower end of the post-office, shouting the news of the Battle of Lexington; and through this street all of the travel moved between New York and New England. The 197 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS first post that started out from the uortheastern cor- ner of the old Fort for Connecticut and Massachu- setts passed through this road. Notice this announce- ment: "Any person that has a Mind to go Post to Alljany this "Winter may appl}' to the Post Master of New York on Saturday next at Ten in the morn- ing."— N. Y. "Gazette," Nov. 17o2. Through it Governor Stuyvesant rode to reach his bowerie, and as other of the colonists built their residences along the road, it began to be much trav- eled. It is the oldest road out of the old City, and had its origin in an Indian trail. The "Sun" building is strangely out of place among the towering newspaper buildings that sur- round it, and it seems a pity that the corner can- not be thrown into the incomplete "Tribune" build- ing; but the hostility that has existed between those two newspapers for many 3-ears prevents any such arrangement. It is but a few years ago that there was a bitter litigation between the proprietors of the two buildings concerning a great stone which had been laid in the northern foundation wall of the "Tribune" building, far below the surface of the street, and which projected across the line of the "Sun" building, although below its foundation. If the plans of the "Sun" owners have been truly an- nounced, some day there will stand upon the site of the little red biiilding a towering edifice that will look down even on the "World's" dome. The "Tribune" building was the first of the many tower buildings in the lower part of the City, lit 8 NEW YORK CITY LIFE and when it was erected it was the wonder and the pride of Printing House Square. Many were the envious cuts at the editor of the "Tribune" bj- those less fortunate editors who could not compose their edi- torials on such a lofty plane. One we recollect very well, which accounted for the stop- page of the clock by describing how (Reid) the young editor of the tall tower, while his brain was burning with the fever of the glowing thoughts which he was working into his editorials for the next day, thrust his head out of the window in his sanc- tum, which was in the face of the clock; but thrust it out in such an inopportune moment as to be caught on the back of his neck by the descending minute hand, which pinned him fast against the window-sill, and held him, despite his struggles, until daylight came, and he was re-j- leased by the office-boy. It seems but a very few years' „ ,1 J. /I • •! 1 ,1 1 .IT Sheridan SHOOK the foundation of ago that this oil-cloth building, the tower of strength ot the as it was called, was erected; Republican. party. but at that time there was no Brooklyn Bridge, no elevated railroad, no "World" building, no Franklin 199 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS statue, no cable cars. The beautiful "Times" build- ing had not been reared, and those startling, though majestic, buildings across Broadway had not been dreamed of. "We cannot overestimate the strides which have been made in the material improvement of the City during these last few years. It is not very many years ago that the post-office building was not in existence, and the City Hall Park ex- tended to St. Paul's Church, and was fenced in like a rural park. The street railroads occupying this thoroughfare were the first that were operated in the City. Jolin Stevenson, who built nearly all of the cars in the earlier period of horse railroads, died only two or three years ago; and some of the original projectors of these horse car systems, which spread all over the country, and in our City are only just begin- ning to yield to the trolley and the cable car, are still living. "When there was no post-office, and the trees of the City Hall Park bowed to the trees in St. Paul's Churchyard, two beautiful church spires, long asso- ciated with the graceful steeple of St. Paul's, de- lighted the eyes of the people. The Presbyterian Brick Church, surrounded by its graveyard, was where the "Times" building now stands, and at Beekman and Cliff • Streets was St. George's Chapel, the artistic appearance of which was the pride of the people, regardless of creed. On Park Row, north of Ann Street, was the Park Theater, the first important playhouse in the 200 I NEW YORK CITY LIFE City, which was built in 1798, burned down in 1820, rebuilt, and burned again in 1849. Theater Alley, between Park Row and Nassau Street, ran along the rear of the theater. The "Tribune" building and Horace Greeley's statue occupy the place where the Tammany Society was first housed in a permanent wigwam; and while Tammany occupied that spot and the one adjoining Fubt Taninianj Hall it, it contained patriots of whom the City was justly proud. While there was bitter conflict be- tween Tammany's people and the Federalists, the contest was one of principle, Tammany representing the ideas of Jefferson, and the Federalists owning the guidance of Hamilton. On the Spruce Street corner stood Martling's Tas'- ern, and there the Columbian order made its home in 1798. The FederaHsts called it the ''Pig Pen''-, 201 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS but that did not prevent the leading Democrats, headed by the first governor, George Clinton, from making headquarters there. In 1812 the society built its hall on the site of the "Sun" building, and there they remained until 18G7, when they moved to their present disgraced headquarters in 14th Street. The old Society held a banquet on October 17, 1792 (before it had settled down at Martling's), to commemorate the dis- covery of America. These were the toasts which were proposed by patriots and re- sponded to by those whose lives had proved their devotion to their coimtry's cause. "The memory of Christopher Columbus, the discov- 8 r e r of this New World never experi- ence the vices and miseries of the old; and may it be a happy asylum for the oppressed of all nations and of all religions." "May peace and liberty ever pervade the United Columbian States." "May this be the last centenary festival of the Columbian order that finds a slave on this globe." "May the fourth century be as remarkable for the improvement and knowledge of the rights of man as the first was for the discovery and the im- 202 Second Tammany Hall. World." " May the New NEW YORK CITY LIFE provement of iiautic science." "May the deliverers of America never experience that ingratitude from their Countrj' which Cohimbus experienced from his King/' "May the genius of Liberty, as she has conducted the sons of Cohimbia with glory to the commencement of the fom'tli century, guard their fame to the end of time," According to the record of the daj-'s doings, "during the evening's entertain- ment a variety of rational amusements were en- joyed." In 1700 President Washington made a practical use of the mummery of the Society, which was taken in good part, and which even put an addi- tional feather into its head-dress. There had been war with the Creek I'ldians, and a number of the leading warriors had been induced to meet the Presi- dent at New York, in the hope of arranging a treaty. The Tammany braves had a full assortment of Indian costmnes and an unlimited supply of paint, pipes and fire-water, and they received the Indians in full costume. The Indians enjoyed the occasion immensely, accepted the show as an honor, and made the treaty. In those days and later, Tammany furnished amusement to the populace and delighted the small boj^s by having bonfires in the City Hall Park, around which they danced in Indian dress, scalp- ing various eflfigies, such as Benedict Arnold, and consigning their bodies to the flames. In later days Halleck wrote: 203 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "There's a barrel of porter in Tammany Hall, And the Bucktails are swigging it all the night long. In the time of my childhood 'twas pleasant to call For a seat and cigar 'mid the jovial throng." What a precocious child Halleck must have been! In 1820, De Witt Chnton wrote in a letter to a friend, "The Tammany Horse rides through the Legislature hke a wild ass's colt." On every fourth of July a celebration is held in the 14th Street Hall; but there is such a con- trast between the lofty sentiments of some of the speakers (for some of the braves speak in good En- glish), and the ill fame of the Tammany leaders and heelers of these days, that it is easily the most hollow and incongruous performance of the year. There is a great difference between the spectacle of the "Silver-tongued" Orator pouring out glittering jewels of speech upon a throng of unwashed and unkempt patriots, who grow frantic with approval when the eloquent speaker falls into some naturally foul fling at his opponents, and the gathering of the old Columbians, who cared Uttle for offices, but much for country, and who had not heard of elec- tion frauds and public stealing. It was old Tammany that had time to perform the patriotic duty of gathering the bones of the eleven thousand American prisoners who died on the prison ships at the Wallabout, from 1776 to 1783, and of giving them honored interment and com- memoration. The old society stood grandly through 204 liS> ^.mu. ^^]^^tlK-.r-T: V:.. ...t> . ^._ o- T^-- "- THE FOUNDERS OF TAMMANY. New York, Vol. One. p. 204. PRESENT HEAJJS OF lA.MMANV HALL New York, Vol. une, p. 31)5. NEW YORK CITY LIFE the War of 1812, its loyal members going in a body to dig in the earthworks that were thrown up at v^arious points, as well as giving of their means, and supporting the government with other practical help. Old Tammany held the first public celebrations of Washington's birthday, and it never failed to keep Independence Day. In the war of 1861 it sent regiments to the defense of the Union. The degradation of Tammany Hall is as complete as the degradation of Cherry Hill (from which foul local- ity it has a sympathetic and unanimous support). In other days its friends were JejQferson, Madi- son and Jackson; among its leaders were Morgan Lewis, George Clinton, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, De Witt Clinton, Philip Schuyler, AValter Bowne, Brock- hoist Livingston, Samuel Osgood, Daniel D. Tomp- kins, Garrett Sickles, Stephen Allen, Michael Ul- scheffer, John A. Dix, Samuel J. Tilden, Augustus Schell, John Van Buren, Churchill C. Cambrelling, and John T. Irving. Its tone was so high that it tendered a unanimous nomination for maj'or to Wash- ington Irving. Think of it! Among the leaders of later days may be named Wood, Tweed, Sweene}-, Connolly, John Kelly, John Morrisey, Richard Croker, and William F, Sheehan. Its work has required some peculiar qualities, which are supplied by a host of men, of whom may be mentioned as types: Patrick Divver, Timothy D. Sullivan, Silver Dollar Smith, John J. Scannell, John C. Sheehan, and Thomas F. Grady. Imagine, if you can, Washington Irving as 205 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS maj'or, parceling out the offices under the direc- tion of Richard Croker, and to the satisfaction of all the district leaders! An apologist, an old time Columbian, anxious to protect the reputation of the original Tammany, re- cently wrote the following words: ''The 'Tammany Society,' or 'Columbian Order,' must not be confounded with the 'Tammany Hall Democracy' of the City of New York. They are separate and distinct bodies, holding the same rela- tionship, and none other, as is held by the Equi- table Life Assurance Society to the Lawyers' Club — that of landlord and tenant. It is true that the Sachems, the Father of the Council, the Scribe, the Wiskinski, the Sagamore, and many of the private Indians of the Society are also members of the De- mocracy; but that is because the gentlemen in ques- tion have seen fit to become members of both. The Sachems are not 'feudal lords over the Tammany Democracy,' nor have thej' anj'thing to do with the app(Mntment of Democratic leaders. The Society has no concern with the Democracy, except to lease to it siiitable rooms for its meetings; it is not to be credited with any of the Democracy's triumphs or charged with any of its shortcomings. The Society continues, in its own unobtrusive way(!), to fulfill the purposes for which it was organized over one hundred years ago; and the only occasions when it comes before the public are on the Fourth of July each year. Then its hospitable doors are thrown wide open, and a large and enthusiastic audience is ^06 NEW YORK CITY LIFE gathered within its walls; fine music and abundant refreshments (!) are provided; the Declaration of Independence is read, and eminent orators deliver the 'long talks' and the 'short talks' in honor of the day. The most enthusiastic patriot can have no substantial grievance against the Society.^* The substantial union of the^ "Society" and the Saint TaiDuiany. "Democracy" cannot be truthfully questioned. The "Democracy" has swallowed the "Society," and the old Indian, with all his virtues, is in the stomach of the Tiger, and is only remembered by his name. By nature's process the noble Indian has been trans- formed into the rapacious Tiger, as the gentle mis- sionary becomes the fierce and obscene cannibal. The utter corruption of the old "Society" is mani- 207 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS fest in its choice of emblems. Notwithstanding the exposure of the Tweed ring, and the conviction of its leader for defrauding the people, the "Societ}^" or "Democracy," as you may call it, clings to the modern device of the Tiger, taken from the front of the old fire engine, "Big Six," with which Tweed and his pals used to run. Mr. Scannell, whose uninviting face is above portrayed, was Fire Commissioner by the grace of Mr. Croker, through Mr. Gilroy, mayor. He was given an elegant jew- eled gold badge of office, with an American er^gle on it. He sent it back to the jeweler, who, under his orders, removed the eagle and suhstituced a tiger, which thenceforth was kLown as the New American Bird. A distinguished lawyer, in a carefully written ^08 NEW YORK CITY LIFE magazine article, spoke of modern Tammany in these words: "It is a mercenary and merciless despotism; a combination of the spirit of the Indian and the spoilsman; a sphere of intellectual and moral bar- renness without patriotism or principle; an institu- tion composed of Liliputs in usefulness and Brobding- nags in rascality, in the hands of savage and venal partisans, on a level with gamblers, thieves and pirates, who never apologize, and would be ruined by any attempt at justification." Tammany's tyranny, its un-American plan of government, its frequent subversion of the honest choice of the people, its prostitution of public office, its brutality to many classes of the poor and de- fenseless, its maintaining power by judicious feed- ing of offices to the ignorant and venal, by skillful catering to the interests and appetites of various classes, and by shrewd pandering to the prejudices of the ignorant and non - American classes : these are among the greatest dangers to the progress and to the future life and influence of the City. New York's Tammanisis has proven to be a contagious and infectious disease, which, working mischief enough at home, has spread to Albany and other municipal centers, and has invaded other States. THE TAMMANY ATTITUDE. {From a Newspaper, July, 1896.) "a frank admission. "John C. Sheehan was out of town to-day, and nobody at Tammany Hall would venture an opin- 209 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ion as to whether Tammany, as an organization, would heed Mayor Hinckley's appeal to take no action on the Chicago nominations until the meet- ing of the Democratic State Convention, Individ- ual district leaders were free, however, in saying what course they favored. The following opinion, expressed by ex-Senator Plunkitt and given verbatim, reflects the \*iews of man}- Tammany men. " 'Hinckley is all right,' said Mr. Plunkitt to an 'Evening Post' reporter. 'Why should we go ahead indorsing the ticket when we don't know what we are to get out of it? Free silver or free gold or free anything else ma}' be all right, but that ain't the point. We want to knoir irhat ive are going to get from these people. We clonH care anything about this currencrj question. We just want to know what Bryan and Sewall will do for the New York Democrats if we support the ticket. We don't want to build a stone wall for these men, and then be thrown on the outside of it. No, siree. There won't be any indorsing of the ticket in my district till I know what we are to get for the indorse- ment. We don't know these people, and they don't know us. Let's have an understanding before we go into the indorsement business. That's not only my sentiment, but the sentiment general in Tam- many. We don't give a damn for the money ques- tion, but we must know what we are going to get out of an indorsement of the ticket,' "Some of the personal followers of John C. Sheehan said they were in favor of indorsing the 210 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Bryan ticket at once, but Senator Plunldtt ex- pressed what appeared to be the more general feel- ing in Tammany Hall." Here, at Printing House Square, we have to do only with the memory of Saint Tammany; but we have just come from the Tiger's stronghold, and over there in the Common, where "Washington once assembled his troops to hear the Declaration of In- dependence, the Tifjer lias for many years done his Tij,'ei- and Indian. best to break down the institutions of popular gov- ernment, and to destroy the lessons of official fidel- ity and civic virtue once so zealously and faithfully taught by Federalists and Columbians. It is not all progress and glory about us, but there are clouds of uncertainty and danger, which we must heed if we would preserve the good things that remain from the labor of the patriots of old, and that have been sustained by good men since their day. To Tammany belongs the hon6r of the first vic- tory over aboUtionists in New York City. In 1833 211 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS abolitionists attempted to hold their first meeting at Clinton Hall (Nassau and Beekman Streets). It was prevented by a riotous crowd, which promptly cele- brated its victory by adjourning to Tammany Hall and passing resolutions denouncing abohtion. Here, in Printing House Square, and down through Park Row and Nassau Street to Fulton, there worked with Httle interruption until recently a most persistent and suceessful organization of pick- pockets, composed of graduates, undergraduates, ma- triculants and cadets. The writer has seen them swarming through these streets, practicing their art right under the eyes of the poHce. We have seen as many as seven pickpockets, young and old, work- ing together at once; and repeatedly we and our friends have run the gauntlet between them. The thefts of satchels, pocketbooks, watches, pocket change, etc., ran up to large amounts. By some patent headquarters' system the newspapers didn't publish the cases. On more than one occasion the eyes of the writer and his intending despoiler have met in eloquent flashes. A gentleman in an office on Fulton Street saw a pickpocket operating on the corner, and being zealous for the right, and confi dent in his own prowess, adjusted a bill so it would show in his vest pocket, and went down past the thief, who grabbed for the monej^, and was promptly seized by the good citizen; but to the intense aston- ishment and disgust of the citizen, in an instant he was rolling in the muddy water of the gutter, with 2VZ NUW TAMJIAXV, Ntnv Y.ii-k. v., I ^^E\V YORK CITY LIFE a discarded coat iu his hand, while the thief was far away and rait of reach. One of these thieves was Jack, or Matt Downej", a lame man, with a paralyzed arm and an innocent face. He got into crowds, and worked with two fingers of his good hand under the craniped-up bad arm. He and his pals were an everyday sight, and their faces were as familiar as the stores. We asked an old-time thief who the man was. He said, "Whj-, that's Downey." "What is his business?" "Pickpocket." "Has he ever been sent up?" "N"o." "Wh}' not^" "Well, you see, he knows the headquarters' men. He is a stool-pigeon. If some fine man loses a watch he goes to the superintendent, who says, 'We'll have it to-morrow.' 'Wonderful!' says the 'gent.' Then he goes, and the superintendent calls in a detective and says, 'A friend of mine lost his watch at such and such a place; here's a description of it. Get it!' The detective sends for Downey, and he says: 'Now, Downey, the "super's" got to have this watch.' Downey knows he's got to have it, so he says, 'All right.' He knows all the fellows in the business, and he goes for the man that has the watch and tells him. The man plants the watch in a pawnbroker's. Then the detective goes and finds it and tells his chief. In the morning the gent comes, and the superintendent tells him where the watch is; or, if he is a very important gent, he has the watch there for him. 'AYonderful! wonder- full' says he. If he pays the pawnbroker's charges, as often he does, then the detective and the pawn- •ns THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS broker and the pickpocket have another intei'vieiv. You see, Downey is a useful man, and lie tias to have a show." Whatever may be said, Downey and his pals had free swing until the Police Department broke relations with criminals and stool-pigeons. Captain Thompson took command at Oak Street Station. He held several fistic interviews with pickpockets in Ann Street, Then they disappeared. The square will ever be famous as the place where the Great American Newspaper has had its development. Greeley, Raymond, Dana. Jones, and man}' others, hard! 3' less famous, have done their hfe work here, and have enriched the nation and the world by it. I say "done," remembering full well that one is stiU with us; but he has reached a crabbed old age, where his usefulness is neutral- ized by his gall and his disposition to eternally scold; though his paper continues to be the liter- ary, rhetorical and esthetic model of America. The brilhant editor of the "Press" reminds us that this accomplished editor's last days are not ail given up to wormwood recollections of what might have been, but was not. He says: "He Loves the Flag, he Loves the Tree. "An antipathy to clergymen and a caressing ten- derness for tigers may coexist in one bosom with some of the finest emotions of which our mortal nature is capable. 2U NEW YORK CITY LIFE ' ' We say this because we had always known that Mr. Dana loves the flag, and because we know now — having" read 'Garden and Forest' — that Mr. Dana loves a tree. We find therein that Mr. Dana has sniffed the balsamic air of the Pinetum schohe- rianum, and that everything in it has his cordial and hearty support and approbation, from the abies amabitis to the Cunninghamia sinensis. "It is luck}-- for these trees that Mr. Dana loves them. Overburdened as thej^ are with first names and last names, we don't see how they could sur- vive the infliction of some of the weird and eerie middle names with which Mr. Dana is wont to christen the specimens of man that dehght him not. "But what we want to pin attention to is that Mr. Dana's bosom is not all one savage gloat in this time of tigerish triumph. He loves the flag, he loves a tree; and on those two points he is habitually and nobly right." The newspapers are most impressive now by their immensity and their material success, and by the magical way in which they do the most impossible things. At this time, the editor, with a personalit}- which he impresses upon the people, is unknown. The papers do not lead public thought, but have adopted the "Herald's" avowed policy of discovering public opinion and follo^^^ng• it. It maj^ be that in this the papers are doing us a greater service, for all the resources and energies of their proprietors and editors are now devoted to getting the news ^15 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS from every quarter of the earth; and this they might not do so well had they to use up their vi- tality in lecturing and moralizing, and teaching the people from day to day. It may be that a Reid is better for us to-day than a Greeley; a Pulitzer than a Raymond. By way of contrast vwith the newspaper articles of these days, let us read these extracts, which were greatly admired when they were published. To THE Printer: ">Sz? — The Country being generally amused with the Aurora Borealis which made so beautiful and magnificent an Appearance the 22 and 23 Nights of the last Month, I take the libertj^ to convey to you the following Speculation occasioned by that Phe- nomenon. "We have several times seen this illustrious Me- teor in this Country, but never so surprizingly Rich and Splendid as now blush'd over the face of the Skies. It first appear'd only as is usual with the Northern Twilight, a bright Flame in the North Quarter of the Horizon. Some observe that this kind of Meteor never appears near the Equator, and has therefore obtained the above name. About half an hour past seven there shot up a Buddy Stream which collected itself into a Body and seem'd to hang over us like a Mass of Blood, or rather like a Curtain of Fire. This lasted a few Minutes, when it grew fainter by Degrees, and at length vanished. However the Glitter in the North 216 NEW YORK CITY LIFE still continued to light us, so that one might, with some Attention, see to read in some large Prmt. Near the Hour of Nine it began to increase again and the Heavens here grew Luminous and Eosey. At Twenty-four Minutes after Nine, there was ob- served a Light gathering in the yorth East, which moving slowly to the East began to glow very fierce and vivid. It rose leisurely and at last crowded into a Centre near the Zenith, whence in a few Minutes it branched out over all the North- ern Half of the Hemisphere, in the florid and sparkling Colours of a Thousand Rainbows. As we stood under it and gazed up, the Country far and wide seemed to be arched over (if I may be allowed the Expression) with a vast Elamifig Um- brello. It continued for about a Quarter of an Hour shifting its Form and Colours, and then gen- tly faded away till it quite disappeared. For the Remainder of the Night, a settled Lustre dawned round the Northern Edges of the Hemisphere, which kept Flashing at intervals till it was lost in the Spread of the Morning Light. "The natural Causes of this gay Meteor, I leave to be disputed among Philosophers. For my own Part, I am more inclined to turn it into a serious Speculation, that may improve my Religion, at the same time that it entertains my Fancy. I love to lift my Thoughts to the Creator, when I see the Pomp and "Wonders of his Workmanship. I learn a little of the Majesty and Magnificence of his Throne when I behold the secret Beams of Light J-i 217 THE AJMERICAN METROPOLIS staining the Skies with such a beautiful Variety of Glories. It naturally leads my thoughts to the Con- templation of that important Night, when the Heav- eit.s beiny on Fire shall be dissolved, and the Ele- ments shall melt with fervent Heat; luhen our blessed SAl'IOUR shall descend in flaming Fire, in tJie Clouds of Heaven, with Foiver and great Glory. "I am far from incouraging an irrational Enthu- siasm, or justifying the extravagant Whimsies of some, who up«»n every odd Appearance in the Sky fancy the "World will end in an Hour or two. But 1 can by no means think it unbecoming a Chris- tian Philosopher, to take Notice of those fearful Sights, and great Signs from Heaven, which we know are to be Fore-runners of the Conflagration that must quickly devour the Earth. And it hap- pens very well foi- our present Purpose, that the Words of the sacred Text cannot on any Occasion be more applicable than to this particular Appear- ance. I will shew Wonders in Heaven above, Blood and Fire and Vapours of Smoak, before that great and notable day. Our Lord himself has taught us to observe these Things when they come to pass, as the Preludes to his second Descent. So likewise ivla^n ye see all these Things, know that it is near at the Z>oo?-6'. " — New York "Gazette," November '••, 1T:^0. "To THE PUBLISHEK OF THK NeW YOKK 'GaZETTE' : '•,S'//- — Some Time past I .sent you a small scrip upon the common Use of Tea and the Tea-Table, ;>18 NEW YORK CITY LIFE which you have omitted to publish. T now send you my Observations upon the impertinent Custom of the Women (as well as the Men) have fallen into of taking- snuff, which I expect you will not omit to publish in your next. ''I am, sir, etc. "This Silly Trick of taking Snuff is attended with such a Cocquet An- in some young (as well as older) Gentlewomen, and such a sedate Mascu- line one in others, that I cannot tell which most to complain of, but they are to me equally chsagree- able. Mrs. Saunter is so impatient of being with- out it, that she takes it as often as she does Salt at Meals, and as she affects a wonderful Ease and Neghgence in all her Manners, an upper Lip mixed with Snuff and the Sauce is Avhat is presented to the observation of all who have the Honor to eat with her. The pretty Creature her Niece does all she can to be as disagreeable as her Aunt; and if she is not as offensive to the Eye, she is quite as much to the Ear, and makes up all she wants m a confident Air, by a nauseous Rattle of the Nose when the Snuff is dehvered, and the Fingers make the Stops and the Closes on the Nostrils. This, per- haps, is not a very Courtly Image in speaking of Gentlewomen, that is very true; but there arises the offence? Is it in those who commit or those who observe it? As for my part, I have been so extremely disgusted with this filthy Physick hang- ing on the Lip, that the most agreeable Conversa- tion, or Person, has not been able to make up for it. As to those who take it for pretty action, or to fill up little Intervals of Discourse, I can bear with them; but then they must not use it when another is speaking, who ought to be heard with 219 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS t(jo much Respect, to admit of offering at that Tune from Hand to Hand the Snuff Box. But Flavilla is so far taken with her behaviour in this kind, that she pulls out her box (which is indeed full of good Br a z He) in the Middle of the Sermon, and to shew that she has the Audacity of a well-bred Woman she offers it to the Men as well as to the Women who sit next her. But since by this Time all the World knows she has a fine hand, I am in Hopes she may give herself no further Trouble in this matter. On Sunday was sevennight, when they came about for the Offering, she gave her Charity with a very good Air, but at the same Time asked the Church warden if he would take a Pinch. Pray, Sir, think of these Things in Time, and you will oblige "Sir, your most humble Servant." —New York "Gazette," May ;U, 1731. While thinking of the immensity of these news- paper estabUshmeuts, let us read an announcement in the "Weekly Post Boy" of February 9, 1747. "Our Kind Readers must now naturally expect a great Dearth of News, and we are therefore quite at a Loss what to give that may be agreeable; we must beg their Patience when we tell them what i-an be no News here, and what too many of them know experimentally, better than wo can express; but as it may be news in distant Parts, we appre- hend it can't be altogether unseasonable, since we have nothing else better to say : The deplorable Cir- cumstances this Cit}- is under, from a long Series of cold and freezing Weather is Matter of concern to all." no NEW YORK CITY LIFE This beautiful poem appeared in the New York 'Gazette" of July 11, 1748. "To Miss A. S. "Of aU the Bauthy (beauty) that e'er cround the Land, Or ever was in Long Island ; Where to begin, or what Part first to Prase It is impossibele as the Dedd to rase. Without En justice don to the Kest, in a loer Erase ; But as the Hedd is nobler Part, Thare I must begin, and at her Foots depart. Such lovely Hare, in Lox hangs in her Neck As does my verry Hart to ayck I Neglekted hangs the locks from each other Part, More bauthy ful sty 11, than if compell'd by Art; And hydes a Neck far whiter than the Snow, Such Fetres added appropo. A noble Eorred w*ith a pare of Eys So black ; with any Jett tha vys. A graceful look and not too bold. As women use to practice of old. Her lofely cheeks mixt with a lifely redd, Adds a new grace to the nobler Part. Her skin so white, so bauthif ul and fare. With any Anabaster may compare; Dimple rising in her Cheeks so sweate. That when I'm in her Presense, I sitt mute, Her Mouth so bauth^^tull not large, nor yet too small. Her Chyn proposhoud compleats it all. A charming Waste anoff alone to move A Hart of Adamant to what we call Lofe ; Her lofely carriage and so genteel an Are 221 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Getts me of Riveles auoff I foar; One alreddy I am assured off ; But him I'll turn away with Scorn and Scoff," One has only to compare these extracts with others in similar vein that may be found in our enterprising and polished newspapers of the present day to note the great advance in thought and ex- pression. As an illustration of this statement, let us look at this beautiful poem recently published in that most scholarly ])aper, the New York "Trib- une," founded by Horace Greeley. This poem was considered so exquisite that it was reproduced in the elegant programme of the Carnegie Music Hall. "A Bird's Flight. "From some bright cloudlet dropping; From branch to blossom hopping; Then drinking from a small brown stone That stood alone Amid the brook ; then singing, Upspringing. It soared : my bird had flown. "A glimpse of beauty only That left the glen more lonely? Nay, truly; for its song and flight Made earth more bright I If men were less regretful, And fretful. Would life yield less delight?" Gentle reader, bear with me while I give you this sample of modern journalistic enterprise, picture and all. NEW YORK CITY LIFE St 5U?\e. AH> CAa, " CooK out for tl?9 Sunday ^ourpal.' " CooK out for tife ang the story of his li^'e and references before them, would as- sist him in his plans. — Trustworthy, 172 "Herald," Harlem. Young man would like to meet gentleman willing to post him on big game hunting in the Northwest.— F. M. G., 2:J "Herald," downtown. Torture of body or mind conquered at desire ; every ' affliction or trouble of humanity can be removed or mod- erated; domestic compUcations settled; no need for creep- ing in the dark; no .sittings or trance medium; positively no -^j^ayment accepted until result is obtained. For fur- ther invformation call or address Mr. H. J. Lenz, 150 W. 125th .St. Is your no^.;e red? Fould can bleach it. Call or ad- dress Fould, 2U ^Sixth Ave., New York. Lady will teach whist, euchre and other games in ladies' own homes.— .^tf^comphshments, 410 "Herald." Any i>erson knowing of impending business failures or having other valuable ' ' information can make big money by communicating w:ith smart lawyer.— Strict Confidence, "Herald." Attention!— Is there a man .of honor and sterUng worth who can appreciate the cruel' ty that compels a gen- tlewoman, superior mental and persv ^nal attractions, age :34, to adopt this means of release from hated bondage? No Shylocks nor triflers; object, matrimony.— Isolation, 144 "Herald," 23d St. 230 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Anybody feeling bluish'? Outlook indigoesque? Drop in to-day; change luck. — Professor Herbert, expert Palm- ist, 160 W. 23d. N.B. — Cheer up and cut this out. A GENTLEMAN M^ould hke to make the acquaintance of a young lady bicyclist matrimonially inclined. — Ad- dress Retired, 1,227 Broadway. "W HAT seeking for? I am seeking position as cook or butler in private family ; city or countr j^ ; excellent refer- ences. — Address Japanese, 280 Fulton St., Brooklyn. An educated lady (29) desires acquaintance of sea cap- tain visiting tropical countries; view matrimony. — Trop- ics, "Herald," downtown. ScHATCHEN, reliable, confidential, offers his services to ladies and gentlemen; references. — Peck, 158 E. 88th St. These pictm*esque advertisements could be ex- tended indefinitely. They furnish food for thought. They reveal interesting phases of our Hfe. The "Herald" is the medium for the great majority of the freak advertisements, and its columns are freely used b^" the human spiders, who spin webs and catch flies in the great metropolis. The "personal columns," the "manicure," "massage," "medical," "financial," and "business opportunities" columns are dangerous; they are full of snares, pitfalls, decoys, frauds and temptations. Some of the solid old news- papers disdain such patronage, and refuse it, but most of the newer papers trail along in the "Her- ald's" path. The "Herald's" news is fairly clean, but a great many of its advertisements are abomi- nable. The "World's" advertisements are cleaner, but its Simday news columns ai-e full of brutality 231 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS and indecency. The "Herald" scored a victory over its rival on Sunday, September 26, 1896, when it printed an account of a prominent lady's hnen with such detailed frankness that it may not be copied here. Here are a few of the "Letters from Correspond- ents," an important division in the enterprising even- ing papers : BOARDS AND KEEPS CATS. To the Editor — I am an unmarried lad\' and circum- stances compel me to live in a boarding-house. I keep four cats. I wish to ask you or any of your readers if the boarders are justified in the collection of boot-jacks, hair-brushes, tin shaving mugs, old shoes, etc., which I find outside my door every morning. When I speak of it they simply laugh and say they were votive offerings. What should be done in such a case? — A Lover of Cats. SOME GIRLS ON EIGHTH AVENUE. To file Editor — What is the matter with the major- ity of American girls? I took a walk on Eighth Avenue the other evening, and I was surprised and shocked at the conduct of these young ladies (?). They walk along with a swagger air and a grin on their face that would do credit to a laughing hyena. Being a stranger in the city, I would like to know whether this state of affairs is considered proper or not. — Stranger. MUSIC THAT doesn't ENCHANT. To the Editor — How much longer are we to endure those horrible .strains of the East River Park BandV Mount Morris Park Band is bad, but it walks away from the E. R. P. band. "The Star-spangled Banner," which should be played with vim and patriotic feeling, is played dirge-like, and so with the other badly selected pieces. 232 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The leader works his arm like an automaton with no feel- ing or expression. I could do better myself. Applause is seldom heard, and when given the leader never bows in return. We pay for good music and it should be given us. I am a member of the People's Choral Union. — Ed. Davis, 204 E. 90th St. THE LETTERS SHE GOT STAGGERED HER. To the Editor — I have been left a widow and have two children. I lost my little son, but still have my dear little four- year-old girl. Thrown on my own resources, I began looking around for employment. Being well educated and young, would have preferred office work, but being desirous of keeping my httle one with me so as to attend to her proper training, I advertised for a posi- tion as housekeeper. I was deluged with letters (to my dehglit until I opened them). Phew! They smelled to heaven ! Letters from everywhere, thirty- three of them, and out of the batch but two decent ones. Are all men brutes? Is a woman looking for employment supposed to be open to insult, simply because she needs money? I should think a defenseless woman ought to be protected, not insulted. I have never met the class of women these garbage-hunters take me to be from, and it seems to me that it is a very small kind of man Avho would put such a woman to care for his innocent babies or his home. — Hattie R. S. In Printing House Square many times have been crowded great armies of patriotic citizens, rejoicing over the victories of war announced on the bulle- tins, or watching with pale faces the announce- ments of terrible defeats. In times of riot news- paper offices here have been barricaded and garrisoned by resolute defenders of the freedom of the press. This characteristic article of Henry J. Raymond's 233 THE america:n' metropolis appeared in the '"Times" while the ofl&ce was forti- fied in anticipation of an attack by the rioters of "We trust that Gov. Seymour does not mean to falter. We believe that in his heart he really in- tends to vindicate the majesty of the law, accord- ing to his sworn obhgations. But, in the name (jf the dignity of government and of public safety, we protest against any further indulgence in the sort of speech A\ath which he 3'esterday sought to pro- pitiate the mob. Entreaties and promises are not what the day calls for. No official, however high his position, can make them, \\athout bringing au- thority intc* contempt. This monster is to be met Math a sword and that only. He is not to be pla- cated with a sop; and, if he were, it would oul}- be to make him all the more insatiate hereafter. In the name of all that is sacred in law, and all that is precious in society, let there be no more of this. There is force enough at the command of Gov. Seymour to maintain civil authority. He will do it. He cannot but do it. He is a ruined man if he fails to do it. Tliis mob is not our master. It is not to be compounded with by paying black- mail. It is not to be supplicated and sued to stay its hand. It is to be defied, confronted, grappled witlu prostrated, crushed. The government of the State of New York is its master, not its slave; its ruler, and not its minion. It is too true that there are public joui'nals who tr}"^ to dignity this mob by some respectable appellation. The 'Herald' character- 234 NEW YORK CITY LIFE izes it as 'the people,' and the 'World' as 'the labor- iug men of the city.' These are libels that ought to have paralyzed the fingers that penned them. It is ineffably infamous to attribute to the people, or to the laboring men of this metropolis, such hide- ous barbarism as this horde has been displaying. The people of New York, and the laboring men of New York, are not incendiaries, nor robbers, nor assassins. They do not hunt down men whose only offense is the color that God gave them; they do not chase, and insult, and beat women; they do not pillage an asylum for orphan children, and burn the very roof over those orphans' heads. They are civilized beings, valuing law and respecting decency, and they regard \N'ith unqualified abhorrence the do- ings of the tribe of savages that have sought to bear rule in their midst. "This mob is not the people, nor does it be- long to the people. It is for the most part made up of the very vilest elements of the city. It has not even the poor merit of being of what mobs usually are— the product of mere ignorance and pas- sion. They talk, or rather did talk at first, of the oppressiveness of the Conscription law; but three- fourths of those who have been actively engaged in violence have been boys and young men under twenty years of age, and not at all subject to the Conscription. Were the Conscription law to be abro- gated tomorrow, the controlling inspiration of the mob would remain all the same. It comes from sources quite independent of that law, or any other ^35 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS — from malignant hate toward those in better cir- cumstances, from a craving for plunder, from a love of commotion, from a barbarous spite against a different race, from a disposition to bolster up the faihng fortunes of the Southern rebels. All of these influences operate in a greater or less measure upon any person engaged in this general defiance of law: and all combined have generated a com- posite monster more helhsh than the triple-headed Cerberus. It doubtless is true that the Conscription, or rather its preliminary process, furnished the occa- sion for the outbreak. This was so, simply because it was the most plausible pretext tor commencing open defiance. But it will be a fatal mistake to assume that this pretext has but to be removed to restore quiet and contentment. Even if it be al- lowed that this might have been true at the out- set, it is completel}* false now. A mob, even though it may start on a single incentive, never sustains it- self for any time whatever on any one stimulant. With every hour it lives it gathers new passions, and dashes after new objects. If you undertake to negotiate with it, you find that what it raved for yesterday it has no concern for to-day. It is as in- consistent as it is headstrong. The rabble greeted with cheers the suppliant attitude of Gov. Seymour, and his promises witli reference to the Conscription law, but we have yet to hear that they thereupon abandoned their oiitrages. The fact stands that they are to-night, while we write, stiU infiu-iate, still in- satiate. You may as well reason with the wolves 230 XEW YORK CITY LIFE of the forest as with these men in their present mood. It is quixotic and suicidal to attempt it. The duties of the executive officers of this State and City are not to debate, or negotiate, or to sup- pHcate, but to execute the laivs. To execute means to enforce by authority. This is their only official business. Let it be promptly and sternly entered upon with all the means now available, and it can- not fail of being carried through to an overwhelm- ing triumph of public order. It may cost blood- much of it perhaps; but it will be a lesson to the public enemies, whom we always have and must have in our midst, that will last for a generation. Justice and mercy this time unite in the same be- hest: Gh^e them grape and a plenty of it.'' And again : "Crush the Mob! "Mayor Opdyke has called for volunteer police- men, to serve for the special and temporary pur- pose of putting down the mob which threatened yes- terday to burn and plunder the City. Let no man be deaf to this appeal. No man can afford to neg- lect it. No man, whatever his calhng or condition in life, can afford to live in a city where the law is powerless, and where mobs of reckless ruffians can plunder dwelhngs, and burn whole blocks of buildings with impunity. Let the mob which raged yesterday in our streets, with so httle of real re- straint, obtain the upper hand for a day or two longer and no one can predict or imagine the ex- tent of the injury they may inflict, or the weight 237 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS of the blow they may strike at om- peace and pros- perity. This mob must be crushed at once. Every day's, everj^ hour's delay, is big with evil. Let every citizen come promptly forward and give liis personal aid to so good and so indispensable a work," The news of great elections has been received in Printing House Square by countless multitudes. Every great event for fifty years past has been watched for and learned from the bulletin boards, by throngs assembled in this square. Here, when the newspapers have prepared to show election news, is the place to see New York at its best and its worst. There was a picturesqvie and pathetic scene in Printing House Square on the day when Mr, Bryan captured the machinery of the National Democratic Party by a hashed-over speech, and secured its nomination for the Presidency of the United States on a platform which pointed the way to the financial dishonor of the nation, A long bulletin boai-d was stretched across the front of the "Tribune" build- ing, and a young man busied himself in recording the votes of the convention. The square and the park were overflowing with men, anxiously watch- ing the figures. There was no noise, no enthusi- asm; and the Democrats could be picked out by their lugubrious faces. Bland, the nondescript farm- er, and Bryan, the spouting editor, were running neck and neck, like a double comet drawing a tail, 238 NEW YORK CITY LIFE more or lews nel)ulou8, made up of various candi- dates all of the same mad silver-repudiation type. Never was there so solemn an audience on such an occasion. It was shut in by the great structures which had been built out of the prosperity and the financial power that depend so thoroughly upon na- tional honor. Benjamin Frankhn, the wise old sage, stood on his pedestal, with his benignant head bowed over the anxious people, and his hand out- stretched over them. In the doorway on the corner Horace Greeley sat in bronze, dubiously shaking his knowing old head, and sympathizing with the sor- rowful Democrats, who had once helped him to an untimely end in a craze that pushed aside the regu- lar order of things; but above all that was dubi- ous, uncertain and sorrowful, McKinley's face, full of life and blood, flashed its expressive eyes over the concourse, and seemed to speak the words that boldly appeared, "Protection, Sound Money, and Prosperity." On the night of the first Tuesday of November, there was another great gathering of the people in Printing House Square, but there was no solemnity about it; it was a tumult of rapture, and a con- vulsion of joy. The immense crowd filled the square, leaving barely room for the cars to pass through, and it extended into the park as far back as it was possible for human vision to catch the bulletins that were constantly flashed upon the tall fronts of the newspaper buildings. The "Journal," Mr. Bry- an's New York organ, was prepared to use all the 239 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS joyous appurtenances of victory. It had secured the greater part of the "Tribune" building front, and had covered it with a map of the Union, on which the votes of the States were shown by colored elec- tric hghts, as they became known. The Seventh Regiment band was on a platform in front of the counting-room, all ready to "whoop it up" for Mr. Bryan. The "AVorld" had a band, too, but it was prepared to blow for the other side. Venders of tin horns appeared, and soon the multitude of spectators was transformed into a tin band, if not into a brass one. Presently the returns, indicating Mr. McKinley's triumph, began to appear on the bulletins, and the "Jom-nal's" band played selections from foreign ora- torios, which were drowned by an overwhelming chorus from the American tin horns. For several hours this historic neighborhood, which from the earliest days of the struggle for national existence has been the meeting ground of the people, re sounded ^v^th the cheers of an army of those who beheved that a great national crisis had been met and that the honor of the counti-y had been saved. Similar scenes were apparent that night at many other places in New York. Many have been the thrilhng and tragic events in this square. The "Tribune" has had its share of them. In 1845, in the midst of a violent storm, its first building was burned down while filled Avith people at work, who escaped with the greatest diffi- culty. Mr. Greeley's "Reflections over the Fire" ap- 240 NEW YORK CITY LIFE peared in the columns of the "Tribune" on the morning after the fire. He said: "We would not indulge in unnecessary sentiment, but even the old desk at which we sat, the ponderous inkstand, the familiar faces of files of correspondence, the choice collection of pamphlets, the unfinished essay, the charts by which we steered — can they all have vanished, never more to be seen? Truly, your fire makes clean work, and is, of all executive officers, super-eminent. Perhaps that last choice batch of letters may be somewhere on file; we are almost tempted to cry, 'Devil! find it up!' Pah! it is a mere cinder now; some " 'Fathoms deep my letter Mes; Of its fines is tinder made. ' "No Arabian tale can cradle a wilder fiction, or show better how altogether illusory life is. Those solid walls of brick; those five decent stories; those st«ep and difficult stairs; the swing doors; the sanc- tum, scene of many a deep political drama, of many a pathetic tale — utterly whiffed out, as one sum- marily snuffs out a spermaceti on retiring for the night. And all perfectly true. "One always has some private satisfaction in his own particular misery. Consider what a night it was that burned us out, that we were conquered by the elements, and went up in flames heroically on the wildest, windiest, stormiest night these dozen years, not by any fault of human enterprise, but fairly conquered by stress of weather; there was a great flourish of trumpets, at all events. ^-1 241 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "And cousider, above all, that «alainauder safe; how, after all, the fire, assisted by the elements, only came off second best, not being able to reduce that safe into ashes. That is the streak of sunshine through the dun wreaths of smoke; the combat of human ingenuity against the desperate encounter of the seething heat. But those boots, and Webster's Dictionary — well! we icere handsomely whipped there, we ackn ow ledge . ' ' While speaking of Greele.v, we are reminded of his historic newspaper wrestling match with Colonel Webb, editor of the "Courier and Enquirer," and of the great fall that Webb received. In the "Courier and Enquirer" of January 27, 1844, appeared the following: "The editor of the 'Tribune' is an Abolitionist; we i)recisely the reverse. He is a philosoi^her ; we are a Christian. He is a pupil of Graham, and would have all the world live upon bran-bread and sawdust; we are in tavor of living as our fathers did, and of enjoying in moderation the good things which Providence has liestowed upon tis. He is tlio advocate of the Fourierism, Socialism, and all the tomfooleries which have given birth to the debasiug and disgusting spectacles of vice and immorality which Fanny Wright, Collins, and others exhibit. . . . He seeks for notoriety by pretending to great ec- centi-icity of character and habits, and by the strange- ness of his theories and practices; we, on the con- trary, are content with following in the beaten path, and accomplishing the gooti we can, in the old-fash- 242 NEW YORK CITY LIFE ioned way. He la3-s claim to greatness by wander- ing through the streets with a hat double the size of his head, a coat after the fashion of Jacob's of old, with one leg of his pantaloons inside and the other outside of his boot, and with boots all be- spattered with mud, or, possibly, a shoe on one foot and a boot on the other, and glorifying in an im- washed and unshaven person. We, on the contrary, eschew all such affectation as weak and silly; we think there is a difference between notoriety and dis- tinction; we recognize the social obHgation to act and dress according to our station in life; and we look upon cleanhness of person as inseparable from purity of thought and benevolence of heart. In short, there is not the slightest resemblance between the editor of the 'Tribune' and ourself, politically, morally, or socially; and it is only when his affec- tation and impudence are unbearable that we conde scend to notice him or his press." In the "Tribune" of the following day appeared this reply: "It is true that the editor of 'The Tribune' chooses mainly (not entirely) vegetable food; but he never troubles his readers on the subject; it does not worry them; why should it concern the Colonel? ... It is hard for philosophy that so humble a man shall be made to stand as its exemplar, while Christianity is personified by the hero of the Sun- day duel with Hon. Tom Marshall; but such luck will happen. As to our personal appearance, it does seem time that we should say something. . . . Some 243 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS (loukey, a while ago, apparently anxious to assail or annoy the editor of this paper, and not well knowing with what, originated the story of his care- lessness of personal appearance; and since then, every blockhead of the same disposition, and distressed bj- a similar lack of ideas, has repeated and exagger- ated the foolery, until, from its origin in the 'Al- bany Microscope,' it has sunk down at last to the cohniins of the 'Courier and Enquirer,' growing more absurd at every landing. Yet, all this time, the object of this silly railler}- has doubtless worn bet- ter clothes than tv»'o-thirds of those who thus as- sailed him — better than any of them could hon- estly wear, if they paid their debts otherwise than by bankruptcy; while, if they are indeed more cleanly than he, they must bathe very tlioroughly not less than twice each day. The editor of the 'Tribime' is the son of a poor and humble farmer; came to New Yoik a minor, ^\•ithout a friend with- in two hundred miles, less than ten dollars in his pocket, and precious little besides; he has never had a dollar fi'om a relative, and has, for years, labored under a load of debt. . . . Henceforth he may be able to make a better show, if deemed essential by his friends; fur himself he has not much time or thought to bestow on the matter. That he ever affected eccentricity is most untrue; and certainly no costume he ever appeared in would create such a sensation in Broadway, as that James "Watson AVebb %vould have worn, but for the clemency of Gov. Seward. Heaven grant our assailant may NEW YORK CITY LIFE never hang with such weight on another whig ex- ecutive!— "We DROP HIM." Colonel Webb made no reply to Greelej^. In the counting-room of the new building, in 1869, occurred the famous Richardson murder, Daniel McFarland, assistant assessor, shot Albert D. Richardson, journalist, because he had robbed him of his wife's affections. Popular sympathy- was with McFarland. Among his witnesses were Horace Greeley, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Junius H. Browne, Amos J. Cummings (then of the "Sun"), Whitelaw Reid, F. B. Carpenter, Samuel Sinclair, and Ohver Johnson. Among the counsel were John Graham, Charles S. Spencer, Noah Davis, and Elbridge T. Gerry. At the announcement of the verdict of "Not Guilty," in the court room across the street, the audience went wild and burst over every restraint. This case went far to demonstrate a sentiment which has frequently been exhibited in New York that a situation such as was shown will excuse murder. Among the toasts in the old Tammany celebra tion above mentioned was one which wished that slavery might be abohshed. At that time there was a slave market in Wall Street, near Pearl. The men who drank to the toast saw the abolition of slavery in New York; yet their descendants passed through trying experiences before the emanci- pation of American slaves was effected. There were slave hunts right in New York streets. Such a 245 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS hunt occurred here under the "fugitive slave law." William Johnson, who witnessed it, detailed it at the fiftieth anniversary of the mobbing of the aboli- tionist, William Lloyd Garrison. He said that he was walking past the square, when he saw a negro running across the City Hall Park with a crowd of roughs in pursuit. He recognized him as a man who had been claimed a few days before under the act, but had been discharged by Judge Edmonds. The claimant had trumped up some charge to secure his rearrest. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Smith, of the "Tribune," joined in the chase, hoping to be of help to the negro. The man ran well, and finally disappeared in the cellar of a pie bakery, and the crowd, entering, could not find him. They discovered that a door led into the engine-room of the "Anti- Slavery Standard," on Park Row, and they pressed into it, but the engineer insisted that he had not seen him, and refused to allow the pursuers to go further. The engineer was interested A^th Smith in the "Underground Passage," and Smith learned from him that the fugitive was in the building. The crowd hung around all day. Next day a policeman watched thf building, not to help the cohered man, but to catch him if possible. After two days it was determined to get him out, so a box was addressed to Dennis Harris, an abolitionist, Avho had a sugar refinery in Duane Street, near "We^t Broadway, and the man was nailed up in it, and carted off on a truck. Two policemen watched the wagon suspiciously, and finally stopped it, one declaring that he "smelled 346 NEW YORK CITY LIFE nigger." Tlie box was broken open with the as- sistance of an enthusiastic crowd of rascals, and the runaway was taken to the Tombs. His case came up, and was prosecuted by John McKeon, and defended by John Jay. The charge was theft, but it could not be sustained, and was dismissed. An angry crowd was waiting outside, and the slave owner had another warrant read}', so that he might kidnap him. The negro's friends got a carriage with two good men on the box, and slipped their man into it from the private entrance of the building. The carriage was well under way before the ruse was discovered, and the trip to Canada was safely made. In Revolutionary days Printing House Square was barricaded at Spruce Street and Frankfort Street, and across Chatham Street. In this neighborhood occurred the fire of 1811, which destroyed eighty to ninety houses. This con- flagration was attended by manj- thrilling incidents. The houses were covered with shingled roofs, and the air, being filled with burning embers, which were blown in every direction by a high wind, every householder had to fight the fire on his own roof. The wooden steeples of St. Paul's Chapel, St. George's Chapel, and the Brick Presbyterian Church, received showers of these burning missiles, many of which obtained temporary lodgment, and the thou- sands who crowded the Citj- Hall Park were in fear that these churches would be destroyed. Fi- nally the steeple of the Brick Church took fire. THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS and there seemed to be no way of reaching it. A sailor began to climb the steeple on the out- side. The ascent seemed impossible of accomplish- ment, but he succeeded in reaching the burning spot. He beat out the fire with his oil-skin hat, descended safely, and disappeared in the crowd. Mr. Stone says: "This sailor was the father of Dr. Hague, who was afterward the pastor of the Bap- tist Church at 31st Street and Madison Avenue" (the Madison Avenue Baptist Church). The roof of the old jail (now the Register's ofifice) took fire, and the poor debtors distinguished themselves by saving the building. The Brick Church, on the site of the "Times" and Potter buildings, was an offshoot of the first Presbyterian Church in Wall Street. The ground was a part of the Commons, and in the petition for its use in 177 Q was called "the triangular piece of ground to the Northward of the Vineyard." It was leased to the church in perpetuity for forty pounds a year. The first pastor was Dr. John Rodgers. He was succeeded by Dr. Gardner Spring, who held the pulpit for sixty-two years. Dr. Shedd also preached there. The church stood from 1767 to 1856. Its successor is Dr. Van Dyke's Church, at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street. The churchyard was full of graves, and the Potter building stands on the resting place of hundreds of bodies. St. George's Chapel, which stood at the corner of Beekman and Chff Streets, on the ground now oc- cupied by Jordan L. Mott's business, was one of the 248 NEW YORK CITY LIFE famous old churches of the City. Like St. Paul's Chapel on Vesey Street, it was an enterprise of Trinity Church. The land was bought by Trinity's wardens from Colonel Beekman. The first subscrip- tion was made by Admiral Sir Peter Warren, and St. George's Chapel, Beekman Street. the Archbishop of Canterbury made a contribution. AVashington frequently attended service in the old building. The present St George's Church, on East 16th Street, is the descendant of the old chapel. None of the early chm-ches of the Citj' was sup- ported by any more representative body of citizens 249 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS than this old church, whose members included the Schuylers, the Livingstons, the Beekmans, the Van Rensselaers, and the Cortlandts. Like the other old churches, it was surrounded by a graveyard in which many old citizens were buried. Some of them were veterans of the Revolutionary war. The graveyard was sold with the rest of the property, all of which had been bought from Colonel Beek- man for five hundred pounds, and the poor bones of those who had been placed there to rest until the resurrection were gathered up and carted away to another place of sepultm-e. It is said that the pulpit, desk and chancel rail were made from the inahogany masts of a ship that had been obliged to replace masts broken in a hur- ricane with that sort of wood, and which, arriving in New York, discarded the mahogany for a more suitable material; and that these articles of furniture may still be seen in Christ Church, of Manhasset, Long Island. The history of the Park Theater, which stood on Park Row, east of Beekman Street, is very inter- esting. The block on which it stood was part of Governor Dongan's gardens, and was the vineyard referred to in the Presbj^terian petition. It was a pleasure resort until 1762, when it was divided into lots. That part of the block was sold to Andrew Hopper in 1773 for three hundred and twenty-eight pounds. At that time Park Row had been named Chatham Street, in honor of the Earl of Chatham. When the theater was in its most prosperous days •250 NEW YORK CITY LIFE its owners Avere Ji^)liu K. Beekman and John Jacob Astor. It was closed in 1822 on account of the yel- low fever plague. Among the great actors who ap- peared there were Charles Matthews, Cooke, Young, Kean, Kemble, Power, Fanny Kcmble, Ellen Tree, Booth and A^''allack. Chanfrau's taking character of "Mose" the fireman was enacted there. It was used in 1825 for the first performances of the Garcia family, who had been brought to New York by the influence of Dominick Lynch, a cultivated citizen. They set the City wild with their performance of the "Barber of Seville." There were enough members in the family to take all the prin- cipal characters. One of the daughters, Maria Fe- licia Garcia, married Signor Malibran, an elderlj- merchant of the City, and he made her life miser- able, but she sang his name into fame. These two blocks, from Printing House Square to Ann Street, which a few years ago were almost entirely occupied by a church and a theater, are now crowded with newspaper offices, mercantile es- tablishments, and countless offices of lawyers and business men of all descriptions. In the daytime the office buildings are veritable hives, each cell having its occupants. The expansion of business, which has brought this great change in so short a period, and has done it so effectually as to wipe out the very recollection of the venerated churches from which messages were spoken that thrilled the whole City, — that expansion of business cannot be measured in dollars, nor by words. It defies calcu- 251 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS lation. It is as though the ground had burst up suddenl}', and vast treasures, which had laid un- known, had been pushed into the light, and shaped into useful forms by hands more powerful than those of mortals. The square is a tlirilling sight in the earl}^ even- ings of winter. As night's somnolent curtain drops down on the City, myriads of lights flash out, and, joining their rays in protest, push back the dark- ness, and enable us to lengthen the hours of the day. They fill the busy streets with their dazzling illumination. Great arc-bvirners in the park,, thou- sands of incandescent lamps in shop and office win- dows, unique advertising appliances in store fronts — all join their rays in a grand flood of light, which makes even the buildings seem incandescent. Swift cable cars rush by, all aglow. Lines of bril- liants, radiating from the square, indicate the course of the streets. The bridge is a giant necklace of dazzling gems. If the full moon shine, it is not noticed. Then the army of workers issues from offices and shops and stores, and presses in great hungry rivers along the streets, toward the ferries, the railroads, and the bridge — toward home and sup- per. Up Nassau Street come lawyers, brokers, bankers, clerks; up Park Row comes a similar throng; a resistless human flood pours up the bridge stairs, and another river of people flows into the elevated railroad cars. Other streams rush across the park toward the New Jersey ferries. The sur- face cars are filled. A confused myriad-voiced mur- 252 THE ST. PAUL RTTILDING. New York, Vol. One, p. 2.53. NEW YORK CITY LIFE mur arises from the throng, punctuated by the shrill cries of the street venders. Among this great mass of people, intent on speedily reaching their homes, pickpockets and other slinking characters eagerly look for chances, and policemen lay in wait for them. The world has few more impressive sights than this, in which we daily participate, all unconscious of emotion or wonder. At Ann Street is a deep excavation, in which men are toiling so far beneath us as to look like children. They are handling iron beams, which are being swung into place by ponderous derricks, and riveted together with red-hot bolts. Such buildings as this must make the sober old gentlemen who lie buried across the way turn over in their graves. Twenty-six stories will this tower be carried into the air, and the twenty-sixth story will be the choicest story in the building — such wiU be the conveniences of elevator travel and general service. This building is remarkable even at this time, when nothing seems to be impossible. It is to be constructed in such a way that the inevitable set- tling can be corrected by one man, who will have the power to actually raise the great structure, weighing, as it does, fifteen thousand tons. It will rest on jack-screws that can be operated by hy- draulic power, which can be directed by a single hand. This arrangement was deemed advisable be- cause the foundation is wet and sandy; and the building will rest upon concrete beds instead of soHd 253 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS rock. It aWU be three hundred and seven feet above the curbstone. (Trinity steeple's height is two hun- dred and eighty-three feet.) [While we were writing, the work was completed and all the builders' promises were fulfilled. The St. Paul building is a complete structure; and fright- fully ugly, interestingly unique, dazzlingly brilliant, or away out of sight, as you choose to look at it. (3ver the Broadway entrance are three colossal mar- ble Atlantes, holding the crushing weight of the portico on their shoulders, and seeming to groan under the relentless burden that thej' can never lay down. They are almost ghastly in their realism. Those figures stand for much on that prominent Broadway corner. They were designed bj^ a man who, fifteen years ago, walked up Broadway, past that very corner, a refugee immigrant without a dollar in his pocket or a friend in the great strange City.] St. Paul's, which used to seem a grand and stately old church, has become almost insignificant as it has been surrounded by these great modern buildings. The house which has just been torn down to make room for the new building was the home of the "'Herald'' after the burning of Bar- num's Museum, and where it reached the great proportions which have made it a giant among newspapers. The '"Herald" building when erected was one of the most important features of Broad- way, and the National Park Bank, adjoining it, looking now quite shabby and antiquated, was thought to be a marvel of architecture. ^54 NEAT YORK CITY LIFE Barnum first made this corner famous. Years before the era of finished stage productions, grand operas and perfected concerts, the curiosities, the menagerie, the shows, and the Uncle Tom's Cabin of Barnum's Museum, were the greatest attractions of the City, and drew the entire amusement loving part of the community. Here was the home of the woolly horse, and the white whales from the north- ern seas; here was kept the club with which Cap- tain Cook was murdered; and here occurred the great fire, from which it was religiously afiirmed the Polar bears saved their lives by climbing down the ladders, and out of which Barnum's fortunes arose like the Phoenix. It will amuse us to recall the conflict which Mr. Barnum had with a vestrj^- man of St. Paul's Church on a Washington's birth- day. Barnum desired to hang out a string of flags which would span the street; but there was noth- ing to fasten the rope to except an elm tree in the corner of the churchyard. Permission for this was refused. Mr. Barnum's patriotic inspiration was re- enforced by a prospective increase of the attendance at the museum, so he took the matter into his own hands and fastened the rope to the tree. When the morning of Washington's birthday dawned a gallant string of flags flapped in the breeze between the churchyard and the museum. This unusual connec- tion of the living and the dead did not disturb Mr. Barnum's peace of mind. Presently a bluster- ing vestryman called for Mr. Barnum, who went right downstairs and met him on the street. The 255 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS vestiyman raged about and demanded that Mr. Bar- num should take down the flags. A crowd of labor- ing men gathered to listen to the dispute. Mr. Barnum's quick mind caught on to the situation. ("Caught on" is an expression that has become fixed in our language since the advent of the tall steel buildings, and no apology for it is needed.) Mr. Barnum said in a loud and offended tone: "If j'ou want to have the American flag hauled down on Washington's birthday, I won't do it; j'ou will have to do it yourself." Quickly a big rough man in the crowd jumped at the vestryman, and ex- claimed to his comrades: "Here's a bloody English- man who wants to pull down the American flag on Washington's birthday; let's do him up;" and in a mc^nent a rapid procession was ci'ossing the street with the vestryman in the front rank. The flags flew ail daj- long, and the people crowded into the museum through the long hours. Mr. Barnum was puzzled by the disposition of most of his visitors to stay all day, which kept the museum so crowded that the throngs waiting for admission could not get in. In vain was the sweetest persuasion used upon the pleasure-seeking army. Again native wit came to the rescue. An exit into Ann Street w^as ({uickly opened by a carpenter, and a painter made a large sign, on which were a hand pointing to- ward the exit, and the words, "This Way to the Egress." The contrivance was automatic; it needed no explanation and no force to set it moving. The first one to espy it was an old woman, who had 350 NETV YORK CITY LIFE brought her children to spend the day. She ex- claimed, "This way to the aigress! Sure that's an animal we haven't seen; let's be going to look at it." The party started, others followed in its wake, and, before they realized what the "aigress" was, they were on Ann Street, and they could not get in again without paying a new admission price at the Broadway entrance. So was contrived this mod- ern self- emptying museum method. On this corner, before Barnum's time, there was a sign pointing up Park Row reading "Road to Boston," and on the opposite corner there was a sign pointing up Broadway reading "Road to Al- bany." One road ran to the seat of Dutch culture, the other to New England's universal Hub. APPENDIX TO CHAPTER TWO THE CONSTITUTIONAL PARADE Richard Piatt, the chairman of the committee for the procession, issued a historical sketch which has been preserved and copied. It is entitled, "Federal Procession in Honor of the Constitution of the United States. ' ' It begins in this way: "The Constitution was adopted by New York State three days after the procession." "We have given this sketch in full, not only because of its own interesting quaintness, but because it exhibits the customs and manners of the time, and it shows the unanimity with which the people of New York City in all the walks of life gave their allegiance to the Con- 267 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS stitiition, and ascribed honor to the great citizen of New York who was its principal architect. To testify the animated joy of the citizens of New York, upon finding the federal constitution of govern- ment ratified by a sufficient number of States to make it operative, it was determined that, on the twenty-third day of July, 1788, thej' should so appear in procession, as to demonstrate to the world the pleasure that, in con- sequence of this event, had pervaded all ranks and de- grees of the community. The daj- having been more than once postponed, in the interesting hope that this State, then in convention, would likewise accede to the union, the committee of arrangements found it impossible any longer to oppose the patriotic ardor of their fellow-citizens. It was re- membered, however, that the great object of exultation was not the ratifying of the Constitution b}* any one par- ticular State, but the already present existence of an era in the history of man, great, glorious, and unparalleled, which opens a varietj^ of new sources of happiness, and unbounded prospects of national prosperity I The adop- tion of the federal plan by this State, though not then expected to be immediate, was, however, with certainty considered among those events which time, increasing light, and an overruling Providence, would bring to our view. About 10 o'clock, 13 guns were fired from the federal ship "Hamilton," being the signal for the procession to move; the different bodies of which it was composed having already collected from their various places of meeting. It now set out from the Fields, proceeding down Broadw^ay to Great Dock Street, thence through Hanover Square, Queen, Chatham, Division, and Arun- del Streets; and from thence through Bullock Street to Bayard's house, in the following order : 258 NEW YORK CITY LIFE HOESEMEN WITH TRUMPETS— COMPANY OF ARTILLERY AND FIELD PIECE. After these, the whole procession was marshaled into ten divisions, each of which was preceded by a white flag, borne to the honor of the ten States that had then acceded to the new constitution. FIBST DIVISION. FORESTERS WITH AXES. Columbus in his ancient dress, on horseback, repre- sented by Captain Moore. FORESTERS W^ITH AXES, ETC. A plow, drawn by six oxen, conducted by Nicholas Cruger, Esq., in a farmer's dress, supporting the Farm- er's arms; a flag, with a wheat sheaf on the field, on the hand of which was inscribed, "O Fortunati Agri- cola!'' over which was a rising star. Two Men Sowing Grain. A harrow, drawTi by two oxen and two horses, con- ducted by Mr. John Watts, in a farmer's dress. A number of gentlemen farmers, with every imple- ment of husbandry, displayed in a pleasing manner. A new invented threshing machine (which will thresh and clean seventy-two bushels of grain in a day), con- ducted by Baron Poelnitz, and other gentlemen farmers, dressed proper, gTinding and threshing grain. United States arms, borne by Col. White, on horse- back, supported by the Cincinnati; the horse beautifully caparisoned, and led by two boj^s in a white uniform. A number of gardeners with aprons on, and various implements of husbandry. A Band of Music. TAILORS. A flag, ten ])y eleven feet, field sky blue, a fine land- scape, Adam and Eve represented naked, excepting tig ^59 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS leaves for aprons, nearly in full stature, in a sitting post- ure; motto, "And they sewed tig leaves together" ; the United States forming a chain of links, upon a large circle, in order as they adopted the Constitution, and the names of each State in the middle ; in the center of the circle, "Majority." The sun beaming forth its rays upon those States that have acceded to federal measures. Rliode Island in mourning. General Washington nearly in full stature, holding a parchment in his hand, with this inscription, ''The Federal Constitution.''' The fed- eral eagle, with its wings expanded, soaring toward the sun : the whole hung in a large frame, with golden knobs at the tops of the poles, carried by two standard bearers, and supported by two men, one upon each side of the flag, with fine blue and white cord, and elegant tassels in their hands. The flag preceded b}" a committee of six, three and three, joined together by white handker- chiefs, with buff and blue sashes, and blue and buff cockades; followed by Mr. John Elliot, President, with a blue and buff sash and cockade ; two of the committee, with buff and blue sashes and cockades, on each side of the President ; followed by the rest of their branch, all wearing blue and buff cockades. The order closed hx Mr. John Banks, Vice-President, with a sash and cock- ade like the President's, and two officers, with buff and blue sashes and cockades; three flank officers, as ad- jutants, dressed in sashes and cockades, with white rattans in their hands. The sashes and cockades em- blematical of the staff uniform of the American army. MEASURERS OF GRAIN. An ensign with a flag, representing the head of Gen- eral Washington in the center, ornamented with thir- teen stripes and thirteen stars, with this motto: "His Excellency General AVashington'' ; on the opposite side, the head of Col. Hamilton, beautifully painted; in the 260 NEW YORK CITY LIFE center, a device representing the measures used in the business, on one side of which was inscribed, in capitals, ' ' Eq uity, ' ' surrounded with these lines : ^^ Federal measures, and measures true. Shall measure out justice to us and to you." Two ships, one discharging- salt, and the other taking in grain; a store, with a merchant in front, viewing, with a spyglass, a French ship entering the harbor un- der full sail ; on the reverse, the same, except the Mayor of the City in the place of Col. Hamilton. The order headed by Mr. Van Dyke. MILLERS. No return. INSPECTORS OF FLOUR. No return. BAKERS. Headed by two masters, Messrs. John Quackinbos and Frederick Stymets. Ten boys, dressed in white, with blue sashes, each of them carrying a large rose, decorated with various col- ored ribbons. Ten journeymen, dressed in white, with blue sashes, carrying implements of the craft. A stage, drawn by tivo bay horses decorated. Four masters, with the Federal loaf, ten feet long, twenty-seven inches in breadth, and eight inches in height, with the names in full length of the ten States which have ratified the Constitution, and the initial let- ters of the other three. A flag, representing the declension of trade under the old confederation. Motto : " When in confusion I was made. Without foundation was I laid; But hope the Federal ovens may My sinking frame full well repay. ' ' THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS On the reverse, the representation of their trade in a flourishing situation, with two ovens. Motto: ""We are well built, both sound and tight; Vv'e hope to serve the ships in sight With the best bread, bak'd with good flour, When Congress have the Federcd power." In the center, the spread-eagle and crown, holding on the left the old confederation ; on the right, the new Con- stitution ; Fame, with her trumpet, over it ; followed by eighty masters, journej^men and apprentices, with white aprons. BREWERS, A standard, carried by Mr. Samuel Boyer, ornamented with the brewers' arms proper, barley, sheaves and por- ter casks, encircled with hop vines ; crest, an eagle with extended wings, holding a thermometer in his beak. Motto : ' ' Home brewed. ' ' The Federal brewery ; a horse and dray loaded, in full speed to Bunker's Hill; and other devices suitable to the occasion. Messrs. A. Lispenard, Appleby and Matlack, with each an elegant gilt mashing oar in hand, and barley heads in their hats, followed by two horses and drays, ornamented with hop vines and barley. First dray loaded with a store cask, containing three himdred gallons of ale, a por- ter cask and barrel ; on the top of the large cask was fixed a tun, with a living Bacchus, a very handsome boy, of eight years old, dressed in flesh-colored silk, sewed tight round, from his chin to his toes ; a cap, ornamented with hop vines and barley, a silver goblet in his hand, drink- ing and huzzaing the whole day with the greatest cheer- fulness, performing his part to admii'ation. Below him sat Silenus, attendant on Bacchus, on a porter hogs- head. Motto : ' ' Ale, proper drink for Americans. ' ' Second dray, loaded with porter casks and hop bags, followed by brewers and maltsters, with mashing oars, 262 NEW YORK CITY LIFE malt shovels, etc., tvventj' in number, ornamented with barley and hop vines in their hats. DISTILLERS. No return. SECOJSD DIVISION. COOPERS. Thirteen apprentice bo.vs, thirteen years of age, dressed in white shirts, trousers and stockings, the trousers drawn at the ankle with a green ribbon, their hats ornamented with thirteen pillars, colored green and white, with ten branches springing from them, representing the ten States which have adopted the Constitution, decorated with an oak branch and green ribbon ; a keg carried under the left arm, slung with a broad green ribbon, with a bow of the same, green and white, on their right shoulder, round their right arms a green and white ribbon with a bow ; each boy carrying a white oak branch in his right hand, and wearing white leather aprons. Headed by Mr. Peter Stoutenburgh, carrying a small flag, with the coopers' coat of arms. Motto: "Love as brethren." Forty-two apprentices, dressed clean, with a green oak branch in their hats, and carrying a branch in their right hand. The stage, drawn by four bay horses, dressed with ribbons, and decorated with green oak bows. On the stage was erected a standard, with a flag ten feet square, representing trade and commerce; a Federal cooperage; coopers at different kinds of work; the coopers' coat of arms. Motto :" Love as brethren. " Workmen at work on the stage, Mr. John Post, master. On the stage, a cask that had been put up during the session of the con- vention at Philadelphia, and which wanted repair; but, notwithstanding one of the best workmen belonging to the branch was industriously employed great part of the time of the procession, it was found impracticable : this m-6 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS branch, considering this emblematical of the old confed- eration, determined to make a new cask, representing the new Constitution, which was done accordingly, while the procession was marching. Next the stage was one hundred and thirty-eight mas- ters and journeyman coopers, their hats decorated with green oak boughs, carrying an oak branch in their right hand, the rear brought up by Mr. Daniel Dunscomb, carry- ing a small flag, the same as in front. The order con- ducted by two masters, wearing green and white cock- ades, and each carrying a green hoop pole, with the leaves left on the upper end. BUTCHERS. Headed by Mr. Jotham Post, Alexander Fink, John Lovel, and Jacob J. Arden; a flag of fine linen, neatly painted, displayed; on the standard, the coat of arms; viz., three bullock's heads, two axes crosswise, a boar's head, and two garbs, supported by an ox and a lamb. Motto : "Skin me well, dress me neat. And send me 'board the Federal fleet," A slaughter-house, with cattle dressed and killing; a market, supported by ten pillars, one pillar partly up ; under it was written: ^'Federal Market supported by ten," in gold letters. Federal butchers; a ship, with smaller vessels. The standard carried on a stage drawn by four bright bay horses, dressed with ribbons; a boy dressed in white rode and conducted each. On the stage, a stall, neatly furnished, two butchers and two boys on the stage at work, splitting the lambs, etc., followed by one hundred of the branch, dressed with clean white aprons, and steels on; a band of music; two banners, with the proper coat of arms; motto: '■'Federal Butch- ers," one in the front, supported by Mr. William Wright; one in the rear, supported by Mr. John Perine. A capi- 26i NEW YORK CITY LIFE tal bullock, of a thousand weight, in his quarters, roasted whole by the butchers for the honor of the day, was pre- sented to the procession in general. TANNERS AND CURRIERS. Arms on the flag, Azure, a flesher, and a currying- knife; for crest, a bull's head, horned; for supporters, on the dexter side, a tanner in his frock and trousers, hold- ing in his dexter hand a tanner's skimmer, proper; on the sinister, a currier in his working dress, apron turned up, holding in his sinister hand a currying-knife, proper, a sun rising from beneath the Union flag. Motto: "By union we rise to splendor." Behind all, an oak tree. SKINNERS, BREECHES MAKERS, AND GLOVERS. Headed by Messrs. Alsop Hunt, Benjamin Gatfield, James Mathers, Leonard Rogers, and James Hays; a flag of cream-colored silk, borne by James Mott and John Peal, supported by Henry Frederic and Jacob Grindlemeyer ; coat of arms, a pair of breeches and three gloves, supported by two rampant bucks; crest, a buck's head ; a green field, with a ewe and two lambs, one lying down, the other standing. Motto: "Americans, encour- age your own manufactures"; followed by thirty-one of the trade, in buckskin waistcoats, faced with blue silk, breeches, gloves and stockings, with a buck's tail in their hats. To these Mr. W. Thompson, the parchment manu- facturer, attached himself, with a standard of parchment, and the inscription, "American manufactured." THIRD DIVISION. CORDWAINERS. Headed by Mr. James M'Cready, who supported a small flag representing the arms of the craft. Motto: ''^Federal Cordwainers" ; followed by twelve masters, representing twelve States. A stage, drawn by four white horses, with two pos- L-i 265 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS tilions in livery; a shop on the stage, with ten men dili- gently prosecuting their business, emblematical of the ten States that have adopted the Constitution, with colors extended over the whole length of the shop, representing, in front, his Excellency General Washington coming out of the State House at Philadelphia, and presenting the Constitution to Fame ; she receiving it standing in her temple, and ready to proclaim it to an astonished world. On the reverse, a full view of our own harbor, with the arrival of a ship with Crispin, who is joyfully received by St. Tamman}-. Then followed the main body, three hundred and forty men. Mr. Anthony Bolton in the rear, with a small flag, as in front. FOURTH DIVISION. CARPENTERS, Four masters, with each a rule in his hand; Vice- President, with a blue ribbon at his breast, with a scale and dividers, and a drawing square in his hand ; Secre- tary and Treasurer, with a green sash and architect book in their hands; the apprentices in sections, each bearing a white wand of five feet long in his hand; the standard borne by eight journeymen with red sashes, representing, under the standard of the United States, a portraiture of General Washington. Motto: "Freedom's favorite Son." Two Corinthian pillars, supporting a pedunent half finished, expressive of the yet unsettled state of the Union; under this, thirteen pillars, gilt, united by one entablature, with a pur]>le ribbon; ten of them bearing the names of the States, in the order of their adopting the new Constitution. A motto on the frieze: "The Love of our Country prevails" ; in the i^ediment a shield. Motto : "Honor God." The journeymen in sections; the masters in sections; the President with a blue ribbon at his breast, with scale 2GG NEW YORK CITY LIFE and dividers, and a star or union on his left breast, and a drawn square in his hand. Four masters, with two- feet rules in their hands, two hundred and two rank and file. FURRIERS. Messrs. Lot Merkel, and John Siemon, carrying a white valuable fox skin, manufactured; followed by an Indian, properly accoutered, with the dress and habili- ments of his nation, as just coming out of the woods, loaded with various kinds of raw furs, as if bringing them for sale; followed by journeymen, each of them carrying furs and manufactures, the produce of this country. Like- wise, a horse, with two bears, each sitting on a pack of furs, led by an Indian in a beaver blanket and round hat with black feathers, followed by two journeyman furriers in their working habits, with master aprons, their coats trimmed with black martens, their hats decorated with black feathers and white cockades. A red flag, on which a tiger, as large as life, was dis- played, and above it a large muif of real ermine, as an emblem of the craft; followed by two journeymen in like habits as the first. In the rear of these, came Mr. Lyon Jonas, dressed in a superb scarlet blanket, and an elegant cap, ornamented with a beautiful plumage, smoking the Indian pipe and tomahawk. HATTERS. Preceded by ten men in their working dresses, orna- mented with blue sashes, and carrying bows, decorated with blue ribbons. The flag, displaying the emblems of the branch, on a blue field, supported by two masters. Journej'men and apprentices, followed by masters, being sixty in number, with blue cockades and blue aprons, headed by Mr. Walter Bicker. PERUKE-MAKERS AND HAIRDRESSERS. To the number of forty -five. Standard and flag. The 267 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS arm.s, a wig iu quarters, and three razors on the top of the arms. The amicable society of peruke-makers. Motto: "May we succeed in our trade, and the Union protect us." Two small flags on a barber's pole, ten links in each, emblematical of the ten adopting States. ARTIFICIAL FLORISTS. Rear of the fourth division brought up by the Artifi- cial Florists, carrying a white flag, ornamented on the edges with artificial flowers, with thirteen blue stars, three of which, drooping, representing the three States that had not adopted the Constitution, supported by two Ijoys in white, with blue sashes, and their heads set off with feathers. Motto: ''Floreafi America.'" FIFTH DI\'ISIOA. WHITESMITHS. Carrying an elegant pedestal of open scroll-work, sup- porting the arms of the trade, Vulcan's arm and hand hammer. Motto in gold : "B3' hammer and hand All arts do stand." Below, the name of the trade, embellished with gold or- naments in swags of laurel; a highly polished finished lock was herein hkewise exhibited, with a key at en- trance. Over the same a bell rung continually during the procession, and at the top a finished jack, kept like- wise in motion by the wind; followed b}' the masters singly, then two wardens, masters, journeymen, and apprentices, all with blue cockades. CUTLERS. Two master cutlers, wearing breastplates, and drill- bows in their hands, and green silk aprons, embellished 2i)6 NEW YORK CITY LIFE with the company's arms, richly painted, bound with red ribbon. Four journeymen, with green baize aprons, bound with red ribbon, and the company's arms. Four apprentices, with green baize aprons, bound with red ribbon. CONFECTIONERS. Bacchus's cup, made of sugar, richly ornamented, four feet six inches in circumference; round the goblet's edge the inscription, '^ The Federal Confectioners," the letters of different colors, sugar-plums in the cup; the Federal cake, ornamented with preserved fruit, made and carried by Mr. Pryor. STONE MASONS. Flag; on the front an elegant plan of the President's (of Congress) house; at a distance was displayed a re- mote view of the temple of fame, supported with thirteen pillars, ten finished, and three unfinished; over the tem- ple these words inscribed : "The foundation is firm, the materials are good, Each pillar cemented with patriot's blood." Over the center of the flag a spread-eagle ; below the tem- ple, a gentleman, and a stone mason showing him a draft of the temple ; between the President's house and the tem- ple, a grove of trees and an elegant walk. On the reverse, an elegant figure of the master mason ; over his head was displayed the American flag, with the mason's coat of arms; at a distance a mason's shop in a shade of trees, a man at work in it; at a little distance, two men cutting stone; near the bottom of the flag, a man sawing marble, with a number of blocks and tools of all kinds lying round. The order, consisting of thirty-two, headed by Mr. George Lindsay and William M' Kinney. 269 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS BRICKLAYERS. Preceded by Mr. John M'Comb, one hundred and two in number, supporting a flag, representing, under the col- ors of the United States, a medallion of his Excellency General Washington, encircled with laurel; in the cen- ter, the bricklayer's arms. Mottu: 'Tn God is all our trust.'" Over the arms, a ribbon, written, "The Ami- cable Societ}' of Bricklaj'ers," all in gold letters; on the lower part of the flag, a building with scaffolding, and men at work, attended with laborers. The whole painted on white silk. painters' and glaziers' flag. A view of a street with a number of buildings, one nearl}' painted, and a man in the attitude of painting, on a ladder, the front of a house; a ship, and a man paint- itjg the stern; a pillar with ten stripes circular; above the pillar the Union flag, standing on the platform, sup- ported by ten pillars, three pillars Ijing down under- neath ; in the two upper corners, two men in each, at dif- ferent work, painting and glazing; in the center of the two, the arms of the painters and glaziers. Arms, or three shields gule; on the first a hammer, proper; in the second a diamond ; in the third a lederkin ; on the two upper shields a rule ; in the center of the field a paint-pot and brush; crest, a glass cap; supporters, on the dexter side, a man holding a pillar and pencil; on the sinister, a man holding a sash frame. Motto: "May w^e succeed." Over the two poles that supported the baimer, a scroll, SIM mounted with a star; this motto: "May Trade Flour- ish and Industry be Rewarded." CABINET makers. Headed by Messrs. Carmer, Rucker and Anderson. Robert Carter, bearing the arms of the profession, fol- lowed thirt}' apprentices, four abreast; twenty journey- men in the same order. Stage drawn by horses, on which, during the marcli, 2:0 NEW YORK CITY LIFE a cradle and table were completed ; on the stage, colors fixed, representing a furniture warehouse, where the dif- ferent species of their craft were displayed. Motto: "Unity with Fortitude." Sixteen master workmen, four and four, closed the order. WINDSOR AND RUSH CHAIR MAKERS. Headed by Messrs. Thomas and William Ash, of the Windsor, and Jacob Smith and Mr. Dow, of the rush chair man uf actor j% followed by sixty men, with green and r(^d cockades in their hats, emblematical of their busi- ness; the standard, borne bj' two men, representing a large manufactory shop, with a number of workmen at work ; in front of the shop, a view of the river, several vessels bound to different parts, taking in chairs ; boys carrying them to the wharfs; in one corner, the Ameri- can Union; in the other, the chair maker's arms; a turn- ing lathe, and two Windsor chairs properly emblazoned. Motto: "Free Trade." "The Federal States in union bound, O'er all the world our chairs are found." IVORY TURNERS AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MAKERS. Headed by Mr. Ahasuerus Turk, and other masters of the above business, two and two. They bore a beauti- ful standard ; in the upper part was the figure of Apollo (the god of music), sitting in the clouds, playing on a lyre; round his head were brilliant rays of gold. In a festoon, from Apollo to the corners, and down the sides, hung the different instruments of music, in the manner of trophies. Underneath Apollo was America, standing hand in hand with Europe, Asia, and Africa, emblemat- ical of love and friendship with all the world. "Divine Apollo strikes his sacred lyre, Our breath he fills with true Federal fire ; All nature smiles on this auspicious day. When love and friendship join the new sera." Motto: ''Federal Musical Instrument Makers." '^71 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS DRUM MAKERS. A flag; drum maker's arms; two drums in the cor- ners; a sheaf of flax in the center at top; a lamb under- neath ; on the left of the arms, an oak tree ; on the right, a man leaning on the arms, representing the drum maker. Motto: ''Federal Drum Makers." "Tho' peaceably inclin'd we are, Let us prepare, lest there be war; Our enemies may overcome, Should we neglect the Federal drum." UPHOLSTERERS. Accompanyiug the Federal chair of state, a most ele- gant exhibition, each carrying a banner ornamented with fringe, painted to represent the different articles of their business. Ten of these were topped with brilliant stars, and three with stars obscured in different degrees. The Federal chair was carried upon a handsome stage, cov- ered with the richest carpet; over it stood a magnificent canopy, nineteen feet high, overlaid with blue satin, deco- rated with beautiful festoons, fringe, etc., and various emblematical figures. On the right stood a comely lad, in the character of Liberty, suitabl}'' dressed, and bearing her staff and cap, with a roll of parchment, inscribed, ''Federal Confif?'tutiou, 1788.''^ On the left, another, in the character of justice, carrying the sword and balance. On the back of the chair were seen two angels elevating a laurel wreath, with this motto: "The reward of virtue," and on its top stood the bird sacred to Minerva. On the highest part of this beautiful canopy stood the American eagle with expanded wings, supported b}^ a globe repre- senting the United States; a variety of other emblemat- ical circumstances might be noted, such as two watchful tigers, in a recumbent posture, intimating the necessar}" union of strength and prudence. On the front of the stage, a banner, representing Fame in a flying posture, carrying the Constitution, was supported by one in the 272 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE habit of a native American, but richly decorated vvith feathers, plumes, etc. The motto: "May the Fe4^ral Constitution be supported by Liberty and Justice." LACE AND FRINGE WEAVERS. Bearing orange colors, elevated on a gilt standard, ornamented by their own manufactorj^ ; the device, an angel holding out a scroll with the words, ^'Federal Constitution,''^ and underneath, "O never let it perish in your hands, But piously transmit it to your children." PAPER STAINERS. A flag displayed, representing a piece of paper of a verditure blue ground, printed with a figure of General Washington, with the words, "New York Manufacture," in blue letters, on a gold ground, borne by Mr. John Colles, attended bj* an apprentice in a coat and cap of paper laced with bordering, and others carrying deco- rated tools. In the center of the flag an oval figure, in- cluding ten golden stars, for the ten ratifj-ing States; and on the exterior, three stars in silver, representing the States that have not acceded to the Constitution. On the borders of the flag, "Lender this Constitution we hope to flourish." CIVIL ENGINEERS. Carrj-ing a design for erecting a dock for building and repairing men-of-war and other large vessels. SIXTH DIVISION. shipwrights' flag. In front a large oak tree, a ship in frame, with pieces of timber lying promiscuouslj'. Noah's ark above, M'ith the motto: ''The bulwark of a nation." On the ex- tended corner, an eye. 273 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS BLACKSMITHS AND NAILuRS. A flag with two smiths' shops represented ; in one, a number of men forging an anchor; in the other, men shoeing a horse and making nails. Their coat of arms, three hammers crowned; over which was seen an eagle; under, the words, "The new Constitution." Between the two shops, a large anchor. Motto : "Forge me strong, finish me neat, I soon shall moor a Federal fleet." A man with his arm extended, with a hammer in it, with this motto : "By hammer in hand All arts do stand." The number, one hundred and twenty, in order, headed by Mr. John M'Bain. During the march the blacksmiths exerted themselves in the Federal cause. They began and almost completed an anchor upon the stage, besides making a number of other articles, as hooks and thimbles, horseshoes, nails, etc. SHIP JOINERS. A flag, with their arms; in the field various instru- ments of the craft displayed, crested with a ship, and ornamented. Motto: "Our merchants may venture to ship without fear, For pilots of skill shall the 'Hamilton' steer. This Federal ship will our commerce revive. And merchants, and shipwrights, and joiners shall thrive; On the ocean of time she's about to set sail, Fair Freedom her compass, and Concord the gale. " BOAT BUILDERS. Headed by two masters. Barge rowed by proper bargemen in proper dress. Flag, field, thirteen stars and stripes; a print of his Excellency General Washington, 274 I NEW YORK CITY LIFE and under him a boat building, ax and addice across, and drawing-knife and plane. Motto : "Accept, great chief, that share of honor's praise A grateful people to your merit pays ; Verse is too mean your ^^^tues to display. And words too weak our meaning to conve}'." THE BLOCK AND PUMP MAKERS. Finished a pump, turned three dozen sheaves and pins, made thirteen blocks, sheaved and pinned com- plete, on the stage during the procession. A flag, with thirteen different kinds of blocks painted in an oval form, a pump boring in the center. Motto: "May our indus- try ever recommend us to employment under the Federal Government." A ship off the stocks with only her lower masts in. Motto : "Block me well, my spars sheave neat, And join me to our Federal fleet." SAIL MAKERS. A stage drawn by four horses, on which was displayed their flag, representing the flag of the United States ; di- rectly below, the ship "New Constitution" under full sail; in the center of the flag, Colonel Hamilton, the new Con- stitution in his right hand, and the Confederation in his left ; Fame, with a trumpet, and laurels to crown him ; under, this motto : "Let steadiness our steps pursue, May justice be our guide; The Federal plan we keep in view, We fall if we divide. ' ' Below this, on the left, the inside of a sail-loft; the master workman cutting out sails, with men at work. On the right of this, a view of a river; a ship at anchor, representing Commerce ; a boat taking in sails to carry on board ; the outside of a sail-loft, at which men are 275 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS reefing sails. During the procession was finished on the stage a ship's foretopmast- staysail, a steering sail cut out, on which was sewed about fifty-six yards, which was per- formed by four men in white shirts and trousers, their sleeves tied up with blue ribbon. The remainder of the branch (thirty-seven in number) followed the stage, carry- ing in their hands yards and measure lines, etc., the boys dressed in canvas vests and trousers, a blue sash tied round their waists, and a pine branch in their hats, with blue ribbons; in the branch ten stars, in honor of the ten States that have adopted the Constitution. Headed by Mr. George Warner. RIGGERS. The whole number, forty-one, with blue ribbons in their hats, two drummers and fifers, a flag with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, and a ship just from the car- penters, with men heaving her foremast in with the wind- lass, and a rigging loft on the wharf, with seven men at work, three of them serving a rope; one with a bowl of punch, drinking success to the new Constitution. A cartman,with a cart load of rope at the left door; Fame, with a trumpet, sounding "Federal Riggers." The motto : "Fit me well, and rig me neat. And join me to the Federal fleet." On the other side, a ship almost finished, with men at work aloft; likewise, a rigging loft, with men at work. A cartman taking out a gang of rigging from the loft. The motto: "Kow I am rigged, both neat and strong, And joined to the Federal throng." The standard borne by Mr. Richard Clark. 276 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE SEVENTH DIVISIO^. FEDERAL SHIP "HAMILTON." A frigate of thirty-two guns, twenty-seven feet keel, and ten feet beam, with galleries, and ev^ery thing com- plete and in proportion, both in hull and rigging; manned with upward of thirty seamen and marines, in their dif- ferent uniforms; commanded by Commodore Nicholson, and drawn by ten horses. At the hour appointed for the procession to move, thir- teen guns were fired from the ship as a signal for march- ing. She then got under way, with her topsails a-trip, and courses in the brails, proceeding in the center of the procession. When abreast of Beaver Street she made the proper signal for a pilot, by hoisting a jack at the foretop- masthead, and firing a gun. The pilot boat appeared upon her weather quarter, the frigate threw her maintop sail to the mast; the boat hailed, and asked the necessary questions; the pilot was received on board, and the boat dismissed. The frigate then filled, and moved abreast of the fort, where the crew discovered the President and Members of Congress. She immediately brought to and fired a salute of thirteen guns, which was followed by three cheers, and politely answered by the gentlemen of Congress. The procession then moved; w^hen the ship came opposite to Mr. Constable's, the crew discovered at the window Mrs. Edgar, who had generously honored the ship with the present of a suit of silk colors ; immediately they manned ship and gave three cheers. When she ar- rived abreast of the Old Slip, she was saluted by thirteen guns from his Most Catholic Majesty's packet, then in the harbor, which was politely returned. She then made sail, and proceeded through Queen Street to the Fields, when squalls came on, and the wind ahead, she beat to windward by short tacks, in which the pilot displayed his skill in navigation, heaving the lead, getting ready for stays, putting the helm a-lee, by bracing and counter- 277 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS bracing- the yards, etc. In the Fields she had to descend several hills, in raising which she afforded a delightful prospect to the spectators, her topsails appearing first, and then her hull, in imitation of a ship at sea; exhibit- ing an appearance beyond description splendid and ma- jestic. When she arrived at her station abreast of the dining tables, she clewed up her topsails and came to, in close order with the rest of the procession, the officers go- ing ashore to dine. At four o'clock she gave the signal for marching, by a discharge of thirteen guns, when the procession moved by the lower road. The manner in which the ship made her passage through the narrow part of the road was highl}' interesting and satisfactory, being obliged to run under her foretopsail, in a squall, and keep in the line of procession ; this was accomplished with great hazard by the good conduct of the commander, and the assiduity of the seamen and pilot; she arris-ed at her moorings abreast of the Bowling Green at half-j^ast five, amid the acclamations of thousands; and the differ- ent orders in procession, as soon as they were dismissed, honored her with three cheers, as a mark of approbation for the good conduct of the commodore and his crew. PILOT BOAT. Eighteen feet in length, and four feet in breadth, com- manded b\' Mr. Edward Wilkie, with four lads; embel- lished with two flags, representing the Lighthouse, High- lands, Staten Island, and the sea; ships going in and out, tlie pilot boats attending them ; drawn on a wagon by two horses. PILOTS. MARINE SOCIETY. President with a gold anchor at his left breast, sus- pended by a blue ribbon, and two vice presidents, treas- urer, secretary and attorney. Standard-bearer, with a white silk flag, representing a ship cast on shore ; a dead body floating near her; a woman and children in great 278 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE distress, lamenting- the sad catastrophe, are consoled by Hope, leaning with one hand on a large anchor, and pointing with the other to Charity, who holds a chart inscribed, "New York Marine Society"; in the upper part, handsomely ornamented, is written, "Marine So- ciety, State of New York"; in the lower, in gold letters, the societies' motto: "To Charity add Knowledge." FORMER OFFICERS — STANDING COMMITTEE. Society and strangers ; masters of vessels, four abreast. PRINTERS, BOOKBINDERS AND STATIONERS. Preceded by Messrs. Hugh Gaine and Samuel Loudon, on horseback. The standard alternately supported by Messrs. Bryce, Carroll, Harrison and Purdy. A handsome stage, drawn by four horses. Upon the stage, the Federal printing-press complete; cases and other typographical implements, with pressmen and com- positors at work. Diu-ing the procession many hundred copies of a song and an ode, adapted to the occasion, were struck ofiP, and distributed by Messrs. A. M'Lean and J. Russel among the multitude. A small flag on the top of the press, on which was in- scribed the word "PubHus" in gold letters. Mr, John Loudon, representing a herald, mounted on the back of the press, dressed in a flowing robe, and a cap, on which were written the words, "The Liberty of the Press"; with a brazen trumpet in the right hand, proclaiming, "The epoch of Liberty and Justice," pending from the mouth of the trumpet. In the left hand, a parchment scroll, representing the new Constitution. The master printers, booksellers and bookbinders, with their journey- men and apprentices, foui* abreast, following the stage. Description of the Standard. Fame, blowing her trumpet, and supporting the me- dalhon of his excellency Dr. Franklin; Liberty attend- 279 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ing, holding her cap over his head; the electric fluid darting from below ; on the upper corner, the Union flag, and Stationers' arms; and below, the Bible and Federal Constitution, representing the religious and civil Consti- tution of our country. Mottoes : 1st. ''Ars arfium omnium conservatrix.^^ 2d. "May the liberty of the Press be inviolablj' pre- served, as the palladium of the Constitution, and the sentinel of freedom." And surrounding the medallion of his excellence' Dr. Frankhn, the following words: "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." EIGHTH DIVISION. CARTMEN. A cart painted red, with the words, ^'Federal cart," in w^hite letters; ornamented with green boughs, and drawn by an elegant bright bay horse, neatly capari- soned, and " Union'' ^ inscribed under each ear; driven by Mr. Edward Fowler, dressed in a white frock and over- alls, w^ith a blue sash and white bow. On the cart was erected a standard, with a broad flag; one side represent- ing Murraj''s wharf, Stewart and Jones's store, and three vessels discharging and taking in cargoes; carts passing and repassing; the hai-bor; a view of Long Island; the rising sun; a vessel under sail, named the "Federal ship 'Hamilton'"; a coat of arms; motto: "By this we live," in yelloev letters. On the reverse, Jones's w^harf and storehouses, with a view of the river, Long Island, horses and carts, the rising sun and Federal ship; over which, on both sides, were these lines : "Beliold the Federal ship of fame, The 'Hamilton' we call her name; To every craft she gives employ, Sure cartmen have their share of joy." Followed by three hundred cartmen, each wearing a 280 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE laurel in his hat, and conducted by Messrs. T. Amei- man, A. Mattiny, J. Demeroy, and W. Furnian. HORSE DOCTOR. Walter Gibbons, horse doctor, dressed in an elegant half shirt, with a painted horse on his breast, a balling iron in the horse's niouth, and the doctor putting a ball of physic down his throat, with implements of farrier}^ ready for use. Over the horse written, ^''Federal Horse Doctor'''' ; at the bottom, ''^Physic.'''' On his back a horse skeleton, the doctor examining the head ; over his head, ^^ Federal Horse Doctor"" ; at bottom, ^''Dissection.'''' MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENT MAKERS. In an oval compartment, encircled with ten stars, a Hadley's quadrant, telescope, azimuth compass, and time-glass, with suitable decorations. Motto: "Trade and Navigation," supported by Mr. Thomas Biggs. CARVERS AND ENGRAVERS. The Carvers and Engravers (united) were led by Messrs. Richard Davis and Peter Maverick; the banner supported by R. B. Davis. On the banner, which was of silk, bordered with an elegant fringe, of American manu- facture, were displayed the arms of the United States; viz., a chief, azure on thirteen pieces, argent and gules. In the center was placed an escutcheon, parted, proper, pale. Argent, a chevron, or, between two gravers in chief, proper, a copper-plate on a sand bag in base, proper, for engravers. Argent, a mallet and gouge, proper, for carvers. Motto: ^^ Arte et Lahore. ^^ This banner was suspended by the two upper ends to a gilt staff, which was crowned by a circle, two feet diameter, of thirteen stars, ten of which were gilt, three imgilt. In the center the American eagle soaring. On a carved rib- bon, between the banner and the stars, this motto : ' ' Nous hrillerone tousbien tot.'''' 281 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS COACH AND COACH-HARNESS MAKERS. A stage in front, drawn by ten black horses, three postilions dressed in yellow, and jockey caps trimmed yellow. Four workmen on the stage at work in the dif- ferent branches. The flag extended on the stage, repre- senting a coach-maker's shop with doors open i hands at work, a coach finished. At the door, a vessel l}ang at the wharf, taking on board carriages for exportation. Ov^er the shop, the Union flag; over the ship, the nine Federal members from this countr3\ In the center, the coach and coach-harness makers' arms, on a blue field, three open coaches, supported by Liberty on one side, holding in her left hand a cap of Liberty; on the other side by Peace, holding in her right hand a cornucopia of plenty; Fame, blowing her trumpet over their heads; motto: "The Federul star shall guide our car." A gen- teel green monument, supported by ten pillars, with a Union in the center. Crest on the top of the arms, an eagle soaring from a globe, COPPERSMITHS. Headed by Messrs. Asher Mj'ers and Chas. White. A standard emblematical of the branch. Motto: "May the labor of the industrious be crowned with success." founders' color. Furnace, sand-trough, two pillars, an urn, cannon, two molds. Motto: "May the Founders, through prin- ciples of Amity, agree in Unity." TIN PLATE workers. Headed by Messrs. Kempton, Hardenbrook, and other masters, followed by their journeymen and apprentices, with white cockades, emblematic of their business; their standard borne by two of their profession, exhibiting a square; on the other side the Federal Tin Manufactory; on the other, the Federal Tin Warehouse; in the square NEW YORK CITY LIFE are raised ten jjillcirs, with lamps to each, lighted, em- blematical of the ten States that have adopted the Con- stitution. On each of the ten pillars is a different article of tin manufactory; in front is a view of the river; the Federal man-of-war appears, and shows the poop lan- tern ; at a great distance appears a lighthouse, and a ship in the ofiEing. The ship of war shows the Federal flag of ten stripes. On the manufactorj- are inscribed the words ^'Federal Constitution^''' and "When three more pillars rise, Our Union will the world surprise." PEWTERERS. Bearing an orange-colored silk flag, on which was elegantly painted the United States' colors ; underneath which, the pewterers' arms, supported by two miners, holding burning lamps in their hands. Motto: "Solid and pure," in gold letters; on the front part of the flag the words, "Society of Pewterers," with the representa- tion of a pewterer's workshop, in which the different branches were at work, and some of their work finished. Above this were the following lines ; \\z. : "The Federal plan, most solid and secure, Americans their freedom will insure ; All arts shall flourish in Columbia's land. And all her sons join as one social band." GOLD AND SILVER SMITHS. A gold Federal Eagle on the top of the standard. The goldsmiths' emblematical arms on white silk, em- blazoned, the crest representing Justice, sitting on a helmet, holding in one hand the balance, in the other the touchstone ; the arms supported by two savages, the field quarterly, or, two eagles' heads cross'd, azure, two cups inverted between two gold buckles; the motto: "Justice is the Queen of Virtues." The supporters rest- ing on a globe, representing the United States. Stand- 283 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ard supported by the four senior goldsmiths, followed by twenty-five. POTTERS. A flag, on which was represented specimens of stone and earthen- ware. A stone-ware kiln in full flame, with different parts of both branches. A stage drawn by two horses, three hands at work, turning a number of vessels of different forms. Motto on the flag : "The Potter hath power over the clay." THE CHOCOT.ATE MAKERS' DEVICE. The old Constitution represented by the naked body of a man, denoting Congress, without power, with thir- teen heads, looking different ways, showing the clashing interest of the States in union, with these lines: "When each head thus directing, The bod.y naught pursues; But when in one united. Then energy ensues." The ten men, well dressed, representing the ten States, supporting the head of a man, representing the new Constitution united in a Federal head. Across the loins of the naked man, in a circle, a scroll from the right hand to the left, pointing with the forefinger to a rising- sun, and the Federal head, with these lines in it: "In all creation my like is not. Adopt tlie new, and let me be forgot. Behold how beams yon bright and rising sun ! O happy era ! tyranny is fled ; Since Federal government is now begun. United in one presidential head." On the pedestal on which it stands are these words : "The Old Constitution. " Beneath, a hand chocolate-mill, with two men grinding chocolate. On the opposite side of the flag, thirteen stripes, representing that no alteration can dissolve the Federal compact entered into by the first Con- gress, when they declared independence. 284 NEW YORK CITY LIFE TOBACCONISTS. Headed by Mr. Denis M' Ready, displaying a white silk flag, on which was elegantly painted, gilt (encom- passed by thirteen tobacco plants), their arms, on a su- per!) shield. Motto: "Let brotherly love continue." Their flag was preceded by thirteen boys, dressed in white, with blue ribbons, each carrying a hand of to- bacco, with eleven leaves bound close together; then folloAved the masters and journeymen, to the number of forty-five. DYERS. Headed by John Morrison and Robert Dodds. Jour- neymen, apprentices ; arms, three madder bags. Motto : "Give glory to God.'' BRUSHES. Headed by Messrs. Cooper and Watson, carrying a white flag, decorated with ribbons, representing the brush- maker's arms. Motto : "May love and unity support our trade, And keep out those who would our rights invade." Joined by journeymen and apprentices, each wearing their aprons, and carrying, upright, a large brush, called a Turk's head, staffs twelve feet long. TALLOW CHANDLERS. A flag with thirteen stripes; under these the figure of General Washington, with these words over him, "The illustrious Washington, may he be the first President of the United States." At the opposite end was placed the figure of Colonel Hamilton. Between the two, the coat of arms of the branch, over which were placed thirteen candles, with the name of the State each represented ; those representing the ratifying States were all burning, and united in one common flame. At the top of the flag, New York and North Carolina were lighted, but not joining the rest. 285 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS SADDLERS, HARNESS, AND WHIP-MAKERS. Saddlers, to the number of twenty-four. Mr. J. Young, Mr. Henry Broadwell, and Mr, J. Armory, the principal whip-makers. Then followed their emblematical figure of their pro- fession; an elegant horse, decked with a dim hunter sad- die, and rich scarlet furniture, with broad gold lace round the M^hole, and ornamented with embroidered tassels, making a very brilliant appearance. The bridle was grand, and displayed much taste in the ornaments. The horse was led by a groom, dressed in character, carrying an elegant whip, and attended by two black boys as hostlers. The other masters and journeymen following in the rear. NINTH DIVISION. The gentlemen of the bar in their robes, two and two, preceded by the sheriff and coroner. In the center of their body, the Constitution of the United States, ele- gantly engrossed on vellum, and decorated with ribbons, emblematical of the Union, was borne by John Law- rence, Esq., counselor at law, supported by John Cozine, and Robert Troop, Esqs., counselors at law. Ten stu- dents at law followed, singly, bearing in order the ratifi- cations of the Constitution b}' the several States as they came into the Union. The rest two and two. THE PHILOLOUICAL SOCIETY. The secretary, bearing a scroll, containing the })riu- ciples of a Federal language. Vice-president and librarian ; the latter carrying Mr. Home Tooke's Treatise on Language, as a mark of re- spect for the book, which contains a new discovery, and as a mark of respect for the author, whose zeal for the American cause during the late war subjected him to a prosecution. 286 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Esq., the president of the so- ciety, with a sash of white and blue ribbons. The stand- ard bearer, Mr. William Dunlap, with the arms of the society; viz., Argent, three tongues gules, in chief, em- blematical of language ; the improvement of which is the object of the institution. Chevron, or, indicating firm- ness and support, an eye, emblematical of discernment, over a pyramid, or rude monument, sculptured with Gothic, Hebrew, and Greek letters. The Gothic on the light side, indicating the obvious origin of the American language from the Gothic. The Hebrew and Greek upon the reverse, or shade of the monument, expressing the re- moteness and obscurity of the connection between those languages and the modern. The crest, a cluster of coher- ing magnets, attracted by a key in the center, emblemat- ical of union among the members of the society in ac- quiring language, the key of knowledge, and clinging to their native tongue in preference to a foreign one. The shield, ornamented with a branch of oak, from which is collected the gall used in making ink, and a sprig of flax, from which paper is made; supported on the dexter side by Cadmus, in a robe of T^'rian purple, bearing in his right hand leaves of the rush, or flag papynis, marked with Phoenician characters, representing the introduction of letters into Greece and the origin of writing. On the sinister side, by Hermes, or Taaus, the inventor of let- ters, and god of eloquence, grasping his caduceus or wand. Motto: '''' Concedat Laurea Lingue,^^ expressive of the superiority of civil over military honors. The flag, embellished with the Genius of America, crowned with a wreatli of thirteen purple plumes, ten of them starred, representing the ten States which have ratified the Con- stitution. Her right hand pointing to the Philological Society, and in her left a standard, with a pendant, in- scribed with the word "Constitution." The members of the society in order, clothed in black. •ZS7 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS UNIVERSITY. A flag, emblematical of science; motto: "Science and Liberty mutually support and adorn each other." Supported by a standard bearer, preceding two large globes. The president and professors, in their academ- ical habits, followed by the students, bearing different kinds of mathematical and astronomical instruments; after these moved the medical students, and the instruct- ors of schools. MERCHANTS AND TRADERS. The merchants and traders were preceded by John Broome, Esq., president of the Chamber of Commerce, and William Maxwell, Esq., vice-president of the Bank, in a chariot, together with "William Laight, Esq., secre- tary to the Chamber, on horseback, bearing a standard with an oval field, surrounded by thirteen stars. The field, a Mercury standing on the shore, holding in his hand the arms of the city, surrounded by the emblems of commerce; the motto: "JVo/i nobis nati solum,'" not born for ourselves alone. The spear terminating in an American eagle, gilt, bearing on his breast the arms of the United States. TENTH DIVISION. PHYSICIANS, STRANGERS AND GENTLEMEN. PORTERS. A blue flag, with thirteen stripes, on one of which was inscribed, "September 17, 1787." Thirteen stars on the field, and a standard supported by two porters, with the words, "Ten to three, we carry it." Under the stripes, "Stands, we stand — falls, we fall." ARTILLERY AND FIELD PIECE. The line of procession, containing nearly five thou- sand people, extended upward of a mile and a half. The march was slow and majestic, and the appearance of the NEW YORK CITY LIFE scene as far surpassed every one's expectation as mere de- scription must fall short of it. While numberless crowds were pressing every side, the doors and windows of houses were thronged by the fair daughters of Columbia, whose animated smiles and satisfaction contributed not a little to complete the general joy. As this splendid, novel, and interesting exhibition moved along, an unsuspected si- lence reigned throughout the city, which gave a solemnity to the whole transaction suited to the singular importance of the cause. No noise was heard but the deep rumbling of carriage wheels, with the necessary salutes and sig- nals. A glad solemnity enhvened every countenance, while the joyous expectation of national prosperity tri- umphed in every bosom. The whole body, having ar- rived at Bayard's house, were disposed in a line, and re- viewed ; after which, the varied insignia of the procession being left upon the Fields, the citizens were conducted to their several dining tables. Here they were honored by the company of Congress, of many foreigners of distinc- tion, and the patriotic and respectable clergy of the city. The two principal sides of the building provided for this entertainment consisted of three large pavilions, con- nected by a colonnade of about one hundred and fifty feet front, and forming two sides of an obtuse angle ; the mid- dle pavilion majestically rising above the whole, terminat- ing with a dome, on the top of which was a figure of Fame with her trumpet, proclaiming a new era, and holding in her left hand the standard of the United States, and a roll of parchment, on which was inscribed, in large characters, the three remarkable epochs of the late war; Independence, Alhancewith France, Peace. At her side was the American eagle, with wings extended, resting on a crown of laurel, placed on the top of the pedestal. Over six of the principal pillars of this colon- nade were placed small escutcheons, inscribed with the M-l 289 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ciphers of the several powers in alhance with tiie United States; viz., France, Spain, Sweden, Prussia, Holland, Morocco; and over these were displayed tbe colors of these respective nations, which added greatly to the bril- liancy of the entablature, already beautifully decorated with festoons and branches of laurel. The extremities of this angle were joined by a table forming part of a cir- cle, and from this ten more colonnades were extended, each four hundred and forty feet in length, as the rays of a circle, the whole having one common center; viz., the center of the middle pavilion, where sat the President of Congress. At the extremity of each colonnade was a The New Y.irk Federal Tabl^ en from Bunker's Hill. pavilion nearly similar to the three before mentioned, hav- ing their outside terminated in a pediment crowned with escutcheons, on which was inscribed the names of the ten States which had then ratified the Constitution, The whole of the colonnades were adorned with curtains ele- gantly folded, and with wreaths and festoons of laurel everj'where dispersed. In the area contained within the angle first described was placed the music, but so disposed as not to intercept 290 NEW YORK CITY LIFE the prospect from the seat of the President through the whole length of the ten colonnades above mentioned. This noble and beautiful edifice, erected in less than five days, covered a surface of ground eight hundred and eighty feet by six hundred, and was calculated to accom- modate six thousand persons. The taste and genius of Major L'Enfant, so often dis- played on other pubhc occasions, and to whom the city is indebted for the design and execution, appeared in the present instance to have derived additional brilliancy from the dignity of the object on which it was em- ployed. Dinner being ended, the following toasts were drank : 1st. The United States. 2d. The States which have ratified the new Constitu- tion. 3d. The Convention of the State of New York; may they soon add an eleventh pillar to the Federal edifice. 4th. General Washington. oth. His Most Christian Majesty. 6th. His Catholic Majesty. 7th. The States-General of the United Nether- lands. 8th. The friendly powers in Europe. 9th. The patriotic framers of the present national Constitution. 10th. The memory of those heroes who have fallen in defense of American liberty. 11th. Success to agriculture, manufacture, and the sciences. 12th. May trade and navigation flourish. 13th. The day; may the union of the States be per- petual. After each of which ten cannon were fired ; and in 291 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS order to diffuse the J03' to all classes of citizens, an ample proportion of the entertainment was detached to the prisoners in jail. The repast ended, the procession returned in the same manner to its place of setting out ; and the citizens were dismissed by half-past five o'clock. In the transactions of this day, a variet}' of circum- stances might be noted, upon which the reflections of the patriot, the politician, or the philosopher, might dwell with pleasure. A procession inexpressibly magnificent, formed not to gratify the pride or ambition of an individ- ual, but to manifest to the world the attachment of a peo- ple to a government calculated to secure and perpetuate their civil and religious liberties; the mutual confidence and joy of the various orders of the community ; all nar- row and bigoted distinctions lost, and absorbed in that noblest of passions, the love of country; the glorious hope, the emulous and patriotic zeal; the dignified and unsullied harmony of the day; and, it may be added, the uninstructed ingenuity of the American mechanic, unfolding itself in the invention of his emblems and mottoes. But what most excited surprise in persons unac- quainted with the character of American yeomanry was to see a numberless multitude, in view of a tempting col- lation, not only adhering to every rule of decorum, un- awed b}^ a single bayonet or espontoon; but, though under the influence of public passions, verging to enthu- siasm, peaceably, at an early hour, retiring without a single instance of rudeness or impertinence. To conclude this account of a transaction which will long be remembered, and which reflects infinite honor upon the mild genius of our government, and the inhab- itants of this city. Instead of the trophies of war and of captives in chains, which graced the triumphs of anti- quity, we here behold the plow, the ship, and all the im- 292 NEW YORK CITY LIFE plements of useful arts. The wreath of martial glory- was exchanged for the garland of pea^e ; and instead of the painful sensations, which in a humane and liberal mind would be excited by the triumphal entry of a con- queror, reeking from the blood and slaughter of thou- sands of his fellow men, the hearts of all the spectators anticipated with rapture the return of concord, of public and private justice, of individual happiness, and national glory, the constant attendants of a wise, free and eflScient system of government." 293 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS CHAPTER THREE DEVELOPMENT: FROM THE POST-OFFICE TO THE OLD CITY HALL VIA AN^ STREET, HORSE AND CART STREET. AND THE PYE WOMAN'S STREET Old Boston Road and New Broadway, and their Gibraltar — Ann Street — Horse and Cart Street — Roisterers, Church- goers. Gamblers, Pickpockets, Poolsellers and Peddlerb — Fire Laddies — A Police Mystery with a flavor cf Richard Croker — A few of the Results of Reform — Restaurants various and innumerable — Mouquin"s — Delmonico's Rival and its odd Characters — Theater Alley — Dolan"s "Sink- ers" and Hitchcock's "Beef an' '" — Dennett's Busy Bees. and the Business Mens Quick Lunch, etc., etc. — Oysters — Garibaldi's— The Nassau Canyon — Memory of Mary Rog- ers, the beautiful Cigar Seller— Christ Church in Ann Street— Shoemaker's Pasture — Spring Garden — Bennett Building the fir.st large Office Building— Jokers of other Days— Grandfather's Clock — Extracts from the first num- ber of the "Herald" — Comparison with the "Herald"' of To-day — F'air Street — Partition Street — North Dutch Church — Firemen's Hall— Moravian Church — Shake- speare Tavern — Seventh Regiment — The old Theaters — First Methodist Church— Mr. Reid's Testimony— Battle of Golden Hill — First Blood of the Revolution — Papodopolo — Washington Irving's Mischievous Boyhood — Work for Women — Old Memories — More old Churches — The Middle Dutcli Church — A Prison for Patriots — The Graveyard — The old Bell— Aaron Burr— The Treasury— FederalHall— The Pillory and Stocks again — Inauguration of Washing- ton — Congress — Wall Street — De Peyster Garden — Trinity Churcn at one end. a Slave Market at the other— The first Bank — Immense Business Interests — Riots of 1834 — The great Meeting after the Assassination of Lincoln — Gar- field's In.spiration— Centennial of Washington's Inaugu- ration At Ann Street, the old road to Boston has united with the newer Broadway. Looking up that road, now Park Row, formerl}^ Chatham Street, and once part of the Bowery, our sight follows the colonial road of development, rich in historic associations; 294 NEW YORK CITY LIFE 295 THE AMERICA^^ METROPOLIS and looking up Broadway, it notes the lines of the most celebrated street of modern times, which had no existence above Chambers Street until after the Revolutionary War. On the Lyne map of 1729, Broadway terminated at the Commons (Citj- Hall Park) in a rope walk, while the High Road to Boston swept grandly to the northeast, crossing the Kissing Bridge near Roosevelt- Street. A survey- of 1755 shows a palisade crossing the City from river to river, nearly on the line of Chambers Street, with no development of Broadway above that point, but with many streets laid out along the Boston Road or Bowery. The Fresh Water or Collect Pond and the Lis- penard Marshes, which were afterward drained through Canal Street, ^ stopped the progress of the City by way of Broadway for many 5^ears, and the Potters' Field and the Negroes' Burying Ground marked the end of Broadway. As late as 1805 the present northwest corner of Broadway and Cham- bers Street was occupied by pig pens. Now the great tide of travel which sweeps up old Broadway at certain hours of the day is divided by the ma- jestic Post-office building, and one part continues up the modern thoroughfare, while the other pro- ceeds through the ancient road, heedless for the most part of anything else than home and supper. None of our large buildings is more criticised by architects and more admired by the unschooled than this Federal building. Its position is an ideal one, and its architect has designed a graceful granite 296 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Plan of tVie CITY OF NEW YORK from an Actual Survey, by F.Maerschalk, City jyufyeyor-Z/JS. REFERENCE. t GOVERNORS HOUSt !«> W.fr L . IN. CO. STILL HO- 2 SECftETARYS OFFICE i; T.VATAR . DISTI LLHOUSE 3 CUSTOM HOUSE IS ROB'TORIFFITH H PLIVIWGSTUIN*C0.S.'M. IS JNO eURLING 5 CITV HALL 20 JAS eURLINC o BYARD"S SUGAR HOUSE 21 J(MO- LEAKE 7 EXCHANGE 22 BENJ. 8LA06 E 8 FISH MflR^ET 23 JEWS 6UR\AU ( ■J OLD SLIP MARKET 21. POOR HOUSE 10 MEAT MARKET 2S POWDER 1/ FLY 26 BLOCK 12 BURTIN'S 27 OATtS I) OSWEGO- • 28 WEST DOCK H. ENGLISH PREESCMO0L2* EAST (5 DUTCH R£fe:r£nc6: / TME FORT (9 TRINITY CHURCH C OLP DUTCH P FRENCH £. NEW DUTCH f PRESBYTERiAry MCET/NCHO. (©"QUAKER ME^TINO HOUSE h BAPTIST J LUTHERAN CHURCH « JEWISH SYNAOOGUE L STGEORSE'S CHAPEL M MORAVIAN MEETINO HOUSE f/ NEW LUTHERAN 297 THE AMEEICAN METROPOLIS flag-capped mountain, against which a river might dash and divide. Its wedge form, the manner in which storj' is laid on story, the converging Hnes, the strength of the base, the strong backing of the rear, the S5'mmetry of the many groups of pillars — all these features are combined to produce an im- posing and powerful appearance. It will be surpris- ing if the critics do not laugh at this notion; they must criticise and laugh, else how could the people know of their superior intelligence? We will not go down Broadway, but will slip through Ann Street into Xassau Street, Avhich we will follow on our return to the Fort. Once Ann Street was as quiet and dreamy as the Dutch wife of William Beekman, for whom it w^as named. Then came livelier times, when the sign of a jolly inn on the corner of AVilliam Street gave to that street the familiar name of Horse and Cart Lane, a name which clung to it even when the people worshiped in Christ Church, east of Nas- sau Street. "George Burns, who lately kept Tavern opposite to the Merchants' Coffee House, in this City, is now removed to the noted sign of the Cart and Horse, where he continues the same entertainment as usual, and where all gentlemen travelers and others may depend on the best usage and accom- modation, both for themselves and Horses: And fur- ther, to gratify his customers he constantly takes in the Boston, Philadelphia and New York neics- paj)e?'5."—" Weekly Post Boy," January 30, 1750. 398 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE Ann Beekman passed away, and so did the gen- tle roisterers of the Horse and Cart, and the de- vout members of Christ Church. In later days the street was favored bj' seafaring men, and the houses were of the type shown in the little grocery store near the eastern end. Captain Greenwood, of the Revolutionarj' army, lived in the house near Broad- way in which Mendoza's book-store now finds shelter. In the daja when the volunteer firemen ruled the City, Ann Street was a favorite gathering-place for them. In the taverns, restaurants and bunk rooms of that neighborhood they exchanged stories and exercised themselves in their amazing convivial accompHshments ; they pulled the department wires — for all the leading positions went by vote of the members — and they laid plans for running the City government. This organized body of dashing, rest- less, daring, picturesque firemen became indirectly a great political force, furnishing leaders to the differ- ent parties, and frequently taking a forcible hand for their favorites. Hainy Venn's tavern, at ]3 Ann Street, was a famous resort in the thirties; so was a place on the site of the Wood building, Number 117 Nassau Street. The company of the noted old engine, "Honey Bee," was quartered on Fulton Street near Nassau Street, and at an- ' ^'"' ' other time at 61 Ann Street. Engine No. 5, "Honey Bee. Harry Venn was an enthusiastic fireman and was thoroughly representative of the old department. He 299 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS had all of the dash, courage and rough honor which characterized the firemen. He was a hot friend and a fierce enemy, and something of a poet; and in his later years, becoming converted, he threw his energies into a series of religious meetings that he managed in the Academy of Music in 1858, at which many firemen were brought to his faith. He died in 1879, and was buried with all the honors that his comrades could bestow upon him. A sample of his fervid poetry may be interesting. "Hot Mutton Pies. "I remember, yes, distinctly as tho' it were to-day, The pleasures of my early youth that all have passed away; Some were sad and some were joyous, yet all of them I prize. And the dearest of them all to me is sweet, sweet Mutton Pies. "How grateful was the perfume, when brown and smoking hot. And their juicj" flagrant flavor can never be forgot; Though the maker of the edible now in the cold grave hes. His memory I reverence when I think of Mutton Pies. "Oh! tell me not of dishes made in French and Ger- man style. And tenderloins and venisons that are first laid out to spile : I pass my hand on all of these — my appetite would rise At no such fancy fixin's — I want my Mutton Pies. 300 ~~4 '^.i ^ FiKi- e^giml covpI:lIlIo^ .^t tjdley's pole New York, V'ol. one, p. 8' 3. NEW YORK CITY LIFE "Alas! the one-legged baker was long ago played out, And never more we'll hear again his welcome cheer- ing shout; And though he oft was libeled, we heeded not their hes, But went in top and bottom crust for luscious Mutton Pies. — Lemon Peel." It is related that in 1839 a wager was made by- two firemen, Bill Demilt and Tom Lawrence, in ^ Early Type of Steam Engine. Venn's tavern, that they would sit on the Goddess of Liberty on the City Hall. The wager was a bowl of milk punch. The keeper of the City Hall was Conk Titus, a member of Engine Company 14, and when he found his old friends on the roof, which they had reached by a lightning rod, and 301 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS was informed of their purpose, for tlie promise of a share of the punch he shut his eyes, and Demilt and Lawrence reached the Goddess's head and perched themselves upon her Hke a pair of great birds. During the night that bowl of punch was like the widow's cruse of oil — it didn't run dry. William M. Tweed. At the corner of Ana Street and Broadway there could always be seen a group of firemen, and when an alarm was sounded they scurried away to their different engine houses. The engines were much loved, and were blessed with very expressive pet names, such as "White Ghost," "Black Joke," "Shad Belly," "Dry Bones," "Red Rover," '"Hay Wagon," "Bean Soup," "Old Junk," "Old Maid." 302 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Many of our respected citizens and many of our politicians first attained prominence through their connection with the old department. Mayors Wal- ter Bowne, Cornelius W. Lawrence, Stephen Allen, Isaac L. Varian, Daniel F. Tiemann, C. Godfrey Gunther, and William H. Wickman; George C. r An OKI Time Race. Connor, Cornelius V. Anderson, William H. Webb, Carlisle Norwood, Zophar Mills, Adam P. Pentz, John T. Agnew, George T. Hope, Samuel Willets, Elias G. Drake, William Ay mar, Dr. Lydig Suy- dam, Fletcher Harper, Lorenzo Delmonico,^ Alonzo Slote, Shepard F. Knapp, Andrew Underbill, Enoch C. Pentz, Martin B. Brown, William Laimbeer, Thomas Byrnes, William M. AVood, Matthew T. 303 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Brennan, Thomas P. AValsh, Alexander V. David- son, Francis J. Twomey, John J. Gorman, and WilHam M. Tweed, were all prominent firemen. These modern statesmen only followed the lead of the Father of his Country, who was an ardent fireman at Mount Vernon, and head of the depart- ment in New York for a short time. At a later time the corner of Ann Street and Broadway and its immediate neighborhood became a "hang-out" for all kinds of sharpers, who came down from the Chatham Street neighborhoods and met the great Broadway stream of respectable travel, with its sprinkling of country folks. In those days the corner was occupied by the Chinese Assembly rooms. Then came a company of quiet, keen-eyed men, who gave to the little dingy, dirty block between Broadway and Nassau Street a pe- culiar luster and sheen. They ran the most famous downtown gambling houses of the Citj", when New York was a gambler's paradise. Their games were operated without secrecj' and without interference. Gamblers from all over the United States came to these "hells" to "buck the tiger" and to "fleece" unwary countrj-men. The games were so well- known that the police captains stationed at the Oak Street station house reported them regularly to the superintendents of police, who dealt with them only in the most inoffensive and perfunctory way. No- body was unable to enter the gambling liouses ex- cept policemen, and nobody failed to appreciate the evidences of gambling except police magistrates. 304 NEW YORK CITY LIFE There were not less thau a dozeu of these games in this little block. Numbers 1, 11, 13 and 15 boused some of the most famous of them. Joined to the gambling pest was the pickpocket nuisance in its richest flowering. During the administrations of Superintendents Murray and Byrnes, pool rooms were conducted in which many of the young men employed in the neighbor- hood gambled their own and their employers' money in bets on the horse races. The pool rooms were closed very suddenly when Ricbard Croker became an owner of racing horses, and had interests to be injured by the pool-sellers. A mysterious connection was apparent between Croker and the horses, and the superintendent and the pool rooms, in which the pool rooms got the worst of it. Many of the busi- ness men of the neighborhood wished that Mr. Croker would buy an interest in some gambling house uptown. Some people ask : What have we got from re- form? Well, among other things, here in this block we are rid of three towering evils that had defied decency for years: public gambling, public pool-sell- ing, and pubhc pocket-picking. The present admin- istration has no interest in gamblers and thieves, and makes no terms with them. The only nuisance that remains is the push cart crowd, which congre- gates here because several firms in the street sup- ply the venders with novelties for downtown sales, and there is a growing feeling that the peddlers should have a fair chance to earn honest livings. 305 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS New York leads the world in restaurants. Any taste can be satisfied, auj' appetite can be met, and a meal can be fitted to any pocket-book. This is a bill of fare of 1850: D. SWEENEY'S HOUSE OF REFRESHMENT, No. 11 Ann Street, New York. DINNER. s. d. Roast Beef, Lamb, Yeal and Pork 6 " Poultry, Sirloin Steak 16 " Pig, Chicken Pie, Chicken Soup .... 1 Boiled Mutton, Corned Beef, Pork and Beans . . 6 Meat Pie, Soup, Fish, and other dishes .... 6 Rice, and Mush and Milk 9 Dessert— Puddings and Pies 9 BREAKFAST AND TEA. Common dishes of Meat or Fish 6 Cakes, Toast, Rolls, Eggs, etc 6 Fried or Boiled Ham 1 Ham and Eggs 1 G Pried Potatoes 3 Extra Bread, Brown Bread 3 Tea and Coffee 3 A gentleman who partook of that fare was so nourished in mental pabulum that he produced this very taking ' ' proposal ' ' : "To My Beloved Vesta: "Miss, I'm a Pensive Protoplasm, Born in some prehistoric chasm. I and my humble fellow men Are hydrogen, and oxygen, And nitrogen, and carbon, too. And so is Jane, and so are you. 30G NEW YORK CITY LIFE ( In stagnant water swarm our brothers And sisters, but we've many others, Among them animalculae, And Hzard's eggs — and so, you see, My darhng Vesta, show no pride, Nor turn coquettish head aside, Our pedigrees, as thus made out. Are no great things to boast about. The only comfort seems to be — In this philosophers agree — That how a protoplasm's made Is mystery outside their trade. And we are parts, so say the sages. Of life come down from Long Past Ages. So let us haste in Hymen's bands To join our Protoplastic hands, And spend our gay organic life As happy man and happy wife." Another, impressed with the procession of church- goers moving down Broadway, dashed off this re- markable production : "Church Belles. "Coming in couples, "Whispering softly, Smiling so sweetly. Heeding no sermon ; Up the long aisles What the^^ go there for Tripping so feath'. Hard to determine. "Flutter of feathers, "On all around them Rustle of dresses, Gazing benignlj^ ; Fixing of ribbons. Wholly unconscious, Shaking of tresses. Singing divinely. "Envj'ing bonnets, "Prosy discoursing. Envying laces. Don't suit their whims, Nodding at neighbors, Plain they assemble. Peering in faces. Just for the HiMSl" 307 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS The music of that neighborhood is not now so refined, though it is exceedingly fetching. Here are two gems from "Maggie West's Songster"; a collec- tion that is much admired by frequenters of Ann Street and Park Row. "Take a Seat, Old Lady. "A story I'm going to tell of a woman old and gray, Wand 'ring the street, in the snow and sleet, at close of a winter's day ; In front of a building grand, quite weary she sinks in a chair. When a youth inside, most arrogant with pride, or- ders her away from there ! Next door there stood a newsboy, who owned a little stand. Who saw the poor old creature driven from the build- ing grand ; He ran into his humble store, as tho' 'twere childish play, Bro't a chair from out the place, with a smile upon his face, these words I heard him say: CHORUS. "Take a seat, old lady, for you are welcome there, Do not hesitate, ma'am, for I own that chair : I know you must be tired, besides, you're old and gray, You'll find it there and welcome when you pass this way ! "In silence she sat for a while, and the tears coursed down her cheek, Her thoughts seem'd to wander to days gone by, poor soul, she could scarcely speak; At last she arose and said, with lips that were trem- bling and blue: I'll remember thee, some day you'll hear from me, once I had a boy like you. 308 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE Three years have come aud gone, once more the same old spot I see, The youth he gets a letter, wond'ring- from whence it can be; He opens it, it tells a tale, the woman she is dead. She had died without a kin, left her thousands all to him, thro' the sweet kind words he said : — Chorus. "My Best Girl's a New Yorker, "Singing in praise of j'our sweetheart, describing her many perfections. Is just now consider'd a high art, so I'll tell you all about mine; Tommy aud Johnny and Danny, whose sweethearts can rival most any, "Will turn emerald hued all from envy when they hear of ni}' charmer divine. CHORUS. "M)' best girl's a corker, Not the kind that's slow, Born and bred New Yorker, I would have you know; You ma}^ sing about j'our Mollie, Your Mamie or your Pearl, They're all back numbers when compared "With my best girl ! 'If you could see what she writes me when I'm away from the fireside You plainl}' could tell that she likes me, this dear young charmer of mine ; Mamma has faithfully taught her to be a most dutiful daughter. And that's why I love her and court her, this girl that I think so divine." 300 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS While speaking of Ann Street restaurants, we should not forget that most famous resort, '"Win- dust's," which extended from Number 5 to 11 Park Row, and had an entrance from Ann Street. Ed- ward Windust was the most famous restaurateur of old New York. At his place the great actors of the Park Theater, like John Brougham and John Gilbert, met and chatted with such literati as Fitz- Greene Halleck, Washington Irving and Fenimore Cooper. It was opened in 1821. Sand}'' Welsh's place, in the basement of the American Museum, was the resort of famous politicians, like the "war horses" Ehjah Purdy, Robert Morris, Lorenzo Shep- pard and Rococo Levi. Windust carried on his res- taurant until 1865. Mr. Brougham, speaking of Win- dust's, remembered a fac-simile of the inscription on Shakespeare's tombstone, with the legend on it, ' ' Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare, To digg the dust encloased heare : Blest be ye man y* spares thes stones, And curst be he y* moves my bones," which hung on the wall, and the long table at which the actors congregated, and the small boxes for private suppers. While speaking of Windust's steaks, pleasure glowed on his face, and he recalled the names of manj^ with whom he had associated in loving converse about the long table, among whom were the eccentric lawyer, Mr. Natins, Pro- fessor Mapes, George Jamieson, Hamblin, Placide, and old Tom Cooper, father-in-law of President Ty- ler, and the greatest tragedian before Forrest. John 310 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Gilbert recalled William Burton, Tom Flyun, Wil- liam Chapman, James Wallack, John Mason, George Frederick Cooke, and Bass, the great Shakespearian reader. Mr. Gilljert spoke the very last words on the stage of the old Park Theater — the final speech of Admiral Kingston in the pla}' called "Naval En- gagements." He gave this interestmg story about Mr. Bass: "Miss Rose Telbin, an actress and cousin of Bass, had died, and he, out of respect for her memory, ordered a tombstone for her grave. It was brought to Windust's one evening while a frightful storm was raging, and there it was deliv- ered to the reader of Shakespeare. He remained long with his boon companions, and at a late hour started for home by one of the street cars that passed the door, carrying the tombstone in his arms; and he fell asleep in the corner of the car. The car passed Bass's street, but he was still asleep, and it finally reached the shed that served as a depot. The conductor did not notice him, still fast asleep in his corner, wath his arms round the slab, and went home without waking the poor fellow. Early in the morning the car started as usual on its down trip, Bass still being fast asleep. Imagine his surprise when he was awakened at the terminus of the road downtown, with the tombstone in his arms. Imagine the laughter of everj^body near by as Bass sleepily staggered out of the car into "Win- dust's, and then again started for home with his stony bedfellow." The funniest part of the story was this: "It was a verj- dark night, and the way 311 THE AMERICAN METEOPOLIS to Bass's home from the car was so hard to find that his wife, afraid that he might not find the house, stuck a vast number of candles in the win- dows, and thus made a brilhant ilhimination to show him the way. You can picture her surprise and amusement when Bass walked in the next morning with the tombstone in his arms and told the story I have been telling you now." Among the other frequenters of the place were Robert E. Lee, Miles O'Reilly, William T. Porter ("Tall Son of New York"), Henry J. Raymond, Horace Gree- ley, and A. T. Stewart; and it is said that during the draft riots of 1863 Horace Greeley hid under one of the tables while a mob was rushing through Park Row. There was an old sign over the beef- steak broiler with this quotation from "Macbeth": "If it were done, when 'tis done, Then 'twere well it were done quickly." All the accounts of Windust agree in declaring that the social atmosphere of the place was remarkable for its freedom, its geniality and its purity. It is a delightful recollection of old New York. The frequenters of Sweeney's eating-house were generally of a different character from those who wont to Windust's and Sandy Welsh's Its star character was the infamous Captain Isaiah Rj-nders, the political boss of the old Sixth Ward, the leader of the "Dead Rabbits," the "Plug Uglies," and the "Empire Club," which comprised the criminal adjuncts of Tammany Hall. Rynders was always on hand at mobbing anti-slavery meetings. It is written 312 I NEW YORK CITY LIFE that, once when Wendell Phillips was announced to speak at the Broadway Tabernacle, near Worth Street, Rynders announced publicly that he and his cohorts would wreck the building and mob the audi- ence. The trustees of the Tabernacle then sent word to Phillips that he could not speak there, so Henry Ward Beecher invited him to speak at Plymouth Church, Rynders and his thugs went over" there, and were allowed to enter the church; but they were overawed by a goodly company of armed and determined men, who had gathered there to defend the orator. The great Phillips used his choicest in- vectives against slavery, and scarified Rynders and Tammany Hall; but on that occasion the disciples of brutal force maintained a discreet silence. Subse- quent to 1850 Sweeney moved to 66 Chatham Street, and there his patrons were more at home than they had been in Ann Street. The building he occupied is Hall's Hotel, at the corner of Duane Street. There are eating places innumerable, and there is business for them all. In and around this block both of these proposi- tions may be verified. The leading restaurant is Mouquin's, which runs through to Fulton Street, and uses two large floors, that are filled to over- flowing during the busy hours of the day. This place divides the highest trade of the locality with the Astor House. Its bill of fare is large and va- ried. Its French features attract the Gallic ladies and gentlemen from all the lower part of town, as well as many Americans who enjoy French cook- N-i 313 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS ing. This is the place for cheese, coffee aud wines. It has grown from a small beginning, and the old French couple who keep it cannot be persuaded by their American sons to make improvements on their old methods. The great quantities of food which are consumed on the second floor are carried up- stairs from the kitchens by the hands of waiters, and every dish as it is borne up from the base- ment is carefully scrutinized and catalogued by a man who has a desk at the head of the stairs, and who charges the waiter with it. Here j^ou will see jolly red-faced old dogs, talking loudly in mellifluous tones, with occasional nasal periods, and sipping wine that seems to go immediately to the ends of their tongues. Snails and frog's legs are common orders. Over there sits a self-reliant young woman, who has walked in without looking to the right or left. She quietly orders her escargots and small bottle, and with a showy unconcern spears the martyred snails, extracts them from their houses, masters the impulses of her diaphragm, and assists their slimy voyage down her oesophagus with sips of sparkling liquor. The eager j^oung gentleman across the aisle, fastidiously picking curious bones, and im- periously croaking gar-son-n-ng, between bites, does not succeed in so much as to get even a glance from the devotee of escargots; but he will order the crawling gasteropods next time, and so try to change his luck. This is a good place to spend an hour in studying character. A few doors from Mouquin's is a place famil- :U4 NEW YORK CITY LIFE iarly known through the neighborhood as "Delmoui- co's"; because it does not resemble any of those famous restaurants, and because the amiable proprie- tor frequently reminds his motlej^ crowd of patrons that the pastry which he sells to them at five cents apiece is the very same as that which is sold in Delmonico's at two and three times the price. If you will join the crowd of street peddlers, clerks, printers, storekeepers, merchants and lawyers, who climb up on the high stools and catch the succu- lent pies, the massive sandwiches, and the fabled pastries that are thrown at them by the proprietor and his rosy-faced German helpers, you will be an- noyed, perplexed, amused, and finally will devour your viands with gusto. The proprietor is a well- read and witty man, is apt at quotations, and is on the best of terms with his customers, between whom there is a veritable caniraderie. There is a half-past one club, which keeps the air full of chestnutty jokes and the sound of champing teeth, while the waiters dazzle the vision by rapid move- ments with food, cups, plates and towels. With thenj, a meringue pie is a "corrugated roof," a "Napoleon" is a "fallen greatness," and a "turn- over" is a "wind-bag." If you go once, you may go again, and you may not. It is a good place for the philosopher to alternate with Mouquin's. Dr. Chauncey Shaffer, the eminent lawyer-preacher, for years before his recent death, made a daily lunch there of three hard-boiled eggs, peeling off the shells with his fingers and dropping them on the floor un- 315 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS der bis stool, according to the custom of the place, while choice bon mots dropped from his lips. He Avas the only "diner" who could fairly measure swords with the proprietor in the contest of clas- sical quotations, which daily takes the place of nap- kins in supplying an atmosphere of refinement. A rare philosopher Avho maj' be met there daily is the stanch old printer Wynkoop, whose avenue of nourishment is never in a satisfactory position for use unless his feet are twisted into the highest round of his high stool, and his knees are support- ing his chin; then, with his gaunt frame comfort- ably adjusted to the task, his kindly eyes beam out of his leathery countenance, and he mixes coffee-sip- jjing and pie-mastication with speech-jewels, which float out over the incarnated appetites about him in healthy, hopeful and helpful agglomeration; as he gives his old-fashioned American opinions on the various questions of the da}'. Another odd char- acter is the Rev. XYZ, a preacher with a flock, but independent of a church. A low browed, heavy, smooth-shaven face, with large teeth and underlip, shaggy eyebrows and inquiring eyes, sometimes shaded by blue glasses, stooping shoulders, and sid- ling walk — these you observe, all properlj'^ incased in rusty black and covered with slouch hat. His plan of operations is unique. In his breast pocket is a list of his patrons. They subscribe one dollar a year apiece for his support, and he agrees to go w^here- ever they may send him during the year, to minis- ter to the sick, to pra.y with the dying, to visit air. NEW YORK CITY LIFE the distressed, and to help bury the dead. "When he isn't ministering he soheits subscriptions, and when he isn't soliciting he ministers. He is always busy, and wastes no time in useless conversation. He cracks no jokes with the jolly boys, but si- lently eats his unvaried lunch, of a cup of coffee ivith extra milk, five crullers and a glass of water, and goes on about his business. Surely he doesn't squander his contributions in high living; but per- haps a brighter diet would not hurt him or his work; and Herr Gehlen's ample sweet cider might help the crullers along. The missionary got a sub- scription from the proprietor by an apt quotation of the last lines of "Childe Harold": "Fain would I waft such blessings upon thee As with a sigh thou mightst have been to me. " The pie seller recognized the quotation at once, cor- rected a slight inaccuracy by inserting "I deem" in the second line, and said it was worth a dollar. Just then a wagon rattled noisily past the door, and he said, "In time we shall be rid of such noises. All noise is symbolistic of barbarianism. It is bound to go. Rubber tires will fix the wagons." Is not Herr Gehlen a philosopher? A well-known lawyer, who "dines" there daily, insists that our movements to improve the police machinery are wrong, morally and scientifically; that the only way to do is to convert the criminals and get rid of courts and policemen. So much for a daily diet of pie. The philosopher of "Delmonico's," like those of 317 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ancient Greece, has his faithful followers, who wor- ship him, and who catch and treasure up the words that fall from his lips. His immediate retinue of assistants are unmarried men; for he says that he has figured it up, and demonstrated to his satisfac- tion that a home cannot be respectably supported on the wages which he pays, and therefore to em- ploy married men would be to lead them into temp- tation. When the high qualities of the philosopher are mentioned in the hearing of one of these young men, he will roll his eyes in ecstasy and add his humble tribute of praise for the master. The other da>- Fritz said, "There is no other man like the Boss. He is the most wonderful man ever I heard of; here he is head waiter; he is also boss of the shop; he directs his farm; he is the landlord. He has no books, only these little scraps of paper on the shelf; it is all in his head; he knows what he must buy for the store and the farm, and when he must buy it, and when he must pay for it, and when he must pay his interest, and when his rents are due — all these things are in his head; and he reads Shakespeare. He reads Shakespeare!'''' At this climax Fritz's voice failed him, his eyes were raised heavenward, and he clasped his hands as though in devotion. We watched the philosopher for a few moments; it was late in the afternoon; the crowd had dwindled so that there were not more than four or five eaters on the high stools. A gentleman asked for a piece of ajiple pie; Herr Gehlen brought to him a cut of pumpkin pie in- 318 NEW YORK CITY LIFE stead, and said, "You have eateu apple pie daily for two months; you need a change. It is not well to continue one kind of pie so long." The cus- tomer nodded his thanks for the kindly admonition, and began to assimilate the pumpkin pie. The next gentleman seemed uncertain as to his desires, and the graceful "head waiter" tried to tempt him by pointing to the bowl of hard-boiled eggs, furnished from his own barnyard. The customer challenged him to a contest of wit by saying, "You do not expect me to eggsisf on that fare, do you?" A look of scorn spread over the classic features of the philosopher, who walked away, declining so puny a contest. The next man asked for a cup of coffee without sugar or milk. To him the sage un- bent, saying, "We call that here 'a plain, unvar- nished tale.' " The gentleman smiled, revealing a scholar's appreciation of the remark, "Will you not have some food with your coffee?" — "Yes!" said the patron, "if it is very light. Give me a charlotte russe." The host nodded and smiled as he reached for the dainty morsel, and said, " 'There is naught that lives 'twixt it and nothing.' — From Virginius, you know." He illustrated the difference between harmony and sj'mphony in this way: "Rye bread and Swiss cheese make harmony; add a piece of cheese cake and you have symphony." Here is the secret of "the Wagne?' Triology.'" His imitators he treats with scorn. The Bennett building barber tries to ape him, and to draw cus- tom by talking "science" to his patients when they 319 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS are fastened down and he stands over them with gleaming razor. Said he to a man with bulging forehead: "Mr. S , do you think the old ' 'Gyp- shuQs' got them pyramids up all by humawe power?" (Answer through the lather): "No."— " Well, I'll tell you what I think. If one of those old ' 'Gyp- shuns' should come to life, and see them h'isting stones on top of the St. Paul building, he would say we beat the Dutch.'''' (l) Herr Gehlen says he ought to learn to be humane to his customers. The other day the president of the pie baking company tried to be smart by giving some alleged recollec- tions of the war between Greece and Turkey. The philosopher blandly remarked in reply: "How well you carry your years. That war, according to the books, was fought from 1821 to 1827." The presi- dent blushed and subsided. The place is simply the outgrowth of a little grocery store which was started there fifty j-ears ago. Thirty years back the proprietor began to sell pie and sandwiches to the office boj's of the neighbor- hood, corrupting man}' Hebrew lads with his tempt- ing ham sandwiches, and they kept coming and bringing others, until the sugar, the sand and the other grocery paraphernalia were crowded out en- tirely. Now the proprietor owns the building, and a beautiful farm in New Jersey', and is a man of means. This is an interesting little picture of prog- ress in New York. Right opposite to this place of refreshment is "Theater Alley," which in the palmy 320 NEW YORK CITY LIFE days of the Park Theater was the approach to its stage entrance, and was used by Keene, Cooke, Mac- ready, Kimball, Wallack, Forrest, Booth, Powers, Tree, Kemble, Matthews, Garcia, Hilson, Barnes, Blake, Wheatley, Povery, Placide, Fisher, and other famous actors and singers. In another store, nearer Broadway, is a typical cheap restaurant, largely patronized by laboring men and peddlers, who want substantial food for little money, and don't care to pay for style. Near b}^ is a St. Andrew's stand, where the newsboys and their impecunious elders get food at a cent or so a portion. In this short block are "Mouquin's," "Delmonico's," and a number of cheap restaurants and stands, and all are busj'. Around the corner on Park Row is Dolan's old time coffee and cake house, where a fortune has been made out of "sink- ers"; and close by is Dennett's, where an army of men and women, mostly clerks and copyists in the countless offices close by, is filled daily with moun- tains of food and rivers of coffee, to the accom- paniment of Scripture texts and the musical voices of pious waiters. The hum of hundreds of voices, the sharp battle cries of the waiters, and the rat- tling of millions of dishes, quite hush the annoying clatter of the wagons and cars outside the doors, and go a long way with the excellent food to sat- isfy the appetite. Other cheap and quick lunch rooms abound. At one, sandwiches and coffee can be bought on a three cent basis. At Hitchcock's, the waiters are picturesque relics of the Bowery boys 321 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS of old. The}' take your grammatical and rhetorical order and deliver it in stentorian tones in this way: '^Ham An'! Draw One — Have it in the Dark!''' (I desire a plate of ham and beans, and a cup of coffee without milk.) In a moment your muscular waiter comes sliding down the aisle with piles of plates, pyramids of cups, and pockets full of spoons, knives and forks. He extricates your particular sup- ply and slams them on the table before you (the cups are thick and \\i\\ not break). Presently jon forget all your troubles and all the heart aches of life as the best cup of coffee in New York filters into j^our system, and moistens the sweetest ham and the most doneful beans that you ever ate. The cost — why nothing; that is, hardly anything. You pay as a matter of form. In this next restaurant is another crowd of men, with strained faces. In- genious machinery concealed under their hats aids tired jaws to chew with lightning speed and pre- cise dispatch. That they may the more easily at- tend to the business of the moment, they help them- selves to such food as pleases them, and then sit on chairs which have flat, hollowed arms, wherein they deposit their treasures of sustenance, and then devote themselves to business; jabbing their off el- bows into the bodies of their rear neighbors with each masticatory effort. The exercise over, they paj' their checks, rush frantically into the street, then relapse into a graceful walk, and stand on the corner and pick their teeth. This is the famous "Business Men's Quick Lunch." 322 XEW YORK CITY LIFE The Germans find their haven in the ''Stadt Keller,'' where food and drink are served on the presumption that the eaters weigh two hundred pounds on the average. At the corner of Nassau and Ann Streets is a French basement ^^ table cVhofe,-'' where a fair meal, consisting of soup, entree, roast and dessert, with mineral water or apologetic wine, may be had for lift}- cents. Around the corner, on Fulton Street, is a bakery lunch room, patronized by thousands, and a chop house. Close to Mouquin's, on Fulton Street, is Libby's excellent old oyster house, where can be had the best oysters at the most moderate prices. An oyster fry there is a revelation. So is a "Dan- iel Webster fish chowder" on Friday. The habits and methods of this old place have not changed in twenty-five years. Professor Peter Kalm wrote a description of New York in 1748. Speaking of oysters, he said: "Oys- ters here are reckoned very wholesome. Some peo- ple assured us that thej had not felt the least in- convenience after eating a considerable quantity of them." (Dear observant old soul!) "It is likewise a common rule here that oysters are best in those months which have an 'R' in their name; but they are not so good in other months. However, there are poor people who live all the year long upon nothing but oysters and bread." (What a fate!) On the other side of Mouquin's door is Bros- nan's liquor store, which is frequented by man}- old- time characters. This place was once occupied by 323 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Garibaldi; and his personal servant, a rough, hairy, grimy, wild old man, may be seen daily carrying pasteboard boxes for one of the factories on Fulton Street. GARIBALDI. BY JOHN G. WHITTIER. "In trance and dream of old, God's prophet saw The casting down of thrones. Thou, watching lone The hot Sardinian coast-line, hazy-hilled, Where, fringing round Caprera's rocky zone With foam, the slow waves gather and withdraw, Behold'st the vision of the seer fulfilled, And hear'st the sea- winds burdened with a sound Of falling chains, as one by one, unbound, The nations lift their right hands up and swear Their oath of freedom. From the chalk-white wall Of England, from the black Carpathian range, Along the Danube and the Theiss, through all The passes of the Spanish Pj'renees, And from the Seine's thronged banks, a murmur strange And glad floats to thee o'er thy Summer seas On the salt wind that stirs thy whitening hair — The song of freedom's bloodless victories! Rejoice, oh Garibaldi ! Though thy sword Failed at Rome's gates, and blood seemed vainly jioured Where, in Christ's name, the crowned infidel Of France wrought murder with the arms of hell Oil that sad mountain slope, whose ghostly dead. Unmindful of the gray exorcist's ban, Walk, unappeased, the chambered Vatican, And draw the curtains of Napoleon's bed! God's providence is not blind, but, full of eyes. It searches all the refuges of lies ; And in His time and way, the accursed things Before whose evil feet thy battle-gage 324 I NEW YORK CITY LIFE Has clashed defiauce from hot youth to age Shall perish* All men shall be priests and kings — One royal brotherhood, one church made free By love, which is the law of liberty!" It is worth one's time to go through the many restaurants of this neighborhood. To see how the people eat is to see how they live and how they do business. The shocking bad manners which Mr. Dickens saw in his American tour have almost dis- appeared. We have seen a man cut his apple pie into squares, put it into his glass of milk, and eat it with a spoon, wiping his mustache with his fin- gers; but that was better than scratching his head with a fork. We will resume our journey at Nassau Street. It was originally a narrow lane, leading from the rear of the Federal Hall at Wall Street to tlie Commons, now the City Hall Park. It was first mentioned as the "Street leading by the Pye Wo- man's to the Commons"; and later it was called Kip Street, The high buildings of recent years, which are being added to constantly, are making a can3"on of the street. Where it opens into Printing House Square, the storms rush through it with such frightful force that sometimes men are lifted from their feet by the winds and hurled against the build- ings. Where these great oflfice-buildings are, there used to be residences of well-to-do people, which changed into boarding-houses before they were succeeded by stores. Number 126 Nassau had a melancholy fame in 184:2, as the home of Mary Rogers, the beauti- 325 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS ful girl who sold cigars in John Anderson's noted store on Broadwaj' near Duane Street. She was known to many of the prominent men who patron- ized Mr. Anderson's store, such as General Scott, James Gordon Bennett, Edgar A. Poe, Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving. All admired and respected her. She disappeared, and her body was found floating in the river at Hoboken, horribly mutilated and disfigured. The secret of her murder was never solved. The "Mystery of Marie Roget," by Edgar A. Poe, is based upon this sad case, and gives his theory of the crime. In Ann Street, east of Nassau, stood one of the old churches, Christ Episcopal Church, built in 1794. Its first minister was John Pillmore, who left the John Street Methodists. Its present site is 71st Street and the Boulevard. The surroundings are anything but churchly now. The block between Ann and Fulton Streets is interesting ground. It was part of the pasture land of the shoemakers in old colony days, which is de- scribed in the records of the Register's office, in Liber 28 of Conveyances, page 125. In Revolution- ary times it was occupied by a public resort called the Spring Garden. The original "Herald" building stood where the Bennett building now stands. When Mr. Bennett moved his newspaper offices to Broadway he erected the Bennett building, which was the pioneer of the large iron office buildings. That was but a little more than twenty years ago. In 1875 it was bright 326 NEW YORK CITY LIFE and new, and had many of the leading lawyers of the City for tenants. It was the talk of the City, and was written up in the newspapers as a won- der of architecture. People journeyed for many miles to see the "immense and massive structure." It was then only six stories high. The present Ben- nett building is a very different affair from the original building, and is a tribute to the genius of one of the remarkable men who have been evolved by the high pressure and the opportunities of the marvelous business life of the last few years. The building was enlarged; three stories were added to it, and the entire inside was remodeled and reno- vated without turning out the tenants, many of whom have remained in the building from the time it was opened. Mr. Pettit, who accomplished this work, borrowed on mortgage for the completion of his plans much more than the price which he paid Mr. Bennett for the land and the old building. He 327 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS has made a specialtj' of buying old buildings in good localities, and renovating and improving them at a maximum of advantage and a minimum of ex- pense, so that thej' have wonderfully increased his original investments. Nassau Chambers, near Ann Street, and the surprising Downing building, at 106 and 108 Fulton Street, are examples of his work. The main part of the Downing building is less than fifty feet wide, but is fourteen stories high, above the store. The total number of windows is over seven hundred. Downtown business life is much more exacting than it was a few years ago. We have now an era of steam at high pressure, and electricity at the danger point. Then, there was opportunity for re- laxation, and the disposition to enjoj' it. The old Bennett building had many interesting tenants, who knew and enjoyed each other, and were keenly alive to the chances for practical joking. Among them was Mr. S., an accomplished lawyer, and a rare linguist, artist and musician. He was a mas- ter at the piano and the organ. One day he ar- rived at his oflfice later than usual, and showed unmistakable signs of vexation and anger. He shut himself into his sanctum and astonished his part- ners and associates bj' frequently groaning, and pounding his desk. Presently he rushed into his outer office, his face tense and flushed with emo- tion. Turning to one of his associates, who had some musical taste, he said: "I appeal to you. You must understand me. I am going mad. It is 328 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE the result of too acute musical sensibility. You know that pestiferous new song about 'Grandfath- er's Clock,' don't you? — Well, you know it's perfect musical rot; but I've got it in my head and I can't get it out. The children sing it, the hand-organs pla}- it, the boys whistle it. The cats howl it on the back fence by night. At times I drive it out of my mind, and then a gutter band puts it all back again with malevolent force. What shall I do? What shall I do?" He was tenderly admonished and lovingly soothed, and a gentle friend took him down to Brosnan's. While he was under this influence other friends hurried about the building, begging all the tenants, and especially all office boys, to desist from their incHnations to emit the strains of the pathetic melody. A wink went with each prayerful request. In due time the victim arrived; he was smiling and quiet, having evidently found a calm in the storm. His peace was shortlived. A boy in the next office began to whistle : "Oh, my grandfather's clock was too large for the shelf, So it stood ninety years on the floor!" Then in the sanctum it was " !!! wsh! wurroo! .... !!" {ad. lib.). Then for fifteen min- utes, letter carriers, messengers, clerks, entered the office, each contributing his fragment of melody; and for fifteen minutes the air of the sanctum was blue %vith intermittent eccentricities. The crisis came at last. A gentleman who was not in the secret en- tered the office, and by accident he sang: 329 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "But it stopped! — short! — never to go again! AVhen the old — man — died!" The door of the inner office was flung open. Mr. S., a veritable wild man, rushed out, and seized the venerable citizen by the throat. His partners rescued the poor man, and made apologies. Mr. S. was frightened at his own violence, and called a cab and went home. The next day the joke leaked out, and Mr. S. was the head of a lunch table at the Astor House, at which were many of his tormen- tors. He was entirely cured. After that lunch it was a dangerous thing to say "Grandfather's Clock" in the Bennett building. The day for such doings is past. The Bennett building has been made over and now "Life is real," and "Life is earnest" — perhaps too much so. The newspapers and publications in their remark- able growth furnish as good an illustration as can be fovmd of the advancement and improvement in culture and taste that have been progressing so rapidly in our City; and while here on this old "Herald" block we may look for a moment at the advancement of that paper, which from the first has simply mirrored the condition of the times, never pretending to have anj" special convictions of its own. We have in our hands the first number of the "Morning Herald," dated May 6, 18:35. It is printed on a double sheet containing four pages 10* inches wide by 14 inches long. Its price was one cent. The first word of the first item contains a mis- 330 NEW YORK CITY LIFE print: "Ptblished daily bj- James Gordon Bennett & Co., office Number 20 "Wall Street, basement story." The terms for advertisements were one square (sixteen lines) a j'ear $30, one square a single insertion 50 cents. Nearly the whole of the first page was devoted to a '■'' Biographical Sketch of Matthias the Prophet.'" The rest of the page contained a few lines about "Books,^^ and '■'Love for Shakespeare,'' and ''Fashions for April,'' and ended up with this line: "He who loves to employ himself well can never want something to do." The prospectus, on the next page, announced the policy of the paper. "Our onlj' guide shall be good sound practical common sense, applicable to the business and bosoms of men engaged in every- day life. We shall support no party, be the organ of no faction or coterie, and care nothing for any election or any candidate from President down to a constable. We shall endeavor to record facts, on every public and proper subject, stripped of verbiage and coloring, with comments when suitable, just, independent, fearless and good-tempered." Mr. Ben- net saw a field for the "Herald." He said: "There are in this city at least 150,000 persons who glance over one or more newspapers every day and only 42,000 daily sheets are issued to supply them. We have plenty of room, therefore, without jostling neighbors, rivals or friends, to pick up at least 20,000 or 30,000 for the 'Herald,' and leave some- thing for those who come after us." The publisher takes a fling at the "Sun" in a column entitled, 331 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS "Police Reports," and it is greatly to be desired that the present managers of the "Herald" return to first principles as announced in the first issue. '■'■Police Reports. — In this department of news- papers there exists a gross want of taste, utility or propriety, and more especially among the small daily papers. Ignorance, insipidity and inanity reign triumphant. Take for example the following para- graphs extracted at random from the New York 'Sun' and others: 'James Anderson was brought up on suspicion of stealing a coat; but whether he was guilty or not we could not learn, for he escaped from the hands of justice.' 'Robert Barnes "vvas charged with rioting and beating the watchman; but he also escaped from the watchhouse.' 'Robert McCormick, who was also similarly charged, en- deavored to be similarly circumstanced; he also tried to escape, but his wind gave out and he was caught and committed.' 'Three noisy drimk- ards, Joe Ward, Matthew O'Brien and Thomas McMahon, were each fined $2 for being drunk and were committed in default of payment.' 'Three peaceable drunkards, Jane Conkling, Bridget Mc- Gowan and William Edwards, were reprimanded and discharged.' This trash is headed 'Police Office' and pompously set forth 'Reported for the "Sun." ' Such may be found every day in their columns, and if we were to look further we might even dis- cover greater trumpery and more want of taste. Having been acquainted as editor with the business of the police office for years, we shall exclude all 332 NEAV YORK CITY LIFE such folly from our columns, and only trouble our readers with that species of reading ivhen there is something interesting or useful to relate. As one of the caterers for the public taste, we feel it to he our duty to say this on the subject of police reporting. [01^5 'Herald!' 'Herald!'] As we are generous and gentle, with this we shall stop, deem- ing it also somewhat irreverent toward a beneficent Providence to inquire too narrowly what are those motives, inscrutable to mortal ken, which disposes Him in His infinite wisdom to drop down block- heads here and there to edit newspapers, like weeds in a garden ere the rose has put forth its bud, or the hyacinth opened its blossom to the morning." Can anything so sweetly and gently sarcastic as this be found in the "Herald" to-day? We fear that the material progress so evident in this paper has been at the expense of the spirit of courtly at- tention to neighbors that is so beautifully illustrated in the foregoing article. That the editor of the original "Herald" had a fine sense of humor mixed with streaks of phi- losophy and prophecy is apparent from this news article, which is unique. "a small sample. "In a walk on a pleasant afternoon in the out- skirts of the City, three or four miles beyond the City Hall, on the borders of civilization, north of Washington Square, we found ourselves before a couple of small two-story houses that swarmed with 333 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS pledges of love, or, iu plain language, young chil- dren, 'There's a colony!' said one. 'What a flock!' said another. 'Count them!' said a third. One, two, three, four, up to nineteen, between the ages of two and ten, were actually about the doors or poking their heads out of the broken windows. Three of the little girls had each a baby in her arms; a matron stood at the door with one on the breast and another at the foot, and two had their curly heads stuck through broken panes of glass. Half a dozen dogs, some of them as large as the children, were gamboling on the pavement on a perfect foot- ing of equality. Several pigs regaled themselves in the gutter. All seemed hardy, fat, contented and. delighted with each other. No monopoly, not the slightest, could be discovered. With such samples of populousness how can New York help being a large City." This was at Washington Square, on the outskirts of civilization! Here are two interesting news items. "John Calhoun, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster are in their resj^ective States, recreating their bodies and minds, and preparing for next year. The other Sena- tors may move about, and no one say, 'Who goes there?' " " Davie Crockett, at the last accounts, was grinning the bark off the trees in Tennessee." The news items are confined to a few announcements from England, three inches of ^'Theatrical Chat,'" four inches of '''Court Circular,''' and two and one- half inches of "A Steamboat Explosion.'' There are 334 NEW YORK CITY LIFE four and one-half inches of poetry, and eleven inches of a composition entitled, '^The Broken Hearted,''' end- ing with these eloquent sentences, "There is a realm where the rainbow never fades; where the stars will be spread out before us like the islands that slumber on the ocean; and where the beautiful things which pass before us like visions will stay in our pres- ence forever. Bright creature of my dreams! In that realm I shall see thee again. Even now thy lost image is sometimes with me. In the mysteri- ous silence of midnight, when the streams are glow- ing in the light of the many stars, that image comes flowing over the beam that lingers around my pillow, and stands before me in its pale dim loveliness, till its own quiet spirit sinks, like a spell from Heaven, upon my thoughts, and the grief of years is turned to blessedness and peace." The en- trancing lovehness of this anonymous essay is so steeped in the essence of sorrow that its dolorous effect must needs be neutralized, and it is imme- diately succeeded by a mirth provoking dialogue be- tween two Irish laborers, which is followed by two inches of melancholy, entitled, "T/ie Dying Infant.''^ The particular gem of the paper is entitled, '''The Female Heart.''' In these prosaic days we do not appreciate the female heart as did the quaint, expe- rienced Bennett, Sr. He said: "There is nothing un- der Heaven so delicious as the possession of pure, fresh, immutable affections. The most felicitous moments of man's life, the most exalted of all his emotions and sympathies, is that in which he re- 335 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS ceives an avowal of affection from the idol of his heart. More priceless than the gems of Golconda is the female heart, and more devout than the idola- try of Mecca is woman's love. I would rather be the idol of one unsullied and unpracticed heart than the monarch of an empire. 1 would rather possess the immaculate and impassioned devotion of one high-sou led and enthusiastic female than the syco- phantic f awnings of millions." He then says of a prim lady: "She looks as if she was fed through a quill, and when she opens her mouth to yawn, you would fancy she was going to whistle." It is evident that a great deal of pains was spent in the preparation of this initial number of the new paper, and undoubtedly its advertising features were of the greatest consequence in that day as well as this. There are four columns of advertisements, in- cluding three "Houses to let," one "Furnished room to let," one ""Woman to do housework wanted," two "Shipping advertisements," and one "Albany steamboat advertisement." Bruce's New York Type' Foundry, of 13 Chambers Street and 13 City Hall Place, so well-known to New Yorkers of this daj', was advertised in that first issue, and immediately following its substantial announcement was the card of R. Glover, M.D., of 2 Ann Street, whose regu- lar course of study in medicine and surgery had, according to his views, fitted him to deal with a lot of horrible and unnamable complaint». The paper was published at Number 34 Ann Street, on the third story, at which place it was stated, "Or- 336 NEW YORK CITY LIFE ders will be thankfully received." The newspapers don't put it that way nowadays. If you do not take the papers you are condemned either to go to Siberia, or to acknowledge that you are a hundred years behind the times. James (Jordop Ber^rjett's public; Deelaratioo of Coue lr> tl?e "\ierald," Juoe i, 1840. "to the readers of the 'herald' — DECLARATION OP LOVE — CAUGHT AT LAST — GOING TO BE MAR- RIED — NEW MOVEMENT IN CIVILIZATION. "I am going to be married in a few days. The weather is so beautiful; times are getting so good; the prospects of political and moral reform so au- spicious, that I cannot resist the divine instinct of honest nature any longer; so I am going to be married to one of the most splendid women in in- tellect, in heart, in soul, in property, in person, in manner, that I have yet seen in the course of my interesting pilgrimage through human life. . . . "I cannot stop in my career. I must fulfill that awful destiny which the Almighty Father has writ- ten against my name, in the broad letters of hfe, against the wall of heaven. I must give the world a pattern of happy wedded hfe, with all the chari- ties that spring from a nuptial love. In a few days I shall be married according to the holy rites of the most holy Christian church, to one of the most remarkable, accomplished, and beautiful young women of the age. She possesses a fortune. I sought and found a fortune — a large fortune. She 0-1 337 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS has no Stonington shares or Manhattan stock, but in purity and uprightness she is worth half a mil- hon of pure coin. Can any swindling bank show as much? In good sense and elegance another half a million ; in soul, mind and beauty, millions on mil- lions, equal to the whole specie of all the rotten bankts in the world. Happily, the patronage of the public to the 'Herald' is nearh* twenty-five thousand dollars per annum; almost equal to a President's salary. But property in the %vorld's goods was never my object. Fame, public good, usefulness in my day and generation ; the religious associations of female excellence ; the progress of true industry — these have been my dreams by night, and my desires by day. "In the new and hoh- condition into which I am about to enter, and to enter with the same reverential feelings as I would heaven itself, I anticipate some signal changes in my feelings, in my views, in my purposes, in nij^ pv^^suits. What they may be I know not — time alone can tell. My ardent desire has been through life to reach the highest order of human excellence by the shortest possible cut. Associated, night and day, in sickness and in health, in war and in peace, with a woman of this highest order of excellence, must produce some curious results in my heart and feelings, and these results the future will develop in due time in the columns of the 'Herald.' "Meantime, I return ni}' heartfelt thanks for the enthusiastic patronage of the public, both of Europe 3'dS NEW YORK CITY LIFE and of America. The holy estate of wedlock will only increase my desire to be still more useful. God Almighty bless you all. "James Gordon Bennett." Announcement in "Herald," June 8, 1840: "married. "On Saturday afternoon, the 6th instant, by the Rev. Dr. Power, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, in Barclay Street, James Gordon Bennett, the proprietor and editor of the New York 'Herald,' to Henrietta Agnes Crean. What may be the effect of this event on the great newspaper contest now waging in New York, time alone can show." The contrast between the first number of the "Herald" and the 21,741st number, which was issued March 1, 1896, shows not only the increase of the paper, but the increase of the City, which it described from day to day. In the latter paper there are fifty-six pages, each 9i by 23^ inches, in- cluding one hundred and fifty-six columns of paid advertisements. The news articles are profusel}^ and graphically illustrated. The wrecking of the steam- ship "Ailsa," and the appearance of its passengers in the rigging on February 29th, are accurately pictured. Every part of the world has contributed its share of the news, and every department of litera- ture is represented. In the religious advertisements, giving long lists of churches, sermons and services; the "personal" advertisements, reeking with lecher- ousness; and the advertisements of "specialists," 339 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS pointing conclusive!}' at vice and crime; the "want*' columns and the page advertisements of the great emporiums; the advertisements of "business oppor- tunities," and the reports of the great financial in- stitutions, many phases of the Cit^-'s life are shown. A Sunday edition of the "Herald," more than an}' other New York newspaper, truh' reflects the condi- tion of the Metropolis, and of the armies of people that inhabit it. To digest one such issue would re- quire a volume. Let it be onrs only to suggest to the investigator of life in New York that, though he may be overcome with the size and weight of the Sunday "blanket sheets," and while he may reject some of them as cheap, sensational and un- wholesome, he may always take up the "Herald" and make of it a most valuable stud}-. "We hope the day is at hand wlien its proprietor will discon- tinue its demoralizing "personal" colunm; but bad as that feature is, it is less unwholesome than the brutally frank descriptions and illustrations of crime which distinguish several of our most enterprising- papers. ■^Vitll all the strength and enterprise of the "Her- ald" of to-day, its editorial page is remarkable for its weakness and vapidity. This is an editorial of July 17, 1895. "a word of warning. "Women have pets and the word pets is only another name for dogs. These pets are well enough in their way, but the}^ should be kept in their proper places. A dog in your arms — well, when there isn't 34:U NEW YORK CITY LIFE anything better to have there — is, if we may judge from observation, a rather soul satisfying thing; but if he puts his nose into your soup plate, it would be safer not to partake of the rest of that soup. It may seem incredible that a woman and a poodle should eat their food out of the same dish, but it is not an infrequent occurrence, and it should not be done, even though you are compelled to hurt the feelings of the dog by a refusal. ""We must be allowed in this connection to recall an incident that occurred to notice. The woman was caressing her pet, fondling it, kissing and hug- ging it. If one's emotional nature must needs vent itself in this way, one should at least be prudent. In the instance to which we refer the dog had evidently contracted some disorder, and the contact between its nose and her lips transferred the dis- order to her. She suffered torments for a few days and finally died in great agony. "We are truly sorry to interfere with the rights of dogs, because we have great respect both for the microscopic sort and also for those so large that they have to be viewed in installments. They seem to be a great comfort to some people and to afford them even more happiness than religion. It is necessary, however, to simply remind the public that one can love a dog too much, and that the bestowal of affection on the animal may be, as it has been, carried beyond the danger point. Be a little careful about this matter, that's all." Here is another editorial from the same paper. 341 THE AMERICAX METROPOLIS "that spook. "It IB not always necessary to mind what a ghost sfiys. When a sheeted and eccentric creature revisits the pale glimpsesj of the moon and makes himself visible to yon, listen to him respectfully, contradict him if he makes any preposterous state- ments, and then go about your business as though nothing had happened. "It is rather important to accept this advice, and if Robert Montgomery had acted on that policy he woidd be to-day among the jolly miners in Number Eighteen Colliery. He was a veteran of the war and never sneaked behind fence or tree; but a ghost has caused his death. Whether this ghost will be held in the Elvsian Fields on the charge of homicide, or whether Robert, now that he is dead, will be sent to an idiot asylum, we have unfortunately no means of knowing. We have cor- respondents in every quarter of the globe, but be- yond that limit we are like the weather prophets, and have to guess. "Robert was down in the mine, several hundred feet below the reach of sunshine, where only a dim religious light prevailed, and he heard strange noises, so he said. Then a cold draught swept by him, as though some bird of evil omen were flap- ping its Avings. A little later he saw a form, clothed in white, but to his questions he got no answer. Robert remarked to his comrades that he had been 'called.' He was in robust health, with- out ache or pain, but he went straight to bed, and I NEW YORK CITY LIFE the notion that he was going to die so dominated his body that in the course of a day or two he really did die. "Now, we are all afraid of ghosts, whether we believe in them or not, but it isn't quite the square thing for a 'spirit' to come down into this lower region and frighten people to death. "When you see a spook take a blue pill and live." block, was Fulton Street at leave the old "Herald nally called Fair Street, and as late as 1728 it ran only to Cliff Street. Ful- ton Street west of Broadway was called Partition Street. Cliff Street was named after Dirck Van der Clyff, who owned the land from which it ran, oid North Dutch church. and whose orchard lay between the present John Street and Maiden Lane, east of William Street. At the comer of Fulton and William Streets was the North Dutch Church and its graveyard, the memor}' of which is perpetuated by The Fulton Street Daily Noon-Day Prayer Meeting. This church, which was erected in 1767, marked the growth of the denomination, which could not be accommodated 343 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS in the Garden Street and the Middle Churches. The consistory had received the site as a donation from John Harpending, the old shoemaker, before 1722, and it was arranged that the building should front on "Horse and Cart Lane" ("William Street). Harpending's coat of arms, showing his hammer and awl, were painted on a board and hung over the pulpit. The building cost twelve thousand pounds. The graveyard received the remains of many promi- nent old citizens. The English soldiers in the Revo- lution treated the church with the same contempt that they showed for the other Dutch edifices. Thej' made a prison of it, and at one time eight hundred Americans were crowded into it, and they suffered greatly from hunger, cold, and sickness. Ethan Allen wrote of this place: "I have seen prisoners here in the agony of death in consequence of very hunger, and others speechless, sucking bones or even biting chips, and others pleading for God's sake for something to eat, and at the same time shivering with cold. Hollow groans saluted my ears and despair seemed imprinted on every countenance. They would beg for one copper or a morsel of bread. It is com- puted that 1,500 died in the course of four months. As the breath left their bodies, they were dragged out by the arm or leg, piled at the door, and there left till there was a cartload, when they were taken to the outskirts of the city and dumped into a ditch. Such was the end of many a brave sol- dier." 344 NEW YORK CITY LIFE The dishonored bodies of the dead were dumped on the open grounds beyond the Jews' cemetery near Chatham Square, where they were thrown promis- cuously into shallow trenches out of which they were often dug by dogs or washed by heavy rains. For years the bleaching bones could be seen, Ijung about, on the ground. When the Americans re- turned to the city in 1783, the edifice was reno- vated and the services then resumed were continued for many years. Finally the building was demol- ished and the bones in the graveyard were removed and carried to Greenwood Cemetery. This spot has its sacred memories. The first Firemen's Hall was standing on the north side of Fulton Street just east of Gold, in 1824, and it accommodated four primitive en- gines. The Moravian Church was on the southeast cor- ner of Fulton and William Streets. Through the street are scattered stores which date back to 1850. Such a store is that kept by James Fallon, a relic of the quieter days, who keeps on making shoes, the while shaking his head and regretfully saying that Fulton Street has been turned upside down in his time. The next street east is Gold Street. Like Cliff Street it was a lane running down to Dirck Van der Clyff's orchard. It ran over Golden Hill, rich in summer time with its yellow grain, and its curves are reproduced in the pavements and house fronts. A quaint old street is Gold Street and well 345 THE AMEEICAN METROPOLIS worth a trip, but we must return to Nassau Street, or we will lose our bearings. At the southeast corner of Nassau and Fulton Streets was the Shakespeare Tavern. Here gathered the literary men of old New York, among them being DeVVitt Clinton, Fitz- Greene Halleck and James K. Paulding. David Provost, called ''Old Ready Money," the daring and defiant Long Island Shakespeare Inn, Fulton and Nassau Sts. smuggler, was a regular visitor. He is buried in Jones Wood near the foot of East 71st Street. The Seventh Regiment had its origin at the old tavern. This magnificent regiment is descended from the 11th Regiment of New York Artillery. The officers of that regiment met regularly at the tavern, which was a weather-beaten two-storied yellow brick build- ing with dormer-windows and garret, and a remark- 316 NEW YORK CITY LIFE ablj' ugly picture of Shakespeare hanging from an arm over the door. In 1826 the lltli Kegiment became the :i7th Regiment of Infantry. It was frequently called upon to defend the City in riots and to represent it in pageants. It marched in the fimeral procession of ex-President Monroe in 1831, in the reception to General Jackson in 1833, and in the funeral procession of Lafayette in 1834. It served the City in the riots of 1834, in the great fire of 1835, and in riots in 1836 and 1837. It marched in the funeral procession of General Har- rison in 1841, and in the reception to President Tyler in 1843. It did duty in the fire of 1845. It marched in General Jackson's funeral procession in 1845. In 1847 the State regiments were renum- bered, but the 27th Regiment was allowed to retain a part of its title, and it became the 7th Regiment. It defended the City's honor in the Astor Place riot in 1849, and in the riots of 1857 and 1858, and from that time to the present has been in the fore- front of the City's militia on every occasion that its services have been required. AVhile the regiment, as a separate organization, did not see any serious war services in the rebellion, it contributed over six hundred officers to the Union army, of whom three were major-generals, nineteen brigadier-generals, and twenty-nine colonels. Its gray uniform originated in the 11th Regiment in 1824, when it was an escort to General Lafayette. A private, Phielutes H. Holt, appeared in the street in his grny working coat, which fitted his trim figure snugly. At that time 347 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS the officers were discussing a new uniform, and seeing Holt, they decided upon the gray suit, which has ever since been the basis of the 7th Regiment uniform. Tliis is not the place to describe the 7th Regiment, but it is interesting to note the progress of that excellent organization, from the time that it was organized in the ramshackle Shakespeare Tav- ern, to the present time, when it occupies an armory worth, with its fittings, a million dollars. At John Street we must diverge on either side. Number 15 John Street is the place where stood the little red frame theater that was in use before the Revolution, and where the British officers plaj^ed amateur theatricals during their occupation of the City. Major Andre had a part in several of the performances. It was gayly illuminated in honor of Washington's inauguration. The first theater in the City was in the rear of the Middle Dutch Church, the second was on Beekman Street, near Nassau; this one in John Street was the third, and the Park Theater was the fourth. The John Street theater was built in 1767, and performances were continuous until 177G, when the Provincial Congress recom- mended a suspension of public amusements. While the British occupied the City, numerous amateur entertainments were given. In 1786, Lewis Hallam reopened the theater with regular performances. Thomas Wignell was the leading actor. The mother of Edgar Allan Poe (then Miss Arnold), was a member of the company. When President Wash- ington resided in New York City, he frequently 348 NEW YORK CITY LIFE attended the performances in the John Street thea- ter, which, with all their crudeness, pleased and diverted him. There he saw '*The School for Scan- dal," "Every one has his Fault," "Poor Soldier," and "Darby's Return." In his diary, under date of Tuesday, November 24, 1789, he made this rec- ord: "A good deal of company at the levee to-day. Went to the play in the evening. Sent tickets to the following ladies and gentlemen, and invited them to take seats in my box; viz., Mrs. Adams (lady of the Vice-President), Greneral Schuyler and lady, Mr. King and lady, Major Butler and lady. Colonel Hamilton and lady, Mrs. Greene — all of whom ac- cepted and came, except Mrs. Butler, who was indisposed." On one occasion the great Wignell played "Darby," who was supposed after a trip abroad to have returned to the United States, and to have observed the inauguration. The actor sang this song at "Washington, who was near the stage: "A man who fought to free the land from woe, Like me, had left his farm, a soldiering to go ; But having gained his point, he had, like me. Returned his own potato-ground to see. "But then he could not rest. With one accord. He is called to be a kind of —not a lord — I don't know what; he's not a great man, sure. For poor men love him just as he were poor — " and "the interest expressed by the audience in the looks and changes of countenance of the great man became intense . ' ' Washington's adopted son said: "In New York, 349 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS the play -bill was headed, 'By particular desire,' when it was announced that the President would at- tend. On thr>se nights the house would be crowded from top to bottom, as many to see the hero as the play. Upon the President's entering the stage-box with his family, the orchestra would strike up 'The President's March' (now 'Hail Columbia'), composed by a German named Feyles, in '89, in contradistinc- tion to the march of the Revolution, called 'Wash- ington's March.' The audience applauded on the entrance of the President, but the pit and gallery- were so truly despotic in the early days of the republic that, so soon as 'Hail Columbia' had ceased, 'Washington's March' was called for by the deafen- ing din of a hundred voices at once, and upon its being played, three hearty cheers would rock the building to its base." On the other side of the Street, between Nassau and William, is the site of the first Methodist Church in America. Although the original building is gone, the pulpit from which John Wesley preached is there, and so is the clock that ticked for him. The Methodist Church has been a mighty force in tiie development of the nation, and it has had much to do with the extension of civilization, edu- cation and popular religion. It was begun and or- ganized in our City. To Barbara Heck must be given the credit for its beginning. She was a plain woman, who came to America with some friends and kinsmen who had been converted ac- cording to the Wesley an idea in western Ireland. 350 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Calling at the house of other associates, she found a company of them playing cards. They had not held any religious service since their arrival in America, and she rebuked them, and then called on her cousin, Philip Embury, who had been an exhorter in Ireland, to hold a class meeting and to preach to them. The rebuke was received kindly, and Embury organized a class meeting at his humble home in the street now called City Hall Place. The meet- ings were successful, and the worshipers, needing a larger room, moved to the rigging loft at 120 William Street, in which the Baptist Church was af- terward formed. Cap- tain Thomas Webb was the drill master at Al- bany. He, too, was a Wesleyan; and hear- ing of the meeting in William Street, he came down unannounced, and marched in while the service was proceeding. He was in full uniform, carried a sword, and wore a great bandage around his head to conceal the loss of an eye. At first the people were alarmed; but, discovering his purpose, they invited him to preach, which he did, with his sword placed on the Bible, 351 First Methodist Episcopal Church, I'JO AVilliani St. THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS holding it open to his text. Thereafter Captain "Webb preached for them frequentl}', and he was a might}' addition to the Httle company. The Methodists received a heartier welcome in New York than was given them in England ; and when the time came to build a church, contribu- tions were made by people of all the other denom- inations. This, however, was not a strange thing to occur in tolerant New York. Mary Barkley, the widow of the second rector of Trinity Church, leased the John Street site to the Methodists in 1708, and in 1777 they bought it. Among the con- tributors were Judge Robert Livingston, Mayor James Duane, Recorder Delancey, the Lieutenant- Governor, and Trinity Church. Embury, the first preacher, worked as a carpenter on the building, and preached the dedication sermon. It was unlaw- ful for dissenters from the Church of England to build houses of worship; but at the suggestion of the City authorities a fireplace and chimney were put in the building, Avhich was then classed as a dwelling. John Wesley was informed of the organi- zation, and he sent Asbury to give a formal conse- cration to the church and its ministers. In 1760 the Methodist Church numbered six per- sons, now it is the largest Protestant denomination in America, having millions of members and Sun- day-school scholars, owning immense properties, and sustaining thousands of churches, besides schools, seminaries and colleges. The John Street church is more venerated than 352 NEW YORK CITY LIFE any other Methodist buildmg in the land, and it is loved by the many evangelists of other denomina- tions, who have adopted the ideas and religious methods of the Wesleyans. In this church, and the structure which preceded it, nearly all the great Methodist ministers and bishops have preached. The present society is small, and many of its members come from Brooklyn; but they have a loyal ambi- tion to sustain the historic societj^ and such help as is needed is not lacking from members of the denomination who worship in other churches. In the early days, when this neighborhood was filled with the dwellings of thrifty people, the John Street church was a place of great activity, and its free and unconventional meetings, contrasting greatly with the services of the staid Dutch and the formal Episcopalian churches, appealed strongly to the common people, whom it attracted in large numbers. As an example of the peculiar power of that church in those days, we cite the case of John Reid, from whose descendants the Methodists have gained preachers and men of wealth and business success. Mr. Reid arrived in New York, a poor immi- grant, with his family. They were dressed in the plainest old-country clothing. He was a strict church- man, and on his first Sabbath in America he went out to find a church. He reached the door of old Trinity, and entering, was shown into a dark and dingy pew, under the front gallery, far from the pulpit, marked, "For Strangers." He was sad, 353 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS lonely and sensitive, and had the impression that the people about him were whispering about his poor clothes. He spent an uncomfortable hour, and left with the resolve that he would never enter the church again. On the following Sunday, while strolling through the streets, he passed the John Street church, and saw many people dressed like himself going in. He noticed that everybody who went in had a cheerful, smiling face. His preju- dices were very strong against dissenters; but he plucked up resolution to enter with the rest, and was seated in one of the best pews. He heard a very plain and helpful sermon. His strangeness wore off as he received hearty greetings and invi- tations to come again from those who sat nearest to him. He did return, and his family grew up to be Methodists. One of his children was the late esteemed missionary secretary, the Rev. John Mor- rison Reid, D.D., LL.D. The John Street Church still influences the neigh- borhood in which it stands. Daily its doors are thrown open at noon, and many business men go there for consultation and prayer. This meeting and tlie Fulton Street meeting are notable circumstances of the downtown business life. From the door of the church we may see a tablet on the building at the northwest corner of John and William Street, which tells us that the first blood of the Revolution was shed there. The Sons of Liberty had a Liberty-pole in the Common, opposite Montanye's Tavern, which was 354 NEW YORK CITY LIFE in the neighborhood of the present 252 Broadway. The British soldiers, whose barracks were along Chambers Street, cnt the poles down several times, and as often as they demolished them they were replaced, sometimes after severe encounter between them and the angry people. On January 13, 1770, a number of soldiers began to saw away at the pole, and some citizens interfering with them, the soldiers drove them into the tavern at the point of the bayonet, and then completed their work of de- struction. The bell of St. George's Chapel called the people together. Thousands of citizens gathered and denounced the outrage, and formally resolved that any soldiers found acting in the same manner again would be deemed to be the people's enemies. The next day three soldiers posted up handbills that ridiculed the citizens' meeting, and they were promptly arrested by citizens, who disarmed them and started with them for the mayor's office, in the City Hall at Broad Street. The battle of Golden Hill resulted. This account of the battle was published in the New York "Journal," March 1, 1770. "The soldiers, determined to execute their proj- ect, availed themselves of the dead hour of the night, and at one o'clock they cut down the Pole, sawed and split it in pieces, and carried them to Mr. Montanye's door, where they threw them down and said, 'Let us go to our barracks.' "This act so exasperated the citizens that they concluded, with the assent of the authorities, to pull 355 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS down an old house which was sometimes used as a barrack by the soldiers, and also a fortification or shelter, to cover their retreat when engaged in pulling down this pole. The soldiers drew their cutlasses and bayonets, and dared the inhabitants to come and pull it down. The magistrates and officers, however, interposed, but the soldiers were bent on further insult to the citizens; so they pub- lished a handbill, reflecting on their place of meet- ing {ivhich they called) the Gallows Green, a vulgar phrase for a common place of execution, for mur- derers, robbers, traitors and rioters; to the latter they compare the Liberty Boys, who have nothing to boast of but the flippancy of tongue, etc. Mr. Isaac Sears and Mr. Walter Quackenbos, seeing six or seven soldiers going toward the Fly Market, concluded they were going to it to put up some of the above (handbills) papers; upon the former com- ing to the market, they made up to the soldiers, and found them, as they had conjectured, pasting up one of the papers. Mr. Sears seized the soldier that was fixing the paper, by the collar, and asked him what business he had to put up libels against the inhabitants? and that he would carry him be- fore the Mayor. Mr. Quackenbos took hold of one that had the papers on his arms. A soldier stand- ing to the right of Mr. Sears drew his bayonet; upon which the latter took a ram'.s-horn, and threw it at the former, which struck him on the head; and then the soldiers, except the two that were seized, made off, and alarmed others in the bar- 35G NEW YORK CITY LIFE racks. They iinniediateh- carried the two to the Mayor, and assig-ned him the reason of their bring- ing- them before him. The Mayor sent for Alder- man Desbrosses, to consult on what would be proper to be done in the matter. In the meantime, a con- siderable number of people collected opposite to the Mayor's. Shortly after about twenty soldiers, with cutlasses and bayonets, from the lower barracks, made their appearance, coming to the Mayor's thro' the main street. When they came opposite to Mr. Peter Remsen's, he endeavored to dissuade them from going anj^ further (supposing they were going to the Mayor's), represented to them that they would get into a scrape; but his advice was not taken, owing, as he supposes, to one or two of their leaders, who seemed to be intoxicated. The people collected at the Mayor's determined to let them pass by peaceably and unmolested, and opened for them to go thro'. Captain Richardson and some of the citizens, judging they intended to take the two sol- diers from the Mayor's by force, went to his door to prevent it. When the soldiers came opposite to his house, they halted; many of them drew their swords and bayonets ; some say they all drew ; but all that were present agree that many did, and faced about to the door, and demanded the soldiers in custody; some of them attemi)ted to get into the house to rescue them; Captain Richardson and others at the door prevented them, and desired them to put up their arms, and go to their bar- racks; that the soldiers were before the Mayor, who 357 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS would do them justice; the soldiers within hkewise desired them to go away to their barracks, and leave them to the determination of the Mayor. Upon the soldiers' drawing their arms, many of the in- habitants, conceiving themselves in danger, ran to some sleighs that were near, and pulled out some of the rungs. The Mayor and Alderman Desbrosses came out, and ordered the soldiers to their barracks. After some time they moved up the Fly. The people were apprehensive that, as the soldiers had drawn their swords at the Mayor's house, and there- by contemned the civil authorities and declared war against the inhabitants, it was not safe to let them go thro' the streets alone, lest they might oiier violence to some of the citizens. To prevent which they followed them and the two magistrates afore- said to the corner of Golden Hill (John Street and Pearl), and in their going, several of the citizens reasoned with them on the folly of their drawing their swords, and endeavored to persuade them to sheathe them, assuring them no mischief was in- tended them, but without success. They turned up Golden Hill, and about the time they had gained the summit, a considerable number of soldiers joined them, which inspu-ed them to reinsult the magis- trates, and exasperate the inhabitants; which wns soon manifested by their facing about, and one in silk stockings and neat buckskin breeches (who is suspected to have been an officer in disguise) giving the word of command, 'Soldiers, draw your bay- onets and cut your wa}' through them,' the former 358 NEW YORK CITY LIFE was iniDiediately obeyed, and the}^ called out, 'Where are j'our Sons of Liberty now?' and fell on the citizens with great violence, cutting and slashing. One of them made a stroke with a cutlass at Mr. Francis Field, one of the people called Quakers, standing in an, inoffensive posture in Mr. Field's door, at the corner, and cut him on the right cheek; and if the corner had not broke the stroke, it would have probably killed him. This party that came down to the main street cut a tea- water man draw- ing his cart, and a fisherman's finger; in short, they attacked every person that they could reach, and their companions on Golden Hill were more in- human; for, besides cutting a sailor's head and finger, they stabbed another with a bayonet; two of them followed a boj' going for sugar into Mr. Elsworth's house; one of them cut him on the head with a cutlass, and the other made a lunge with a bayonet at a woman. During the action on the hill, a small party of soldiers came along the Fly by the market, and halted near Mr. Norwood's, where they drew their bayonets and attempted to strike Mr. Jon. White. After which many of the magistrates and officers collected together and dis- persed the soldiers." The battle occurred in the rear of the old house Number 122 William Street. Several of the Americans died from their wounds. On the next day in the market three of the sol- diers attacked a couple of old women who had spoken derisively of them, cutting one of them with 359 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS a sword; and a party of them attacked Mayor Hicks in the neighborhood of Golden Hill; but were driven off by a crowd of the Liberty Boys, who often assembled at the old tavern at 122 "WiUiam Street. This was the first blood shed in the struggle for liberty, and it was the first physical resistance to the tyrannous acts of England's representatives. The effect of this conflict upon the people of the City- was startling and lasting. The church bells rang, calling the people together, and the excitement and indignation of the citizens was forcibly expressed in public gatherings. Two months afterward, British soldiers attacked the people in the streets of Boston, and shot several of them. These outrages called forth the thrilling speeches of the early patriotic orators, who again and again called for forcible resistance to the English government, in the name of those whose blood had been shed. The two old buildings at Numbers 122 and 126 William Street are in a very good state of repair. Number 122, which we have mentioned, was erected about two hundred years ago. Its foundations are solid, its fire- places big, its walls three feet thick, and its brick Holland's own. Its neighbor. Number 126, was built by the owner of Number 122 shortly- after the Revolution. The Lanthorn Club meets at Number 126. It is composed of odd men of various callings, whose happiness is conserved by eating primitive dinners in old buildings, and scribbling on the walls between courses. In this weird assembly may be found Irving Bacheller, Willis B. Hawkins, Edward 36U (^f^ Day Dir>r>er, 1896. Eaten with great pains by the New York Daughters of the Revolution, who valiantly sustained the honors of the day, amid yellow chrysanthemums, maidenhair ferns, smilax, flags and ancient flintlocks. Oysters a la Washing-ton. Pickles. Celerj-. Olives. Chicken Pie a la Putnam. Yorkshire Pig, Ethan Allen Style. Mashed Potatoes. Green Peas. Punch a la Oliver H. Perry. Canada Turkey, Stuffed a la Saratoga. Lettuce Salad. (No "a la" this tmie.) Pumpkin Pie a la Molly Stark. Mince Pie a la Martha Washington. (Oysters and Pie!) Ice Cream a la Lafayette. Assorted Cakes. Fioiit. Coffee a la Valley Forge. Congress will be duly petitioned to issue gold service medals to commemorate the heroic event.] 405 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS Chaplain Rogers was a Presbyterian. The Pres- byterian churches, which were on Wall Street and the present site of the "Times" building, had been so badly used hj the Enghsh soldiers that they were not fit to be occupied, and the kindly spirit of the Episcopalians showed itself in quick and generous in- vitations to the chaplain and the soldiers to occupy St. Paul's and St. George's chapels until their own churches could be renovated. Washington said farewell to his officers on De- cember 4th, at Fraunces' Tavern (now 170 years old). Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge wrote of this occasion. "When his Excellency entered the room his emo- tion, too strong to be concealed, seemed to be re- ciprocated by every officer present. After partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence, the General filled his glass with wine, and turning to the officers, said: 'With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. 1 most de- voutly wish that your latter days may be as pros- perous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.' After the officers had taken a glass of wine, the General added : * I cannot come to each of you, but shall feel obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand.' Gen- eral Knox, being nearest to him, turned to the Commander-in-Chief, who, suffused in tears, was in- capable of utterance, but grasped his hand, when they embraced each other in silence. In the same affectionate manner every officer in the room marched up to, kissed, and parted \vith his General in- Chief. 406 NEW YORK CITY LIFE Such a scene of sorrow and weeping I had never before witnessed, and hope I may never be called upon to witness again. Not a word was uttered to break the silence that prevailed, or to interrupt the tenderness of the interesting scene. The simple thought that we were about to part from the man who had conducted us through a long and bloody war, and under whose conduct the glory and inde- pendence of our country had been achieved, and that we should see his face no more in this world, seemed to me utterly insupportable. But the time of separation had come, and waving his hand to his grieving children around him, he left the room, and passing through a corps of light infantry who were paraded to receive him, he walked silently on to AVhitehall, where a barge was in waiting. [Staten Island Ferry.] We all followed in mournful silence to the wharf, where a prodigious crowd had assem- bled to witness the departure of the man, who, un- der God, had been the great agent in establishing the glory and independence of these United States. As soon as he was seated, the barge put off into the river, and when out in the stream, our great and beloved General waved his hat, and bade us a silent adieu." The English ships did not sail from the harbor until the 5th of December. At the old tavern, consecrated by Washington's presence and voice, the Chamber of Commerce, which has ever been associated with the progress of New York, had its origin, and many important 407 THE AMERICAN METROPOLIS gatherings were held there in the days succeeding the Revolution. It is sought out and visited more than any other of the relics of the former days, but its appearance is very disappointing. The build- ing has been altered and modernized so as to adapt it to the purposes of a very commonplace restaurant and beer saloon, the proprietor of which is so lack- ing in appreciation of his possession that he does not, even for a commercial purpose, bring out and exhibit the points which would attract the many to whom the associations of the place are deeply inter- esting. If you are not interested in the saloon you may pass to the restaurant upstairs and behold the incongruous relation of framed copies of old resolu- tions of the Board of Trade, and photographs of German family picnics. Twenty-five cents is the price of dinner, and the people who serve it would stare at you in amazement, if you asked them about Washington's farewell to his generals. Samuel Praunces, whose name survives in the accepted title of the dwelling, was a famous pro- vider and an ardent patriot. He became weU and favorably known as the landlord of the Masons* Arms. He sold that place in 1762, and purchased his more famous tavern from Oliver Delancey for two thousand pounds. He became a devoted ad- mirer of General Washington, and his daughter en- tered Washington's service, and was his housekeeper while his headquarters were at the Richmond Hill Mansion, which afterward became the home of Aaron Burr (corner of Varick and Charlton Streets). 408 NEW YORK CITY LIFE When the Eughsh Avarship the "Asia" fired upon the City, she drove a round shot through the roof of the tavern. Some of the most famous men of the City frequented "Fraunces'," and met socially there, even in its earliest days. Among them were John Jay, who was Member of Congress, ]\rinister to Spain, Chief -justice, Minister to Eug land, and Governor of New York; Gouverneur Morris, who was Member of Congress and Minister to France; Robert R. Livingston, who was Minister to France and Chancellor of New York; Morgan Lewis, who was Governor of New York and a general in the American army; and others, such as Egbert Benson, Gulian Verplanck, John and Henry Livingston, Francis Lewis, John Watts, Leonard Lispenard, Richard Harrison, Daniel Lud low— who were in the front of public affairs dur- ing their day. While Washington was at Richmond Hill, the plot hatched by Governor Tryon for his murder was under way. Mayor Matthews was sup- posed to be a prominent member in the conspiracy, but he stoutly denied any knowledge of it. The plot included a number of tavern-keepers, who were expected to tamper with the soldiers and to find the instruments for. performing the dastardly work that was in contemplation. Some of these tavern-keepers were: the landlord of the "Highland," at Beaver Street and Broadway; the landlord of the "Robin Hood"; Lowry, keeper of a tavern near the Oswego Market, at Broadway and Maiden Lane; James Houlding, whose alehouse was at Tryon Row near R-i 40